Blogger Jon Swift

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"Sometimes there are no words" was the headline of the last ever post at Jon Swift's blog. It's a brief post in response to the loss of a son by a fellow blogger and commentor. And now, almost a year later the mother of Jon Swift - who was in fact Al Weisel - has posted in the comments section of her own son's blog to tell his friends and fans that he has died.

It turns out that Al Weisel was a professional writer, which probably comes as surprise to no one. His political satire was brilliant. He didn't ever post every day. His posts were mostly long and written perfectly. Usually there was one a week. Once in a while, two. But always worth checking for, back in the old days when you actually had to go to someone's site to find out if there was a new post.

I never knew him personally, of course, but I think he was probably a great guy. Even though his entire blog was impeccably done with a satirical persona his real humanity somehow made itself known. He kind of hung out with the little bloggers even though he'd earned himself a seat at the A-list table. Not only did he champion liberal linking policies, he'd take the time to leave comments on little blogs - like this one, for instance. If he was that generous to others in Blogtopia* he must have been one hell of a guy in real life.

My heart goes out to his mother and the rest of his family and real life friends. If so many people who never got to meet him feel his loss as we do, how devastating this must be to those closest to him.. He will be so very much missed.

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