Thursday, 3 July 2014

Sir Pterry cancels his appointments...

quote [ Terry Pratchett forced to cancel appearance by Alzheimer's
Discworld author, diagnosed in 2007, has announced that 'the Embuggerance is finally catching up with me' ]

This is a sad day for both fantasy and comedy fans everywhere considering that the much beloved author has vowed that "rather than let Alzheimer's take me, I would take it. I would live my life as ever to the full and die, before the disease mounted its last attack, in my own home, in a chair on the lawn, with a brandy in my hand to wash down whatever modern version of the 'Brompton cocktail' some helpful medic could supply. And with Thomas Tallis on my iPod, I would shake hands with Death."
[SFW] [art] [+10 Sad]
[by Oberoten@8:56amGMT]

Comments

Death said @ 11:07am GMT on 3rd Jul [Score:2 Underrated]
DON'T THINK OF IT AS DYING. JUST THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY TO AVOID THE RUSH.
midden said @ 4:19pm GMT on 3rd Jul
Tomorrow morning there'll be laundry
But he'll be somewhere else to hear the call
Don't say, "Goodbye," he's just leaving early
He's walkin' Spanish down the hall
GordonGuano said @ 10:15am GMT on 3rd Jul
This is like getting ready to lose a parent...
pleaides said @ 10:39am GMT on 3rd Jul
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
pleaides said @ 10:39am GMT on 3rd Jul
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
AssBastard said @ 5:26pm GMT on 3rd Jul
Looks like you could...
Dumbledorito said @ 11:06am GMT on 3rd Jul
Love this man's work, even "Snuff" was halfway decent, though it was a real trip down Marty-Stu lane.

If you haven't ever tracked down the "Science of Discworld" novels, they're marvelous books. I'd also love it if "Going Postal" and "Making Money" were required reading for most Econ classes.
pleaides said @ 11:27am GMT on 3rd Jul
I liked Snuff, and Steam was reasonable too. Care to elaborate on the 'Marty Stu Lane'?
GordonGuano said @ 12:13pm GMT on 3rd Jul [Score:2]
You know how in The Dark Half, Alan Pangborn is sort of this well-meaning Everyman who is way over his head but plugging along as best he can? Then, in Needful Things, he's practically superhuman? King keeps mentioning how strong, fast, and stealthy he is, plus he knows magic tricks and is a shadow puppet virtuoso (these are important skills by the end of the book, of course)? Ok, maybe not, if you''re not a big Stephen King reader. But the Vimes progression is similar. He goes from "skinny, unshaved collection of bad habits" (Guards! Guards!) to being able to take out anyone in one-on-one combat with the Vimes Elbow (Men at Arms) to being able to see in the frickin' dark (Thud!).

steele said @ 12:20pm GMT on 3rd Jul
Well, yeah, but that's because he has the power of the kyuubi inside of him. And the Cow! :D

Also, I'll totally have to reread those because I don't think I ever connected Dark Half and Needful Things when I read them all those years and years ago.
GordonGuano said @ 12:41pm GMT on 3rd Jul
To be fair, Dark Half wasn't really about Pangborn. But halfway through Needful Things, it seemed like he could have gone toe-to-toe with George Stark and come out on top.
taeyn said @ 1:02pm GMT on 3rd Jul
I had actually noticed this, but never really spelled it out that way. Kinda strange.
Dumbledorito said @ 5:02pm GMT on 3rd Jul
What Gordon said, plus the fact that in no time was Vimes ever even remotely in danger of getting hurt, much less getting killed. There were also numerous setups where Vimes, now a nobleman (something he despised) could have easily fucked up in front of "the common folk," putting himself on the receiving end of the same class warfare he'd previously fought from the bottom.

It was a love song to how awesome Vimes was and it really rang hollow compared to his other stories where villains actually had the upper hand somewhere in the plot.
steele said @ 11:53am GMT on 3rd Jul
I love the Science of Discworld! I had been working with the idea of phase-space for almost 15 years and never knew the proper phrase for it till I read those novels :D
sanepride said @ 3:01pm GMT on 3rd Jul
That quote reads like it was written by someone with Alzheimer's.
Resurrected Morris said @ 6:21pm GMT on 3rd Jul
....who has problem structure sentence with a
XregnaR said @ 8:34pm GMT on 3rd Jul
Ah, the importance of punctuation and line spacing.

[ Terry Pratchett forced to cancel appearance by Alzheimer's




Discworld author, diagnosed in 2007, has announced that 'the Embuggerance is finally catching up with me' ]




Or




[ Terry Pratchett forced to cancel appearance by Alzheimer's. Discworld author, diagnosed in 2007, has announced that 'the Embuggerance is finally catching up with me' ]
Adam said @ 7:50am GMT on 5th Jul
He's one of the only living authors I feel indebted to. I read his books at a formative point in my life and they profoundly warped my sense of humor into what it is today. I hate that this is happening to him. And to us.
Abdul Alhazred said @ 1:57pm GMT on 5th Jul
I'm watching my mom slip into Alzheimer's even now, while I visit them. It's not unpleasant for her, but seeing the mind of my parent deteriorate is really hard.

Just be glad you aren't watching Sir Terry turning into a potato in person.
ComposerNate said @ 10:21am GMT on 9th Jul [Score:2 Good]
Thanks for turning me on to Pratchett's work. Since then last year, starting sequentially from the beginning of the Discworld series, I am now at 1998's The Last Continent.
steele said @ 10:32am GMT on 9th Jul
I knocked the series out last summer. Fell in love with the man's work. I should have known I would since Good Omens was one of my favs as a teenager.

This is like firefly all over again. Damn you, life executive.
Abdul Alhazred said @ 3:04am GMT on 12th Jul
Glad to have shared the joy! I have re-read all of the Discworld books at least once or twice. Still have to read his other works- but I will get to them one day...
ComposerNate said @ 8:50pm GMT on 13th Jul
I imagine reading them to my child one day, wondering when might be age-appropriate.
lalanda said @ 9:51pm GMT on 13th Jul [Score:1 Insightful]
There is little to no "age appropriate" with Pratchett, which is both his blessing and his curse.
HoZay said @ 4:29pm GMT on 9th Jul
Sorry about your mom, Abdul, that sucks.
Abdul Alhazred said @ 3:09am GMT on 12th Jul [Score:3 Underrated]
Thanks. The hardest part is watching Dad deteriorate with Parkinson's at the same time. It's like they're both dying off a little chunk at a time over a period of a few years. Mom is not really the person I remember anymore, and Dad is unable to do a hell of a lot anymore but doesn't want anyone else to do the repairs he used to do, so their house is starting to fall apart.

My sisters and I will figure it out, but in the meantime we each have our private weepy moments....
lalanda said @ 9:50pm GMT on 13th Jul
That mod is how we unsubscribed show our sympathy.

Recently I have been amazed at how difficult it is when a parent becomes "embuggered" and amazed at how strong people are who go through it which, of course, is almost everyone.

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