Wednesday, January 28, 2015

A very sad day for blogging as Andrew Sullivan calls it quits.

So Andrew Sullivan announced just today his intention to give up blogging for good at some unspecified date in the near future.

Admittedly his reasons are quite sound and indeed reflect many of my own thoughts about this job.

Among other things he says: 

I want to spend some real time with my parents, while I still have them, with my husband, who is too often a ‘blog-widow’, my sister and brother, my niece and nephews, and rekindle the friendships that I have simply had to let wither because I’m always tied to the blog. 

Much of that is indeed a challenge. And in fact there are stretches of time where the majority of my interactions during the day happen online. That can indeed make you feel disconnected from the world. 

Fortunately my real job demands that I be present and engaged so I am constantly being called away from the computer to do real world problem solving and communication.

Still it is easy to spend up to 16 hours a day in front of the computer screen. And I often do.

However do not panic, I am not yet considering life after blogging. Not yet.

Andrew's news does come at a rather inopportune time for me though, as I was hoping to include him in on what I have been working on and if it produces results I wanted him to help spread the news.

We have exchanged a few e-mails in the past and he has always been supportive and interested in the things that I have uncovered.

I will still e-mail him when I have more to work with, just in case he is not adverse to a little controversy during his final days.

Finally I would like to wish Andrew a wonderful life without blogging, as he has always been a personal hero of mine, even when we did not see eye to eye on every issue.

31 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:02 PM

    Griff-- Check this out.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/28/you-betcha-i-was-wrong-about-sarah-palin.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:26 PM

      Trig Truthers are to blame for Palin becoming radicalized? LOL!! All the woman had to do is release the gd birth certificate 6 fuc_ing years ago. She pussied out and evaded all questions on the subject.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous12:10 PM

    G, if you find the golden nail for Palin's coffin, I'm sure Mr. Sullivan will gladly get the word out.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:13 PM

      Agree that Mr. Sullivan would do a special column for that occasion. Also, too, after Mr. Sullivan is rested up and has spent more time with friends and family, perhaps he would consider writing a book about Palin and her secrets.

      Delete
    2. fromthediagonal1:41 PM

      Whatever Mr. Sullivan may decide to write in the future, I shall be delighted to read it.

      Today's article was at once a mea culpa for past political errors and a victory for personal growth, written in his inimitable clarity of style and openness in all sorts of subjects. Intimacy with millions indeed. I shall miss that man's literary daily "dishings".

      Delete
    3. Anonymous2:16 PM

      If he is indeed turning the page so that he can open a new chapter in his life fresh and unencumbered, I highly doubt Sullivan has any desire to have the Palin stigma and bad energy follow him into his future endeavors. I know I wouldn't. Screw it, Palin just isn't worth the time and life is too short.

      Delete
    4. 2:16, Sullivan wrote a bone-chilling essay detailing the precise dangers of Sarah Palin and her demagoguery. He's more likely to feel life is too short NOT to speak up should new evidence come his way.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous3:42 PM

      Oh Liz you are so predictably small minded.

      Just because you can't let Palin go, doesn't mean Sullivan desires to spend any more energy on her, especially since she is no longer worth writing or reading about, and it sounds like he is retooling his life into something new- not to be stuck in the past.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous12:50 PM

    He is actually quite misogynist and not very smart to boot.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:54 PM

      Sully would wipe the floor with any intellectual powerhouse out there. You are full of shit.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:12 PM

      He is actually quite misogynist and not very smart to boot.
      ----------
      Go back to c4p, I already read your comment there.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:04 AM

      Read it and weep you idiots:
      http://pando.com/2015/01/28/andrew-sullivan-is-not-the-future-of-journalism/

      Delete
  4. Longtime Palin Backer: I Was Wrong... is the headline:

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/28/you-betcha-i-was-wrong-about-sarah-palin.html

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  5. Anonymous12:59 PM

    Just this little nugget that I think would make Andrew smile. It's from Kathleen Parker's Wapo article today:

    "Let’s be honest. Any man of Palin’s comparable deficits, no matter his winning ways, would have been eliminated from consideration within minutes of opening his mouth."

    Andrew, you saw thru the crazy early on and you called it out. For that you have earned a Lifetime Honorary Award here at the IM Outpost.

    You will be missed ~

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous1:15 PM

    Hmmm. Maybe he'll write a book. Maybe he knows the last chapter is ready to be written soon . Wouldn't that be the cat's pajamas?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous1:27 PM

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B5O-cZ2CAAEilMv.jpg:large

    The Bush Family

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous1:41 PM

    I will miss his voice! Intelligent and gentle soul. Wishing him many years of the good life.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous2:20 PM

    Gryph, as one that has followed you for the past seven years, I can only imagine how difficult it is to keep up a blog. The day that you, as Sully, say "okay, that's it," will be the most bittersweet day but I defend your right to do so.

    You've made us laugh, you've made us cry, you've made us argue and cuss like sailors, you've made us group hug. That's the point......by sharing yourself, you have given us a haven and, for that, I am forever grateful.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous2:44 PM

    I have followed Andrew since he first started blogging many years ago - I discovered him via his book, "Virtually Normal," in 1995. To the reader said he isn't very smart, wow, really? Although he angered me (Christianity, Bush for Christ sake, and the Iraq war, among other things) and I took time out from my daily reading a couple of times throughout the years, I've always admired his great intellect, search for the truth, grasp of history and politics (domestic and foreign) and his promotion/highlighting of the LGBTQ communities and impact on the world. I'm a 55-year old openly gay man, big D democrat, feminist, atheist who's been following Uncle G since he first started blogging. In fact, G's been my first to-go every day, and I check back in several times a day. I'm so pleased to hear G befriended Andrew along the way. Hope you, Gryph,stay with us until The House Mouse That Roared is no longer in the public eye. Regards, Mark in Everett WA

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous2:49 PM

    Mitt Romney wants to run on his religion in 2016

    http://americablog.com/2015/01/romney-run-on-his-religion-in-2016.html

    ReplyDelete
  12. Glad to see him go - one sane moment when he saw the truth of Palin. Why is he going - not enough folks paying for the privilege of reading his right wing, religious and often racist views. Maggie Thatcher supporter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:30 PM

      You obviously haven't read his thoughts. I would pay twice as much to have him back blogging.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:44 PM

      Oh yes stick to reading views and arguments that echo your own. Just like C4P! i will miss his brilliance and talent on so many subjects, not just on the Screechy Wretch.

      Delete
    3. I put a name to my posts - have no need to remain anon. The right wing "bell curve" publisher who supported Thatcher and Reagan as they ruined the middle class in both their countries is no loss.

      Not liking Sullivan's views has NOTHING to do with C4P (who only hate him because of what he said about Palin) but some anon posters have obviously read nothing of sullivan other than his anti Palin script - as I said above the latter was his only saving grace

      Delete
    4. Anonymous7:41 AM

      I agree. Good riddance. Maybe lovers of Andrew Sullivan should switch to Ta-Nehisi Coates. Now, he could take apart Sullivan's arguments using masterful writing. I suspect Sullivan can no longer rise to the erudite bar set by Coates.

      Delete
  13. Smiling3:27 PM

    Clicked on The Dish bookmark a number of times a day. Such an authentic and interesting man and writer.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous3:31 PM

    Yeah, he's not you ;) nevertheless I won't miss him here. Me, myself and I feel like I know you, when I really don't. I get your humor, care about things I know you do, too. Do I always agree on everything you put out there, no, but you keep me coming back and I think, I get you....lol....if I ever get to your neck of the woods, I'm gonna holler... you have no clue who I am. This is weird.. HA
    Gypsy

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  15. Anonymous4:50 PM

    Without my daily dose of Andrew Sullivan, I may just have to depart from reading the internet. His voice, and the salon he invited us all to to share our thoughts, was the one true place I could find intelligent discourse thoughtfully exchanged about all sorts of subjects. I will miss him like crazy.
    Gryphen, you're my next favorite, so please, stay with us.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous6:23 PM

    All the Dirty Rumors About Sarah Palin's Sexual 'Fetish' and Cocaine Use

    http://gawker.com/5840227/all-the-dirty-new-rumors-about-sarah-palins-sexual-fetish-and-cocaine-use

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous7:45 PM

    Is he ill? just wonderin'.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous4:02 AM

    Andrew Sullivan was the point man who took down Health Care during Clinton's admin. Hundreds of thousands pf people have died because of this clown when you consider 45K die each year due to no health care. That was over 20 years ago. This fucking asshole is responsible for deaths. Read it and weep:
    http://pando.com/2015/01/28/andrew-sullivan-is-not-the-future-of-journalism/

    ReplyDelete

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