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Back with yet another Lily Aldrin look! The last time we talked about Lily Aldrin of “How I Met Your Mother,” I ended up hijacking my own post and using it to promote myself as a new possible companion for the Doctor. I totally promise not to do that again, you guys.

Seriously.

Instead, let’s just take a look at a picture of sweet, adorable Lily so we can get a better sense of her bold, bright style.

:-O

Oh, no, you guys! You guys, oh, no!

How did that get there?! A picture of me gazing dreamily (creepily?) up at the Doctor, as if to say, Oh, Doctor, you so crazy, but I’m your awesome companion, so I’m well used to it and totally able to handle it?

Ugh.

Well.

I’m not sure how it got there, you guys, but I’m totally going to get to the bottom of this. And if I find out who put it there? I am writing a letter. A stern one.

:-|

Anyway, here’s Lily Aldrin being awesome in a printed blue dress.

THERE.

Anyway, we’ve seen this picture before. I used it in the original post about Lily Aldrin. So here’s a picture of an outfit inspired by this ensemble, coming in at under $100.

:-O

ALL RIGHT WHO PUT THAT PICTURE THERE?! Who put THAT picture (which you can click on to enlarge) THERE?

I DEMAND TO KNOW THIS! IT’S NOT FUNNY ANYMORE, YOU GUYS! WHO PUT IT THERE?!

I mean, it would have to be some random jerk, who was good at computers, and knew how to hack into blog posts, and wanted to drive me crazy, and was also smart enough to know that I’d make an awesome companion to the Doctor and as such is kinda awesome, but that’s neither here nor there.

This is a serious, dignified blog, you guys, where we discuss serious, dignified, life-changing things and the crucial goings-on of our times, and these departures from that are unacceptable and make me mad enough to just – to just – set fire to things, and also maybe hop a plane to England and attend a couple casting sessions.

Yeah.

This makes me that mad.

:-|

So you guys better just watch it, okay? And can we please TRY to just get to the outfit already? Because I’d appreciate that. I really would. Yeah.

(THAT WASN’T SO HARD, WAS IT?)

(THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID.)

Printed Flirtacious Dress in Black Feather ………. $44.50
Pierre Dumas Pump in Black ………. $30

Heart Trim Necklace ………. $7.80

Okay, good, we’ve made it this far.

I picked a blue and black dress with a pretty pattern, a pair of black pumps, since I couldn’t very well go with brown like in the first Lily post, and a long chain necklace.

Phew! Post over, we did it.

I was afraid that another crazy promo picture would pop up.

Puh! How embarrassing would that be? Am I right?

…You guys?

:-|

So it’s been Doppelganger Week on Facebook for some time; that’s why you’ve seen your friends’ pictures replaced with images of Chris Pine and Zooey Deschanel and Laura Prepon. (In related news, ZOMG, my friend Brittany from high school TOTALLY looks like Laura Prepon and always has, you guys!)

If you follow me on Facebook (or, really, if you look at the sidebar and scroll down) you’ll notice that my Facebook picture is currently one of Mila Kunis.

My pal Carla has always insisted I looked like Mila. I never, ever saw it. When I polled my friends a week ago to see who I should put up, I got Aishwarya Rai (Nate cited my big-ish eyes, high forehead, and full lips), Anne Hathaway, that chick that plays Bianca on “All My Children,” and, the front-runner at the time, Queen Rania.

Now, I don’t particularly care for Aishwarya Rai. I don’t mind her, but I just don’t care for her. She’s there, she’s beautiful, good for her. But I don’t watch Bollywood movies, I’ve seen like two minutes of one starring her and even then, that was only in my Multicultural Literature class in college. Plus, my BFF looks exactly like her. Well, it’s a toss between Aishwarya and Angelina Jolie. Although lately, as we’ve grown older, she’s started resembling Keira Knightley. Apparently everyone tells her that, and I never would have seen it in a million years had my little brother not suggested it on his own.

So whatever, Aish was out. I really don’t see the Anne Hathaway resemblance. She’s a gorgeous girl, and there’s no way I resemble her. I think, if anything, what makes people suggest a similarity is either the shape of the forehead, or the cut of the jaw. Other than that, I’m completely out of ideas.

That soap opera chick is way too delicate and petite for us to resemble each other, and there’s no way I look like Queen Rania, who has made many appearances here. Besides, my pal Joy looks JUST like Rania. She eventually went with Maria Menounos, and while I think the resemblance is clear from many angles, I still maintain that overall, she is a dead ringer for Rania. So I’d pick Rania for Joy before I’d pick her for myself. Long before. Just such a stunning woman.

But when I recalled that Carla always used to say I looked like Mila Kunis, my Twitter feed fairly erupted with tweets chiming in with agreement. I still didn’t see it. At all. So I got a picture of Mila wearing glasses, to see if it would fit together then, and I kind of saw it.

:-O

And I was tickled. I’ll admit it. Mila Kunis is beyond gorgeous, and I’ve always liked her tremendously. So if I’m told I look like a brown Mila Kunis, puh, who am I to complain?!

But for every little running joke, for every meme, there’s always the idiot that takes it way too far.

Today’s Stupid $h!t I’m Reading: Woman to Undergo Plastic Surgery to Look Like Jessica Alba.

Basically, this chick is 21 and had a 28 year old boyfriend of two years, roughly. He’s obsessed with Jessica Alba and had tons of pictures of her up at their house, and he bought her a blonde wig and made her wear it along with fake eyelashes so she’d look more like him. Then one day a bunch of people were laughing and mocking this chick, let’s call her X, because of her wig and eyelashes, so she took off her wig and threw it down all dramatically like something out of America’s collective fantasy regarding Kim Zolciak and broke up with the dude.

But she regretted breaking up with him, and now is going to get all this surgery so she can look like Alba and win him back. She said some crap about not being very strong psychologically and using this surgery and her knew look to be stronger, some metamorphosis shit like that minus the giant cockroaches.

Or, not. Eh. Your call, depending on how uncharitable you want to be about this story.

As for me, I’m pretty uncharitable in general.

So, naturally, Eustace has gotten out his little pom-poms and created a whole cheering section for this genius, because he thinks this is a brilliant idea. Devotees will remember that Eustace is what I have named my ulcer.

Reasons why this sucks:

  • Jessica Alba is beautiful (and would be more beautiful if she smiled more often) but she’s not the end-all-be-all of feminine beauty. That doesn’t exist. Talk about a wild goose chase!
  • X, you are TWENTY ONE DAMN YEARS OLD. There is no reason to get elective cosmetic surgery at that age. NOT A SINGLE ONE.
  • Someone who describes herself as ‘psychologically weak’ has even LESS of a reason to get elective cosmetic surgery. I’m sorry, do I need to talk about Heidi Montag? Please say no, because I can’t stand that famewhore.
  • This chick is pretty as she is.
  • If your boyfriend is so crazy-obsessed with Jessica Alba, LET HIM BE. He’s never going to have her anyway. Let that loser sit in the dark and cry about it while you move on with your life and find someone that thinks you’re beautiful the way you are. DON’T ENCOURAGE HIS IDIOCY BY REINFORCING IT WITH PLASTIC SURGERY GOD.
  • Everything is terrible.

Okay, so the last one doesn’t specifically answer to why this sucks. It’s more of a general statement. And it’s true: everything totally sucks.

I kind of wish I knew what this girl was thinking. So I could talk her out of it. And also because I’m just really, really curious what would have to go through your head to make you even joke about doing this, much less actually doing it.

Maybe I’m kind of glossing over everything and making it too simple. I don’t know what it’s like to be desperately in love with someone to the point that I’d consider something this dramatic. As X has said, she’s just that desperate to get him back. And I’m probably simplifying things because I’ve never had to change myself in any kind of meaningful way for someone else, and I guess I must be pretty selfish, because I can’t imagine doing so.

I mean, I don’t think there’s anything too horrible about me. I went through a phase a year ago where I just shopped A LOT. A lot, a lot. But once I realized what I was doing, I stopped. I did that for me, but I’d do it for someone else, too, just because I realize that it’s a terrible habit that needs to be changed.

Things like that, bad habits, I have no problem changing, for myself or anyone else. But things more character-based, things that define who I am…I’d never change that. Never even consider it. And certainly not for some dumb boy.

It’s what I remember telling one of my friends shortly before she got married to this guy I wasn’t all that crazy about: You can change habits, but you can’t change people.

See? Sometimes I’m insightful.

And then, when I realize I’m being insightful, I go back to yelling at garden gnomes, because a girl like me only gets so many moments of insightfulness per year, and I wouldn’t want to use up my entire annual allotment in one go.

But, yeah. Change your habits for someone, that’s cool. Quit smoking. Stop biting your nails. Drink less. That’s great.

But there’s no need to change who you are for anyone. All that’s going to happen is that you’re going to be miserable and you’re going to resent the person who you professed to change yourself for. I’m hardly saying anything revolutionary or life-changing; this is the same trite garbage you can find in any self-help book and any lame-o episode of Dr. Phil or Oprah.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not still true.

And that’s why things like this make me so sad. I just can’t imagine anyone wanting to change themselves so dramatically for someone else, someone who didn’t seem to appreciate them all that much in the first place.

Kudos to Jessica Alba for hearing about this story and urging X not to go through with it.

I don’t watch chick flicks very often, you guys. But every 2-3 years, I go through a phase where I just sit down and watch 2-3 over the course of a couple months. Like, in 2009, I watched “He’s Just Not That Into You.” I hadn’t watched a chick flick before that since…Keira Knightley’s “Pride and Prejudice” came out. I was due.

What do you guys want from me? Jeez.

Anyway, I hadn’t watched a girly movie since HJNTIY, and I had 1-2 left in my allotment, and I recently became addicted to watching Netflix movies through my brother’s Playstation 3, so I sat down and watched “Confessions of a Shopaholic” starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.

God, is Hugh Dancy adorable, you guys. But he’s with Claire Danes, who I despise, so, whatever. That costs him major Hotness points.

I watched CoaS with my little brother, who didn’t want to do his homework and we ripped on it throughout the whole movie. It’s not the greatest movie, you guys. Every five minutes, pretty much like clockwork, me and the Bro would burst into laughter and look at each other and shriek, WHO WROTE THIS CRAP?!

Well, I was shrieking. He was mostly just laughing.

It’s just a poorly done movie, really. Almost everything about it is mildly awful. I will admit that the thing that bothered me the most was their horribly misinformed portrayal of the debtor-creditor relationship. The whole time, I was screaming, CREDITORS CAN’T HARASS YOU LIKE THAT. Also, the scenes with the Shopaholics Anonymous were pretty damn ridiculous and just laughably bad. Laughably, you guys.

But Isla Fisher is sooooo cute, and she looked great throughout the whole movie. So while I was watching it, I admit it, I was mainly just keeping an eye on her clothes. Because everything else was so terrible.

Becky wears lots of bright colors in amazing fabrics, and she particularly loves pink. (Surprise, surprise, a girly-girl that’s totally into shopping and fashion, likes pink. Sadly enough, that was not the most trite thing about the movie.) To see what I mean, check out the movie poster.

And here’s what I came up with.

Poplin Pencil Skirt in Rose Quartz ………. $12.99
The Sash in Grass ………. $16

High Rib Ballet Sweater in Neon Pink ………. $9.99
Ralph Lauren Amaya Suede Pumps in Camel ………. $44.99

There we are!

I picked a pencil skirt and paired it with this bright pink ballet sweater from The Limited. I’ve gotten a bunch of sweaters from the Limited (all on sale for $10, thank you very much) and they’re very warm and very soft. Very, very soft. I just love them!

Anyway, I found a green sash at American Apparel (home of unexpected sweater puppies; their ad campaign needs to be revamped because it’s way too skeezy, a point that the LawSkoolBFF and I cannot agree on no matter how hard I try to convince him that he’s just a dumb boy). I went with these Ralph Lauren suede pumps because they’re just lovely, and there we have it: one of Becky Bloomwood’s outfits from “Confessions of a Shopaholic.”

…Don’t watch the movie, you guys.

Seriously.

It was awful.

Who else watched the Super Bowl? Yeah, I have a brother, so obviously, I did. My dad and Bro were totally rooting for the Saints. My brother was doing so because the Saints were undefeated all season and were a good team who were coached very well and came from a great city. Black and gold, baby! My dad was doing so because he liked the name “Saints” better than what you call little horsies.

:-|

Anyway, who else saw the Super Bowl ads? And was bowled over by the rampant, glaring misogyny?

My pal Ray Beckerman said that he had to figure that the Superbowl ads in question were dreamt up by yuppie men who thought they were superior to the men they THOUGHT they were targeting. An interesting take.

I would write a whole long thing and yell and flick spittle on my screen and then pause to take my heartburn medication (because the anger would have aged me prematurely) but I don’t want to do that. I’m watching American Dad, I’m eating a bunch of fresh, chocolate covered strawberries, I’m wearing my fuzzy pink bathrobe backwards  (yes, like a goddamn Snuggie), and it’s just too nice a night to ruin with galloping, spittle-flicking anger.

Also, Jezebel already put something up, so anything I did would just be overkill. Click the picture to head on over.

Oh, God, you guys. My brother is watching the Death Note commentary. Let me be clear: I love Death Note. I think it’s unabashedly, unapologetically brilliant. But I hate commentaries. Except Arrested Development commentaries.

So, since he’s being  a turd and watching this, I’ll do my blog searches. I bet you guys love these posts as much as I love commentaries. Well, tough noogies. Yes, I said noogies.

  • Rate My Sweater Puppies - No, thank you. Please don’t  rate mine, either.
  • Did Hoomster steal Business Casual Superstar - I already explained this. Yes. I did. I stole it from my LawSkoolBFF. He came up with it, published it in a tweet, I pinched it, AND GAVE HIM CREDIT REPEATEDLY. But apparently he can’t get over it, because he’s a little girl. In a little dress. With little pigtails. And little saddle shoes.
  • Hoomster left a mess in my house - I did not. I am a sophisticated, dignified lady. How dare you.
  • How many Hoomsters can be ready for battle – as many as are necessary. We are a war-hungry people.
  • Is Hoomster really an alien – Clearly, the blog searches have been compromised by my dear BFF. He is a turd. That is why I will not even bother to answer this question and tell you what you already know, that, yes, beyond a doubt, absolutely, I am an alien.
  • Is the Hajj safe? – Eh. There are tramplings every year, pretty much. But Hajj officials do an excellent job keeping everyone safe considering that millions upon millions of Muslims perform the Hajj every year. Hats off to them.

  • Why are female friendship so complicated? – Female-female friendships, or female-male friendships? Little Puppy, is that you? Well, regardless, female-female friendships have crazy dynamics. You’ve got your best friends, your good friends, your frenemies, your social butterfly friends that you only use for connections, your fairweather friends that are bitches one day and cool the next that you don’t really take seriously (if you’re smart), and so on. As for female-male friendships…I don’t really know what to say. None of my friendships with guys have been complicated. They’ve just kind of…been? Eh. That was my Dr. Phil schpiel of the day. Probably not. There’s probably more to come. But whatever. Stay tuned!
  • Hugh Laurie Prince George - You are welcome. This is one of my favorites, though. I gave my Blackadder DVDs to the LawSkoolBFF, along with my Arrested Development DVDs, so he could experience the magic. He loved AD, duh, but he tried to return Blackadder to me without watching it, and Perry and I just glared at him and I was like NO DAMMIT I WON’T ACCEPT THEM UNTIL YOU WATCH THEM. ALL OF THEM. AND MAKE ME A SANDWICH. A GOOD ONE, NONE OF THIS LIVERWURST CRAP. Then he said okay and scuttled off, and a month passed and he came back with the DVDs and said he just couldn’t get into it AT ALL and quit, like, one episode into Season 1 or something, and, oh, how Perry and I glared. :-|

  • Huma rani – That’s me! :-D That’s what my G-ma (Papa Hoomster’s Mama) used to call me when I was little. Frankly, I think it needs to make a comeback like five minutes ago.

  • Grace of C in law school – Eh. Even if you do get a C or two, just remember, C = JD. You still get credit for the course, you can still sit for the Barzam (obviously), and you’ll be fine. Try to get that GPA up, and get involved in other things, like law societies and journals and clinics and all that, and when you go for interviews, remember to really sell your personality. Firms are looking for grades, but they’re also looking for people who can, you know, actually deal with other people. People who can talk and joke and be friendly and charming. Sure, a C might be the same as an F in law school, but it’s not the end of the world, either. Also, look back at this post, and remember to chill.
  • Hijab Wedding Dresses – I don’t know anything about this. But it reminds me of this post at the Hijablog.
  • “JD” crazy – Why, yes. I agree with this assessment. :-|
  • Huma Rashid Karl RoveCheck it here, nerds.

  • Megan Fox looks fake – That’s because she’s had her nose shaved down, had cheek implants put in, possibly breast implants, and had her lips jacked up ridiculously (fairly recently).
  • I did something stupid/funny - sounds like what I say every time Mama Hoomster asks me what I did today.
  • Megan nose - she had it shaved down.
  • Ugliest student – HAY THAT’S NOT NICE I AM NOT. >:(
  • The extremely prudent law student – Whoa, whoa. I appreciate the sentiment, but let’s not get carried away. I could never be called extremely prudent. Even the whole reasonably prudent thing is a lie. A well constructed tapestry of LIES.
  • Martin Redish Forbes - I got a lot of hits off this one, relating to the blog post I did about his article in Forbes. A “Martin Redish” commented on it and thanked me for saying he had a nice haircut, but I refuse to believe it was the real Redish. It was probably that phool Andy, trying to mess with me. HE IS ALWAYS TRYING TO MESS WITH ME YOU GUYS.

Oh, phew, thank God. My brother turned off the Yu Yu Hakusho commentaries. (Yes, he’d moved on to Yu Yu Hakusho.) This means I can stop sticking my fingers in my ear and singing LALALALA.

Good thing, too, because it’s hard to type like that.

I don’t really watch Gossip Girl, but I do like Blake Lively. She’s tall, pretty, and is allergic to pants. I always like looking at gossip blogs the day after a big movie premiere because I want to see what Blake Lively wore. Remember when it was twenty degrees in New York the night of the “Sherlock Holmes” premiere? Yeah, Blake definitely wore this:

I love it.

She’s cute as a button, you never see her stumbling out of Chateau Marmont with her knickers around her ankles, she doesn’t say stupid sh!t in interviews, and she dresses exactly like a hot 23-year old starlet with great legs and sweater puppies and hair would dress.

(She’s not my role model by any means, but I just kind of like her. You know, for someone who’s just there.)

Here’s a picture of her wearing something on her show, which is also kind of just there.

And here’s a work-appropriate version that also doubles as a covered-up look for our modern Muslimahs!

I’m all about the multi-tasking, you guys.

Extended Hip Knit Cardigan ………. $17.80
Solid Shirt in White ………. $14.99
ASOS Skinny Leather Look Tie ………. $11.90
Black Trousers ………. $15
Patent Look Flats in Black ………. $14.99
Textured Patent Hobo in Red ………. $19.99

Black pants and a button-down under a striped cardigan with a sort of draped effect, paired with black flats and a bright red bag.

It doesn’t get much simpler than that. There’s really nothing else to say. And I should know, because I can make up crap to say about anything.

One of the hazards of being an English major…one that’s majorly into critical theory.

(Critical theory is about nothing, you guys. THIS IS WHY IT WINS.)

I’ve put up a couple Blaire Waldorf outfits here in the past, and what can I say? She’s popular. I try to pick outfits that are a bit more simple, a little more accessible than Blaire’s usual high-fashion fare. But I got a request for this specific one, so who am I to refuse?

If you’ve got the confidence to wear something like this (I don’t), then take a look at what I put together:

Snakeskin Pencil Skirt ………. $27.99
Textured Tank ………. $23.70
Side Pocket Cardigan ………. $20.40

Textured Link Headband ………. $8.99
Cadle Clutch in Gold ………. $14.98

I picked a brown and beige skirt, paired it with a dark gold top, and threw on a bright yellow cardigan. I mean, really, isn’t that bright? I feel like I should get out my sunglasses. I don’t like to do that, though, because my sunglasses make me look like a bug.

The headband was easy enough to come by, and I added a beige clutch. Throw on a pair of brown pumps and you’re good to go…provided you have the mettle to wear this monochromatic ensemble.

(Again, I do not. Just in case you were wondering.)

(I know you were.)

(You always are.)

(Because you’re nosy.)

(…You should work on that.)

I’m a huge fan of the CBS comedy, “How I Met Your Mother,” which my pal Brian aptly calls “the last great sitcom.” It stars Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders (gorgeous), Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, and Alyson Hannigan, who you might remember from Buffy.

Alyson plays Lily Aldrin-Erikson, who is married to Jason Segel’s character. She’s a kindergarten teacher, a painter, and absolutely adorable. Her style is interesting, too: she wears lots of bright colors in different patterns, and when she’s not wearing bright colors, she’s still wearing the crazy patterns. Sometimes she looks like a kaleidoscope pattern, but she usually does quite well. Hers is a distinctive style perfectly suited for her boisterous, slightly insane, bubbly character.

Here she is with her friend Robin Scherbatsky, played by Cobie Smulders.

See what I mean about the patterns?

I generally stay away from patterns – the most ‘pattern-based’ thing you’ll see me wear is a chunky cable-knit. But Lily rocks them pretty well most of the time, so here’s an office-appropriate look she’s inspired.

Apt 09 Geometric Dress ………. $34.99
Sam & Libby Embossed Croco Pump in Black ………. $39.99
Kirra 3 Row Necklace ………. $8.50

Apt 09, a Kohl’s line, features a lot of patterned pieces, so I knew to go straight there for a printed dress that wouldn’t look too tacky or kaleidoscope-y. (Technical term.) This one is bright and bold with the turquoise and the interesting blocky design.

I went with a pair of ankle-strap crocodile pumps in black. You’ll notice the heel isn’t that high at all, and it’s stacked. Lily’s a kindergarten teacher, after all, so I figured shorter heels were more appropriate. Of course, Lily wears stilettos in her classroom, though. But what do you want from her? It’s a TV show. It’s not real. God. I can’t believe you guys thought it was real. You probably think that there’s a blue police phone box zooming around in the cosmos, carrying a spikey-haired British boy in orange Chuck Taylors who is probably always on crack given how fast he talks and how spastic he is.

…God, I wish there was a blue police phone box zooming around in the cosmos, carrying a spikey-haired British boy in orange Chuck Taylors who is probably always on crack given how fast he talks and how spastic he is. It would probably make my life.

:-|

DOCTOR! Pick me as your next companion! I can be equally spastic! I’m small, and wouldn’t take up much space in the Tardis! I’ve always wanted to visit the Shadow Proclamation and hang out with the Ood! Pick me, damn it!

He won’t pick me.

>:(

So I guess that means I’m stuck here with you guys, explaining things that need no explanation because they are CLOTHES as Anne as the nose on Plain’s face, but I explain them anyway because I feel guilty just putting up links and leaving you, like I was putting money on the dresser and getting the heck out of Dodge.

Whatever.

Cute dress, cute shoes, and a weird necklace because Lily likes her bling. And there we have it!

Psssst….Doctor. Before you zoom off with your current companion, just consider this:

THE PROMOTIONAL PICTURES COULD BE AWESOME.

THINK OF THE PROMOS, DAMN IT!

…Why won’t you think of the promos?

:’-(

You know what really gets my goat?

(Yes, I have a goat. Doesn’t everyone?)

Observe the following exchange, and you’ll get the idea.

Friend De Hoomster: Oh, no! Hoomster!

Hoomster: Oh, no! What?

Friend De Hoomster: My foot fell off!

Hoomster: Oh, no! Your foot fell off!

Friend De Hoomster: Oh, no!

Hoomster: Here’s an old, tried and true Asian remedy. Get some crazy glue. Put it on your foot. Then put your foot back on. Works like a charm. It’s what I always do whenever my foot falls off, and my foot hasn’t fallen off in YEARS.

Friend De Hoomster: I ran out of crazy glue. And I don’t want to go out right now and get some more.

Hoomster:

Friend De Hoomster: Oh, no!

Hoomster:

Friend De Hoomster:

If you do this to me, do you know why I stop talking to you? Because you came to me with a problem, I offered you a wonderful solution, and you decided not to take it. Yet you still want to talk about your problem.

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? GOD!

This is one of the many ways that I’m actually a boy-girl, ie, a girl that totally thinks like a boy. I’ll vent with you and sympathize, but there’s a limit. If I have a solution, I’m offering it to you. If you don’t respond to it in any productive way, I am walking away from you, because you are an idiot and you make my blood boil.

Ugh.

I really am such a boy sometimes.

Guys. I have a problem. I can’t keep my shit together. No, I don’t mean figuratively…although it’s been well documented that I can’t do that, either. I mean I always lose things. I have no idea where they are.

For example, where is:

  • my breakfast
  • that blue sweater with the little satin bow between the sweater puppies that I love? (The sweater, not the sweater puppies)
  • today’s business casual superstar post featuring Robin Scherbatsky of How I Met Your Mother fame, played by the gorgeous Cobie Smulders
  • Carmen Sandiego

Fortunately, I put on my fancy hat and my coat and grabbed  my pipe and my corpulent sidekick and I think I’ve solved these mysteries.

So there we have it. To repeat, my post featuring Robin Scherbatsky  is at the Working Wardrobe (link above). Here’s a little preview:

See you on the flip side, terples!

Ack, I love Kelly Kapoor and Mindy Kaling (the actress that plays her) soooo much. I also hate her, because both Kelly AND Mindy have Ryan Bailey Howard/B.J. Novak (the actor that plays him) and he’s absolutely perfect and I’ve loved him forever and DAMN IT ALL TO HELL.

Whatever. Mindy is awesome. She can have Beej. They can be awesome together.

Sigh.

Whatever.

Anyway, here they are being adorable on the cover of Entertainment Weekly when that magazine did a couple Office-themed episodes.

Kelly’s a great character, and I’ve always loved how she dresses. Occasionally, I feel like Mindy could pick pieces that were a bit more flattering, but she generally does very well. She wears bright colors, but picks blacks, greys, and whites both to make those bright colors pop and to keep the overall look subdued instead of garish.

Let’s take a look at what I came up with to mimic Mindy’s awesome sense of style for the equally awesome Kelly, whose favorite word, by the way, is awesome.

Button Pencil Skirt ………. $22.99
Graphic Cowl Neck Top ………. $19.99
Ribbed Open Cardigan in Red ………. $19.80
Patent Look Flat in Red ………. $14.99
Conundrum Necklace ………. $19.95

Continue Reading »

Another month gone by, I miss it so.

That joke didn’t land, did it?

It’s from that war memoir, My War Gone By, I Miss it So.

:-|

I probably shouldn’t be attempting jokes concerning war memoirs, huh? Damn it, you guys are supposed to tell me this before I make a phool of myself. Way to drop the ball.

>:(

I have no idea why I keep you terples around. Maybe because you’re like turtles, but cuter.

Anyway, here are the top five blog posts from January, accompanied by what, if anything, we may learn from them as we seek to come to a better understanding of our tortured souls.

Or, you know, something like that. I don’t know. What am I, your mom? Jeez. Cut the cord already.

  1. Business Casual Superstar #48: Inspired by Rachel Berry of Glee
  2. Law School Exam Screw-Ups
  3. The Week In Retrospect: Blog Searches 11/29/2009
  4. Law School Supplements: The Books You’ll Need to Understand Your Books
  5. Business Casual Superstar #104: Michelle Obama’s Purple Dress
  6. RUNNER UP: Writing Samples

And what have we learned?

  • Goddamn, we love Glee around here, huh? I’ve done about 4 Rachel Berry posts and 3, soon to be 4 Emma Pillsbury posts, and you folks love ‘em. At least, I think you do. I like to make broad, sweeping generalizations based on fluctuating numbers that mean little. It’s how I roll. What can I say? I was 14 when George W Bush was ushered into office <del>on a mandate</del>. My formative years.
  • Law schools screw up. All the time. In fact, law school is inherently screwed up. Which is why you shouldn’t come here. Save yourselves! CAROL ANNE, DON’T COME INTO THE LIGHT!!
  • You idiots only looked at that blog search that many times because not only did I talk a bit about the Great Philosopher Megan Fox (nothing complimentary) but I posted her picture. >:( You are all so easily manipulated.
  • The supplement post has made this list many times before in previous months, so I guess it’s been pretty useful? Good. I’m glad. Take it with a grain of salt, though – just because the books I mentioned worked for me doesn’t mean they’ll work just as well for you. But I did go broad, so you should definitely find something there that will help keep you afloat.
  • Lots of people LOVED Michelle’s purple dress. Not the #SOTU dress, the one from August 2009. I think. Not sure. Somewhere in 2009. Maybe she was in France hanging out with that rat Sarkozy? Anyway, that dress hit it big with lots of folks. The same can be said for my pathetic attempt to recreate it.
  • RUNNER UP: You people are all very interested to know what my ’srs bzns’ writing looks like, and whether I fret about garden gnomes when writing a memo about whether or not a no-kill shelter in Chicago should be granted a property tax exemption. I haven’t posted samples yet, but I will. I promise. I’ll get them all together, the whole diverse bunch, and post them so that you can read and be like HOW MANY PERSONALITIES DOES THIS CHICK HAVE GODDAMN.

:)

…Also, I’ve lost count of how many personalities I have.

:(

Did you guys know that people of Indian descent/heritage have, far and away, the highest rates of schizophrenia in the world?

:-|

So the State of the Union was the other night, Wednesday, and Mama Hoomster ordered her AP Economics students to watch it, so she sat down and watched it with me. I wanted to watch it on CSPAN to avoid the ridiculous commentary, but Mama Hoomster enjoys George Stephanopoulis. She thinks he’s talented. She also thinks Bob Saget is talented, and Jay Leno, too.

:-|

You guys.

:-|

Anyway, I was on my netbook in my armchair, watching the whole thing while kind of sort of trying to do my Evidence reading, and this exchange occurred on Facebook since, obviously, I wasn’t doing my Evidence reading.

Also, can I just say that the applause during the SOTU was ridiculous and angered Papa Hoomster tremendously? It was like Catholic Mass.

(No offense to Catholics. That wasn’t meant to come off as a cheap shot. And hey, our 5 daily prayers involve a lot of movement, too.)

Here’s what Michelle Obama wore to the address.

I love when she blows out her hair and it frames her face. Stephanopoulis was saying that the purple worn by Pelosi, Michelle, and Biden was no accident. This address was a bipartisan address, now more than before, and Obama wasn’t speaking to the red or the blue, but both. Hence, purple.

Here’s a similar look (not an exact copy; that proved near impossible so I just went with it).

Tulip Pencil Skirt in Deep Violet ………. $29
Ribbed Top in Deep Amethyst ………. $17.99
CHAPS faux-pearl necklace ………. $12.60
Erin Patent Pump ………. $19.80
Rhinestone Butterfly Belt ………. $8.99
Oversized Pearl Studs ………. $6.80

Continue Reading »

Just watch.

A quick post this morning before I get to my reading for Copyrights, but I really wanted to talk about this.

Mama Hoomster likes reading Forbes in the morning. I was drinking my coffee and trying to figure out a way to get out of doing the dishes and washing all the pots when she stumbled upon this article about how Northwestern law professor Martin Redish thinks that class action lawsuits are unconstitutional. Naturally, she read it to me and wanted my opinion, then promptly disagreed with me and sided with Redish because he seemed like a very nice, clean-cut man with a nice haircut, and Mama Hoomster approves of this. Alas, I am not a very nice, clean-cut man with a nice haircut, so, fail for me.

:-P

Redish’s argument can be boiled down to the fact that he feels every individual has a right to sue and that such a right is taken away by class actions and other plaintiffs are reduced to cardboard cut-outs who sometimes have no idea that their claim is being litigated, and this is unconstitutional, so class actions need to go. He says that not all plaintiffs are named in class actions (true) and that they have no way of opting out of lawsuits sometimes (also true) and that they sometimes don’t even know that they’re part of a lawsuit (still true) and that because of all this, class actions violate the Constitution (eh, not true, in my opinion).

(Ugh, this is going to read like a CivPro lesson for Dummies. Sorry about that.)

I feel that, if anything, class actions may violate the letter of the Constitution but definitely not the spirit. Does that make sense? Yes, we all have a right to sue in this wonderful country – a right to sue based on a cause of action. And in a class action, the way they are currently in practice, that cause of action is litigated. It’s not that the other party gets off scot-free with regard to an individual’s claim; it’s just that the other party doesn’t have to spend time and money litigating literally the same claim thousands of times.

A plaintiff is named to represent the entire class of people that were wronged, let’s say because they were all routinely harassed by a telemarketing company despite being on the National Do Not Call Registry.

(Sidebar: if you’re not listed there already, head on over and take care of it. Papa Hoomster was against the Registry when it came out because he felt telemarketers were just doing their jobs and some such, and didn’t want me to list our phone numbers. Did I listen? Hells to the no. Our landline and all our cell numbers are on there, and I always make sure to renew the listing when it lapses. Do it. Get it done. It’s awesome.)

Anyway, say there are…six thousand plaintiffs in this case. Not all of them are going to be named. BUT the problem/claim of the named plaintiff that actually shows up in court (and has to pay the notice fees for informing every unnamed plaintiff of the lawsuit, etc) is typical of the problem/claim of every unnamed plaintiff. If you don’t have that, you don’t have a lawsuit.

And yes, there are certain kinds of class actions you can opt out of, usually by just filling in a form (filling IN a form? Don’t I mean filling OUT? What are we, British, all of a sudden?) and saying you want to screw this noise, and there are certain kinds of class actions that you can’t opt out of. The Federal Rules explain all of this, as well as the reasoning behind it.

So you can’t really say that the right to sue has been taken away from an individual. Although, really, that argument is strongest in a case where a plaintiff doesn’t have notice of the lawsuit, but Redish in that situation absolves the unknowing plaintiff of too much. Simply put, if a plaintiff is truly, seriously interested in prosecuting a claim, that (soon to be) plaintiff will see a lawyer. After that, it won’t take long to figure out there is already a class action in progress, and the plaintiff can either join as a named plaintiff or be one of many unnamed plaintiffs.

The plaintiff that has a claim and doesn’t do anything about it and then feels short-changed when he or she gets notice that the class action suit regarding the matter either prevailed or failed is no different from a plaintiff that had a claim and sat on it and tried to bring suit later only to find out that the statute of limitations had run and he or she was straight out of luck.

So, to my way of thinking, Redish is simply too lenient toward the no-notice plaintiff.

But again, you can’t say that the right to sue has been taken away from an individual because the claim is litigated. It’s adjudicated and judgment is passed and, if the named plaintiff prevails, so do the unnamed ones. They get their share of the settlement or judgment, too.

That’s why I don’t get Redish’s ‘cardboard cutout’ argument. Yes, the unnamed plaintiffs are cardboard cutouts. But…so what? The whole point of class actions is that a large number of people have been affected by the same problem in the same way that flows from the same party. The robo-calling company called every single individual. If that wasn’t true, there either wouldn’t be a case, or the individuals that weren’t called obviously wouldn’t be a part of the case.

The class action hinges on the three priorities of our justice system: that the procedure be just, speedy, and inexpensive. (The fact that these priorities are largely incompatible…well, we won’t get into that. :-P )

Justice isn’t largely affected by having one person in court representing 6,000 others. His problem is typical of theirs; he has the same stakes and the same interests and everything. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be allowed to be the named representative and class certification wouldn’t be granted until counsel found an individual that met the adequacy and typicality requirements. And it’s not like the named plaintiff gets all the money that comes from a settlement or a ruling and the others get none. It’s not like he’s the only one that wins and the others are just left high and dry.

Speed is a priority that’s readily met by class actions. Courts can either litigate one case, or they can litigate 6,000 identical cases. Our justice system is clogged enough as it is, even with so few cases going to trial per year as there are. Not having a class action suit would be a nightmare for all parties: the plaintiffs, defendants, and the courts. The plaintiffs would all have to take time out to litigate their individual matters. The defendants would have to defend against countless claims and would be tied up for years. Years. And the courts, well, they’d be the obvious losers if things didn’t work this way.

The same can be said about cost. We aim for our lawsuits to be as inexpensive as possible, but that’s not always what happens. There are tons of fees associated with everything from the earliest stages of the suit, even filing a complaint to begin with, to say nothing of discovery costs and later court costs and attorneys fees and settlements and judgments and all that. The costs are tremendous. And it makes far more sense to litigate in one go, one fell swoop, than to spread the cost 6,000 ways. We’ve already talked about the time costs; the financial costs would be an even bigger nightmare. The plaintiffs would all have to hire their own counsel and pay for their own discovery, and the defendant would have to pay its attorneys to litigate the same thing over and over and over. Plus, it would be a burden to taxpayers, too, since there are certain court costs (like bailiffs, for example) which are paid by the state or local governments.

I see Redish’s points, I really do. Yes, there are problems with the class actions. There are tons of problems with the class actions in this country. But if we’re weighing two evils, the class action the way it is emerges as the winner. Yes, it’s a little messed up, but it’s better than not having anything like it in place at all.

And besides, let’s be honest: try as Redish might, the class action isn’t going anywhere. Especially not with the new (well…not new-new, but not 200 years old, either) legislation about CAFA that makes it even easier to remove a class action from state court to federal court.

I told Mama Hoomster that for now – for now – it felt like a lot of noise about nothing. Or, I guess, a lot of noise about a problem that most people realize exists, but isn’t nearly monstrous enough for complete abolition of the class action system.

I’m curious about your thoughts on this – do you think my assessment is fair? Or do you favor the nice, clean-cut man with the neat haircut? :-P Sound off in the comments if you feel strongly one way or another.

Or just to harass me. You know. Whatever.

It’s been a while since I did a Plus Sized Professional look, and for that I apologize. To make it up to you, here’s a plus-sized ensemble inspired by Emma Pillsbury from “Glee,” who is, spoiler alert, adorable.

In case you have no idea who I’m talking about, let me provide a visual aid.

Isn’t that a funky necklace? I just love it!

Anyway, here’s my take on Emma’s often monochromatic ensembles.

Cuffed Ruffle Trim Tee in Goodnight Nora ………. $16.50
Splendid Linen Flared Skirt ………. $9.99
Ambelu Pump in Dark Green Suede ………. $29.99
Mixed Stone Oversized Stud ………. $15.30
Floral Bracelet ………. $8.80

At Asos for $13.60; TOTAL = $94.18

(Click necklace to purchase because once again, I forgot to add it and am too lazy to go edit in Photoshop.)

Continue Reading »

I’m back again to check on you idiots, and let’s just say, the results this week have been interesting. And traumatizing. And ulcer-inducing. Eustace gained some mass, that’s for sure. Good thing, too, because he was looking a little puny. I was getting worried.

  • Ghalib ‘I am a lover of your name’ – A translation from my favorite Ghalib poem ever, which is saying a lot, because he’s my favorite poet and I love ALL of his work. But god, that line is so beautiful. You can see it on my Facebook page and here in the sidebar. It used to be my Gchat status, but then I put up another line from another poem, and then my friend Brian was like CHANGE YOUR STATUS IT’S BEEN THAT FOR A WEEK AND IT IS BORING. And I was all I LIKE IT I’M NEVER CHANGING IT TURD and he was all YOU’LL CHANGE IT EVENTUALLY and I was all NO I WON’T YOU SUCK and he was all YOU WILL CHANGE IT and I said I’LL NEVER CHANGE IT and now I can’t ever change it because if I do, then he wins. And I am NOT going to let Brian win, you guys. >:( I really need your support on this one.
  • Why does someone named Hoomster haunt my – HAUNT YOUR WHAT? I want to know! I often haunt people, though, to be honest. It’s kind of always been an interest of mine, and I’m happy to say I’ve actually pursued it.
  • Hipster Tallahassee – I have no idea what this means. However, fun fact: Did you know that Tallahassee is a word that comes from a combination of the language of the indigenous Native American tribe (I think they were the Creeks, but I’m not sure, so don’t quote me) and Arabic? What happened was that Muslim explorers found America long before Columbus and came and lived with the Native Americans and intermarried with them. The languages mixed, too. No one will dispute that Tallahassee is a name that comes from the indigenous Native Americans that lived in the area where the city now is, but few know of its Islamic roots, too. Tallahassee (see the “Allah” in there?) means, “He whom God delivers.”
  • I also copyright business casual superstar – This is totally Andy. He denies it. I don’t believe him. Also, you don’t ‘copyright’ something. Duh. You register the copyright for something. Syntax, people. Syntax. Copyright and trademark are not verbs!
  • I just registered hoomster.com – Totally Andy. >:( Next time I see him, Imma punch him in the kneecap.
  • Hoomster.com is for gingers - IT IS NOT.
  • Hoomster.com will fail - IT WILL NOT.
  • Stupid whores – I couldn’t agree more. >:(
  • Law student hoomster - That’s me! :)
  • Why I always get dropped by my female friends – Maybe you come on too strong. Maybe you’re too needy. I don’t know. I don’t know your life. It’s just that if when I drop my male friends, it’s because they come on strong, are too needy, or are complete jerks that kind of start to take me for granted, and I don’t need any of that. Meh.
  • Holly Golightly is annoying - Yes. Yes, she is.
  • Magic Lemur – Reminds me of Slow Loris.
  • Do guys fall for their female friends? – Sure! And vice versa. In my circle of friends, there are several couples that just started out as friends. Some were friends for, like, a month before they started dating, some where friends for a year or so. One couple was actually friends for about five years before they were both like, hey, wait a minute… :) It’s adorable and precious. And it does happen, often, from what I understand.
  • Hoomster.com porn – >:( I BEG YOUR PARDON I WOULD NEVER. Well. I usually refrain from saying ‘never’ as a general matter of course. But I certainly have not and can’t conceive of a situation in the near future where I would. So, move along, sir.

Here’s more of Slow Loris.

Everyone’s favorite imbecile is back! This one shows up a lot in my searches by pathetic losers who want to see her naked (which is easy enough thanks to Google and her willingness to exist in various shades of undress). So I grabbed this candid shot of the Great Philosopher on the set of her new movie with Mickey Rourke, where she plays some sort of deformed angel that lives in a cage or something.

Mickey Rourke has only the hatchet job he did on his face to blame for why he has to do movies with this genius as his leading lady. He’s got the talent and the compelling personal backstory of excess and redemption, though. His mug is the reason that he has to carry talentless, insipid, arrogant little starlets who can’t carry their own films if they had a jack and a flatbed truck.

Anyway.

Here she is. She who shall not be named.

I took the general idea of her outfit and put together something similar. The coat is not included in the budget, but I picked out one that’s a deep enough purple to work with the other pieces I picked and tacked it on, just in case you wanted something in the same vein.

Let’s take a look.

Bow Pencil Skirt in Chocolate ………. $39.50
Contoured Seam Button-Front Shirt in Deep Sand ………. $24.50
Sommer Pumps in Black ………. $22.99
Large Flower Charm Bracelet ………. $8.90

Blazer Coat in Violet - $29.99

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Baby steps, you guys. Baby steps. Those of you that follow me on Facebook know that I often link to my articles from my profile, thus spamming the news feeds of my FB friends. Well, no more!

I made a fan page for The Reasonably Prudent Law Student on Facebook, and will only be posting Business Casual Superstar posts there. Some posts will be posted generally, but they will be few and far between. The vast majority of posts on this blog will only be posted to the Facebook fan page. The vast majority. Trust.

This way, I won’t be bothering anyone or irritating him/her by clogging up the feed with my many posts. (Not that I link to all of my posts on FB anyway. Some I don’t link to anywhere, at all.)

So I created a fan page and sent out an invite to it to all my friends. ONCE. I’m sorry to be That Guy. I really am. There’s nothing worse than That Guy who repeatedly sends you invites to his or her fanpage for something you’re not interested in. I have several among my FB friends. (If you’ve sent me 2-3 invites, I’m not talking about you. You’re fine. If you’ve sent me 20, you’ve been unfollowed and probably aren’t reading this anyway.)

The invite was a one-time thing. You will never get another one, because I hate annoying people with crap like that. Thanks for putting up with it. I wouldn’t have done it, but I wanted people to at least be aware of the fact that there was another place to see TRPLS posts if they really wanted to.

Again, to visit the Reasonably Prudent Law Student Fan Page on Facebook (and have all updates post to your news feed) click here.

To visit my profile page on Facebook and friend me, click here. (Please include a note saying that you found me from TRPLS so I know who you are and that you are not, in fact, some random foreign boy, for example, searching for fraaaandsheep.)

Thank you. Sorry to be That Guy.

WTF, you pervs?!

Guys.

I like to think we’re all friends here.

I mean, we do things together. We go antiquing. We check out farmers’ markets. We watch scary movies from the sixties. We do karaoke. We white-water raft. We make drinking games out of important political speeches. We throw rocks at nerds.

But sometimes, some of you just get out of line.

So, do you mind explaining to me WHAT this is?

>:(

I don’t approve of this, you guys. Not one bit. I’m all scandalized over here. I even had to borrow Mama Hoomster’s pearls and put them on so that I could clutch them in horror.

I HAD TO BORROW MAMA HOOMSTER’S PEARLS.

I mean, I have tons of pearls of my own, but they’re not for clutchin’.

>:(

I’m very upset with you guys. We are not friends for the next ten minutes.

Also, I bet this was that whore, Andy, trying to scandalize me. He knows how easily I am scandalized. He takes full advantage of this knowledge. Hmph.

I hope his first-born is a ginger.

Or a Canadian.

…OR A CANADIAN GINGER!

:-O

>:)

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