"Conference" written by Heidi on estrip.org

Category: school

03/29/11 06:55 - ID#53940

Conference

I presented at a conference on fracking at UB today. Last night I was pretty freaked out about how different I am - the dinner was excruciating - my dinner companions, fellow presenters at the conference, were cracking jokes about Pennsyltucky, and this one particularly arrogant companion was bitching how she had to go to Wilkes-Barre. oi. Hanging out with rich city folk can be very draining.

I talked about Pittsburgh's ban on natural gas extraction. Instead of taking a traditional zoning approach, PGH went the radical route and established a bill of rights for the community and nature: the right to water, the ecosystem's right to exist and be healthy, the right of residents to sue in defense of the ecosystem/nature. Then they said that for purposes of natural gas extraction, corporations aren't "persons". Corporate personhood is a long-established piece of U.S. law and it's almost impolite to question or challenge this concept. But I did it. They liked the pictures.

heidi writes at 12:44:21 04/04/11 - Comment #61623: This Story of Stuff video about the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is a nice easy way to get the basics of the problem :::link:::

The really basic summary is that corporations have more rights than human beings. Both are considered "persons" under the 14th amendment, which was supposed to be giving former slaves the status of "person" rather than 3/5ths of a person as they were under the Constitution as it was written. It's also what provides babies born here with citizenship regardless of the status of their parents. Some Republicans are proposing to change the 14th amendment in the fear that people are immigrating here illegally to have babies and establish a foothold into becoming a citizen. Corporations have 1st, 4th, 5th and other amendment-based rights, the 1st amendment right was re-affirmed and expanded with the Citizens United case last year, a true disgrace of a decision, possibly as bad as Dred Scott or Plessy v. Ferguson. Because corporations have corporate personhood (without the death penalty and with very limited criminal responsibility due to limited liability), endless contributions to electioneering efforts, and many other rights, they end up with more rights than we do as humans and communities.

My (Tioga County) friend Chris just wrote a nice piece tying a few of these strands together and how it applies to the public-sector union busting we're seeing around the country: :::link::: I pointed him to a couple more sources that have answers to some of his questions:
American Legislative Exchange Council is one of the orgs behind the union busting. :::link::: This UW history prof also has an excellent analysis. :::link:::
and then the classic book by Sara Diamond that no one's heard of _Roads to Dominion_ :::link:::

tinypliny writes at 07:41:22 04/01/11 - Comment #61558: "Corporate personhood"

?! hehe, no wonder law jargon is always waaay over everyone's heads. Well, except lawyers, I reckon.

libertad writes at 07:02:09 03/29/11 - Comment #61517: Who are rick city folk?

Sounds really interesting, I want the dumbed down version, or is this it?

WB4LIFE!

Permalink: Conference.html
Words: 164
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 03/29/11 08:17

Category: holiday

03/26/11 10:57 - ID#53910

Infringement Festival

You can donate to the Buffalo Infringement Festival to obtain naming rights to a venue/stage/sidewalk:

Donor will be given Venue Naming Rights. Donors can name a venue, such as a sidewalk or stage at a bar; the name will be used in the schedule and signage during the festival. Donor will also be thanked in the printed schedule, will receive a T-shirt, poster, sticker or magnet and will be thanked on the festival website.

You know you want it.

To submit a proposal (due May 1):

Permalink: Infringement_Festival.html
Words: 96
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 03/26/11 10:57

Category: work

03/23/11 10:42 - ID#53902

It's tax time!

Looking for those free efile options? Here's the link to the NYS ones:

You can do it!

Permalink: It_s_tax_time_.html
Words: 27
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 03/23/11 10:42

Category: tech

03/23/11 12:42 - ID#53895

Already??

I need a new laptop, again! Already! It's been two years. It's not a crisis yet and I could probably get away with waiting another 3-4 months but I dislike this laptop, it's getting cranky, and I'm going to be even more intimate with it as I study for the bar. (Actually, the bar review course is android/ipad accessible... hmmm....) It has a shiny finish and gets sticky. It also is starting to overheat, the speakers are twinging and the battery doesn't hold a charge for more than 30 min. It's too heavy. The keys are noisy.

So of course I'm checking all the toshiba and sony reviews. I want a sony and i think i'm just going to get one this time, probably a 13.3", 4.4 lb S series. i love the chicklet keyboard - the one thing i love about macs is the keyboard. (Have I mentioned that I played with a big ass mac with a touchscreen? very cool altho QuickBooks doesn't really like being touched. It shies away.) I know that I'm ultimately paying an extra $150 for the pretty name, but if the hardware is even 6 months better, it would be worth it. Is this silly? Also, Sony is shutting down some production lines because of the disaster trio. The model I want doesn't come in the cute colors that Jill & Kelly have. Kelly has a brown alligator-skin shell and Jill's is a seashell peachy pink. I was hoping for an iridescent blue. They don't really take theirs anywhere so 14"/5.2 lb is okay.

I'm in such an awkward place with my technology right now. I love my phone but I find I usually don't type a lot or reply to many emails unless I *really* want to say something. I probably carry my laptop more than I need to, but I find myself frustrated if I can't reference all the info I need or write something substantial on the go. I also use my laptop for recreational media consumption which doesn't help the wearing-out problem. I guess I'm still looking forward to buying a tablet in the next year.

referencing (e:heidi,48581)

Permalink: Already_.html
Words: 354
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 03/23/11 12:42

Category: holiday

03/21/11 08:05 - ID#53885

Jerk!

Some jerk removed one of the bags of tube sand from my truck and left it on the ground. I can't lift the damned thing. Sorry, neighbor :-(

Permalink: Jerk_.html
Words: 29
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 03/21/11 08:05

Category: food

03/20/11 03:01 - ID#53879

Lucky dogs

um... whatever i just ate from Lucky Dogs on Allen... omg. it's awesomely yum. it's veggie, it's spicy, it's amazingly yum. do it.

Permalink: Lucky_dogs.html
Words: 23
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 03/20/11 03:01

03/19/11 06:34 - ID#53867

Anicca

One of my favorite bloggers, Archdruid John Michael Green wrote about the catastrophes in Japan this week. His conclusory statement, "...there are good reasons why Japanese culture so insistently stresses the impermanence of life and the transience of worldly things." intrigued me - is Japan particularly known for stressing impermanence? So the magic google lead me to the the magic Wikipedia. Why, yes indeed, Japan has its own section of references in the article on Impermanence. Anicca, anitya, mujo.

Ceaselessly the river flows, and yet the water is never the same, while in the still pools the shifting foam gathers and is gone, never staying for a moment...

The lecture I gave at UBLaw about the impact of gas drilling on home made me very very sad. Bloss has been pretty much the same my entire life and I had forgotten its true impermanence and transience.

This week is the first time I've missed having a TV in quite a while. It's hard to understand the scope and scale of the natural disaster and the unfolding technological disaster without the visuals and constant updating of the news. However, this crazy video came to my attention via a salon.com post. I already posted it in chat but it's still on my mind so I'm sharing it again. A little background on the artist along with an entertaining and kinda informative video.

Permalink: Anicca.html
Words: 243
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 03/19/11 06:34

Category: weather

03/17/11 05:59 - ID#53861

Spring really is coming!

Flowers!

Permalink: Spring_really_is_coming_.html
Words: 2
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 03/17/11 05:59

Category: friends

03/16/11 10:36 - ID#53847

Spa day!

As much as I disliked the purse & jewelry party jill & kelly made me go to, I like our spa days. We went yesterday. I got a facial for the first time... Amazing! Also got a massage. I don't fit in at the spa, of course, but the women are super polite about my non conformity.

tinypliny writes at 12:14:16 03/18/11 - Comment #61284: LOL, and that is a transgression? hehehehe this is very amusing. I have never worn make up ever or even owned a bottle of nail-polish. I don't think I will start anytime soon. I am against choking my skin or even nails with chemicals that would probably burn a hole into the gastric mucosa if swallowed or need to be removed with acetone!

I was under the impression that manicurists prefer buffing to applying nail polish... In fact, I wanted to go on a spa day so that I could get all my toe and finger nails buffed by someone without doing all the hard work (I usually get bored with the chore at the 3rd nail and just stop altogether. So only 3/5 of my nails are ever buffed at any time.)

I don't like shaving mainly because it just does not work for me. My hair grows too fast. I went bald last week and I already have 2 cma of hair on my head. The rest of my body is exactly the same. I used to wax centuries ago and sometimes wax once in a blue moon when I am feeling particularly inclined.. but yeah, I think this is the way to go :::link::: ;-)

I love the idea of giving those "spa fit-ins" a complex. hehehehe

heidi writes at 10:36:21 03/17/11 - Comment #61278: It is wonderfully indulgent. It would be even funner with other people who transgress.

heidi writes at 10:35:35 03/17/11 - Comment #61277: This was the first time i wore a bathrobe and it was only to go from one room to the other. thankfully no one else was around. one of the biggest signs that i don't fit in is that i don't shave. The women at the spa are mostly hairless from the nose down. I don't wear nailpolish (every manicurist protests this). I rarely wear makeup. These are pretty much unacceptable transgressions of femininity.

tinypliny writes at 04:50:08 03/16/11 - Comment #61235: How does one not fit in at a spa? I mean isn't everyone required to wear a bathrobe like a spa uniform? I would have thought of spas as the easiest places to fit in...

tinypliny writes at 04:47:56 03/16/11 - Comment #61234: I don't think I have ever had a spa day. Maybe I should... It really does sound quite indulgent.

paul writes at 12:22:11 03/16/11 - Comment #61232: Sounds like fun. I am so jealous of girls spa days.

Permalink: Spa_day_.html
Words: 57
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 03/16/11 10:36

Category: school

03/14/11 11:17 - ID#53829

How I got to Buffalo

My first trip to Buffalo was through it to get to Niagara Falls on a family vacation. I think I was about eight years old. Second trip was in 1992 for the Grateful Dead show at Rich Stadium. Third trip was to scout the law school in April '08. Fourth trip was to look at apartments in July. And then I moved in August.