Legal Commentary

Superstar Treatment

Posted on July 08, 2008
Jonathan Frieden throws a nation's worth of legal blogging into Blawg Review #167 this week at his E-Commerce Law blog. Frieden surveys every state in the union (including Canada, the 51st) and highlights a legal blogging "star" from each. All are worthy selections...

TGIS: Thanks God It's Schadenfreude! (174)

Posted on July 04, 2008
This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of KWTX (via Grits for Breakfast) (from Wednesday, July 2; link good at time of posting):A warrant has been issued for former Troy police chief David Seward who failed to show up for a court appearance on June 11 related to a misdemeanor theft charge stemming from the alleged misuse of money seized during an arrest...

Perhaps a nail salon instead?

Posted on July 02, 2008
My earlier speculation has thus far yielded no Starbucks. It seems somewhat less likely now.

It's not discrimination if you treat everyone appallingly.

Posted on July 01, 2008
As a group, the English are not generally more pleasant than others, but at least when they're unpleasant they tend to be more sporting about it. Thus, presented with GeekLawyer's Blawg Review #166, we can't say we weren't warned.Those of us who've enjoyed GeekLawyer's writing over the years have had ample opportunity to steel ourselves for this edition of the carnival of legal blogging...

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TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (173)

Posted on June 27, 2008
This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of the Associated Press (from Wednesday, June 25; link good at time of posting): Norwalk police said they nabbed a burglary suspect after he broke out in tears when the homeowner caught him. Police said Miguel Alvizures-Montaya, 35, of Norwalk, cried, handed over his cell phone and told the homeowner to call police...

A helpful reminder from the Supreme Court that the amendments in the Bill of Rights are not listed in order of importance.

Posted on June 26, 2008
Our second amendment rights aren't of secondary importance after all, according to the newly-published decision in Heller. There's already a tremendous amount of worthwhile commentary, both pro and con, on the decision in the legal blogosphere (see here, here, here, and here, just for starters); don't worry, though -- you'll find no such worthwhile commentary here...

As it turns out, this year's Mariners aren't the most hapless baseball team ever.

Posted on June 25, 2008
Over at the sports blog Deadspin, Rick Chandler discusses his day with the worst baseball player since Joe Shlabotnik -- the beloved Charlie Brown. Chandler walks us through the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California and highlights the importance of baseball to Charlie Brown and the Peanuts strip:[According to] Stephan Fatsis, co-curator of the exhibit and creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine ...

How to Geekify the Women in Your Life: A Primer

Posted on June 25, 2008
Megan McArdle, responding to an inquiry from a reader, offers a few tips on helping the wives, girlfriends, daughters, and other important females in sci-fi geeks' lives to enjoy science fiction, if not as much as their geeks do, then at least enough to good-naturedly tolerate the genre...

Blawg Review Gets a French Kiss

Posted on June 25, 2008
This week, Nicolas Jondet hosts Blawg Review #165 at his French-Law.net blog and continues the Bloomsday/Ulysses theme started last week by Eoin O'Dell at cearta.ie. He notes that:As it happens, France also has its own version of Ulysses. It is not as famous as the Irish masterpiece, but has had a lasting impact on a generation of children growing up in the 1980s...

Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to... borrow your mobile phone.

Posted on June 20, 2008
Sometime during the past few evenings, the pay phones were uninstalled from the lobby of my office building.In the two years I've worked in this particular building, I've neither used nor seen anyone else use those phones. I suppose the fact that I snapped the above picture with the camera built into my BlackBerry just about says it all...

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (172)

Posted on June 20, 2008
This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of The New York Post (from Tuesday, June 17; link good at time of posting):Over the weekend, spies said, Paris Hilton was on her way to a photo shoot and "wanted a puppy in the picture with her so it would look cuter...

Bloomsday Blawg Review

Posted on June 18, 2008
Dr. Eoin O'Dell hosts Blawg Review #164 at the cearta.ie blog. Celebrating Bloomsday, the anniversary of the day in 1904 during which the events of James Joyce's Ulysses occurred, this edition of the carnival of legal blogging is structured by the chapter headings in Joyce's best-known work...

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (171)

Posted on June 13, 2008
This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of the Associated Press (from Tuesday, June 10; link good at time of posting):A judge halted a drug conspiracy trial Tuesday after some jurors were found to have been playing the puzzle game Sudoku while evidence was being given...

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (170)

Posted on June 06, 2008
This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of The San Francisco Citizen blog (from Tuesday, June 3; link good at time of posting):Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan Campaigning [for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Congressional seat] at the Steps of San Francisco?s City Hall...

Baseball, Bench Thyself

Posted on June 04, 2008
Mike Masnick updates the Major League Baseball statistics case, a matter which has been of considerable interest to me for some time (see here, here, here, and here). As Masnick reports, MLB has continued its losing ways in defending an essentially indefensible position -- contending that it owns the statistics produced by its games such that rotisserie or fantasy league players must pay licensing fees...

Truth be told, I learned all the Chinese I know from "Firefly".

Posted on June 04, 2008
Now that I've returned home from a brief sojurn away and worked my way through the most pressing of the matters which accumulated during that time, I've had a chance to read through this week's Blawg Review. Frankly, it blows.No, of course it doesn't, but I figured that someone who sees my Blawg Review posts most Mondays (or as soon thereafter as work permits) would think I'm on auto-pilot, praising each week's effort -- some weeks more than others, granted -- and never offering a critical word...

Scribbled on the Back of an Envelope Seven Years Ago Today

Posted on May 30, 2008
Some men wish for sons to achieve great things, to build great things, to discover great things, to teach great things. My daughter will accomplish all these and charm her father's heart as well.Hey, I was a bit sleep deprived at the time.Happy seventh birthday, Natalie; your daddy loves you very much.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (169)

Posted on May 30, 2008
This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of the Associated Press (from Tuesday, May 27; link good at time of posting):A skydiver's hope to set a new free-fall record might have come to an end Tuesday when his ride to the sky left without him...

Blawg Review Remembers

Posted on May 26, 2008
The annual Memorial Day edition of Blawg Review is one of my favorite traditions around these parts. This year's host is Stephen Albainy-Jenai at the Patent Baristas blog. He does us all proud with Blawg Review #161. This is such a special, heartfelt event each year that I'm inclined to say that this week's highlight is the review itself, but that wouldn't do justice to Albainy-Jenai's worthy effort (and if the carnival of legal blogging isn't concerned with doing justice, who would be?)...

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (168)... The Sequel!

Posted on May 23, 2008
This week's bonus joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of the Bucks County Courier Times (via QuizLaw) (from Tuesday, May 20; links good at time of posting):Mark C. Baxter, 19, of Columbus, N.J., faces charges after police found child porn on a computer he is accused of stealing from the retail store...

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (168)

Posted on May 23, 2008
This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of the Associated Press (from Tuesday, May 20; link good at time of posting):Wade Churchward, 28, went to a service station on March 22 in the capital, Wellington, where he picked up two packets of M&Ms candy and some potato chips, the Dominion Post newspaper reported...

Hoy, decidía aprender español.

Posted on May 22, 2008
I think that post title means "Today, I decided to learn Spanish." I'll find out later, I suppose.Spanish is a very useful language to know these days, particularly so if one lives in California. Frankly, for any number of personal and professional reasons, I should've learned it some time ago...

Woo Who!

Posted on May 20, 2008
Doctor Who (shown on the Sci-Fi channel and BBC America) is the best show on television, bar none.The guiding force behind the relaunched series has been Russell T Davies and there's been a considerable amount of angst amongst the show's considerable fan base concerning the future direction of the program when Davies leaves for new challenges...

Portrait of a Lady's Legal Blog Review

Posted on May 20, 2008
...or, Self-Submission is the Best SubmissionLike Madonna, Ruthie gets by with just a single name; unlike Madonna, she's answered the anonymous Blawg Review Editor's call. She hosts (well, hostesses) Blawg Review #160 this week at her Ruthie's Law blog...

I'm Hot... You're Hot... He's Hot... She's Hot...

Posted on May 16, 2008
Considering the fact that normal human body temperature is approximately 98.6°F, why does a day when the ambient temperature is in the high nineties seem so hot? Is it just because it's somewhat unusual vis-a-vis the average daily temperature (in most places, anyhow)? I have no idea.

Would he have done it if he could have foreseen Laser Floyd?

Posted on May 16, 2008
It was this day in 1960 that Dr. Theordore Maiman, a physicist working at Hughes Research Laboratories, created the first laser using a synthesized ruby crystal. Without Dr. Maiman's brilliant efforts, we would have frickin' nothing to attach to the heads of sharks today and the world would be a lesser place for that.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (167)

Posted on May 16, 2008
This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of ABC [Australian Broadcasting Corporation] News (from Sunday, May 11; link good at time of posting):England is an irritating and insular country full of overweight, binge-drinking, reality TV addicts, a new guide warns tourists...

NOTICE: Duncan Riley Is the Source of the Following Information

Posted on May 13, 2008
At his new Inquisitr blog, Duncan Riley offers a very sensible guideline for something which has vexed many a new (and not-so-new) blogger -- when and how to give attribution to sources of information.

Whistle While You Blawg

Posted on May 13, 2008
Blawg Review #158, hosted by The Mommy Blawg was a tribute to mothers; this week, with Blawg Review #159 hosted at the Whistleblower Law Blog, we give whistleblowers their due. Perhaps next year these fine legal bloggers could co-host. Don't scoff -- the concepts have worked well together before:Highlights in this week's edition include burning and building bridges, determining when a pill is poisonous or merely bitter, and deciding whether to appeal or to just accept that you lack appeal...

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (166)

Posted on May 09, 2008
This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of the Houston Chronicle (from Tuesday, May 6; link good at time of posting):Judge Sherman Ross tried to assemble a jury of peers for a woman accused of possession of a marijuana on trial Tuesday...

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