Family medical emergency.

Update, Nov 7 2006: It’s difficult, especially when there are loved ones gravely ill, to find the time to pay the bills and feed yourself, let alone opine on ephemeral public affairs or join in with the self-created world of academic discourse.

I had the opportunity to attend and present what turned out to be a slapdash talk at a fascinating conference in Chicago these last three days, but in light of family stresses I’m afraid it played out less as an opportunity and more as a distraction from Real Life. I will try to recount and respond to the many fascinating conversations I had — it’s my professional responsibility, of course. It’s what I do for work, this conference-attending, this collegial engagement and gentle interdisciplinary academic prodding, this insistence on thoughtfulness among my colleagues and betters in the world.

But insofar as I need to be away from work to care for family, it will be a while before I’m able to thoughtfully respond and recount here. In the meantime, Im hopeful that some of my new correspondents might stumble along to my blog (Google will send them). So let me add some links to previous work that still applies, and that may help frame things I’ve said for those I met in person these last days, who in most cases I’m sure are not regular blog readers:

• “Wind and Chaff and the Laughter of Yokels”
• a link to a pertinent discussion of participatory culture
• “How much for a subscription to history?”
• “Digitize This, Library Boy”
• a wonderful example of collaborative republishing

There are others. I’m busy, I’m ragged, but I’ll be back.