They fill our weekly routines with joy, laughter, knowledge.... And then, too soon, they are gone... Vanished suddenly from our lives like pretty much any Joss Whedon series on FOX.
Yes, I'm talking about blogs. The ones that draw you in, that engage you, only to die a silent premature death.
Sometimes it's because that bossy Offline Life steps in and pulls the plug.
Sometimes inspiration drains from blogging like ice cold, soapy bath water.
Sometimes existentialism cold-cocks the blogger with the ham-fisted hand of "Why frikkin' bother?"
But no matter what the reason, we readers mourn. And we mourn alone!
But no more! Because Of Cabbages and Kings has created the Dead Blog Memorial Wall and Rave Party. Yes, that's right!--now we have the perfect Interwebz spot for honoring those blogs and former bloggers that served their readers, and served well-- until their creation snuffed it like a groundhog on a six-lane highway.
Find the closure you need while remembering your favorite deceased blogs-- simply leave a comment here. Tacky virtual plastic shrines are welcome.
So take off your coat, grab a cup of your favorite libation, and join in the party. Let's celebrate the Creativity That Was and the Blogs That Now Aren't!
I'll start us off in the comments section with a couple of my own most-missed blogs.
(PS- Please take your shoes off if you plan to dance on the virtual tables... I just had them polished.)
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Humorbloggers
Humor-blogs
46 comments:
I would like to honor the following Dead and Mostly Expired Blogs:
Honey Pie. http://elegantthimble.blogspot.com/ Blogger Alice has a real job and obligations now that are SELFISHLY taking away from her ability to share the funny with us. Alice's blog used to be a regular stop and inspiration for me when I needed a laugh. Alice, my friend, I salute you!
Wit's Bitch.
Gone. Vanished. Vamoosed. Nothing remains but an unredirected URL. Now I have to stalk blogger Sandy on Facebook in a non-blogging capacity. Alas, it is not the same!
Drowsey Monkey.
http://drowseymonkey.blogspot.com
Who technically is not quite dead yet, but it's in a Norwegian Blue Parrot way... Just when you see signs of life, our buddy Drowsey stops feeling the fun again and we have to thump her on the table. She does have lovely plumage, though.
To all of you, you have made my online life more fun for your content! Cheers to you!
Waite... huff huff... I am still alive ! ... huff huff ... Oh good ! Phew ! My name is not up ! ... huff huff !
I am glad Sandy is still around on twitter and facebook ... wait ... is that the right Sandy ? (Performing analytical calculations) Yup it is !
At least we know she's been busy with her post graduate studies.
But Drowsey Monkey is missed especially this holiday season. We had so much fun on twitter on last year along with Olga and Speedy - giving out red hats to all tweeps !
---
I used to read 'Brandi's Blog' a flight attendant from texas way back when. She used post pictures and stories about places her word took her.
But ever since AOL hometown closed, so did she.
---
There are many bloggers in my RSS reader who have slowed down but they are still around.
Jaffer- Heh, I knew you would read this and didn't list you because I didn't want to pressure you. :)
I know of a few folks who have slowed down, too. Or have contemplated quitting but are still hanging in there.
Cheers, Brandi Flight Attendant from Texas!
That would be like showing up at my own funeral/in memoriam !
Anyhoo... now that I have a couple of weeks off ! I hope to have the back end of my blog ready and fingers crossed be back soon !
Jaffer- See, I knew hope gleamed in your corner of the Internet. :)
In addition to those you mentioned, I'd like to add:
Shawn from The Shark Tank
Archives still can be found:
http://whitesharktank.blogspot.com/
There are many others, including a couple of my own blogs. ;) However, I'll leave it at that for now.
Rambler- Yupper, I totally agree about Shawn of the Shark Tank. He was a great writer and put out some really polished stuff.
I should also add MATT of That Tears It. (http://thefourthring.blogspot.com )
I hadn't quite written him off as dead because he'd added things sporadically, but it looks like his last post was ages ago.
Matt and Shawn, I salute you both!
Remember that old song "Video Killed the Radio Star?" It should be remade as "Facebook Killed the Blog Star." I haven't been keeping track, but I've lost a lot of bloggers in my feed as well. There's only so much time in a day to spend online, and if FB and Twitter are chewing it up, your blog is bound to suffer. I spend a lot more time making pithy comments on FB now instead of writing full-blown posts about things in my blog, and it shows. I used to write a post every other (even-numbered) day without fail and now I'm down to twice a week if I'm lucky. Oh well, that's the way the cookie bounces. Or is it the ball crumbles?
Jeff- Thanks for weighing in! I like writing, so I'm happy to do it; it's a good challenge for me, and I've had some fun as a result of it.
But yes- there are a lot of time-sucks out there and who wouldn't rather spend time socializing and connecting with people rather than having to expend more energy on making something up?
It does seem to be an easy choice.
I still have Shawn the Shark Tank in my blog roll simply because I love his posts..
Another great, or I should say Two greats are the Dyer Brothers..
Their witty lists back and forth hilarity is highly missed..
Oh yes.. I forgot to say "Great idea here!!"
Nipsy- Excellent choices, Nipsy! Yes, I miss the Dyer Brothers, too.
It seems their time with us was so fleeting!
Pro-Blogger just posted about how to re-gain lost time. It's seems obvious but the list is useful. How to Be A More Productive Blogger [And Add 37 Minutes to Every Hour!]
Aaackk!!
I just found another one.. not only is it gone, its its..disappeared, vamooshed.. WTF...no notice, no nothing.. I feel abandoned..
Maugeritville..
Nispy- Ah, but I can help you there-- that one has just transformed. He is now at http://www.knucklehead-humor.com
He's terrific, it would be a terrible loss if he were an ex-blogger.
Jaffer- Thanks for that post-- who knows, you may have saved quality blogs by passing that along! :)
I am ALIVE!!!
And hope to be living up to my name again soon! I miss ya'll too...
(Blame it all on my blog-mistress....she's crazy.) (And busy) (Crazy-busy) (Mostly crazy)
:)
Olga- YAY! I knew your blog-mistress was a busy lady lately, but I thought you'd pull yourself up by your straps and be back. :)
Sooooooooon! (i hope)
Just a quick mention: Knucklehead's site doesn't have a hyphen in it. It's just knuckleheadhumor.com
I really miss http://www.threewordsblog.com/
The blog's owner had to take a break for a while and I'm not sure if she's coming back. That Three Words blog was an early hit with a lot of people. I know if she comes back, she'll pick up right where she left off.
Thanks for writing this Jenn. Always want to know what happened to some people. I miss Drowsey.
Olga- Cool! I get a kick out of seeing what you're up to. And yes, if bribing Drowsey with donuts works, hey-- excellent. :)
Kathy- Ugh- Now I need to check and see if my link to his blog is valid, too. I swear it had a hyphen in it in one iteration. I can't keep up. :) Thanks!! I don't know the Three Word blog, but maybe it will have a second life so we newbies can enjoy it, too.
I miss this guy the most:
Your Beard is Good.
http://yourbeardisgood.blogspot.com/
FIRST blog I ever read and made me laugh out loud.
Godspeed my friend. Godspeed.
He's still alive. Not sure why I said that.
Mooooog- Ah, but it does FEEL like a little bloggy death, doesn't it?
Thank you for sharing your mourning with us today!
Hey, thanks for all the love, people! Kathy's right, my URL is: www.knuckleheadhumor.com. It's my relocated site, as Jenn mentioned.
I'd like to add The Essential Bastard to the Dead Blog Memorial. That guy was friggin' outstanding. And yeah, another shout-out to the Dyer Boys. They are missed.
Knucklehead- Ah, it's gotta make a fellow feel good to attend his own eulogy, though. :) Here's a virtual cup of mulled cider. The party hors d'oeuvres are over to the left.
Here's the real chuckle . . . Nipsy's been following my NEW blog for a couple months already.
Nips, did you not know it was me?
Now look what you made me do. Because of this post I got all introspective and crap over at my blog. Thanks a lot ;-)
Knucklehead- I think she'd mentioned on Facebook that she wasn't fully caffeinated when she posted. So I suspect it was just a momentary pre-coffee blip of confusion. :)
Jeff- Oh no! It's catching! (Now you've got me all curious and I'm going to have to go see.)
ZOMG! I'm worthy of being memorialized?!? I'm humbled. No, I'm not crying, that's just a piece of cat fur in my eye. *sniff*
Though long neglected and filled with dust and tumblefur, Wit's Bitch can still be viewed at http://www.witsbitch.com/
I've been doing half-assed personal blogging on my tumblr though over at http://chatblanc.tumblr.com/
Jenn, you're still awesomely awesome and I only wish I had the continued dedication to humor blogging and NATURAL TALENT that you do!! You're the bestest!
{{hugs}}
=^..^=
Wit's Bitch was one of the first blogs I read regularly. I miss her.
I found her thru dadthedude. I miss him. I bugged him for awhile to blog again but I finally gave up. ;-(
ChatBlanc- Aw, fer pete's sake, now I have fur in my eye, too! It's totally messing up my contact lenses. Stupid cat dander...
:)
I do enjoy still reading your Tweets. You manage to pack a lot of wit and sarcasm into 140 characters.
ReformingGeek- You can only do so much. I understand why people have to quit blogging, though-- it can be really time-consuming.
Nardeeisms which technically isn't dead but it was marked for private. :(
The Dyer Boys for sure...they were a hoot. In addition to the others you've mentioned I haven't seen any activity from How To Spot A Canadian since August and sadly, Kellzo has downed tools over at Lady Sarcasm.
It's tough pumping witty stuff out on a daily basis. I always hope our colleagues will return when they get a hit of time or inspiration.
Shirley- Ah, yes, I remember her!
Dufus- I see Kelly on Facebook sometimes, but I think she has a lot of stuff going on right now.
Yes, creating good content regularly-- and trying to be funny even when you're not feeling it-- is really challenging. I've seen a few folks come back from hiatus, so perhaps we'll see some more.
Dad the Dude was a favorite along with Eve Cleveland. Both funny; but gone too soon.
Like you and Kathy, I miss Drowsey. Hopefully she'll be back one day. I can't really add to those that have already been mentioned above.
I also miss Wit's Bitch and am glad she's so active on FB (and Twitter, tho I don't hang out there so much).
And I also miss 3 Words and Blogtations, but hopefully Musing will find her way back.
AND Natural from Thinking Out Loud! I miss her! A lot. Luckily she's got her Photo a Day blog, so I can get my fix there.
I barely got to know Mason the sock puppet at MasonMania before he disappeared: no word of explanation.
It's sad when beloved bloggers have to throw in the towel, especially when they do so without a good-bye or "final post." But I think we all understand life's demands and how hard it is to keep this blogging thing going.
Great post, Jenn!
I miss Blicky Kitty! I can't even shake her on Facebook.
I miss "Thinking Out Loud Blog"
Very clever and funny!
MA Fatwoman- Ah, yes-- Eve was nice, too. I believe she'd moved and that ended up being the end of blogging for her. Shame, she was the only one I knew who wrote in a Southern twang.
Babs- Yes, some of Drowsey's stories were hysterical. I often think of the people who had the wrong apartment but were insisting on giving her a shower. :)
JD- Musing's on Twitter sometimes, at least.
Nanny- Oh no. Vanished completely? That always makes me WORRY a little.
OneoftheGuys- Thanks for stopping and sharing!
Clear back in Oct 2006 I did a farewell tribute to a blog called "Not Well Planned". Now I am so glad I captured a few of her best pieces on that post. I'd encourage all of you to click this link and enjoy her outrageous sense of humor. I really miss it even three years later...
Enjoy it here
As my blog roll is a record of all that visited me this year, there are many, many that aren't blogging on that list.
Great idea for this, Jenn...
I've been wondering what ever happened Good Twin/Bad Twin. Last I heard from her was three months ago when she wrote about her creepy step-brother darkening her doorstep after getting out of prison. Kinda makes me worry.
VE- I think that's a fascinating way to look at your blog roll. It speaks to progress, but it's also a little wistful when we think about how much has changed in just a year. Thank you for sharing-- as always!!
CatLady- That really would be worrisome, wouldn't it? You have to hope it was an exaggeration for effect and not a sign of trouble to come.
One of the first blogs I ever read was Anonymous Coworker. Amazingly crass, outrageously funny; he blogged for about four years and then decided to quit. He mastered that bitter sarcasm that we all wish we could express at work.
Reading this makes me want to write more AND read more blogs.
The Frogster. He hasn't been around in a few years but his was one of my favorite humor blogs.
Great post idea by the way :)
I miss Thrift Score and Infiltration. Ninjalicious, who was the blogger on Infiltration, passed away a few years ago. But the website is still there. Check it out, you adventurous types! I think Al Hoff just got disgusted about how thrifting had changed.
One of my favorites that is still going strong is Lileks. He does the thing with horrible food like you. So snarky!
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