Saturday, 22 December 2007

We're off to St. Louis to spend the week with my family. I'm really looking forward to time at home and a break from work, and I'm hoping to get to see friends, as well. In the meantime, merry Christmas, all, during this blessed season celebrating the birth of our Savior and Lord!

Wednesday, 19 December 2007

Scientists just discovered two new mammals! Take a moment to let that sink in - two new mammals on this planet that no one ever knew about before - and one of them is a ROUS! I think it is so cool that there are places in this world other than barren, arctic wilderness that have not been explored and that new animals are still being discovered. It makes me feel like there are still adventures to be had and that the world is still a magical place.

Monday, 17 December 2007

My lectures went well, and I'm already on tap to help teach next year. Now on to more Christmas festivities (and all the motions and responses that piled up while I was away).
We just saw Beowulf 3D yesterday, and it was an interesting experience - comical (unintentionally at times, I suspect), unexpectedly gory, adventurous, and rather free with the story. The 3D technology is far superior to the old red and blue glasses thing, and, while it was not perfect, it gives one an impressive vision of where cinema is headed.

Wednesday, 5 December 2007

It's snowing outside, and we just got home with our new Christmas tree, a lovely smelling Frasier Fir (which I think we've settled on as our tree of choice for its excellent ornament holding abilities). Lesson learned: don't wear a coat with buttons that will get caught in the plastic netting around the tree.
In other news, this is interesting and mildly distressing, considering the number of times I've eaten these things.

Sunday, 2 December 2007

Happy birthday to my beautiful bride!! We had a great time at lunch with her family. Much tasty food and jollity was had by all.
Also, Joel, it was so great seeing you this weekend - thanks for fitting us into your family visits and sightseeing!

Tuesday, 27 November 2007

This story is fascinating, and I think it illustrates a couple of things that are discussed:  post-modernism has worn away at our ability to distinguish what is beautiful, and related to that, most of us need beauty in context - that is, we our minds need nudging to be lifted out of our daily concerns (our ruts) that dull our perceptions to really see and appreciate beauty. Regarding the first point, I think post-modernism is entirely athiest-humanist, which has no absolutes, thus destroying the distinction between right and wrong, which in turn, destroys the distinction between beautiful and ugly, which is why post-modern art and literature is often bad, by which I mean unattractive to look at or depressing and dull to read. I grant that some of it expresses some important ideas, as all major philosophical movements do, but by and large, I find it to be unworthy of our time.

Sunday, 25 November 2007

I didn't get to mention before but Scott from St. Louis came out to visit, and we all had a fun evening together - thanks for visiting!
Also, we hosted Thanksgiving this year, and Jeanine's parents, her brother and sister, and their significant others joined us. We went with a ham this year instead of turkey, and it was a hit. Jeanine did a great job with the food and hosting, and a good time was had by all.

Thursday, 22 November 2007

Grandma Winfrey's funeral was well-attended, and my Dad gave a beautiful and poignant eulogy - one of the best speeches I have ever heard, actually. Grandma was 84, and she and my Grandfather had been married for 65 years, which is incredible to think about.

Thursday, 15 November 2007

My Grandma Winfrey passed away this evening. She has been ailing for quite some time now, though we did think she had another 6 months. I miss her, but I do believe she is in heaven with our Savior. Please keep Grandpa Winfrey, my Dad, and my Dad's brother and sister in your prayers. The funeral will probably be Monday or Tuesday in Des Moines.

Saturday, 10 November 2007

More pictures our of new kitty can be found under the photos icon to the left. We're settling in to our apartment and getting our stuff unpacked. Our new place is smaller than our flat in England, so we're pairing down a bit, which is a good thing. My new job continues to be more relaxed than my previous one - I'm nearly always out of the office by 5pm, and I no longer wake up in the middle of the night sweating about my cases.

Thursday, 8 November 2007

Overdue congratulations are in order for Dave and Becky on the birth of their son, Nathan David, born 5 Oct, weighing 7 lbs 2 oz. Mom, Dad, and Nathan are doing well, though Mom and Dad are surprised at how much their lives have changed (which seems to be a universal reaction to parenthood).

Sunday, 4 November 2007

Hi Everyone,
I'm finally back online after my lengthy hiatus. First, my old computer died in March, so I went without for a couple of months while I built a new one (which was a fun and at times frustrating experience). When I finally got that up and running, I was just too busy and worn out to keep up with this site and email, so I dropped out of the online world for a little while. Sorry about that. But in the meantime, much has changed, the biggest being that I was transferred to Washington, DC, into a better job with less stress and more normal hours. Also, Jeanine and I adopted a 5 month old kitten named Myra, who is a sweetheart. Well, that's enough for now - more updates this week.

Saturday, 17 March 2007

Finished a challenging case on Wednesday that went fairly well for my client. One more exceptionally difficult case to go this month. I'm off to a deposition in Florida on Monday, but no chance for any beach time - I fly there on Monday, do the deposition on Tuesday, and fly back on Wednesday (returning on Thursday). Then it's working like crazy on my last case this month that starts the following week (and then an inspection the first week of April, and then a bit of a breather, hopefully). I realize this homepage has devolved into "Matt's Unending Workload," but that is more or less my life right now, unfortunately.

Tuesday, 6 March 2007

Friends, I've been busy, but one of my more difficult cases, an attempted murder case, is now finished.  Two more challenging cases coming up, and then I hope to have a little breather.
Jeanine is now safely back with me - yay! (which I realize is probably a surprise since I didn't post that she was gone, but she went home for 12 days to visit family and join in a family function; I was stuck here with work).

Saturday, 24 February 2007

Phew, it has been a busy month of long nights at the office and no time at home: the week before I left I had a hearing and a court-martial; then I was away at a course in the States for two weeks (good course - hard but useful); the week I returned I had a hearing; and this week was another court-martial (an officer rape case) - which, by the way, resulted in a complete acquittal! We're all happy about that (since I'm on the defense side, as you no doubt recall), and now I'm on to my next court-martial coming up in 9 days, which is an attempted murder case.

In other news, I just read this:  "Is there any word more versatile than "dude"? It's a greeting; a scolding; an expression of admiration, surprise, disgust, or delight."   - Daniel MacEachern

Saturday, 27 January 2007

I'm off to the States (well, state, really - Alabama) for two weeks for a difficult course, but that's ok - when I get back I have four courts in a month, so it's going to be rough - but then, I may actually have some breathing room, since I haven't been taking on any new cases, so once I get these to trial, things should ease up a fair bit, so here's hoping. On the plus side, I'm becoming a much better trial lawyer (while keeping my softer side soft and fluffy).

Sunday, 21 January 2007

My case in Germany went about as well as could be expected. We're having quite a mild winter here - no snow, barely even frost - it's not too bad. Here's something interesting: as it turns out, money doesn't buy happiness...

Monday, 8 January 2007

I'm off to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, tomorrow for a case, and I'll be gone for almost two weeks.  Also, I'm sure it was apparent, but Jeanine deserves all the credit for the photos and video. Finally, thanks for visiting, Jessie (Jeanine's sister) - we had a great time (as evidenced in the pictures)!

Monday, 1 January 2007

Well Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! As you no doubt guessed, I've been swamped at work. I realize this is becoming my own personal cliché, but it's true. God willing, the new year will hold some relief. Exciting news, though: note the new icon on the left.