Dean Barnett
Just read about Dean's death. It's like losing another Tony Snow. Both, Dean especially, lived closer to death than most. Both lost. Death not within the natural course of time is a particular loss, and these two, such splendid, joyful, principled, loving men... It's a loss to me to see men like that lost to the world.
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I'm going to include the one email exchange I had with him, many years back. I've forgotten the specific article on which he was commenting --I believe it dealt with the "need" for fetal stem-cell research. He did speak of his cystic fibrosis, and did comment on why claims of promise in a particular line of research are often so extreme:
Dear Dean Barnett,
The purpose of this email is only to say nice things:
"But they also have every incentive to put a hard sell on for their particular cause. The guy who comes in and says he’s going to make Christopher Reeve walk out of his wheelchair is likely to have a more compelling pitch than the guy who says he may someday be able to cure Diabetes in a lab rat."
Last night I was alone in my house, reading, wrought, utterly offended by this recent hucksterism passing as science, and I read that last line and broke out into a laugh. If you can make me laugh as annoyed as I was you're pretty good.
There are a great many men in the blogosphere whom I much admire and who have information and an ability to state a clear argument. They're very bright but they really can't write. When I read your pieces I see personality, humor, insight, structure, imagination, and just really fine prose. You can write.
I read because I want to understand but in your pieces I have as well the unexpected experience of pleasure. I just want you to know that's something I appreciate.
Not to put it on too heavy I will say I never heard of you before you started writing for Hugh and I went to Soxblog to check out some of you past work and found it impossible because that white-on-black is terrible. So there.
Mouse
Subj: Re: Nice Things Said
Date: 8/27/06 7:31:16 AM Central Daylight Time
From: Soxblog@aol.com
To: LttrMsgy
The white on black was wildly unpopular, but it was designed by my wife's best friend who's an artiste so, you know, I was kind of stuck. If I ever go back to Soxblog, I promise the white on black will be relegated to the ashbin of blogging history.
Thanks for the kind words!
DB
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This is the one thing I can add to the Dean Barnett history. I did just like the guy.
--------------
I'm going to include the one email exchange I had with him, many years back. I've forgotten the specific article on which he was commenting --I believe it dealt with the "need" for fetal stem-cell research. He did speak of his cystic fibrosis, and did comment on why claims of promise in a particular line of research are often so extreme:
Dear Dean Barnett,
The purpose of this email is only to say nice things:
"But they also have every incentive to put a hard sell on for their particular cause. The guy who comes in and says he’s going to make Christopher Reeve walk out of his wheelchair is likely to have a more compelling pitch than the guy who says he may someday be able to cure Diabetes in a lab rat."
Last night I was alone in my house, reading, wrought, utterly offended by this recent hucksterism passing as science, and I read that last line and broke out into a laugh. If you can make me laugh as annoyed as I was you're pretty good.
There are a great many men in the blogosphere whom I much admire and who have information and an ability to state a clear argument. They're very bright but they really can't write. When I read your pieces I see personality, humor, insight, structure, imagination, and just really fine prose. You can write.
I read because I want to understand but in your pieces I have as well the unexpected experience of pleasure. I just want you to know that's something I appreciate.
Not to put it on too heavy I will say I never heard of you before you started writing for Hugh and I went to Soxblog to check out some of you past work and found it impossible because that white-on-black is terrible. So there.
Mouse
Subj: Re: Nice Things Said
Date: 8/27/06 7:31:16 AM Central Daylight Time
From: Soxblog@aol.com
To: LttrMsgy
The white on black was wildly unpopular, but it was designed by my wife's best friend who's an artiste so, you know, I was kind of stuck. If I ever go back to Soxblog, I promise the white on black will be relegated to the ashbin of blogging history.
Thanks for the kind words!
DB
-------------------
This is the one thing I can add to the Dean Barnett history. I did just like the guy.
posted by mouse at 1:45 PM
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