Another edition of Sardonic Saturdays, where every silver lining has a cloud.
For today's Saturday afternoon, I'd like to share with you a piece from of one of the greatest writers I've had the pleasure of reading. The late Christopher Hitchens was an author, columnist, political dissident and atheist of the highest order.
A few months ago, Christopher Hitchens had died after a relatively brief battle with Stage 4 esophageal cancer. This came as no surprise to both Hitchens or his followers, as he had been a frequent smoker for most of his life. This, however, doesn't take away from the heavy loss that his death has caused all of humanity - he had a razor tongue, an even sharper wit, and his writing was superb.
As a fighter for atheism, he had ironically gained an almost religious following, and he wielded his pen with far more grace than anyone has ever wielded a sword.
His scathing retort to Mos Def on nuclear disarmament is the stuff of legends.
Today's Daily Quota is one of my favourite Hitchens essays. It's a fantastically tongue-in-cheek article titled 'Why Women Aren't Funny' from the January 2007 issue of Vanity Fair.
He employs a mixture of satire and traditional misogyny to argue how women do not need to be funny. Except for a few notable exceptions, he discusses the presence of humour in gender politics; particularly how contemporary men need humour as part of their evolutionary arsenal, whilst women simply do not.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I'd love to hear some feedback on this piece - it really is one to weed out the easily offended, and reward the scarcely amused. Hitchens is a titan of knowledge, and this piece is the closest you'll get to understanding his brand of humour.
I hope you enjoy this one. There will be a few more Hitchens-related links in the future - you can bet on it.
READ IT HERE
For today's Saturday afternoon, I'd like to share with you a piece from of one of the greatest writers I've had the pleasure of reading. The late Christopher Hitchens was an author, columnist, political dissident and atheist of the highest order.
A few months ago, Christopher Hitchens had died after a relatively brief battle with Stage 4 esophageal cancer. This came as no surprise to both Hitchens or his followers, as he had been a frequent smoker for most of his life. This, however, doesn't take away from the heavy loss that his death has caused all of humanity - he had a razor tongue, an even sharper wit, and his writing was superb.
As a fighter for atheism, he had ironically gained an almost religious following, and he wielded his pen with far more grace than anyone has ever wielded a sword.
His scathing retort to Mos Def on nuclear disarmament is the stuff of legends.
Today's Daily Quota is one of my favourite Hitchens essays. It's a fantastically tongue-in-cheek article titled 'Why Women Aren't Funny' from the January 2007 issue of Vanity Fair.
He employs a mixture of satire and traditional misogyny to argue how women do not need to be funny. Except for a few notable exceptions, he discusses the presence of humour in gender politics; particularly how contemporary men need humour as part of their evolutionary arsenal, whilst women simply do not.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I'd love to hear some feedback on this piece - it really is one to weed out the easily offended, and reward the scarcely amused. Hitchens is a titan of knowledge, and this piece is the closest you'll get to understanding his brand of humour.
I hope you enjoy this one. There will be a few more Hitchens-related links in the future - you can bet on it.
READ IT HERE
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