It has been fun to check in with JCA and Nikki as they get ready to start law school, and to finally get down to reading a Dahlia Lithwick article, something I've been too remiss about in light of Howard's enthusiasm for her writing and flair. No surprise: he's right, she's a stitch, and her Kiplingesque advice -- in which she compares the ephemeral, illusory, yet all-consuming "needs" that can buffet a law student like cat in a washing machine* to a child's desire for a Tonka Backhoe or Malibu Skipper -- is right on. Dodd H. and Alice W. share yet more hard-won wisdom. With these, and a tiny bit of Xanax, ladies (hey! it throttles PMS, too), the next few years should be a breeze. (Professor Schwartz's advice strikes me as, well, something a professor who's had it up to here with unprepared students might write. Of course, it's useful she's taken you "through the looking glass" to where the professors dwell -- see her "mirror" suggestion and Alice's thoughts -- and you've got to admire a professor who does not let intimate familiarity with the course material restrain her thinking: "Even if I have taught a case for nine years, I find something new in it every time I read it, and often one student will interpret a case in a way that completely surprises me -- and the other students. There is no hard and fast meaning for cases and statutes; they are almost always subject to interpretation.") So, march forth, friends! (But don't hesitate to bust out reasonable facsimiles of these from time to time, for perspective's sake.) *["Fluff The Kitty," via Martin Sargent/The Screen Savers/Tech TV]