AtDDtA(15): Outro

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

"Well hello everybody, I'd like to introduce "Legs" Larry Smith, drums. . . ."

First off, congrats to Dave on a superb set of annotations with some great 
questions---like "what the hell is going on?". I can only offer that we are 
entering into a zone* where things get increasing fictitious for awhile. Not 
only does the upcoming AtDTDA 19 offer a ship that is in two places at 
once [docking as two now quite different ships in two ports quite far from 
each other], it also has asanas that [thanks to the use of higher math] lead 
to instant re-incarnation [in a different physical form], and a factory that 
fills to overflowing with mayo in seconds. I suspect that one really needs 
some background in Colonial Africa, the armaments biz in WWI and 
mayonaisse to follow what's going on in the thick creamy center of the 
book. A customer at my store yesterday was looking for history books
concerning WWII, knew a fair bit concerning WWI, pointing out the 
build-up of naval power , the blur between pleasure luxury liners and
warships at the time and the near-mystical qualities of the strait of Gibraltar.

I'd be looking into Saturnalia over at Candlebrow U, something about
seeking a golden age, being "placed strategical @ the end of a major section 
of the" year. But there's plenty of opportunity for koans of all sorts as well,
and the Chums are moving towards Shambhala in the next section. So the 
increasing absurdity/impossibility of the passage we're now going through
can be thought of as a deliberate feature of this section of the book.

     Dave Monroe:
     In my relief last night to be finished at least with what annotations
     I could post on this chapter, I forgot that I'd actually planned a
     little wrap-up, to perhaps bring to the fore a few elements/questions
     that might otherwise have remained embedded/entombed in the past
     fortnight or so's postings.  They all, however, come down more or less
     to this: what really--diegetically or otherwise--IS going on in this
     chapter?  It's notable for its density of tantalizingly strange goings
     on, even for Pynchon.  Candlebrow University, Smegmo, F.I.C.O.T.T.,
     Alonzo Meatman, Trespassers, Mr. Ace, the Marching Academy Harmonica
     Band, "squealers," the "Old Man" (even more enigmatic than Mr. Ace),
     the Phantom Filer, Hypops ... much ado about time, history, identity,
     memory, nostalgia, foreboding ... old standbys like magenta 'n' green,
     paranoia, acronyms, harmonicas, "stupid songs," the master/slave
     dialectic, German industrial cartels, pigs ... those italicized
     phrases like "unorthodox behavior" or "second or cover identity" or
     "weight extremes" ... all placed strategical @ the end of a major
     section of the text.  What up with all that?  Help!    Thanks!

* Don't know about your take on this, but as far as I can tell, "The Zone" is 
the region of Europe without govermental claim [for the moment, at least.] 
That section of Gravity's Rainbow serves as a demonstration of anarchy 
in action [though things do get a tad lacadasical from time to time.]