Xennial Memes
Tumblr post by hornedchick: Kurt Vonnegut wrote: "When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of "getting to know you" questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What's your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don't play any sports. I do theater, I'm in choir, I play the violin and…

Vonnegut on Being Bad at Things on Purpose

A Tumblr post attributed to Kurt Vonnegut says being good at things isn't the point of doing them. A comforting reminder for Xennials raised on achievement and gold stars.

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Tumblr post by hornedchick: Kurt Vonnegut wrote: "When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of "getting to know you" questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What's your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don't play any sports. I do theater, I'm in choir, I play the violin and…

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A numbered list of eight writing rules in black text on white. 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. 4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action. 5. Start as close to the… Photo of a book page. It reads: "John Bogle, the Vanguard founder who passed away in 2019, once told a story about money that highlights something we don't think about enough: At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch-22 over… Scan of a magazine page headed "Essay by Kurt Vonnegut" with the title "On Writing Science Fiction" and a black label reading "Sept. 5, 1965". The essay runs in three columns of small print. In the middle is a stylized illustration of a scowling mustached man with spiky black hair against a red shape. Credit reads "Illustration by Christoph Niemann". A white subway-tile wall with a wooden-framed panel lit by lamps and draped with green ivy above. Black capital letters read: "BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO SUCK AT SOMETHING NEW." A sidewalk curb and dark street run below. Hand-lettered infographic by @twisteddoodles titled "HOW TO DO A SCIENCE" in yellow letters. "A. THEORY" arrow "B. EXPERIMENT" arrow "C. RESULT". "USE A TO WORK OUT B TO GENERATE C". "IF C DOESN'T SUPPORT A ADJUST B AND REPEAT". "IF C CONTINUES TO NOT SUPPORT A AFTER MANY B ADJUSTMENTS QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF A AFTER QUESTIONING...." Then: "i) The research you based this whole MESS on" "ii) Your ability as a… Photo of a mountain road that has collapsed into a huge gap, with a raised broken slab of asphalt on the far side. A yellow diamond road sign reads "JUST SPEED UP A BIT". A smaller yellow sign below it reads "YOU GOT THIS". Evergreen forest in the background.

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