Rancho Absurdo

[Henry Musikar]

Reminds me of Pynchon's and subsequently Gibson talk of "meat."

Supposedly a computer translated "The spirit is willing, but the flesh
is weak" into Russian and back as "The vodka is good, but the meat is
bad."

Paul Mackin wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> What strange thoughts to be having on this beautiful Easter Sunday morning when resurrection and transcendence are celebrated and commemorated thoughout the world. Happy Easter to all of you whether believers or not.
> 
>                                 P.
> ----------
> From:   JULIUS RAPER[SMTP:jrraper at email.unc.edu]
> Sent:   Saturday, March 29, 1997 10:11 AM
> To:     pynchon-l at waste.org
> Cc:     pynchon-l-digest at waste.org
> Subject:        Re: Rancho Absurdo
> 
> Paul's question about where one learns about the dangers of shedding one's
> mortal container is a good one. Certainly it would not be in computer,
> mathematical, or music classes, if the bios coming out about the suicides
> are accurate.  Nor in the classes that provide the footnotes to Plato that
> make up the mainstream of philosophy courses.  After 2400+ years of
> "contempt for the corporeal," to quote from an earlier message, can we
> expect our culture to resist the temptations of the bodiless state?  And
> now that the double-millennial madness has struck, things will start
> popping. If
> we are lucky, this Rancho debacle could be the innoculation against the
> disease.  If not, perhaps
> the temptations to soul-transvestism in V. and the fates of Herbert,
> Benny, and the confused chick whose name starts with a vector pointed
> down could provide excellent cautions against contempt for one's
> own fleshy envelope. Where is the necessary respect for the somewhat Lower
> Sources?       JRR