Making Amends with the Legal Underground Coffee Mug

What am I going to do with my 72 Legal Underground coffee mugs? It seems to me that in the 15+ months that this weblog has (dis)graced the blogosphere, I've taken a lot of cheap shots. You know, low blows. Easy laughs. Unfair and undeserved mockery of perfectly innocent people.

There have been plenty of targets. Most of them I like, two of them I don't. But they're all getting a coffee mug. The only one who will complain about my gift-giving is my secretary, who'll be responsible for boxing them up and shipping them out.

Here's who's getting a coffee mug, and why.

• Justice Antonin Scalia, for this post: "Justice Antonin Scalia to Get Own Reality TV Show."
• Judge Richard Posner of the Becker-Posner Blog, for these posts: "Advice to Federal Judges #3" and "A Polite, Though Extraordinarily Serious, Dissent from the Becker-Posner Definition of the Term 'Weblog'."
• Walter Olson of Overlawyered, for this post: "The Experienced Lawyer and the Law Student Debate Overlawyered.com."
  
• Ted Frank, Olson's sidekick at Overlawyered and frequent commenter on this weblog, for this post: "The Official McDonald's-Coffee-Post-Commenter Awards."
• Jim Copland of Point of Law, for this post: "The Experienced Lawyer and the Law Student Debate Point of Law."
• Howard Bashman of How Appealing, for this post: "Howard Bashman's Daily To-Do List."
• Drama critic Terry Teachout of About Last Night, for this post: "Critic Terry Teachout Consumes Too Much Art, Violently Explodes."
• Professor Ann Althouse of Althouse, for this post: "Law Professors: Blog Your Way to Tenure."
• Professor Glenn Reynolds a/k/a Instapundit, for these posts: "Advice to Young Lawyers #18," and "Advice to Families of Lawyer's #7."
  
• Dennis Kennedy of DennisKennedy.blog, for this post: "Tragedy Strikes Blawging World: Fifty of the Best Perish."
• Matt Homann of the [non]billable hour, for the same.

Finally, although I don't like the next and last two recipients, I figure they could use a reminder to read my weblog: the American Tort Reform Association (this post) and the Madison County Record (this post).

After the 13 mugs go out, I'm still left with 59. The next five people to leave a suggestion in the comments about what to do with the remainder can have two each. Then I'll be down to only 49, an amount I think I can persuade the garbage man to haul away.

Comments

[Abnu]

Send one to George W. Bush for taking the time to visit Madison County.

[Abnu]

Send one to Judy Woodruff at CNN for featuring "Inside the Blogs" on Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics, even though they haven't mentioned Notes from the (Legal) Underground, yet.

[Abnu]

Send one to Jon Stewart of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for telling it like it is to the guys at Crossfire—and send another one to Tucker Carlson for serving up Unfiltered crap on another network.

[Mark]

Send one to Howard Bashman. Even if his posting quirks (backdating posts, for example) can be annoying at times, without his site many readers probably would be unfamiliar with your blog, and many other worthwhile blogs.

[Evan]

Abnu: Don't think you can game the system by submitting three suggestions. You still only get two mugs. I have standards, you know.

[Mackenzie]

Send a few to US News & World Reports for their heinous and outrageous ranking system.

[whomever]

Obviously, you need to send one to Jeremy Blachman as a reminder that the first mention of his desire to turn Anonymous Lawyer into a book was posted on your site. I would also suggest sending one to Karen Kerrigan, the president of the "Small Business Survival Committee" which lobbied like hell to get the class action reform bill passed. That was a really appropriate use of her member's money. After all, class action lawyers always target small businesses. They can always afford to pay out huge settlements.

[Nathan]

I would send one to Monica Bay at Law Technology News for her nice coverage of your site and reprint of your Associates dissapearing article.

I know - I'm not too witty at this hour - but it would seem a nice gesture, imo.

[Bryan]

I think you should send one to Denise Howell because she introduced you to podcasting.

[Dave!]

I think you should send one to Jeremey Richey, because we know he has to scrimp at Burger King, and law students *love* schwag. :)

[WJS]

Send one to the Erie County Legislature in Buffalo, NY (they can all share it) for allowing the budget debacle to result in the closing of all County parks and all but one Motor Vehicle bureau.

[Bill Childs]

Easy: Give 'em to the guest writers to date. (If only I were in the first five here, and you accepted the suggestion, I'd get two for this post and one for the guest piece! My heavens, I could open a Legal Underground Boutique.)

[Dave!]

Does that mean that Abnu gets six because he was the first three posters? :)

[Abnu]

Evan Schaeffer announces a new concept in law firm marketing, Swagcast.com, at Notes from the (Legal) Underground.

[Evan]

Bill: Good idea. From now on, all guest posters will get Legal Underground coffee mugs, either factory extras or the ones from the upcoming batch. I'll change my "Guest Writers Welcome" post to reflect this change.

[Bill Childs]

"From now on"?! How about a little retroactivity, hmm?

(I have no idea why I'm pushing this. I have no shortage of swag.)

[Abnu]

Send one to Willie Gary for this, inter alia.

[whomever]

So, do I get some coffee mugs or what? I am either the sixth or the third suggestor, so I am a little anxious about that. Or is this just some sick joke and you plan to keep all 72 and give them out as promotional materials at bar meetings?

I have no idea why I want one of these so badly. However, that doesnt change the fact that I do.

[luke]

please send on to the Bugman himself, Tom Delay, for the endless fodder he has created for blawg discussion over the last few months. Always amusing, never funny.
I'll take one to save your waste disposal folks the trouble.

[Kevin Heller]

Send one to Adam Curry so he'll plug your LRTtS podcast and make sure he mentions blawgcast.com too.

I think his address is in Surrey, England.

[Evan]

whomever: You are on the list, but I am concerned by the fact that you are anonymous. How will I know you are you when you e-mail to say you are "whomever"? You've opened the door to all sorts of problems that I may never be able to sort out. This was supposed to be easy.

[JR]

Dave! deserves a mug for trying to get me one. Furthermore, it is not easy work preaching to the perverted. That hard work deserves a mug.

[Charlsie]

Can I have one? I love coffee mugs. I'll pay for the shipping. I love t-shirts too, anything to clutter up my life.

[Mark]

Well, since I'm getting two and if you take the guest poster free coffee mug idea and make it retro I'll get 3, I volunteer to give one of my 3 mugs to charlsie. But I won't pay postage.
I can't afford that. Evan that's on you.

[Ray]

Give one to each guest poster as a lovely parting gift.