What I am doing at work: Routine stuff also. Trying to wrap up a pretty basic habeas case quickly because my next two cases will be quite difficult: an interpleader (see here and here) case, and a government appeal in a Fourth Amendment case.

What I am doing at home: Still dealing with car hassles. Now it's a dead battery. (Note to Sherry, to whom I recommended a Toyota: this is all my dumb fault, not the car's. Car good, Milbarge careless.)

What I am reading: Just started House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. Don't ruin it, anybody, even thought I'm not sure I'll be able to stick it out.

What I am watching: Klute. I like all the Alan J. Pakula films I've seen. I liked The Pelican Brief even if they did chicken out by not having Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington get together. And I really liked Presumed Innocent. (OK, so I forgot about The Devil's Own, but I don't remember thinking it was awful when I saw it.) Anyway, Klute stars Jane Fonda in an Oscar-winning role as a call girl, and Donald Sutherland is at the top of his game as a private investigator looking into the disappearance of a friend who was a trick of Fonda's. It's part of Pakula's so-called "Paranoia Trilogy" along with The Parallax View (with Warren Beatty) and All The President's Men, which makes me feel the way Notre Dame fans must feel about the scholcky Rudy. Of all of these, I think I like Parallax View the best, because of the ending, which I won't give away here.

What I am listening to: The Very Best of Elvis Costello. Accidents Will Happen: "Oh I just don't know where to begin...."

The Essential Johnny Cash. One of the best lines in music history, from Big River:

I met her accidentally in St. Paul, Minnesota.
And it tore me up every time I heard her drawl, Southern drawl.

What I am thinking about: Racism and rape and Sex and the City. (Separate) posts coming later.

What I am not thinking about: Ralph Nader.
UPDATE: I'm not really thinking about the Ninth Amendment either. The last week the blogosphere has seen a huge number of bits and bytes devoted to this controversial amendment. If you're the kind of person who is now desperate for links and somehhow doesn't have them, go here. I will probably get around to reading some of this stuff sometime, but goodness gracious I am not fired up about it now. Oh well.

Tidbit: At least three of the women I have dated in my life have since also dated women. Remember, folks: Correlation does not prove causation. As a bonus tidbit, I also once dated sisters, although not at the same time. I'm not The Fonz, after all. (To brighten your day, here's a .wav file of Fonzie's signature note: "Aaaayh!")