IVIV (11) 168

[John Bailey]

That was me and that was the interesting thing that I found. Most
interesting because as usual I'd written off Blatnoyd as another goofy
pynchon name chosen as much for the sound as any possible allusions.
But the russian meaning is a pretty cut-and-dried pointer towards the
guy's association with ugly and exclusive networks of power.

It also just came to me that "blatnoyd" might be the sound you'd hear
if someone was trying to say "black noise" while, I don't know, in the
dentist's chair. I looked up "black noise" and it's fascinating:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_noise#Black_noise

Who knew there were so many coloured noises?

On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Michael Bailey
<michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> think I remember somebody on the list hinting they looked it up
> and found something interesting.
> Best I could do is
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blat_(Russia)
> Blat (Russian: блат, blat) is a term which appeared in the Soviet Union
> to denote the use of informal agreements, exchangements of services,
>  connections, Party contacts, or black market deals to achieve results
> or get ahead. Accordingly, blatnoy means a man who obtains a job
> or gets into a university using connections, or sometimes bribes.
> The system of blat led to formation of social networks similar to
> Good ol' boy network, Old boy network, or Guanxi. In the Soviet republics,
>  blatnoys were very much in demand as it was difficult to gain a post
> or enroll in some prestigious majors in universities without proper connections.
>
>