P-List traffic

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

Or maybe, even, the most significant event in Pynchonalia ever:

“Does Dixon catch an incompletely suppress’d Lilt of Insincerity? Something’s askew. “Thoo are in Exile, then . . .?

   “With London but the first station. Then came the Cape. Then St. Helena. Now---these Provinces. You were there, and are here. You must have seen it, ---each time, another step further. . . .”

   “Away…? Away from…?”

   “Perhaps not away, Dixon. No. Perhaps toward. Hum. Hadn’t considered that, hey, Optimism? Exercise yer boobyish Casuistry ‘pon that, why don’t ye? Toward what?”

   “I the Booby . . .? I . . .? When indeed, ---“ but how much further upfield can he bring that, before a Brush from one of Rebekah’s potent Wings? “Toward what then . . .?” yet in the tone of a Fop to a Bedlamite, concealing the demand, “Amuse me.”


I love the “ Perhaps toward”. I love Mason’s Optimism. I love the Angel’s potent Wing brushing Dixon’s head, diverting his anger into intellectual pursuit---if only to be amused, mind you. Don’t know about you, but that has to be my favorite passage in all of Pynchon’s works. Of course we”re all in an agitated state of Brownian motion: this novel most likely will be the Big One.  Some of that motion naturally gets converted to heat. But I’m planning on a “cut & run” strategy for  flame wars. 

I’m just wild about animated cartoons and Pynchon writes some of my favorites. I think that one of Pynchon’s best attributes is his sense of humor. That’s one reason I like Vineland so very much. The other probably has a lot to do with having a mother who lived in Garberville in the mid-eighties, was an over-active activist, had a cute little shop with a cute little name, lived in a geodesic dome, got Camped on, became a good friend of Judi Bari . . . . Frankly, the book does a fantastic job of describing a specific (decaying) environment. So, although I’m adopting an opinion that is not universally held, my opinions may have some documentary value.  Considering the encyclopedic nature of Pynchon’s writing, having a diversity of voices on this forum is something of value, and being shouted down is a waste of bandwidth. 
 
I guess I’m still responding in a pavlovian manner with the stamp/chop/coin/thingy; that’s what reading “COL 49” too many times’ll do to you. From time to time I’ll be posting in a logorrheaic fashion, but before too long, I’ll probably be too busy reading to be posting all that much.  I’ll probably spend a little more time editing my posts as well. I'm half-remembering a passage from Gravity's Rainbow; to paraphrase ---self criticism’s an amazing thing, you know —it oughtn’t work, but it does. 


“Wow! Maybe only on the p-list could someone submit a post wondering if there 
were too many posts, just when the most significant event in Pynchonalia for 
nearly 10 years was about to occur!

Good grief, Charley Brown :-)

Toby - no offence, but this seems really strange. Not a fan of high traffic 
lists? Eh? I'm a Pynchon fan, and very very happy there's a lot going on in 
Pynchon land. Look back at the archive for a year ago and you might be 
forgiven for wondering why we bothered. Bliss it is to be a plister with ATD 
on its way, I say.

Not that I have had time to read very many posts lately, my wife gave birth 
to a boy on Wednesday morning so I am entering a whole new world of 
busyness................

All the best to everyone
JC

"Carvill John"
                                                                                                                       ”

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