Testing, Testing, 1,2,3
Is this thing still on??
Hey world, Im back. Sorry for the delay, but I really did not want to bore you with the going's on of me, over the past few months considering they were not law school related. I am going to try my best to keep this blog strictly relevant to the shennagians of a law school student. So with that being said, lets back up for a quick recap and then move forward from there.
1)Since we last spoke in April, I finished my time as a long term teacher in Clayton County Georgia. The time spent teaching American government was really wonderfual and a true insight into the minds of young people and what it is I want to do for the rest of my life. I now am more certain then ever that I have a passion for helping young (especially minority men) find a path to upliftment in their life. I have come to realize more then ever that they need positive role models. They need to see a succesfull young black man that hasnt been to jail, or has two baby mamas, or sells drugs. So yeah I will continue to try to set a good example.
2) I have officially made the move to Chicago. Actually I made the move to Chicago about a month and a half ago. To be technical I'm actually living in the suburbs of Chicago up in North Chicago, but same difference right. I am spending the summer working in the AmeriCorp program. Yeah that AmeriCorp, im working with a non-profit called YouthBuild. I could go into a lot of detail about what I do and what the program does, but I wont. I will say that they focus on getting low-income and at risk youth a GED and job skills so that they can enter the work force. My Time here at a non-profit has been...eye-opening to say the least, and a good experience to have. It is definetely going to look good on my resume once it is time to update it.
3) Last but not least, I am here to update because tomorrow I will be moving into "The Den". Yes I finally got my own place in the city of Chicago. Also I have a couple of deadlines for the school that are coming up so ill be updating on that as well.
So in short: I am here in Chicago, I am tying up some loose ends for the start of term, and I am exploring my new city. You will hear more about these adventures as they come in. So yes it is time to go ahead and tune back into "3YUTP" cause I will be posting more regularly again. Enjoy, and I hope all has been well.
Marqus
Keep Clawing Away...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Forgotten but Not Gone...Yet
Hey I know it's been awhile since an update proper. I was on spring break for a week visiting DePaul and Chicago in general. When I got back to work, the school had changed the filtering standards so now I can no longer update during the day. When you consider I'm teaching for 8 hours a day, then grading papers, then making lesson plans, then trying to squeeze in time with friends, family, and my life....you get the point. I will have a lot more time in the coming weeks though. I mean hey! Ill be be in Chicago by the first week in June. So yeah full steam ahead!
Keep Clawing Away...
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Spring Break
I know its been a couple of days since my last post, let me apologize because it will be a few more days before I can give a full account. First of all I have been trying to wrap up the classes I'm teaching before my kids go on spring break. So right now it is a lot of grading papers, projects, and getting lesson plans ready for when we get break.
Also there is the not so small matter of getting things ready for my road trip Thursday-Monday. Saturday is "Admitted Law Student Day" at DePaul so I decided to head up there a day early to get the lay of the land and look at some apartments near campus. Saturday I will spend at the school, then i'll drive to Ohio to spend some time with my grandparents before coming back to the ATL. So yeah please try not to miss me too much, i'll be back with stories, thoughts, and pics...hopefully. Take care Keep Clawing Away...
Also there is the not so small matter of getting things ready for my road trip Thursday-Monday. Saturday is "Admitted Law Student Day" at DePaul so I decided to head up there a day early to get the lay of the land and look at some apartments near campus. Saturday I will spend at the school, then i'll drive to Ohio to spend some time with my grandparents before coming back to the ATL. So yeah please try not to miss me too much, i'll be back with stories, thoughts, and pics...hopefully. Take care Keep Clawing Away...
Friday, March 27, 2009
Tweet, Tweet, Chirped the Little Bird
"I woke up this morning and there was no milk, I'm now starving"
Imagine getting 20 or so random messages like that sent to your email, phone, and updated on your desktop widget at least 10 times a day. Maybe you don't have to imagine it, because you are already a part of the twitter movement. I have defiantly withstood this onslaught on personal privacy that is called Twitter; I figure if I can not have a MySpace after all these years I can live without this. I have a couple of problems with twitter on a philosophical level and also on a more practical level. Currently twitter has been getting a lot of publicity on tv and the internet and these two articles point out some of the impracticalities and problems with the system the way it is set up now.
My biggest problem with twitter is my sense that there is no inherent purpose to it's existence. If the goal is to simply update friends on your status and what you are up too, I feel that Facebook already did it first, and has a larger more coherent platform to do this from. Also there is a little more accountability in the world of facebook.
My second issue with twitter is the idea that people feel self-important enough to believe that thousands of people actually care what you just ate or what you are doing at this very instant...and more importantly I do not understand the people that follow others and feel the need to be alerted every time a person burps, farts, or pisses. The whole system seems a bit needy to me, both on the poster and follower sense. I know the argument coming; what's the difference between that and what you are doing right now? Well the difference is, that I am not limited to 140 characters. Nothing of sustenance or real importance is going to get said there.
Thirdly, this "need to stay connected" is fairly false. As a first generation Facebooker (it came online the same year I started college) I remember when it was really exclusive and useful for meeting new people at your school that you would then meet in the real world. Now most people (me included) have more FB friends then they could have possibly have met or known. People spend so much time "connected" on-line that they actually never "connect" in real life. It's a mad world I say.
Fourth, and this one really butters my buns, it is exceptionally lame! Older people are getting on it thinking it is the new cool hip thing to do. In reality most young hipsters I know would just as soon shoot a text updating the friends that need to know something, opposed to twittering them; I mean there is already a Facebook backlash starting. Texting is much more targeted then any tweet can be.
Finally, to me twitter is like a large bathroom stall at a high school that is constantly getting updated. As a source of news there is no peer review or verification going on to make sure items are credible. As a device to keep up with celebrities or politicians, there is no way to ensure that it is them actually maintaining there tweets. There is a reasonable expectation that publicist and managers keep up websites and myspace, but to have someone ghost write your tweets is inherently counter productive to the spirit of the movement
So this is my rant on Twitter. I know it has very little, if anything to do with law school, but whatever. If you dislike this post you can comment, email, call, or even text me...but please, please, please do not tweet me. Thanks Keep Clawing Away...
Imagine getting 20 or so random messages like that sent to your email, phone, and updated on your desktop widget at least 10 times a day. Maybe you don't have to imagine it, because you are already a part of the twitter movement. I have defiantly withstood this onslaught on personal privacy that is called Twitter; I figure if I can not have a MySpace after all these years I can live without this. I have a couple of problems with twitter on a philosophical level and also on a more practical level. Currently twitter has been getting a lot of publicity on tv and the internet and these two articles point out some of the impracticalities and problems with the system the way it is set up now.
My biggest problem with twitter is my sense that there is no inherent purpose to it's existence. If the goal is to simply update friends on your status and what you are up too, I feel that Facebook already did it first, and has a larger more coherent platform to do this from. Also there is a little more accountability in the world of facebook.
My second issue with twitter is the idea that people feel self-important enough to believe that thousands of people actually care what you just ate or what you are doing at this very instant...and more importantly I do not understand the people that follow others and feel the need to be alerted every time a person burps, farts, or pisses. The whole system seems a bit needy to me, both on the poster and follower sense. I know the argument coming; what's the difference between that and what you are doing right now? Well the difference is, that I am not limited to 140 characters. Nothing of sustenance or real importance is going to get said there.
Thirdly, this "need to stay connected" is fairly false. As a first generation Facebooker (it came online the same year I started college) I remember when it was really exclusive and useful for meeting new people at your school that you would then meet in the real world. Now most people (me included) have more FB friends then they could have possibly have met or known. People spend so much time "connected" on-line that they actually never "connect" in real life. It's a mad world I say.
Fourth, and this one really butters my buns, it is exceptionally lame! Older people are getting on it thinking it is the new cool hip thing to do. In reality most young hipsters I know would just as soon shoot a text updating the friends that need to know something, opposed to twittering them; I mean there is already a Facebook backlash starting. Texting is much more targeted then any tweet can be.
Finally, to me twitter is like a large bathroom stall at a high school that is constantly getting updated. As a source of news there is no peer review or verification going on to make sure items are credible. As a device to keep up with celebrities or politicians, there is no way to ensure that it is them actually maintaining there tweets. There is a reasonable expectation that publicist and managers keep up websites and myspace, but to have someone ghost write your tweets is inherently counter productive to the spirit of the movement
So this is my rant on Twitter. I know it has very little, if anything to do with law school, but whatever. If you dislike this post you can comment, email, call, or even text me...but please, please, please do not tweet me. Thanks Keep Clawing Away...
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Today's Moment of Zen
The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), in Christian Science
In politics, absurdity is not a handicap.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)
More Pic's after the jump
How freaked would you be??
Sometimes life just imitates life too well huh?
Do you ever wonder what games would be like if they were rated R?
Keep Clawing Away...
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), in Christian Science
In politics, absurdity is not a handicap.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)
More Pic's after the jump
How freaked would you be??
Sometimes life just imitates life too well huh?
Do you ever wonder what games would be like if they were rated R?
Keep Clawing Away...
You Down Front
In a show of his political savvy and tech wizardry President Obama will be taking your questions today at 11:30am. A few days ago they opened up a long promised feature of the new White House website that allows everyday citizens to post questions blog style, and then vote questions up or down to be answered by 44 himself. Notwithstanding the fact that the top questions in several categories have to do with the legalization of marijuana I would like to know your thoughts on this new era of openness with the people. What intended and unintended consequences might be lurking behind this new "democratization" and openness of the Executive branch?
I personally think that the first and biggest benefit is simply an image shift from the Presidents immediate predecessor. That he is even taking the questions gives him the benefit of looking more open and trusting; it almost doesn't even matter if he answers the questions or not. Secondly, it makes all of his followers feel more involved. Even if your question doesn't get answered you have still trafficked the website and are more likely to watch the Q/A, thus getting informed through a particularly friendly filter of the president. Another benefit is that this tactic can only strengthen the "Cult of Obama", that is the people who may have never been involved in politics or the democratic party before, but feel a special connection to Barack. This gives him leverage when it comes time to do battle both with the GOP and also the DNC. Whereas in the past the national party could squeeze candidates through threats of withholding funds and legitimacy, it is now almost a complete 180. If Obama doesn't put his name to it, the voters will not see it as being legit
While this new super information highway directly to voters opens up a fast lane from the White House to the people, they should definitely be weary of a few pot holes. Not the least of which is, the more open you are the more we can see your flaws. The openness sword cuts two ways, not open enough and people start to get suspicious and distrustful; whereas being to open and allowing people to see you make mistakes make you seem less credible and more fallible. While it is true that all Presidents have been Human, and thus prone to error, no President finds it particularly pleasant to admit when his administration has been wrong or caught of guard. When you are under the spotlight you can only avoid a question so often before more and more people start to see that you don't know what you are talking about. By allowing this process to be so open, it would only take a small team of dedicated posters to get certain questions to the top of the list, ignore them enough and begins to be a story.
So yes, personally I'm all for this. I think it will be nice to have voters questions answered directly without the media filtering and telling us and the president what we mean. Often times the media ask what it wants to know, and assumes that middle America agrees, hardly the case I'd argue. What are your thoughts? Keep Clawing Away...
I personally think that the first and biggest benefit is simply an image shift from the Presidents immediate predecessor. That he is even taking the questions gives him the benefit of looking more open and trusting; it almost doesn't even matter if he answers the questions or not. Secondly, it makes all of his followers feel more involved. Even if your question doesn't get answered you have still trafficked the website and are more likely to watch the Q/A, thus getting informed through a particularly friendly filter of the president. Another benefit is that this tactic can only strengthen the "Cult of Obama", that is the people who may have never been involved in politics or the democratic party before, but feel a special connection to Barack. This gives him leverage when it comes time to do battle both with the GOP and also the DNC. Whereas in the past the national party could squeeze candidates through threats of withholding funds and legitimacy, it is now almost a complete 180. If Obama doesn't put his name to it, the voters will not see it as being legit
While this new super information highway directly to voters opens up a fast lane from the White House to the people, they should definitely be weary of a few pot holes. Not the least of which is, the more open you are the more we can see your flaws. The openness sword cuts two ways, not open enough and people start to get suspicious and distrustful; whereas being to open and allowing people to see you make mistakes make you seem less credible and more fallible. While it is true that all Presidents have been Human, and thus prone to error, no President finds it particularly pleasant to admit when his administration has been wrong or caught of guard. When you are under the spotlight you can only avoid a question so often before more and more people start to see that you don't know what you are talking about. By allowing this process to be so open, it would only take a small team of dedicated posters to get certain questions to the top of the list, ignore them enough and begins to be a story.
So yes, personally I'm all for this. I think it will be nice to have voters questions answered directly without the media filtering and telling us and the president what we mean. Often times the media ask what it wants to know, and assumes that middle America agrees, hardly the case I'd argue. What are your thoughts? Keep Clawing Away...
The Waiting Game
Here is the rub: I'm not sure what my decision would be if actually accepted to UGA now. I mean if Columbia came back in the next week and said they had a seat for me in their incoming class, the decision would be much easier; its the number three law school in the Country and it is in the biggest city in the world, no brainer. But this is different and I'm not quite sure what to do. I guess I should pro and con each school."Dear Marqus:You would think after months of having my application and having time to decide what they want to do with me they could come up with some kind of decision. So now this puts everything into a bit of a tizzy.
The Admissions Committee completed its review of your application and would like to invite you to be placed on the waiting list. The waiting list is comprised of top candidates for admission to the 2009 entering class who have neither been offered nor denied admission. To accept or decline this invitation to be placed on the waiting list, you must visit https://www.law.uga.edu/cgi-bin/admissions/waitlist.pl to complete and submit the requested information by April 15, 2009. If you do not accept the invitation to be placed on the waiting list by the deadline, your application will be cancelled and you will not be considered for admission from the waiting list"
The Pro's of going to DePaul are pretty compelling. It is in the top 100 schools in the country for one and it has a bit of name recognition. Second, the school is located in one of the biggest markets in the world. Graduating from a school in Chicago would possibly open up a lot more opportunities then Athens, Ga. There is also the benefit of getting to live in Chicago, a city I have never lived in. On the flip side is the fact that I would literally be moving away from all of my friends and family. I know it would be hard to adjust to being in a new city by myself for three years, but I am more then sure I can handle it.
Looking at UGA, I find it very hard to see many benefits. I mean the most obvious one would be the fact that it is ranked higher then DePaul by a significant margin. It is number 33 on most list of Law schools, and in the south the name UGA has lots of pull. I mean the alumni association alone would be worth the price of admission. But I am kind of done with the Georgia scene for awhile, and the school itself is located in the middle of nowhere; though it would be easier to see friends and family. Also I would have to see what kind of scholarship they are offering, I mean DePaul has $60,000 on the table, they are definitely going to have to match or exceed that.
So my question to you is, where do you think I should go?? Keep Clawing Away...
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