I’ve discussed intellectual property rights in the past. My post today is about a less obvious possible infringement. I downloaded an episode of the Pink Panther yesterday on iTunes entitled Prehistoric Pink. One of the very first shots in the show is this:
Immediately I knew that little caveman looked a little too familiar.
I can’t tell you when Little Ceasars created their spokes-cartoon or when this character first appeared on an episode of the Pink Panther. I just found it interesting and notable.
Oh, and an update. In my previous posts about possible copyright infringement of the Shawnimal Wee Ninja, it appears that there has been a resolution of some sorts. The creator of Shawnimals proudly has announced the future release of Ninja Town, a video game for the Nintendo DS. How is that for getting business done!?! Congrats to him.
(I happen to own a Wee Ninja now. He is stealthfully watching me type this).
P.S. Oliver is working undercover as we speak. Perhaps we’ll have his latest story for you later in the week 
I’m uber excited about 2008.
2007 wasn’t a “bad year”… but it sure wasn’t a great year.
Then again, some great things did happen in ‘07. I moved into my own apartment, Oliver came into my life and has been busy brightening it up ever since, and Moot Court helped me realize I still have it. I may be a bit rusty, but I still clean the competition up And we cannot forget the things in life that continued to go right and well; relationships that have been maintained, friends that have kept in touch, cars that have continued to run haha.
So 2007 wasn’t bad, but 2008 is going to be great. I just know it. I turn 25 in 26 days and I have always looked forward to turning 25. I know for some people 25 seems like a milestone they don’t want to hit. Not me! I have waited my whole young life to “grow up” and I can finally see things beginning to fall into place. As much as friends and family told me to enjoy the moment and just relax, I couldn’t help but focus on the day I would be in a home of my own and developing a career life. I realize that a home, a family, and a kick-ass career won’t happen this year, but I know that 2008 is going to be a huge stepping stone for me.
I can’t tell you what exactly it is I expect to happen this year (I wish I had those kind of powers). Something just tells me it is gonna be a big year for me and I can’t wait to see what 2008 and 25 have in store for me!
Happy New Year!
I have been wanting for some time to write my opinions regarding the current presidential hopefuls. As I began writing, I realized I have more to say about the issues and the current climate of our country than I do about the candidates themselves.
I think the United States has gotten very lucky for a very long time - the last time our country really hadto ban together on an issue in order to make progress was during World War II. People sacrificed in thier daily lives for the greater good of the country and the world. The war wasn’t something that was going on in a far off land that only the military and the government was affected by, the whole country was affected by it and knew it every day.
My point (which has NOTHING to do with Iraq by the way), is that the entire country was moving forward on an issue because everyone was in support.
We keep looking to the politicians to make changes for us and then bitch when they don’t. Hasn’t anyone else noticed that the country is split nearly 50/50 on every single major political issue out there right now? How can anyone make changes when there is no majority regarding anything?
I am convinced that the only way for any major changes to take place at this point in time is for it to happen grass-roots style. If every person in the country set out what they would like to see for themselves, their family, and their country in the future and then acted accordingly, maybe something could get done.
It is the “acting accordingly” bit that is the problem however. When I say people should look to what they want for themselves in the future, I don’t mean what car they want or what zip code they want to live in! I mean what kind of values you want your children to uphold. I mean what kind of career you want to follow in order to make yourself feel fulfilled – not rich! I am talking about being able to say one day “I made a difference”, not “I own a 1/2 a million dollar home”!
I think about what I want for the future. Of course money comes into the picture. I want enough money to send my children to college if they so choose. I want to be able to pay the bills. I don’t want to ever be thousands of dollars in debt and look around my home and realize that if I hadn’t been so greedy, maybe I wouldn’t be in that position. I don’t ever want my children to think they are better than anyone else for any reason or vice-versa, and I certainly don’t want them to base any such idea on material possessions!
I wonder what it would be like to work for the satisfaction and not for the money. I hope one day to find out.
And in the end I realize it isn’t about politics or the next President. It is about me and what I can do for myself and my country.
What a feeling – I am here at school early like I have intended and I am already done studying for my only class today and have very little reading left to do for tomorrows class and I have two and a half hours of study time left! This is going to be fabulous once I need to begin working on moot court.
So I wanted to discuss a question that lawyers are often asked of by non-lawyers. It is a question I myself was asked on Saturday in my professional responsibility class by the professor. The professor first asked the class generally who wanted to be a criminal defense attorney. I was one of three who raised a hand. The professor looked directly at me and asked “what do you tell family and friends when they ask ‘how could you defend someone you know is guilty’”?
I answered in a somewhat “classical” fashion; that I believe the system works and in order for it to work in the way intended, everyone deserves and must have their day in court. Today it is someone guilty but tomorrow it may not be. If the standards are lowered for one, they can be lowered for all.
My criminal procedure book and my professional responsibility book call the people who ask this morally entrenched question “lay persons”. I think this is a condescending way of looking at it. Not only do non-lawyers often ask this question, but academics have pondered it for centuries. There must be something more to this question of morality. Is the question “how can I help someone guilty to not be punished” or is the question “do I condone the actions of the party”?
While these questions may be legitimate, I don’t think they represent the real question within all of us. The majority of the population wants no association to these people at all, none the less a seemingly sympathetic one! I think the real question has to do with our own feelings of not wanting to appear apart from the crowd, not wanting to be labeled, not wanting to be cast out from society.
Today on my way to school I passed a woman walking who was trying to cross the street. She appeared to be in her fifties and I say that she was “trying” to cross the road because it appeared to be a serious undertaking for her. She was clearly being tortured and tormented by something that was in her mind and her mind alone. She looked terrified as she sped up, slowed down, and swatted at the air. She turned quickly to face her “tormentor” and then tried to race away from “it”. The rush hour traffic sped by and so did I, leaving her in the middle of a street in one of the worst parts of town. We don’t want to see her, just like we don’t want to see the criminals. Maybe one day she will become a “criminal” – attacking a real person rather than just the air. Is there anyone out there who disagrees with me that she deserves someone by her side should she ever face the possibility of criminal charges? I doubt it. But they will say she is an exception, she is “sick”. She needs medical care and she certainly shouldn’t be placed in the same kind of place as rapists and murderers. But who is going to point that out? Police would be doing their job arresting someone for assault, the prosecutor is busy cracking down on crime, the judge is seeing how many cases today? While all of these people have a responsibility to watch out for the exceptions to the rule, if it were you, wouldn’t you want someone exclusively on your side?
No, the system doesn’t always work just like every system on the planet. That is why we need people who want to see it work take part.
I can’t help but put this video in my blog. I recently heard about a new attraction in the area – the Creation Museum. It isn’t just any museum. The size, attractions, and the $ put into it ranks it up there with some of the worlds top natural history museums. However, the big difference is that the Creation Museum is based solely and completely upon the bible.
So what?
Well…. that means that 6000 years ago, on the fateful “6th day”, God not only made Adam and Eve, he also made dinosaurs. Oh yea, and that also means that all varieties of dinos boarded Noah’s Arc too!
So how did Noah manage to get off of the arc after being on board with two T-Rex’s? The museum explains that the bible tells us that animals did not fear man until they got off of the arc. OK, fair enough. But didn’t they get HUNGRY on the arc?!?!
Brian and I and some of our friends have been wanting to go…but part of me is wondering how I feel about giving any money to a museum that promotes a completely scientifically inaccurate history of the world! I would be fine with many other exhibits – the Garden of Eden, even a Noah’s Arc exhibit… shit, I would even be more ok if they just said that fossils were just funky looking rocks and that dinosaurs never existed… but to say that dinosaurs and the entire PLANET was made just 6000 years ago really grabs my metaphorical goat!
Watch the video…
I would like to hear other people’s reaction/opinion on this.
I recently responded to a bulletin posted by an old friend on Myspace. It has been about a year since I have spoken to him and I teasingly chided him about his propensity to fall off the face of the earth. Turns out that it wasn’t an accident. He responded to my message by apologizing for not keeping in touch and continued by writing out a long story about how every time he has spoken to me his girlfriend has gotten very upset – screaming, crying, etc .
What I find curious however is the fact that she became so angry about him staying in touch with me although we had never dated, I have never had nor shown any interest in him, I had moved nearly two hours away at first and now live in a completely different state – i.e., I don’t pose any threat to their relationship.
This brings me to the topic of jealousy and my ultimate question.
If I had been my friend’s gf, I likely would not have been terribly upset by the friendship, but assume that I was upset by it for the purposes of this question. I likely would have asked about me, maybe made a joke or brought up a minor conversation but I would have never shown that I was very angry or upset even if that is how I had truly felt. So who would have been right in this situation? Me for holding my feelings in and allowing an innocent friendship to continue but possibly irk me the whole time or her for appearing to overreact but getting the outcome that she wanted – he stopped speaking to me and the friendship has simply died with time?
Does it come down to us personally and our selfish desires? The desire to have peace of mind and control (overreacting) or the desire to appear tactful, confident, or nonchalant (saying nothing)?
Meh… no clue…
Today in Target I found myself pacing back in forth in two areas of the grocery section that have recently captured my adoration: the wine aisle and the tea section.
In the wine section I began to search through the red wines, looking for something I haven’t yet tried. I was specifically looking for something described as either “voluptuous” or “supple.” And sure enough, I came across a wine by the name of Oops!; ablend of Cabernet Franc and Carmenere. Oops! also makes a Merlot-Carmenere blend and a white Carmenere. I picked up the Cab-Carmenere blend and opened it just about a 1/2 hour ago and I am totally smitten.
“Voluptuous” and “full-bodied” certainly come to mind, but so does “gentle”. Some reds seem so heavy and chewy to me. Oops! just floats down your throat without catching and leaving a strong after-taste. While other reds are good with heavy meat dishes, they often seem inappropriate to drink alone or to have with a vegetarian meal or appetizer. This wine is perfect for those situations and would make a lovely compliment when you were hoping for a red but nothing else seemed appropriate.
And, the bottle was on sale for a measly $9.99… I will be picking up Oops! other blends the next time I am in Target!
Tea has come to my attention via my favorite podcast: Vegetarian Food for Thought. If you haven’t yet listened to an episode, I highly suggest it. Even if you are certainyou will never become a vegetarian/vegan, take a listen to one of Colleen’s earlier episodes. I find her voice and her message very calming and peaceful. She brings a real sense of compassion and honesty to her podcast without making you feel bad for what you aren’t doing. And she has given me some fabulous ideas for ways to make small, easy, changes to my diet that can make a real difference in the world, one meal at a time!
Anyhow, back to the tea. Colleen often references her love of tea in her podcast and it encouraged me to pick up a box last time I was in Target.
I bought a box of TAZO tea in the Wild Sweet Orange variety. First of all, I was very impressed with the fact that the color of the tea was actually orange. I know this is frivolous, but it certainly made me happy to see the cheery color fill my mug. After such a pleasant experience with the orange tea, I grabbed another box at Kroger the other night of the black Tazo Chai tea. I have never had a black tea before and I enjoyed this just as much as the orange variety. It was full of wonderful spices and the intense scent of cloves filled the entire house.
As much as I would be thrilled to know I encouraged someone to try a new wine or tea or a new vegetarian dish, there is a bigger point to this post – there are some very simple and lovely pleasures in life that we often overlook in our daily hustle and bustle. I have recently found some “quiet” joy in wine and tea; “quiet” because it is a feeling I experience all by myself and something I can secretly take part in that makes my day seem just a bit more peaceful and complimentary. I encourage you all to find something that you can personally take pleasure in that makes your day seem just a big brighter.
Enjoy your weekend.
Students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex a few years later as those who did not, according to a long-awaited study mandated by Congress.
Also, those who attended one of the four abstinence classes reviewed reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend the classes, and they first had sex at about the same age as their control group counterparts — 14 years and nine months, according to Mathematica Policy Research Inc.
The federal government now spends about $176 million annually on abstinence-until-marriage education.
* Anyone who knows me knows my opinion on this subject. I have nothing more to say.. besides can we get some of those MILLIONS and MILLIONS of dollars back now???*
Filed under: ideas
After overhearing a fellow classmate telling a story of a very upsetting situation, I thought I would just share some wisdom we most often forget during those times of stress, contention, or dejection:
Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to those occurrences.
While there are so many situations in which it is very difficult to find the good, it is so important to remember that with some time, it will be easier to think through your situation and reap whatever benefit you can from it.
I don’t have time to say much more today as I have a ton of junk to do this weekend… but I wanted to simply share that little reminder with you all and I hope you all find the joy in your everyday experiences!
Have a great weekend everyone!
I figured I should make a post about my pages on “city chicken” and “city chickens” since that is where a great deal of traffic to my blog comes from and the links from searches send vistors to the blog rather than the pages themselves.
For City Chicken recipes and info on the origin of the name – go here.
For information on keeping chickens in the city and/or as pets – go here.
I have some great ideas for continued pages and fun, random information on chicken, chickens, and eggs for the future of this blog (most likely coming in summer 2007 once the semester is over). If you have any ideas that would add to the tie-in of the chicken theme, feel free to comment!
I also love antique items related to keeping/raising chickens. If you are aware of any blogs, sites, or have any finds of your own, please share!
Brian just called to ask about “the secret” which reminded me that I wanted to write about it. Well, there is no time like the present right?
I would like to make this informative for anyone reading so I will include links as well as some personal experiences.
First of all – “The Secret” is a book / DVD etc that has taken the concept of the law of attraction (LOA herein) and re-packaged it and marketed it REALLY REALLY well. That is it. I watched the DVD this weekend but I have done a lot of research of LOA which takes “The Secret” to a whole new level (and I think answers important questions that the movie raises).
Now – the law of attraction.
1. What is it? LOA is one of a group of universal laws. (The others are: The law of gratitude, the law of cause and effect (karma), and the law of love). I am sure there are other universal laws out there depending on what you read by whom. The main point is that they are like gravity – you can’t see them, but they are powerful laws which clearly exist.
The LOA states that whatever you focus your attention on, you will manifest within your life. This is not a new concept and we all can state examples from our own lives. For instance, we have all panicked and begged with God/ourselves/the universe etc, ”please don’t let me be late” as you raced to an appointment. The LOA states that you will be late, because that is what you focused on – the “being late” part. The fact that it is something that you did not want to occur is moot. You were focused on the possibility of being late and that is what you got.
2. How does it work?
Well, it is actually all quite simple. Focus your attention on the outcome you want. This requires a couple important things: ask, believe, receive.
a. ASK- get VERY clear about what you want. Don’t worry about “how” you will get it or how “out there” your wish might be. Just focus on what it will be like to have it. Also, a biggie, don’t focus on how much you WANT it or how badly you are longing for it. Focusing on longing will bring …. more longing… (are you beginning to see the pattern???) I heard in a podcast that for some people it is best to use the term “desire” instead of “want” in order to make a mental separation. Whatever works for you.
b. Believe – believe that whatever it is, it’s coming to you. In The Secret, the term “unwavering faith” is used to describe this period of time. That is really what is needed. Doubt creates conflict, conflict gets in the way. You need to get to a point where you are certain what it is that you want is coming, you are just waiting for it to show up.
The important point at this stage is not to get discouraged…. don’t worry about the “how” or the “when”. **This brings up an important point… don’t put time limits on things!! Sure, I would love to have 3 million dollars tomorrow morning, but even if such a thing were in the stars for me, I know I couldn’t get my mind to totally and honestly believe it – thus the entire POINT of LOA is disregarded by putting the “when” into my wish! This also relates to relationships – that guy in accounting who has never spoken a word to you but you are convinced is your soul-mate . . . yea, this is where “be careful what you wish for” comes in. When he does open his mouth, you may very well realize, he wasn’t “the one” at all! Your next wish could be to get rid of the poor guy!
*Now here is a big point for anyone who has seen The Secret — I think that this second stage is where The Secret goes a little astray. Lets say you are overweight and want to lose 50 lbs. According to The Secret, you will focus on being thin, how it will feel, what you will do, and you will focus on thin people. They leave it at that. Well, that is great, but we all know the reality of losing weight is a mathematical formula of calories in vs. calories out. The reality is that you DO need to visualize what you will look like and how it will feel, and you DO need to really FEEL it. Don’t just think, FEEL! And THEN, let those feelings and thoughts guide you in your everyday choices.
I really believe that once you have visualized your goal/desire etc, and put out the corresponding “vibrations” (the feelings), then you need to be open and alert. Your intuition is always working and thus you must be willing to work with it. If it is weight-loss you desire, then perhaps you will notice that there are sales on your favorite vegetables every-time you go grocery shopping suddenly or that you meet someone who is really into working out and would like you to be their running buddy. These are opportunities that have been created by you as part of your manifestation to reach that final result!
A good idea to help bring about the feelings and the belief that is needed for this is to create a vision board. A vision board is anything you want it to be – a poster, a painting, maybe a website or notebook full of pictures, words, phrases, etc that you want in your life. Something you can look at on a regular basis so that you begin to LIVE out your desire a little bit everyday. I think this belief step might be the hardest part for many people so whatever helps, do it! If you want a new car – go take a test drive. If you want a new house – go to an open house. Get into the spot that will help you feel like you already have it and it will be easier to hold onto that feeling for the long haul.
c. Receive
Psychology plays a huge role in this step… some people have trouble receiving their manifestations… OR, (and I am guilty of this…) they get what it is that they wanted, and they don’t even realize it! It is important to be on the lookout for these little things because (A), they make it clearer that LOA is working, and (B) they give you an opportunity to be grateful… and gratitude is a surefire way to begin bringing new and wonderful things into your life.
Ok – so how do I know this works?
Well, because it has for me many times. From the time I could talk, I just knew I would go to Africa. It wasn’t even necessarily a “want”, it was simply an expectation of my life. These expectations are called “automatic attractions”. In 2003 I went to Africa. In 2000 I won the state title for extemporaneous speaking in a student organization. It was really not something I expected or had even aimed for. However, that one win made me hungry. I went on to the National competition fully focused and obsessed with winning. (These obsessions / desires / wants are called “active attractions” and they do require a bit more “work” but the goal is to turn them into “automatic attractions”). Midway through my speech to the judges, I had a “wave” of calm, cool, and honestly, almost arrogant confidence come over me. I KNEW I was going to win…. and I did. And let’s get real clear about law school — if you know what my undergraduate GPA was, you know there was some “other” force out there that got me accepted where I did! The idea is that I never once questioned whether or not I WOULD go, it was only a question of where.
These are only a few out of numerous examples – I picked them b.c. how many americans travel to Africa or win a national public speaking title with no previous experience or go to law school with a really muddy academic history??
In the end, be open…. this doesn’t require a credit card so what can it hurt??
LINKS -
LOA info - this link has lots of great information of the LOA – but you have to be willing to navigate it… it is kind of strewn about. It was very useful though!
Attract success tips - this page doesn’t really have any info on it, BUT it does have a link to her podcast which is GREAT! I highly recommend listening to it because it breaks down some of this stuff into super simple explanations.
Do a google search of LOA and you will find numerous articles – both for and against… because there is an “against” side of course… when it comes to the tough questions and those people who want to debunk LOA, I have no answers. But I do know one thing – I don’t plan to over think it! lol.
Filed under: family, food, fun stuff, future plans, ideas, law students, weather
There isn’t much to say except:
* a 75 degree day in March forgives any fashion faux pas
* healthy, yummy suppers = big grins and happy tummy’s
* just because a liquor store sells, oh, about 200 different varieties of wine doesn’t mean the help nor store owner knows shit about it – fortunately, I watch Frasier (if you didn’t already know that…) and a Napa Valley Cab was the perfect pick for me tonight.
* mom arrives in a little over 24 hours *whoop whoop*
* once I find a horse, I will be riding it.
* there is a road trip in your very near future…. I predict it does not involve a car….
* “skinny” flip flops are <3
* 1 Sonicare toothbrush – $99.98. The thirty minutes I spent contemplating the purchase – essentially free. The peace of mind that I may have saved myself the embarrassment of having to beg my roommate to make me into his guinea pig – priceless.
moo
Yesterday and today have been productive. It is a good way to start the week!
I got a good amount of work done, got some help on a project I have coming up, and heard someone else express a fear that I myself also have… it is always nice to know you aren’t alone 
The rest of this week proves to be busy busy busy but I am thinking I might enjoy that so long as it keep going as well as it has been.
Tonight I will be doing lots of research… I don’t mind research, I can watch movies while I do it at least (in comparison to reading cases in which case, distractions can cause serious delays lol)… and I think I have a better idea of the direction I want that research to go in after today.
Oh, in up-coming news, I will have to register for next fall’s classes here shortly. For those of you unaware of the law school process, there are approximately 39-40 credits which are required for graduation and pre-determined classes for all law students throughout the country.
In order to graduate, you need 90 credits… and you are completely on your own as to what those classes are.
There is no need to “specialize” per se. I would say about 1/2 of the students have one area of law they are actively hoping to pursue. The biggest issue is that there are so many interesting classes I would love to take, but that has to be weighed against which classes will make taking the bar exam less of a bear.
I have some ideas… and I am doing some preliminary research….
I’ll keep you all posted
Ciao
I watched bits and pieces of Oprah yesterday. It is funny how sometimes you can hear something that just perks your ears up for whatever reason and it ends up being well worth listening to.
Anyhow, without going into too much detail, the gist of the show was that whatever it is in your life that you spend your energy on (ie – focus/concentrate on), that will be what is attracted into your life. The idea being that energy attracts energy.
I know some people are convinced that “life” will just do what it wants or that God does all of our bidding for us, but regardless, it sure is nice to think that you have some say in your day to day experiences. And even if you don’t get to pick how it all turns out, it is certainly nice to feel the calmness that no matter what occurs, you can persevere.
I liked the idea of the show, and I like the ideas that it gave me. It feels good to have a sense of creativity again
Filed under: ideas
There are those few precious moments in life when you suddenly realize that you really CAN hear God and you even have a clue what He is saying to you… and those are the times you can just let go and know that everything will be fine, those are the moments when you can breathe a sigh of relief and say “thank you”….
For any worry that will keep me up at night, for any complaint I will voice, for any ugly voice that will try to tell me I can’t; I will remember that I am blessed, I am loved, and I will thrive as long as I live my life full of love and hope.
It won’t always go as planned, but it will always go….
