Sunday, March 04, 2007

 

Where's Barcus?



I'm not where I'm supposed to be this morning. I should be in Minnesota at a theater conference, where I should be giving an academic paper with Dr. Deanna Toten Beard on our collaborative teaching. Man, I was looking forward to being the only lawyer at a theater conference! I even had packed a black turtleneck to wear. (The photo of me in Minnesota's winter wonderland was taken by Bill Underwood during our ski trip to the boundary waters a year ago).

However, for the second time this winter, I was foiled in my efforts to get to an academic conference by snow closing airports. I believe there is global warming; I just wish that I could direct it in some way to those places I am flying into. Dr. Toten Beard was able to avoid the problem by flying in Thursday, and at this moment she is giving our paper for the both of us.

Anyways, here is a short excerpt from the paper she is reading. I will link to the rest of it once I figure out how to do that.

"Since ancient times, theater and law have been two principle ways that civilizations define themselves. The Greek stage both reflected and created the hopes, expectations, and public values of its society. Today in America it is television and film which have the loudest voices in telling us who we are and should be. Law, through the same span of human civilization, has methodically and purposefully drawn lines between acceptable and unacceptable behavior in societies which seek a sense of order. Taken together then, a society’s theatre and law define shared ideas and expectations—that is, those things that mark a people as civilized. What drama and law both seek is as ancient as it is common. In the end, both the theater and the courtroom are, at their best, temples of truth through storytelling.

Everywhere but in the academy, theater and the law are inextricably tangled up with one another. The practice of law is a compelling subject for dramatic performance on the stage and screen—one would be hard-pressed to find an evening television schedule without a legal show. At the same time, trial lawyers know that what they do in court will meet with a single standard provided by the jurors: The model of television lawyers who the jurors watch each week, lawyers who enchant and bewitch them with words and movement. And yet the disciplines of theatre and law do not tend to critically consider this intersection of the courtroom and the stage or to academically engage their shared place in the culture."

Comments:
cool picture. i set it as my decktop background.

-thomas
 
Thomas’ comment makes me uncomfortable for two reasons. (1) I believe his statement to be true; (2) Your picture is replacing either a giant bunny, or an awkwardly positioned cat.

Having said that, Wikipedia tells me the highest point in Minnesota is only 2,301 feet, a fact that forces me to believe Minnesota isn’t much of a ski destination. In the “off chance” you and Underwood just built jumps at the base of some guys snowed over driveway and called it skiing, I’ll totally understand. Growing up on Long Island I used to do it all the time.
 
It was cross-country skiing... but we were close to the highest point in Minn.
 
BARCUS?!?
 
I agree. The self referential nickname thing always bothered me. I never call him that.

But that's just me. I'm probably just an uptight white guy. Other people love it.

Then again, I'm not signing this "Tom," so I guess I'm kind of hypocrite
 
Um, aren't all nicknames "self-referential?"
 
You know that should be on a Motivational poster:

"We cannot direct the Global Warming, but we can adjust the sail..."

Poor Osler. Had the turtleneck, and EVERYTHING.

PS What is with IPLAW he is so CRABBY.
 
Tyd, I think he is crabby because he can't find a four-door convertible. You know how that goes...
 
WHat a NUT!!! THough I have to say that I admire his refusal to drive a DAD CAR.

Hey get this When I was doing my Marketing degree, we had to invent fake products all of the time and market them. One time I did one called ASTRO or something - THE FIRST MINIVAN FOR MEN.

It was pretty funny. I had a built in cooler, to hold drinks or freshly caught fish. It had like specially designed holder for things like guns, golf clubs and fishing poles. It looked very masculine and it came in colors like CAMOUFLAGE, or different team colors... I cannot remember the real name of it - It was like ADONIS or ASTRO or something like this. Yet it was still a minivan, so that they could fit more of their friends in it than an SUV It was so stupid... hahahah I got a great grade on that project though


So maybe the solution is, I should INVENT a car for Iplaw!!!! I will get to work on that right away. THAT will cheer him up!
 
This comment has been removed by the author.
 
The Prof and I once rented an Astro Mini Van. He thought it was way cool. I kinda slunk around the side, hoping now one would notice. But that was back when single.
 
OK I NOW remember the name of the van I invented... it was called
]
THE ATLAS The First Mini Van for Men.
 
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