He made me laugh.
If I've learned nothing else in the past couple years, and I'm fairly sure I've learned next to shit, then I at least learned the following: Jim Carruthers was one of the funniest motherfuckers a fella could hope to encounter on the web-net or anywhere else. Even when he was being serious, he still had a way with an obscure reference that couldn't help but crack me up. Sometimes he maybe appeared snarky, or bitter, or xenophobic even, but I think the worst I ever saw in his comments and articles here and there, maybe on Blogcritics or Resonation, was a mischievous desire for to rile things up as best he could. Jim liked nothing better than to get up a nose or six.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments76 - HW Saxton
Al, can the thinly veiled condescension,
that shit might play in the sticks but
it don't play with me.Be a man.You wanna
call me a jerk do it directly,OK? NOW:
You need to READ my comments with your
eyes OPEN man. As I've said repeatedly
(well in 2 of 3 comments)here,I have got
no real opinion of Jim C.,one way or the
other.If you fucking read 'em you would
not make the comments you just did.
Or perhaps you would. I did say he that
got pissy once when I responded to some
post(I wasn't even addressing him) and I
said I didn't like porn.I could've said
something negative to him then but I did
not chose to even though he had pulled a
MacDiva that day.So,as I didn't chose to
jump back at him then (though he fully
deserved it)I'm not slamming on the guy
now.I chose to let it slide as I choose
to do with many of the inane responses
I've seen around these parts.
This response not being inclusive.I did
defend Manning's right to say whatever
he wants about whoever he wants at any
time he feels like it though without the
bullshit of being ganged up on by some
little clique.
I defended his right to speak & not what
he said or thinks.A big difference don't
you think? Like I said, read BEFORE you
shoot off at the mouth.I'm really a bit
surprised,honestly,that you would go and
do something that stupid.
PS:Steve,please see the above as it is
applicable to you as well.
77 - Steve S
H.W. nobody was being censored or having their freedom of speech infringed upon. It's about respect for the deceased as well as character. There is a time and a place for things, not mandated by law but mandated by civility. Say for example if I have a problem with my boss, I go in the office and address it with her, I do not stand in the middle of the break room and shout it out, even though it is perfectly within my legal rights to do so. It's a matter of character, HW, not censorship, that's all we're saying.
I agree with Moses though, that Jim wouldn't care much about this. If this thread hadn't turned into bitching by now, I think his ghost would have shown up to do it.
78 - Shark
I wonder what Jim would have thought about the fact that some right-wing dick was pissin' on his grave?
Too bad he can't respond.
I'll do it in his honor:
Manning, GO FUCK YOURSELF, SCUMBAG.
79 - Eric Olsen
guys please, I don't think anyone would disagree that Jim was a pain in the ass, but he wasn't ONLY a pain in the ass, nor do I think it was his defining characteristic.
He wouldn't want this to be a hagiography, I am also certain, but I don't think he would mind a bit of realistic appreciation, which he did not receive nearly enough of in life, it would appear, though much of that was his own doing, it should also be noted.
80 - andy marsh
Jim made a lot of comments on my posts, I don't think he ever made a nice one, but I still liked giving him shit. I honestly believe he enjoyed giving me shit too.
At the top of my blog it says, "Not sure if I am THE ugly American, but I must be AN ugly American, because some Canadian told me so!!!" Jim was THAT Canadian. I took it as a compliment. I'm sure he didn't mean it that way.
He could be extremely funny. Many times I read a comment of his and really did, laugh out loud.
I think I'll try to look back through all my old stuff and do a little compilation of some of JC's best rants. Of course, there were a few that may be gone forever...those comments made that were just a little to crude.
81 - andy marsh
This had to be one of his best...can't say that I laughed out loud...but I did smile!
JC - "Hum, Andy, do you really have any idea how completely
ignorant, stupid, incestuously, retarded, backwards, blind, perverse ... damn
I've run out of terms short of "pig fucker" for a willfully ignorant
gleeful gap-toothed banjo player I can think of.
And you seem to celebrate being a dumb cracker. So be it. But that
doesn't win you respect. In fact, I hold you in contempt for being
somebody who not only celebrates eating shit, but wants to spread it around."
82 - andy marsh
Another beauty!
JC - "I'd always thought that jaw-dropingly stupid postings from
'murricans were rare and on the fringe. But as andy proves, most of you
are just brain-dead slack-jawed yokels."
83 - andy marsh
These were a couple of good ones too...
Andy, as that Canadian Dan Aykroyd put it while talking about
news, you ignorant slut.
Andy, AC?DC even wrote a song about attendance to my big
shiny balls.
84 - Steve S
I remember the AC/DC one, that was funny!
85 - andy marsh
He was a character...he seemed to know an awful lot about 'murrican history. More than you would think someone who despised a country so much would...but like they say...know your enemy!
86 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
aw man, thanks Andy. that was a great selection right there.
87 - andy marsh
Duke, I think Jim really liked me! Especially after re-reading these comments!
88 - Eric Olsen
he loved you like an ugly American brother!
89 - Natalie Davis
Good lord, I'm going to start blubbering now. I doubt Jim would appreciate that.
90 - Eric Olsen
for being someone generally able to compartmentalize my life, and being that Jim was someone I never met or even spoke to on the phone, this has bothered me a lot more than I would have thought
91 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
eric, my thoughts exactly
92 - RJ
"40s" is all I can gather
Seriously? I always thought he was in his early 20s...
93 - Mark Saleski
he was very into music from the new wave era...so around 40 makes sense to me.
94 - The Theory
ditto to comment #90
95 - RJ
Look, I pretty much hated Jim. He was a profane, rude, anti-American asshole.
But he's DEAD!
So let's all focus on the positive, okay?
- He was intelligent.
- He could be funny, if he wanted to be.
- He was intentionally provocative, and it got results!
After all is said and done, he was clearly a highly-distressed individual. You don't kill yourself unless you have some serious personal problems.
So let us not lament his various annoying attacks. Instead, let us praise his good points.
I know, if I were to turn up dead unexpectedly, I wouldn't want my idealogical opponents pissing on my tombstone.
RIP, JC...
96 - HW Saxton
Steve S., I'll agree with you in as far
as that MEM's timing was a little off &
some greater degree of civility could've
been exercised as regards his response.
On the same hand I feel that he should
be able to respond honestly without his
being ganged up on.As someone who will
always pull for the underdog (real life
& cartoon)I felt like it was unfair of
the group and felt for some reason that
I myself am still trying to fathom that
I should speak up.I'm not familiar with
Mark's political views but if what Shark
sez is true(& it usually is)I might not
have spoken up as quick as I did.This is
just a pet peeve of mine and something
that I do not like to see happen unless
the writer is 100% in need of it.Even if
that is the case,then ignoring them is
a better & more effective option. People
like that sick racist(I don't recall his
name but remember he claimed Amer-Indian
heritage)that was invited to contribute
his thoughts at BC some time back come
to mind.3
I was thinking of a specific deceased
person I knew personally when I said
that just because they were an a-hole in
the world of the living does not mean,
that I'd be forgiving of them because of
the fact that they died.I was not in any
way referencing Jim but the conversation
lent itself to bringing up the topic.If
I offended you, or anyone else for that
matter,please accept my deepest and most
sincere apology for this. In all reality
though,if those that responded had taken
the time to read what I had written,the
large part of this could've been easily
avoided.
97 - Matt
I think MEM knew what he was getting himself into when the first 58 remarks were either complimentary, or spoke of Jim's good and bad side together. The ganging up on of MEM should be just as acceptable as his diss of JC.
98 - HW Saxton
Matt,You are likely correct.I'm not sure
EXACTLY why I chose to stand up for him.
But like I said I'll usually take up for
the underdog in most situations where it
seems as though they are being trounced
on.
Strangely,I think that Jim C. might have
gotten some kicks out of knowing he was
still stirring up the shit around here.
And like I said, I apologize to any and
all that I may have offended and I also
reiterate:Read BEFORE you respond.Later.
99 - Steve S
It's cool HW, I understand the motivation.
100 - andy marsh
I have a funny quotes link on my blog and todays funny quote is from Jon Stewart. I think I might have been able to get Jim started with this one.
I've been to Canada, and I've always gotten the impression that I could take the country over in about two days.
Jon Stewart
RIP JC
101 - Queen Of England
To each his own.
I chose to remember Jim as the embittered person he portrayed himself to be.
Hopefully he has gone to a better place than toronto.
102 - DrPat
Hopefully he has gone to a better place than toronto.
What an epitaph that would make:
"Gone to a better place than Toronto"
103 - Mark Edward Manning
Matt: "I think MEM knew what he was getting himself into ..."
Bingo! Yes, I was fully aware. And I am past the point of caring about it. It's not the first time I've been blasted on BC and it sure won't be the last. I was also, of course, as HW Saxton would later point out, honestly speaking my mind. I wasn't going to say things about Jim that I certainly didn't mean. Again, at least I was being honest.
HW Saxton: "On the same hand I feel that he should be able to respond honestly without his being ganged up on."
HW, thanks for the defense, even if it grew reluctant later on. I appreciate it. You're perfectly correct, if I didn't like somebody when they were alive, I'm not going to like them dead either. He was a lonely man, you all say? I think I can see why.
I didn't wish death on Jim; but you won't find me crying in my beer over him either.
andy marsh: "Jim was THAT Canadian."
Andy, I knew the Jim must have been the inspiration behind the "a Canadian told me so!" Thanks for confirming it.
Shark: "Manning, GO FUCK YOURSELF, SCUMBAG."
Don't you have some complaining over the Afghanistan war to do, little Sharkie-poo?!
104 - Mark Edward Manning
Maybe you'll understand my animosity toward Jim better if you read his warm welcome to me after my debut here in March 2004:
What Jim was saying was that he advocated violence toward me, while at the same time making remarks about an entire race of people (otherwise known as racism), casting them off as violent. Can you say, What the Fuck? I certainly could.
I can now fully admit that that piece was far from the best way to introduce myself on BC. But I never excused Jim for that comment, and I still won't.
105 - Eric Berlin
After looking at Jim's picture a few times, I now have a definitive voice that comes across whenever I read his words.
Weird, eh? This happen with anyone else?
106 - Lasertrotsky
Just a short note from a stranger on this blog to say thanks for the comments about Jim Carruthers. It seems that you got to know him well.
I had the always intriguing and sometimes surreal pleasure of working with Jim in Toronto for just over a year and stayed in touch with him after that. A bunch of us from that company got laid off during the dot-com bomb but we reconvened a few times a year for beers and conversation about the Web, the state of the world, whatever was new and obnoxious in pop culture, etc.
I didn't know Jim nearly as well, or as long, as Mose did, and Mose has posted a better tribute than I ever could, but Jim was indeed a walking encyclopedia of info about music, history, books, movies, Mac technology, Web-based communications and a remarkable range of other stuff, except for pro sports, which he loathed with unsurpassed fervour. He was usually as passionate as he was knowledgeable -- something which has obviously come across on this site. In person, he had a sharp, incisive sense of humour that could make you laugh even while he was insulting the hell out of you, because it was always obvious that he never meant it personally and he could take it just as well as he could dish it out.
I saw Jim for the last time at a bar in Toronto before Christmas and although he didn't seem to be feeling great, I didn't think he was feeling as bad as he must have felt by the time he made his final choice. I now wish I had taken him aside from the rest of the group and asked if there was anything I could do to lend him a hand, but he was so independent-minded that I'm sure he wouldn't have opened up or asked for help anyway. That's just how he was.
Thanks again for all the thoughts -- good and otherwise -- about Jim. I think he felt more at home in cyberspace than in the bricks and mortar world, and he'd love the fact that people are arguing over him and his outlook on things.
107 - Al Barger
Mr Manning- I hadn't seen that quote of JC's about the Irish you invoked in comment #104. That's so endearing. Good ol' Jim.
108 - Mark Edward Manning
Al Barger: "That's so endearing. Good ol' Jim."
Meaning what, Al, if I may ask? "Endearing," in a "I've seen the light of Jim's true nature" way, or a "that's truly funny and I still like him" way?
109 - Al Barger
Mark, ol' Jim was a pretty good fella. He liked a little scrappin', but that's great. He was not maliciously trying to hurt anyone. I took his badass talk as kind of a punk rock Archie Bunker thing.
And hey, Brother Jim unloaded on me once or twice. Still, I could feel the love through his surface bluster.
Also, if you really didn't like Jim, and wish to torment his ghost, do so by gushing on about him all sentimental like. I bet he'd HATE that.
110 - Patrick Hutchinson
Greetings, web-friends & sparring partners of Jim Carruthers. I'm not much of a net-head (blog virgin, in fact), but I did know Jim in person in the late '70s/early '80s. I'd just arrived in Canada/Quebec/Montreal from rural bits of england and scotland, and was enrolled at John Abbott college in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue on the western tip of Montreal island. Jim lived in residence and I had a b&b arrangement with a dear elderly lady close to the campus, so if I didn't feel like being quiet & going to bed early I'd often drop in on Jim with a bottle of screwtop cider and some records. I'd emigrated with a box of punk rock '45s as one of my dearest possessions, so the culture shock of arriving in Suburban Classic Rock land was considerable, and Jim would put up with and even enjoy my short fast noisy records. He never smoked herb (or tobacco, for that matter), claiming that he couldn't as a navy cadet, but I did once cause him to try acid; I recall putting on the Ramones Rocket to Russia and suggesting he study the lyric sheet & cartoons to enhance the experience. After college (in 1980)I hit the Main Street (Boulevard St-Laurent, for those of you unfortunate enough not to have visited Montreal) to become a full-time artsy-fartsy layabout, and he joined the forces. I remember him coming back on leave & visiting a couple of times, then I lost track of him until a friend of my other half turned out to know him in Toronto, where he had some kind of music biz job for a while. I spoke to him on the 'phone a couple of years back briefly, but that's it for the last two decades until said mutual friend told me he'd been fished out of the fetid waters of Lake Ontario. The Hunter S. angle hadn't occurred to me 'til I saw a poster or two mention it, but it makes sense. Here's a tumbler of Jameson's to you, Jim; I'm sorry it didn't work out. You join the illustrious other half dozen or so friends and peers that I lost this year to various causes (two of whom were also suicides, but of the smack-desperation kind) in my thoughts, memories and song dedications.
Best to all, Patrick
(who's band's webshite is at www.swiftyears.com - play Niel Gow's Lament for his Second Wife for ideal wake accompaniment, though maybe a little too trad for Jim.)
111 - The Demigodd
It sucks when people die. But life goes on.
However, death as sad as it may seem, is a strange, yet fastinating thing. People are so scared to die. Why, is it because you are uncertain about the afterlife? Maybe it's because you feel like you're too "unclean" for "heaven".
Death is not a bad thing, it is good, for we are finally able to escape the perils of life and go to a better place. Death makes me happy. Maybe one day when you look into the sky for some sort of an answer to the confusion of mortality, you will see a celestial mural of your loved ones in the clouds.
This is the answer to life's problems. The afterlife.
112 - Neil Schwartzman
I knew Jim ... guh - twennypfive years ago at Concordia U. if what all of you are saying is true, then that sad comment 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all' would have rankled the JC to hell. That is a philosophy first uttered by Thumper from the Walt Disney movie 'Bambi', so kudos on the deep thought for the day.
Here's something to peel yer caps back - he was a navy welder - which means he did underwater diving with a frikken blowtorch or something - one of the most dangerous jobs there is. He once told me that you could basically see no more than about six inches in front of your face when he was doing dry-suit work in the St. Lawrence fixing some boat or another - or maybe it was Halifax, come to think of it. So apart from all else the guy was as tough as nails.
I'm sad Jim took his life, but celebrate his existance in my memory and that of others, and stand by his wishes to get off the carosel before the end of the ride. The spinning makes some of the riders sick, and it's best not to barf on the person next to you.
113 - Shark
THE MOST DEPRESSING, CYNICAL THING I'VE READ IN YEARS:
*"This is the answer to life's problems: The afterlife."
*attributed to "The Demigodd"
114 - Mark Edward Manning
"This is the answer to life's problems: The afterlife."
I wouldn't be least bit surprised to see the Democraps use adopt that slogan in 2008!
115 - Mark Edward Manning
"This is the answer to life's problems: The afterlife."
I wouldn't be least bit surprised to see the Democraps use adopt that slogan in 2008!
116 - FilteringCraig
Hey, Duke, thanks for the great post. I didn't know anything about this until today because I guess I had my head up my ass, but you did an excellent job.
Jim's contributions to this site and presence will be greatly missed.
It is weird how you can feel something for someone you only ever talked to in the comments of a post.
117 - Queen of England
Jim took his own life because he was severely depressed. In his time of need, none of his so called friends came to his aid. So it goes with one's cyber-buddies.
Have you ever given any thought to the notion that Jim had come to realization that most of his friends were bloggers and that after blogging for so many years and after so many blogs it just didn't amount to shit. Perhaps thats the real reason Jim decided to check out.
118 - Shark
Don't be so presumptious to assume you know why ANYONE takes their own life.
Camus said something to the effect that it could be health, money, lonliness, fatigue... or just the wrong glance from an eye at the wrong moment.
PS: I do think Blogging can be dangerous to one's psyche, tho. The idea of typing away, hoping for some smidgen of communication, significance, and understanding -- and then being ignored on a gigantic, global scale is sorta depressing.
Party on, dudes!
119 - Eric Berlin
Queen - I think it's inappropriate, to say the least, to use someone's suicide as an opportunity to make some kind of statement about blogging.
Particularly on this thread.
120 - Dave Nalle
Wow, Queen - let's all off ourselves right now - let's form a club and set a date.
But seriously, if you're just blogging for attention then you've got a real problem. From what I've seen most bloggers aren't trying to communicate with others as much as they are trying to communicate with themselves.
Dave
121 - Queen of England
Perhaps Jim surmized that after one jillion posts that none of it amount to shit. I mean it is kinda depressing once you start thinking about it. It's mostly a waste of one's time and Jim finally made the connection.
122 - Eric Olsen
Queen of England, do me one small favor and shut the fuck up
123 - Aaman
Illegitimi non carborundum, folks
124 - The Demigodd
Dear Queen,
Someone has died. I think more respect is needed. You wouldn't like it if I bad-mouthed you after you've passed on.
Actually, digging up graves is more of a preference for me.
Death to Conformity.
Death to Society.
125 - FilteringCraig
Like school in summertime...