I’ve been asked why I don’t blog about one of the hot button topics of the day like, for instances, the past notorious murder cases of Casey Anthony, Jodi Arias or Steven Avery. There are lots of reasons, I reply, not the least being that I’m not a criminal defense lawyer. Without investing time and study, it’s harder to weigh in on the nuances and strategies of an unfamiliar practice area.
That’s not to say, of course, that I haven’t sometimes borrowed a page from Oscar Wilde and opined anyway. Wilde famously observed, “I love to talk about nothing. It’s the only thing I know anything about.”
The better reason is a more practical one. Unless I take up the habits of a paid blogger I once read about — who has the time to keep up? No wonder the parenthetical quote in Anand Giridharadas‘ April 15th New York Times Book Review rang so true for me. Giriharadas wrote, “A boss of mine once said, of an article I had drafted over several months, that I had done a terrific job of catching myself up to a conversation the world had been having without me.”
I don’t recall much about that book review — except for that quote. By the time I get around to posting about a hot topic, the conversation the world has been having will have indeed ended without me.
Just the same, what I most remember about that paid blogger is that he claimed to have so many blogging ideas, it was costing him sleep. During the night, his fertile brain would intermittently jolt him awake with creative inspiration. He’d then immediately jot down the ideas on the laptop kept conveniently on his nightstand. The tale, tall or not, unfortunately failed to mention what his wife thought about his many nocturnal mental emissions.
My skepticism about this guy’s supposed excess creative juices led me to speculate on other causes. His interrupted sleep was the result of (A) a self-denying work ethic; (B) an overriding devotion to making a buck; (C) an enlarged prostate; or (D) undiagnosed sleep apnea. I went with (B). Unlike those of us who make no money from web logs, it’s more than likely a paid blogging gig will produce income induced insomnia.
Pragmatically speaking, then, without such blogging pecuniary inducement it’s hard to keep up with events. Too often they overtake opportunities to timely blog. Had I the self-discipline to reduce my ruminations to 140 characters on Twitter, I guess my commentaries could have more immediacy just like the tweets of a certain carrot-colored presumptive presidential nominee. But 140 characters?
Last year, a lawyer who never lets facts get in the way of opinion griped, “You don’t respect my time — if you expect me to read all that,” this after I sent him facts. Foolish me. He’s right. Hell, a nun in parochial school once accused me of “diarrhea of the pen” — no doubt for disrespecting her time.
The bottom line is I don’t have the paid blogger’s remunerative incentives or the surplus shuteye to look for more sleep deprivation. As it is, I guard my 5 hours or so of overnight sack time. And besides I get enough ideas during waking hours without having to fish for them at night.
And with that, here’s another Free CLE update. The usual disclaimers apply about continued availability, content and jurisdictional creditworthiness.
FREE CLE
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Veritext Legal Solutions
Continuing Legal Education
CLE Webinar Schedule at:
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National Consumer Law Center
Financial Frauds and Scams Against Elders: Government Responses and Resources
06-15-2016 2:00 pm (EST)
Categories: National Elder Rights Training Project | Consumer Fraud & Scams
Past Webinars Archive at: http://www.nclc.org/eventbooking
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Thompson Coburn LLP
[Webinar] Ethics and Cybersecurity – June 29th, 12pm CDT
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