A well written column: "Cold Turkey"

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

I read this and was really quite moved.

 

Let the bashing begin.

 

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/cold_turkey/

[Stephen Joseph 0]

Eh. It's Vonnegut.

He writes great, but he's so not an optimist.

 

I don't think the world is as dreary and decrepit as he's painting it.

[1234-5678 0]

I'm glad he's not. Optimism is very rarely honesty.

[Zorin Industries 0]

I agree with nearly every word

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Well I haven't read it, but I already disagree with it.

 

Was the story too long to post here?...

[Stephen Joseph 0]

I'm glad he's not. Optimism is very rarely honesty.

So in other words, only mentally healthy well-adjusted people are depressed?

 

That's a VERY jaded view of this world.

[Guest Cerebus]

I"ve always been a fan of Vonnegut's fiction (I still can't get enough of God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian), but he should stay out of non-fiction. Every other claim in that article was just plain wrong. Sorry to dissapoint.

[1234-5678 0]

I'm glad he's not. Optimism is very rarely honesty.

So in other words, only mentally healthy well-adjusted people are depressed?

 

That's a VERY jaded view of this world.

Good. Always have low expectations, that way you will never be disappointed.

[Stephen Joseph 0]

I'm glad he's not. Optimism is very rarely honesty.

So in other words, only mentally healthy well-adjusted people are depressed?

 

That's a VERY jaded view of this world.

Good. Always have low expectations, that way you will never be disappointed.

And you'll never get to the stars either.

 

No one made their fortune in this world by setting low expectations

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Always have low expectations, that way you will never be disappointed.

Exactly. That doesn't mean you should give up on everything that's tossed your way, but set realistic expectations for yourself...

[1234-5678 0]

I'm glad he's not. Optimism is very rarely honesty.

So in other words, only mentally healthy well-adjusted people are depressed?

 

That's a VERY jaded view of this world.

Good. Always have low expectations, that way you will never be disappointed.

And you'll never get to the stars either.

 

No one made their fortune in this world by setting low expectations

Money's not important to me.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Depressing as hell, but pretty spot-on with the whole overall attitude. He'd better get the Nobel before he croaks.

[Vyce 0]

Jesus Christ, that thing made little sense.

 

He's all over the fucking map there.

[Guest MikeSC]

Jesus Christ, that thing made little sense.

 

He's all over the fucking map there.

That's Vonnegut fer ya.

-=Mike

...Not a fan of Vonnegut

[Styles 0]

Maybe I'm not "enlightened" or "elite" enough, but don't get what he was saying? Did he even have a thesis, or was he just writing whatever popped into his head?

[Guest MD2020]

At least he didn't mention Dresden.

[Art Sandusky 0]

You try to go into a Vonnegut writing without any sense of what writing would traditionally look like. If you expect some kind of structure or text that you can map out somehow, keep on moving, as you won't find it with him.

[Vyce 0]

You try to go into a Vonnegut writing without any sense of what writing would traditionally look like. If you expect some kind of structure or text that you can map out somehow, keep on moving, as you won't find it with him.

Well then, I'll shall simply proclaim him a genius.

 

And, having honored him with that humble accolade, I shall proceed to never again read a word that he has written, and amuse myself with those writers who are no doubt intellectually inferior to this esteemed gentleman, though they have at least managed to learn some fucking structure.

[Art Sandusky 0]

If your assessment is that structure is equal to quality, go right ahead. It speaks more ill of you than his readers to say that you can't read something that doesn't have a visible blueprint to it.

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

A good read. I like the fossil fuel/drug analogy.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

Vonnegut is one of those guys who you either love or you don't. Personally I think he's great and one of my all-time favorite writers (Cat's Cradle is probably one of my three favorite fictions books ever), but I can completely see why people might not like his work at all.

[Vyce 0]

If your assessment is that structure is equal to quality, go right ahead. It speaks more ill of you than his readers to say that you can't read something that doesn't have a visible blueprint to it.

It's really more along the lines of enjoying reading literature by individuals who don't seem to be suffering from advanced schizophrenia and / or attention deficit disorder.

[1234-5678 0]

Structure is something required by simple minds.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

I too thought the fuel/drug example was a good one. I don't understand the schizo comments in regards to this column. *I* didn't have any trouble following what he said. Is it a real downer? Perhaps. I have always found that recognising a problem is the first step towards finding a solution. There willl always be people who don't wanna hear it and label those folks as simply being negative. Sad.

[Guest DubWiser]

Disagreeing with the man’s opinions is one thing, but claiming that the column “made little sense”, or that he seems to be “suffering from advanced schizophrenia and / or attention deficit disorder“ is absurd.

 

“Every other claim in that article was just plain wrong. Sorry to dissapoint.”

 

Who exactly are you “dissapoint”ing? The OP closed his post with "Let the bashing begin"...Seems that he expected the opinions presented in the column to be dismissed and refuted with exactly the same kind of lucid, in-depth analysis that you provided.

 

"Happy to bash" would have been more appropriate.

[Art Sandusky 0]

If your assessment is that structure is equal to quality, go right ahead. It speaks more ill of you than his readers to say that you can't read something that doesn't have a visible blueprint to it.

It's really more along the lines of enjoying reading literature by individuals who don't seem to be suffering from advanced schizophrenia and / or attention deficit disorder.

Man, you must not read a lot of good works if you don't want to read anything by people who are completely and totally sane in your eyes.