Thank You and Goodbye

"Like"-rs:

It is with a not-too-heavy heart that I announce today, the first of April, the end of both my path to fame and, more significantly, my blog.  There will be no more omens.  No more inspiring words.  No more fun competitions.  The feud with George Clooney is dead. 

"Why, oh, why?" you ask.  "In so many ways, we were just getting started!*"  My truthful answer: the path became too rough, the light too dim, while on the other side of the fence, my "regular" life has become an absolute gem.

Why struggle upstream, I've come to ask myself, when there is so much for me in the "regular" world?  So many bars to be visited for the sake of getting laid.  So many nights to be passed with endless email checking and badly-written television!  So many naps to take, so much money to earn in my sleep?^

Maybe that's not reason enough for you, though.  Maybe you find the "regular" life I'm describing somewhat vacant and unfulfilling.  In that case, I've got more.  Why, I ask you "like"-rs, should I aspire to create noteworthy work when there is already so much to be seen in the world?  A man could travel his entire life, going museum to museum, library to library, theater to theater, and never see all there is to see.  We have 800 cable channels in our living rooms.  Why add more to the world when it is already so full that none of us can keep up, anyway?  I'm only cluttering the scene at this point. 

And if that's still not enough for you truly dedicated "like"-rs, I offer my final out.  Becoming Famous is hard.  (Becoming famous wasn't so bad.)  Do you have any idea what it's like to try every day to look inside yourself, to leave your heart vulnerable to the world, to feel things?  I'm exhausted.  This search-for-self bullshit that accompanies artistry is an absolute drag, and I do not see other soon-to-be-famous and famous people doing it.  Not fair.  I want out.  

And so, "like"-rs, you won't find me on the internet anymore, nor in your local bookstore, at amazon.com for $3.99 on e-book, or in your local theater.  I'm off the map.  I'm done.  I quit.

Today, April 1, 2012, it all comes to an end.  It's been a wild ride.  Thanks for playing along.

Sincerely,
John Michael Manship, "regular"

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* "Your book just became available locally in Chicago at Quimby's in Wicker Park!

^ I own two shares of Apple stock.