February 27th, 2007

Serial Dismemberment of the Blogosphere Continues Apace: Odum Says Goodbye

by Philip Baruth

Some losses you shrug off, and others disturb your sleep, like phantom pain in place of an amputated limb. If you haven’t checked in at Green Mountain Daily yet today, brace yourself for the latter: John Odum is announcing his indefinite retirement from the blogosphere.

Odum fights off dog

It’s becoming a very old song and dance: critics of GMD have targeted Odum’s job, and he’s been left with Hobson’s Choice, which Wikipedia defines as “An apparently free choice that is really no choice at all.”

Children have this thing about eating several times a day, see.

But whether John returns in a week or a year, several things bear stating today:

1) The Vermont blogosphere is still very much in its infancy, and it depends on a handful of sites for its signature feel. Green Mountain Daily has been, and will remain, one of those deep-anchor sites. And although others have contributed greatly, GMD is John Odum’s brain child, and his love child, and its success is in large part his success.

2) Working with John over the last two years has been a profound pleasure. Like all Southern political types, he blends a razor-sharp sense of tactics and issues with graciousness, and genuine manners. VDB co-sponsored last summer’s Political Barbeque with GMD, and it was a wonderful day partly because we happened to divide the work up properly: Neil Jensen guarded our tables, I flipped burgers, and John welcomed the folks.

Teamwork, in a word.

There are any number of scenarios in which Odum returns to the blogosphere, and soon. Until then, we’ll leave a light on here at VDB for you, John.

odum

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  1. Vermont Daily Briefing » Storm, Technical Issues, Karmic Glitches Force Cancellation of WKVT Burlington Broadcast; But Bloggers, Alternative Types Still Plan to Circle Wagons, Damn Straight said,

    on March 3rd, 2007 at 3:48 am

    […] But it was a Heavy Bummer: first Odum just floats away from the blogosphere like a spacewalking astronaut whose cable somehow gets cut, and now this. […]


  2. on November 17th, 2010 at 6:13 pm

    […] ***** Related links from around the world (our world): Odum’s last “huzah” The whole Baruth and nothing but She’s Right Reason and Chaos Five Before Brimstone Cathy Resmer Live & Local Sky Barsch Snarky Boy […]


  3. on December 30th, 2010 at 10:49 am

    […] *****Related links from around the world (our world):Odum’s last “huzah”The whole Baruth and nothing butShe’s RightReason and ChaosFive Before BrimstoneCathy ResmerLive & LocalSky BarschSnarky Boy […]