idealawg

Excellent overview of the biology of mindfulness and compassion

Click to watch a video of Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas giving a short overview (around 20 minutes) of the biology of mindfulness and compassion. I recommend it; she's entertaining, in addition to being knowledgeable.

What do lawyers appreciate? Looking back on answers to that question from half a decade ago

To balance (or maybe supplement) all the news about lawyer unhappiness, Julie Fleming and I, in December of 2006, instigated a round of appreciation from lawyers in the blawgosphere. To see how we organized the roundup, read Lawyers Appreciate… A 10-day countdown (Julie's description) and 10-day countdown: Lawyers Appreciate . . . (mine).

Five years later, let's look back and see what nearly 40 blogging lawyers wrote about what they most appreciate. Many of the entries were beautiful messages about being thankful; click to read them. (Or click to see Julie's list of links to what lawyers wrote; I think her list and mine are nearly identical.)

To those lawyers who participated: what do you think about what you wrote half a decade ago? To all lawyers: what are you appreciating about your profession as 2012 approaches? Please feel free to answer in the comments below or on your blog.

New ADR resource: ADR TIMES

I recently became aware of ADR Times, a new blog-like publication focused on alternative dispute resolution. Since I signed up for its free notification service, I receive an e-mail whenever a new article is placed on the Web site. Those I have read have been well-written and helpful. For example, an article by one of my favorite mediation gurus was just made available: Click to read "Successful Scaling in Mediation" by Fredrike Bannink. The article is an excerpt from her book Handbook of Solution-Focused Conflict Management (highly recommended).

From the Web site:

ADR Times is an interactive social ADR blog - developed on a multi-media technology platform - where we share our dispute resolution insights and resources. We welcome online contributions and collaborations from other like-minded and proactive dispute resolution practitioners and scholars.

The Times is sponsored by the Agency for Dispute Resolution. About the Agency (from its Web site):

The Agency for Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a premier provider of private dispute resolution services with a distinguished panel of neutrals. We specialize in administering effective mediation & arbitration of simple to complex civil disputes & commercial cases.

 

New blog on the health benefits of writing

The new blog's tag line is "Tapping into the health benefits and power of expressive writing." Be sure to visit WRITING FOR THE HEALTH OF IT, a fine new entry into the blogosphere, created by my colleague Sharon Lippincott.

From Sharon's blog The Heart and Craft of Life Writing:

The new blog represents my growing understanding of the power of the life writing process. Perhaps like most of you, I began writing my lifestory primarily to document my experiences and insights for my family. I wanted to leave a written legacy of my life. I read books that mentioned personal

Welcoming my lawyer-nurse-trial consultant-storyteller colleague to the blogosphere

I am happy to see that Diane Wyzga has begun blogging. Her blog Wyzga on Words will be worth following. Click on over to her first post. Welcome, Diane.

To read an interview of I conducted in 2008, click here.

Why he is no longer a blogger: What do you think of his opinions about blogging?

Is blogging "naval gazing"? Is writing a blog "an ego-intensive process"? Do blog posts suffer from lack of good editing? Yes, according to Marc Ambinder, politics editor of The Atlantic; his post today is titled I Am a Blogger No Longer. He writes:

Really good print journalism is ego-free.  By that I do not mean that the writer has no skin in the game, or that the writer lacks a perspective, or even that the writer does not write from a perspective.  What I mean is that the writer is able to let the story and the reporting process, to the highest possible extent, unfold without a reporter's insecurities or parochial concerns intervening. Blogging is an ego-intensive process. Even in straight news stories, the format always requires you to put yourself into narrative. You are expected to not only have a point a view and reveal it, but be confident that it is the correct point of view.  There is nothing wrong with this. As much as a writer can fabricate a detachment, or a "view from nowhere," as Jay Rosen has put it, the writer can also also fabricate a view from somewhere. You can't really be a reporter without it.  I don't care whether people know how I feel about particular

Beer for Bloggers in Denver was fun and collegial (and not like most networking events)

Last night I was surprised to see how many law bloggers we have in the Denver area. Perhaps 25 descended on Katie Mullen's for an event hosted by Kevin O'Keefe of Real Lawyers Have Blogs. The networking affair was one of the most enjoyable I have attended. Why? Partly because no one seemed to be in sales mode. Instead people were enthusiastically sharing information about common interests such as blogging, blogging platforms, Webinar platforms, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other methods of communication (e.g., article writing, book publishing). Some were even talking about the practice of law.

Another factor which made the evening so genial was that many of us already knew each other from the Internet. If you listened to the happy voices around the room, you might hear: "Hey, I follow you on Twitter," or "I really like your blog."

One moment was a bit puzzling, but showed what a different world this is from even a couple of years ago. When we were first arriving, several people got out their smart phones and did something simultaneously. I asked Jim Moss who was sitting next to me what they were doing. He said they were "checking in." He cleared up my ignorance by explaining they were going to foursquare and registering their location.

He further told me that if you check in four times at the same place on foursquare, you become mayor of that location. Or something like that . . .

I took some short videos for those who were not in attendance and yet might want to get a sense of the evening:

• Pan of the room with a closeup of Kevin
• Another pan of the room, including Mark Maraia introducing himself to Kevin
• Part of a discussion with Kevin and Mark
• Interview of Kevin in which he talks about shutting down a bar with Gerry Riskin, what a small world this is, and the Denver blogging community

Thanks for a fine time, Kevin.

Note: More from the event

• Another blog post about the meetup, with a photo (Planet10Tech)
• A photo
• Interview with Kevin from last night about mistake bloggers make (Planet10Tech)
• Still another blog post (The Learned Lawyer)

Dad Has Dementia: Moving, educational, well-written blog

It is no surprise that this blog Dad Has Dementia has been nominated for an Online Journalism Award. Written by a nurse, a person with whom I have been e-friends for many years, the blog is full of heart, wisdom, and practical information. The writer is a talented storyteller. From the blog:

Three months after being diagnosed with dementia, my father moved in with my husband and me. I'm a nurse by trade, a baby boomer by birth, and now, yet another overwhelmed home caregiver struggling to keep a loved one safe and happy -- and keep my marriage and sanity intact. My name and a few family details have been changed to protect our privacy, but the stories and emotions of my Dad Has Dementia blog remain all too real.

I invite you to click on over and start reading.

 

TIME picks Best, Essential, and Overrated Blogs of 2010

Click to see the lists. I have only visited five or six, not just in 2010, but ever. You?

The Daily Reviewer's picks for Top 100 Law Blogs

idealawg

Top law blogs

The list of Top 100 Law Blogs begins here. idealawg was among the 100. What is The Daily Reviewer? Click to read the site's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

H/T: Settle It Now.