IVIV (11) 168

[kelber at mindspring.com]

I also thought of the Giant Adenoid of GR.  But the Blatnoy reference sounds like the best call.

Laura

-----Original Message-----
>From: rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com>
>Sent: Oct 25, 2009 12:24 PM
>To: John Bailey <sundayjb at gmail.com>
>Cc: P-list <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>Subject: Re: IVIV (11) 168
>
>for me the name Blatnoyd evokes something along the lines of 'a
>screaming pain the ass'
>
>rich
>
>On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 4:57 AM, John Bailey <sundayjb at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 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.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>