uncertainty prevails

[auto-da-fey]

gave a quiz today, and regretted it the second I did; with at least a third of the class sneezing, coughing, or wiping dribbly noses, I basically get to carry home a file-folder's worth of pathogens for the weekend. I was mostly just irked over people skipping on Fridays, but shoulda let it ride.

[Ignatius]

I'm no doctor of medicine or science, but I'm assuming that if you get sick from them, it's more likely because you shared the room with them, and not the pieces of paper they touched. So don't blame yourself on account of the quizzes.

[auto-da-fey]

I think I was hung up on the (relative few) who would occasionally run their hand by their nose bow-on-string style, as one often does when runny noses aren't quite worth blowing, picturing their germ-laden mucus smeared on the sheet of paper, then wiping against the interior of my tote-bag unto the DVDs I just checked out, and from there to my hand when I throw a movie on, then into my mouth when I eat pita bread while moviewatching, having already washed my hands upon entering the apartment.

you've gotta understand, I didn't have much else to contemplate while standing there bored for fifteen minutes. the other big mental dilemma was, "should I put on my MP3 player?" but that came back in a negative, because the last thing I wanted was for someone to ask what I was playing and have to be either the guy who says Raekwon or Beanie Sigel and thus looks like he's desperately pandering for some misplaced street-cred, or the person who lies and says Elliott Smith because he's overly analyzed the implications of truthfully acknowledging what he's listening to.

so, germ-paranoia it was.

[elpollodiablo]

Yo what up Charles Tavis

[auto-da-fey]

goddammit I had to google that am I the only person here who hasn't read that fucking book?

[jm]

...I haven't.

[donblood]

But I bet you will eventually.

[Snarfyguy]

I've read it but I missed the reference anyway.    

Time for a re-read soon.

[jm]

But I bet you will eventually.

Probably not unless I get Mason & Dixon-level harassment about it.

[elpollodiablo]

Fact: Mason & Dixon is lesser Pynchon

[jm]

Fact: Mason & Dixon is lesser Pynchon

Fact: I've only ever read Crying... and am in the middle of M&D.  What do you recommend?

[elpollodiablo]

V., immediately

Mostly I'm just talkin shit cuz I started M&D three times and didn't finish the last 200 or so pp. for a number of different reasons, but I think that's definitely the prevailing opinion.

[donblood]

The M&D harassment wasn't about "THIS IS THE BEST PYNCHON."  More like "jm will really like this book."

[elpollodiablo]

Like I said, I's just breakin balls. My friend back home who turned me onto Pynchon lists that as his fave.

[jm]

It's definitely a very enjoyable book, and for its length, a fairly breezy read.

As I prolly mentioned in one of the books threads, I started Gravity's Rainbow more than once, and never had the time nor brainpowerpatience to continue with it.

When I decide I want to read things by a certain author, I tend to try to start with the shortest (or thereabouts) thing they have, because I tend to be daunted by long-ass books (yeah yeah, Proust whatever).

[Snarfyguy]

I think "lesser Pynchon" is an unnecessarily harsh judgment and that's not just boosterism: I though Vineland flat-out sucked.

Mason & Dixon is a masterpiece of literary fiction by probably the best practitioner of the form of our time. It's ridiculously good, and if it's not as good as Gravity's Rainbow (which of course it's not), well, that's not much of a gripe. It's also not as good as V or Lot 49, but to imply that it's somehow second-rate, even relatively speaking, does M&D a disservice.

I feel kind of ridiculous defending it.

[jm]

Cool, thanks dudes, for the recommendations.

Right now, I have a mental list of Things to Read Once I'm Done with This, which includes:

Flannery O'Connor (via donred via our friend Christen)
Naked Lunch (which is only on the list because I mentioned to someone who had a copy that I hadn't read it, and so now it's sitting in my bag, dwarfed by the Pynchon)
More Pynchon
More Rushdie
maybe getting around to that John Ruskin book I bought once upon a time

[elpollodiablo]

I think "lesser Pynchon" is an unnecessarily harsh judgment and that's not just boosterism: I though Vineland flat-out sucked.

Mason & Dixon is a masterpiece of literary fiction by probably the best practitioner of the form of our time. It's ridiculously good, and if it's not as good as Garvity's Rainbow (which of course it's not), well, that's not much of a gripe. It's also not as good as V or Lot 94, but to imply that it's somehow second-rate, even relatively speaking, does M&D a disservice.

I feel kind of ridiculous defending it.

Vineland was a lot of fun.

[donblood]

I put down Midnight's Children.  The book was pretty ok after 100 pages but I think I have India fatigue.

Plus the narrator's grandmother is making me wish for her death by saying "whatsisname" every few words.

[Snarfyguy]

I think "lesser Pynchon" is an unnecessarily harsh judgment and that's not just boosterism: I though Vineland flat-out sucked.

Mason & Dixon is a masterpiece of literary fiction by probably the best practitioner of the form of our time. It's ridiculously good, and if it's not as good as Garvity's Rainbow (which of course it's not), well, that's not much of a gripe. It's also not as good as V or Lot 94, but to imply that it's somehow second-rate, even relatively speaking, does M&D a disservice.

I feel kind of ridiculous defending it.

Vineland was a lot of fun.

Maybe someday I'll read it again, but I doubt it. I will simply agree to disagree with you.

Have you read the new one? That's definitely lesser Pynchon and a lot of fun.

[elpollodiablo]

I haven't, but from what I understand it's very similar to Vineland.

[Snarfyguy]

I haven't, but from what I understand it's very similar to Vineland.

It works some of the same angles - to much better effect, imo.

[donblood]

I liked the way the angles were worked in Vineland, though besides Lot 49 I've only read lesser Pynchon.

[diesel_powered]

Hmm... Do I head down the street and get coffee and maybe look for some shoes or do I pack up my shit and go do laundry because I'm out of pants that fit my fat ass comfortably or do I sit in my house and alternate between staring at my laptop and not doing work with watching the Cubs? Decisions, decisions.

[diesel_powered]

The sun is coming out, feels like the time is right for a wander.