Before Christmas, I took what I thought was the easy way out of 2011, by offering a month-by-month recap of some of the LOMAP Blog’s best posts of this year. This allowed me to complete my Christmas shopping, just under the wire. And, while there is no New Year’s shopping requirement ( at least that I know of), the fact that I ate too many of these awesome chocolate-cheesecake-coconut contraptions that my aunt made, means that I have only traded ailments, and am now suffering from a post-Christmas, pre-New Year food hangover. The only cure: more cowbell. Or, eating less . . . or, more, I suppose: getting back on the horse that threw you, and all . . .
Of course, the shading of last week’s recap post may have offered the impression that this operation exists in a vacuum, in which the LOMAP staff works feverishly, day and evening and morning, producing only the finest law practice management-related blog postings. . . . Well, that’s only partially true. We have been, and continue to be, graced by the presence of some fantastic guest bloggers, whose posts we publish from time to time. So, this year, as last, it is my distinct pleasure to recap some of my favorite guest blog posts from the 2011 season:
-In February, Jim Bolan covered important changes to the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5, respecting fees and fee agreements.
-In April, Max Perlman revisited the Massachusetts data protection rules, one year post implementation.
-In June, Daryl Rinaldi offered some technology applications to help law firms respond to fee pressure.
-In July, Howard Lenow shared the full range of hardware and software that he uses to trick out his iPad.
-In September, Ken Reich relayed his top ten list of effective behaviors for the establishment and maintaining of a solo law practice.
-In November, Ken Leeser helped to define the three legs of the modern technology platform for small law firms: cloud, mobile, social.
If you’re interested in joining this esteemed collection of authors, and wish to write a guest post for the LOMAP Blog, email me at jared@masslomap.org.
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Liner Notes
There isn’t much New Year’s music, despite what you’d think. So, the only possible thing to do here is to return to the Christmas season, which is virtually fine, to my mind, since we have not yet reached the Epiphany, when the lighted trees come down.
So, the other day, I was talking with various people about what they thought was the most-recorded Christmas song; nobody had a definitive answer; and, I didn’t feel like Googling it, either–because of being all unplugged for the Christmas season, and whatnot. Now, I have no factual basis for saying so: but, I have to believe it’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. I mean, you hear so many versions of that song; and, it’s sort of an easy thing to manage: if you’re going to do it, you only have to sing just the half of the song, and you get to make somebody happy by offering a duet. Usually, the way this goes down is that there is some one primary artist, who is releasing a Christmas album; he or she decides to do the song; he or she acquires a duet partner; and, from there: it’s practically in the groove. This is sort of the way we run the LOMAP Blog: we chiefly publish original content, and occasionally seek out effective collaborators to work with. Ain’t life beaut-iful . . .
So, here are a variety of versions of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”:
–Dean Martin was pretty much born to pimp, so it was a fait accompli that he would cover this song, with a bevy (harem?) of female singers accompanying him.
–Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton rasp through the entire thing.
-“Glee” is in the act.
-In a sort of creepy version, Willie Nelson pitches woo to the much junior Norah Jones.
–Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey offer up one of the cheesier versions of this song ever produced–and, that’s saying something. How did that work out? Not so well, eh.
–Selma Blair and Dwight Schrute attempt a reversal of the traditional ‘mouse’ and ‘wolf’ roles for a Gap commercial. Certainly makes me want to buy a sweater. . . . No, wait . . . it does not.
–James Taylor attempts to waylay Natalie Cole in an alternately goofy (JT, of course) and sultry (JT, again) play on the original.
–Ben Folds and Sara Bareilles do a whole thing around the song, which ends up having a sort of lounge act vibe to it.
–Homer and Jethro (not Tull), with June Carter, do a country send-up (that probably seemed much less dirty in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s than it really does seem now), on The Johnny Cash Show.
–Betty Garrett and Red Skelton act out what must be one of the first ‘reversal’ versions of the song, in the 1949 film, “Neptune’s Daughter”.
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Now, while it hasn’t been very cold yet this winter, January and February hold some promise for snow. It will be then that you can get your swerve on in this manner. So, gentle men and gentle ladies with an agenda: Prepare thy hot toddies.
