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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
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chefcrsh
Skeptic Friend
Hong Kong
380 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2011 : 23:41:01 [Permalink]
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| I am at a complete loss, which relieves me of the impossible task of eulogizing a writer of unrivaled prowess. |
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Randy
SFN Regular
USA
1990 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2011 : 23:51:55 [Permalink]
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| Damn, I will be sad for a long time about his passing, inevitable as it was. There's a mountain of talks, debates, lectures of his on the web. Here's a random one on YouTube. |
"We are all connected; to each other biologically, to the earth chemically, to the rest of the universe atomically."
"So you're made of detritus [from exploded stars]. Get over it. Or better yet, celebrate it. After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?"
-Neil DeGrasse Tyson |
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Chippewa
SFN Regular
USA
1496 Posts |
 Posted - 12/16/2011 : 00:57:47 [Permalink]
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| A great thinker, writer and commentator with perceptive insights. |
Diversity, independence, innovation and imagination are progressive concepts ultimately alien to the conservative mind.
"TAX AND SPEND" IS GOOD! (TAX: Wealthy corporations who won't go poor even after taxes. SPEND: On public works programs, education, the environment, improvements.) |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
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sailingsoul
SFN Addict
2830 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2011 : 09:05:41 [Permalink]
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| We will all miss him. He was a brilliant writer and an inspiration to hear speak. For me he was lighthouse of truth and reality in our delusional and superstitious filled planet. He certainly did more than his share addressing those short comings. |
There are only two types of religious people, the deceivers and the deceived. SS |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2011 : 09:43:56 [Permalink]
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One a more personal level, I have met Hitchens a couple of times. The first was when the photo below was taken. He had an impish nature to him and saw the humor in the photo, and was active in helping to set it up. This wasn't just a point and shoot with me and a hero of mine. Without Hitchens help, the photo would not have happened. The way I learned of Hitchens death was on facebook was that Kitty Mervine posted the photo in her announcement of Hitchens death. What a shock to me! Then another person who I don't know said that he had seen the photo and loved it. Go figure. Anyhow, aside from his writing and his debates and talks, he was definitely a cool guy. He didn't know me from Adam, but was happy to have fun with this. So as I said, on a more personal level, I had a genuine Hitchens moment:
I should also mention that no, I don't agree with all of what Hitchens wrote. But he was always eloquent, honest and thought provoking. He will be missed. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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chefcrsh
Skeptic Friend
Hong Kong
380 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2011 : 10:21:33 [Permalink]
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| I am very envious of your experience Kil. I would have given a lot to have had that...though if it had been me I would have probably acted as socially awkward as a randy misogynist in the wee hours of a lift lobby at an Atheist conference. |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2011 : 11:02:48 [Permalink]
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Kil, Jerry Coyne is asking for photo tributes to Hitchens, so I immediate thought of the picture you posted just above. I think you should really post a link in that thread. It's a classic image, the two of you blocking the doors.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2011 : 11:10:47 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by H. Humbert
Kil, Jerry Coyne is asking for photo tributes to Hitchens, so I immediate thought of the picture you posted just above. I think you should really post a link in that thread. It's a classic image, the two of you blocking the doors.
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Randi has just asked for a copy.
I don't have time to send it around but the image link is here if you want to send it to Coyne:
http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/uploaded/3/Me%20with%20Hitchens.jpg
The photo was taken by Timothy Householder, Boron10 as he is known on this site. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2011 : 11:19:18 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Kil
Originally posted by H. Humbert
Kil, Jerry Coyne is asking for photo tributes to Hitchens, so I immediate thought of the picture you posted just above. I think you should really post a link in that thread. It's a classic image, the two of you blocking the doors.
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Randi has just asked for a copy.
I don't have time to send it around but the image link is here if you want to send it to Coyne:
http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/uploaded/3/Me%20with%20Hitchens.jpg
The photo was taken by Timothy Householder, Boron10 as he is known on this site.
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Never mind. I did it. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2011 : 19:40:09 [Permalink]
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Nice eulogy from James Randi. Now I know what he wanted the photo for.
We've lost a giant |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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chefcrsh
Skeptic Friend
Hong Kong
380 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2011 : 19:42:08 [Permalink]
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That twitter trend reminded me of a Steve Martin "upbeat" song lyric, sung to a bright banjo ditty: "Oh death, and grief, and sorrow, and murder"
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2011 : 21:01:37 [Permalink]
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| The world has lost a real gem. We need smart, plain-speaking antagonists such as him to keep us questioning, caring, and thinking. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2012 : 01:21:30 [Permalink]
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What a loss! Hardly unexpected, but still numbing. I saw him talk and met him a couple of years ago in Berkeley. As I noted here at the time, he looked sickly even then. Hitch himself "explained" that he'd been "bitten by a spider."
Hitchens' 2010 debate on religion with Tony Blair is on YouTube, here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3kHRTUUJAI |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Christopher Hitchens has died
