Kurt Vonnegut, talking about when he tells his wife he’s goi...

Kurt Vonnegut, talking about when he tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope: “Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know. The moral of the story is, is we’re here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don’t realize, or they don’t care, is we’re dancing animals.”

Kurt Vonnegut, talking about when he tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope:

“Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know. The moral of the story is, is we’re here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don’t realize, or they don’t care, is we’re dancing animals.”

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Kurt Vonnegut, talking about when he tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope:

Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of b

Sublime | Substack

To buying that envelope, to bumping into strangers, to stepping out, to the fire engines and the great-looking babies. And of course, to the dancing animals. I saw this quote last week via @sambookshelf and was reminded, once again, how much the pandemic forbade our “dancing animals” — the joy one gets chatting with a stranger, bantering with the crossing guard, picking up a dropped pacifier to chase after a frazzled parent. A small reminder (to myself) to venture out for that envelope (and why I usually come back grinning when I do). #mondaymotivation (This quote is taken from a @pbs interview between David Brancaccio and Kurt Vonnegut via @thewirelessgirl.)

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Taking an Internet Walk

Spencer Chang syllabusproject.org

How beautiful it is to get up and go out and do something. We are here on Earth to fart around. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.551

Kurt Vonnegut • Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style

One thing I don’t like about computers in the home is they cheat people out of the experience of becoming. The important life experiences are food, sex, but also becoming. And this involves reading, studying, practicing an art, whatever.

— Kurt Vonnegut, 1999

This wry comment on how little most of us were likely to accomplish in life, no matter how long we lived, isn’t my own invention.

Kurt Vonnegut • Galapagos: A Novel (Delta Fiction)

Vonnegut: “What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.”