Comments on: Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84

Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84

landedjentry — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:10:56 -0800

Kurt Vonnegut, Writer of Classics of the American Counterculture, Dies at 84 "His death was reported by Morgan Entrekin, a longtime family friend, who said Mr. Vonnegut suffered brain injuries as a result of a fall several weeks ago. Mr. Vonnegut wrote plays, essays and short fiction. But it was his novels that became classics of the American counterculture, making him a literary idol, particularly to students in the 1960s and ’70s. Dog-eared paperback copies of his books could be found in the back pockets of blue jeans and in dorm rooms on campuses throughout the United States." .

By: fizzix

fizzix — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:12:28 -0800

..........

By: ashbury

ashbury — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:12:56 -0800

Telling it straight to the very end... .

By: mek

mek — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:13:09 -0800

. . .

By: seawallrunner

seawallrunner — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:13:22 -0800

By: tellurian

tellurian — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:13:27 -0800

Great writer. Damn.

By: christonabike

christonabike — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:13:41 -0800

So it goes. My favorite author, ever. Rest in peace.

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:13:46 -0800

By: These Premises Are Alarmed

These Premises Are Alarmed — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:14:09 -0800

I was just reading Sirens of Titan. .

By: docgonzo

docgonzo — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:14:18 -0800

Great writer. Damn. posted by tellurian at 8:13 PM on April 11 [+] [!] Heh.

By: mek

mek — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:14:33 -0800

recent piece in Rolling Stone.

By: sudasana

sudasana — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:14:49 -0800

By: timory

timory — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:15:41 -0800

oh my god

By: interrobang

interrobang — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:15:56 -0800

By: tehloki

tehloki — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:15:56 -0800

&nbsp . . . . &nbsp . &nbsp .

By: lumensimus

lumensimus — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:16:32 -0800

By: tehloki

tehloki — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:16:40 -0800

Great. One of my favorite writers just died and now metafilter knows I can't html my way out of a wet paper bag.

By: F Mackenzie

F Mackenzie — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:16:45 -0800

By: beaucoupkevin

beaucoupkevin — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:17:22 -0800

By: Zonker

Zonker — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:17:24 -0800

How very sad. He'll be sorely missed.

By: interrobang

interrobang — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:17:39 -0800

This planet is a more interesting place for having had Kurt Vonnegut in it.

By: re.becca

re.becca — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:17:50 -0800

By: mathowie

mathowie — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:18:02 -0800

Man, what a bummer. He was one of the greats.

By: huskerdont

huskerdont — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:18:17 -0800

By: jonmc

jonmc — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:18:20 -0800

RIP, great one.

By: pokermonk

pokermonk — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:18:42 -0800

* i love my dog-eared paperback copies of his books in large part because i could fit them in my back pocket. also. they're pretty good.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:19:09 -0800

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:19:19 -0800

By: eunoia

eunoia — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:19:37 -0800

We had a memorial service for Isaac [Asimov] a few years back, and I spoke and said at one point, 'Isaac is up in heaven now.' It was the funniest thing I could have said to an audience of humanists. I rolled them in the aisles. It was several minutes before order could be restored. And if I should ever die, God forbid, I hope you will say, 'Kurt is up in heaven now.' That's my favorite joke. Kurt is up in heaven now. Oh man.

By: wfrgms

wfrgms — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:19:42 -0800

Thanks for everything Kurt! See you on Tralfamadore.

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:19:49 -0800

Hi Ho . Kurt is one of my favorite authors. Thanks for all the words.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:19:53 -0800

Thanks for opening hidden doors in high school. .

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:20:24 -0800

By: Verdandi

Verdandi — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:20:25 -0800

Wow. .

By: saraswati

saraswati — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:20:41 -0800

By: evilcolonel

evilcolonel — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:21:09 -0800

By: gnomeloaf

gnomeloaf — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:21:19 -0800

. I really hope there's no turkey farm.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:21:27 -0800

By: teferi

teferi — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:21:59 -0800

So it goes. .

By: lekvar

lekvar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:22:13 -0800

So it goes.

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:23:44 -0800

. He's bumming out angels, now.

By: landedjentry

landedjentry — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:24:07 -0800

I like to think he's touching feet with Bokonon and all those who knew Heaven was a lie.

By: Fuzzy Monster

Fuzzy Monster — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:24:20 -0800

Kurt Vonnegut has come unstuck in time. A great writer, and a great man.

By: ericb

ericb — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:24:52 -0800

By: eatdonuts

eatdonuts — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:24:58 -0800

arg no! the world is a darker place without him. gads, i think i'm going to have to keep pretending he's still alive, like i do with george harrison. otherwise my heart will just break.

By: cows of industry

cows of industry — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:25:00 -0800

A truly unique person. He will be sorely missed. So it goes. .

By: spacewrench

spacewrench — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:25:25 -0800

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:26:08 -0800

By: WaterSprite

WaterSprite — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:26:29 -0800

Welcome to the Monkey House. . . . . . God Bless you, Kurt. I adored your books.

By: imposster

imposster — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:27:10 -0800

By: contraption

contraption — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:28:27 -0800

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:29:01 -0800

There aren't enough . in the world. God bless, Kurt. Thanks for everything. Goddammit.

By: po

po — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:29:55 -0800

Ting-a-ling!

By: jouke

jouke — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:30:01 -0800

84 is not a bad age to die. I only read Slaughterhouse 5 in highschool. Very popular to have on your reading list because it's so thin. I'm not sure wether he was the first who reversed time in a story. That was a great invention. The effect on the morality of the story was intrigueing. If I read 1 other work by him, what should it be?

By: ssmith

ssmith — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:30:08 -0800

By: Penny Wise

Penny Wise — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:30:26 -0800

I always thought that Geraldo Rivera married Kurt Vonnegut's daughter to make himself look good. That man has no shame.

By: Ethereal Bligh

Ethereal Bligh — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:30:36 -0800

Yes, and so it goes.

By: Soliloquy

Soliloquy — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:31:33 -0800

By: Grimgrin

Grimgrin — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:31:53 -0800

'Please--a little less love, and a little more common decency.' Ho Hum.

By: piratebowling

piratebowling — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:32:23 -0800

By: MrBadExample

MrBadExample — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:33:13 -0800

By: CitrusFreak12

CitrusFreak12 — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:33:19 -0800

By: ELF Radio

ELF Radio — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:33:19 -0800

“Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”

By: debgpi

debgpi — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:33:49 -0800

By: wendell

wendell — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:34:33 -0800

And so he's gone. .

By: isopraxis

isopraxis — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:35:06 -0800

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:35:10 -0800

If I read 1 other work by him, what should it be? "Cat's Cradle"

By: sciatica

sciatica — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:35:21 -0800

By: narebuc

narebuc — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:35:51 -0800

I'll have to mention is cameo in "Back to School". Its what makes guys like him even cooler. Can you imagine someone like Franzen ever doing that? At any rate, .

By: Samuel Farrow

Samuel Farrow — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:35:55 -0800

By: freebird

freebird — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:36:22 -0800

If I read 1 other work by him, what should it be? I really liked Player Piano - but (I think) it's very early and fairly different from his usual stuff. It's all pretty fun though. I'm trying to see his life as rich and fulfilled but it's hard to not be a little bummed.

By: gergtreble

gergtreble — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:36:31 -0800

By: inoculatedcities

inoculatedcities — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:36:47 -0800

By: docpops

docpops — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:36:55 -0800

If I read 1 other work by him, what should it be? Cat's Cradle or Slapstick.

By: bashos_frog

bashos_frog — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:37:36 -0800

By: pombe

pombe — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:37:46 -0800

By: telstar

telstar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:37:48 -0800

By: gaspode

gaspode — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:38:13 -0800

By: buriednexttoyou

buriednexttoyou — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:39:29 -0800

EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT So it goes. .

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:39:32 -0800

So it goes. .

By: John Kenneth Fisher

John Kenneth Fisher — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:39:56 -0800

By: exlotuseater

exlotuseater — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:40:10 -0800

Busy, busy, busy .

By: Tullius

Tullius — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:40:34 -0800

By: es_de_bah

es_de_bah — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:41:01 -0800

Thank god he's in heavy now, the magnificent bastard!

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:41:57 -0800

If I read 1 other work by him, what should it be? Hocus Pocus. Or Mother Night. Or.... ...really, it's all good.

By: !Jim

!Jim — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:43:02 -0800

By: notsnot

notsnot — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:43:26 -0800

By: papakwanz

papakwanz — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:44:39 -0800

I've only read Slaughterhouse-5 and a handful of his essays, but for some reason this news makes me want to weep. A genuinely awesome human being gone.

By: unSane

unSane — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:45:04 -0800

As I read the Book of Genesis, God didn't give Adam and Eve a whole planet. He gave them a manageable piece of property, for the sake of discussion let's say 200 acres. I suggest to you Adams and Eves that you set as your goals the putting of some small part of the planet into something like safe and sane and decent order. .

By: borborygmi

borborygmi — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:45:12 -0800

"Make me young! Make me young!" .

By: GavinR

GavinR — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:45:20 -0800

Reading only one Vonnegut novel would be like only listening to one Beatles album. They were pretty much all masterpieces.

By: CommonSense

CommonSense — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:47:21 -0800

I'm a little too young to really know much about him, but I did enjoy the shows he did on New York's WBAI about a year or so ago. So . . . .

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:47:23 -0800

I gave my . earlier, but it is nowhere near enough, and as jokeefe says, there's not enough . in the world for him. I'm not one to lament the passing of someone who has entertained, educated, inspired, or amused us, but Kurt is different. His writing seemed so personal to me. The horrible things that would happen to his characters, and still I had to laugh. I guess I hope there's a barn someplace like in Bluebeard with a last work as a gift to the world. Shine on you crazy diamond.

By: edgeways

edgeways — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:47:59 -0800

bloody hell, I've been kind of waiting for this to happen for a few years now. Some stuff he's written suggested he was damn tired. Still and all it's a major blow. I'd say out of all the "celebrity deaths" in the past decade this is the one that hurts the most. Wish I didn't have to work tomorrow, but definitely will have to have a wake this weekend, I think I'ma going to have to do the schlocky thing and turn my blog black for a day or two. See that cat, see the cradle? .....

By: YoBananaBoy

YoBananaBoy — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:48:59 -0800

By: bigschmoove

bigschmoove — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:49:10 -0800

By: escabeche

escabeche — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:49:16 -0800

I think it was from reading Cat's Cradle, when I was 13 or 14, that I first really understood that there was such a thing as a prose style.

By: kittens for breakfast

kittens for breakfast — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:49:32 -0800

By: solid-one-love

solid-one-love — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:49:50 -0800

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:51:08 -0800

God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut.

By: sparkletone

sparkletone — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:51:19 -0800

* is clearly the correct punctuation in this thread, not the lowly period. It looks like a bit like an anus, you see... I don't know what else to say. ":(" isn't enough.

By: M.C. Lo-Carb!

M.C. Lo-Carb! — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:51:20 -0800

By: Tacodog

Tacodog — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:51:21 -0800

By: Paragon

Paragon — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:51:46 -0800

. So it goes. But somehow, I always wish it wouldn't.

By: hifiparasol

hifiparasol — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:51:51 -0800

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:54:44 -0800

Man. The Sirens of Titan always makes me cry. I didn't even have to read it this time.

By: Burton

Burton — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:55:34 -0800

By: hellbient

hellbient — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:56:21 -0800

By: killy willy

killy willy — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:56:31 -0800

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:56:41 -0800

I don't have the book here, but isn't there a part in Timequake where he says that he hopes that, at his funeral, some smartass will stand up and say, "Kurt's up in heaven now"?

By: Falconetti

Falconetti — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:58:13 -0800

By: sparkletone

sparkletone — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:58:38 -0800

I don't have the book here, but isn't there a part in Timequake where he says that he hopes that, at his funeral, some smartass will stand up and say, "Kurt's up in heaven now"? Uh...

By: R343L

R343L — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:59:22 -0800

I remember reading a bunch of his books as paperbacks stored in some cupboard at home on my dad's recommendation when I was like 10 or 11. Never read anything sense, but they had a big impact on me then. Sad.

By: gwint

gwint — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:00:24 -0800

Joe Heller  

True story, Word of Honor: 
Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer 
now dead, 
and I were at a party given by a billionaire 
on Shelter Island.

I said, "Joe, how does it make you feel 
to know that our host only yesterday 
may have made more money 
than your novel 'Catch-22' 
has earned in its entire history?" 
And Joe said, "I've got something he can never have." 
And I said, "What on earth could that be, Joe?" 
And Joe said, "The knowledge that I've got enough." 
Not bad! Rest in peace!"

--Kurt Vonnegut

The New Yorker, May 16th, 2005

By: idb

idb — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:00:32 -0800

By: Menomena

Menomena — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:01:32 -0800

we'll miss you kurt. thanks for all the fun times. .

By: found dog one eye

found dog one eye — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:01:43 -0800

Breakfast of Champions was one of the first "adult" books I read, slipping it off my parents' bookshelf when they weren't paying attention. .

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:02:16 -0800

* (inscribed on a tablet, delivered by flying saucer)

By: Colloquial Collision

Colloquial Collision — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:02:51 -0800

By: nasreddin

nasreddin — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:04:25 -0800

* So it goes.

By: thethirdman

thethirdman — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:04:37 -0800

shit.

By: Failure31

Failure31 — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:05:12 -0800

* I loved him.

By: any major dude

any major dude — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:05:17 -0800

One of the greatest men who ever lived. My first thought was what a blessing that he put pen to paper so we will always have his words to remind us that we are frustrated imperfect machines. I always felt that as long as Kurt was around that there was goodness somewhere in the world. The people I think that about are dropping too quickly and there doesn't seem to be anyone out there replacing them. My favorite line of his: "Free enterprise is much too hard on the old and the sick and the shy and the poor and the stupid, and on the people nobody likes." -Address to a graduating class at Bennington College in 1970.

By: tiger yang

tiger yang — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:05:30 -0800

Read his books, even saw him speak once. He was great. .

By: FunkyHelix

FunkyHelix — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:05:43 -0800

By: LeLiLo

LeLiLo — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:06:54 -0800

God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut. Truly all that needs to be said. He’s up in heaven now, indeed, but his words and his spirit will remain down here with the rest of us for a long, long time.

By: breezeway

breezeway — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:07:07 -0800

I only knew him through the books he wrote, and I can still read them, and remember him. Who needs heaven when you have readers who remember you? I think I'll commemorate his death by giving one of his books to someone who's never read any. Kurt Vonnegut did some good.

By: JT

JT — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:07:20 -0800

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:07:40 -0800

Life is no way to treat an animal.

By: k8t

k8t — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:08:00 -0800

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:08:00 -0800

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:08:24 -0800

Sorry.

By: Hadroed

Hadroed — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:09:02 -0800

By: cerebus19

cerebus19 — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:09:14 -0800

By: carmina

carmina — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:09:47 -0800

. this is so very sad. bye monkey, bye.

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:10:10 -0800

I already heard about this several years from now.

By: humannaire

humannaire — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:11:02 -0800

By: knave

knave — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:11:07 -0800

Rest well, Mr Trout. .

By: bread-eater

bread-eater — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:12:44 -0800

By: kingfisher, his musclebound cat

kingfisher, his musclebound cat — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:12:59 -0800

This is the first time I have ever entered my password and seen a row of tiny little assholes. My plans to sleep well tonight, undone. Even sadder now. . and *

By: Kwantsar

Kwantsar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:13:20 -0800

I am of course notoriously hooked on cigarettes. I keep hoping the things will kill me. A fire at one end and a fool at the other. *

By: gurple

gurple — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:13:46 -0800

* So it goes.

By: milquetoast

milquetoast — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:14:25 -0800

Son of a bitch. .

By: muckster

muckster — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:17:10 -0800

ouch

By: honest knave

honest knave — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:17:58 -0800

By: humannaire

humannaire — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:18:18 -0800

Whenever I am asked who my favorite author is, I have had a stock reply for years. It is, "You mean, besides Vonnegut?" Kurt Vonnegut, I loved you. You broke my heart. First with Blackbeard, then today, by dying. Honestly, this could not have happened to a better person.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:18:28 -0800

I am actually tearing up here. His voice was just so vital, so hugely important in helping me see the world back when I was 12 and 13 and devouring his books. The comfort of them in their declaration of the senselessness of ideology, the absurdity of life and the abuses of power; their profound humanism and compassion for us, we weak and silly beings. In Sirens of Titan, Unk finds the letter that he wrote to himself before his memory was wiped. The letter, Vonnegut wrote, functioned as literature in the best sense because it made him "secretly free". That's what his books did for me, too. Rest in peace, Mr. Vonnegut. I loved you, I honestly did. No goddamn cat, and no goddamn cradle.

By: humannaire

humannaire — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:18:55 -0800

By: serazin

serazin — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:19:08 -0800

No! No no no no no no!

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:19:22 -0800

Metafilter: A fire at one end and a fool at the other.

By: fair_game

fair_game — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:19:34 -0800

Where is home? I've wondered where home is, and I realized, it's not Mars or someplace like that, it's Indianapolis when I was nine years old. I had a brother and a sister, a cat and a dog, and a mother and a father and uncles and aunts. And there's no way I can get there again. .

By: avoision

avoision — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:20:15 -0800

By: knave

knave — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:20:49 -0800

MetaFilter: A row of tiny little assholes.

By: gcbv

gcbv — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:21:06 -0800

. incredibly sad.

By: Skygazer

Skygazer — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:21:10 -0800

Everytime I've seen his name mentioned in an FPP over the years, my heart has skipped a beat. I hope his clear eyed and deadly funny humanism lives on. We need it more than ever. This one hurts... .

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:21:29 -0800

By: Wonderwoman

Wonderwoman — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:23:41 -0800

"A fire at one end and a fool at the other." Reading his books made me feel this way.

By: Ostara

Ostara — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:24:17 -0800

By: The God Complex

The God Complex — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:26:11 -0800

By: rbs

rbs — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:26:27 -0800

I'm crying.

By: The White Hat

The White Hat — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:27:00 -0800

He's up in heaven now.

By: Pastabagel

Pastabagel — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:27:24 -0800

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:29:01 -0800

To quote Jon Stewart, "As an adolescent, he made my life bearable."

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:29:16 -0800

Here are the last rites from the Book of Bokonon: The Last Rites of the Bokononism [ 99 ] (Each line is said once by the person giving the rites and then repeated by the dying person.) God made mud. God got lonesome. So God said to some of the mud, "Sit up!" "See all I've made," said God, "the hills, the sea, the sky, the stars." And I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud. I, mud, sat up and saw what a nice job God had done. Nice going, God. Nobody but you could have done it, God! I certainly couldn't have. I feel very unimportant compared to You. The only way I can feel the least bit important is to think of all the mud that didn't even get to sit up and look around. I got so much, and most mud got so little. Thank you for the honor! Now mud lies down again and goes to sleep. What memories for mud to have! What interesting other kinds of sitting-up mud I met! I loved everything I saw! Good night. I will go to heaven now. I can hardly wait... To find out for certain what my wampeter was... And who was in my karass... And all the good things our karass did for you. Amen.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:29:59 -0800

Apologies for previous (not the sentiment, but being unable to control posting the reply). Feeling a little emotional here.

By: Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson

Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:31:03 -0800

Damn. *********!!

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:31:17 -0800

Damn it, vacapinta, now I'm not just tearing up, I'm actually crying. I'm going to go and walk away from the computer. Lucky me, lucky mud!

By: Chuckles

Chuckles — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:33:09 -0800

Player Piano was brought up recently in the question Essays for Engineers. It changed my life, and ruined my career. Thank you, Mr. Vonnegut.

By: shoepal

shoepal — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:33:43 -0800

By: edgeways

edgeways — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:33:43 -0800

I envy those that are sleeping now, they have a few more hours of unawareness.

By: Penny Wise

Penny Wise — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:34:29 -0800

Ah geeeeez, I never got Vonnegut then. But I sure get the loss in his honor felt by the mefites now. .

By: dchase

dchase — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:34:33 -0800

_ | / * Reading God Bless You Mr. Rosewater I became self aware. I read it by candlelight, in a loft, in a cabin, on a lake, in Maine, fighting off bats. The bats ate the mosquitos. So it goes.

By: jodrell banksmeadow

jodrell banksmeadow — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:35:46 -0800

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:35:52 -0800

By: timsteil

timsteil — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:36:54 -0800

yeah........ late to the thread here I guess what afroblanco said the guy made insanity sane for me......and changed forvever the way I looked at the world. I was able to make sense of the world by deciphering the nonsense he made of it. and while I look back at what I just typed and think it is is weird...the word that keeps echoing in my head iis this tralfamadore

By: Foaf

Foaf — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:36:54 -0800

By: Bromius

Bromius — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:39:07 -0800

By: theoddball

theoddball — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:39:13 -0800

I see the Last Rites have been posted, so, the Fourteenth Calypso for you, Mister Vonnegut: "When I was young I was so gay and mean And I drank and chased the girls Just like young St. Augustine. Saint Augustine. He got to be a saint. So, if I get to be one, also, Please, Mama, don't you faint." here's hoping, huh? .

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:39:18 -0800

Poo-tee-weet?

By: Belle O'Cosity

Belle O'Cosity — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:39:22 -0800

I am so sad although I'm sure we all knew it would be soon having seen him in the last few years. The last interview I saw with him, he seemed very sick but was still able to take the piss out of everyone. I will miss him very much. I know the way here is to post a little dot, but for me a little dot is not enough to say goodbye to a great man. I don't know a lot of people would mourn for him in the town that I am in right now so I am happy to be a part of Metafilter, a place to say these things. I feel like a dork to be so sad about a person I don't know, but I really am. So, goodbye great man, you meant so much to me and so much to so many others. Thank you for helping me to be a better thinker.

By: ronv

ronv — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:39:38 -0800

Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne. * goodbye, blue monday.

By: mds35

mds35 — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:39:43 -0800

By: scody

scody — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:39:51 -0800

By: mosk

mosk — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:39:52 -0800

I loved his books - they were insightful, funny, honest, and original. What a loss for us, but I hope he's finally at peace. From reading one of his recent interviews (can't find the link now), it sounded like life had become burdensome for him. Rest in peace, Kurt. *

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:40:10 -0800

davidmsc - I think you may just have been added to that list of people who will not be missed.

By: ruby.aftermath

ruby.aftermath — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:40:29 -0800

By: humannaire

humannaire — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:41:21 -0800

Hey my buddy Cliff the Key West Weaver just said the coolest thing! He said, "They'll be another!"

By: edgeways

edgeways — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:41:32 -0800

davidmsc, I'm not sure your sentiment is entirely appreciated, I think you are wrong on many counts and it is pretty turdtastic of you to use such harsh words in the middle of this tread, no class man, and obviously trying to pick a fight. So please take it to MeTa if you have further protestations

By: MotorNeuron

MotorNeuron — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:41:42 -0800

If you want to see what this fuss is about, read "Mother Night". It's good start. Thanks for the memories KV.

By: [expletive deleted]

[expletive deleted] — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:42:43 -0800

Godspeed, Kurt. The light of English literature is perceptibly dimer today.

By: davelog

davelog — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:45:18 -0800

By: dan g.

dan g. — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:47:45 -0800

what a voice he had. what a mind. *

By: lester

lester — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:48:18 -0800

By: BackwardsCity

BackwardsCity — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:48:42 -0800

What can be said? .

By: tomharpel

tomharpel — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:49:33 -0800

By: serazin

serazin — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:50:19 -0800

It's not very cool to confess that you actually enjoy using this site, or that it has some meaning or value, or even that you like it. Instead there is an odd valuing of criticism and snark and complaints over positive expression - but I'll just come out and say that this post made me realize that I love it here on metafilter and this is why: After I read this post, and felt so sad, and remembered what sofa I was draped over reading Galapagos and picturing my literally held-together-with-tape-and-a-rubber-band copy of Cats Cradle and remembering finishing Welcome to the Monkey House and thinking "Huh, that was kinda weak" etc etc etc, I called my mom. I don't usually call my mom when I'm emotional, but I guess being transported to my adolescence inspired it. And I told her that Kurt Vonnegut had just died and she basically said, "Huh, that's kind of … interesting." And I hung up right away feeling really much sadder. And then I realized that I didn't know who to call who would feel just like I did. And then I realized that although I often feel like I don't fit in here, or like I'm not the same as folks here, I can see evidence right here in this post that a whole hellofalot of yawl shared at least this with me. I know Kurt Vonnegut is, well, pretty mainstream, and I don't have to look farther than, well, the New York Times to find glowing and gushing testimonials to his work and his life, and while I also know that probably a lot of folks might be annoyed by my feminist critiques of Mr. Vonnegut and probably, a bunch of you hated Bluebeard which was actually my favorite, given all of that, I feel a certain comrade with yawl right now, and I feel, well, grateful to have you guys here, all of us shocked and sad to see Kurt Vonnegut go. So although I know it's frowned upon here, let me just say, I really feel grateful for metafilter right now. And of course, for Kurt Vonnegut too.

By: sacre_bleu

sacre_bleu — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:51:45 -0800

By: serazin

serazin — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:53:57 -0800

On second thought, Belle O'Cosity said it already, and, in Vonnegut's style, with more brevity. (Also, Breakfast of Champions might be tied for my favorite).

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:54:32 -0800

So it goes.

By: Ruki

Ruki — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:54:35 -0800

I just walked in the house, and my husband told me the news. I was just floored, but then I decided I shouldn't be too sad, because it was pretty obvious in the last few years that KV was tired of living. In any case, if I could be any literary character ever, I would want to be Bokonon. Busy, busy, busy... I'm sitting underneath one of his screenprints right now. He put an asterisk after his signature. So it goes. *

By: exlotuseater

exlotuseater — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:56:05 -0800

davidmsc: you should try reading Vonnegut again. You might "get it" if you continue trying.

By: afx114

afx114 — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:57:12 -0800

By: rockabilly_pete

rockabilly_pete — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:57:16 -0800

By: Wizzle

Wizzle — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:57:40 -0800

By: Wizzle

Wizzle — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:58:09 -0800

rockabilly_pete: Aha!

By: billder

billder — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:58:27 -0800

By: dbiedny

dbiedny — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:59:08 -0800

Another true hero has left the planet. Fly, Kurt, as high as you took us all these years. We love you. *

By: bigbigdog

bigbigdog — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:00:34 -0800

Nearly every time I brush my teeth I think about my sister (and I don't even have a sister) and how we'd decided that brushing our teeth with hot water was better than using cold. Shit. Goddamn. And I think about swallowing Drano, and how godawful that must be a way to die. And semicolons, and how I try to eliminate them because Kurt said they're useless, and I think he's right.

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:00:41 -0800

By: craniac

craniac — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:00:48 -0800

I learned about the last shuttle explosion on metafilter, and now this. I am sad and will miss his writing, although I hope to never be as pessimistic as he was.

By: jdfalk

jdfalk — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:00:56 -0800

By: Benjamin Nushmutt

Benjamin Nushmutt — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:01:58 -0800

By: brujita

brujita — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:02:01 -0800

By: Jezztek

Jezztek — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:03:11 -0800

Actually, I think davidmsc is right in a lot of ways. Kurt Vonnegut *was* an idiot. You'd have to be to tell the truth. Sometimes there exists a person who is unafraid to look life if in the eye and accept it for what it is. Has this world ever rewarded these people with anything but sadness and a sense of isolation? It's the sweet little lies about this world and our lives in it that make living bearable for so many of us, you'd have to be an idiot to give up that comfort, even if you never spoke about it to another soul. You'd have to be an even bigger idiot to open your mouth and speak the truth, or in his case sing it out for all to hear, when everything history has ever taught us is that people will only despise you for it. He wasn't a particularly happy man, his vision didn't seem to bring him comfort, he struggled with suicide his whole life, and perhaps he could have dulled that pain with some comforting illusions. But he was an idiot, and chose the harder path, and made the world an indelibly better place because he lived here, and chose to live in his manner. Which is far more then could be said for the gentlemen you used in your examples.

By: rtha

rtha — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:04:28 -0800

Time to go do some (re)reading. Thanks, Kurt. .

By: arialblack

arialblack — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:05:42 -0800

By: mrbill

mrbill — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:06:58 -0800

By: eurasian

eurasian — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:07:02 -0800

Goodbye to one of the few writers who made me blink and say "You can't write like that!", and be happy for it. Perhaps to take the edge off the mourning, or to increase it (whatever burns it off (or burns it in)), here's some advice on style, from the man.

By: grobstein

grobstein — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:07:38 -0800

Metafilter: So many different people in the same device

By: darkstar

darkstar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:08:45 -0800

So it goes. Rest in peace, Kurt, you wonderful, crazy, beautiful human being. Poo-tee-weet?

By: KokuRyu

KokuRyu — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:09:30 -0800

My favourites were Deadeye Dick and Mother Night.

By: bluevelvetelvis

bluevelvetelvis — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:10:29 -0800

I remember when I was first getting into the Grateful Dead, and like any music dork, reading lyrics and the details of album liner notes. At the time I was wondering what was up with Ice Nine Publishing; their publishing company. I didn't know what the fuck Ice Nine meant, I assumed it was some weird cryptic hippie joke from back before all the commercials took over. I guess that assumption was correct in some regards. A couple years later I found out what Ice Nine was and it blew my mind. Fucking A... Thank you Mr. Vonnegut.

By: craniac

craniac — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:10:42 -0800

do you have any ideas for a really scary reality TV show?: “C students from Yale.” It would stand your hair on end. From a 2003 interview.

By: Quartermass

Quartermass — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:10:44 -0800

One of my favorites. *

By: aliendolphin

aliendolphin — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:13:30 -0800

Oh crap. He was a beautifully misanthropic humanist. 20th century feels a whole lot more distant. Twain went out with a comet. I wonder what's taking Kurt home. .

By: Curry

Curry — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:13:33 -0800

So it goes. .

By: gompa

gompa — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:15:21 -0800

It's all good - great, in fact - but I'd suggest the uninitiated start what should be a delightful and enlightening dance through the whole catalogue with Mother Night. It goes, to begin with, like this: This is the only story of mine whose moral I know. I don't think it's a marvelous moral; I simply happen to know what it is: We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. It's a book about Nazis. And war. And Truth. And so it goes. *

By: RakDaddy

RakDaddy — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:16:17 -0800

By: washburn

washburn — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:17:28 -0800

It makes me sad that he'd so smartly figured out some of the big problems some time ago, and that he had to spend his last years watching us let those problems get worse, instead of making them better. As cynical as he could be with regard to human nature, I can't help feeling that we all still managed to disappoint him. I hope he holds off heading into the blue tunnel for a few years, and has a chance to watch us move things in the right direction again. Assuming we can.

By: ebee

ebee — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:18:38 -0800

By: hurdy gurdy girl

hurdy gurdy girl — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:18:41 -0800

By: craniac

craniac — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:19:18 -0800

And from a 2005 interview on PBS: KURT VONNEGUT: You know, Christianity is very big now in particular-- and our president, of course, is a Christian. These are words I never hear. Blessed are the poor in spirit. For theirs is kingdom of heaven. This isn't original. Blessed are they that mourn. For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers. For they shall be called the children of God. Not exactly a Republican platform.

By: lilac girl

lilac girl — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:22:09 -0800

. My roommate & I were just talking about "Make me young again!" How weird.

By: luriete

luriete — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:23:38 -0800

well, this is just terrible. it's been a year or two since i've read one of his books. but i don't think anything anyone else has written has ever touched me the way his stories did. i know it's an artificial closeness that we feel for artists whose work resonates with us. i remember when my mother came home crying because john lennon had been shot and i was too young to understand why. but i guess i now understand.

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:24:47 -0800

oh god, no. i don't think i can handle this. fucking god no.

By: jba

jba — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:24:53 -0800

he was a great guy. will sorely be missed. .

By: alms

alms — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:25:26 -0800

Rented a tent a tent a tent. I think I'll commemorate his death by giving one of his books to someone who's never read any. Indeed. . . .

By: granted

granted — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:26:55 -0800

Damn. Now we'll never get to be best friends. *

By: hap_hazard

hap_hazard — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:28:11 -0800

By: sputgop

sputgop — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:30:22 -0800

By: bowline

bowline — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:31:50 -0800

I read Welcome to the Monkey House when I was about 17, and it was my all time favorite book of short stories at the time. I haven't re-read it in 20 years, as I don't want to spoil that magic. .

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:32:18 -0800

I guess landedjentry just truthed me. A callipso: Mr. Vonnegut died, in the spring time. The MeFites all are very sad. His time had come, he had to go, But The Author lives on, in printed form. .

By: Deepspace

Deepspace — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:32:34 -0800

. The world is a bit darker today. Or maybe a bit lighter. Whichever.. it's different. In a bad way.

By: stumbling

stumbling — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:33:27 -0800

Oh god, no. I'm late to the thread(I headed straight here when I heard the news. This is a good place, and a kind place.), so I just read through all 200+ comments, and I am so not ready to face this day. Goddammit, so it goes.. :'(

By: kyleg

kyleg — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:33:52 -0800

Dammit, dammit, dammit. I know he hadn't been the same in recent years, and I'm sure he was ready for the end. It's a damn shame to see the battered shell of a man in the light of what he once was and never could be again. But to me he was a hero. Even though he wasn't what he was at his prime, what's left of him was still smarter, wittier, and yes, more of a patriot than most men ever dare to dream of being. Ever since the day I first finished reading one of his novels, I wanted to meet him. Who knows what I ever would have said to him, or him to me. I suppose I was hoping for something like a papal blessing, as a member of the Church of the Written Word. God Bless you, Mr. Vonnegut. Our greatest living author is no longer, though the world is far better for having him. There is no higher praise to give a man. May his words keep him immortal. So it goes. .

By: cpualani

cpualani — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:36:19 -0800

Dang. Why do things like this have to happen to people when we need them the most? .

By: runningdogofcapitalism

runningdogofcapitalism — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:36:24 -0800

By: mikw

mikw — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:37:16 -0800

By: derivative algorithm

derivative algorithm — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:40:19 -0800

By: merelyglib

merelyglib — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:41:02 -0800

* .

By: Bokononist

Bokononist — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:41:33 -0800

* Such an interesting peephole, it is sad to see it shut. So it goes.

By: ottereroticist

ottereroticist — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:43:32 -0800

By: bkudria

bkudria — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:44:53 -0800

By: Foosnark

Foosnark — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:44:53 -0800

By: ORthey

ORthey — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:45:09 -0800

My sadness is definitely lessened by coming here and finding all these people who feel the same way as me. Sirens of Titan is my favorite, and I re-read it every few months. One of the few authors who can make me laugh at loud regularly. Dang. .

By: prosthezis

prosthezis — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:45:31 -0800

His books are the only books I've ever re-read just for the hell of it. All I want to do now is call in sick tomorrow so I can read KV all day. *

By: ORthey

ORthey — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:45:50 -0800

Laugh out loud, also.

By: ORthey

ORthey — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:49:10 -0800

Oh, and another thing: Goddammit, davidmsc, you've got to be kind.

By: luckypozzo

luckypozzo — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:49:40 -0800

Life. I'm really starting to hate it.

By: Durhey

Durhey — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:52:41 -0800

I only just recently started reading his books, and realized I should have been doing so all my life. Fortunately, he left behind a lot of really great books, and I suppose if I'd already read them, I wouldn't have the pleasure of reading them the first time.

By: the_bone

the_bone — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:52:56 -0800

Fuck, man. Fuck. .

By: EatTheWeak

EatTheWeak — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:53:07 -0800

Ah, hell. *

By: Mil

Mil — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:55:51 -0800

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:00:38 -0800

. sad day for words of all sorts

By: scheptech

scheptech — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:03:48 -0800

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:04:51 -0800

By: Mister Bijou

Mister Bijou — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:07:38 -0800

By: jewzilla

jewzilla — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:10:42 -0800

By: pointilist

pointilist — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:14:59 -0800

I think he was ready to go. Thanks for everything. good job. .

By: the_bone

the_bone — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:16:27 -0800

I've worried some about why write books when Presidents and Senators and generals do not read them, and the university experience taught me a very good reason: you catch people before they become generals and Senators and Presidents, and you poison their minds with humanity. Encourage them to make a better world. from Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut, 1988

By: timelord

timelord — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:18:34 -0800

* There was a particularly interesting interview he gave in Stop Smiling a few months ago. Unfortunately, only an excerpt is available online. Worth reading if you can find it.

By: salvia

salvia — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:20:07 -0800

And I just finished re-reading Slaughterhouse Five this past weekend.

By: peacay

peacay — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:20:13 -0800

By: Lynsey

Lynsey — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:20:36 -0800

Thank you, kv, for many fine words and fine books.

By: ottereroticist

ottereroticist — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:21:18 -0800

NOT EVEN THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE KNEW WHAT THE MAN WAS GOING TO SAY NEXT. ~*~ PERHAPS THE MAN WAS A BETTER UNIVERSE IN ITS INFANCY R.I.P. Kurt Vonnegut 1922-2007 He Tried.

By: herichon

herichon — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:21:41 -0800

God damn it, Mr. Vonnegut... how could you leave us, just when we needed you the most? So much work yet to do, and us with no compass. . . .

By: SansPoint

SansPoint — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:22:28 -0800

I've only read a handful of his books (Cats Cradle, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Bagombo Snuff Box), and I'm reacting worse than when Douglas Adams died. .

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:28:37 -0800

when the vast majority of people here on mefi would openly CHEER blah blah blah You really showed 'em, tiger.

By: salvia

salvia — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:29:45 -0800

When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in a bad condition in that particular moment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug...

By: MadamM

MadamM — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:31:01 -0800

ah, this is sad. .

By: chillmost

chillmost — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:31:13 -0800

By: Fenriss

Fenriss — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:34:42 -0800

I'd post the Last Rites, but it's been done. This really hurts. Goodnght, lucky mud.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:34:52 -0800

I hope someone has had the good sense to cut his head off and freeze it so it can be revived in a bubbling backlighted vat and launched into space as the soul of an earth-monitoring space station. But then the head is stolen, stolen again, forgotten in a utility closet, found, restolen, chased around space and Earth a little, and eventually crashed-landed on a small island off Tasmania, lost in the bush, and eaten by the last of the Tasmanian devils, now starving thanks to a manmade blight, but who manage to carry on the Tasmanian devil species thanks to eating Vonnegut's head. And there's a plague and all humans die and the Tasmanian devil evolves into the dominant species on Earth, a gentle marsupial folk with wide friendly grins between their long whiskers. And they find the gnawed skull with some evidence indicating its significance and they revere it as The Last Morsel.

By: phyrewerx

phyrewerx — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:36:24 -0800

Goodbye Mr. Vonnegut. Your works kept me thinking and imaging the world.

By: MythMaker

MythMaker — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:36:49 -0800

By: Mijo Bijo

Mijo Bijo — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:39:02 -0800

By: ScotchLynx

ScotchLynx — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:39:22 -0800

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:40:02 -0800

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:40:34 -0800

* and so on...

By: By The Grace of God

By The Grace of God — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:45:48 -0800

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:49:33 -0800

Makes me sad, but he was an old, old man who had wanted to die for a good long time, and that's just fine. Goodbye, Mr. Vonnegut. You helped me a lot.

By: Kiell

Kiell — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:50:48 -0800

By: mr.marx

mr.marx — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:53:10 -0800

Vila i frid.

By: retronic

retronic — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:56:13 -0800

By: zardoz

zardoz — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:57:52 -0800

And let us not forget his bravura performance...as himself in Back to School. .

By: wanderingmind

wanderingmind — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:58:59 -0800

. So it goes, as so many have said in this thread already.

By: Kudos

Kudos — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:01:28 -0800

By: voltairemodern

voltairemodern — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:05:58 -0800

By: kid ichorous

kid ichorous — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:06:45 -0800

good riddance to a pathetic wretch. Funny, he'd probably mod that up were he alive.

By: the_bone

the_bone — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:07:26 -0800

When I read Vonnegut's work, it makes me want to run out and save the world. This one's really hard. As Stavros mentions, he's been ready to die for a while (clearly evident when one reads A Man Without A Country), and he's stated several times that he wasn't writing anymore, so we needn't wonder about "what might have been." None of this makes his death hurt any less. My favorite author, and damn near my favorite person ever.

By: Firas

Firas — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:11:00 -0800

Oh. Oh man. Oh man. This makes me tear up. Oh God.

Listen. All great literature is about what a bummer it is to be a human being [...] But I have to say this in defense of humankind: No matter in what era in history, including the Garden of Eden, everybody just got there. And, except for the Garden of Eden, there were already all these crazy games going on, which could make you act crazy, even if you weren’t crazy to begin with.

"On other days we have wars as horrible as any you've ever seen or read about. There isn't anything we can do about them, so we simply don't look at them. We ignore them. We spend eternity looking at pleasant moments--like today at the zoo. Isn't this a nice moment?" "Yes." "That's one thing Earthlings might learn to do, if they tried hard enough: Ignore the awful times, and concentrate on the good ones." "Um," said Billy Pilgrim.

By: Firas

Firas — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:11:50 -0800

And, of course, if anyone ever deserved it, it is he: .

By: greasepig

greasepig — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:13:35 -0800

So it goes. .

By: Schlimmbesserung

Schlimmbesserung — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:14:27 -0800

By: Elmore

Elmore — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:21:47 -0800

By: matteo

matteo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:22:49 -0800

goodnight sir, and thank you

By: schyler523

schyler523 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:24:11 -0800

* so it goes...

By: tellurian

tellurian — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:27:40 -0800

bluevelvetelvis - "I remember when I was first getting into the Grateful Dead" Here's another tie-in for you, Jerry Garcia had the rights to Sirens of Titan.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:29:45 -0800

Oy. . Hey ho.

By: haveanicesummer

haveanicesummer — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:31:49 -0800

"Please, please, please. Nobody else die!" .

By: flippant

flippant — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:32:46 -0800

* Time to get better acquainted with the man's work.

By: nightchrome

nightchrome — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:32:57 -0800

By: Heywood Mogroot

Heywood Mogroot — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:33:44 -0800

. . . wow --> † <-- So weird to get a glimpse into the inner workings, to use the term loosely, of a conservative mind. Thanks, davidmsc.

By: imperium

imperium — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:40:59 -0800

By: Telf

Telf — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:45:16 -0800

I really wasn't expecting it, caught me off guard. *

By: joeblough

joeblough — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:46:05 -0800

By: Grangousier

Grangousier — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:50:42 -0800

Towards the end of my first term at Art School (in Newport, in Wales, in 1986) I went to a local jumble sale. As well as finding an oversized suit, there was a stall selling books, in particular a lot of brand-new Kurt Vonnegut books. I don't know what had happened there. Perhaps someone had robbed a book warehouse and donated the proceeds to charity. Anyway, I bought a copy of each separate title - a stack as long as my arm - and took them home. The following week I contracted flu (which I compounded by continuing to smoke Craven A cigarettes), which gave me the opportunity (and an interesting mindset) to read all the books. Which I did. He sort of worked his way into people's lives and minds as much as into their libraries. .

By: limnrix

limnrix — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:52:11 -0800

By: tehloki

tehloki — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:54:22 -0800

"good riddance to a pathetic wretch" I hope you were joking.

By: Firas

Firas — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:05:43 -0800

I hope you were joking. Given the man in question, he'd probably agree with the description, and go on to make a sardonic joke about it that on later reading reveals an embracingly universal but urgent humanity.

By: Tiresias

Tiresias — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:07:11 -0800

A strange thing happened today. I was walking home from a job interview and I started thinking about what would happen when Kurt Vonnegut died. I don't think about Kurt Vonnegut too often anymore, probably because I thought about him so much in the past, but today I was thinking about him and what would happen when he died and, horrendously enough, I briefly considered what would happen on metafilter when he died, and what I would say, what sort of fitting tribute would pour forth from my nimble fingers. In my mind, I decided that when the time came, I would somehow have my parent's copy of Slapstick (which currently lives at their house) on hand, so as to be able to quote the preface to that novel, in which he describes life as a giant slapstick farce and how the noblest trait humankind can aspire to is to be in on the joke, to barter with life in good faith. I swear, I actually thought about this today. This isn't the strange thing; the strange thing is that he actually did die today and whatever was going to happen on metafilter is happening now, and despite my intention to mark the man's passing with a simple, elegant " . " I just can't let it go at that. I won't even bother explaining what his writing meant to me when I was in high school, because this is a common theme: everybody was touched and changed and maybe hurt a little by Kurt Vonnegut in high school and though it's only a few years later for me, I think I know why. Everything was fucked up then, irremediably, and he was the only author I knew of who seemed to say "Well, yeah, it's fucked up. But what can you do?" And back then, in those fucked up times, that really resonated. Now, things seem less fucked up, I have more insight into the world, more understanding of my own behaviour, a greater grasp of the behaviour of others, and enough experience to know that things generally get better. But even then, I can't refute that original claim, and even then, I still find myself in the awkward position of half-assedly internetingly eulogizing a man who would have resented even a full-assed eulogy, internet or otherwise. But his shadow stretches far, and I go into things with good faith now, and I'll go into this in good faith too: This is a man who took out greatest values --- kindness, egalitarianism, justice, empathy --- and knocked them from their lofty idealogical pedestals, reduced them to mere common sense: the great things that make us human were brought down to the level of humanity. In his writing, injustice and evil weren't treated with horror and outrage but with a good-natured sense of bewilderment and amusement. I could call his writing a satire of humanity, and better people have, but it's not the vicious satire of Swift, where humanity is evil and horrific and only thinks itself noble. If his work is satire at all, then it's a wisecrack made by a man who takes mankind's kindness and nobility for granted and is disappointed but unsurprised by our inability to live up to the goals we've set. And what do you say about a man like that: who was so casual in his noble idealism that describing him as 'a decent man' comes off as high, existential praise? What do you say about a man who literally saw some of the darkest moments of humanity but believed so resolutely in it that he wasn't disgusted or disillusioned but merely confused? What sort of epitaph could possibly befit a man who refused to see his own greatness as anything but ordinary, to the point where he even wrote an epitaph that could stand on the stone of any human being, any time, any where, and stand for everything that humans stand for? Obviously, you use that same epitaph: Somebody, Sometime to Sometime: He tried. And then you top it off with a classy period. .

By: suedehead

suedehead — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:14:39 -0800

By: antifuse

antifuse — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:19:16 -0800

I wish I had something more elegant to say than .

By: asok

asok — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:29:13 -0800

dot

By: vhsiv

vhsiv — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:30:53 -0800

. . . So it goes... He'll be well missed.

By: juv3nal

juv3nal — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:33:00 -0800

By: saturnine

saturnine — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:40:36 -0800

. I am very sad, and I'm finding it hard not to be, despite not reading many of his books (I'm going to go and buy a new one right now to fix that). He was a great man, someone that was always relevant, and completely irreplaceable. RIP.

By: Optamystic

Optamystic — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:41:17 -0800

'I know a single word that proves our democratic government is capable of committing obscene, gleefully rabid, racist, yahooistic murder, of unarmed men, women, and children. Murders wholly devoid of military common sense. The word is a foreign word, the word is Nagasaki.' - Kurt Vonnegut Rest in peace, sir. You helped me get through this thing, whatever it is.

By: homodigitalis

homodigitalis — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:41:35 -0800

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:42:10 -0800

By: SharQ

SharQ — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:42:38 -0800

By: gravelshoes

gravelshoes — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:52:46 -0800

By: Drexen

Drexen — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:15:14 -0800

Gosh flippin' darn it to heck... .

By: ChestnutMonkey

ChestnutMonkey — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:17:16 -0800

By: redsparkler

redsparkler — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:17:42 -0800

We toasted accordingly, tonight, at several bars.

By: about_time

about_time — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:21:13 -0800

By: Windigo

Windigo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:21:20 -0800

By: El Brendano

El Brendano — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:30:31 -0800

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:"

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC

(from A Man Without A Country, 2005)

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:35:16 -0800

By: damnthesehumanhands

damnthesehumanhands — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:00:35 -0800

By: borkencode

borkencode — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:07:07 -0800

By: TedW

TedW — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:10:16 -0800

By: palmcorder_yajna

palmcorder_yajna — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:13:52 -0800

My political consciousness was born from a frothy mix of Harlan Ellison and you, Kurt Vonnegut. Twenty-five years on, and you're the one I'm still claiming. *, you dear, ragged old thing. I'll miss you.

By: furiousxgeorge

furiousxgeorge — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:16:17 -0800

Just heard about this on CNN (along with the "fact" that among his accomplishments was writing catch-22) really sad to hear it, one of my favorite authors.

By: kisch mokusch

kisch mokusch — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:18:08 -0800

By: Pendragon

Pendragon — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:21:48 -0800

By: I, Credulous

I, Credulous — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:22:23 -0800

in no particular order: Cat's Cradle, The Sirens of Titan, Mother Night, Slaughter-House Five...these books helped, these books mattered. goodnight, dear sir.

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:27:18 -0800

There's that classic conundrum: The teacher announces a surprise quiz to be held some time in the next month. The clever students try to outsmart the teacher to avoid having to study every night. The quiz won't be held on the last day of the month, because when there's no quiz by the end of the day before, there's no surprise. By similar reasoning, it won't happen the day before the last day. And since it can't happen that day either, the day before that is ruled out. And so on, backwards through the calendar. The students conclude a surprise quiz is logically impossible, don't bother studying, and are later blindsized by a surprise quiz. So it was with Kurt Vonnegut. He was older than any family members I have, smoked prodigiously and had pronounced suicidal urges. His death was practically preannounced, but like a too-clever student I concluded that since he would only go when I least expected it, he would live forever. And he schooled me one last time about unreasonable uses of logic.

By: sweetwildandmad

sweetwildandmad — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:30:57 -0800

By: motty

motty — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:33:50 -0800

By: burr1545

burr1545 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:36:30 -0800

By: Mayor Curley

Mayor Curley — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:36:31 -0800

By: Songdog

Songdog — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:39:15 -0800

By: litlnemo

litlnemo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:43:12 -0800

23 years ago some friends of mine at The Evergreen State College dragged me up to the University of Puget Sound to see Kurt Vonnegut speak. I didn't really want to go (I had not read any of his work at the time), but they talked me into it. They might even have paid for my ticket. Of course, his talk was amazing: funny, poignant, and pointed. I've always been glad, since then, that I let my friends talk me into going. It's one of my treasured memories. .

By: 2or3whiskeysodas

2or3whiskeysodas — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:46:11 -0800

By: Stunt

Stunt — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:53:23 -0800

What. What a totally horrid way to end an already not great night. I mean, I know he wasn't going to live forever but this really got to me. Bah. I likely would have never been able to meet him anyway, but now that's a bit more certain.

By: painquale

painquale — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:54:12 -0800

By: Roommate

Roommate — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:55:23 -0800

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:00:31 -0800

Last night before I went to sleep I was reading the wonderful interview with Vonnegut in The Paris Review Interviews Volume I, and laughing my head off, and trying to work out which of the novels to start re-reading in the morning, then I wake up to this news. So it goes. In case anyone was wondering, this is the exchange that had me in fits: Vonnegut: Through careless usage, twerp is a pretty formless insult now. Interviewer: What is a twerp in the strictest sense, in the original sense? V: It's a person who inserts a set of false teeth between the cheeks of his ass. I: I see. V. I beg your pardon; between the cheeks of his or her ass. I'm always offeding feminists that way. I: I'm not quite sure why someone would do that with false teeth. V. In order to bite the buttons off the back seats of taxicabs. That's the only reason twerps do it. It's all that turns them on. I: You went to Cornell University after Shortridge? V: I imagine.

By: Ritchie

Ritchie — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:05:33 -0800

Dang. First Ambrose Bierce, now Vonnegut. Oh, well - he wasn't going to write Beethoven's Ninth Symphony anyway.

By: trinarian

trinarian — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:12:19 -0800

By: toothgnip

toothgnip — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:22:45 -0800

By: jaronson

jaronson — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:30:18 -0800

So it goes...

By: rdone

rdone — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:34:51 -0800

When I was six (1956) we lived in the center of Indianapolis. Our house backed up to an alley. On the other side was a hardware store. Vonnegut's Hardware. I used to cut through Vonnegut's nearly every day to get to the main street where the movie theater was. When I read "Cat's Cradle" 12 years later, I realized with pleasure that Kurt was part of my karass.

By: kdar

kdar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:35:03 -0800

. Aw, man. What a sad way to start the day.

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:39:55 -0800

I guess he's joined the Ghost Shirt Society. .

By: caution live frogs

caution live frogs — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:40:40 -0800

I haven't read enough Vonnegut. I'm sad that there won't be any more. (It is OK with me that he didn't destroy the entire world on his way out, though. That was kind of him.)

By: Rock Steady

Rock Steady — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:43:07 -0800

. Hey ho.

By: biffa

biffa — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:46:54 -0800

By: ND¢

ND¢ — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:50:54 -0800

Kurt is up in heaven now.

By: Cookiebastard

Cookiebastard — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:51:07 -0800

I'm looking at my bookshelf and I see Slapstick and Galapagos and Timequake. And I'm remembering that even as far back as Slaughterhouse 5 he was commenting that he was a very old man. A lot of us read him in high school. For me, high school was twenty-two years ago, but I still read his books occasionally. He wrote with a simplicity of style that was accessible by any teenager, but with a depth that could be appreciated by anyone at all. And he was almost always right.

By: blindcarboncopy

blindcarboncopy — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:53:53 -0800

I will skip the dot, but will say this - reading Galapagos has changed my worldview in a way few books ever have. Thank you for all the great work, Kurt. I am certain Vonnegut's books will continue to be viewed as the defining voice late 20th century American literature, long after his many contemporaries fade into obscurity. On a sidenote, I am doubly sad from reading this thread, for I did not realize Joseph Heller is dead until happening on one of the comments towards the top. Double-bummer.

By: mkhall

mkhall — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:02:31 -0800

Until now I did not realize the efficacy of the mourning dot. It is easy to find on the keyboard when your eyes are tearing up. .

By: TBoneMcCool

TBoneMcCool — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:04:38 -0800

By: cotterpin

cotterpin — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:05:36 -0800

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:10:16 -0800

This hits me hard. And I'm feeling very touchy. I want the whole damn world to grieve with me. I want every front page of every newspaper devoted solely to Vonnegut's death. My dad got me into Vonnegut when I was about 12. He was one of my dad's favorites. It was my dad's birthday yesterday. Vonnegut is one of very few authors I loved in my adolescence who only gets better and better as I reread his work. He spoke to my sense of being a misfit. I don't feel like a misfit anymore, but when I read Vonnegut now I come to the realization that I am still a misfit, that everyone's a misfit, that we are, in fact, all misfits together. The best essay I've read about Kurt Vonnegut not by Kurt Vonnegut was in Dale Peck's Hatchet Jobs. It is, as far as I could tell, the only positive review in that thing. As far as I'm concerned, especially today, Kurt Vonnegut was the greatest American novelist of the 20th Century. Nobody's mentioned Palm Sunday, his "autobiographical collage." It's one of his greatest works. I reread a few years ago, and parts of it had me in tears. I can't remember whether it was in Palm Sunday or the "sequel" Fates Worse than Death where he talks about his suicide attempt, but his experience, and resilience in the face of his debilitating depression has always given me hope that friends of mine who've attempted suicide will go on to live a full life. I'm shocked at my own shock. Even though I knew that he was very old, I still had the expectation that I would see him speak one day, or maybe even meet him (and I would promptly embarrass myself in front of my biggest heroes). Or, hell, he'd at least stick around long enough for the Swedish Academy to get a sense-of-humor transplant and reward him with the Nobel Prize. I have so much more to say, but I've run out of words. Kurt is up in heaven now. *

By: nekton

nekton — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:10:19 -0800

By: Reto

Reto — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:10:42 -0800

By: kcds

kcds — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:11:59 -0800

I had a long and philosophical conversation with an old friend yesterday morning, and afterward, the words "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be" popped, unbidden into my mind. Now what do you suppose that means? And - .

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:13:21 -0800

One more thing. I think Vonnegut would get a kick out of twenty people marking his obituary as their "favorite" :)

By: hal9k

hal9k — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:15:55 -0800

10 <-- This is Rockefeller on his wedding day. 0 <-- This is a normal day. -10 <-- This is the morning Kafka wakes up as a cockroach. -20 <-- This is me. Now.

By: hadjiboy

hadjiboy — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:18:54 -0800

"By saying that our leaders are power-drunk chimpanzees, am I in danger of wrecking the morale of our soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle East?" he wrote. "Their morale, like so many bodies, is already shot to pieces. They are being treated, as I never was, like toys a rich kid got for Christmas in December." RIP

By: humblepigeon

humblepigeon — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:19:34 -0800

376 comments so far. Metafilter—you're very predictable.

By: Dr-Baa

Dr-Baa — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:19:46 -0800

. . .

By: furtive

furtive — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:20:36 -0800

By: moonbird

moonbird — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:21:06 -0800

...................... ************* I drink cold coffee in this godforsaken hotel for you, man.

By: picea

picea — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:23:05 -0800

By: jonp72

jonp72 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:23:58 -0800

. I once heard him speak when I was at Brown University. He never seemed to overestimate the power of literature. He said, "My dentist thinks I wrote Kon-Tiki, and my congressman thinks I wrote A Clockwork Orange." Let's just hope his former son-in-law, Geraldo Rivera, doesn't try to have a TV special opening his crypt or something like that.

By: pax digita

pax digita — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:26:19 -0800

He was, indeed, ready to go, and said as much. But I feel privileged to have been exposed to his wisdom. Kurt, I hope you've found some pleasant surprises as of last night. You certainly deserve no less. .

By: purephase

purephase — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:27:01 -0800

Damnit! Son of a bitch owed me $20! So it goes. Kurt, the firestorm is over. May you rest in peace. *

By: condour75

condour75 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:33:12 -0800

Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne.

By: condour75

condour75 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:34:34 -0800

oops, what ronv quoted.

By: jenii

jenii — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:35:26 -0800

I have not read him since high school. I'm not sure why. I don't re-read books, as a rule. There just isn't enough time. There are so many more books to be read, and I will never be able to read them all. (I did re-read Catch-22, and more than once. That story -- the story of the brutality and senselessness of war -- has stayed with me my whole life, and comes floating back to me in fragments when I least expect it.) But I may make an exception for Slaughterhouse Five. .

By: BeerGrin

BeerGrin — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:38:57 -0800

By: Killick

Killick — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:40:36 -0800

"One thing which Uncle Alex found objectionable about human beings was that they seldom took time out to notice when they were happy. He himself did his best to acknowledge it when times were sweet. We could be drinking lemonade in the shade of an apple tree in the summertime, and he would interrupt the conversation to say, "If this isn't nice, what is?" So, I hope that you Adams and Eves in front of me will do the same for the rest of your lives. When things are going sweetly and peacefully, please pause a moment, and then say out loud: 'If this isn't nice, what is?' Hold up your hands if you promise to do that." Thanks, Kurt.

By: elquien

elquien — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:50:32 -0800

By: fuse theorem

fuse theorem — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:53:47 -0800

I'll never forget the famous urban legend attributing to him the advice to wear sunscreen. Oh, this feels like when Hunter S. Thompson died... .

By: WPW

WPW — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:54:56 -0800

. (400, I think)

By: 1f2frfbf

1f2frfbf — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:56:45 -0800

Thank you, meat. Great, now I've got tears in my eyes and it's only 9am

By: mediareport

mediareport — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:59:00 -0800

I think I'll commemorate his death by giving one of his books to someone who's never read any. Whenever a young person comes into the bookstore where I work and asks for "a good book," my stock answer is, "Have you read Vonnegut?" I've been surprised at how many of them say no, so yeah, give a copy of Cat's Cradle to a young teenager you know today. The shock of recognition from reading that one - and Galapagos later on - changed me forever. Thanks, Kurt.

By: TechnoLustLuddite

TechnoLustLuddite — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:06:20 -0800

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:07:04 -0800

What makes me even sadder than his dying is that there will be no anonymous online emotional outpouring when I go.

By: Crash

Crash — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:17:10 -0800

By: kableh

kableh — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:17:44 -0800

What a way to start the day... .

By: Alpenglow

Alpenglow — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:19:14 -0800

By: popechunk

popechunk — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:19:22 -0800

By: empath

empath — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:22:10 -0800

I read Slaughterhouse Five in high-school in 1991, while the Gulf War was going on. It was the first book I'd ever read that moved me in a way that wasn't purely escapist entertainment. I felt like a different person coming out the end of it than I was at the beginning, like the lines he drew on his wall passing through Dresden. It was, more than anything else, what made me anti-war, which made me start questioning the society that could continuously and needlessly lead us into war over and over again. It was my political awakening, and the beginnings of a moral awakening for me as well. I don't think I'd be who I am today had I not read that book when I did. The world is a better place for having had someone like Vonnegut in it. And I'm immensely sad that he's gone, though I know he's perfectly fine and still writing at many other moments right now. So it goes.

By: yeoz

yeoz — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:26:20 -0800

By: DragonBoy

DragonBoy — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:27:32 -0800

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:29:00 -0800

By: prostyle

prostyle — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:30:40 -0800

By: cass

cass — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:32:43 -0800

By: PhatLobley

PhatLobley — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:32:58 -0800

I read Man Without A Country recently and was a little depressed that my worldview was so incredibly similar to that of a grumpy octegenarian. The world is a worse place for no longer being seen through his eyes. * Shit.

By: Morrigan

Morrigan — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:33:12 -0800

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:33:42 -0800

•

By: RokkitNite

RokkitNite — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:38:02 -0800

By: Cyrano

Cyrano — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:39:16 -0800

By: contessa

contessa — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:42:52 -0800

By: timnyc

timnyc — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:43:39 -0800

My hero. I will miss you. What gifts of wit and wisdom you gave us.

By: timnyc

timnyc — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:45:09 -0800

By: COBRA!

COBRA! — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:45:48 -0800

I don't think there were too many peple who did more to humanize 20th Century America.

By: ourobouros

ourobouros — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:47:15 -0800

Kurt Vonnegut was the only author who ever made me mad enough to actually throw a book across the room. Thank you, Mr. Vonnegut. .

By: Fezboy!

Fezboy! — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:48:03 -0800

The bottling of celebrity heads thing in Futurama? If I were a selfish person, and I really am when you get down to it, I'd bottle his head so he could keep giving interviews and dictate novels. But then I realize he just keeps saying the same basic thing:

Can you believe this? Can you make sense of this? Me neither. I suppose we should all just try to make the best of it and be kind to each other while we figure it out.

So simple but so many don't quite get it and even fewer act on it–myself included. I'd maunder on all day if I could... Reading him always felt like sitting across the table and chatting with my grandfather. I discovered Vonnegut right around the same time he died and it was a way to extend those Saturday afternoons sitting across the table from an old man who was simultaneously bitter and sweet and who drank one after the other while smoking Winstons.

By: terrapin

terrapin — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:53:34 -0800

Jerry Garcia had the rights to Sirens of Titan. And Jerry named the music publishing arm of Grateful Dead Productions, Ice Nine. So long, Kurt. I really enjoyed hearing you speak at the University of Maryland in the mid-80s and for all the wonderful stories you shared. .

By: firemouth

firemouth — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:55:35 -0800

By: amberglow

amberglow — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:56:42 -0800

. (he was wonderful--people forever will know the absurdity of life in the 20th century thanks to him)

By: Devils Rancher

Devils Rancher — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:57:49 -0800

My Grandfaloon is diminished.

By: gomichild

gomichild — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:02:22 -0800

By: Remy

Remy — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:06:45 -0800

* Was googling for things this morning before I had to leave for work; being a Cornell alum, it's been driven into my head that he went there (Hocus Pocus was set around the Finger Lakes, and Cat's Cradle had some Cornell references as well), and also that he worked at the Daily Sun for a good long while. This quote has been on the Sun website for a while, and it is worth sharing: I was happiest when I was all alone -- and it was very late at night, and I was walking up the hill after having helped put The Sun to bed. All the other university people, teachers and students alike,were asleep. They had been playing games all day long with what was known about real life. They had been repeating famous arguments and experiments, and asking one another the sorts of hard questions real life would be asking by and by. We on The Sun were already in the midst of real life. By God, if we weren't! We had just designed and written and caused to be manufactured yet another morning newspaper for a highly intelligent American community of respectable size — yes, and not during the Harding administration, either, but during 1940, 1941 and 1942, with the Great Depression ending, and with World War well begun. I am an atheist, as some of you have gleaned from my writings. But I have to tell you that, as I trudged up the hill so late at night and all alone, I knew that God Almighty approved of me. Other items from the Sun today: * A letter from 1980 from Vonnegut about breaking the Pearl Harbor bombing story. * Video of Vonnegut speaking at the Sun's 125th Anniversary Banquet.

By: Mcable

Mcable — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:08:39 -0800

By: mygothlaundry

mygothlaundry — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:08:45 -0800

Thank you, Kurt, for everything you gave me, including that comment that you were committing suicide by cigarette, a tactic I have been trying to emulate for lo these many years now. Damn.

By: cybercoitus interruptus

cybercoitus interruptus — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:09:24 -0800

By: MasonDixon

MasonDixon — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:14:16 -0800

So it goes. .

By: steef

steef — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:14:46 -0800

I'm going out back to bury my paperback of Sirens of Titan, now. Goodnight, Mr. Vonnegut. Thank you.

By: whoshotwho

whoshotwho — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:14:53 -0800

By: mosessmith

mosessmith — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:20:12 -0800

By: quite unimportant

quite unimportant — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:21:16 -0800

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:22:26 -0800

Here I am, cleaning shit off of practically everything. / No pain. God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut. .

By: Terminal Verbosity

Terminal Verbosity — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:25:27 -0800

This thread has slightly diminished, at least for today, my general cynicism towards humanity much in the way Vonnegut's books could do. He could simultaneously show you how wretched we all are and how just maybe we have a chance in spite of ourselves. Thank you Metafilter and thank you Kurt Vonnegut. So it goes.

By: donnagirl

donnagirl — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:26:40 -0800

I saw Vonnegut once, when I lived in Chicago. He was on a signing tour for Palm Sunday. I waited in line for hours at a Kroch & Brentano's to have him sign my first edition of Breakfast of Champions. The woman in front of me in line had a baby and a toddler in one of those double strollers. When she got to the head of the line, he looked at her stroller and said that he'd always wanted to borrow one baby and a double stroller and go to a playground in a park. Once there, he wanted to pretend to look for the "missing" child. After every parent and nanny there had become absorbed in helping him search and call for the non-existent toddler, he would turn to them, say "oh well, I still have this one" and walk off. Absolutely and without question my literary hero has passed.

By: rubyeyo

rubyeyo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:29:53 -0800

By: BozoBurgerBonanza

BozoBurgerBonanza — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:33:57 -0800

Listen. .

By: bink

bink — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:34:07 -0800

So it goes.

By: ab3

ab3 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:36:01 -0800

Kurt is up in heaven now. .

By: Seabird

Seabird — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:39:35 -0800

"If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human stupidity; and I would climb to the top of Mount McCabe and lie down on my back with my history for a pillow; and I would take from the ground some of the blue-white poison that makes statues of men; and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who." -- Cat's Cradle So it goes. *

By: jennyjenny

jennyjenny — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:39:47 -0800

By: callmejay

callmejay — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:40:03 -0800

Still and all, why bother? Here's my answer. Many people need desperately to receive this message: I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone. I didn't know him, but I loved him.

By: slackdog

slackdog — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:40:59 -0800

Thanks, Kurt. . . .

By: ludwig_van

ludwig_van — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:45:50 -0800

By: porpoise

porpoise — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:46:16 -0800

By: allaboutgeorge

allaboutgeorge — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:46:19 -0800

This gave me some comfort last Christmas. It gives me comfort anew this post-Easter week. [...] For my part as a witness, if I could convey only one thing about James Brown it would be this: James Brown is, like Billy Pilgrim in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, a man unstuck in time. He's a time traveler, but unlike the HG Wells-ian variety, he lacks any control over his migrations in time, which also seem to be circumscribed to the period of his own allotted lifespan. Indeed, it may be the case that James Brown is often confused as to what moment in time he occupies at any given moment. [...] This time-traveler theory would best explain what is hardest to explain about James Brown, especially to younger listeners who live so entirely in a sonic world of James Brown's creation: that he made it all sound this way. That it sounded different before him. [...] All his moments are one. James Brown, in this view, is always conceiving the idea of being James Brown, as if nobody, including himself, had thought of it until just now. At any given moment James Brown is presently reinventing funk. [...] .

By: muddgirl

muddgirl — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:49:42 -0800

I just picked up Welcome to the Monkey House yesterday. It's astonishing that even his "slick" writing for Playboy or Cosmo is complex and layered and ultimately both cynical and full of hope. Vonnegut is a more compelling and coerisive humanist than Dawkins will ever be. I think Vonnegut would laugh, by the way, at the teeth gnashing and hair-wrenching going on in this thread. I'm going to take this opportunity to join the ACLU. I urge concerned citizens to do the same.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:49:57 -0800

Goddamnit you fuckers, I'm sobbing here. I love you all so much, you bastards. I don't think I've ever felt less alone on this fucking ridiculous planet. I didn't even cry like this when my grandma died two months ago and I loved her, too. I almost never cry - and never before for a "celebrity" or an individual I've never met. Mr. Vonnegut? Thank you for the absurdly kind words that day at the flea market with a bit too much sunshine in my eyes. That day you taught me it was not only OK to laugh, but essential. Even if people stared and wondered. For Wampeters and Foma and Granfaloons and ice-nine and karass and everything. Every last little thing you stubborn, stubbornly loving son of a bitch. Thank you most of all for being humble and giving me Theodore Sturgeon. Thank you for paying his bills. Thank you for getting him work. Thank you for immortalizing him in your stories for those that would never hear of him otherwise, that they would at least know something of a sketch of his kind. Thank you for the incredible, awesome humility it must have taken to not only acknowledge him, but to openly acknowledge him as your better - and then even supporting him! Good God, man! If it wasn't for you I would have never known his works. I couldn't ever thank you enough for your own writing... but that, that love and support for the word and for the love of humankind, I'm weeping. There will never be adequete words. There's only sorrow and loss and profound thanks. And impossibly lucky, happy mud. I'm glad you finally got what you wanted, old man. It was tearing me up watching your frustration. Thanks for everything. I don't think there's anything in the rulebooks about coming back as a bodhisvatta twice, y'know. God knows we need you.

By: endermunkee

endermunkee — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:52:47 -0800

When I was a freshman, the university had him as their first speaker of the year. I arrived hours early to the venue, only to find that I had been preceded by hundreds of people, lines snaking through the hallways, all waiting. Still, I managed to get a seat close to the stage, and in awe I spent every moment straining to see him over the tops of the students' heads. I will go home and dig out my photos of him from my dresser where they are kept safe, and remember. .

By: Nathaniel W

Nathaniel W — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:57:21 -0800

The first time I read Slaughterhouse-5, I started it while in the waiting room at a dentist's office. I was probably in sixth grade or so, and I hadn't read anything like it before. I began glancing around at the other people in the waiting room, positively charged with the thrill of discovery and though to myself, "These people have no idea what's going on over here. The way my brain works is actually changing right here in the same room as them." It felt like a secret shared by only me and Mr. Vonnegut, and I relished it. In high school, we were assigned Harrison Bergeron in class, and I once again found myself marveling at him. The end of that story both amused and devastated me, and I became almost evangelical about getting my friends who weren't in that class to read the story. When I went off to college, a small stack of Vonnegut's books were among the possessions I took across the country. As a sophomore at college I decided to go to the opening night screening at the New York Film Festival. I had thrown on some clothes that were wrinkled and might have used a washing, waited on line for a standby ticket, and finally got one. There were two screenings that night, and as I had ended up with one for the later screening I figured I might miss out on hearing the filmmakers speak, but I'd still get to see the movie. It turned out, however, that the later screening was the actual official opening, replete with red carpet and appearances by the stars. So I was directed to walk the red carpet, now underdressed and a bit unkempt. As I walked along, the flashbulbs started going off like crazy, and I started hearing the photographers yelling "Kurt! Kurt! Mr. Vonnegut over here!" and I realized that I was standing right behind a tuxedo clad Kurt Vonnegut. The realization that I likely appear somewhere in many rolls of film wearing a wrinkled red t-shirt behind Kurt Vonnegut gave me a rush of that same thrill from back in that dentist's office. Thanks for all of it, Mr. Vonnegut.

By: Fully Completely

Fully Completely — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:58:36 -0800

By: frecklefaerie

frecklefaerie — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:02:11 -0800

By: maryh

maryh — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:06:56 -0800

Dammit, I hate crying so early in the morning. Sleep tight, lucky mud *

By: Sir BoBoMonkey Pooflinger Esquire III

Sir BoBoMonkey Pooflinger Esquire III — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:09:32 -0800

(*)

By: Sir BoBoMonkey Pooflinger Esquire III

Sir BoBoMonkey Pooflinger Esquire III — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:11:04 -0800

. . . . (*) . .

By: cmyk

cmyk — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:12:02 -0800

Oh, goddamnit. That magnificent bastard. *

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:16:11 -0800

I can't believe that I forgot to mention that I directed a production of "Happy Birthday, Wanda June" back in high school. I had to fight the whole hegemony to get that play onto the stage, and it was wonderful. Even the props and set were amazing-- the real hunting trophies on the walls, the genuine smashed violin, the breakaway coffee table. Bringing Kurt Vonnegut's words to life was one of the greatest triumphs of my youth. I didn't just direct, either; I also played Von Koenigswald. Although they'll never see this comment, I want to thank Max, Ben, Andrew, Dale, Paul, Nina, Kelley, Mike, Beej, Howard, Phyllis, and everyone else whose time and effort made it possible. And thank you, Mr. Vonnegut, most of all.

By: secretary bird

secretary bird — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:16:54 -0800

By: zeypher

zeypher — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:18:39 -0800

By: Nabubrush

Nabubrush — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:22:30 -0800

Well, fuck. *

By: amberglow

amberglow — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:25:33 -0800

2003: ... I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers. Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened, though, is that it has been taken over by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d’etat imaginable. And those now in charge of the federal government are upper-crust C-students who know no history or geography, plus not-so-closeted white supremacists, aka “Christians,” and plus, most frighteningly, psychopathic personalities, or “PPs.” ...

By: beta male

beta male — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:30:51 -0800

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:31:16 -0800

. All the choices for "greatest living American author" now seem huge steps down from Mr. Vonnegut.

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:32:55 -0800

. Slaughterhouse Five is probably my favourite book.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:34:11 -0800

I read Cat's Cradle when I was on vacation when I was 13. When I got back home I went to the used book store and bought every single Vonnegut they had and read them all within a few weeks. Fraking great stuff. I need to go back and re-read some of them now.

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:34:21 -0800

oh no... it's all borrowed sanity, from men like this. and they're closing up shop. .

By: scarabic

scarabic — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:37:56 -0800

By: talos

talos — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:47:01 -0800

By: ahimsakid

ahimsakid — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:47:49 -0800

"If this isn't nice, what is?" There is fellowship and community in our common loss. Thanks Metafites. Thank you Kurt.

By: treepour

treepour — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:47:53 -0800

Breakfast of Champions saved my life. RIP. .

By: -t

-t — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:48:25 -0800

I can't recall ever wishing there was an afterlife before. Miserable damn news. I'm going back to bed. .

By: -t

-t — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:48:25 -0800

I can't recall ever wishing there was an afterlife before. Miserable damn news. I'm going back to bed. .

By: Item

Item — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:51:05 -0800

By: SBMike

SBMike — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:53:52 -0800

By: joedan

joedan — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:54:20 -0800

By: subtle_squid

subtle_squid — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:54:25 -0800

By: timnyc

timnyc — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:00:56 -0800

Same experience at octothorpe. Except the book was Slapstick (the one he gave himself a D for). Still one of my faves. Read them all one summer.

By: scottymac

scottymac — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:07:36 -0800

By: hackwolf

hackwolf — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:08:55 -0800

By: Atom Eyes

Atom Eyes — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:11:10 -0800

By: maryh

maryh — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:13:08 -0800

If there is actually a personal, Calvanistic-type big ol' beardy God, there's some consolation in knowing that He's getting the ass-chewing of an eternity this morning.

By: verveonica

verveonica — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:16:21 -0800

I cried this morning when I learned that a great voice was silenced. I cried this morning when I walked into work and commented over the cube farm "Didja guys know the Kurt Vonnegut passed last night?" and heard several voices respond "Who's he?" and resume talking about who was kicked off on American Idol and how rich Larry Birkenhead will be. Great voices are no longer heard, in many more ways than one. Kurt, tears continue to fall for you today. Tomorrow I shall give thanks. Verve

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:19:15 -0800

He didn't like the internet. Kurt on Wikipedia. An anecdote in memoriam. Early on Sunday morning in the late 1980's I was kneeling on the pavement on West 53rd Street, next to the Museum of Modern Art. I was setting up my street vending display, selling African art. A tall, good looking man, who looked vaguely familiar stopped and asked to see the "Child's Elephant Dance Headdress from the Bamileke Tribe, Cameroon". It was barely 9am, too early for most people to buy anything and I thought he was just time wasting before the museum opened. But he insisted on seeing it. Somewhat irritated, I handed the mask to him and as I stood next to him said, "You look vaguely familiar, are you an actor?" He said nothing but now he looked irritated. He looked over at the mask from Nigeria and said, "The Ibo people are the most stupid people I ever met." But I had a feeling he was directing that comment at me, lol. He abruptly said he'd take the mask and as I was standing in front of him, bagging it, he took out his checkbook, which seemed damned arrogant. I hadn't put out my sign that said "Personal Checks Accepted" yet. Since his checkbook was upside down in front of me it took a few seconds to read the name, K-u-r-t, holy shit, V-o-n-n-e-g-u-t. omg, Mr. Cat's Cradle himself. This was going to be a hard check to put in the bank, I just wanted the autograph. He asked me to mail him the info about the mask, which I did. He said he was going to give the mask to his wife. Wish I could have said something to thank him for decades of being influenced by his work but how does one put that into words? Hell, I'd insulted him for thinking he was an actor. Sadly, that gave me a chuckle but it's been nice to think something I sold him was keeping him company all these years. The bird has flown the cage.

By: Token Meme

Token Meme — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:21:24 -0800

* I've never been so depressed as I am right now. Fuck.

By: YamwotIam

YamwotIam — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:26:51 -0800

*cough, cough*

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:27:06 -0800

I called my dad this morning to talk about Vonnegut and he told me that he'd once met him, which I never knew before. It was at a literary convention in Reykjavik, and my dad remembered him as very kind and warm man. I can't think of another author whose writing is as suffused with warmth and kindness like Vonnegut's. I also tried to reach a friend of mine who lives in Buenos Aires. He doesn't read very much, but he's read everything Vonnegut's ever read. I feel proud of having started him on that route when I gave him Breakfast of Champions or Slaughterhouse 5 as a birthday gift one year. I'm currently reading Chabon's new Yiddish Policemen's Union. I had this vague idea that the current generation of writers that incorporate comic books and mysteries and narrative trickery into their work were the offspring of Vonnegut. But it's not the case at all. They're nothing like him. The only author I can think of who is anything like Vonnegut is Laurence Sterne, much more than Mark Twain.

By: ChrisR

ChrisR — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:30:28 -0800

By: Witty

Witty — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:31:26 -0800

Peace KV, peace.

By: naoko

naoko — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:33:41 -0800

Vonnegut on The Daily Show .

By: HyperBlue

HyperBlue — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:35:42 -0800

By: the sobsister

the sobsister — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:38:06 -0800

I read Slaughterhouse-Five in high school. And then promptly read and re-read everything else that was in print by Mr. Vonnegut up till that time. Which was a long time ago. The news this morning that he had died caused me to think, Oh, too bad, in a very generalized way. Then a few people wrote to me about crying in front of their computers at the news. Then I read this thread and remembered how much I'd loved his writing and realized how easily I'd forgotten that enjoyment. Thanks, MeFites, for reminding me. And thank you, Mr. Vonnegut, for many, many hours that entertained as they instructed and instructed as they entertained. I didn't know books could be like that even as I didn't know I was realizing that very thing. Effortless. .

By: Dr. Boom

Dr. Boom — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:42:56 -0800

Kurt Vonnegut has become unstuck in time.

By: spaltavian

spaltavian — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:43:04 -0800

Slaughterhouse-Five rightfully gets a lot of attention. But my favorite work of his is Jailbird, the obituary of the 20th century. The revolution won't be televised, because there won't be a revolution, and there never was going to be. Vonnegut knew that.

By: Ogre Lawless

Ogre Lawless — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:47:27 -0800

By: bonecrusher

bonecrusher — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:58:10 -0800

busy. busy. busy. .

By: gramcracker

gramcracker — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:00:13 -0800

No one has mentioned my favorite Vonnegut quote, which pretty much sums up the way I try to live my life: "We are here to help each other through this thing, whatever it is."

By: gramcracker

gramcracker — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:03:07 -0800

And if you've never read "God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian," by Vonnegut, it's an absolutely beautiful little thing, requiring no more than 20 minutes of your time.

By: sarcasman

sarcasman — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:06:57 -0800

I remember seeing him at UC, the very school that rejected his masters thesis and refused him a degree until Cat's Cradle. He told his story and summed his "wonderful paper" with such humor, such dignity in wit, such grace and gentility, smiling at the students as though they know so much more than the administration, whom he referred to repeatedly as "liars." He answered every question with pause and thoughtfulness, and when some east coast ass put down his childhood home in the midwest, he angrily defended it as a source of several prominent authors and artists, before returning to his usual non-chalance. I knew it then, and can only hold onto it now, as an encounter with the Twain of our time, one of the bravest, most honest and creative thinkers America has produced. Tough and true to the very end. .

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:16:16 -0800

the vonnegut on the daily show link is wrong. here is the correct link: vonnegut, daily show

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:21:51 -0800

Mods: thanks you for deleting davidmsc's comments (and my own kneejerk reaction, too).

By: melissa may

melissa may — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:22:04 -0800

Oh, gramcracker. Same here. It's the mean bastards who always think they have the corner on the truths of the world, and when I was an adolescent on the verge of joining them -- just waiting for the bombs to drop that would turn the whole world to ice -- Vonnegut helped me remember the truth: kindness is true courage. So is love. Even if it is written: What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years? Nothing. He made me laugh and he rescued me from the ice, and I will always love him for that.

By: prambutan

prambutan — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:27:22 -0800

By: gravelshoes

gravelshoes — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:36:28 -0800

I feel miserable. My sister gave me a copy of Breakfast of Champions when I was at university, and I read it with the same sense of astonishment as many in this thread at what he was doing. I'd never read anything like it. One of my small aims in life has been to get more people to read Vonnegut. I don't know how many copies of his books I've given away to friends. A few weeks ago I moved into a new flat with bare walls and I bought a signed print of one of his ridiculous doodles. It's sitting here next to me, and it's making me cry. I now realise that I've been dreading Vonneguts' death for years.

By: Space Kitty

Space Kitty — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:49:26 -0800

Thank you, KV, for doing what you've always done - making me smile through my tears. Rest well, lucky mud. *

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:49:36 -0800

The Society of People Asked Not to Return to University of Chicago Anthropology is short one member.

By: Football Bat

Football Bat — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:55:31 -0800

David Markson told me this story about having a book signing with Vonnegut. Apparently, it was basically impossible to carry on conversation with him because there was this constant and overwhelming outpouring of affection and love from Vonnegut's fans. Markson was shocked and said he'd never known of another writer who was loved as much as Vonnegut. While I second many posters who talk of Vonnegut's discontent with the current deplorable state of the human race, it is something of a balm to know that he was loved (and knew he was loved) so fiercely for his life's work.

By: lilnemo

lilnemo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:58:06 -0800

I loved the man. And for good reasons. Thanks for introducing me to my wife. *

By: Space Kitty

Space Kitty — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:59:20 -0800

And thank you, metafilter, for giving me a place to commiserate.

By: ourobouros

ourobouros — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:11:04 -0800

So it goes, from indexed.

By: cowbellemoo

cowbellemoo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:22:16 -0800

By: The Great Big Mulp

The Great Big Mulp — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:32:34 -0800

. Man, the last time I cried when a famous person died, it was Jim Henson. And I was 9. Vonnegut's books have changed my life. I wish I had a chance to shake his hand. I just started "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" yesterday. It's the only novel of his I haven't yet read.

By: bshort

bshort — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:36:01 -0800

By: BlackLeotardFront

BlackLeotardFront — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:37:25 -0800

. One of my original favorites, and certainly one of the best of the 20th century.

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:42:05 -0800

I haven't read enough Vonnegut, and I've never been so glad to work at a bookstore for tomorrow I can go in and wander out of work with as much Vonnegut as my arms can carry. Though to be honest, if there's any left on the shelves, I'm going to be disappointed in humanity. Kurt's in heaven now. *

By: verysleeping

verysleeping — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:42:41 -0800

By: joaquim

joaquim — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:48:32 -0800

A long time ago, I was with a group of people being held hostage by a young man who was listing all the famous people from his home state of Indiana. Just to yank his chain, I threw in Eliot Rosewater. Someone else in the group said, "Where do I know that name?" I introduced myself to her and we talked about Mr. Vonnegut's books. A few years after our wedding, we met Mr. Vonnegut and recounted the story to him. He apologized to my wife. Delicious. On preview: no, I didn't marry lilnemo. It looks like Mr. Vonnegut could have been a matchmaker on the side.

By: GalaxieFiveHundred

GalaxieFiveHundred — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:50:35 -0800

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:53:55 -0800

Kurt Vonnegut on GooTube. "When you're dead, you're dead. Make love when you can. It's good for you." Kurt Vonnegut

By: allaboutgeorge

allaboutgeorge — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:54:47 -0800

[...] "When Hemingway killed himself he put a period at the end of his life; old age is more like a semicolon," Vonnegut said in 2005. "My father, like Hemingway, was a gun nut and was very unhappy late in life. But he was proud of not committing suicide. And I'll do the same, so as not to set a bad example for my children."

By: cyrusdogstar

cyrusdogstar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:00:31 -0800

By: nerdcore

nerdcore — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:05:48 -0800

crap. he was the only author I ever read whose forwards were actually worth something. thanks for infecting me with humanity so early on kurt. i love you. .

By: Sparx

Sparx — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:13:06 -0800

When my nephew was born, thousands of miles away, I sent him a plush panda and a copy of slaughterhouse five. I figured the panda could look after him until he learned to read. PS. DAMN YOU METAFILTER! THIS ISN'T WHAT I PAID MY FIVE BUCKS FOR

By: speicus

speicus — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:17:27 -0800

When someone like Vonnegut dies, a whole universe winks out of existence. * .

By: crake

crake — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:22:04 -0800

. --------------------------------------------------- I'm going to go find my duplicate copies of Mother Night and Breakfast of Champions and see if the public library here takes worn out paperbacks as donations. The only Vonnegut they have is one Slaughterhouse Five. Besides, reading a crisp, new, hardback Vonnegut seems unnatural. Wish I had a copy of Galapagos to give them--my extra Origin of Species (which they also don't have) will have to do.

By: vaportrail

vaportrail — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:34:03 -0800

. what a sad day. fuck.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:06:59 -0800

To quote Kurt Vonnegut: "He died. So it goes." *sniff*

By: hal9k

hal9k — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:08:10 -0800

Mustard gas and roses.

By: found missing

found missing — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:59:57 -0800

Okay; but I still don't see why they call him a controversial Christian cartoonist.

By: x_3mta3

x_3mta3 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:01:59 -0800

So it goes...

By: humannaire

humannaire — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:10:42 -0800

I'm sorry, but upon reflection, I am upgrading... *

By: Onanist

Onanist — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:15:10 -0800

By: nola

nola — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:15:12 -0800

By: found missing

found missing — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:29:08 -0800

Isn't it kind of rude to use the splat * sign, just because he died of brain injuries as a result of a fall?

By: winks007

winks007 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:40:26 -0800

allaboutgeorge's comments have piqued my interest in his other works. . RIP .

By: Zozo

Zozo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:44:05 -0800

By: amberglow

amberglow — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:51:14 -0800

don't forget to read Player Piano (that was my first of his, and his first novel--i find a lot of people haven't ever read it).

By: verveonica

verveonica — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:06:06 -0800

found missing: Please Read Breakfast of Champions. You will immediately understand the depth of using the asterisk here for Mr. Vonnegut.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:08:38 -0800

Yeah, that “.” has never been more appropriate here. There are no words. .

By: amberglow

amberglow — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:21:56 -0800

These are pretty good words: ... What do I think his most important lesson of all was? That it is a good and noble thing to be a good and caring human being, regardless of race, creed, color or political or physical boundary. ...

By: Devils Slide

Devils Slide — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:23:27 -0800

By: Mental Wimp

Mental Wimp — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:41:35 -0800

By: thermogenesis

thermogenesis — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:44:34 -0800

So it goes, indeed. I don't know that I would have been a coherent human being if I hadn't discovered KV at a critical formative time in my life. .

By: ktoad

ktoad — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:46:16 -0800

By: stackmonster

stackmonster — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:12:57 -0800

how totally and horribly sad. my favorite author by far. my cats name is even bokamaru... i have read almost all his works and feel the need to reread a few old favorites. hi ho.

By: Dr.James.Orin.Incandenza

Dr.James.Orin.Incandenza — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:18:36 -0800

batshitinsane

By: Navelgazer

Navelgazer — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:34:57 -0800

Poo-te-weet

By: glycolized

glycolized — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:42:32 -0800

By: found missing

found missing — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:42:33 -0800

found missing: Please Read Breakfast of Champions. You will immediately understand the depth of using the asterisk here for Mr. Vonnegut. What makes you think I haven't read it? I've read all his books, and I know his little asshole symbol. So, if it isn't a splat, it's an asshole.

By: onyermarx

onyermarx — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:42:49 -0800

"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different."

By: amberglow

amberglow — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:44:37 -0800

great tribute at digby: Bad Uncle, Good Uncle , including this: --... But I had a good uncle, my late Uncle Alex. He was my father's kid brother, a childless graduate of Harvard who was an honest life-insurance salesman in Indianapolis. He was well-read and wise. And his principal complaint about other human beings was that they so seldom noticed it when they were happy. So when we were drinking lemonade under an apple tree in the summer, say, and talking lazily about this and that, almost buzzing like honeybees, Uncle Alex would suddenly interrupt the agreeable blather to exclaim, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is." So I do the same now, and so do my kids and grandkids. And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is." ...

By: Adam_S

Adam_S — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:50:45 -0800

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:54:18 -0800

Well fuck. .

By: unrepentanthippie

unrepentanthippie — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:01:32 -0800

By: amberglow

amberglow — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:12:38 -0800

Pandagon too -- ...Still, Vonnegut is a symbol of the 20th century version of the Enlightenment, what you might call the populist era of the Enlightenment in America, a time when ordinary people really started to reject, in large numbers, the mythologies about the greatness of war and the mandatory nature of religion and finally began to ask some hard questions about these things. Vonnegut was at the forefront, and his death, coming at a time when fundamentalism and a war lust that refuses to even put a good show of justifying itself are on the rise. It’s a lot like Molly Ivins’ death in that way. ...

By: brilliantmistake

brilliantmistake — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:12:44 -0800

By: Marla Singer

Marla Singer — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:13:28 -0800

By: scody

scody — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:24:30 -0800

And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is." That's awesome. Thanks for that, amberglow.

By: speicus

speicus — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:26:31 -0800

found missing, verveonica: I was thinking of the asterisk in Galapagos, not Breakfast of Champions, which is a harbinger of death, not a sphincter.

By: found missing

found missing — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:38:18 -0800

ah so. Makes more sense in the current context.

By: effwerd

effwerd — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:49:26 -0800

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 18:00:40 -0800

Questions: what was the "cross" symbol about, up there, directed at me?

By: effwerd

effwerd — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 18:01:30 -0800

You know, it's just weird. I haven't turned on the television in two weeks. And for no reason, I turn it on and the first thing I see is Keith Olberman telling me Kurt Vonnegut is dead. I really loved that man. I've always wanted to, you know, give him a hug. And thank him. again: .

By: theora55

theora55 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:17:30 -0800

By: Bron

Bron — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:21:48 -0800

When I was just hitting puberty I stumbled across the story 'Welcome to the Monkey House' and got one of my first boners. So thanks for that, dude. RIP *

By: JDHarper

JDHarper — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:22:04 -0800

Wow. Until late last night, I had never heard of Kurt Vonnegut. Looks like I need to visit the library on my way home from work tomorrow.

By: StrangeTikiGod

StrangeTikiGod — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:33:10 -0800

So not a lot of people know that "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" was a flop of an off-Broadway musical back in 1979, written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken of "The Little Mermaid" fame. We did it in high school, I played Kilgore Trout, and one lyric from the end of act I always stuck with me. Diana Moon Glampers, future Handicapper General in "Harrison Bergeron" sang as follows: "I always used to think that God just plain forgot me, or maybe got my life mixed up with someone who was not me. I'm still a little scared, I'm still a little sad, but I've got to confess, it ain't been half so bad, I think I'm coming around, since you came to this town. God bless you, Mr. Rosewater, God help us 'til you came. God keep you where we need you God love you and your name. God bless you Mr. Rosewater, God bless you." Good night, Mr. Vonnegut. Thanks. .

By: Baby_Balrog

Baby_Balrog — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:43:30 -0800

Galapagos changed my mind about a great many things. .

By: ztdavis

ztdavis — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:53:35 -0800

By: amphioxus

amphioxus — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:08:08 -0800

By: annasbrew

annasbrew — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:10:07 -0800

* . And so it goes.

By: DoctorFedora

DoctorFedora — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:21:00 -0800

By: DoctorFedora

DoctorFedora — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:22:09 -0800

Guh, can't post inline images. Adding my own tribute/obit.

By: tmcw

tmcw — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:28:12 -0800

By: graventy

graventy — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:39:27 -0800

By: Skygazer

Skygazer — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:36:35 -0800

Alright, I've already expressed my terrible sadness upstream and I've been avoiding coming on here all day because this is a terrible loss and I knew you guys would be justifiably inconsolable, there's almost 600 comments! (there is hope for us yet my friends, my admiration for Mefites has never been greater), but I just read this interview Vonnegut did back in 2005 on the PBS program NOW (yes, already pointed out up stream) and it had me laughing my ass off and I think that's the best we can do right now is to keep laughing. I'm sure that is what KV would have wanted, so please read it (I especially thought it hilarious when he talks about his "bad" uncle). Anyhow, if this interview isn't nice I don't know what is...

By: dazed_one

dazed_one — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:51:22 -0800

By: eritain

eritain — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:52:29 -0800

Poo-te-weet?

By: ninthart

ninthart — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 02:44:33 -0800

Coming in late on this wake, but Goddamn it... .

By: Devils Rancher

Devils Rancher — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 06:55:12 -0800

Poo-te-weet? I don't get the Vonnegut reference, but I recognized it as a song title from Mike Keneally's album Dancing. I went to the bookshelf last night, hoping to find some solace in Cat's Cradle, but it appears that I've given it away. Again.

By: chinese_fashion

chinese_fashion — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 07:04:11 -0800

I posted my own tribute here -- too big for the comments section. Read if you like...

By: dazed_one

dazed_one — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 07:37:28 -0800

Poo-te-weet is the sound of the birds after a massacre from Slaughterhouse Five.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:19:29 -0800

I always wanted to write just like him. A wisp of undifferentiated nothingness.

By: Gratishades

Gratishades — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:22:24 -0800

When I found out the news I was without the internet. The first thing I wanted to do was come on the blue, it hasn't disappointed. He may not have liked the internet, but it looks like the internet loves him. *

By: me & my monkey

me & my monkey — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:26:29 -0800

I'm glad he made it as long as he did. He was an obvious candidate for suicide, if for no other reason than witnessing the annihilation of Dresden.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 09:20:13 -0800

my boyfriend read slaughterhouse-five for the first time a while back, and i really enjoyed seeing how much he loved it. then we were talking about vonnegut in general, and i mentioned that when i was stuck in the hospital as a teenager the only book they had in the commons area that wasn't like, woman's day recipes from 1972 or something was this bizarre telecast based on vonnegut's writings. and i remembered enjoying it, a lot, but since then i had forgotten its name and none of the stuff in book flaps or on amazon by him rang a bell. i was beginning to think i was crazy and had imagined it. but no. a couple weeks ago my boyfriend surprised me--he tracked it down and bought me a beloved worn copy that looked identical to the one in the hospital. between time and timbuktu. then wednesday night we went to a friend's tapas and drinks birthday party and stayed out late. we get home and i'm about to turn the light off to go to bed--we both work the next morning--and my boyfriend interrupts to tell me vonnegut had passed away, and how. and it made my night sad. but i was also happy, because i love my boyfriend, and i loved reading vonnegut, and i had just been talking about his stuff with a few coworkers 2 days earlier. he's great because he could be totally brilliant but never ethereal or "above," distantly intellectual. his books are the kind people want to discuss in a friendly and social, enthusiastic manner to strangers. whenever i talk about favorite vonnegut books with other people, i can't help but end up grinning like an idiot. and they do too.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 09:29:06 -0800

Last night, i realized that Life on Mars reminded me of Vonnegut (the unstuck in time thing, i guess)

By: bitter-girl.com

bitter-girl.com — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 13:08:00 -0800

By: amberglow

amberglow — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 19:55:09 -0800

... "We're all lost animals, looking for a herd," he said. ...

By: brevator

brevator — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 20:37:33 -0800

By: the_very_hungry_caterpillar

the_very_hungry_caterpillar — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 01:52:55 -0800

By: acro

acro — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 09:55:10 -0800

. BBC documentary 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 11:58:16 -0800

If anyone is still reading this, MeFi's own ed has an excellent collection of Vonnegut links on his blog.

By: Jaybo

Jaybo — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 22:03:19 -0800

By: darkstar

darkstar — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:38:43 -0800

Holy cow. Two more comments and there's 600 on this thread. RIP Kurt.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 05:24:16 -0800

acro: thanks for the BBC links. An interesting combination of drama and documentary, there. What a joy to see Vonnegut interviewed. Filled me with warmth, and renewed appreciation for that wonderful soul, Kurt Vonnegut.

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 11:32:05 -0800

600.

By: tehloki

tehloki — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 19:35:18 -0800

The fact that 2 of the last 3 of 600 comments are discussing the very achievement of reaching 600 comments is kind of silly.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:04:11 -0800

kind of silly. Yay! I'm the 1 from the 2 out of 3 that wasn't silly! (Of course, Vonnegut often displayed a certain fondness for silliness, so silliness is not entirely inappropriate in this thread, I think). I'm number 602!

By: Chuckles

Chuckles — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:13:06 -0800

I'm number 735 - I've become unstuck in comment count.

By: tehloki

tehloki — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 01:35:29 -0800

I watched the letters slowly disappear off of the screen and enter the user's fingers via some kind of keyboard....

By: Chunder

Chunder — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:32:23 -0800

Hmm - the only Vonnegut book I read was Cat's Cradle, and I struggled with it... perhaps I should try again, or try another of his, as an awful lot of people seem to rate him. RIP

By: antifuse

antifuse — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 06:35:39 -0800

Chunder: Cat's Cradle is probably one of my favourite Vonnegut books, but I don't really think it's his best. Try Slaughterhouse 5. The first Vonnegut book I ever read was Hocus Pocus. It was an odd little book, but endeared me to the man forever.

By: ProfLinusPauling

ProfLinusPauling — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 21:54:45 -0800

Here's Something depressing for all of you: the callously partisan Vonnegut video obit by Fox News. (I did my best to Google that this wasn't up already on mefi.) NYC Lit blogger Maud Newton was particularly offended by this part: "By the late ’70s, Vonnegut was rich and irrelevant, the subject of other people’s books, and a sacred cow of the New York literary scene." But for my money the final lines are by far the worst. Though, it's a tight race in a piece that more-or-less positions him as a confused, wrong-headed and depressed comic author who's critical success more or less made him a life-long pet of the sinister "New York Liberal Establishment."

By: tehloki

tehloki — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:48:56 -0800

Philip K. Dick on Kurt Vonnegut: Interviewer: What did you think of Vonnegut’s attitude towards his characters (in Breakfast of Champions)? PKD : Disgusting and an abomination. I think that that book is an incredible drying up of the liquid sap of life in the veins of a person like a dead tree…that’s what I think. I also love Kurt Vonnegut.

By: LeLiLo

LeLiLo — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 23:37:32 -0800

I hated Breakfast of Champions too. Really didn't like it. In fact, Vonnegut fascinated me because there seemed to be no middle ground. Slaughterhouse Five? A work of true genius. Slapstick? (Which the author himself reportedly disliked, in fact he graded it a D.) Loved it. Cat’s Cradle, Player Piano, Deadeye Dick? Didn't think much of them. Mother Night, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater? Wonderful. Welcome to the Monkey House left me cold. Wampeters, Foma, & Granfalloons and Palm Sunday? Admired them greatly. What an amazing man. Anyway, I just came back in here again because, in less than 10 minutes of wandering the web, I came across two historic pieces by Kurt V. no one has yet posted, Der Arme Dolmetscher from 1955, and The Worst Addiction of Them All, from 1983. Both quite good.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 05:41:11 -0800

I suspect that Vonnegut would have approved of the frank and amusing Fox News obituary linked above. Look I have enjoyed reading Vonnegut as much as anyone here. But I think that most of us understand that he was not a writer for grownups. His work is somewhere between Gary Paulsen and Hemingway--writing for advanced adolescents or young adults. He was by no means a literary giant, he was an engaging and talented pulp writer who happened to catch a counter cultural wave. RIP.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 06:50:03 -0800

Vonnegut on his style: Q: By way of eloquence, you've said that you write in the voice of a child. Do you think — Vonnegut: Well, that makes me readable in high school. Not too many big sentences. But I hope that my ideas attract a lively dialogue, even if my sentences are simple. Simple sentences have always served me well. And I don't use semicolons. It's hard to read anyway, especially for high school kids. Also, I avoid irony, too. I don't like people saying one thing and meaning the other.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 10:29:03 -0800

Very nice, Amberglow. One of the most charming things about Vonnegut is his honest appraisal of his own work. He would have little patience I think with those trying to deify him or add him to the canon.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:54:40 -0800

and that's why he deserves canonization--his honesty and simplicity--it's a very no-bullshit attitude that speaks to millions, yet wasn't stilted or trying to overcompensate or anything (a la Hemingway). : >

By: muckster

muckster — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:18:06 -0800

Hey, don't diss Papa. At least he didn't fail at suicide.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:29:50 -0800

that's true. Hemingway was like a god to many in Vonnegut's generation i think--and he certainly was the most famous American writer during Vonnegut's youth and young adulthood.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:30:29 -0800

(I guess it was Hemingway and Steinbeck)