Stuff they don't teach in law school.

This videotaped deposition is not as aberrational as one might think.

(Via ProfessorBainbridge.com(tm).)

Committee Craftsmanship.

An old joke goes that a giraffe is a horse designed by a committee.

This is a monster truck evidently birthed by a committee.

(HT: decorabilia.)

Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail.

On Saturday evening my family and I arrived at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Irvine, California.

I made reservations about six weeks in advance knowing that such advance planning was required if we were to dine at the fine establishment. In fact, when I called the time I had sought was already taken and we had to move it about 45 minutes earlier.

So, imagine the comedy that unfolded at the front desk when a party of four strolled in about 6 p.m. and asked for a table without reservations. The hostess' earnest response: "If you come back about 9:45 p.m. we might have something for you then."

Good Friday Mystery.

Overheard in our law office suite on Friday about 3 p.m.:

"I'm such a bad Catholic; I forgot it's Good Friday."

Kind of a critical day in the Christian calendar.

Mistaken Identity.

Neither this nor this is me.

Just in case you're wondering.

Movie Review: Thank You for Smoking.

Thank you for Thank You for Smoking, Jason Reitman.

Mr. Reitman wrote and directed this most clever of satires. The movie's basic pitch is what a tobacco lobbyist's job must be like. The film more broadly explores the grand American tradition of spin in all of its manifestations. Whether the spinners are lobbyists, politicians, lawyers, advertisers or media moguls the skill is the same--how to get the public to buy into what they are selling.

Often, it's a product is of no redeeming value. Now that's a hard task. One of the movie's greatest lines is, "You want an easy job, go work for The Red Cross."

The movie is simultaneously funny and thought-provoking. As I have been bemoaning the recent American tradition of derivative movies, this one stands out for its ingenuity.

Outstanding.

Thank You for Smoking receives an A-.

Sports cliches.

Congratulations to Lamar Odom (Lakers) for his sports cliche triple-play. Odom managed to pack three of the top cliches in a single quote.

"Right now we just have to take it game by game. Our destiny is in our own hands. We have to keep winning."

Lamar Odom quoted in OC Register, "Lakers Look Ahead to Playoffs", April 6, 2006, p. Sports 16.

Simple pleasures.

One of life's simple pleasures is happening upon a parking meter that has time remaining. I experienced a similar windfall today. As I drove out of a parking structure, its gate was up and there was no one in the booth to pay. Thanks for the $10 benefit!