Miiru wrote:

Tad wrote:

OMG, Maladroit.  OMG.

Just so.  But I note that if you /do/ plan the Magnificent Tree Tour, Georgia is quite close to NC, and therefore 2/3 of the Trinity.

Not that we're listed by the tourist board, but what can you do?

And South Carolina is smack dab in the middle ... the third party of the trinity?

That's awesome and dangerous, Tad. You'll want to keep an eye on him. Those young writers, working up through the ranks of their elders...

It's a treacherous business, it is.

It was the exuberant self-satisfaction.  I thought, "Oh my God, we've given birth to a Harlan."

Both kids never stood a chance. There'll be like next generation S'march posses or something.

;)

Tad wrote:

LONG DELAYED BUT NOT FORGOTTEN...

...never mind how we spent our time.

(Sorry, can never resist an opportunity to quote Lightning Seeds' lyrical excellence, even with the flimsiest of provocation).

Seemingly, I'm also not able to resist a good stranded-on-a-desert-island book list either (plus, it also allows a nice "in" for my first post):

Daimonic Reality by Patrick Harpur

A fascinating non-fiction book that I gain a little bit of insight into what really might be going on in the "real" world each and every time I pop the cover.  Like Tad's Pynchon pick, it could probably stand up to infinite readings and still leave you scratching your head (but in a good way). 

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

A metaphysical masterpiece that, again, is just so dense, that it could withstand multiple readings and re-readings and still retain its sense of exploration and mystery with each and every attempt.

"He saw God’s foot upon the treadle of the loom..."

One of my favourite lines of all time.

The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson

A beautiful, poetic, epic.  And it's about foxes (well, kitsune).  What more could a vulpineophile want?

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell

Less than the sum of all of his works, this primer to the PBS series of the same name, still gives you a nice snapshot into Campbell's life's work on comparative mythology and, I think, would offer you a great deal of comfort during your island stay; equating you and your predicament with that of the mythic hero and renewing both your sense of self-worth and hope during those lean times when you would probably need it most.  "Hey, this is just like what happened to Odysseus and he made it through..."

The final one might be ruled invalid (due to the Shakespeare Rule cited by Tad) but I'll risk it:

The Sourcebook Project (all the existent volumes) by William Corliss or, if not that, a complete collection of The Fortean Times magazine (except those issues that I contributed to).  As a perfectionist, I still cringe at some of those editorial decisions...

You know what?  Forget it.  I'll play by the rules.  Plus, how could I not throw out Tailchaser's Song, my favourite anthropomorphic novel and the reason I'm here in the first place?

Anyhow, Happy Holidays to you and yours and, of course, all the Williamsites out there.

Thanks to one and all for making this such an easy foray into the Tadlands....

Polterdog.

Last edited by polterdog (2009-12-23 01:13:31)

Thanks, Sahi.  Although, truth be told, while new to The Boards, I have known and corresponded with Tad for a decade or so, previously (actually, double that, if you take the ten-year hiatus or so between our last missives into account) -- although, of course, given that much time, it seems like another lifetime ago, now....

Anyhow, with everything feeling fresh and new again it is, of course, nice to find myself wandering these fields again and meeting all you wonderful wayfarers along the way.

Polterdog.

Tad wrote:

I've just spent my evening up to my elbows in turtle poop.

How's YOUR day been?

In all honesty, I think I can top your fecal-based tales of testudinian terror but as this is a family show....

Polterdog.

Last edited by polterdog (2010-01-04 04:44:55)

Miiru wrote:

It's a /family/ show?!

Aw. :(

I'll cancel act three, then...

Well, you would know better than me.  Let the tales of debauchery begin!

Polterdog.

Tad wrote:

I've just spent my evening up to my elbows in turtle poop.

How's YOUR day been?

How many islands would be only dead rocks without turtle poo ... ? ;-)

Earthmanu wrote:

You seems to know the works of T. PYNCHON quite well. Can you tell us a bit more on his book "Gravity's rainbow" ?

I appreciate the compliment, Earthmanu, but I'm hardly an expert on Pynchon or his works. I only read Gravity's Rainbow because a friend knew how much I enjoyed Moby Dick and that I had also once written a 20-page dissertation on The Fall of Man for a fourth year philosophy course in university (the concept of Free Will being a key theme in both Gravity's Rainbow and The Book of Genesis) so he thought that I might get a kick out of it.

That being said, Gravity's Rainbow, like Moby Dick, takes a steady hand to navigate through its pages and not get totally lost.  The best that I can tell you (and it's been a few years since reading it), is that it's set in WWII and is about a group of characters trying to uncover the secrets of the "black device" (I won't even attempt the German here) that is apparently going to be installed on a V2 rocket.  So that's the main bit.  The rest...?  Well, let's put it this way, if you're used to standard story-telling it might be a bit...challenging.   Not only does it turn story structure on its head but it is also very digressive and almost hallucinatory (not to mention extremely hedonistic -- and I do mean extremely) that's hard to make sense of even at the best of times.  I'd caution you not to read the book in an altered state of consciousness, while extremely tired, or with a heightened sense of morality or values (it's very naughty).  It's also chock-full of characters.  If you thought Tad included a lot of characters in his books, try reading and keeping track of the individual storylines running through this thing.  It's an absolute tangle (re: the Free Will concept mentioned above and how different destinies intertwine and interact with one another).

Anyhow, without totally side-stepping your question, Earthmanu, it's probably wiser of me to direct you to the Wikipedia entry on the subject as they do a much better job at explaining all of this better than I ever could (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity%27s_Rainbow). 

I hope that helps and answers your question somewhat.  I'd hate to embarrass myself with a huge posting (and to discuss the book in its entirety would require one massive post) that is way less informed than the vast majority of other commentaries that are out there.

Polterdog.

Last edited by polterdog (2010-01-10 02:43:10)

Earthmanu wrote:

Thanks Polterdog :) Tad is lucky to have so many books-loving pen-pals. I am going to buy two of your favorite island-books (Number One and Number Three).

I think you'll really enjoy The Fox Woman.  It's beautiful.  Damoinic Reality does take a bit of effort (even for those with an interest in alchemical/para-mythic traditions) but this is the book that first exposed me to the acausal links that seem to exist between all the strange phenomena out there that people experience and have regularly been reporting on since time immemorable.  It's both fascinating and, upon reflection, a little disquieting, when all is said and done.  I also used it as a kind of ideological template for my first major published writing project and so it holds a special place on my bookshelf for that reason alone.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Polterdog.

Not to be a creeper,

1. MS&T trilogy,

2. The Dancers at the End of Time Trilogy by Michael Moorcock,

3. The Iliad,

4. The Bible (Because I have yet to read it through completely),

5. The complete works of H.G. Wells :D

I'm obsessed with other worlds :}

I would take Tailchaser's song, but I think if I'm going to be isolated, I'm going to create sand cats or stick cats or something and recreate the story anyways. Book or no book.