Hinton Ashley Morris (October 20, 1963 – April 2, 2008) was an American cultural and political

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

ger and a professor of

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He was a prolific blogger, commenting on

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

culture and politics, often critical of the status quo. He became popular through a series of post-

Katrina Katrina or Katrine may refer to: People * Katrina (given name) * Katrine (given name) Meteorology * List of storms named Katrina, a list of tropical cyclones designated as Katrina ** Hurricane Katrina, an exceptionally powerful Atlantic hurrican ...

blog posts that dealt with the destruction caused by the hurricane and the efforts to rebuild New Orleans. One post in particular, entitled "Fuck You You Fucking Fucks" earned Morris a great deal of notoriety and inspired an "FYYFF" T-shirt. Morris was an accomplished musician, playing guitar, bass, keyboards, and percussion. He was a member of the Sky Ryders Drum & Bugle Corps. As a melodic percussionist in the University of Southern Mississippi's "Pride of Mississippi" marching band in the early 1980s, he earned the nickname "Knife" by attaching some of his homemade fiberglass tom-toms to his xylophone and periodically striking them with his wooden mallets. Band director Kelley Love quickly called a halt to practice and demanded to know "what that noise was." Love said it sounded "like a knife in the night." In the 1990s, Morris contacted musician

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...

and volunteered to develop a website for him. Zevon accepted the offer. Morris' version of the website was Zevon's first, and remained up for several years. Morris was also known for being a fan of

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

and

The Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio (vocals & guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar & vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar & vocals), and Dennis Diken (drum ...

. Morris was a very big fan of

David Simon David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on '' The Wire'' (2002–08). He worked for '' The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' H ...

and ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

'' and wrote a blog, along with Ray Shea, devoted to the show. Simon learned of Morris' writings on ''The Wire'' and of his writings on New Orleans while Morris was still alive, and has called Morris "a very passionate, very blunt, very funny, but very honest voice about the anger and the isolation that the people in New Orleans felt." Simon later used Morris as the inspiration for the character Creighton Bernette, an English professor and blogger played by

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC comedy series ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he rec ...

, in his series '' Treme'', even quoting Morris' blog for some of Goodman's dialogue. Morris, a native of

DeFuniak Springs, Florida DeFuniak Springs is a city in Walton County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,968 as of the 2020 Census. The county seat of Walton County, the city also serves as a hub for many residents in surrounding communities. In 2019, MSN's '' ...

, died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on April 2, 2008 while in Florida settling some minor legal issues.

References

External links

Ashley Morris: the blog
(currently maintained by his wife).
Got That New Package!
(Morris' blog on ''The Wire'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Ashley 1963 births 2008 deaths American bloggers Writers from New Orleans DePaul University faculty American computer scientists 21st-century American non-fiction writers