Arguments

Well hello internet, apologies once again for the shameless lack of content. I fear this may be something you may need to get used to though, as rudely enough, school, arbitration, friends, etc. seem to constantly get in the way. It really is quite impolite, when you sit and think about it. In an ideal world, all I would do is sit on some type of throne and e-pontificate about all the injustices I suffer, all the wisdom I could impart, all the things I deem important, etc.

That would get real boring, real quick. Maybe it's a good thing I get distracted...

In any event, for those frequent readers who were undoubtedly waiting with bated breath for my reaction to the Timberwolves (Timberwolves?!) game I went to, I'm actually surprised to say that it was quite a good time. Sign my T-Wolves confession, slice my hand in blood, do whatever it is you need to do, I'll freely admit it - I had fun at a Timberwolves game. Unlike the last time, they did not lose by 50 points, they only lost by 1. I appreciated that.

Anyways, on to current events. Some of you might be following my continuing adventures in international commercial arbitration, either by (a) desire, or more likely (b) force. I think this is understandable though, the UNCITRAL Model Law only remains so exciting to so many people for so long. But I'm pretty much required to stay interested in it, and in fact am still interested in it, which is a very good thing.

One would imagine that after being held captive for a total of two weeks in a series of small glass rooms editing memorandums, the brunt of the pain would be over. That, however, is not the case. I was gifted with being a writer - I was not, however, not intrinsically gifted with the ability to persuade. Well, that's a misnomer. I was maybe not given a silver tongue, perhaps that's more accurate.

I think the inherent difficulty in argument, as someone who finds himself in many, is framing it in such a way that you are both easy to understand and convincing. In order to convince people, one merely must have knowledge and mastery of facts - that's not the difficult part. To frame something, or to organize it in a coherent way, now that is a task. As my admittedly (and proudly) liberal views tend to conflict with those of my more conservative counterparts, this is always the issue I face. It's the same issue I'll face in Hong Kong.

Moral of the story, this shit is hard, and there's a lot of work to be done. It's going to get done though, and come April, some folks will be impressed. Not least of whom being myself.