294 Comments

Thank you so much for this article every year. I don't normally comment on articles, even as a regular contributor to this perfectly fine Mommyblog, but I've followed or shared this annual article many times. Not only have I utterly failed to outgrow Vonnegut, for some reason I only get more and more fanatical about him like a Benjamin Buttons for reading. I'm an audiobook narrator and voice actor, and over at my YouTube channel, I specifically use Vonnegut novels as practice and put them out for people to listen to. If anyone is interested, my favorite reading is Jailbird, a comedy about economics. But do enjoy Galapagos or (shudder, early work) Bluebeard while I decide which one I might do next. Slapstick? Player Piano? Dead Eye Dick?

https://youtu.be/QGv_VSdL8Os

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My AP English class read Paradise Lost and my HS was ninety percent Mormon. Our teacher described the book as a battle between Heaven and Hell. Students were so sure that God won until I asked the class if more folks were in Heaven or Hell now. Of course they thought Heaven was only their family and friends (on separate planets but) and so I won the point.

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If you've outgrown Roald Dahl, you've outgrown fun.

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'Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas' is about competitive motorbike racing.

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As every year - thank you

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I wrote a song based on one of his short stories.Welcome to the Monkey Househttps://youtu.be/TJNhruolRAo

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Well, since it is — or was, I suppose — Veterans Day, here’s a very damaged photo of my paternal grandfather at his Army Air Corps job in WWI: https://uploads.disquscdn.c... And one in slightly better condition, posing next to a friend (he’s on the right): https://uploads.disquscdn.c... And I always have to include one of my father when he was very young (probably 19 or 20), from WWII: https://uploads.disquscdn.c... OMG, he looks like Howdy Doody.

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Wonderful man. As I've mentioned here, I have a connection through his nephews, who went to my high school; their father, Kurt's beloved brother Bernard, was a distinguished atmospheric physicist at SUNY Albany, and one of the founding fathers of the modern study of atmospheric electricity. Kurt's science-fictiony bent owes a lot to his brother; he apparently always enjoyed hanging out with scientists, because of their lack of affectation.

When I was a junior professor at Dartmouth, Kurt spent a few days as a distinguished visitor, and we invited his brother up to give a physics colloquium on his work. Kurt attended, and as it so happened, I sat next to him. We didn't have a deep conversation, unfortunately.

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When I served the generals all loved their Kipling, but this one by Randall Jarrell was always my favorite. Sort of linked to Vonnegut in that I first read it in one of John Irving's books and they both were at the Iowa Writers Workshop:

Death of a Ball Turret Gunner

From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

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"In that Aprile when Yonge was the Sonne,I kyllled a Yonge Byrde,And ate it on a Bunne". --- Dave Barry

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This always brings me to tears.

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I FUCKING HATE EMOJIS!

I contend that if somethIng IS really funny you should NOT need emojis to convince anyone of that, cause that seems to be the only purpose that people that use them use them for.In this case, the overyuse is FUCKING OBNOXIOUS.Yes, what Colbert said was very funny, but it you think that is so funny that it makes you cry 4 times worth then you really need a lot of help.

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And Shel Silverstein. Fun fact, he wrote the Johnny Cash hit "A Boy Named Sue".

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The answer is that Steve Hackett's version of Geneis albums is EASILY THE BEST in terms of music.

First, you have Hackett, and a great vocalist, Nad Sylvan, who does a great Gabriel impression, PLUS a great drummer, Gary O'Toole, who sings Collins' parts on those songs Phil sang during the Gabriel era, and Steve's brother John Hackett playing Peter's flute parts

I've seen them now twice and while there are no fancy costume changes, the music is impeccable as nearer to the Gabriel era in SOUND which is what really matters, and also Steve does stuff from his solo albums.

Also nice to have met Steve twice and all the other band members too and gotten their autographs also.

some examples...

https://www.discogs.com/mas...

https://www.discogs.com/mas...

https://www.discogs.com/mas...

AS all three of the above were all recorded in the Uk there are a lot of guests that were not at the US shows.

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Amazing only in that people ever paid attention to that crap band.

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