Evan Schaeffer's Legal Underground

GOLD! . . . Is it a sign of a blow-off top, or your opportunity to buy some more? --"Gold-To-Go ATMs dispense precious metals to the superwealthy, heading to the states this year," from Engadget.

The Weekly Law School Roundup #242

Here's your weekly list of good posts from the past week by law students, some current or almost current, some recently-graduated--

Crazy? Talking yourself out of going to law school. [Today and Tomorrow]

Intern Things to miss about law school. [Tales of a Tree-Hugging 3L]

Open Computer use in the classroom, by gender. [The Corner in the Middle]

Food Law school necessities. [Legally Challenged]

More Food Don't eat the jellyfish. [Dennis Jansen]

Spring Gun Things you learn in torts. [Abby and Andy]

Passing A blogger closes shop. [Legal Alien's Law School Blog]

Absent Lack of friendship in law school. [Legally Questionable Content]

Short Classroom haikus. [The Life of a Law Student]

Roundup Moms in the Legal Profession #169. [PT-LawMom]

Look for next week's roundup at Thanks, But No Thanks then it's back here the week after that. You can find some other recent roundups in the "At the Law Schools 2" category, as well as sixty or so older roundups from 2004-2005 here. Finally, if you want to know how I choose posts to highlight, see "How I Write the Weekly Law School Roundup." (If you have a law-student weblog that I don't seem to know about or that isn't in my blogroll, please send me an email.)

BROWSERS . . . From Lifehacker: "How and Why Chrome Is Overtaking Firefox Among Power Users."

DOCUMENTARY From The Millions: "Remembering Ken Burns’s The Civil War: A Documentary of Difficult Ideas," by Darryl Campbell--

Ken Burns’s series The Civil War turns twenty years old this month. A plain old documentary it isn’t; in fact, by the standards of most “historical” documentaries, it lacks a certain testicular fortitude. It boasts neither flashy 3-D maps nor live-action re-enactments; what few live shots there are of battlefields were mostly taken after dusk, giving them a surreal, almost dreamlike quality. Its scoring is simple, its narration restrained. It is, well, rather bookish.

Bookish, but compelling. Campbell's post is a good appreciation. I watched Burns's documentary on PBS when it was first released, then watched it again as I was making my way through Shelby Foote's 3-volume The Civil War: A Narrative.

Both are recommended--Burns's documentary if you have six hours, Foote's book if you have six years. It took me about ten, but I was never in any hurry to finish . . .

THE WEEKLY LAW SCHOOL ROUNDUP . . . You'll find Weekly Law School Roundup #241 at Thanks, But No Thanks. The next installment will appear here soon.

ADVICE FOR BLOGGERS . . . Read and use Chekhov's letters. 

MARK TWAIN, ILLUSTRATED . . . Check out the illustrated timeline of Mark Twain's life, a companion to the soon-to-be-released Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1.

And for more Mark Twain on this weblog, see these old posts--

• "Weekly Report #23: Keep Your Mouth Shut, Fool" (reporting on a drive in 2004 to a town near Hannibal, Missouri)

• "Favorite Things: Drinking, Smoking & Screwing" (self-explanatory?)

• "Somewhat Famous Law Clerks in History #1" (a anecdote about Twain's brother Orion)

The Weekly Law School Roundup #240

Here's your weekly list of good posts from the past two weeks by law students, some current or almost current, some recently-graduated--

Undermined Scenes from 1L orientation. [Dennis Jansen]

Sacrifice Thoughts on a for-profit college. [The Corner In The Middle]

Off A blogger contemplates shutting down. [Legally Questionable Content]

Yes In favor of a mosque near Ground Zero. [The Reasonably Prudent Law Student]

Postponed Thoughts on a one-year deferral. [Law is Cool]

Narrative  Surviving a first day as a 2L. [The Life of a Law Student]

Work First-year associate, first three weeks. [Legally numb]

Late Awkward disaster averted. [Fresh Thoughts Soup]

Good-bye Love and debt. [My Legal Fiction]

Roundup Moms in the Legal Profession #168. [Butterflyfish]

Look for next week's roundup at Thanks, But No Thanks then it's back here the week after that. You can find some other recent roundups in the "At the Law Schools 2" category, as well as sixty or so older roundups from 2004-2005 here. Finally, if you want to know how I choose posts to highlight, see "How I Write the Weekly Law School Roundup." (If you have a law-student weblog that I don't seem to know about or that isn't in my blogroll, please send me an email.)

MENCKEN UPDATE . . . The Library of America has published H.L. Mencken's six "prejudices" books in a single two-volume set: Prejudices: The Complete Series.

I first read these books in college, where the library had all six books. In the years since, I've tried to buy my own complete set, but only got halfway. Published long ago, the books are difficult to find in good condition. I felt justified in adding the new volume to my long shelf of Menckeniana.

For a review of the book, see this by Katherine A Powers, with its mention of Mencken's "combative, beautifully sprung, ingeniously funny style, as irresistible as a laughing baby." For a biography of Mencken, see Terry Teachout's The Skeptic: A Life of H.L. Mencken. For more from this weblog, see this post from one of my more prolific years, 2004: Mencken's Bathtub Hoax.

WINE TECH "Wine Technology You Can't Live Without," by Jessica Yadegaran at the Contra Costa Times.