Little Thinkers' Quotes (13 of 16): Kurt Vonnegut

Here is today's quote from Kurt Vonnegut, author of "Slaughterhouse Five." When I was a reporter in Woodstock, Va., several years and touring the local jail, I was amused to see there was a copy of this novel in the prison library:

"True terror is to wake up one morning and realize that your high school class is running the country."

http://www.vonnegut.com/

I also have to wonder if Vonnegut ever met the engaging Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek before the author's death in 2007.

Quote of the Day- Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The editorial board here at "The Daily Vampire" which consists of managing editor (mr) Tilly Gokbudak (that's me) and a Honduran intern named Javier Gonzales (actually, a fictional person) decided late this afternoon to feature quips from literary and creative radicals for the month of August.

So, we begin with the late, great American novelist Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., who penned "Slaughterhouse Five," which was available at the Shenandoah County Jail Library in Woodstock, Va. (I am not making this up!), at least it was when I profiled the correctional facility as a reporter some 11 years ago.

According to Stephen King in King's book "On Writing," Vonnegut would type the same page 75 times until he got it just right. This practice sounds a bit like the perfectionism of the late film director Stanley Kubrick, but I don't if I should mention that since King reportedly disdains the 1980 film version of King's novel "The Shinning." And we like Stephen King. In fact, we are wondering if the temperature in King's hometown of Bangor, Maine, is less than 97 degrees as it is here in Mount Airy, NC, at the moment (not really where I am at).

The liberal magazine "The Nation" has apparently been posting some famous quips made in its pages over the years, and Vonnegut made this provocative statement in the magazine's Nov. 28th, 1981 issue, which we imagine the Rev. Johnny Robertson of Martinsville, Va., (a real person) might not appreciate:

"God shouldn't be put in charge of everything until we get to know him a little bit better."

SIDEBAR: On a more somber note, we want to send our condolences to the family of Gizem Dogan, a 17-year-old Norwegian girl of Turkish heritage who was killed at the summer camp in Norway last week. All total, the attacks in Oslo and on the island where the summer camps took place, claimed 77 lives. Both the NPR news program "The World" and the English-language Turkish newspaper "Today's Zaman" reported that Turkey's Foreign Minsiter Ahmet Davutoglu attended Dogan's funeral in Trondheim, Norway.

Gizem Dogan is perhaps the most high-profile casualty of a violent action in the Turkish media since Furkan Dogan, (we assume they are not related) a 19-year-old Turkish-American from New York state was killed by Israeli commandos during the infamous armed raid fiasco aboard the Marmara Flotilla, which aimed at giving food and aid to Palestinians, in June of 2010.

We learned today that Furkan Dogan's father filed a lawsuit in an American court against the Israeli government in May.

Top Ten Most Controversial Books of All Times

I must profess that the Top 10 Most Controversial Books of all time list that I found on 712educators.com actually cited "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" as the most controversial book on American library shelves, but I thought this image of Huckleberry Hound, the '60s cartoon that one can watch on Boomerang, would be more hip.

The idea, of course, stems from the proposed Koran book-burning crusade that the radical Rev. Terry Jones considered carrying out until virtually the last minute. He supposedly got a sign from God, or his doctor gave him a perscription to Prozac.

Alas, arch conservative Virginia governor Bob McDonnell (R), who is perhaps just 'slightly to the left' of Rev. Jones, will probably go through with the execution of a mentally ill woman from Pittsylvania County (near Danville) on Sept. 23. Perhaps, he will get a sign from God too.


"Huck Finn: was, of course, written by the great American writer Mark Twain. On Sept. 24, The Mark Twain House, which is in Hartford, Conn., (this surprises from Europeans since much of Twain's novels take place around his native Missouri), will be hosting a lecture from ghost-investigating legend Lorraine Warren. Yes, I know the "Ghostbusters" theme is probably going through your mind right now too!

It should be mentioned that the frequent use of the 'n' word is the prime reason for concerns about Twain's novel even though it illustrated the evils of slavery.

Here is the complete Top Ten List of controversial books:

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

2. The Cathcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

3. To Kill a Mockinghbird by Harper Lee

4. Bridge to Terabithia by Katerine Paterson (this was a surprise!)

5. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

7. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

8. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

9. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

10. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Top 10 Books to Read When You're Snowed In

Whew! I was trying to add a third image to this blog, but I've been having enough problems with this entry and it is almost two a.m. here in Burlington, Vermont*, but since a major storm affected the towns of Tulsa, Okl., Fayetville, Ark., Johnson City, Tenn., Rock Hill, SC, Princeton, WVa., Mount Airy, NC, Charlottesville, Va., Bethesda, Md. and Washington, DC (forgive us if we left anyone out), over the weekend, we thought we'd go with a Top Ten Books to read when you are snowed in.

*-Not where I actually reside

All of this is enough to make one wish they were in Key West, Fla., where not only do winter storms never occur but (I presume) Republicans are never elected to city council. This also happens to be the zip code where one can find The Ernest Hemingway House.

Among the books that have a special place in my heart is Kurt Vonnegut's anti-war classic "Slaughterhouse Five." I saw the book in the library for the Shenandoah County Jail in Woodstock, Va., when I was profiling the jail for the local paper. To this day, I wonder if any inmates have ever bothered to actually read it. They would presumably have the time!

And, a George Mason University professor told "The Washington Post" this week that he sent a letter marked J.D. Salinger Cornish, NH (plus the town's zip code) and not only did the reclusive author get the letter- he responded to it!

The images for this entry are fom Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" and the Ken Kesey statue in Eugene, Ore.

We chose the Dickens novel, in part, because it is a favorite of my good friend, children's author Sam Riddleberger, who resides in Belfast, Maine (not where he really lives....is this joke getting old?!)

Here is this godforsaken list!

Hope you enjoy it:

1. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger**

3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (Russian lit bias)

4. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

5. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

6. The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass (German lit bias)

7. Snow by Orhan Pamuk (Turkish lit bias)

8. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (yes, a woman recommended this!)

9. Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

10. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.


**-Of course, I am mentioning this title since the author just died!

Good, now we can move on to other things...............

Quote of the Week- Kurt Vonnegut

"We are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is."

SIDEBAR-Want to spend $29 to see a movie? Well, according to NPR, you can do just that at the Gold Class Cinema in Pasadena, Calif.!

COMING SOON-I just got back from Washington, DC, tonight. I will dedicate an entry to the trip some time this week.