Eugenio's Blog!

If God’s not a Tar Heel, why did She make the sky Carolina Blue?

2006-11-11T23:46:00.000-05:00

I spent last week attending the National Farmworker Law Conference in The Queen City of Charlotte, North Carolina. The week started off horribly when I missed my flight Monday afternoon, but fortunately it ended wonderfully, with a renewed confirmation of my strong loyalty to the South and Southern culture.

The Conference is a great way for advocates to discuss case strategies, legal challenges, and legislative changes. The farmworker panels were incredibly interesting, and it was awesome to hear good people talk about the progressive approaches they’re taking in addressing the needs of their clients. The passion to obtain immigrant justice was clearly apparent from the participants.

The discussions were exciting and motivating, no doubt, but I absolutely fell in love again with the South . . . the sweet tea, the “sirs,” the grits, the genuine concern for my well-being, the calming tone in people’s voices, the 80 degree weather in November—it was all just too great. In addition, it was an unbelievable political week with the elections and the resignation of Secretary Rumsfeld. Like a devout Southerner, I paid homage to the Museum of the New South, which opened in 2001. The exhibits were decent, but surely nothing compared to the Museum of the Confederacy. I'm such a Southern snob.

Despite the nickname of the city, however, I did not see one person in drag. I think this merits a revisiting.

Props to the Smithsonian

2006-10-23T22:46:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows me surely knows that I love museums. For many years, the Imperial War Museum in London enjoyed the title of “Eugenio’s favorite museum.” When I visited Milwaukee back in August 2006, however, I went to America's Black Holocaust Museum there. For the past couple of months, I could not decide which museum was my favorite. Well, I’ve made my decision, and it’s been one of the easiest of my life.

I was in Washington this past week for a couple of conferences, but I had the opportunity to take a break Wednesday to visit the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. The Museum has only been open to the public for the past year or two. The exterior of the building is gorgeous, and it creates a very pleasant change of scenery on the National Mall. In addition, the tour guide at the Museum was phenomenal. The exhibits were incredibly clear and thought provoking. But what put this museum over the edge was the Native Foods café that sold meals inspired by Native cuisines. They were so good I had both lunch and supper there.

Without a doubt, it is my honor to call the National Museum of the American Indian my new favorite museum. I only planned to allot two hours visiting, but I seriously spent six hours there. I think the security guards were suspicious.

Tigers Pride

2006-10-23T22:30:00.000-04:00

Without a doubt, one of the greatest days of the year was this past October 14. I was watching the Detroit Tigers and Oakland A’s baseball game at a bar right around the corner of Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.

So there we were, bottom of the ninth inning. It’s a tie game. Two men out. Runners on first and second. I don’t know what the pitch-count was, but let’s just say it was 3-2. Magglio Ordonez was the batter, who was previously a member of the White Sox [my friends were impressed that I knew that, too.] Anyway, there we were . . . anticipating an extra innings game when Magglio hits a shot to deep left center field . . . homerun! The bar went crazy! I went crazy! Like, crazy. Shouting for at least 10 minutes straight . . . no pun intended.

It was an amazing afternoon. Who knew sports could be so fun? The Tigers are now in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. I’m happy to see two Midwest teams, but surely my loyalty falls to the Tigers. I definitely plan to be in Detroit when the Tigers win it all. Stay tuned for that posting. Go Tigers! Go Bayside!

Video killed the blog

2006-10-10T22:19:00.000-04:00

Up to about last week, I thought blogs were the raddest form of journal-keeping ever. I soon learned through youtube.com, however, that blogs were so 2005. I guess the trend now is videoblogs, and I wish I can say I hated them, but I don’t.

There’s this one videoblog that is absolutely hilarious. Here's the link. Sometimes he crosses the PC line, but other than that, his posts are rather humorous and without a doubt entertaining.

Honor the Genocist

2006-10-02T20:41:00.000-04:00

I learned today that I don't have work next week Monday in observance of Columbus Day. I don't support the holiday, so I need to find some sort of teach-in or rally. Maybe I'll drive down to Columbus. I guess it would be a bit ironic to have an Anti-Columbus Day rally in Columbus, Ohio, but I think it would be smart, too.

This genocist has everything named after him . . . a state capital, a national capital, a country. Wow . . . the power of history.

And I do mean his story.

United we build a wall

2006-09-30T22:35:00.000-04:00

The Senate on Friday night approved the construction of a 700-mile-long wall along the United States/Mexico border.

Tonight I attended a convention entitled, “From North to South: Justice Has No Boundaries” put on by FLOC, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO. The program featured famous author Sandra Cisneros (House on Mango Street) reading excerpts from her works. In one reading, she recalls a worker holding a sign that says, “If you deport me, who will build your wall?”

Great question.

¡Dejeme un comentario, President Clinton!

2006-09-26T21:12:00.000-04:00

By now, the scuffle between President Bill Clinton and FoxNews journalist Chris Wallace has reached every corner of media attention. Thank goodness someone with political power has come forward to address the issue of mass media bias.

I'm sure President Clinton has thought before about media bias, but I can't help but wonder* if his recent uproar was motivated by my recent posting entitled, "The Mass Media: Worse than the Bush Administration."

Props to President Clinton for completely hitting the bullseye when he confronted the subtle, yet powerful, FoxNews right-wing twist. Finally, someone has outed FoxNews and its constant "nice little conservative hit job[s]." Wipe that "little smirk" off your face," Chris Wallace. "You think you're so clever." Great job, President Clinton. Absolutely hilarious.

* I am seriously not wondering if President Clinton reads my blog. I am confident he does not do so. I insert this note, however, because it has been brought to my attention that some readers of this blog take my words literally and not sarcastically. This occurred recently when someone thought I was really conservative when I started blogging, and another person thought I was really experiencing internet technology problems during my 3L year. I should have stated at the beginning of this blog that I appreciate sarcasm (and a little bit of exaggeration, propaganda, and drama) in all forms.

A Master's Degree in Military Science, with a specialization in Coup d'états

2006-09-12T23:31:00.000-04:00

Today at work, I was researching the political situation in The Gambia for an asylum client. I learned a lot about Mr. Yahya Jammeh, the current President of The Gambia. President Jammeh gained power in the country after he staged a July 1994 military coup. Since the coup under President Jammeh’s dictatorship, the constitution of The Gambia has been “suspended,” freedom of speech rights have been severely limited, and major violations to basic human rights have been documented.

You may be asking yourself the same question I asked myself this afternoon: how does one go about staging a military coup? I was devastated when I found the answer.

From September 1993 to January 1994, just six months before the coup in The Gambia, Mr. Jammeh attended military courses at Port McClellan, Alabama. He obtained a diploma in Military Science. He must have done pretty well during his studies, too, because in November 1993, he was appointed an honorary citizen by the State of the Georgia, United States (citation). The field of Military Science claims to be a scientific system that if properly employed, will "greatly enhance the practitioner’s ability to prevail in an armed conflict with any adversary" (citation).

Why the United States uses Port McClellan as a training cell to teach foreign leaders how to violate international law and basic notions of human rights is beyond my comprehension.

The Mass Media: Worse than the Bush Administration

2006-09-08T21:01:00.000-04:00

Yay, Senate. The Senate Intelligence Committee released its report today which states that there is no evidence Saddam Hussein had a relationship with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his al Qa'ida associates. This comes as no surprise to people in the thinking world, but I honesty do commend the Senate for its report in calling out the Bush Administration. Yay, Senate.

Boo, Media. The language in the Committee report seems very clear and conclusive. Take, for example, Conclusion number 7 on page 110 of the Report: "Postwar information supports prewar Intelligence Community assessment that there was no credible information that Iraq was complicit in or had foreknowledge of the September 11 attacks or any other al-Qa'ida strike." I cannot help but think who is worse . . . the Bush Administration or the mass media. In the AP FoxNews story, the journalist states that the Report "undercuts" President Bush's justification, while the BBC story states the Report "weakens" and "undermines" the basis on which the United States entered Iraq. Call it whatever you want, Mr. Mass Media . . . the President underestimated, he misevaluated, blah blah blah . . . HE LIED. Boo, Media.

New anti-immigration film . . . same anti-immigrant hysteria

2006-08-28T20:09:00.000-04:00

As if our dosage of far right-wing media coverage wasn’t enough, Hollywood has decided to infiltrate our movie theaters. The popularity of 911 Cover Up on Google Video is countered by another 9/11 film at the box office. This weekend, the discussion (or really the lecture) of illegal immigration makes its way to our theaters.

I just saw an interview on Lou Dobbs Tonight with the producer of a new documentary that opens soon. The film is entitled “Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration.” According to its producer, the film is an accurate representation of what illegal immigration is doing to the United States. Somehow I doubt the film coverage will be fair, especially when the movie follows a widow whose husband was murdered by an undocumented immigrant. Surely the loss of the husband was “real,” no doubt, but is the person who killed the husband really representative of the undocumented population? I place my good faith in the film’s producer to explore the answer without prejudice.

The film can be viewed in Burbank, California this Thursday. Afterwards, various theaters in Arizona, California, Texas, Washington, and Washington, D.C. will be showing the film.

Welcome back! Pero no te prometo nada.

2006-08-24T20:43:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I know it has been a while since my last post. I had no idea my internet connection has been down for almost a year! I've been blogging all this time, but I thought the "Error: You are not connected to the Internet" pop-ups were just advertisements. I can't believe I lost most of my 3L writings! Rats! I guess there's no written proof that I spent the summer of 2006 studying for the Bar examination . . . except for the gashes in my eyes caused by extreme frustration.

Well, I have started work on my Immigrant Worker and Detainee Advocacy Project. One part of my project will deal with assisting immigrant workers in a variety of legal areas, but most crucially in labor and wage violations. The other part of my project will assist asylum applicants and detained immigrants, which will usually result in defending them in removal (deportation) proceedings. The funds that pay for my fellowship carry no restrictions; neither my host organization nor my fellowship organization receives federal grants. As such, I am free to work with people of all kinds, most notably undocumented immigrants.

I am thinking about restarting my blog, but I cannot in good faith make any promises as to how long this energy will keep. I definitely won't blog everyday, but I have been experiencing hilarious things since I moved to Toledo, and I just have to start keeping a record of all this stuff. It's too good to go undocumented . . .

2005-10-29T16:58:00.000-04:00

Taking a break from interviewing to remember our nation's fallen soldiers :: Arlington National Cemetery, Viriginia.

Undisguised hate

2005-09-30T13:02:00.000-04:00

Former Education Secretary William Bennett recently said that if you wanted to reduce crime in America, "you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down." The title of the linked article above is completely misleading. The remark was not "a crime comment" as the heading suggests. If this is not blatant racist rhetoric, I have no idea what is.

Secretary Bennett is a Fox News contributer.

Freedom for some

2005-09-12T22:56:00.000-04:00

I headed over to the Iowa Memorial Union this evening with a couple of friends to listen to a lecture delivered by Tammy Bruce, a self-identified "openly gay, pro-choice, gun owning, pro-death penalty, voted-for-President Bush progressive feminist."

In her speech, Ms. Bruce labeled all public interest groups and worker unions remnants of Communism. In addition, she said that the only freedom that exists is "financial freedom” – and she urged members of the audience to obtain it.

Despite her praise of U.S. forces overseas and her infatuation with money and material wealth, Ms. Bruce was still rather motivating and very entertaining. Besides the fact that she completely ignored me when I raised my hand, she turned out to be okay . . .

A Tribute to Our Heroes

2005-09-05T21:03:00.000-04:00

I know there is a lot going on with today's news, but I did not see any news broadcast even mention that today is Labor Day.

To all of America's Working heroes, Happy Labor Day.

If you'd like to send a Happy Labor Day e-card, I encourage you to visit the AFL-CIO.

"When a man tells you he got rich through hard work, ask him whose."
Donald Robert Perry Marquis (1878-1937)

For a taste of banana pudding . . .

2005-08-14T01:31:00.000-04:00

I have safely arrived in Iowa City after a couple days of absolute mannerism misery in Chicago. I am seriously going through some Southern with-drawl [pun very much intended].

I left Raleigh bright and early Tuesday morning. To save some cash, I decided to make the trek back to Chicago without an overnight sleep. All in all, it was a lot better than I expected. Time really flies when you’re in the company of Alan Jackson and Brad Paisley.

I was about to break down and cry after paying the tolls on the Chicago Skyway off Interstate 90. It wasn’t because of the tolls themselves, but rather because of the workers at the tolls . . .

While paying tolls on the West Virginia turnpike, I was greeted with fresh smiles, a pleasant “Good Morning, sir, how are you doing?” and a genuine “Where are you off to today, sir?” In Chicago, none of the toll workers even looked me in the eye . . . it was incredibly disheartening. How could people in one part of the country seem to have a genuine concern for me, while some people a mere 600 miles west not even look me in the eye with basic human dignity?

I was so frustrated that today while eating out in Iowa City, I didn’t even bother trying to order sweet tea, black eyed peas, or banana pudding. These things just aren’t here. Wearing my Carolina hoodie all day helped me cope with this displacement feeling, but it is hard . . .

:: This one’s for the girls
Who’ve ever had a broken heart
Who’ve wished upon a shooting star
You’re beautiful the way you are ::

Martina McBride, This One’s For the Girls

to the "white woman in Lillington"

2005-08-03T22:03:00.000-04:00

As some of you may know, I found my summer housemate through Craig's List . . . it has worked out rather nicely. Ever since, I have recommended Craig's List to people looking for friends, apartments, jobs, events, etc.

Someone recently posted the following in the "strictly platonic" section of Raleigh's Craig's List:

"I know many of you are as lonely as I am. I am a white woman in Lillington isolated and lonely. Are you lonely too? Are you a white female too? It doesn't matter because I am the type to likes all races, even Korean, asian and men and woman, old and young."

This woman must be really desperate for friends . . . I mean, even Koreans can apply.

Good grief.

2005-07-31T13:51:00.000-04:00

Enjoying my first visit to an oceanic beach :: Kure Beach, North Carolina.

An Evolutionary Wonder

2005-07-31T13:37:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I headed over to the southeastern coast of North Carolina with my friend, B. B has one of the thickest Southern accents I have encountered here in Raleigh – thicker than mine . . . so thick you can cut it like cake.

Anyway, this Confederacy-hype has cycled out of me, and I have redeveloped an interest in my true passion: carnivorous plants. They are native to a select area of land in Southeastern North Carolina, around the city of Wilmington. I could not leave North Carolina without seeing the Fly Traps in the wild.

As some of you may know, I once owned my very own Venus Fly Trap. I bought it on eBay, and I was determined to raise the first Vegan Venus Fly Trap. I heard that you could feed it peanuts and tofu instead of flies, but I was going a new direction – a strict water diet. And instead of providing a warm humid environment like Southeastern North Carolina, I provided it with a freezing windowsill in Iowa. Needless to say, Venie didn’t last too long. I think about him often, though. I’ve only had two plants that have died on me – Venie, and the one that I fed orange juice.

So I did a bit of research, and it turns out that there is this Carnivorous plant museum and nature trail at Carolina Beach. Dude, I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. So B and I embarked on this one-in-a-lifetime adventure to explore the wonders of evolution in carnivorous plants.

The Museum was actually pretty cool. There was this educational Bill-Nye-type video, cool exhibits, a couple carnivorous plant puppets, and some hands-on displays. It was pretty neat. After the Museum, B and I hit the trail.

I was reminded, at least 20 times with each mosquito bite, that I was not made for the outdoors. I got bit by these giant mosquitoes – like the size of my thumb fingernail. I normally don’t act like a princess (well . . . maybe sometimes), but these mosquitoes were crazy! I don’t mind getting bit on my legs and arms, but when you touch my face, I’m pretty sensitive. I got back to the car, and there were bumps all over my face. I now know why they’re called Venus Fly Traps and not Venus Mosquito Traps.

After the trail, B and I walked over to the Atlantic, the largest body of water I have ever seen. It’s way bigger than Lake Coralville, Iowa. I have visited the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea before, but this was the first ocean, and it was pretty amazing.

Countdown to the Midwest: 10 days.

¡Ingles solamente!

2005-07-29T21:31:00.000-04:00

In Methuen, Massachusetts (population 45,000), an umpire ordered players on a local Little League team to stop speaking Spanish during a state tournament game this week. Read the complete story here.

“It appears the umpire was concerned that the coach or manager may have been using a language other than English . . . to communicate potentially ‘illegal’ instructions to his players,” National Little League spokesman Lance Van Auken said in an e-mail to The Associated Press Friday.

You have got to be kidding me. Isn’t using “code” the whole purpose of the 3^rd base coach, the 1^st base coach, the pitcher, the catcher . . . practically everyone on the baseball diamond? A rub on the chest, a tap on the thigh, a stroke of the arm . . . isn’t this all “using a language other than English?”

Of course, “illegal instructions” can only be given in Spanish. What kind of “illegal instructions” is the guy even talking about? Did he think the player on first base was literally going to steal 2^nd base? Was he going to shoot someone? Did he strip people of their right to unionize? What can be so “illegal” in a game of Little League Baseball? Spare me.

It’s times like this where I am glad I live in a city where issues of racial and ethnic politics are progressive.

Transforming Racial Identity

2005-07-28T20:32:00.000-04:00

Let’s get some things clear. My parents were born in the southern Italian province of Calabria, commonly known as the “toe” of Italy. I was born in Chicago, raised in a very Southern Italian setting in an immigrant working-class community. As a result, I proudly self-identify as Southern Italian American. For reasons to be discussed in a future blog posting, I do not identify as “white.” I do identify as European American.

Last week, I was involved in a minor traffic accident in Raleigh. Some punk rear-ended me and fled. It was not a huge deal by any means – two small scratches on the bumper. The police reported zero fatalities.

Still, I decided to file a police report. People shouldn’t be allowed to hit-and-run whoever they want. I called the police the next day to have them investigate. A police officer interviewed me and the other people in the car.

I received the report today, and I was surprised. There is my name, my driver’s license number, my mailing address, and my sex. No issues for these. However, the checkmark in the next box is what alarmed me. According to the City of Raleigh police officer, my race is “unknown.”

I’d like to make very clear that I am a first-generation American. I do not have to trace very far back to obtain my racial identity. I know my roots. I know who I am. Don’t lie to me. My racial identity is known.

I like Sally

2005-07-28T00:32:00.000-04:00

I have made it back to Raleigh from yet another adventurous trip to Elizabeth City, my home[Elizabeth City]-away-from-home[Raleigh]-away-from-home[Iowa City]-away-from-home[Chicago].

The scary part is that Elizabeth City is about 3.5 hours east of Raleigh. Similarly, Chicago is 3.5 hours east of Iowa City. More so, the word “City” is in both Elizabeth City and Iowa City. Even more scarily, both “Raleigh” and “Chicago” each have seven letters – just like Kennedy, just like Lincoln.

Coincidence? I think . . . yes.

While in Elizabeth City, in addition to saving the world, my office partners and I were trying to figure out the correct words to a popular children’s tongue-twister: Does Sally sell seashells by the seashore? Or does she sell seashells by the seashore?

The Midwesterners in the car, myself included, are convinced it is “Sally.” Everyone else thinks it is “she.” I have already consulted the mastermind of popularity: the google-o-rama hit counter, a device which unarguably should be used as evidence in civil court proceedings. The numbers are usually overwhelming, but in this case, it is very close. For the record, “Sally” got 258 hits, while the generic “she” got 608.

I’m so stressed out over this conundrum.

2005-07-24T20:29:00.000-04:00

With F, honoring the University's unsung founders -- the people of color, bond and free -- who helped build the Carolina that we cherish today :: Chapel Hill.

Cross-cultural exchanges

2005-07-24T20:17:00.000-04:00

This weekend, I was truly blessed to have my one & only sister, F, come visit me here in the land of Magnolia trees and candied yams.

As a welcome-to-Raleigh gift for F, I made her a disc of my 17 favorite Country hits, hoping that she would be excited beyond belief. Normally, it doesn’t take too much for F to get excited – seasons changing is usually enough of a reason for her to start dancing incessantly. A city girl at heart, she lives for the hustle and bustle of urban life.

However, when I presented her with the CD, it was as if she felt personally violated. I think she was petrified -- petrified by the power of country music. Now don’t get me wrong, she probably has good reason to be scared. After all, just a couple of months ago, I was a normal, non-dialectal Midwestern kid. Now I practically need to walk around with a Southern-to-Midwestern interpreter when I need to converse with Yankees. I have no idea how I’m going to survive in Iowa.

Friday night, F and I went to see S perform at an improvisation comedy club. There were a few parts where F got lost in the show, but I think it takes a whole show just to figure out what the heck is going on because everything is so face-paced. It was my third show, and even I got tripped up. When the director of the show asked the audience for an activity someone “hates doing around the house,” I shouted the first thing that came into my head . . . coloring! What can I say? . . . I love reading administrative law treatises around the house, but I absolutely abhor coloring.

After the show, we went out to this, I’ll admit, pretty hip club. The décor was fashionable and modern and the music was . . . pretty decent. There were flat screen televisions throughout the club displaying the videos of the music being played. F and S, hands down, were the hottest girls in the club. After they played a Spanish/Spanglish song, “Oye mi Canto,” [Hear my Song] I was relatively impressed . . . for a non-alternative club.

We were fortunate that we had enough time this weekend to pay a visit to Silent Sam on the UNC campus – the University of Negroes and Communists, at least according to Jesse Helms. F was so energized by my post about Silent Sam that she just had to see him for herself.

F and I bought our first (and probably last) pieces of Carolina gear. I bought a UNC hooded sweatshirt for those arctic summer days around here, and F bought a shirt that says “Carolina girls the best in the world.” The shirt purposely omits the necessary state-of-being verb “are.” I guess this sentence comes from a song, but it doesn’t really matter. For me, the shirt summarizes the interesting dichotomy of Southern race relations. If White people use grammatically incorrect language, it’s considered cultural; if Black people use it, it’s viewed as ill-mannered and ignorant. God bless the South.

Yer in the South now, boy . . . the sequel

2005-07-15T18:57:00.000-04:00

Incident 1. I had a run-in with a farm-owner this week while outreaching to the agricultural camps. The farm-owner was shouting out these ludicrous propositions: “Legal Aid does not have the right to trespass on this property! It is my property! M – Y. My!”

. . . Wow . . . a 2-letter word. Try a harder word, Mr. Farm-owner . . . how about “property?” . . .

Respectfully, of course, we asserted that the workers do have the right to have visitors of their choosing, just as tenants of apartment complexes can have guests in their homes. “The law is very clear on this, sir.” We threw in the “sir” hoping that Southern hospitality would catch on.

It didn’t. “Oh yeah, y’all try me! Now get out of here!” with his thumb pointing out in the direction of the main road.

We weren’t quite sure what he meant by “try me.” Did he want us to invite him to participate in an evening of legal discussion about migrant visitation rights at the local organic coffeehouse? . . . Another lost opportunity.

Incident 2. I’m at the County Department of Social Services office:

“Good Morning, ma’am. May I please get some literature about applying for Medicaid?”

“Medicaid?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Why yes, sir, here you are,” handing me a couple of pamphlets and applications.

“Thank you, ma’am.” I start looking at the materials . . . I was able to understand everything, but it took me a second before the light went on . . .

“Excuse me, ma’am . . . can I get this information in English, please?”

“Oh, I thought you would want it in Spanish, sir.”

What?! Didn’t I ask you in perfect formal Southern American English to obtain information? Why on earth would you assume Spanish?

Thank goodness she ended the sentence with "sir." Otherwise, she would have been just plain rude. Prejudicial and rude is a really bad combination.

2005-07-10T21:35:00.000-04:00

Posing with Silent Sam . . . a Racist Reminder or a Valiant Soldier? :: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The Silent Sam Controversy

2005-07-10T21:02:00.000-04:00

As many of my readers probably know, the University of Illinois has an American Indian mascot, Chief Illiniwek, of which I am firmly against.

This weekend, I visited another university with an arguably similar situation, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . . . I can hear the boos and hisses from Illinois fans.

On my walking tour of UNC, I saw Silent Sam, a confederate war memorial on the north side of the main quadrangle. As legend has it, Silent Sam is protecting the campus from another Yankee invasion should one occur. As Michelle Tanner might say, "See, he's doing a good job."

The North Carolina Chapter of the NAACP has called for the University to knock down the Silent Sam monument arguing it depicts the University’s racist attitude. According to its supporters, however, Silent Sam is a memorial to the 321 University student-soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War as well as to all of the student-soldiers who joined the Confederate Army. Close to Silent Sam sits another memorial, a dedication to the people of color workers who built and maintained the University for 200 years.

For me right now, the Silent Sam controversy is much stickier than the Chief Illiniwek issue. The memorial is part of the school’s history, but the history is inherently racist. For example, Saunders Hall on campus is named in honor of William L. Saunders, leader of the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan. In addition, the University of North Carolina did not start admitting black students until 1955.

Although there are similarities between Silent Sam and Chief Illiniwek, I still haven’t been able to fully develop an opinion about Silent Sam, or Confederate statues in general. I think I’m still in this history-fascination mode where my historical perception blinds my sociological reaction. Hopefully this historical excitement will die down before I leave for the Midwest so I can develop a balanced opinion about Confederate memorabilia and icons.

Thank goodness I have another five weeks in North Carolina.

I welcome comments from Silent Sam supporters and opponents, and everyone in between. Supporters of Chief Illiniwek need not leave comments.

2005-07-08T17:34:00.000-04:00

Remembering the Fallen Carolinian World War II Soldiers :: World War II Memorial, Washington.

Birthdays galore

2005-07-08T17:26:00.000-04:00

I’ve made it back from another four-day visit to Elizabeth City, North Carolina on business, and it looks like I have a little bit of catching up to do.

I headed up to Washington to celebrate our nation’s birthday (and my birthday, and H’s birthday) Fourth of July weekend. The weekend was outstanding, and a few of the highlights are below:

Our birthday meals. H picked this excellent Latin American restaurant in Adams Morgan to celebrate our birthdays. I enjoyed fresh lobster and shrimp along with Cuban black bean soup, courtesy of my wonderful Iowa law friends, and even a friend that H invited. Let us also not forgot the stylish and incredibly sharp shirt D and H gave me. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to start my Washington weekend.

The Spy Museum. H e-mailed me three weeks ago asking if I would be interested in going to the Spy Museum. She claimed she needed to reserve tickets. I must admit, I was a bit surprised. Three weeks to reserve tickets to a museum? I didn’t need to reserve anything for the Museum of the Confederacy, and that’s far more popular, right? Sure enough, the museum was packed and the tickets were sold out. Thank goodness H made reservations – a shout-out to her. D won the prize for being the best spy. She rocked, actually. I came in a close second. Never mind the fact that there were only two of us in the competition.

Dim Sum in Chinatown. H impressed both me and D with her fine cuisine choices. The best part of the meal, without a doubt, was when H said she called the waitress Rudy.

The World War II Memorial. On Sunday afternoon, D, H, and I headed over to the World War II Memorial to take a rest and enjoy the water. Upon arrival, however, we engaged in our normal dramatic selves being entertained by the memorial workers shouting at visitors to remove their feet and hands from the memorial’s water. There was one visitor yelling at the people, too. She was belligerently shouting that the people were all “pigs” who had no respect for our fallen World War II soldiers.

Taxi Cab Driver. One of my taxi cab drivers was singing Kelly Clarkson’s “Behind These Hazel Eyes” . . . out loud. Do I need to elaborate?

Independence Day Parade. People from all around the globe attended this wonderful multi-cultural celebration along Constitution Avenue. Floats of many cultures, including Iowan culture, were represented. Without hesitation, though, Woody Woodpecker was the star of the parade.

Fireworks on the Mall. With the Washington Memorial in the background and the National Symphony Orchestra playing at the Capitol, I witnessed the most beautiful Fourth of July fireworks display that I have ever seen.

Now if anyone is ever so ignorant to unfairly label me as un-American, let us remember that I was the one traveling long and far to celebrate our nation’s 229^th birthday marching alongside the true icon of American Democracy . . . the one, the only . . . Woody Woodpecker.

The Swamp Café

2005-06-23T21:16:00.000-04:00

During the academic school year, I ask myself “Do I really want to be a lawyer?” at least every other week. Reading, briefing, reading, and reading isn’t really my ideal of a great time. However, I greatly enjoyed my experience last summer as well as my clinical semester this past spring. And this week, I fell in love with this summer’s legal adventure.

The managing attorney, an outreach worker, and I visited agricultural and seafood camps in the northeastern part of the state, in and around Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Elizabeth City is about 3 ½ hours east of Raleigh, so we spent Tuesday and Wednesday night in a hotel. Checking into the hotel, the manager-on-duty asked me “Sir, are you traveling for business or pleasure?” For the first time in my life, I was able to say I was traveling on business.

The office received a telephone call from a client saying that some shady dealings were happening at the camp which farms cabbage and potatoes . . . or, as I say now, potatuhs.

A lot of farmworkers throughout the country are undocumented immigrants, who tend to come originally from Mexico. Because of their immigration status, many protections are not applied to them. However, this week in Elizabeth City, I was able to meet a large farmworker population that I never thought existed: farmworkers, camps of them, who are U.S. Citizens.

These workers, who are overwhelmingly African American (I only saw one person who appeared to be European American), work for the same $5.15 an hour as everyone else in the state. I saw one worker who seriously had to be at least 60-years-old. On the other end, I saw workers who were high school students, farmworking for the summer. They’re originally from Atlanta and they needed some school clothes for August, so they decided to join this crew of farmworkers for the summer. The rest of the workers were 20 or 30-something-old men who used to be seriously addicted to alcohol and drugs, but who are in the process of getting clean. Many of them had ordinary working and lower-middle income jobs before farmworking, and a few of them had college degrees. All of the workers understood the inherently racist power structure of the camp by calling their work "modern day slavery."

The living conditions at the agricultural camps, of course, were sub-par, but what encouraged me most about these workers is their dedication to improve it. Because the farm-owner locks the kitchen on the camp, the workers needed to find a way to eat meals. The workers created an eating area outside which was composed of a few upside-down buckets as chairs, a couple of logs for a stove, a tub of ice as a refrigerator, and a sheet of drywall as a table. Overlooking a small pond with mosquitoes and wasps as constant nuisances, the workers appropriately called this eating locale the Swamp Café.

Although $5.15 an hour is not a wage in which most people are proud to earn, the workers were rightfully proud of their accomplishment – they each had the courage to start a new, clean life.

They’re born-again workers and productive members of society. Respectfully, this blog posting is dedicated to those individuals I met in Pasquotank and Perquimans Counties this week.

"Gun shots every night in the ghetto
Crooked cops on sight in the ghetto
Every day is a fight in the ghetto
Oh oh oh oh oh ghetto
Got kids to feed in the ghetto
Selling coke and weed in the ghetto
Every day somebody bleed in the ghetto
Oh oh oh oh oh ghetto"

Akon, Ghetto

2005-06-19T21:57:00.000-04:00

Chatting with President Jefferson Davis about what went wrong :: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia.

1861

2005-06-19T21:37:00.000-04:00

Continuing on this Confederacy craze, I visited the mecca of all meccas this past weekend . . . Raleigh, North Carolina seems like a Yankee fort when compared to . . . Richmond, Virginia.

As y’all know, Richmond served as the capital city of the Confederacy. To keep this history alive, the Museum of the Confederacy was built in 1896. My fraternity brother V and I visited the Museum and the White House of the Confederacy, the residency of President Jefferson Davis. After that, we visited Hollywood Cemetery, “the Arlington of the South.”

According to our White House tour guide, since I visited both the residency and final resting place of President Jefferson Davis, I have the right to identify as an honorary Virginian and a Southerner-in-Training. If I live in the South for 25 years, I get to drop the “in-Training” part.

Start the clock.

Yer in the South now, boy.

2005-06-12T19:35:00.000-04:00

I have finished my first full week of work in Raleigh, and I think it’ll be a worthwhile summer. In this first week, I have come across some interesting things while on the job:

1/ While outreaching to the agricultural labor camps, I came across a sign on a door which read: “Is there life after death? Knock on this door to find out. Solicitors not welcome!” There was also a gun on the sign.

2/ A farm-owner who hires Thai workers called the office and asked, “Does anyone in your office speak Asian?”

3/ A similar farm-owner who hires Thai workers needed to verify the identity of one of his Thai workers. The farm-owner told me that he called the Taiwanese Employment Agency asking for records on the worker. The farm-owner’s hunch was right . . . the Agency didn’t have any records on him [forehead slap].

American generosity

2005-06-07T22:15:00.000-04:00

So this is what you've been reading in the news . . . the United States is oh so generous with its humanitarian aid -- it provides more aid to lesser developed countries than any other developed country. You hear statements such as the following:

1/ Bush announced that the United States will provide $674 million in additional resources to respond to African humanitarian emergencies.

2/ The United States has already provided $1.4 billion to Africa this year through the United Nations and separately pledged $15 billion to fight AIDS in Africa over the next decade.

What the media fails to mention, however, is that from the per capita global perspective, the amount of aid the United States gives to humanitarian missions is nothing short of pathetic.

In general aid to lesser developed countries, the United States per capita falls second to last.

Oh, and in case you think the statistics will improve because Americans were "incredibly generous" opening their wallets to the tsunami relief . . . think again.

In case you don't want to scroll down the list of countries, I'll just tell you where the United States fell: it is 25th on the list -- 1/45th of what the top donor pledged.

2005-06-04T18:18:00.000-04:00

Dedicating a Magnolia Flower to the Fallen Soldiers of the Confederacy :: Confederate Cemetery, Raleigh.

A Mississippi girl don't change her ways

2005-06-02T20:52:00.000-04:00

I've settled in Raleigh, North Carolina after my overnight in Charleston, West Virginia. I start orientation bright and early Friday morning . . . a bit nervous.

The drive from Chicago went by rather quickly. My little brother made me a CD before I left, and it was the only CD that I listened to the whole trip. Sure, I listened to NPR every minute I could, but as for CD music, I only listened to the one my brother made me.

Unfortunately, a part of Iowa lost itself in Charleston Wednesday. I left my gray Iowa Law hooded sweatshirt in the hotel room. I've contacted the hotel staff, but it has not come up. This would usually merit Charleston being placed on the boycott list, but the state’s Appalachian Mountains made the West Virginia travel incredibly enjoyable. I'll decide later . . .

Before I left Iowa City, I decided to cash in a part of my LexisNexis points to download 10 i-tunes. In an effort to assimilate into country culture, seventy percent of my songs are country songs. I will list them below because I encourage y'all to download them – legally, of course.

Celebrity:: Brad Paisley
Little Moments:: Brad Paisley
Mississippi Girl:: Faith Hill
When the Sun Goes Down:: Kenny Chesney
What's a Guy Gotta Do:: Joe Nichols
Suds in the Bucket:: Sara Evans

and my favorite this week . . .

Nothin' to Lose:: Josh Gracin

My roommate has classified these songs as pop-country . . . not like the "blue-grass country" on which she was raised. Regardless, I think, it's a step in the Southern direction.

For the record, I’ve been called “Sir” at least five times each day since I’ve left Chicago – I love this place! I’m considering wearing a hat now just so I can tip it in the presence of a lady.

2005-05-22T10:23:00.000-04:00

Literally along the "border": I'm half in Ciudad Acuna, MX & Del Rio, USA.

Remember the Alamo

2005-05-22T10:16:00.000-04:00

To celebrate the transition into my 3L year, I decided to visit D in Texas for a few days. The trip started off to be an annoyance.

My flight left at 7:00 AM, so I had to wake up pretty early. I drove to Chicago the night before so the commute to Midway airport would only be 20 minutes from my parents’ house. I booked the tickets a couple of months ago, and got an inexpensive fare flying Southwest Airlines. I boarded the airplane under the “B” class, and with Southwest Airlines’ “open seating” policy, I was forced to sit in a middle seat. In addition, the woman in front of me decided to change her cell phone ring while boarding. She literally went through at least 20 rings trying to decide which ring she preferred. It was really annoying. Also, the oldest flight attendant could not have been more than 30 years old. More so, they were all wearing shorts and no ties; they spoke with chewing gum in their mouths. They were rude.

Once I landed in Texas, however, everything drastically improved. I landed in Austin a little past 1 P.M., so D and I had the whole day to visit the city. We started by seeing the state capital. Two massive Texan distinctions jumped out at me: (1) every statue in Texas has a gun or cannon, and (2) the birds in Texas walk more than they fly.

After the capital, we visited the UT campus, walking endlessly. Throughout the journey, I was showing my UT pride by randomly displaying the long-horn finger sign thingie to students. I bought a t-shirt at the Co-op, and as a result, I now proudly identity as part Long-horn. I plan on organizing a day at the law school next term where all Longhorns can wear a UT shirt.

We visited San Antonio on the ride from Austin to Del Rio. We stopped at the Alamo (most impressive), and walked along the River Walk (totally bunk). Maybe my River Walk experience would have been better if it were night.

I visited two border-towns in Texas: Del Rio and Eagle Pass, and their Mexican border cities, Ciudad Acuña and Piedras Negras, respectively. These are considered the safer border-towns. Sure, there were some shady characters, but you’ll find shadiness everywhere. I was able to practice my Spanish, eat phenomenal Mexican cuisine, and speak with border control officers. As much as I wanted to identify as a “Citizen of the World,” I bit my tongue and identified as a “U.S. Citizen” instead.

All in all, this trip was one of the best get-a-ways I have had in a very long time. It was an outstanding historical and cultural experience, and I am grateful to D and her family for providing me with such an enjoyable visit.

As with any trip that I take, there was drama – major drama. Going through security at the Austin International Airport while leaving Texas for Chicago, security forces stopped for 20 minutes because of a suspicious object in my carry-on backpack. The officers discussed for 15 minutes what they should do with my backpack. They ran it through the machine at least half a dozen times. To speed along the process (the incident was stopping security inspection in my lane), I told the officers “I give you permission to open my bag.” I understand that the officers have the right and duty to inspect my carry-on bag, but I said it to speed things up. At that moment, the inspectors and their boss laughed as if they were at a college bar, sarcastically and obnoxiously saying, “Well thank goodness you give us permission!” I felt completely embarrassed, while their lack of professionalism made me rather furious.

During the hand-inspection of my bag, they found the troubled object . . . my [sharp, deadly, unsafe] silver Westlaw thermos filled with coffee.

After I passed inspection, I went to the administrative desk and asked for an FTA comment card. The supervisor on duty asked me if I would like to speak with the main FTA supervisor. I met with him, and I shared with him my outrage. He seemed semi-sympathetic, but more apathetic than sympathetic . . . I think I’ll write a letter, too.

Thank goodness for ABC Family & Nick at Nite.

2005-05-11T11:46:00.000-04:00

The front page of the Arts section in the Daily Iowan today gives honor to one of the greatest television shows of the 20th century – you know what I’m talking about . . . Full House.

Just when I’m getting ready to leave Iowa City for the summer, I finally encounter someone who understands the value of this sitcom – someone who understands and appreciates moral integrity and witty dialogue.

So why did Full House become the sitcom to shape our generation? Well, it’s really a host of issues according to a UI professor in communication studies. The professor thinks the fractured family situation, which was a popular issue in the late 80s, helped lead Full House to intergalactic fame. In addition, Full House showed society that women were unnecessary in raising a family. I personally think this second reason is a little trashy. I mean, who taught D.J. to put on make-up? Aunt Becky. And who cleared up that whole situation when the guys told D.J. the ugly duckling story? Aunt Becky. Now if Uncle Jesse had a boyfriend, then I see the point more clearly.

Please note that the writer never once mentions Nicky or Alex Katsopolis. Also note that the photo of the Full House cast includes all the good actors and actresses – those two scoundrels have been purposely left behind, as they should be. Props to the Daily Iowan.

2005-05-01T14:57:00.000-04:00

May 1: International Workers Day.

what a joker

2005-04-23T09:46:00.000-04:00

Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi said the government's new platform would focus on aiding Italy's underdeveloped south.

Berlusconi was born into an upper middle-class family in Milan in 1936. My friend L and I were discussing earlier this week that those who identify as coming from an "upper middle-class family" were simply born RICH.

As it turns out, of course, Berlusconi is the richest man in Italy -- & trust me, he doesn't care about the terrones. Tell me, how can he aid Italy's underdeveloped south when he supports Lega Nord, a political party advocating for northern Italian freedom whose members preach that Southern Italians are lazy and criminals?

At least he speaks Italian . . .

2005-04-19T17:33:00.000-04:00

Quote of the semester below! I know I write up a lot of propaganda, but this is for REAL:

"Membership in the Hitler Youth doesn't disqualify someone from being pope." FoxNews Source

illiterate lawmakers

2005-04-12T21:26:00.000-04:00

Through the Associated Press, CNN.com reports that West Virginian lawmakers have made English the official language of the state without proper awareness: "The language amendment was quietly inserted into a bill addressing the number of members that cities can appoint to boards of parks and recreation."

However, the amendment clearly states that "English shall be the official language of the State of West Virginia."

Now tell me, what is so QUIET about this? This is clear as day. Did the lawmakers even read the proposed law?

Maybe once the AP reporter gets around to it, he'll notice another "hidden" provision: Those who speak English with a foreign accent [domestic accents are encouraged] will be stoned. W. Va. Code Section 4942.1(b) (2005).
.

My sports page

2005-04-03T14:17:00.000-04:00

Word on the street is that there’s an important basketball game Monday night. I wonder if that’s why Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was on the Full House episode Saturday. Holla if you hear me.

My main credit card is a University of Illinois Alumni Association card with a huge orange “I” and Illinois written across it in blue. The Illini Union is in the background. No worries – there's no “Chief” or “Chief” logo.

I get stares all the time in Iowa City when I present this credit card. I often get “wrong school” or “I can’t accept this” or “I’d prefer cash instead.” Sure, it's all in good humor, but I think this game Monday night is a pretty big deal. If Illinois beats North Carolina, I have to get a new credit card for the summer -- there's no way around it. This does not mean, however, I support North Carolina.

I'll support Illinois, contingent upon the Chief being retired at the May Board of Trustees meeting.

1, 2, 3, 4 . . . we don't want your "Chief" no more!
5, 6, 7, 8 . . . racial mascots create hate!

Summer place in Raleigh . . . [check]

2005-03-27T22:45:00.000-05:00

I know . . . I have been away from the blogging world for quite some time. Clinic has been occupying a pretty decent part of my life, and this Spanish class isn’t exactly a stroll en el parque.

Thank you, y’all, for your genuine concerns about my health. Luckily, my post on February 20 wasn’t my final farewell. I am fortunate the killers have not yet found me. Although I have not received another death threat, this does not mean I am in the clear. Nicky and Alex Katsopolis [NAK] were immediately added to the suspect list because of D’s investigation. BTK has been removed from the list. To this day, NAK are alive and well, and they may blame me for their downfall. As a result, I am still taking extra precautions. The threat level is between elevated and serious, though not quite severe . . . yet.

I have found a place to live for the summer, and I have decided to take the true Southern route. I placed a posting on Craig’s List about a month ago and received a bunch of responses immediately. Some of the places were really expensive (like 1000 bones a month); some were outside the city; some needed me out by August 1 because their leases ended the beginning of August. After a month of searching frantically, I have finalized my plans tonight. I am living (in sin) with a 50-something-old North Carolinian woman. Adventurous, I know. I spoke with her tonight on the telephone for the first time, and she has the most adorable accent. The location is perfect, the price is right (I heart Plinko), and the experience is unique -- I couldn't pass it up.

I wonder, though, if she’s ever been to Belgium . . .

My final farewell

2005-02-20T18:39:00.000-05:00

Earlier this afternoon, I have fell victim yet again to another heinous crime . . . this time, I am scared to report a case of attempted murder. Who would want to harm me, you ask? I am an innocent, caring, and genuine individual. My rationale is that some people in this world are simply full of hate, anger, and greed.

Before you roll your eyes asking yourself if this is just another one of Gene’s dramatic ploys, please rest assured . . . it could be real.

At approximately 3:13 P.M. C.D.T. this afternoon, someone with an IP address from Belgium searched under the Yahoo! search engine the following: “how to kill eugenio.” If you do not believe me, please check for yourself.

Franticly, numerous agencies were running through my head trying to decide who to call first – the FBI? The Iowa City Police Department? The EU? The UN? My ma? Condoleezza Rice?

And then it hit me: stop wasting your time with these bureaucratic agencies . . . this looks like a job for the Ghostwriter team.

I have created a suspect list and reasons why they exist on such list:

1. My Spanish Professor.

Reason: He knows he has 2.5 strikes against him. In addition, he mentioned nothing about taking a European vacation this past weekend. If he was smart, though, would he? He’s so sneaky . . .

2. BTK.

Reason: He knows I’m his biggest fan, and he is looking for fresh meat. Also, D told me that he could be in Europe.

3. The people who stole my identity in November 2004.

Reason: They know I reported the crime to the proper authorities and may be capitalizing on the incident being a Qwest spokesperson. Revenge is always a leading motive.

4. Wal-Mart Corporate Executives.

Reason: Do you know any other individuals who are fuller [yes, that’s a word] of hate, anger, and greed?

If you know anything about this or related incidents, please speak up before it’s too late.

Illinois at Iowa

2005-02-20T11:02:00.000-05:00

Saturday my roommate (K) and I attended our first Iowa basketball game. Iowa was playing the number 1 ranked team, Illinois. According to K, I should be rooting for Illinois since I “attended undergraduate there,” while here I’m just “studying.” Fair argument, I suppose, but given the choice, my loyalty cannot lie with a team whose mascot is a racial caricature from the 1920s.

The game was surprisingly very fun. We sat next to a bunch of guys who were in their young 20s. They were vocal: whining and cursing at every foul called against Iowa and complaining that Illinois fouled Iowa when Iowa could not make a basket (I think it’s called a “turnover.”) Iowa gave Illinois a good ride, but we ended up short . . . short by 11, but a close 11.

In other news, I am on the verge on falling out with my Spanish professor. He is really pushing my buttons. Strike one: he told me to calm down when I notified him I was missing a class. Strike two: he accused me and another person in the class of copying homework assignments. Strike two and a half: he keeps making lawyer jokes at the beginning of class; I can handle one day of lawyer jokes, but he said them last Wednesday and Friday. I’ll give him π-value number of strikes; after that – ¡nuestra relación va a terminar!

“I'm not being too dramatic; it's just how I gotta have it.”
Ciara feat. T.I., Goodies [remix]
.

2005-02-05T19:50:00.000-05:00

Endorsement: Hotel Rwanda (2004).

BTK on the loose

2005-02-04T17:43:00.000-05:00

Okay, we all know how much the mass media tries to scare people.

Over the summer in Ohio, I remember watching some news program . . . 20/20, Dateline, lo que sea. They were covering the Wichita, Kansas unsolved murders committed by the infamous BTK, which stands for the technique he used [uses? . . . [gasp]] on his victims . . . bind, torture, kill.

It was the only night where I was seriously scared for my life in Ohio. Regardless of the fact that Kansas and Ohio are states apart, and Fremont, Ohio would probably be the last place on earth BTK would want to visit, I was still scared for my life.

Well, He's baaaaack, and no, not in a Michael-Jordan sorta way.

Me, spokesmodel.

2005-02-01T20:40:00.000-05:00

I was contacted today by a representative of Qwest Communications asking me to be “an identity theft spokesperson.”

The details are still in the work, and I feel horrible capitalizing on this incident . . . but whatever pays the loans, right?

I’m not overly confident it will work out. The representative didn’t even know I was in school. Did she even read the article? Is this person even real? Did she discreetly steal my identity over the telephone?

If you’re interested in being an identity theft spokesperson, please e-mail jlkjdskj809832@hkjds9823.com along with your complete name, social security number, mother’s maiden name, credit card number, and law school G.P.A. For every person I recruit to be a spokesperson, I earn five points. With 10,000 points, I get a duffle bag.

another inch of fame

2005-01-24T13:24:00.000-05:00

Fear! Be afraid!

Eugenio 101

2005-01-16T00:26:00.000-05:00

The long anticipated post . . . 101 things about yours truly. I'll post a real update soon, seriously.

1. I believe Nicky & Alex Katsopolis ruined Full House.
2. I want to be thirty, flirty, and thriving . . . someday.
3. I proudly identify as Southern Italian American.
4. I have visited the following foreign countries: Italy, Canada, France, Spain, England, and Vatican City.
5. Next on my list are Ecuador, Chile, and Russia.
6. I have never been to California or New York.
7. I went to Panama City Beach, Florida one spring break with my fraternity brothers. MTV portrays College Spring Break to be nothing but sex, alcohol, and drugs. From my experience, MTV portrays more of the truth than any other news source.
8. If I were to ever become fully vegetarian, I would do it for health reasons, not animal rights.
9. Upon graduating from law school, I will be six digits in debt.
10. My philosophy is to first follow your heart, then your checkbook.
11. Maybe I should have become a teacher. Maybe.
12. When I was younger (age 8 or so), I would pretend I was a teacher. I put the names of my real classmates in a notebook I called the gradebook. The people I liked got As; the people who made fun of me flunked. Pretend revenge satisfied me.
13. I believe life exists somewhere outside earth.
14. I have been identified as a friend “cycler.”
15. I like girls with spunk.
16. I’m not a big fan of children.
17. My mother is a phenomenal cook. One of my favorite meals is rice soup.
18. Korean is my favorite Asian cuisine. Japanese is a very close second.
19. I was denied admissions to my first choice in high school, undergraduate school, and law school.
20. I have been a victim of identity theft.
21. I enjoy watching television with closed captioning.
22. Every morning, I have a latte, a bowl of cereal, and a multivitamin. On my walk to the law school, I eat a banana. Every morning is the same.
23. The only time that I ever really got mad at my current roommate was when she forgot to bring home a gallon of milk after work, so there was no way for me to have a latte in the morning. You can’t have a latte without milk.
24. I’ve been on this soymilk kick since last semester.
25. If I had to describe Chicago in one word, it would be “stressful.”
26. I am excited to live in Raleigh for the summer.
27. I have only lived in the Midwest and Europe.
28. I enjoy listening to religious and political right-wing commentary.
29. I used to make fun of people who listened to talk radio. I now listen to talk radio.
30. I think it’s a bit ignorant when people won’t give sushi a shot.
31. I think it’s a lot ignorant when people support racist American Indian caricatures as entertainment for the general public.
32. All of my family members should have advanced degrees in dramatics.
33. I was in the Chemistry and Physics Clubs during high school.
34. I was also in the Math Competition League.
35. Don’t worry – I was also Editor in Chief of the high school literary magazine.
36. I was deathly afraid of gay people in high school.
37. My favorite number is 6.
38. I don’t believe in superstition.
39. Baseball, football, and figure skating are my favorite sports.
40. I used to work at Comiskey Park [White Sox Park] and the United Center.
41. The first concert I ever worked was Dave Mathews Band.
42. The first concert I ever attended by my own will [not working] was Destiny’s Child.
43. I really enjoyed working Women of Faith concerts when they came to United Center. Like really enjoyed.
44. I refuse to recognize “U.S. Cellular Field.” It’s either Comiskey or White Sox Park.
45. If a server is rude to me or my guest at a restaurant, I usually won’t complain, but that restaurant is placed on “the list.” I boycott, vehemently, all restaurants on the list.
46. Not saying goodbye to me or my guest when leaving a restaurant is a sure-fire way of getting on the list.
47. I’m generally happy with my body weight, but I would like to develop my abdominal muscles.
48. I used to hate being short. I’m pretty much over it now.
49. I first coined December 27, 2001 to be the “worst day ever.” A friend and I went to Europe, and we did not sleep at all on the flight. We got lost on the metro, our hostel was crappy, but then we walked to the Eiffel Tower for the first time at dusk. It was amazing. If only all worst-day-evers could be this great . . .
50. I’m not a big fan of New Years Eve or the 4th of July.
51. I like fireworks, though.
52. I like finding typographical errors in media print.
53. I am utterly horrible at pop culture trivia.
54. I believe in a free Palestinian state.
55. I identify, architecturally, as a post-modernist.
56. I have only been to a casino once, and I felt depressed looking around to see people throwing away their savings.
57. I’m not above bribes.
58. I’m a slow eater.
59. My remote control is programmed to the FoxNews Channel to be “favorite.”
60. GSN is a close second.
61. My favorite game shows are Jeopardy!, Match Game, and Card Sharks.
62. My favorite cereals are Corn Flakes, Honey Nut Cherrios, and Apple Jacks.
63. I have been addicted to both McDonald’s and NyQuil.
64. I believe one of the greatest inventions of all time is the urinal.
65. I have never smoked marijuana.
66. I prefer my mocha frappuccino without whip cream.
67. I hate it when people curse.
68. I wore contact lenses everyday in high school.
69. Once I started undergrad, I became more of an eyeglasses person.
70. I can eat breakfast foods all day long.
71. Toast? Wheat. Eggs? Over hard.
72. I have two older brothers, one older sister, and a younger brother.
73. I used to have self-ethnic identity issues growing up.
74. In grade school, I was mistaken for Mexican American quite often.
75. In high school, I was often called Indian American.
76. In college, I was thought to be Ethiopian American by many.
77. If I stand for any political movement or philosophy, I stand for nonviolence above all.
78. I like maps. I can name all 50 states and capitals.
79. I want to own a coffeehouse one day.
80. If I could redo my college course selection over again to better prepare me for law school, I would take a couple economics and philosophy classes. I’m not sure what I would give up.
81. This may sound hackneyed, but seriously, money is not that important to me.
82. I like house plants.
83. I bought a Venus Fly Trap on EBay once. It died within one week.
84. I have said, and of course seriously meant, “I will never drink again” at least three times from memory. There may be more times.
85. I attended private primary and secondary schools in Chicago.
86. I cried at my 8th grade graduation. I thought I would get beat up in high school because of my small stature.
87. I have never been in a fist-fight.
88. I have never been beaten up – except by my little brother.
89. I don’t believe whatever people tell me. I question myself half the time.
90. My favorite museum is the Imperial War Museum, London.
91. I am fascinated by postage stamps.
92. The hardest academic class of my life is a toss-up between AP Calculus and Constitutional Law I.
93. I have visited the Musee de La Poste (French Postal Museum) in Paris.
94. I believe you will get a lot farther in life if you end more of your sentences with “sir” and “ma’am.”
95. I didn’t have many friends in high school. Not many at all.
96. I have never gotten a manicure. I want one.
97. I ate at a tapas bar everyday my semester abroad in Barcelona. My host family owned it.
98. I attended a bull fight in Barcelona. I enjoyed the first couple of killings. After that, it was gross.
99. I hate eating alone.
100. I would rather have high speed internet connection than cable television.
101. I can’t believe I stayed in on a Saturday night to finish this list. Actually, I can.

Off to the Confederacy!

2004-12-19T10:54:00.000-05:00

The longest semester of my life has joyfully come to a halt.

The semester started with a bang – getting to Iowa City a week before class to help with 1L Orientation and to write a ten-page paper for Journal. On the bright side, I had my last final Saturday morning, and I feel that I just lost twenty pounds of stress. [Aside: Can you weigh stress?]

So, where do I begin to update you? Let’s see . . .

My 97-year-old grandfather passed December 9, so I headed back to Chicago for the services in between finals. Gratefully, the law school was very accommodating to fit my final schedule needs. The services were as good as services can be, I guess.

[A moment of silence for Nonno Mariano.]

I have been victim no. 8,327,387,398,439 of credit card identity theft. I don’t want to advertise for the internet address that corruptly stole $1,000 from me, but let’s say that it’s a gambling website. I was really surprised when I checked my statement on-line, but the bank has reimbursed me all my funds.

I stole two people’s drinks at the Starbucks counter. After H and I said “Gosh, these lattes taste horrible,” a Starbucks person came up to us and said, “Yeah, those aren’t your drinks.” Completely embarrassing. Oh well, it happens.

This was the same night as the infamous political spectrum diagram that I devised, which has later been called the “Why-is-Gene-such-a-political-radical-and-why-is-he-my-friend? Chart.” D was pretty excited about it, and I think it will soon become part of the public domain. Looks like I’m never running for office . . . except maybe in the U.S.S.R.

I went to the Amana Colonies in Amana, Iowa Saturday after the final with my roommate. We ate at this old school authentic German restaurant and sampled a large selection of local wines. After, I accompanied a friend to her work Christmas party at a restaurant downtown. I sat across the most annoying person in the world. I don’t think anyone has ever annoyed me this much – he slurped (not rolled in a fork) his fettuccini alfredo. I was disgusted.

What else . . .

Oh yeah . . . I have recently accepted my summer position! As fate has it, I have chosen to work at a place that will pay the least out of all my offers. I will be working for the Farmworker Unit of Legal Aid of North Carolina in Raleigh! The program fits all of my main desires: (1) Labor connection, (2) Immigration connection, and (3) Spanish-speaking clients. Similar to a priest calling, I have been asked to take vows of poverty and celibacy. I start the first week of June and will be there for ten weeks. I expect regular weekend visits.

I’ll write more over break, hopefully . . . have a safe holiday!

changing the language & world

2004-12-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

Recall an earlier posting of mine [dated October 6] where I was outraged that Merriam-Webster did not recognize the word “blog.” Back then I said, "When is the English Language committee going to get off its bottom & do something about this? It’s almost 2005, people!"

Well, the English Language committee has responded to my concern.

Because of my mobilization efforts, I am proud to inform my readers that the word “blog,” which less than two months ago had no formal language recognition according to Merriam-Webster, is now the 2004 #1 Word of the Year!

"Nobody says you have to be gangstas, hoes
Read more, learn more, change the globe
Ghetto children, do your thing
Hold your head up, little man, you're a king."

Nas, "I Can"

Spare me your flowery rhetoric

2004-12-02T10:38:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, two federal judges negated the Solomon Amendment. The Solomon Amendment denied colleges federal money if they refused to allow military recruiters on campus because of the military’s discrimination against openly gay individuals.

What’s the FOXNews twist, you ask? Our hero, Bill O’Reilly, is claiming that these “activist” judges are “anti-military.” Next week, I project that the term will be “anti-American,” to be quickly followed by “pinkie-Benedict-Arnolds-who-harbor-terrorists-and-threaten-our-freedom.”

There are some hilarious remarks in O’Reilly’s interpretation:

(1) According to O’Reilly, the Appellate Court opinion contains “a whole bunch of legal mumbo jumbo.” “LEGAL MUMBO JUMBO?!” I will be sure to use that precise language on a couple of final exams next week. “Eh . . . who really cares about Brown v. Board of Education . . . it’s really just a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo.” I think that is a surefire way of giving any law professor a heart attack on the spot.

(2) According to O’Reilly, “logic will dictate.” It’s completely logical to openly discriminate against diverse sexual orientations. Why would be need to be concerned about established law or people? . . . we’ll just rely on our “logic.” Of course, it’s so simple.

(3) According to O’Reilly, “[t]his revenge of the gay lobby is hurting the country which is in the middle of World War III as we all know.” We’re in World War III? Dude, I know I have been busy with school and everything, but I did not know this. What classifies the state of the world as WWIII? Is it the fact that the United States is destroying lesser-developed countries on many international fronts? Using this logic, and “logic will dictate” [see (2)], the United States has been in WWIII since, I don’t know, the 40s?

(4) This overruling of the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is “not only a shame, it's dangerous.” And what’s the result of distorted journalism with a side effect of fear and panic? President Bush for another four years.

And that’s the memo.

2004-11-20T20:46:00.000-05:00

Big Ten [co] CHAMPIONS!

psych!

2004-11-19T14:57:00.000-05:00

The big news at the University of Iowa is the recent vandalism that took place last week at one of our research lab buildings on campus. I do not condone these acts of protest.

The Daily Iowan reports, “An extremist animal-rights group known as the Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility Thursday for the weekend vandalism of Spence Laboratories, including the destruction of animal laboratories and freeing of approximately 400 rats and mice from what it called the UI’s 'chamber of hell.'"

Now bear with me . . .

An extremist Christian group known as the United States claimed responsibility for a decade of destruction of Iraq, including the loss of 14,453 civilian lives and creating more violence, poverty, and chaos from what it called an “Axis of Evil.”

We report. You decipher.

In all honesty, I should make clear that I do not support the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq.

And, basically, the point of this posting was to link to Iraq Body Count.

Déjà Vu

2004-11-18T09:55:00.000-05:00

It starts all over again.

FOXNews.com reports, "The United States has intelligence indicating Iran is trying to fit missiles to carry nuclear weapons."

Hmmm . . . where have I heard this one before? Don't blame me -- you elected him [Him?].

Full House Reference # 832493

2004-11-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

Have you all heard about the image of the Virgin Mary found in a grilled cheese sandwich? Well, it's back on ebay! Read about it here.

I did an ebay search for "Virgin Mary Cheese" & I came up with 236 items. People have made kits and tshirts about this thing. My personal favorite item (no surprise) is linked below.

Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen in Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Euros . . . the people, not the currency.

2004-11-17T13:44:00.000-05:00

So I’m searching around the T-Mobile website to find an attachment for my telephone that will give me hands-off access while driving.

I used to be fearful of driving while talking on my cell phone, but I have mastered the skill, at least in Iowa City. I’m still fearful on doing it in Chicago – there’s simply more things to hit there.

Anyway, so I’m searching and searching and searching, and I come across the international long distance page with like 932 pop-up advertisements saying “T-Mobile has expanded to international plans – click here to sign up!” [Okay, so it was like 1 – but equally annoying.]

So I go to the page to see the rates, and I was absolutely stunned.

The cheapest rates ($.99 a minute) are for calls to the following places:

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City

Does anything strike you fishy about the locations of all places? Yes, all thirty locations are in Europe!

The second-rate countries ($1.49 a minute) are more of less developed countries (some of which are in Europe, but Eastern Europe) . . . and if you stroll down the list to the highest rates ($4.99 a minute), you will find only Arab, African, formerly Communist, and Latin American countries.

Moral of the my study: If you have your choice between European friends, and let’s say Asian friends, a simple Coase theorem cost-benefit analysis tells you to go directly for the European friends, and that’s what I learn in law school.

Only in America

2004-11-16T13:20:00.000-05:00

(1) A high school senior in New Hampshire wants to pose with his shotgun in his high school yearbook, but the school board has refused. The school board, however, says it will allow "other elements of skeet and trap shooting" in the yearbook. Skeet and trap shooting? What does that mean? Is a white hood with a noose permissible? CBS News Source.

(2) In other news, Hardee's has debuted with a 1,420 calorie Monster Burger. It has "two 1/3-pound slabs [I hate that word -- couldn't they have said "cuts" or "patties"] of Angus beef, four strips of bacon, three slices of cheese and mayonnaise on a buttered sesame seed bun." Do you think they offer a vegetarian-alternative Monster burger? FOXNews Source.

In regards to (1), I know [now that I've looked it up] that skeet and trap shooting refers to throwing those clay targets in such a way as to simulate the angles of bird flights, but leftist propaganda makes for a much more interesting read. Don't you agree?

Compliment of the year

2004-11-11T22:43:00.000-05:00

"Te comento mi impresión de que la calidad y la naturalidad de tu español son muy altas. Creo que podrías estar apto para otra clase mía más avanzada."

I received this e-mail from a Spanish professor at the main campus after sending a few e-mails back and forth. I was planning on taking Advanced Conversation & Composition, but maybe higher . . .

Who cares about the law? . . . maybe I should enroll in a Spanish program.

2004-11-11T20:05:00.000-05:00

Palestinian Boy

We are all Palestinian.

2004-11-11T18:40:00.000-05:00

I came across this website the other day, www.thoseshirts.com. The site sells outrageously hilarious gear. I have narrowed it down to three shirts that I just find absolutely uproarious.

This is the first one.

This is the second one.

This is the third one.

The third one upsets me because someone had to put [some] thought into making the t-shirt. It’s not like shirt #1 or shirt #2 in the sense that the person who thought of the idea picked something random out of the air and decided to stamp it on a shirt.

T-shirt #3 required some thought, collaboration, and a grade 5 U.S. History textbook. Conveniently, the t-shirt avoids mentioning other U.S. interventionist marks in the “World Freedom Tour.” I wonder why this is. For printing costs reasons – I am sure – the following countries didn’t make the Tour list:

1948 Costa Rica
1954 Guatemala
1954 Korea
1961 Ecuador
1962 Brazil
1963 Guatemala
1964 Nicaragua
1965 Dominican Republican
1967 Bolivia
1960s & 1970s Vietnam
1973 Chile
1980s Nicaragua
1980s El Salvador
1998 Sudan

Those are just a few off the top of my head, mainly focused on major
interventionist agendas in Latin America. To look at United States military
interventionist efforts in Africa [of which I am totally ignorant], please see here.

“Whoever stands by a just cause cannot possibly be called a terrorist.”
Yassar Arafat, 1929 – 2004

Salute!

2004-11-10T13:35:00.000-05:00

The United Health Foundation released a study on Monday about America's health. Read about it here.

In the study, it ranks states on a number of categories, including disease and death rates, insurance coverage, obesity, and public health spending. Iowa ranks 11th.

The least healthy states are as follows:

50. Louisiana
49. Mississippi
48. Tennessee
47. South Carolina
46. Arkansas
45. Georgia
44. Alabama
43. West Virginia
42. Florida
41. North Carolina

What do all these states have in common? Yes, they were all either border states or members of the Confederacy. More so, they are fell to Bush in the 2004 election.

Eight of the ten most healthy states went to Kerry. Utah (#5) and North Dakota (#7) both fell to Bush.

Analysis: Remember, you're free.

"Another example would be the Dred Scott case, which is where judges, years ago, said that the Constitution allowed slavery because of personal property rights. That's a personal opinion. That's not what the Constitution says. The Constitution of the United States says we're all — you know, it doesn't say that. It doesn't speak to the equality of America."

George W. Bush, second presidential debate, St. Louis, Missouri, October 8, 2004

Let's get ignorant, let's get hectic

2004-11-06T12:06:00.000-05:00

Last night, a few of us went up to Cedar Falls for the Black Eyed Peas concert.

I was interviewed by a local reporter, who said my quotation will be in the Waterloo paper on Sunday. I'll be sure to provide the link as soon as I am made aware of it.

The concert was decent. We had floor tickets, which was nice. There were enough middle school and high school kids there for people to avoid pushing and overcrowding to an uncomfortable level.

Two things in particular that I didn't like about the concert: (1) too much cursing. Seriously, the band should know that 25% of the audience [at least] is under the age of 18. The most common curse word was the s word, but the f and m-f words were also uttered at least a dozen times. (2) in the middle of the performance, they asked about the election and said that no matter who you voted for, we need to unite behind this one president. After all, we're all American, and we cannot stand divided. It just seemed a little too nationalistic for me.

Of course, I should probably be that last person to talk.

(1) During intermission, L and I decided to salute the flag of the United States and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, shouting the "under God" part.

(2) While the crowd was shouting "Black Eyed Peas! Black Eyed Peas! Black Eyed Peas!" for an encore, L and I were shouting "Four More Years! Four More Years! Four More Years!" Despite the dirty looks, it was hilarious.

Iowa Shame

2004-11-05T14:54:00.000-05:00

The final numbers for Iowa are in from the election, according to CNN. They are posted below. Thank goodness I still retain my Illinois drivers license . . . [oh, but for car insurance rates -- I'll gladly claim Iowa residence] . . . see M., I'm a capitalist at heart.

Bush
745,980

Kerry
732,764

Read here to learn the truth

2004-11-04T11:16:00.000-05:00

I just recently tried to post a comment to A.'s recent post concerning the struggle for national unity between people who identify as "left" and "right." I have tried posting to the site twice, and I still do not see my comment posted. Is this part of the conspiracy on which my comment originally commented? Perhaps . . . I have pasted my comment below:

* * *

Caution! Reading below will force you to become cognizant of the TRUTH! It will forever change your daily interactions with all members of society. Read on to learn the fair and balanced REALITY of our human race.

I don't think liberals feel free to criticize openly. FOXNews would definitely want you to believe that, but all mass media [yes, including CNN] is disgustingly right wing. The problem is that some left wing people are too direct and blunt with their opinions. We preach how laws and policies affect people – not “corporations” or “agencies,” which are nonhuman entities that are afforded more rights under our legal system than people. That is assuming, of course, you label immigrants, the formally uneducated, and the working class as “people.”

Right wing people don't care if they're shunned from the leftist community because underneath their breath, they hate all working class people and ideals. They strive to be part of the elite class, slaving and consuming away in high aspiration to obtain what our society deems so perfect – material wealth and superficial “influence.” To combat this mass right wing agenda, left-minded people must create alternative forms of independent media, i.e. blogs, personal casual interaction, and grassroots organization dialogue.

I mean, seriously -- 88% of Mississippi recently said that gays should not be afforded any legal rights in a committed relationship. What you don’t hear is that the other 12% called for the immediate death penalty for gays.

IO - - - WHAT?!

2004-11-03T01:09:00.000-05:00

Taken from CNN.com at 1:03 AM:

Broken machines and a delay in opening absentee ballots will delay Iowa reporting its final count in the presidential election, state election officials said.

It's late . . . I'm tired . . . I'm cranky . . . and now our state is going to have the worst reputation. FOXNews is calling this delay in opening absentee ballots "fatigue." Gosh, didn't our people have four years to rest? Moreover, couldn't we have checked the machines before Election Day?!

off with the king!

2004-11-02T13:30:00.000-05:00

So last night, I grabbed a copy of the Daily Iowan [my roommate would be utterly disappointed as she works for the Press-Citizen] and made my electoral predictions.

If math serves me correctly, I calculated that Kerry will receive 282 votes. I have the Democratic states to be as follows:

1) All the Northeast / MidAtlantic & New England States, with the bottom border being Maryland & Delaware.

2) Florida.

3) A decent portion of the Midwest -- Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota. [You know -- the good Big Ten Schools].

4) The left coast consisting of California, Oregon, and Washington State. Hawaii is coming too.

So what does this all mean?

I really have no idea what will happen tonight, but I have not been this excited about watching television since the Full House marathon reunion on The ABC Family Channel.

"Vote for the man who promises least. He'll be the least disappointing."
Bernard Baruch, 1870 - 1965

2004-10-31T01:34:00.000-05:00

Scar :: from Disney's The Lion King

Iowa Pride

2004-10-31T01:04:00.000-05:00

I have returned safely from my Washington Equal Justice Works Job Fair.

We stayed in Dupont Circle which was beyond beautiful and trendy. The houses were gorgeous, large, and overwhelmingly Democratic. Our hotel room was just gorgeous and Democratic. The room goes for $250 a night for what can't have been more than six square feet of living space per person [probably an exaggeration]. I was having migrant farm worker flashbacks because of the space restraints.

Speaking of exaggerations, I was trying to make up a statistic about McDonald’s consumption. We headed to McDonald’s at 2 AM last night in Dupont Circle, and it was really packed. So after my usual, “Gosh, I think I am developing cancer by just smelling this food,” and “I pass on grass; I pass on McDonald’s” comments, I received a mixture of dirty looks and curiosity when I said, “Do you know one McDonald’s hamburger is equivalent to smoking 45 cartons of cigarettes?” I don’t really understand the comparison I made, but then on the car ride back from DC, we made the statistic more believable: “For every McDonald hamburger patty you eat, you can subtract 84 hours of your projected life expectancy.” Completely made up, but if you say it with a straight face, I bet you can get some believers.

We did some traditional sightseeing which was decent. I was in DC for an 8^th grade class trip for a week, and I remember it pretty well. I was also there for a couple of days two years ago visiting a friend, and we did some sightseeing there, too. I did manage to visit the new World War II Memorial, and it was really pretty. Each state or territory has its own tower in remembrance of its troops who died in service. I took a photo with both the Iowa tower and Illinois tower. In all honesty, though, I felt a much tighter bond with the Iowa tower. Weird, isn’t it? I’ll throw up a photo to the blog once I get it.

Friday night in Dupont Circle was a night to remember. A friend and I decided to hit up the alternative DC scene, so we first headed to this coffeehouse just to get a feel for the environment. While we were there, though, I got this telephone call from my little brother, and he told me that my grandfather had just been rushed to the hospital and that he wasn’t breathing. Nonno is 97-years old and the patriarch of the family. He served under the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and spent some time working in Argentina before heading back to Italy to retire in Chicago. A couple of months ago, his body health was great for a 97-year old – completely walking and everything. His mental health is another story – I have been called “Salvatore” and other miscellaneous names for a while now.

There was nothing I could do – I was in DC and my car was in Iowa. I told my brother I would plan to drive to Chicago as soon as would get back to Iowa City. After coffee, though, we went to this sushi restaurant, and I received another call from my little brother saying that Nonno regained breathing on 31^st Street, four blocks from my house . . . my grandparents live on the first floor; my family lives on the 2^nd floor – very immigrant, very Chicago.

Nonno plans to be released from the hospital on Sunday. God Bless him [in a completely atheist sense].

The DC scene was pretty hip; a bit older than I would have liked, but very good looking and trendy. We made it out to two clubs. The star moment of the night was when someone asked me if I was over 21. I was so depressed; I am not even kidding. Let us also not forget the dude who completely brushed me off as soon as he figured out I was just visiting DC.

Oh, so yeah . . . the job fair!

The job fair was amazing. It was held at the Washington Hilton, the same hotel where Reagan was shot.

I interviewed with some amazing organizations. All of the representatives seemed incredibly personable, real, and interested in the work they were doing. My main interests are labor and immigration issues, and I want to work closely with immigrant and Latino communities.

My oral Spanish was put to the test again randomly in the middle of a couple of interviews. They all went well, and I think a majority of them were very impressed with my qualities. A part of my wants to go to Texas or another part of the South for the summer, but another part wants me to be in DC, and another part in Chicago. I’ll figure it out one day.

I voted at Hy-vee today in case something happens to my grandfather in the early week for me to be in Chicago for Election Day. I would feel an inordinate amount of guilt if I didn’t vote.

I’m really looking forward to Tuesday night. My prediction for Tuesday: As much as I would love for Kerry to win, I think Bush will become reelected, er, elected, er, take over.

So prepare for the coup of the century
Be prepared for the murkiest scam

Meticulous planning
Tenacity spanning
Decades of denial
Is simply why I'll
Be king undisputed
Respected, saluted
And seen for the wonder I am

Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared
Be prepared!

"Be Prepared" from Disney's The Lion King

"please shine down on me!"

2004-10-22T14:34:00.000-04:00

As mentioned in M's posting earlier in the week, Iowa City has been experiencing an overhaul of cloudy days. I have not seen the sun all week. Every day has been incredibly gloomy and drizzly.

This can only mean one thing: The sun has exploded, and the government is providing artificial light from outer space. You don't believe me, do you? Visit this link: Learn the truth.

Then, click on the source of the news, the yahoo.com news story. Now ask yourself . . . is this mere coincidence, or is there a further message? Is it possible for the government to have destroyed all information about this occurrence to protect the sanity of its people? Hmmm . . .

You think not have a job lined up after graduation is scary? TRY NO SUN!

As if technological and scientific evidence were not enough to convince my readers that we are on the brink of disaster, this has been long predicted by the Holy Book.

"And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain," ~ Revelation 16:10

The FIFTH angel is correlated to today, the FIFTH weekday -- the FIFTH day without any evidence of solar existence. My recommendation is to go to Wal-Mart and consume, consume, consume.

And if you have time, pray.

2004-10-21T14:55:00.000-04:00

Host, The 700 Club

The 700 Club

2004-10-21T13:00:00.000-04:00

I am proud to inform my readers that I am now a member of the exclusive 700 Club.

The 700 Club is a live television program that airs weekdays before a studio audience from The Christian Broadcasting Network’s (CBN) broadcast facilities in Virginia Beach, Virginia. On the air continuously since 1966, it is one of the longest-running programs in broadcast history. Hosted by Pat Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, Lisa Ryan, Gordon Robertson, and Kristi Watts, with news anchor Lee Webb, The 700 Club is a mix of news and commentary, interviews, feature stories, and Christian ministry. Available on-line at http://www.cbn.com/700club/behindthescenes/. [I don’t want to risk getting stripped of my pending J.D.]

I have been caught watching The 700 Club on numerous occasions.

I don’t know what the worst: getting caught watching (1) The 700 Club, (2) paid advertisements [especially with Chef Tony], (3) pornography, or (4) that puppet show that airs on Public Channel Iowa City 4 on Thursday mornings with that cute little old woman and her sock puppets for land animals, but these huge stick puppets for tiny insects, and she talks about diversity and the need to use your words and not your fists. Sometimes she has super curly gray hair, but sometimes she wears her hair down, and then she curls the bottom of it as if she were still 24. Well, I just happened to catch a glimpse of the puppet show once. [whistle whistle].

Anyway, I am referring to the number of profile views on my blog – I have recently exceeded the 700-viewer mark!

Tell me seriously, who fell for this?

In all honesty, The 700 Club is one of the most entertaining programs on television. The fact that these people could lie to you with the straightest face in the world appalls me. Of course, I have been known to trick a few souls myself. I learn best from my heroes, Pat Robertson and Bill O’Reilly.

I will be in D.C. next week for the Equal Justice Works Job Fair.

Q: How much time have I spent researching the organizations?
A: A couple of hours.

Q: How much time have I spent researching shows and clubs in Dupont Circle?
A: I have
(a) spent endless hours on-line;
(b) contacted personal references;
(c) sent out mass mailings;
(d) e-mailed friends of friends;
(e) have left website comment postings.

As long as I get a job where I am able to help people while speaking Spanish (& get out of debt by age 30), I will be as happy as a fly.

Resumes available upon request.

Who's lookin' just like Jada?

2004-10-14T22:54:00.000-04:00

"I'm in the Escalade, you in the Navigator." I have been singing this song all week. It is disgustingly addictive. Check it out -- it's the song of the the fall season.

God bless the Internet, America, and John Forbes Kerry (JFK) -- maybe that's why President Bush got confused.

Speaking of which, visit this website. Trust me, it exists:

http://www.johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com/

It's amazing what people with no lives put on the Internet . . . hey wait a minute!

"Surely there must be questions . . ."

2004-10-12T13:45:00.000-04:00

Dialogues postings are my favorite.

Professor: Mr. Doe . . . could you synthesize for me the cases on pages 987 through 1004, paying close attention to the use of intermediate scrutiny analysis while understanding the difference between heightened scrutiny and strict scrutiny?

[Mr. Doe successfully performs his duty.]

Professor: Ms. Day. . . what's the 7th argument that Scalia makes in the case on page 983, and how does he rationalize that argument with O'Connor's argument in a different case on page 1003?

[Ms. Day successfully performs her duty.]

[I think to myself: Wow, these are really hard questions -- I hope I don't get called on [shiver, shiver].]

Professor: Mr. M . . .

[Crap! . . . I knew I should have reread the cases for today.]

Professor: . . . could you read for us the first sentence on page 1042?

[I successfully perform my duty, waiting for the real question.]

Professor: Mr. X . . . why is it that the Court on page 943 comes up with one result but does not come up with the same result on page 994 even though the right to due process has been violated since it has been established people have a fundamental right to marry?

[What . . . are you kidding me? He skipped me? How did everyone get asked real analytical questions (a law school level quesion), and I get asked to read (a grade 1 level lesson)? Seriously, what's on the agenda for tomorrow . . . Mr. M . . . what's 9 times 8?

I mean, sure, I should be jumping for joy that I "got off the hook" easy, but I wonder if Professor thinks I am too dumb for an analytical question.]

I've never done anything in this class to make Professor think I'm an idiot . . . in other classes, now that's a different blog posting . . .

Dirigo | I direct

2004-10-11T01:11:00.000-04:00

Incredibly beautiful 1L K.W. has joined the blogging family. She has proved her diligence, wit, and dedication to the blogging network. It is with great honour that I formally welcome K.W. to the wonderful world of blogging. May our social dominance through internet technology reach every corner of the Boyd Law Building, with or without wireless internet connection.

K.W. needs little introduction. She is from ME, which I always thought had the weirdest U.S. postal abbreviation. It totally got played out by Minnesota (MN) and Massachusetts (MA), and I guess Michigan to a lesser degree (MI). Wow, and you would think the high-end Maine metropolitan clusters such as Augusta & Portland would have some pull.

K.W.'s only downfall is that she is married. I hope her blogging world doesn't crumble because of her commitment status. Just remember, K.W., . . . bros before hoes . . . and blogs before dogs.

The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
but dust will be the serpent's food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,"
says the LORD.

Isaiah 65:25

blog . . . existing without formal language recognition

2004-10-06T22:04:00.000-04:00

I have recruited a new member to the ever-growing blog phenomenon!

[Side note: Microsoft Word 2000 does not recognize the word blog. Does anyone have a newer version to Microsoft Word who can tell me if the word has been added [yes, I know, passive voice] to the Word dictionary?]

[Continuation on Side note: I just did a Merriam-Webster search on-line on http://www.m-w.com/ for the word blog & it, too, does not recognize blog or weblog. When is the English Language committee going to get off its bottom & do something about this? It’s almost 2005, people!]

I feel like one of those people handing out Christian literature that has gotten an ultra-positive response from a pedestrian. Yes, I feel like a Jew for Jesus, if you will.

A quick blurb about E.J.3 as he sets up his member profile:

E.J.3 is a 1L who hails from Utah, U.S.A. E.J.3's fun fact of the day: Did you know that E.J.3 spent two years in Paraguay as a Mormon missionary? Bienvenido, E.J.3! E.J.3 and I are trying to get K.W. to join, too, and I think she'll join over the weekend.

This blog rush thing is a lot like my how my undergraduate fraternity rush was organized. First, you feel a real sense of pride and excitement as soon as someone you really like joins. Second, you hear the same excuses from the people who you really want to join the blog / fraternity community:

(a) "Oh my gosh, I don't have time."
(b) "I don't know if the [blog / greek] community will accept me.
(c) "How much does it cost?"
(d) "Will I be hazed?"

Okay, so I haven't gotten response (d) yet, but I am sure the concern will come up.

latin-based linguistics 101

2004-10-05T14:23:00.000-04:00

Interviewer: Mister . . . uh hhh . . . Mo . . . . . . - . . . . . . yo? [I added an extra set of ellipses because the interviewer really talked that slowly.]

Me: Good Afternoon. It's pronounced Mol - lo.

Interviewer: Oh, so not Mo - yo?

Me: No.

Interviewer: Hmmm . . . my Spanish teacher taught me incorrectly.

Me: [Or, maybe it's not a Spanish name, you dong!] It's an Italian name, sir, thank you.

[Interviewer: Italian, you say? I had a slave from Southern Italy once.]

I hate my lief [sic].

2004-09-27T14:04:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I have been away for some time. School isn’t exactly the most relaxing thing this time of year, but I must not neglect my blog, so I have figured that I will add quick blurbs every now and then until my life settles. My blog is the only thing I know that will not stab me in the back. [I have no reason to say that, but it sounds really dramatic, doesn't it?]

I’ll be up in Minneapolis Wednesday through the weekend for a conference, so if anyway wants to meet up in Minnesota, I’m game. I need an Iowa City break.

I cannot promise anything entertaining in terms of postings for my blog starting today and ending at Thanksgiving.

My attack on the far left today: I can understand organic foods, but organic cotton t-shirts? This is a bit too extreme. My prediction hot item for 2006: free-range leather belts . . . who is with me? That, and a 24 hour dry cleaners -- these marketing ideas I come up with, I swear!

Dude . . . I told you this wouldn’t be entertaining.

2004-09-06T01:36:00.000-04:00

Do you ever just feel . . . displaced?

I want to be a πL student

2004-09-05T20:05:00.000-04:00

M is right: “Second year of law school is SO different from first year.” See generally, M’s August 31 Posting. I can’t believe I thought I was actually busy last year. I have completed my first full (5 day) week of class. I was at the library until close for three of those five nights, until 11:30 another night, and I decided to call it quits on Thursday: I left at 11:00. Rebellious, I know. It’s amazing how much of the same people you see at the library. We should get a title boost for all of our work, something along the lines of 2.085L student. I am definitely referring to myself as a 2.5L student over Winter Break, and definitely a πL student in October 2005.

Working throughout the week, I wasn't able to catch much of the RNC. Luckily, I was able to watch the tallying of all the voter delegates, and the nice prayer before it. The commentator said the prayer was for everyone, but I counted at least ten references to the Lord and His son, Christ Jesus. By everyone, do they mean Anglo Christian Whites? Are these people lying again? I thought “all men [excluding women, people of color, members of the working class] are . . . equal?”

After the library, I have continued in the tradition of getting McDonald’s. I started with getting the conventional double cheeseburger with McValue fries, all for $2.10. What a deal, right? I leaned towards the “premium” salads at the end of the week. The first night I ordered the Caesar salad, the dude asks, “What kind of dressing would you like with that?” I hesitated for a moment, but politely responded “Caesar.” Fine, I guess it is not completely foreign that people order Caesar-salad lettuce with a non-caesar dressing.

However, I think when I order a “Bacon Ranch salad,” the same logic does not hold up. In order to satisfy the two key requirements for a Bacon Ranch salad, you must have bacon and ranch. You cannot have a Bacon Ranch Salad with bacon and French dressing. Why does our society tolerate a Caesar salad with non-caesar dressing? I like to think that when we refer to a Caesar salad, many people simply refer to the Romaine lettuce, unique to Caesar Salads, as opposed to the dressing. Since there is nothing special about the lettuce in a Bacon Ranch salad, the distinguishing factor is the bacon and ranch. Thus, Caesar salads with non-caesar dressing is tolerable; Bacon Ranch salads with non-ranch dressing is unbearable. This discussion has been cc'd to the McDonald's Corporation, Oak Brook, Illinois.

D has come down with the chicken pox. I remember having a horrible case of the chicken pox sophomore year in high school, eons ago. I must admit it was not fun. I just crave academic nourishment. Our thoughts & secular prayers are with you, D.

I need to find a new Journal topic. I had my heart set on English Language Discrimination in the Workplace, but some dude from the Rutgers Law Review recently published an article in the Winter 2004 Edition. When I started my research a couple of weeks ago, the article was not available on Westlaw, but when I checked yesterday, a hit came up and the article is right on target with what I wanted to discuss. I was so upset – I even had a title for my piece: No Puedes Hablar: English Only Laws in the Workplace. If you know of a interesting contemporary legal issue, with some primary sources but with little or no secondary sources, affecting one of the following topics/populations, let me know: Mexican Americans, Southern Italian Americans, Colorism, Native American Mascots, and other topics along the lines of Immigration Law, Labor Law, Discrimination Law, Civil Rights Law, and Critical Race Theory. ¡Ayudame!

“With one eye on the missiles, and one on the obituaries,
Waiting for the children of the Cold War to die.”

Dan Bern, “Children of the Cold War”

2004-08-29T13:12:00.000-04:00

Don't you want to be like this woman from the African National Congress? Vote!

early morning, she wakes up . . .

2004-08-29T12:08:00.000-04:00

As most of you know, I can’t start my day without my shot of espresso. Regardless if my daily agenda consists of massive studying and class-work or going out to the fields to pick some cucumber-pickles, I need my shot of espresso. I have recently developed another addiction for the morning hour: listening to Britney Spears’ Lucky Radio Remix on my desktop computer. Since I did not bring my conglomerate of .mp3’s on my desktop with me in Ohio for the summer, I have discovered some long lost favorites. Lucky tops the list, and in a close second is FDR’s December 8, 1941 speech to Congress discussing the nation’s urgency in declaring war on the “Empire of Japan." Why do I openly admit these things?

Okay, so one real week of class is over, and I have still yet to find a job. This anxiety better start weaning down soon; somehow I do not think it will. The job search is on everyone’s mind at the law school, even the first years. I had a few students come up to me to discuss interviewing and summer jobs. “Dude, it’s week 1 – you have three years!” I told them all. Similarly, they revert that back to me: “Dude, it’s week 1 – you have two years!” My how quickly they catch on to legal reasoning . . .

I have finally landed a Research Assistant position with the University Law Library. This will be quite the financial relief, as I am planning on now only owing $329,000 after graduation as opposed to $430,000. Do you know how many cucumber-pickles I need to pick to make that? My serious goal is to have a net value of $0 at age 30, which means I have five years after graduation to get out of debt. Plausible? Maybe if my diet consists strictly of cucumber-pickles and tomatoes.

Do you know the maximum number of times I can mention the word “cucumber-pickle” without making it sound annoying? The correct answer is one, and even then it’s questionable.

Saturday night was my one late night allotted for the year. A fellow law student, Ly, threw this cute, small margarita party in her really hip apartment. I really need to learn how to be more artsy. It was a night of great conversation with brief segments of MTV’s Boiling Points – hilarious! After that, K got a call from E, one of my Chicago friends who lives in Iowa City. She was partying it up at the Sigma Pi house in Iowa City, and being an alumnus, I really wanted to stop by. I met some of the members; the sober ones were really cool, the drunk ones were a little out of it. All of the members thought I was this living god; I seriously got asked “Is law school hard?” and “Can I get in?” at least ten times – four of which were asked by the same drunk person who made it a point to constantly remind us that he’s not from Iowa – he’s from Gurnee [Illinois].

The night reached its peak when we were on the outside porch talking with some of the members, and there was this swarm of 18 year old girls stomping out of the house. One girl then goes around to all the guys offering her hand saying, “Hi, I’m [who cares], I’m from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.” I seriously thought she was acting as first, but then K reminded me of the 18 year old and first full weekend of school mentality. Yeah, she wasn’t acting. So when she comes around to me and gives her little spiel, I say, “Oh, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – the Hoosier State.” She didn’t get it.

I figured she then wouldn’t have gotten the following: Oh, you’re from Milwaukee? Actually it’s pronounced “mill-e-wah-que,” which is Algonquin for “the good land."

I am planning a voter registration drive at the Law School in September. I was walking in downtown Iowa City last week, and there was this huge signup at the stationary store. The stationary store is next to the 84 story sky-scraper on Washington Street. [How out of place would that be?] I inquired to the manager how she set up the whole thing, and she gave me the contact information for the Iowa Chapter for the New Voters Project. I called Friday afternoon, and the person in charge was so excited that I called – they were looking for a law school connection. So this will be my democratic do-gooder activity for the year. What does democracy look like? Chant: This is what democracy looks like! Tell me, what does democracy feel like? Chant: This is what democracy feels like!

I have finally obtained a copy of Microsoft Frontpage from the University. I was unable to download it off-campus over the summer so my e-portfolio project was postponed. I have established my legal e-portfolio site with the University of Iowa at http://myweb.uiowa.edu/mollo/. Check it out! Is anyone having “Testing . . . 1, 2. testing.” flashbacks? I will start updating it for potential employers and professionals as soon as I have time – hopefully before graduation.

“No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt, December 8, 1941.

2004-08-21T12:27:00.000-04:00

All Quiet on the Eastern Front: Picking Tomatoes at Luckey Farms, Ottawa County, Ohio.

Iowa: Fields of Opportunities

2004-08-21T12:03:00.000-04:00

It’s amazing what can be accomplished in five days. I have finished my first legal paper for the Journal of Gender, Race & Justice, and I think it went pretty well. My finishing title was “The Manipulation of Science into Human-Made Law: ‘Natural’ Convenience in Determining Parentage.” Pretty nice, huh? I got to bash hard-science and proclaim the social sciences as supreme law – what more could I ask for?

Let us remember what the great Malcolm X said: “Of all our studies, history is best qualified to reward our research.”

This anger towards those who study engineering, computers, and the hard-sciences started in my undergraduate years, where the “North Quad” students had this “North Side Chicago” attitude – yknow, the “I’m better than you; you’re a peasant from the South Side / South Quad” approach. And I’m like, “Lose the ‘tude, dude.” It was capitalism in Urbana-Champaign at its best. Iowa doesn’t seem to have this sort of separation – everyone thinks they’re from the North Side.

I am looking forward to starting class on Tuesday. I have flipped through my syllabus for Constitutional Law II, and all of the topics seem very interesting – discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and there are also some classes on affirmative action court decisions, abortion, and some other interesting and confrontational topics. I can’t wait!

As for my Labor Law class, the professor said on the first week assignment sheet posted in a main hall at the Law Building that “this course isn’t a TV show for your passive enjoyment.” I read the sheet for the first time surrounded by about fifteen nervous first-years, and they look at me like I’m a goof or something as I bust out laughing after reading the assignment sheet. If they only understood Labor Law.

As for mentoring the new first-years, the week went well. There are two people in my small section group of eight students that know Italian! What are the odds?!

I have received two grammatical revisions from C.I. (for Spanish) and D.D. (for English). The Spanish one is beyond my control – the template for the Spanish date conversion is already set and I don’t know how to change it. The English one is beyond my control too – I grew up on the South Side. (Holla!) “Me’s” and “I’s” are interchangeable as far as I am concerned. If you have any disputes about this, you can meet me on the corner of 35^th & Michigan, and we’ll just settle our grammar arguments there.

I went to go see Fahrenheit 9/11 Friday night. I can’t believe I was actually considering calling ahead for reservations to see it – there were, in addition to us, eight people in the entire theatre. Granted, I think I am the last person in the world to see the film, but still.

I was not impressed by the film. Maybe I was expecting this grand revelation of information, which there was at parts, but the information was presented in a boring manner. Even if FOXNews talks about the most boring topic ever, they still make it entertaining. Fahrenheit 9/11 was informational, but O’Reilly gives you more bang for your buck: news entertainment, major arrogance, slanted information, and personal rudeness – you can’t go wrong!

再 43420-8419

2004-08-08T14:41:00.000-04:00

Saturday was Migrant Appreciation Day in Fremont. As part of the festivities, ABLE / LAWO (my law people) performed a skit relating to Migrant life in Ohio. We did this skit on what to do (more of what not to do, actually) when you [a migrant] get pulled over by the police.

I was responsible for making sure that the audience felt comfortable saying the sentence we all know and love, “I refuse to answer,” or “me niego a contestar.” It is in regards to ignorant police officers asking the driver’s national place of origin after the driver has presented the necessary documents of valid driver’s license, registration, and insurance. Normal police officers simply do not have the authority to enforce immigration laws, but they do have the right to take in people who he suspects to be undocumented. This suspicion, however, must be provoked by something the driver presents to the officer (a foreign identification card, a consular identification card, etc.).

A couple of audience members approached me after the skit and asked if I was a teacher (I got really excited during the presentation). I started to cry right there. I used to be a teacher, I told them (tear). * Snaps for teachers. *

The funniest part of the Migrant Appreciation Day was this 6 or 7 year-old kid who asked the clown to make him a balloon car. The clown said, “I can’t make a car – how about a crown?”

Deeply wanting a car, the kid asked, “Are you legal?”

The clown laughed. “All clowns are legal.” Gosh, what these kids learn . . .

I am looking forward to this last week of work. I am getting ready to engage in my first real negotiation before litigation occurs. This case that I have been working on is unreal, and it exemplifies the struggle of migrants:

The housing deposit for the family of four is $200. Their contract started in May, and the ending date was August 1. (For confidentiality purposes, these facts might be a little a skewed; more of a MSNBC skewness – definitely not of FOXNews level). The housing contract says that if they do not continue working until August 1, for whatever reason, the landlord keeps the deposit . . . so what does the landlord do? Yep, he fires the workers days before August 1, thinking it would entitle him to the $200 deposit.

What kind of sick unethical person would do such a thing?

I plan on leaving Fremont early Saturday to head back to Chicago for the day, and then to Iowa City on Sunday. I’m looking forward to getting back to Iowa City – but with the e-mails that I have gotten in regards to Journal writing preparation, I cannot say I am excited about the week of August 16.

I am wound up about meeting the new first year students. I am a volunteer mentor for the first year class, so I will have a group of 10 or so first years to be my “kids.” Granted, these kids will probably be older and taller than me, but they’ll still be my kids. It will be like middle school in Decatur, Illinois all over again! Hopefully, I will have some students who don’t know English – those are always the fun ones!

I will post again from the huge metropolitan locale of Iowa City, Iowa 52246.

Lastly, I must close with some administrative business. I would like to make clear that I love getting comments. Me da mucho gusto. It gives me much pleasure.

However, recently, someone commented on my blog simply with a first initial. I think I know who this G person was (Italian American, western suburbs, race & science), but I should make it clear for future generations that the initials G, A, D, H, and M have already been taken. The initials L and T are also off limits. Thus, if your first name starts with these letters, I recommend perhaps your first and last initials. If you only have one name like Raven, (from the Disney Channel’s “That’s so Raven”) I would say “Ra” or “Rv” (skipping the vowel) probably works best. (Raven, that’s a hint).

From Mississippi Burning (1988):

Anderson: You know, if I were a Negro, I'd probably think the same way they do.

Ward: If you were a Negro, nobody would give a damn what you thought.

2004-08-01T23:37:00.000-04:00

Average rate for picking grade A cucumber-pickles in Ohio: 23.2 cents per 100 pounds.

¡Yo no soy marinero, soy capitán!

2004-08-01T23:14:00.000-04:00

Entering week number ten in Fremont, I noticed this past weekend how much this program has impacted my life and my habits. Thus, I have created my own Top Ten List in “Ways you know you have been working too long in Northwest Ohio with Migrant Farm-workers, respectively:"

10. You no longer put gel in your hair to go to the supermarket.
9. The song stuck in your head at work is George Strait’s “All my Ex’s Live in Texas.”
8. Your TV is set to Second Audio Program (SAP) as default.
7. You record the nightly broadcast of the news from Ohio News Now (ONN).
6. There are more Spanish-speaking radio stations programmed into your car stereo than Anglophone radio stations.
5. You refer to Whites as Anglos or bolillos.
4. You think watching movies in English are a little too boring.

Know that I have your attention, Christmas is coming. I am getter bigger; my bike is getting smaller. Stephanie Tanner.

3. Farm-workers ask your Mexican region of origin.
2. You actually enjoy doing laundry just to interact with locals at the Laundromat.
1. You wake up in the middle of the night wondering if that new Spanish word you learned the prior day has an accent.

My brother and his family stopped by spacious Fremont, Ohio to eat lunch with me Saturday afternoon. He, along with his wife and two kids are on family vacation to Philadelphia. Luckily, Fremont is right off the Ohio Turnpike, and hence completely on the way to Philly. We ate at the only restaurant I would ever consider bringing relatives to in Fremont; they seemed decently impressed. It was a nice family catch-up, which is slang for thank goodness I am not planning children. I think we’ll do dinner again on their way back from Philly to Chicago – ouch, quite the drive.

So today at Kroger®, I pulled the ultimate gag completely subconsciously. I think it is hilarious when people ask for some card out of your wallet, and you present them with a completely random card. For example, A would pretend to present his laminated miniature high school diploma he carries in his wallet as a credit card at the Coralville Olive Garden®. Well, today, I joined the ranks, except I actually did it, completely not thinking about it. Instead of presenting my Kroger® Plus™ Shopper’s Card to the cashier, I presented by AT&T Prepaid Phone Card of 1000 Minutes.

The cashier looks at me, and says, “What is this?”

Still loading my cart, I respond, “they’re strawberries; they’re two for four dollars.”

She gives me the most confused look ever (rightfully so), and then I realized my mistake. It was pretty embarrassing.

With my random web searches, I have learned that the coolest domain name has been taken by an Italian, Eugenio, of course. How much do you think the website can go for? Check his picture out – if it wasn’t for his over-sized v-neck sweater, I think we could be twins! www.eugenio.com

From one of the greatest movies I watched this summer, Bend It Like Beckham,

Wedding Guest: Lesbian? Her birthday’s in March. I thought she was a Pisces.

2004-07-25T14:28:00.000-04:00

Me and Felipe at Stambaugh Farms, Huron County, Ohio. (recognition: D.D.)

Ken Jennings: Jeopardy!® Extraordinaire

2004-07-25T14:11:00.000-04:00

At the end of Friday’s airing of Jeopardy!®, Ken Jennings has appeared thirty-eight consecutive times, accumulating $1,321,660. He broke the one day record Friday, earning $75,000 in one show. He will not appear for another six weeks, because the program is running some celebrity or bogus special.

Please join me in circling Monday, September 6 on your calendars. It’s Labor Day, so please check your local listings for air time. I really hope there’s not some stupid parade to cancel or postpone local airings.

People at work were trying to set up some sort of pool to estimate Ken’s [note that I decided to make his first name possessive in an attempt to dodge a potential possessive error] total winnings, but now since we won’t know until September 6 at the earliest, that is way past the pickle-picking season – half of the migrant staff will be gone. If you are interested in joining the Cult of Ken Jennings, please visit here.

This week was pretty busy with extra things going on. Wednesday was another Toledo Bar Association outing for summer clerks & new associates. We went to the Toledo Mudhens AAA baseball game. I guess it’s been ranked one of the best ballparks or teams, or something. According to the bag I received when I bought my cap, the Mudhens are “The Most Popular Team in Minor League Baseball”™. I know I am key-happy to recognize ® & ©, but the logo is really trademarked. Honest.

The game was great . . . except that the Mudhens played the Syracuse Chiefs or Skychiefs or something. Fortunately, there was no native mascot.

As you know, I e-mailed the Google Ads people that one Thursday night, and I e-mailed them again over that weekend in regards to the link that advertised shipping foreign labor. The last I heard, my e-mails were being forwarded to Google's "team of specailists for further investigation." Visiting other people’s blogs, however, I noticed that the advertisements are generated by the writing in the blog. A’s blog, for example, has coffee advertisements all the time, and what does A write about? – coffee. Of course my advertisements are going to be race-generated! Thus, in an attempt to ensure race-based wage slavery advertisements are never again shown on a website maintained by me, I have decided to avoid discussing all issues connected with race & ethnicity.

. . . . .

Okay, enough of that.

Anyway, things at work are smooth. That same crew-leader who beat up a worker & his wife has struck again: this time he beat a worker up with a gun. Unfortunately, the worker has fled for fear of another strike, and all proof of the incident left with him. I am sure the crew-leader threatened an immigration call if the worker ever showed up again. Oh, justice.

S, a fellow law clerk, hosted a summer ice cream social Saturday afternoon, which continued into the night. All of the ice cream contained organic ingredients, and it was beyond delicious. What would an outing be without illegally gambling in Euchre & this new dice game I learned, I think called “Roll or Bust,” or something. It was a sure sign that the summer was coming to an end, and that classes will again be upon us soon enough.

Avid readers of my blog will recall my nomination for the song of the summer, Kevin Lyttle’s "Turn Me On". Well, it looks like Fremont, Ohio has finally caught on to the national trend, as I have heard it a few times in the car now. Of course, the local DJ’s are saying, “And brand new off his recent album . . . Kevin Lyttle . . . here FIRST on 92.5 FM, your hit station serving Ottawa, Seneca, and Sandusky Counties!” With such a grasp on national culture, I have recommended to the Fremont City Board Council that the city change its motto from “Fremont, Ohio: Where Great People Live” to “Fremont, Ohio: Only Three Weeks behind the Rest of the Nation.” Then again, “Fremont, Ohio: If you don’t have cable TV, God Have Mercy” also has a nice twist.

I headed over to Freddy’s Laundromat again, and I think it is turning into my favorite place in Ohio – the people are incredibly nice, and every time I go, I engage in the best conversations. This week, I met two men in their 60s, one originally from Kentucky, and one originally from Fremont, but lives in North Carolina. He is in Ohio to bury some family members. Of course, we talked about politics, and their discontent with the Bush Administration. Although they said they identify as Republicans, they are incredibly displeased with the handling of the War in Iraq, and they hope for Kerry to win. Some harsh words were said in regards to how the government treats veterans of the armed services. They vowed that serving in the armed forces is a great way to help alleviate modern racism and prejudice, claiming it worked for them. There still may be hope.

A brief clip from Johnny Dakota's house:

Random Girl: Your arms are so firm.

Screech: That's my elbow -- I work out.

counting sheep didn't help

2004-07-16T00:03:00.000-04:00

I couldn't fall asleep without acting . . . I wrote a brief [yet hopefully powerful] e-mail to adsbygoogle@google.com. Now, I can rest.

P.S. I do not want to hear any "cause de jour" jokes about this incident. This is serious!

2004-07-15T22:55:00.000-04:00

Advertisment, dated 1823.

2004-07-15T22:54:00.000-04:00

Letter, dated 2002.

Zelda > Link

2004-07-15T22:45:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, I must start this posting with a sincere & heartfelt apology. This is serious, folks.

Depending on your time visiting this blog, the ads above provided by Google® may have changed. I have no control over the types of advertisements above.

At the time of this posting, the link to the right was entitled “Easily hire Mexicans.” This weekend, once I have more time to formulate my thoughts, I am seriously writing a letter to Google® & ask that the specified link never be placed on my blog again. I am ashamed.

Killing the cat, I clicked on the link. In case the link is gone when you read this, it sent me to http://www.legal-diligent-mexican-workers.com/. Amazing, I know.

To forewarn you, I hurled twice reading through the blatantly racist information. It is repulsive. You simply have to read it yourself to get the full effect.

The most disgusting part of the website was the “testimonial” from the Green Valley Country Club in Pennsylvania, found here.

Maybe it’s the secondary-education teacher in me, but (you, [understood]) please compare and contrast the Green Valley Country Club letter (dated 2002) with a slave auction advertisement I have posted above (dated 1823). Discuss the social and economic relationships between the two pieces. * For accelerated students, analyze the gimmicks presented in the 2002 letter. More importantly, which reporter from FOXNews does this letter sound most like? Explain your answer. If you are unable to clearly view the 1823 primary source, please raise your hand, eeerr, or click here.

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains or slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!” Patrick Henry, 1736-1799.

2004-07-10T21:48:00.000-04:00

Dallas cast members, 1978-1991

¿Quién mató a J.R.?

2004-07-10T21:25:00.000-04:00

First, the administrative stuff.

I know, I know, I haven’t written in a while. I thought about quitting this whole blogging experience, but that would validate A’s prophesy prior to ripeness. I mustn’t do that.

I have received an e-mail from rock-star DD alleging copyright violations in a previous posting. After tearing that a strong executive in corporate America would waste her time reading this schlop, I decided to recognize her strong contributions to my well-being – she has taught me about wine differences, about playing the corporate game, and about that popular 60s T.V. show . . . Dallas. Hey, if it was on before the Full House phenomenon, it all blends together in the 60s.

So let’s see . . . work has been busy with clients, investigations, and meetings. There are two clients who occupy a great portion of my time. Since the case is pending, I can’t elaborate too much, but their struggle cannot go untold. I’ll describe their scenario in a play, and substitute British English for Latin American Spanish:

Narrator: First, let us begin with some background information. The scene is set in London County, Ohio on a hot June day around 11 AM. A ‘crew-leader’ is a person hired by the farm-owner to supervise the farm-workers. A crew-leader is always bilingual so he (it’s always been a male in my experience) can speak with the farm-owner and farm-workers. He is usually of Mexican ancestry who has Permanent Residency Status in the United States. Sometimes, the crew-leaders are white.

Crew-leader: Top of the morning, Worker! My, it must be 95 degrees out here! Good heavens!

Worker: Yes, I’m quite aware of that, sir. I’ve been out here since the blessed sun awoke me this fine morning.

Crew-leader: Listen, you bastard – I don’t care if it’s 500 degrees out here. You must hoe, trim, and pick until you can’t hoe, trim, and pick no more! For what reason am I paying you three coins an hour?!

Worker: Sir, I have already picked five bushels of tomatoes and three of pickles – I am working as fast as I can.

Crew-leader: You slug! Work faster, or it’s your arse that will meet my boot!

Worker: Yes, sir . . . as you wish. [Worker continues to work diligently].

Crew-leader: Do you bite your thumb at me, you peasant?!

Worker: No, sir, I didn’t. Honest. Aside: I really am a good worker. I want only peace.

Crew-leader: We’ll see about that tonight, Abraham.

Narrator: Later that evening, the Crew-leader barges into the house of the worker.

Crew-leader: [punching the worker in his own kitchen, and pushing him into a nearby clothes dresser] You stupid, poverty-stricken serpent!

[The worker falls to the floor, while the Crew-leader proceeds to grab the worker’s hair and bangs it on the floor five or six times].

[The wife of the worker tries to protect her husband, but she too, is thrown violently within her own house].

Narrator: The Crew-leader leaves, leaving both the worker and his wife bleeding and jobless. Since the workers do not possess valid government-issued documents, they fear to report the incident to the police authorities and fear to receive necessary medical attention.

[Exeunt.]

Well, there you have it – the fair and balanced version of what happened. Pretty interesting, eh?

Completely unrelated, this week was also another Toledo Bar Association gathering – this one was hosted by U.S. District Court Judge James G. Carr and his wife.

I google-searched his name before heading over to the event, just so I knew his background and interests. The first few hits were his biography (Harvard Law degree . . . yada yada yada). But then I came upon this page that said Judge Carr is a bigot and a racist, especially towards ‘Hispanics.’ Wonderful, right?

Wonderful. Right. There were about seven or so tables set up in their backyard, and Judge Carr and his wife decided to sit with me and five other clerks during dinner. The evening turned out great – Judge Carr has some connections with Chicago (he taught at DePaul for a while and he still has some people in Evanston), so we talked about North Side / South Side differences, the Taste, and Chicago Public Schools (his wife was a teacher for CPS in the 1960s, and remembers vividly the week of Dr. King’s assassination). After dinner, we headed out to this bar on the West Side of Toledo – we’re not even lawyers yet, and we spend all of our time either in the office or at the bar.

We have great futures ahead, I know.

Cell Block Tango

2004-07-10T18:54:00.000-04:00

I headed to the Taste of Chicago accompanied by 1.2 million Saturday (07/03) night for the annual fireworks display off Lake Michigan. If you remember hearing about the fatal shooting that took place Saturday night, don’t worry – I was a block away. The shooting happened around 9:30 Post Meridiem, but there was a scare around 8:30, in which the two events may be related.

Sarah and I were on the east side of Columbus Drive, around 600 South. Sarah was eating her Chicago-styled pizza slice, and all of the sudden we see these people recklessly running towards Grant Park. Sarah and I just look at each other, and are like “uhhhh, okay. What’s going on?” I couldn’t move much – I had just finished eating African-styled goat meat with sautéed plantains.

It didn’t strike us that our lives were in immediate danger until we saw mothers hastily running through waist-high bushes with their strollers first, and yes, there were babies in the strollers. Someone said there was a gang fight and a member pulled out a gun. Of course, as soon as we heard this, the logical people started walking towards Grant Park away from the Taste. A group of suburban white teenagers in their J. Crew® tops, New Balance® shoes, and Banana Republic® Cargo shorts ran into the Taste, trying to act all ghetto. They threw up their hands and started speaking with a southern-language twist, purposefully un-annunciating their Rs, elongating their As, and omitting (or improperly using) state-of-being verbs.

I found the song of the summer this past weekend. I heard it every time I was in the car in Chicago, but I never heard it in Ohio – it’s “Turn Me On,” [the remix, of course] by Kevin Little featuring Sean Paul. Five stars.

“That’s why I love it. I know all the words.” Michelle Tanner.

2004-06-30T22:20:00.000-04:00