Requests for brother and sister bloggers — first off, brother blogger Gary Farber is going through a rough patch and could use some help. Please.
Jane Hamsher has received a third diagnosis of breast cancer; send some healing thoughts.
Send American Street some love, just because.
I still can’t bring myself to update my blogroll, but it’s time to say “happy trails” to the following blogs —
Billmon’s Whiskey Bar is closed.
Jeanne d’Arc’s Body and Soul has been out of business for a while.
Fafblog hasn’t been updated since July, alas.
Michael Bérubé announced his retirement from blogging a few days ago.
All great blogs; they’ll be missed.
[PS] I should have included BOP News as well, which is no more.
I wish there was a way to lay flowers at the doorsteps of some of these departed blogs. Billmon was huge. And Jeanne d’Arc was beautiful. I remember when Oldman died, he was a favorite at BopNews (also defunct) – I, and many others felt like I had lost a good friend, one who I had never physically met. I actually sent his family a condolences card. All things must pass, and I count myself lucky to have known these people, or at least their writing.
Happy trails to those who have changed course. What keeps you motivated, maha? You obviously put a lot of work into every post, and I wonder if it gets to be a grind. Are you still blogging for the same reasons you started with?
This is not just idle curiosity … I’m reflecting on my own motivation for doing my podcast, and I wonder if others have had the same experience.
There’s always hope these folks will return, so I’ve created a “Dead Zone” section in my Bloglines subs to alert me to when any of my formerly-must-read blogs returns. (Anne Zook has already made a return appearance, so I’m glad to see that!)
Alas, we’re all suffering so many setbacks and losses lately. My best friend for the past 20 years just passed away, and I’m devastated. We all need to cling to each other just a little bit more tightly in times like this.
Oh, and if I may just say, January sucks.
Losing Fafblog, Billmon, and Bérubé is huge–three unique and inimitable voices. I can’t bring myself to take them off my blogroll either, just yet…and I probably won’t take Fafblog off at all (they haven’t officially cut and run, you see).
Meanwhile, for whatever it’s worth, just know that the enormous amount of work you put into Mahablog does not go unappreciated.