IVIV (12): 195-197

Robin Landseadel robinlandseadel at comcast.net
Tue Nov 3 08:50:42 CST 2009


On Nov 3, 2009, at 6:04 AM, kelber at mindspring.com wrote:

> In Michael Moore's latest, Capitalism: A Love Story, he gently  
> brings up the idea that there's nothing inherent to technology or  
> work that makes it necessary to treat workers like garbage. It's  
> master-slave, boss-worker, corporate board-work force that distorts  
> the workplace.  Once could (only in theory of course!) imagine a  
> work place where the workers owned the high tech-factory, set the  
> work conditions, etc., where technology wouldn't be oppressing the  
> worker.  Or one could imagine (less theoretical)the same factory  
> where workers are coerced into long hours, in horrifying conditions,  
> paid slave wages, etc.  I think Pynchon's against technology (and  
> photography, and electricity) only when it's in the wrong hands  
> (which it usually is).
>
> Laura

	"My names 's Doc and I'm a private gumshoe or —nowadays
	more like gumsandal. I used to work the traditional Hollywood
	type of P.I. gigs, setting up drug busts for parties and divorce
	cases, helping the cops out with their many shakedown
	schemes and so forth but . . .

	Since I've moved out here to the beach I've been more into the
	smaller tickets, less karmic hassle*, less guilt tripping . . .

*Image of black cat "randomly" appears among other scenes of Manhattan  
Beach . . .

His name is Thomas Pynchon ["R", not "H"] and he used to work for one  
of those giant military industrial behemoths, writing articles for the  
house organ, giving advice and warning on how to avoid getting killed  
in the process of transporting one of the company's killing  
machines . . .

	Togetherness
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	Aerospace Safety
	December 1960, pp. 6-8.
	Thomas H. Pynchon [sic],
	Bomarc Aero-Space Dept., Boeing Airplane Co., Seattle

		
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Airlifting the IM-99A missile, like marriage, demands a
	certain amount of "togetherness" between Air Force and
	contractor. Two birds per airlift are onloaded by Boeing people
	and offloaded by Air Force people; in between is an airborne
	MATS C-124. One loading operation is a mirror-image of the
	other, and similar accidents can happen at both places. Let's
	look at a few of the safety hazards that have to be taken into
	account when Bomarcs are shipped. . . .

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		In the July 1960 issue of Aerospace Safety, mention was
	made of the second Air Force-Industry conference on missile
	safety; and of plans to create Air Force-Industry Accident
	Review Boards. If future emphasis is to be placed on such joint
	action, much can be gained from a positive, realistic -- above
	all, cooperative -- approach to safety problems.

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		Cooperation is even more important where the problem
	area is double-ended: where both contractor and military
	personnel perform the same job and are subject to the same
	safety hazards. Therefore, in the following discussion of one
	such area -- that of Bomarc transportation -- any references to
	slip-ups on the military end of the airlift are meant to be strictly
	non-partisan and objective. As long as there have been near
	accidents, it's better to use them as a guide for future safety than
	to pretend they never happened.

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		As this article goes to press, the safety record of Bomarc
	airlifts can be summed up in four words: so far, so good. You
	may recall, however, the optimist who jumped off the top of a
	New York office building. He was heard to yell the same thing
	as he passed the 20th floor: so far, so good.

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		This is not to imply -- necessarily -- that IM-99A on and
	offloading crews have been living on borrowed time. Nor --
	necessarily -- that the end of the winning streak, when it comes,
	will be as tragic as impacting against a concrete surface at 175
	or so mph. But then again . . .

http://www.themodernword.com/Pynchon/pynchon_essays_together.html


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