I just had a great Fat Tuesday lunch down at the Corbett Fish House, where the sign says: "Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you give him an excuse to sit around all day drinking beer."

I spent my solitary lunch perusing my hard copy of the March ABA Journal. Reading the article on law bloggers, I felt the way I always do when I read in the mass media about good friends. Seeing them recognized on a large scale for something that I've known about for a while gives me a sense of smug satisfaction. I feel as hip as I did in the mid-'70s, when Bruce Springsteen went from a word-of-mouth Jersey phenomenon (which I had been talking up to anyone who would listen) to the cover of Time and Newsweek in the same week. Ah, I said to myself, I knew him when.

Getting a link from the likes of Howard Bashman or Denise Howell, however, is in many ways better than the Springsteen handshake. After all, Bruce never got up on stage and said, "This guy Bogdanski has a couple of interesting songs." Whereas a mere mention from the How Appealing pulpit sends my hit counter spiking through its concededly low ceiling.

A wonderful side benefit of the blogger article was that it led right into a very fine piece by James McElhaney of Case Western Law School on the hearsay rule. He demystifies the rule and makes it accessible, which, when last I checked, is what we law profs are supposed to be doing. Good for him.

I loved my evidence class in law school, mostly because I loved the guy who taught it. I didn't do well on the exam, and I didn't think it was all that good of an exam, but the chance to "visit" for four hours a week with John Kaplan was a great honor.

John's probably up there goofing on Mister Rogers right now.