a-and

[Paul DiFilippo]

Hi, folks!
Just coming back into the list after a couple of days off and
finding lots of fascinating stuff.  I think Tim W. is closest
to the mark when he pinpoints "a-and" as comic book style jargon.
To me, it's strictly an authorial touch (hence not confined just
to Slothrop's speech, but also found in "omniscient" passages)
relating to standard be-bop/beat/hippie/slacker/doper discourse.
BUT (and I used "stuttering this way myself in a forthcoming 
novel of mine) it's also a significant nod to Information Theory
which stresses redundancy as crucial to conveying messages.
All this talk of comix, with the mention of "Roger and Jessica"
set off a litebulb in my head:  Roger and Jessica Rabbit, anyone,
as a nod to Pynchon?

--
Paul Di Filippo/2 Poplar St./Providence, RI 02906/401-751-0139
"The number of typoes in this message is directly proportional
to its importance."