Christopher Hitchens, 1949 - 2011

Christopher Hitchens has died. You've probably heard; the web is lighting up with obituaries and stories about him. I didn't know him personally -- having only met him on two occasions, both times at skeptic conferences -- and I didn't come into his writings until relatively recently, so nothing I can say here would add substantively to what already exists. Instead, many people have written eloquent thoughts upon his death, so you should read those: At Noisy Astronomer, Nicole Gugliucci recounts watching Hitchens in a debate with a theist, a situation that occurred often. Steve Novella of course sums things up with his usual insight and sharp aim. Kevin Murphy simply put up an interesting video of Hitchens acerbically and artfully dissecting, and then rewriting, the Ten Commandments. And, as usual, it's impossible to beat the amazing ability of The Onion to distill away impurities and make me smile ruefully with one simple headline. ... though of course, Zach Weiner manages to do so pretty well in both a web comic as well as a short tribute and imploration for us to do more.