Pop Culture and Law School part II

In property tonight we were learning about estates and fun inheritance rules and stuff like that. For one of the problems, which has been titled the "spendthrift" problem, the professor decides to flesh out the hypo. The problem in the book read something like, "O conveys Blackacre to 'A and his heirs.' B, A's son, is a spendthrift who accumulates massive amounts of debt. Can B or his creditors touch Blackacre to honor B's debt?"

The professor's version goes, "So O conveys Blackacre to 'A and his heirs' and B, A's son, runs up huge amounts a debt living a proflagate life. B is dating Paris Hilton and trying to impress her... God knows why, and so what I want to know is can B use Blackacre to continue the farce?"

The extended question in the book was, "A decides to sell Blackacre and tour the world, does B have any recourse against A?"

The professor's version, "So A decides to look up Nichole Ritchie and join her jet-setting crowd, oh and he calls Brittany Spears too, and is there anything that B can do to stop him?"

I have to appreciate people who can appreciate how ridiculous Paris Hilton and Nichole Ritchie's fame is. Why the heck are they famous? What's worse...even though I don't understand why they are famous, I have a hard time avoiding activities that contribute to that fame such as clicking on the links to articles about them and laughing at jokes about them. It's 2:00am; that probably explains why this is such a "philisophical" post. I think I better quit before the rambling gets any worse.

Good Night and adieu!

Pop Culture and Law School

The new semester has started and I'm doing great. Instead of the "light" 13 credit hour courseload of last semester I now have a "moderate" load of 15 hours. The maximum load you can take is 16 hours; after that you have to get the special approval of the Dean and pay extra money. However, I am the person who regularly took 18-21 hours as an undergrad. I can handle it, no sweat. Oh, and I'm also volunteering at the public defender's office for a couple of hours every week.

For my classes this semester I've got the sequels to Civil Procedure, Contracts and Legal Research and Writing. Torts has been replaced by Property and then the additional course is Criminal Procedure.

Once again I have to wax enthusiastic about my professors. I am so blessed to have such wonderful and talented professors. My sequel courses have the same professors and I still love all three of them, even after receiving my grades from last semester. =) The two new professors are GREAT! My property professor is a first year professor like my CivPro professor and he is another funny rabid democrat who is "constitutionally incapable" of formality. Thus, his class includes plenty of pop culture references. Apparently he is a "Lost" or "24" addict...I don't know which because I don't watch either show. The references I've caught include "Beavis & Butthead", "Scooby-Doo", and sundry others that escape me right at this point in time. However, I am sad to say that he missed a great opportunity for a Monty Python reference. Bummer. Then my Criminal Procedure prof seems to have practiced law in virtually every state. Okay, so he's only practiced in four, but that seems like a lot. I think he is extremely funny and should take his act on the road, but stand-ups aren't typically subtle or nuanced in their jokes like he is. However, he is a Saturday Night Live watcher and regularly includes applicable references to appropriate skits in class.

Today my CivPro professor referenced The Godfather part II; unfortunately, I don't believe I've ever seen it so it went over my head. Last semester he was prone to boy band bashing (we had a case where one of the party's names was Hanson) and referencing R&B groups from the early nineties.

I have to say that I enjoy the references to pop culture because it makes class a) more fun, b) humanizes the talking head at the front of the classroom, and c) injects a little of the otherwise unknown outside world into my daily existence.

As the last part of this update our grades came out this week. On my personal scale of acceptable/adequate (average), satisfactory (slightly above average), happy (above average) & ecstatic (freakishly high) I'm pleased to report that I'm borderline satisfied/happy. For my classmates, please know that the scale only has a loose correlation to grade points; it includes external factors such as goal-setting, study habits and overall well-being. It would have been straight happy except for my contracts grade, but I goofed somewhere. I'll get the exam back in about three weeks so I can find out exactly where I goofed.

I hope all of you out there are doing well. Please if you have the time drop me a line on how your life is going because I need reminders that there is a world out there beyond Oklahoma City.

Peace out ya'll!