lecture: Derrick Johnson

I took time out of my schedule this morning/afternoon to get a free lunch (always welcome, but not the point) and to hear from the keynote speaker of this year's Orrin G. Hatch Distinguished Trial Lawyer Lecture Series, Derrick Johnson. Mr. Johnson is currently the state president for the Mississippi State Conference NAACP, and his address was elecrifying for me. Some things that he emphasized were that with a law degree (and really, with anything in life that affords a step up), we can do good and do well--good by our neighbor, well for our families and country. Having a title is not enough, because we have to do something with it and keep our moral compass, lest people turn against people. There is a lot of screaming in the country, and not much hearing or civility. Civility is something that allowed great political discord to culminate in the Constitution and Bill of Rights--our country's founding fathers did not agree politically, but because of their mutual respect and the ability to work together, we have the framework that holds our country and our legal system together today.


As a leader in the NAACP, Mr. Johnson (understandably/expectedly) took a civil rights slant to his address, admonishing us to protect the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the law when people try to target any group, not just a group to which we belong. He cited Pastor Martin Niemoller's famous Holocaust-era statement in urging us to action:


First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out--
    because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out--
    because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--
    because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
    because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me--
    and there was no one left to speak out for me


This strikes home to me. Many people are minorities in one way or another; I myself am a racial minority, being half-Chinese. I am a religious minority, as a member of the LDS church. I am a social minority, as a self-realized nerd. I am a minority in other ways as well. "They" may not be coming for me now, but that is no reason to forestall action. Indeed, it puts me in a position to do more. There are powerful forces in the country that fight against equalities that we have obtained and established already, and there are forces that work to prevent such progress from moving forward. Racism against the Latino population now is frighteningly similar to racism against African Americans during the Civil Rights era. Blacks were originally brought to this country as a form of cheap labor, never meant to be given citizenship rights. They did all the menial tasks no white people wanted to do, and were paid little for their work. They were viewed as less intelligent, less important, and even less human. Isn't that what we are doing to the Latino people today? Mexicans are viewed as cheap laborers, and "their jobs" are to be landscapers, maids, janitors, or construction workers. They are not expected to attend college or do graduate work. Brilliant minds like Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor are viewed as anomalous. Have we really learned so little from the battles our parents fought? Do we really have to go through this again? Are we due for race riots, city burnings, violent demonstrations, lynchings, or hate organizations? Or can we of the rising generation, we open-minded gatekeepers between anarchy and civility (to steal Mr. Johnson's words) capable of pressing forward and embracing change and growth with open arms?


Similar battles for rights and status are being fought on the sexual orientation front, but that's a whole 'nother ball of wax.

law school: day 4

I've been through three and a half days of formal instruction at law school now. Not including last week's three day tutorial and orientation, that means I've had roughly 13 hours of class instruction, accompanied by about 270 pages of mandatory reading. Wait...really? 270 pages? 13 hours? It feels as though I've been a student here forever, but it also feels like we haven't done much reading at all. Sure, I've spent a lot of time poring over dry (and sometimes moist) law texts, but we've barely begun to scratch the surface of anything at all.


Law school is way more interesting and exciting than I thought it would be. Having a group of very talented minds to feed off of (don't get any zombie ideas) is invigorating in a way that I haven't really experienced since my English classes with Dr. Steve Walker or Dr. John Talbot. Those two professors, beyond any others I experienced firsthand during my undergraduate studies, knew some secret to unlocking the potential of students (or at least, of me). It seems as though either most law professors at BYU know the same secret, or the students here are somehow already unlocked. Like I said, it's an invigorating experience, and it means that I don't have to try to enjoy my reading and class time, I just do.


Am I particularly interested in Tort law or Contract law? No, not really; but learning about how laws and judicial rulings have shaped the landscape of the law is utterly fascinating to me. The nuance of legal writing is cool. Attacking judicial decisions from every angle to piece together potential arguments requires a depth and breadth of open-mindedness that I hadn't really considered. It's seriously cool, and I love it.

american idol: top 16, results

It's 12+ hours later, and I'm still sickened by the results this week. SICKENED. Not just because my two main predictions were completely off (i.e. America got it wrong): Aaron and Paige live to tour America with the Top 12. Hopefully they grow into it, because they're certainly not showing the talent necessary to pull good press. No, not only that, but 2 of my favorite singers who should have been completely safe (i.e. America got it wrong) got ousted. Alex Lambert, my favorite male voice of the season, and Lilly Scott, the indie instrumentalist both got kicked off before they even reached the Top 12. This is probably the second biggest non-finale upset night in the history of Idol (after Chris Daughtry not making the Top 3 in season 5). A Yahoo! blogger says it's because the instrumentalists are splitting the vote amongst themselves, but it's probably lackadaisical voting from complacent fans, combined with people not understanding the styles presented. To add insult to injury, early favorite Todrick was cut, and arguably T12-worthy Katelyn left as well. I was shocked, appalled, upset, and any number of other adjectives about the night. I am just this side of giving up on Idol this season, but loyalty, obsession, and yes, hope keep me watching. The last, best hope for a decent season are Big Mike and Crystal. Some of the others are coming into their own, so we'll see where they go, but with some of the standouts of the season gone and no real polarizing force like last season, this might be a forgettable Idol year.


As for the rest of the night, Scott McIntyre and Matt Giraud were great - pairing the two piano experts was a stroke of genius, and while I am in no way at all interested in buying Scott's CD, I might be convincable if Scott and Matt team up on something. Maybe. And Rolling Stones week shows promise. Less so without Alex and Lilly, but promise nonetheless. Blow me away, Top 12, because right now I'm skeptical.

american idol: top 16, guys night

I had low-ish hopes for Wednesday night, but the guys really brought it! Wow.


I really like the original "Fireflies". Too bad I don't really care for Lee. What's with everyone loving him so much? Anyway, he went flat on quite a few phrase-ending notes, but his interpretation was actually rather good. I could hear someone with more talent and rock vibe pulling off an arrangement like that really well. David Cook, maybe. Lee didn't really plead his case with me, but he will probably be safe. Also: Ellen, I love you, but you can't just dismiss every pitch problem every time. You have said that pitch problems weren't an issue far too often for our own good.


Interesting song choice for Alex. Kinda fun that the oft-repeated words "trouble" and "worry" show off his unique word endings. I really enjoyed the song, but he didn't really leave too much of a stamp on it. If he'd tweaked it just a *little* bit more, it could have been out of the park. He's probably my favorite guy, and not because he's Melinda Doolittle's favorite guy. His tone is great, he's not arrogant, and he's growing. Kara's right, though, he needs to let go a little bit. And I cannot believe that Ellen said "no one likes a cocky banana". YIKES. Also, I don't know if I'll be watching if Simon gets Randy in a bikini. Double yikes.


At first, I said, and I quote, "ohcrap, don't know if Tim Urban can pull off Hallelujah." In the end it wasn't bad! It was a bit faster than I've ever heard it, and it never had a floating note that I love on that song (see: kd lang), but he actually pulled it off. It wasn't pitchy, amazingly. It doesn't compare to the classic versions (Cohen, Buckley, Lang), nor does it quite measure up to Jason Castro's season 7 performance, but Kara might be right: he was about to go home, but he probably saved himself. Or at least, he would have if everyone didn't bring it this week.


Ryan said Andrew was doing a Christina song. I told my wife "As long as he doesn't do 'Genie in a Bottle' or 'What a Girl Wants'..." and here he did "Genie". It really did call back to his "Straight Up" performance, and it worked pretty well. It was definitely pitchy when he tried to reach down to the bottom notes, and it didn't get too interesting until the end. I'm with Ellen: the genie came out a bit too late. He should keep himself in the competition with this one, though. As long as he didn't alienate everyone too much the past two weeks.


Casey pulled off a solid performance. I'm still not jumping on that bandwagon, though. The song didn't leave him enough room to show off, so it was pretty safe even with the changes he made to the melody, but he sounded good and it fit him well.


Aaron completely blew the beginning of his song. Ugh. The hip swaying was embarrassing. He hit most of the big notes, but his runs were pretty contrived most of the time. The song was so boring for him to do, for me. He might not have completely offed himself, but he needs to go soon. I'm not won over.


Todrick just missed his high note. The run near the start was pretty, though. Overall the styling was good (if melodramatic) and I think he finally hit a good song after weeks of missing the mark, but his voice wasn't quite big enough for the song. He couldn't rock out the big notes like Freddie Mercury in the original, or like Elliot Yamin in season 5, but it was okay. Simon was kinda right: Todrick is American Idol the Broadway show. This was Todrick's week to go home, but he MIGHT have clawed himself out of those clutches. Maybe. He is Mandisa (season 5)'s favorite. :P


Mike didn't really take off for me. He did an older song last week, and I feel like he should have gone with a slightly different vibe this week. The middle/end was better than the beginning for sure, and the big note was big, and the ending was odd, and it must have done way more live than over the TV. I get the whole emotional connection thing, it was a great song for him to do, in particular, but...yeah. I'm sure he's safe (especially after the judges' raving), but it was still kinda weird for me.


So who the crap is going home?! I'm gonna have to say Aaron is in trouble, and either Tim or Todrick. Um...hrm. I guess I'll go with Tim? This is a tough week to predict. We might be surprised.

american idol: top 16, girls night

Was very excited for Tuesday night. A one-hour show always seems to have more energy and urgency than a two-hour show (until we narrow the field). Plus, Ellen and Melinda Doolittle started following me on Twitter, so it was a good day. :P Seriously, though, Melinda is one of the most amazing "celebrities" out there. Watched her first ustream, and she was trying to remember everyone's names, and she sang us the ABCs and some other stuff, and was answering all manner of questions, and was just generally incredibly sweet. I will always have a special place in my Idol heart for her. (: Now, on to girls night.


Katie bombed for me. The song was pitched a bit too low for her so the chorus would fall in her sweet spot, but it meant that she was shaky throughout and pitchy the whole time. Her changes didn't work and were transparently put in to "make it her own", and the song probably wasn't right for her. Meh. Having her in the opening slot to boot, I think she's in trouble this week, which is sad. Her voice is fantastic and she has room to grow, but the judges' conflicting comments week to week have her confused.


"House of the Rising Sun" is an awesome song, and to my knowledge has never been covered on Idol. Siobhan pulled it off really well, and even though it wasn't a performance that would make anyone jump up and down about, I think it'll carry her through to the top 12. She's a unique voice on the show.


By the time Lacey showed up, it was apparent that the theme of the night was a more subdued, melancholy approach to music. Works for me; I LOVE melancholy music. Boring to some, completely awesome to me. Lacey was AMAZING. Perfect song choice, because it matched her style flawlessly, and she poured a lot of emotion in it. She moved through her vocal range with perfect breaks, there weren't any pitch problems, and it was just really good. This was her week to get booted, but her performance was reminiscent of Brooke White doing "Love is a Battlefield" in season 7 and pulling herself into the collective AI consciousness. I don't think anyone should forget Lacey now!


Katelyn was vocally good, but the song didn't go anywhere at all. Her pitch was good, the playing was nice, but the whole thing just...sat there. It was meh. That's it.


I really liked Didi's performance. Seriously, the melancholy vibe of the night made me SO HAPPY. Didi was way on, wasn't pitchy, and while she didn't change the notes of the song much, she spun the song with her tone. When you can do that right, you don't need to mess with the melodic line.; She was pretty much slated to go this week, too, and I hope she saved herself. Man, Lacey and Didi brought the heat this week. Also, Ellen's advice was sage: no matter what you do in the industry, you'll always be torn apart by somebody. Power through it.


I don't know if it was the range or the emotions, but Paige's voice was shaky from the very start and really showed on any held notes, her runs were everywhere but where she needed them to be, and the song didn't go anywhere. This is a classic (with a figurative capital C) exiting-the-show song, and it was Gina Glockson's swan song back in season 6. I think Paige'll be smiling her way off the show on Thursday. One the plus side, I learned something new: Charlie Chaplin wrote "Smile". Huh!


Crystal tore it up. A great night for her (again), a great song pick (though safe in that it fit her style already), a great performance, well-styled, changed up perfectly. Seriously, she mixed it up so well that it didn't sound changed up, it sounded completely natural, and like the song was written for her.


Lilly's song choice was kinda weird, and that's coming from someone who usually gets her (that's me, in case you missed it). The arrangement was a bit awkward (although showing off her mastery of multiple instruments was cool), her voice was a bit vulnerable (shaky-vulnerable, not the good kind) at the very beginning, and the song didn't really go far, but it was alright. Like Simon said, no wow factor.


Before my predictions, a rant about the judges. I have come to expect it from Randy, but Simon? Please. One million billion percent? You guys need to learn how percentages work. You can have a greater-than-100-percent increase, but you can't be, say, 200% in something (or one million billion percent, for that matter).


I'm thinking Paige goes this week, and either Katie or Katelyn probably deserve to take the sad second spot. That's assuming Didi and Lacey overcome the holes they dug themselves in past weeks. Forced to choose, I think Katie goes.