From Catch-22

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It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character.

I'm finally almost finished with this book; I somehow was never made to read in any educational capacity. I'm finding a lot of it amazingly apt considering our current political climate, which makes it at once more powerful and more difficult to read. It's a hilarious book, but the humor falls short when it really is so close to the truth of the matter. Anyway, I highly recommend it, it's a fabulous commentary on the military , military personalities, and its inherent bureaucracy.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/i_heart_to_____/]

I should read that...my one vonnegut experience fell short of my expectations, but everyone says catch 22 is good.
by the way, i've been meaning to mention to you that you should really think about mills some more if you're still considering grad school at all (i know that's probly not an immediate future concern, but whatever) coz damn. everyone i've met from the grad program there (ok, maybe 5 people total) is really cool and interesting/openminded, their program seems totally interesting and caly-like.
hope you're good and enjoying lots of extra biscuits. ;)

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

It is good. I hope you're enjoying San Fran. A bunch of people I know are there this week- rahna just moved there, and noise is in town to bring revruin back to Mpls, and my boss is there, too.
And I will think about Mills some more, but not immediately. :)
And by the by, Catch-22 isn't Vonnegut, it's Joseph Heller. I'm not terribly familiar with anything else he wrote, and near as I can tell, neither is anyone else. But this quote is funny: "When I read something saying I've not done anything as good as Catch-22 I'm tempted to reply, 'Who has?'"

[http://users.livejournal.com/i_heart_to_____/]

oh my bad, thanks for correcting. for some reason i was totally sure that was a vonnegut--all the more reason to read it, since i don't really like vonnegut. :)
and yes, finally, i'm having good fun in sf.

[sarendipatree.livejournal.com]

I lovelovelove Catch-22. Its one of my very favorite novels of all time.

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the copy I have actually belongs to you, in fact. ;)

And hey, your lovely wife says I should tell you that I'magonna be in DC from Thursday through Sunday with my Mom this week, hanging out with Joe and Beth, and that if you're you know, unemployed and have nothing better to do and want to drive on over to DC to hang out with us, that'd be super fun.

Catch-22

[thaadd.livejournal.com]

I read that when I was in Sweden, and most of the books in english were in the Lit section...no sci fi for poor Thaadds to fall back on.

Very good, though disturbing. Falls into the same catagory as Farenheight 451 and The Jungle. Good books that ought to disturb you.

[sarendipatree.livejournal.com]

Huh. Huh. Hmmm. You don't say. Huh.

[vaxjo.livejournal.com]

Care to lend it to me?