Falling Off

Hello folks, welcome back to the internet. Absent blogging from yours truly, I know it sometimes feels as if it doesn't exist. Sorry about that.

Honestly, I've had plenty of great Album of the Week ideas - I think I've been listening to a lot of good music lately. This Avett Brothers album is freaking me right out. I even went to the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, two weeks in a row!

Some of you may recall that for the past, oh, eight months, I've been wearing a blue, orange, and black friendship bracelet thing on my right wrist. I'm somewhat disheartened to announce that tonight, of all nights, it finally fell off. In a most ignominious fashion too - in line at the Roseville McDonalds, waiting to buy coffee. Don't judge, do not judge - their coffee isn't all that bad. I feel as if I have the authority to make this determination, given the volume of coffee I consume weekly.

I had aspired for it to last until June, but alas, that is not to be. I was asked a few weeks ago what it meant - why I would keep such a tattered, raggedy thing on my person 24/7 for so long. I really didn't have a good answer. I suppose I wore it as a reminder. Like so many things though, you don't need a bracelet to remind you of bus trips and playing music.

I do think I need a new one though. Invitation to treat, anyone?

Anyways, to describe life as hectic as of late would be an understatement. Such is what you get though, when you agree to work two jobs while in law school, while spending a good six to seven hours a week honing one's int'l arbitration skills, while trying to not lose all your friends by being too busy, and while attempting desperately to finagle the ins and outs of a new relationship. And of course, who can forget the musical force that is the Minneapolis Trombone Choir. Needless to say, things are busy, and one always feels as if they might be on the brink of, just like an old bracelet, of falling off.

It's okay to be busy though.

I'm managing though, nay thriving. Although it's been hard to sync up, I've kept friends so far. Trombone choir, though perpetually awkward (as one would hope/expect/cherish), is going very well as of late. We had our best Vis practice yet tonight, and my (real!) int'l arbitration job is panning out quite alright. It's a bit unnerving to think that out of potentially <5 millions euros at stake, some tiny portion of that is riding on my nearly quarter century old brain and horn-rimmed glasses...

I won't complain though, and can't. I have a job(s) that I like, and successful homebrew at my side. Spring training has officially started, and although I can't go to Ft. Myers this year, I think it's going to be another fun summer. I like the way the team is shaping up. I have the fortuitous good luck of spending time with a girl that I like. I actually fancy her quite a bit. And to top off, I even got my trombone slide to stop sticking and making that annoying crunchy noise last week! I even got a new sack of cheesecloth to clear out the tubing with!

The world is certainly on a string...

Hope

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. - Rogers Hornsby

I concur. In the gloriously short span of 4 days, pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, and life will again be in equilibrium. The thing about baseball, the Minnesota Twins in particular, is that after 4 months of frigid temperatures, dome-busting blizzards, and slippery roads, we're all in the mood for a carefree, warm afternoon day in the sun.

From my perspective, as much as I love winter, it is to a certain extent, an endurance contest. One wonders how masochistic he must be to live in Minnesota in January. We escape the cold by streaming through a maze of skyways, skittering like rodents in a blind search for food pellets; we try to convince ourselves it's no big deal; we (I) ache from shoveling sidewalks and driveways. Undoubtedly, there must be some degree of collective insanity to subject oneself to such harsh elements, year after year. It's really quite incredible this entire state hasn't become delusional.

However friends, there is hope. It arrives with the anticipation of a 3-2 count, the crack of a bat, the collective attempt of 40,000 people trying to will a ball within the foul pole. The oft-ridiculed pride at seeing a St. Paul boy play for the hometown nine. It arrives with the patience of nine innings, preferably aided by a Summit and a polish. It arrives with sun - sometimes rain, but that's okay too. It arrives with family, friends, and memories, some that even span lifetimes. Most importantly, it arrives with the simple belief that no matter how tough the Yankees are, this is definitely going to be our year.

Yes friends, spring training can't come soon enough.

Luck and Timing

Folks, as my academic career slowly winds to a close, I've increasingly been made aware that maybe the best quality I've cultivated in my 6 and 1/2 years of higher education is sheer luck. Dumb luck and good timing.

There's really not much more to say. I was lucky to get on this international arbitration team, and dumb enough to think that local attorneys who practice in the field would want to sit down and have lunch with me. As it just may happen, one of those lucky meetings occurred at just the right time, and I might have a new job coming up quick. I say "might," because you never know how one's luck may change...

Funny enough, through yet another set of stupidly fortuitous circumstances, I met a smart, pretty, somewhat arrogant, young woman the other month, and now find myself in what one might consider an almost-adult relationship. It's a very positive development, and that's all I'll say since this is blog is short on personal details and my mom reads it.

If anything, what 2011 has taught me so far, is that there is no risk to being a bit brazen. I attended a brunch with the MN Supreme Court last week, and one of the justices advised us that the worst phrases we could teach ourselves were "I can't" and "I won't." For the longest time, I told myself I would never do anything with tax law, because I hated it. After that brunch, I decided I could probably do tax if asked, if the timing was right.

It's been a long road so far, and I've worked real hard. Whenever I get together with old friends, we always remind ourselves that even though we did a lot of dumb things 1% of the time, we worked hard the other 99%. I don't think it diminishes that tradition to think about luck and timing, because it's that grunt work that puts you in the position to take advantage of fortuitous circumstances.

Anyways, this was a far too serious post. I'll also probably get in trouble for certain disclosures (ahem). That's okay though. Get ready folks, I have a plethora of Albums of the Week to unleash in the coming month - so get ready! And even, I daresay, prepare for new content on the MN Brew Blog!

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.

Prelude to a Basketball

Evening folks, welcome back. Or should I say, after a week spent in a small glass room editing arbitration memos, welcome myself back?



I'm going to a Timberwolves game tomorrow. One could rightfully ask, "why would any rational being go to a Timberwolves game?" I really have no good response, other than the fact my arbitration teammate has been pestering, and it costs but $5. The last Wolves game I went to, the highlight of the evening was the blooper reel. I'm going to be hopeful though. It's what President Obama would want me to do.

I think there are two reasons why I'm confident of a more than pleasant evening though.

First, I need to come direct from work, which means I have to wear a suit. Last time I wore a suit to a sporting event...



we won.

Second, I have excellent company. Excellent company makes even terrible NBA basketball tolerable, nay, palatable, nay, intriguing.

In any event, I am more than ready to howl at opposing players' free throws, watch the stripper/"Timberwolves Dance Team" halftime show, and otherwise pay far too much for beer in a venue with the word "Target" in it. It'll be like a nice little run through for April... minus the strippers. Maybe the howling too... but actually, howling seems like a brilliant idea.

Speeches

Friends, I spent tonight watching the President's address from Tucson. It's about a half hour long, but I would highly recommend it to you. I thought it was a beautiful speech. It's shameful that such a beautiful speech had to be borne out of such a senseless act.

I teared up. Real men tear up.



I certainly can't claim, and won't claim, to be nonpartisan. But I thought this was the kind of speech a leader makes, when he/she is called upon to be a leader. When I heard about this shooting on Saturday, I was absolutely horrified, and I don't really know why.

Maybe it's because it hit an elemental cord. Sure, I'm just a student, and often times I value the paycheck over more altruistic concerns, but I know exactly what it's like to go to work, hoping that today you can make the community a little bit better. I play a tiny role, an absolutely tiny role, and while I myself sometimes question the wisdom or humanism of the things I write, I like to tell myself that what I did today made some victim of a crime feel a bit better, or made a neighbor feel a bit safer. To think someone would shoot me for doing that, that's absolutely terrible.

In any event, the speech made me think, which I am wont to do. In fact, for all the blather that I spray out each day, I'd venture to say that I think at least two to three times as much. I think that's okay though; I think I'm happy to deal with some awkward silences in order to think things through a bit more.

Anyways, what really struck me about President Obama's speech was the gratitude he expressed for the folks in Tucson on Saturday. The people who wrestled the shooter to the ground, the doctors, the guy who took care of the representative who was shot. It made me think about the things I was grateful for - the real things, not the coffee grinders.

I wish I had something more insightful to say, I really do. Often times, I wish I could come up with all these fantastic ideas I hear about, but maybe, it's times like this where we all need to be grateful for who we are. More importantly, like the President said, we need to be grateful for, and think about, the opportunity to make someone's life a little better, as well as the folks who do the same for us. It would be futile to make a list, because there are so many, but that's what I'm going to do tonight.

In any event, it's late, and I'm tired. Again. But I'm grateful tonight for the place I'm in, because I think it's someplace good. I'm grateful for my job, and I'm grateful for the "A" I got in negotiation. I'm grateful for the bagels someone brought into work on Monday, and I'm grateful for the person who opened the door for me at the bookstore tonight. Most of all, I think I'm grateful for friendships, when even though some are far away, they have become stronger and more nuanced. I'm grateful for something else too, but I don't want to be premature or embarrass anybody.

I'm also grateful for flossing, which I will do now.

Album of the Week: OK Computer

Yes, yes I know. "Album of the Week" has been on extended hiatus, but because of that, I'm sure the Internet's collective appetite is wholly whetted for this, the first installment of 2011. Think of it as the McRib of this blog - it doesn't show up that often, but when it does. . .

A good friend of mine has told me, from time to time, that Thom Yorke is a genius. I would characterize my reaction that statement as, well, "cool." And by "cool," I of course mean ignorant. Fortunately, thanks to a post-finals music sharing rampage, I came into quite the little trove of Radiohead, and am now happy to report that my reaction to the "Thom Yorke is a genius" claim has been upgraded to guarded agreement.

Thus, today's Album of the Week is OK Computer by Radiohead, first released in 1997. This is obviously consistent with my policy of being at least 2-3 years back of any pop culture trend.

As a disclaimer, I've always been a bit hesitant towards anthemic, stadium style rock. You know, U2 and the like. I often find myself questioning what the real purpose of the music is - is to sell out a ton of concerts, thereby earning bazillions, or is it genuine musical expression? The answer, most likely, is somewhere in the middle, but that doesn't stop me from pondering. I can safely say though, that I will henceforth make an exception. For Radiohead.

Folks, I love this album, and I can't quite put my finger on why. Honestly, I don't know what the hell he's singing half the time. I must say though, Mr. Yorke has one of the more distinctive voices you'll ever come across. I've been trying hard to come up with a sufficient adjective to describe it, but my vocabulary is eluding me. It's quite liquid, but yet retains a certain sharpness to it, which really illuminates some pretty incredible emotion.

To illustrate this, I'd highly recommend three tracks - "Karma Police," "Lucky," and "The Tourist." It is truth - I listened to "Lucky" probably 12 times in a row one night last week. I find it to be an absolutely intoxicating song, and have actually forced more than a few unwitting occupants of my car to listen to it too.

Perhaps that's the intangible that is drawing me to this album. Maybe it's the epic nature of the songwriting, maybe it's the aforementioned voice, I have no idea. But near every track on this album finds its way not only into your aural cavity, but your brain and heart as well. This is what leads me to conclude that the stadium-esque nature of this songwriting isn't a ploy to make gazillions on ticket sales, but a means through which to achieve transcendence. I could just as easily ponder life's mysteries to this album than scream with 100,000 other fans.

I think the pacing of the tracks, and the album as a whole, are quite incredible. I've always been a sucker for melodramatic art-rock (see Sigur Rós), and I'm sure Radiohead is going to quickly find its way onto that list. I love the laziness through which the music expands and contracts. It's a broad canvas of an album, and the musicians take the care of a master painter while filing up that space. To use the term from a later recording, you really get the sense that everything is in its right place, that the music is as it it was, is, and should be. Extraordinarily deliberate.

Deliberate - deliberate is a good place to be. This blog has well established my propensity for thinking, and this, I feel, is thinking music. It's music whose purpose is not immediately apparent. I can appreciate that, because the best things in life involve self-reflection.

So there you go.