RIP, Al Weisel
The blogger who posted as the always hilarious Jon Swift has died.
He had so many funny posts that it is hard to choose one, but this take-down of Mark Noonan ranks near the top.
March 3, 2010 4:31 pm
Posted in: Blogospheric Navel-Gazing
56 Comments
56 Responses
Ash Can - March 3, 2010 | 4:34 pm · Link
How tragic. Condolences to his friends and family.
Cain - March 3, 2010 | 4:38 pm · Link
My condolences to the family. Especially considering having lost their father and a son all at the same time.
cain
CaseyL - March 3, 2010 | 4:38 pm · Link
Oh, I’m incredibly sad to hear that. He was a wonderful writer.
geg6 - March 3, 2010 | 4:39 pm · Link
Wow. Tragedy upon tragedy here. My condolences to his family and friends.
calipygian - March 3, 2010 | 4:39 pm · Link
Jesus.
NobodySpecial - March 3, 2010 | 4:41 pm · Link
Aw man.
Silver Owl - March 3, 2010 | 4:44 pm · Link
that sucks. I loved his posts. His poor family.
Leelee for Obama - March 3, 2010 | 4:48 pm · Link
I only read Swift occasionally, but he could be coffee-out-the-nose funny and also, correct. What a shame for his family and for those who loved him.
Makes you realize, with great clarity, how important it is to let people know you love, admire or just plain like them.
PaminBB - March 3, 2010 | 4:50 pm · Link
Sad news indeed.
bayville - March 3, 2010 | 4:51 pm · Link
One of the true legends.
Terrible news for those who laugh out loud.
Bubblegum Tate - March 3, 2010 | 4:51 pm · Link
Very sad news. His blog was freakin’ hilarious and always a good read (and yes, that takedown of Noonan is pure, uncut classic material). All the best to his family and friends.
Loneoak - March 3, 2010 | 4:51 pm · Link
He really was one of the funniest writers on the tubes and will be missed. I always wished he had a higher traffic spot to blog in, like BJ or S,N!.
JenJen - March 3, 2010 | 4:52 pm · Link
Rest in peace, Jon Swift/Al. Such a great blogger, and for my money the funniest, too. Such a tragic circumstance surrounding his death. His poor mother..
Our own Libby Spencer has a nice eulogy up on her site, here.
Anne Laurie - March 3, 2010 | 4:52 pm · Link
RIP, ‘Jon Swift’ and Mr. Weisel. For once, to say that this cruel world broke a great heart goes beyond the metaphoric.
JGabriel - March 3, 2010 | 4:52 pm · Link
Compounding the tragedy, Weisel was on his way to his father’s funeral. His mother and siblings must be devastated.
My condolences to the family.
.
Wilf - March 3, 2010 | 4:53 pm · Link
His blog was one of the first that I read, and always brought a laugh.
Zifnab - March 3, 2010 | 4:54 pm · Link
That’s terrible. He was easily one of my favorite bloggers when he was posting.
DougJ - March 3, 2010 | 4:55 pm · Link
That sucks. I loved his blogging.
ACS - March 3, 2010 | 4:59 pm · Link
That’s too bad, he was one of the funniest writers out there.
Just take a look at his second to last post (about Bristol Palin). When you get the real conservatives (in this case, NR’s Lisa Schiffren) taking your ridiculous arguments at face value, you know you’re doing satire right.
He’ll definitely be missed.
neill - March 3, 2010 | 5:01 pm · Link
a great writer, original wit, with a brilliant imaginative style…tragic loss.
Steve - March 3, 2010 | 5:07 pm · Link
Wow, that’s terrible. He was a true genius.
Violet - March 3, 2010 | 5:09 pm · Link
Very sad, especially losing both a father and son at the same time. He was a wonderful voice.
Loneoak - March 3, 2010 | 5:09 pm · Link
I just noticed a PayPal link up on his site. I sent a little money his way, so maybe his family will realize how much we loved his writing.
Sophist - March 3, 2010 | 5:10 pm · Link
And yet Jonah Goldberg is still alive and posting.
Fuck you, Universe!
Jody - March 3, 2010 | 5:12 pm · Link
I still get upset about Gilliard and now this.
There is no fucking justice.
Alan - March 3, 2010 | 5:13 pm · Link
My heart goes out to his mother for losing both her husband and son at practically the same time.
BombIranForChrist - March 3, 2010 | 5:17 pm · Link
An aortic dissection from his heart to his pelvis? Jesus Christ. As a parent, my thoughts and prayers are with his mother and family. I would lose my mind if I lost one of my children.
bayville - March 3, 2010 | 5:18 pm · Link
@Sophist:
Great eulogy, Monsignor.
Tom Hilton - March 3, 2010 | 5:18 pm · Link
Oh my god…that’s just awful. He was a real talent, and a very generous promoter of the littler folks in the blogosphere.
Mike Kay - March 3, 2010 | 5:20 pm · Link
why couldn’t have been sally quinn!
scarshapedstar - March 3, 2010 | 5:23 pm · Link
Fuck no… :(
Chuck Butcher - March 3, 2010 | 5:24 pm · Link
Jon’s last post was in regard to me, I’m sorry that also got his mother’s announcement in the comments. I’d vastly prefer the last show cased his wit and humor.
He was a particular friend to the small blogger, I want his family to know how much I appreciate them sharing him with us.
Warren Terra - March 3, 2010 | 5:24 pm · Link
I read him rarely, but enough to recognize his talent and to admire the humanity that underlay his satiric pose. A tragic loss, doubly under the circumstances of his father’s funeral.
WereBear - March 3, 2010 | 5:27 pm · Link
I’m so sorry. I always loved popping over and catching up.
He was a wonderful writer.
It’s a terrible thing all the way around.
dr. bloor - March 3, 2010 | 5:29 pm · Link
Jesus Fucking Christ. Someone like Al—and his family—has this happen to him/them, and scumsucking shitheads like the Cheneys continue to slime the Earth. There is no God.
Svensker - March 3, 2010 | 5:31 pm · Link
Condolences to his family and friends. What a terrible tragedy.
Objective Scrutator - March 3, 2010 | 5:37 pm · Link
This is really sad. Al inspired me to write parody articles. When he quit writing, I kind of lost interest in blogging altogether.
I could have sworn that Colbert plucked some of Al’s quotes for his own usage.
Jon Swift – Wilf's Blog - March 3, 2010 | 5:52 pm · Link
[...] Balloon Juice: The blogger who posted as the always hilarious Jon Swift has [...]
Batocchio - March 3, 2010 | 6:05 pm · Link
I just got the news a while ago. It’s a tremendous loss. Condolences and best wishes to his family and friends.
Leelee for Obama - March 3, 2010 | 6:08 pm · Link
On the other hand, maybe God likes better company. Admittedly, it’s selfish, but I’d pick someone who made me laugh over someone who made me vomit.
Just sayin”
SGEW - March 3, 2010 | 6:27 pm · Link
I’m sad now.
Cris - March 3, 2010 | 6:34 pm · Link
Which prompted me to re-read your post about your son, still as heart-rending as it was a year ago. You expressed your pain and resignation so fully, so clearly, yet without ever resorting to cliches or sentimentality.
RedKitten - March 3, 2010 | 6:39 pm · Link
What a terrible, terrible tragedy. I hope that his family can find comfort and strength in the days ahead.
pixelpusher - March 3, 2010 | 7:02 pm · Link
He was the kinder, gentler Stephen Colbert.
Lit3Bolt - March 3, 2010 | 7:06 pm · Link
He was a giant wit, a superior blogger, and dedicated comic. He brought so much laughter and joy to me for years for free and I feel shamed to learn of his death after the fact.
I hope all of us remember compassion in the days ahead and that there are real human beings who live lives and have families beyond the words they post on the magical glowing rectangle. Godspeed, Al.
Mark S. - March 3, 2010 | 7:19 pm · Link
My heart goes out to his family. Losing two loved ones like that must be terrible.
Zuzu's Petals - March 3, 2010 | 7:25 pm · Link
@Loneoak:
I just sent a request to join the “Friends of Al Weisel Unite!” Facebook page his mother cited. Looks like it was set up while he was still in the hospital, so am guessing there might also be a way to donate there.
What a very sad loss for his family and friends, and his readers. Rest in peace indeed.
Hugh - March 3, 2010 | 8:06 pm · Link
Ah Jesus. So sad. He was very, very funny.
LiberalTarian - March 3, 2010 | 8:50 pm · Link
Oh shoot. I recall when he was guest blogging/hosting at Crooks and Liars.
Rest in peace JS, and may your family find comfort in the knowledge that you touched many.
someguy - March 3, 2010 | 9:17 pm · Link
I’ll miss him. He had the right idea about how to beat the Rethugs. Reduce ‘em to caricature, dehumanize ‘em, then ridicule the shit out of them, and be funny along the way. Wish we had more like him.
Betsy - March 3, 2010 | 9:26 pm · Link
What a loss. Most profoundly for his family and friends, of course, but also for the world at large. We NEED a wit like his, deployed the way he did, to make this world better.
Chuck Butcher - March 3, 2010 | 9:46 pm · Link
@Cris:
Jon was a part of the community who helped support us through something very difficult, I owe him. It may not seem quite right that blog comments can help in a tragedy – they do. I suggest that leaving word on Jon Swift would be appropriate. Particularly in light that the announcement was made in comments to “Sometimes There Are No Words.” There aren’t, but we do our best and that counts because the recipients know this.
slag - March 3, 2010 | 10:07 pm · Link
Just tragic. A great blogger, that Jon Swift. Even though he hadn’t posted for almost a year, I still checked in on his blog periodically. If he came back, I didn’t want to miss it. Now that I know it won’t be coming back, I’ll be combing the archives along with everybody else. He made the world a better/funnier place.
Wile E. Quixote - March 4, 2010 | 3:19 am · Link
@Sophist:
Goldberg, Riehl, Lowry and let’s not forget about Dick Cheney and Limbaugh. Proof that there is no God, only blind idiot chaos or perhaps Satan.
The piece Swift wrote about the death of Tim Russert is my favorite. Although I just discovered his Why McCain Will Win piece which is one of the most devastatingly brilliant pieces of satire I’ve ever read.
Angry Space Cadet - March 4, 2010 | 4:17 am · Link
RIP Al, your an inspiration.
Comrade Sock Puppet of the Great Satan - March 4, 2010 | 6:51 pm · Link
Very sad, a great wit: let’s hope Fafblog stays healthy.
I have A Modest Proposal: let’s throw a BBQ in Jon Swift’s honor. Where can we get Papistburgers?