Here are the times:

Friday, August 22, 2:30
Saturday, August 23, 4:45
Sunday, August 24, 7:15
Monday, August 25, 9:20
Tuesday, August 26, 12:00 noon
Wednesday, August 27, 2:30
Thursday, August 28, 4:45

I will be there Friday through Monday. Carissa will be there on Sunday, and possibly a few other days as well, her schedule depending.

You can buy tickets online or just show up at the box office.

Arclight Hollywood
6360 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

It looks to be an amazing group of documentaries. Come, show your support, and enjoy. Better yet, email your friends and help pack the theater. The more buzz we get going…

It’s so great to be done with the bar exam!!! August is an exciting month for me and for The Carissa Project.

Yes, I finished the bar last week, and this week I am proudly announcing that the documentary short about a short part of my life is enjoying its first theatrical release!!! What a great life!

The film, by David Sauvage, is playing at the Arclight in Hollywood from August 22 through August 28 as part of Docuweek, the International Documentary Association’s qualifying run for the Academy Awards.

CARISSA at the ARCLIGHT August 22 - 28

Friday, August 22, 2:30
Saturday, August 23, 4:45
Sunday, August 24, 7:15
Monday, August 25, 9:20
Tuesday, August 26, 12:00 (noon)
Wednesday, August 27, 2:30
Thursday, August 28, 4:45

You can buy tickets in advance here or just show up at the box office.

Arclight Hollywood
6360 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

It’s set-up as one of four acclaimed short documentaries. Please choose a screening and let me know when you’ll be there. I’ll be there at least a few of the evenings (I have a surprise birthday party for a very special 9 y/o on one of the nights so I won’t be there every night).

Please email this message to friends and help pack the theater every night.

If you can’t wait until August 22, Carissa is playing this week at the following locations. Hope to see you there!

Friday, August 8, 7:45 PM
Hermosa Beach Film Festival
Hermosa Beach Playhouse
Pier Avenue at Pacific Coast Highway
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

Sunday, August 10, 1:05 PM
Hollyshorts Film Festival
Leammle’s Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046

CARISSA has won Best Documentary Short at four film festivals, including Newport Beach. It was featured in USA Today and on Good Morning America. It’s Executive Produced by Davis Guggenheim, the brilliant director of “An Inconvenient Truth,” sponsored by Virgin Mobile and the Los Angeles Dodgers Dream Foundation, and produced by Chad Troutwine, Carissa Phelps and David Sauvage.

The Human Development index is an old way of looking at how other nations are doing. It simply measures 1) Health, 2) Education, and 3) Income.

You haven’t heard about it before because the way America has graded itself in the past has been to look at the pure economics. Our nation’s take on things has been, “we’re doing fine, when our citizens are making enough money,” and “we can tell that they’re making enough money when they’re shopping enough.”

We traditionally look at consumer indexes, and try to judge consumer confidence by retail sales. Honestly, even with an A.A, a B.A, a J.D., and an M.B.A., that stuff seems so much harder to understand than the straightforward: 1) Health, 2) Education, and 3) Income measures.

It also makes sense to rate America in terms of Human Development because it’s actually the way we judge the rest of the world.

The tool is old because it has been used as an effective means of communicating Human Development abroad. Thanks to three researchers here in the U.S. we will now be looking at America with the expanded lense.

The researchers took a look at the 436 U.S. Congressional Districts. Some say it’s political for that reason, and the researchers say it’s just an effective way to look at objective data. I agree with the researchers. I love it when data comes with accountability, it makes it so much easier to do something about the stuff that makes you upset.

The 20th Congressional District ranked 436th out of 436. The 20th Congressional District includes Fresno (it includes Coalinga too–the small town I was from when I ended up in Fresno).

The very sad truth is that no matter which index you use, when you look at Fresno, particularly the 20th District, we rank dead last. [see: More LEMONS below]

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Political Side Note

This year I think politics should not be played out as usual, especially in Fresno. I’m all for working together toward progress, but now is no time for anyone on the fence to be a sell out — including me. For that reason I need to expand on my future relationship with Congressman Costa.

You may already know that the Congressman for the 20th District, Jim Costa, is an old time politician. He’s a blue dog, a member of a fiscally conservative democratic group. My hope is that he won’t be as fiscally conservative this next term. We need investments in every direction, and my take on government is that if used properly federal taxes can stimulate investment (just like it has with farmers for years), create jobs, and with some regulation provide affordable health care. It’s not rocket science, in fact other nations — yes with higher tax rates — have been spending money on education and healthcare for decades. And the ones that are really good at it even have higher incomes than us because of it. It’s a positive feedback loop!

Americans unfortunately have grown up with a strong distaste for taxes and for big government…but I don’t think it’s about the taxes as much as it is about the people running our government.

As far as the representation in the 20th District goes…

I’ve met Congressman Costa, and I hope to meet him again soon. I learned about his questionable past because people felt compelled to tell me that he was once convicted for picking up an undercover police officer that he thought was a prostitute. I have thought about his past, and did a little research on him. I think that I can work with him, without being a sell out, but it would be a little easier if we could be frank.

The next chance I get, privately (or maybe with my husband there too), I’d just like to clear the air. I don’t expect him to say “I’m sorry about that incident in 1986,” to all of the 20th District again — just to me. You see, Costa was arrested only 3 short years before I was forced into prostitution myself. I could work with him fine if we can talk about it, once. If we don’t talk about it, then I’ll always wonder if he realizes that it could have been me he picked up.

I’m lucky if I get a chance to talk to Costa. Most of us in California don’t have conversations with our representatives. I think that is the number one reason why we stand back with our hands up. We have such a distaste for politics and big government because we are rarely able to get things off our chest. (I base this partly on my visit to the politically hyper state of New Hampshire. There is unbelievable access to politicians in New Hampshire. I think I met the governor and the former governor, and the top candidate for the U.S. Senate, as well as a small fraction of the state assembly — and that was on a short three day trip without leaving the living room!).

Anyways, after I get that small matter off my chest, and the world realizes that I’m not selling out, then I think Costa and I can be well on our way to talking about the motel projects that are located in his district.

Hopefully it will happen soon and over lemonade. But I’m in no rush, I can certainly wait for the appropriate moment. In case he is wondering (or his staff) I do realize that he served his time on probation for his offense. It just seems like probation is a slap on the wrist compared to the jail time I served, when I was 12 years old and picked up on the other side of a similar street.

*********************************************************************************************

Back to “THE AMERICAN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT” — I think that this report is very SAD, depressing, almost makes you want to move away from this place and find a better place, where people have a chance in life. True poverty is nothing to celebrate, but on the other hand what good can come out of knowing we’re the poorest of the poor?

I really don’t know the answer yet, and it’s not a rhetorical question, but the reason I think something good will come out of being dead last in terms of human development is because it’s something people care about.

My take on very bad news can be summed up in a lesson I was taught when I was 15 years old. I was attending continuation high school, and I was super sad. I think I had just bombed the standardized writing test, and I was so depressed because I really wrote my heart out.

I was sitting alone kinda quiet looking at all the bad comments on my exam booklet, when Barbara, the teacher’s aid (who is now like a mom to me) walked over to my table and sat down next to me.

Barbara said to me in a very matter-of-fact way: “You’ve got to make lemonade!”

I replied: “What do you mean?”

She went on to explain because I obviously had never heard this saying before.

“When God gives you lemons you’ve got to make lemonade.” Then Barbara did the sweetest thing. She gave me a hard lemon candy to brighten up my day, and with that little Lemonhead she sealed this story in my head for life.

So what’s this all have to do with Fresno? Everything!

My first step when I’m done with this bar exam is to open up a dreamy lemonade stand, the best in town…and you know exactly where it will be. It will be in the city and in the neighborhood that has the most lemons!

***********************************************************************************************

More LEMONS: Fresno is also dead last in terms of concentrated pockets of poverty. Read the Brookings Institution study. http://www.brookings.edu/speeches/2006/0906metropolitanpolicy_berube.aspx

“>

This is for the entire Virgin Mobile RE*Generation crew!

I had been told about the STRIP2CLOTHE campaign early on, and knew that it had come a long way, but with studying for the bar exam I hadn’t had the time to take a look at it. However, I had to take a few minutes to check out the site, when I read about the “outrage” in the news today. I felt like a kid in the schoolyard watching a very good friend get beat up on…BUT before I stepped up in support of the campaign, I wanted to see it for myself.

After visiting the site and getting over my knee-jerk “uht oh” reaction, I watched some videos, and guess what, they’re cute. (I loved to see people actually laughing a little when most of the time the work we do makes us want to cry). The screened videos are not pornographic, they’re not sleazy, they’re actually funny & creative, and who knows if the Supreme Court would say the videos appeal to the “prurient interest” (because no one really knows what the heck that means anyways). The bottom line is there is real value in the site, and in getting people engaged in this topic.

STRIP2CLOTHE is a great campaign because it’s clean, and yet it’s also provocative — it has provoked people to start talking. I’m stepping up to show my support. After visiting the site, it looks like good clean fun to me, and as long as it stays that way I will support it in any way that I can.

Much luck to my friends working tirelessly on this issue at Virgin Mobile RE*Generation — your team rocks! Here’s my 2 cents, and I hope it’s right on time…

I think the site is off the charts and is a great way to get peope to:

#1. have a little good clean fun while helping homeless kids, and
#2. get interested in the issue if they didn’t care before

All that said, we should expect the current criticism. In America it is so tough to talk about the truth when it comes to sex. This failure to communicate, unfortunately leads us to trouble. The trouble is serious, it means kids are left on their own while we bicker about the best ways to help. We need to get over it, and that’s difficult because it means getting over ourselves.

I’ve seen firsthand how Americans can be afraid of themselves, when it comes time to talk about anything remotely related to sex. I see it when I bring up sexual exploitation of youth, rape, and other horrors that I lived as a street kid. People shift around in their chairs, they just don’t even want to imagine the things that could happen to a 12 year old on the streets. Well, imagine it or not, it’s the truth.

Because it’s the truth, if we don’t get homeless kids some help fast, and get them noticed in mainstream, then they’ll either:

#1. have no chance at a future; and probably also
#2. be forced to have sex to survive

The business behind helping homeless kids means we’ve got to take risks. We’re competing with other charities that are far more sympathetic than teens who are having major issues. This is the right time, place, and reason to take risks.

So, I ask…

“What’s worse? Screened content that shows a few people having a good time, that is less sexy than the JCPenney catalogue? OR Letting kids live alone on the streets to be exploited by pedophiles?”

I think even my mother-in-law (love you lots b/c I know you’re reading) would agree that we should all chip in a piece of clothing that we can do without, if it means we’re saving kids from the torture I once experienced. And if you’re not into taking it off, and don’t want your teen to either then talk to them about why you think it’s wrong (an opportunity for instilling values at home), and let them know there are other ways to help homeless kids…the RE*Generation campaign that started it all was to simply text “KARMA” to 68405 . While standard text rates apply, you don’t even need to know how to make a video to give a brand new piece of clothing to a homeless kid — and if you don’t get why kids need new clothes then you’re probably on the wrong site.

For the RE*Generation crew that worked tirelessly on this campaign: Put the negative press behind you — it’s not a time to be safe. This is the type of campaign that can stop the real terror on the streets, of kids being forced to sell themselves on the streets to the real monsters.

I think in the long run the world will respond positively — America will catch up too — unless of course we remain so pent up with our own sexual frustrations that we can’t face reality, but I have faith that we can and will do the right thing!

Much love to the RE*Generation team — you guys are awesome and you’re on the right track!!!

Here is the transcript and I’ll look into getting a copy of the interview online.

Transcript can also be accessed at: http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/25/cnr.06.html

************************************************************************************************************

LEMON: Cracking down on the child sex trade — today the FBI announced a nationwide round-up of suspected customers and purveyors of child prostitution. The FBI says 345 people have been picked up in the dragnet and 21 children were taken to safety. The arrests went down coast to coast in cities including Washington, D.C. , Los Angeles, even Toledo, Ohio. Now the announcement comes on the fifth anniversary of the Innocence Lost Initiative, which is credited with rescuing hundreds of children from the clutches of sexual predators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: Our efforts have led to the recovery of 433 child victims. Just this past week, the FBI joined our law enforcement partners in a five day national enforcement action. This operation, known as Operation Cross Country, included takedown operations in 16 cities across the country and led to the removal of 21 children from the cycle of victimization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, authorities say the children most vulnerable to sexual predators are runaways.

PHILLIPS: Well, Carissa Phelps knows firsthand what it’s like to be sexually exploited. Years ago, when Carissa Phelps was just 12 years old, her mother dropped her off at juvenile hall. She ended up on the streets of Fresno, California. Well, a pimp found her and her life as a child prostitute began.

She tells her disturbing story in the documentary, “Carissa.”

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARISSA PHELPS, SURVIVOR OF CHILD PROSTITUTION: There’s a trucker that drove me behind that motel in an empty lot. There’s (INAUDIBLE) in crack cocaine and forcing me to smoke it in Palm Court Motel. I really didn’t want to smoke. I really didn’t want to smoke it. And he forced me to smoke it. And he said I would like it. And I — I started faking a seizure. I didn’t know what else to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, since then, she’s gotten off the streets and earned an MBA and a law degree from UCLA.

Carissa Phelps joins me now live from Fresno.

You are one amazing woman, Carissa. I’m just going to start right out with that.

PHELPS: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Tell me…

PHELPS: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We set up what had happened.

But how did you get out? PHELPS: It was luck, pure luck, I think. At the time, children like me, runaways, were just seen as a nuisance — a public nuisance and shifted around from group homes in and out of juvenile hall and were never really asked the right questions about what was going on with them on the streets. And kids — kids that have been molested, kids that have been raped, even adults, don’t talk about these abuses readily.

So people were just shifting me in and out of juvenile hall, in and out of group homes. And I was continuing to be exploited on the streets every time I went out and thinking that that was the life that I was destined for maybe forever, until — until some really great luck.

PHILLIPS: Well, what’s the memory that haunts you the most?

And when did that luck change?

PHELPS: It’s being held by a pimp and told that I was nothing, being degraded and forced, like I said in the video, at 12 years old, to smoke crack. I was terrified. And I think I thought my life was over at that time. I didn’t think anybody was looking for me and I didn’t think that anybody cared, until I met Ron Jenkins, actually.

He was a counselor in juvenile hall who had his own rough childhood and decided to work with kids. And he still works with kids today. And he was amazing. He just reached out to me and he asked me for the first time in two years what had happened to me on the streets. And once that information was out, then I was able to get the counseling that I needed — the counseling that I needed, the support network that I needed. And Ron was a central figure in all of that.

PHILLIPS: It always takes a mentor or a role model.

Well, the FBI announced this arrest of 300 plus people, Carissa, that were involved in this child prostitution ring.

Is that moving in the right direction, is that enough?

Or do you look at that and think that’s not even the beginning?

PHELPS: I think we’re moving in the right direction. I’m really going to be interested to see how these cases play out when they’re prosecuted, because we have the Traffic Victim Protection Act that will protect U.S. citizen victims — child victims of sex trafficking. And we’ll see if this gets enforced, if the U.S. attorney does the job that it should do, we will see what happens.

And I think that what comes out of those cases will need to be publicized so that people understand that they will be held accountable if they engage in sexual activities with minors. These aren’t — just because they’re runaway kids, just because nobody is looking out for them or has taught them maybe right from wrong, they are not going to be ignored by our communities and our society anymore.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know that you meet with a lot of these kids.

And when you look them in the eye, especially the 12-year-olds, you probably see yourself.

What do you say to them?

PHELPS: I just let them know life is going to be OK. It’s going to be great. And that they’re going to be able to get through it. They need to ask for the help that they need and deserve and really get involved in therapy, get the help that they need and find a safe place to be. A lot of us, when I was on the streets, we didn’t want to be at home. And we didn’t know how to ask the right people how to place us in group homes or foster care. And I think that’s another big, big fault with the system is that kids aren’t given a voice. And they really need to be able to ask for what they need.

PHILLIPS: Well, you’re a courageous woman, Carissa Phelps.

I encourage everyone to see your documentary, Carissa.

And thanks for sharing your time with us today.

PHELPS: Thank you so much.

You just never know what your role is when you’re trying to create a social movement, or a paradigm shift. These are things that don’t happen overnight, or with one movie, one song, or one person. It’s a widespread effort. There are so many people and projects fighting to recognize the forgotten victims on the streets…the children who are without families, and without any protection. And today we all got a little bit of our payoff.

This morning I broke out of my study routine, and my usually sweat pants and tank top attire, for a CNN interview. Seems that as I have been taking practice exams and hitting the books, the FBI Innocence Lost Project has been working on a crack down on child prostitution rings in the U.S.

Here’s the story: http://www.officer.com/web/online/Top-News-Stories/FBI-Announces-Child-Prostitution-Takedown/1$42006

I’ll post my interview with CNN as soon as I have it. (If anyone records CNN it was on at around 1240 p.m. PST.)

The crack down, and the fact that 21 children were brought to safety made me so appreciative for all of you.

THANK YOU for getting this message out.

Like I said earlier, you just never know what your role is when something like this happens, but I think it’s important for all of us to take a moment and realize we can make a difference. It started this week with the FBI saving 21 young lives.

The US Attorney will prosecute most of the cases against the pedophiles, pimps, and adult prostitutes. During the trials the most important job the US Attorney will have is to ensure that the 21 children are properly cared for. The only way to do that is to work with the experts. Rachel with GEMS in NY, Lois with Children of the Night, and a handful of other people in the country who know what they’re talking about when it comes to caring for children that have been victimized by pimps.

Unfortunately, most of the time the children do not have family’s that can work through these issues. Most of the children that are preyed upon are runaways and throw aways. Some are even sold into prostitution by their families.

I will do my best to inquire about the care for the 21 children. We should ensure they are not punished, and that they have a chance at having a normal life. The work does not stop at breaking up the prostitution rings. This nightmare really is not over until the healing process begins, and childhoods are lived out.

So, what will happen after the case is closed?

I think it’s my job to ask the right questions. If there is not a plan, then I’d like to help create one. If there is no money for a plan, then let’s get some. Let’s try to get the $10 million for emergency shelters that was cut out of the Traffic Victim Protection Act of 2005 put back in the budget (I heard sadly it was an easy cut to make to help pay for the war).

Let’s not let these 21 saved lives, or any others, get lost in the system again.

I’m looking forward to getting back to work on this in a big way when I am a licensed attorney. Until then, let’s pray for the children that were saved, and the thousands more that are still out there.

Thanks to all of you for your support, I do believe that we’re making a difference!

Thanks to the FBI Innocence Lost Project, I know they’re working hard to end this nightmare and I support them 1000%!!!

————————

One more note about the CNN interview that deserves it’s own book. When I was asked how my life turned around, I talked again about Ron Jenkins. I can’t wait to share more about this amazing mentor in my life…it really does belong in a book or feature film.

Ron was my counselor in juvy when I was 13 years old. He was also the first person to ask me what happened to me on the streets. I lost contact with Ron for over a decade, and only reconnected when I was graduating from his alma mater, Fresno State! (GO DOGS!!!)

If you haven’t seen it yet, Ron is the star of the documentary. He’s also the star of my childhood, because he saved it!

All these years later, Ron is still the most positive role model I could ask for. He’s my saving grace, and when you watch the interview, you’ll see me go from somber to lit up when I talk about him. We all need a Ron, and we should all remember it’s not too tough to be a Ron either. You just have to do your job and ask the right questions.

Thanks again for all of YOU and YOUR support!

Carissa

June 17, 2008 — Tuesday and my first politically themed blog. Forgive me not.

I have stayed away from politics at family gatherings and on the blogs, but silently and suddenly a new type of candidate has, in Lincoln’s words, “aroused me again.”

I used to be a bit of a political activist, but I have been losing it over the last few years. I joined the ranks of the politically exhausted. I have pretty much been resolved to poor leadership, thinking my job was in the trenches improving systems & processes.

This year I have been embarrassed to even say how much I did not care about the presidential race, but all of that surprisingly and quietly came to an end last week when Hillary Clinton stepped away from the podium.

I was becoming a typical Gen-X’er … disinterested and apathetic. And I thought Clinton, despite challenges, would be ushered into The White House. It was clear that she had a powerful political machine growing around her for decades, so how could she lose? But when she did lose, state by state, primary by primary, it surprised me.

I absolutely appreciate HC’s dedication to our country. She does not have to do what she does — and she always has had the very best intentions. I like that she put it all on the line, and beat down barriers for women, but this country (sadly) is not prepared for a woman president…YES I really think that and it deserves more explanation, so I’ll explain:

It was never okay for HC to be power driven. That was deemed a negative, and because she was a woman she needed to justify why she was seeking such a powerful leadership position. Why wouldn’t she just want to stay at home, or relax, or adopt children? Those are the qualities we value in women, and they’re great, but they’re also misdirected. Leaders are leaders, male or female. Homemakers are homemakers, male or female. We need each other to get through life. That’s the catch. As more women enter the ranks of “leader” we all have feared losing the stability of the home, but that doesn’t have to happen. There are plenty more men who would love to be homemakers, just like there are plenty more women who would love to be leaders. That’s all I have to say about that issue for now, but it’s so true. I hope in my lifetime we can begin to support people to do what they want to do, instead of prescribing lives based on gender.

Back to HC’s race…Clinton was not able to show her true self in her campaign. For too long she (and the rest of us women) have been holding onto a picture of a woman from the past. Women are more like men, and men are more like women, than we want to admit. Women leaders are just as power driven as any man, and men that stay at home with the kids are just as interested in the carpool gossip and the class bully as any woman at home would be.

My point is that Clinton had all the INSIDE support to become president that any man could ever want, and it actually worked against her because political INSIDERS are way out of fashion this season. She should have known that, and she probably did, on a gut level. At that point when she realized that she should start kicking people out of the kitchen, and whip up her own dish, she didn’t or maybe she couldn’t. Maybe she had surrounded herself with too many cooks for too long. I think she wasn’t sure what she should do, and that’s okay, except when you’re running for president.

It would have had to have been a very quick and seemingly irrational decision to say good-bye to those that had loved her for so long. Not even a man would have been able to reason with the momentum and the money that was behind Clinton.

I have watched nervously as Clinton journeyed where no woman had ever gone before. I have admired her commitment from far off, and I felt like she was holding back. I think this new journey she’s on will be an exciting one. I want to see Clinton with the gloves off, and outside the political machine. Maybe now that the pressure is off she can bring it!

I have to admit that even Barrack, who has been rewriting history in every primary, was not bringing me out of my political slump as quickly as I had expected. I did make a very early $25 contribution, when a close friend sent me an email request, but at the time it felt more like buying a lottery ticket. I could remember thinking “what are the chances!”

Now that it’s happening and the world may once again enjoy eloquence, passion, and commitment coming out of that big white house, it’s beginning to sink in. Barrack is no insider. He does not have a powerful political machine, he has my close friends and allies who send emails and wake people up to the idea that politics could be fun again. Now that we can actually think about rethinking foreign and domestic policy, and improving the economy with a new deal for the working class, we are beginning to resemble the America that Gen-X’ers actually adore!!!

I’m so caught up in studying every moment for the Bar at then end of July. I blogged the other day in my head, but never made up enough time studying to get to the computer. (For all those in email land, I’LL BE BACK in August!)

Anyways the blog was rolling through my head, when I was temporarily away from the studying and away from home. I don’t want to complain about the gas prices (in Europe it’s 2X as much), but what I do want to complain about are those drivers who still insist on riding my tail for going too slow!

I thought by now everyone understood how much gas you could save when you’re not pushing on the gas pedal constantly!!! I’m not saying I like the prices where they are at, I don’t. There is no way for us to catch up to the fuel prices. We can’t give or receive pay raises fast enough. But, I’m not one to focus on the things I can’t control. Instead I prefer to do things that give me the illusion of control, and since we’re all in this gas crisis together, I thought it might be a nice group experiment.

So, what’s my big illusion…simple, JUST DRIVE SLOWER. I don’t crawl through town at dangerously slow speeds. I just go the speed limit, even on these country roads. I know, it sounds funny to all those individuals who actually drive the speed limit, but for those of us who have always lived in the “5 to 9 mph over is safe” — the speed limit is a big deal.

So this blog struck me when I was tailed on my way to and from Curves (my new workout spot). I know that I’m not rushing to work or doctor’s appointments. The truth is that I’m going from studying to workout and back to studying — of course I’m driving slow!!!

But indulge me for a second!

What’s the best way to get a driver’s attention? You’re right…a bumper sticker. And if you could make them laugh then you really have a shot at getting what you want. There are tons of great bumper messages out there but the very best and longest lasting have something to do driving.

I don’t make bumper stickers, and I’m not working for Curves either. But I just thought it would be great if someone would make me a bumper sticker that said: “GET OFF MY *SS — I’M SAVING GAS!”

I think there can be an entire movement behind the idea. When you’re late to work next week just say to your boss: “I wanted you to know that I’m 5 minutes late because I’m trying to drive slower and save money so that you (BOSS) don’t have to pay me more to cover the increase in the cost of living.”

Maybe you’re boss will say THANK YOU! But I suggest you leave five minutes earlier starting on Day 2, and end up in work on time by the end of the week!

And what about those drivers that are in a hurry all the time. How could we make them happier? How about a slight change to the bumper message: “GET OFF MY *SS — I’M SAVING U GAS!”

Again, I’m NOT giving up my career and passions to make bumper stickers, but it’s where my thoughts went while I was out. And believe me that it’s better for me to share these thoughts rather than the ones that I’m forcing in there about contracts, evidence, torts, and more…

Last thought: In case you’re worried…I’m really not losing it. Just trying to lighten up and have a little fun. Also, if you are a bumper sticker maker or have the follow through to make these then good luck — I hope this one sticks! It might even save lives and gas and jobs!

“Carissa” has just been accepted to Docuweek, … “Carissa” will play at the Arclight Cinema in Los Angeles for one week at the end of August.

The International Documentary Association [IDA] received 120+ documentary short submissions and selected only four. We can add this to the following victories for the film:

* Jury Prize, Best Documentary Short, Newport Beach Film Festival
* Jury Prize, Best Documentary Short, Connecticut Film Festival
* Jury Prize, Best Short, New York City PictureStart Film Festival
* Audience Award, Documentary, Fresno Film Festival
* Featured in USA Today and Good Morning America

[The film also screened] on Friday, July 11 at 8:35 PM at the Roxie in San Francisco as part of the Frozen Film Festival.

Carissa is sponsored by Virgin Mobile and the Los Angeles Dodgers Dream Foundation, executive produced by Jamie McCourt and Davis Guggenheim, and produced by Carissa Phelps, Chad Troutwine and yours truly.

Thanks so much for all your support, and I’ll continue to pass along any big news.

David

According to my bar study I’m officially in Week 1 of my 2 month long bar review course. I have been studying the last two weeks — in the pre bar review course. I learned a ton of rules, and some of it is sticking. That’s a good sign, considering after 30 things don’t stick that well OR maybe that’s just an excuse b/c by 30 there are so many other things to do.

Despite all the great fun things to do in life these days, I’ve been taking practice tests for the multiple choice section of the bar exam — called the MBE. In total the California Bar Exam is 3 days long. It will be July 29-30-31. While I have been studying, I have also been getting on with the big things in life. Cole and I have our official first place together, and that is awesome! We are enjoying making our home together. In addition, I have a nice place to walk our dogs around in the morning. It helps with the study routine to get out of the routine…routinely!

I haven’t had much energy or desire to blog lately. I guess I haven’t had anything to really say until today.

I was motivated to write today when I was reading “Stumbling on Happiness” by Daniel Gilbert. http://www.randomhouse.com/kvpa/gilbert/

The book was a gift from a mentor, and I have to say that I’ve enjoyed every gift this mentor has given to me. I knew it would be a fun book (b/c he said he laughed at every page) and so I was drawn to it to escape from the relevance & character of evidence.

I’m only into chapter 2, so I can’t really spoil it for anyone. First let me say that you should read the book. Most of my friends (esp. JW) would completely enjoy this book as much as me.

Here’s less about the book and more what it got me thinking about:

#1: We are all extremely lucky that the author, and so many others like him, are NOT lawyers!

When I first decided to go to law school, I did not know a single lawyer, yet I thought it was the only noble and useful profession in the world. It was the only profession where I would be respected, and get things done. Well, by the time I got into law school I did meet a few attorneys. I expected them all to be happy for me — to cheer me on, and yet none of them did. The best and brightest said: GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN AND DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL WITH YOUR LIFE.

I couldn’t really understand, until now Gilbert explained how we (as humans) make the future out to be something it probably won’t be — e.g., my fantasies about what great things I could do as a lawyer!

But the real reason I started thinking about any of this is because I really am so grateful that Gilbert himself is not a lawyer. I am so grateful that so many other people in the world are doing useful things with their lives (a caveat: this includes some lawyers). I’m also selfishly so pleased that intelligence is not monopolized by evidence instructors that tell bad jokes (but I love you for trying!)

#2) It is possible to be “too smart for your own good” or at least your own happiness.

I take this from a reference to third-party research in Gilbert’s book. It basically says that people who truly understand their true odds in gambling, or in life, are really less happy. Apparently sometimes “fuzzy math” means happiness. Believing in something just might be enough to make you happy. AND unfortunately what smart people often do is look for ways to negate everything. We might be perfect mathematicians and scientists, but we probably haven’t put ourselves out there at all. We’re boring people. We always have the answers, and we just know they are right: 2 + 2 = 4.

AND YET even us smart people realize that our happiness seems to be dependent on (at least sometimes) believing the impossible — can 2 + 2 = 400?

That thought just makes me smile.

Especially because it makes me think of Cole & I. When we first started dating it was him and me. 1 + 1 = 2, but then all the sudden I realized it really was more like 1 + 1 = 3 because we had a whole family; then add our pets and 1 + 1 = 3 + 4 pets! AND THEN add all the added days that he and I are happier (and closer to our true selves) because we’re together and the equation suddenly changes to 2 + 2 = 400!

It’s actually better than I could have imagined!

Anyways, for all of you still doing the straight up math. The “right answers” like 2 + 2 = 4 are a fine start, BUT a word of caution: TAKE TIME TO ADD UP THE REST WHEN YOU GET TO IT! Or, you might just risk losing something because your mind won’t even acknowledge it is there.

What’s the point of these seemingly pointless ramblings?

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, EVEN THE ONES YOU HAVE NOT ACCOUNTED FOR YET — if for nothing else, then because they are coming, and if they’re not coming, it’s better for you if you believe they will!