Mara

Upon further thought, as much as I would love to read the rest of it, there is a reason Neil never published it or included it in any of his books. So even if copyright law doesn't prohibit the recipients from distributing pdfs, at the very least I would be inclined to honor Neil's wishes unless correspondence from his family or the attorneys handling the estate indicate otherwise. Just my thoughts. Neil was so intensely private, yet he gave so much of himself in his music, books, and blog. I would ask myself, "what would Neil want me to do with this?".

I don't know how you'd go about obtaining such, but my feeling is that approval should come from Neil's family. I know it wasn't published and therefore I am unsure as to how murky the copyright waters are, but it was Neil's intellectual property. Good on you for doing the right thing by asking and for NOT attempting to turn a dirty profit from it.

Yes- really good tribute, I thought. And here's a response from one of his fellow staff writers, NOT a really good tribute. Neil's body is barely cold and this jerk is slagging on him. https://www.national...een-this-wrong/ In this country crazed with shallow social media, there are a lot of people like this who'll say something controversial, even callously mean, just to get attention. Kevin Williamson takes on the role of counterpoint frequently; it's part of what defines his column. But no fair pulling two lines of a song to illustrate his (wrong) opinion of Peart's writing. Of course those lyrics look stupid sitting out there on their own, without the context to fill in the parable. Neil himself admitted to finding some of his earlier Randian-inspired work cringeworthy. Hell, he was in his 20s when he wrote it, just starting to explore other avenues besides the all-pervasive and overdone "let's party" themes and unrequited love stories. And Williamson did what a lot of columnists/reviewers do when they hate or don't understand Rush (or prog) -- instead of digging deep or doing proper research, they cherry-pick things like those lines from The Trees, or pull out a Dungeons and Dragons or Ayn Rand reference as if those things define Neil's whole career, and then go back to their high school days and call Rush fans "nerds." Real hard-hitting and insightful journalism, right? Williamson is into The Ramones and bands like that, and that's cool, but he's clearly not qualified to comment on bands that are way over his head, like Rush. But in this day and age where newspapers and magazines are moving online and much of the revenue is dependent upon advertising and click-baiting, contrarian and ignorant articles such as this one will get clicks, and it's all about the clicks. That, and someone always has to be the first to lob a turd into the punch bowl.

Yes- really good tribute, I thought. And here's a response from one of his fellow staff writers, NOT a really good tribute. Neil's body is barely cold and this jerk is slagging on him. https://www.national...een-this-wrong/ In this country crazed with shallow social media, there are a lot of people like this who'll say something controversial, even callously mean, just to get attention. Kevin Williamson takes on the role of counterpoint frequently; it's part of what defines his column. But no fair pulling two lines of a song to illustrate his (wrong) opinion of Peart's writing. Of course those lyrics look stupid sitting out there on their own, without the context to fill in the parable. Neil himself admitted to finding some of his earlier Randian-inspired work cringeworthy. Hell, he was in his 20s when he wrote it, just starting to explore other avenues besides the all-pervasive and overdone "let's party" themes and unrequited love stories.

He even got a write up in The National Review: https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/01/rip-neil-peart-1952-2020/

The people who were at his funeral were the ones he trusted with the news about his cancer. Rest assured they are not the kind of people who would video the funeral and then post it on the web.

I can’t help imagining the following scenario: Scene: Heaven, The Afterlife, Elysian Fields, Valhalla Jesus: Oh My ME!!! Look over there, look who just walked in through the gates, it’s NEIL FREAKING PEART!!! Buddha (fanning self): I can’t believe it! Zeus: Think he’ll sign an autograph? Odin: For us, sure! Of course! Of all his fans, no one can say we aren’t the biggest! (Group of deities heads in Neil’s direction. Neil spies them and cringes). Neil, muttering as he tries to evade the Fangods: Oh cripes, not THIS shit again! Where’s the Praetorian Guard? Oh f**k, that’s right, they’re not dead yet. Bastards. Jesus et al: Neil, Neil, you’re the greatest drummer ever! Neil: Go away Allah: Come on, please sign my book! Neil: No. Leave me alone. I’m not famous anymore. Now go away! Buddha: Play Tom Sawyer!! Apologies if this offends. I need a little gallows humor to cope. I am compelled to tell you that when my daughter called me to tell me of this tragedy, my heart sunk like a stone and I was in a nasty funk all afternoon. After I got home from work, she talked me into going out to get some sushi... I cried on the way there.... When we sat down at our table, I pulled up TRF on my phone and started reading from the most recent post going backwards. Someone was looking out for me because within just a few minutes, I got to your post. I read it in quiet fascination and when I read the words: "Buddha: Play Tom Sawyer!!" ......I laughed out loud so hard that everyone in the restaurant turned to look at me... It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I shared your post with my daughter and we laughed and laughed. I honestly felt soooo much better after reading through and laughing at your post. Thank you for making a very painful experience just a little more palatable... I’m glad it made you smile!

Me too. Glasses up @ 21:12 CST! My wife, BTW, totally gets the fact I’m tore down over a complete stranger passing away. His music was the soundtrack of my life. Well, my SO is a little baffled, but he's one of those odd types who doesn't "get" music. It's the way he's wired, I think; he says all music (not just rock - classical, Christmas carols, the blues, swing, etc) sounds like garbled noise to him. But I explained the significance, he's seen the memorabilia and noticed that almost all of my login names have "2112" in them, and he's being cool and very sweet to me about it.

He probably did, but I doubt it will ever see publication. And I think that's as it should be; even if it were made available to fans, I am not sure I would want to read it. It would feel like an invasion of privacy.

It really is a tragedy. I think his parents are still alive too :( That is seriously horrible if true. That such a great mind and life is rewarded with such tragedy. Sickening stupid world. Both parents have outlived him, something no parent should ever have to endure. One might have thought Fate would perhaps spare the man any more grief, as he'd had more than his share. Or at least spare him having to tell his ten year old daughter that he was going to die. An early death is one thing, but glioblastoma is particularly cruel.

I can’t help imagining the following scenario: Scene: Heaven, The Afterlife, Elysian Fields, Valhalla Jesus: Oh My ME!!! Look over there, look who just walked in through the gates, it’s NEIL FREAKING PEART!!! Buddha (fanning self): I can’t believe it! Zeus: Think he’ll sign an autograph? Odin: For us, sure! Of course! Of all his fans, no one can say we aren’t the biggest! (Group of deities heads in Neil’s direction. Neil spies them and cringes). Neil, muttering as he tries to evade the Fangods: Oh cripes, not THIS shit again! Where’s the Praetorian Guard? Oh f**k, that’s right, they’re not dead yet. Bastards. Jesus et al: Neil, Neil, you’re the greatest drummer ever! Neil: Go away Allah: Come on, please sign my book! Neil: No. Leave me alone. I’m not famous anymore. Now go away! Buddha: Play Tom Sawyer!! Apologies if this offends. I need a little gallows humor to cope.

He was so looking forward to retirement and never touring again. Unfair he only got a year or so before cancer stole the rest. I’m sure he had the best treatment available, but still. Three years is a long time for glioblastoma....

Enjoying the 20 minutes or so of actually being caught up at work....

Definitely not too late. For a while after my divorce, I was really angry because I felt I'd screwed up and wasted 14 years of life on someone who wasn't capable of being even a half-assed partner in a relationship. (Divorce has not changed him, either; he's still the frustrated jock who bounces from job to job, can't/won't responsibly manage money, and blames all of his problems on everyone else). But now I am with an absolute treasure of a man. We started as friends, then decided we'd try the "friends with benefits" thing. Rules were clear on both sides....absolutely NO emotional crap!!!! He admitted early on that he was struggling to not get emotionally attached; I wasn't sure for a while how much commitment I wanted. Fast forward and we are now planning on finding a house together. He is 25 years older than me, but I don't see that when I'm wrapped in his arms, or when we're laughing so hard we can't breathe. It bothered him a little at first, but I told him I would much rather have 10-15 years with the right person than 40 with the wrong one. (And for anyone wondering - his age is DEFINITELY not an issue in the bedroom!)

Permanent Waves is a 1980 album. ;) Straddling the decades. Life is good. I lost 240 lbs of ugly fat (i.e., I got a divorce) and am now with a wonderful man who I have known for the past two years. Last concert was Muse in June of last year; my guy got me two tickets in the pit, no less. He's not a Rush fan - in fact, he's not really into music at all (weird, I know)! But he is sweet and thoughtful and overheard me saying to a friend how much I wanted to see Muse. So for my birthday that year, he got tickets with the caveat that he didn't want to go, but please take a friend who I would have fun with. Kinda missed this place. On my lunch break so decided to pay a visit. My computer remembered my login, fortunately!

Also the oldest person in orbit. 1998, on Discovery. He was 77.

Godspeed, John Glenn.

Why?? A myriad of reasons, starting with his inability to launch (he is nearing 60!!!); for almost 14 years I have been just about the only source of income. He never wanted to do any kind of job he considered "beneath" him. I'm worn out from the stress of it. There are a number of other reasons - bottom line is that we aren't suited to each other, probably never really were, and it is time to call it a day. That said, once he accepted that I was absolutely dead-bang serious about splitting up, he kinda grew up overnight. Being confronted with the loss of his health insurance, auto insurance, and digs (the house and mortgage are in my name) forced him to develop some initiative. He started a new job today, with benefits, that he's very excited about and has found a place to live. So far things are amicable. He can't afford an attorney, but I am not using that advantage to try to screw him over. It will be an uncontested divorce - no court, very simple. He agreed the dogs need to stay in the home where they've lived for 12 years, but the settlement will include very liberal and generous visitation rights. Right now we're getting along sort of like casually friendly roommates. He plans to move within the next week, but there's really no unpleasantness. Even my in-laws are being nice to me!

Filing for divorce. :banana: :banana: Merry Christmas to me!

Last week I started back to the gym in months (many of you may remember what a gym rat I was). I had given it up when my depression took over. As a result of muscle mass loss and barely eating, I'd lost 25 lbs. Amazing. I have a ways to go to get back to where I want to be, but muscle memory is working its magic. Yes, I am sore but not too bad. And I am already seeing some improvements!

my wife. :P Next time we go bed shopping we'll simulate some bedtime activities and see how long it takes to get kicked out of the store. That's actually an important detail.

My very dearly beloved friend bought me a copy of Neil's signed book.

I don't think it's weird! :D When my husband and I got married, all we could afford was the "sandbox" waterbed frame with the waterbed mattress. It's been wonderfully comfortable over 30 years! (I think it is a waveless mattress.) I had physical therapy for my shoulder once and the therapist said, "You've never had any back problems? Ever?" Neither my husband or myself. We have had to replace the mattress a few times and they are a pain in the ass to drain and move, but I love them. http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp338/plantfan40/images-1_5.jpeg Reminds me - a guy I dated in college had a waterbed. One night we were wrestling around, being silly; he picked me up and tossed me onto the waterbed. One of the corner seams said, "See ya!" OMG, what a mess that was!

Janie. I miss her avatars and her outrageously funny, wicked sense of humor.

The sofa. I started sleeping there sometime in the middle of my depressive episode; eventually I will move back to the bed, which is a super-firm Serta king. (Bonus - I got a free stuffed Serta sheep when I bought the mattress). It's an extremely comfortable sofa. Kind of addicting.