Monuments' Journal

Death just a body in a bad condition that moment…

2007-11-03T03:40:00Z

From Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons: When I think about my own death, I don’t console myself with the idea that my descendants and my books and all that will live on.

EVENING OF CHAMPIONS - SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10TH: 7PM

2007-10-24T03:42:01Z

What a success! We had a fantastic group of bands, actors and artists as well as a high-energy audience that closed the loft at 208 down at 4am. Vonnegut was present everywhere for new and old fans of his important and influential work.

War In Reverse

2007-10-09T03:44:00Z

I figured this was out there somewhere. A re-enactment of Vonnegut’s famous passage in Slaughter House Five (appropriately accompanied by some post-rock music) when Billy Pilgrim can’t sleep the night of his daughter’s wedding, knowing he would soon be abducted by the Tralfamadorians:

Beauty in War

2007-10-08T15:58:00Z

In the few tragedies I’ve been a part of, and the ones I’ve seen from a distance, it always seems our best and worst natures become exposed. It always seems to take the most dire of situations for everyone to align and help each other.

Maniacs in the Fourth Dimension

2007-10-08T15:46:00Z

Another book by Kilgore Trout (Vonnegut’s alter ego in many of his books) from Slaughter House Five is called Maniacs in the Fourth Dimension.

Spy Mind

2007-10-08T03:59:00Z

The date’s been set for the Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Celebration and Tribute!

Breakfast of Champions Promo (read by Vonnegut)

2007-10-08T03:48:00Z

The date’s been set for the Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Celebration and Tribute!

Vonnegut on My(porn)space

2007-10-04T04:00:00Z

There was something poetic about looking Vonnegut up on myspace the other night.

Some More Bad Chemicals

2007-10-04T03:01:00Z

More from Kilgore Trout in Breakfast of Champions:

Life is No Way to Treat an Animal

2007-10-03T18:02:00Z

Kilgore Trout is one of Vonnegut’s most popular characters (and alter-egos), he’s a failed, disgruntled science fiction writer, whose work is featured only in the back of porn magazines.

Dancing Across The Water

2007-09-12T04:03:00Z

Part of what I think gives me a kinship with Vonnegut is his experience during the Dresden Fire Bombings during WWII where he was a prisoner of war synthesizing vitamin supplements in the basement of an old slaughterhouse (labeled #5) while the allied carpet bombing turned the city into one massive blaze (tens of thousands were killed over three days).

Science Non-fiction

2007-08-28T04:05:00Z

Best new ridiculous, made-up condition: Restless Leg Syndrome. (This doesn’t pertain directly to Vonnegut, but I feel like he’s probably written something like it somewhere...)

The Escape Artist

2007-08-27T21:07:00Z

In Vonnegut’s short story, “Unready to Wear” (from Welcome to the Monkey House), an old mathematician named Dr. Ellis Konigswasser mistakenly figures out how to leave his body to become “amphibious” (similar to how fish eventually left the sea - an imagined, inevitable next step of evolution).

Everything Is Inevitable

2007-08-15T04:08:00Z

Been pretty much bathing in smelly old Vonnegut pages (basically all the books with 70’s style pop art with the big V on the front), and I can feel my brain melting some old, long-held dogmas.

Vonnegut Together?

2007-07-10T04:09:00Z

In preparation for a celebration of Kurt Vonnegut’s life and art, I will be posting ideas and thoughts relating to the writer and artist to stir up some conversations about his influence and importance, as well as garnering interest and participation in the upcoming event.