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I’m quitting blogging. Sort of.

Posted by Ampersand | August 5th, 2007

I’ve decided to take a leave from blogging so that I can spend more times on other things in my life.

Partly, I’m taking more time for my health. I’ve been exercising about 43 minutes a day1, but once you include the time spent preparing, showering afterward, etc., it’s over an hour a day no longer available for blogging.

Mainly, though, I’m spending more time cartooning. I could say I’m more valuable as a cartoonist than as a blogger — and that’s probably true — but I don’t really choose my priorities that way. The truth is, after years of feeling more driven to blog than to draw comics, I’m now feeling the reverse.

I’ll still post my political cartoons here on “Alas.” And occasional cartooning-related posts. But although I won’t disappear from “Alas” entirely, I won’t be writing any non-cartooning blog posts. Nor will I be fully participating in the comments, because that turns into a huge time-suck. (But I do read all the comments left about my cartoons, and I really appreciate the large majority of them.)

It’s been a delightful five years (!) of blogging; I thank everyone who’s made it so great. And maybe I’ll feel like blogging again, someday. But for now, I’m more excited by the prospect of a good ink line than a good link farm.

  1. Precisely the length of an hour-long TV show once the commercials are cut out — what an amazing coincidence! (back)

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23 Responses to “I’m quitting blogging. Sort of.”

  1. Bonnie Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 12:17 am

    Barry, let me take this opportunity to wish you the best of luck. I have enjoyed discovering you and your blog, and watching both grow during my visits with you.

    The next time I’m in Portland to see my brother, I hope that I may have the honor of meeting you in person.

    -Bonnie

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  2. Bill Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 12:28 am

    Selfishly, I hope you’ll be back — but I wish you all the best in whatever you do.

    This comment was written by Bill.
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  3. Jamila Akil Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 12:44 am

    Good luck on your new ( and not so new) artistic ventures!

    This comment was written by Jamila Akil.
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  4. mousehounde Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 1:06 am

    I will miss your blogging. But, hey, bright side and all… more comics to look forward to. Thank you for all the time you spent and all your hard work. And thank you for being kind.

    This comment was written by mousehounde.
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  5. defenestrated Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 4:08 am

    43! I like the way this man thinks. I’m glad I got to know you through this thing before you decided to disappear-ish :)

    This comment was written by defenestrated.
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  6. joe Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 7:13 am

    Good luck on the new focus. i really like your cartoons so I’ll enjoy seeing more. Do you take suggestions? I know that some artists don’t want people to make suggestions for a variety of reason and thought I’d ask first.

    This comment was written by joe.
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  7. A.W. Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 7:21 am

    Best wishes, and enjoy the ink and paper =D Lord knows I do. Twas nice reading your blog posts.

    This comment was written by A.W..
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  8. Paul Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 8:53 am

    Selfishly, I’m happy, because I always read and love your cartoons but I’m pretty lax about following the blog :)

    I’m curious - what sort of excercise are you doing?

    This comment was written by Paul.
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  9. Elayne Riggs Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 9:10 am

    Dang, Barry. I’ll miss you, but I look forward to seeing your artistic output! Is Alas still going to be a viable blog, or should I put it in my Hiatus section?

    This comment was written by Elayne Riggs.
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  10. SamChevre Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 10:11 am

    Congratulations!

    (It is my firm opinion that doing what you find satisfying is worthy of congratulation–almost always.)

    This comment was written by SamChevre.
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  11. Ampersand Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 11:12 am

    Thanks to everyone for your nice comments. :-)

    To answer the folks who asked specific questions:

    Elayne, the other bloggers will still (as far as I know) be posting here, and I’ll still be posting my cartoons here. So “Alas” will remain a viable blog.

    Paul (hi Paul!), I’m using a treadmill.

    Joe, I certainly don’t mind hearing suggestions, so feel free — but I very, very rarely end up using other people’s suggestions.

    This comment was written by Ampersand.
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  12. B.Adu Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 11:55 am

    I wish you well!

    This comment was written by B.Adu.
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  13. Robert Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 8:03 pm

    We’ll miss you. Where are we going to find our 100% Jew-y commentary now?

    This comment was written by Robert.
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  14. Stentor Writes:
    August 6th, 2007 at 10:08 pm

    Thanks for the great 5 years.

    This comment was written by Stentor.
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  15. hun Writes:
    August 7th, 2007 at 7:06 am

    Amp,

    well, your blog certainly provided lots of food for tought over the years; thanks & good luck with your reinvigorated cartoonist carreer.

    This comment was written by hun.
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  16. Blue Writes:
    August 7th, 2007 at 5:36 pm

    Good luck, Amp! You’ll be missed.

    This comment was written by Blue.
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  17. JoKeR Writes:
    August 7th, 2007 at 8:31 pm

    While I’ve appreciated some of the other bloggers here at Alas it was your writing that initially drew me and I have usually found your posts the most interesting here. I’m hoping that more time on artwork will mean an end to the hiatus on Hereville! It is has been more than a year without the next page. Here’s hoping…

    This comment was written by JoKeR.
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  18. Barbara Writes:
    August 8th, 2007 at 6:22 am

    Time is limited, life is short, other ventures await, but I will miss not just your point of view but your style of argument, which has made this among the most civilized debating blogs I know of. Best wishes.

    This comment was written by Barbara.
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  19. The Countess Writes:
    August 8th, 2007 at 5:15 pm

    Good luck to you, Barry. You were the first blogger I ran across when I started blogging. We already knew each other from the fun times on Usenet. (snark!)

    Keep up the good work with your comics, and definitely post new ones here.

    This comment was written by The Countess.
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  20. Hugo Schwyzer Writes:
    August 8th, 2007 at 5:27 pm

    Amp, you’ve been an inspiration and a blogging friend (I’ll never forget the night you called into the Glenn Sacks show)… be well.

    This comment was written by Hugo Schwyzer.
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  21. CassandraSays Writes:
    August 8th, 2007 at 7:19 pm

    We’ll miss you. Good luck with the cartoons!

    This comment was written by CassandraSays.
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  22. belledame222 Writes:
    August 11th, 2007 at 3:57 am

    oh, wow. well–best of luck, and you know where to stay in touch. take care!

    This comment was written by belledame222.
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  23. Kristjan Wager Writes:
    August 12th, 2007 at 11:48 am

    I’m sad to see you leave the blogging arena, especially since you were one of the early bloggers that I read (must have been more or less from the start), but I can understand your decision, and am looking forward to more comics from your hand.

    This comment was written by Kristjan Wager.
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