Sir Terry Pratchett Succumbs To "the Embuggerance," Aged 66

New submitter sp1nl0ck writes Sir Terry Pratchett, the creator of Discworld, has died aged 66, following a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Sir Terry announced that he was suffering from The Embuggerance in an open letter to fans over seven years ago, and recently had to cancel a planned appearance at the International Discworld Convention last summer, and donated over £500K of his own money to research into the condition. He also spoke in favour of a euthanasia tribunal, the members of which would consider the case of each '...applicant...to ensure they are of sound and informed mind, firm in their purpose, suffering from a life-threatening and incurable disease and not under the influence of a third party'. Sadly, he didn't survive long enough to see such a tribunal — or indeed any kind of assistance for those suffering from an incurable condition who wish to end their own life — come into being. More at the BBC.

Comments

This sucks.

[ElectraFlarefire]

A lot.

Re:This sucks.

[B33rNinj4]

Yes, it does. He was a fantastic writer, and will be missed.

Re:This sucks.

[Dins]

It does. But if he was interested in euthanasia tribunals he was probably considering it for himself. So maybe it's for the best.

Re:This sucks.

[ledow]

He appeared on a TV show in the UK basically arguing just that. When the time came, he wanted to be able to press a button or whatever and choose himself, and it was long after he started down the road to Alzheimer's that he appeared and argued that.

Actually he barely said a word. He was too far gone down the Alzheimer's route by then, and Tony Robinson (Baldrick) had to say the actual words he'd prepared for him, if I remember correctly.

Re:This sucks.

[grimmjeeper]

Absolutely. We should force people to go through years of endless suffering only to die anyway rather than let them make their own choice to keep their dignity. /sarcasm

Re:This sucks.

[ledow]

For those interested, the show I'm talking about, with the man himself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Re:This sucks.

[Penguinisto]

It does. But if he was interested in euthanasia tribunals he was probably considering it for himself. So maybe it's for the best.

True, but it does lead to a question: Why a "tribunal"? Unless you're too physically incapacitated to do it yourself, it's relatively easy to buy an oxygen mask and a bottle of compressed nitrogen... put it on, eat a couple of sleeping pills, fall asleep, never wake up. Relatively zero pain, and no mess... *shrug*

IMHO, and in spite of living somewhere where it's actually 100% legal to do it, Euthanasia as policy is at the top of a slippery slope... even though Oregon requires psychiatric approval before an individual does it, very few folks get one before offing themselves. Too many safeguards have been ignored or glossed over, because progress.

Maybe it's just easier to do what we've always done... leave it alone and if someone does it, they do it. Just make certain they didn't get any 'help' (as in, intentional homicide) to get it done.

Re:This sucks.

[cbdougla]

Wow. I was just getting over loosing Douglas Adams and now we've lost Pratchett as well?

This really does suck (urinating dog...urinating dog).

I'm going to have to reread my library of his books now.

Re:This sucks.

[RabidReindeer]

He wrote stories that were witty, entertaining - and full of knives.

The essence of Terry Pratchett can be summed up in one of his more frequent observations: that in the eyes of society, living in a vermin-infested slum practically makes you a criminal, but own a whole neighborhood of them and you're a pillar of the community.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

You are obviously correct, from an objective perspective. We routinely put down suffering animals and consider that an act of kindness. But we apply a double-standard for humans.

Realize, however, that we have pack instincts written firmly in our DNA. We (the sane ones, anyway) have basic behavioral impulses that operate at a more foundational level than our abstract reasoning, and they incline most of us not only to avoid killing each other, but to actively disallow the deaths of our fellow humans. This makes it very hard for the general public to accept suicide as a government-sanctioned medical option.

Throw in the fact that treatable depression also drives people needlessly to suicide, and you have plenty of emotional material to overwhelm objectivity.

There will *always* be a largish segment of the population that disapproves of suicide and think it should be illegal in all cases.

Re:This sucks.

[cyberchondriac]

It does. I've been reading the DiscWorld series for the past year and half now, I've read nearly all of them, except for a few of the NightWatch books. I'm in the middle of reading Unseen Academicals right now. He will be sorely missed. However, suffering with Alzheimer's is horrible, and at least he's out of that misery.
I can just picture him finally meeting the Discworld's Death (and the Death of rats squeaking close by), and him choosing to live on the Discworld as his personal afterlife. That would be a really cool final dream, anyway, but most likely the Alzheimer's deprived him of any opportunity for that.

Re:This sucks.

[ShanghaiBill]

there is always some f'tard left wing ...

The strongest opposition to euthanasia comes from right wing religious conservatives. Democrats are more likely to support euthanasia than Republicans. The only state where it is legal is Oregon, a blue state.

Re:This sucks.

[MightyMartian]

Maybe they're ultimately afraid they might be tempted to take that route when life becomes too unbearable.

Re:This sucks.

[grimmjeeper]

I've never heard of that. All of the opposition I see comes from the right wing f'tards who want to shove their religion down everyone's throat. You can't kill anyone (whether they're a person yet or not) unless they've been convicted by our second rate "justice" system that seems to convict far too many innocent people. They don't give a flying rip about you while you're alive but they'll fight tooth and nail to make sure you suffer all the way up until the bitter end because "life is a gift from 'God'".

Re:This sucks.

[MightyMartian]

If you've suffered a rehabilitating stroke or suffered some other catastrophic illness or injury that renders you incapable of doing the deed, it strikes me as completely unfair to deprive you of the ability to end your life. That's not even counting people who are suffering terminal illnesses.

Creating regulations is the way you eliminate, or at least make far less dangerous the slippery slope.

Re:This sucks.

[ShanghaiBill]

True, but it does lead to a question: Why a "tribunal"?

To provide oversight to prevent abuse, such as vulnerable people pressured by relatives for financial reasons.

Unless you're too physically incapacitated to do it yourself ...

By the time most people are ready to off themselves, they are usually incapacitated.

Euthanasia as policy is at the top of a slippery slope...

Forcing people to stay alive against their will is at the bottom of a slippery slope.

Just make certain they didn't get any 'help' (as in, intentional homicide) to get it done.

Except that most people need help. Someone in a coma or with advanced Alzheimer is often no longer capable of doing the deed themselves. That is why we need laws and a process to ensure that compassionate and consensual killing is not a crime.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ironic, given the bible gives no direct statement against suicide.

One can make the indirect argument that there is a commandment against killing, that is, properly rendered, murder--and argue that one is murdering oneself.

However, there are many instances of biblical figures killing themselves, without negative statements toward that person regarding the recorded event. Leaving one to fairly conclude that the bible essentially says "depends on the specific circumstances".

Re:This sucks.

[Kjella]

Well, he talked quite a bit in Choosing to Die in 2011, but that is quite a bit earlier.

Re:This sucks.

[grimmjeeper]

There's nothing in our DNA that drives us to avoid killing each other. If anything, our evolution causes us to want to kill "them" (of us vs them) over any number of reasons that are nothing more than clever disguises covering up that we're only try to gain control of limited resources.

Hell, many cultures let the old out to die long before they die of natural causes. If anything, that's the natural path that many species follow and we as a species used to share that model in our culture. It's only when you apply religious conservatism to the discussion that it all goes out of whack. Somehow, people got it in their heads that life is some "precious gift" and everyone must be forced to hang on as long as possible despite the suffering that you have to endure simply because that's what some preacher pushed into your head when you were a kid. It's an artificial construct that goes against the natural order of life.

It's time to let go of primitive superstition. It's time to stop forcing religious beliefs on people who don't want them. It's time to give people the real freedom of choice. If you believe and want to go through the suffering because of your beliefs, fine. Go right ahead. But don't take the choice away from others. If they want to end their life before the suffering really kicks in, that should be their choice, not yours. (Disclaimer: the "you" and "yours" is not directed at a specific individual but at those who are fighting right-to-die laws.)

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

That is precisely what remains theologically undemonstrated. The fact religious conservatives think it is a sin, does not make it a sin.

Re:This sucks.

[ShanghaiBill]

Ironic, given the bible gives no direct statement against suicide.

The Bible also does not say anything about abortion or embryonic stem cell research. In fact, the story of Esau and Jacob implies that birth, not conception, is what is important. But most people don't read religious works for guidance, they read them to find justification for what they already believe.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Where does the bible say suicide is a sin?

Re:This sucks.

[MozeeToby]

The problem is, sometimes people that are mentally capable of making the decision need help to perform the physical act. Right now, anyone knowingly supplying said help in any way is on the hook for some significant jail time.

Re:This sucks.

[BarbaraHudson]

Most of the people who says "the bible says ..." have never read the whole bible. In fact, even Mother Theresa never read the whole bible, and a survey of 4th-year theology students at Dallas Theological showed neither had they.

Ignorance is bliss.

Re:This sucks.

[operagost]

By definition, if you've gone terribly far down the Alzheimer's road, you won't be of sound mind to choose euthanasia.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

In contrast to justifying what one already believes with the idea "the opposite of whatever religion says must be correct, without any need for independent justification"...

Re:This sucks.

[ShanghaiBill]

Where does the bible say suicide is a sin?

It doesn't. You could extrapolate it from "Thou shall not kill", but the Bible does not explicitly say that suicide is a sin. Several suicides are in the Bible, and while some of the victims are depicted as sinners, the act of suicide itself is not depicted as a sin. Some of the suicides are depicted as honorable, including the suicide of Samson.

Re:This sucks.

[DarkOx]

Yes, but you forget just yesterday on Slashdot we had to read about how taking away everyone's gun rights would prevent suicide. When a few people suggested that if someone really want's to kill themselves who are we to get in the way; the "I know what's good for you" types jumped all over them.

They insisted depression is a terrible disease that societal must protect people from. I guess by removing all the sharp objects, and fire arms lest some un-diagnosed individual hurt themselves.

So first if we let people choose to die, who exactly and how exactly are we to decide who is permitted to make such a choice. How would psychiatric approval work exactly? Right now Psychiatrists are required to act when someone is potentially going to harm themselves. How could they ever 'approve' of someones mental state, who says they wish to die and plan to kill themselves?

Secondly suppose someone is depressed, lots of depression treatment is less than successful, is that person not suffering, what if they want to die to escape their depression. Are the mentally fit to make that decision..

See I think its all BS. If someone wants to kill themselves, we should let them. People call suicide selfish, but the truth is its that persons own life, you and I have no claim on it. If it is there wish to surrender it, for any reason I don't see how any of us have the right to interfere however much we might love or miss them if they were gone.

Re:This sucks.

[operagost]

As you have, because you ignored Luke 1:41-44, Psalm 51, Psalm 139, Jeremiah 1:5, and Hosea 12. Those indicate humanity before birth. Interpret as you will, but don't claim the converse as "fact".

Embryonic stem cell research? REALLY? The bible doesn't mention stealing people's credit card information or hijacking airplanes, either, so those must be OK as well.

Are you one of those people who claim that the second amendment only protects muskets (and artillery, obviously)?

Re:This sucks.

[RabidReindeer]

It does. Suicide is a sin. That's why they would be against it.

Suicide is never directly named a sin in the Bible. In fact, King Saul committed suicide.

Theologically speaking, however, suicide is considered arrogating the right of God to determine when and how you will meet your end and putting oneself on a plane with God is considered at least one deadly sin (Pride).

Which is why we have good Christian people demonstrating for the right to forcibly hold vegetative people alive even when they would not be able to live without artificial assistance and are likely enduring at best a living Hell, because "life" and "living" are 2 different things.

Then again, many of these self-same good Christian people have absolutely no problem with a Death Penalty, even though it removes even the slimmest chance that the person so convicted might wake up one day 50 years hence and repent. Or for that matter, be exonerated.

Re: This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Nobody can read the whole Bible, it exists in a multitude of forms from included material to translation.

 

Re:This sucks.

[Kjella]

True, but it does lead to a question: Why a "tribunal"? Unless you're too physically incapacitated to do it yourself, it's relatively easy to buy an oxygen mask and a bottle of compressed nitrogen... put it on, eat a couple of sleeping pills, fall asleep, never wake up. Relatively zero pain, and no mess... *shrug*

Most suicide reports intentionally fail to mention how exactly they committed suicide, it's a near universally accepted ethics code. Assuming there are suicide attempts that should be stopped, teaching everyone what's effective and painless would be counterproductive, since they're just as likely to be used by the mentally unstable who just learned their girlfriend is breaking up with them as the pain-ridden terminally ill. Of course people figure out ways on their own, but the success rate is not stellar and many probably suffer a lot before they die. They use that fear of a long and painful death and botched attempts to keep people alive more or less against their will.

If all we wanted was suicide booths, we could probably implement those for roughly the cost of a bullet and a hose-down. They want these tribunals as gatekeepers, so a doctor will have to provide you lethal drugs in a controlled environment meaning they are in control of whether your request to die is approved or denied and nobody gets any ideas they can do it outside the system. Except the doctors don't want to touch assistance with a ten foot pole either, because slippery slope. They're pretty much like the Church preaching abstinence, just don't do it. And most world religions also does the same kind of shaming the people who take their own life too.

Re: This sucks.

[BarbaraHudson]

Congratulations - you've won the purposefully misunderstood moron comment of the day award. "Included material" (such as the Gospel of Thomas) can be ignored. As for everything else, no original text of any of the bible exists, so we're stuck with what we've got. Pick your version, and read the whole damn thing, or stop claiming that "the bible says ..." when it doesn't, mkay?

Re:This sucks.

[Curunir_wolf]

Some of the suicides are depicted as honorable, including the suicide of Samson.

Don't confuse suicide with self-sacrifice. Indeed, you could claim that Jesus committed suicide because he could have gotten out of the crucifixion several times, and chose to allow it - "the lamb" is sacrificed. Samson sacrificed himself in order to bring down the pagan temple of Dagon. He took many Philistine lords with him.

Calling this "suicide" is like saying James Brady tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of a bullet.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's also legal in Washington state, a "mostly blue, but still kind of purple" state, along with Montana and New Jersey - which are each more red than blue, and Vermont, which is blueish-independent.

Re: This sucks.

[halivar]

Readers of the original KJV (usually pentacostal or charismatic churches) suffer from significant language drift. They're reading sixteenth century words and applying twentieth century definitions to them, which definitely alters the meaning of key passages.

For instance, take I Corinthians 13: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (NIV)
But in KJV, it says: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

A sixteenth century reader would have the right idea, but a twentieth century reader will miss the entire point.

Re:This sucks.

[amiga3D]

I have no problem with people offing themselves. I reserve the right myself. I fully intend to leave this world before I go through a long miserable painful disease that leaves me unable to enjoy life. I do have a problem with euthanasia which is something else entirely. Suicide is killing yourself, not having someone else do it for you. He had an opportunity to kill himself but waited until he was unable to. Got to be proactive.

Re:This sucks.

[i.r.id10t]

If you are gonna extrapolate from one of the 10 commandments, perhaps you should just read it in the original Hebrew.

IIRC (and its been 30 years since I've read it and I know longer remember any of my Hebrew) the exact translation is more along the lines of "thall shal not murder". Killin' is ok when someone *needs* killin' but no outright murder

Re:This sucks.

[Cederic]

See his twitter feed : https://twitter.com/terryandro...

Re:This sucks.

[ultranova]

The strongest opposition to euthanasia comes from right wing religious conservatives.

The "religious opposition to suicide" comes from people who both want to placate their slaves with the promise of Heaven after this life, and stop said slaves from deciding they can as well go to Kingdom Come now rather than after a lifetime of servitude to their masters. There's also a strong element of blame shifting: "Yes, we did drive this person to suicide, but we aren't going to be held accountable for that on Judgement Day since they killed themselves and are thus a Hell-bound sinner, which is really why they killed themselves - not because we repossessed their home and threw them on the streets, or bullied them about their sexual orientation or gender identity."

So yeah, right wing conservatives.

Re: This sucks.

[Richard_at_work]

You assume that the original KJV translation used the correct translation of the original material, and that our later translations don't. Its not as if the Bibles we have today are an update done from the KJV, they are a fresh translation done from original materials, so yes our understanding of the language may have changed since the 16th century, but you can still go back and cross examine different bible versions - which is why serious bible studies are done with half a dozen bibles on your lap, and Church of England vicars need to learn Hebrew.

Re:This sucks.

[armanox]

Actually it is legal in quite a few states, and questionable in some others (in Maryland, for example, suicide isn't illegal, but I don't think the physician is allowed to administer it).

Re:This sucks.

[DutchUncle]

I am in favor of a right to die, and I simultaneously appreciate the concern that people will be pushed into it before they want to - maybe even by well-meaning "avoid suffering" arguments, as opposed to "die faster and stop using up our inheritance" situations. In our current legal environment a hospital can ignore a properly executed living will, and fight a properly executed power of attorney (not to mention where some states still don't have "living wills"), and claim that it is "erring on the side of caution". And anything suggesting that one wishes to die, no matter how dire or specific the circumstances, immediately gets cast as an attempt at suicide which clearly indicates mental incapacity, so *of course* it should be ignored.

Re:This sucks.

[netsavior]

+1 he will be missed.
“And, while it was regarded as pretty good evidence of criminality to be living in a slum, for some reason owning a whole street of them merely got you invited to the very best social occasions.”

Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay

Re:This sucks.

[DutchUncle]

This is a self-contradicting problem. I have absolutely no interest in killing myself or being killed, unless and until I'm incapable, which is precisely the point at which I need help. What I want to be able to do, while capable, sane, and demonstrably *not* in any immediate need and *not* under any duress, is set up the contract (oops, the "will and testament") that specifies the conditions under which I want to be assisted off this mortal coil since I can't do it myself any more.

Re: This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

The "original" KJV contains translation errors, and also translations that are very pointed interpretations of verses that are very vague.

Some examples:

"Lucifer" is a Latin word. The prophet Isaiah did not write in Latin, but in Hebrew. The only reason the word "Lucifer" ever entered Christian vocabulary was because of the more-original-than-KJV Latin formalization of the Bible. When translated to English, that word was left in its Latin form so it would sound more like a proper name (which it is not, as is made obvious by reading the 11 verses before the single verse in the Bible that contains this word).

The greek pneumos means "breath." That's what it means. But through the KJV, it is rendered as "spirit" or "ghost." Grammatical words surrounding the word which could correctly mean "it" are all rendered "he." This makes it very clear, to an English speaker, that the "Holy Spirit" is actually a person. In the Greek texts, it neither says nor implies personhood. The phrase seems to imply a vital animating force...one that all humans have and that can be made more divine. The translation robs us of the poetry in the language and gives us a pointed interpretation that is extremely dubious.

Also, "sozo" means "heal." But it is consistently rendered as "save." All verses that say things like "Jesus the Savior" can be correctly translated as "Jesus the Healer." "saved" implies a boolean state, "heal" implies a sliding scale.

Blah blah, I will stop now because nobody is going to read this or care anyway.

Re:This sucks.

[HornWumpus]

My parents sentenced me to four years with the Jebbies.

We were supposed to read it cover to cover Jr year.

I can say I slept on every page of the King James Bible and cheated my ass off to pass.

Re: This sucks.

[GameboyRMH]

Furthermore, most of it is suuuuuper boring!

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

The second amendment has nothing to do with artillery, which isn't "arms" in Eighteenth Century usage. (You can't hold cannon or mortars in your arms.) You really ought to learn something before you go babbling.

Re:This sucks.

[GameboyRMH]

See also:

http://www.theonion.com/articl...

Re:This sucks.

[StrangeBrew]

I would agree with you if I considered the 'right wing' religious opposition to be the major problem. I find that it's the other end of the spectrum that has equal clout and is often the mouthpiece that speaks at high profile assisted suicide debates/court cases. Call me flamebait all you want, but be honest... I somehow hurt your feelings by sharing a viable opinion as to what the major roadblock is. Face it, abortion is legal DESPITE opposition from the biblical right wing. Why? Because the far left fully supports it (and rightfully so).

Re:This sucks.

[anagama]

I'm not religious, but curiosity got the best of me so looked up all your citations and I just don't see it:

Luke 1:41-44:
https://www.biblegateway.com/p...
We all know Mary has a magic fetus, and the fact that it's nearness to another fetus, which jumps in the womb in response, seems a special case. Most fetuses aren't exposed to gods.

Psalm 51:
https://www.biblegateway.com/p...
"Shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin" -- so sex is a sin that sets in motion a chain of events that leads to people. That seems pretty thin, especially when the writer near the end talks about how god doesn't care about burnt offerings, and then four lines later about all the burnt offerings he is going to give god. If sex is a sin, so are the products of it. Doing an abortion would be a corrective action and should have god's support.

Psalm 139:
https://www.biblegateway.com/p...
This one seems basically at odds with 51 which decried conception as a dirty nasty sin. Now we're hearing how the writer was "knit together in my mother's womb" and how awesome god is at knitting. When does a ball of yarn become a sweater? That isn't answered here. Is a partially completed garment the same as the marvelous completed garment? That isn't answered here either. What is jarring though, is that right after explaining how god is the uber-knitter, he goes into talking about how much he wished god would help him kill and destroy all his enemies. Psychotic.

Jeremiah 1:5
https://www.biblegateway.com/p...
Sounds like god is talking to a specific person who will be a prophet to all nations. I'm guessing Jeremiah was that dude? Is there any evidence that all people in all times and places were getting this special attention from god, to be prophets to each other? If they all know the same stuff -- why would they have to be prophets to all nations?

Hosea 12
https://www.biblegateway.com/p...
So this sounds like a denunciation of some dude name Ephraim who became rich using scales calibrated in his favor, made a treaty with Assyria, trades with Egypt, and by the way, the people who live in Gilead really suck, they sacrifice bulls! About the only part I can see related to abortion is that Gilead grabbed his brother's heel while in the womb (I assume they are twins, else this gets really crazy), but it comes in this long stream of insults, kind of like calling him a motherfucker even if not literally true. I don't really some much on topic here -- it's just a big long insult and people say all kinds of shit when insulting people.

Re:This sucks.

[StrangeBrew]

Yes, opposition can come from the right wing f'tards, but saying 'You can't do this, cuz Bible' is not as credible to a jury or panel as someone pulling up in a wheel chair saying that if you go ahead with the proposed change they fear for their life. Yeah, that's right, there are f'tards at both ends of the spectrum, and depending on the issue, one side or the other may have the most clout. This just happens to be one where my experience has been that it's 'debate over' as soon as some unfortunate s.o.b. states that you're condemning them to death if they permit AA.

Re:This sucks.

[StikyPad]

He was damn good in Desperate Housewives as well. Damn good.

Re:This sucks.

[nobuddy]

It takes a special kind of denial to try an pin opposition to euthanasia on the left.

very very special. Short bus kind of special. As in "Wow, who let the uber-tard out without his nurse" special.

Re:This sucks.

[nobuddy]

I'll bite-
"Thou Shalt not Kill"
Please explain how to commit suicide without killing anyone.

Re:This sucks.

[dywolf]

I always figured the "tribunal" thing was more like a certification, a stamp saying "yes, this is legit, this is a rational decision from a rational individual. he's not mentally ill and hasn't been coerced".

Re:This sucks.

[StrangeBrew]

I wish. I'd be a much happier, care-free person were I an uber-tard. Instead I'm stuck seeing hypocrisy and idiocy everywhere I look.

Re: This sucks.

[halivar]

You assume that the original KJV translation used the correct translation of the original material, and that our later translations don't.

If I conveyed that idea to you, then I have severely miscommunicated. That is exactly the opposite of what I believe to be the case.

Re:This sucks.

[malkavian]

The problem is that it's so damn difficult to get an easy suicide: Guns, sure.. In the UK, we're not allowed them, so scratch that. Pills.. The stuff that'd take you down quietly and peacefully is controlled quite strictly (and an OD on a street drug isn't pretty or painless).. Knives.. That's a painful and traumatic way to go. Jumping.. As above.. That's a traumatic and stressful way to go. Hanging.. Again, a traumatic and painful way to go. That's the simple stuff that springs to mind, and it always leaves a mess for some unsuspecting person to have to deal with (usually your friends, or immediate family; that is pretty damn traumatic for them too). Euthanasia is a controlled environment, where the exit from life is as peaceful as it can be. It's all planned, so there's no horrific discovery. It's all taken care of by people who are geared to doing this (medical professionals, who are used to mortality, and the system is geared to handling it gracefully and with a minimum of trauma). I'm definitely on the side of pro-euthanasia.. We put animals down to save them suffering, because it's the kind thing to do. We're just not kind enough to our own to let us choose for ourselves if we want to put ourself down quietly.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

"...stealing people's credit card information or hijacking airplanes..."
umm
thou shal not steal ?
thou shall not murder ?

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Many of us don't take the bible verbatim because it also says that rape is OK as well as stoning people to death.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Psalm 51:
https://www.biblegateway.com/p...
"Shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin" -- so sex is a sin that sets in motion a chain of events that leads to people. ... Doing an abortion would be a corrective action and should have god's support.

Go re-read that passage after you read up on the concept of Original Sin. The "standard" interpretation would be not that sex/conception is a sin per se, but rather that "in sin did my mother conceive me" (King James Version) means "when I was conceived (by my mother) I had sin in me already", rather than "it was a sinful act on my mother's part to conceive me". See the Easy-to-Read Version or even the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition for less "poetic" translation.

As for the rest, I agree they're vague, but they do somewhat support operagost's point that humanity may begin before birth - there is awareness before birth and God take active interest in the unborn.

Granted, efforts to end pregnancy aren't just a modern thing, so if it's on God's naughty list, it's somewhat strange not to see an explicit statement against it in the Bible. On the other hand, leaving it implicit could have been because everyone at the time was "supposed to have known" that unborn babies counted as humans in the prohibition against murder. As a very crude analogy, a modern day judge isn't going to accept the argument that "Nowhere in the law does it explicitly say *mimes* can't be killed - if you're in a non-existent box, how can you be a real person?"

tl;dr: Interpretation of bible quotes is rarely as straightforward as people slinging them on the internet make them out to be.
 

Re: This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

I did. Thank you, it was quite interesting.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

While the KJV translates it broadly as "kill", the sense of the original Hebrew is "murder". That is, to kill unjustly. God has directly specified cases such as warfare and capital punishment where the death is not a sin on the part of the person causing it.

Most would agree from a secular standpoint that the moral nature of killing someone else against their will is distinct from chosen suicide, personal or assisted. The bible, when considering its statements in context, coheres with this.

More

Re:This sucks.

[frank_adrian314159]

The problem is that you've made a society so awful that you'd lose enough people by suicide in the first year to trigger a societal collapse - for suicide is usually due to a perception of lack of other control in one's life and hopelessness, after all.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Theologically speaking, however, suicide is considered arrogating the right of God to determine when and how you will meet your end and putting oneself on a plane with God is considered at least one deadly sin (Pride).

I would argue that stopping someone from committing suicide is arrogating the right of God to determine when and how that person will die. After all, how can you be certain that God hasn't determined that that person shall die by suicide? Answer, you can't. If you truly believe that God works in mysterious ways, then you must have faith that whatever happens, it was God's will.

But of course no one wants to hear that, it wouldn't let them meddle in the affairs of others.

Re: This sucks.

[JasonGoatcher]

Off-topic, but why do we have people named Faith, Hope, and sometimes Charity, but I've never heard of anyone with the first name Love?

I'll name my next kid Methuselah, or however it's spelled, then tell people it's because of the Heinlein book just to rankle them.

Re: This sucks.

[JasonGoatcher]

Holy breath? I like that. Explains why psychiatrists are so gungho about medicating people who hear the voice of God, because it's literally become an extension of us.

And Jesus the Healer makes sense, since some people can be stronger Christians than others.

Re: This sucks.

[david_thornley]

Any version of something that's named after a ruler or prominent person can be expected to be politically slanted, another reason to distrust the King James version.

A priest friend of mine recommended the NIV.

Re:This sucks.

[JasonGoatcher]

Haven't read the Bible in forever, but if both those things are in the Old Testament, then the general argument is that it's history kept so that we can know God better. So the resurrection of Jesus was a sort of reset button for how God responded to us.

The thing that confuses me is that God supposedly lives outside of time, since He wrote our history before we're born, so why'd Jesus death turn Him into a nice guy right at the resurrection, why didn't He start out a nice guy from seeing the resurrection coming?

Re:This sucks.

[david_thornley]

So why do we call some people "suicide bombers" rather than "self-sacrifice bombers"? It seems to me that they do pretty much what Sampson did.

Re:This sucks.

[david_thornley]

Okay, where is the concept of Original Sin in the Bible? I'll grant you that Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and were cursed, but I don't remember anything about the sin as opposed to the curse passing through generations.

A quick glance at the Wikipedia article suggests that it was made up about 200 CE, without actual reference to the Bible.

Re:This sucks.

[penguinoid]

The Bible also does not say anything about abortion

Yes it does. It says that abortion is an appropriate response to infidelity (when there are no witnesses as required for the death sentence). See Numbers 5:27. Also, the Bible says that children should not be punished for their parent's sin, but there is nothing that grants pregnant women an exemption from the death sentence.

Re:This sucks.

[BarbaraHudson]

You were just doing what King Solomon did. He was supposed to be the smartest man in the Bible, and he had 300 wives. But since he had 700 concubines, he REALLY cheated his ass off. :-)

And if he was the smartest man in the Bible, just goes to show how stupid the rest of them were.

Re:This sucks.

[david_thornley]

I agree that, if a person makes a rational decision to die, we should let them, and assist them if they're not up to doing it themselves.

The issue in yesterday's article was people who attempt to kill themselves impulsively. People who do that often regret the decision (sometimes immediately), and it can be a permanent solution to a temporary problem. The issue here is people with a well-considered decision to die, who have intolerable problems that aren't going to get better.

I'd be happy with a statement on three consecutive days that the person wants euthanasia, and then confirmation when the apparatus is set up. I think that would rule out impulse suicide. Psychiatric evaluation is questionable, since I consider mental illness to be, in some cases, a very good reason for suicide, but having the patient talk to a therapist (who would have no right to stop the death) might be a good idea.

Re:This sucks.

[david_thornley]

So nobody could get put down if they were mentally ill? That doesn't sound good for them.

Re: This sucks.

[Noah Haders]

the bible is kinda long and some of it is more applicable than other parts. you know those parts that are basically family trees but in word form? Jebediah, the first of his name, begat bazzilo, who begat frentes...

Other parts are called psalms and its not clear what they mean.

Re:This sucks.

[Noah Haders]

the constitution defines "citizen" as somebody born in the US. So if you're a fetus you're not a citizen because you haven't been born yet. so the constitutional rights don't apply to you.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Short scriptural answer, Jesus came at the "fullness of time", that is, when it was appropriate to do so. This can be framed as humanity simply being too underdeveloped previously mentally and culturally to handle what is a much more abstract message than God directly rewarding and punishing people in overt material ways.

What isn't a matter of religious debate is that man's intellectual development flowered dramatically at around the same time as Jesus' incarnation--that is, Greek (and thereby Western) philosophy. People were, apparently, both capable of analyzing and receiving more sophisticated worldviews--whether originating from Plato or Jesus. Make of that what you will.

Re:This sucks.

[drinkypoo]

The problem is that you've made a society so awful that you'd lose enough people by suicide in the first year to trigger a societal collapse

No, that's the concern, but it's overblown as none of us is actually that important. We're all replaceable. Only ego leads you to think otherwise. You might be missed, but you're not critical.

Or as I like to put it:

You've got to quit your little charade and join the freak parade
Now that your road has been paved from conception to your grave.
Enormous things to do, others' practices to eschew,
To be better than you is impossible to do,
But the world won't stop without you
No, the world won't stop without you.
Your achievements are unsurpassed, you are highly-ordered mass,
But you can bet your ass your free energy will dissipate.
Two billion years thus far, now mister here you are,
An element in a sea of enthalpic organic compounds.
The world won't stop without you.
The world won't stop without you.
You're only as elegant as your actions let you be
A piece of chaos related phylogenetically
To every living organ system, we're siblings, don't you see?
The earth rotates and will revolve without you constantly.
Two billion years thus far, now mister here you are,
An element in a sea of enthalpic organic compounds.
The world won't stop without you.
No, the world won't stop without you.
I said the world won't stop without you.

Re:This sucks.

[drinkypoo]

The problem is that it's so damn difficult to get an easy suicide

Nitrogen tank: $100

Nitrogen refill: $60

Trash bag: $2

I could convert to pounds if that would help. But seriously, death by inert gas* is cheaper than a cheap gun, which is $200.

* OK, nitrogen is not technically inert, but it is functionally so in your lungs.

We put animals down to save them suffering, because it's the kind thing to do.

Except we often use CO2 in a bag to kill them, which is inhumane because they die gasping for breath. That's why you have to use something the body doesn't notice. CO2 buildup is what causes you to feel the need to breathe.

Re: This sucks.

[drinkypoo]

Blah blah, I will stop now because nobody is going to read this or care anyway.

I read it, it was one of the more illuminating comments in the thread, please post more.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

This shouldn't even need said. Mental illness such as what could lead to suicide is generally considered treatable, whether its depression, PTSD, or what have you. That is a far different thing than the idea of someone who no longer wishes to endure an untreatable or incurable illness.

In fact, you yourself understand this distinction judging by your post history, so I don't understand why the attempt at trolling.

Re:This sucks.

[drinkypoo]

So why do we call some people "suicide bombers" rather than "self-sacrifice bombers"?

Because suicide is illegal and thus bad, but self-sacrifice is holy and we must be sure that the infidels are recognized as such.

Back before he went totally bugshit crazy, Dennis Miller pointed this out in one of the rants. It's the opposite of cowardice to blow yourself up for what you believe in.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know of any laws against suicide, but when it comes to euthanasia, it typically involves assistance from a 3rd party (hence "assisted suicide"). That's what makes it euthanasia as opposed to suicide. The thorny issues are not so much around the death of the patient, but around the possibility of abuse by introducing another person, and it is not so strange that governments would want some laws to control the process. Without any controls, every such case would have to be investigated as a murder.

Re: This sucks.

[BarbaraHudson]

I thought all that begetting was to show that, in the old days, sex wasn't such a sin after all.

Re: This sucks.

[C0dey]

Well I read it and thought it was interesting! Now I will repeatedly misquote what you've said here going forward...

Re:This sucks.

[riverat1]

Carbon monoxide does a pretty good job without a lot of discomfort.

Re:This sucks.

[Gumbercules!!]

Sure does. I've read every one of his books, more than once (except Raising Steam, which I'm currently reading for the first time and, frankly, I doubt he actually wrote that one).

His books retain a re-readability that's rare and always entertaining. I always looked forward to the next one. We all knew this was coming and I'm sure it's heartbreaking for his family but for his fans, this sure is a sad day.

Re: This sucks.

[BarbaraHudson]

We do not have "the originals" of any of the texts, neither the Hebrew OT nor the Greek NT.

Re:This sucks.

[dryeo]

Where in the Constitution does it say that the rights outlined only apply to US citizens, besides political rights such as voting and holding some offices?

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Time to fire up ScummVM and play through Discworld again.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, except for that whole "Thou shalt not kill," thing, the bible is suspiciously silent.

You realize that suicide is, literally translated, 'self-killing', yes?

Re: This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah Terry Pratchett, I read something about him at the top or this thread. Didn't he write some books?

Re:This sucks.

[ShanghaiBill]

Back before he went totally bugshit crazy, Dennis Miller pointed this out in one of the rants. It's the opposite of cowardice to blow yourself up for what you believe in.

I believe that you have him confused with Bill Maher.

Re:This sucks.

[ShanghaiBill]

The second amendment has nothing to do with artillery

Yes it does. I have a friend that lives in rural Nevada. He owns a howitzer. It is perfectly legal. Why shouldn't it be?

Re:This sucks.

[ShanghaiBill]

Where in the Constitution does it say that the rights outlined only apply to US citizens, besides political rights such as voting and holding some offices?

When the US invaded the Philippines, and was committing plenty of atrocities and massacres in an effort to pacify the population, the Supreme Court of the United States issued several rulings that non-citizens could be legally denied the basic human rights in the US Constitution.

Re:This sucks.

[drinkypoo]

I believe that you have him confused with Bill Maher

It's interesting that you say that, though you are very, very wrong. The Rants is absolutely a collection of Dennis Miller works, and he is the guy I'm talking about. The reason it's interesting that you bring up Bill Maher, though, is that I like him more and more every year, while I couldn't even watch the latest Dennis Miller special because he has resorted to pandering to denialists.

Re:This sucks.

[dryeo]

The Supreme court seems to have a very lenient interpretation of the constitution.

Re: This sucks.

[arth1]

Off-topic, but why do we have people named Faith, Hope, and sometimes Charity, but I've never heard of anyone with the first name Love?

"There are 1,600 people in the U.S. with the first name Love."
"There are fewer than 119 people in the U.S. with the last name Pratchett."
Source: http://howmanyofme.com/

Re: This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

So rather than a divine being as such, he was referring to the power of meditation and yoga?

Re:This sucks.

[TheTurtlesMoves]

Only Americans think that every issue can be summed up with partisan politics.

Re:This sucks.

[Xest]

"The problem is that it's so damn difficult to get an easy suicide: Guns, sure.. In the UK, we're not allowed them"

Yes we are. Guns and hunting rifles are perfectly legal in the UK.

What you can't have is something like a submachine gun, an assault rifle or a hand gun unless you can get an exemption from the Home Secretary because you have a need for one (for example, if you're part of a foreign dignitary's personal security detail like those Obama and the Pope can't leave home without).

Re:This sucks.

[Xest]

Er, just realised my tablet changed shotguns to just Guns for some reason. First sentence should be:

Yes we are. Shotguns and hunting rifles are perfectly legal in the UK.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Using that logic, suicide bombers should be called "sacrificial bombers".

Re:This sucks.

[tehcyder]

The problem is that there is always some f'tard left wing MS patient (pick whatever chronic debilitating disease you want... MS was just the first one to come to mind) that insists this will lead to their extermination. They insist that their right to life is somehow put at risk by permitting others the right to die.

I'd have thought it would be the selfish Randroid who would use this argument.

Re:This sucks.

[tehcyder]

The second amendment has nothing to do with artillery

Yes it does. I have a friend that lives in rural Nevada. He owns a howitzer. It is perfectly legal. Why shouldn't it be?

In the rest of the world, we would say "why should it be?"

By this logic, you would allow ordinary people to own tanks, attack helicopters and nuclear weapons too. I cannot see that this is a good idea.

Re: This sucks.

[tehcyder]

Nobody can read the whole Bible, it exists in a multitude of forms from included material to translation.

So nothing anyone says about the bible can be taken as definitive? There's a surprise.

Re:This sucks.

[tehcyder]

So why do we call some people "suicide bombers" rather than "self-sacrifice bombers"? It seems to me that they do pretty much what Sampson did.

It's for the exact same reason that some people are terrorists, while others are freedom fighters. It depends who's on the winning side.

Re:This sucks.

[Curunir_wolf]

Using that logic, suicide bombers should be called "sacrificial bombers".

Probably so, but that doesn't make for good marketing / war propaganda. The people committing these acts don't call it "suicide", they call it Jihad or martyring. "Kamikaze" was translated for Americans into being synonymous with suicide, too, but it actually means "divine wind".

Re:This sucks.

[amiga3D]

That would be my choice. Sit in the car in the garage with the engine idling and just nod off.

Re:This sucks.

[tehcyder]

I was just getting over loosing Douglas Adams

He died in 2001. That seems an awfully long time to be grieving over someone, even if you were a close friend or relative.

Re:This sucks.

[Talderas]

Because it's big, and scary, and he might use it to go on a murderous rampage.

Re:This sucks.

[ShanghaiBill]

By this logic, you would allow ordinary people to own tanks, attack helicopters and nuclear weapons too.

Tanks and helicopters are legal. You cannot drive a tank on a public road (the tracks tear up the road surface), but you can keep it on your private property.

I cannot see that this is a good idea.

Why not? How many people are killed every year by privately owned tanks? Why do we need to outlaw something that is causing zero problems for anyone?

Re: This sucks.

[jeremyp]

Given the political importance of Christianity in pre-enlightenment Europe where being the wrong ind of Christian was literally a matter of life and death, any Bible published before the 18th century can be expected to be politically slanted. The KJV certainly fits into that category but since it was an English Bible for the English form of Christianity, we can be sure it was politically slanted in the right direction - all other versions of Christianity being corrupt papist nonsense or something like that.

Re:This sucks.

[jeremyp]

Hosepipe attached to a car exhaust and fed back into the car. Sit in it with the engine running.

Re:This sucks.

[ultranova]

Theologically speaking, however, suicide is considered arrogating the right of God to determine when and how you will meet your end and putting oneself on a plane with God is considered at least one deadly sin (Pride).

And of course this is also true of looking whether cars are coming before crossing the road. Which rises some questions about whether such theology is argued for in good faith.

Re:This sucks.

[RabidReindeer]

Go far enough down that path and you end up handling snakes in church.

Most people realize that God isn't going to protect them against things that they can protect themselves against.

Killing, however, is a one-way street, whether it's of self or others. God both can kill and resurrect - at least so we're told. People are only half that capable, as Gandalf once noted.

Re:This sucks.

[cbdougla]

It was a bit of an exaggeration.

Re:This sucks.

[uninformedLuddite]

I cannot see that this is a good idea.

Why not? How many people are killed every year by privately owned tanks? Why do we need to outlaw something that is causing zero problems for anyone?

Because scary

Re:This sucks.

[gzuckier]

As you have, because you ignored Luke 1:41-44, Psalm 51, Psalm 139, Jeremiah 1:5, and Hosea 12. Those indicate humanity before birth. Interpret as you will, but don't claim the converse as "fact".

Embryonic stem cell research? REALLY? The bible doesn't mention stealing people's credit card information or hijacking airplanes, either, so those must be OK as well.

Are you one of those people who claim that the second amendment only protects muskets (and artillery, obviously)?

Now that you bring it up, the Bible doesn't mention firearms at all.

Re:This sucks.

[Demena]

Bzzzt! The people around you, the people you are most likely to meet carry many of the same genes you do. It is not as black and white as you claim. The notion you put forward is, to the best of my knowledge, counter to current theory.

Bzzz! Again. Many cultures putlet. I may be sixty-five but that makes what life I have left even more valuable to me. Of course it may mean nothing to you.

My response to your third paragraph is an an uncategorised "it depends". John Donne may have been a god-botherer but he had it right when he said that no man was an island. There are always other people involved. I have lost a lot of friends to a permanent solution to a temporary problem. And problems people think are permanent are not always so. While I do agree with the right to die there has to be a lot more to it than someone saying "I'm done". It cannot be unregulated.

Re:This sucks.

[Demena]

Except. Atheists do not do the 'belief' thing. I would say that people like that (if there are any) were just playing the odds.

Re:This sucks.

[Demena]

This is why I find religion sick, What sort of evil mind came up with concept of original sin? I guess that is the only way to justify the evils that happen to children. "There is no such thing as an innocent child". I find anyones acceptance of this to be evil and unfit to associate with.

Re: This sucks.

[Demena]

Aramaic not Herew

Re:This sucks.

[Demena]

Argon is used in welding. It is almost completely inert. The body does not notice lack of oxygen only excess of carbon-dioxide. The expression on my friends face was peaceful. Just don't even think of it.

Re:This sucks.

[ultranova]

Most people realize that God isn't going to protect them against things that they can protect themselves against.

Such as a long and horrible death from illness?

Killing, however, is a one-way street, whether it's of self or others.

As is browsing Slashdot. You can't get back the time you spent reading this message. Who knows what great things you could had accomplished with it, if only you'd made different choices. You surrendered this time out of boredom, yet are arguing against those who would do it due to pain.

God both can kill and resurrect - at least so we're told. People are only half that capable, as Gandalf once noted.

As it happens, dying at will and seeking what's beyond the world was originally the "special gift" Iluvatar (God) gave to humanity in Tolkienverse. It was Morgoth (Devil) who corrupted that to fear of death. So, it might not be the best quote for your cause.

Re:This sucks.

[david_thornley]

Not all mental illness is treatable. Among the ones that are, it isn't necessarily easy. Given good therapy, it can take a lot of treatment and dedication and work to control clinical depression (something I do in fact know).

Lots of mental illnesses are much harder to treat than depression, and it isn't clear to me that they are necessarily more pleasant. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that some are basically untreatable hell on Earth, meaning that the patient should be eligible for assisted suicide.

Re: This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

I read till the end!

Re: This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Read and cared for.

Re:This sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Suicide IS suicide. Add butter if you like your bread that way.

I wonder

[Anonymous Coward]

If he wondered what happened? At the end.

What?

[o_ferguson]

If you're gonna use cutesy euphemism like "The Embuggerance" in your summary, then at least explain WTF that is.

Re:What?

[o_ferguson]

Oh, wait. Apparently I just suck at reading comprehension.

Re:What?

[jandersen]

The Embuggerance - something that leaves you feeling screwed?

Pratchett was one of the great masters of language and words, and with the courage to meet his fate face on, I think. One of the things I will always remember him for is saying - on BBC - that he would 'gnaw the arse of a dead mole' if he thought that might help. Brilliant. Defiant.

Another thing I think a lot of people will remember him for is 'Good Omens'. And The Carpet people. and all the other stories. And the two science fiction books he wrote: 'Strata' and 'The Dark Side of the Sun'' - I would have loved to see more like those too. But it is over. Just leave me alone for a while.

Re:What?

[halivar]

It's possible that you have contracted The Embuggerance.

Re:What?

[Anonymous Coward]

I would assume it means "the thing to cause becoming buggered", presumably the knackered form of buggered* as opposed to sodomised.

* As in "These shoes are buggered, I must buy a new pair"

Re:What?

[o_ferguson]

Probable, even. Fuck.

Re:What?

[Kiyyik]

The "Embuggerance" was his name for Alzheimer's. It wasn't a euphemism so much as his using his gift for language to very concisely convey what it was like having this happen to him.

Re:What?

[redcaboodle]

An embuggerance is an obstacle that gets in the way of progress. It's a term used by Sir Terry in Monstrous Regiment.

Hand in your geek cards on the way out.

Thanks Sir Terry

[mr.dreadful]

Funny, thought-provoking, and above all, a great story teller. If you like that sort of thing... side note, my username is a pratchett reference...

Re:Thanks Sir Terry

[Doghouse13]

I'd realised of late that Sir Terry's light would probably go out soon, and that there couldn't be all that many more Discworld books to come; It's still sad to know it's happened. Thanks for the many, many hours of pleasure, Terry; I shall miss keeping an eye on the bookshop window your latest book.

Re:Thanks Sir Terry

[goose-incarnated]

I'd realised of late that Sir Terry's light would probably go out soon, and that there couldn't be all that many more Discworld books to come; It's still sad to know it's happened. Thanks for the many, many hours of pleasure, Terry; I shall miss keeping an eye on the bookshop window your latest book.

I just finished Raising Steam last week. I count his books amongst my more valuable possessions and I've read more than one more than once. When my first wife left, she took half the Terry Pratchett books with her, and just to annoy me she took every alternate one :-)

I always used to joke that if anything happened to Sir Terry I'll have to write my own books to read, not so funny anymore. Anyone else out there writes like him? Any suggestions?

Sad

[Anonymous Coward]

So sad.

R.I.P.

[Anonymous Coward]

He shall be missed. :'( R.I.P. Sir Pratchett

Death

[ledow]

At least Death should be kind to him.

He made Death more human - and humane - than almost any author before him.

Terry, Sir, just make sure you don't end up cleaning Albert's boots.

Re:Death

[Anonymous Coward]

Er, Neil Gaiman gave death a pretty humane treatment.

And I recall reading several very old short stories by various authors that did the same.

Not to disrespect Terry Pratchett in any way, he was completely awesome. You, however, are incorrect.

Re:Death

[NickFortune]

Not to disrespect Terry Pratchett in any way, he was completely awesome. You, however, are incorrect.

Meh. The Death of Diskworld was talking in BLOCK CAPITALS long before Morpheus' big sister showed up.

Which isn't to say that Gaiman didn't do a bang up job either. Just that Sir Terry's version came first.

Re:Death

[Chris Mattern]

Neil Gaiman first wrote his version of Death in The Sandman in 1990. Pratchett wrote Mort, in which I believe we first really saw his version of Death, in 1987, so he came first; the OP said "almost any author before him", which I think also allows him to slide over old, obscure short stories.

Re:Death

[cyberchondriac]

Death was relatively kind to everyone, I thought. He seemed hurt that anyone would think he actually killed anybody. Maybe he'll give Terry a chance to ride Binky.

Re:Death

[Dragonslicer]

And as one of the great wizards of our time, Sir Terry definitely deserves the personal visit.

Re:Death

[funwithBSD]

CATS, CATS ARE NICE.

Re:Death

[funwithBSD]

Ahem...

On a Pale Horse - Piers Anthony.

Came out same year as Colour of Magic, which does contain Death as a main character as full disclosure.

Re:Death

[pdclarry]

The tweet announcing his passing:

— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob)
March 12, 2015
AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.

Re:Death

[NickFortune]

On a Pale Horse - Piers Anthony.

Hmmm... not quite the same case, to my mind. Pratchett showed us an impersonal force of the universe that had come to resemble, and ultimately empathise with, the souls that he collected.

Anthony gave use a job description and let us follow the story of one successful applicant. Anthony's Death wasn't learning to be human, he was a human learning how to do the job of Death. It seems like a fine distinction, but it resulted in a completely different narrative.

That said, I enjoyed On A Pale Horse a lot. It's just a pity he largely abandoned the modern techno-magic setting and reverted to Xanth (or someplace very like it) for the rest of the series.

Re:Death

[Anonymous Coward]

PIP! - said the Death of Rats

Re:Death

[tsa]

Yes. Brilliant, isn't it? I don't think there is a better way to announce Sir Terry's death there than that.

Re:Death

[gzuckier]

Neil Gaiman first wrote his version of Death in The Sandman in 1990. Pratchett wrote Mort, in which I believe we first really saw his version of Death, in 1987, so he came first; the OP said "almost any author before him", which I think also allows him to slide over old, obscure short stories.

"It’s a Mr Death or something he’s come about the reaping" The Meaning of Life (1983) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00...

Thank you, Terry.. it was an awesome ride with you

[Anonymous Coward]

“And he goes around killing people?” said Mort. He shook his head. "There’s no justice.”
Death sighed. No, he said,...THERE IS JUST ME.

Damnit

[Anonymous Coward]

Damn it all

I've read them all

[Dunbal]

Fantastically underrated author. Good night, sweet prince. But there is no justice. There's just him.

Re:I've read them all

[Viol8]

To be fair, his talent was recognised - in the UK at least - in the last 10 years or so and he helped cut down the pathetic intellectual snobbery against sci fi and fantasy books by the literary mafia who wouldn't know a decent book if it was tattooed onto their backsides.

Re:I've read them all

[Captain Hook]

literary mafia who wouldn't know a decent book if it was tattooed onto their backsides.

To be fair, assuming the decent book had to be read with a mirror, then the entire tattoo would have to be written backwards which is very error prone and curves and saggy skin will make it likely that sentences will be unreadable so identifying a decent book under those circumstances is really hard.

Re:I've read them all

[jabuzz]

He was and I have read all his Discworld novels. However I remain somewhat ambivalent since I noticed his abuse of copyright law to gain what I view as an illegal extension to his copyright terms.

What you ask, well some time ago and before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's he started making all his books "co-authored" with his wife. So instead of the 70 year clock starting to tick today, it could easily be another 20 years before Lyn dies.

Re:I've read them all

[Viol8]

Yeah, or you could just tattoo the cover.

Re:I've read them all

[Sarten-X]

Now, if it were tattooed to their backsides, how would they be able to read it? Most literary critics aren't quite that flexible.

I suppose if it were tattooed to all of their backsides, perhaps a few pages per critic, an organized effort could have them read each others' backside-books out loud, so they all can get the whole story. However, that's a significant undertaking, especially considering works like Lord Of The Rings, which would involve several hundred backsides.

Re: I've read them all

[lanthar]

I think Sir Terry would approve of how this thread turned to a discussion of the finer details of critics reviewing books on the backsides of others. This discussion almost certainly belongs in a Discworld novel.

Re:I've read them all

[funwithBSD]

Oh I don't know... many seem to have their head up their ass...

Re:I've read them all

[Anonymous Coward]

Or perhaps, they were co-authoried with his wife and he thought she deserved her fair share of the credit. Particularly in the later years when his "embuggerance" was making writing difficult.

Re:I've read them all

[Anonymous Coward]

literary mafia who wouldn't know a decent book if it was tattooed onto their backsides.

To be fair, assuming the decent book had to be read with a mirror, then the entire tattoo would have to be written backwards which is very error prone and curves and saggy skin will make it likely that sentences will be unreadable so identifying a decent book under those circumstances is really hard.

Actually having something tattooed on their rear ends is a good idea. Gives em something to read as they firmly shove their heads up their own backsides.

Re:I've read them all

[Anonymous Coward]

Underrated? Uh, I guess he received his knighthood for his plumbing skills then?

Re:I've read them all

[Evtim]

I think he is very loved in Eastern Europe too. The online edition of one of the most popular newspapers in my country [BG] runs 7 articles at the moment. The comments are full of exuberant praise for Sir Terry.

As for me, well, he is the first person that I do not know personally, who's death made me cry [came very close to tears for DNA].

His books felt to me like having a delightful conversation with an incredibly smart, knowledgeable, wise and extremely witty humanist, who, at the same time shares with me a certain fury against the state of man. Much like Vimes's fury and willingness to arrest even the gods for not doing it right. What a feast!

Re:I've read them all

[Noah Haders]

you could take a selfie of it.

Re: I've read them all

[tsa]

I can see Nobby and Fred bickering about it already.

Re:I've read them all

[arth1]

He didn't receive a knighthood. He became an officer, not a knight. This also means he wasn't Sr Terence, but Mr Terry Pratchett, OBE.

Re:I've read them all

[steelfood]

That was, until the genius who came along with two mirrors.

Re:I've read them all

[Another, completely]

And then he became a knight: Terry Pratchett knighted for services to literature

Re:I've read them all

[tehcyder]

He was and I have read all his Discworld novels. However I remain somewhat ambivalent since I noticed his abuse of copyright law to gain what I view as an illegal extension to his copyright terms.

What you ask, well some time ago and before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's he started making all his books "co-authored" with his wife. So instead of the 70 year clock starting to tick today, it could easily be another 20 years before Lyn dies.

Oh no, instead of having to wait 70 years to legally acquire a free poorly scanned ebook copy, I'm going to have to wait 90.

If only there was a way of getting a properly formatted version now. It's no wonder people are so illiterate nowadays, it's literally impossible to get books to read nowadays unless you are like a software billionaire and can afford private planes, yachts and finely bound signed first editions.

Re:I've read them all

[tehcyder]

He didn't receive a knighthood. He became an officer, not a knight. This also means he wasn't Sr Terence, but Mr Terry Pratchett, OBE.

He received a knighthood in 2009 for services to literature.

Alternatively, the BBC and everyone else is lying.

Re:I've read them all

[arth1]

I sit corrected - I was unaware that he had since been made a knight bachelor. The Wikipedia article lists his name with "OBE" following it, not "Kt, OBE". Which makes a big difference, as the "OBE" pretty much only lets people sit further to the front in churches.

Re:I've read them all

[Dunbal]

Still under-rated - to my mind he should have been made emperor! Ab Hoc Possum Videre Domum Tuum lol

Thanks, Terry

[Anonymous Coward]

“And he goes around killing people?” said Mort. He shook his head. “There’s no justice.”
Death sighed. No, he said,... THERE'S JUST ME.

Good Omens

[iamwhoiamtoday]

One of my favorite books, and he co-authored it with Neil Gaiman. Going to be rereading it this weekend.

Terry Pratchett, absolutely fantastic author. You will be missed.

Re:Good Omens

[Creepy]

Yeah, I didn't particularly care for Discworld, but I liked Good Omens. My wife despised Good Omens but loves most Gaiman.

Sad News... Terry Pratchett, dead at 66

[Qzukk]

I just heard some sad news on talk radio - Fantasy writer Terry Pratchett was found dead in his home this morning. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an English icon.

Re:Sad News... Terry Pratchett, dead at 66

[_UnderTow_]

I was sad that I couldn't find one of these when Nimoy died. Maybe I looked too early.

Re:Sad News... Terry Pratchett, dead at 66

[Anonymous Coward]

Go get pussy, stop getting trolled

Re:Sad News... Terry Pratchett, dead at 66

[Qzukk]

That's actually precisely why I stepped up to the plate this time.

Re:Sad News... Terry Pratchett, dead at 66

[tehcyder]

You appear to understand neither trolls nor humour, which is particularly ironic when referring to Terry Pratchett.

RIP

[Anonymous Coward]

Farewell Terry Pratchett. You will be missed.

Re:RIP

[DutchUncle]

Somehow I think the price on his head would have been as high as on Vetinari's.

A sad day indeed/

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder what Terry said to Death when he came to collect him.

Re:A sad day indeed/

[tnk1]

"Nice robe."

Ook?

[Kinthelt]

Ook. :(

Re:Ook?

[ISoldat53]

Against one perfect moment the centuries beat in vain.

Re:Ook?

[wonderboss]

Indeed. May I buy you a pint?

Re:Ook?

[GuB-42]

What is a monkey doing here ? ... runs

The greatest humanist in quite some time

[Sem_D_D]

Sir Terry Pratchett was the greatest humanist I knew in my life.
He managed to touch the souls of great number of people through his uniquely clear worldview and managed to infuse great human values in the best possible way.
Needless to say, reading and living with his books was one of the most enlightening experiences I have ever had with the written letters.
His wisdom and approach to life will be dearly missed. Him being of the most famoust atheists, I can only say he left this earth forever, to finally settle in our hearts and the souls of those to come after us, growing up to be better human beings, through his books and ideas.
Because ideas never die ...
RIP Sir Terry Pratchett
Long Live Sir Terry Pratchett

Discworld

[Andy Smith]

We'll be having a game of Ankh-Morpork in his honour.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D...

Words simply cannot express . . .

[Anonymous Coward]

His humor
His insight
His humanity
His goodwill
You will be missed Sir Pterry

Forty Two

[some old guy]

I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe.

Re:Forty Two

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh, Douglas Adams . . . ?

Meh nevermind.

A Reminder to grab and enjoy what you can...

[jjn1056]

It was only 9 years ago that I rad my first Prachett novel. His books came to me at a good time in my life, when things were tough and I needed a smile and to spent time with characters I loved. I am sorry to hear this, although it was announced a number of years ago so I knew it was coming. I hope he knew how much happiness he brought to the world with his stories.

LLAP

Re:A Reminder to grab and enjoy what you can...

[Greyfox]

Always true no matter who you are. I saw a wingsuit video in 2012 and had a "What the hell am I doing with my life moment." Not coincidentally I started skydiving in 2012. Funny thing about this sport, people you talk to about it always say "Ooh, that's on my bucket list!" Two co-workers who'd said that to me died in 2013, both to accidents in their household. You never know when you're going to go. They tell you that in this sport you can do everything right and still die, but if that's how I go, that's how I go. That's a much better option that ass cancer having never touched the sky. That year I took my bonus from that company and bought a few of my friends 10 minutes of time each in a nearby indoor skydiving facility. One of those friends was someone who'd heard about such facilities years earlier, always wanted to go and never quite found the time. She recently told me that experience changed her life and that since then she's spent more on herself and her body than she ever had before, and that doing so felt good.

So go on and live the dream. You never know what you're likely to find when you go exploring. Maybe you'll find a completely different life than the one you thought you were destined to live.

Mr Pratchett, he touched a lot of people during his life and I think knew better than most that death comes for us all. Hopefully he had very few regrets when his time came.

Octarine is real

[JustNiz]

All the fans knew it was coming for a while now, but with this news the world suddenly seems a lot more grey. I guess octarine isn't quite as imaginary as we all thought.

Gods bless, Terry. You will be sorely missed.

Re:Octarine is real

[arth1]

As a fan, I would say he started dying years ago. There was little left of the once brilliant satirist. First he became a sad and desperate man, and later not even that.
It was sad to see him slowly die, bit by bit, and today's news was a closure.
My tears had already been shed. Now the book has closed.

Re:Octarine is real

[tehcyder]

That's pretty churlish. The most recent Discworld novels I read (Snuff and Raising Steam) were as good as the earlier ones, albeit more sombre in over all tone.

Good By Dear Sir, It's Been A Hell Of Ride

[LostMonk]

I dearly love Pratchett's work. I read all the Discworld books more than once and most of his others.
A genius storyteller, a lover of people, creator of the most humane characters I ever read.
I miss you already.

sadness

[Haelyn]

"I would like my pudding now nurse. And then I think I'd like to... write... something... I don't remember what."

Standing in the corner, he waits. The sand slowly flows, but it nears it's end. The old man still glows, as thousands of threads spread away from him.

SQUEAK.

I AGREE. IT IS A SHAME TO SEE HIM THIS WAY.

SQUEAK.

NO. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN.... BUT I CANNOT WAIT TO ASK HIM HOW IT ALL ENDS.

The old man looks up, through them at first... and then he sees them. For once, the smile on the hooded figure's skull is genuine.

"I... I remember you. The anth... ant..."

ANTHROPOMORPHIC PERSONIFICATION.

"Yes, that. We knew each other?"

ONCE. AND WILL AGAIN, SIR.

He so rarely said it, and these feelings... remembering his young aprentice, and beloved daughter. The beautiful child they have.

"There... is a girl, yes?"

SHE IS SPEAKING TO THE AUDITORS, SIR. THEY ARE UNWILLING TO LISTEN.

"Well then. You know what they say, two things you cannot avoid. Taxes and..." He looks into the firey blue eyes, and becomes aware.

SQUEAK.

"Quite right. Is it time already? I have so much left to do."

YOU HAVE GIVEN ALL YOU CAN SIR.

"No, not cancer. Alzheimers."

I AM AWARE.

"So, where is the boy? I remember a boy."

CARRIAGE ACCIDENT.

"Ahh. Never much trusted cars. Or horses."

THEY GET YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.

"Must I?"

SOON. BUT WE MAY SIT HERE AWHILE.

SQUEAK

DO YOU HAVE ANY BISCUITS?

"No. Shame really."

YES.

"Is it truely turtles?"

ALL THE WAY DOWN. I HAVE SEEN THEM.

"Ahh. I would love to see it. Perhaps a small trip before?"

IT WOULD BE MY PLEASURE.

"The light is slower there... and there's a monkey...."

ORANGUTAN. SAME PRINCIPLE.

"Yes... will they remember me?"

SQUEAK.

"What was that? I could not hear you."

HE SAYS WE WILL, SIR.

"I never much liked the trouble people had with you. You seem like a nice fellow."

I HAVE MY DAYS.

"Don't we all?"

SOME LESS THAN OTHERS.

"Is it quick?"

YES. AND I BROUGHT THE SWORD. CEREMONY DICTATES IT.

"Ahh. How about a cup of tea?"

I WOULD ENJOY IT. DO YOU PLAY CHESS?

"No. how about checkers?"

And so they sat, two old friends regaling each other, though the old man could not remember all of the details, the cloaked man and his rat filled him in, when it was needed.

Re:sadness

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for this.

Re:sadness

[JustNiz]

Thank you for sharing that. It was like the old man wrote it himself. And I don't think there's any higher commendation.

Re:sadness

[ax_42]

Beautiful -- thank you.

Re:sadness

[magsol]

Would give you all my mod points if I had any. Thank you.

Re:sadness

[Anonymous Coward]

That helps.

Thanks.

Re:sadness

[rsmith]

A fitting tribute! Thank you for sharing it.

And thank you Sir Terry, for your wonderful stories.

Re:sadness

[Jezral]

That brought a tear to my eye. Hit the style quite nicely.

Re:sadness

[Grog6]

Thanks also; this made my day.

Re:sadness

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you. It was like reading a Pratchett novel, and I admit I now have tears streaming down my face.

Re:sadness

[Zawash]

Beautiful; thanks for sharing! Be careful with the M-word, though, in case a certain orangutan is in within ear shot.

Re:sadness

[Anonymous Coward]

+6

Wow, very well done.

Re:sadness

[blackanvil]

Bravo, sir, bravo. Your pastiche brought me to literal tears. Pun intended.

Re:sadness

[Bovius]

10/10 would shed a tear of burning hot wistful nostalgia again.

Re:sadness

[Anonymous Coward]

it nears its end (no apostrophe)

Re:sadness

[kevmeister]

Thank you so much. I wish this could be a scored 6!

Re:sadness

[Anonymous Coward]

That right there, hit my right in the feels. That tribute brought a few tears to my eye :)

Re:sadness

[Anonymous Coward]

A wonderful tribute.

Though Terry would probably say "draughts" rather than "checkers".

Re:sadness

[Anonymous Coward]

Very well done, Haelyn. Thank you for writing this tribute. PTerry would be proud.

Re:sadness

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you for that!
I think he would have appreciated it.

Sad

[Anonymous Coward]

i wonder if he gets to do the dishes with Albert

I wonder...

[Anonymous Coward]

... if there'll be a plaque.

"It was, in fact, one of those places that exist merely so that people can have come from them. The universe is littered with them: hidden villages, windswept little towns under wide skies, isolated cabins on chilly mountains, whose only mark on history is to be the incredibly ordinary place where something extraordinary started to happen. Often there is no more than a little plaque to reveal that, against all gynaecological probability, someone very famous was born halfway up a wall."

RIP

[Detonia]

It's all a sham; the Assassin's Guild got to him.

RIP Terry, you will be sorely missed.

Sad Day

[Kozar_The_Malignant]

Truly sad, even though we knew it was coming. He was one of the great writers of the English language with a wicked sense of humor and a keen eye for the human condition.

Bye Pterry

[wakaranai]

Thanks for the books & the afp posts.

Poor sod.

[Anonymous Coward]

Damn.

Just... Damn.

I've been reading his stuff for 30 years. It's a smaller world without his works in it.

The librarian says:

[nospam007]

Oooooook!

Very emotional

[roc97007]

I feel like I've lost a member of the family.

I started reading the Discworld novels to my daughter when she was seven years old. She decided that Hogfather was her most favorite novel and brought it to school for book appreciation day in second grade. (Around 2001.) This caused a hasty parent/teacher conference where I was asked pointedly why I was reading books to my grade school daughter where the main character was Death.

A few years later I wrote about this incident to Terry and passed along a question from my daughter -- what's on the other side of the discworld? Is there a bottom discworld, or just a big brass sign that says "content on other side"? [1]

On the incident, Terry responded "Ah, teachers. We used to have ones that were educated. Once you could respect them." and went on to say that The Amazing Maurice which also has Death as a character, won the Carnegie Medal from children's librarians. About the bottom of the discworld, he said there would only be wet rocks and perhaps some specialized form of life.

God, I'm going to miss him.

[1] I was a Laserdisc enthusiast, and daughter knew that this was the message you got when you played the wrong side of a one-sided disc.

Re:Very emotional

[Anonymous Coward]

...Content on other side. With a turtle, no less.

Re:Thank you, Terry.. it was an awesome ride with

[funwithBSD]

“And he goes around killing people?” said Mort. He shook his head. "There’s no justice.”
Death sighed. No, he said,...THERE IS JUST ME.

WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?

The Reaper Man- Terry Pratchett

Got to get past the silly filter.

So long and thanks for all the fish...

[crizh]

Fuck.

Just when things were starting to look up.

http://www.gizmag.com/alzheime...

Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[GTRacer]

Somehow, over a half-lifetime reading sci-fi and fantasy, I'm not sure I can say with conviction that I ever read *any* of Sir Pratchett's work. Now I feel bad. Aside from DiscWorld itself, any "essential Pratchett" I should educate myself with?

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[Cederic]

He considered 'Nation' to be his finest work.

You shouldn't regret reading anything of his though.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[roc97007]

Ok, since you asked.

His first three novels (in chronological order) are just average fantasy. (The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites) I recommend instead the movie "The Colour of Magic" which includes the first two books, was quite well done, and is, frankly, better than the books.

I recommend that newcomers start with Mort, (the fourth book to be published) which is a classic "Death takes a holiday" story and gives you a glimmer of the amazing author Pratchett would become. Then read Reaper Man, Soul Music, and Hogfather, which continues the story started in Mort. (Hogfather had a decent film adaptation in 2006.)

Then, go back and read Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, and Maskerade.

Then go back and read the Guards novels, starting with "Guards! Guards!", Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, and The Fifth Elephant. All of these are good, but the real point of reading them is that they lead up to Night Watch, which is in my opinion where Pratchett crosses the line from "fantasy" into Literature. (Thief of Time is arguably a prelude to Night Watch and should probably be read first.)

After Night Watch comes Thud, which is another truly exceptional novel.

There is also a thread of novels involving the Rincewind character from The Colour of Magic, some of which are very good. (Check the wiki for the reading order.)

There is also the Tiffany Aching series, which is intended for a younger audience but is still an excellent read.

There are several stand-alone novels, Pyramids, Small Gods, Moving Pictures, that take place on the Discworld and may include characters from other books. They are well worth reading.

Pratchett has had a few duds. Monstrous Regiment and Unseen Academicals weren't very good. (I mean, I understand what Pratchett was trying to do in each case, but they just weren't as funny or clever as the others.)

But the rest ... you are in for a long stretch of being amazed, amused, and truly moved.

Be sure to read the footnotes! Some of the best stuff is there.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[wakaranai]

I'd agree with starting at Mort for the DiscWorld books.

For the non-DiscWorld, start with the deliciously funny Good Omens (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman). Then on to the Nome trilogy of Truckers, Diggers & Wings.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[Convector]

I highly recommend Good Omens, co-authored with Neil Gaiman.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's highly overrated, but this is the slashdot circle jerk.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[Anonymous Coward]

Feet of Clay is a personal favorite.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree with most of this - first three books he was still hitting his stride. They're still better than most any comedy/fantasy/satire author I can think of, but not his best work. Night Watch is a masterpiece. Thud! is excellent.

Some of the one-offs are a little predictable, whether you find them funny depends whether you appreciate satire of the particular genre. If you don't care about rock and roll, a whole book satirizing it, even if it's written by Terry Pratchett, won't get you too excited. Unseen Academicals (sports), Soul Music (rock and roll), and Maskerade (opera) were my least favorite.

Where I disagree is here: Monstrous Regiment was great. Ambitious, tremendously funny, and very creative - I love the idea of Maladict having contagious flashbacks, for example.

One of the most amazing things about Pratchett is how he can take a premise where the plot and jokes almost write themselves (e.g., Rincewind is magically transplanted to a foreign country that looks a lot like our China, and involuntarily gets involved in a [very polite] revolutionary movement), and throw in some totally wild idea that's not only tremendously funny but also gets you to think, and is rather heartbreaking if you think about it (Cohen the Barbarian shows up with his septagenarian buddies, intending to die fighting rather than of old age).

Through it all, Pratchett knew how to get to the heart of the matter. Gytha Ogg and Granny Weatherwax have a lot of the quotable wisdom, but since I've been using _Interesting Times_ as a running example, here's Cohen the Barbarian attempting to open Rincewind's eyes:

C: Know what their big dish is, down on the coast?
R: No.
C: Pig's Ear Soup. Now what's that tell you about a place, eh?
R: Very provident people?
C: Some other bugger pinches the pig.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[roc97007]

Agree, Good Omens was an exceptional book.

I personally have not read the Nome trilogy yet.

For historical purposes, Strata, published 1981 could be considered a "pre-Discworld", although rooted in science fiction, not fantasy.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[Anonymous Coward]

Anecdote time:

Last year I found myself in need for something to read so I headed for the library and chanced upon Pratchett's "Thud!".As I placed the book on the scanner to register my loan an older guy, probably in his late fifties, with a stereotypical liberal-arts-professor-look turned to me, gestured towards the book, and said "That is quite possibly the finest book I have read on the subject of cultural integration and racism".

After reading it, agreed.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[roc97007]

I absolutely agree with this.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[tehcyder]

Monstrous Regiment and Unseen Academicals weren't very good

I'm taking a wild guess that you're neither a feminist nor an Association Football fan.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[david_thornley]

Unseen Academicals seemed to me different from Pratchett's normal style, as if the Alzheimer's had started. It has its own quality, though.

I have a friend who used to be an opera singer (it's really hard to make a living at it unless you're really, really good), and her husband was amazed at how much Pratchett got right in Maskerade.

Re:Do I Have to Turn In My Geek Card?

[roc97007]

Monstrous Regiment and Unseen Academicals weren't very good

I'm taking a wild guess that you're neither a feminist nor an Association Football fan.

I dunno. I don't consider myself for or against soccer, and I don't have any particular views on feminism. But I don't have any particularly strong views for or against on many of Pratchett's various subjects, and still found them funny. Those two I didn't, particularly. They just seemed like duds to me.

Are you saying that if one were a feminist or a soccer fan, one would find those novels funny? So, if I for instance found Shaolin Soccer hilarious and cherish my copy of the film, how is it that I didn't feel the same way about Unseen Academicals? I mean, it's about kicking a ball around, and it's supposed to be funny. It wasn't, particularly.

As I said in the original note, I read most of the Discworld novels to my daughter, some (like Hogfather) several times. The only novel we didn't get all the way through (because it bored her) was Unseen Academicals. (We didn't even try the other one.) I'm struggling to postulate how that might have been the fault of my non-interest in European Football. Maybe I read it to her in a boring voice?

Hazardous to health

[lioc]

Douglas Adams,49
David Gemmell, 57
Terry Pratchet, 66

I'm sure its a coincidence, not a thing, but too many great British Science Fiction and Fantasy authors gone too soon.

Re:Hazardous to health

[edremy]

You missed one: Iain Banks, 59.

Pratchett's death is the most depressing news for me since I read of Banks' demise.

Re:Hazardous to health

[roc97007]

Geeze, I didn't even know about Banks. Now I'm more depressed.

Re:Hazardous to health

[tehcyder]

Geeze, I didn't even know about Banks. Now I'm more depressed.

Have you been locked away in a maximum security prison with no contact with the outside world for the last two years or something?

And now...

[Zilog]

We have to found a way to honour his memory.

Re: Robin Williams was a pussy

[Anonymous Coward]

You're attacking someone who can't defend himself. What does that make you?

Re:Thank you, Terry.. it was an awesome ride with

[Kiyyik]

You know, Reaper Man was the first Pratchett book I ever read. I was in tech school in the Air Force, just after basic. We got to go off base and go shopping, so I picked up the Hitchhiker's Guide omnibus which had just come out. Another airman saw it, and lent me his copy of Reaper Man. I've been hooked ever since. The guy was flat-out one of the best writers in terms of sheer skill I have ever seen in any genre. Reading Pratchett spoils you, and so much comes off short after you've seen what a real master of the written word could do.

Anyway, as someone up there said, this sucks. Now I'm thinking about that book, and how it was, reading it for the first time... I think I'm going to have to reread it again.

Re:Robin Williams was a pussy

[edremy]

Please tell me you're being ironic here. If not, please go read about pTerry's views a bit before commenting again

"Fantasy author" doesn't begin to cover it.

[hey!]

He was a satirist, a master of a fine and under-appreciated art.

Satire in the hands of a master isn't mere travesty. Great satirists traffic in insight, in what is familiar yet goes unnoticed. Travesty makes you laugh at other people, but great satire makes us laugh at ourselves.

And nobody laughs at a joke they don't understand.

Re:"Fantasy author" doesn't begin to cover it.

[wcrowe]

I agree, and I would add "philosopher" to that list of titles. He could impart the most profound insights, and do it in such a succinct, gentle and entertaining way.

Who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

Just more worm meat. Everyone dies.

The meaning of "arms"

[fyngyrz]

That's not what they meant by arms. They consistently wrote about weaponry of all varieties by saying "arms." You're thinking of "small arms" which is also a term in use at the time, but is not the terminology used in the US constitution. Further, at the time, citizens could, and did, own weapons up to and including frigates, cannon and so on. These individuals were *extremely* welcome in militia call-ups and were typically assigned officer rank immediately.

In 1791 (when the bill of rights were ratified), “arms” included all manner of pistols, rifles, muskets, cannons, explosive and solid cannonballs, cannonballs filled with shards, frigates with multiple decks of cannon, wagons with explosives and multiple guns rigged to fire in unison, chain shot, flaming missiles soaked with pitch and other inflammable, easily spread and hard to extinguish compounds, swords, knives, bayonets, fighting canes, brass knuckles, battering rams, catapults, siege towers, glass bottles, garrotes, whips, chains, both fused and mechanically triggered explosives, striking weapons like sticks and poles and quarterstaffs and maces and war-hammers, spears, bows, axes, arrows and crossbows I could go on for quite some time. All of these things were in common use in warfare and self-defense at the time. Yet, knowing all these things, all they put in the 2nd amendment was “arms.” So clearly, that’s what they meant. Arms of any kind. They didn’t say “muskets and pistols.” They said arms.

Re:The meaning of "arms"

[Anonymous Coward]

Awesome list. Thanks.
Now I'm going shopping...

Quoted

[Anonymous Coward]

So Long, and Thanks for All the Disks.

NO to "tribunals"

[p51d007]

You want to kill yourself, just DO IT! Do not let the government, or a "tribunal" make that decision. Once government of any kind gets their grubby little hands on end of life situations, there will nothing to stop them from making it mandatory.

Re:NO to "tribunals"

[Anonymous Coward]

You want to kill yourself, just DO IT!
Do not let the government, or a "tribunal" make that decision. Once government of any kind gets their grubby little
hands on end of life situations, there will nothing to stop them from making it mandatory.

Um death is already mandatory, and thermodynamics is a bitch.

I feel like I've lost a friend

[wcrowe]

I found out on my lunch hour today. I didn't want to go back to work, but Hex doesn't sleep -- the ants need to be kept running.

Fuck

[MyNicknameSucks]

Damn damn damn damn. I got through high school my nose buried in the books of Pratchett and Adams, blasting The Velvet Underground and The Ramones on my Walkman.

I hate getting older ... my idols and heroes are all slowly passing away.

fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck

Re: Robin Williams was a pussy

[Anonymous Coward]

Not OP but if he chose to take his own life cuz he was not happy with it. I may find life just as sucky but im still truckin and paying taxes. So sure as fuck I can judge him. no one knows why we are here anyways, how about anything for that matter not just us. if someone is free to take their own life, someone ought be just as free to make whatever judgement they want.

Downloaded a sample on Kindle

[JasonGoatcher]

Who gets the extra money from people buying his books now that he died?

Re:Downloaded a sample on Kindle

[arth1]

Probably Lynn Pratchett, and the publishers, of course.

It would not surprise me if people are working overtime right now to print his books and make ebook ads so they can capitalize on his death before he's even in the grave.
I bet that by tomorrow, Google Books will have Terry Pratchett on the front page, and someone will be smiling about the extra sales.

Fellow fans: Please do not feed the greedmonster - don't buy his books now, but wait until the profiteers have moved on.

Australians claim alzheimers breakthrough

[godel_56]

"AUSTRALIAN scientists have made a breakthrough in the treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia with a non-invasive ultrasound technology that can restore memory loss. Researchers at the University of Queensland’s Brain Institute hope to trial a planned “cheap, mobile’’ ultrasound device for humans in two years after the technique was found to work on mice.

The drug-free treatment uses ultrasound waves to break apart the neurotoxic amyloid plaques that cause memory loss and cognitive decline." etc.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/queensland-scientists-in-alzheimers-treatment-breakthrough/story-e6frg8y6-1227259862721?nk=e25c14dcb475b0b5c10d7a87301af65d

Oops, too late.

GNUTerryPratchett

[Anonymous Coward]

A man's not dead while his name is still spoken.
GNUTerryPratchett

Assisted Suicide?

[wisnoskij]

How does this fall considering his longstanding support of euthanasia? Did he fail to achieve his wish of assisted suicide when the disease got too debilitating? Did he change his mind? Did he die naturally before it became an issue? Did existing laws prevent him?

Language drift is not the problem here.

[Anonymous Coward]

Language drift is not the problem here. Nor is language drift really an accurate way to describe how languages work and change over time.

If you want to understand the bible - you need to learn the original languages, or at least the translations done closer in time to the source material.

For new testament. most of that is Ancient Greek, with some Aramaic thrown in.

The word used here is 'Agape' - a word that encompasses several of the many meanings of the modern English word 'love', and that includes charity. (Only some of the meanings because 'I love chocolate. or 'I love to make love' are instances of meanings that do not apply here.

Language is very complex and ambiguous, far more complex than programming code (which is by definition unambiguous, or at least supposed to be), which too many here seem to instinctively be thinking about when they comment about (natural, human) language issues.

People in other languages are named 'Love'

[Anonymous Coward]

Russian, Serbian, Polish and many other Slavic languages. Also Greek (I think)

Then there are middle names - Jennifer Love Hewitt.

I'm sure there is some actress or celebrities kid called 'Love'

I loved his books but...

[Anonymous Coward]

I know I'll get flak for this, but frankly, I've done my mourning for Sir Terry already. I could tell something was off by "Snuff", and I had to stop reading a chapter in to "Raising Steam" because, while the book was written by Terry Pratchett, it was not written by Terry Pratchett, if you know what I mean. It read as if it had been ghostwritten by someone with barely passing familiarity with the world and characters I know and love so much. Alzheimer's a bitch.

Re:I loved his books but...

[ConceptJunkie]

I felt the same way about "Raising Steam". It felt like a story outline with a bunch of filler. There was a little good humor, but a tiny, tiny percentage compared to any previous books. I finished it (as an audio book) out of a sense of duty, rather than because I enjoyed it, especially because I knew this had to be his last book. Unfortunately, I found most of it really boring.

I thought "Snuff" was fine, just different, although I didn't care for the goblins. They were just too one-dimensional, unlike every other race Terry Pratchett chose to flesh out in his remarkably detailed world.

Nevertheless, I will continue to read and re-read the Discworld books and his other books for the rest of my life. He's been my favorite author for many years.

Re:I loved his books but...

[Gumbercules!!]

I'm currently forcing myself through Raising Steam at the moment. I honestly doubt Sir Terry even read this book. He may have provided a few snippets and some ideas but there's no way he wrote it, himself. It's definitely been ghost written. Characters are terribly out of character (Vetinari is just a ranting bully with no subtlety, and Moist is just... who knows?), the style is amateurish and not like any of his other works, multiple characters fly in, make a ridiculously preachy monologue, then fly out, never to be seen again (in fact, this happens dozens of times).

I'll always remember Sir Terry for his works - and Raising Steam clearly wasn't one of them.

Re:I loved his books but...

[tehcyder]

Horses for courses, but I really liked Raising Steam. The books since about 2009 when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's have increasingly dark underlying themes, but I don't see any evidence that Snuff and I Shall Wear Midnight are "ghost written" or even inferior.

Re:I loved his books but...

[Gumbercules!!]

Actually I shall Wear Midnight was excellent, I thought. Snuff was also very good.

Thanks for the fun

[InverseHornet]

I read "The colour of magic" while doing my diploma thesis in Sweden nearly exactly 20 years ago. It was the first time that I literally fell of a chair laughing. Wonderful! I read and reread most of his novels. Whenever there was a difficult time in life and I needed to get into a better mood his books were there. And after I fell of a chair laughing they got me thinking. Thank you. I have not been moved in such a way or been so sad that someone whom I didnt personally knew had died before. In his wonderful book "Small Gods" the main character dies at the end. He finds Death waiting and gets told that you will find whatever you imagined after dying. May it be a continuous party, hell, a desert or nothing. May you, Sir Terry Pratchett, find whatever you imagined. And then there is Cohen, the Barbarian and his Horde, who simply refused to die ... A person finally dies after his name was mentioned the last time. You will live on for a very, very long time. Remember Octarine, the eight colour ... Magic.

Great (ab)user of English language

[Anonymous Coward]

He was the only writer to make me almost literally ROFL, simply by writing two words next to each other: eminence grease.

The Apple iBible

[Anonymous Coward]

We read it, but you're right, we don't care. Your excuse for mistranslation is one of the top 5 counter arguments xstians use when someone pokes holes in their arguments. Basically, you just came here and told us all: "You're holding it wrong."

Re: Robin Williams was a pussy

[tehcyder]

Not OP but if he chose to take his own life cuz he was not happy with it. I may find life just as sucky but im still truckin and paying taxes. So sure as fuck I can judge him. no one knows why we are here anyways, how about anything for that matter not just us. if someone is free to take their own life, someone ought be just as free to make whatever judgement they want.

If not a simple troll, this is one of the most breathtakingly stupid and crass things I have ever read on slashdot, and you didn't even mentiion Ayn Rand.

Re:Thank you, Terry.. it was an awesome ride with

[funwithBSD]

I have restarted Colour of Magic myself...

Full of lies and manure.

[Anonymous Coward]

This is pure feces!

" Sadly, he didn't survive long enough to see such a tribunal — or indeed any kind of assistance for those suffering from an incurable condition who wish to end their own life — come into being."