Kurt Vonnegut 1922-2007

[Gawain 0]

The author of "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle" has passed.

Anyone who has read his work, dark, humorous and strangely absurd. I wish I had seen him lecture somewhere.

My favorite of his books was "Mother Night".

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070412/ap_on_re_us/obit_vonnegut

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Guest]

A shame. he was a cool writer. I really got a kick out of "Breakfast of Champions", "Slaughterhouse Five", "Cat's Cradle", "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater", and of course, "Slapstick".

In my opinion, he was a kind of alter-ego to Harlan Ellison, and wrote his stories with humor rather than with Ellison's ferocity.

mh
.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[McDuck 0]

Truly a shame that Vonnegut is gone.

By the way, Ellison always struck me as very bitter about the success of writers he considered to be of lesser talent.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[popsjumper 2]

Weird...I just read Slaughterhouse 5 a couple of days ago.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[wmw999 2,593]

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My favorite of his books was "Mother Night".

Good choice; I loved that book. But my real favorite was probably Welcome to the Monkey House.

He had an interesting viewpoint.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Icon134 0]

That's too bad... he was a tremendous albeit unusual writer.

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[Michele 1]

Thanks, Mr. Vonnegut, for all the hours I spent exploring your worlds and mind...for all the times you brought a different view to me, and for all the thought you stimulated.

Godspeed, and thank you for a wonderfully productive life. You had a good run; rest in peace now.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[NewGuy2005 53]

Don't forget Deadeye Dick

[Gawain 0]

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My favorite of his books was "Mother Night".

Good choice; I loved that book. But my real favorite was probably Welcome to the Monkey House.

He had an interesting viewpoint.

Here's a quote from "Mother Night", I love how it seems to envolope being touched by everything and nothing:

Quote

I took fifty steps down the diewalk, and then I stopped.

I froze.

It was not guilt that froze me. I had taught myself never to feel guilt.

It was not a ghastly sense of loss that froze me. I had taught myself to covet nothing.

It was not a loathing of death that froze me. I had taught myself to think of death as a friend.

It was not the thought that I was so unloved that froze me. I had taught myself to do without love.

It was not the thought that God was cruel that froze me. I had taught myself never to expect anything from Him.

What froze me was the fact that I had absolutely no reason to move in any direction. What had made me move through so many dead and pointless years was curiosity.

Now, even that had flickered out."

--Howard W. Campbell, Jr., Mother Night
Requoted with assistance from the book by Kurt Vonnegut (c)1961

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Lindercles 0]

I saw him lecture in San Antonio in 1997. He was definitely brilliant. To be honest, though, having seen him 10 years ago I'm kind of surprised he lasted this long.

At any rate, he was an asset to humanity and will be missed by many.

[popsjumper 2]

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The author of "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle" has passed.

...and so it goes.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[livendive 8]

"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different." I guess he ran out of gas.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[mailin 0]

Wow - I was just talking about him to my mother the other day. His son was my pediatrician.

Very sad indeed

Arianna Frances

[ltdiver 3]

An appropriate picture on his web page.

http://www.vonnegut.com/

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[Lindercles 0]

Another appropriate picture, though not from his web page.

[ltdiver 3]

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Another appropriate picture, though not from his web page.

If you notice the little icon (is that what you call it?) in his web page address....

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[ChangoLanzao 0]

What a genious ... I've read almost all of his books. It's time to read them all again.

Is this his last poem?

Quote

When the last living thing

has died on account of us,

how poetical it would be

if Earth could say,

in a voice floating up

perhaps

from the floor

of the Grand Canyon,

“It is done.”

People did not like it here.

[narcimund 0]

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If you notice the little icon (is that what you call it?) in his web page address....

"favicon.ico"

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[ltdiver 3]

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Quote

If you notice the little icon (is that what you call it?) in his web page address....

"favicon.ico"

Thanks! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favicon

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[FIREFLYR 0]

84, not fuckin' bad!
RIP Kurt, thanks for not being on of the *'s
~J

"One flew East,and one flew West..............one flew over the cuckoo's nest"
"There's absolutely no excuse for the way I'm about to act"

[marcandalysse 0]

Cats Cradle was a Boomer Bible.

My personal favorite, one I have reread a few times over the years and not as well known...THE SIRENS OF TITAN

"The Church of God the Utterly Indifferent "

Notice though, that we are all picking books he wrote decades ago, even though he has continued to write over the years....

Marc

"The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly." --GK Chesterton

[narcimund 0]

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THE SIRENS OF TITAN

From which Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a brilliant (though blatant) ripoff.

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[freakflyer9999 1]

My High School English teacher assigned "God Bless You Mr. Rosewater" to me for a book report and even loaned me her personal copy. Vonnegut immediately became my favorite author and still today I consider him to be my favorite.

One of these days I should look up my English Teacher to thank her and to return her book. I actually still have it along with the rest of my Vonnegut library. I own virtually every full length book he ever wrote as well as copies of many of his short stories.

He hasn't written anything recently, but will still be missed.

God Bless You Mr. Rosewater

[tbrown 26]

My favorite of his books was "Mother Night".

[JohnMitchell 16]

Kurt sure had a good run , 84 years, smoking Pall Malls all the way. He had a bunch of demons in his life but he corralled them the best he could and produced some wonderful, original work, some of which sticks with me today. He tried to inject humanity into a universe so hostile. So long, Kurt, and thanks for all the stories.
John