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August 31, 2011
Good Habits: Can You Teach Them to Straight-Up Looters?
M.G. Krebs, Hero of Work-Life Bongo.
Only about 1% of employees--if that--have a "passion for excellence" 24/7. The rest have their moments. These other employees, even if brilliant and energetic, constitute, say, about 90% of the work force.
And like anyone else, even your Coif and Law Review people after a few years can lapse into complacency, smugness and the work ethic of your no-good Uncle Seamus, who went out for a pack of Luckies one day and never came back. You know?
The above is from one of our favorite posts, of November 30, 2007, called "How Do You Teach Great Habits at Work?" It begins:
What the poets and philosophers say about Man (and Woman) is true: we are all miracles capable of miraculous things. But how do we get there? Well, someone much smarter than me said that excellence at work and in life comes from great habits. In life, examples would be eating fruit instead of glazed donuts or Egg McMuffins in the morning, running two miles 5 times a week, or each day without fail saying thank-you and praying for guidance to God, Allah, Yahweh, [more]
Ari Gold, Enemy of The Slackoisie.
(Photos: 20th Century Fox, HBO)
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:45 PM | Comments (0)
Renaissance Woman Sarah Silverman: "I love you more than Gary Busey."
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
August 27, 2011
Pantheon: Lena Calhoun Horne.
1941 photo by Carl Van Vechten
Lena Horne died last year on May 9, 2010. She had natural class and confidence. She lived her life as a work of art. She could sing, dance, act. She could, and did, stand up to talentless arrogance, straight-up bullies and inelegance in all its forms--both before and after she became powerful in her own right. If you're of the greatest generation, you think of her as glamorous. If you're a Boomer, she's the best of the Civil Rights movement.
And if you were born after 1970, you might be curious about a New Yorker who begins life in a rapidly-changing Bedford–Stuyvesant, moves South without parents, heads back up to Brooklyn, becomes a Cotton Club mainstay at 17, breaks records in more than walk of life, and lives to be 92. Start here, here or here.
Add Ms. Horne to our Pantheon.
Posted by JD Hull at 12:59 AM | Comments (0)
Why You Shouldn't Always Text Baby Boomers.
Note to Gen-X and Gen-Y Guys: We know that you do whatever your women tell you to do--and that they like to text. But start using the phone instead. Step up and grow a pair. Call.
Texting is no longer completely cool because it's, well, Way-Poofy, plus:
1. Gadgety yet Highly Inefficient.
2. Slow.
3. Prone to Be Misunderstood.
4. Impersonal. Bordering on Rude.
5. Passive-Aggressive in the Extreme.
6. Dripping in Docility.
7. Completely and Off-The-Charts ShowTunes.
Pick up the phone and call us instead. Note to Gen-X and Gen-Y Guys: We know that you do whatever your women tell you to do--and that they like to text. But start using the phone for what phones used to be designed for. Call. Step up. Grow a pair. We know you you can do it!
Hunter? He texted when it was too noisy to talk.
Posted by JD Hull at 12:59 AM | Comments (0)
My Marrakesh: Mirleft, Morocco--and Life's Big Waters. The Strength and Passion of a Mother's Love.
Do see at My Marrakesh my stalwart friend Maryam's Mirleft, Morocco: and a Tale of Watery Treachery.
Posted by JD Hull at 12:25 AM | Comments (0)
August 26, 2011
It's Friday night again. You really believe Your Wife is out with The Girls?
There's a man down there. Might be your husband. I don't know.
"She took all my money. Wrecked my new car. Now she's with one of my good time buddies. Drinkin' in some cross town bar."
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
August 25, 2011
Jorge Luis Borges: Happy Birthday, Old Man.
And sorry we are one day late. No one in the history of letters has ever had your courage or imagination. I read you in Spanish growing up in Ohio--and am still in awe of the ease with which you applied the Mysterious and the Metaphysical to the Mundane World. Drop back in to this plane some time. Tell us How We Humans are Doing. Tell us again Who We Really Are. Spin those Universes once again and all at once.
(August 24, 1899 - June 14, 1986)
Posted by JD Hull at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
Washington Post: Earthquakes, U.S. Monetary Policy & the Terrible Wrath of Fiscal Gods.
Last week in Phoenix I met with Mike O'Neil, friend, prof, TV news pundit, doer, fellow politics junkie and Renaissance Man. We both worship at The Washington Post. See Matt Miller's "Earthquake: A Divine Downgrade?"
Posted by JD Hull at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
August 24, 2011
House of Barbie: Me love you long time...
Name's Oliver. American. Buy you a counterfeit Heineken? "Iconic" Barbie is now 52 and, in recent years, alive, well and servicing China. Is there really a Shanghai Barbie Store?
"Wanna' date, Joe?"
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 10:59 AM | Comments (2)
August 23, 2011
Skip Ad. Turn Up Volume. Get to the Hen House. Dance Hard.
Posted by JD Hull at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)
Broc Romanek: Congress, HR 2759 and Disclosures of "Social Issues" to the SEC.
And, hey, Get the Net. See at The Corporate Counsel.Net Broc Romanek's piece "A Disturbing Trend: Congress Forcing Corporate Disclosure for Social Issues". Excerpts:
Now, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has introduced a House bill entitled the "Business Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act" (H.R. 2759) that would require companies to disclose efforts to identify and address the risks of human trafficking, forced labor, slavery and child labor in their supply chains.
Although these bills are well-meaning, attempting to solve the world's problems through SEC filings simply is the wrong--and very expensive--way to go. How in the world did Congress start thinking they should influence foreign policy, as well as domestic social and environmental issues, through SEC filings?
Well, before Dodd-Frank, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) used an omnibus appropriations bill in early '04 to require companies to disclose business activities in countries designated by the State Department as sponsoring international terrorism (Wolf particularly was targeting Iran). Corp Fin's "Office of Global Security Risk" was born.
Posted by JD Hull at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2011
Dance, robots, dance.
Ancient Galleries, Ancient Faces. New Haven, 1968.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2011
Paris in York.
York, England, over two years ago, by American writer Tara Bradford at her Paris Parfait:
The current York Minster Cathedral was started in 1230 and completed in 1472. (Photo by Tara Bradford)
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2011
My Marrakesh: Mali.
From Maryam Montague's peripatetic and always-elegant My Marrakesh on April 29, 2010.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Puebla
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
August 12, 2011
Depositions under the American Federal Rules: There's a Reason they call it Discovery, Jack.
Savor the Brutality. Bleed. Make Friends with the Pain. Learn not to cringe. At depositions, remember to "get The Badness in your case out in the open". Hostile witnesses. Non-hostile witnesses. See a 2008 article by Chicago trial lawyer Stewart Weltman that we love and apparently cannot live without: "The Two Most Important Questions to Ask During A Discovery Deposition-Part I". Excerpt:
There is a reason why it is called discovery. Invite the other side's witnesses to tell you everything they possibly can about why your side should lose.
Revel in these "bad" answers---don't cringe. Make sure that you carefully dissect every part or premise of a "bad" answer.
Drawing a bead: Badness needs to get out in the open.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2011
Fear Kills--but first it Paralyzes, Enslaves & Stupefies.
A celestial character played by actor Rip Torn in the 1991 Albert Brooks movie Defending Your Life referred to earth-bound humans as "little-brains"--because their fear and inability to seize moments and take risks rendered them immobilized, self-imprisoned and "dumb". So, in the movie, humans couldn't learn anything, get anything done, have new and better relationships, grow and be happy. The Stage Manager in the Thornton Wilder play Our Town makes similar comments about the lives of the town's people. Are you doing the stuff now you can't do when you're, well (gulp), dead. Why have regrets?
Posted by JD Hull at 03:59 AM | Comments (0)
August 10, 2011
Clapton: August Afternoon Boost. Music. Trumps Diet Dr. Pepper, Jack.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2011
Professionalism, Actually.
Let’s say you’re a blues guitarist with a broken ring finger on your fretboard hand. What do you do? If you’re Albert King, you put a splint on it, and you get out there and play.
Clients. Consumers. Buyers. It's about "the customers"--and not just about being polite and courtly to other attorneys. It's not a club. Lawyers are a dime a dozen. Not that big a deal anymore. No one cares. For example, every single person waiting tables in Washington D.C. last week was a graduate of Georgetown, Hastings or Yale Law. (Eventually they will eat your lunch.) It's true. We checked. So get over yourself. Think about the Main Event. Remove your head from your Wazoo. Work harder to distinguish yourself. Join a better club. For starters, visit Ray Ward's Minor Wisdom or his the (new) legal writer.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
They Called It Stormy Monday.
But Tuesday’s just as bad.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2011
In Bruges: What if the Kray Twins were Chatty, Funny & Guilt-Ridden?
West Flanders, Belgium. I have been there 3 times--mainly passing through, usually on the lamest of pretexts to simply be there. But anyone can get a good idea of the look, feel and rhythm of this medieval city in Belgium's West Flanders province just by seeing the movie In Bruges.
Much of it is shot in the striking Market Square area of Bruges. The film is about two skilled Irish hit men (Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell)--nice guys for the most part--with Ralph Fiennes as their wonderfully foul-mouthed, mean and manic crime boss who rose up from London's storied East End. Imagine a yarn about London's Kray Twins--but one also featuring their mean boss, and a younger, sappier brother (Farrell), who wants to mend his killing ways. Chatty, passionate criminals, all three.
While as violent as the Krays, the two male leads are a bit different: funny, smart, 100% heterosexual, hopelessly Irish. Tripped up by guilt and good hearts.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
August 04, 2011
Sensitive Litigation Moment #1: In Federal Courts, Use Declarations--not Affidavits.
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Crystal, The Missing Oversexed Boozy Notary.
The rule is very handy here: your three oversexed resident notaries--Nadine, Crystal, and Little Sammy the Librarian--are in the office every day without fail, together with their goofy little notary kits, except the exact few days each year you need them to notarize something.
Not exciting. Just useful. In October of 1976, Congress passed a barely-noticed housekeeping addition to Title 28, the wide-ranging tome inside the U.S. Code governing federal courts, the Justice Department, jurisdiction, venue, procedure and, ultimately, virtually all types of evidence. 28 U.S.C. Section 1746 is curiously entitled "Unsworn declarations under penalty of perjury".
It allows a federal court affiant or witness to prepare and execute a "declaration"--in lieu of a conventional affidavit--and do that without appearing before a notary. Under Section 1746, the declaration has the same force and effect of a notarized affidavit. Read the 160 word provision--but in most cases it's simple. At a minimum, the witness at the conclusion of her statement needs to do this:
"I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date). (Signature)”.
A "unsworn" declaration with the oath required by section 1746 can be used almost any time you need an affidavit, e.g., an affidavit supporting (or opposing) a summary judgment motion.
Many lawyers who practice in federal courts don't know about the existence of Section 1746, (probably because so many of us practice primarily in state courts, and we stick to comfortable state practices and folkways). I wouldn't have known about it either; a Justice Department lawyer clued me in on it 15 years ago.
Federal judges understand and accept it. It saves clients, witnesses and lawyers the time, cost and aggravation of getting client statements notarized. Your three notaries--Nadine, Crystal and Raphael the Librarian, together with their notary kits--are in the office like clockwork, except, of course, the very days you need to have them witness and notarize a document. So it's a useful and convenient provision. Not exciting--but it is one of the few efficient, and reliable, moments anyone sees in the trial process.
(from past posts)
Posted by JD Hull at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
August 03, 2011
Are We Not Men?
I peered hard into the blackness, but could distinguish nothing.
“It is a man,” the voice repeated. “He comes to live with us?”-HGW
Posted by JD Hull at 05:53 PM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2011
An Eternal Reason to Live.
"They don't believe in this love of mine..."
Posted by JD Hull at 11:50 PM | Comments (0)
Some, Too, Are Talented.
"All heiresses are beautiful." --John Dryden
Dylan Lauren (1974- )
Dryden (1631-1700)
Photo: Rabbani & Solimene
Posted by JD Hull at 11:47 PM | Comments (1)
August 01, 2011
Debt Ceiling Deal Done. Obama Tax Raise Bid Shut Down. Are We Yanks Short-Sighted Tools or What?
It's not over yet. But see Washington strikes deal on debt ceiling, by David Espo, Associated Press. It begins:
WASHINGTON — Ending a perilous stalemate, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders announced historic agreement Sunday night on emergency legislation to avert the nation's first-ever financial default.
The dramatic resolution lifted a cloud that had threatened the still-fragile economic recovery at home — and it instantly powered a rise in financial markets overseas.
The agreement would slice at least $2.4 trillion from federal spending over a decade, a steep price for many Democrats, too little for many Republicans. The Treasury's authority to borrow would be extended beyond the 2012 elections, a key objective for Obama, though the president had to give up his insistence on raising taxes on wealthy Americans to reduce deficits.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)