Well, I might as well get started back today. But a word of thanks to Patrick Appel, who ran the site while I was away, and posted so often, and tended to the guest-bloggers. Blogging at this pace is not as easy as Patrick makes it look, but Patrick is fast becoming a master of the art. I couldn't do this site without him and you now know a little better why. Chris and Jessie are two other Dish alums, and it's a source of some pride that they grow up so fast into bloggers in their own right. Thanks also to Daniel and Hilary, two of the sharpest, most civil and yet penetrating bloggers on the Internet. Reading the Dish while not writing it is slightly weird, like renting out your house to strangers, but their mix of passion and nuance and insight was a pleasure to read.

I'm back now. And the beat goes on.