Blawg Review #30

It's finally arrived: Howell-o-ween! I must confess: when I was initially approached, the prospect of hosting Blawg Review had all the charm of spending a quiet evening with the terrifying movie monster of your choice. I mean, let's get real. In the immortal words of Delilah (The Faculty (1998)), "These are Estee Lauder lips. They take 72 minutes to apply." Who wants to try to skim the cream off a blawgosphere growing in such a determined and unstoppable manner it could headline its own horror feature? I agreed because the editors thought it would be *cute* to have me play Blawg Review's Elvira given my last name, and it was several months ago — Halloween was a long way off. Now that the gruesome day is upon us, I'm pleased to report that putting together this post has been nothing but treat, through and through. Though Blawg Review's anonymous chief Editor says thanks and attribution to him/her and the contributing editors are neither necessary nor desirable, tough luck kids. This is my Howellin' at the Moon party and I'll thank who I want to. An impressive amount of effort went into compiling the following, and I can assure you precious little of it was my own. So thanks Kevin, Evan, Mike, and whoever-you-are. And thanks to the many other blawgers who recommended links too. Cue the strobe lights and spooky sound effects, we're on.

If You're Going As Someone Who Is Not Going To Be A Supreme Court Justice:

(Note to self: never, ever think a royal blue suit should play any role in your wardrobe. Ever.)

• Harriet Miers has a blog. Really. Still writing thank you notes, too.


• Matt Barr has costume help you may or may not still need: bedrock Constitutional principles suitable for scrawling on palms and arms for easy reference during confirmation hearings.


• Marty Schwimmer at Between Lawyers demonstrates why Harriet was wise to withdraw; she lacked too many of the necessary qualifications.


• David Giacalone describes how Ozzie dumps Harriet.


• Marty Lederman at SCOTUSBlog wonders why Harriet's revised answers to senators' questions were submitted at the same time as her withdrawal.


• The Article III Groupie prefers potential actual replacement nominee Alito to potential replacement nominee Luttig — though both pass at least part of the Schwimmer test, as both apparently have blogs.


• Point of Law's Ted Frank thinks Michael McConnell has the choicest treats.


• [Late Justice, late addition:] Tony at Parenthetical Statement has a costume idea for Rehnquist fans.

If You're Going As Some Other Member Of The Bush White House:

Then Jailhouse Rock is your designated theme for Halloween '05, and these might prove useful.

• Patrick Fitzgerald's Blog. I particularly like his Blogger Profile.


• Mike at Buffalo Wings & Vodka previews what you can expect when trick-or-treating at the Supreme Court.


• Marty Schwimmer again, this time at his own blog, invites us to discuss the parody defense to the demand letter this faux Vodka ad will inevitably trigger.


• Glenn Reynolds shows how The Mountain Has Labored And Brought Forth A Mouse, with a special nod to Laura Lee Donoho who notes it's not Fitzmas, but Fitzween. Boo!.


• Professor Bainbridge sounds a little exasperated that, like Martha Stewart, Scooter Libby has been indicted "not for having committed a substantive crime but under 18 USC sec. 1001 for lying about the stuff you decided not to indict [him] about."


• Marty Lederman again, this time at Jack Balkin's, gives us Libby/Fitzgerald/"Official A" in a Nutshell.


• Wonkette!, on Plamegate, includes readers' suggested prison nicknames for Scooter Libby (including "Ham Sandwich").

If You're Going As An Author, Librarian, Or Allegedly Infringing Search Engine:

• Ann Althouse points to a ... uh ... children's book that may or may not be slated for scanning as part of Google Library. And Margaret Marks translates.


• Perhaps some of the antique books in Bibliophile, an antique book blog by civil rights lawyer Norm Pattis, are actually in the public domain. (Not the Clarence Darrow, though.)


• Authors Guild President Nick Taylor is unlikely to opt out of the class. Professor Jack Balkin, FindLaw's Julie Hilden, and Professor Lawrence Solum, however, all feel otherwise.


• George Dyson intriguingly ponders Google, H.G. Wells, and Alan Turing.


• Elizabeth Lane Lawley has excellent coverage of the Google Library discussions at Internet Librarian 2005.

If You're Going As An iPod:

Load yourself up with—

• This Week in Tech Episode 27 (featuring special guest Professor Lessig)


• Slate's 10/27/05 podcast (a reading of Tom Peyer's Speaking to Me: Terms and Conditions)


• Jimmy Verner's Family Law > News & Views (featuring in its most current installment, as Larry Bodine points out, the dulcet tones of the Grateful Dead)


• The most recent Coast to Coast, captioned Lawyers, Guns, And Money (as recommended by Lisa Stone)

If You're Going As Big Brother:

Kevin O'Keefe or David Giacalone may be able to help, since both seem bent on ensuring our purity of verbal expression—

• more bad neology: "law porn"


• Blawgs should be banned

(Guys. Lighten. Up.)

If You're Going As A Blogger Or A Blawger:

Pajamas, a laptop, and no shower are all you need to complete the look in the first instance. In the second, you'll also need a briefcase — and these links, of course.

• Jonathan B. Wilson asks and answers the perennial question, Are Bloggers Journalists?


• And J. Craig Williams attempts to set the legislature straight on the issue.


• Dennis Kennedy gears up for BlawgThink.


• Al J. Robert, Jr. could use your help if you have 20-30 hours/week of legal work to delegate. Smart bloggers and blawgers know how to use available, proven, and distributed resources wisely, so...

If You're Going As Mr. Happy Crack:

You likely have Marty Schwimmer to thank.

If You're Going As A Witch:

• You'll want to celebrate Halloween with the women of The Cotillion.


• You'll need a suitably spooky pumpkin. Monica Bay has some carving help, and Bill Heinze has the "Pumpkin Decorating Kit" patent.


• The Mommy Blawger explains why you might want to put a hex on Hershey's, and show some solidarity for your breastfeeding coven-mate in Vermont.


• Lex Icon identifies a burgeoning area of specialization you must not ignore: Representing Murderers' Girlfriends.


• And Norm Pattis has some kind words for Glinda Nancy Grace.

If You're Going As A Sex Offender:

• Dave Hoffman tells you everything you need to know about interacting with your fellow trick-or-treaters: Megan's Law v. Halloween.


• Well, everything that is except what Will Baude has to say on the subject.


• And David Giacalone makes it a threesome. (Hopefully that won't prevent any of these gents from dispensing their candy.)

If You're Going As One About To Explode From The Pressures Of Modern Life In General:

• The Mommy Blawger checks in from Monticello, Iowa.


• Crib Ceiling's Krisco took time out from her hectic life to enjoy a beautiful day in Westwood for her law school reunion. (But the fish, apparently, was scary.)


• David Giacalone highlights Take Back Your Time Day.


• Con law professor Oscar Madison posts his law porn — with photos!!


• Bruce MacEwen explains Why Hockey Players Wear Helmets & Associates Bill 2,200 Hours/Year.


• Ernie Svenson invites you to mosey on over to his porch to enjoy the free WiFi and wonder why individuals, not tax dollars, are compelled to fill this void.


• Dennis Kennedy suggests you must re-map your mind.


• Ingo Forstenlechner suggests your firm must invest in knowledge management.


• You'll appreciate that, as Walter Olson observes at Overlawyered, "[B]eing the target of a terrorist act carries with it more than twice as much responsibility for the resulting damage as actually planting and detonating the bomb."


• You'll experience real terror in reading what Norm Pattis has to say about No Safe Places.


• You'll enjoy Bobby "Boris" ("Monster Mash") Pickett's musical effort to combat global warming.


• You'll shiver, as Kevin Thompson does, at the scary thought of "applying a law designed eleven years ago to an entirely different set of technology."


• You're probably dying, as Larry Bodine is, for some ghoulish lawyer marketing. Maybe from Joel Schoenmeyer.

If You're Going As The Next Host Of Blawg Review:

Then you're going as Andrew Raff, who recently brought us up to speed on problems with the new Bluebook rule for citing blog posts. Blawg Review has more information about next week's host, and instructions how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.

Thanks so much for partaking, and by all means keep your eggs to yourself. —Ms. Howl