Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Ductape Fatwa Memorials

It was about seven years ago this week that Ductape Fatwa, the person who founded this blog, stopped posting altogether.

Ductape Fatwa may no longer be with us, but there are a couple tributes that were set up posthumously: one on twitter, and the other on Tumblr. I have no idea who set up the former tribute site. The latter is my doing. I really should jazz it up a bit at some point. I sometimes wonder what Ductape Fatwa would have thought of today's social media.

Actually, his blog, Enemy of the State is a tribute of sorts as well, to the extent that it still remains as an archive. Regrettably, that blog's comments were deleted when the third-party vendor that hosted its comments (Haloscan) closed shop. There was quite a community there, too. I would be remiss if I did not mention the short work of fiction that he and dove were collaborating on prior to his passing, Artichoke Circus. Although there is a second part that never got published, the first part stands sufficiently complete (although I do hope one day that dove chooses to publish that second part - if only as a gesture of goodwill to those of us who still remember).

As the by-default caretaker of this blog, I have often struggled with what to do with it. My choice is to leave it as it is (and periodically clear out the spam comments), and if others with the keys to this place still wish to use it, they are of course more than welcome. Beyond that, think of it as an archive, not only of some of the last written words of a fallen friend, but of a probably doomed attempt to maintain a sense of community in his absence.

I miss my old friend, as do I suspect a number of former bloggers here, and many people elsewhere across the Internet and in non-Internet existence.

For those who remember, be well.