There is a big, old Presbyterian church on the way to the train station that I pass every morning. They've recently hoisted a very large, very yellow banner out front that states something to the effect:
Christianity!
Why don't you take one more look?
We'll be glad to set you up with an alpha course!

One more look? Has something changed that I'm not aware of?Some big happening that hasn't made the papers? It also sounds a little defeatist, as if they're really suggesting that you take one last look before you succumb to a life of heathen, pagan, bacchanalian licentiousness. And just what the hell is an "alpha course"? Does this turn you into an alpha Christian? (a pretty frightening thought) I suppose I should call and find out what's up with this, as I'm really not being critical (well, maybe a little), but I do find this to be an odd bit of marketing.

I went to a lecture at Penn tonight called “To Sleep, Perchance to Kill: Altered Consciousness and Responsibility”. Here is what I learned:

1. When you enter an altered state of consciousness (sleep, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, epileptic seizure, etc.) you lose the ability to self-monitor your behavior, otherwise known as introspective consciousness.

2. The law applies to people who can use their practical reasoning in light of their desires, beliefs and intentions to determine their actions. In other words, people who can use the rules of law to make decisions about their actions.

3. Rules are not instinctual – they are part of the reasoning process – laws give us good reasons to follow the rules.

4. Criminal law is about blame and punishment. (and here I thought it was about Armani suits and wrapping everything up in an hour, less the time for commercials)

5. Criminal law asks the questions – do the accused deserve blame and punishment? Are they at fault?

6. Fault is determined by action (e.g., intentional bodily movement, although there’s apparently a lot of debate in all the social sciences about what “action” really is), appropriate mental state, and lack of an excuse.

7. The law professor who delivered this lecture commented a number of times that many of his students were in the audience and that he was dumbing down the content so they shouldn’t feel that they could use any of this material in his class or on his exams. (Ok, so he said he was over-simplifying.)

8. I will never go back to school again because I can’t take notes worth a damn, nor can I retain anything longer than a few minutes. Plus, lecture halls with seats that are bolted to the floor just creep me out.

9. One of the questions after the lecture was from a guy who declared that most people lack introspective consciousness the bulk of the time especially when they’re driving on the expressway and they don’t signal when they change lanes and then slow down to look at an accident scene that they see every week of their lives and these people are all dimwits (said in one breath and emphasized by a pounding on the table at the end). The professor suggested that maybe he shouldn’t drive on the expressway so much.

10. It’s a really good thing I didn’t go to law school. Failing out would have so ruined my life. I am sure I mangled every concept listed above. Except the Armani suits.