True grit from the get-go 'R' us

Not much happening around the old Nostrum corral these days. Everybody was off last week, including the Mite's school, Tennessee Williams, which put him in a state of permanent depression because he wasn't able to work with his LDers on jury nullification. The Mite has the idea that his team should simply run total nullification, i.e., judge nullification, prosecutor nullification, bailiff nullification, defendant nullification, the guy who sells coffee down on the main floor nullification, the works. He calls this his throwing out the bathwater with the baby approach. Doesn't sound all that great to me, but what do I know? I just judge 'em, I don't coach 'em.

There's a new character or two in this week's Nostrum (mp3—the episode # may look wrong, but it isn't—some technical glitch too insignificant to worry about, pdf), which is now ready for prime time. Hautboy LeMonde, for one. We did not make up that name. Hautboy is entirely real. As is, of course, all of Nostrum. We just write it down. So don't write us complaining about our insensitivity or whatever. If you want sensitive, buy the expensive toothpaste. We're true grit from the get-go.

Theoretically, I was judging.

Ya gotta love the Harvard tournament. I mean, y'all come here from the proverbial four corners, you pay through the nose for the tournament and motels and food, you're lucky if you get to even touch the hem of the garments of anybody who breaks, and still you come, year after year, undeterred, battered and bruised but still full of pluck. I was shocked—shocked!—to see that the tournament was still this popular after so many years. By now I figured everybody would have wised up and gotten their pluck out of there, but what do I know. Never underestimate the value of a brand name, eh?

I ended up judging LD for the Mite. LD, unlike Harvard, has changed a bit since I've been away. Nowadays, no one debates anymore, they just theorize about what they would say if they were debating, and they tell you why, because the moon is in Pisces or something, you have no alternative but to theoretically not only drop their opponent but also eliminate his family, friends, school and place of origin with a barrage of tactical nuclear weapons. Back in my day, we had these things called resolutions, but they seem to have gone the way of the mullet. (Which would make an excellent philosophy book title, I think: "The Way of the Mullet." Baudrillard should have written that one while he still had the chance.) Anyhow, I managed to get through it. Blocked against the Mite's Tennessee Williams team, of course, but there were enough other gay writers with schools named after them in the field that I more than got my fill. Way to go, guys (although I am a little ambivalent about Jean Genet Prep)!

Anyhow, I can't say that I liked everything that I heard, but I got paid to hear it, so who am I to complain? You want to debate about whether value/criterion structures are intrinsically abusive to one-eyed hermaphroditic students from Idaho, you go right ahead. I'll vote on it, but I won't be happy about it.

I gotta get me my own debate team. Then I can solve the problems of the world. And speaking of debate teams, the whole point of this message is to let you know that Episode 3 is on the books (audio or pdf), concerning a couple of members of the Nighten Day team Once again that seems to be the high school that will be the focus of the story, or at least our story so far. We'll see.

Just a little update/preview

For those who are anal obsessive, or merely Nostrum obsessive, I just wanted to point out the list of people, places and things over to the right. It looks ahead a little bit, if you're interested. I mean, who doesn't want to know more about Boner Corkzit and Halefoil Cumcut?

What a crappy day

I mean, there's snow coming at us from all directions. The Mite is in a state of terminal depression because he had planned to give surprise quizzes in all his classes today, including study hall, lunch and detention, but he got snowed out. Meanwhile old Jimbo back at the Hud worked for a while and then boogied back to his home base, read a book and then was climbing his walls, so what could we do but jump the gun a bit?

Who ever said that starting friction was the worst? Episode 2: Too Many Beans for Dinner. PDF. Audio.

If this is Wednesday...

...it must be Nostrum.

Wow, was that long ago or what? Every week we'd send out that message announcing our latest posting on the ld-l listserver. And every week the ld-l listserver would respond by threatening legal action if we didn't cease and desist. Good times, man, good times.

So why are the Mite and I doing this again? Well, as for me, I'm between real jobs, having failed to accede to the Moravian throne, and what else have I got to do? And the Mite has been quite active in forensics, keeping up on things with his team (Tennessee Williams HS, up here in Cambridge), and he wanted to update the world at large on how things have both changed and remained the same (he always was deep, that one). He's got me judging for him this weekend at Harvard, so I'll also be able to check things out for myself.

Anyhow, here's episode one, as an audio and as a pdf. Collect them all while you still can!

See you next Wednesday.