Roger Ebert and Iain (M) Banks

Two days ago I learned that Iain (M) Banks, one of my favorite writers, had months to live. He should have had decades. He announced he was marrying his partner.

The same day I read a blog post by Roger Ebert. He announced that a recent fracture was "pathologic" -- meaning related to a cancer recurrence and his new plans...

A Leave of Presence - Roger Ebert's Journal 

... I am re-launching the new and improved Rogerebert.com and taking ownership of the site under a separate entity, Ebert Digital, run by me, my beloved wife, Chaz, and our brilliant friend, Josh Golden of Table XI. Stepping away from the day-to-day grind will enable me to continue as a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, and roll out other projects under the Ebert brand in the coming year...

I assumed, reading it, that he was preparing, as quickly as possible, for the end. That came today. I will miss his wisdom and compassion.