Quote of the Week - Hitchens

"The four most over-rated things in life are champagne, lobster, anal sex and picnics."

- Christopher Hitchens (1949 - 2011)

I'm not at all sure I can disagree with him; I think I'd add caviar to the list.  There's a pithier list of quotes where this came from, if you think this one is too flip.  His combination of humour and critique, though, is what I find most compelling about him.   Being able to say what you mean so well, while angering others, and at the same time, entertaining, in some cases dazzling, them with intellect - that is a rare ability.  He had it, and he flaunted it.  The point of Hitchens' writing was never to agree with it, but to discuss it - vehemently, if possible, and with a great deal of humour.

I see people maligning him for who he was and what he believed, but what I don't see is those same people taking themselves to rigourous task to counter his arguments.  In a flabby politically correct environment, Hitchens brought muscle back to thinking, and integrity back to evaluating the world for yourself.  We are indebted, and we are grateful that the words live on in so many forms.