iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Should have mentioned this earlier, but low art update: -Coyote v. Acme is a very good movie that lines up very well with my upcoming (fingers still crossed!) piece in surprising and weirdly moving ways. -Batman: Caped Crusader mostly agrees with Jokerfication of Law and produces a novel take.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

In the spirit of promoting my work on a long weekend, I haven't posted my latest, "Abandoning Reason for Madness: The Lord of the Rings and the Philosophical Suicide of Artificial Intelligence" to SSRN yet. I remain hopeful for this cycle, but to grease the wheels, I've got some vids for you.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Frankly, I had kind of given up on this one given some, uh, less than encouraging feedback (I do maintain that the haters are wrong but I believe in listening to feedback and non-feedback), but it is thrilling to know that my work is reaching SOMEONE.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Second communication of the week regarding scholarship and presentation that could fairly be translated as "for the love of God, no more AI" (this one was more explicit). Fam... Is it happening?!

static.klipy.com

Sauron's Eye: Lord of the Rings

ALT: Sauron's Eye: Lord of the Rings

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Do I add a citation to my rejection letter basically saying "for the love of God, stop writing about AI" to my article whinging about how much people are talking about AI and talking about how young people in particular don't like it?

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

I had a very fun couple of weeks, travel and all. But it would be hard to tip this bad boy.

A hobbit's evil twin taking a selfie with a capybara

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Look, I'm sorry, it's not every day you realize you've made meaningful progress towards one of your dreams?! @msmith750.bsky.social and @brianlfrye.bsky.social , I'm ready for round 2 if you guys want to talk LotR and Disco Elysium this cycle. www.imdb.com/title/tt3970...

imdb.com

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

My post from a few weeks ago got taken down for administrative reasons, but it's back! If you're interested in a temporary position at the University of Idaho, I can tell you from personal experience that we're an amazing home for budding law librarians. uidaho.peopleadmin.com/postings/52092

uidaho.peopleadmin.com

Temporary Faculty - Reference and Electronic Resources Librarian

The Reference and Electronic Resources Librarian is located at the University of Idaho’s Moscow, Idaho campus and works under the supervision and general direction of the Director of the Law Library. ...

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Folks seemed to like the last one, so whatever, this is a Warhammer novice painting channel now. Kroot are newer figures for me, needs work, but this did get a GW Employee "if you brought 10 of these to the table I'd be happy" when I asked how he'd spice this up so here you go!

Early stage color scheme testing Kroot model (chicken lizard thing in a leather onesie) holding a gun with blades on either side of it.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

I know it's my most embarrassing and mockable hobby (and I ALSO know I say that as a man who just admitted to writing a legal essay focused on Magic: The Gathering), but whatever, Warhammer is clearly a good hobby for me and I want to show off my little guys.

A miniature of a T'au Pathfinder with a rail rifle painted by an amateurish painter who's doing his best.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

1) This sucks. 2) If anyone has materials for this class they're willing to share LMK. 3) Fun announcement/sample: My essay, "Making Magic: How Lessons From 20 Years of Creating Magic Cards Can Improve Legal Instruction," will be available in "Law and Magic: Vol. II!" cap-press.com/books/isbn/9...

cap-press.com

Law and Magic, Volume II: A Collection of Essays

Law and Magic, Volume II: A Collection of Essays (9781531028404). Authors: Christine A. Corcos. Carolina Academic Press

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Counterpoint: Puns are fine, but only on the condition that they are central to your analysis. (I think the puns are underrated, the corniness is part of the charm. Very possible discovering law review articles through Gonzales v. Raich and the endless weed puns had something to do with this.)

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

You or someone you know getting started in law librarianship or shaking things up? Apply for a position as a Temporary Reference Librarian position at the University of Idaho in Moscow! An incredible opportunity to explore all aspects of law librarianship. uidaho.peopleadmin.com/postings/51617

uidaho.peopleadmin.com

Temporary Faculty - Reference Librarian

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Well, this sucks. I was already exploring alternatives to the fractured legal publication landscape, but this probably make those more challenging. Some of my most successful work owes a lot to SSRN's cut features. Maybe expected, but still sad. www.stephenbainbridge.com/p/the-social...

stephenbainbridge.com

The Social Science Research Network Has Jumped the Shark

Significant and unwelcome changes to what had been legal academia's major open source scholarly repository and notice system

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

A lot of this in the air right now, so heads up that it has ALWAYS been like this and will get worse. One of the earliest ingredients in my AI Haterade was a presentation titled "The ROI of AI" that considered neither the cost (I) nor savings (R) of AI. One is deflated, the other unverifiable.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Update: Apparently nobody knows what I'm talking about when I mention this?! I'm so happy for these people but wow does this hammer home a lot of the thoughts in the shorter piece I'm working on...

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

My summer got off to a raucous start as I just had to explain what 538 and Nate Silver is/was to a coworker. I know that this is a symptom and cause of my self-inflicted political junkie brainrot, but who are these people?! Do they know peace?

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

A student mentioned that they didn't know Appa (who I dress up as for class around Halloween) and wondered if I was an Axoatl (which they also didn't know much about). It's sort of a layered joke, but I find the conflation of these two things (especially with regards to me) very funny.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Point/Counterpoint (unsure): You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Last weekend I was interviewed by comedian Steve Byrne as part of the Idaho Film Society's "Idaho Film Hall of Fame" gala. It was fun! It was probably the most "some guy" interview I have ever given in my entire life, but apparently people liked it. I DID get upstaged by Scott Glenn but I'll be OK.

Man who looks like a hobbit's evil twin in a disco-ass suit being interviewed by another man on a stage.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

First comments on Legal Elysium: "I think I have to play Disco Elysium now?" I'm not sure I'm cooking quite as much as LOTR, but if nothing else I seem to be meeting my hype man obligations for the year.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

What a perfect asshole. I liked him more when he was talking about typewriters.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Good thread. I'm in the middle of a project to become a new guy who cares A LITTLE about fashion about fashion or my physical appearance- it's not going great, thanks for asking- but the case for fashion as an art form is even stronger than the same case for legal scholarship (which I DO believe).

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Alright, I have officially run my first half marathon! It's a real Sam special of being distinctly average at an impressive thing, but still... We did it!

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

I've been going through a very stupid and self-inflicted crash out for the past week that has ended with multiple people suggesting I develop any discernible fashion sense. Anyway between the first effort and Legal Elysium what if I just stopped being a law prof and became a disco detective?

A man with curly hair standing in a library in a lighter suit

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Follow up on this: if you've ever found yourself feeling old with your pop culture references in class, I encourage you to lean into it. I had a (noticably younger) student mention that they had never felt older than when I referred to Friday as "ancient internet lore." They will know our pain!

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Early reviews of the "smell test draft" of this year's first writing project are in: "Needs more LotR!" "Too likely to start beef!" Fam, I think we're COOKING.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

How gauche is it to nominate yourself for your 10 year reunion (😬) Excellence in Law award? Especially when your contribution to law is... Whatever it is that I do?

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

My friend has a running joke where she lists her friend's favorite movies, with the bit being it's always the lesser known or controversial stuff they talk a weird amount about. This joke didn't really work for me because her list resembles my real one more than it should. The latest addition:

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Frighteners is a fun one for me on a similar axis. I remember like 75% of it in vivid detail, and every time I think about that 75% I wonder why it's not the greatest movie ever made. Then I rewatch it and... Yep, adds up. Overall, though, big fan! A direct link between Dead Alive and LOTR.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

I'm in a little bit of a "defend legal scholarship as an artform" era (stay tuned, I've already done it once and have a couple of bangers in the works expanding on it), so I do want to push back on this. But also it is really bad, and its best characteristics are further proof of just how bad it is.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

As a long-time rat partisan, I encourage you to check on the date that this article was published. But also they are the best and every opportunity to celebrate that fact should be taken with gusto.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

This is more or less exactly what I would have guessed his very bad take is (and I say that as a fan of the books!). Obliviousness to subtext does not remove that subtext. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace understood this, gave us a banger quote, and truly is one of the greatest creative works of our time.

media.tenor.com

garth marenghi is the author of a book called i know writers who use subtext and they 're all cowards

Alt: garth marenghi is the author of a book called i know writers who use subtext and they 're all cowards

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

I respect the vision, but I feel like we need to define our terms and conflict a bit. Are we just excluding the boys because their victory is so certain unless they are excluded by weight class?

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

OK, so this is kind of an involved joke with a lot of backstory, but I feel like there's something to the thought: Can you imagine the world where Taylor Swift's Wood is about Eywa the World Tree (of Avatar fame) and not Travis Kelce's dick? And is that world a better one?

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Woof, the case for the probative value of "The Definitive Ranking of Legally Relevant Sams" gets stronger by the day. Yes, this makes it less likely I make it because it's too relevant to be fun, but that turn in itself is absurd. (Hard to be worse than Alito but the competition is heating up!)

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Alright, this semester's recs from students: Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and a South Park episode about going on a "privacy tour" (bonus points for using this as a way to explain an issue that came up in class). Best I've done is a partial defense of The Matrix Reloaded: I need to step up my game!

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

This is fantastic news, I was genuinely worried that this approach was dead. When you're comfortable sharing, I would love to hear details- who offered, what social media was most effective, etc.!

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Interesting follow-up. It doesn't really address my issues with it, but I think there's interesting discourse to be had here. Now, one thing that I did clock (not proud), is that there's a HUGE difference between SMU and SMU Forum. This reshapes the initial claim a bit IMO.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Thoughts on opening/preceding Internet Law with an in memoriam for Chuck Norris? On the one hand, he truly is an icon of the early internet era. On the other hand, that's probably a bad thing, he sucks, and it will mark me as old. (Similar question: Best Norris movie to watch in dubious memory?)

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Despite the (frequently assumed) fact that nobody reads legal scholarship, I get great pleasure in writing. Learning to write it has connected me to my colleagues and made me a better teacher, librarian, friend, and person. I cannot figure out why offloading this work is even remotely desirable.

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

What a wonderful night with the IFS crew!

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Me on Monday: "The words are flowing, I'm making cogent and well documented yet novel claims, my pop culture reference is concise and illustrative, is this... Good?" Me on Friday: "Consider Tom Bobadil"

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Law prof brainrot: Midterm is done, I have two weeks of minimal commitments and a colloquium + conference submission due in 2-3 weeks (one or both of which really ought to be a sabbatical project), and for the life of me all I can think about are ideas for this: thefacultylounge.org/2026/03/call....

thefacultylounge.org

Call for Papers: Touro Law Review -- Special Issue on Legal Humor | The Faculty Lounge

Are you funny? Were you the life of the party in law school? Do you make your faculty colleagues or law firm partners laugh out loud? The Touro Law Review…

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

It has been hard out there this cycle. I always want to advise caution, it is distinctly possible that our work just isn't as good as we think it is, but it is very helpful both practically and morally to know that I'm not alone on this front!

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

I think I have a new scholarship goal. Here's hoping I make it into this one, but failing that I hope it's successful enough that we get one of these bad boys every year. thefacultylounge.org/2026/03/call...

thefacultylounge.org

Call for Papers: Touro Law Review -- Special Issue on Legal Humor | The Faculty Lounge

Are you funny? Were you the life of the party in law school? Do you make your faculty colleagues or law firm partners laugh out loud? The Touro Law Review…

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

NGL, a little cheesed nobody mentioned Fried Green Tomatoes while I was writing Legal Wendigos. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

papers.ssrn.com

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Sam Williams @sawilliams.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

OK, SSRN might not have done it, but the fact that they're trying to get in on it means I'm clearly behind the times. Not sure if I'm doing it right, but here's my effort:

Pippin, labeled as "Law Reviews," screaming in agony as he holds a Palantir (glowing and seemingly on fire) labeled "My submissions."

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