Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Countdown to 2010

New Year's Eve will mark many things, among them the demise of this blog.

I'm tired, I'm done. There's a discernable masturbatory element to this blogging business that has always creeped me out, just a bit. Name your favourites, it's the same. The bigs and the smalls, it's all a bit of a Hunter Thompson moment.

Back to the desert.

I experienced two, three decades of professional acclaim and two trips to the cardiac ICU. And for what? We have these celebrities, - right and left -, and why? I have lunched with heads of state and dined with one of the first six men to walk on the moon. I had a private interview with Trudeau and Lalone and James Richardson and David Lewis and so many others.

I have seen great men and small men and all I see today are small men. Liberal, NDP, Conservative - discards, seconds.

Shouldn't matter much to me. I'm heading back to the desert. That is where I find peace.

So anyway, just saying "goodbye."

21 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
    I'm turning off the radio, television and stopping the newspaper and heading out to Costa Rica.

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  2. Forgot to mention, I had dinner with Ban, Ki-Moon in 2005. He isn't the smartest junk of wood in the stack either.

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  3. MoS,
    I shall miss your posts terribly. They are thoughtful, helpful, informative, always on the mark. If you ever change your mind & decide to start up again I, for one, will be delighted.

    All the best to you & yours & have a Happy Christmas & a Merry New Year!

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  4. Bah! You're worse than System of a Down! I was just starting to get interested in you and you decide to go on a hiatus!

    Again I say "Bah!"

    Best of luck to you.

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  5. Good luck and I hope you find the peace you're looking for.

    Your presence will be missed.

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  6. You will be missed...and you'll probably get others (like me) thinking the same way.
    Blessed are the cheese makers!

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  7. MoS, sadly you are one of the more sane and funny blogger around.

    I'd ask that you reconsider, but understand how these things go...

    Have fun.

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  8. Wow, I feel like I'm losing a friend and ally. I share your point of view on so many topics, but you say it better than I ever could and have the facts to back it up.

    Your health and peace of mind come first, MoS, but maybe you could postpone this decision until after you've recharged your batteries?

    Whatever you do, thanks for so many funny and thought provoking posts. Have a wonderful holiday but remember to take it easy on that motorcycle!

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  9. Mos, I am on the road. I saw your post and felt sad as you have sort of become my blogging buddy. You may reconsider. However, it is your life and your decision. Take care of your health.

    We may have differed on some issue but I always found your posts very enlightening.

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  10. Sad to see you go, but I also understand where you are coming from. I too have felt the urge to stop, so far a month or two break from blogging brings me back... but it might not always be that way.

    Take care. You will be missed.

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  11. Damn it MoS! Your voice is needed, you know?

    I wish you the best, dude.

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  12. Hopefully, the holidays will reinvigorate you. You have a strong voice that is listened to. It would be a shame if it were silenced.

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  13. I want to thank you all for your kind thoughts and encouragement.

    We all know better than to say "never" and I may just need a hiatus of a month or two to hit the reset button. I'll just play that by ear.

    It is grating to see yourself as a Cassandra. My general pessimism, however, is deeply held not only because of the magnitude and number of evolving threats that confront us but more so the disconnect between these challenges are our society and the abject failure of our leadership on all sides.

    I would invite you all to take a couple of minutes and read this article from (of all places) The National Post:

    http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2379362

    I think we are about to embark on a "revolutionary age." Revolutions are like hurricanes in that they have a standard dynamic and a defined process that seems almost organic.

    Revolutionaries are idealists, usually educated and middle-class affluent. They're capable of sparking the uprising but they almost inevitably fail to see the darker, more violent forces that ride their coattails, biding their time and waiting for the moment to seize power themselves. Think Menshevik, think Bolshevik. The lesson is never be at the cutting edge of a revolution but never allow yourself to fall far behind either.

    Again, thanks to you all. And a Happy New Year!

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  14. MoS, cheer up, friend. People have been predicting the end of the world for over 2000 years now or since the known history. Some even predicting shooting star hitting the globe and destroying life on earth – some Russian astrologer. About cold war I read many articles which stated that there would be a nuke war and world would come to an end. Even your favourite writer Gwynne Dyer http://www.gwynnedyer.com/chapterswar8.htm
    wrote about gloom and doom and nuclear war. It did not happen. Life is short and try and live everyday and do your best and let tomorrow take care of itself.

    Having said that I do go through those times of gloom and doom but one needs to overcome it and move on. Cheer up buddy and best wishes for the New Year.

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  15. You're wisdom will be missed. Very best wishes to you.

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  16. LeDaro makes a good point, MoS. Humans aren't very good at predicting, let alone controlling, the future. Our fate will ultimately be determined by forces beyond our control. Who knows when the next megavolcano will erupt or the next asteroid will impact? All we can do is the best we can given our limited understanding and powers.

    While we are here however, we do have a chance to make a small difference, and I hope you will continue to remind us that there is a better way. Peace and a Happy New Year to you too!

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  17. You need to stay on. You are the one to read on foreign affairs and the environment. For example,
    why does Hrper get away with saying he will follow the US lead on climate change and no one in the media points out that the US is heavily investing in renewables and we're not?

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  18. Forgive the sentiment, but as your withdrawal reminds me of my own I can't help but share what I would have appreciated to hear, and that is 'leaving is for cowards.'

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