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Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

13567

Posts

  • The CatThe Cat Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited December 2007
    no. but you're still not hitting on what dementia is. Its about forgetting things, being unaccountably emotional, obsessing over routine, mild paranoia. Its not about being insufficiently verbally accessible!

    The Cat on
    tmsig.jpg
  • Captain RonCaptain Ron __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2007
    The Cat wrote: »
    no. but you're still not hitting on what dementia is. Its about forgetting things, being unaccountably emotional, obsessing over routine, mild paranoia. Its not about being insufficiently verbally accessible!

    You're describing character traits of a number of his major characters.

    I'm just saying maybe his muse takes care of him in its own little way.

    Either way, I'm dropping it now.

    Captain Ron on
  • DukiDuki Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Golden Yak wrote: »
    jot wrote: »
    Also, Quotes

    Oh God...
    Terry wrote:

    One day I'll be dead and THEN you'll all be sorry.

    -- (Terry Pratchett, alt.fan.pratchett)

    *sob*

    D:

    On a lighter note...
    It's an old magical principle -- it's even filtered down into RPG systems -- that magic, while taking a lot of effort, can be 'stored' -- in a staff, for example. No doubt a wizard spends a little time each day charging up his staff, although you go blind if you do it too much, of course.

    -- (Terry Pratchett, alt.fan.pratchett)

    I lol'd.

    Duki on
  • UndefinedMonkeyUndefinedMonkey Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Seriously... Princess Di's death didn't affect me as badly as this news. Well, actually, a lot of things affected me worse than her death. I have to stop using her as a grief metric.

    And I really don't buy the dementia angle. Among other things, my great grandmother had dementia, so I've seen it firsthand. Terry seems like one of those amazingly together dudes with both feet on his ground and a healthy dose of realism and skepticism in his writing. It it's always reassuring to crack open a Discworld book and see that although the bad guys were trying to summon an evil dragon in an attempt to enslave the city, they were a bunch of crotchety old fogeys who spent more time quibbling over petty details and powertrips than anything else. Discworld might have werewolves and wizards, but its stories are firmly rooted in human nature.

    UndefinedMonkey on
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  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Seriously... Princess Di's death didn't affect me as badly as this news. Well, actually, a lot of things affected me worse than her death. I have to stop using her as a grief metric.

    That just means your a sane fucking human being.

    shryke on
  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    edited December 2007
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    jot wrote: »
    Damn. That ruined my day.
    No offense intended towards Pratchett, as he is definitely one of my favorite authors, but I always considered him a little demented anyways so the Alzheimer's diagnosis seems more like a clarification than a death sentence.


    What the fuck?

    Also, Quotes

    You wouldn't consider Terry's writing a mild form of dementia?
    Medical dementia is a little bit different than absurdity.

    There's no chance that the absurdity stems from the earlier onset of dementia?

    NO YOU COMPLETE FUCKING MORON THERE IS NO CHANCE OF THAT WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU

    Tube on
  • CherrnCherrn Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    I think the word you're looking for is eccentric, or, alternatively, "funny".

    Cherrn on
    All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
  • Captain RonCaptain Ron __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2007
    Cherrn wrote: »
    I think the word you're looking for is eccentric, or, alternatively, "funny".

    No... being funny or eccentric just doesn't cut it.

    There's always been something off-center about his sense of humour that goes beyond just being British.

    Captain Ron on
  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    edited December 2007
    Jesus fucking Christ

    Tube on
  • Captain RonCaptain Ron __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2007
    Jesus fucking Christ

    He's not dead yet.

    I *refuse* to mourn him.

    Captain Ron on
  • CrimsonKingCrimsonKing Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    I would say the strange quirks you find with his writing might stem from him being too awesome. Or you being too stupid.

    CrimsonKing on
    This sig was too tall - Elki.
  • DukiDuki Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    If anyone is saddled with dementia, it's Captain Ron.

    Duki on
  • poshnialloposhniallo Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Trying to get the thread back on the most depressing track ever, Terry Pratchett is a literary genius.

    I've read everything he's ever published, I think. I bought Light Fantastic first, when it first came out, on a whim, then Colour of Magic, Dark Side of the Sun and Strata. Later on I read the re-release of Carpet People (which, by his own admission, wasn't in the same league).

    Since then I've read every discworld book and the asides (e.g. Good Omens) when they came out. He's one of the very few writers who'll I'll buy in hardback, because I can't wait for the paperback.

    I know it's not the funniest scene, but one that resonated for me, growing up in a Britain that was very British, and seeing all the changes that came with Americanisation and globalisation, was in Good Omens.

    Adam and his mates hear about American-style ice cream:
    "Do you know," he said, "my cousin said that in America there's shops that sell thirty-nine different flavors of ice cream?"

    This even silenced Adam, briefly.

    "There aren't thirty-nine flavors of ice cream," said Pepper. "There aren't thirty-nine flavors in the whole world."

    "There could be, if you mixed them up," said Wensleydale, blinking owlishly. "You know. Strawberry and chocolate. Chocolate and vanilla." He sought for more English flavors. "Strawberry and vanilla and chocolate," he added, lamely.


    He should have the Nobel Prize for Literature - would he be the first humourist to do so?

    poshniallo on
    I figure I could take a bear.
  • ege02ege02 __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2007
    I purchased Small Gods today. I'll read it tomorrow on my 15 hour flight.

    It better be good. :)

    ege02 on
  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    edited December 2007
    I didn't know they published a large print edition.

    Tube on
  • ege02ege02 __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2007
    I didn't know they published a large print edition.

    It has pictures too.

    I wouldn't have bought it if it didn't have pictures.

    ege02 on
  • jotjot Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Hey Wikipedia
    Dementia (from Latin de- "apart, away" + mens (genitive mentis) "mind") is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain

    It's not being funny or quirky or whatever you think. Unless you think forgetting who your children are and shitting your pants is really funny.
    I didn't know they published a large print edition.

    :lol:

    jot on
  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    ege02 wrote: »
    I didn't know they published a large print edition.

    It has pictures too.

    I wouldn't have bought it if it didn't have pictures.

    Small Gods for small minds?
    :P

    shryke on
  • BlackjackBlackjack Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    poshniallo wrote: »
    Trying to get the thread back on the most depressing track ever, Terry Pratchett is a literary genius.

    I've read everything he's ever published, I think. I bought Light Fantastic first, when it first came out, on a whim, then Colour of Magic, Dark Side of the Sun and Strata. Later on I read the re-release of Carpet People (which, by his own admission, wasn't in the same league).

    Since then I've read every discworld book and the asides (e.g. Good Omens) when they came out. He's one of the very few writers who'll I'll buy in hardback, because I can't wait for the paperback.

    I know it's not the funniest scene, but one that resonated for me, growing up in a Britain that was very British, and seeing all the changes that came with Americanisation and globalisation, was in Good Omens.

    Adam and his mates hear about American-style ice cream:
    "Do you know," he said, "my cousin said that in America there's shops that sell thirty-nine different flavors of ice cream?"

    This even silenced Adam, briefly.

    "There aren't thirty-nine flavors of ice cream," said Pepper. "There aren't thirty-nine flavors in the whole world."

    "There could be, if you mixed them up," said Wensleydale, blinking owlishly. "You know. Strawberry and chocolate. Chocolate and vanilla." He sought for more English flavors. "Strawberry and vanilla and chocolate," he added, lamely.


    He should have the Nobel Prize for Literature - would he be the first humourist to do so?

    I have a lot of those moments, ones that I love not because they're funny but because of how meaningful they are--Like in Lords and Ladies.
    Magrat is under a mental assault by the Elf Queen, being bombarded with thoughts that she's useless and insignificant and completely and utterly worthless; and then she hauls off and punches the Queen right in the face. Later, Nanny Ogg says something along the lines of "I'm impressed you were able to fight off an attack like that. It damn near had me widdling myself." And Magrat just says "I've had practice." and walks away.

    Hell, even just Magrat's initial description in that book gets me.
    The third, and definitely the last, broomstick rider is also the youngest. Unlike the other two, who dress like ravens, she wears bright, cheerful clothes which don't suit her now and probably didn't suit her ten years ago. She travels with an air of vague, good-natured hopefulness. There are flowers in her hair, but they're wilting slightly, just like her.

    Blackjack on
    camo_sig2.png

    3DS: 1607-3034-6970
  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Thud! is my favorite. Vime's dedication to his family and original culture is still one of my favorite themes. Though Detritus is my favorite character just for how far he's risen.

    Quid on
  • UndefinedMonkeyUndefinedMonkey Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Cherrn wrote: »
    I think the word you're looking for is eccentric, or, alternatively, "funny".

    No... being funny or eccentric just doesn't cut it.

    There's always been something off-center about his sense of humour that goes beyond just being British.

    So P. G. Wodehouse was suffering from some kind of debilitating brain injury when he wrote that infamous story about the country house, the hot water bottle, and the broom-handle with a large darning needle attached to the end? No right-thinking person would ever come up with something that twisted. How about Douglas Adams? I mean, the guy wrote about breeding cattle who actually enjoyed being eaten, and shot themselves to save everyone else the bother. That's pretty demented, if you ask me. Jerome K. Jerome organized that cruise down the Thames because he wasn't feeling well and got lost in that wacky maze while looking for Harris. Maybe it was early-onset Alzheimers. I'll bet Oscar Wilde had a whole host of horrifying and crippling mental conditions. And I suppose John Cleese had some sort of weird neuro-muscular affliction that ultimately led to the Ministry of Silly Walks.
    He's not dead yet.

    I *refuse* to mourn him.

    But you are. You're even in one of the clearly-defined stages: bargaining. When faced with the prospect that one of your favorite authors won't be writing your favorite books any more, you're saying "hey, maybe he was a little funny in the head all along, and maybe this won't affect him as badly as everyone thinks!"

    The fact of the matter is, there's a long line of humorists and comedians with equally wacky and (dare I say it) demented senses of humor. Reducing the whole thing down to a brain defect is frankly insulting not only to him, but to everyone who has come before him.

    edit@Quid: Thud! is one of my favorites, too. It's just so well put together. For my money, though, Hogfather is still my favorite. I read it every Christmas, along with Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

    UndefinedMonkey on
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  • DukiDuki Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Nah, best Vimes one is Night Watch I think. That thing was epic.

    Hell, it's the best one period.

    Duki on
  • CrimsonKingCrimsonKing Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Duki wrote: »
    Nah, best Vimes one is Night Watch I think. That thing was epic.

    Hell, it's the best one period.

    It is pretty much flawless.

    CrimsonKing on
    This sig was too tall - Elki.
  • CrimsonKingCrimsonKing Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Also, as this seems a good enough thread as any, in the Wikipedia article for the Guild of Assassins it says the price on Rincewind's head is AM950,000. Does anyone know if this is true and, if so, why is it so hight?

    CrimsonKing on
    This sig was too tall - Elki.
  • Ethan SmithEthan Smith Origin name: Beart4to Arlington, VARegistered User regular
    edited December 2007
    To quote Crowley

    Oh my g...oh my l...crap.

    Seriously, though, this is terrible, the man is one of the few fantasy writers I read anymore, now that Card doesn't write good things anymore and Martin stopped pumping out sequels. Seriously, I'm worried about this, not only because his death would bring along one of the saddest deaths in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, up there with Vonnegut and Dick, but also because when he dies I may very well stop reading fiction.

    Ethan Smith on
  • EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    edited December 2007
    I LIKE CATS. CATS ARE NICE.

    Echo on
  • Captain RonCaptain Ron __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2007
    Cherrn wrote: »
    I think the word you're looking for is eccentric, or, alternatively, "funny".

    No... being funny or eccentric just doesn't cut it.

    There's always been something off-center about his sense of humour that goes beyond just being British.

    So P. G. Wodehouse was suffering from some kind of debilitating brain injury when he wrote that infamous story about the country house, the hot water bottle, and the broom-handle with a large darning needle attached to the end? No right-thinking person would ever come up with something that twisted. How about Douglas Adams? I mean, the guy wrote about breeding cattle who actually enjoyed being eaten, and shot themselves to save everyone else the bother. That's pretty demented, if you ask me. Jerome K. Jerome organized that cruise down the Thames because he wasn't feeling well and got lost in that wacky maze while looking for Harris. Maybe it was early-onset Alzheimers. I'll bet Oscar Wilde had a whole host of horrifying and crippling mental conditions. And I suppose John Cleese had some sort of weird neuro-muscular affliction that ultimately led to the Ministry of Silly Walks.
    He's not dead yet.

    I *refuse* to mourn him.

    But you are. You're even in one of the clearly-defined stages: bargaining. When faced with the prospect that one of your favorite authors won't be writing your favorite books any more, you're saying "hey, maybe he was a little funny in the head all along, and maybe this won't affect him as badly as everyone thinks!"

    The fact of the matter is, there's a long line of humorists and comedians with equally wacky and (dare I say it) demented senses of humor. Reducing the whole thing down to a brain defect is frankly insulting not only to him, but to everyone who has come before him.

    edit@Quid: Thud! is one of my favorites, too. It's just so well put together. For my money, though, Hogfather is still my favorite. I read it every Christmas, along with Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

    Pratchett is up there in my books. Top shelf.

    But seriously, check out his cover art. Its insane.

    ColourMagicBIG.jpg

    That luggage has an insane number of legs and follows around a tourist.

    I'm saying, he if continues to write his stories and style may alter completely, but he'll still be Terry Pratchett.

    Captain Ron on
  • BlackjackBlackjack Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Stop it, dude.

    Seriously. Just STOP.

    Blackjack on
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  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Oh how I hate that artists view of the diskworld. The new one is infinitely better.

    DevoutlyApathetic on
    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • Captain RonCaptain Ron __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2007
    Sorry, did I forget to mention he's also a genius?
    His latest discworld book is entitled 'Making Money'.

    He's only been diagnosed in the early stages.
    "I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think - it's too soon to tell. I know it's a very human thing to say 'Is there anything I can do,' but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry."

    Captain Ron on
  • UndefinedMonkeyUndefinedMonkey Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Oh how I hate that artists view of the diskworld. The new one is infinitely better.

    I reading an interview with him where he said that he basically tolerated the old artist, but enjoys working with Paul Kidby because he actually understands the books. Also, in terms of character design, he's got Nanny Ogg pretty much nailed (a phrase that she would probably find amusing.)

    UndefinedMonkey on
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  • Crimson KingCrimson King Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    This is terrible. This is one of those things that I see as a thread title and flatly refuse to believe. What makes it even worse is that he made the announcement on my birthday. D:

    But at least it seems he'll have time to eventually bring closure to the series.

    Crimson King on
  • Dublo7Dublo7 Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Just read about this then.

    Man, this is sad. I couldn't imagine how scary it would be, being diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

    Dublo7 on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Kipling217Kipling217 Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    It helps that he is the author of the character of DEATH. Seriously, when I went through my existensialist phase, reading about DEATH (Reaper Man) was all I needed to snap out of it.

    Yes, one day we will all die and there is nothing we can do about it. But DEATH is not Evil, he is just very very good at HIS job.

    And the fact that he allways TALKS LIKE THIS. Pure genius, so simple yet so definitive. Lets you know all you need to know about DEATH, without any fuss.

    Kipling217 on
    The sky was full of stars, every star an exploding ship. One of ours.
  • Golden YakGolden Yak Burnished Bovine The sunny beaches of CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited December 2007
    FYI Captain Ron, that cover art is done by the late artist Josh Kirby, who always did his own thing and whom Terry had very little influence over. His work is always extremely abstract - the character Twoflower is drawn with four eyes, when he's really supposed to just be wearing glasses. The newer books have art done by Paul Kidby, who's style is much more realistic and is said to take direction (and criticism) more than Josh Kirby did. The cover's zaniness has nothing to do with Terry.

    And I don't think Mr. Pratchett's writing style is in any way indicitive of a mind unbalanced - he's just a very clever, very funny, exceptionally creative man, and has been for decades.

    Golden Yak on
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  • Alistair HuttonAlistair Hutton Dr EdinburghRegistered User regular
    edited December 2007
    poshniallo wrote: »
    T Later on I read the re-release of Carpet People (which, by his own admission, wasn't in the same league).

    I think the re-written Carpet People is ace. I think it balances Pratchett's later wit and wisdom with a cracking good adventure yarn set within an intriguing premise. It ws republished in 1993, so pretty much slap bang in the middle of what I consider Pterry's best period staring with Reaper Man in '91 and ending with Feet of Clay in '96.

    I think that period contains os of his most profound writing, his best jokes and superiour plots.

    Not, that I hasten to add, I consider any of his other work bad, just that '91-'96 was the golden age of PTerry.

    Alistair Hutton on
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  • EmperorSethEmperorSeth Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Kipling217 wrote: »
    It helps that he is the author of the character of DEATH. Seriously, when I went through my existensialist phase, reading about DEATH (Reaper Man) was all I needed to snap out of it.

    Yes, one day we will all die and there is nothing we can do about it. But DEATH is not Evil, he is just very very good at HIS job.

    And the fact that he allways TALKS LIKE THIS. Pure genius, so simple yet so definitive. Lets you know all you need to know about DEATH, without any fuss.

    Well, an the author of the character of DEATH. I'm amused that he's friends with Neil Gaiman, who wrote our other modern archetypal image of Death. I still imagine that most of the time they spent writing Good Omens arguing about which version of Death the book's would more closely model. We're lucky they didn't just give up and rip off the Castlevania interpretation.

    But yeah, this is tragic news. I haven't been hit as hard by literary news since Adams, though of course that was much more sudden. I mean, Vonnegut's was sad and desrving all the reminiscing and fond "So it goes," it created, but the guy was in his late eighties and probably didn't mind all that much at that point. That was more expected and natural, I felt. This is much too soon. Of course, who knows? He could still have a good decade or two, but a disease like this is horrible and I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy. Think, there could be a point where he won't remember Rincewind or Vimes. As a guy who spent decades writing about his own characters and video game designs (not that I can do so professionally yet, but still,) I can't imagine much worse a fate.

    EmperorSeth on
    You know what? Nanowrimo's cancelled on account of the world is stupid.
  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Oh how I hate that artists view of the diskworld. The new one is infinitely better.

    I reading an interview with him where he said that he basically tolerated the old artist, but enjoys working with Paul Kidby because he actually understands the books. Also, in terms of character design, he's got Nanny Ogg pretty much nailed (a phrase that she would probably find amusing.)

    Yes, there names are so simliliar I always confuse them but the new guy (Kidby?) is awesome. When I saw his Granny Weatherwax my jaw dropped. The man has a talent for reaching into my imagination and ripping out mental pictures I didn't know I had.

    DevoutlyApathetic on
    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • UndefinedMonkeyUndefinedMonkey Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Yes, there names are so simliliar I always confuse them but the new guy (Kidby?) is awesome. When I saw his Granny Weatherwax my jaw dropped. The man has a talent for reaching into my imagination and ripping out mental pictures I didn't know I had.

    Yeah, there are a lot of characters that I never really had clear mental pictures of. Like Rincewind... I just couldn't get a clear image until I saw the artwork in The Last Hero.

    UndefinedMonkey on
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  • DalbozDalboz Resident Puppy Eater Right behind you...Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    This was actually quite upsetting news. I admire Pratchett a great deal, and some my own earlier writing was heavily influenced by him. In the interviews with him that I've read and heard, he's struck me as being a genuinely nice guy.

    I think I'm going to go reread Small Gods.

    Dalboz on
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