Christopher Hitchens has died

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/12/In-Memoriam-Christopher-Hitchens-19492011


Christopher Hitchens—the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant—died today at the age of 62. Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the spring of 2010, just after the publication of his memoir, Hitch-22, and began chemotherapy soon after. His matchless prose has appeared in Vanity Fair since 1992, when he was named contributing editor.
“Cancer victimhood contains a permanent temptation to be self-centered and even solipsistic,” Hitchens wrote nearly a year ago in Vanity Fair, but his own final labors were anything but: in the last 12 months, he produced for this magazine a piece on U.S.-Pakistani relations in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death, a portrait of Joan Didion, an essay on the Private Eye retrospective at the Victoria and Albert Museum, a prediction about the future of democracy in Egypt, a meditation on the legacy of progressivism in Wisconsin, and a series of frank, graceful, and exquisitely written essays in which he chronicled the physical and spiritual effects of his disease. At the end, Hitchens was more engaged, relentless, hilarious, observant, and intelligent than just about everyone else—just as he had been for the last four decades.
“My chief consolation in this year of living dyingly has been the presence of friends,” he wrote in the June 2011 issue. He died in their presence, too, at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. May his 62 years of living, well, so livingly console the many of us who will miss him dearly.

MrStuffins

RIP to one of the great minds of our and all time

amacachi

I know at least one person who'll be more than happy to toast him with plenty of Johnnie Walker with me over the next few days so that's me sorted.

One of his finer pieces of work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WQ0i3nCx60

Was a lot of fun having him around.

TheChizler

A great man. One of the wittiest and best debaters I know of.

psychward

RIP . He had a fine mind and made a unique contribution.

Sindri

RIP

He's Hitch-slapping angels now.

Guill

Never heard of him.

Tesco Massacre

RIP

Didn't agree with everything he wrote or said (particularly about his views on the invasion of Iraq), but he was always worth reading and listening to. I like his thoughts on Kissinger most of all.

murrayp4

May as well pot this here too.
RIP Christopher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HocoXyWFJ8

Cavehill Red

Guill wrote: »

Never heard of him.

A most vapid expression of ignorance. Be thankful that you have the chance to know his mind even now he's no longer alive.

RIP.

Elliemental

I wish I could remember how to post Youtube vids, as I am paying my respects to this great man by watching a most superb compilation of "Hitchslaps", and enjoying every second of hearing his voice.

Rest in Peace, Christopher Hitchens. The world has lost a man of great wit, wisdom, and towering intellect.

Guill

Cavehill Red wrote: »

A most vapid expression of ignorance. Be thankful that you have the chance to know his mind even now he's no longer alive.

RIP.

Like Jeasus..

Turtwig

Rip Hitch.:(

Guill wrote: »

Like Jeasus..

Gotta love your sig.

AstridBean

Cavehill Red wrote: »

A most vapid expression of ignorance. Be thankful that you have the chance to know his mind even now he's no longer alive.

Even in an RIP thread, people still find room for condescension. Gotta love After Hours.

R.I.P., Mr. Hitchens.

Elliemental

Here is the video. Let Hitchens do the talking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQorzOS-F6w

Cavehill Red

Guill wrote: »

Like Jeasus..

Keep digging. Or you could learn something. Your call.

murrayp4

Elliemental wrote: »

I wish I could remember how to post Youtube vids, as I am paying my respects to this great man by watching a most superb compilation of "Hitchslaps", and enjoying every second of hearing his voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQorzOS-F6w

Guill

Cavehill Red wrote: »

Keep digging. Or you could learn something. Your call.

Oh i get it, we're turning this into an "only if you RIP him thread".



RIP big guy.

TheChizler

Here's hoping that these are ironic RIPs.

Cavehill Red

Guill wrote: »

Oh i get it, we're turning this into an "only if you RIP him thread".



RIP big guy.

Stupid poster is stupid.

MrStuffins

TheChizler wrote: »

Here's hoping that these are ironic RIPs.

amacachi

TheChizler wrote: »

Here's hoping that these are ironic RIPs.

Well not really. I find Christians saying "RIP" pretty ironic since they're the ones who believe the essence of the person isn't actually there but is up smoking their choice of shredded leaves with Shakespeare/Washington/Tupac etc.

MrStuffins

amacachi wrote: »

Well not really. I find Christians saying "RIP" pretty ironic since they're the ones who believe the essence of the person isn't actually there but is up smoking their choice of shredded leaves with Shakespeare/Washington/Tupac etc.

Don't be ridiculous!

Denzel Washington doesn't smoke!

And Tupac isn't dead.

Elliemental

TheChizler wrote: »

Here's hoping that these are ironic RIPs.

Rest in peace is not an "ironic" religious statement, it contains no religious sentiment at all. It is just a respectful statement.

Pdfile

i neevr liked him... perhaps thats a bit harsh... :pac:

af_thefragile

I always found him to be a massive dick... But well, won't say anything harsh...

amacachi

af_thefragile wrote: »

I always found him to be a massive dick... But well, won't say anything harsh...

I'm sure he would've been really worried tbh. :pac:

Don't know him. Is he the hero all the artsy essay-writing internet arguers look up to and wish they were? It would explain a lot about the demographic of boards.ie.

kraggy

Cavehill Red wrote: »

A most vapid expression of ignorance. Be thankful that you have the chance to know his mind even now he's no longer alive.

RIP.

Jaysus, have a go at someone who hasn't heard of him just to show your supposed intellect, much?

grenache

A modern day Houdini. Could argue his way to victory over anything or anybody, especially those American baptists.

Will be sadly missed

Rest gracefully Christopher.

seanybiker

Never heard of him meself to be honest. Rip though.

amacachi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-s9AyNQyCw

This video is fun for someone who doesn't know much about him. The guy doing the continuity managed to get his name wrong though. :pac:

Tesco Massacre

Deleted User wrote: »

Don't know him. Is he the hero all the artsy essay-writing internet arguers look up to and wish they were? It would explain a lot about the demographic of boards.ie.

Why don't you Google his name if you want to know who he is?

I mean, you're obviously on the 'net already.

seanybiker

Tesco Massacre wrote: »

Why don't you Google his name if you want to know who he is?

I mean, you're obviously on the 'net already.

I presume you never asked a question on a forum before?

Sindri

Deleted User wrote: »

Don't know him. Is he the hero all the artsy essay-writing internet arguers look up to and wish they were? It would explain a lot about the demographic of boards.ie.

Yes.

It's ironic. The people who like him are the sorts who are intellectuals and find the idolization of Jesus to be a sad/weak/stupid coping mechanism.

And yet they're the same people who idolize him.

af_thefragile

Deleted User wrote: »

Don't know him. Is he the hero all the artsy essay-writing internet arguers look up to and wish they were? It would explain a lot about the demographic of boards.ie.

He was a mega-arrogant messiah of the atheists.
And was pretty right-wing at the same time.

Tesco Massacre

seanybiker wrote: »

I presume you never asked a question on a forum before?

Google it and find out.

The Scientician

Rest in peace ya auld fecker.

seanybiker

Tesco Massacre wrote: »

Google it and find out.

I already pm someone on here to get the layman's explanation of who he was.

Tesco Massacre

Sindri wrote: »

Yes.

It's ironic. The people who like him are the sorts who are intellectuals and find the idolization of Jesus to be a sad/weak/stupid coping mechanism.

And yet they're the same people who idolize him.

What?

Sindri

His cause of death was pneumonia.

amacachi

af_thefragile wrote: »

He was a mega-arrogant messiah of the atheists.
And was pretty right-wing at the same time.

I thought he was pretty left-wing most of the time.

Sindri wrote: »

Yes.

It's ironic. The people who like him are the sorts who are intellectuals and find the idolization of Jesus to be a sad/weak/stupid coping mechanism.

And yet they're the same people who idolize him.

I'm getting confused by this kind of talk, surely if he were the Messiah for Atheists all the Atheists would be out on the street awaiting Perfect Judgement since the Messiah has died and will be rising again in a couple of days? Or maybe you're just making lazy comparisons before thinking about whether or not they're in any way accurate.

Sindri

Tesco Massacre wrote: »

What?

I was pointing out the irony that the idolization of Hitchens and intellectualism in general is a coping mechanism just as much as believing in a God and likened the cult around Hitchens to be similar to that of Jesus.

(Atheists can be condescending to theists).

Elliemental

seanybiker wrote: »

I already pm someone on here to get the layman's explanation of who he was.

He was a philosopher, free thinker, and leading light of Atheism. He wrote several excellent, witty books on the subject (his most famous being "God Is Not Great"). He was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus roughly a year ago, and died earlier this morning. Believe it or not, he is the brother of rabid Tory Daily Fail arse, Peter Hitchens. He will be sadly missed by all Atheists, and champions of rationality and free thinking.

seanybiker

To be honest, as a non believer, I don't class myself as an atheist because atheists on here and the few that I know on real life, wreck my bulb.
The layman's explanation I got back over pm, yer man sounded like a bit of a dick to be honest.
Still though it's sad someone died.

amacachi

seanybiker wrote: »

To be honest, as a non believer, I don't class myself as an atheist because atheists on here and the few that I know on real life, wreck my bulb.
The layman's explanation I got back over pm, yer man sounded like a bit of a dick to be honest.
Still though it's sad someone died.

Meh, the only thing in that PM I can think that would make you think that is his views on Mother Theresa, give an idea a chance before you dismiss it out of hand.

seanybiker

amacachi wrote: »

Meh, the only thing in that PM I can think that would make you think that is his views on Mother Theresa, give an idea a chance before you dismiss it out of hand.

oh yeah sorry I'll read up on the chap in fairness and thanks for the reply. Mother Tessie, I dunno if here is the right place to give my opinion on her haha

TheChizler

Elliemental wrote: »

Rest in peace is not an "ironic" religious statement, it contains no religious sentiment at all. It is just a respectful statement.

Well it does derive from what's said at the end of a funeral: "may his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace". Just sayin...

papajimsmooth

Standard zombie preventative measures

MagicMarker

One of the finest word-smiths of his generation and an expert debater, we need more like him around.

Hobbes

I guess all those people praying for him to get better finally paid off.

RIP.