TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (317)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of The Telegraph (from Thursday, April 21; link good at time of posting):

The Copa del Rey is crushed under the wheels of Real Madrid's team bus after Sergio Ramos drops it off the open top deck amid chaotic celebrations in Madrid.

The Real defender accidentally dropped the cup, 18 years after a Real Madrid player last had his hands on it, as he waved to fans who had gathered in Madrid to greet the team on their return from Valencia.

"The cup fell, it fell," Ramos said according to Europa Press agency. "But the cup is OK."

It was recovered by members of Spanish police who returned it to the driver.

[Previous TGIS]

Blawgs are Bigger in Texas

Once again, it's taken me several days to get to Blawg Review; once again, it makes me wish I'd made the time to read it sooner. This week, the Blawg Review in question is a fine edition from Houston attorney Paul Kennedy — Blawg Review #307 celebrating "all things Texan". The occasion is the anniversary of the Texians'1836 victory in their war for independence from Mexico:

On the afternoon of April 21, 1836, General Sam Houston led his band of Texians against the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna on the banks of the San Jacinto River (just east of present day Houston). Gen. Houston ordered "Deaf" Smith to destroy the Vince's Bridge - cutting off the Mexican army from further reinforcement. Then came the assault. The Mexicans, having their only means of egress eliminated, were left with the choice of standing and fighting or trying to cross the bayous or river by foot. Eighteen minutes after the assault began, it was over.

The following day Texian forces captured a man wearing the uniform of an enlisted man attempting to escape through the woods into Vince's Bayou. The Mexican soldier was taken to the Texian's camp where he was recognized by the Mexican prisoners. Shouts of "El Presidente!" blew Santa Anna's cover. In exchange for his life being spared, Santa Anna signed an order commanding the Mexican army to leave Texas. The war for independence was over. The Republic of Texas was born.

Highlights in this week's edition include correspondence with a Senatorial pen pal, no-holds-barred political redistricting, and a realization that there's a world outside Texas (though there's really no reason to go there). Keith Lee will host next week's Blawg Review #308 at his An Associate's Mind blog.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (316)... The Sequel!

This week's bonus joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of the Associated Press (from Monday, April 11; link good at time of posting):

An Indonesian lawmaker who helped pass a tough anti-pornography law resigned Monday after he got caught watching sexually explicit videos on his computer during a parliamentary debate.

The scandal has transfixed this predominantly Muslim nation since a local photojournalist filmed Arifinto, a member of the staunchly Islamic Prosperous Justice Party, gazing at the downloaded porn sites Friday.

The blurred images have been published on the front pages of newspapers almost daily, and reaction has set alight social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Some commenters said Arifinto should be prosecuted under the anti-pornography law that took effect in 2008 despite opposition from the public and some members of the government.

Fifty-year-old Arifinto, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name, apologized to his constituents Monday and told reporters during a hastily arranged news conference he was stepping down from Parliament immediately.

[Previous TGIS]

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (316)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of The Register (from Monday, April 11; link good at time of posting):

The Sun has hailed 48-year-old Kenneth Morgan as Britain's "thickest burglar", after he abandoned his passport at the scene of a break-in.

The career criminal was forced to beat a retreat from a property in Acton, West London, when the owner returned home and caught him in the act. He made good his escape through the kitchen window, but left a backpack containing the vital clue to his identity.

Just to make absolutely certain of a quick cuffing, Morgan also left his mobile phone, keys, prison ID card bearing his photo, "his birth certificate and a tenancy agreement with his signature".

The police cracked the case in "seconds", the Sun notes.

[Previous TGIS]

The Joy of Six

The Anonymous Editor of Blawg Review commemorates the carnival's sixth anniversary in this week's Blawg Review #306. In this largely-retrospective edition, Ed. lists the 305 posts published during that remarkable run. He also notes the half-dozen posts which have been designated as the best in their respective years:

These award-winning presentations show an appreciation of literature and art, a strong sense of community, passion for a cause, and a good sense of humor. These are common themes in the best of Blawg Review....

I'm honored that my Divine Comedy Blawg Reviews are on that select list and on this occasion, I'd like to share a tidbit of information about them: But for Ed.'s timely guidance, they wouldn't have had anything to do with Dante.

I was preparing for my first Blawg Review, with a theme in mind (one so crappy that I can't recall now what it was) and links in hand, when Ed. suggested that I explore the origin of my blog's title in Dante's Inferno. I thought that no one would care about something like that, so I pushed-back a bit, telling him that I already had another theme. He took a moment to get me to consider the possibilities and the following Monday I posted the 2005 Blawg Review of the Year. He might have a light editorial touch, but that light touch can be powerful, as I can attest.

Congratulations, Ed., on six years of Blawg Review.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (315)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of BBC News (from Tuesday, April 5; link good at time of posting):

A candidate for Derby City Council has apologised for using a false name in a BBC phone-in about honesty in politics.

Ashley Waterhouse, 22, a Conservative standing in the Normanton ward, rang Radio Derby's breakfast show calling himself "Paul in Normanton".

His voice and number were recognised and, after initial denials, Mr Waterhouse admitted he had lied.

....

Mr Waterhouse had called Monday's breakfast show but had been told that as a candidate in May's election he could not take part.

He then rang back as Paul to support calls for politicians to face more rigorous screening of their backgrounds.

Mr Waterhouse, posing as Paul, was again asked if he was taking part in the elections.

Phil Trow, the host of the breakfast show, said: "He said no at that point.

"When we discovered it was his phone number, we phoned him back and asked him whether he was Ashley Waterhouse. He denied it then.

"We phoned him back three times and had three different conversations and he came up with a whole list of elaborate excuses.

"Eventually he phoned back and did confess."

[Previous TGIS]

Was there a fat lady in The Mikado?

Last Friday, on April Fool's Day, George Wallace's A Fool in the Forest blog hosted a follow-up to his outstanding Nuclear-themed Blawg Review #304, published just last Monday. While pulling double hosting duties is an achievement in itself, Wallace's W.S. Gilbert homage in Blawg Review #305 deserves a standing ovation on its own merits.

This performance marks Wallace's tenth time hosting the Carnival of Legal Blogging (very probably a record). In keeping with the foolish spirit of his personal blog, Wallace has often hosted on or near April Fool's Day. This year, he explains Gilbert's connections to the law and other foolishness:

For this year's April Fools' theme I turn to a true connoisseur of human folly, William Schwenk Gilbert, the "Gilbert" of Gilbert & Sullivan fame. W. S. Gilbert knew something of the Law at first hand: as a young man, before finding success first as an author of light verse and then as the authoring and directing half of one of the more successful theatrical duos of all time, Gilbert attempted a career as a barrister in London's Inner Temple. He was not a success. Indeed, it is reported that in the course of a year a mere five clients came his way. We pause at this juncture to shed a tear of solidarity.

The grandest highlight of this Blawg Review is undoubtedly Wallace's take on The Mikado's well-known "Little List" aria, "As Some Day It May Happen". As our host notes, the song "is now almost always performed with extensive revision so as to target the irritants particular to the time and place of the performance. It is not unknown for new verses to be crafted immediately before curtain time...."

Once the curtain rises in Blawg Review #305, there are other performances of note as well, including several posts concerning writing and the arts — proposing a "one ream of paper" rule for successful pleadings, finding the DNA if not the soul of Finnegan's Wake, and bestowing awards on our fictional colleagues in this noble profession.

As Wallace mentioned, however, the future of the long-running (ancient, in blogging years) Blawg Review is in doubt:

Should it turn out that the post you are reading is the Last Blawg Review Ever, it is my hope that you will agree with me that, unlike the denizens of our Little List, the institution of Blawg Review assuredly will be missed.

I've been a host (several times) and a Sherpa (several years), but first and foremost I've been a fan and a loyal reader. If after six years, Wallace's Mikado edition brings down the final curtain for Blawg Review, as Ed.'s "Adieu" message and the removal of the "Future Hosts" sidebar suggest, it can be said that the show has ended on a high note.

TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (314)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of The Telegraph (from Wednesday, March 30; link good at time of posting):

When Harry Fildes, a young surveyor, emailed a football mate saying it was all right to pursue his “hot” ex-girlfriend, he intended the forthright and very unflattering message for the friend’s eyes only.

And so it would have remained, except that Mr Fildes, a former public schoolboy, accidentally copied the young lady into the ungentlemanly exchange.

Now, not only has Jenni Palmer seen his expletive-laden description of her, so have thousands of workers in the City after the emails went viral.

As if that was not embarrassing enough for the captain of the Old Salopian Football Club first XI, Miss Palmer is still his housemate.

His bosses at property firm GL Hearn have taken a dim view of him using a work email for the exchange and confirmed they were looking into the matter.

As Mr Fildes surmised in one of the emails: “I am in so much ---- it’s unreal.”

[Previous TGIS]