Even though I don’t comment as often as I should on those folks’ entries, I still talk with several of them frequently on Facebook and Twitter — and even became “real world” friends with a couple

So as I stumble across blawgs I haven’t read yet, they get thrown onto the blogroll for y’all to enjoy. And since I try to read all of them regularly I update the link list with one or more tildes (“~”) if something hasn’t been updated in awhile: ~ means a blog has been inactive for at least a month, ~~ for blogs that haven’t been updated in 3+ months, and ~~~ for the ones that are pretty much totally deactivated (no post in 6+ months, or password-protected, or shut down).

But given my sporadic and lengthy disappearances over the past two months, it’s been awhile since I had a chance to catch up on the blawgosphere…

…and an awful lot of them have disappeared since then

About 15% of my blogroll now falls into “~~~” territory. The most high-profile is probably i don’t wear skinny jeans, a now-2L at NYU who blended his law school life experience with a truly impeccable wit.¹

Together with Jansen and the Hoomster, idwsj rounded out my “Big 3″ — the first law blogs I ever read, and the ones I still check almost compulsively. I saw one of his last posts speculating about the future of his blog, but I didn’t realize he had gone through with deleting it until my Top Sites screen in Safari showed a blank WordPress page

idwsj isn’t the only one. Take a look at the September 2009 Top 10 law student blogs from Bitter Lawyer and a similar May 2010 Top 10 blog list from ClearAdmit:

• i don’t wear skinny jeans is deactivated (~~~)
• laughing: with or at you hasn’t been updated since April (~~~)
• Law Ingenue hasn’t been updated since January (~~~)
• Thanks, But No Thanks is a few hours away from “gone for the month” territory (~)
• Fresh Thought Soup has been gone for the month too (~)
• Similarly Situated hasn’t been updated since June (~~)
• Last Call for Recklessness is deactivated (~~~)
• Even Bitter Lawyer itself hasn’t been updated in over a month (~)

And then there’s the other 40%ish of the 149 entries in the blogroll who are in the ~ and ~~ range. Some of the folks who still write regularly have also pondered throwing in the towel, or scaled back due to drama.

I don’t know what’s brought on the mass extinction, but if any of you happen to read this entry: your blawgs are among the highlights of my day, so I’d really appreciate if you didn’t disappear on me

Off to dinner with some of my NCCU Law colleagues, then back to study Evidence for the night. Have a great night y’all!

1. To this day idwsj’s blog was/is the only law blog I’ve read where I literally LOL’d in the middle of class

Well the votes are in, the results were announced on Tuesday, and…

…we’re #4!

That’s pretty doggone good as far as I’m concerned, considering the top 3 winners happened to be the exact same folks as the “Big 3″ I mentioned in that earlier entry We also snagged #1 in the “Best Representation of Academics” category!

All in all, not bad for a contest where my initial nomination was a surprise

Many thanks again to the folks over at ClearAdmit, as well as to everyone in the Top 25 who included me on their ballot And an even bigger *THANK YOU* to all of you readers who keep reading and supporting law:/dev/null

Here are the final vote results. All of you should check out all of these blogs

TOP 10:

1. idwsj @ http://idwsj.wordpress.com/
2. Dennis Jansen @ http://www.dennis-jansen.com/
3. Huma Rashid @ http://humarashid.com/
4. TDot @ http://www.lawdevnull.com/
5. Ricky Nelson @ http://legallyquestionablecontent.wordpress.com/
6. Mariel @ http://freshthoughtsoup.wordpress.com/
7. Cat & SB @ http://similarlysituated.blogspot.com/
8. Reckless @ http://lastcallforrecklessness.blogspot.com/
9. I’m Nobody @ http://butnothanks.blogspot.com/
10. Ivy Lea @ http://ivy-lea.blogspot.com/

Most Entertaining Applicant Blog:
Ricky Nelson @ http://legallyquestionablecontent.wordpress.com/

Best School Selection Advice:
Ricky Nelson @ http://legallyquestionablecontent.wordpress.com/

Best Resource for Applicants:
Dennis Jansen @ http://www.dennis-jansen.com/

Best Job/Internship Advice:
Huma Rashid @ http://humarashid.com/

Best Representation of Academics:
TDot @ http://www.lawdevnull.com/

Best Representation of Student Life:
idwsj @ http://idwsj.wordpress.com/

Best Single Post:
idwsj @ Law School: A Life of 1,000 Acquaintances and One Friend

Have fun reading folks! And have a great night!

The nomination was a total surprise, particularly given the far more talented writing of many other nominees (not to mention my frequent and arbitrary disappearances ).

But now I’ve got a better understanding of where Oscar nominees are coming from when they say it’s an honor just to be nominated. To have this blog included in the same list as my own “Big 3″ (Jansen, TRPLS, and idwsj) is a big honor in my book

So to the folks over at ClearAdmit, many many thanks! And also *THANK YOU* to all of you readers who keep coming back… and thus encourage me to keep writing¹

I’d encourage all of you to check out the other blogs in the Top 25 — I even found some new entries to the blogroll in this list

• Danielle @ http://www.the-4ls-experience.com/
• Sue Ting @ http://sueting.wordpress.com/
• Ricky Nelson @ http://legallyquestionablecontent.wordpress.com/
• The Lovely Mrs @ http://thelovelymrs.blogspot.com/
• Invisible Man @ http://invisiblemannakedcity.wordpress.com/
• Goateed 1L @ http://goateelaw.blogspot.com/
• IDWSJ @ http://idwsj.wordpress.com/
• Reckless @ http://lastcallforrecklessness.blogspot.com/
• Molly @ http://redonrust.blogspot.com/
• Cee @ http://catatonicstormclouds.wordpress.com/
• Mariel @ http://freshthoughtsoup.wordpress.com/
• Soleil @ http://thedivinedetails.wordpress.com/
• Ivy Lea @ http://ivy-lea.blogspot.com/
• Huma Rashid @ http://humarashid.com/
• Cat & SB @ http://similarlysituated.blogspot.com/
• The Exit @ http://mylegalfiction.blogspot.com/
• Dennis Jansen @ http://www.dennis-jansen.com/
• (In)Sanity Gal @ http://sanitysouffle.blogspot.com/
• I’m Nobody @ http://butnothanks.blogspot.com/
• UVA Law Blog @ http://www.uvalawblog.com/
• Julie Anne Ines @ http://blawgirl.julieanneines.com/
• No Reins Girl @ http://noreinsgirl.wordpress.com/
• Alex @ http://moonshineproject.wordpress.com
• Laura Bergus @ http://laurabergus.com/

Have fun reading y’all And a great night!

1. Which means if you don’t like what I write, stop visiting :P

• In law school you have to love the little things. Like blogging (Fresh Thought Soup)
• Maybe it’s just my naïveté, but I always figured it was too @#$%ing cold for this sort of thing to happen in Minnesota (No. 634)
• To the pre-Ls: you too will find yourself employing this game plan on finals (Write and Wrong)
• Always protect your BlackBerry (quasi-blaWg)
• idwsj on why there’s -0- point in trying to go through law school alone (i don’t wear skinny jeans)
• Sounds like I’ll have some fun stuff to look forward to next year (Reasonably Prudent Law Student)
• This is why I sit in the back on the perimeter (Law Ingenue)
• Here’s a Black Friday deal you won’t want to miss… ((In)Sanity Soufflé)
• Speaking of Black Friday, more than a few classmates did this today… at a different type of ABC Store (Courtoons)

I’m off to engage in some thoroughly unproductive gambling at our bi-weekly poker nights. Have a great post-Thanksgiving weekend folks!

Hopefully none of you are heartbroken

Have a great night folks!

There’s still plenty of good stuff out in the blawgosphere this week though — here’s a few links for your enjoyment:

• I’m not breaking my promise if I’m just linking to something ((In)Sanity Souffle)
• My guess is ~8% of 1Ls will be disappointed if this happens (Above the Law)
• Ever wonder if the Justice who wrote the opinion in  Cordas v. Peerless (27 N.Y.S.2d 198) tried this? (No. 634)
• Haven’t had any nightmares yet. Or my brain is (mercifully) forgetting them. (Fresh Thought Soup)
• Law school vs cloud computing (Fearfully Optimistic)
• Some practical tips useful for post-Ls and 1Ls alike (Beyond the Underground)
• And we’ll end with an entry from the “WTF? ” file (Bad Lawyer)

Enjoy the weekend everybody

Lots of good entries among the blawgers this past week though, so here’s a few of the ones I liked:

• I’d qualify as a ghost if I didn’t feel guilty about skipping class (Bitter Lawyer)
• Evidence that it’s getting near final exams (Really? Law?)
• Brandon offers some suggestions to make it through (Goateed 1L)
• Along with maximum minimalism on outlines (i don’t wear skinny jeans)
• And a montage always helps (Fresh Thought Soup)
• On a non-law note, I wonder if any Tea Partiers did this at a bailed out bank? (TRPLS)
• And I officially this woman (cursory circumlocution)

Enjoy the weekend everybody

One of tonight's poker hands: the table wins with a straight flush

Then I headed over to the N.C. Central School of Law to grab my books for the weekend, then came home to host some friends and fellow 1Ls at my bi-weekly poker night.

And I’m currently not losing money, so I’m staying focused to make sure that trend continues

Have a great night folks!

• Even though I already mentioned it yesterday, I figured I’d re-mention the studying stats for NCCU (TaxProfBlog)
• I’m a perfectionist at some things… but law:/dev/null is not one of them ((In)Sanity Souffle)
• Dennis Jansen keeps bringing the wisdom, this time at his alternate writing gig (The Shark)
• Speaking of wisdom, Mariel has some excellent points also (FreshThoughtSoup)
• And idwsj offers his own for the 0Ls out there (i don’t wear skinny jeans)
• Closing on a non-law note, Huma colorfully highlights the poor coloring in some woman-focused ads  (The Reasonably Prudent Law Student)

Enjoy the weekend everybody

Here are a handful of links that provided much-needed relief from studying this past week

• I mentioned law school is like kindergarten; I forgot nap time! (i don’t wear skinny jeans)
• But the books are a lot heavier (The Divine Details)
• And you’ll be up before the sun (Fresh Thought Soup)
• You also learn how to extort people properly (The Bitter Lawyer)
• Just make sure to pay your taxes — even if the goods you’re selling aren’t governed by the UCC (No634)
• Or stick to mixing sex and law in a legal way (The Reasonably Prudent Law Student)

Enjoy the weekend everybody