Brief Life Update

- I'm closing in on the end of my second year of school. Since I'm doing the four-year JD/MBA program, that means I'm almost halfway done with school. Of course, I still have to contend with final exams.

- This summer I'll be working at a law firm in New York, where I plan to focus on learning about international sovereign law (their specialty). I also anticipate spending half of the summer abroad with this firm, although location is still TBD.

- Next year I'll move to the Business School. I'm looking forward with the decreased level of competition (a general phenomenon when comparing law and biz schools....its not meant to imply anything about biz or law students), but I'm not looking forward to re-learning how to work with numbers. Necessary, I know, but still painful.

- Somewhere in there, between summer internships and prepping for Bschool, I hope to take some fun vacations.

The Speech

Obama's recent speech was a fantastic piece of American politics. It's the type of thing that gives hope to those who find ourselves becoming disaffected and cynical about the political process. Race in this country is a sensitive, nuanced, difficult and pervasive issue that most politicians are content to brush under the rug. It's far too risky to deal with head on. I'm sure Obama would rather have not been forced to make this speech --- it put him in quite a challenging position. But as many great leaders of the past have done, he took a challenge and turned it into a unique opportunity. An opportunity to say something meaningful and potent about America. And he delivered on that opportunity.

What I loved about this speech is that it simply refuses to be reduced to a soundbite. Its genius lies in its entirety, in how he acknowledges and deals with the complex reality of racial issues in America today, and how he uses our nation's history to demonstrate our ability to rise above such petty differences if we so choose. The speech was not only an nuanced and intelligent exposition on race in America, it was a challenge to America to rise above these divisive issues and attempt, in good faith, to talk with each other honestly about the common ground we share.

The pundit reaction has been predictable. They have all been taken with the speech, calling it amazing, brilliant, etc. And then they go back to obsessing about race in politics. It's as if his speech went in one ear and out the other. I hope Americans are better than that. Even if Obama does not win the Presidency, this speech will stand in history as a landmark in race relations in this country.

If you didn't catch the speech, you can see it in it's entirety (40 minutes) here.

John Adams

Let me take a moment to plug the new HBO miniseries "John Adams" that premiered this past Sunday. Many of you might have had a chance to read David McCullough's book, but regardless of that fact you should be watching this show. The acting was superb --- both Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti turned in wonderful performances. In addition, the production and direction were well done, and the sets really captured the spirit and temper of the time (as far as i know).

For those of you who don't get HBO.....sorry for the teaser. I suggest renting it when it comes out on DVD.

A Return To Posting

I'm back baby. And during my absence, I've discovered the joys of surfing youtube. I know my tastes are a little dorky, but if you're reading this chances yours are too. Below are three of my recent finds.....if you're bored, click the links and enjoy.

Nature:
Amazing camouflaged octopus

Musical Comedy:
For Back to the Future fans
For classical music fans