Introducing...um...

We brought home a new kitten this weekend. She doesn't have a name yet; suggestions are welcome.



The process of adopting a kitten from San Francisco Animal Care and Control is...intense. There were several forms, a short interview, discussions about other pets in the home, and a criminal background check (I made that one up, but it seemed like the next step). And all of that was before we were allowed to touch the cat. Seriously. At one point in the interview, we were asked how many hours, on an average day, we're gone from the home. When we picked "10-12," the interviewer asked who would be watching over the kitten during those hours. I answered honestly, if admittedly like a bit of a smart ass, that this role would fall to "the other cat." The interviewer was not amused.

Overly invasive procedures aside, we're glad to have her home. They suggested we wait up to a week to introduce the two cats. We opened the door, our older cat sniffed her, licked her head, and that was about it. They've been playing all weekend, and with a minimal amount of what I call "poofy tail." If you don't have cats, trust me: that's a good thing.

Justice...is done

Went to jury duty yesterday; this is the second time I have been called since I have lived in California, and the second time that I made it into the jury holding pen, sat around for a couple hours reading a book, and was eventually told that they had as many jurors as they needed for the day, and was sent home. Very anti-climactic.

To be honest, even though it would utterly wreck my current court schedule and make things very difficult on my co-workers, I would LOVE to get on a jury (doesn't say very nice things about me, I guess). The work I do currently is in a juvenile court, and because of the age of the children I represent and the nature of the cases, all hearings, including trials, are closed to the public and confidential. Translation: all of my trials are bench trials, and I have no jury trial experience. I would be very interested in seeing it in action, let alone watching the court process from the other side of the room. Maybe next time.

The most annoying part of the experience, other than the backbreaking hours I have been putting in for the past few weeks getting my cases prepped in case someone else needed to handle them, was watching the Jury Orientation video. Wow, it was soooooo bad. See if you agree by watching it here. Maybe I am a bit jaded (probably), but the phrase, "The verdict is read...justice is done," made me want to laugh out loud. I held it in.

Archaeological dig...four inches down

When I walk to my office from the train, I usually walk through Old Oakland, a historic district that has gone through various renovations over the years. I have been watching the renovations of a particular corner store with considerable interest; when they took the top layer of siding off the wall, they revealed this former facade:


I can only imagine what kinds of headache powders and moustache waxes were for sale here. Pretty cool.

They took the facade off some time ago, and then stopped working. I have a sense there is a discussion going on somewhere about what to do and whether or not to preserve the writing. I hope they try.

(mostly) Wire Free!

Today, we made a strong leap into the late 90s by setting up a Wi-Fi home network. Like everything else involved with Apple, it was ten times easier than I thought it would be, which means the setup process took me only twice as long as it would have taken a well-trained monkey (I'll give you a minute to do that math). Now, our TiVo can download movies, and we can play Wii Tennis with our friends without actually seeing them or going to that pesky place known as "outside." As soon as my couch can produce and moderately heat various Hot Pockets, I will never have to leave my living room, let alone my home. Thank you, technology!

WISH I was making this up...

Another fun court house hallway exchange:

Guy: Hey!
Me: [ignoring shouting man]
Guy: HEY!
Me: [turning around, against better judgement] Yes?
Guy: Where's my lawyer?
Me: Sir, I don't know who you are, so how would I know who your lawyer is?
Guy: Um, I think his name is Dan.
Me: Dan who?
Guy: Um, Dan...Fielding. Yeah, Dan Fielding.
Me: [poker face] Sir, Dan Fielding was the name of a lawyer on the show Night Court.
Guy: Oh.
Me: You should probably check with the clerk, sir.

I had a pretty bad headache from not laughing...but I'm feeling much better now... :)

Et tu, Quentin?

I am not sure if it is fair to blame Tarantino, but I do: I am getting really tired of reading books with six different story lines, jumping back and forth in time, with characters that may all end up in the same room at the end or, more likely, never interact, other than maybe literally brushing elbows on a crowded street in a tired attempt to symbolize loneliness in a crowded world. Blech.

Case in point: Beautiful Children, by Charles Bock. Most of the characters were interesting enough to keep me reading to the end, but there was no plot to speak of other than watching all of these people spiral into their own private Hells. Would have been an interesting or inventive storytelling device ten years ago, but now, it's been done, and done better.

In fairness, any story about abused or neglected kids is probably not going to make my Top Ten list, as abused and neglected kids are how I make a living these days (I call that "Tuesday"). Still, nothing worth making the journey for.

Quote of the Week

From Eddie Sutton, interim head coach of the USF men's basketball team:

"This is my 37th year in Division I and this is the least amount of talent I've ever had to work with. I've really had to program myself to be patient. Some of these guys have almost developed a defeatist attitude. ... I'm not downgrading them. They are what they are -- they're good college players. I've been blessed with great players. Look at my record. You don't have that record without great players."

Boy, good thing he wasn't downgrading them. With this kind of positive leadership, I have no idea how any of the players could have developed a defeatist attitude.

What a horrible coda to an already tarnished career. USF should be ashamed for creating this situation, and for wheeling in this shell of a man so that he can slump on the sidelines and "win" his 800th game, pretending to coach without even knowing any of the players' names, while the university grabs some national spotlight time. Sutton should be ashamed for desperately trying to reclaim his former glory and grab one last time for the brass ring that slipped through his alcohol-soaked fingers. Just awful.

You can read the entire article here.

Like C. Thomas Howell in Red Dawn

It's official; I am a full member of the club.

My first Wii injury (not counting strained muscles):



A fingernail incident while playing Wii Sports Baseball and swinging the Wiimote, but don't worry...I still got the hit.

Quote of the Week

In the hallway outside the courtroom I am currently assigned to, from a parent of one of my clients; the parent is a fairly notorious local pimp and drug dealer:

"You're really good at this...have you thought about private practice? I would hire you in a minute, man!"

Um...thanks?

(L)Awfully good times...

Sad to see that Gary Gygax, one of the co-creators of the original Dungeons & Dragons system, died yesterday.

Some of my best friends and better memories involve D&D in some fashion or another, and if that makes me a geek, so be it. I have a +2 Thick Skin, and I made my saving throw versus Insults and Dragon Breath, so feel free to make fun of me as much as you want.

Good times

Another great trip to Vegas. We stayed a little longer than normal, but it gave the Wife a day off from her conference to play, so it was worth it. We stayed here, saw this, ate here, here, and (a little more cheaply) here, and relaxed here. We played a LOT of poker; the Wife won a tournament here, and I won a tournament here. We were initially a little intimidated to play in a tournament here, but we got over it, and it was hands-down the best poker room we've ever played in.

Coming home from Vegas with more money than you went with = good times.

The envelope...not necessary...

To quote Colbert: I called it!

I thought their performance was great, and did not need the orchestra backup; what makes it beautiful, in the film and otherwise, is the simplicity. I also really liked Hansard's (and, later, Irglova's) honest, thrilled reaction. Nice.

I have said this over and over, on this blog and to anybody who will listen in real life: if you have not seen this movie, do so. Brilliant.

Feeling old(er), part two...

The Wife got me a Wii for my birthday, officially putting her in the lead for Best...Wife...Ever. With some extra Vegas money (anything I bring back...that's extra in my math...), I bought Guitar Hero III, and have already put the Evil Bunny sticker on my axe. I had WAY too much fun yesterday. Rockin' fun.

And this morning, I am feeling it. Apparently, when you are an out-of-shape, middle-aged man, rocking out in your living room with a plastic guitar is a great way to wrench your back. I have been walking very slowly today, and with each twinge, I damn C.C. DeVille and his vile music (which I am still working on at the Easy level, but had down just enough yesterday to add some extra hip moves while playing). Oh, I'll talk dirty to you, you bastard...



A suggestion to other mid-30s living room rockstars...rock with your legs, not your back.

Feeling old(er)

Michael Jackson's Thriller album came out on this day...twenty five years ago.

I know.

If you are around my age, you must have had this album. It was the Frampton Comes Alive! of the 80s.

Makes me feel older, and makes me remember a better time for Mr. Jackson. Young Michael, you are missed.

Tease

They changed the billboard at my train stop the other day:



What a bunch of teases...I have to look at this while I'm trudging to work? I'm only human, you know.

The value of pre-medication

We saw Cloverfield this weekend; judging by the huge drop in box office, my guess is that if you are the type that was going to see this movie, you have by now, and if you are not that type, you will likely wait for DVD.

Which I strongly recommend. Without giving anything away, the entire movie is (ostensibly) a recovered video tape(supposedly) shot on a hand-held camera, which means that seeing this in your home could actually add to the creepy factor, ala Blair Witch Project.

But the main reason I would recommend waiting for DVD is that seeing this movie on a big screen just about gave me a seizure. 85 minutes of shaky footage, a lot of it shot while the cameraman is running? I had a gigantic headache by the end of this thing, and The Wife was truly nauseous, to the point that I think she missed large parts of the movie while she was looking at the floor, trying to give her inner ear a chance to catch up.

Overall, I really liked this movie; clearly it is an extended allegory for the fear and confusion on September 11, and some of the shots in this movie could have been stock footage from that day. Definitely worth seeing, but either wait for DVD, or, if you are over the age of 30, take a couple Tylenol twenty minutes prior to viewing.

You have been warned.

Downward slope

The English language takes another step backwards:



Et tu, Flea Market?

Ouch

These are the opening sentences from On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan:

They were young, educated, and both virgins on this, their wedding night, and they lived in a time when a conversation about sexual difficulties was plainly impossible. But it is never easy.

Ouch, indeed. This novella, a quick and painful (!) read, takes place in the early 1960s, but, as that second sentence notes, could just as easily be set in the 1860s or now. It is difficult to say that I enjoyed reading this book, but given that the core of the story is about two people failing to talk to each other, I am keeping it from the library until The Wife has a chance to read it, and we can talk about it. It will not be easy, but it is never easy. If you are half of a couple, I recommend the same.

(if this post is too Dr. Phil for you, my apologies...I'll try to get back to my snarky self in the near future)

I knew it!

I just knew that flying cars were on their way. See (and buy!) for yourself.

Jen, it looks like at least one of my predictions is upon us.

I Am Perplexed

We got out of the house yesterday and went to see I Am Legend, a romantic comedy about a killer virus that wipes out 90% of the Earth's population, leaving 1% immune and 9% as pseudo-vampires, hiding in the dark and seeking blood. Somehow, Ashely Judd is not in this movie.

I need to start by saying I liked this movie; I thought it had an interesting premise, was entertaining, and I think Will Smith really showed he can act, not just fight CGI beasties (although that happens a lot here). However, I have to admit that the more I think about the movie, the more I have questions about what happened (or didn't happen, but maybe should have), and how much might have been lost in the translation from the book (I am not sure how this happened, given my geekboy upbringing, but I have never read it).

The rest of this may contain spoilers, so if you have not seen the movie, read on at your own risk.

Some questions:

1) If the lead monster was smart enough to devise a snare to catch Robert, why wasn't he smarter at other times? For example, instead of just sending the demon dogs, shouldn't he have swarmed Robert right then?

2) If the lead monster was smart enough to use tools to devise said snare, why wasn't he smart enough to use other tools, like say a gun or a big hunk of rock, hurled from the darkness to kill our hero?

3) If the government/military sealed off the island of Manhattan, how did the Brazilian get there from Maryland? For that matter, how did she get out at the end?

3A) If less than 1% of the world's population survived the virus, and even less than that are still walking and not zombie chow, what are the odds that one survivor, from Brazil, would speak perfect English?

4) How did so many zombies survive for three years? Does this go back to the "smart" zombie idea above, that even though the zombies were losing their humanity and reverting, they were just smart enough to survive? (I thought this was one of the strongest points in the movie 28 Days Later; there, the infected simply ran out of food and started dying off after a while since they were unable, in their "rage" state, to organize and feed themselves, and their bodies simply gave out).

I get that a lot of the answers to this fall into the "it's a movie" category, but I think they could have been dealt with better.

And yeah, I will admit it...I got a little teary when the dog died, but not when the 6 billion people did. Not sure what that says about me.