For the Geography Buffs

Because I am combatting severe attention deficit, one last post for the evening...

In the interest of spreading fun and uselessness, I have discovered yet another internet-based waste of time to share (compliments of Caffeine & Irony). Go here and choose to play Europe (or Africa if you're feeling extra-bold). Choose Level Three, as it does not have the outlines of the countries.

I used to think I was good at geography...until I did this.

Hey, at least it's educational distraction, right?

More Law School Fun

I would just like to thank the Law School for putting what I affectionately call "the skinny mirror" in the women's restroom outside the library. For some reason it doesn't bother me that I know it is a distortion of reality. It still makes me feel good.

For the Suggestion Box

I'd put this in the Law Library Suggestion Box, but the box doesn't exist.

During the exam period, the Law Library should employ the same technique used in all casinos: pump it full of oxygen. If oxygen, bright lights, and no windows can keep people awake and throwing their money away until all hours, it should also be able to keep law students awake while wading through chapters of Insurance Law.

They're already employing the "freeze out" technique of running the air conditioning on high at all times. (I'm actually shaking as I type this, but hey--I'm awake!)

Now if I could only shiver and breathe pure oxygen--imagine the productivity!

A Timely Observation

As I was outlining Insurance Law today, I had a small realization: I never hear watch alarms anymore.

Does anyone else remember when watch alarms used to go off in public places? I can remember a few years ago when watch alarms would beep rudely at noon every Sunday to not-so-discretely let the preacher know he had gone past his time limit. I haven't heard one in quite a while.

Now perhaps they have been replaced with the inescapable ringing cell phones--which ring in class, in church, in meetings, in movies... It's definitely not a good trade-off.

So, am I making this up? Have watch alarms ceased, or have they just been drowned out by the hip hop rings of cell phones?

Incoherent Update

Apologies for the slowdown in blogging activity. We have reached the point in the semester when I'm trying to read everything I've been assigned for the past four months. And somehow I did not get the memo about slacking off your last semester, since I have four finals. So, here's a lazy, comprehensive blog post:

*They charge $80 to RENT a cap and gown for graduation. That's almost as insane as the prices to rent table linens for weddings. Or the prices to rent storage units. Lesson here: Buy something in quantity and then rent it to others at a 180% rate. It's best to do it with something people feel like they have to have (like a cap and gown).

*Our puppy was born on Saturday, April 15! Mom wants us to name him W-2 because of his birthday, but we're still negotiating on the real name. We will go pick him up in south Georgia in June!

*Just to support my driving stance in February, someone had a wreck in front of our house yesterday. Why? Because they were backing into the busy street, of course! Don't worry--no one was hurt. But it did provide Reason # 11267 we were in the right during the Great Standoff. (I've been told I can hold a grudge.)


So, obviously, not much is happening here, except for the endless outlining. Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Legal History

Attention law students everywhere: Mike, coauthor of the BarelyLegal Blog, has constructed a fake timeline of legal history. It is brilliant.

Ethics, or Common Sense?

They've passed out the scores for the MPRE, the National Ethics Exam, and I haven't heard of anyone who failed. It probably wouldn't surprise most people to know that lawyers have scaled the Ethics portion of the Bar so much that almost everyone passes...

At any rate, I passed, so I guess I'm officially ethical.

Modern Hymnody

Bob Kaughlin's latest post on his blog, Worship Matters, discusses the ongoing hymns/choruses debate in Christian churches. He accurately states,

For more than a hundred years we’ve favored emotional, response-type songs over songs that magnify the nature, attributes, and works of God. We need both,
and more songs that help us do both at the same time.

Our response to God is important. Emotional responses to God are important. The Psalmist certainly isn't shy about his feelings when he worships. And music itself is often an emotional medium of expression.

But there is danger in these "response-type songs" as well. The danger lies in worshippers who rely on their feelings and responses to shape their understanding of Who God is. A god who is what we make him to be is no God at all. And so we run a risk when we magnify our feelings, rather than magnifying our God.

God seeks worshippers who will worship Him in spirit and truth. This is why we need songs that both magnify the truth of God's attributes and songs that convey our response to that truth.

Kaughlin appropriately calls pastors to take responsibility for the songs their congregations are singing, "leading them wisely into truth-based affections." Truth-based affections, rather than mere affections, glorify the True God while involving our God-given emotions.

America in 2000 Years

To borrow a quote from the ministers' blog of First Presbyterian Church (Jackson, MS):

"I think there are only three things that America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this civilization: the Constitution, jazz music and baseball. They're the three most beautifully designed things this culture has ever produced.” Gerald Early

It's a thought-provoking quote, as to what America will be known for. And I'm inclined to agree with the three items chosen.

In a similar, yet more serious, vein, Peggy Noonan paints a bleak picture of America's future in her column this week. Bleak, that is, if we do not instill a sense of pride and appreciation in its youth and its immigrants. It's a great article.

Home, Sweet Home

We have found a really cute rental house between Montgomery and Wetumpka, and we're signing the lease tonight and moving in on May 20th!

And in even more fun news, we're putting down a deposit on a dog today! We will be able to pick up our new best friend in June. Unfortunately, our new landlord wouldn't let us get a large pet, so our Bernese Mountain Dog dreams are delayed for at least a year. But we had discussed having a big dog and a small dog anyway, so we'll just start off small. We are getting a West Highland Terrier (Westie). Aren't they adorable?