this is really fantastic. i read vonnegut constantly in highschool and early in college, then put it down for many years. I just read Hocus Pocus, im 32 now, and his genius has surprised me more than ever before. He has a wisdom, a mindfulness, that he tried to instill onto people through his writing and talks, how life doesn't really mean anything, except to you, so appreciate it when its good, because sometimes or oftentimes it will be bad, and then its over. So it goes.
Vonnegut was stuck in that place where the world loses it’s promise of meaning and that’s what he wrote about - the absurdity of the meaning we’ve applied to the meaningless. He could have gone beyond this phase, of course, but he was too interested in writing. And thank God for that.
"What everybody is well advised to do is to not write about your own life, this is if you want to write fast. You will be writing about your own life anyway, but you won't know it." The more that I write, whether it be for personal or academic reasons, the more I'm beginning to see that this is true.
I never realized how much I missed him until now. So many of us from that generation decided we were too sophisticated for Vonnegut, after adoring him until college. We were wrong. He was always the wiser one.
since I've discovered these I've been addicted to them all. thank you so much everyone who contributes and the great minds that inspire and give hope. its all we have. never let that die. the child in you.
Was just talking Cat's Cradle with an author friend of mine, it's both our favorites of Vonnegut. The general with the "mud problem" is based on this general that Richard Dawkins mentions in a TED talk,general Stubblebine, who, after learning that atoms were mostly empty, thought for sure that with enough will power he could walk through a wall... He tried walking through the door of his office on a regular basis, but only ever got a busted nose 👃😂 Sounds like Vonnegut's general, at least
4:00 That is one of my favorite short stories. I think that it is because the setting would basically be America at the time through a pessimistic lens where many ideas that are seemingly random emerge, like giant lamprey eels from Lake Erie, only to connect to one another by the end.
I don’t understand why I keep seeing comments saying that these are way too short, I don’t think people understand how long it probably takes too make just short animations like these
Wow this is beautiful..My grandmother who I've lived with my whole life has the same disorder as his mother (along with paranoid schizophrenia) the illness is a form of dementia called "sun downers syndrome"
Where is this classroom of NYU alumni in 1970 who were gifted by the presence of Kurt Vonnegut? Some made eye contact, maybe a few chatted with him afterwards. Where are these people? I realize they are in their late 60s maybe 70s but I’d love to hear their thoughts.
This is... Fucking wow To just start talking about his parents being dead God, I don't know what to make of this man. I think he's just deeply sad about it.
I've noticed something about young audiences circa 1950's-1960's, they laugh inappropriately. I've first noticed it in a lecture by Richard Feynman where the audience would burst out laughing even though he said nothing even remotely funny.
Maybe they got the joke. orrrrr, maybe they are afraid people will think they're not very smart and feign "knowing" laughter, orrrrr, maybe our culture was different from today's which engendered a different sense of humor, orrrrr, ....
Never knew there was an inappropriate time to laugh. Also Vonnegut's story is outlandishly creative so I would be right alongside them. Also, today on most shows, there are laugh cards that cue audiences on when to laugh-which I think is more inappropriate than this audience laughing of its own accord. Just my opinion. Not worth shit, I know. Lol
It's a standard defense mechanism to diffuse tension. I remember people "laughing" at Bill Murray talking about deep depression and contemplating suicide in the 2000s, for example...
i think its just common when you're around someone thats of celebrity status, laughing is because people long to communicate with them, its just like a primitive attempt at such
I love Kurt Vonnegut, and these animations are really cool. I'd love to see more female voices represented, across the board! How about Simone de Beauvoir, Elizabeth Taylor, Audre Lorde, Hedy Lamar, Jane Goodall, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, or Octavia Butler, just to name a few?
Professor Barbara Oakely, still living and one righteous and cool individual. Out exploring on Russian ships and co-author of one of the most popular courses on learning maths. Paint us her picture, Patrick!
How about Paramount's first woman head, Dawn Steel? Her book she wrote showed her mettle and her climb to the top began when she was sued for copyright infringement, printing up LV- lookalike logos on toilet paper rolls. Now that's a visual.
he comes across even creepier than in his books. I read him. he is creepy. him talking about "nutty" and of "paranoia" makes me think he was either stoned or really bent
I thought Kurt Vonnegut sucked as a writer he was boring and really every book I ever read by him I only read thinking that it would get better I remember reading Slaughterhouse-Five because my silly brother said well at least you will have read Vonnegut. I just don't understand why anyone would consider him any good.
this is really fantastic. i read vonnegut constantly in highschool and early in college, then put it down for many years. I just read Hocus Pocus, im 32 now, and his genius has surprised me more than ever before. He has a wisdom, a mindfulness, that he tried to instill onto people through his writing and talks, how life doesn't really mean anything, except to you, so appreciate it when its good, because sometimes or oftentimes it will be bad, and then its over. So it goes.
frim your lips to god's ears !
"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt"
"I think parents are often much happier then parents realize"...deep
You are forgetting that he just said "the great Space Fuck"
@@Dr-Door deep space
I'm surprised that these weren't getting sponsored earlier, the quality is extremely high :) always look forward to watching these.
They get funding from pbs
Got I guess
Vonnegut was stuck in that place where the world loses it’s promise of meaning and that’s what he wrote about - the absurdity of the meaning we’ve applied to the meaningless. He could have gone beyond this phase, of course, but he was too interested in writing. And thank God for that.
The piano music is fitting to his writing style
"What everybody is well advised to do is to not write about your own life, this is if you want to write fast. You will be writing about your own life anyway, but you won't know it."
The more that I write, whether it be for personal or academic reasons, the more I'm beginning to see that this is true.
I never realized how much I missed him until now. So many of us from that generation decided we were too sophisticated for Vonnegut, after adoring him until college. We were wrong. He was always the wiser one.
He really was a true genius.
**Nervous music**
"I have written a story called 'The Big Space-fuck'"
**Audience bursts out laughing**
This was way too short--too short, but marvelous.
We've got more Vonnegut in our podcast and on our website: blankonblank.org
I think these are the perfect length to draw you in and leave you going for more. Any chance the series will restart here?
since I've discovered these I've been addicted to them all. thank you so much everyone who contributes and the great minds that inspire and give hope. its all we have. never let that die. the child in you.
in a time where Im surrounded by evil and death and just hopelessness. this is all I could ask for. really thank you
Been reading Cat's Cradle. One of the greatest books I've ever read.
Was just talking Cat's Cradle with an author friend of mine, it's both our favorites of Vonnegut. The general with the "mud problem" is based on this general that Richard Dawkins mentions in a TED talk,general Stubblebine, who, after learning that atoms were mostly empty, thought for sure that with enough will power he could walk through a wall... He tried walking through the door of his office on a regular basis, but only ever got a busted nose 👃😂
Sounds like Vonnegut's general, at least
@creme good No I haven't, but I will certainly check it out! Thanks.
@creme good Slaughter house 5 was a great read.
Vonnegut's fixation with death is very interesting. Not the first or last time I've heard him compare his current age to the age other people died
4:00 That is one of my favorite short stories. I think that it is because the setting would basically be America at the time through a pessimistic lens where many ideas that are seemingly random emerge, like giant lamprey eels from Lake Erie, only to connect to one another by the end.
Dear Patrick Smith,
Your animation is amazing ! thank you
awesome animation and amazing opportunity to hear Vonnegut, thank you!
Dude hell yes finally! I really didn't expect y'all to do it. thank you
Oh, my gosh. -thank you for this glimpse into his life.
I don’t understand why I keep seeing comments saying that these are way too short, I don’t think people understand how long it probably takes too make just short animations like these
I wish I was as funny as Vonnegut was... great, great video.
To The Man who can take the madness and make it gently sit down and vibrate it's harmony in the still beauty of color and pathos.
Please keep up with these for a long time to come, love em'!
You guys are amazing. Would love to see an interview of Charles Bukowski. That man was a walking tragedy. A very interesting one tho.
Fantastic author! Excellent video. I always look forward to these!!!
You don't find Kurt Vonnegut, his stories find you.
Wow this is beautiful..My grandmother who I've lived with my whole life has the same disorder as his mother (along with paranoid schizophrenia) the illness is a form of dementia called "sun downers syndrome"
I love that he was about to say "I wrote this story called the big space fuck... It's about this big space fuck"
It'd be really awesome if you guys could do Nick Drake, although that could be difficult
+Expedition Films I would love to see that!
+Expedition Films Don't think he ever did a recorded interview
i think there's only a recording of how badly a gig went haha
@@providief and so it goes ...
Writing is paranoid. Why else would I write an essay on one detail a writer puts in because it changes everything.
Great idea , The animation reminds me of that of a dear old friend of mine graphic work,Rob Davis. Thank you guys for this love it.
Has a Blank on Blank of Bill Evans been made yet? I'd love to see it. Maybe one of Django Reinhardt if it's around.
Thank you.
Now I really want to read The Big Space Fuck.
www.pierretristam.com/Bobst/07/wf041307.htm
Vonnegut FTW!
great channel. great work.
nothing means anything, artists pretend it does
good stuff
2:29 My name is Yon Yonson...
Thank You, very nice and very deep.
If love to see a Freddie Mercury one
yes...
We've added it to the list.
+Blank on Blank it must be quite a ever growing list eh?
+Blank on Blank I'd love to see one with Shane Macgowan
thank you
Fascinating!
Excellent! 2:22!!
Lovely animation!
That was pretty sweet.
so it goes
this was very nice
Do any of his books touch on what he was talking about here? I want to go deeper in the philosophy he was touching on
Where is this classroom of NYU alumni in 1970 who were gifted by the presence of Kurt Vonnegut? Some made eye contact, maybe a few chatted with him afterwards. Where are these people? I realize they are in their late 60s maybe 70s but I’d love to hear their thoughts.
4:00 What a riot. :-)
This is...
Fucking wow
To just start talking about his parents being dead
God, I don't know what to make of this man. I think he's just deeply sad about it.
General Chuck Yeager would be a sood interview to atimate. "I've been shot at, shot up and, shot down."
I know you only have whatcha got (sic.),but I would love any Pete Townshend interview.
Do have a link to the original audio for this?
Please, make a video about Philip K Dick
2:50 - 3:10 is THE HOLY TRUTH!!!
I've noticed something about young audiences circa 1950's-1960's, they laugh inappropriately. I've first noticed it in a lecture by Richard Feynman where the audience would burst out laughing even though he said nothing even remotely funny.
They are laughing in self-defense. A lot of nervous tension gets out...
Maybe they got the joke. orrrrr, maybe they are afraid people will think they're not very smart and feign "knowing" laughter, orrrrr, maybe our culture was different from today's which engendered a different sense of humor, orrrrr, ....
Never knew there was an inappropriate time to laugh. Also Vonnegut's story is outlandishly creative so I would be right alongside them. Also, today on most shows, there are laugh cards that cue audiences on when to laugh-which I think is more inappropriate than this audience laughing of its own accord. Just my opinion. Not worth shit, I know. Lol
It's a standard defense mechanism to diffuse tension. I remember people "laughing" at Bill Murray talking about deep depression and contemplating suicide in the 2000s, for example...
i think its just common when you're around someone thats of celebrity status, laughing is because people long to communicate with them, its just like a primitive attempt at such
inverted bethooven music?
fucking genius
What’s the piano song!
The music is too loud for the track, it overpowers the speaker.
cool
4:20 interstellar?
He got a B!
'Making the mad up,' he says. I'm not mad. Hey. You can trust me on this.
“Making them ADD UP.”.. but you’re way sounds cooler.
I love Kurt Vonnegut, and these animations are really cool. I'd love to see more female voices represented, across the board! How about Simone de Beauvoir, Elizabeth Taylor, Audre Lorde, Hedy Lamar, Jane Goodall, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, or Octavia Butler, just to name a few?
Do any interviews exist of Marie Tharp, the woman who mapped the ocean floor? I'd love to see Patrick illustrate her story.
Professor Barbara Oakely, still living and one righteous and cool individual. Out exploring on Russian ships and co-author of one of the most popular courses on learning maths. Paint us her picture, Patrick!
How about Paramount's first woman head, Dawn Steel? Her book she wrote showed her mettle and her climb to the top began when she was sued for copyright infringement, printing up LV- lookalike logos on toilet paper rolls. Now that's a visual.
wow another lila who likes KV
We bosses ;)
Do Isaac Asimov
Ace Frehley
Bukowski, please
What is the musical piece going on throughout the video?
I think it's one of Ligeti's piano etudes!
Do William Gibson
It was really great, but the music is not only annoying, but also has nothing to do with the stories at all. It paints no background.
MadCalvin be HappyCalvin
(I agree the musics annoying)
I can't get through the music on this one :/
Good thing there's a cartoon shielding me from listening too closely.
👍 .tugennoV daeR
5 years too late, but whoever did the EQ on this video between Kurt and the trilling piano needs to be fired
freddie mercury please
This is confusing as neither Orwell or Kerouac (or D.H Lawrence) killed themselves...
your commercial is jarring, too loud
"a war head full of sperm" XD
Being an animator is hard, but idk if the portrayal of kurt's mom was not very progressive
he comes across even creepier than in his books. I read him. he is creepy. him talking about "nutty" and of "paranoia" makes me think he was either stoned or really bent
What a racist! blaming his naughtiness on his Black maid. . .
FYI. It's booksack. Not book bag or backpack. You can blame Dora for the backpack phenomenon.
PBS really lost me with that Dropbox ad crammed in at the end.
Kind of crass, sad shoehorning in to make a penny.
the thing with vonnegut is that he gets too philosophical sometimes ya know?
I thought Kurt Vonnegut sucked as a writer he was boring and really every book I ever read by him I only read thinking that it would get better I remember reading Slaughterhouse-Five because my silly brother said well at least you will have read Vonnegut. I just don't understand why anyone would consider him any good.
I read some of Kurt Vonnegut in 8th grade. Tbh he’s kinda boring
Is Vonnegut boring? Or are you boring?
Typical literary writer. He knows nothing, but says a lot of nonsense in pretending he knows everything.
So sad about his mother.