Saturday, March 28, 2009

Friday & Saturday Afternoons

Last semester, I had more free time. This Spring, with the marathon and being an RA I just don't have as much time to joke around as I used to. For example, Saturday afternoon was definitely off-limits last semester. This semester, I have to do work, but I've come up with a compromise. I'll do work in the afternoon, but it has to be light enough for me to be able to do it while watching T.V.

As a result, and thanks to the fact that we have a DVR, I've become pretty familiar with Saturday afternoon offerings. Not everything has been to my liking, but I've developed a real attachment to the low quality horror movies that the Sci-Fi channel pumps out. There have been some real classics: "Abominable," "Grendel," and "Baal the Storm God."

Somehow I ended up having a real ability to consume low quality entertainment. It drives my roommate to distraction but, hey, it's a drag to be to serious all the time.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Spring Break Trip to New York

Irene and I went to New York to visit Nic and Heather (Nic's girlfriend) for a few days over Spring Break. Check out the pics!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisboundy/sets/72157615723383889/

It was a fun, and varied, trip. We went out in Manhattan, of course, but we also stayed in one night, went to a birthday party (Heather's) and also went star gazing and explored an old mansion.

Wild times.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This time last year I was in Southie at Murphy's Law with some friends of mine. This year I'm in New Hampshire, trying to do work, but mainly procrastinating. I'm not sure if that qualifies as progress or not...

Irene and I are in Concord because yesterday I had an interview with a firm in Manchester (the next largest city) at a firm called Bernstein Shur. Needless to say, it's not the kind of work I went to the Fletcher School to do ... but it's much, much closer to Irene.

After the interview, Irene and I went to a little brewpub in Manchester called Strange Brew. I wouldn't recommend it. Maybe we should have guessed from the name...

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Break In

But not at my place. You may remember my friend Andy, who I lived with in law school. He actually still lives near me now with his very pregnant wife, Karen. And, unfortunately, they both come home Friday night to find their first floor apartment had been broken into. They had a lot of electronics stolen, but not much else.

As if that wasn't sad enough, a Good Samaritan noticed a group of kids acting suspiciously not far away and recovered a bag of Karen's with her ID. The GS called it into the police, who are investigating. Seems they know the kids, who are constantly in and out of trouble, and don't seem to be mending their ways.

Losses all around, and not a little bit frightening. But don't worry--I've retrieved my Louisville slugger from the closet to ward off potential invasions.

Friday, March 6, 2009

South Korea

One of my four classes this semester has the lengthy title of "Transpacific Ties: US-Asian Alliances in the 21st Century." It examines the future of US alliances with Japan, South Korea, and Australia, primarily, and also subsidiary issues like the role of the rise of China.

It's an interesting area, and one that I wasn't particularly familiar with prior to the course. It's got more of a military angle than a lot of classes at Fletcher, which has been eye opening.

Which got me to thinking--didn't Dad spend his time during the War in South Korea? From what I've heard the barracks there were subpar, but recently they've moved most of them outside Seoul. Interestingly, Irene was thinking about taking a summer job there. It's a longshot, but if she does, it sure would be a nice trip.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

The Supreme Court and John Lennon

Though it didn't make a big splash in the media generally, legal circles were buzzing about the fact that Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito quoted a John Lennon song in a recent Supreme Court opinion. The song, predictably enough, was "Imagine."

Leaving aside for the moment the specific point that Justice Alito is demonstrably conservative and the song is about the wonders of national socialism, I've always been surprised about how popular "Imagine" has been given its lyrical content. Would most Americans, after all, want a world without religion? Without possessions? Without borders? I don't have any polling information in front of me, but I'm guessing the answer is no.

Maybe it doesn't matter--most Americans wouldn't want "Strawberry Fields Forever," either, or live on a "Yellow Submarine." Still, it's peculiar that the particular intent of a song can be so entirely forgotten...