This is just sort of a weird historical footnote that people might find interesting. The pistol used to assassinate Arch-Duke Ferdinand has been found in Austria. As you all know, this killing was the spark that started WW I.

I didn't know it was missing in the first place.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 59 words, total size 1 kb.

This website has to be a joke, right? He's not serious, is he? He's counting down to her 18th birthday? Why?

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 29 words, total size 1 kb.

They have dug up some interesting artifacts in Stavanger. The find includes Women's jewelry, a spinning wheel, a bowl-shaped silver-plated bronze buckle, and an amber pearl. Amber is something that you see a lot of coming from the Baltic region so this would be an indication of trade patterns, perhaps.

The oddest statement was made concerning a piece of stiffened pine resin which the project leader speculates was used as chewing gum: "All of us have tried to chew on stiffened pine resin at one time or another". All of us? We have? I must have been absent that day.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 108 words, total size 1 kb.

Simon is running a Showcase of New Blogs. People are being invited to send him posts from blogs which are under three months old for his consideration. My blog is young enough to qualify. I thought I'd ask my readers to send him a post that they particularly liked, assuming there are any, because I'm not sure I can choose. If you'd like to, pick the link and send it as follows:

Submissions

If you want to submit a post please title the email "Showcase entry" and include the following information in the email:

1. Your blog's name and URL
2. Your post's title and permalink
3. An excerpt or precis of the post for me to put up here to tempt people to read and link to your site.
4. Your name and a contact email address (for verification purposes only)

If there are particular requests you have, please include it in the email and I will do my best to accomodate them. Please try and include all this information as I don't have the time to go hunting for it.

The email address is simon[at]showcase[dot]mu[dot]nu
Thanks, in advance, to anyone who wants to submit anything to Simon from my blog.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 10:27 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 210 words, total size 1 kb.

Three other articles caught my attention today and I wanted to share them with you.

The first was about a young man who came here from Vietnam with nothing, got a job in a hardware store, put himself through Hunter College with a 3.96 GPA and is headed off to a doctoral program at Harvard in September. This was the American story and illustrates why we are still a draw for so many in the world. It is still true that you can realize your ambitions in America. It made me happy to see that what worked for my family is working for his.

The second story is about the other side of immigration. It is about the women who cook for illegal Mexican immigrants on Long Island. The women provide these men with a taste of home and a shoulder to cry on as the men, packed three to a bedroom and a dozen to a house, chase their piece of the American dream. The difference between these men and the young Vietnamese boy above? Education and language skills. The drive to succeed is the same.

Finally, this story made me very sad and I decided not to ever buy an SUV. A man in Long Island ran over and killed his 2 year old daughter on Father's Day. He didn't see her behind the SUV. The article says these accidents are more common with SUV's than with other cars. I wonder how this man will live with himself or whether he will commit suicide. The guilt and grief must be more than any one person can stand.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:09 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 285 words, total size 2 kb.

There was an interesting article in the NY Times today about bullying bosses. Have you ever had a boss who was a bully ("BB")? I have. I still do, in fact. My BB is named Stinky, because he is English and he doesn't always wash enough. So if you get real close to him at depositions, for instance, it'll break your concentration. Stinky is a bully. One associate who used to work here, and that reminds me that I owe her a call, used to throw up in the morning before coming to work on the days that she had to work with Stinky. On the days I worked with him, in the beginning, I used to come home from work, take a beer out of the fridge, sit down in the big, black comfy chair and not speak for about 20 minutes or so. Not one word until I was able to let the bad place go. I've seen three other associates quit rather than continue to work with him.

One associate, R, liked it. He became a mini-Stinky until the other associates practically slapped him upside the head. The article discusses this phenomenon, too.

The article also says that there is insufficient data about workers confronting their BB's. Well, I confronted him a couple of times. The first was in the beginning when he told me that I seemed to have a problem with his criticism and I told him that I did not have a problem being criticized, but the "manner in which he did it was positively lacerating". With that, he turned and walked out of my office and did not speak again to me for weeks. It was bliss. I'm still not sure why that was such a horrible thing to say, but it worked.

Stinky has class problems. He brought them with him from the England in the early 60's where he grew up in a large Irish-Catholic family in London when, I bet, it wasn't so easy to be Irish-Catholic in England. He claims to have no class problems at all. Untrue. Let me give you an example. I said something to him, not that long ago, and said, "that was not criticism" and he snorted and said, "how could it be? You are an associate and I am a partner, you couldn't criticize me". See what I mean? That's a social position/class issue in my mind.

Stinky also has this faux-hail-fellow-well-met persona. You never know if he's actually angry with you or just in a good mood. That keeps you off balance and guessing.

I dislike working with him and I hate reporting to him when I have to. He is one of the big reasons I don't think I want to become a partner here.

I'm not taking this much further today down memory lane with him because almost none of them are good.

Have any of you had BB experiences? I bet you have.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:45 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 498 words, total size 3 kb.

Envy is an ugly and destructive emotion. Most of the time I am free of it. One person, upon reading this post of mine from yesterday asked why I was envious of my friend. So, I went back to re-read my post to see if I did convey envy. I don't think I did. Was it a model of clarity? No and I acknowledge that at the end. I do not envy my friend his success. He has worked very, very hard for it and made sacrifices I would be unwilling to make. Indeed, I turned down a job offer doing criminal fraud prosecutions for the Department of Justice, pretty close to my dream position, because travel would have been a minimum of 50% of the time. That price was too high for me to pay and that sacrifice of never seeing my children was too great to make. He's paying that price every day.

So, no envy here. I instead am using my friend's career as a yard stick to measure my own against and I felt that it comes up a bit short. I think that my friend seems to have more options than I do right now. As I said, I'm feeling a bit trapped at the moment. This happens periodically and probably means that I need a vacation.

Still, there was a job opening I saw yesterday for my wife's skill set in New Zealand and I have to admit that I asked her to apply. . .

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:26 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 254 words, total size 1 kb.

This was funny. Go here and type in a url, like maybe a blog address, and check it out as Snoop'll "traaanslate it from tha shizzle to da shiznit". Official government websites come across as interesting, too. Hat tip to Amber who left us this little offering while she recharges on a short vacation. Thanks, Amber!

Posted by: Random Penseur at 01:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 60 words, total size 1 kb.

Came across an interesting article on Jewish World Review today, which I though I'd share with you. It's about how to get deals in new computer equipment. Among the helpful suggestions was this little gem, a listing of the websites which aggregate the special promotional codes used at various websites. If you don't feel like following the link, here it is:


Secret codes. Most online merchants provide an opportunity during the checkout process to enter a promotional code. Type it in and your total amount is automatically reduced, or you might get free shipping. Think of these codes as you would a coupon or gift certificate.

Getting those promotional codes is easy so long as you know where to look. Here are some Web sites that list codes and online coupons:

*CurrentCodes
*CoolSavings
*DealCatcher
*eDealFinder
*DealHunting
*Hot Deals Web

*BargainDog

These sites get the codes from retailers looking for free advertising. Promotional codes are distributed by the retailers to improve sales. Many regular customers of these stores get the codes by e-mail or regular mail. The retailers hope that by stealthily "leaking" promotional codes, their marketing efforts will expand as recipients pass the information on to friends. Tip: These companies are going to add your e-mail address to marketing lists. If you don't want to end up with a lot of junk e-mail, create a new, free e-mail account at www.yahoo.com or www.hotmail.com that you use when visiting these sites.

By the way, Jewish World Review is an interesting website/news letter. It collects and publishes interesting essays on current affairs and politics. It has a conservative bent. It's a daily glance for me.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 01:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 277 words, total size 2 kb.

If you read below, you'll see that I had a lengthy dinner with a dear, old friend Friday night. It got me thinking about the progression of life, about our movement through things. Up to now, most of our progress has been about preparation. We've been to school and maybe taken graduate degrees. We've studied, we've trained, and we've spent the first 21 years or so of our lives doing it. Then, we were set free to wreak havoc on the workforce, to find our way. To apply our training and our studies. To learn to live on our own. The living on our own part is interesting to me, too, because for the first couple of years it feels like you're playing house. That continues for years.

This is the growing process, post school. This is what we are probably at the end of now. I say probably because it will be only with the benefit of hindsight that I will be able to say whether I had it right or whether I was just being self-importantly pretentious. Probably a combination of the two.

Are you happy about where you are in the progression? I feel as if I am not nearly accomplished enough. I read today in the NY Law Journal that Columbia University Law School has appointed a new dean to head up the place. He's 35. One year younger than me. Ouch. Things like that make me reevaluate my own progression and I am not thrilled with how I am measuring up of late. I'm feeling a bit stuck. Stuck in NY, stuck in my job, stuck in my career. I think I'd like an adventure. Indeed, I encouraged my wife to post for a job in San Francisco, even though I am not admitted in California.

My old friend also makes me feel stuck. He's lived all over Europe practicing law. I feel as if he too is doing more and more varied interesting things than I am. I want a change.

Sometimes, by the way, it can be hard to perform this type of analysis. I'll share a little story with you by way of explanation. My wife and I were at a dinner on Thursday night and someone said that they thought I looked a good ten years younger than I really am. I was surprised by this and asked my wife about it later. She said that she couldn't really judge because to her I always kind of look 17. So, it can be difficult to use the people around you as a mirror.

Sorry about the rambling nature of this post. I guess my thoughts are not too well organized on this topic. That means I'll probably come back to it, but I did want to at least start the conversation. Have to start somewhere, right?

Posted by: Random Penseur at 12:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 479 words, total size 3 kb.

The Constitution of the United States of America came into effect today in 1788 as the 9th State, New Hampshire, ratified it. Cool, huh?

Posted by: Random Penseur at 12:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 30 words, total size 1 kb.

My daughter mangled a turn of phrase Saturday night. She wanted another cashew before being packed off to bed. She looked at me and said, "Can I have another one for the street?" That was much cuter than, "one for the road".

Posted by: Random Penseur at 11:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 50 words, total size 1 kb.

My wife and I met a dear old friend for drinks and dinner on Friday night. I have known B (my friend's initial) since we were about two years old. Longer, in other words, than I have known my sister. His father was a Norwegian diplomat and his mother is the person who introduced me to my wife. It's been about a year since I last saw him. He lives in Vienna, Austria now and is a lawyer for a multi-national American company. He travels too much, I think, but he enjoys the work. I'll have to share some of his stories about Moscow.

This is a unique friendship for me. We've lived apart more than we've lived together. There were some years together in Boston and later in NY. We were never living in Europe at the same time. But it never mattered. This is the type of cliche friendship where it seems like yesterday even if it was more than a year. We've gotten better about staying in touch together as we've gotten older and the one time it was ever awkward was when we once let it go for seven or eight years before seeing each other again. That awkwardness probably lasted for all of a half an hour. This time was no different. There was no pause, no problem, we just picked it right back up from where we were last time. The comfort derived from such an encounter, when you have shared experiences and shared memories with another dearly loved person dating back more than 30 years must be the psychic equivalent of slipping into a warm and gravity free bath. You are comforted and upheld and relieved of all stress. You know that there is probably nothing you can say to offend this person or make him think less of you. You have the ultimate security leavened with about a million old stories that you and he can pull out, and retell, and savor again. Sure, the fish may get bigger in the retelling, but you still recognize it. We've also lived through a lot of bad times together and supported each other through them. We even went through puberty together. We had the life altering conversations that you have to have with these kinds of friends. We've lived together a couple of times. Hell, he even moved in with us once or twice when relationships went bad.

We laughed and ate and drank through at least two sittings at this restaurant on Friday. It was bliss. It's always this way when we get together. We hung out for five hours together. You know what? Not enough time. Never is, really.

I miss him already.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 11:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 455 words, total size 2 kb.

While I keep you waiting for something substantive, I give you this Ugly Pregnant Prom Dress to marvel at. It was emailed to me by a friend who takes great delight in such perversities.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 10:46 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 40 words, total size 1 kb.

Interesting fact. Today, in 1815, the battle of Waterloo was fought. An interesting link can be found here, where you can see the Turner painting of the battle and, if you scroll down, a great description of the battle. Here is another description of the battle which, while the author describes it as slimmed down, is relatively comprehensive.

By the way, also today, in 1812, the U.S. declared war against Great Britain in the War of 1812.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:25 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 83 words, total size 1 kb.

Too much supply and not enough demand for prostitutes in Norway cause them to take it on the road. What's the problem? Cheaper imported woman from the former Eastern-bloc countries are pricing the Norwegian prostitutes out of the market. Interesting application of market force.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 52 words, total size 1 kb.

Sorry to all of you who dropped by yesterday looking for something new. I was too pissed off to post yesterday after oral argument in front of a judge who was not prepared to the argument. As it turns out, it wasn't entirely her fault, as the clerk stamped over the front of my motion and obscured a portion of the relief I'd requested. It started out like this:

Court: Mr. RP, I don't understand why you think you are entitled to get all of the files and papers from the other law firm.

Me: Because the Court of Appeals says I am, your Honor. (For you non-NY lawyer types, the Court of Appeals is the highest court in the state).

It sort of went downhill from there until she figured out that she had not known what I was asking for in my motion.

Before that, though, the attorney for the plaintiff pretty much lied to the Court about the extent of his firm's activities. This was a motion to disqualify his firm from continuing to represent the plaintiff against the defendant because this firm had represented both parties at one point. That's a big no. In any event, my opponent way underplayed what they had done for my client.

At the time my opponent was speaking, the court room was fairly noisy as the attorneys who were waiting their turn for argument were chatting. When my opponent finished, I got to go. I may have been a little more dramatic, but I had outrage on my side. When I finished my presentation, I noticed that you could hear a pin drop in the court room.

Unfortunately, she gave the other side extra time to brief the issues. I, of course, get extra time to reply. And that is why I was so pissed. This should have just been submitted. The other side should not have been given another bite at that apple.

That said, an older lawyer once warned me that you should be extra cautious when a judge grants all of your smaller applications leading up to an ultimate resolution. He or she may just be creating an appeal proof record. I hope that is what is happening here.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 382 words, total size 2 kb.

In honor of the birthday, today in 1913, of Sammy Cahn lyricist (3 Coins in a Fountain), I thought I might list a few of my favorite lyricists. I have a lot of them. I am a great fan of the golden age of Broadway and I can sing along to most of the musicals. The old musicals, not the new ones. So, who makes my list?

*Johnny Mercer, of course
*Irving Berlin
*Cole Porter
*Frank Loesser
*Ira and George Gershwin
*Lorenz Hart
*Oscar Hammerstein
*Stephen Sondheim
*Alan Jay Lerner
*Jerome Kern
*Harold Arlen
*Richard Rodgers
*George M. Cohan


Ella Fitzgerald does songbooks of many of the above. I love all of them unreservedly.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:03 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 118 words, total size 1 kb.

I received an off topic comment from Ivan last night which I thought merited a longer response than normal. He noticed that I had posted a comment on another website, where he had also commented, and he asks: "Is it just me or is the average level of discourse extremely acrimonious [on that site]? Yours and Erins are light years ahead in civility imho."

First, thank you for your comment, the compliment, and for putting me in Erin's company.

Civility has gone by the boards in some of what passes for web based discourse. Too many people take shelter in their anonymity and snipe away. Happily that has not occurred here or on Erin's board, as Ivan points out. Why is that? Beats me. I feel fortunate in the people who choose to come to read my offerings leave comments that are well written and thoughtful. No one here, yet, has left a comment for the purpose of trying to show just how much smarter he or she is than me or the other readers. That kind of person is a bore. So far, no bores here. They do exist on other boards. In fact, some of you may remember that I got banned from another blog for disagreeing with the author. I did it politely but even polite disagreement was too much for that fragile soul and she banned me. I blogged about that experience here. I welcome people to disagree with me but my momma raised me right, even if it almost killed her, and I doubt that I'd tolerate people attacking each other or being rude here.

Finally, when I leave comments on other people's boards, I try to re-read the comment before I post it. I often go back and tone things down. Maybe that's all that's needed on that other site. Or, maybe, people are too busy trying to impress each other.

Either way, I'm grateful and thankful for the intelligent readers who visit and comment here. Thanks!

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:15 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 337 words, total size 2 kb.

Today, in 1858, after being chosen as the Republican candidate for the upcoming U.S. Senate election, Abraham Lincoln gave his famous speech: "A house divided against itself cannot stand".

I reproduce here, some of what he said, because I find it moving and rousing and beautiful and because there is still something we can learn from it today. This is the conclusion of the speech:

Our cause, then, must be intrusted to, and conducted by, its own undoubted friends-those whose hands are free, whose hearts are in the work-who do care for the result. Two years ago the Republicans of the nation mustered over thirteen hundred thousand strong. We did this under the single impulse of resistance to a common danger, with every external circumstance against us. Of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought the battle through, under the constant hot fire of a disciplined, proud, and pampered enemy. Did we brave all them to falter now?-now, when that same enemy is wavering, dissevered, and belligerent? The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail-if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise counsels may accelerate, or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later, the victory is sure to come.

I am struck by the parallels to the current war on terror. We need the same national cohesion and steadfastness of purpose Lincoln called for so that, for us, victory is sure to come. I hope we can find it somewhere.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:53 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 259 words, total size 2 kb.