MDDM Prologue: Transitions & Transformations

[Dave Monroe]

Well, if it's peremissible again to address theb texts
here (and forgive me if it's not, I guess I just need
to get back to business, is all, some semblance of my
normal abnormalcy), again, do note here, noting esp.
etymology ...

pas·ser·ine 
'pa-s&-"rIn
adjective
Latin passerinus of sparrows, from passer sparrow
1776
: of or relating to the largest order (Passeriformes)
of birds which includes over half of all living birds
and consists chiefly of altricial songbirds of
perching habits -- compare OSCINE

os·cine 
'ä-"sIn
adjective
New Latin Oscines, suborder name, from Latin, plural
of oscin-, oscen songbird, bird giving omens by its
cry, from obs-, ob- in front of, in the way + canere
to sing -- more at OB-, CHANT
1883
: of or relating to a large suborder (Oscines) of
passerine birds (as larks, shrikes, finches, orioles,
and crows) characterized by a vocal apparatus highly
specialized for singing

http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

"New Latin Oscines, suborder name, from Latin, plural
of oscin-, oscen songbird, bird giving omens by its
cry" ...

--- jbor <jbor at bigpond.com> wrote:
> 
> _The Crying of Lot 49_ ends with an auctioneer who
> is named after a common order of birds apparently
> about to cry a revelation.
> 
> passerine adj. 1. of, relating to, or belonging to
> the Passeriformes, an order of birds characterised
> by the perching habit: includes larks, finches,
> crows, thrushes, starlings, etc 2. any bird
> belonging to the order Passeriformes [C18: from
> Latin *passer* sparrow]
> 
> _Vineland_ opens with the main character waking from
> a dream of birds and lost messages.
> 
> _Gravity's Rainbow_ ends with the apocalyptic
> rocket's flight perilously suspended above the
> reader's head, having traced an arc across space and
> time and history and hundreds of close-writ pages.
> 
> _Mason & Dixon_ opens:
> 
> "Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides
> of Outbuildings, as of
> Cousins ... "
> 
> These slightly-skewed continuations of one novel
> into another appear to be deliberate. As if a
> pattern emerge ...

Okay, the ... interruptions (to say the pathtically
least) of the past several hours aside, we're off to a
hell of a start here.  Good to see y'all so motivated.
 Perhaps because of the relatively (and, ironically?)
"virging" territory M&D represents (vs. V., Lot 49,
GR, SL, though I'd still like to get to Vineland in
the coming year)?  Anyway ... 

I hope to keep the momentum going in the coming week,
but, as I'm still awaiting word from Arlington County,
VA, AND I've a friend up from Orleans Parish, LA, if I
don't hit the ground running at the stroke of midnight
this coming Sunady/Monday, don't worry, I'll jump out
from behind the bushes at some poiunt early in the
race ...

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger
http://im.yahoo.com