It’s a truism I’ve been using for the last thirty-five years or so: “Today’s gimmick is tomorrow’s commonplace.”

And Judge Halpern proves me right in Milton B. Blouke & Christine H. Blouke, Docket No. 29267-13S, filed 5/29/15.

Milt is playing the delay-of-the-game gambit, which has furnished me much blogfodder; here, it’s the Honolulu variation.

I’ll let Judge Halpern tell the tale.

“Petitioner has moved for a continuance. He states as a principal reason travel to Austin, Texas in June, to assist his daughter to renovate a house. We held a teleconference with the parties today, during which respondent objected to our granting the motion, principally on the ground that, with place of trial in Honolulu, Hawaii, which the Court only visits once a year, a continuance would postpone trial for a year. The petition in this case was filed in December 2013, and has been before the Court for 17 months. The amount of the deficiency in tax in issue is $653. We agree that a delay of another year would not serve the interests of justice.” Order, at p. 1.

I’d have given Milt a Taishoff “good try, third class,” if he’d played the Honolulu variation a year ago.

But by now it’s a cliché.