June 26, 2003

ENDANGERED BLEATAGE

Something is wrong in Jasperwood, and if it stops James Lileks writing his Bleats (or anything else), Mossad-level vengeance must be deployed. Ken Layne, Glenn Reynolds, Andrew Sullivan and Jim Treacher are on the case. Treacher received this almost-reassuring note:

Most everything is fine, and what isn't will be soon. And this has nothing to do with my job vs. my website, as some are speculating. Nor is this Moxiesque in any way.

We might learn more when the next Bleat is posted, in three hours or so. Then we’ll know if it’s time to turn green and enormous and monosyllabic and start smashing people. Hulk want Bleat!

UPDATE. It’s not happy news, but nor is it catastrophic:

Short version: my wife was sacked.

If this forces Lileks to write more for money than for fun, so be it. I’ll buy.

Posted by Tim Blair at June 26, 2003 02:12 PM
Comments

Yeah, I've been wondering about the Lileks situation since InstaPundit mentioned it early today.

The thing about Lileks--he's not only one of the cleverest writers on the web, he's usually one of the most benign. His ability to drive home a strong point with a "velvet hammer" is really quite a trick, and one of the reasons I admire his work.

I'm trying to think of anything he might have written to produce such a hateful response from anyone. Possibly he said something a while back in support of Israel. That'd do it: it brings the anti-semites flooding out of their anthills, and many of them are quite "vile." LGF suffers them on a daily basis, and Charles Johnson has to block entire ISP's just to keep the tide manageable.

Whatever it is, it's sure got the blogosphere stirred up.

Posted by: Charles Compton at June 26, 2003 at 02:51 PM

ah, the People's Republic of Minnesota strikes again.


(see, i can occasionally find the shift key...)

Posted by: Mr. Bingley at June 26, 2003 at 10:33 PM

Well, except that Minnesota appears to be trending Republican lately. Strange.

Oh, well, we'll always have the People's Republics of Madison and Ann Arbor to satisfy our cravings for direction here in the Midwest.

Posted by: JorgXMcKie at June 27, 2003 at 02:40 AM

"Minnesota appears to be trending Republican lately."

any type of contact with jesse ventura is known to produce bizzare behavior in people

Posted by: Mr. Bingley at June 27, 2003 at 03:06 AM

From a letter from someone close to the Lileks:

Posted by: aebrain at June 29, 2003 at 11:49 PM

Oh yes, this person's e-mail address is mailto:attorney.general@state.mn.us should you decide to communicate with him regarding the wisdom of his behaviour.

Posted by: aebrain at June 30, 2003 at 12:00 AM