BEg2 chapter 6 appreciations & a bit of research

[Mark Kohut]

MB: "Carnegie Mellon - center of computing excellence. The Carnegie & Mellon
nexus (both were parties to the infamous Johnstown Flood, weren't they?)
conjures the Mellon-Scaife nexus, so with computer science, did Gabriel Ice
and Tallis imbibe horrid reactionary Mammon-worship as well?"

Most of this is very true and nicely contextual for Pynchon't themes. 1)
I'm not so sure
that Carnegie and Mellon were parties to the Johnstown flood, but I don't
that flood in great detail.
I do know that fixing the situation before the possibility of such a flood
did not happen probably due to the
usual greed of the rigging institutions.

Also, Carnegie Mellon is an interesting institution in another way. It
started out as Carnengie Tech but was
famous for the arts, particularly the visual arts. It's most distinguished
attendee---I think he graduated but I'd have
to look it up-- was the great Andy Warhol. It was one of the best art
schools in the US back in that day. It was still Carnegie Tech
when I grew up in Pittsburgh but in my adulthood a new President took
charge and saw the computer-reliant future and
reshaped the school mightily......

Scarsdale Vibe as you might remember is some kind of
Carnegie-Frick-Mellon-like supervillain.....Pittsburgh famous as the
worst/best
example of the major effects of the industrial revolution--dehumanization
and suppression of the worker and his rights and the
eco-pollution we are still living with. (Although almost all the steel
production has left Pittsburgh)

On Sun, Dec 5, 2021 at 10:45 PM Michael Bailey <michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com>
wrote:

> March graduated from Kugelblitz herself.
> Presumably, then, the school is part of the liberal faction & Maxine's
> choice of it tells a bit more about her leanings.
> The place reminds me a bit of Summerhill, only in that it has an eccentric
> founder & is probably not wedded to the "No Child Left Behind" curriculum.
>
> pari passu - from Investopedia: Pari-passu is a Latin phrase meaning
> "*equal
> footing*." In finance, "equal footing" means that two or more parties to a
> financial contract or claim are all treated the same. Pari-passu is common
> in bankruptcy proceedings as well as debts such as parity bonds in which
> each party gets the same amount.
>
> If March's coolness is "pari passu" vis a vis her son-in-law Gabriel Ice's
> rapidly increasing wealth i guess that means it's treated the same - the
> wealthier he grows, the cooler she becomes to him. Unusual choice of
> descriptor, isn't it? The allusion to bankruptcy proceedings makes "her
> coolness" and "his increasing wealth" aren't just a twosome, but parties in
> a larger context - which is, perhaps, the social context of the times as
> parsed & criticized by March (&, perhaps, Mr Pynchon) - aka the
> "decky-dance" from way back in V.
>
> Carnegie Mellon - center of computing excellence. The Carnegie & Mellon
> nexus (both were parties to the infamous Johnstown Flood, weren't they?)
> conjures the Mellon-Scaife nexus, so with computer science, did Gabriel Ice
> and Tallis imbibe horrid reactionary Mammon-worship as well?
>
> Co-oping frenzy - co-op sounds so nice, like the ILGWU co-ops, but these
> were evil co-ops where landlords didn't want to deal with rent control or
> any other obstacles to maximizing profit. "Apartment doors removed for
> 'routine maintenance,' garbage uncollected, attack dogs, hired goons,
> eighties pop played really loud."
>
> still happening:
>
> https://www.propublica.org/article/the-vote-that-made-new-york-city-rents-so-high
> (this is re moving them out of rent-controlled spaces, but, same
> difference)
>
> Inflatable rat -
>
> https://www.npr.org/2021/08/06/1024315097/how-a-beloved-giant-rat-won-free-speech-rights
>
> March was "slender, with shoulder-length red hair parted in the middle and
> then pulled back into a snood"
>
> Snood - Google images show a variety of thingies by this name, including a
> bunch of things on gentlemen that look like neck gaiters.
> Maybe something like this
> https://garlandsofgrace.com/product/megs-stayput-snood-styler/
>
> Picket line animosity "some, well, argumentative gesturing, extending to
> casual contact which the Post may have amplified slightly in the story it
> ran. Cops showed up. As light faded and deadlines approached, the crowd
> thinned out."
>
>
> "The nearest bar was the Old Sod, technically Irish, though an aging gay
> Brit or two may have wandered infrequently in."
> - Pynchon adds a connotation, actually kind of droll, or maybe a reference
> to sodomy in conjunction with post-colonialism in Ireland? Since it's not
> exactly topical for the story, it's even more interesting. Love this stuff!
> There are a lot of Irish bars in NYC & some of the famous Irish attitude -
> eg the Irish doorman at the Deseret "bidding them a peevish good day, the
> gate clanging shut. When Irish eyes are *not* smiling, you should have a
> better story or a pair of running shoes." - may stem from this history of
> oppression. By introducing the element of "queering," Pynchon signals the
> existence of possible Anglo-Celtic rapprochement through non-standard
> sexual attraction, although it's "infrequent."
>
> Papa Doble - big daiquiri with a lot of rum, maraschino liqueur, maraschino
> cherry, sugar syrup, and some lime and grapefruit juice to keep it healthy
>
>
> Eric Outfield gives Reg the CD or DVD - the scene segues *so* quickly from
> Maxine's office to the bus & back to Reg handing Maxine the disc, it's like
> those new ads on tv that cut in & you don't realize at first that it's an
> ad (imho) -
>
> "Today an insane white Christer at one end of the car was competing with a
> black a capella group at the other. Perfect conditions. "Brought you
> something," Reg handing over a disc.
> ----- to Maxine -----
> "I'm supposed to tell you it's been personally blessed by Linus himself,
> with penguin piss."
>
> Penguin piss - penguin being the symbol or logo for Linux, so presumably
> the closest thing to holy water ?
>
>
> "...so many of (Eric Outfield's co-workers) spend their hours down in the
> mainframe room snorting Halon out of the fire extinguishers that they may
> lack some perspective."
>
> Strong hyperbole!
> Or so I thought:
>
> https://www.kolotv.com/content/news/Huffing-The-drug-abuse-problem-hiding-in-plain-sight-372297412.html
>
> Sheesh - what people won't do! Reminds me of V. where the sailors are
> drinking aviation fuel.
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>