Ray Bradbury R.I.P.: August 22, 1920 ? June 5, 2012

[PPI Karl]

I'm tremendously saddened at the passing of Ray Bradbury on June 5, 2012.  One of the greatest imaginative writers of the 20th century and an unbelievable Mensch.  I feel as though, with the deaths of Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut, a literary movement in the genre of science fiction has officially come to an end.

Max and I saw Bradbury talk at the Coronado Public Library in 1992.  It was one of the singularly most memorable evenings of my life--no joking.  You know when you meet someone famous and they reveal themselves in a way you never expected?  Bradbury had a tremendous presence and a deeply compassionate intellect.  It's one thing when the audience laughs and cries in response to a writer's words; it's another when you're laughing and crying along with the author.  It was an emotional evening, and it revealed to me the kind of writer I wanted to become.  At the end of the night, when Ray was signing books, Max and I lined up to have (don't laugh) our laser disc of Fahrenheit 451 signed.  Naturally, the intended irony of that didn't get by him, nor the fact that he was signing it to two men. 

I truly loved that man, and his spark was so bright that we are a more benighted world without him in it. 

Happy journeys, Ray.

[PPI Tim]

Rest in Peace Ray

[Adriano]

Indeed... Mr. Bradbury has inspired many generations of proud "geeks", such as myself. His mind is irreplaceable, and his work and legacy will live on and continue to inspire future generations of readers, movie directors, and video game creators.

Go in piece Ray, and be with God.

[PPI Brian]

October Country was my first introduction to Ray Bradbury. He was an incredible short story writer, especially in the genre of horror. Back in the days when I fancied myself a writer, I used to read his columns in Writer's Digest religiously. He used to tell aspiring writers "You must write every single day of your life. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads... may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world."

He was a fierce defender of Los Angeles public libraries. He once said: "Libraries raised me. I don't believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries because most students don't have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn't go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years."

He wrote one of his first novels in a library. "The Fireman" which was later retitled "Fahrenheit 451", was written one of the library's rented typewriters. And he had some great advice for those of us in the modern age -- "We have too many cellphones. We've got too many internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now."

Rest well, Mr. Bradbury. We miss you already.