GRGR(4): Episode 12

[Jeremy Osner]

Hi, it seems to (not always attentive) me that GRGR(4) so far has
focussed primarily on episode 10 and to a lesser extent 11; I want to
throw out some questions and ideas about 12, our first real introduction
to the "White Visitation" and a lovely portrait of Ernest Pudding.

p. 72-3 "At 'The White Visitation' the walls read ice." and successive
ice references
I can't for the life of me figure out what this means. Is there a "chill
in the air"? is it sterile and lifeless? I had another idea this
morning, but I lost it. Gimme.

p. 73 "the ancient Abbey, its roof long ago taken at the manic whim of
Henry VIII"
This sounds suspiciously like a Historical Detail. Does the building
exist? What whim prompted 'Ennery the Eighth to abscond with its roof?
(Oh, and is there really a town called Ick Regis?)

p. 73 "Bert"
Why not Poseidon, say?

p. 76 "the gold-lit borders of consciousness"
I'm probably way off track here, as often occurs when I try and analyze
this book; but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Or some thing like
that. I was thinking the borders of consciousness could be the
yellowish-whitish edge of screen you see around the movie, when the
theatre has not properly adjusted things to make the picture as big as a
screen. "Consciousness" is the consciousness *of this text*, Gravity's
Rainbow, which I've always regarded as a book but which seems sometimes
to think of him/her/itself as a movie. It feels constricted by the edges
"like a noose". Also: the changing front lines are only "like a noose"
if you're on the side that's on the retreat... The way these couple of
lines sort of nudge up to and then creep away from self-awareness rilly
rocks my boat.

p. 77 "Things That Can Happen in European Politics"
It's a lovely idea. Can someone translate "Bereshith" for me? A-And
historical background on Ramsey MacDonald and the ramifications of his
death would be useful, too!

p. 78 "Zener-deck guesses"
This scene reminds me of Ghostbusters. But that is neither here nor
there.

p. 79-80 "The Weekly Briefings"
Many out-loud laffs here. "Cucurbitaceous" means "of a large group of
... herbs of the gourd family", in case you (like me) wondered and (like
me most of the time) did not bother to look it up. Interestingly enough,
the next word in my New World Dictionary before "Cucurbit" is
"Cucumiform", which means "shaped like a cucumber" and is, I think, a
nice word to have on hand. And as long as we're in the C's,
"Callipygian" (remember Whappo?) means "having shapely buttocks" and is
derived from the Greek "kallos", beauty + "pyge", buttocks. Another one
that could come in useful.

p. 80 Dr. Rozsavolgyi
Is his name a pun on something? I can't really figure out how to
pronounce it (Row-zha-vool-gyee?). I like his scheming about how to
survive the coming "peace". Thanks s~Z for providing resources on the
MMPI.

--
Don' take life so serious son, it ain't nohow permanent.
--Porky Pine