dammit. hitchens barely got his trousers off.
Always made me smile when he finished off a debate with the "We've barely got our trousers off" line.
In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
31–40 of 228 posts
Re: In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
#32Wow, right after America gave up the ghost in Iraq too. From http://whoisioz.blogspot.com/2011/11/oser-dire.html : " Why does it also not delight me that the extent of the allegations against him, at least on some showings, is “unwanted advances”? It might be argued, by the cynical or the naive, that all “advances” begin that way. True, a period of a matter of months is specified, but don’t I seem to recall, in Presi…
This is in bad taste. Also, I have no idea what it's about, but does "Any man willing to gratuitously fondle the mother tongue as Hitch does above is obviously going to be an apologist for molestation" really constitute a valid argument?
Re: In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
#33Such a sharp thinker, with unbelievable wit and depth of memory.
You can get a sense of his political style from his fascination with the remark from Israeli peace activist Israel Shahak, "there are beginning to be some encouraging signs of polarization". Meaning that usually, well almost always, you have to choose sides. Draw the line between the sides yourself if necessary.
It's Hitchens' writings that introduced me to the early, dry, humorous works of Evelyn Waugh (best known is "Scoop", but also Decline and Fall, and the Sword of Honour trilogy). Some of Hitchens' best writing was literary appreciation, not polemics.
Re: In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
#34Hitchens was essentially a Marxist (by his own admission) who was also in favor of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the foreign policy it represented. So there was very little I agreed with him on. But I'm terribly upset about this and I'll tell you why. Because of his willingness to debate. I'd literally scan right wing talk radio schedules for his name because you just knew it would be a great show. In a world where s…
He's so incredibly succinct and persuasive in his points when it comes to religion and I always love to hear these debates. His memoir 'Hitch-22' is well worth the read, especially now (the opening in particular).
Here is Hitchens on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-8-2010/christophe... - just delightful.
Re: In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
#35#GodIsNotGreat is trending worldwide. It's quite entertaining to see the live timeline of people freaking out: http://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23GodIsNotGreat
Re: In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
#36Hitchens was wrong about a lot in my view, but for many atheists he was an important figure.
He eloquently made the case for our faith in empirical evidence and the scientific knowing of reality, and he didn't pussy out at the end. Knowing he was dying, and soon on his way into that void, still looked that motherfucker in the face, and stayed frosty.
Wish he could have died from old age, though.
Re: In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
#37Hitchens was essentially a Marxist (by his own admission) who was also in favor of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the foreign policy it represented. So there was very little I agreed with him on. But I'm terribly upset about this and I'll tell you why. Because of his willingness to debate. I'd literally scan right wing talk radio schedules for his name because you just knew it would be a great show. In a world where s…
Note: This can't be a correction so much as (ideally) an opening point for discussion, but Hitchens certainly wasn't a Marxist in the sense of one who advocated replacing the market economy. (Or at least not the Hitchens that died yesterday . . .)
Definitely a Marxist in the sense of a historian -- one who understands events from the standpoint of class -- and even one who supported solidarity among laborers. But replacing the free market? No.
Re: In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
#38I first learned of Christopher Hitchens in the run-up to Iraq, which he espoused. I chalked him up as a Bad Guy, and moved my limited attention span on down the pike. Only recently had I realized that he was a lot deeper than I'd given him credit for - and now he's dead.
Life stinks.
Re: In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
#39Astroid: http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/12/Asteroid-Name...
"An astroid...has been named after Vanity Fair contributing editor Christopher Hitchens. The asteroid orbits Mars, Jupiter, and Earth. It’s an ironic but fitting honor for an iconoclast who has spent much of his life shaking his fist at the heavens and the deities they may or may not host."
Re: In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
#40We shall have to work faster. http://yudkowsky.net/other/yehuda
You know, I think it's really distasteful that you people use the deaths of people who probably wouldn't have even agreed with the message of that essay to promote the ideas in that essay.