Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut had something to say. We have it on tape

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 26 posts

Re: Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut had something to say. We have it on tape

#11

Post by JKCalhoun »

dillydogg wrote: post #8
JKCalhoun wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree. It's just not a very good Vonnegut novel though. You can see him without (yet) a voice in the novel. If "Breakfast of Champions" is a little too nutty though, I think I might like his "Mother Night" best. (But maybe we like nutty Kurt?)

I think "Hocus Pocus" is his best, followed by "Cat's Cradle". But how lucky are we to have so many good ones to pick from?

Thanks. Hocus Pocus slipped past me somehow. Now I have something to look forward to reading. (I liked Cat's Cradle too but it is also on the loopier end of Vonnegut's writing spectrum—but we need some more of that.)

Re: Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut had something to say. We have it on tape

#12

Post by gen220 »

grahameb wrote: post #3

Direct link to the Vonnegut recordings https://www.92ny.org/archives/kurt-vonnegut,-jr

This was an excellent listen, thank you for linking this directly!

Kurt Vonnegut was such a clear thinker and communicator, we were fortunate to have him for so long.

Re: Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut had something to say. We have it on tape

#13

Post by sehugg »

mentos wrote: post #4

Was just thinking to myself how Player Piano has never been more appropriate than the AI age we’re in such a hurry to usher in.

Bluebeard is a good one too; it ruminates on the nature of art and how/why meaning is assigned to it.

Re: Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut had something to say. We have it on tape

#14

Post by neilv »

mentos wrote: post #4

Was just thinking to myself how Player Piano has never been more appropriate than the AI age we’re in such a hurry to usher in.

My programming teacher in 9th grade spent half the class time on Pascal and programming, and half like a literature or social studies class, including reading and discussing "Player Piano".

Today, the people who most should read it and other things are not the people in our field. Just like the people who most should've been reading about the effects and dangers of Wall Street scamming, were not the coked-up bros doing the scamming.

Re: Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut had something to say. We have it on tape

#15

Post by beardbound »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #5
mentos wrote: post #4

Was just thinking to myself how Player Piano has never been more appropriate than the AI age we’re in such a hurry to usher in.

Agree. It's just not a very good Vonnegut novel though. You can see him without (yet) a voice in the novel. If "Breakfast of Champions" is a little too nutty though, I think I might like his "Mother Night" best. (But maybe we like nutty Kurt?)

Mother night was my favorite Vonnegut book.

Re: Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut had something to say. We have it on tape

#16

Post by DrewADesign »

“One Headline Copywriting Strategy Increases Clicks. This is How It Works…”

There seemed to be an era where clickbait headlines in major media were seen as passé… but they’ve seemingly made a comeback over the past couple years.

Re: Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut had something to say. We have it on tape

#18

Post by Towaway69 »

Vonnegut is good but I think (Aldous) Huxley had more to say, at least that resonated more with me.

I recently discovered this 1958 interview of Huxley[1]:

> This is the force which in general terms can be called overpopulation, the mounting pressure of population pressing upon existing resources. …This, of course, is an extraordinary thing; something is happening which has never happened in the world's history before. I mean, let's just take a simple fact that between the time of birth of Christ and the landing of the Mayflower, the population of the earth doubled. It rose from two hundred and fifty million to probably five hundred million. Today, the population of the earth is rising at such a rate that it will double in half a century.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alasBxZsb40

Re: Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut had something to say. We have it on tape

#19

Post by liamconnell »

sehugg wrote: post #13
mentos wrote: post #4

Was just thinking to myself how Player Piano has never been more appropriate than the AI age we’re in such a hurry to usher in.

Bluebeard is a good one too; it ruminates on the nature of art and how/why meaning is assigned to it.

Loved Bluebeard as well. A mature Vonnegut who knew how to use motifs from his earlier work. And for an old guy, he kept his writing fresh and energetic. The miniature story of the dog without a tail always comes back to me.

Re: Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut had something to say. We have it on tape

#20

Post by NoMoreNicksLeft »

Towaway69 wrote: post #18

Vonnegut is good but I think (Aldous) Huxley had more to say, at least that resonated more with me. I recently discovered this 1958 interview of Huxley[1]: > This is the force which in general terms can be called overpopulation, the mounting pressure of population pressing upon existing resources. …This, of course, is an extraordinary thing; something is happening which has never happened in the world's history befor…

Funny then, how he could be so wrong. The population is plummeting in many countries, and the rate of decline will only increase. In China, they're looking at each generation halving the previous (or worse).
Post reply on HN