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Terry Pratchett Knighted
ackthpt writes "Headlines have been popping up on Google News: 'Terry Pratchett declared himself "flabbergasted" to receive a knighthood as he led a group of writers, actors and performers honoured today.' The Discworld author and stalwart adversary of Alzheimers Disease has been a member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to Literature since 1998. He will be entering the new year as Knight Commander. Well done and Oook, Sir Terry."
Congratulations Sir Terry, a well deserved honour.
I think we can agree that Terry Pratchett has earned an honour of one kind or another.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Yet it doesn't stop you coming over in large numbers to hang around outside Buckingham Palace taking photos of the Changing of the Guard.
Just a little FYI. Sorry if we republican (small r) Americans find the whole royalty thing anachronistic, not to mention flying in the face of the concepts of equality and consent of the governed. Who really does care what these inbred people think?
There are many monarchies in Europe, most are stable, democratic countries where individual rights are very well protected... There is nothing anachronistic about keeping traditions...
I've never been a huge fan of the French
What kind of dumb remark is that?
considering what i've seen in the south, who the fuck are you to call any country inbred??
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
Yes but, she's bestowing honors on people who contribute to society. Say what you need to about the outdated notion of royalty but I wish America had someone official to hand out awards for generating culture. We have halls of fame and parades but they're reserved for athletes and soldiers, the most useless occupations ever invented.
In all honesty, I find the idea of a society where everyone is so equal that they can't even be told "hey, you've written some really good books, well done" an appalling idea. I'll keep my birthright based head of state, or even some guy a moistened bint threw a scimitar at over that.
Actually, the Queen has a whole lot of power in the UK. She has for example the power to say "oi, parliament, fuck off, I'm in charge now". It's only through choice that she delegates power to democracy, not through any lack of power.
Having said that, a large riot would tear her limb from limb if she ever tried that.
Why is the QUEEN so special that she can give people special titles?
You're correct of course. Another way of looking at it, though, is that this whole thing is not about the queen of England at all; it's about honouring Terry Pratchett.
"Britain" is not a monolithic entity. Many people there also think the royalty should be abolished, and as far as I'm concerned, everyone who doesn't agree with the presence of the royal family is being leeched upon. I don't care about your shallow excuses of democracy, democracy can justify anything so long as the mob agrees to it.
You might as well state that because Bush won the election, that Europeans shouldn't criticize our elections! Sorry, but that's not how it works, I'll criticize my government, I'll criticize your government, and I'll let other people do the same. Governments are not the people, and your flag does not represent you or who you are.
Where does all this US loathing of the French come from? Perhaps you should send back the statue of liberty to teach them a lesson.
We've always had a reputation for hating the French but I've never seen the foaming at the mouth loathing shown by quite a few Americans, despite the UK having been involved in quite a few wars against the French. Including a little spat that ended in 1776.
Tradition is something that holds us back from progress. Mindless repetition of things done for the sake of doing what was done before. Instead of wasting time and energy avoiding stepping on cracks so we don't break our mother's backs, let's just get on with the show and not waste time, eh?
And yes, I agree with your assessment of the unnecessary "pomp", as you put it, over our president and military. And especially our president-to-be, I'm particularly frightened of his cult status, although he's obviously better than Bush.
This is pretty much all that is left of her power. These days a monarch is nothing more than a figurehead who dances for the public. Not a job I'd want.
The man is one of the best authors ever to have graced the earth.
-- Lattyware (www.lattyware.co.uk)
The monarchy is sort of like the 2nd amendment; if things just get totally and completely screwed up beyond any hope of repair, The 2nd amendment, and the Monarchy, are the built-in reset switches.
And, just like the 2nd amendment, a bunch of idiots don't realize what a blessing it is that they have that reset switch.
Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
I'm not opposing people being told they did a good job--you made that up because you don't have an argument. No, what I said is that the queen isn't (or shouldn't be) any more special as you or I, and her awards SHOULDN'T be treated as though they are.
When you view the queen's honors as being worth more than your own, when the queen has her position due to birth and not due to personal ability or bravery or somesuch, then you devalue yourself and inflate the worth of someone who hasn't earned it.
In which case they will make her a Dame eventually. Not that she is as deserving as Terry mind but if she works at it for another 15 - 20 years she might get it.
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
>needs to think on a much longer scale than election cycles
Which is also a large chunk of the reason we have (had) a House of Lords. Blair and his vile mob did their best to wreck all that though and rip out a perfectly functional line of sanity that allowed him to shove through laws that would never have got passed otherwise. Of course, he used his usual campaign of disinformation and whipping up a frenzy of stupidity in large swathes of the people via the Daily Mail etc.
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
That must be because he is very fond of using sarcasm in his books
Because being knighted by some alcoholic bum on the corner named Steve means fuck all, you amazing twit.
Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
A sad day when a bigoted comment like this is modded up. The American south is home to most of America's black population, and a slur against them is merely a reflection of your [and moderators] tiny-minded ignorance and fear.
When they shoot at light entertainment TV personalities I think that they can be called inbred. Though I note that note of the (self proclaimed) "hicks" in that episode were black.
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
What 'depriving it of a victim'? Terry *has* Alzheimer's. It's a tremendous loss to the literary world, and to the world at large, that his mental faculties are slipping. I've also met him, he's sharper than Harlan Ellison and a lot more fun to chat with
He's pouring his resources into fighting it out of enlightened self-interest, but he's doing a pretty good job of it, much like Chris Reeve did for spinal injuries after breaking his neck. I'm sure it's why a lot of his most recent work has been collaborative, rather than personally authored from start to finish.
Objectively, he's also very good. His handling of multiple cultures is excellent, his political satire is brilliant, his ability to link human themes such as sexism, aging, outrage at injustice, poverty, fondness of pets, bureaucracy, and courage into plots that are fun for both children and sophisticated adults who appreciate more of the subtlety is amazing. His characters are very human, often very warm, and he successfully captures the attitudes of both heroes and villains.
'Jingo' should have been required reading for the Bush Administration before the recent mid-easter mess, just as 'Making Money' should have been required reading for the loan officers of the USA before the housing credit crunch. The man captures important themes about all sorts of aspects of life.
a +1 Funny/Sad mod. I've never seen a better place to put it.
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
You can be sure it's genuine, and not at all based on whim. Like another guy in another branch of this thread already said: The Queen hands out the knighthoods, but the guys/girls picked out for the knighthoods are chosen by the government, not the Queen.
Saying "she does it" and "it's sad to be praised by the status quo/those in power" is little more than being petty. The Queen (really the government) only praises those who made "substantial contributions to the country('s cultural or whatever) life".
Anyway, the "better" the literature you write is, the smaller the (contemporary) audience will be, (even though it will have a much longer history than more popular titles) so why do you feel that "writers should depend on praise given by (living) readers only"?
Oh, my yes, Cheery Littlebottom is a character to prize. So was Vimes's reaction to her name: that was priceless, and the sort of thing that does not get taught in a normal management class because very few people could pull it off.
But my point was not that Pratchett did not collaborate before, but that he is collaborating a lot more _now_. I think it's a wonderful defense against losing focus and against loss of creativity as he fights Alzheimer's: I understand that Alzheimer's can lead to a serious flattening of creativity in its early stages, one that the victim may be aware of but which may not be apparent to others. Collaboration with sharp, witty people such as those who helped Sir Pratchett with his 'Science of Discworld' books is a great way to continue creative work when you're feeling a bit rusty, as almost any gifted professor with grad students doing research can testify.
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Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Not to harp too strongly on this, but reading Rowling, or Tolkien, actually doesn't do much. Reading Pratchett exposes people to all kinds of religious, philosophical, psychological and sociological ideas.
Well, now: reading Tolkien certainly does expose people to all kinds of religious, philosophical, and sociological ideas, it's just that they all date back to around the 11th century...
Having seen that episode, the presenters on Top Gear (a show I love to watch) did everything in their power to antagonize the people in Alabama. Even so, it would not surprise me if the incidents listed were actually done at the request of someone from Top Gear rather than as an angry reaction. The overall behavior more closely fits that of British stereotypes of people from Alabama than that of anyone from Alabama I have ever met.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
I'm sorry, but you just compared Rowling to Tolkien. (funny note, Firefox spelling recognises the latter, but Not the former [suggested words: Yowling, Cowling, Howling, Bowling]). Rowling simply copied the primary character types from Every other fantasy book, and then dumbed it down a bit. Tolkien advanced writing in very significant ways, Rowling has not. Kudos to her for making a mint writing books, raspberries for sueing the poor sap who made a glossary because she got greedy and graspy after making mega-millions.