R.I.P. Ray Bradbury

There were definitely a few years where Bradbury was my favorite writer. (I think it went something like Frank Herbert->Ray Bradbury->Kurt Vonnegut->Thomas Pynchon.)

Don't think anyone's linked this Paris Review interview yet. Pretty interesting stuff:

http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6012/the-art-of-fiction-no-203-ray-bradbury

thinking about it a bit, bradbury's decaying future seems to presage a fair amount of cyberpunk, not to mention the chums of chance storyline in Against the Day...

I checked the massive story collection out of the library this morning and, yes, I HAVE read "The Veldt." Good times.

some other necrophile hadn't beaten you to it?

Students don't check books out of the library.

Those aren’t books. You can’t hold a computer in your hand like you can a book. A computer does not smell. There are two perfumes to a book. If a book is new, it smells great. If a book is old, it smells even better. It smells like ancient Egypt. A book has got to smell. You have to hold it in your hands and pray to it. You put it in your pocket and you walk with it. And it stays with you forever. But the computer doesn’t do that for you. I’m sorry.

lol, much love

Things were better before the mechanization of print. Nothing beats the smell and feel of hand-tooled leather and monk sweat. But still, manuscripts got nothing on the oral tradition, when dudes had to memorize some shit before they got lazy and started storing their knowledge in codices.

I just like the idea of priveleging how reading material smells

I guess I never realized how many cranky, oddball opinions Bradbury holds - but I cut him a lot of slack since his genius seems intertwined with his metaphorical view of life.

This is great: "I have three rules to live by. One, get your work done. If that doesn’t work, shut up and drink your gin. And when all else fails, run like hell!"

ray otm

what is wrong w/ cranky oddballism?

I started reading "The Better Part of Wisdom" at lunch. Is this a story with gay characters...?

what is wrong w/ cranky oddballism?

Nothing! People up-thread alluded to some of his Tea-Party-esque political views - but perhaps those are rather normal for someone of his generation, and not examples of oddballism.

loveable cranks are cool

I just like the idea of priveleging how reading material smells

I actually do! Bradbury totally nails why I prefer to read from books over screens. I just get a kick out of the "damn kids get off my lawn" aspects of bibliophilia.

If cherishing printed and bound paper is now considered bibliophilia, then I'm an old crank as well. I don't want or need every book that I will ever read in that format, but some books require it. My giant hardback edition of the complete works of e.e. cummings. That same shitty paperback of Catcher in the Rye that everyone has, with the inexplicable 45-degree rainbow in the top corner, like a generic brand from Aldi. Emily Dickinson with a broken spine. James Burke with huge pages, an illustration on literally almost every one of them. Some books require texture, and their own specific gravity.

I got the e.e. cummings book used from Powell's. It's unstained, unread, and very likely unopened. There is writing on the inside front title page:

Jill,

May you find inspiration and comfort in this book. You have been and continue to be a truly wonderful friend! ((The exclamation point has a heart where the dot should be.)) Thank you for teaching me to be "mindful." Love, Alex.

Either Jill didn't much care for the book and still hasn't told Alex, or Jill and Alex aren't speaking anymore. Either way, there's a story in this book. Just this one book.

Re: The Better Part of Wisdom, yes, it is. I remember it being a little bit awkward, as if Bradbury was pushing himself to write about something he wasn't really that familiar or comfortable with. But it's a sweet story.

Reread "The Jar." God, what a creepy little bit of ugliness. "Tom Carmody, who would never smile again..."

The whole damn book is like that! And god I love it.

warning: video

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/414933/june-06-2012/sign-off---ray-bradbury-tribute

Re: The Better Part of Wisdom, yes, it is. I remember it being a little bit awkward, as if Bradbury was pushing himself to write about something he wasn't really that familiar or comfortable with. But it's a sweet story.

The section of the grandpa's monologue reminiscing in the most lyrical terms his golden friendship with the boy comes as close to authentic poetic prose as I've ever read. I'm astounded Bradbury could write this well. As a result, I tore through about nine stories in one sitting.

btw my first awareness of RAY BRADBURY as an eminence came when Epcot, then known as EPCOT Center, announced that he'd contributed to the development and script for the Spaceship Earth ride.

And funny you should say that!

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/06/honoring-ray-bradburys-contribution-to-epcot/

'Make sure when you wake up in the morning that you know you accomplished everything you possibly could the previous day. And then do it again!’

There are two kinds of people in this world....

Mr. Bradbury and Dr. Morbius

"Doctor" if you're feeling nasty

As with R A Heinlein, I prefer his earlier work to his old coot pronouncements.

oh I dunno: Morbs still writes excellent reviews.

I saw that coming from miles away like the last Martian astronomers saw the rockets leaving the surface of the Earth

I knew Colbert was a fan (thus the link above) but how had I missed the existence of this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSoigRHHNLM

Such a great story.

could not turn that off (meta!)

i think that was the first short story i ever read

it was kind of all downhill after that

And now his house is gone.

http://file770.com/?p=20397

There came soft rains?