Sullivan and Greenwald Down! Krugman Fine! We Check in on Blogger Health

by James McAuley

Given that Andrew Sullivan was out sick all last week (asthma and bronchitis) and that Glenn Greenwald was just released from the hospital after contracting dengue fever, we thought we’d ask around and see how some other prominent bloggers are doing in this age of cyber-disease.

Uh oh! New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is taking the day off today from his blog “The Conscience of a Liberal”! But worry not — he’s just preparing for the new semester of teaching. And he’s going nowhere. Krugman wrote in an email to us that he plans to continue blogging “as long as I think I’m having an impact and/or having fun.” Krugman, who called himself a “proto-blogger,” who formerly used his MIT web page to publish shorter pieces on late-1990s things like the Asian financial crisis, said that he’ll stop blogging “when the amount of stuff I have to say falls below some critical mass.” He’s fine. But not everyone is!

Greg Mankiw, author of a popular blog that includes info for gung-ho college econ kids and fellow Lady Gaga admirers alike, reports that he has no plans to stop, even though he keeps “an open mind.” He’s had his blog for about five years now, and he confesses he’s “slowed down of late.” Uh oh.

Boing Boinger Xeni Jardin reports that she’s “feeling awesome.” Her secret? “I drink Mark Frauenfelder’s homemade kombucha, I do yoga every day, and hug puppies CONSTANTLY. Life is good!” Maybe Glenn Greenwald should be hugging more puppies?

Joshua Green, of The Atlantic and also of the Boston Globe, sounds like he’s on a dangerous downslide. “It is nice of you to check in,” he wrote. “The dungeon masters here at the Atlantic rarely do, and I *have* been feeling a bit run down lately. Sort of ‘gout-y.’ I have been blogging for almost a year. Since starting I have slept worse, become sedentary, stopped doing triathalons, lost muscle tone, developed migraines, and become very jumpy. I would happily stop blogging at the drop of the hat.”

Make him a blog-free offer, someone!

Finally, some breaking news. Politico’s Ben Smith reported to us a minor injury, but nothing that will prevent him from winning the morning. “I think I have a torn rotator cuff,” he wrote, “thanks for asking.”

James McAuley is a student in Cambridge, Mass.