Fwd: ATDTDA (12) - More NYC Stuff

[Daniel Harper]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Daniel Harper <daniel.e.harper at gmail.com>
Date: Jul 9, 2007 2:38 PM
Subject: Re: ATDTDA (12) - More NYC Stuff
To: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>

There is clearly a strong element of "the real" versus "the not-real" in
Pynchon. One of my favorite examples is one I just passed today in GR
(section beginning 587 in my edition with the Frank Miller cover), in which
Pokler denies the reality of the covalent bond with its sharing of electrons
in favor of the ionic bond and its taking of electrons. At the end of the
section, the chemist is even denying the importance of the whole of organic
chemistry with its Carbon-Hydrogen interactions in favor of some alternate
chemistry using Silicon and Nitrogen.

Only someone with knowledge of chemistry, of course, would realize exactly
how absurd this is. C-H bonds are the basis for organic chemistry because of
particular features of carbon and hydrogen -- so far as I know Si-N will not
generate long skeletal chains on which to hang functional groups, nor will
it allow for aromatic compounds and hexane rings such as those discovered by
Kekule, etc.

In short, it's not just that Pokler is trying to remove the "life" from
organic chemistry here, but that he's ignoring basic physical reality in his
contemplation of this alternate chemistry.

And we all know what happens when you ignore reality for too long.

Sorry if this is a bit tangential, but I wanted to chat a bit about it on
the list and your message was a nice in for me to do so.

--Daniel

On 7/9/07, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> 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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