Monday, March 10, 2014
"Clothes without paint stains..."
How could I not love the haiku my dad wrote-- that's him in the picture I posted last Friday:
Clothes without paint stains
are not often worn when I
am living my dream.
Sunday, March 09, 2014
Sunday Reflection: The Religion of Sports
Last night was the high school hockey championships here in Minnesota. The Xcel Center was packed, and like lots of other people, I watched on television (the game is televised state-wide). It's a pretty remarkable event, and die-hard fans can remember games from decades ago. There are fascinating sub-plots, like the tiny schools from the north woods like Roseau and Warroad who make it to St. Paul nearly every year.
It's got some similarities to the way football is in Texas, and in both instances it's not uncommon to hear people to refer to the sports as a "religion."
I have never liked that description. Religion takes many forms, but it isn't often, at its heart, about competition and besting others.
I might be wrong... how do you see it?
It's got some similarities to the way football is in Texas, and in both instances it's not uncommon to hear people to refer to the sports as a "religion."
I have never liked that description. Religion takes many forms, but it isn't often, at its heart, about competition and besting others.
I might be wrong... how do you see it?
Saturday, March 08, 2014
Photo quiz!
Quiz! Who can identify this room, and its political significance?
Friday, March 07, 2014
Haiku Friday: Favorite Shirt
Not all clothes are created equal. Some things become our beloved favorites, worn and worn until they die of natural causes. It might be a great pair of shoes, a comfy sweatshirt, or just the right hat.
Let's haiku about that today-- the clothes that we love the most. It doesn't have to be a shirt, and it doesn't even have to be yours... you can even haiku about someone else's inexplicable tastes.
Here is mine:
Jeans made of Cool-Max
Now, they're mostly made of holes
Oh, I loved them!
Now it is your turn! Use the 5/7/5 syllable count, more or less, and revel in the memories...
Thursday, March 06, 2014
Political Mayhem Thursday: Ukraine and Russia
The most important issue on the world stage is the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The most important question is this: What should the rest of the world do?
What do you think?
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Lent begins
Tuesday, March 04, 2014
The Beauty of Late Winter
It is cold and snowy this March in Minnesota, and I know that is supposed to make me do one of two things: Either complain bitterly and express a yearning for the beach, or laugh at how those people in places like Waco or Atlanta don't know how to handle a little snow, just a fraction of what we have to deal with. Both of those seem ungracious, though, and at the moment not true.
There is great beauty in this late winter, with its high sun and beautiful light. I like it.
There is a small, gentle river that runs all through Edina and Minneapolis, Minnehaha Creek. It twists and turns all over, like a string dropped by a child onto the map of my town. The people who built the houses and streets had the wisdom not to submerge it or pave over the creek, and in the summer there are people in kayaks and canoes and tubes floating down behind St. Stephen's church, through Arden Park, and then close by my house.
Two days ago, late in the day, I set off over the creek on my skis. I wasn't the only one; there were tracks in the deep snow, and a fellow traveler here and there. The creek-top trail takes you through parks, between backyards, and under the bridges of the streets now and then. It is remarkably calm on the creek, silent and still. As I skied, the light changed as dusk fell and began to filter through the willows and the maples by the creek.
Sometimes I would stop and guess where I was, trying to place myself on the usual map of streets and stores and stoplights. It takes so little to change the world.
Monday, March 03, 2014
Oh, that place!
I loved the story Jill Scoggins told in haiku:
My long-loved place for
Crawfish: Farm Royale. How I
Wish it still to be!
Beer trays filled with red
mudbugs, onions, corn. We’d
Grab ‘em all at once.
Pinch the head, then tail.
Pop out the meat and eat. Bliss.
Then swig beer. Repeat.
A long-gone relic
From Port Arthur’s past. But I’ll
Always remember.
And then this, from "Pierce Arrow":
CREPES DE PARIS
Crepes that wept poems
In your mouth. Bechamel which
Haply made acquaintance
With mushrooms dancing
A minuet with fromage
And jambon.Asperges!!!
It is rare that I want to go to Port Arthur and Paris at once!
My long-loved place for
Crawfish: Farm Royale. How I
Wish it still to be!
Beer trays filled with red
mudbugs, onions, corn. We’d
Grab ‘em all at once.
Pinch the head, then tail.
Pop out the meat and eat. Bliss.
Then swig beer. Repeat.
A long-gone relic
From Port Arthur’s past. But I’ll
Always remember.
And then this, from "Pierce Arrow":
CREPES DE PARIS
Crepes that wept poems
In your mouth. Bechamel which
Haply made acquaintance
With mushrooms dancing
A minuet with fromage
And jambon.Asperges!!!
It is rare that I want to go to Port Arthur and Paris at once!
Sunday, March 02, 2014
Sunday Reflection: Deliberations
One of my favorite parts of doing the Trial of Jesus is the deliberations. After our closings, we divide the audience into groups of 12, and have each one deliberate with a verdict form. I try to subtly eavesdrop.
The incredible thing is that the deliberations bring out things I had not noticed about the trial, angles and inflections and insights that were hidden from me even at the heart of my own work. I find it remarkable how we can have several juries, and they each come to a different path of consideration. Mostly, they discuss intently. When they first form, there is a little awkwardness, a feeling out of how the talking will go. By the end, though, there are fierce and intense discussions. We often find it hard to get them to stop.
Jesus directed us to gather in groups in his name. I think I am beginning, only now, to understand the wisdom of that.
Saturday, March 01, 2014
Caiaphus and Associate
Last Sunday, we tried Jesus in Tucson, Arizona, at Grace-St. Paul's Episcopal Church. One of the great pleasures of the trip was getting to persecute (er, prosecute) Jesus with my old student, Gordon Davenport, as co-counsel. Gordon is a federal prosecutor now, and a darn good one. He still has a pretty healthy appetite, though.
We lost, though. I think my problem is jury selection... every time we try this defendant in a church, it's like the jury totally worships the guy! Maybe we need a change of venue...
Friday, February 28, 2014
Haiku Friday: The restaurant you long for
As restaurant chains spread out, people in Texas are looking forward to getting their own Dunkin' Donuts. It's a weird thing-- we often want what we don't have, and that extends to restaurants.
Let's haiku about that today... the restaurant you wish was close. It doesn't need to be (and maybe shouldn't be) a chain, just that place far away that you wish was close, whether it serves New York bagels or breakfast tacos.
Here, I will go first:
Hello, Waffle House!
Why is it that I love you?
'Cause I'm just hungry...
Now it is your turn! Just use 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and five more in the third, and you're in...
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Political Mayhem Thursday: The Weird Landscape of "Religious Freedom"
Last weekend I was in Arizona, as we performed the Trial of Jesus in Tucson. All the political talk there was about a proposed law which would allow people to discriminate against gay men and lesbians without fear of being sued, if their discrimination was based on religious conviction. In the end, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed the bill after business interests made a fuss.
Sadly, the only context in which I hear people plea for "religious freedom" lately has been in the context of trying to deny people coverage under health plans for birth control or discriminate against gay men and lesbians-- and all of the pleas to be able to do these things come from Christians.
Just as the Constitution doesn't actually create "separation of church and state" (rather, it bars the establishment of a national religion by Congress), it doesn't guarantee "religious freedom"-- instead, it allows that Congress cannot "prohibit" the free exercise of religion.
Is discriminating against gays really how Christians "exercise" their religion? It seems contrary to what I know of my faith, which requires us to love our neighbor-- even if our neighbors are very different than us.
Sadly, the only context in which I hear people plea for "religious freedom" lately has been in the context of trying to deny people coverage under health plans for birth control or discriminate against gay men and lesbians-- and all of the pleas to be able to do these things come from Christians.
Just as the Constitution doesn't actually create "separation of church and state" (rather, it bars the establishment of a national religion by Congress), it doesn't guarantee "religious freedom"-- instead, it allows that Congress cannot "prohibit" the free exercise of religion.
Is discriminating against gays really how Christians "exercise" their religion? It seems contrary to what I know of my faith, which requires us to love our neighbor-- even if our neighbors are very different than us.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Just up on HuffPo...
Another piece about narcotics (with no Ted Nugent involvement).
Me n' Ted Nugent
So, Ted Nugent and I have a lot in common. We're both from Detroit, and then he moved to Waco a few years after I did. We both have "problem hair." We both have written regularly for the Waco Tribune Herald (including, at least once, on the same day). We agree (kind of) that drugs are bad. I actually own his ski hat and end table, having bought them at his garage sale back in Waco.
I don't agree with him, though, about President Obama. I think Obama has generally done a good job, and I'm really encouraged by some recent developments.
When Ted Nugent calls the president a "sub-human mongrel," he crosses a lot of lines. Moreover, it's just silly. Really-- a "sub-human?" What is remarkable is that until pretty much yesterday the Republican establishment in Texas embraced Nugent in all of his offensive bluster. It might be that those days are over. If so, that's a good thing.
I'm also pretty sure that he isn't following me to Minnesota any time soon...
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
More Adventures in North Korea!
In my monthly troll around the internet looking for information about North Korea, I found this fascinating promotional video for a North Korean Department store:
Certainly, there is a lot to hold one's attention here, but my favorite curiosity was the saran-wrapped American Hillbilly Kid which appears at about 1:21 of the video. I can't say that the fashions were to my taste, but I suppose there are those who love it.
If you want even more, check out North Korean fast food! It features unbelievably intricate ordering processes (including lots of handwritten notes), a lot of empty space, and (at about 3:35), an incredibly healthy looking set of ingredients for fast food!
Certainly, there is a lot to hold one's attention here, but my favorite curiosity was the saran-wrapped American Hillbilly Kid which appears at about 1:21 of the video. I can't say that the fashions were to my taste, but I suppose there are those who love it.
If you want even more, check out North Korean fast food! It features unbelievably intricate ordering processes (including lots of handwritten notes), a lot of empty space, and (at about 3:35), an incredibly healthy looking set of ingredients for fast food!
Monday, February 24, 2014
Read all about it! Criminal law stuff!
I had this piece in yesterday's Waco Tribune Herald... but probably more important was Bill Keller's piece in the New York Times. The ending gives me great hope:
The Obama presidency has almost three years to go, and there is reason to hope that he will feel less constrained, that the eight commutations were not just a pittance but, as he put it, “a first step,” that Holder’s mounting enthusiasm for saner sentencing is not just talk, but prelude, that the president will use his great pulpit to prick our conscience.
“This is something that matters to the president,” Holder assured me last week. “This is, I think, going to be seen as a defining legacy for this administration.”
The Obama presidency has almost three years to go, and there is reason to hope that he will feel less constrained, that the eight commutations were not just a pittance but, as he put it, “a first step,” that Holder’s mounting enthusiasm for saner sentencing is not just talk, but prelude, that the president will use his great pulpit to prick our conscience.
“This is something that matters to the president,” Holder assured me last week. “This is, I think, going to be seen as a defining legacy for this administration.”
Haiku-rific!
Thanks for the great birthday haikus. I love this one from A Waco Friend, because I could see so clearly each part of the story (it helps to know Waco):
Three couples over;
Gourmet dinner I cooked it;
Three Redneck Tenors.
Best Birthday gifting
enjoy my food and then laugh
at great comedy
Good music, humor
All genres well sung by four
at the Hippodrome.
And Renee's birthday.... can we get video of this?
The bride pink roses
In blush and lime ewer,with
Chocolate noir, fizz
Gold cold champagne,they
Dance round May pole bloom-covered,
Barefoot, if it does
Not snow. Read poems
Shakespearean, crown May
Queen with rhinestones
Three couples over;
Gourmet dinner I cooked it;
Three Redneck Tenors.
Best Birthday gifting
enjoy my food and then laugh
at great comedy
Good music, humor
All genres well sung by four
at the Hippodrome.
And Renee's birthday.... can we get video of this?
The bride pink roses
In blush and lime ewer,with
Chocolate noir, fizz
Gold cold champagne,they
Dance round May pole bloom-covered,
Barefoot, if it does
Not snow. Read poems
Shakespearean, crown May
Queen with rhinestones
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Sunday Reflection: God's Polar Vortex
It has been quite a winter in Minnesota. On Thursday night, we got another foot of snow, which means there is about four to five feet in parts of my yard now. This week, there was a brief warm-up right before that snow, which started out wet and heavy. Then the temperatures plunged as the snow continued. The melty stuff on the street froze, and then the falling snow created a glide plane on top of that.
Minnesotans know how to drive in snow-- slowly-- and there is something elegant about a freeway where everyone is going 15 miles per hour despite a lack of congestion. It's just what you have to do.
There is such beauty in it, of course. The light is dazzling, and the lines of white are unbroken. But in another equally valid way it is driving people berserk. It is going to be -17 again this week, and that is... well, it is really really cold.
It might all be part of our doing, I suppose, the result of climate change and the extremes of weather that come with that. People who know the science of it think so, and I believe them.
But in a more embracing way, it is still all God's. We are his creation, the part of it that can make mistakes, mess things up, hurt each other, and then make it all better if we so choose.
Minnesotans know how to drive in snow-- slowly-- and there is something elegant about a freeway where everyone is going 15 miles per hour despite a lack of congestion. It's just what you have to do.
There is such beauty in it, of course. The light is dazzling, and the lines of white are unbroken. But in another equally valid way it is driving people berserk. It is going to be -17 again this week, and that is... well, it is really really cold.
It might all be part of our doing, I suppose, the result of climate change and the extremes of weather that come with that. People who know the science of it think so, and I believe them.
But in a more embracing way, it is still all God's. We are his creation, the part of it that can make mistakes, mess things up, hurt each other, and then make it all better if we so choose.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Criminal Law... still kind of dangerous
According to Tommy Witherspoon's excellent but disturbing article, a man sentenced to 46 months for possession of over 800 images of child pornography paid $30,000 to hire a hit man to kill my friend, Judge Matt Johnson.
Criminal law is a dangerous business. It is all about tragedy, Many of the people coming through the system are and will be dangerous. The project, for prosecutors and judges, is nothing less than looking someone in the eye and telling them that they are going to lose their freedom. That combination can lead to real and deep tragedy, of the kind that was avoided in Waco with this arrest.
Meanwhile, back in Grosse Pointe, it appears that my old high school is still employing completely crazy substitute teachers...
Friday, February 21, 2014
Haiku Friday: Birfday!
It's true; it is my birfday. Sure, birthdays are a little like getting excited when the odometer flips over 10,000 or 100,000 miles, but... I get excited about that, too.
So, let's haiku about birthdays. Which one was your favorite? Did you ever get a great surprise on your birthday, or a memorable gift?
I will go first:
It is another day
Like any other day; It
is what you make it.
Now it is your turn... 5/7/5 for syllables, fun for the attitude!
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Political Mayhem Thursday: Professor Irrelevant
SOME of the smartest thinkers on problems at home and around the world are university professors, but most of them just don’t matter in today’s great debates.
The most stinging dismissal of a point is to say: “That’s academic.” In other words, to be a scholar is, often, to be irrelevant.
One reason is the anti-intellectualism in American life, the kind that led Rick Santorum to scold President Obama as “a snob” for wanting more kids to go to college, or that led congressional Republicans to denounce spending on social science research. Yet it’s not just that America has marginalized some of its sharpest minds. They have also marginalized themselves.
“All the disciplines have become more and more specialized and more and more quantitative, making them less and less accessible to the general public,” notes Anne-Marie Slaughter, a former dean of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton and now the president of the New America Foundation.
There are plenty of exceptions, of course, including in economics, history and some sciences, in professional schools like law and business, and, above all, in schools of public policy; for that matter, we have a law professor in the White House. But, over all, there are, I think, fewer public intellectuals on American university campuses today than a generation ago.
A basic challenge is that Ph.D. programs have fostered a culture that glorifies arcane unintelligibility while disdaining impact and audience. This culture of exclusivity is then transmitted to the next generation through the publish-or-perish tenure process. Rebels are too often crushed or driven away.
“Many academics frown on public pontificating as a frivolous distraction from real research,” said Will McCants, a Middle East specialist at the Brookings Institution. “This attitude affects tenure decisions. If the sine qua non for academic success is peer-reviewed publications, then academics who ‘waste their time’ writing for the masses will be penalized.”
The latest attempt by academia to wall itself off from the world came when the executive council of the prestigious International Studies Association proposed that its publication editors be barred from having personal blogs. The association might as well scream: We want our scholars to be less influential!
A related problem is that academics seeking tenure must encode their insights into turgid prose. As a double protection against public consumption, this gobbledygook is then sometimes hidden in obscure journals — or published by university presses whose reputations for soporifics keep readers at a distance....
Kristof makes some excellent points, particularly about scholarship. I have been re-reading some of my favorite academic pieces lately, by my writing hero William Stuntz. It is clear, sharp, and rooted in reality. Too much of our work (mine included) falls far short of this standard.
Part of the problem, as Kristof recognizes, is that what is most rewarded is too often unintelligible to those outside a small circle of experts. This inability or unwillingness to to communicate clearly is especially puzzling given the primary job that we have-- teaching beginners to our field.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
It is time for new shoes...
This winter has been pretty rough on Osler shoes-- I've had three pairs suffer catastrophic failure in the last few weeks, including a pair of boots I have had for about 20 years that suddenly just gave up and shredded.
I'm open to suggestions...
