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I started this blog last October.

There are far too many events for me to really keep track of on this blog. After one year, here are some of the more important posts on my blog.

The post that started it all: the paper ring.

My short post asking Eliza Duhsku to marry me.

During my trip to Comic-con I ask Joss Whedon for his help in marrying Eliza Dushku. (He said he could not help me.)

After being decieved and trapped in therapy, I tried to raise the issue with Rep. Tim Walz at Netroots.

After becoming homeless, Dr. Tom Grace finally acknowledges it’s love.

Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak discusses homeless conditions at drinking liberally.

I crashed a charity event and volunteered for Let’s Kick Hunger.

Even while homeless, I manage to donate to Haiti.

Denied the opportunity to express my love, I am forced into taking legal action.

I found myself at many political events.

I even end up testifying before the Minnesota legislature.

There were plenty of opportunities to experience homelessness.

There have also been many disappointments.

In the last year of writing on this blog, I met many people who helped and supported me in my efforts. I appreciate the coat and gloves that were given to me at Drinking Liberally. I appreciate the tailgaters who signed petitions and shared their food. I received help from friends, families, and strangers. I was also betrayed by friends, family, and strangers.

Twins Outreach:Game 3 Twins versus Cleveland.

The Twins are playing well and the fans seem to be enjoying the new stadium and are very supportive of the team.

Meanwhile, police have cleared two corners for the stated purpose of facilitating the flow of pedestrian traffic. I was handing out materials by the Smalley’s 87 sign. After a scalper and liquor store were cleared out at the direction of the police, I moved as well. Police then apparently allow people in Twin’s outfits to distribute material. (Sources have indicated these people are actually volunteer county workers.) The people distributing materials are in the red outfits. You can watch the video which shows the police next to the distributor of materials while they distribute. This may not seem interesting to you, but it involves “state” selection of speech. The atmosphere has a carefully crafted appearance of normalcy, when in fact other voices have been eliminated.

The police provide a facially neutral reason to clearing some people out, but apply it selectively. It gives some groups preferential treatment over others. This could impair a myriad of groups trying to conduct outreach- bars, scalpers, night clubs, energy companies, environmental groups- you name it. I’ve received plenty of promotional materials from a wide range of people. Of course, it affects me as I am trying to save Dollhouse.

Twins Crowd!!!

The scalping continues during the Twin’s seasons. Too be sure, the crowds at the Twins games are huge. There is all manner of activity going on in the downtown area. I routinely see outreach by all kinds of groups and organizations. There are the bicycle cabs (relying on tips). There are the street musicians. There are performers (like the clown who also works at the Shakopee Trailers of Terror event as Freddie Kruger in October). There are all manners of promotions- free drink coupons, free admittance to clubs, free towels, free granola bars and caramel corn. In other words, it is a very lively atmosphere.

Nevertheless, the scalping situation remains a bit odd. It seems like the hardest tickets to come by are singles. It is clear that the scalpers do not want to split tickets up. It is best to find someone to go to the game with to avoid this hassle. Also, it is not clear that the seats will generally be cheap. One scalper was trying to sell tickets with a face value of $77.00. That means you should expect to pay a lot.
Although one scalper complained about the new stadium, he still made money on ticket sales. He held on to his tickets until he felt he had to let them go. He did not want to chance missing out on a sale. There was a lot of interest in the tickets, even if it was hard to get people to actually part with the cash. In fact, I saw people try to purchase tickets for the next-day’s game from scalpers.

Many people seem to be buying their tickets in advance. It is clear that many people understand that the scalping system may not meet their needs on any particular night and so it is best to plan ahead for the outing.

I also spoke to Jesse about the stadium itself. He felt the stadium is designed in a traditional way rather than the “modern” design that typified other stadium designs. In general, most people have been very positive about the new stadium.

I continue to hear from a variety of sources that the stadium workers have to put in very long days sometimes- 12-15 hours. There is speculation that hiring is on-going through DNC.

As I have mentioned, a few homeless individuals are working at the Twin’s stadium. One of these individuals was able to work his way out of the shelter.

Minnesota Legal Market

I ran into an old law school classmate yesterday. We spoke briefly. He seems to be doing well. He made partner a few years ago. We caught up about a few things and he mentioned that the legal market in Minnesota remains brutal. As far as he sees it, the Minnesota market cannot sustain four law schools.

I tend to agree that the Twin Cities is too small a market for the number of law schools it has. While it may not be better anywhere else, it is hard to imagine it could be much worse. The staggering student loan debt levels combined with a weak economy and a glut in lawyers can crush anyone.

Even if you do find work, it can be stressful and full of long hours. Many lawyers find themselves in unhealthy work environments with little satisfaction and few job alternatives.

I certainly over the years tried to avail myself of many opportunities in the legal profession. I received few opportunities. Nevertheless, I do not miss the opportunity to practice law.

Supersizing Prices.

Why add zeroes?

U.S. Senator Amy Klobachur meeting on Russian Adoptions.

I attended the meeting held by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar on the sensitive issue of Russian adoptions. I have raw video, but unfortunately, it will take time to upload the larger pieces. Youtube has a ten minute time limit, making it difficult to upload all of the pieces. Here are some excerpts from the press conference.

The second video is being published on Dailymotion, since it is over 10 minutes in length. You can watch it here.

It should be noted that I asked Senator Klobuchar and her staff to look at my Dollhouse site. I also again conducted a limited press outreach- I did not have press releases on hand, so I had to flier them as well.

Please sign the e-petition.

Save Dollhouse by signing the TNT petition online to save Dollhouse.

Please send emails.

Save Dollhouse by sending TNT EMAILS to save Dollhouse.

Please sign the Twitition.

The twitition to save Dollhouse is here!

PLEASE!!!! Let other people know about the efforts to save the show.

Minneapolis Sports Events

The Mizuno Northern Lights Volleyball qualifier is wrapping up today at the Minneapolis Convention center. Volleyball teams from all over the region have come to Minneapolis to play in the tournament. Everyone seems to be having a very good time at the event. People paid $15 for a 3 day pass to watch the competition.

Meanwhile, the Twins are playing again at home. The crowd was outstanding. This is to be expected on a perfect Sunday. Unfortunately, ticket scalping problems persist. People could not find cheap tickets today. It was a tough market today. One individual resigned himself to watching the game in a nearby establishment and planned to purchase a ticket for a game months down the road. Other people struggled to find seats that were together. (Some scalpers had multiple tickets, but they were singles.) Another individual, Jesse, figured that luck would be better spent trying to go to a more affordable weekday game. There was still a large crowd of people milling around Block E after the game started- apparently still hoping to find suitable tickets.

Billable hours.

I received the interrogatories and request for production of documents requests from Catholic Charities lawyers. Since the facts are so well known and pretty much undisputed it is a bit surprising that such a litigious approach is being taken.

If you need background, you can find it here.

I have also added a page link to help people obtain the legal files online.

Twins Today

There was a very excited crowd gathering to watch the Twins today. Good weather combined with a weekend game seem to have brought out a lot more than usual. I talked to a friend who had trouble finding a single to buy. The box office was sold out. It was not a buyer’s market. Scalpers were charging very high prices for today’s game. People felt lucky to get a $57 ticket for $70.

I watched a few innings at Smalley’s 87 Club where refills on coke are free.

I continue to do outreach to save Dollhouse. There are far fewer promotions today than there were during the last week. At the same time, the Target Center is pushing people away from their corner and forcing people onto the other corners.

Update: I saw these interesting statutes around town.

David Lipsky on David Foster Wallace

Tonight I am covering a book event at the Hennepin County Central Library. The speaker is David Lipsky. Lipsky is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. He is promoting his book Although of Course You End up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace. The book provides an intimate portrayal fo David Foster Wallace during his 1996 book tour for Infinite Jest.

The crowd is buzzing. Moby is playing on the speakers prior to the speech. A few minute later, a speaker from US Bank introduces Lipsky.

Lipsky begins by discussing, in rather personal tones, his participation with Wallace on a road trip.

Lipsky is still shocked by the discovery that Wallace was suffering from mental illness. Lipsky feels that Wallace was a charming, alive, and awake individual. Lipsky feels that Wallace was the best writer for the last quarter century. He wants to share this with us.

Sadly, David Wallace kills himself. Lipsky begins with reading the afterward, which focuses on the death of David Wallace. I tried to record the lecture, but my battery ran dead. I guess if you want to know how the story goes, you’ll just have to buy the book.

More than anything, Lipsky wants to share with us, how alive and vibrant Wallace was.

The discussion is too detailed for distillation in a blog post. The conversations are funny. Despite the levity, the conversations also take dark turns into Wallace’s experiences with the mental health community and its negativity.

The interviews are intense, but illuminating.

In any case, I understand the podcast will be available online.

Afterwords, David Lipsky takes the time to sign copies of his books for fans. He really took the time to speak to each person who attended and seemed to write lengthy insets. David Lipsky strikes one as the kind of person who likes to make himself available to people.

I waited in line to speak with David Lipsky about my efforts to save Dollhouse. Hopefully, he will look into it. You can help too.

Please sign the e-petition.

Save Dollhouse by signing the TNT petition online to save Dollhouse.

Please send emails.

Save Dollhouse by sending TNT EMAILS to save Dollhouse.

Please sign the Twitition.

The twitition to save Dollhouse is here!

PLEASE!!!! Let other people know about the efforts to save the show.