I watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It’s funny in a goofy, absurdist sort of way. Given the fact that the show is on an obscure cable channel late at night, I can easily forgive people for not recognizing a couple characters (the belligerent Mooninites) that are being used in a viral marketing campaign in several major American cities. I have a harder time understanding how an entire city can do the civic equivalent of shitting its pants over a what essentially are a bunch of Lite Brite displays. If the good people of Boston are freaked out by a tacky ad campaign, I fear that a real crisis might push the whole city into catatonia.

You can find a co-blogged post I did with Hanan Levin of Grow-A-Brain here. It’s certified 100% link-a-licious. Guaranteed to stimulate your intellect, raise your pulse, and lower your inhibitions. Enjoy.

I’m hosting a disability carnival in a few weeks on disability and employment, so this article concerning the challenges facing attorneys with disabilities in landing jobs with big firms is timely. The article seems to be making the point that attorneys with visible disabilities have a much more difficult time getting jobs with firms than attorneys with invisible disabilities, but few attorneys with any type of disability are even applying for jobs with the big firms.

This observation is consistent with my own experiences and those of my colleagues. I can’t think of one attorney with a disability in my professional circle who works for a firm. I’ve never interviewed with a firm. Besides having almost zero interest in the majority of work that firms do (I’d rather be punched repeatedly in the face than do estate planning or complex business litigation), I have had the impression since law school that firms aren’t terribly accommodating to those of us with disabilities. I could be mistaken, but the culture of big firms seems to thrive on an atmosphere of buttoned-down homogeneity that doesn’t cope well with individual differences.

Of course, attorneys with disabilities who are interested in big-firm life should have the same opportunities to access those employment opportunities as anyone else. But I don’t think you’re going to see significant numbers of attorneys with disabilities in large firms until there’s a fundamental shift in hiring practices and work culture. Unfortunately, I think those changes will take a long time in coming.

Thanks to Blue for pointing me to this article.

For those of you wondering about the status of the pending complaint against me regarding my flagrant violations of my building’s no-visiting-pets rule, it would seem I dodged a bullet. The Board stayed the fine pending no further violations. I like to think their leniency was due in part to the exceedingly civil and reasonable letter I wrote to the Board in my own defense. I guess I did learn something in law school. If I’m ever charged with some white-collar crime, I’m confident I can gently persuade the judge to let me off with a fine and community service.

I’m beginning to give some serious thought to making a trip to this year’s Coachella Music Festival. The only thing that gives me pause is the ancillary costs. In addition to the cost of a concert pass for me and one person, there’s also airfare, lodging, and renting an accessible van to get to and from the concert site. It’s conceivable that a trip like this could total a couple grand. Yeesh. I need to start writing term papers for spoiled, affluent college students to pull in some quick cash for the vacation fund.

But then again, I think I’ve earned a brief holiday. The demonstration program that I help coordinate just signed up its first enrollee. Why not celebrate my professional accomplishments with a little rockin’ out?