MetaFilter posts tagged with terrypratchett

Start with Pyramids

MartinWisse — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:45:53 -0800

A handy infographic to determine which order to read the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels in. As a bonus, some alternative suggestions and much more courtesy of Lspace.

DARK, ISN'T IT?

MartinWisse — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:56:52 -0800

What happened next is that Pratchett collapsed. “I had to kneel on the back seat of the taxi and give him CPR,” Rob says. “It was fingers down throat stuff. He nearly died.” -- Extracts from an interview by Laurie Penny of Terry Pratchett reveal he nearly died and is planning to leave the Discworld in the hands of his daughter, Rhianna Pratchett. Terry Pratchett has been suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's for a couple of years now and his situation is gradually detoriating. He has talked openly about his disease, in a BBC documentary called Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer's, as well as becoming active in fund raising for the Alzheimer's Research Trust. (Previously.) His experiences with the disease have also led to him becoming an activist for the right to die, as explored in a 2011 BBC documentary, Chosing to Die, as well as in his Richard Dimbleby lecture shaking hands with Death. (previously) Rhianna Pratchett has been involved in the television/movie adaptations of the Discworld, especially the upcoming (BBC?) television series The Watch (or CSI:Ankh-Morpork) based on Pratchett's Night Watch novels.

Happy Schuman Day!

MartinWisse — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:40:43 -0800

The EU might be tearing itself apart in the wake of the bankers' crisis, but that's no reason not to celebrate Europe Day, held each year on 9th May, the day on which Robert Schuman put forward his proposal for the creation of an unified Europe. And what better way to celebrate than with the official EU anthem, as done by the Muppets? If you want to sing along, try the Ode to Hedgehog, which is of course an answer song to Terry Pratchett's own hedgehog song. (Muppet video earlier seen in Blasdelb's ginormeous Muppets post.)

"My life, my death, my choice."

Fizz — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 05:56:00 -0800

Terry Pratchett starts process to take his own life. Sir Terry Pratchett, the fantasy writer who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2008, said yesterday he had started the formal process that could lead to his own assisted suicide at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. The fantasy writer Terry Pratchett says he has received consent forms requesting assisted suicide but has not yet signed them. [Previously] [Previously]

The Glorious 25th of May: Do you know where your lilac towel is?

MonkeyToes — Wed, 25 May 2011 05:01:23 -0800

All the little angels rise up high. The 25 of May is a day to celebrate two giants of British sci fi/fantasy and humor--Sir Terry Pratchett and the late Douglas Adams. Long may their work endure. ...All the little angels rise up, rise up. All the little angels rise up high! How do they rise up, rise up, rise up? How do they rise up, rise up high? They rise heads up, heads up, heads up, they rise heads up, heads up high! Fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books take note: It's the anniversary of The People's Revolution of the Glorious Twenty-Fifth of May and a day to wear the lilac (many previous Pratchetts) to honor the fictional memories of John Keel, Dai Dickins, Ned Coates, Billy Wiglet, Horace Nancyball, Cecil Clapman, and Reg Shoe. Fans also wear the lilac more seriously to acknowledge Pratchett's (and others') struggles with Alzheimer's (1, 2). May he rise--but not for a long, long time. Coincidentally, today is also Towel Day (previously), when fans of the late Douglas Adams, now 10 years gone, carry a towel and remember his famous advice: "DON'T PANIC." From "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" to "Last Chance to See," Adams was a remarkably funny, erudite and passionate voice for the universe as he saw it. "Parrots, the Universe and Everything" is a lengthy but entertaining account of Adams' misadventures with rare wildlife and is perhaps the most hilarious account the mating habits of the kakapo (though his tale of attempting to buy extra-large condoms in China, 1, and 2, is even funnier). Cheers, gentlemen. And thanks for all the laughs.

CSI: Ankh-Morpork

kmz — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:21:21 -0800

Discworld's City Watch to be turned into a TV series. Sam Vimes may finally be coming to moving pictures.

Five minutes with...

philipy — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 11:39:19 -0800

Five minutes with AC Grayling, Alain de Botton, Brian Cox and Sir Terry Pratchett.

"I'm open to joy. But I'm also more cynical"

kmz — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:41:36 -0800

Before anybody gets a heart attack, he aten't dead. The Guardian has a new interview with Terry Pratchett, talking about his writing and state of health. For those who might be interested in pTerry's Dimbleby Lecture on Alzheimer's and assisted suicide from last year, it's available in six parts on Youtube: 1 2 3 4 5 6. Partial transcripts are here and here. Haven't been able to find a full one. His latest book is I Shall Wear Midnight, the conclusion to the Tiffany Aching series. Available now in the UK, a few weeks later in the US. He is currently working on Snuff, a Vimes book, presumably to be followed by Raising Taxes, a third entry in the Moist von Lipwig series. For fans who might not be aware, the L-Space Web now has an attached Wiki. One especially useful section is the Annotations, which helps bridge the gap between the Annotated Pratchett File's infrequent updates.

Going Postal

teppic — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 07:14:18 -0800

Like many fans of Terry Pratchett, I've heard him lecture several times. He toured regularly, so most of us got to hear him before he fell ill. I remember him waxing cynical about the people who optioned his early works for film, and I remember the elation that I felt when his works finally made it onto the screen. The animated adaptations of Wyrd Sisters and Soul Music were fan fodder, but the later live action version of Hogfarther was popularly successful and was soon followed by another, The Colour of Magic. The latest film based on his work, Going Postal, ends with a cameo by Pratchett and the final words "well, that's a bit of an embuggerance".

"I live in hope I can jump before I am pushed."

Artw — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:44:40 -0800

Terry Pratchett: I'll die before the endgame

...I didn't actually read the link...

Artw — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:06:48 -0800

It’s only natural that if you wish to present yourself as a well-read person, a certain degree of complete bullshit is required. There’s no shame in lying about what you’ve read. There’s only shame in getting caught. Then you look like a doofus, and an illiterate one at that... How to lie about books.

Match it for Pratchett

joannemerriam — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:18:00 -0800

Match It For Pratchett is a campaign to match Terry Pratchett's donation of $1 million (half a million pounds) to the UK charity, the Alzheimer’s Research Trust. Since they started on March 15, they've raised over $34k. SF writer Jay Lake has organized a matching campaign to raise $2k at Norwescon. Several people are organizing charity auctions. And of course, there's a Facebook group, from which I've stolen this list of Alzheimer's charities: UK: http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/ US: http://www.alz.org/index.asp Canada: http://www.alzheimer.ca/english/help/intro.htm Alzheimer Europe: http://www.dementia-in-europe.eu/?lm2=XTDPPCTCMHWD Australia: http://www.alzheimers.org.au/ Australia: http://www.alzheimers.com.au/donate/ France: http://www.francealzheimer.com/

Happy Early Hogswatch

smallerdemon — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 12:20:32 -0800

Hogfather finally debuts a live action version of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. A two part, four hour mini-series that aired on December 17th and 18th on Skyone, it will re-air on December 25th and 26th. For you sad Americans not in Britain, you can sate your live action Discworld desires with The 12 Days Of Hogswatch {loud, annoying flash entry portal from Skyone's other show Project Catwalk}, the Skyone Skyone Website and The Making Of Hogfather podcast. And yes, The Grim Squeaker makes an appearance.