More than sad. I hate it when writers die under this regime. I would like a moritorium on this kind of thing, until Bush is out of office. One shouldn't die while the morons are triumphant. It is like, oh, goddamn it, like some good hobbit getting bumped off before that ridiculous big eye is blown up. It is like Humphrey Bogart dying before he gets to the plane at the end of Casablanca. It leaves an unfinished and grim feeling.

God damn it.

and here i was just starting to enjoy my day. :(

I always thought his take on Venus was ahead of its time. In one of his books within a book was the theory that Venus was overrun by automobiles. ( I forget which book, maybe Breakfast of Champions?) Decades later, we learn Venus' nasty atmosphere is what projected runaway greenhouse gas effect would be like. Maybe we've been there too and blew it there as well. A brilliant man in a crazy world.

Well, you what I always say.

i feel good for him. he did a lot. a lucky person. and based on his last little book, he had time to think it over before going, which i guess has its ups and downs.

I suspect I'm not the only person here who learned everything useful I knew before the age of twenty from Vonnegut novels....

So it goes.

Fuck. We were lucky to have him for so long.

"The Second World War was over-and there I was at high noon, crossing Times Square with a Purple Heart on."

Ah well. He was a for real good'un.

There's a lot of useful knowledge regarding psychology on this board, so a question occurs to me:

I've long entertained the idea that children of suicides are disposed to pathological behavior. Slobodan Milosevic and Karl Rove are two excellent examples. KV is an excellent counter-example, however.

Is anybody familiar with any science on this topic? I know that two examples hardly make a trend....

My fave comment from KV was when he spoke at the national humanist society meeting after Issac Asimov, the group's long-time leader, had died. Vonnegut started his speech with: "Issac's up in heaven now."

I think that quote is actually from "Slapstick", which I started reading again yesterday....no matter, hi ho.

my favorite recent quote of KV is from an article on AlterNet in which he, in passing, mentions that the Jerry Springer show (TV) is "Republican propaganda of the most pernicious type"
he never had to say very much to say one hell of a lot.
RIP Kurt. and hi ho!

Damn it. I ran over here after I heard. My thought was--well, we've just lost our ultimate wonderful American weirdo.

So sad. Yes, AD, I too learned much of everything from Mr. V.