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Title: Christopher Hitchens Advice for Writers
Added: Sep 17, 2010
Author: HitchArchive
Duration: 2:7
Description:
Every day, the New York Times carries a motto in a box on its front page. "All the News That's Fit to Print," it says. It's been saying it for decades, day in and day out. I imagine most readers of the canonical sheet have long ceased to notice this bannered and flaunted symbol of its mental furniture. I myself check every day to make sure that the bright, smug, pompous, idiotic claim is still there. Then I check to make sure that it still irritates me. If I can still exclaim, under my breath, why do they insult me and what do they take me for and what the hell is it supposed to mean unless it's as obviously complacent and conceited and censorious as it seems to be, then at least I know I still have a pulse. You may wish to choose a more rigorous mental workout but I credit this daily infusion of annoyance with extending my lifespan."Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the 'transcendent' and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you."— Christopher HitchensEnglish-born author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the Hoover Institution in September 2008
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Videos related to 'Christopher Hitchens Advice for Writers'
Channel: People
Tags: christopher hitchens advice wisdom writers journalist writer politics atheist
christopher hitchens advice wisdom writers journalist writer politics atheist
Youtube Comments: 48
OneBigRetard Says:
Dec 16, 2011 - RIP.
samslick90 Says:
Dec 16, 2011 - Party on. Hitch
moroney1 Says:
Dec 25, 2011 - But did his Dad get it as well? Drinking isnt a direct link to it
dharmachatra Says:
Jan 4, 2012 - @moroney1 Forgive the intrusion, since I am not part of your dialogue with samslick. I just happen to know that drinking and smoking tend to increase one's chance of contracting esophogeal cancer, which, sadly, got Hitch. But that doesn't necessarily imply cause. A good friend of mine died of the same disease but rarely drank or smoked.
samslick90 Says:
Jan 14, 2012 - @helperthrope Spoken like a true Hitchtard. Go watch some UFC or a Michael Moore film or join the 9/11 truthers
samslick90 Says:
Jan 16, 2012 - @helperthrope Spoken like a true Hitchtard. Go watch some WWF, play some Grand Theft Auto or read TMZ.
StaceyTaylorNet Says:
Jan 17, 2012 - RIP Hitch.Such a legend, so glad I lived during the same era as this wonderful man. Tragic there won't be another like him.
GrissomLovesSara Says:
Jan 17, 2012 - @helperthrope But he's slick, can't you read his name?? He knows everything and one of the greatest thinking minds this world has seen knows nothing. RIP Hitch
GrissomLovesSara Says:
Jan 18, 2012 - @helperthrope Plus putting 'tard' after anything someone likes is a new trend for assholes these days. Of course, the thing has to be only one syllabel LOL or it doesn't sound cool enough for the slick people who do it.
ZachClooney Says:
Jan 19, 2012 - I miss Christopher Hitchens. Yet, his books are with us, forever. And we have these videos on You Tube. Thanks for this upload.
MrSmokingfly Says:
Feb 1, 2012 - What does his death have to do with him saying he likes it when bad people die. His drinking and smoking habit certainly did not effect his ability to think, and i know people who have esophageal cancer and never drank or smoked in their life. Go crawl back to whatever religious sanctuary you came out of and bitch to your pastor because hes the only one who gives a shit about your view. The least you could do is discredit his information not his character. Retard
manthasagittarius Says:
Feb 2, 2012 - Many people learn by the time they are teenagers that the whole concept of karma is a comfortable, smug and self-satisfied self-deception. It doesn't seem to have occurred to you, or you'd be abashed to come off talking that way.
superclaydude Says:
Feb 12, 2012 - I'm an agnostic, not an atheist, so I disagree with him, but this man is inspiring. Except on political issues.
davemuscato Says:
Feb 16, 2012 - Agnostic & atheist are not exclusive terms. Agnostic means "not 100% certain on the existence or non-existence of gods." Atheist means "lacking faith that gods exist."
goodvibesallround Says:
Mar 7, 2012 - Write Drunk....Edit Sober. Ernest Hemingway.
mjfraser04 Says:
Mar 14, 2012 - I100% agree! But in todays technological world where the majority of "writing" is actually typing onto a computer screen....it is very important to not hit "send" while drunk. Hemingway didn't have to worry about that.
goodvibesallround Says:
Mar 14, 2012 - Jonathan Franzen found a solution to this......plug your ethernet port with super glue and disable your wi-fi.
mjfraser04 Says:
Mar 14, 2012 - haha touche.
jeffreydebra1 Says:
Mar 15, 2012 - Good advice it seems.
TheBoredProle Says:
Mar 28, 2012 - That wasn't actually Hemingway. . .
goodvibesallround Says:
Mar 28, 2012 - Then who was it? Because i'm 95% sure it was Hemingway.
TheBoredProle Says:
Mar 28, 2012 - It's most likely a quote by Peter De Vries from his book "Reuben, Reuben". It goes something like: "Sometimes I write drunk and revise sober, and sometimes I write sober and revise drunk. But you have to have both elements in creation. . .". People on the internet source it to Hemingway all the time, but Hemingway reportedly never actually wrote drunk. Apparently he'd write in the morning and get drunk in the afternoon. Fun facts :)
Genkaiman Says:
Mar 31, 2012 - We miss you, Hitch.
ExtremeBogom Says:
Apr 5, 2012 - Good on you man. Good luck.
TomFynn Says:
Dec 9, 2011 - Don't worry, when you die, no one will sorry for you.