blueblanketblog

my not-so-temporary blog, i guess

friday, october 26

(more from my travel journal)

Second-hand and antiquarian book fair, good stuff.

The room is full of older, stuffy men and women who all ignore me because I obviously cannot afford anything they're selling here. I bet they're wondering why I'm even at the fair. Especially with this stupid notebook. Writing for some university review, probably.

There are great maps here.

In fact, this whole place is full of covetable things -- books of maps, on canvas, folded. An old, unpaginated, illustrated Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Old atlases, gorgeous 17th century illustrations. God!

I blame Andy for this new-found almost-hobby.

.: 11:54 AM .:

thursday, october 25

to read

Michael A. Wolff, From the Mouth of a Fish: An Appellate Judge Reflects on Oral Argument, 45 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY LAW JOURNAL 1097 (2001)

Richard L. Revesz, Congressional Influence on Judicial Behaviors: An Empirical Examination of Challenges to Agency Action in the D.C. Circuit, 76 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 1100 (2001) (I'm kinda into Revesz's empirical studies)

Honorable David M. Ebel, Honorable Michael R. Murphy, & Andrew G.Schultz (Panel One), What Appellate Advocates Seek from Appellate Judges and What Appellate Judges Seek from Appellate Advocates, 31 NEW MEXICO LAW REVIEW 255 (2001) (hey, my coclerk Mike's dad is in there!)

Honorable Robert R. Baldock, Honorable Carlos F. Lucero, & Vicki Mandell-King (Panel Two), What Appellate Advocates Seek from Appellate Judges and What Appellate Judges Seek from Appellate Advocates, 31 NEW MEXICO LAW REVIEW 265 (2001)

Kevin Ashley, Karl Branting, Howard Margolis, Cass R. Sunstein, Legal Reasoning and Artificial Intelligence: How Computers "Think" Like Lawyers, 8 THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LAW SCHOOL ROUNDTABLE 1 (2001) (I actually think this topic is silly, but I adore Cass Sunstein)

Cass R. Sunstein, Of Artificial Intelligence and Legal Reasoning, 8 THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LAW SCHOOL ROUNDTABLE 29 (2001) (see above, in re: adoration)

Volume 17 of the GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW is devoted to urban sprawl, cool.

.: 1:09 PM .:

realization, upon reading other people's blogs

The day I get back to the States happens to be Halloween. So far, I know of no parties. I am thankful for that, because I have no costume ideas. I will probably spend the night jet-lagged and sleepy, anyways, and just crash willingly into bed.

.: 5:35 AM .:

sore throat

As the header says. Ugh. Probably got it during that cold rainy day in the Scottish Highlands. Grr. The annoying part is that there's a teeny, irrational voice in my head saying "hope it's not anthrax." I know it isn't. Stupid voice.

.: 5:00 AM .:

my parents

In response to my excited email about the Supreme Court granting cert on my judge's case: "Thank you for telling us about Judge Gilman's case. Hope that what you are hoping for will happen." Translation: "We have no idea what you just said, but we wish you the best anyway."

.: 4:55 AM .:

monday, october 22

anthrax scares

So the anthrax scare in the US means that instead of mailing to my friends, in nice enveloped form, my change of physical address stuff as I usually do (when I have time), I will be doing it by postcard. (Except for the one I'm mailing to Steve, who *specifically requested* "your old planty paper", a bunch of months ago. I haven't forgotten.)

.: 4:42 AM .:

busted

So Paula got back from the US yesterday, and so she, David, and I are hanging out in the living room, just chatting. And we get on the topic of hair. And then Paula says to me, "So how high maintenance is your hair nowadays, anyway?"

Ur. Uh. Lots. Kinda.

.: 4:16 AM .:

sunday, october 21

two lives

This whole law school thing was meant to integrate my life -- consolidating my desire for justice and my love of analysis into one single area of work. It's a good thing for me, this lawyer thing. Because, in the end, I'm not so good at making overarching broad-brush recommendations -- what you'd need to do to be a real policy person, even a science or environmental policy person -- and what I *am* good at is taking small, discrete problems, and tackling them in depth. Which is how the environmental litigation I'll be doing is structured. So that is good for me, this is a good fit.

But I find that I still feel divided. Maybe less divided than before (at least the activist and academic parts of myself seem more integrated), but still somewhat divided. I miss creative stuff, I still like creative stuff. I envy people like Dan and his music software job, and people like Wes who can do managey things in the context of his own music projects.

Sometimes I hate being a compulsive generalist.

And I can't figure out how to integrate these parts of myself -- the analytical part and the creative part. I honestly don't think there's a way for me, personally. The fiction I like tends to be more surreal, and fairly apolitical (or, if political, only very indirectly so). Same with the music. And what I write tends to be similar.

No consolidation.

So fuckit, I really do think I'll just have to grow both parts, separately. I need to get back to work on my book, and not get totally distracted by all the interesting legal questions there are in the world. I'm almost ready for this vacation to be over. And that, I think, means that this vacation was good. Because a good vacation, in my mind, is one that makes you feel like you don't need a vacation anymore.