Attenuated Subtleties Pieces

Journal of Attenuated Subtleties Where it all began, the 1982 journal of legal trivia

Truths and the Maltese Falcon (KDP Books, 2024) Roger Ebert said its plot is “almost impossible” to lay out logically; I take up the task

Are footnotes precedential? The world’s shortest court-cited law review article, one word of text, still valid authority after over forty years

Jurisprudence of paper clips Is an Acco fastener more like a staple or a paper clip? An Arizona court had to face that issue, with untold dollars at stake on the outcome

Henry James, “The Beast in the Jungle” (audiobook narration on YouTube) A horror story for adults, contemplating their life’s purpose. Favorite listener comment: “Dude sounds like Kermit”

Bluebook Schadenfreude The Uniform System of Citation manual sometimes ignores its own rules, and its mathematics rule is incoherent

The mess of dillegrout A survey of the strange world of British grand serjeanties, services for the monarch granted in exchange for seisin of realty

The rebound of the Baskervilles What happens when control of a technology like publishing passes to users who lack the technical skills or resources to use it fully?

Blog post on the uses of the verb to be How many of these 26 alternatives do you use?