it is that time of year. enjoy a classic.

felines

it's liza, with a Z.

more love of youtube.

go tori.

more love of youtube.

i freakin' love youtube....

you must read this

www.rightwingfacebook.org

enjoy.

upcoming presidential elections... food for thought.

“I have clearly stated my belief that gays and lesbians are our brothers and sisters and should be provided the respect, dignity, and rights of all other citizens. I have consistently spoken directly to African-American religious leaders about the need to overcome the homophobia that persists in some parts our community so that we can confront issues like HIV/AIDS and broaden the reach of equal rights in this country.

I strongly believe that African Americans and the LGBT community must stand together in the fight for equal rights. And so I strongly disagree with Reverend McClurkin’s views and will continue to fight for these rights as President of the United States to ensure that America is a country that spreads tolerance instead of division.”

- Barack Obama
10/22/07

thrill the world

last night was my friend jk's learn to dance the thriller party. needless to day, he and his fabulous roommate went to town with costumes and decor. literally, the mj jacket reproduction is made out of electrical tape.

it was a blast - and a great work out. here's some fun from the party. and, by the way, this in no way means i endorse the occult. oh, and for the real thriller, click here.

genius.

kevin, the new cosby of parenthood.

this is what a big college campus needs.

outdoor classrooms. or pavilions with comfortable seating, outlets for laptops, and wi-fi. how else is a person to work on a gorgeous day? staying inside can be quite stifling.

so, go forth. lobby. make it happen. it will keep students sane.

see? something like this, but with laptop friendly seats. grand idea if you ask me.

ladies, need a happy thought today?

then click here.

and give a big thank you to brad pitt and wolfgang peterson.

i love a fiesty man.

go president carter.

poetry and truth.

"Pity the Nation," the latest poem by 80-year-old Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who still works at his City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco.

Pity the nation whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own
and no other culture but its own.
Pity the nation whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity the nation -- oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away.
My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.

ojos de mujer

a great loss.

i was very sad to wake up on thursday and find out that luciano pavarotti had passed away. i remember, from a very early age, watching him on pbs in chicago - wttw 11. operas, christmas specials, the three tenors. i remember it all. i could listen for hours, lost in the vibratto. he made it seem so effortless - especially with the gum in his mouth while singing.

if you have a moment, read this piece on the king of high c's by bono. (u2 wrote the song miss sarajevo for maestro pavarotti.)

one more time, enjoy nessun dorma. trust me, if it does not sound familiar to you, you will know it when you hear it.



here is a clip of miss sarajevo.

have a new, short 'do.

here's a sneak peak.

lansing's believe it or not.

even lansing has its own serial killer. very creepy.

still in mi.

first day of class was yesterday, and it was a long day. i was in an all day conference until class, ran to class (evidence - which had me confused beyond all), and then headed home. of course, i was home just in time for all of the gigantic thunderstorms and tornado warnings, so spent about an hour in my tub with my cats during the tornado warning. tons of fun for the rest of the night with cable and power outages - oh, and phone issues. how was your night?

the photo to right is courtesy of enid, taken outside her mom's house, where enid was during the tornado.

back in mi.

here i am. back in mi. classes start tomorrow.
second year. already. seems weird.

pinky watch 2007.

so i come home today to find kdh (my step-mom) and dan (my little bro) a buzz in the house with all kinds of news. turns out that pinky the turtle, a red ear slider, had found a comfy corner in which to have a clutch of eggs. twelve to be exact. odd thing is everyone thought pinky was boy up until now, although i had serious doubts after doing some online research.

sad thing is that none of the eggs are fertilized. sadder still, pinky the domesticated turtle, broke them all. she has something to learn by way of grace and gentleness when moving around her clutch. it is possible she may have more; most turtles have 20 or more. so, now begins pinky watch 2007.

up until this summer i never really "bonded" with pinky. she is about seven and dan has had her since she was a hatchling. since, however, we have been sharing a room, pinky and i have made a connection. pinky crawls to me when i call her; she comes out of hiding when i call her. and i am not embarrassed, but, rather, proud to share this information.

will keep you posted on the egg situation.

on a final note, it is no small wonder that a turtle about a foot long produced 12 eggs that were 1.5 to 2 inches in length.

my summer.

suffice it to say, it has not been what i thought. i did not get to do all that i planned (learning to play golf, french, quality time with everyone). i did not anticipate such a long commute (an hour each way - on a good day) and so much of my $$$$ going to gas money as a result. long days leave me tired and ready for bed only. then i got a sinus infection that led to bronchitis. worn out is me.

on top of which everyone feels mad at me. and not all are saying why. all i can guess is that i have or have not spent enough time with them or other people. i was not able to do what i thought. i made silly mistakes due to stress. harsh judgment on those silly mistakes.

and, work was stressful. saying good-bye to people, important people, with all of the surrounding issues, is long and hard and stressful.

this leaves me exhausted. physically, emotionally... you name it. class is around a corner and i need a vacation. too bad there is no time or money for one.

would that i could sleep for a week.

it is not f***in' enough, but at least it is a start.

U.N. troops will go to war-ravaged Darfur

Do what you can to help by supporting the UN High Commission for Refugees.

my summer... so far.

visual fun with the fam

best wedding dance tunes, ever.

hands down. emmi & tim picked out the best wedding tunes ever. i danced all night - and only sat out three songs. what follows is just one reason why. do you remember this tune? pictures and more to follow, but for now, the gal with the sinus infection from hell is off to sleep.

the zoo!

haven't been to brookfield zoo since, well... i don't know when. here are a few pics from the day.

been busy.

my apologies. been very busy this summer. and tired. dragging really. between 10 hour work days, two hour commuting time, and working out, just put a fork in me.

good-bye, pearl.

this is how my summer is going.

i returned to chicago in time for the 17 year cicadas.
how is yours?

500 years of women in art.

prom photos are in.

and dan looks good in pink!

this is kind of funny.

for a few reasons.

1. i heart the muppets.
2. i heart this muppets skit in particular.
3. i think that elizabeth hasselbeck is an idiot.
4. i cannot stand the view. never have, never will.
5. i would rather the muppets have another show.

finally.

U.N. approves Hariri assassination tribunal

the clone wars.

for all of those of you that love star wars as much as I do, you will love this!
a preview of the clone wars cartoon is awaiting you right here.

mammograms.

please make sure, if you are 35, you have a baseline.
mammograms are so important - and they are lifesavers.
don't forget self breast exams in between doctor's appointments, too.

change of jurisdiction.

i am now in the land of deep dish pizza, and loving it!

the last patriot

thanks goodness for will ferrell and co. at funny or die. else we wouldn't have things like this.

more fun in lebanon.

hizbullah is not happy, shockingly, again.

more on lebanon.

sadly, a bomb just hit the resort town of aley in lebanon, which is a druse stronghold. my friend is druse, which is a smaller religion and a group that is rarely targeted by bombers as they are not muslim, christian, or jewish. very shocking to hit the druse of lebanon.
the bomb dropped very close to my friend's hotel in aley. very little news on it so far, except for here.

lebanon.

many of you know that one of my closest friends is lebanese. a good way to keep up on happenings is here.

i have not been to lebanon, but i have always wanted to go. and i came about this close to going about seven months before the war last summer. amazing people. beautiful. resilient. what else is there to do when the your land is constantly at war, both with itself and with others. just check out the controversy around the world press photo of the year here.

it's only been nine months, but already i am a law geek.

which is why you all should check out oyez here. marvelous website dedicated to posting all of the oral arguments made before the united states supreme court since they have been recording oral arguments. for added treats, you can also read transcripts in their entirety and download the oral arguments to your ipod.

yes. i am a law geek. and i am proud.

more brilliant fun with deadliest catch.

Previously on Deadliest Catch long

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have you seen the pictures of matthew mcconaughey lately?

always shirtless. and that is why this is priceless.

i heart deadliest catch.

i love this show. i love how the fishermen love what they do, no matter how crazy it may seem to the rest of us. enjoy this link to captain sig hansen (love the last name) on the daily show.

perhaps i will stay 14 forever.

i had the best time the other night. made dinner with a law school friend. then we went to what is, i suspect, the world's smallest carnival in exciting okemos, mi. even with it's maybe six adult rides, we rode the tilt-a-whirl and the spider. and i laughed my ass off. i cannot remember the last time that something sooo simple made me laugh so very hard.

so, here's hoping that something makes you feel 14 again, sometime soon.

more laughs

it is official.

the first year of law school is...


O V E R!!!!!

for the "yum" factor.

elvis. 68 comeback special. black leather. enough said.

something to cheer me up after failing property.

property = evil.
jack black = good times.

one word for you.

exams.

and you thought your kids were talented...

read this too.

Father Knows Best: Dr. Kennedy's magic prescription for indecisive women.

denying the right to choose

check out this opinion in the new york times.

closer to the death of choice.

the supreme court's decision today in Gonzales v. Carhart takes this country closer and closer to becoming one that prohibits choice for more than half the population, a scant thirty years after it awarded what may be considered limited choice to women. it is the single biggest choice decision to be handed down since Roe v. Wade.

please take a moment to visit one of the following and make a donation or join a letter writing campaign.

and remember, keep your laws off my body.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America
National Organization for Women
NARAL
National Abortion Federation
Save Roe

one of many study break items i'll be sent in the next few weeks.

but this is a good one. try it!

1. go to google
2. click on maps.
3. click on get directions.
4. go from new york, new york to paris, france.
5. and read line # 23.

this is the funniest thing i have seen in a long while.

as someone said, "Pearl was fantastic... but that guy with the afro was a bit lacking."

we all need someone, just one person, who challenges us.

and here is a good reminder.
hope you find someone.




p.s. this is why i loved pacey.

how cute is this?

It's Brandon Bunny!

looking for idenity of interests.

so yesterday the journals at the law school had their open houses.

i went to the journal of international law, which would be my number two choice after the law review.

i found someone interested in international development and had an exciting conversation with someone for the first time in months. it was a relief to talk to someone who understood and was interested in the same things.

too bad i then proceeded to talk his head off.

i miss my peeps. :(

today is april 11 and...

there are two inches of snow on the ground.
the pollen count is high.
this is just so very wrong.

the difference between me and the rural midwest

my friend works in the midwest and she told me a story that i think illustrate how much she and i miss those who get us.

she walked into the lunchroom where she worked.
she heard a woman say, "i like the discovery channel, but it is too evolutionary for me."
my friend walked out without saying anything, which i told her was probably best under the circumstances.

now, i am not knocking god or religion. but i miss similarity of thought, people who care about things that are similar to what i care about, and experience in life. i miss people who want to travel the world and taste the delights it has to offer. i miss museums and theatre. most of all, i miss those who are near and dear to me and get me. you can never underestimate how important that identity is - that someone gets you.

the pollen count is high?

it is just weird that in april, when it is below freezing and has been snowing everyday for a week, that www.weather.com is posting advisories about the pollen count being high. don't you think? umm.... freezing outside, snow in april, and high pollen count? just odd.

it reminds me of when i lived in texas and the weather would report on windchill factors when it was 60 degrees outside. (it was 55 with the windchill factor.) i'm from chicago. 5 below zero with a windchill factor that makes it 30 below zero is a windchill factor.

oi. back to class actions...

just for fun.

chi-town bound.

yes. this summer, after a many year departure, i will be living and working in the greater chicagoland area. i am still looking for a friend or relative to take in the poor, wayward law student that i am. but either way, i am looking forward to a summer with my family. it has been entirely too long.

oh how i love a good bike ride.

and i need one. on that note, check out my friend's new harley. isn't it a thing of beauty?
the bike, not the man. :)

this is one of many reasons why i love civil procedure still.

our professor is still just brilliant. great hypos. great wit.
today he had to explain who liberace was to the youngin's in class born after 1980.
his description, hee-hee, was:
elton john on speed.

apologies.

spring break and getting back in the swing of things, plus appellate arguments and appellate brief.
i am stressed and tired.
how about you?

redheads rule.

i love being a redhead. one of my very good law school friends sent me to real of redheads.... i want all of the t-shirts. being a poor law student certainly can suck.

a friend of mine.

a friend of mine ordered one of these.
my whole life i have wanted a motorcycle.
for those of you who do not know, i brew up on the back of one, cruising along the back of my dad's bike through greater chicagoland.
wow. i cannot wait to go for a ride.
anyone else out there miss a good bike ride?
the power? the heat? the wind on your face? the buzzing humm?

what in the?

what in the hell happened to him?
remember when he looked good?
i think this may be the last time he looked good.

vdp on people.com!

as you all may know, my fabulous cousin vanessa designs women's accessories and distributes them exclusively to her best friends, the owners of Jake. yesterday, at the recommendation of john mayer, ms. jessica simpson dropped into Jake in chicago and bought one of vanessa's obi belts and wore it out of the store. people.com is reporting it now, and mentions vanessa by name. it seems us and the chicago sun-times will also be carrying the story.

take a peak here.

go vanessa!

it's a fight to work at my desk.

but a pleasant one.

heat wave.

we hit 39 today baby!!!! get out the coppertone and go tanning.
i cannot remember the last time it was above freezing.
wait. it was almost six weeks ago...

dakota. 1L and constitutional law aficionada

can we say yummmm?

did you see sting open the grammy's with the police? yum, yum, yum. reunion tour? i am soooo there.

and three cheers for the dixie chicks. winning song of the year and record of the year and album of the year... as far as i am concerned a nice f*** you to those who do not believe in free speech.


Not only is it extremely cruel to persecute in this brief life those who do not think the way we do, but I do not know if it might be too presumptuous to declare their eternal damnation. Evelyn Beatrice Hall

and it continues....

snow yesterday. snow today. no end in site. at least we are back in the 20s, and not the single digits.

someone needs to explain this to me.

i live in michigan. what do you think of when you think michigan? snowy cold winters, right? me too. one would think that an extension of that would be snowplows and clean streets. one would not think the streets would be like our nation's capital. (in case you did not know, it takes about a week after a snowfall in the greater washington, dc area to plow every road.) well, in this way, i have not left dc.

chicago, oh that paragon of snow removal, please teach michigan the way. chicago, you are brilliant! you plow as it is snowing. there is no accumulation. snow is constantly removed. salt is constantly laid down on the road. there is no waiting until after the snow, when it is already packed onto the pavement and there is no such thing as removal. please, send michigan your snow removal guide. the state is definitely in need.

Personal Jurisdiction

in civil procedure our professor had a contest to make deciphering personal jurisdiction a breeze.
check out the winner here.

the supreme court.

there is a great pbs series currently underway about the supreme court.
check it out here.
judicial review... thank you, chief justice john marshall.

it's... another boy!

my first undergrad friend had a baby this week!

kristen and sergio welcomed little landon xavier on january 22.
little tike came in at 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 20 inches long.
he's a looker!

check this out.

have a little fun at wee world.

baby boy has a name!

his name is asher.
i love this name.
in case you did not know, my favorite book is my name is asher lev.
i highly recommend it.
it was part of my sophomore year reading in high school and i instantly fell in love.
i still have the copy that i used that year, with all of my notes and doodles.
in fact, i reread the book once a year.
i have since also bought a first edition hardcover.
read it. enjoy.
and welcome to the world little Asher O-S!
we have been anxiously awaiting your arrival

your assistance is requested...

i have taken to calling my friend raz by the nickname of wheeler. he has yet to get the reference. anyone out there care to venture a guess to the reference?

shaking in our boots.

okay, so if it would actually snow in michigan, we may literally be shaking in our boots.
our torts professor gave out some harsh grades in her civil procedure section.
understandably we are all very, very fearful of our torts grades. gulp.

no official name yet, but we have a nickname.

yes, thanks to the magical words of baby boy's brother and auntie anne, the newest member to the gp is affectionately known as....

cheetah maccool.

cheetah because big brother owen thinks his little brother's name should be cheetah.
maccool is after the irish legend fionn maccool.

back to it.

back to it tomorrow.

guess what is first up?

wish me luck. been a long time since i have studied the constitution in any way, shape, or form.

marbury v. madison anybody?

we have another boy!

there is another boy in the o'connell-strasberg family. yes!

no name, but he is 8 lbs, 6 oz and 21 inches long!
i have been told he has some black hair on his cute little head. he was born shortly after 11 pm on 3rd january.

new baby on the way!

one of the girl posse is in labor as i write! cannot wait to meet the newest and littlest member! will keep you all posted.

babysitting.

so a good friend of mine is babysitting his two little nieces. he told me the following, which i would never have expected to hear from him. oh to be a fly on the wall. i would pay - a lot.

i bought them a princess jewelry board game.

i dress up with them.

i almost won twice; had the ring, necklace, earings and bracelet but not the crown

priceless.

a little belated, but...

happy new year!

the best to each of you in 2007!