Comments on: “Your Prayers Can Save the World’s Fattest Cat!”

By: Sarah Lawsky

Sarah Lawsky — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:57:59 +0000

I hope Comment 5 is serious–if so, it wins the thread.

By: Hannnah

Hannnah — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:53:51 +0000

this is sooo stupid…i thought it was gonna be about a really sick fat cat that was dying and i could pray for!!! instead its some stupid head line thingie…so stupid…gosh u ppl r stupid and dumb…idiotic ppl!!!!

By: Samir Chopra

Samir Chopra — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:31:43 +0000

I think journal article titles have definitely become cleverer over the years, though I think too many academics seem to think punning is the only form of wit that should make an appearance in a journal title.

By: A.J. Sutter

A.J. Sutter — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:33:27 +0000

Great observation. But why is the reader “she”? I, for one, wouldn’t mind learning about how to become a cat savior, especially if I could also catch up on the latest dalliances between White House occupants and space aliens for no extra cash.

This no doubt owes something to a famous National Lampoon cover from 1973, as well as, perhaps, to a 1980s-era parody, “Manager’s 30-Second Guide to Weight Loss During Sex” and its ilk.

What I wish is that law profs would apply this kind of attentive rhetorical analysis to what they read and write for a living, especially the stuff that talks about “efficiency,” “opportunity costs,” etc. While nowhere near as as artful as the tabloid headline, the impact of this literature is no less based on hidden assumptions and anxieties, professional and otherwise.

By: Frank Pasquale

Frank Pasquale — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:44:49 +0000

I like the concision contest. Here’s a story from our DHS Secretary:

“[There was] a writing contest in which the instructor said that he would give the highest grade to the student who could write the shortest story containing four fundamental elements of fiction and the four fundamental elements were religion, royalty, sex, and mystery. Religion, royalty, sex, and mystery.

And the story that got the highest grade went something like this. “Oh, God,” said the Queen, “I’m pregnant, and I don’t know who did it.””

from
http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/speeches/sp_1236975404263.shtm

By: Edward Swaine

Edward Swaine — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:06:09 +0000

Sarah, as always, a genius topic — but as to the last para, is it really either/or? I can imagine a pretty fierce contest for “Legal Epigrams That Should Have Been Tabloid Headlines,” and one of my first nominations would be Holmes: “Three Generations of Imbeciles Are Enough!” Imagine seeing that headline on a tabloid at the checkout line, with an unflattering picture of your favorite entertainment dynasty, and a story about waning popularity; it’s a sure-fire seller. Certainly better than as jurisprudence.