We haven't retired or died, and other things to be excited about in 2011!

Just wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that we're not dead, we were just on vacation. And/or lazy. (And/or dead. Not totally clear on the facts here, as it's been a while since I've heard from MK.) But now we're back, and lemme tell you: it is time to blog the hell out of 2011. Starting January 4th. Like, January 4th at 1000, not 0045. Or maybe January 5th. But seriously, soon!

Really, though, thanks for having the patience and commitment and interest level to keep coming back here every day or week or month or however often you check in. We do very much appreciate everyone who stops by, and we especially appreciate those of you who contribute to the conversation. I'm looking forward to a great year for the blog, a year of renewed commitment and energy and blah blah blah, and I really hope we can reward your persistent presence. If anyone's even reading this, that is.

But in all honesty, there are about two dozen topics floating around in my little pea brain right now, and some of them have even been committed to text streams of various lengths. I've drifted away from frequent low-content updates over the last several weeks and end up getting trapped beneath the idea of some massive essay, so you'll have to excuse the virtual silence. I've still got to spit out my criticism of Michael Cohen's recent COINtra piece in The Nation, and I've been promising Matt Gallagher a smackdown of his pro-draft goofiness for about six months now. (Seriously, I've got like 3,000 words on that one.) So I hope you'll stick around with us as we try to move this thing in a more content-intensive direction. One of these days.

In the meantime, I want to draw your attention to an outstanding essay/speech that Ex linked to earlier today: "Solitude and Leadership," by literary critic and former Yale professor William Deresiewicz, as delivered in October 2009 to the U.S. Military Academy's plebes of the class of '13. It's a really excellent elaboration of why independence, genuine thoughtfulness, moral courage, and true conviction are such important traits for leaders of men (and particularly modern military officers). I've seldom read something so meaningful and thought-provoking in the last few years, and that's no exaggeration. I hope you'll enjoy it.

So, there. That's just a taste. Keep coming back in 2011, and I promise you won't be disappointed. Thanks for reading, and happy new year, wesolych swiat, feliz ano nuevo, bonne annee, blwyddyn newydd dda, and so on.