A bright light went out in the NOLA blogosphere and this world yesterday when The Perfesser, Dr. Ashley Morris, died suddenly. There is nothing I can say. His wife Hana, who survives him with their three young children, announced his passing on his blog and the many voices of the NOLA blogosphere are eulogizing him. Loki called him "the man most likely to call Ray Nagin a fuckmook to his face," and in the Tweeter Tubes declared that "an Ashley Morris day of Profanity laden blogging is in order for all NOLA Bloggers in his honor." Famous for many things, perhaps most especially his legendary "Fuck You You Fucking Fucks" post, he was, in Maitri's words, "Geek, educator, blogger, musician, but more importantly husband, father and a great friend of New Orleans." Greg said it beautifully:
The NOLA bloggers, rising in response to an unimaginable tragedy, quickly found themselves steering different parts of the beast, if I can mix my metaphors. There’s the head, the brains, the analysts like Oyster & Matt McBride and Tim Ruppert; the soul — poets like Mark Folse, philosophers like Michael Homan — and the guts, the workers like Karen Gadbois and the Zombie.Ashley was fire. Ashley was the furnace where the rage was forged, where the steam pressure built, where raw anger began its conversion to power and motion.
In lieu of comments I ask that you go to his blog, read what he wrote, and visit the blogs of my dear friends in New Orleans who are mourning this terrible loss. I'm posting links to those who've written about him, many (if not most) with pictures, and I will add updates as posts appear. Please start with Greg, Ray (and with Councilperson Shelly Midura's homage before the council), Adrastos (and an audio tribute), Maitri, Schroeder, Loki, Liprap, Karen, Michael, Lisa, WetBankGuy (and more WBG), Mr. Clio, dsbnola, Bart, Dangerblond, Oyster, Blake, G-Bitch, Scout, Greg's made a video (take a hanky), Saintseester (beautiful memorial icon), Charlotte, Tim, Varg, Celcus, Animamundi, Alan, JudyB, Cliff, Cenlamar, New Package, Video of Oyster & Ashley (thanks to Blake), Barbawit, Nancy Nall with a unique and moving tribute and Ray talks about "playing it sad", Micheal Tisserand for Gambit Weekly, YatPundit's Kos Diary, Dangerblond's post about the newly established memorial fund has a great picture, Remember Ashley Morris (geek mourning activism)....
I glommed this picture from Maitri's Flickr (asking forgiveness rather than permission). Left to right: Ray, Sophmom, Loki & Ashley at Alan's apartment for the First Geek Dinner (July 14th, 2006 - the Hottest. Night. Ever.). Having only just "met" them, I felt like I'd known them forever. In honor of Loki's above referenced request: FUCK.
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