as an added distraction.

when i was younger i enjoyed a good, solid fantasy novel [ still do, but have fun trying to get me to admit that in person. ] between tolkien, tamora pierce, and redwall, i discovered the golden compass. and lo and behold! it is being made into a movie. as a promotion for the film, the website allows you to take a quiz to determine your daemon. which was, of course, the real draw of the books in my mind. i present to you:

happiness.

happiness truly is a warm puppy. for those of you who doubt me, i present exhibit A, which for purposes of this blog, has been pre-marked and pre-admitted into evidence.



i would also like to say that my current joy is further compounded by harvard's newly released report, "the israeli-hezbollah war of 2006: the media as a weapon in asymmetrical conflict". despite the fact that numerous falsified photographs were circulated around the world, a single major news outlet [possibly with the exception of fox, but nobody watches/listens to fox that hasn't already made up their mind] has yet to pursue the issue.



















i think cox & forkum's humorous interpretation of the situation is spot-on. the best part of it is, the wingnuts on the leftist side of things wouldn't dare criticize harvard, because it is, after all, a sacred institution of liberal education.

it's times like these that i smile like this.

bats.

i could make the joke about going batty during finals. but i think it's too easy. so instead i'll just say this about austin's favorite winged mammals: if you touch one, and you fall ill, then look at it as nature's way of enforcing natural selection in a time of unnatural survival.

law students are not .... the best of people during the run-up to finals.

finals bring out the worst in us. the petty, snarling, resource-grubbing, moody beasts that thomas hobbes envisioned us to be.

i love hobbes. both of them. i find his philosophy to more or less justify a substantive lack of trust in people, and that sounds so much better than just saying, "people suck."

'cause, you know, that's dicta.

happy birthday

yom huledet sameach, israel!

after israel observes memorial day [yom hazikaron], the country moves on to celebrate its creation. today, israel turns 59.

and through the gunsmoke, policy mishaps, religious fervor, and global disdain, i think israel, for a 59 year old nation, is doing pretty damn well.

especially since one of my friends in tel aviv sent me this.

it's nice to know that in spite of the terrorist attacks and constant derision aimed at the populace, they still manage to cultivate a fantastic sense of humor.

i hate the media.

of course, that can't be taken as an absolute. however, the tragedy at virginia tech has underscored the sensationalism of popular media.

i learn nothing, absolutely nothing, when an academic who wrote an article about columbine spouts off his opinion regarding school shootings. i also learn nothing when talking heads interview fbi agents from california regarding their opinions on how the situation should have been handled.

newsflash: the tragedy happened. your professional hindsight only serves to rub salt in open wounds, at worst. at best, you're preaching to people who have no control over campus security and sit on their couches under the impression that you, talking head, you could have stopped the massacre if only you had been in charge.

that is disingenuous and disrespectful, frankly. virginia tech's campus police are JUST that: campus police. given their training and protocol, they did the absolute best that they could, and should be commended for their quick rescue of injured victims. will the news underscore the fact that some of the students who were saved might have bled out if not for paramedic and police aid? ** addendum: and also if not for individual acts of heroism that i have yet to see in american mainstream media? ** further addendum: aforementioned individual act of heroism was perpetrated by a romanian shoah survivor. further proof that what we should have learned from the shoah is that good people cannot do nothing and expect to remain good. also phrased by panther as, "he knew what happens when good people stand by and do nothing." kiddush hashem.

whatever happened to respect in the media? smearing faces and bloody images across the screen feeds fear, and doesn't entirely serve the original purpose of the media: disseminating knowledge. if it's all about finding the right theme music [ all of it sounds ripped from jaws ] and properly shocking sound byte, then count me out.

i've got hollywood for that, thank you.

dayan haemet.

condolences to all those involved in the virginia tech shootings.

may you be comforted among all of the mourners.

weekend update.

today is a day for remembering, since we're observing yom hashoah.

this makes me sick. for israel to fail so miserably when it comes to the very people it was founded to protect is a travesty, in my opinion. i understand that a burgeoning government budgets leaves little room for the maintenance of shoah survivor care - what i don't understand is why there has been no attempt on the part of the knesset to reconcile the budget to the needs of these citizens.

this underscores the depths of human depravity. even children are not immune to the thrill of enforcing superiority over others. in a slightly humorous bent, i find it mildly amusing that a texas school made israeli news.

and this is proof that despite all of its flaws, israel is trying. it's trying to remember. unfortunately the trials of the past are clouded, making it difficult to apply the lessons to the current middle eastern situation.

i guess hindsight isn't necessarily 20/20. and that's not to say that israel is a failure of democracy. far from it. i just hold ha'aretz [and america] to a higher standard because i can, because some sick optimistic streak in my heart tells me that we are capable of achieving and surpassing that standard.

of course, then i remember that i'm in law school, and i was supposed to check my romanticism at the door.