One of the interesting things about thinking about this weblog and coming up with things that I think worthwhile to write about has led me to look at my collection of web links from the seven years that I've been online and deciding which ones deserve mention in the links to the right and which I can simply delete. Some jumped out immediately (Alexandria Digital Literature, for example, my favorite hangout for reading material), but others I have an annoying habit of forgetting about until I see them listed in my bookmarks.

Tonight, the one that made me kick myself for not keeping up with is the latest weekly installment of Glenn Macdonald's The War Against Silence. Obstensibly about music, and often just that and well-written and insightful to boot, Glenn's been writing his weekly column for nearly as long as I've been on the WWW, and his understanding, his writing ability, and his knowledge of himself and life has continued to grow throughout that period. I found it quite painful tonight to read his soul-searching commentary on the ignomity of resorting to online dating services at his age (the same as mine, until tomorrow). While I have no interest in having children, as Glenn obviously does, other aspects of his personality and beliefs resonate so strongly with me that I cannot help but sympathize with him.

I don't normally think of myself as a generous person, so when I recall that Glenn is one of those few people who I mailed something entirely unsolicted (Darden Smith's Trouble No More, a favorite album of mine that I thought he would enjoy) just because I read the entire collection of his columns while living in Santa Fe and felt I needed to pay him something for the enjoyment he had given me.

Like I said, I kick myself for forgetting his column, and I'm thankful that he is still writing it, and I'm thankful for the Internet where I can find all those columns online as back issues to catch up with. And I'm adding him on my links to the left so that I remember to check in on his life, and his opinions, weekly, like I should.