As my guitar gently weeps

It is a sad day for all of us Heretics. Michael Crichton died yesterday at the age of 66 from cancer. If you will recall, I had praised him previously for his book, State of Fear, in which he chronicled the Church against which we fight to this day.

But for me, he was more than just an Icon of Heresy. He was also a hero. I started writing in the summer of third grade, when my father, sick of having to watch Jurassic Park a thousand times a day, dropped the book in my lap and told me I couldn't watch the movie until I had finished the book. That night, my dad and I talked about the implications of Chaos Theory on Evolution for an hour and a half. I was a precocious child.

Since that day, I have been writing. And no matter what my other career ambitions, being a writer was always one of them. And so, Michael Crichton, I would like to say simply that you will be well and truly missed.

John Michael Crichton M.D. October 23, 1942 - November 4, 2009. Rest in Peace.