‘Tis the Season for Horrible Gift Ideas
I was in Georgia yesterday. After speaking to the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers (nice meeting you, we’ll have to do that again), and playing a ridiculous game of telephone trying to keep current with Above the Law (an HLS grad set S&C on fire on a $7,500 dare?), I was looking forward to a relaxing plane flight home.
Some years ago, my wife introduced me to the hilarity of the in-flight Sky Mall magazine. There is perhaps no finer collection of totally useless items. I wasn’t in “ATL-mode,” but this particular gift made me want to violate FAA regulations and post from the runway:
Passing the BarThe perfect gift for law students
A great gift for law students, both throughout law school and to help prepare them for the Bar Examination. With “Passing the Bar” flashcards, your favorite law student will spend more time studying, in an enjoyable, fun setting. Fun for lawyers too!
The game includes 350 Mulitstate Bar Examination (“MBE”) Cards (featuring legal questions modeled after the MBE), and 100 Justice Cards (featuring celebrity run-ins with the law, movie quotes from notorious and gripping courtroom dramas, outrageous verdicts and alike). Additional game cards (sold separately) includes 450 questions from previous Bar Examinations, released by the NCBE.
Not cool, man. Not cool.
Tipsters weigh in after the jump.
I wasn’t the only airborne person that noticed this “game.” This morning, a tipster emailed me the link to Passing the Bar, with this commentary:
Saw an ad for “Passing the Bar,” a Monopoly-like game targeted at law students & lawyers, in SkyMall. My favorite part is the “justice cards,” featuring celebrity run-ins with the law, movie quotes from notorious and gripping courtroom dramas, outrageous verdicts and alike.Needless to say, if anyone tries to buy me this for Christmas, they’re in trouble.
I thought turning learning into a game was something only elementary school teachers did for ADHD kids who are saddled with parents that won’t whup their asses. Soon-to-be legal professionals shouldn’t need to be fooled into studying for the bar.
And while we’re here, what in the world do “celebrity run-ins with the law” and “movie quotes” have to do with passing the bar? That’s my job.
Just to be clear, do not purchase this gift for the law student in your life. Instead, consider this:
Tranquil Sounds Oxygen BarWork, stress, drinking and environmental factors deplete our oxygen and affect our health. This device helps you feel rejuvenated and relaxed. Breathing 30% oxygen-enriched air from the included headset gives your body the clean, fresh oxygen it craves.
Now that sounds like what people need when they are studying for the bar exam.
(54) 
Comments
First
Damn you #1!
"a ridiculous game of telephone"
insert "tag" please
thx
FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4) FOURTH (#4)
FOURTH (#4)
FOURTH (#4)
FOURTH (#4)
FOURTH (#4)
FOURTH (#4)
^Mangina
"Sky Mall" is a publication for the unwashed mashed in the "economy class" of commercial flights. I've never seen one on the dozens of chartered flights that have ushered me around the globe.
Carry on, cogs.
Professor Jones:
I want...one...million....dollars....
Seriously thought, according to calculations, his requested 22 million might buy him 1.1 million bjs....
Um, Sky Mall is the only thing that gets me through flights. Yes, most of the stuff is useless, but that is not so different from the majority of catalogs. That being said, some of the stuff is awesome. I am thinking particularly of the "laptop caddy" and the "alarm clock with two day forecast" built in. Those are not garbage. Lastly, bashing one of the few (perhaps only) game(s) that celebrates the limited scope of movies and trivia related to the law, and doing so in an educational fashion, strikes me as odd for someone who is allegedly looking out for the profession.
Also, Elie, now that it is really coming to the surface that HLS is turning out a bunch of useless nuts and morons (see you, and the Sidley fellow), are you going to reneg on your "no more law schools rant"; can you just lobby to shut down HLS instead?
That is all.
I like this gifts. I hope I get them for Christmas.
A: What is "two and a half"
Q: The number of seats Elie took up on the airplane
Emeritus, DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE VIRGIN MARY?
Elie, if you were to buy the product it would be the first time you could honestly say you passed the bar.
JaKe,
You have never flown on a chartered flight. Go back to cite checking at Fordham.
humm, Gunnery has potential.
Clearly you never stepped foot in a Sharper Image.
(an HLS grad set S&C on fire on a $7,500 dare?) should be (a HLS grad....)
You are so TTT Elie Mystttal
#15- crap like that is the reason Sharper Image is no longer around. It's great during a bubble economy when everyone's swimming in HELOC money, not so great when you're looking down the barrel of a $100,000 student loan with no job prospects.
I never took any trips while in law school (because I alienated all competitors and minimalized social interaction for fear of other students obtaining my methods of studying). I did however travel to my brother's house across the country shortly after I graduated law school. While in line at the security check at the airport prior to my departure, a woman next to me told me I was noticably panicked and called airport security to evaluate me. I shouted to them over and over that I was only panicked because time spent in line was time not studying for the bar. It got to the point where they tried to give me a Valium, but I faked swallowing it and replaced the pill with a proper amphetamine to help boost my studying while on the plane.
D. Marvin!
http://menagealaw.blogspot.com/
16 - as much as Ellie's writing sucks, you also suck. It is perfectly acceptable, and in fact probably more common, to use "an" before an acronym where a reading of the first letter begins with a vowel sound.
http://www.gpuss.co.uk/english_usage/a_or_an.htm
Mystal, do people look at you funny because of your walrus tusks?
I second 20's p0wn.
Friability.
Ha. The complaint spelled "Barrack" Obama.
16 = WRONG
*sigh*
Maybe someday ATL will get sued and disappear.
This is actually not a bad idea. Studies show that almost everyone (nod just ADD kids) learn better from interactive learning methods than from straight-up studying. This is no less valid a study method than flash cards, outlines and attending lectures.
Hello.
After evaluating the frequency and competency of trolling in this thread, as well as the lack of substance in more earnest posts, we now officially declare this thread a trollercoaster.
That is all. Please continue doing what you were doing.
Thanks for clarifying that it was a "plane flight," MysTTTal. At first I assumed you sprouted wings and gave meaning to the phrase, "when pigs fly."
3,
"Telephone tag" is when A calls B, then B calls A, then A calls B, and A & B continue to fail to connect. "Telephone" is when A tells B something, then B tells C, C tells D, and so on, such that when the original message has been passed on several times it becomes distorted, a little bit at a time, hence the hilarious "(an HLS grad set S&C on fire on a $7,500 dare?)" joke in the post. Elie is smarter than you.
Mystal Walrus, you could feed my family for a month. Prepare to get speared.
Eskimo Pete
28, trollercoasting is a art
I would play that game. Anything that would have made studying for the bar suck less would have been welcome. In fact, I made my own flashcards and made up games to keep myself awake.
Sadly, this "game" is actually for sale in the bookstore at UVA. Saw it on the shelf the other day.
Website for game - http://www.passingthebar.us/
Best Skymall item: Basho the Sumo Wrestler
http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=69661398&c=
...also available in a classy table version that will delight your guests: http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102174152&c=
Joe McCarthy Richard Nixon Studebaker television North Korea South Korea Marilyn Monroe
Brian started the fire!
It was always burning since the world's been turning!
well it makes sense he only spelled half of Obama's name right. Obama is only half black (on his father's side) so he spelled Obama right (the black part) and misspelled "Barrack" as a slight to the white part.
Keep sticking it to whitey Jones
Passing the Bar poisons a glance. Passing the Bar slights the chicken. Passing the Bar prosecutes next to an answer. An abusive mount populates the punch below the ample dependence. Should the catastrophic patience whistle on top of SkyMall? A nut negotiates the repertoire.
Rogue Thread: Lawsuit of the Day: Jones v. Minkin
(Or: Above the Law gets sued!)
First
40, I'll bite.
The complaint is garbage, the guy is dragging himself through even more mud and exposing himself as an illiterate buffoon in the process.
All IMHO, of course.
Suck my ass, Mystal, you race bating, Eskimo hating, WALRUS!
First to say Elie made this entire post up. Such a lame thing is not in the skymall mag. Who can prove my theory for me since I am too lazy to do so?
16: you failed. nice job trying to sound smart, moron.
PS: anyone still using "TTT" is fucking lame.
I see that the fake PE has now taken up the persona of "lawstradamus."
Elie - how do you pronounce your name. L E or E Lie.
I am not a doctor, but someone who works in healthcare.
FYI, too much oxygen can be deleterious, and may cause death. Oxygen bars up your risk.
This is why doctors recommend you eat/drink substances with ANTI-oxidants.
Dear Elie: (aka comments 20, 25, 44)
Hence an may be seen in such phrases as "an historic", "an heroic", "an hôtel of excellence", or "an hero". Yet most English speakers would object to these uses, as the pronounced "h" is quite awkward following "an".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_and_an
Yours truly,
16
48: Elie probably pronounces HLS letter by letter, instead of pronouncing it "Harvard Law School". If this is the case, "an" is correct.
48,
why do you feel the need to make yourself look even dumber than you did at 16?
Lat shops there.
48 / 16 -
You were attacked by me and the other commenters on this topic because you tried to sound like you knew what you were talking about, when in fact you didn't. Your attempt to correct someone else (Elie) was misguided.
Let's be real: you thought it had to be "a HLS" grad because if not for the abbreviation, it would be "a Harvard Law School grad." Your mistake was about what to do when there's an abbreviation.
Think of it this way: what's the first letter in Harvard? Is it "an H"? Or would you say it's "a H"? The latter would make you sound like a redneck, or at the very least it would make you sound like English wasn't your native language.
The point is that your original post (at 16) was incorrect. Your post at 48 does nothing to support your position.
-Not Elie
PS: You sound incredibly arrogant, even after you were verbally bitch-slapped by the other commenters on this topic. You were wrong, so let it go. It wasn't Elie who responded to your original post, it was people like me who hate assholes. Just a tip.
Saw this on the NorthEast Regional (damn cheap-ass client wouldn't cough up Acela fare). Nearly lost my lunch trying not to laugh out loud in the Quiet Car.
Make fun of it but then don't complain when you're toes aren't aligned.
http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102715071&c=10031#moreinfo