My friend Kithra of the blog Kithra’s Krystal Kave sent along heartbreaking news this morning detailing the passing of one of today’s most celebrated ufologists, Mac Tonnies.
Tonnies (left, photo courtesy of Greg Bishop) was an American ufologist and futurist, whose books After the Martian Apocalypse and his much anticipated masterwork dealing with “Cryptoterrestrials” helped broaden the views regarding UFOs, strange creatures, and how they relate to time, space, and mankind.
My own interaction with Mac was somewhat limited… we would occasionally email one another, though arguably, one of the sincerest compliments I ever received came from my pal Red Pill Junkie at the Daily Grail who in his article Mario, Micah and the Midnight Oil compared Greg Bishop, Nick Redfern and I to Tonnies, saying that like the Mac-Man, we were “not afraid to have a broader view of all these phenomena, instead of desperately trying to keep them separate and compartmentalized.”
It was for this very reason, in my own heart and mind, that Mac will be so badly missed. I had looked forward to so many collaborations with him, and always found comfort in knowing that while Mac was among us, the world seemed a little smaller. A truly great mind indeed; you will be missed.
Finally, here are some of Greg Bishop’s words on the matter:
Nick (Redfern) just called to tell me that our friend and colleague Mac Tonnies was found in his apartment this (Thursday) afternoon, apparently dead of natural causes. There was no evidence of foul play or suicide according to a close friend.
It is hard to find the right words to describe my feelings at this moment.
The last time we talked was just after his appearance on Coast To Coast on September 28th. He asked if I thought he had done a good job. I said he hit one over the fence. Tentatively, I asked if he would consider collaborating on a fiction project, and he liked the idea.
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I still haven’t recovered from that horrible news. When I read the obit Greg wrote at the Grail, my first reaction was “You have got to be effing kidding me!”. It was like a punch in the stomach, completely out of the blue.
I never had the fortune to converse with Mac directly, or exchange an e-mail with him; but I had become a recent visitor of his blog Posthuman blues. Not only I enjoyed his intelligent musings re. the Fortean phenomena, but Mac also shared with me a passion for the arts, design and architecture; he had a keen eye for photography, and the pics he shared of the things he found interesting were like eye candy.
It’s also particularly sad considering that Mac was a fervent supporter of the Transhumanist movement, and that he won’t be around (in physical form anyway) to see if the promises of melding man with machine will come true as he wanted.
When old researchers like Keel die is evidently sad, but not as near as tragic when such a young writer (just 2 years younger than me, for crying out loud!) who still had many things to do and contribute to the field, has been silenced and left his work incomplete.
I think we already know who’s going to win all the Zorgies (the awards Paul Kimballs gives to the best Fortean researchers and sites) this year. In fact, maybe Paul should change the name, and now they should be called the “Tonnies” or the “Macbots” in his honor.
Descanse en Paz.