It was a little harder coming up with a connection to the theme this week, so this one is going to be short and sweet.
The first column I wrote was Welcome to 1L. They tell you never to go back and look at what you wrote as a 1L, because you will be embarrassed by it. I think the sages who came up with that were talking about legal writing, but it probably applies to rookie blogging, also. I just read my old stuff, and I don't think it was all that bad. But then again, I'm rarely embarrassed and I have an ego that most would be ashamed of. But not me. Because of the ego. Vicious circle indeed. The omtubsman usually keeps us in line, but I think it's about time I pulled the wagons full circle and examined my own work over the past year. I know it's not actually a year, and I know this seems like an aribitrary and capricious time to examine the past, but it was either this or another haiku.
Theme: Introductions
Column: Welcome to 1L
We started off on the right foot here. Short and sweet and with that little bit of attitude that I take with me throughout all my misadventures. B+
Theme: Apocalypse
Column: Hello Goodbye
Clearly a cop out. I even mentioned in the post that it was a "hastily assembled list." D+.
Theme: President's Day/Mardi Gras
Column: Andrew Jackson Hates Sissies
One of my favorite pieces. To this day I proudly declare my love of all things Jackson, and I get to recycle jokes from this column to those whom I know don't read this. A.
Theme: Zoos
Column: The Class Menagerie
The funniest thing about this post was the pun in the title, but there were some other gems hidden in that post. B+.
Theme: Monsters, Ballads, and Monster Ballads
Column: Oops
Haiku. And not even a good one at that. F.
Theme: Superlatives
Column: Because Class Comparatives Would Suck More
Nothing to sneeze at, but worth a read. Hey, that sounds exactly like the column you're reading now. B.
Theme: Asia
Column: Do You Have Anything to Declare? Yeah, Don't Go to Thailand.
This was the first post with any actual substance about law school since the first one, something that I'm sure the longtime reader would have picked up on and breathed a welcome sigh of relief. That said, I like it. B+.
Theme: Disney
Column: Law and Order: The Magic Kingdom
A for the idea, C- for its execution. It just wasn't funny. B-.
Theme: Tomfoolery
Column: This Is Probably Illegal
I didn't cover half of the things that I've done in my life that turned me into the crazed man I am today, and what was there was more of a confessional than anything else. Slate once wrote something about Dane Cook's comedy that I think applies here. It's one thing to tell you what happened, but it's much better to tell everyone why things happened. With Dane, as with this column, you might laugh at first blush, but if you go back and take it all in again, you realize there isn't any substance to it. For the second week in a row, A for the idea, C- for its execution. B-.
Theme: Breakfast
Column: What Famous Lawyers Eat for Breakfast
Considering I chose the theme that week, I could have come up with a better idea than what I did. Me and Jerome wrote the same column, and while it'd be nice to tell myself that great minds think alike, I think we both know that the idea was just a little too obvious. I don't mean to take anything away from Jerome (because he did it better), but I hold myself to a higher standard when I'm the one choosing the theme. B.
Theme: Taxes
Column: The Tax Man Cometh, and He Doth Sucketh
While this column started off related to the theme, it took a turn for abstractville somewhere after the jump. Not that I'm against that, but a little more effort on my part to actually write about taxes might have had some funny spaces to explore. B.
Theme: History
Column: A Haiku of Busyness and Then Some New Business
Appropriate haiku, plus a little bit of confessional. This passes muster around here, but not my much. C. It also sets up that the next four posts are guaranteed to suck.
Theme: Spring
Column:
No post. Lamezorz. Incomplete.
Theme: Mom's choice
Column: This Is for Mom
Haiku. It was finals time, cut me some slack! D+.
Theme: 24
Column:
No post. Double lamezorz. Incomplete.
Theme: Knut Hamson's Nobel Prize-Winning Novel, "Growth of the Soil"
Column: D.C.'s Not Quite Nobel Prize-Winning Post
A real stream of consciousness. This theme couldn't have been any more fun to write for. I actually mean that, and I think I made the most out of it. B+.
Theme: Bees
Column: There Is Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself. And Bees. You Should Also Fear Bees.
Contrast this confessional with the one from Tomfoolery and you get the picture of what a post of substance should look like. A.
Theme: Marriage
Column: If You Ain't No Punk, Holla "We Want Prenup!"
These are really getting better after I announced my departure from the strict law school theme. A-.
Theme: Behind the Scenes
Column: Behind the Eyes
Loved it. A.
Theme: World Religions
Column: The Bible Tells Me So!
Not my best work, but there are some good laughs there, I think. B+.
Theme: Travel
Column: Throwing Darts at a Map Might Be More Effective
Boooorring. C+.
Theme: America
Column: Our National Pastime
At the time, this was my favorite thing that I wrote. Honestly, I just wrote a sports-themed column to try to get linked from Deadspin or D.C. Sports Bog. Column of the week, natch. A+.
Theme: Pets
Column: I Got a Dog!
Whatever, a little self-indulgent post never hurt no one. B.
Theme: The Office
Column: Who Wouldn't Want to Work for this Man?
If you read one post ever, I would have you read this one. It all just came together there. A+.
Theme: Internet Potato
Column: Shiny Happy Caitlar D.C: Going to the Chapel...
If you had to read two posts ever, read this one second. Half of those predictions came true, and I had a blast. A+.
Well, I think it's fair to say that my blog GPA is higher than my law school one. Too bad I'm only getting better at making snide comments on the internet, because I hear law school is tough.
D.C. writes "Reasonable Doubt" for The Bathtub on Tuesday mornings. You can e-mail him at dc.bathtub@gmail.com.
Damn, have we already written this many columns? SHhhhhit that's a lot!
Posted by: Lauren | July 31, 2007 at 10:13 PM