GRGR 1,4 - meanings of ACHTUNG

[Cometman]

ACHTUNG - is German for attention, it wasn't invented by their
military.  Just sounds that way 'cause of the phlegmy "ch" diphthong
and the  plosive possiblities of the "T" in the middle.  "ung" is sort
of a gerund formation, in English "ing" isn't nearly as impressive to
land on as "ung" in either language. Dung, slung, clung...bing, ding,
sling, cling... If a kindly professor said "Achtung" it wouldn't sound
barbaric, it would probably if not stress, then at least not DE-stress
the "acht" part (German verb, achten, Babelfish translates it as
"respect", but I think observe or attend) When Slothrop says it, does
he bark it parodically, or Americanize it to "ack-tongue"?  Or prefer
to refer to "us", or omit mention intentionally?

In 1,3 (Viking p17 ln 32)
Allied Clearing House, Technical Units, Northern Germany; did anybody
else want to read it as "Publishers Clearing House" peripherally?
(sigh, probably not) -- we get the breakdown; 

--------- oh, oh, before I forget: Slothrop's 1st word is "Nervous"
p21, line 25) which is what states of war make many people (others they
make wealthy) and there's a lot of good description of just how nervous
one can be made and why ----------------

The ACHTUNG acronym is used 6 times in 1,4:
  
1) "ACHTUNG, anyhow, is the poor relative of Allied intelligence" 
20, ln13

the individual consciousness is not much compared to the group mind? 
But at least it's related (like some of those Kennedys, f'rinstance -
William Kennedy Smith, indeed - I'm Mike Kennedy Bailey, a-and that's
my friend over there, Tyrone Kennedy Slothrop)

2) "In which case, Slothrop reckons, ACHTUNG can, a bit wearily, submit
its fifty-millionth interbranch request to that S.O.E., asking for some
report on the cylinder's contents, and as usual, be ignored."
20, ln 30

This may indicate that messages have been on every one of the rockets
Also, the individual consciousness attempts to obtain information and
experiences fatigue.

3) "S.O.E. ignores everybody, and everybody ignores ACHTUNG. A-and what
does it matter, anyhow?"   20, ln 33-34

S.O.E. (Special Operations Executive (SOE) was formed in Britain in
July 1940 after the Germans invaded France. Its roles was to "foster
passive and active resistance to enemy occupation forces by the
inhabitants of lands which were overrun."
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/13710/20020921/home.st.net.au/_dunn/sigint/soe.htm)
-not Service Order Entry (a program some telco employees use) after
all.

SOE for the truly gung-ho, I'll bet they don't play ukulele and do
jigsaw puzzles in the SOE offices.  I can also tell you which one I'd
rather work for  (-:

4) "No explanation beyond an attached carbon copy of a note to ACHTUNG
requesting his reassignment "as part of the P.W.E. Testing Programme."
page 21, line 1

a shifting of attention, within the gestalt of the organization.  If
Slothrop's mind is part of "attention" then the attention is going to
be slightly diverted.  (Also, if the Accounting Department has to cut a
check for him, then they are "paying attention" hyeugh, hyeugh, hyeugh)
(More seriously, the arts curriculum, or maybe "physics for poets", or
maybe "engineering" even, is ACHTUNG, the SOE is ROTC or Skull and
Bones, and the White Visitation branch of P.W.E. is the paranormal
research dept (if it's a big school lucky enough to have one) or
perhaps a lone long-haired dude in the Anthro or Psych dept --- Dr
Venkman, calling Dr Venkman - who ya gonna call?)

5) "Each morning - at first - someone in Civil Defense routed ACHTUNG a
list of yesterday's hits."  pg 24, line 12

Whereas Pirate sees them first hand (at least once) and responds
immediately (though if he's on a scene after Slothrop, it's probably
not the same message - is it?  They're both coming from London.) 
--- "Each morning - at first" - ie, slack is in greater supply @
ACHTUNG, praise BOB! -- note, i assumed this, but wrong, see infra --

6) "As inputs to ACHTUNG got faster, often he'd show up in time to help
the search crews - following restless-muscled RAF dogs into the plaster
smell, the gas leaking, the leaning long splinters and sagging mesh,
the prone and noseless caryatids, rust already at nails and naked
threadsurfaces, the powdery wipe of Nothing's hand across wallpaper
awhisper with peacocks spreading their fans down deep lawns to Georgian
houses long ago, to safe groves of holm oak...among the calls for
silence following to where some exposed hand or brightness of skin
waited them, survivor or casualty.  When he couldn't help he stayed
clear, praying, at first, conventionally to God, first time since the
other Blitz, for life to win out." 
Page 14, line 17

caryatids (dictionary.com) A supporting column sculptured in the form
of a draped female figure. 

holm oak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holm_oak
-- continental winters are too cold for this Mediterranean oak, but all
England is warmed (and Ireland washed - per Interessegemeine Joyce) by
the Gulf Stream.

--- no, I was wrong, the lists of hits don't come in slower, they come
in faster!  And Slothrop is spending more time in the field, "prayin'
to God" (Ghostbusters, 1984) a-and, why does _Tantivy_ volunteer him
for this?  I'n't that a little weird??????????????????????????
Maybe he's a bit ticked after all about the row at the club...
Great description - I'm there again, but I never brought the
nervousness with me before...

----------------------------------------------------------------

Keith McMullen wrote
>I don't mean to sound flip, keep up the good work,
>although I admit to preferring jody's poetry to this
>sort of analytical approach.

jody writes poetry?

>Subject: Mechanical Turk
>Complete simple tasks that people do better than
>computers. And, get paid for it. 
>Choose from thousands of tasks, control when you work,
>and decide how much you earn. 
>http://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome

cool.  sort of like one of those jobs in a Gibson novel.  That one
where the guy is living in a box in Tokyo on cough syrup (actually
sounded kind of fun, but really could have used a deus ex machina like
Dr Atomic arriving with some vitamins and Mr Orange Juice)  
I could use the extra dough (what do you make dill bread with?  dill
dough, hyeugh hyeugh hyeugh)

---------------

bootnose wrote:
> great young poet Michael Newman

Yes, he also reviewed "Goedel Escher Bach" and the title of the review
was "Scientific Colombian" -- have looked but can't find any trace of
him on the Net.  Nor of "High Life" - there's a soft-porn mag by the
same name, but this one was a doper mag. Occasionally I like to peer
into such artifacts, bought High Life at a store (Seeds 'n' Stems)
which the Reagan anti-paraphernalia law put out of business in 1981. 
She was raided and her pipes etc confiscated.  Yeah, I didn't do
fuck-all -- what's that passage "the blood-something where none of this
is happening" spend more time than I ought there
But she had a lawyer friend, I know that, because she told me she had
him a custom belt made saying "Sue!" 
Anyway, I'd give a foot massage to anybody who could find out more
about that Michael Newman.