GR translation: her glassy wastes

[Mike Jing]

Thanks a lot, Michael.  That certainly helps to clear up quite a few
things.  Now I just have to explain that to my mom.

On Sun, Oct 30, 2011 at 2:00 AM, Michael Bailey
<michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Since I am asking, what does it mean that each of them was "_used_ for
>>> the ideology of the Zero"? (P152.16)  What is the "ideology of the
>>> Zero" anyway?
>
> remember Pointsman and Pavlov
> - extinction of an impulse is the zero, the opposition of zero and one
> is Manichaenism (later found in AtD)
>
> - the ideology of the zero encompasses the tendency for there *not* to
> be something, or striving for self-extinction like most of the
> Hereros; striving for extinction of others like Weissmann,
> extinguishing impulses like Pavlov and Pointsman
>
> (implying an ideology of the one, which would be, umm, things like
> Pirate's banana breakfast, that witch girl later on, the butler's
> smile at that dinner party, Slothrop's harp, maybe even the
> Counterforce to some extent...)
>
> and then there's Mexico's realm, the rational and irrational numbers
> between zero and one, but that's a different ideology...(again,
> looking to AtD)
>
>
> --- And what is "Nora's great rejection" and why is it so
>>> great? (P152.17)
>
> Search me! (kind of 1940-50s US idiomatic for "darned if I know")
>
>
> --- What is the "Outer Radiance" that Nora saw?
>
> is it a carryover from the segued section about the cells going
> epidermal, and the outer radiance in that scene being actual ambient
> light which turns surface cells into inanimate things (there's a
> certain fascination in _V._ with living flesh vs non-living
> fingernails, it crops up several times, and then you've got Wawazume
> Life and Non-Life (insurance) in _Vineland_...)
>
> because the text does rapidly segue from the "kindly mentor cell-chick
> telling the newbie cell-dude about that whole process", into that Nora
> walking into the room and dominating all the radii ---- and indeed,
> the fanciful cell-conversation itself spins off rapidly from that
> dude's letter to his father...which in turn is explaining the
> pigment-control of young Gavin Trefoil (Trefoil being kind of an
> interesting thing in itself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trefoil)
>
> so anyway, Nora now that I think of it, seems to have made love
> connections with many of the personnel at the White Visitation.
>
> and you get into that contemplation sort of like the chapter in _V._
> where Benny Profane is hanging the unused condoms on the doors of the
> Catskills resort...the manifold contemplative variations on the theme
> of recreational sex versus creational sex...
>
>
>>> (P153.13)  Clearly these things are closely related to each other and
>>> to "her glassy waste", and may have been discussed countless times
>>> before.  Or maybe not.  In any case, this this the most difficult
>>> episode in part 1 and I might as well ask all the questions now.
>>
>
> another sidelight, maybe just a willow-the-wisp ----
> but, umm, when a person gets wasted (high on dope) their eyes are
> often glassy...
>