Jorn Barger found (once again)

July 3, 2005 6:15 AM

Jorn Barger found homeless in San Francisco after losing the domain registration to robot wisdom. Happy end to story is he's off the street and has his site back (with plenty of up-to-date links). Jorn, for those who need reminding, is credited with coining the term "weblog", but for a larger sense of his role on Usenet and the Web over the years, browse the 19,000 newsgroup posts that reference him over the years. Jorn was reported missing here in late '03 , provoking Wired to track him down at that time.
posted by Creosote (85 comments total)

First FPP, be merciful... A couple of addenda that didn't merit putting in the post itself. First, it says something about Wikipedia that their article on Jorn already references the Wired story (don't know when the latter went online, but my print copy arrived two days ago). Second, although I've never met Jorn, I've crossed virtual paths with him many times over the years, as have most Internet old-timers. We had an email exchange after I sent him a "welcome back!" note following a previous temporary departure from the Net in March 1995; I sent him a link to an archived copy of a piece I wrote on Time writer Philip Elmer-DeWitt that quoted Jorn, and he noted in passing, "i'm continually crushed by how little notice my postings get." But Jorn is a survivor, whose fifteen minutes of fame are edging toward fifteen years.
posted by Creosote at 6:28 AM on July 3, 2005

how again did failing to renew his domain name make him homeless?
posted by quonsar at 6:34 AM on July 3, 2005

I think if we play the tape back slowly we find a guy with borderline autism or some like mental disturbance who list his domain name and fell apart.

If his weblogHeInventedSoWeAllOweHimSomehow is popular he could put ads on it and make more than the one dollar a day he lives on.
posted by BeerGrin at 6:42 AM on July 3, 2005

So pointing online at everything you read online makes one a net.god? Oh. I see.

Now I wonder what the other homeless guys in the library are doing.
posted by davy at 6:51 AM on July 3, 2005

Good to know that MeFi's favorite anti-semite is safe and sound.
posted by Mick at 6:53 AM on July 3, 2005

What makes Jorn a net.god is right in front of you, Davy. Coined the term weblog, ran one of the first weblogs and helped pioneer the form, became infamous for thousands of erudite, idiosyncratic postings on Usenet.

I have problems with the way he's linked the Jewish religion and policies of Israel, but I'm glad he's back online and hope he doesn't have to fall off the map again.
posted by rcade at 6:55 AM on July 3, 2005

The guy's contributions to the e-ther are large. I'm a big fan.
He's a savant perhaps, sociopathic probably, idiosynchratic definitely.
He's a walking advert for entropy and some friendly life-type outside organisational assistance would likely cure his recurrent brick wall encounters with capitalistic realities. He might have done well with a kottke style handout request although his readership is way down from a couple of years ago, I suspect.
*sigh* But what do I know. Spitting out pearls of wankdom. I simply wish him well. I'm grateful for all he's given me - his Joyce archives alone are just staggering and I've spent months and months trawling them and have returned there many times over the last 6 years or so. They are still widely used as a primary resource among the serious JJ scholars who have an online presence. Good onya Jorn.
posted by peacay at 7:05 AM on July 3, 2005

so, indirectly, he's responsible for "blogosphere" and "protoblogosphere"?

DIE JORN!!!!!!!!!!
posted by quonsar at 7:05 AM on July 3, 2005

I've read his site from time to time and have never seen evidence of antisemitism there. I find it odd that, after seeing a FPP about him, I immediately assumed there would be replies referencing his antisemitic nature.

Maybe he is, but I've never seen it.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 7:17 AM on July 3, 2005

So who wants to start my Wikipedia entry?

rcade, I already knew (because it says so up there) that he gave a label to the practice; it's that I don't see why that naming is so important. Who came up with the word "bibliography", and why is s/he not apotheosized?

As for "link[ing] the Jewish religion and the politics of Israel", that was done on May 14, 1948 in Tel Aviv, in the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel itself. The very first paragraph of the English version of that document reads: "The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books." I'm not defending Barger, I barely know who he is (and care even less), I'm just inviting you to do better than that.
posted by davy at 7:40 AM on July 3, 2005

I'm not an old man or even a Republican, but I think he should consider getting a job.
posted by Mayor Curley at 8:21 AM on July 3, 2005

Coming soon by Simon Winchester "The Madman, Usenet and Joyce"
posted by stbalbach at 8:41 AM on July 3, 2005

Mayor Curley: don't forget the other part, a job needs to be avaiable to be found.

Here's some of his resume according to Wiki

At one time he worked at Northwestern University's Institute for the Learning Sciences
His resources on James Joyce are extensive and are referenced in academic websites.

And from an interview with the guy

I spent the 1970s looking for a way to study human psychology without betraying either the scientific method _or_ the human spirit.

Ouch, tought job.

Do you expect to get rich off the Net?
Selling enough books to live on is all I'm really after.

No he doesn't know shit about money, really. Everybody knows few book writers get money, the others starve or become ghost writers for others.

Assuming the above is true, this is not the kind of man that should be used mopping floors or flipping burgers, but I guess a freshly cleaned floor and an hamburger are more valued then a lecture on Joyce...or maybe easier to get some dime for. I wonder what are all the real inepts doing.
posted by elpapacito at 8:47 AM on July 3, 2005

but I guess a freshly cleaned floor and an hamburger are more valued then a lecture on Joyce

Elitist much? Freshly cleaned floors are not important, until there's trash everywhere.
posted by justgary at 8:56 AM on July 3, 2005

At least somebody is worried about someone other than a missing young white girl.
posted by Livewire Confusion at 9:05 AM on July 3, 2005

peacay, it doesn't sound to me like Jorn is sociopathic at all. He may suffer from social phobia or social anxiety disorder. It sounds like it's hard for Jorn to function offline and he may additionally be chronically depressed. I suspect he may have some schizoid personality disorder traits and doesn't feel connected with people to a sufficient level to hold a job or be psychologically able to make a living, i.e. he's ill. That doesn't mean Jorn isn't highly intelligent and a web pioneer, which he obviously is, in spite of his anti-Zionism. Many great thinkers, mathematicians, writers, innovators, creators or artists are or have been unable to navigate practical life. A brilliant intellect may not be matched with practical living skills. The dysfunctional genius syndrome is common throughout history.
posted by nickyskye at 9:10 AM on July 3, 2005 [1 favorite]

Assuming the above is true, this is not the kind of man that should be used mopping floors or flipping burgers

So just who should be used to mopping floors and flipping burgers, then?

(full disclosure: I have mopped floors and flipped burgers to pay the bills, would do it again if need be. There's no shame in it.)

elpapacito, you're usually a decent guy, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that was just poorly phrased miscommunication, but read it back to yourself and see how it sounds.
posted by jonmc at 9:28 AM on July 3, 2005

Well nickyskye, perhaps sociopathic was a hastily chosen word, but I was just trying to characterize him, not diagnose him on scant cherrypicked hearsay, nor pigeonhole his beliefs.
He's been back online blogging for at least a couple of months IIRC.
posted by peacay at 9:31 AM on July 3, 2005

I suppose he must be against placing a few discreet text ads on his site; I daresay no one would criticize him for that, though.
posted by Soliloquy at 9:34 AM on July 3, 2005

I'm sick of hearing about this wackjob and everytime he wanders off and someone finds him.
posted by puke & cry at 9:35 AM on July 3, 2005 [1 favorite]

These comments are below average, people.

puke & cry: nice nick. Didn't your mom ever teach you, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything? Quit trying to argue in favor of abortion at every turn, you miserable turd.

peacay: I know you're a regular and have so much clout you could squash me like a little insect. But, perhaps sociopathic was a hastily chosen word--do you think? Naaa, seems like a good enough label, sort of like a snap of the neck or a cut to the jugular, gets the job done nice and quick. You do an awfully good impression of a tool here.

he should consider getting a job It might be easier for marginalized people to get jobs when there's a better system for re-incorporating them into normal society. You know, like they run at the Salvation Army. Dammit, why doesn't he see the light. Keep him down a bit longer, he'll come around. Etc.

MeFi's favorite anti-semite I hope there's evidence to back that one up, because that claim can be quite damning in some circles. At the same time, some people (even some groups which have sway) will peg some one in that fashion using only the most nebulous proof. Possibly in pursuit of their own agendas.

So pointing online at everything you read online makes one a net.god? Davy, could you take three deep breaths please and stop to consider that not everyone in the world is on an all out quest for god hood, and that if someone is extolling this guy's merit, maybe that's their deal, not Barger's. Maybe when Barger is feeling low, he wishes he could just have a typical middle class life, and trade in all his worthless notoriety for a stable job, wife and two kids. What a great way to make intellectual work seem even less worthwhile and more repugnant, is to crap on one of the "industry's" losers when he's down. Do you have any decency? Could you please show a little?

did failing to renew his domain name make him homeless

Actually, I'm willing to bet it was how he raped children, gave dogs blow jobs, and killed women of the white race for sport. They just used the loss of his domain name as a tangible symbol of his fall from a more productive time, in which he apparently felt like his voice had value in the world.

If there's one group of people it's OK to spit on and to whom you can donate all the garbage you've collected along the way, it's the homeless vagrant bums ("hobosexuals ?!") of the world. Well thank God they have that role in our society.
posted by nervousfritz at 10:00 AM on July 3, 2005

I'm not defending Barger, I barely know who he is (and care even less), I'm just inviting you to do better than that.

You're working pretty hard to demonstrate your indifference. But I'll pretend you're being sincere: Read an old MetaFilter discussion to learn why he's accused of anti-Semitism.
posted by rcade at 10:01 AM on July 3, 2005

jonmc: yeah it's miscommunication as I should have wrote "that should be employed to mop floors or flip burgers" but you got the meaning anyway.

I've cleaned toilets and done lot of chores that I find to be vile and tedious and I would never do them again, but would do it if nobody else was avaiable to..out of necessity.

That said, while there's nothing "bad" in flipping burgers or mopping floors per se they still are jobs that better fit simpler minds..those that by choice or by misfortune really aren't able or don't want to involve themselves in other more difficult jobs.

That of course doesn't imply leaving them alone to their ignorance or not giving them improvement opportunities..on the contrary that would be damaging to the society as a whole as I've seen brilliant minds stuck in horrible jobs (sometime because of psycological disorders) and absolute hubris full dimwits in fantastic positions..that must not happen.

What about the Jorn Barger dude ? I have this skin superficial impression there's something wrong in the fact he may end up flipping burgers and mopping floors..w..while others lecture Joyce and would rather go fishing that much they love their job.
posted by elpapacito at 10:10 AM on July 3, 2005

Actually, I'm willing to bet it was how he raped children, gave dogs blow jobs, and killed women of the white race for sport. They just used the loss of his domain name as a tangible symbol of his fall from a more productive time, in which he apparently felt like his voice had value in the world.

actually, i was just bashing on Creosote's horrible opening sentence, especially in light of the post being concocted solely so he could link "to an archived copy of a piece I wrote" without actually self-linking on the front page.

You do an awfully good impression of a tool here.

priceless pot-kettle demonstration.
posted by quonsar at 10:16 AM on July 3, 2005

Coined the term weblog, ran one of the first weblogs and helped pioneer the form

So friggin' what?

It's one thing to be the first do something that required hard work and a smattering of genius. That's something to be lauded. The lightbulb. The internal cumbustion engine. The airplane. The discovery of oxygen. But the weblog? People already had websites--so someone updates it every day instead of every week. Color me unimpressed.

Hey, I can understand the desire to sit on your ass all day and surf the net, but you've still got to keep a roof over your head somehow. Jorn can swallow his fucking "I-invented-weblogs-and-didn't-make-a-dime" pride and mop some damned floors like the rest of us. Coining a term is great for the history books, but doesn't pay the bills. Anyone who things otherwise is setting themselves up for a severe beating with the clue stick.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:30 AM on July 3, 2005

things=thinks. dang.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:31 AM on July 3, 2005

cumbustion=combustion. dank.
posted by quonsar at 10:34 AM on July 3, 2005

Compassion and pity are things which Metafilter has never done very well.
posted by crunchland at 10:40 AM on July 3, 2005

nervousfritz, not that I overly care what you think but did you read all the words I wrote in this thread? Not only did I advert to the hollowness of my surmizing about Jorn, but I also agreed on challenge that I had probably mischaracterized him - but even then I'd suggest that it's only slight and more about semantics actually. I've read all his own bio and numerous articles about him and I've exchanged a few emails with him previously and seen him engaged in discussions in Joyce discussion groups and although I'd never suggest I have any great insight in the guy's life, I've casually come to know him as well as one might in a public online situation.

So I'll just suggest that although your crusade to keep safe the feelings of the less fortunate of the world might be admirable in one sense, I think its probably misguided and a bit excessive, when I adjust my glasses and observe your veneer of greying pristine righteousness.
posted by peacay at 10:45 AM on July 3, 2005

Compassion and pity are things which Metafilter has never done very well.

Compassion we have a mixed record with, but as Jim Dodge put it "Pity is a polite form of loathing," and that both we and the marginalized can do without.
posted by jonmc at 10:48 AM on July 3, 2005

cumbustion=combustion. dank.

/beats self with clue stick
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:00 AM on July 3, 2005

I think Jorn is great, and I missed him when he was gone.

He's a critic of Isreal, and sometimes uses the term Zionism. But it seems to me he's not a frothing-at-the mouth anti-Semite, or even much of an anti-Semite at all. :-
I think I'll donate some dough to the guy this week. He's an inspiration to me.
posted by artlung at 11:00 AM on July 3, 2005

I'm amazed at the amount of bile here on MeFi for the man. Perhaps the narcissism of small differences, inasmuch as Jorn by himself is arguably as significant a "best of the web" beacon as all of us put together.

Elitist nothing. He's providing something of value in the lives of floor-cleaners and many others. I admire how, without worshiping all the dross that races across others' faster and shallower experiences of the internet, he manages to get to the heart of the web by supplying what most of the getting-paid-for-nothing troops lack — discernment.

(Do I agree with all his ideas? Of course not. How repulsive that this would be, for anyone, the basis of deciding whether he has created, and is creating, something of worth!)
posted by Zurishaddai at 11:01 AM on July 3, 2005

peacay, you may have mixed up the word antisocial with anti-social ( as in anti-social personality disorder i.e. sociopathic), which would in fact be diagnosing as well as characterizing. Perhaps you meant to say Jorn was antisocial? I agree with you that he's a savant who is "walking advert for entropy" but doubt that "friendly life-type outside organisational assistance would likely cure his recurrent brick wall encounters with capitalistic realities" because from the little I've read that seems to be against his perception of the world, stated at the top of his Robot Wisdom page: "A world under the thumbs of utterly cynical predators. Their weak point is their need to rationalize their acts, by sophistries. The radical proposal:
Create a computer model of the human predicament, that can unflinchingly put the lie to their rationalizations (ie: Robot Wisdom)." It would seem his passion is to work singularly on his "radical proposal".
posted by nickyskye at 11:02 AM on July 3, 2005 [1 favorite]

/beats self with clue stick

stop that, you'll hurt the stick.
posted by jonmc at 11:06 AM on July 3, 2005

Elitist nothing. He's providing something of value in the lives of floor-cleaners and many others.

It's elitist to think he's too good to clean floors. And I'm sure floor cleaners have added to everyone's life. Not sure what you're getting at.
posted by justgary at 11:16 AM on July 3, 2005

Is it Asshole Day on MeFi again so soon?
The guy's got issues but had alot to do with the creation of the blogging phenomenon. And he's down on his luck, try a little compassion. A few crappy turns and that could be any of you or me.
posted by fenriq at 11:19 AM on July 3, 2005

nickyskye, maybe Barger should apply for Social Security Disability and/or SSI for a mental disability then.

And nervousfritz, kiss my ass. My hunch is I've got far more in common with Jorn Barger than most people around here, including several bouts of homelessness, "intellectual work" I don't get paid for and that most people don't see much value in, a "personal problem" or 20, and having been slanged as an antisemite for "link[ing] the Jewish religion and the politics of Israel". Of course you didn't know that, or you might have been able to tell professional envy from hobo kicking.

And rcade, I really just heard of t this Barger guy for the first time today: I very briefly scanned the things linked to in the FPP, wondered why anybody would bother to read Joyce's stuff let alone become an expert in it, got slightly envious that he gets a write-up in a national magazine and a Wikipedia entry and I don't, then came back to this comments thread -- and noticed he'd been called an antisemite for "link[ing] the Jewish religion and the politics of Israel". (That would make Rebbe Schneerson and Bibi Netanyahu antisemites if making that linkage is all that takes.) Now, from very briefly scanning the old Metafilter thread you pointed at, I gather Barger too has posted some unpopular opinions on Israel and Zionism that the kind of person who likes to call other people "antisemite" have taken exception to; I still don't know enough about him to discuss anything about him at any length, and, with all due respect to this guy who I evidently should number among my colleagues and comrades, I still don't care to -- but then I don't see why anybody would have to know anything about this Barger guy to know that the Zionist-colonialist Jewish State of Israel is a metastatic malignancy on the buttcheek of "the Middle East".

But hey, I don't have to know or care much about Barger to know his critics here can go fuck themselves.
posted by davy at 11:20 AM on July 3, 2005

I'm amazed at the amount of bile here on MeFi for the man. Perhaps the narcissism of small differences, inasmuch as Jorn by himself is arguably as significant a "best of the web" beacon as all of us put together.

A-fucking-men.
posted by y2karl at 11:24 AM on July 3, 2005

This guy must be something to inflame such passions. Even if they are on the asshat side.
posted by paladin at 11:41 AM on July 3, 2005

It's elitist to think he's too good to clean floors. And I'm sure floor cleaners have added to everyone's life. Not sure what you're getting at.

I think you missed my point justgary. Judging from my experience, which includes working part time cleaning toilets and full time cleaning hotel rooms, that kind of work provides money, but you'd better fucking have someone out there creating something besides clean floors (tho in a pinch a store selling books by dead people will always do) to go gawk at afterwards, or you might find yourself short of reasons to bother going on and cleaning the floors. When I cleaned hotel rooms in a high-unemployment part of the world, my coworkers included people with education in business and nursing. They didn't show up with signs or noises of protest, but they sure as hell knew they had some inner value that wasn't being developed in the cleaning biz.

It's great to be anti-elitist enough to grant dignity to people with crappy jobs. But it can come off as quite condescending if you forget that it may not suit their own ideas & aspirations of self.

I'm a little too torn to do justice to my thought here — but, in a nutshell, what I love about this world is that it contains Joyce fanatics among its ranks of floor cleaners. And, call me idealistic or burdened with left over resentment, but, yes, I think the world ought to take the trouble to appreciate their minds, and, hell, even pay them to surf the internet and post links about it, or to read books and tell fucking nobody about it. (I guess this is just the unresolved paradox of offering, in parts, a liberal education to an unfree, because enslaved to wages, democratic people.)

Anyway, Jorn is clueless about Mammon, but if you gave him a simple room & board paying job to do some cleaning, he might do it. If nothing else, we can look with some new perspective over these comments about robotwisdom posted to MeFi four and a half years ago:

I do not know how long the "your-msg-here" banners have been there or the message "You will soon be able to donate money to support this website via Paypal..." but they separate him from nearly every web logger I know.

Whatever else it might be, I would suggest his behavior is a world-class troll for hits.
posted by Mo Nickels at 3:32 PM CST on December 27

Those messages seeking advertisers for the tiny-banner-ad space have been on Robot Wisdom for several months, but I haven't seen any takers yet.
posted by rcade at 4:28 PM CST on December 27

/rant
posted by Zurishaddai at 11:56 AM on July 3, 2005

fuck fuck fuck
posted by fire&wings at 12:13 PM on July 3, 2005

Mayor Curley: I think he should consider getting a job.


Yes indeed, because a nomadic Joycean bum is barely above the worthless level of a gypsy.

Everyone knows that a person's social worth correlates with their wages.
posted by meehawl at 12:14 PM on July 3, 2005

I think the world ought to take the trouble to appreciate their minds, and, hell, even pay them to surf the internet and post links about it, or to read books and tell fucking nobody about it.

Here in the US it helps if you can convince a few headshrinkers that you're too mentally idiosyncratic to be able to get and keep a real job. See SSI and/or SSD.
posted by davy at 12:14 PM on July 3, 2005

I don't know anything about this Jorn guy, but I am at page 220 of Ulysses and I am pretty sure I hate James Joyce.
posted by bukvich at 12:19 PM on July 3, 2005

/beats self with clue stick

stop that, you'll hurt the stick.
posted by jonmc at 11:06 AM PST on July 3 [!]


That was awesome, johnmc!
posted by Balisong at 12:20 PM on July 3, 2005

I am at page 220 of Ulysses and I am pretty sure I hate James Joyce.

So why read "Ulysses" then, Bukvich? Are you getting paid to write a review and/or reading it for a course, or are you just being masochistic? I'd rather read things I like for free.
posted by davy at 12:24 PM on July 3, 2005

It took me reading Fountianhead to realise that I don't care much for Ayn Rand.
posted by Balisong at 12:26 PM on July 3, 2005

Well said Zurishaddai.
posted by gwint at 12:30 PM on July 3, 2005

"the 19,000 newsgroup posts that reference him"

I just got 110,000 hits for me. Nyaah nyaah! (I feel so vindicated now.)
posted by davy at 12:38 PM on July 3, 2005

There's also a previous MetaTalk thread on Jorn, for those looking deeper into his antisemitism.

The reason he's influential in blogs is not merely because he named them (or used the word "weblog" in this context first) but because he was also inarguably a big influence on the early practitioners of what has now become an industry worth tens of millions of dollars. Unlike, say, everyone else on this thread who's shitting on the value/importance of that.

And I say that as an unapologetic critic of Jorn's.
posted by anildash at 1:07 PM on July 3, 2005

So anildash, then all them bloggers ought to be paying Barger royalties. Especially the right-wing ones that besides shilling for the corporations and their political whores also run their own escort services.

If anybody cares, I still separate the concepts "Zionism", "Israel", "Judaism" and "Jew". Like I'm not against the US government's politics and policies because most US citizens are (like roughly 7/8 of me) Christian- based Euro-Caucasians, nor do I hate white Merkin goyim as people because of their (our) evil government, so too I probably spend as much time and energy rolling my eyes at the antics and vituperations of some of my fellow anti-Zionists as I do at those of the Zionist fascists diametrically across from them.

And I say that as an unapologetic fan of Jewish chicks.
posted by davy at 1:37 PM on July 3, 2005

davy, I think that most people on MeFi share your sophisticated distinction between Jewish people and Israeli policy, and the complaints that have been levelled at Robot Wisdom over the years aren't just from people with the erroneous perception that criticism of Israel = criticism of Jews. You may want to look at the troubling headlines that rcade cites in the previously linked MeTa thread. It's Jorn's inconsistent choice of words like "Jews" and "Israelis" that make some people (such as myself) very uncomfortable. I'm very frustrated when the anti-zionist movement is undermined by closet antisemitism.
posted by Marquis at 1:56 PM on July 3, 2005

Exactly. It's one thing to equate any criticsm of Israeli policy to anti-Semitism, it is quite another to discount any anti-Semitic biases in that criticism.
posted by jonmc at 2:00 PM on July 3, 2005

I think jonmc has worn the clue stick down to a toothpick.

Barger should be credited not only for the word "weblog" but also for proving that you didn't have to be a web designer to have a blog, and for pioneering the link-centric blog as a reflection of the personality of the blogger. Yeah, let's lynch him.

Having lost my original domain name (oneswellfoop.com) and been saved from homelessness solely by my willingness to move in with family members who hate me, I can relate to Barger's situation, and can personally reccommend the SSI/Disability option, although it took a combination of Congestive Heart Failure, Clinical Depression and 26 years of productive work experience to qualify for SSD myself (which ironically was key in beginning to restore my self-worth). Of course, making anybody do the best thing for himself is always a little more difficult.
posted by wendell at 2:27 PM on July 3, 2005

maybe Barger should apply for Social Security Disability and/or SSI for a mental disability then.

People with a mental disability and/or clinical depression often go undiagnosed or can, understandably, be suspicious of govermental authority, who would label them "disabled" as a reason to offer a financial handout. In light of Jorn's own perception of "The present reality:
A world under the thumbs of utterly cynical predators", it would make sense that he would not seek, or might be reluctant to seek, financial help from our government.

Of course, making anybody do the best thing for himself is always a little more difficult.

I agree with you wendell.
posted by nickyskye at 2:31 PM on July 3, 2005

Having lost my original domain name (oneswellfoop.com)

wendell, I lost my domain name (cockeyedabsurdist.com) because I was too broke to renew it. But weblog excellence don't pick cotton, as they say. Thems the breaks.
posted by jonmc at 2:39 PM on July 3, 2005

Yes indeed, because a nomadic Joycean bum is barely above the worthless level of a gypsy.

Everyone knows that a person's social worth correlates with their wages.

meehawl, even Stephen Dedalus taught instead of starving as a full-time poet.

And you're insinuating a lot in that second observation. I was just suggesting that working at Burger King is probably better than waking up with bugs in your hair. That's it. No Social Darwinism, no Worthington's Law-- nothing for you to flip out and accuse me of being a 19th century social theorist.
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:42 PM on July 3, 2005

People with a mental disability and/or clinical depression often go undiagnosed or can, understandably, be suspicious of govermental authority...

I was like that till my female companion of the time, who could no longer afford to support me, told me she'd heard about this program I should apply for that she thought I could get. Besides being afraid they'd turn me down I was afraid they'd snatch the opportunity to commit me, that taking their money would compromise my principles, that it was all just a Cointelpro plot, and that letting Them label me as "mentally disabled" would discredit my ineffable specialness; eventually she convinced me I really should try it (for her sake if not my own), and took me to the Social Security office and literally held my hand while I applied. As it turns out I was a shoo-in, so it's worth a try for Barger too.
posted by davy at 3:36 PM on July 3, 2005

I always just assumed that most of the bums in San Francisco were former dot-com celebrities and millionaires. Turns out that I'm right.
posted by Arch Stanton at 3:48 PM on July 3, 2005

As far as Barger's alleged antisemitism, if what y'all say is true then I'd have to agree he sounds antisemitic to me too, and that that's a bad thing. The problem is, you see, I already have too much on my self-absorbed little mind to focus on him or his issues more than I already have. I'm not going to read "Ulysses" just to back up my supposition that you'd have to be nuts to be a James Joyce expert either, and having done my bit with the URLs regarding Federal funds I'll leave his bodily well-being to his many supporters.

However, I'll gladly and freely profess what I've been saying for 30 years already, that it's wrong and stupid to hate or harm somebody just for their ethnicity, religion, sexual preference or whatever. Whoever does it.
posted by davy at 3:58 PM on July 3, 2005

I don't know how long it's been up, but the top headline on Robot Wisdom is now "The most racist ideology in human history?", linking to a story about a rabbi's declaration hummus is non-Kosher if prepared by non-Jews.
posted by rcade at 4:18 PM on July 3, 2005

As far as Barger's alleged antisemitism, if what y'all say is true then I'd have to agree he sounds antisemitic to me too, and that that's a bad thing. The problem is, you see, I already have too much on my self-absorbed little mind to focus on him or his issues more than I already have. I'm not going to read "Ulysses" just to back up my supposition that you'd have to be nuts to be a James Joyce expert either, and having done my bit with the URLs regarding Federal funds I'll leave his bodily well-being to his many supporters.

on a side note Leopold Bloom, the main character in "Ulysses" is Jewish.
posted by Livewire Confusion at 4:33 PM on July 3, 2005

"The most racist ideology in human history?"

Holy crap, I assumed you were joking rcade. You know what? I really don't think that guy likes Jews.
posted by gwint at 4:40 PM on July 3, 2005

Could be possible that he hates the Zionists but likes Jews? I have many Jewish friends who despise Zionists and their policies in Palestine.
posted by Livewire Confusion at 4:59 PM on July 3, 2005

Guh, Livewire, see the last fifteen posts (or so) in this thread.
posted by Marquis at 5:11 PM on July 3, 2005

Yeah, or maybe he just really loves hummus and feels like he has to defend it against the most racist ideology in human history.
posted by gwint at 5:12 PM on July 3, 2005

Equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism is a common trollmeme. I wouldn't pay it much attention.
posted by Rothko at 5:26 PM on July 3, 2005

You know, the supermarket hummuses in America don't even seem to have tahini in them (except possibly as one of 50 'flavors' of hummus), while in Israel it's well nigh impossible to buy hummus without tahini in it. IMHO, the American hummus tastes uniformly bland, but a lot of the people I know don't like the sesame taste when I make fresh hummus. Anyway, there's definitely a cultural divide at work, over which misunderstandings can arise.

So, what were we talking about again?
posted by boaz at 5:31 PM on July 3, 2005

its probably misguided and a bit excessive

Peacay, you're right, it was a bit much. I regretted posting in that manner after the fact, as I felt I could have expressed my feelings in a less hostile, more agreeable way.
posted by nervousfritz at 5:44 PM on July 3, 2005

even Stephen Dedalus taught

True, but he was imaginary.

working at Burger King is probably better than waking up with bugs in your hair.

Oddly enough, while I worked at McDonald's I slept for three months in a tent, so I woke up with both bugs *and* grease in my hair.

No Social Darwinism, no Worthington's Law

Then I apologise for having misinterpretated your statement as some sort of Tebbit-like "On Yer Bike" admonition.
posted by meehawl at 6:10 PM on July 3, 2005

As it turns out I was a shoo-in, so it's worth a try for Barger too.

davy, I wanted to commend your honesty. The information about SSRI and SSD might be something worth sharing with Jorn.
posted by nickyskye at 6:29 PM on July 3, 2005

Shit, it's not like Jorn is the only racist blogger out there. There are whole swathes of people, drawing lofty pageranks, who intimately detail their loathing daily. Oh shit, but hang on, they all hate Ay-rabs, so I guess it's got to be okay! To my eyes, the kind of hyperbole Jorn raises about Jews is on the same order of magnitude as certain pointy, green vegetables make around here about Muslims. It doesn't make it right, but it doesn't mean you should write off the person completely. And, to be honest, at least Jorn has things to post besides racist remarks, unlike the afore-mentioned highly popular warbloggers.

Sure, Jorn's opinions on Israel make me uncomfortable. But he inspired me to start my own weblog, back in the days when there weren't that many other weblogs around to be inspired by. I still hold Robot Wisdom up as an example of what weblogs should be - just the links ma'am. And he's still cooler than Kottke, and nothing can take that away from us.
posted by Jimbob at 6:33 PM on July 3, 2005

Yeah, let's lynch him.

No, no, let's make a giant statue of the guy for doing something so inspired, so singularly creative that it changed the whole world... I mean, if he hadn't done it, it may have been decades before someone else put up a blog. Hell, centuries!

At the very least, we could all chip in to buy him some nails for that cross he likes to carry around.

Coined the term 'weblog,' never made a dime.

Iorn Bargerum Rex Blogdum
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:57 PM on July 3, 2005

Unlike, say, everyone else on this thread who's shitting on the value/importance of that.

Everyone else? Did you read the comments? Because it was a mixed bag.

Perhaps your opinion is clouded by your occupation of choice. People have different opinions. Deal with it.
posted by justgary at 11:03 PM on July 3, 2005

an industry worth tens of millions of dollars.

ROFL!
posted by quonsar at 11:23 PM on July 3, 2005

Kottke is classist towards the little people, yet everyone here still fawns over him. Why not castigate Jason while you're at it? If I've learned anything from the blogosphere, it's that snively higher-income people operate the most widely read weblogs and may very well be the Archie Bunkers of our time.

And I say that as an unapologetic critic of the affluent and self-absorbed.
posted by ed at 12:24 AM on July 4, 2005

i had a website once
posted by angry modem at 12:56 AM on July 4, 2005

rcade, I already knew (because it says so up there) that he gave a label to the practice; it's that I don't see why that naming is so important. Who came up with the word "bibliography", and why is s/he not apotheosized?

Who did coin the term bibliography? I don't have an OED sitting around. Samuel Johnson? Herbert Coleridge?

I think that naming something is often combined with practicing it. Words really do matter some times. Think of the phrase "slashing social security." That term alone caused headaches for many. Also, it's not that he named it, but that he blogged for so long *and* named it.
posted by craniac at 5:51 AM on July 4, 2005

DIE JORN!!!!!!!!!!

Are you sure it's not Der Jorn?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:16 AM on July 4, 2005

Jorn responded to Paul Boutin's article in his Talk page on Wikipedia:

I hate being dragged into this, but the Boutin story is almost entirely fiction-- not that it's anybody's business, but I'd arrived in SF the day before, and spent the night at a youth hostel. I tried to sit down with Boutin and tell him the real story, but his mind was so closed he spent the entire time talking about himself.

So there you go.
posted by waxpancake at 9:39 PM on July 4, 2005

Fuck him AND Kottke. Both are self-serving/self-important assholes. Worthington's Law is only helping one, however, and it's not the better of the two.
posted by mrblondemang at 10:50 PM on July 4, 2005

Oddly enough, while I worked at McDonald's I slept for three months in a tent, so I woke up with both bugs *and* grease in my hair.

Wow! Replace "McDonald's" with "Hardee's" and that applies to me too.

so, indirectly, he's responsible for "blogosphere" and "protoblogosphere"?

the first user of the term "blogosphere" is our own Bradlands. But it took someone far more ...'clever'... to actually mean it.
posted by norm at 2:02 PM on July 5, 2005

Thanks for that fascinating update, waxpancake.
posted by Zurishaddai at 2:44 PM on July 5, 2005

wow, there are some assholes in here.
posted by smackfu at 11:16 AM on July 6, 2005