tours of P-land available--tickets cheap

[MASCARO at humnet.ucla.edu]

Two cents from a pauper re: stating the obvious:

Don't start a nasty flame war friends, please. Let's try to find some middle ground.
Of course people can post all they want, within reason, even trivia,
w/out fear of attack, but I want also to stand up here a little for
MalignD's attempt at begging for some discrimination in what we feel is useful
or needed.  I like trivia as much as the next person, but frankly, I don't like
looking for trivia, or compilations of trivia, which are not trivial any longer, but
simply dull.  And I do agree w/ Malign, but somehow not contra davemarc,
that there are lines of the obvious we should be able to refrain
from indulging ourselves in--if only because those
who get annoyed by others stating the obvious will feel compelled
to write, even more annoyingly, PARODIES of stating the obvious.
And of course we know what's next--parodies of parodists.
No No No

Now I ain't trying to claim that my def of trivia or "the obvious"
is absolute or anything, but let's
imagine this in terms of tourism, a topic dear
to the P.'s heart.  Baedekar (sp?) y'know?  Let's apply a Baedekar-rule. 
I don't want to be a tourist in Pynchon land.  
I've spent too much time on the guy's work, there's so
much demanding possibility in his work, that to just do
the Zagat thing is a disservice.  If your post is pure and
simple catalogue, note it in the subject header, something like
"Baedekar Stuff" (which we might usefully abbreviate to save space).

If we can't connect our info to some thematic line for the list,
do we really need the info?  I'm not saying we never do, but
do we even ask ourselves these questions before posting?

I am trying hard not to ally with or agin anybody, 
only to discuss issues that seem valid.

There are some types of communication which the e-mail
medium renders almost impossibly self-reflexive, anxious and
ultimately unclear.  This has been one of them.


johnny (desperately seeking Yosemite) m