In These Times, the leftist paper, recently interviewed Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.; here's some of what he said:
"I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers.
"Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened, though, is that it has been taken over by means of the sleaziest, low comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d'etat imaginable. And those now in charge of the federal government are uppercrust C students who know no history or geography, plus not so closeted white supremacists, aka 'Christians,' and plus, most frighteningly, psychopathic personalities, or 'PPs'.
"To say somebody is a PP is to make a perfectly respectable medical diagnosis, like saying he or she has appendicitis or athlete's foot. The classic medical text on PPs is 'The Mask of Sanity' by Dr. Hervey Cleckley. Read it! PPs are presentable, they know full well the suffering their actions may cause others, but they do not care. They cannot care because they are nuts. They have a screw loose!
"And what syndrome better describes so many executives at Enron and WorldCom and on and on, who have enriched themselves while ruining their employees and investors and country, and who still feel as pure as the driven snow, no matter what anybody may say to or about them?
"And so many of these heartless PPs now hold big jobs in our federal government, as though they were leaders instead of sick."
The full text of the interview, which is critical and amusing in Vonnegut's abstract/concrete way, is at the In These Times website here.
Barry Trotter (Book 1)
The Hogwash School for Wizards was the most famous school in the wizarding world, and Barry Trotter was its most famous student. His mere presence made sure that every year twenty candidates applied for every open spot, no matter how rapacious Hogwash's tuition became. As a result, Barry and the school had come to an unspoken agreement: regardless of his grades, Barry could remain at Hogwash for as long as he wished. He had just begun his eleventh year...Freshman
Sleepy with boredom and gassy from lunch, Hart Fox sat in the hard plastic chair outside his dean's office. A kid walked in the door, pink detention slip in hand, bobbing his head a little so that the purple spikes of his mohawk didn't get bent on the transom. He slumped down next to Hart. Hart nodded--he remembered tis joker from sophomore American History, constantly arguing in favor of anarcho-syndicalism. Was his name Henry?...Sophomore
Arcing lazily through the air, the Frisbee smacked against the window. “Ooo-oo!” a chiseled and shirtless boy teased as it wobbleplummeted to the ground. “Sarah's in troub-le!”The beauty-boy was righter than he knew: Of all the windows on campus to hit, this one was the worst. It belonged to Stutts’ Professor of Clandestine Affairs, Glenbard North, who had destroyed more students than there were blades of grass on the freshly resodded Old Quad below...Coming Soon!
All you really gotta know is, I'm writing new things constantly and the more I write, the better my books get. So if you've read my earlier work--and millions of you have--we should keep in touch. This fall, at least one and maybe two new books will be available: a Dickens parody AND a comic mystery loosely based on The Beatles. Drop me an email at mikesnewbooks[at]gmail[dot]com, and I'll be sure to let you know release dates, special deals, etc.Saturday, February 22, 2003
Friday, February 21, 2003
Cleese on Cowardice...
On Pythonline.com, I found this excerpt from John Cleese's speech upon becoming the Rector of St. Andrews. Sharp, funny writing, and you can hear him delivering it. In other Python news, there's a Beatles Anthology-type book in the works; I'm currently pressing my English contacts for more information...
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
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