ATL Idol: The Head-to-Head Round (Part 2)
Here’s the second half of the “head-to-head” round of ATL Idol. If you’re not up to speed on what’s going on, background information is available in this prior post (or just scroll down the front page).
You can check out the second half of the head-to-head round, featuring the blogging of FROLIC AND DETOUR, SOPHIST, and MARIN, after the jump.
Here are the takes of FROLIC AND DETOUR, SOPHIST, and MARIN, all on the same story. We gave them these two links:
http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1202423266600&hub=TopStories
And a length limit of 400 words. Here’s what they came up with (presentation order determined randomly; each entry marked with the contestant’s avatar near the top):
LAWYER OF THE DAY: GARRETT LEE
By FROLIC AND DETOUR
As an ATL Idol contestant, I can’t blame any lawyer for leaving practice to seek a creative outlet. But painting pottery?
Garrett Lee, the deputy general counsel to Washington, D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty, was disbarred as a result of assorted misconduct including gross negligence and perjury. Apparently when Lee was in private practice as a divorce lawyer, he missed filings, ignored discovery requests, and skipped oral argument.
Most lawyers can sympathize with the temptation to watch Youtube when we ought to be responding to a motion for contempt. Even so, it’s usually not a good idea to send the client a redacted version of the court’s opinion with its discussion of your errors removed. And if you do, don’t testify under oath in the inevitable malpractice suit that you never did such a thing. Because even if your close personal friend, the mayor, thinks that your work history qualifies you for a job in city government, he’s still going to have to fire you when you get disbarred.
Luckily, Lee’s membership in the exclusive HYPS club can never be revoked.
In the end, Lee took a job at Color Me Mine, a paint-your-own-pottery store owned by his sister. Now he’ll have to listen to groups of bridesmaids bonding as they make babies’ footprints into tiny butterfly wings. Buddy, I’ve been there…it’s a lot more pleasant in court.
LAWYER OF THE DAY: GARRETT LEEBy SOPHIST
If you ever want to know how to break into the hyper-competitive field of pottery painting, call up Garrett Lee, the former interim deputy general counsel in the D.C. Mayor’s Office. Now that he has been officially disbarred, Lee might suggest you follow these seven easy steps.
Step 1: Go to GULC.
Lee received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994.
Step 2: Find a firm that will always stand by you.
Lee was an associate at Feldesman Tucker Leifer and Fidel. Richard Shadyac, Jr., managing partner of the Feldesman’s Virginia office, remembered Lee as “a very bright attorney with an excellent future.” At Feldesman, Lee took on the Xavier Jordan case, which eventually led to Lee’s disbarment.
Step 3: Get your name on the letterhead.
Lee left Feldesman to join Bouquet McKinney and Lee.
Step 4: Run the firm into the ground.
Sadly, Bouquet McKinney and Lee is defunct.
Step 5: Have powerful friends with poor vetting operations.
Lee returned to Feldesman briefly, where he redacted court documents to hide his incompetence from Jordan. But Mayor Adrian Fenty soon rewarded Lee, his longtime buddy, with a government job.
Step 6: Just sit back, relax, and wait for your friends to turn on you.
Lee was exposed when a Feldesman employee (Shadyac declined to say who) found Lee’s falsified documents by rifling through Lee’s desk. Mayor Fenty is too busy trying to wash Lee’s blood off his hands with lye to spare a kind word for his troubled “friend.”
Step 7: Write a resume your sister loves.
Diedre Lee, Garrett Lee’s sister, owns a Color Me Mine franchise, a paint-your-own pottery shop, in Adams Morgan. President and COO of Color Me Mine Michael Mooslin, calls her “wonderful.” When told that Diedre hired the back-end of the Lee gene pool, Mooslin said “I have complete confidence in her.”
With Garrett Lee’s help, we can all learn how to trade in a promising legal career for vocational training in handicrafts.
http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1202423266600&hub=TopStories
COLOR ME BAD: LAWYER OF THE DAY, GARRETT LEE
By MARIN
For those readers who fear missing court deadlines, getting fired and winding up homeless, cast your fears aside. Lawyer of the Day, Garrett Lee, who resigned in shame from D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s legal office, proves that there is life after malpractice, perjury and disbarment, though it may be in arts and crafts.
Lee’s story begins with his egregious mishandling of a divorce case from 1999 to 2004, when he worked at Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell and Bouquet McKinney & Lee in D.C. Lee failed to respond to numerous motions or to file a brief with the D.C. Court of Appeals, all the while telling his client, Xavier Jordan, that things were going swimmingly. Foreshadowing a later career move, Lee decorated the Court’s decision by applying Wite-Out to the sentence “Appellee Jordan has not filed a brief on appeal,” and then sent it to Jordan. Unimpressed by the artistic license, Jordan filed a malpractice suit against Lee and Feldesman Tucker fired him.
Though unemployed and disgraced, Lee was apparently still qualified to work in government. He joined the D.C. Council’s office in 2006 and later became interim deputy general counsel after Fenty became mayor. The job was not an ideal fit; while it gave Lee sufficient time to perjure himself at his malpractice suit deposition, he failed to find time enough to respond to most of Jordan’s motions. The court slapped Lee with a $1 million judgment and bar counsel disbarred him last week.
But true to the adage “if at first you get disbarred, try, try again,” Garrett Lee has picked himself up, dusted himself off and landed a new job - this time with none of those pesky filing deadlines. Where? At Color Me Mine, a pottery studio owned by his sister in D.C. Said Lee:
I’m pursuing a family business venture with my sister…It’s a great opportunity.
No doubt his Wite-Out brushwork will come in handy.
In the Matter of Garrett L. Lee, D.C. Court of Appeals Board of Professional Responsibility [pdf]
Fenty Lawyer Resigns, Is Disbarred [LegalTimes]
Former Fenty Lawyer Disbarred, Now Working at Color Me Mine [Washington City Paper]
(189) Comments
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in a hat
Sophist is the clear winner in my mind
terrible. all terrible.
alex>>>everyone else.
It looks like Sophist did some actual journalism... he has quotes not in the original story...
1) Frolic 2) Marin 3) Sophist
Marin by a landslide, but PLEASE get rid of that stupid avatar.
Sophist will be gone by the end of the day. That was a terribly-written, awkward post. Marin's entry was pretty good, only needed a few more paragraph breaks and a little trimming for length and pace. While F&D's post is a vast improvement over yesterday's yawner, it still is a little too sing-song and pithy to be championship material. Of course, I'm not the average malcontent cynic who posts on ATL, so my review is probably a little too rosy.
Seconded, #5. Frolic and Alex are looking good.
Marin and F&D are interchangeable...
1) Frolic 2) Marin 3) Sophist
Frolic > Marin > Sophist
Sophist loses points for copying Exley's 7-point list.
"Write a resume your sister loves"...priceless. I'm going with Sophist on this one.
Marin wins. Sophist comes in a distant third.
All of these are better then the Alex/Exley suck-fest
Marin wins by a ... uh.... nose. However, Alex is still funnier.
Oh my weaksauce.
Sophist used the same format for this post that Exley used for the head-to-head with Alex.
Unlike Exley, however, Sophist makes it work.
One for Sophist.
Frolic > Marin x Sophist + 100
To #11 -- how could Sophist copy if they all submitted at the same time?
1) Frolic 2) Sophist 3) Marin
Frolic took this round.
Sorry F&D, I like you but Marin remains the best. Sophist, take the easy way out like Becker did; you're clearly not cut out for this.
MARIN 2-0.
"Write a resume your sister loves"...priceless. I'm going with Sophist on this one.
Marin is clearly the best writer
but her avatar is NFWS
Lists are bad. Marin wins.
"Write a resume your sister loves"...priceless. I'm going with Sophist on this one.
To #11 -- how could Sophist copy if they all submitted at the same time?
Lat, it is borderline offensive watching you bore the hell out of everyone due to your inability to make this hiring decision for yourself.
Has the ATL readership made you so insecure as to warrant this type of punishment?
Please make it stop ...
I go with Marin on this one.hh
Marin is the best writer around. The 7-point list idea is stupid. Never write a list that long. I do think Marin could use additional paragraph breaks and just a little more humor, but at least he's not trying too hard. And again, the clear winner on writing.
Frolic>Marin>Sophist
Sophist playing to the home crowd with the GULC bashing, but Marin gets it more right for the HYPS bashing.
Frolic takes the round, though Marin's entry was a pleasant surprise. Sophist a bit too dry for me.
1. Sophist
2. Marin
3. F & D
4-1,467,192. Every aspiring blogger in the world
1,467,193. Exley
1,467,194. Alex
Definitely 1) Sophist as somewhat amusing; 2) Marin (altho the Avatar really must go-- still very upsetting); and by far 3) Frolic...kinda pointless...
Sophist is the clear winner. Actual investigative journalism -- how refreshing!
Listen, all of them are decent writers, thats why they are finalists, but only one of these were funny... Sophist gets it.
Marin. The whole "7 steps" thing is played out.
Is there anyway we can eliminate 3 people this round (aside from Becker) instead of just one more?
Marin is the best of the three by far, but still not very good. Too long!! Stop writing so much. Be confident and write something funny. Seriously.
MARIN by far... i liked sophist originally, but now its getting too gimicky... some of us actual want a normal, witty story.
MARIN by far... i liked sophist originally, but now its getting too gimicky... some of us actual want a normal, witty story.
MARIN by far... i liked sophist originally, but now its getting too gimicky... some of us actual want a normal, witty story.
Yeah, I'd go Sophist for the humor and reporting followed by Marin and F & D. (How long until F & D starts to stand for something else, btw?)
11-- get a clue, the post times were too close for there to be any copying... Lat probably had them all together and he chose what to put up first
Marin wins...hands down. Her post is the cleverest.
Frolic is bland, needs grammar lessons, and got her facts wrong (Lee was only the interim deputy gc).
Sophist does not need a critique from me...his post has done him enough damage.
The head-to-head format today is better than the more open format used yesterday. It is easier to compare them when they are writing about the same material. I think all 5 should have done the same topic though.
Sophist used the same format as Exley, only made it funny and used sources. It was the only one that didn't put me to sleep...
I don't get the Marin love, sure its written well enough, but dry. I come to ATL for some humor.
"cleverest"???
F&D wrote a really nice summary here. Marin's work doesn't really pack much of a punch - I can't believe everyone likes it so much. She uses poor constructions like "Lee's story begins with . . .." Thats a waste of words.
And the seven steps thing is a waste. And did this guy really run his old firm into the ground, or is it just coincidence that he's a moron and the firm is now defunct? Because no one else mentioned it, I assume Sophist is playing fast and loose with the facts. Not cool.
Frolic's put me to sleep. The snark was lacking. I think Sophist's list is quite good...it hit all the highlights of the story, I laughed and there was stuff in there not from the story as #4 said. Marin wasn't as funny, but it got the story out and I liked the "artistic license" stuff.
Verdict on this round: Sophist, Marin, Frolic.
Marin - avatar and all - takes this one
2:47(1)--Get a clue. See how this post garnered about 50 comments in a half-hour? This is not "bor[ing] the hell" out of most of us.
Marin. I'll give Sophist one step to getting voted off: use a played out format that nobody likes.
I think Marin wins .. very professional but amusing at the same time .. Sophist was very creative, so he/she has the edge over Frolic
to #49...yes, "cleverest" is a real word, as is "cleverer"...try using a dictionary before you criticize.
say good-bye, sophist.
Frolic all the way...Sophist's list is trite and Marin was boring.
To #49. Yes, "cleverest" is correctly used. "Cleverer" is also a proper term. I understand you probably have a limited vocabulary, but please at least open a dictionary before you criticize.
1. Marin
2. F&D
3. Exley + Alex
4. Arnie Becker
5. Sophist
Why is everyone in love with Marin's writing? It stinks.
Use the damn serial comma; especially to avoid ambiguities! And read the Elements of Style -- you have none.
How to rate ATL Idols
1) Give them a story
2) Make tons of lists
3) Put in annoying avatars that distract from the posts
4) Get someone to remind you that guys in their high school used to do it all the time
5) Lose all originality from ATL
Marin = too long + boring + not funny
Sophist is the only one who got off their ass and did actual journalism. Sophist by a mile
To #49. Yes, "cleverest" is correctly used. "Cleverer" is also a proper term. I understand you probably have a limited vocabulary, but please at least open a dictionary before you criticize.
Marin!
F&D was terrible... and boring-- thats the cardinal sin
Marin's "wite-out" joke was such a stretch and it failed. Miserably. Go back to celebrity blogging.
56/59: The fact that you feel the need to revise and repost your limp comeback to being called out on ugly writing is pathetic.
-not 49.
60-- in what world is Sophist last? The one where we vote out the only entertaining writer? Good plan
Sophist is the clear winner. If Exley hadn't done the list thing first, Sophist's entry would have been funnier.
Marin's entry was terrible. All the people who are saying how great it was are groupies from her other blog. These people need to GET THE HELL OUT of here. F&D was garbage as always.
Does one of the tasks involving finding the story? (Or is that what led to the various posts yesterday?)
I'm interested in how they write, obviously...but I want them to be able to find the stories as well.
71-- you are totally right... the Marin groupies are KILLING this thread. if you aren't a regular ATL reader get out!
The white out joke was the only time I chuckled quietly to myself at my desk while reading all five entries.
Although a quiet chuckle is not exactly a measurably high standard, Marin wins.
Frolic and Marin aren't funny. They wasted my time.
Sophist was the clear winner here.
Marin is not so good. Let's analyze:
"He joined the D.C. Council's office in 2006 and later became interim deputy general counsel after Fenty became mayor."
This is pretty awkward sentence structure - the "later" and "after" don't interact well. This should have been two sentences.
"The job was not an ideal fit; while it gave Lee sufficient time to perjure himself at his malpractice suit deposition, he failed to find time enough to respond to most of Jordan's motions."
Too many "to's." Again, this is too much of a stream of consciousness - not very crisp.
It's not that Marin is a terrible writer - I wouldn't flunk him in freshman English - it's just that his writing is aesthetically displeasing. Not a fan.
Well at least we know there are two ways to write 'list' posts: the good way (Sophist) and the bad way (Exley)
Marin!
I agree that the sister-resume line from Sophist was good, but one funny comment does not make an otherwise boring article outstanding. I think Exley's list worked much better than this one.
F&D and Marin were both pretty good. I vote Marin because the quote from Lee is hilarious. F&D had a couple of amusing comments, but nothing made me laugh out loud.
Marin is so much better. I'm not a groupie. Sophist was too hard to follow - just get to the point already!
F&D was okay, but probably a too self-involved (how do I turn this story into a story about me?).
79-- Marin's quote was in the article, only Sophist had original quotes... (real journalism gasp, choke!)
Marin > Exley > Sophist > F&D > Alex
F&D was boring. Sophist was ok but the lists are getting old. Marin wins. All the people who are saying how great Sophist is are just his/her friends. Same with F&D. And everyone else.
The reader comments are all over the map--I cannot wait to read the judge's reviews.
Suggestion for all contestants: Brevity is the key, with a short set-up, a good quote allowing the post to speak for itself, followed by a SUCCINCT funny comment.
72-- I agree. it'd be nice to see if these people can find a story by themselves. That's why I am encouraged by the actual legwork Sophist has done in his post.
Marin = F&D > Sophist
Well done, Marin.
F&D was good also, but harder to read if you didn't know the story before reading his/her writeup.
This is so f-in retarded. no one watches Idol but braindead fat people from the midwest and teenie boppers. Just pick the most qualified and lets get some real news on here. How about a poll on whether the required calories on NY restaurants/ steakhouses will make fat attorneys lose weight or not? Anything but this BS!!
Marin > Frolic > Sophist
Marin, PLEASE save us from having to look at that horrible gelatinous blob of an avatar again.
But in terms of ATL style, Marin takes this round by parroting Lat. Frolic comes off as too Elle Woods (though she's basically told us that's all we can expect from her). Motion for contempt? WTF is that? You mean a motion for sanctions? Motion for and order to find Lee in contempt? And while Exley's use of the 7-point list filled us in on Shepherd's total batshit asshattedness, Sophist's list is weak. Going to GULC as #1? Yawn.
Frolic by default, since the rest made me wish for illiteracy.
Can anyone orgasming over Sophist's "investigative journalism" even confirm that the quotes in Sophist's post aren't from the Legal Times article which conveniently requires registration? Even if he did do independent research, so what? It's totally unnecessary to the story and doesn't add anything.
Marin has the best writing, with a tang of snarkiness, and the "artistic license" foreshadowing is elegant. Marin by a mile.
1. Marin
2. F&D / Exley
4. Sophist / Alex
F&D and Sophist tie
Marin in a DISTANT last place (plus the avatar is horrible)
New rankings after two days:
1. Alex
2. F&D
3. Exley
4. A turd sandwich
5. Hope Winters
6. Achie Bunker
7. Sophist
8. Mark Edelman
9. SEN
10. Marin
Another vote for Marin.
This is F-in retarded! you last 10 people commenting on who it is are probably the authors just commenting on your own work. ATL, between this and the cat pictures, I think you are really on a downward spiral. Seriously, are you now a 65 year old obese lady who has a full mustache and lives alone in a doublewide in Kansas? Cause this website seems to say so lately.
All of these are WAY better then Alex/Exley... they are my choice for first to go
Alex is the clear winner
79 -- it was more than just the sister-resume line for me. The "back end of the Lee gene pool" and "poor vetting operations" also took dry facts and "injected the funny". I'm not saying Sophist is god's gift to writing or anything but I'm reading three entries and only one is, well, something that I would log in everyday to read.
1. Exley
2. F&D
3. Sophist
4. Marin
5. Alex
Okay, comprehensive, two day rankings:
Sophist
Marin
Alex
F&D
Exley
80: all bloggers write about themselves. The proper term for this is "self-fellation".
1) Marin 2) Frolick 3) Sophist
1-4 Anyone but Marin
5 Marin
Marin.
And from what I can tell from her pictures she's female.
71: I liked Marin's post best, and I am a regular reader.
Guys in my high school used to vote for Marin all the time, it was no big deal.
I love how all these Marin groupies just shout her name blindly without even saying WHY she'd be good for the job, because you certainly can't tell from her writing.
Sophist is no longer in the running toward becoming America's Next Top Model.
Marin FTW
White-out and its vaguely humorous connection to paint-it-yourself pottery: the joke so nice, Marin told it twice!
All shit. Go find a new crop of candidates.
OFFICIAL ATL IDOL RANKINGS
1. Kash
2. Marin
3. F&D
4. Alex/Exley (tie)
6. Sophist
Yes, a lot of Marin fan's on the site now. Clearly from her other blog.
So, even if you are an ATL regular, if you vote for Marin, you are inviting her ilk into the ATL fold.
If I am watching a History channel program, or the MacNeil Lehrer Report, I don't want my contemporaries to be a bunch of 'people' who just finished watching 'Sex in the City'
Just sayin'
Marin - Hilarious.
Sophist - piece of advice - pull a Becker.
F&D - snooze fest.
1) F&D 2) Marin 3) Sophist.
Sophist's was not funny and was carried by the tool of the list. Opposite of Exley's this morning, which was funny despite his butchering the format.
Marin chose the nice quote at the end, but man she write long. Short, declarative sentences, people!
F&D gets extra points for HYPS snark.
112 is sooooo right. Marin is an ok writer but now I'm not going to vote for her just to make sure her groupies stay out of here.
#112, you're ridiculous - most of her "ILK" include fellow lawyers. I guess lawyers are not the sort of readership ATL looks to attract?
116, not when they are only here to kiss up to Marin and ignore the shortcomings of her writing
Do you think would could lure Garrett Lee? I mean, if we offered a sufficient buyout package?
I've never seen Marin's other blog. But she's clearly the best writer of the 5. Alex is probably #2 in terms of writing talent, but he's uber-earnest and unfunny, which are complete deal-killers for this blog (making him last or second-to-last on my list). Marin is closest to Lat in style and ability (though clearly not there yet).
1- Marin
2- F&D
3-Sophist
Sophist's list format is very annoying. And his/her statement that that Lee "ran the firm into the ground" is unsupported and likely BS.
please make this crap stop.
This seven-step thing is terrible. Not creative enough to weave humorous and/or interesting details together in a coherent narrative? Easy, just slap numbers before each one. Give me a break.
Since Legal T did all of the actual work (and gracefully got the credit from City Paper), it wins.
Marin, then Sophist, then F&D.
Why is 116 Marin?
And why is she self-promoting on her website, telling people to come over here to support her? If they're not here already, they shouldn't come here just for that.
I don't want any whiny bitches responding to her lame editor-in-chief "Perez Hilton round-ups" with comments like "xoxo sweetie, can't wait to try that recipe, **HUGS**". No, thank you.
Go away, Marinheads.
Lists are a stupid way to tell a story. Marin's was clear, well-written and humorous when needed.
Lists are a stupid way to tell a story. Marin's was clear, well-written and humorous when needed.
I can't believe anyone liked Sophist. That was terrible. The steps schtick should use 3, 5 max. Seven is just lazy.
Frolic and Detour...I felt like I read alot of words but got little information. He's shown me nothing thus far and should be the next to go.
Marin. It's too bad her "people" are flocking to the site. She should have known there would be a backlash.
Alex and Marin are the default leaders with Marin having the edge right now.
126, no matter who wins we will see our fair share of lists. At least we know Sophist can be funny about it.
These three were awful. Alex and Exley are starting to run away with this competition.
It is absurd to believe that Marin's positive feedback is due primarily to non-ATL folks who read her blog.
First, it is clear that she is a talented writer and lots of long time ATL readers find her posts entertaining. The fact that she gets a high % of positive responses is not surprising at all.
Second, I'm quite sure that all 5 remaining writers have fans posting on the site. Who's to say that Marin has more? Maybe Frolic's mother is sitting at home typing "F&D>Sophist" all day. Or maybe Alex's high school friends are inflating his very mediocre submissions w/ their "Alex #1" comments.
The bottom line is that you just don't know who's providing these comments and there's no good reason to begin speculating.
frolic, marin, sophist
130, if by "run away with" you mean "will be the first voted off" then you are right, otherwise, not so much
Marin
I've got better steps than Sophist right here.
Step 1 - Cut a hole in the box
Step 2 - Put your...
You get the idea.
116=131=Marin=GO AWAY MARINHEADS
it's marin's world. sophist et al are just living in it.
Guys in my high school used to get their buddies to post nice things about them on ATL so they could land jobs all the time. It was no big deal.
I'd never heard of Marin before this dumb contest. But I agree with the comment above, pointing out that her writing style is pretty clearly the closest to Lat's. I guess that's a good thing.
Do any of you agree with me that based on merit, Kash should snag the EIC slot?
Wow, Lat, you should seriously consider changing the rules to give the judges a stronger role... It's not exactly fair when one crappy writer brings all her friends to vote for her...
1st: Marin
2nd: Frolic
3rd: Sophist
Sophist in 1st, and the other two really don't matter.
112's fear mongering is completely warranted and we should make every conceivable effort to get rid of Marin and her idiot groupies.
ATL is great in large part because of the commenters and I don't want her TTT groupies ruining that.
Okay, let me just crack on the majority of the peeps making the comments: There is nothing terrible about the three posts above. They are all great, considering what they are: first efforts.
When Conan O'Brien took over the Late Night show, NBC ran a week of David Letterman's first efforts on the program. Those episodes were amazingly bad. I mean, whoa. It was nothing like the polished Dave we have come to expect.
Same thing here. These guys are a little rusty, a little awkward, and green, but, over time, they will get better. So, lighten up, okay?
My vote goes to Marin. She is clearly the best writer of the 5 finalists.
143 -
Thank you for your vote of support for my elitist and exclusionary voice.
Sincerely,
112
P.S. The comments are what drive this site, and we're getting way too many 'common' posts these days
That dude on the side of the road with the sharpie / cardboard sign that says "will work for food god bless" has more aptitude at creative writing than Marin. Marin zealots please return to her blog and never again step into ATL, unless you go to law school. OK THX
My vote is also for Marin... if we are voting who leaves! /zing!
I agree with 144, we need to evaluate the potential and range of each of the finalists. I think my vote is for Sophist at this point (with Marin a close second) but I need to see what they deliver tomorrow.
F&D: Fail. WTF is the plate and out-of-place reference to Gannet House doing at the beginning of the post? Adds confusion,not clarity nor humor. Also poorly done is the spurious reference to the "HYPS Club" and link to the Stanford alumni page. This reference and link detract from the post, and add nothing. Negative points also for referencing the redacted court opinion, with no indication as to what was redacted. Wasted a few minutes scanning the opinion trying to find it myself. THINK OF YOUR AUDIENCE!
Sophist: C-. The 'step-by-step' format was almost cute, but it added too much irrelevant information (with weak attempts at humor) and did not carry the reader through the heart of the story in an engaging manner.
Marin: B+. Good informative post with a decent pacing and a touch of snarkiness (which could be refined a bit). More ATL-like than the first 2 posts.
145 and everyone that has made a similar comment-
You obviously don't understand good writing. Marin is a terrible writer. Several commentators have critiqued specific sections of her post.
Your (and other posters) general statements about Marin's writing style are unsupportable.
And 144 - this is their first effort at a blog post, sure (well, not Marin's . . . first effort at an ATL blog post?). But they've all written before. They should have a better handle on style if they want to take over this blog. My guess is, if they can't write with good style now, they never can.
Hello - this is a follow up to MY post #116. I am not Marin. I am a lawyer. I enjoy her blog. I do not read Perez Hilton on a regular basis and I think she's the most qualified candidate.
I just finished the bar exam, it was brutal... Sophist is the only one that made me laugh. At this point, that is the only criteria that matters to me.
For this story: Frolic and Detour > Marin > Sophist
I've never visited of these people's blogs, but I'd have to rank them Marin > Frolic > Sophist.
Maybe people just have different tastes. Not sure why people have to take that so friggin' personally!
And by "visited of" I meant "visited any of." Sorry.
Sophist = thumbs down.
First, the article doesn't clearly explain the topic.
Second, it is boring.
Third, I don't like the step-format.
Marin, followed by Frolic. (Close, though.) Sophist a distant third.
The commenters complaining about how the contestants are not as good as Lat are almost definitely the same ones who constantly complain to Lat about his own writing. Maybe we should listen to them the most, because they are bona fide ATL readers.
1. Marin - just a normal, slightly tangy post
2. F&D - ok, tone is not my fave
3. Sophist - please no seven easy steps
1. Kash
2. Frolic & Exley (tie)
4. Marin
5. Sophist & Alex (tie)
We should eliminate Sophist and Alex and move on.
Go Marin. That "foreshadowing a later career choice" line about the white-out was great. The others were SO LAME. Also points to Marin for including the picture of the guy - not just some stupid plate.
F&D -- Good summary of the facts. Amusing YouTube reference. I don't know what the hell HYPS is. Hold Your Penis Safe?! Harvard, Yale, Penn State?! I click the link, and it takes me to a website for Stanford homecoming, but no explanation of the acronym.
Sophist -- I want to like you. I really do. Choosing the Brain as your icon shows you appreciate biting sarcasm and witty quips (the only icon I can think of that would better convey that message is Stewie Griffin, and only because he's more modern). But you are seriously letting me down. I'll vote you into the next round based on your chosen avatar, but I need to see some growth. I agree with whoever said it above -- the only really funny line you gave us was "Write a resume your sister loves."
Marin -- Fair humor and good overall structure for the story. The writing, however, isn't great. Your style is a little hard to follow, and you need to find the line between humorous characterization and unwarranted exaggeration.
#160 - "Go Marin"? You are either a) a Marin groupie, or b) Marin.
Marin.
Marin wins hands down; the others do not come close.
All good, but I give it to S&M.
Whoops, I mean F&D.
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I am an admitted Marin Groupie and I am not a lawyer and I have never been on ATL before any of this started. As a non-lawyer and non ATL reader i don't feel any reason to give my opinion about the writers, or their capabilities. As a young professional however, i think you are all ridiculous to point fingers and blame us "Marinheads" for infultrating your blogging session. As must as we support her, i don't give a sh*t who writes for your website. Marin is obviously a talented writer for her to even be considered for this position, so stop trying to blame her blog readers for her support, and step up your own writing. You all are using her blog as a scapgoat to push her out because you know she is your biggest competition.
Uh, 167... this may be a difficult concept for you celebrity blog readers to grasp, but, see, the people commenting in this thread are not the other 5 ATL Idol contestants; we're *other* people who are *not* actually candidates for the EIC (that means "Editor-in-Chief") position and therefore are not "competition" to Marin in any way whatsoever (that means "at all").
And, uh, it's "infiltrating."
167...you're not helping. That said, I hate celebrity blogs and I am a lawyer. Oh and I do like Marin too.
147 - Not all of us here are in law school. Some of us graduated, and are slaving away for the man (errrr....woman) now.
Marin's TTT fans are ruining this competition, and effectively, this blog.
The voting population will not be representative of ATL's readership.
Second that, 170.
F&D revealed the details in a way that kept me reading. So far, it's F&D and Alex at the top but neither is going to be a worthy replacement for Lat.
Marin forgot the second "d" in "badd" or at the least missed the opportunity to twist this cheesy 80's group's "humorous misspelling" into a humorous reference to this post. Plus, she looks and writes like a poser.
Definitely Marin. The 7 steps came off forced and F&D has really weird cadence and sentence structure. 76 isn't wrong that Marin's could have been slightly improved, but it's not as bad as (say) F&D's addiction to preambulary clauses. But why doesn't she use her jewish dog as the avatar instead of MJ?
Unfortunately for Marin, the fact that she's the best out of this bunch will not overshadow her unpleasant bio and vote grubbing in her personal blog.
Marin wins. Sophist has promise but I think the "X steps to doing whatever I just read about" gets old quickly.
Sophist! Clearly, hands down.
MARIN is so much better than all these other losers. Also, what's the deal with all these sore losers going on and on about "Marinheads" and "Marin Groupies." Seriously, she's just better. Who needs groupies when you have skills? Deal with it. Also, get a life, people.
marin's was the betterest. Sophist neglected to provide details of the actual malpractice (the Wite-out was a nice tidbit).
Marin
167 says it all, why have a vote when you can have a PR campaign? Silly lawyers.
So when are we going to hear from the promised "celebrity" judges? Enough of this inane chanting of "Marin Marin Marin" and "Alex > the universe", I want to hear what Goldstein, Althouse and Lithwick have to say. And hopefully, it will be something snarky.
I swear to God if Marin wins it will be the death of ATL. Look how terrible the Marinheads have already made this thread.
Leaderboard:
1. Alex (tie)
1. Exley (tie)
3. Sophist
4. Anyone else
5. Marin
6. F&D
Just for going by the names "Sophist" and "Marin" these 2 people should be eliminated immediately
These allegations of Marinist conspiracy are just stupid. I'd never even heard of Marin or her blog until this contest, but she's clearly the best writer of the 5 contestants and the only one who wouldn't sink ATL within a month of taking over. There is no conspiracy of Marin supporters; it just so happens that all the other candidates suck. (Except F&D, who isn't entirely bad).
F&D was the best! She was the winner; the other two totally sucked.
People are just hating on F&D because she has a vag.
F & D was boring. I liked Sophist and Marin; however,I then read the insanity of the Marin comments, was turned off by the entire thing, and now am just angry.
In summary, I now prefer Sophist.
Absolutely F&D.
Here is the voting site. If you go directly to Vizu you can see where the votes are coming from and how many there are. Plus you get the option of voting for Kash or None of the above, which you can't do by voting directly from ATL.
http://www.vizu.com/poll-vote.html?n=109902
Marin's the best by far. She's the only one who makes it clear that Lee got his government job after screwing up royally in private practice. Kudos, Marin!