In case you don’t haunt the Times’ website
like Bwog does, a quick (sad) note.
John Updike, American author (and frequent New Yorker contributor), died today at 76. In light of this tragedy, Bwog provides an original, Smugopedia-style talking point: “while some consider Updike’s everyday subjects unworthy of his characteristically intricate prose, his novels–the most famous of which are four centering on unremarkable protagonist Henry “Rabbit” Angstrom–and numerous short stories and poems reveal a remarkably delicate and catholic eye for beauty.”
Not to mention that Updike, who presided over the Harvard Lampoon as a college student, was very, very funny. Check out the essay Packed Dirt, Churchgoing, A Dying Cat, A Traded Car for its singular blend of humor and glumness.
9 Comments
@a&p is the best short story ever written.
the dead can go suck on a hog.
@false Dear Bwog,
You should make more jokes about this. You have no credibility if you mock a remembrance of the 1300 dead but are as solemn as you are about this. Who even knows this Updike chap? Snobbery at its worst.
@Seas 09 I know this Updike chap. He will surely be missed by those who’ve read him. And there are a great, great deal of us.
By the way, I know Bwog lacks journalistic credibility. I also know that making light of a student rally doesn’t mean you’re making light of its cause. When Jon Stewart cracks jokes about Gitmo (and you know he’s delighted that it’s closing) is he also losing his credibility as a journalist? Oh wait, he never said he was a journalist. And neither did Bwog. Each has its purpose. I don’t know why you expect serious commentary from a site that also advertises free food on campus. So go read the Spec for your real news, please.
@no, the point is it’s a double standard. I’m not expecting serious journalism from bwog and defended their handling of the Gaza protest. But to then go and mourn the death of someone mourned mostly in elite literary circles seems incredibly snooty
@reply Maybe it’s better to mourn someone as valuable as Updike…
@Columbia Athletics Yea!!!
@... i hate the word “journalistic.” it just seems wrong. it just reads wrong. it just sounds wrong. stop what you’re doing right now and recite it aloud… “journalistic” … see doesn’t that seem dumb?
@sure. dear bwog,
you should make a joke about updike dying. i mean, in my own personal un-biased opinion, i think this post isn’t solemn, and i know of your penchant for making light of serious things. i think it really might appeal better to your douchebaggy readership.
sincerely,
devoted reader
@... dear bwog,
we don’t give a shit about your personal literary tastes.
love,
us