Graduation

 

Finally, my LL.M. has come to an end. I am sad and proud at the same time. On the one hand, it was a lot of work and I am happy that it is finally over; on the other hand, I am sad because I'll miss the fantastic group of students that made up this LL.M..

The graduation festivities were very nice despite the nasty weather we had during this week. I'll remember the thunderstorm prior to the hooding ceremony!

Graduation exercices are great both solemn and festive. I really enjoyed the one in the stadium with all the graduates from the other schools. It was impressive and miraculesly it did not rain.

I'll encourage anyone who is contemplating an LL.M. to do it. It is a trully rewarding experience. I learnt a lot during this year and also had a lot of fun.

It is time to move on though!

End of the LL.M.

This is it. The LL.M. has come to an end. It was a lot of work and fun, Lots of parties but also lots of exams and papers. I am quite excited about what is coming next but also quite sad to realize that this adventure has come to an end.

9 months divided into 2 semesters, that's really nothing. It goes fast, very fast. I was hoping that it would seem a little longer but as they say, time flies when you're having fun.

Anyhow I would really recommend anyone thinking about doing an LL.M. to seriously consider the option. It is a fantastic year full of adventures and discoveries. Duke for that has been a fantastic place. It was great, welcoming, exciting. I wish I could do it again.

The second semester was really really short though. Beginning in January and finishing in March, that was really a short period of time considering that most of the second semester was dedicated to looking for a job.

Now we are gearing up for the graduation festivities.

Time to party one more time with our LL.M. friends before saying goodbye.


By the way, the people in my picture are guys in my program.

Innocent

Good news for the Duke community! The charges against three lacrosse players were dropped today. That 's a great relief for them I am sure, but also for the School and the city of Durham. This case got a national media coverage and of course the story of that black student at NCCU ( another Durham University) who alleged she was raped by three white athletes of the Duke Lacrosse team lead to a negative campaign which affected everybody here.

In the end, after the plaintiff changed her story and some DNA tests exonerated the players, the final charges against the player were finally dropped.

Anyway, I feel sorry for this woman. Apparently, nothing happened in this house but this case brought to light some dysfunctions in the undergrad programs.
The University of course took some actions to prevent underage drinking etc... and I really hope that such a story will never happen again.

I hope that the two players that have not graduated yet will come back to Duke and challenge themselves.


Photo from CNN.COM

Josh McRoberts

Josh, a sophomore, has decided to leave the Duke basketball team and go pro. He will enroll in the 2007 NBA Draft.
As I said in a previous post, Josh is probably the most talented player of the Duke team. We'll miss him next year.

It will be tough to find someone with his talent.



Photo from newsandobserver.com

Sarah P. Duke Gardens

Hey it's spring time. One of the coolest things about living in the Southern United States is that the weather is really really nice. It's a very sunny place and Spring arrives early. Yesterday, we had 24 degrees in the shade.
One of the cool things about where we live is that there are lots of open spaces. Natural parks, gardens are in abundance.
Of course, there is a beautiful botanical garden at Duke. It's called the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. The garden dates back to the foundation of the University when Sarah P. Duke, a widow of one of the founders of the University, was convinced by one of her friends to sponsor the creation of a fantastic garden on the grounds of the University.

The garden is divided into four major parts: the original Terraces and their immediate surroundings, the H.L. Blomquist Garden of Native Plants (a representation of the flora of the southeastern United States), the William L. Culberson Asiatic Arboretum (devoted to plants of eastern Asia), and the Doris Duke Center Gardens.

My favorites are the Asian arboretum and the terraces.

Of course,it is a good time to visit the gardens at this time of the year because all the flowers are blooming.

Enjoy.

Goodbye Ray!

 

On Sunday, we went the Nasher Museum at Duke University. It is a cool museum which opened in 2005.

Raymond Nasher owned one the world's largest private art collection and has been exposing it in museums he funded. He died last Friday.

Fortunately, Duke University hosts one of its museums. The permanent collection now includes more than 13,000 pieces of art. The museum itself was designed by architect Rafael Vinoly is also extremelly well conceived and allows a nice display of the artits's works.

You can see some pictures I took in the museum during our visit.

 

 

 

Nasher Museum

Here are some additional pictures!

 

 

 

LOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTT

 
I am totally disgusted. Duke has lost again: 77 - 75.
VCU was totally beatable. They are ranked 11th and Duke is 6th. How is it possible that they can't win a game.

What an horrible season. After loosing 2 times again Carolina and 4 games in a row during the regular season, then being eliminated at the first rounds of the ACC and the NCAA tournaments, Duke is really not the team of the year.

I have to salute Josh McRoberts (in the picture) though, he is a fantastic player and was able to avoid any additional dramas.

Bye I am going to bed now.

What an horrible season...

Go to Hell Carolina, Go to Hell!

As you might know, in the Raleigh/Durham area, basketball is taken VERY VERY seriously.
With three of the best college teams in the same metro area (N.C. State in Raleigh, UNC in Chapel Hill and Duke in Durham), school rivalry is a big deal mainly between UNC and Duke since they are usually better teams. Everybody talks about it.
In our case, Sheila is at UNC and I am at Duke and we are what is known as a "House divided".
Unfortunately for a Duke fan like me, UNC has won the ACC tournament today against N.C. State. Don't worry I still love my wife. ;)

Despite some good moves like the one in the picture, N.C. State was unable to contain UNC. They lost 89-80.

This is not really a surprise since Carolina (the other UNC name) finished first of the regular season.


Picture from ESPN.com

Missed !!!!!

They lost!!! 85-80 for NC State. This is incredible, considering that they won 7 of the last 8 editions of the ACC Tournament.

Also, another big surprise in this first round: Maryland lost to Miami 67-62.

It's just a bad year for Duke. After loosing several games during the regular season and in particular Sunday's game against UNC, they are now eliminated in the first round of the Men's tournament.


Too bad...
Picture from ESPN.com

Go Duke

 
As you may know here in America, March means March Madness. March madness relates to the college basketball tournament organized by the Atlantic Coast Conference which starts today in Tampa, Florida.
The ACC is the best college basketball conference in the US. All the best teams are represented. They include Duke of course, UNC-Chapel Hill, the eternal rival, Boston College, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech., Maryland, Miami, NC State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and finally Wake Forest.
After a difficult season, Duke faces NC State this afternoon. GO DUKE!!!

 
It's spring time and Sweetie came to have lunch with me at Duke. I can't wait for this summer to arrive.