ATDTDA (12) - More NYC Stuff

[Mark Kohut]

John,
   
  I don't know how to read the vegetarianism stuff either, but maybe TRP is saying it
  is another variation in living 'naturally' that is ultimately of little consequence, except 
  to one personally?...Sorta like some irrelevant supernatural belief?
   
  And, how much does Pynchon think is 'mediated' in the world of AtD he puts on the page
  and as it is the foundation of later History?     
   
  I think pynchon points to aspects in life that are Real, natural light, stone, wind, trees, humans out in same picnicing, occasionally love (not usually psychologically off-center sex, and more)----the rest is all mediated and is most of what he writes about as the Chums have
  their adventures...
   
  MK
   
  

John BAILEY <JBAILEY at theage.com.au> wrote:
  I really love this whole section of the novel - Dally as flaneuse in
NYC; the vegetarianism dropped in there unexpectedly (as happens
throughout the novel, though I'm still in the dark as to how to read
it); and most of all the connections between the white slavery panic and
emergent entertainment media.

Best starting point for this is:

Gunning, Tom (1997) 'From the Kaleidoscope to the X-Ray: Urban
Spectatorship, Poe, Benjamin, and Traffic in Souls (1913),' Wide Angle
19, 4: 25-61.

...which looks at the way early cinema both played on those (racist)
fears while also in a sense creating them. I think that's exactly what P
is playing on here - on the way that modern entertainment and spectacle
are inextricably bound up with troubling ideological issues, and that in
this case the players (the Chinese performers staging the kidnappings)
are deeply implicated, too. They're giving gawking tourists what they
want to see, while remaining ironically aware of the fake nature of the
spectacle. Complicit critique? Or are they encouraging an already
entrenched racism?

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org] On
Behalf Of David Morris
Sent: Saturday, 7 July 2007 7:12 AM
To: P-list
Subject: Fwd: ATDTDA (12) - More NYC Stuff

http://www.amazon.com/Tongs-Gangs-Triads-Chinese-America/dp/0595187544

Tongs, Gangs, and Triads: Chinese Crime Groups in North America

The so-called "Chinese Mafia" has earned a reputation as one of the
fiercest and most brutal in the seedy underworld of organized crime.
Yet does such an organization even exist? Or is there instead a wide
variety of "Tongs, Gangs, and Triads" stretching across not just Asia
and North America, but the globe?

Although such groups are most notorious, perhaps, for their control of
the lucrative Southeast Asian drug trade, they are also known for
involvement in illegal immigration, smuggling, extortion, kidnapping,
home invasions and crimes of all sorts.

How much of this is Hollywood hype and how much is reality? And how can
law enforcement and other interested parties overcome cultural barriers
and gain an understanding of a criminal element that shrouds itself in
secrecy - a secrecy that has proved to be its strength for centuries?

This book explores the rich Chinese tradition of tongs, gangs, triads
and secret societies and their frequent involvement in organized crime,
as well as their more recent and growing collusion with Chinatown street
gangs. The result is a work that provides an excellent introduction to
not just Chinese crime groups, but Chinese culture and history in
general.
---------------

Tongs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triad

Tongs are similar to triads except that they originated among the early
immigrant Chinatown communities rather than an extension of a modern
triad in China. The first tongs formed in the second half of the 19th
century among the more marginalized members of early immigrant Chinese
American communities for mutual support and protection from white
racists. These first tongs modeled themselves upon triads. However,
unlike the triads, the tongs formed without clear political motives and
soon found themselves involved in criminal activities, including
extortion, gambling, human trafficking, murder, and prostitution.[1]

Many traditional tongs in USA Chinatowns have been replaced by recent
immigrants from China, especially from Fuqing City, Fujian Province.

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

Mock Duck
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mock_duck

Mock duck, like seitan, is a gluten-based vegetarian food. It is
generally made from wheat gluten and is thus high in protein. Its
distinctive flavor and artificial "plucked duck" texture distinguish it
from other forms of commercially available seitan. Mock duck can be
found in some Chinese grocery stores.

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

RW's production "African Antics" a "coon revue" modeled after Williams &
Walker

Williams & Walker

http://www.si.umich.edu/chico/Harlem/text/williams_walker.html

Bert Williams (1874-1922); George Walker (1873-1911); and Aida Overton
Walker (1870-1914)

George Walker and Egbert Austin Williams were a vaudeville comedy team
and had one of the most renowned and successful stage partnerships in
American theatrical history. They started in separate careers and
decided to team up when they met in San Francisco in the early 1890s.
Their first success came when they billed themselves "The Two Real
Coons." This was at a time when minstrel shows featuring white actors in
black face were popular. Williams and Walker pioneered a new kind of
"black" humor and eventually developed their own company. With musicals
shows such as "Clorindy, the Origin of the Cakewalk," "Sons of Ham,"
"Bandana Land," and "In Dahomey," they opened the door for other
African-American actors, singers, dancers and musicians and redefined
the boundaries of legitimate Negro theater. Additionally, their efforts
were a big influence on the development of American musical comedy
theater.


>From AtD Wiki:
Courage, Camille
345; "Courage Camille" is a game in which three players are required.
Two of the players face each other and lock hands. The third person
stiffens and falls backwards into their arms. This should be done
several times, with the person falling farther backwards each time (the
players locking their hands should lower them each time). Other players
can then try.

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

Does Lillian Russel like hats?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Russell

Lillian Russell (December 4, 1860 - June 6, 1922) was an American
actress and singer.

Lillian RussellBorn Helen Louise Leonard in Clinton, Iowa, Lillian
Russell became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late
19th century and early 20th century, known for her beauty and style, as
well as for her voice and stage presence.
[...]
For forty years, Russell was also the companion of businessman "Diamond
Jim" Brady, who showered her with extravagant gifts of diamonds and
gemstones and supported her extravagant lifestyle.


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