Re. Vegas, list trouble etc.

[Joseph Tracy]

On Nov 16, 2009, at 5:05 AM, John Carvill wrote:

>> What happens in Vegas in IV?
>
> A question which deserves a thorough analysis. At the very least, the
> symbolism of that machine spitting out a wave of Kennedy coins is
> pretty dense. And suggests comparison with the Nixon bank notes, eh?
>
> << The novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas accounts for two trips  
> to =20
> Las Vegas, Nevada, that Hunter S. Thompson and attorney Oscar Zeta =20
> Acosta ... The two needed a more comfortable place to discuss the  
> story... >>
>
> Yes, that's what HST said afterwards. Fear & Loathing, though, was
> definitely *not* a 'novel'.
novel was wikipedia's word. Memoir?
>
>> Bill Murray made a movie called "Where the Buffalo Roam" (1980)
>
> Not a very good film. Worth watching for Gonzo fans, but HST himself
> disowned the film (though he remained firm friends with Bill Murray).
>
> << The question is why take the action in IV to Vegas? and what  
> happens =20
> in Vegas and how is it being Las Vegas important? >>
>
> Certainly an interesting question. String flavours of Fear & Loathing
> in Las Vegas throughout Inherent Vice. In a sense, both books address
> the same central question: "How did the Dream die?" Whether you view
> that Dream as referring to the Hippie Dream, or the American Dream, or
> both, depends on your political outlook. My guess is that Pynchon,
> like HST, sees the former as an incarnation of the latter.

Seems like the Vegas version of the dream is what is left of the  
Economy. US taxpayers propping up the"financial sector" which looks  
more and more like the high interest gaming tables of deathbed  
capitalism. Thinking of the loansharks in IV . That was when  
loansharking was a crime and over 13 percent interest was  
loansharking. Citibank, bailed out with government money at 0%  
interest, just raised their card rates to 21% on most cards.