Professionalism and Repressed Humanity
Since I made the editorial decision to run a few posts that were clearly satire, I've heard a mixture of things from those who have read the blog. Some people think they are the funniest things they have read. Others have worried about the image it projects. What does one make of this?

I think the answer is clear - people who go to elite schools or try to climb a corporate ladder truly care about their appearance to the expense of ignoring what they would naturally find amusing. To succeed, one must say the right things, talk the small talk, put in face time, play golf, and appear to be a steady person who exudes tranquility. While these traits can be admirable, they are not natural for us, at least in the quantity that they are demanded.

I think maintaining this veneer of constant objectivity when we are by nature crass gossips creates a need to act out. Lawyers get drunk and say stupid things with surprising frequency. Bulletin boards such as the TPR and GreedyAssociates spring up so that midlevel associates and frustrated law students can take out their anger. Yet those that type the most disgusting and rude things ON A REGULAR BASIS under anonymous names (yes I post on TPR as Phoebe said, but only under my real name) must divorce themselves away from the screen and resume the super professional veneer in public.

An entire class of people are having two selves that are increasingly at odds, yet must maintain the peace to secure their illustrious place under the sun. Some of us are capable of this and succeed, some can get by and stagnate, others deny the truth about their nature and fail in an "embarassing incident."

Well, this blog fights the good fight against that tendency. You will find great commentary here from Ying, Tyler, Nathan, and TCleve, who are some of the smartest people you will meet. I will throw in general interest stories, and Phoebe Kozinski will contribute satire to make the thing not a bore.