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From: Rustygb96
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  • I came to love this man through his writing, and I believe many posting here did as well. I've read, at least once, just about all of the novels and many essays. Forever the humble optimist, a self ascribed "sore headed occupant of the drawer labeled 'science fiction'." A real treasure.

    And how prophetic his book from the 50s–Player Piano.

    "We could have saved this thing but we were too damn cheap!" K.V. RIP

  • Kurt Vonnegut was a fucking saint!

  • Though we never met, I miss this man everyday.

  • Deep gratitude to Mr. Vonnegut. Thank you Sir.

  • Kurt, we need you now more than ever.

  • I feel it wasn't coincidental I grabbed Cat's Cradle in a rush before English class.

    To me, he was one of the most humane writers.

    I loved his simplicity when explaining some controversial topics.

    I loved his honesty.

    His words, everything.

    Everything he ever said made perfect sense to me.

    I wish I could have met him.

  • First Confuscius, now Vonnegut, and soon someone else will come along that will achieve a higher plane of thought and wisdom than the rest of us mere mortals... dare I say it; so it goes.

  • EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT.

  • Damn it. Why couldn't I have known about him before 2007? Now it's too late to meet the man that made me understand.

  • If ever you wish your father was around, to pass on good advice and counsel. Tell yourself..He ought to have said what this wonderful man said. Would we listen, no we would sit entranced at his cleverness, we would laugh and we would try to be as funny. but there was only one and he has gone. And I hold his words so dear.

  • @captainkundalini1 That's a fucking brilliant comment, well done mate.

  • busy, busy, busy

  • And so on.

  • If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you're a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind.

  • An example of an Enlightened man from out the American body politic, c. late 20th C.

  • no pain

  • "Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why"

    Love you Kurt

  • Thank you so much for this treasure ... the combo of Kurt, Billy, that song and the images you've chosen is so synchronous with my life right now that all I can do is quietly laugh, weep, and shake my head ... "Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why." ~ "In every heart there is a room ... a sanctuary safe and strong ..." ~ "Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt" ~ " ... and you're the only one who knows."

  • Great news, another short story collection just came out for Vonnegut. Pick it up!

  • THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED

    FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

    WAS MUSIC

  • There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think of Kurt Vonnegut and smile. My heart sinks, my hands begin to shake and I reach for one of his books just to keep me grounded. He is my inspiration and I'm sorry I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but I'm glad I got to know him!

  • we miss you kurt......

  • Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.

  • 13 people have no soul.

  • I don't think you were supposed to care about his characters. They were a vehicle for his message. If you don't get laughing and crying at the same time, I guess you don't get it.

    I am reading Biocentrism and see that Kurt understood the implications of quantum physics!

  • I'm not a troll...I came to this from a Oates/Vonnegut video...Doesn't anyone else think Kurt was a bit overrated? I mean, yeah he was great, but it's kind of annoying that he's, like, the one modern American writer that everyone claims to be a fan of.

    I think with Kurt it's the style and the message that gets everyone. But as far as character development, he's usually pretty thin. I honestly can't remember him ever making me care about any of his characters.

  • @MckyMseNTarotCrds . There are definitely writers out there who can spin characters much better than Kurt could. But that's not what Makes KV Jr. so likable. Kurt was all of us. Imperfect and simple - yet at times brilliant and complex. He told a story and you filled in the rest. That's why SH5 is different for everyone. He wanted you think, draw your own conclusions... To be better.. Despite all his faults. He never lost hope in us... So it goes.

  • @Motorcitymilo Why did you have to say that? :'( You just made me cry. Kurt Vonnegut is not only my favorite author of all time, but also one of my favorite people of all time. I can't believe we'll never see him again. And what's worse for me is that i didn't even know about kurt before 2008. It felt horrible to discover such great works as Player Piano, Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five and A Man without a country for the first time, only to learn that he died a few months ago.

  • @zephyrico238 Kurts not gone... We just have to look a little harder to find him. He's all over modern literature, his influences are flowing from the pens of many people he touched throughout his life. He knowingly or unknowingly, made himself immortal by introducing the theory the Tralfamadorians had on life. Kurt is not gone.. He's just in a bad way at the moment... "So it goes" They say...

  • He looks like Chris Finch(aka Shit-break) at 00:14

  • @dohertm2 I think he looks like Jack Kerouac there :o)

  • The greatest times in my life were those at which I was both laughing and crying, and many of those moments I owe Kurt. Thank You.

    

  • What it says in Slaughterhouse-Five, is that everyone is always alive in some random instance of when and where.

  • Happy Belated Birthday my friend

  • "Everything was beautiful...and nothing hurt." Slaughterhouse 5 - Edgar Derby's headstone.

    Thanks Kurt for S5, Cat's Cradle and Welcome to the Monkeyhouse. "So it goes."

  • Happiest birthday, Mr Vonnegut ... miss you

  • Happy Birthday, Kurt. You are missed. 

  • 13 people just don't get it.... Whereas 603 understand and mourn the loss of one of the greatest (Albeit not commercial) writers of our time.

    "Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber."

    ;(

  • I've never smiled so much and felt so happy as when I read the ending of "The Sirens of Titan"

  • .”...we will all live forever, no matter how dead we may sometimes seem to be...”

    Kurt Vonnegut

  • Yikes, I didn't know he got that pitiful at the end.

    Love all his stuff. But "Galapagos" had to be his favorite, being that it was anthropological like he got his honorary PhD for because of "Cat's Cradle."

    Sadly, the retarded coming generations wont take notice of him probably. And if another talent like him comes down the pike they'll go unnoticed, or starve because all their stuff is being read for free on-line.

    I talk big, but I only bought his worse book, "Blue Beard," lol.

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  • @lensjockeyvideo Holly, I''m sure people have come to appreciate your photo in many different contexts. To answer your question, the reasons we didn't ask:

    1) We were making it at 2 in the morning after we heard he died. If we waited for everyone's permission, it never would have been finished anywhere near his death. 

    2) this video is totally non-commercial, so is the related website, and we make zero money off of any of it. We've put hundreds of free hours of entertainment online too.

  • @Rustygb96 sorry to get upset! Love the video!

    Holly

  • I enjoyed reading Vonnegut when I was in my late teens and early twenties. Then one day the fog lifted and I shed the naivete of youth.

  • kurt vonnegut, enjoy the humming and violet light

    this man was a genius, Great video!

  • Kurt's just farting around in another place in time.. At least i hope he is. We need that hope.

  • Kurt's up in heaven now.

  • kurt was an atheist (as am i) so no, he is not up in heaven now

  • @xxxheatherxxx666 If you'd read much of him you'd know that that was "his favorite joke". Read _A Man without a Country_ He knew he wouldn't be in heaven. He made that joke to a group of humanists (which is what he referred to himself as, not atheist). He rolled them in the aisles. Try not to be so presumptuous.

  • @tjclarinet Well said.... The old man would approve!

  • @Motorcitymilo thanks

  • I hope that he is in Heaven, and I hope it's the Heaven that is right for him

  • RIP , so it goes... i hope everything is going well on heaven. pee-too-weet

  • I would make a passionate speech about him, but I'd say it'd be more fitting to say:

    So it goes.

  • Thanks--a great writer. So I'll tell his favorite joke. "Kurt is up in heaven now." We're here. I hope it really is a good joke and he's having a chuckle wherever he is.

  • Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.

  • i'm sure he is in heaven now!!!!!!

    so it goes.

  • @Hasheteer That was Kurt's favorite joke.

  • :'( -sigh- He was a simple and complex person, which doesen't make any common sense I know.. R.I.P. Mr. Vonnegut :')

  • So it goes

  • I've watched this video at least a dozen times. Great work.

    As for Kurt, I've read about four or so of his books, and I keep wanting more and more once I've finished one.

    May he rest in peace and will someone please find his grave and tell us so I can put flowers on it.

  • Has anyone else seen the disgraceful obituary that Fox News did on Kurt?

    Do a Youtube search for: "Fox News Obituary Trashes Kurt Vonnegut"

    You have to see it to believe it.

  • Don't worry about him guys, he's just in bad shape in this point in time. He has 89 years of life to visit, right now hes in a slaughter house in Dresdon, now the woman he has lived with for 8 years is convincing him to finally divorce his wife . now hes enjoying a Pall Mall while he's drawing a picture of an asshole for Breakfast of Champions. May the creator of the universe apologize for the inconvenience. We love you Kurt, you crazy old fart.

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  • A friend told me he read a thesis from a student on his work. I thought, "How arrogant to write a thesis on Kurt's work.." Turns out, he showed up at her door and thanked her for telling him something about himself that he didn't see before. That's humility and grace, and Awakening:)

  • I found this right after I had finished Breakfast Of Champions, and the ending just killed me...I couldn't help crying

  • Soon he will (would) turn 90... still missing him :'(

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  • Beautiful, beautiful. Would he give a shit?

  • Me and Mike Ve Vork in Mine

    Holy shit ve have good time

    Vunce a veek ve get our pay

    Holy shit no vork next day

    I was introduced to him in my teens and I have read all of his novels since. I was a bit of a sci-fi freak and a fellow student gave me a copy of Cat's Cradle to see how it would react with my sf-sensibilities. HOLY SHIT NO VORK NEXT DAY!!

  • R.I.P. Beautiful soul...

  • Thank you for a beautiful an thoughtful tribute : )))))))))

  • this makes me love you

  • one word... "Wow"..

  • He was unique. A wordsmith. Thank you for sharing your hearts with us. . . :) I agree with Tom. I wear red on Friday's to show respect for our troops who are fighting this never ending war but I hate the fact that we are there. I wish the President would listen to us, his people, and bring them home. The world can do without us and we can't fix everything. WHEN are our politicans going to learn that? A country FOR the people and BY the people. . .

  • @Songsmirth

    Well said, the word you may be looking for is socialism :)

  • Slaughterhouse Five was amazing. His style and sense of humor were so ahead of his time.

  • @ultimatenate

    He's still ahead :)

  • Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.

  • Kurt is up in heaven now.

  • @LeLimeLine That's his favorite joke.

  • Rest in peace Mr. Vonnegut. Your beautiful words will live on.

  • Kurt is up in Heaven now.

  • Absolutely lovely - thank you guys. KV had a huge impact on my life and thinking. He taught me to see my terror in a different light, a humerous light, one that helped me to carry it better. And so it goes.....

  • "Kurt is up in heaven now"

    Kurt's favourite joke!

  • So it goes.

  • I can only describe his writing in one way. As dark, as cynical, as pessimistic, and hopeless as it ever may have gotten

    "Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt."

  • He's alive in another time.

  • So it goes...

  • he's not really dead...

  • @bonzot Oh god don't even start :P

  • miss him too, i cant say no one will inspire me like he did, his books are unmatched!

  • Stirring of the soul without religious potspoon.

  • @islandrocketman Yes, verily.

  • :'(

  • Brilliant man.

  • life is no way to treat an animal.

  • That epitaph at the end made me cry harder and longer than I've done in a while.

    God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut.

  • he didnt believe in god lol

  • Good lord, what did he believe in?

  • What is there to believe?

  • I think he believed in compassion, and the dignity of the human spirit...I think he was sad about the state of humanity, but I think he believed there was hope

  • Thank you!

  • miss him....

  • lovely

  • Somebody [Sometime to sometime] He Tried

  • A moving memorial for a truly remarkable person.

    He only wanted better for everyone.

  • Such a rare beautiful man- so very funny and yet compassionate and fearless. He lives on for generations to learn and laugh from his books.

  • so it goes

  • hi ho.

  • I only wish I could communicate by farting and tap dancing.

  • everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.

  • There is something about Kurt Vonnegut's humor and observations that makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I mean that in the best possible way and with the utmost respect and admiration

  • What a better world we could have if we loved each other as we love ourselves...

  • What a better world we could have if we loved each other like Kurt loved us.

  • even now some two years and a tad on- this wonderful tribute reduces me to tears- what a wonderful bunch of people we could be- if only we listened

  • Its the first time I see this video, and it made me kinda sad really. I was just trying to watch something from Vonnegut and stumbled upon it. I loved this guy, unlike many, he had real compassion.

  • Kurt got older in age but always was young at heart. he is more likable by young generations because he was always young, and use his talents to show us his inner heart and his desire to see the united states and the world in better hands than the past administrations. may we remember him and may we remain in solidarity with his willing to preserve this world and pass this world to our kids in a better way it was given to us. :)

  • This is perhaps my favorite video on YouTube.

  • He was born on 11/11/22 and would have been 89 today. Rest as you may take it, Mr Vonnegut. You are missed on this great big green and blue veil of tears. Folks, let us work for peace in his name.

  • Thank you for this touching video. I read every book by Kurt Vonnegut. He was a great author.

  • Kurt is STILL up in heaven, now.

  • So it goes. RIP, Kurt.

  • anyone who believes in purity of human kindness after living through a century of destruction is the greatest roll model I can fathom

  • @commonsense987  You are so right.

  • so it goes.

  • Over the years I have read everything that Kurt wrote and invariably each one became my favorite.

    He was truly a conscience of mankind even in the troubled existence he lived.

    In one of his last interviews he spoke about sueing the cigarette companies because smoking did not kill him!

  • God Bless You, Mister Rosewater is my favorite.

  • I just completed my first Vonnegut novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. It exceeded my expectations for a great novel and now has become my favorite book. I do plan on reading more of his novels when time comes.

  • Good for you, my friend. You may want to check out "Breakfast of Champions" Take care.

  • slaughterhouse-five was the first i read too.

    cat's cradle is almost as good... but SH5 is still my favorite

  • I suggest you make time starting now.

  • I agree with what people have previously said, Slaughterhouse was good, but not Vonnegut's best/most endearing. His talent in black humor and writing are better shown in Breakfast of Champions.

  • My favorite had to be Cat's Cradle

  • Accept our apologies for what?

  • For everything, but the most famous quote was "..our apologies, we were rolling drunk on petroleum"

  • OK, so I'm like shedding a few right now.

  • I like DEAD EYE DICK!

  • Timequake was great... but slaughterhouse-five will always be greater :-P

  • Time Quake was by far my favorite one of all of the ones I have read thus far, and nothing is coming close. As far as I am care, that is how it goes.

  • I've just read Timequake and absolutely loved it. Might be my favourite thus far, but i love them all too much to know, its just Vonneguts voice throughtout all of them that is consistent and is what I love.

  • What else can I say, Vonnegut helped shape my sense of humor, or he helped expose it. We're all lucky to have read his work.

  • I find it ridiculous that the only book widely read from Vonnegut is Slaughterhouse. That was my least favorite book of his.

    I'd rather see people reading Sirens of Titan or Breakfast of Champions.

    Oh well. Any Vonnegut is better than no Vonnegut.

  • Vonnegut's "A Man Without A Country" is a remarkable look at life, politics, art and himself. I had the joy to meet and speak with Mr. Vonnegut, it remains one of my most precious memories.

  • Such a beautiful tribute. RIP

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  • Wow, I wonder if that's where Billy Joel got the title for the song - because like Vonnegut he was a huge admirer of Mark Twain . . . had never made that connection. But maybe.

  • So beautiful. So thoughtfully done. Thank you. My personal Vonnegut favorites include Slaughtherhouse Five, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater and Cat's Cradle

  • : (

  • Slaughterhouse-Five is my favourite book of all time.

  • I had to laugh like hell

  • look at hocus pocus and other works, cyberprunes knows that vonnegut would have said this bout his own memorial. This is not being disrespectfull

  • ...and I thought I made the perfect vonnegut reference. lol

  • His ideals are unrealistic and mostly based on pleasent illusions, his political ideals equaly weak, but he is still one of my favorite writters no one could write as humurosly or empatheticaly then him.

  • Nice tribute to one of the finest story tellers who ever spent time on this planet.

    :)

  • Kurt is up in heaven now ;) !!!

  • He was the original Chuck Palahniuk.

  • kurt rocks

    he kinda reminds me of the old guy Walter from the tv show fringe i LOVE that show and i love kurt's big brain!

    he is a rare soul that we were lucky to be among

  • Kurt Vonnegut has been my idol ever since the fourth grade when I first read Welcome to the monkey House. It remains to this day my absolute favorite book. He was a genius, and perhaps the funniest writer Ive ever read RIP.

  • He always puts things into perspective for me. One of my favorite Vonnegut lines comes from the end of one chapter in Hocus Pocus. I can't quote it exactly but it is the scene where Eugene has interviewed for the job at the jail and the Japanese guy shakes him and says: "We have so much in common! We both know how it feels to be a part of our countries' vainglorious lunacy!!!"

    He is referring to being a soldier in Vietnam and being a Japanese prison warden in a distant country (USA)

  • etc.

  • Kurt is the Man. :-)

    If someone ever lived a full and nice life.. it was him.

  • I love Kurt Vonnegut and disagree with just as much of his philosophy as I disagree with.

  • Kurt is up in heaven now.

  • Truly a great writer- Does anybody know why he uses "so it goes" so much in like slaughter house five (or the children's crusade) or any other of his books? Is it a literary device or something?

  • he's saying that they're only dead at that particular time. so it goes means other people are calling him "dead" but he knows that they are perfectly fine in another point in time

  • SO IT GOES!! I just read Slapstick and could not put it down, much like all the other Vonnegut I've read....

    And to tell the truth, I read Slaughterhouse Five first of all 'cause that's what everyone says is his most known book, but dude, to me it's his worst book. Still good, but his others are sooooo much better! Cats Cradle, Sirens of Titan, Slapstick, Player Piano, Breakfast of Champions(with original drawings) all were so much more fun to read for me!!

  • Kurt is up in heaven now

  • Just don't tell him that :)

  • well there we are and so that goes- but then its nice to know that once in a while we are really touched by someone who expressed it all

  • so it goes

  • So it goes... Mr. Vonnegut. So it goes....

  • A great man brings about a great legacy. His memories will always live on in the books he has written and the life experiences he has taught us. He has and will always exist.

    So it goes.

    Thank-you Mr. Vonnegut

  • So it goes.

  • Just finished reading Titans. Fantastic stuff, Kurt. I wish you could have stayed around to write a couple more. You will never be forgotten.