The Webby Awards

Ever heard of them? Neither had I until one of the nominees was Jurist, a legal website based out of Pitt (and to which my friend Jeremiah "technically" contributes (get it? 'cause he is a CMU computer science major...i'm so funny)

Google - if you're listening...I think you need to make a legal website like LexisNexis & WestLaw but free (it will be lower a barrier to entry for certain public interest lawyers or people who want to start their own firms).

But that's beside the point.

About the Webby Awards:

THE WEBBY AWARDS

The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence in web design, creativity, usability and functionality. Established in 1996 during the web's infancy, the Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 500-member body of leading web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities.

The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes members such as musicians Beck and David Bowie, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, political columnist Arianna Huffington, Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser, "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, "Smart Mobs" author Howard Rheingold, Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, and The Body Shop president Anita Roddick. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as The New York Times, Wired, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The Los Angeles Times, Vibe, and WallPaper. The 9th Annual Webby Awards received entries from over 40 countries and generated over 100 million media impressions.

The Webby Award website is pretty funny. The voting ballot is huge. Some of these sites, I've never even heard about...For example without voting in the Best Blog - Culture/Personal category, I would have never found out about http://we-make-money-not-art.com and http://www.cuteoverload.com. (i'm a little overwhelmed with all of the stuff that's out there!)

True, I didn't really navigate the website and find all of the past winners (the Webby Awards have been around for 10 years or something) or the criteria, but I'm sad some of my personal favorites aren't up there (they're good - I promise - that's why they're my personal favorites!!). I mean, AllMusic definitely beats out their music nominees. Newgrounds is a great site for games (as long as you make sure you have a pop-up blocker). Pop Candy is great for pop culture or Entertainment humor, etc. I heard ProFootballTalk.com is good for sports (not up there) (another one for which I recommend a pop-up blocker). Mars Investigations (TV). J4J4J4J.com for social networking (kidding, that's my own parody of dating websites - a site exclusively for Jews for Jesus for Jews for Jesus...). Or reviewing Games (b/c my friend from high school wrote for it). Or reviewing movies... Event listing? (Concerts, at least) I use pollstar.

Again, these sites may have won or have been nominated in the past...i don't know...anyway, go & vote for Jurist (and put Pittsburgh on the map!!) or just check to see if your favorite sites are up there. Or...at the very least...find more procrastination tools.

A new last name Fetish

If you read my archives, you will see my listing of my favorite Murdochs. It's time for a new last name. And that last name is Buckley.

Top 3:

1. Jeff Buckley - Singer, Songwriter. Because "Grace" is one of the top albums of all times (and i don't care if you think I'm cliche...b/c sometimes cliche is cliche for a damn good reason). And Grace is pretty much "best album" by every definition in my book: consistency (how many good songs are on it? My personal favorites "The Last Goodbye" and "Lover, You Should've Come Over"), timelessness (how often can you listen to it? & does it stand the test of time), voice, etc. And who doesn't like a suicide/drowning mystery?

2. William F. Buckley - Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. My list always has to include conservatives. (Bad habit of mine, I know this). So why not start with this one? Without him, who else would I have to ridicule? He founded the National Review. If you ever decide to read one of the "awesome" articles entitled "Moving Out: The Stable Poverty of New Orleans Has Been Shaken Up, and that's Good" by Abigail Thernstrom about Katrina's effect, you'll surely note the first sentence.

Civil-rights groups are griping (how unusual).

But, back to Mr. Buckley's own work. He also wrote that book "God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of Academic Freedom" about how conservative college students feel disenfranchised. I mean, I feel him. I'm all about "enfranchising" people (is that a word?) I just wonder why it's okay to get a conservative bias in high school, which has a standardized curriculum and mandatory attendence laws. (See Buckley's counterparts: Loewen or Zinn).

But William F Buckley's most important contribution to this world is his son, Christopher.

3. Christopher Buckley. Political satirist, even if he is on "the other side" like his father. He is freakin' funny. Or, at least, his book is. Wait...er...since I didn't actually read it...I should say the movie adaptation is. (But we all know the book's always better than the movie anyway). "Thank You For Smoking" is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. And smart funny. So I guess not "funny" but clever, witty...all in all, LOL material. It's a shame that there were only like 10 people in the theater with us (i hope its b/c everyone saw it 4-07-06...opening night in Pittsburgh).

Can you go see it? And chat with me about it!

My third story?

Awful.

But, at least, I turned it in.

Benefits of Studying

Okay, so this time, I actually studied for the MPRE.

I read through the "long outline" *skimmed* the "short outline" (I know, i should have done it in reverse). I did about 30 practice questions...from a BarBri (reputable) study aid that someone left in my locker.

[...In between watching (literally) 24 hours of Lost, 15 hours of writing my second story (which is why its 18 pages!!)...sleeping for 12 hours/day...seeing Belle & Sebastian...seeing Jen and Jordan...seeing Jeremy...hanging with my family...WHOOHOO Spring Break 2006 totally rocked!!]

And...(finally)...I passed. Not only did I pass but I am eligible for every jurisdiction!!! Yay!!!

Says Wikipedia:

Of the 51 jurisdictions in the United States, 48 require a minimum passing score on the MPRE for bar admission; the passing score varies between jurisdictions. The lowest score accepted by any jurisdiction is 75 (several); the highest required by any state is 86 (currently Utah; California will raise its required score to 86 for students who enroll in law school in 2008 or later).

Moral of the story? You actually have to study for that MPRE!!!

Don't just think you're ethical. Because you're not. Not in the world of lawyer ethics. You're a 74 when they want a 75. And don't believe people who say "they didn't study at all" because then you find out they went to a BarBri lecture or you borrow their book and its completely highlighted (grrr. I hate when law students pretend not to work. We all work. Might as well fess up to it...remember? honesty is the best policy) (and lying about studying for an ethics exam? Shame on you!!).

(don't worry, i'm still not *that* ethical. I only got an 87...I'm just barely ethical...)

Pamphlet

I forgot about this pamphlet that I had to read everyday before selling books door-to-door.

"The Common Denominator of Success" - Albert E. Gray.

“The common denominator of success --- the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful --- lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do.”

a.k.a. all the advice I have listened to and never put into practice....

Under Pressure

I officially hate writing under pressure.

I hate, hate, hate my third story for creative writing for lawyers. (or whatever the class is called). I thought it would be a funny parody but it's just stupid, stupid, stupid.

I have *no* time! No one does!! It's the end of the semester. I still have to finish filling out New Jersey's bar application. I have to catch up on tons of education law reading. I have to apply for jobs. I'm too stressed out (...and busy watching Wonderfalls...) to be creative! And it's not just this stupid story, I also have to write 1/3 of a 60-page business proposal to set up a Mediation Center in Haiti by the end of the week. At this point, I could care less whether the mediators are directive or facilitative, whether the board of directors is made up by locals or foreigners, and whether there is a panel of mediators or if its just one. Get it? (rather, i could care less about writing why i want the mediators to be "transformative"; why i want the board to be at least 60% local with the other 40% able to be either local or foreign with a strong recommendation of some, minimal foreign presence; and why I think a panel would work best...)

Yuck. This freakin' "creative" story gets (at most) four more hours of my time between now and Tuesday night (so I can print out all freakin' 24 copies or whatever that will *never* be read by other students...(have they ever read stories? maybe two of them)...especially during this busy time of the year...)

Now Watching: Wonderfalls Disk 2
Now Playing: The Libertines - "The Libertines"