This is a collection of stories and articles from my blog. Some are long, some are shorter. Read them in any order, though best from left to right along each line and top to bottom on the page.

Why make a paper edition of digital writing? Perhaps for the simplest of reasons. When you make a gift to someone of a book, wrapped in nice paper, that feels intimate and tangible. Writing "http://hintjens.com" on a piece of paper and giving that does not seem equivalent. And we like to give gifts, most of us.

Anyhow, I wrote these stories at different times. Some are an attempt to speak truth, and some are just persiflage. Most are from late 2015 until my death. That is coming soon. On 12 April my oncologist told me my old bild duct cancer had returns. Six months later, I'm starting the formalities for euthanasia (they are not large) here in hospital.

It has been hard to put a finger on death, which keeps dancing out of range. So this book isn't as polished as it might be. I've broken it into several sections, creatively called "chapters". In the last one I've collected the various articles I wrote during those six months directly related to dying.

This book should not make you sad. It aspires to be a celebration of life.

My first act upon getting confirmation of my impending doom was to organize a party/wake/riot/bbq at my place. This took place on 4th/5th June, over a long warm weekend. It was one of the best parties I've ever been too, in my own mind. I can't describe it. If you were not there, you missed something. Lesson learned: if you get a terminal diagnosis, hold a living wake! It is way, way better than a funeral for giving people a chance to say goodbye.

And with that, onwards to my first pieces, the slightly unfinished "Confessions of a Necromancer."