Being a reader of many years (!), I reckon that you have worked terribly hard to get where you are and deserve all the success that comes your way ! The realllllly good thing about getting older is that you can get wiser.... not everyone does this, regretably. So, more power to you Wil ! Because of all the different things you have done over the years, you have also spread the risk (is there a poker analogy in there somewhere ?)... again, another smart move !!! If I lived a bit closer than Australia, I'd love to come along and see you live on stage... but maybe someone will take some u-tube and share ??? Every good wish for the convention ahead !

Interesting just how much money the movie took during the first week.... Star Trek always seems to do really well in times of "trouble": in times when people need to look forward and see a brighter future.... so, on this basis, I think that the movie is a great success !!!! Perfect ? No... but respectful to the long term fans and satisfying to the newcomers... May the adventures continue....

Cartoonists play a really important part in our lives, don't they ? They often say outrageous things that no one else can, act as our collective conscious in politics, assassinate all the serious thoughts that we are having and at the same time entertain ! Wow ! What a role. And how good is it when you actually get to meet them.... actually had lunch with a long time favourite completely by chance (at a huge conference) and their creative processes are soooo interesting as well. The more I think about, the more I want to be a cartoonist when I grow up (something of a challenge at the age of 53 !!!)...

The really interesting thing in your post Wil is about looking at things squarely and getting the message from a given situation. There are just sooo many people who repeat and repeat the same behaviour and expect a different outcome. How crazy is that ? So, I guess that critical self reflection is what takes us where we need to go.... if we are brave enough to really build it into our lives....

I guess that the real trick of visiting a new city is finding what makes it different from everywhere else. Finding that something special. A particular challenge given the fact that large citites are increasingly similar ?

Battlestar... Yummmm. What a particularly fine thing to do while waiting for your nearest and dearest to come home ! And those of us far away (Australia) who are soooo wanting to see Season 4 are drooling with envy

Happy birthday Wil ! The big issue is not just growing older, but getting wiser ! And aren't you soooo much wiser than you were 12 months ago ? 2 years ago etc...

And a thought in a similar vein: There's an ad on Australian TV at the moment from Emirates Airlines which shows this "fairly mature" (ie old) woman getting in a helicopter and clearly going for her first ride (from the roof of that spectacular 6-star hotel somewhere in the middle east)... and it asks "when was the last time you did something new ?" Another useful question ?

So, of all the things that you have posted of late, Wil, you get the biggest reaction to.... you guessed it .... the weather ! What does it all mean ?

If I understand these things correctly, this form of "justice" only applies to non-American citizens ! So, there are apparently two levels of justice available: one for Americans and a different, and apparently lower one, for everyone else ! What sort of message does this send to the world ? Australia currently has one citizen detained in GB and there is a growing movement over here (and I am one of them !) who are appalled by the behaviour of our government in not asking for him to be sent home ! The man has been in custody for 5 years without charge ! And the reason that our government doesn't want him home ? They believe that there is no law that he has broken (as you might expect of a government of this sort, the law has been subsequently changed !). Where is this all heading ? And are we prepared to put up with this ?

Wil: Thanks for the time and effort you put into the website. One of the (many !) challenges of life is seeing the world through the eyes of others: to think about what is happening from a different point of view. Which is why so many of us value your thoughts and writing.... So thanks again: may 2007 bring you everything that you and your family might hope for....

The issue here is sharing your passion - whatever form or shape it might take - with your kids, step-kids and (maybe one day) grandkids ! Kids will take or leave it as they may but the experience of having someone bring them passsion in their lives: invaluable !

Although I an atheist, some of my christian friends call me very spiritual which is kinda interesting... Perhaps rather than being hung up on trying to agree on "what it's all about" maybe we could agree that we all have the ability to contribute to a more compassionate and caring community ?

Good for you Wil (and the family !)... You have had some adventures in recent years ! All about finding other people with the right values and vision to work with ? Something that doesn't happen easily or quickly...

Ahhh guys: you should see the stars in the southern skies, from the mountains where I live ! Magic... And "magic" is a quite nice way of thinking of your website wil ! Lots of things of interest and, most important of all, some food for thought !