The Dig's 10 Anniversary...*Yawn?*

From the Digg's earlier days.

I could be really snarky and say it was because of boredom that I didn't cover the 10th anniversary of The Weekly Dig last week when, y'know, it actually happened. In truth, I was too awash in work. But I was disappointed, since it seemed my earlier musings about The Dig wiping out its past as a publication seem to be pretty evident in the few recaps they had of the magazine, taking swipes at former founding editor Joe Bonni and The Freedom Rally (Joe was a strong activist in general and an advocate for the criminalization of marijuana) under the header of "Most Dead Horse," saying the paper has "since put the kibosh on the play-by-play of how the legalization blunt is being rolled." (Disclaimer: I likely wrote one piece on decriminalization on request. Out of support, though, not out of being a user).

You'd never know that the paper first took root (oh, Christ, no pun intended) at one Freedom Rally, with cartoonist Tak Toyoshima selling the latest issue of Shovel and announcing the then birthing weekly publication it emerged from. I know papers change directions, but what the hell are they thinking? Reading that, you would have never known the Dig was a sponsor for years.

And where is Tak Toyoshima's mega comic in the issue? Nothing aside from some text and the regular "Secret Asian Man" strips that run each and every week? Is he too busy with his daily strip to contribute his own account of the paper, or did they even ask? His "Secret Asian Man" strip used to be synonymous with the paper, like Jules Feiffer with The Village Voice in spirit, if not necessarily in quality and voice. The Dig used to be a paragon of good Comics. Tak, Keith Knight, "Too Much Coffee Man,"God that section was amazing for such a long time. Only recently has it become pretty bland--criminally so, given the history the Dig apparently wants to forget. (disclaimer?: I profiled Tak in praise for his work and the section for The Comics Interpreter).


An example of the cool stuff in the old Digg.

I wish I didn't have to leave freelancing/waitering in return for gainful employment so completely. At Brigham and Women's Hospital, I was privy to a few doings, working with the girlfriend of the music editor (I believe that's what he was, he later left). Both her and I were flabbergasted from the prank article on Joe Bonni quitting the Dig, followed by Joe Bonni actually quitting with far less fanfare. Huh.

Joe Bonni's Wikipedia entry says he "was dismissed by publisher Jeff Lawrence over business and creative differences." I'll bet! Wouldn't I have wanted to be the fly on the wall during the difference that broke Bonni's back, especially since I have an idea of what it was.

Whatever happene to the crazy politics? It's coverage of the political fringe? It's coverage of crazy people like Jesse Venture and Ralph Nader? Did getting purchased by bigwigs kill that, force them to stymie that important part of their history as a paper? It's depressingly telling when their longest running column is one about beer.

Not that I want the paper to be all about Nader or even Cannabis again, but it's different worldview made them more exciting to read week after week. It's the one thing they had over the Phoenix. And now? Well, they have moxie to make fun of the Phoenix for their age (re: longevity) and adult advertisements. Let's see who will pay the Dig's bill ten years from now.

I appreciate one thing from the anniversary. They did give us a look at some great covers, including one great cover of an issue I was in featuring the Citgo sign. It might have been (The issues are back in Bellingham) the last double issue of The Weekly Dig and Shovel, featuring Kenmore Square history, Mr. Butch, and my long-ass article on The Church of Euthanasia. An impressive swan song to Shovel.

As a sad salute, I am relinking that COE article, which I've long since posted on my blog here. Thanks for the opportunities, Jeff Lawrence and Joe Bonni. I hope the cycle comes around again, and the Dig (among other publications) will matter once more.