Book Review: The Fifth Witness

Last night I finished reading The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly. This book may sound familiar to you because it's the sequel to The Lincoln Lawyer, which you've probably heard of because it was turned into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey.  The Fifth Witness is the story of a murder trial involving Lisa Trammel. Her home is in foreclosure and Mitchell Bondurant, who is the CEO of the bank foreclosing on her home is found dead. Trammel is accused of the murder and it is defense attorney Michael Haller's job to get the 'not guilty' verdict.

The book was enjoyable, although not as enjoyable as The Lincoln Lawyer. It is suspenseful, but everything that the reader expects to happen for the first 403 pages does. There are some minor twists and turns, but the story doesn't really pick up until the last ten pages. That's when everything the reader thought he or she knew comes undone and the really unexpected events take place. If you enjoy reading courtroom dramas, I would recommend picking up this book, but it would be fine to wait until it comes out in paperback. The one thing that probably adds to this book's appeal right now is that it is easy to draw parallels from this and the recent Casey Anthony case in Florida. This book is currently $16.24 on Amazon.com.

Song of the Day

Today's song is Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford and Sons.

HR Derby Catch

Look at this guy. Unbelievable. Jumps into a pool filled with girls in bikinis, catches Adrian Gonzalez's home run ball, and doesn't spill his beer! Legend--wait for it....dary!

After thought...why does any baseball park even need a pool in it?

Prep Essentials: Sperry Top-Sider

One of my pairs of Sperry's at the beach

Every prep loves boat shoes. Naturally, this comes from the prep's love of boats. Sperry Top-Sider is the original brand, and still the favorite among preps. Paul Sperry first invented the boat shoe in 1935. His motivation came from his cocker spaniel, Prince. Sperry noticed that the dog kept its traction on the wet boat because of all the cracks going in different directions on the bottom of Prince's paws. This design became known as Razor-Siping and are still used on the soles of Sperry's today.

These shoes are some of the most comfortable shoes available on the market. Sure, at first you may get blisters trying to break in a new pair, but those rough first couple of days are well worth the results after. The best way to break in a new pair of Sperry's, besides wearing them a lot, is to get them wet. The water will soften the leather and help them to better conform to your foot. Just remember, wearing a pair of Sperry's with socks is like wearing a pair of sandals with socks; you just don't do it. There is one exception to the no socks and Sperry's rule, though: if you are wearing your Sperry's with pants, it is acceptable to wear dress socks with them.

While many preps still prefer the authentic original shoe, Sperry has hundreds of different colors and styles so matter what your style is, you're sure to find a pair of Sperry Top-Siders that you'll love. Depending on the style, Sperry's can be worn for super casual events all the way up to semi-formal events. The classic brown leather Authentic Original boat shoes go great with a pair of chinos and another prep essential, the blazer.

Sperry is also a strong advocate for ocean and wildlife preservation so it's a great company to support. Check them out online.

Mila Kunis Accepts YouTube Invite to Military Ball

As I've said before, this blog supports the troops. Apparently so does Mila Kunis. Sgt. Scott Moore of the 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines, stationed in Musa Qala, Afghanistan, asked Mila Kunis to the Marine Corp Ball in Greenville, NC on November 18th. Here's the video of Sgt. Moore asking her to the Ball:

Fox reports that Kunis saw the video and agreed to accompany Sgt. Moore to the ball. But, get this, the Marine had one of heck a wingman. Justin Timberlake helped convince Mila that she should go to the ball with Sgt. Moore. And here's a picture of Mila Kunis just for the fun of it:

To read Fox's full report of Kunis accepting the invitation, check it out here: foxnews.com

Business Cards

I hope everyone had a fun weekend. Mine was a little stressful Sunday when trying to fly back from Chicago to Boston. It's a little under a two hour drive to get from my parents' house to Midway Airport in Chicago. My mom dropped me off at Midway at 5 for 5:35 flight, which wouldn't be horrible, except the security line at Midway was brutal. I got in the "expert traveler" lane, thinking it would be faster, but they had that line merging with a priority line for the TSA agent to check IDs. It ended up taking 20 minutes of waiting in line just to show TSA my ID. If you're horrible at math, it's now 5:20, 15 minutes before my flight is scheduled to leave. After going through the line to get my x-ray picture taken, it was almost 5:30 so I shoved my belongings back into my pockets, grabbed my bags, and took off running. I didn't think I had time to put my belt and shoes back on, so I was running down Terminal A at Midway barefoot, with my belt and my shoes in my hand. Thankfully, they let me on the plane and I put my shoes and belt back on in the jet bridge. I hope it was at least comical to the other travelers.

Anyway, on to the point of this post. Over the break, I received 250 business cards in the mail that I had ordered. The cards just have my name, phone number, e-mail address, school, and degree/degree year on them. I ordered them because they were free and it seemed like something good to have; you know, just in case. Now my question is, what do I actually do with them? I suppose I could leave them with the interviewer on job interviews, but that will get rid of what, 2 or 3 cards? I guess you never know. What I'm really curious about is just handing them out for day-to-day things. Ladies, would it impress you more if a guy gave you his number by means of handing you a business card instead of having it scribbled on a napkin? Would you even notice the difference? These days most people ask for a phone number and then whip out their cell phone to program it in to their contacts instantly. Maybe a business card would be more convenient if you're worried about rejection or don't have time to put the number in your phone contacts at that moment. Perhaps it's simply a way to show someone that you're different. Like why Barney Stinson always suits up. To show that you're professional, classy, a cut above the rest. I guess you'll have to check back later to see if there's any continuing stories of the adventures of my business cards. If anyone cares.

Song of the Day

Today's song is American Saturday Night by Brad Paisley.