Author Archives: michael

Michael’s 2008 Book List

Bartleby, the Scrivener, H. Melville
Compassion, Justice & the Christian Life, R. Lupton
The World is Flat, T. Friedman
Tribes, S. Godin
The Post-American World, F. Zakaria
The Revolution: A Manifesto, R. Paul
Getting to Maybe, R. Fischl
Intuition, A. Goodman
Chasing the Flame, S. Power
American Courts, D. Meador
Surprised by Hope, N. Wright
How Right You Are, Jeeves, P. Wodehouse
God & Man at Yale, WFB, Jr.
The Lawyer’s Calling, J. Allegretti
The Nine, J. Toobin

Dear Starbucks

A Doppio Con Panna is an espresso with whipped cream, not a cup of whipped cream with a shot of espresso.

Thanks,
MLS

Is HRC Endorsing McCain?

Michael’s 2007 Books

Comfort on the Road — Making the commute a little easier

  • D. McCullough, 1776
  • E. Hemingway, The Old Man & the Sea
  • W. Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom
  • P. O’Brian, The Far Side of the World, Treason’s Harbor, The Ionian Mission, The Surgeon’s Mate, The Fortune of War, Desolation Island, and The Mauritius Command

Riding in Car with Girls — Nothing better than books for a 10hr drive

  • D. Sijie, Balzac & the Little Chinese Seamstress
  • S. Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
  • M. Robinson, Housekeeping

End of an Era — Best Christian writer of our generation

  • J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter corpus

Another One Bites the Dust — Finally scratched off the ‘ought to read’ list

  • Voltaire, Candide
  • Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice
  • NT Wright, The New Testament & the People of God

Dick Durbin Is an Idiot.

Thanks to the internet, Senators have had 46hr and 8m to read a 3,417 page omnibus spending bill. Apparently, thanks to the internet (and Al Gore!), that is plenty of time for any senator read all 3,417 pages of this spending bill. HOWEVER, Durbin forgot that not all senators are well-educated northern Democrats. We’ve also got us sum dum southernerz in the group (thanks to the internet?) who need a little bit longer to actually read it (at least the small words).

But why bother reading it all at? The democrats like it and they are the ones to clean up Washington, reform Congress and get rid of the pork, right?

What a Man!

First our fearless leader of Birmingham refuses to talk in federal court, then he decides to monitor my every movement by video camera!

I am … a Mastermind

My seniors came into class today discussing Myers-Brigg testing. After being tested, it turns out I’m INTJ.

The Portait of the Mastermind (INTJ)

Of the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition, it is the contingency planning or entailment organizing role that reaches the highest development in Masterminds. Entailing or contingency planning is not an informative activity, rather it is a directive one in which the planner tells others what to do and in what order to do it. As the organizing capabilities the Masterminds increase so does their inclination to take charge of whatever is going on.

It is in their abilities that Masterminds differ from the other Rationals, while in most of their attitudes they are just like the others. However there is one attitude that sets them apart from other Rationals: they tend to be much more self-confident than the rest, having, for obscure reasons, developed a very strong will. They are rather rare, comprising no more than, say, one percent of the population. Being very judicious, decisions come naturally to them; indeed, they can hardly rest until they have things settled, decided, and set. They are the people who are able to formulate coherent and comprehensive contingency plans, hence contingency organizers or “entailers.”

Masterminds will adopt ideas only if they are useful, which is to say if they work efficiently toward accomplishing the Mastermind’s well-defined goals. Natural leaders, Masterminds are not at all eager to take command of projects or groups, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead. Once in charge, however, Masterminds are the supreme pragmatists, seeing reality as a crucible for refining their strategies for goal-directed action. In a sense, Masterminds approach reality as they would a giant chess board, always seeking strategies that have a high payoff, and always devising contingency plans in case of error or adversity. To the Mastermind, organizational structure and operational procedures are never arbitrary, never set in concrete, but are quite malleable and can be changed, improved, streamlined. In their drive for efficient action, Masterminds are the most open-minded of all the types. No idea is too far-fetched to be entertained-if it is useful. Masterminds are natural brainstormers, always open to new concepts and, in fact, aggressively seeking them. They are also alert to the consequences of applying new ideas or positions. Theories which cannot be made to work are quickly discarded by the Masterminds. On the other hand, Masterminds can be quite ruthless in implementing effective ideas, seldom counting personal cost in terms of time and energy.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Ulysses S. Grant, Frideriche Nietsche, Niels Bohr, Peter the Great, Stephen Hawking, John Maynard Keynes, Lise Meitner”, Ayn Rand and Sir Isaac Newton are examples of Rational Masterminds.

FYI–Seinfeld was NOT cancelled.

Wait, John! What’s a Record?

We Happy Few

Happy St Crispin’s Day!

The Young Hillary & Barack

Young Hillary & Barack

What were HRC and Obama like in law school? Check out this NYMag feature which takes an extended look at their education and how it has shaped them into who they are now.

New Career

Kristen and I are going to become brand consultants. Really, how hard can it be?