Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Dies At 84

At least twenty-two readers took the trouble to make sure we knew that Kurt Vonnegut has died at 84. From the Times obituary: "Kurt Vonnegut, whose dark comic talent and urgent moral vision in novels like 'Slaughterhouse-Five,' 'Cat's Cradle' and 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater' caught the temper of his times and the imagination of a generation, died last night in Manhattan... Mr. Vonnegut suffered irreversible brain injuries as a result of a fall several weeks ago, according to his wife, Jill Krementz." Reader SPK adds: "He will be remembered not only as a great writer, but also as a staunch civil libertarian (long-term member of the ACLU) and as a 'mainstream/literary' author who integrated science fiction concepts into his writing. So it goes."

Sad news ... Kurt Vonnegut Jr, dead at 84

[Anonymous Coward]

I just heard some sad news on slashdot - Horror/Sci Fi writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr was found dead in his Manhattan home this morning. There weren't many more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to mercurian culture. Truly an American icon.

Re:Bokononist last rites

[mstahl]

I wonder if he died while thumbing his nose at God.... It would seem a fitting gesture.

So it goes

[WormholeFiend]

and another thing, Vonnegut... I'm gonna stop payment on the check!

Kurt Vonnegut JUNIOR?

[objekt]

Oh man, all this time I thought Kurt Vonnegut AND his son Kurt Vonnegut Jr. were both authors. Now they are BOTH dead!

Well

[Anonymous Coward]

Kurt's up in heaven now..

Re:I'd easily have traded all of hollywood,

[Aladrin]

What if ... What if we already did? Would explain a lot of things about Hollywood.

Re:a little less love

[dr_dank]

So I guess I shouldn't do this:

*

My best memory of him...

[tsmit]

[after Diane gives Thornton an 'F' for his report, which was actually written by Kurt Vonnegut]
Diane: Whoever *did* write this doesn't know the first thing about Kurt Vonnegut!
[cut to Thornton's dorm suite]
Thornton Melon: [on the phone] ... and *another* thing, Vonnegut! I'm gonna stop payment on the cheque!
[Kurt tells him off]
Thornton Melon: Fuck me? Hey, Kurt, can you read lips, *fuck you*! Next time I'll call Robert Ludlum!
[hangs up]

RIP

[walterwalter]

RIP Mr. Vonnegut Time will be stuck for a few of us today.

Re:Bokononist last rites

[eln]

This reminds me of a sign I pass every morning on my way to work. It is a sign for a Muslim Community Center. Now, I'm not picking on Muslims here, I'm sure there are plenty of Christian churches with similar signage. Anyway, the sign says something to the effect of "Men were created to worship God."

Every time I pass that sign, it strikes me as funny. After all, how insecure does God have to be to go to all the trouble of creating an entirely new species just to tell him how great he is? Couldn't he have saved himself a lot of trouble by standing in front of a mirror every morning doing self assurance exercises, a la Stuart Smalley? Or maybe some good old fashioned Prozac?

Hey, I'll miss him

[lseltzer]

That was one hell of a graduation speech he gave a few years back.

subject line

[Mahtar]

man that's too bad I really liked Nirvana

Re: Where to start?

[Bloke down the pub]

your conception of an asterisk will never be the same.

He was a slashdot subscriber?

Re:Thanks for the good reads, Kurt

[Mister Whirly]

"As a matter of fact, I can't think of a single time in my life that I thought to myself, "Gee! I wonder what the literary elites would think about that?""

I was just thinking this after I took a huge dump.


P.S. They loved it. Seems they always heap praise on utter shit.

Re:Thanks for the good reads, Kurt

[Gilmoure]

Can I recommend a Stephen King novel for your next read? How about Anne Rice?

Re:Thanks for the good reads, Kurt

[elrous0]

When I'm at the porn shop, I sometimes wonder what James Joyce would recommend.

Re:Well

[Anonymous Coward]

You left off the best (and most fitting) part.. immediately after the portion you quoted, Kurt wrote:

"And if I should ever die, God forbid, I hope you will say, 'Kurt is up in Heaven now.' That's my favorite joke."

So yes, Kurt is up in Heaven now. :)