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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?
>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
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.