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Neil Peart, the drummer and lyricist for Rush, died Tuesday, January 7th, in Santa Monica, California at age 67, according to Elliot Mintz, a family spokesperson. The cause was brain cancer, which he had been quietly battling for three-and-a-half years. A representative for the band confirmed the news to Rolling Stone.

Neil Peart, the drummer of iconic Canadian band Rush, has died at age 67. The influential musician and lyricist died Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., after having been diagnosed with brain cancer, according to a statement issued Friday by family spokesperson Elliot Mintz.

Author’s Note: This is a column I wrote back a few years ago but never published. Instead, it appeared in abbreviated form in my latest book, Letters to a Young Progressive. Given recent political trends, I thought it would be good to publish it in its original extended form. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the books of Ayn Rand. After escaping from the Soviet Union in the 1920s, Rand became a famous American playwright, philosopher, and novelist. She has written many books – three of which I would urge everyone to read. The first,...

Rush drummer says next project might not be album TORONTO — Rush drummer Neil Peart says the legendary Toronto band is in the early stages of planning a new project but the new music may not be released in traditional album format. "We feel very much liberated from the album format in a way right now, because in the three years since our last album (2007's 'Snakes & Arrows'), suddenly albums don't mean anything," Peart told The Canadian Press in a telephone interview from his home in California. "We're thinking of writing and recording a few songs and maybe releasing...

My uncle has a country place, that no one knows about. He says it used to be a farm before the Motor Law. And on Sundays, I elude the "Eyes" and hop the turbine freight - to far outside the wire where my white-haired uncle waits. Jump to the ground as the turbo slows to cross the borderline. Run like the wind as excitement shivers up and down my spine. Down in his barn, my uncle preserved for me an old machine - for 50 odd years. To keep it as new has been his dearest dream. I strip away...

I found this online and thought I'd pass it on with this important disclaimer composed from the fruitful river of a highly exhausted, caffeinated, and sometimes warped mind.... This is not a chain letter. There are no inspring formulaic stories about people who desperately need money, your car, or your first born. You will not... get rich instantly from the will of a long lost relative who, incidentally needs your credit card number, regain your "youthful vigor", eliminate all your aches and pains, help the blind see, the lame walk, etc. etc You will not develop some nasty disease like...