And another year flies by!

It certainly doesn't feel so long ago that Oliver Pennington and I were launching The Cud at the late Hollywood Hotel in Surry Hills, Sydney with our mission to 'Entertain a new perspective: Chew The Cud'. And yet here we are, nearing in on nearly two decades of The Cud online. How in the heck is that possible?!?

Well of course it's possible due to a great many people who have helped bring this magazine to life -and keep it humming along for the years since. Huge thanks must go to my good friend Mahesh Markus who continues to keep our site in working order and manages the monthly newsletter. Thanks also to our most dedicated, longtime contributors -without your good words, The Cud site would cease to function. Just but a few of these talented names include David M. Fitzpatrick, Tony Smith, Juddy, Tom Chesson, Dervla Burns and, of course, our resident seer, Lazy Eye. I do hope you know just how very grateful I am for your ongoing generosity.

As we do each and every year, we asked you, our readers, to vote for your favorite articles of the past twelve months. Your choices have compiled an issue that reflects exactly the kind of diversity of thought, writing and subject matter that we envisioned when first launching the magazine, and our thanks go to all of our generous, talented writers as well as to those responsible for maintaining and promoting our website from issue to issue.

Above all, however, our thanks to you, our readers, for keeping us going. Each month we read your feedback and letters with great interest, always hoping to improve and meet your expectations, and we're excited to see that our audience has branched out from humble beginnings in Australia to a readership now primarily based in the United States and yet continuing to grow beyond, throughout the globe. We can't do this without you and hope to keep on going for a great many more years yet...

Thank you, ye Cudlings!

Evan Kanarakis
Editor, The Cud