I just realized something

I don't really like watching basketball on TV.

What a week

I don't really know what to say about this week. Two judges' families torn up by violence. A defendant who shows up to court wearing pajamas. It strikes me as a bad week for the judiciary and makes me wonder a little more about my decision to become a lawyer.

Also, the blog has been fun, but I'm kind of bored with it. I don't have time to really keep it to the standard I'd like. Maybe I'll keep posting; maybe not.

Spring fever

It's almost 60 degrees today! Glorious! Windows open, folks walking and riding bikes, pleasant breeze, bright sun ... ah you could almost fool yourself into thinking spring told winter to take a hike. But we know better than to fall to that fantasy.

A guy across the street is sitting on his front porch playing guitar. Gotta love it.

Ok, it's not so bad

I realized I've been dumping on Wisconsin a fair (or perhaps, unfair) bit lately. Wisconsin in late spring, summer, and early fall is absolutely glorious. The foliage of maples and sumacs can take my breath away. Seeing the grass emerge in brilliant green and smelling the blossoms on the huge lilac behind the law school works wonders for my soul. Even winter has its moments.

Actually winter has a lot of moments...like about 6 months worth of mo - okay, I know, there I go again.

I feel dirty

I've actually agreed with Scalia once before. But I just read a case for constitutional law II and could see where BOTH Justices Scalia AND Thomas were coming from.

Trial of the century...

You couldn't pay me enough to be in the courtroom for Michael Jackson's trial. This strikes me as profoundly sad, both as commentary on the guy "portraying" Michael Jackson and also as commentary on what passes as entertainment.

It's March...

...and the windchill is 9 degrees!

When I lived in Texas, March meant that spring was on its way in. Tulips would break the surface, the days would get warmer, and we might even get a thunderstorm or two. In Wisconsin, March is a four-letter word. I know, it has five letters, but work with me here. I'm living in Wisconsin for crying out loud. Snow, ice, bitter winds. The days are getting longer and sun is getting stronger, but spring feels pretty far away.

I read recently in a Lonely Planet guide book to Iceland that in the arctic and near-arctic, the air is so clear and pure that distant features do not appear out of focus. Distance is thus almost indeterminable and the world around you takes on a 2-dimensional quality. I guess this could get pretty dangerous if a cliff (or polar bear) looks to be farther away than it really is.

I figure something like that happens in Wisconsin in the winter. The air is so cold that you lose your bearings. "When is spring? I remember March used to be spring...but it's so cold..." November to April kind of compresses and you lose track until you stumble into spring at some point. "How long was winter this year? I think it was pretty much the whole year..." You know what they say about Wisconsin - it has three seasons: About to be winter, winter, and just was winter.

We'll get to spring sooner or later, I suppose.