javajoe2003's Xanga

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:03:21 GMT

man, traffic went way down on this site. i get more comments (and views probably) on my sportingnews.com blog, to which i post like once a year.

anyhow, for the two people who still read this, i am wondering how i got to be such a contraction in life. as we left the library tonight, i was remarking to sheila about how i have seen none of the Sotomayor hearings and how i am ashamed of that since i'm in law school and very concerned about the future direction of the Supreme Court. plus, while i was in the library itself, i laughed at the section titled "Beach Books" and thought about how i'm going to tote a book about politics or law to the beach this summer while everyone else is reading light and fun things. (in all truthfulness, i would consider taking Twilight or Harry Potter 7, but i don't want to get smacek's copy of Twilight covered in sand and ocean water, and Harry Potter 7 is too big for the beach) but then i got home and spent an hour reading about jon and kate gosselin and the real housewives of new jersey. and did i mention i got the gosselins' book and the first season of jon and kate plus 8 from the libby?

my thoughts on the Shaq trade

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:16:57 GMT

when i heard about the trade for Shaq, i could barely contain myself, and it was all that i could do not to barge into the house and totally disrupt the girls' conversation. i had trouble getting to sleep last night and i was pumped to talk about it at work today.

however, very few people seemed that excited about it...and these were serious cavs fans too!

Here are my thoughts on the Shaq trade. Before I go any farther, let me state that I am a big Shaq fan. I loved him when he went to the Lakers, I cheered him on during the Laker dynasty years, and I lost most of my respect for Kobe Bryant when he broke up the Laker dynasty and chased Shaq outta town. I have some of Shaq's rap CD's and own many of his movies, including Kazaam and Steel. I've even read his book! Obviously, I may not be as objective as some people!

As a basketball fan, I love the trade. Shaq is a genuine, bonafide superstar who is going to only amplify the star power that LeBron already has brought to Cleveland. He'll attract other quality players to Cleveland as well.

As a Cavs fan, I LOVE THIS MOVE. Seriously, what is there not to like about it? We traded away a long-past-his-prime guy who has less offensive game than I do (Ben Wallace), a guy who couldn't string together a series of quality games to save his life (Sasha Pavlovic), a second round pick who might not even make the team, and cash for...a guy who was All-NBA Third Team last year, one of the top centers ever to play the game, and one of the biggest, most physically imposing players in the NBA in Shaq Diesel. I never, ever was really that crazy about the trades involving Wallace and it took a LOT of mental mind tricks to convince myself that it was a great trade. Putting a player on the floor who has no offensive game and is not an offensive threat puts a team at a 4-on-5 disadvantage and when you're going up against teams like the Celtics and Magic who can score points in bunches, that's a tremendous handicap. As far as Sasha, he wasn't consistent enough to get serious minutes on a team like the Cavs. When he got time in the playoffs this season, he struggled, and his biggest impact was being the first guy to grab LeBron after he hit his heroic game-winning shot in Game 2 against the Magic. I would MUCH rather lose him than Delonte West or even Wally, whose 3 point shooting is still a strong asset.

I've heard complaints about Shaq's big salary, which is funny to me, because I haven't had the privilege of speaking to Dan Gilbert about the move. Nor did I have the opportunity to talk with Danny Ferry about it either (although this one actually could have come true, because I saw him at a restaurant a few weeks back!). As long as you're not the one cutting the check or having to play games with the salary cap, I see no reason to complain. We are blessed with an owner like Gilbert who is willing to put his money where his mouth is and build a winner, and we should be grateful...it's a lot better than having owners like the Dolans, who are trying (and presently failing) to build a winning Indians franchise with a budget equvialent to the balance of my savings account.

I haven't heard this one today, but that's probably because I've been hearing it ever since Shaq was playin' on the west side with the Lakers: Shaq is an awful free throw shooter. Well, LeBron isn't that great either, would you like to get rid of him? Besides, Mike Brown is a smart coach, and he'll put Z (who's among the top 10 centers in free throw percentage) on the floor during close games.

While we're talking about Z, I would like to briefly digress to state that my admiration for Z grew for leaps and bounds today. Z's been with the Cavs through it all--several foot surgeries, the down years when Ricky Davis shot at the wrong basket to improve his rebounding stats and when one could purchase near-courtside seats for $10 outside the arena because demand was so low, and the rise and success that followed the fortuituous bounce of the ping pong ball in the 2003 NBA Draft Lottery that brought us LeBron James. He's been a starter and is considered to be one of the top 3 centers in the Eastern Conference. What did he do when the Cavs' management notified him that they were considering trading for Shaq? He agreed to relinquish his starting role and go to the bench. THAT'S a team player, folks.

Look, I'm a realist. We're not getting the Shaq who wore purple and gold for the Lakers, I realize that. Maybe we're not even getting the Shaq who lit up South Beach in 2006 to win the title with the Heat. However, we are getting a massive, imposing player who will at the very least play better D on Dwight Howard or Kevin Garnett than Joe Smith, Ben Wallace, Z, or any other forward on the roster could. If he can slow down quality centers to the point where we don't have to double-team and leave shooters open for 3 pointers, which I am fairly confident that he'll be able to do, the trade will be well worth it. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, Shaq is hungry and driven. He just saw Kobe emerge from his large shadow and win a title without him manning the middle, and you better believe that he wants to ensure that he gets his 5th NBA title before he retires. Hopefully, for all of us long-suffering fans who are desperate to live to see the Cavs win 1 NBA title, he will.

SHAQ TO THE CAVS!

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:26:02 GMT

yes!! i never thought this day would come. and to celebrate, i'm putting up some shaq rap lyrics from his song "You Can't Stop The Reign"

You can't stop it, block it, when I drop it,
anytime I go rhyme for rhyme on a topic,
You ain't even fit to step in Shaq's arena,
I look into your mind and I see your shook demeanor,
In your eyes, why are you suprised,
no matter how you try, I'm fly as eliquie,
The new edition, is this the end of your last night,
in the day time you couldn't see me with a flashlight,
I crash flights on sights of my enemies,
I'm comin through, and then I bomb your whole vicinity,
why they actin fakin jacks, you're not a friend of me,
I peeped your card, you're not as hard as you pretend to be,
who wanna spark it, with the chocolate macademian,
hand clean to the cranium,
you know the name, Shaq aim to maintain,
money on the brain, can't stop the reign

You can't stop the reign,
when it starts to fall,
there's no one else to blame,
you can't unlock that door

7-0, towerin inferno,
invincible smooth individual,
who wanna test it, forgein or domestic,
no matter where you're from, I'm not the one you wanna mess wit',
original with this style, livin lavish,
private jets to let my shorty shop in Paris,
I'm not the average, I'm far from the norm,
It's Daddy Long, keepin' it warm, hitting them strong

GO CAVS!

yeah 2L!

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:46:34 GMT

i finally got my last grade (Property) today! God saved the best for last...it was the best grade I received all year long! i honestly did not expect to do that well...the fact that our prof threw a word count on the exam with no advance notice whatsoever was a gigantic curveball (anyone who reads this knows that brevity is NOT my strong suit!) and the multiple choice questions were incredibly difficult and covered all of the material about which i was least confident. too bad this isn't one of the classes for which the school has a teaching assistant, because i would love to be a teaching assistant for this class! i probably did well because we talked about social justice-esque topics in the class and because the material had a lot of relevance to public interest law...people can whine and moan that she didn't teach the class for the bar exam, but i'm glad that she taught the class in a manner that equips us to help the less fortunate!

the other night, my mom asked me if my first year was what i thought it was going to be. i honestly didn't have much of an answer. i still don't, really. in some ways, it was exactly what i expected, but it was very different in other ways. i can say, though, that i am glad that i made the decision to go to law school, and that although there are other career paths (writer, chef, fantasy sports blogger) that i would love to do, i am excited about all of the opportunities that will be available in the future for me.

i am stoked for my classes next year!

Tax I: i know this might not sound fascinating, but i have not heard a bad word spoken about the prof who teaches it. she's testified in front of the Senate and she also has won a ton of awards for quality teaching.

Legal Response to Terrorism: this is going to be awesome, especially as the decisions regarding what to do with the Guantanamo detainees play out

Labor Law: every time i thought about dropping this so that i could have some evenings free, i thought about bruce springsteen's music. i thought about the hard working union men and women all around America who have been royally screwed by Republicans and how nothing makes me happier than to stick it to greedy, money-grubbing corporate executives who want to screw hard working union men and women and move jobs overseas, and i decided to take this class.

Immigration Law: sheila and i will be taking our first, and probably only, class together! the prof is very well known and i am excited.

Legal Writing-Family Law Drafting: this is very practical and the prof is a judge, and since judges are the folks whom one needs to impress with briefs, why not learn from one?

Constitutional Law: this is going to be great! the prof is awesome and i am very excited to talk about many of the issues that come up as part of the class.

so, that's that. Animal Law didn't make the cut this time around, which sucks because i would love to work for the HSUS if we wind up in DC next summer and this course would be very helpful. it's on monday night and i am not sure if there would be enough time to go from Immigration Law down to CSU for Animal Law. i would love to do stuff with puppy mills and to help prosecute people who think that it's okay to endanger the lives of poor, defenseless puppies in order to make a profit.

gotta go to bed so i can get up early tomorrow morning and put all of this legal knowledge to use!

workin' 9-5, it's the way to make a livin'

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:21:21 GMT

posting has been really sporadic as of late. =( i'm thinking, again, about putting this on blogspot, because xanga is so 2000.

but anyway! the school year is over, thank God! finals went alright, some better than others, and being sick during most of them was a real bummer. fortunately, CSU has a great medical plan, and a visit to the clinic combined with a bottle of $3.99 amoxicillin fixed me up just fine. we headed up to niagara falls for a quick spontaneous getaway right after my final ended...we were going to wait a day, but then we checked the weather and decided that it was better to leave early, and it was, as usual, a lot of fun!

i started my summer job at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland on the tuesday after finals ended. boy, this job is a gigantic blessing! the work is hard, the hours can be long, and i have to work on saturdays at times, but i have never had a job before that has given me as much satisfaction and enjoyment as this job does. my supervisors are extremely supportive and encouraging and i feel very comfortable with them. the work is interesting and i have already learned a TON. i have had the opportunity to do many fun things as part of this job too; i have already been to The City Club twice to hear very interesting speakers and i am scheduled to go again in the future. additionally, i attended the Cleveland-Marshall Alumni Luncheon at the Renaissance Hotel as well, which was great and made me feel much prouder about being a student at the school. my tax prof won an award, which makes me more excited for the fall because she seems like a very qualified and talented teacher.

of course, the cavs lost to the magic in a heartbreaking series. man, i took this loss much harder than any cavs loss in quite some time. it was a great season, though, and a few free agents and good moves by the cavs will get us the personnel to get to the finals (and win!) next year. the indians are sorta chugging along--i tune in every now and then, and it seems that they win when i do, so maybe i should tune in more often! of course, i am counting down the days until the browns' season and fantasy football begin...i am very optimistic and hopeful! just did my first official fantasy football mock draft today and was very pleased with the results, although drafting T.O. isn't something that i'm crazy about doing.

umm...i'm not one who thinks that being in the working world is better than school simply because one's evenings are free, because i believe that one's mind can get stagnant when they're not learning regularly, but it has been nice to be able to play some tennis and get through a good part of harry potter 6.

oh yeah! my car was hit from the rear when i was visiting 402's house last week. praise God that neither sheila nor i were in it though! the damage is pretty extensive, but the other party's insurance is picking up the tab, and hopefully all of the repairs will go well and get my car back to the condition in which it was before the accident. it was a pretty surreal experience--walking outside and seeing my car on a treelawn when it was originally parked on the street can really mess with your mind--but i'm grateful that i have a nice rental car (also paid for by the other party) and that nobody was hurt.

i think that's about all! oh yeah, if you're a Virginian, please vote for terry mcculiffe in the primary on tuesday, june 9th! i'll be making phone calls tomorrow night and tuesday, and i hope you can get out there and help elect a leader who will help Virginia continue to be a well-led and prosperous state!

memorial day

Tue, 26 May 2009 02:39:49 GMT

as i've gotten older, memorial day has become a lot more important to me.

both sides of my family have a rich history of proud military service. my grandpa on my mother's side fought in World War II and served as General MacArthur's chef in the Pacific. my dad has served in the Navy Reserve for many years and was called to duty in the first Gulf War and was supposed to go overseas twice but did not. my grandpa on my dad's side served in World War II, and many previous generations fought in earlier wars, such as The Civil War, as well. my stepmother's dad served in the military too.

i have thought long and hard about whether to pursue military service, and the fact that i will be the first in many generations not to serve (unless something changes drastically with my life's path or world history) weighs on me on days like Memorial Day. part of me tells myself that i am serving the country through my career path in public interest law, but another part of me reminds myself that there is no greater sacrifice than putting oneself in the place to lay down his life for his nation.

i've struggled, too, with how to balance celebrating and honoring our veterans with my beliefs that we shouldn't celebrate war and that wars should only be entered into as a last resort and that our nation should hold leaders accountable who do not send our sons and daughers into combat after exhausting all possible diplomatic alternatives. it was very hard for me to protest the war in Iraq in 2003 while my father was in a rather prominent military-related position because i did not want him to feel as if i disapproved of him personally even though i disapproved of the war. over time, i've come to realize that while it is important to ensure that military action is handled with gravitas and seriousness, it is also very important to not only make our troops feel as if the nation supports them and is hoping for their safe return home, but also to ensure that our nation provides our veterans with the resources that they need to re-adjust to civilian life through things such as providing adequate medical care, counseling, and education.

i called my dad and thanked him for his service today. it was the first time in 28 years that i've done that, and it's far too overdue. i hope to have the chance to visit my grandfather's grave as well; i haven't been there for many, many years. =( i hope that all of us in America are grateful for the sacrifices that people have made. our nation isn't perfect, but compared to the rest of the world, we have it very good and we are very blessed. social inequality does exist, but there are an army of programs and people who are ready and willing to fight a war against poverty and inequality here at home and make it possible for the poorest children to have the same chances at success as the richest children. we have religious freedom in America as well and nobody is forced to believe anything that violates their conscience. sure, Memorial Day is a nice day off and a chance to celebrate with friends, but i hope that in the midst of our celebrations and happiness, we all can take the time to remember the deeper meaning of the day.

cleveland rocks!

Mon, 11 May 2009 17:15:41 GMT

i'm sitting in Erie Island Coffee on East 4th Street and studying contracts while Sheila's at her orientation for the federal public defender. i'm so proud of her--she landed a really great summer position there and will be doing very important work.

anyhow, man, i feel bad for all those jokers (especially people in other cities) who watch those lame, trite YouTube videos making fun of Cleveland--they're missing out on a great city with many fun things to do! even in daylight with very few people, East 4th looks and feels like entertainment districts that i've been to in Boston and Washington D.C. there are several great restaurants like Lola and The Greenhouse Tavern, this coffeehouse is quite nice, and the Corner Alley\Pickwick and Frolic are here too. of course, the Q is right down the street, and it's great to see this area decked out in Cavs playoff stuff. the area has definitely picked up a lot since the 2006 Ingenuity Festival! man, i really wish that this type of transformation could occur in other neighborhoods too!

i am grateful that God gave me the call to do public interest law, to go to law school, and to use my gifts and talents to help cleveland. if i didn't have that wind filling my sails, i don't know how i could do it. having 5 finals while being sick has been a tough slog, but every time i want to quit, i think about that and it keeps me going. Lord willing, it'll keep me going all the way until thursday at 11AM when i'll be done with my torts final!

manny ramirez

Sun, 10 May 2009 02:24:19 GMT

real quick...study break time!

i don't know why i'm not a GIGANTIC baseball fan. maybe it's because i was never very good at it when i was younger and am still not very good at it (which is why i dont play softball for scranton). or maybe it's because i don't understand all of the strategy behind the moves that are made during the game. funny, though, because the indians were the best team in town during the years when i started following sports on a regular basis (i only vaguely remember the browns making the playoffs prior to the move to baltiwhore). anyway, for whatever reason, my favorite player on the indians back then was manny ramirez. i don't know why, but he was. i was really sad to hear that he tested positive for steroids this past week, but then interested to hear what would happen when he claimed that it was due to a prescription given by his doctor who didn't know what was banned and what wasn't banned. part of me wondered, "why don't teams just write a contract provision in that mandates that players can only see the team's official doctor so this doesn't happen?" but then the other part of me thought, "well, what about people's freedom to pick their doctors?" wonder if i could explore this for my Note next year? (i was looking at taking Legal Issues in Education for it, but we'll see) the only reason i was able to get through Senior Project in undergrad was because i wrote about dennis kucinich, who at the time i thought was a fascinating and inspiring figure. i still like him, but not as much, but that's a topic for another time. if i had to write about something like jurisdictional limits or civil procedure clauses, that would be awful.

in any case, i'm sad--he said he wanted to come back and finish his career with cleveland in the future, and i was hopeful that he would. i really wish the Indians had never been sold...ever since Dolan has gone with the lower payroll, the team has done worse. sure, we made the playoffs in 2007, but it's almost like EVERY personnel decision has to be 100% on point with this lower payroll and there's no room for error. i keep saying over and over that i wouldn't mind paying more for tickets if it meant that we could have a higher payroll, but i have no idea if that would result in a higher payroll. of course, having a higher payroll doesn't automatically mean success, the yankees sign every big free agent every year and still underperform. i love the Indians--believe me, i do--and if the day comes that we can afford season tickets, i will definitely buy them--but it's really frustrating to get the nightly ESPN Text Alert with the Indians' score and see that we either lost by 1 run due to lack of offense OR lost the lead late in the game because the bullpen was bad and to then think to myself how extra $ spent could have landed us some better hitters or solid relievers. oh well, hopefully i can keep busy with legal aid and tennis this summer once the cavs win the NBA title and once august rolls around, the browns (or, depending on who you talk to, "the crap coming out of Berea"...inside joke!) will begin traning camp and all of the other glorious things that come with football season will come onto the radar screen!

my baby's gone with the wind

Thu, 07 May 2009 22:04:33 GMT

sheila's gone until sunday for sara's graduation and i'm home alone. she made a ton of food for me before she left--yummy donuts and Persian meatballs! i felt sad for her yesterday--she had been done with finals for quite some time, but we didn't do much of anything fun because: 1.) i felt completely awful with some type of illness and 2.) i had to study for my property final tomorrow morning. hopefully she'll be able to have some fun at home and do a lot of cool stuff! whatever she does will definitely be better than staying up here with me all weekend while i study for contracts on Tuesday and torts on Thursday. i can't believe that i have FIVE in-class finals! i must say, all of the patting-themselves-on-the-back that my school does about its bar passage rate in comparison to Case and everywhere else in the region darn well better pay off when i'm actually taking the stinkin' bar. when i tell my profs and the academic assistance people about how case's 1L finals are open book\open note, and how one of them was a take home final, they went on and on about how case's program didn't prepare people for the bar, etc. i dunno if that's true or not, i sure hope not, but oh well, i can't do anything about it now...just gotta keep grinding through the last 3 finals (of 5 total) and i'll be done! criminal law on monday went OK but civil procedure on wednesday really sucked. i think my sickness got worse during the exam or something, either that or my body just got exhausted from being so tense, because i came home yesterday and crashed.

man, it feels like undergrad...i'm sitting here, alone, listening to music and studying. hopefully my grades this semester will turn out like my undergrad grades! prayer for my finals would be appreciated, and let me know how i can pray for you!

Welcome, Sen. Specter!

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:42:49 GMT

i was thrilled to learn today that Sen. Arlen Specter joined the Democrats today!

reading the news coverage has been very amusing. in response to someone who has been a Republican for over 40 years switching parties, did the Republicans engage in self-reflection and think about whether or not they're doing things right and whether or not they're headed in the right direction? i mean, isn't it a bad sign when someone who's been that loyal to the party jumps ship after all that time? i would think so!

but evidently the usual suspects disagree with me! (all of these quotes are from CNN)

Conservative host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday he isn't sorry to see Arlen Specter leave the GOP — and that many Republicans wish the Pennsylvania senator would take a few others with him when he goes.

"A lot of people say, 'Well, Specter, take [Sen. John] McCain with you. And his daughter [Meghan]. Take McCain and his daughter with you if you're gonna…" he told listeners, dissolving in laughter.

my thoughts: sure, we'll take Meghan McCain. Democrats aren't threatened by women who think for themselves and who aren't afraid to express their opinions! that's why i married one. face it: the only reason most Republican men liked Sarah Palin was because she is good looking. if you put her in the body of a less attractive woman, the fervor around her would be MUCH less strong.

Upon learning that Arlen Specter has switched political parties, now joining the Democrats in a filibuster-proof U.S. Senate, Club for Growth President Chris Chocola issued this statement:

"Senator Specter has confirmed what we already knew - he's a liberal devoted to more spending, more bailouts, and less economic freedom. Thanks to him, Democrats will now be able to steamroll their big government agenda through the Senate.

my thoughts: wow...how original! you got all of the standard insults in there: "liberal", "less economic freedom", and "big government". but wait! you forgot to call him a "Socialist"! shame on you! maybe the intern that wrote this statement is actually a closet liberal or something.

and last, but not least, we'll let one of the five remaining African-American Republicans in America get his $0.02 in:

A heated Michael Steele (Republican National Committee Chairman) told CNN Tuesday longtime Republican Sen. Arlen Specter essentially "flipped the bird" at the GOP leadership with his decision to bolt from the party he has been a member of for more than four decades.

Speaking to CNN's Gloria Borger and Kyra Philips, the Republican National Committee Chairman said it was "not only disrespectful, but downright rude" of Specter to make this decision after the national party made it clear it would stand behind him in a contentious primary fight.

"[National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John] Cornyn went out on the line for this man," he said. "For the senator to flip the bird back to Senator Cornyn and the Republican Senate Leadership, a team that stood by him, who went to the bat for him in 2004, to save his hide is not only disrespectful but down right rude,"

"I'm sure his mama didn't raise him this way," Steele added.

"I seriously doubt he'll have a scot-free ride on the Democratic side no matter what kind of deal the trial lawyers and Democratic Party have made," Steele said. "[Pennsylvania] Gov. Ed Rendell may not run for the U.S. Senate, but a lot of congressmen will look at that seat — this is an open seat for the Democrats."

"If Sen. Specter survives in the fall — get ready to go to the mat, baby, because we're coming after you and taking you out," added Steele.

my thoughts: man, when you mess with a guy's mom, it's on. i would have not received any detentions in high school except for the fact that some kid made a comment about my mom and we proceeded to have a physical altercation following that comment. notice the fact that i said "high school"...one would except the chairman of a national political party to have more class. but then again, when your party is only able to win something like 15 states in the Electoral College, calling the Republicans a "national" party might be a bit too generous.