From Rubber Rooms to Rubber Soles

I got to campus early today and saw a former student standing in a long line with friends and others - camping out in front of a store. "Concert tickets?," I asked. "U2? 40 Cent? (even 50 is downsizing in this economy)" "No." "Dorm room assignments? "Nah."

"Then what?"

"Yeezy."

"Wheezy? From The Jeffersons?"

"No, Yeezy. Nike Air Yeezy - Kanye West .

According to my student, 24 pairs were delivered to this particular store. Anyone ever remember camping out for sneaks? I was afraid to ask the price, so I looked it up online...

Shopping results for Nike Air Kanye West price
Ds Nike Air Yeezy Kanye West Hoh Quickstrike Sz 9
$999.99 - eBay

Ouch. From Wikipedia: After years of work that West underwent in order to established himself as an artist, after dropping out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a musician, he emerged into the mainstream with his debut studio album. (The College Dropout is the debut album)

Kanye -- Are you footing this student's tuition in the Fall?

What is a "Smart Alec"?

In my Profile, I list that I'm a "Smart Alec" law professor. A wiseguy, a prankster, a troublemaker? For clarification, I turned to Wikipedia (so it must be true):

"The phrase "smart alec" arose from the exploits of Alec Hoag, a thief, and confidence man operating in New York City in the 1840s.

Yikes - I thought I was being smart!

A Water Pik, a Window Display, a Book Bargain

What have we learned since February when UYRR first released?

1. UYRR readers have superior dental hygiene. An Amazon reader also purchased the Waterpik Ultra Dental Water Jet.

Yes, Jet.

2. How much is the bookie in the window?

On April 17, I found this in the "Used" section for Unlocking Your Rubber Room.......
$1,000.00 + $3.99 shipping Used - Very Good

Rating:91% positive over the past 12 months (13212 ratings.) 34335 lifetime ratings.

Shipping: In Stock. See Shipping Rates. See return policy. Comments: Very Good Condition - Satisfaction Guaranteed - May have been withdrawn from library circulation -- LIFTED FROM LIBRARY CIRC???

Realizing that the book appreciated too quickly (list price is $12.95), the seller quickly reduced the price to a more reasonable and modest...

$43.55 + $3.99 shipping

Any takers? Visit: http://tinyurl.com/cl94la

Your Rub-ber Room (noun)...

... A confining mindset where thoughts and possibilities bounce aimlessly.


Welcome to Unlocking Your Rubber Room - I'll post lessons from my book and new lessons learned along the way. The book offers a message of hope in difficult times: Everyone has to laugh, think and act through everyday situations. The things I emphasize are humor, passion, compassion and preparation.

From the back of the book...

In Unlocking Your Rubber Room, lawyer-turned-teacher Perry Binder offers 44 lessons which emphasize that preparation, passion, and compassion are the keys to unlocking our confining mindsets -- our figurative "rubber rooms." Perry's hilarious and original stories, like "Figure out if you are a 'Touch Wet Paint' person," are distilled from years of painstaking trials and errors. This book contains novel law tips, including how to get a lawyer to return your call, or which three items you must possess when dining out.


And its provocative anecdotes -– when to start a street fight and when to lay low in the weeds -- motivate you to laugh, think, and act through everyday situations. Knowing how to work the legal system opens doors to solving your personal and professional dilemmas. Ultimately, Unlocking Your Rubber Room inspires you to be adventurous, take risks, and learn new things about yourself -- just as the author confesses he discovered when writing this book.