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Right now I’m sitting at the Trabant Chai Lounge on 45th and Brooklyn. I heart chai and free wi-fi so I thought I’d check it out. The scene: wide open spaces, chill music, and tall blue walls (win). However, although boasting the Chaiwalla brand, my iced chai sucks. I could make better (no, really). But in all it’s not so bad, while my drink may be powdery and warm, at least it was cheap. Besides, the atmosphere is pretty darn cool.

Yesterday Ryan and I went on a double date with Stephen and Wendy. A more detailed account with one hot image is located here. Good times! I’m wishing I took photos of my wedge designs, lol. This will do. Woo wee! Hm, everyone in here has an iBook. Interesting…

I finished reading my book What Kind of Nation: The Epic Struggle to Create a United States last night. It took me a while to finish but am glad I impulse bought it at the bookstore a few months back. So amazingly detailed, a real historical narrative. I have newfound admiration for Chief Justice John Marshall. Had to stop myself from nerding out and posting a tribute to Marshall’s decisions that helped shaped the federal judiciary today. Simple things like checks and balances, the authority of the Supreme Court on constitutionality, defining executive privelage taken as given but really given true foundation in the Marshall court. The book goes pretty in depth to each aspect of the court cases from setting up case context, describing every argument made in court, to excerpts of the opinions in personal correspondence written between key players. In particular, every analysis of Marshall’s written opinions of the court left me in awe at this man’s brilliance. It also showed a side of Thomas Jefferson I wasn’t used to seeing, particularly his extreme fervor for state’s rights to the point where he thought state governments had equal power as the federal government and the district courts had power to overrule the Supreme Court. Not to mention threats of judge impeachments and a proposed an amendment to limit Supreme Court Justice terms to six years. But this is also attributed to his huge mistrust of Marshall and his belief that the Judiciary was Federalist institution out there to threaten American democracy itself. Nevertheless TJ is still one of my favorite American history figures, although his ideas on the role of states’ power ultimately was used to justify leaving the union (see Civil War) and his beliefs in Supreme Court duties would have basically crippled the branch. Oh not to mention there was quite a bit about that shady Vice President Aaron Burr–crap wait, I thought I had resolved to not do this. Aar! US History rox. kthxbye.