TYT: Kurt Vonnegut Through The Eyes Of His Son Mark (What Did Vonnegut Think Of Bush? & More)

[ihavenobias]

"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward."
Kurt Vonnegut

Some of you may have guessed that I'm a fan of Vonnegut, though I can't imagine why ;). In some ways being a fan of his has become cliche over the years, but hey, he was just so damn witty, biting and insightful (on human nature, life, death, politics, you name it)...how could I *not* be a fan?

Anyway, enjoy this interview with Vonnegut's son, and if you never have (or haven't in a long time), go out and get a Vonnegut book, trust me, you owe it to yourself. If that's too daunting of a task (because of the time and or money), remember he has a lot of short stories and there are a lot of used book stores. If you think fiction is a waste of time, I disagree though understand. With that said, you may well learn more from a Vonnegut book than that non-fiction book you're reading. http://www.amazon.com/Armageddon-Retrospect-Kurt-Vonnegut/dp/0399155082

Obviously Slaughterhouse Five is his most famous work (for good reason), but he has many other great writings. He was a brilliant, complicated man, and I really regret never hearing him speak in person.

All right, enough of my rambling, here's the interview. Mark Vonnegut joins Cenk and Wes Clark Jr (yes, General Wesley Clark's son) to talk about his father: http://youngturks.wmod.llnwd.net/a591/o1/4-03-08Vonnegut.wmv

Also, here's a great Rolling Stone piece on Vonnegut and his thoughts on Bush:

Vonnegut's Apocalypse
He survived being captured by the Nazis and the suicide of his mother to write some of the funniest, darkest novels of our time, but it took George W. Bush to break him http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/11123162/kurt_vonnegut_says_this_is_the_end_of_the_world

PS---I'm also, as you may have guessed, a huge fan of The Young Turks (aka, TYT). A thank you to them for this interview.

www.theyoungturks.com

[HCE SuiGeneris]

1. I have hooked my 15 y/o niece on Vonnegut.

She is currently reading Cat's Cradle... another one of my favs.

Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand
Kurt Vonnegut
US novelist (1922 - 2007)

[ProgressiveFool]

7. Oh no, not the hyooook! /nt

[ihavenobias]

8. That was my first Vonnegut book actually n/t

[spanone]

9. wait till she gets to sirens of titan....then hit her with breakfast of champions

[drmeow]

2. too daunting of a task because of money

try a library!

[ihavenobias]

4. I agree, but people will make any excuse not to read a book

Come to think of it, there has to be Vonnegut on CD or MP3, right? I never bothered looking into it.

[Bonobo]

3. I met him once. He is one of my greatest heroes.

I could not say enough about this great humanist.

Thank you.

[JitterbugPerfume]

5. over the years

I have read every scrap that I could find of his writings . My books are my treasures to be read over and over. He helped to mold me into the person I am, for good or ill.

[SpiralHawk]

6. So it goes...

...get your Bokomaru on...

[CherylK]

10. Thank you for the link, I will listen when a I get a chance

:)

[ihavenobias]

11. Read the Rolling Stone article as well

Trust me, it's good.

[CherylK]

12. I just did, very good! n/t