EPTWell, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment.
MY WORK HERE IS DONE
SO SAY WE ALL
/caps
Kurt Vonnegut Appreciation Thread - Page 4
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procyonlotor
Italy473 Posts
MY WORK HERE IS DONE SO SAY WE ALL /caps | ||
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YouGotNothin
United States907 Posts
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AimlessAmoeba
Canada704 Posts
1: next to the last <the penultimate chapter of a book> 2: of or relating to the next to the last syllable of a word <a penultimate accent> Other than that, yeah, Vonnegut is a boss. | ||
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cmen15
United States1519 Posts
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TheAmazombie
United States3714 Posts
On November 19 2011 00:28 AimlessAmoeba wrote: Definition of PENULTIMATE 1: next to the last <the penultimate chapter of a book> 2: of or relating to the next to the last syllable of a word <a penultimate accent> Other than that, yeah, Vonnegut is a boss. Sorry about that. I changed it. I meant something along the lines of "magnum opus" but used the wrong word. =) On November 19 2011 00:10 procyonlotor wrote: MY WORK HERE IS DONE SO SAY WE ALL /caps We shall meet again if the accident will. | ||
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ZERG_RUSSIAN
10417 Posts
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TheAmazombie
United States3714 Posts
On November 19 2011 14:16 ZERG_RUSSIAN wrote: HOCUS POCUS is one of my favorite all-time novels. See, I like Hocus Pocus, but not as much as my wife, who loves it. I think it is great in many ways, but compared to the novels around it in BlueBeard and Timequake, I think it is not nearly as good. I do like the theme about the school/prison as well as the theme revolving around the perpetual motion machines. It is interesting, but I think in the end I just did not relate as well with the main character as much as in other books. That being said, it is always great for anyone to connect with KV, no matter which book speaks to you. =) | ||
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Foreplay
United States1154 Posts
My 2 favorites are probably Cat's Cradle and Sirens of Titan but Slapstick also holds a special place in my heart and is very underrated. I like to put Vonnegut books after very challenging reads in my book stack as something to kind of "wind down" on. | ||
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TheAmazombie
United States3714 Posts
On November 19 2011 16:22 Foreplay wrote: Vonnegut's books shattered the very foundation of my existence ( I've read SH-5, Cat's Cradle, Sirens of Titan, Mother Night, Breakfast of Champions, and God Bless You Mr. Rosewater and plan on reading them all eventully). My 2 favorites are probably Cat's Cradle and Sirens of Titan but Slapstick also holds a special place in my heart and is very underrated. I like to put Vonnegut books after very challenging reads in my book stack as something to kind of "wind down" on. I am not the biggest fan of Slapstick, but I do think it is underrated. It is a book that seems to take a ton of more meaning when you know and have stake in the author. If you don't know KV and his life, the book is kind of garbled I think, and that is why I think some people don't get into it at all. Either that, or if you have some personal stake as to what the overall theme of the book is about, then it means something. The few that really hold dear to my heart of SL5 and Timequake. I still get teary when I read certain parts of those, but for those 75-85 novels, I think it is Deadeye Dick that is the most underrated. I think about the boy, the mistake that he makes, and the way his family pulled around him to try to be sure that the mistake doesn't affect his life, but in the end it always does and always will affect him. | ||
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TheAmazombie
United States3714 Posts
KVML Events this weekend and beyond Happy New Year, you wonderful Vonnegutians! Friday, January 6th, 6 p.m.: Make your way to the Vonnegut Library this Friday night at 6 p.m. to see artist Jason Turner's work and hear about his experiences as part of the KVML's IDADA First Friday experience. Jason studied at Purdue and in London and teaches art in the northern part of Indiana. He will showcase a portrait of Vonnegut in addition to other work. This event is free. Sunday, January 8th, 2 p.m.: Historian and author Nelson Price (host of Hoosier History Live) will share his knowledge of Kurt Vonnegut and touch on the Vonnegut family in Indianapolis. This event is free. Saturday, January 14th, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.: The KVML is participating in the Peace Learning Center's 15th annual Martin Luther King Community Festival held at the Christian Theological Seminary, 1000 W. 42nd St. The KVML will share information about our organization and some of the important upcoming events that fit in with the theme. Saturday, January 28th, 12-5 p.m. (and a ticketed event later in the evening): The KVML celebrates its 1st anniversary on this day! MARK YOUR CALENDARS TO ATTEND THESE EVENTS! (All events are free to the public unless otherwise noted.) · All day: View the library’s newest acquisition, the Schehr Collection, which contains Vonnegut’s first edition books and magazines. · 1 p.m.: Japanese Americans held in internment camps during World War II share their stories of life in the camps. The panelists will touch on the subjects of war, peace, loss, and healing. The Vonnegut Library began an exploration of these themes in November 2011 with a screening of the award-winning documentary The Cats of Mirikitaniand an exhibition of the art of former internee, Jimmy Mirikitani. · 2 p.m.: Liza Newman, granddaughter of famous Hoosier radical and labor organizer Powers Hapgood, discusses her grandfather’s amazing life and also his connection to Kurt Vonnegut. Hapgood was the inspiration for the Kenneth Whistler character in Vonnegut’s Jailbird. · 3 p.m.: A string quartet from Butler University’s School of Musicwill provide live music. · 4 p.m.:Kevin Schehr recalls the stories behind some of the rare Vonnegut items in the Schehr Collection held at the library. · 7PM: The Heartland Actors Repertory Theatre (HART)will present a staged reading of Vonnegut’s only play, Happy Birthday, Wanda June. Tickets are $45.00 per person. Seating for this event is limited, so act now! To order tickets, go to http://www.eventbrite.com/org/435374436?s=1687503. For more information about any of these programs, contact the library via phone at 317.652.1954, e-mail info@vonnegutlibrary.org, or visit the web site at http://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/. You can also join the nearly 9,000 other Vonnegut fans on our Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/vonnegutlibrary | ||
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slytown
Korea (South)1411 Posts
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Sumahi
Guam5609 Posts
This is the final passage of Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut, and by far this is my favorite work of his. Cat's Cradle contained so much truth about humanity it seemed to explode off the page sometimes. I found it different than Slaughterhouse Five which was intensely personal and in so many ways a cathartic experiment. One thing that I loved about Cat's Cradle was that it gave me a new appreciation for two of the manga that I read, Berserk and Gantz in the same way in which the Bokon at the book's end wishes to die as a monument to "thumbing your nose at God" the protagonists for each of these mangas also seek to challenge their own gods. | ||
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TheAmazombie
United States3714 Posts
On January 06 2012 12:36 Sumahi wrote: "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." This is the final passage of Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut, and by far this is my favorite work of his. Cat's Cradle contained so much truth about humanity it seemed to explode off the page sometimes. I found it different than Slaughterhouse Five which was intensely personal and in so many ways a cathartic experiment. One thing that I loved about Cat's Cradle was that it gave me a new appreciation for two of the manga that I read, Berserk and Gantz in the same way in which the Bokon at the book's end wishes to die as a monument to "thumbing your nose at God" the protagonists for each of these mangas also seek to challenge their own gods. Great view point on Cats. I always liked the book for the theme of balance in conflict. The idea that Bokonism was outlawed, but everyone, up to the president of San Lorenzo were secret practitioners. The idea that in order to maintain stability, you had to have a antagonist, or a scapegoat if you will. This allowed a certain peace because the people could practice in secret and feel as if they themselves were "thumbing their nose" to the establishment. I am not saying it was a perfect idea, but an interesting one. | ||
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TheAmazombie
United States3714 Posts
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/derek-holland-announces-kurt-vonnegut-mavs-game-093456454.html | ||
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farside604
Canada127 Posts
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Mr. Black
United States470 Posts
that the entirety of human civilization was brought about to deliver a pointless message from one alien life form to another, that invading Martians could just be humans bamboozled into intentionally dying to form a better religion, that literal reading of the Bible could be the best investment system (for a while), just to name a few, Sirens is also, IMO the most straightforwardly comic of KV's novels--there are more outright jokes than most of the others. All his books have gallows humor, but Sirens seems to make me laugh out loud a but more. | ||
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TheAmazombie
United States3714 Posts
On January 17 2012 15:54 Mr. Black wrote: I believe I have read all of Vonnegut's novels and short stories (though every so often someone finds a few more stories and publishes them). I love them all. I have a special place in my heart for Sirens of Titan, though, because I have never read a more ambitious fictional novel (any suggestions would be appreciated). The ideas + Show Spoiler + that the entirety of human civilization was brought about to deliver a pointless message from one alien life form to another, that invading Martians could just be humans bamboozled into intentionally dying to form a better religion, that literal reading of the Bible could be the best investment system (for a while), just to name a few, Sirens is also, IMO the most straightforwardly comic of KV's novels--there are more outright jokes than most of the others. All his books have gallows humor, but Sirens seems to make me laugh out loud a but more. Good deal. Reading about your views on Sirens reminds me of one of my favorite ideas he ever wrote about: the story he talks about where the scientist believes that all intelligence in humanity is sent to those smart people by tiny radio transmitters in the brain. After searching for years and years, studying brains, he finally finds a tiny dot of cells in the brains of all smart and creative people, but not regular people. Then he kills himself because he realizes that for him to have come up with this idea, it must have been transmitted by a tiny radio in his brain. I just always thought that idea was silly and also strangely human. I love it, but I can't remember which book that was in at the moment. EDIT: Also, for laughing out loud, the two moments that I remember in my heart laughing out loud while reading KV were: 1. In SL5 when he says that "the champagne was dead. So it goes." Hilarious to state a "So it goes" to the flat champagne and 2. The small character in Cat's who was the elevator operator at the lab who would impress himself with his own jokes, grab his ass, and yell "Yes! Yes!" I still laugh just thinking about if he really existed. | ||
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TheAmazombie
United States3714 Posts
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TheAmazombie
United States3714 Posts
Voice of Vonnegut | ||
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TheAmazombie
United States3714 Posts
Our hero KV earned the top spot. Hell yeah! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/epic-literary-mustaches_n_1219404.html | ||
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