COL49: The beginning is the beginning is the end

[Saioued Al-Zaioued]

Dear loyal 49ers, and you not so loyal types

Today we will start an excersize in futility. We will begin reading a book 
that its very own author considers flawed. We will begin reading the book 
that certain people force themselves to read in order to say that they have 
read pynchon, forever boosting their ego and intellectual credibility into 
the ranks of 'Pynchon Readers.' It is safe to say that most people who have 
read Pynchon have only really read COL49, that flawed work which is to me 
more a symbol of vanity than a great work of a great mind. In this sense 
what we are doing is futile, we are pushing for the vanity that so plagues 
the field of intellectual pursuit, further inoculating it into this little 
culture of cultures, this field that is more like damnation than the 
salvation it claims to be; yes buddy, you guessed it, the field of Art.

But there is something special about this book. Most people discover Pynchon 
in a very serendipitous manner; searching for an author of certain 
complexity and depth, someone smart, young and adventurous, wierd and geeky, 
heck maybe even avant garde. That search continues until one day someone 
casually drops into a conversation his name, or even his adjective 
'Pynchonesque', and if we are willing to admit our ignorance we ask this 
person forthright about this pynchon, or we go look it up in our little 
encyclopedias or via our search engines.  Our curiosity has been pricked, 
and it will be in flames the more we look into this pynchon dude, this man 
like the wizard of Oz behind his curtain. And the special thing about COL49 
(other than the ravishing Mrs. Maas)  is that  it is the vial of crack that 
gets you started on a very powerful  addiction that could last a lifetime. 
its something you can't quite shake, you become (like a crack ho') jaded, 
wiser, and a more intelligent living aficiando of life, not because of the 
things you do see, but because of the things you CAN see if you read into 
things with the intensity and seriousness that Pynchon wants you to read 
them in his work and in life in general.  The complexity can also be quite 
hilarious, and that is after all why we are all here, its because we enjoy 
it. I think Joyce coined the term Jocoserious, but Pynchon is the one who 
seemed to engrain it in nearly every sentence he ever writes.  So kids, get 
ready to be crack-heads, and veterans I raise my 40 to you and spill some 
for the homies who are no longer with us.


Here is the format and the list, I will send my stuff later today.

August 1 Chapter 1 Saud S. Al-Zaid
August 4 Chapter 2 cj hurtt
August 7 Chapter 3 pp. 44-64 Meg Larson
August 10 Chapter 3 pp. 65-80 cfa, calbert (I will help if you need it)
August 13 Chapter 4 Patrik Lynch
August 16 Chapter 5 pp. 100-124 John Bailey
August 19 Chapter 5 pp. 124 -145 Soren Balslev
August 21 Chapter 6 pp. 146-165 Dave Monroe
August 24 Chapter 6 pp. 166-183 Sam Moyer




1.Quick summary of the section (Summary)
2.Important detail(s) that the person finds interesting, with perhaps a
little bit of research (Juicy Bits)
3.Raise an issue in the text, take a stance, and then run for cover.
(Dialectic Dynamo)








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