"I'm a Kansas City, Missouri-based author and essayist. I blog daily at Posthuman Blues and tweet religiously. My latest book is After the Martian Apocalypse (Paraview Pocket Books, 2004), a speculative and generally well-received examination of extraterrestrial intelligence on the Red Planet. I'm presently at work on a new non-fiction book titled The Cryptoterrestrials: Indigenous Humanoids and the Aliens Among Us, excerpts of which I've posted on my blog. If you're in the mood for a multiplex Fortean anthology, my essay "The Ancients Are Watching" is included in 2008's Darklore Vol. II. (My first book, Illumined Black, is a collection of naively "Blade Runner"-ish science fiction short-stories. It can still be found in used-book stores and on Amazon.com.)
I've been a guest panelist at ConQuest, Kansas City's premiere science fiction convention. More recently, I've lectured in the United States and Canada on subjects ranging from exoarchaeology to transhumanism and have appeared on programs such as Coast to Coast AM, Strange Days . . . Indeed, 21st Century Radio, The Paracast, Binnall of America, and Radio Misterioso. My first play, produced and directed by Paul Kimball, debuted in Halifax, Nova Scotia in late 2007. In early 2009 I appeared as the "investigator" in an episode of "Supernatural Investigator," a Canadian program covering fringe beliefs and esoteric science. I also make an appearance in "Best Evidence," an award-winning UFO documentary.
I spend an inordinately large portion of my time pursuing unpopular ideas and esoteric theories with what I sincerely hope is balanced skepticism. I'm a member of the Society for Planetary SETI Research, a group that seeks to use scientific methodology to explore the possibility of extraterrestrial artifacts in our solar system. I read voraciously; preoccupations include cosmology, nonhuman intelligence, UFOs, consciousness studies, and futurism. Writers I admire include William Gibson, Philip K. Dick and William S. Burroughs.
I tend to think in the future-tense. I'm a skeptic, agnostic and existentialist; I perceive reality as a kind of consensual hallucination that forces us to define our sense of identity without recourse to faith or superstition. I have a deep affinity for 80s pop music; some of my favorite bands are The Cure, R.E.M., Portishead, Talking Heads, and The Smiths. Favorite film-makers include David Cronenberg and David Lynch. I can regularly be found haunting the Country Club Plaza, taking pictures, reading cyberpunk novels, and marinating my synapses in espresso. And I'm a voracious doodler; I've put some representative (if dated) drawings in my Sketch Gallery. (For artwork and graphics sent to me by colleagues and friends, please see the Art Gallery.) For more information (including links to archived radio appearances), see the Mac FAQ. For photos, refer to my Flickr stream."
- Mac Tonnies, via the MacTonnies.com bio page
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And so runs Mac's bio page on his website. (Wikipedia editors take note. In the last analysis, Mac's Wiki entry pretty much, well, bites... too invasive, incomplete, and, to some degree, inaccurate. For instance, at one point, Posthuman Blues was getting hundreds of hits per day - hardly a "small" following by the standards of its time.)
But then, I'm not here to discuss internet politics today (technically Veterans Day); I'm here to finally put up the last post that was slated to go up November 1st, and would have, had I not - and the entire Connecticut town in which I live - been plunged into a 5 day black-out after a freak snowstorm. I've pretty much just gotten into recovery mode... "damage control" took about another 5 days. And so it goes.
Anyway, no, I didn't intend to cut y'all off so abruptly in my previous post. My decision to end this blog wasn't a superficial whim. The fact is, I am no longer able to maintain it. It isn't that there isn't more to be said... one could easily find material for numerous posts by referring to Posthuman Blues. Try searching a topic there - any old topic... the word "aliens" for instance, and you'll find a wealth of material covering numerous pages, with videos, images, story fragments, and essays. I really don't know how Mac did it.
He did do it, of course... but there is no longer a purpose for PMB than to bring Mac's work to attention. And this is something interested readers can do for themselves without my input. I hope this blog has helped somewhat. I have recently revised and updated the sidebar to map out Mac's various online contributions (and some of my contributions to PHB). More can be found within the body of this blog, but even this is an undertaking more suited to a dedicated website than it is a blog.
Originally, Post-Mac Blues was a place to mourn Mac's passing - it was never meant to be a replacement for Posthuman Blues - but I think the time of public mourning has come to a close, and therefore, to continue a mere personal blog - apparently the best-kept secret on the web (Re:, G.B. in a recent Radio Misterioso Mac tribute: "What's the name of that site Dia Sobin does now?") is rather pointless and redundant, and doesn't do justice to either Mac or myself.
That being said, there are still blogs and sites in which you might find Mac mentioned... Mike Clelland's Hidden Experience, Greg Bishop's Radio Misterioso, Nick Redfern's and G.B.'s musings on UFO Mystic, Paul Kimball's remembrances on Philosopher King and The Other Side of the Truth, Capn Marrrrk's Twitter page, Mac's publisher, Patrick Huyghe's Anomalist news page, Rita J. King's and Joshua Fout's Imagination Age, Macbots - a community Mac Tonnies tribute site - and, lastly, at Triptych #15.
As for me, I will still continue blogging at Trans-D. And if you have an comments or queries (or links or information to share) my email address is: araqinta@att.net.
The photo above is one Mac shot the winter before his death. It always struck me as rather sad but, ironic... and fitting for the last post on this blog.
Adieu, then... to all of my previous visitors and supporters...
Greetings, to those travelers who have just recently stopped by. This blog is now an archive, but your comments and queries are still welcome here.
(Note: I am no longer moderating comments, but all spam will be promptly deleted.)
