Friday, April 03, 2009

Please Help if You Can


Paul Williams, a legend of rock criticism -- he founded Crawdaddy magazine in 1966 at the age of seventeen and championed Philip K. Dick when he needed it badly -- has fallen on hard times. He suffered a debilitating head injury in the Nineties, in a cycling accident. This injury led him into a state of early-onset dementia, and he now requires full-time care -- an expense his family can ill afford. The Friends of Paul Williams have set up a web site is really worth looking at, featuring some rather amazing photos from a life lived to the fullest.

I hope you go over there and hit the Donate button. I know it's about the worst possible time to ask for this kind of thing, but having watched a father-in-law succumb to that horrifying disease, I know how difficult it is not only for the victim, but particularly for the caregivers as well. Anything you can do to help out would be appreciated.

Here's an article about him at BoingBoing. Read the comments, too: it'll give you some idea of Williams' impact in the world of both rock 'n' roll and science fiction.

3 comments:

Dr Dave said...

Neddie,
Do you know the German rock site Wolgang's vault? http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/
THey bought out the rights to what was left of Crawdaddy for $60k, the only real money Paul ever made in his life. THey stream live music, among other things. Check it out.

Neddie said...

Dr. Dave: The next post up links to Wolfgang's Vault. Highly approvingly. (Crawdaddy back issues.)

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