In one of Kurt Vonnegut's novels (I think it's The Sirens of Titan), there's an episode where Martians do brainwashing experiments on a bunch of soldiers from planet earth. Only something goes a little wrong with the experiments, and instead of just partially brainwashing them, they accidentally wipe out the entire minds of the soldiers.
As Vonnegut tells it in the novel, at that point the only thing to do with the soldiers was housebreak them, teach them a vocabulary of 5000 words, and give them jobs in military and industrial Public Relations.
He didn't say whether any of them subsequently went into politics.
Some Local History
-
A Worldly View He was a man with a worldly vision. He Created the
Beginning of the World, the Center of the World, and the End of the World.
I am talk...
-
When I began to write novels, I wanted to keep that element of interaction
with the reader that exists in poetry, not just for the reader to be
shepherde...
Beta Reader Ready
-
Get the feedback you actually need from beta readers, plus more from
Writer's Digest!
The post Beta Reader Ready appeared first on Writer's Digest.
-
Young Charles perhaps thought today was my birthday because he allowed me
to sleep till almost 7 a.m. But here I am, finally--comfortably groggy and
read...
Quotidian Life
-
… in their spare time, they drew … This is from The Horse: The Epic History
of Our Noble Companion by Wendy Williams (2015): … Before I visited the
region,...
Stay away from the pool
-
My mother & I were visiting a friend of hers who was living in an apartment
complex that I regarded at the time as positively palatial, what for the
commun...
In Memory of Ed Ochester, Poet & Editor, RIP
-
We have asked Ed Ochester (above) to edit our Sunday poetry pages for the
next few months. Here is one of Ed's poems: March of the Penguins The
editor of N...
“In spite of all the learned have said ...”
-
Philip Freneau
Philip Freneau (1752-1852) was a journalist and poet in the early years our
country was forming. And, oh, by the way, I once wrote an under...
Balance is important in design
-
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo
ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis Theme natoque penatibus et
magnis dis ...
Proof of Life
-
Um, hello? Is this thing on?
I am writing from the Central Time Zone, as we have officially moved to
Oxford, Mississippi for the academic year! And I have ...
Lana K. W. Austin
-
Lana K. W. Austin’s poems, short stories, and reviews have recently been
featured in *Mid-AmericanReview, Sou’wester, Columbia Journal, Zone 3,
Appalachia...
The translucent veil of life
-
Haha, so the truth comes out. Having 2 children is A LOT more work than 1!
I haven't been able to get out of the rocking chair more than a few
moment...
On the move
-
*Gal about town, photo by Bob Perkoski*
Dear readership,
Your humble hostess has been doing a whole lot of what is depicted in
today's photo: walking aro...
Strawberry Month
-
The strawberry sweets at Lagusta's Luscious this month are insane! I
missed out last year and decided that this year I would take full
advantage.
I luck...
AWP in Minneapolis, and recommended reading
-
Again I've been away from this blog longer than I'd intended. Much busy
with writing, and reading, and life in general.
I'll be attending the annual AWP co...
Remixing the World's Problems Results
-
The one thing about judging poetry is that it often takes me much longer
than I expect. For everyone who has waited so patiently for me to get these
result...
In a Landscape - The Playlist
-
John Cage, “In a Landscape”
Bob Dylan, “My Back Pages”
Neil Young, “Ambulance Blues”
The Twilight Zone Theme
Babylon 5 Theme
Simon & Garfunkel, “Richard Co...
2 comments:
Ah, so it wasn't Russia she could see from her front door.
In one of Kurt Vonnegut's novels (I think it's The Sirens of Titan), there's an episode where Martians do brainwashing experiments on a bunch of soldiers from planet earth. Only something goes a little wrong with the experiments, and instead of just partially brainwashing them, they accidentally wipe out the entire minds of the soldiers.
As Vonnegut tells it in the novel, at that point the only thing to do with the soldiers was housebreak them, teach them a vocabulary of 5000 words, and give them jobs in military and industrial Public Relations.
He didn't say whether any of them subsequently went into politics.
Post a Comment