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Wampeters, Foma And Granfalloons
''Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons (Opinions)'' is a collection of essays, reviews, short travel accounts, and human interest stories written by Kurt Vonnegut from c. 1966–1974. On the title Vonnegut explains the title in the introduction: :Dear Reader: The title of this book is composed of three words from my novel ''Cat's Cradle''. A " wampeter" is an object around which the lives of many otherwise unrelated people may revolve. The Holy Grail would be a case in point. "Foma" are harmless untruths, intended to comfort simple souls. An example: "Prosperity is just around the corner." A "granfalloon" is a proud and meaningless association of human beings. Taken together, the words form as good an umbrella as any for this collection of some of the reviews and essays I've written, a few of the speeches I made. Contents * "Science Fiction" - Vonnegut's reflections on writing science fiction. * "Brief Encounters on the Inland Waterway" (1966) - This recounts a journey from Mass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfiction works over fifty-plus years; further works have been published since his death. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Vonnegut attended Cornell University, but withdrew in January 1943 and enlisted in the United States Army, U.S. Army. As part of his training, he studied mechanical engineering at the Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology and the University of Tennessee. He was then deployed to Europe to fight in World War II and was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. He was prisoner of war, interned in Dresden, where he survived the Bombing of Dresden in World War II, Allied bombing of the city in a meat locker of the slaughterhouse where he was imprisoned. After the war, he married Jane Marie Cox ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by exposure to light. He assembled the first physical messages sent into space, the Pioneer plaque and the Voyager Golden Record, which were universal messages that could potentially be understood by any Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial intelligence that might find them. He argued in favor of the hypothesis, which has since been accepted, that the high surface temperatures of Venus are the result of the greenhouse effect.Extract of page 14 Initially an assistant professor at Harvard Universi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Books By Kurt Vonnegut
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mostly of writing and images. Modern books are typically composed of many pages bound together and protected by a cover, what is known as the ''codex'' format; older formats include the scroll and the tablet. As a conceptual object, a ''book'' often refers to a written work of substantial length by one or more authors, which may also be distributed digitally as an electronic book (ebook). These kinds of works can be broadly classified into fiction (containing invented content, often narratives) and non-fiction (containing content intended as factual truth). But a physical book may not contain a written work: for example, it may contain ''only'' drawings, engravings, photographs, sheet music, puzzles, or removable content like paper dolls. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canary In A Cathouse
Canary originally referred to the Spanish island of Gran Canaria in the North Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding Canary Islands. It may also refer to: Animals Birds * Canaries, birds in the genera ''Serinus'' and ''Crithagra'' including, among others: ** Atlantic canary (''Serinus canaria''), a small wild bird *** Domestic canary, ''Serinus canaria domestica'', a small pet or aviary bird, also responsible for the "canary yellow" color term ** Yellow canary (''Crithagra flaviventris''), a small bird Fish * Canary damsel (''Similiparma lurida''), fish of the family Pomacentridae, found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean * Canary moray (''Gymnothorax bacalladoi''), an eel of the family Muraenidae * Canary rockfish (''Sebastes pinniger''), of the family Sebastidae, found in the northeast Pacific Ocean People * Canary Burton (born 1942), American keyboardist, composer and writer * Canary Conn (born 1949), American entertainer and author * Bill Canary (fl. 1994), Republican campaign con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welcome To The Monkey House
''Welcome to the Monkey House'' is a collection of 25 short stories written by Kurt Vonnegut, published by Delacorte in August 1968. The stories range from wartime epics to futuristic thrillers, given with satire and Vonnegut's unique edge. The stories are often intertwined and convey the same underlying messages on human nature and mid-twentieth century society. Contents * "Where I Live" ('' Venture- Traveler's World'', October 1964) * " Harrison Bergeron" ('' The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', October 1961) * " Who Am I This Time?" ('' The Saturday Evening Post'', 16 December 1961) * " Welcome to the Monkey House" ('' Playboy'', January 1968) * "Long Walk to Forever" ('' Ladies' Home Journal'', August 1960) * "The Foster Portfolio" ('' Collier's Magazine'', 8 September 1951) * " Miss Temptation" ('' The Saturday Evening Post'', April 21, 1956) * " All the King's Horses" ('' Collier's Magazine'', 10 Feb 1951) * "Tom Edison's Shaggy Dog" ('' Collier's Magazine'', 14 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, a population of more than 230 million, it is the List of African countries by population, most populous country in Africa, and the List of countries and dependencies by population, world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in Niger–Nigeria border, the north, Chad in Chad–Nigeria border, the northeast, Cameroon in Cameroon–Nigeria border, the east, and Benin in Benin–Nigeria border, the west. Nigeria is a Federation, federal republic comprising 36 States of Nigeria, states and the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is located. The List of Nigerian cities by population, largest city in Nigeria by population is Lagos, one of the largest List of largest cities, metr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biafra
Biafara Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicized as Biafra ( ), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 to 1970. Its territory consisted of the former Eastern Region, Nigeria, Eastern Region of Nigeria, predominantly inhabited by the Igbo people, Igbo ethnic group. Biafra was established on 30 May 1967 by Igbo military officer and Eastern Region governor Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu under his presidency, following a series of ethnic tensions and military coups after Nigerian independence in 1960 that culminated in the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom. The Nigerian military attempted to reclaim the territory of Biafra, resulting in the start of the Nigerian Civil War. Biafra was officially Diplomatic recognition, recognised by Gabon, Duvalier dynasty, Haiti, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, and Zambia while receiving ''de facto'' recogniti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madame Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the primary founder of Theosophy as a belief system. Born into an aristocratic family in Yekaterinoslav, Blavatsky traveled widely around the empire as a child. Largely self-educated, she developed an interest in Western esotericism during her teenage years. According to her later claims, in 1849 she embarked on a series of world travels, visiting Europe, the Americas, and India. She also claimed that during this period she encountered a group of spiritual adepts, the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom", who sent her to Shigatse, Tibet, where they trained her to develop a deeper understanding of the synthesis of religion, philosophy, and science. Both contemporary critics and later biographers have argued that some or all of these f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Going All The Way
''Going All the Way'' is a 1997 American comedy-drama film directed by Mark Pellington, in his feature film directorial debut. The film was written by Dan Wakefield, based on his 1970 novel and stars Jeremy Davies, Ben Affleck, Amy Locane, Rachel Weisz and Rose McGowan. Plot Two young men, Sonny Burns and Gunner Casselman, return home to Indianapolis after serving time in the US Army's 7th Infantry Division during the Korean Warthe quiet Sonny as a private from a Public Information posting in Kansas City, the confident Gunner as a highly decorated corporal from the Korea combat zone. Back in civilian life, they search for love and fulfillment in middle America during the conservative 1950s. Cast In addition, Dan Wakefield, the film's screenwriter (adapting his semi-autobiographical novel), has a brief cameo as an unnamed farmer at a church service. Production notes The film was shot on location in Indianapolis, Indiana, the setting of Dan Wakefield's semi-autobiogra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Wakefield
Dan Wakefield (May 21, 1932 – March 13, 2024) was an American novelist, journalist, and screenwriter. His novels ''Going All the Way (1970) and Starting Over (1973),'' were made into feature films with Wakefield also writing the screenplay for ''Going All the Way'' Wakefield created the NBC prime time television series '' James at 15'' (1977–78) and was story editor of the series (1977). His other notable works include ''Island in the City: The World of Spanish Harlem'' (1959), a pioneering journalistic account of a Puerto Rican neighborhood in New York, and the memoir ''New York in the Fifties'' (2001), produced as a documentary film by Betsy Blankenbaker. His memoir, ''Returning: A Spiritual Journey'' (1988), was called by Bill Moyers "one of the most important memoirs of the spirit I have ever read". He edited and wrote the Introduction to ''Kurt Vonnegut Letters'' (2012). Wakefield received The Bernard DeVoto Fellowship at The Bread Loaf Writer Conference in 1958, a N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann Hesse
Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophical traditions, combined with his involvement with Jungian analysis, helped to shape his literary work. His best-known novels include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', ''Narcissus and Goldmund'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', each of which explores an individual's search for Authenticity (philosophy), authenticity, self-knowledge, and spirituality. Hesse was born in 1877 in Calw, a town in Germany's Northern Black Forest. His father was a Baltic Germans, Baltic German and his grandmother had Romands, French-Swiss roots. As a child, he shared a passion for poetry and music with his mother, and was well-read and cultured, due in part to the influence of his polyglot grandfather. As a youth, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Costa
Antone Charles "Tony" Costa (August 2, 1944 – May 12, 1974), sometimes referred to as the Cape Cod Vampire or the Cape Cod Cannibal was an American serial killers, American serial killer who was active in and around the town of Truro, Massachusetts, during 1968–1969. The dismembered remains of four women were found in or near a forest clearing where Costa grew marijuana. His crimes gained international media attention when the district attorney falsely alluded to cannibalism. Early life and crimes Tony Costa was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on August 2, 1944. He committed his first violent offense in November 1961 at age 17, when he broke into a house and attacked the occupant, a teenaged girl. He was charged with burglary and assault, and sentenced to three years' probation and a one-year suspended sentence. Costa was married in 1963 and had three children, but the marriage dissolved over his drug use and he left for California in 1966. In the summe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
