The Octuple Gloucester

[David Casseres]

David Dasinger sez

>... is it a stretch to consider [the Octuple Gloucester] a reference
>to technology out of control?
>Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should do it.
>Nuclear weapons, HAARP, and Oelestra come to mind.

Not a stretch at all, you're right on the mark.

>A-and even without the Octuple Gloucester, the footage I saw
>of the cheese rolling was pretty silly on it's own.

I thought so too.  Pynchon offers us a pretty good deal, I think: if the 
joke makes you laugh, then obviously you win a good laugh, which is 
nothing to sneeze at these daze.  If it doesn't, well, you have every 
reason to consider it a clever and illuminating *cultural reference to a 
joke,* and give yourself some criticism points.  And if neither of those 
floats your boat, you can usually find, quite easily, the unmistakable 
voice of Our Homilist giving us a few words of instruction about the 
folly of our (Their) ways.  Good value for money, and the Octuple 
Gloucester is a fine example.


Cheers,
David