Daffnee

Run! It's the nose!

And in case anyone thought that Canada was as soft on terrorism as we are on weed, it looks like we've now got our own version of the Department of Homeland Security...only it's called Canada Commmand.

Everything really IS cuter in Canada.

Right before we finished our first semester of law school, my lawyering professor warned us that we would be embarking into a new world where every holiday would be filled with tacky lawyer gifts and sayings. I hate to add to this morass, but I do like this tidbit from Learned Hand:

"A society so riven that the spirit of mdoeration is gone, no court can save; a society where that spirit flourishes, no court need save; and in a society which evades its responsibilities by thrusting upon the courts the nurture of that spirit, that spirit in the end will perish."

So come on, girls and boys. Moderation. Radicalism is SO forty years ago.

The intersection of 66th and Columbus Circle -- where I hang out Tuesdays and Fridays with the ABC Law & Justice people -- has been renamed "Peter Jennings Way" today, after the ABC news anchor who also epitomizes the Canadian Who Made Good Down South Without Losing His Canadian Accent.

He was also the youngest anchor ever of an American prime time network news programme (age 26), scored 100/100 on his U.S. citizenship exam (got a dual), and was awarded the Order of Canada posthumously after dying from lung cancer.

I am in Con Law. I want to poke my eyes out. This happens often.

Although I would normally never recommend an article solely based on the byline, there are always worthy exceptions to the rule.

And just in case you thought gamers were in danger of eating (or drinking) healthy...

New layout -- felt the serifs and paper on the old one was getting too cluttered. I'll probably fiddle with it more later this weekend, seeing as Monday's a holiday.

Weekend update:

1. Got a new cell. So sure, Verizon has a comparably lousy logo and expensive phone plans, but I'm thrilled with the reception. I'm also thrilled that once again, I have a phone that (a) no one has ever seen before, and (b) looks like it's 3 years old even though it's a new model. It also matches the sleek circular stainless steel markings on my Pentax Optio camera, which is almost too much geeky fun for me to take.

2. Am beating things up for stress relief. Such a male solution, but sometimes even the guys have good ideas. I started martial arts again -- kenpo and kickboxing -- and had totally forgotten how fun it is to hit things. It's even more fun when you get to hit things with padding. Shotokan karate kind of turned me off the entire martial arts thing because we used to do knuckle pushups on hardwood floors and train by hitting boards, but I'm now informed that my dojo was remarkably hardcore for this day and age. Which makes me feel hardcore. Which I like.

3. I am not a real person, says my account manager, 2 cell phone companies, and a credit card agency.

4. Got to interview a law professor with my boss/producer at ABC for coverage on the Saddam trial. He is, unfortunately, an NYU law professor so they set up in my school, but it was kind of fun to watch people scramble to try to get 3 minutes of video footage sent via satellite to Baghdad on a Tuesday afternoon, especially considering they spent 1.5 hours setting up the lighting for a shot of the prof that only really took in his head on the knot of his tie.

And,

Legal news update (this is what I do by way of work now):
- 60th anniversary of Mendez v. Westminster, a California case that eliminated (Hispanic) segregated schools in 1946 (well before Brown v. Board).
- More from California -- Michael A. Morales is due to be executed on Tuesday, after a judge withdrew a proposal to being hearings on the constitutionality of execution by lethal injection. Morales lawyers are (of course) seeking a last-minute reprieve.
- The trial of 3 journalists in Yemen will begin next Wednesday; they are charged with denegrating Islam by republishing the infamous Danish cartoons.
- European Parliament is considering the issue of CIA secret prisons next Thursday. The lead investigator is Swiss.
- A Virginia federal court will rule on an injunction against Research in Motion (the makers of Blackberry) next Friday.

And no, unfortunately, I don't get paid for working at ABC. Not that I care, really -- it gives me an excuse to read the news for 2 days a week.

I bought this bowl right before the first time I moved out of the dorms. This was before Japanese pottery stores were still relatively uncommon in Vancouver, unlike now -- I think it wasn't even its own store, but a little protrusion out of one of Vancouver's original Asian supermarkets.

I've tried to take it to as many places that I've lived as I could. Lately, it was my ice cream bowl of choice -- it holds just enough that you can finish the whole thing before it gets too melty -- but it's been surprisingly useful considering it's a decorative rice bowl. During my crazy phase, I would have corn flakes out of it because it measures a perfect cup. I've packed it in newspaper probably dozens of times now, and it made it all the way to New York tucked into one of my parents' suitcases when they helped me move in 2004.

It never lost its colour.

Nothing drives home "don't fix it if it ain't broke" like trying to switch cell phone carriers. Cingular has single-handedly taken my phone number, ruined my weekend and destroyed all external audio communication out of Daphneville. Damn you, Cingular. Damn you and your attractive phone plans.

Law of Democracy:
    "Penetration, not pregnancy." -- the lawyer representing Palm Beach County during the Bush v. Gore recount of the infamous butterfly ballots.

FDA Regulation:
    United States v. 3 Unlabeled 25-pound Bags of Dried Mushrooms.

I spent all of Saturday pounding nails into my wall, and now have 3 to 4 holes for every nail I actually have left in. I should stick to desktop picture arrangements.