Another Saturday morning.

Well, at least it isn't snowing today, though I hear that's coming tomorrow (again). Sheesh. And it isn't even winter yet.

It's occurred to me that it might be time to update my Blogworthy links on the right sidebar, seeing that at least one of them has gone on permanent hiatus. There's nothing worse than a website in your daily rotation going under. I still feel a little melancholy when I think about when Suck - one-time home to Filler, a.k.a. The Best Thing On The Web Ever (Past, Present, and Future, So Don't Even Bother Trying) - boarded up its virtual facade back in 2001. Although Terry Colon's illustrations can be found all over nowadays, and Heather Havrilesky now has her own blog and a column on Salon to boot, there was something about what the two of them came up with in collaboration every Wednesday on Filler that made you actually wish it was Wednesday. And that takes some doing!

There seems to have been an epidemic of late, however, of blogs going into deep hibernation - not just Tom Tomorrow, but Neil Pollack, and other high-profile bloggers that were near and dear to many of us. I guess the blogosphere was due for a bust, but unlike the mass extinction of the late 90's and early 2000's, blogs going under tend to hit more personally than a website (Suck/Filler being the exception that proves the rule of course). Perhaps it's the epistolary nature of a blog, which allows the author's personality to well up out of his or her writing style and - in the case of professional writers who blog - grants the reader a backstage pass of sorts to the inner workings of a creative mind. Or maybe it's the casual conversational tone that fosters a sense of intimacy in total strangers, even those living on opposite ends of the earth. It could even just be the quirky set of links each blogger agglomerates over time, so that browsing his or her archives is like rummaging a junk drawer, crammed full of active interests and half-forgotten hankerings and yens, representing the strata of an author's pop psychology. Whatever it is, making your daily rounds and finding that a beloved blog is no more is like getting a "Dear John" letter from a lover.

There's shock at first:

"What do you mean, you're hanging it up?"

then denial:

"Maybe if I just hit the 'refresh' button!"

followed by anger:

"That son of a bitch, where am I supposed to go for postmodern analysis of old 'What's Happening!' episodes now?"

then bargaining:

"If only I'd sent her some encouraging email, or donated to her via PayPal, maybe she wouldn't have left us!"

on to depression:

"I'll never surf the web again!"

then, at long last, acceptance:

"Hey, I've found a new blog, and this one has porn links, too!"

Yes, folks - it's the Five Stages of Grief for Defunct Blogs. Can I get a group hug?