On 4/12/07, Julia Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> From: CNN Breaking News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> > >> -- Kurt Vonnegut, whose novels included "Slaughterhouse Five" and > >> "Cat's Cradle," has died at 84, his wife tells The Associated Press. > > > > Have you read anything by Vonnegut? Did it make an impression on your life? > > > > You could at least attempt a personal response to this sad news that > > actually contained some information about the man and his work. Like > > this, for example: > > > > http://www.boingboing.net/2007/04/11/kurt_vonnegut_rip.html > > You could actually share your OWN experiences about Vonnegut and his > writing, instead of tearing into someone who may only have had a minute > to relay the news just then.
I am at a loss to understand what "only had a minute to relay the news" might mean. It wasn't time sensitive news and it wasn't from a unique source. There is no one on this list who won't have have heard this news elsewhere. There will be quite a few people on this list who had already heard it. > Sharing your OWN experiences, here, and not just throwing a link at > people is more likely to generate actual DISCUSSION. Er, yes, I know, this is my point. This could get very circular... Anyway, I might not have my own opinion on the subject but I would really hope the originator did. > Which is what I think you were aiming for. Or do you just like to bitch > about what people do and don't do on mailing lists they've been > extremely active on for several years that you haven't made all that > many posts to? Ronn is a nice bloke but the majority of his posts are devoid of all substance. His CNN breaking news death notices are simply the most extreme version of this. Since, unlike Will, he is not a troll and presumably wants to contribute to the community I thought my suggestion might be helpful. I first read Slaughterhouse 5 when I was about 12. I must have read it around the same time as Catch-22 and the pair compliment each other really well. They introduced me to the non-linear narrative and make clear the absurdity of war and the humour and tragedy that could be brought out of this. Slaughterhouse 5 showed me that novels didn't have to be just realistic or fantasies but could be a mixture of both. It was in some ways a gateway drug to magical realism and slipstream. I read some of his other novels but nothing made quite the same impact; sometimes a book comes along at just the right time in your reading life. > If so, I can get you the info to subscribe to a mailing > list that has that sort of flamewar a LOT, you might be happier there. What is it with this list and its love of bringing other lists into things? Martin _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
