I am currently reading The Litigators by John Grisham. I went through a Grisham phase in junior high (my all-time favorite was A Time To Kill), though he eventually lost my interest.
Recently my dad suggested I give The Litigators a try, and I'm so glad he did. As a grownup Lawyer Girl, Mr. Grisham is cracking me the hell up. In case you want to know, yes, this is how it goes sometimes. I heartily recommend it to lawyers and non-lawyers alike.
Next up at bat is Confederacy of Dunces.
What are you reading? What are you planning to read?
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
P and Q are for your P's and Q's
In high school, I had an English teacher who was really big into "allusions" and the origins of common phrases. We had to bring in 4 examples of allusions every quarter, and memorize fun facts about phrases as a part of a "cultural literacy" unit.
The phrase "mind your P's and Q's" means to mind your manners and be on your best behavior. There are two probably origins of this phrase, as I recall from 10th grade English. The first is from old timey pubs, where innkeepers and bartenders would keep track of patrons' tabs by writing down how many pints and quarts a person had consumed. So mind your p's and q's meant, for the bartender, keep track of what people owe you, and for the customer, be a good guest and pay your bill.
The second alternative is stems from the first printing presses that used individual letter keys. Lowercase p and q could be easily switched, since on a press, each letter is a mirror image of itself. So the phrase was a reminder to the printer to always double check his work.
So how have I been minding my Ps and Qs these days?
Well, I'm gearing up to attend a writing conference in May, where I signed up to pitch a project to an agent. My initial plan was to pitch a project I have been working on-and-off for I-don't-want-to-reveal-how-much time.
Some time ago, I realized that this project is my white whale (allusion!) and as much as I love it, I may need to buckle in and try something new. In the last year, I came to a new philosophy about my writing ambitions: internal deadlines. If I can't move on from Project X in Y amount of time, it might be best to give Project X a rest and start in on Project Z.
And that's what I've done, and it's going swimmingly. I hope to have Project Z to critiquers and beta readers in time, because gosh, it's going to be awkward if I don't. But that's what's new with me!
What's new with you?
The phrase "mind your P's and Q's" means to mind your manners and be on your best behavior. There are two probably origins of this phrase, as I recall from 10th grade English. The first is from old timey pubs, where innkeepers and bartenders would keep track of patrons' tabs by writing down how many pints and quarts a person had consumed. So mind your p's and q's meant, for the bartender, keep track of what people owe you, and for the customer, be a good guest and pay your bill.
The second alternative is stems from the first printing presses that used individual letter keys. Lowercase p and q could be easily switched, since on a press, each letter is a mirror image of itself. So the phrase was a reminder to the printer to always double check his work.
So how have I been minding my Ps and Qs these days?
Well, I'm gearing up to attend a writing conference in May, where I signed up to pitch a project to an agent. My initial plan was to pitch a project I have been working on-and-off for I-don't-want-to-reveal-how-much time.
Some time ago, I realized that this project is my white whale (allusion!) and as much as I love it, I may need to buckle in and try something new. In the last year, I came to a new philosophy about my writing ambitions: internal deadlines. If I can't move on from Project X in Y amount of time, it might be best to give Project X a rest and start in on Project Z.
And that's what I've done, and it's going swimmingly. I hope to have Project Z to critiquers and beta readers in time, because gosh, it's going to be awkward if I don't. But that's what's new with me!
What's new with you?
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
N and O are for, "New followers! Oh hey."
So I've noticed some new faces on the old blogaroo and I wanted to get to know you (or old followers) a smidgen better. If you wouldn't mind, answer a few questions for me?
1. What's the last book you read?
2. What time zone do you hail from? (I would just say, "Hometown," but I don't want to be a creeper.)
3. Guilty pleasure movie?
4. Are you also obsessed with Miranda Lambert's song "Mama's Broken Heart"? Oh, no? Welp, which song are you currently obsessed with?
5. Any other information you'd like to share?
1. What's the last book you read?
2. What time zone do you hail from? (I would just say, "Hometown," but I don't want to be a creeper.)
3. Guilty pleasure movie?
4. Are you also obsessed with Miranda Lambert's song "Mama's Broken Heart"? Oh, no? Welp, which song are you currently obsessed with?
5. Any other information you'd like to share?
Monday, April 15, 2013
M is for majestic
"You know, that dog of yours has a real majestic stance when he pees. You should get a picture of it sometime."
I shall try.
- Pops
I shall try.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
L is for look it up and share
Open your iTunes. (Or music storage program of choice.)
What artists do you have that start with L? Let's give each other some options to find some new music, eh? Or at the very least, some good options for the next L round of Scattegories.
That was actually a lot more than I would have guessed. Now let's see what song titles we can come up with, oui?
... oh man, I'm starting to get carpal tunnel here and we're just on the Le's! I'm giving up ... for now, anyway.
But please, share, share! Doesn't everyone always need ideas for new tunes?
What artists do you have that start with L? Let's give each other some options to find some new music, eh? Or at the very least, some good options for the next L round of Scattegories.
Lady Antebellum
Lady Gaga
The Last Goodnight
Laura Ixibor
Lenka
Leona Lewis
Leonard Cohen
Leroy Anderson
Leslie Carter
Lil John
Linkin Park
Little Big Town
Liz Callaway
LL Cool J
The Lonely Island (One of my all-time favorite songs is Jack Sparrow. Not even kidding.)
Lonestar
Los Mono
Los Straitjackets
Loudon Wainwright
The Lovemakers
Ludo
The Lumineers
Lyle Lovett
That was actually a lot more than I would have guessed. Now let's see what song titles we can come up with, oui?
Ladies' Choice from Hairspray
Lady Marmalade from Moulin Rogue
Lala (Ashlee Simpson - and no, I'm not ashamed)
The Land Race (John Williams, Far and Away soundtrack)
Last Call (Kanye)
Last Dollar (Tim McGraw)
The Last Thing I Do (Brooks and Dunn)
The Last Time (Rolling Stones)
Lay All Your Love on Me from Mamma Mia
Lean Back (Fat Joe - seriously)
Learn the Hard Way (Nickelback. Again, no, i'm not ashamed. i sincerely feel like Nickelback is like the Richard Nixon of our generation. No one admits to liking them or having bought their albums, but it wasn't a bunch of ghosts that made them best-sellers, nor was it magic that made Nixon president. Get over it, posers.)
Learn to Do it from Anastasia (I like movie soundtracks)
Learning How to Bend (Gary Allan)
Learning to Live Again (Garth Brooks)
Leave Out All The Rest (Linkin Park)
Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf (The Killers)
Leave the Pieces (The Wreckers)
Let it Be (The Beatles)
Let it Rock (Kevin Rudolf)
Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear (Elvis)
Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams)
... oh man, I'm starting to get carpal tunnel here and we're just on the Le's! I'm giving up ... for now, anyway.
But please, share, share! Doesn't everyone always need ideas for new tunes?
Friday, April 12, 2013
K is for existentialism (see what I did there?)
No friends, K is actually for Kafka and K, one of his more famous characters.
In high school, we had to read The Metamorphosis for AP English, and then the Cliff Notes version of The Trial. (Literally. We sometimes just read summaries of famous works, in the event they might become handy on the test. This has allowed me to pretend I've read way more classic works of literature than I actually have. Shhh, don't tell.)
The trial is about a man named Josef K., who goes by K almost the entire story. He is inexplicably arrested but not charged with a crime. He's subjected to a tribunal of some kind (I like to think of it as an arraignment), but no one tells him anything about what he has supposedly done. He's then released to his own recognizance (that part I'm interpreted liberally) and told to await further instructions. The story continues on like this for some time.
Now, the story isn't really just about the law or a trial (it's about life and how we can all sometimes feel like cogs in the greater machinery of modern society), but on some level it actually is about a trial. Kafka was a trained lawyer and it's hard to argue that (various levels of AP English analysis aside) he wasn't also delivering a very literal message with The Trial.
After AP English, I kind of forgot about The Trial, though the images of The Metamorphosis can be hard to erase. But then, during my first year of law school, I signed up for a class called "Storytelling and the Law." (Supposedly, it was about the narrative forms lawyers employ to effectively connect with and represent our clients. I would still like to take that class, because the class my peers and I actually took involved a lot of introspective essays entitled "Who am I?", watching documentaries about the communication styles of domesticated animals, and bringing poems lyrics to class to interpret them. Due to my resistance to sharing feelings, my grade was ... not good. But at least now I know what Spencer wants when he goes into puppy play pose!)
But one thing that actually stuck with me from "Storytelling and the Law"was my professor's belief that the law is inherently a violent construction. That there is no "right" or "wrong," and people who engage with the law (litigants, defendants, victims) inevitably end up worse off than they were to begin with. As such, a lawyer's primary function is to minimize the additional damage that the justice system is about to inflict.
I don't particularly agree with that vision of the law. In fact, sometimes I think it's the clients themselves who are making the law so violent, with lawyers, mediators, commissioners, and judges all shielding themselves from the shrapnel. But my vehement disagreement has softened somewhat since law school. The justice system can be a scary thing, even when (and sometimes especially when) you're a lawyer.
But much like Kafka himself (who had a tendency not to finish projects), I'm not entirely sure where I am going with all this, other than to ask -- what do you all think? About the law, about existentialism, or even about Cliff Notes?
In high school, we had to read The Metamorphosis for AP English, and then the Cliff Notes version of The Trial. (Literally. We sometimes just read summaries of famous works, in the event they might become handy on the test. This has allowed me to pretend I've read way more classic works of literature than I actually have. Shhh, don't tell.)
The trial is about a man named Josef K., who goes by K almost the entire story. He is inexplicably arrested but not charged with a crime. He's subjected to a tribunal of some kind (I like to think of it as an arraignment), but no one tells him anything about what he has supposedly done. He's then released to his own recognizance (that part I'm interpreted liberally) and told to await further instructions. The story continues on like this for some time.
Now, the story isn't really just about the law or a trial (it's about life and how we can all sometimes feel like cogs in the greater machinery of modern society), but on some level it actually is about a trial. Kafka was a trained lawyer and it's hard to argue that (various levels of AP English analysis aside) he wasn't also delivering a very literal message with The Trial.
After AP English, I kind of forgot about The Trial, though the images of The Metamorphosis can be hard to erase. But then, during my first year of law school, I signed up for a class called "Storytelling and the Law." (Supposedly, it was about the narrative forms lawyers employ to effectively connect with and represent our clients. I would still like to take that class, because the class my peers and I actually took involved a lot of introspective essays entitled "Who am I?", watching documentaries about the communication styles of domesticated animals, and bringing poems lyrics to class to interpret them. Due to my resistance to sharing feelings, my grade was ... not good. But at least now I know what Spencer wants when he goes into puppy play pose!)
But one thing that actually stuck with me from "Storytelling and the Law"was my professor's belief that the law is inherently a violent construction. That there is no "right" or "wrong," and people who engage with the law (litigants, defendants, victims) inevitably end up worse off than they were to begin with. As such, a lawyer's primary function is to minimize the additional damage that the justice system is about to inflict.
I don't particularly agree with that vision of the law. In fact, sometimes I think it's the clients themselves who are making the law so violent, with lawyers, mediators, commissioners, and judges all shielding themselves from the shrapnel. But my vehement disagreement has softened somewhat since law school. The justice system can be a scary thing, even when (and sometimes especially when) you're a lawyer.
But much like Kafka himself (who had a tendency not to finish projects), I'm not entirely sure where I am going with all this, other than to ask -- what do you all think? About the law, about existentialism, or even about Cliff Notes?
Thursday, April 11, 2013
J is for just can't quite take this too seriously
Hello friends! I know I should have a fantastic J post, but I don't. And since I've now been "reported" (Sorry Officer Kripke, I'll never do it again!) for failure to complete the A to Z blog hop, I suppose it doesn't really matter.
So here is J, the letter that I already feel gets too much credit in the world!
PS, if anyone is going to be in the Provo-area anytime soon (including for a particular writing conference, hmmm?), you should check out J Ddawgs, a thoroughly delightful hotdog place.
So here is J, the letter that I already feel gets too much credit in the world!
PS, if anyone is going to be in the Provo-area anytime soon (including for a particular writing conference, hmmm?), you should check out J Ddawgs, a thoroughly delightful hotdog place.
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