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Another descriptor I often used when referring to “Carl” was that he was the Atrios of the Pacific Northwest.  By which I meant that he was regularly able to distill the kernel of an important issue down to just a few words.  He was often snarky, but always right on target.

As evidenced by how few bloggers are consistently able to carry off the technique, that’s a special skill.  Time and again, “Carl” would locate and link to the news story or opinion piece or other reference that perfectly delivered the punch he sought.  When you can consistently do that, who needs flowery verbiage surrounding it?

Unlike Duncan Black, “Carl Ballard” never specifically revealed his true identity to his readers.  We learned that he lives on Vashon Island and works as a volunteer firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician, that he used to live in Shoreline, that he regularly attends Seattle’s DrinkingLiberally.  From his numerous appearances on the weekly DL podcasts, many listeners were aware of his too-loud giggling.  He wasn’t really hiding behind his nom de blog—anyone with half a brain and a smidge of googling ability could have easily figured out who he really is—as much as he was continuing the standard style employed by many bloggers in the old days of, oh, early 2004 and earlier.

Believe me, I know exactly whereof that choice.

Thankfully, “Carl” reports that he’s not leaving the blog world behind ... he’s merely shutting down WSPR.  He’ll be around in the future, at a new venue and perhaps with a new style of operation. Even if he intends to create long-form pieces with more extensive discussion, I, for one, hope he’ll trot out some more of the minimalism that made Washington State Political Report an indispensable part of the Pacific Northwest blogtopia (y!sctp). 

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