TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (208)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of Reuters (from Wednesday, February 25; link good at time of posting):

A bungling Australian car thief was nabbed after accidentally locking himself in the vehicle he was trying to steal, police said Wednesday.

Police were called to a house in Adelaide after two thieves were heard trying to steal a car. On arrival they were surprised to find a 53-year old man hiding inside the vehicle.

"The man, while breaking into the car, had locked himself in the car and couldn't get out," South Australian police said, adding a second thief was found hiding in nearby bushes.

[Previous TGIS]

Happy anniversary, Blawg Review; you don't look a post over 199!

The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.

--Mark Twain

It should be noted that although the carnival of legal blogging reaches a milestone with this week's Blawg Review #200, it shows no signs of slowing down. If at some point in the distant future the carnival does finally fold its tents, I have no doubt that Blawg Review would be remembered fondly by the many who've hosted, read, and been linked in its already lengthy existence.

Notwithstanding, it might just be true that the best way to ensure that you get a flattering obituary is to write it yourself ahead of time.

Judge: Mr Bartlett, do you think there is any relevance in questioning the deceased?
Counsel: I beg your pardon m'lud.
Judge: Well, I mean, your witness is dead.
Counsel: Yes, m'lud. Er, well, er, virtually, m'lud.
Judge: He's not completely dead?
Counsel: No he's not completely dead m'lud. No. But he's not at all well.

--Monty Python, "How to Recognize Different Types of Trees From Quite A Long Way Away"

If Blawg Review is not even virtually dead, much less completely dead, and its place in the blawgosphere is secure even now, what makes the Anonymous Editor of Blawg Review's moot obituary worth reading? The short answer is that, as the illustrious if enigmatic host of ten Blawg Reviews himself, Ed. knows how to produce a post which is both a great retrospective on what's been done thus far and a great read in itself. Highlights in this special edition of Blawg Review include debating whether practical legal bloggers and legal marketing bloggers can all just get along, investigating why lawyers and hookers make great bedfellows, and considering why some notable legal bloggers have thrown in the towel.

It's like obituaries; when you die, they finally give you good reviews.

--Roger Maris

In addition to those highlights, Ed. also announces the award for Blawg Review of the Year for 2008. My own votes were for Charon QC's #141, Rush Nigut's #147, Victoria Pynchon's #171, Eric Turkewitz' #188, and Ron Coleman's #191. Unfortunately, as has been the case with various elections, Nielsen surveys, and group dinner choices, not enough people voted the way I did.

I'm honored that my fellow hosts have chosen my voyage with the Ancient Mariner in Blawg Review #189. Each year, the hosts of Blawg Review set the standard higher and higher and Prudence suggests that I should retire now, before I have a view of the field. I enjoy doing Blawg Reviews too much to listen to Prudence, however, and she's an insufferable nag anyhow. I'll look forward to congratulating next year's winner from my place somewhere lower on the leader board, just as I look forward to my next hosting gig and to the one after that and the one after that.

For now, I'm very grateful for this year's award and, considering the quality of Blawg Reviews this year, surprised to get it. So surprised in fact that I need to crib my acceptance speech from one of Ed.'s drinking buddies:

I never thought I'd win the Blawgies - I'd like to thank the Law Lords my pupilmaster [etc]

--GeekLawyer

Barry Barnett hosts next week's Blawg Review at his Blawgletter site.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (207)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of the Associated Press (from Saturday, February 14; link good at time of posting):

Patrick Rosario had a clever way of making sure a pair of burglars didn't get away with his three flat-screen TVs: He stole their van.

[He] was in the basement of his Bellevue home Tuesday afternoon when he heard the thieves upstairs. He called 911 as he snuck out of the house and, against the advice of the dispatcher, hopped into the getaway car — a white Ford van that was parked in front of his house, still running — and drove away.

The burglars took off on foot, leaving a pile of televisions, a laptop and a jewelry box by the door. A witness who was visiting a home across the street saw them. According to the detectives' report, "the males looked back ... and appeared startled."

"I wish I could have seen the look on their faces," Rosario told The Seattle Times.

[Previous TGIS]

Wow. Just Wow.

When it comes to Blawg Reviewin', never let it be said that Houston defense attorney Mark Bennett is all hat and no cattle. His Blawg Review #199, hosted this week at the Defending People blog, finishes out the first two hundred reviews in high style and sets the standard for the next two hundred. Highlights include attempting to assess the War on Drugs without using the words "stupid" and "failure," tarnishing your brand through trademark bullying, and outsourcing the ambulance-chasing in the wake of the recent plane crash in Buffalo. The Anonymous Editor of Blawg Review hosts next week, in part because no one else wants to follow Bennett's tremendous post.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (206)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of Huliq.com (from Thursday, February 12; link good at time of posting):

[A]n elementary school in Hattiesburg, MS is canceling Cotton Picking Day in celebration of Black History Month.

A father became angered when his stepson came home from school with a request to purchase a slave costume so they could reenact cotton picking. His teacher had made it a class project, and it was being done to honor Black History Month at Lillie Burney Elementary.

"I just didn't think it was appropriate," said Coleman, 26, who found the events calendar among his stepson's homework papers. "The school does a great job academically, but I think this was a mistake."

Amid the controversy, the school has canceled Cotton Picking Day as part of the school's Black History dress week. According to the schools superintendent, it has been replaced with Career Day.

. . . .

Coleman said he told the superintendent it was inappropriate to name the event Cotton Picking Day and to invite students to dress as slaves or in overalls.

"I believe it's something that should be taught in history, but it shouldn't be relived," he said. "I think they should look at the positive aspects to show students what they can achieve."

. . . .

Ann Chapman, president of the school board for the Hattiesburg Public School District, said she was glad Coleman expressed his concerns.

"Sometimes everything we do may not be politically correct, but we want to do whatever is necessary to work with our parents and children," she said. "I think it's always a good idea to make parents aware so they can share their concerns with us in case we need to revisit something."

[Previous TGIS]

An undigested bit of beef...

I dreamed last night that the renewal of my bar membership was being held until I completed a new required continuing education seminar -- Music Appreciation -- for which I would have to write a lengthy research paper on a notable band. Although it seemed odd, I dutifully headed off to bar headquarters to attend. Unfortunately, I arrived late and all the better bands were snapped-up already. None of my favorites were available; no Beatles, no Oasis, no Pet Shop Boys, and no Afghan Whigs. There was no Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, or anything else from Seattle. Even O.A.R. was unavailable.

With my career hanging in the balance, I was assigned "Whitesnake" as my subject. I've never been so glad to be woken by an alarm.

Deadly Sins Are Always A Capital Idea

Jeremy Richey, who hosted Blawg Review when he was a law student back in 2005, has returned to the fold and hosts this week's edition of the carnival of legal blogging at The East Central Illinois Criminal Law & DUI Weblog. He builds Blawg Review #198 around the Seven Deadly Sins. I should've mentioned it before now, but I'll confess to a bit of sloth; to miss this fine post would be at least a venial sin. Highlights of this week's issue include cracking down on gang activity one sex toy at a time, saving the profession from legal marketing, and punishing the innocent more severely than the guilty. Mark Bennett hosts next week's Blawg Review at his Defending People blog.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (205)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of Reuters (from Monday, February 2; link good at time of posting):

A hapless thief drilled his way into a French bank at the weekend, but missed the safe and instead found himself in a lavatory where he was promptly arrested, a French newspaper reported on Sunday.

. . . .

The paper said the man, who came from Belgium and was not named, thought that he was going to end up in a room housing safe deposit boxes but instead drilled into the lavatories.

Alarms were triggered when he broke through the wall and police caught the man when they arrived on the scene.

[Previous TGIS]

The Blawg That Never Sleeps

...not this week, anyhow. Legal Blog Watch is amongst the legal blogging elite at the Legal Tech New York conference this week. They managed to kick the week and the conference off right with an excellent Blawg Review #197, highlighting famous ukulele performers of the mid-20th Century.

Hold on, that's the subject of my next Blawg Review; Legal Blog Watch focused on legal technology, which seems much more appropriate. Highlights include using social networking sites in the hiring process, discovering that virtual intelligence is neither the end-all of effective legal practice nor a substitute for due diligence, and (of course) Twitter. Speaking of Twitter, something many legal bloggers seem to be doing more-or-less continuously, you can follow the Legal Tech New York conference on Twitter using the hashtag search "#ltny."

Jeremy Richey hosts next week's Blawg Review at his East Central Illinois Criminal Law & DUI Weblog.