Cecil Vortex

The Gravity’s Rainbow Deathmarch, Week 9

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Week 9 and and we’re hard-charging through the Zone… Despite the relative quiet on the blog this last week, I count around 14-15 people out on the trail. Not bad at all….
Speaking of quiet, we’re suddenly down to only around five or six folks qualified for Grand Poobah mug status. And here I am, still flush with the irresistible urge to fling GRDM mugs across the country when this is all over. And so I’ve arbitrarily decided to modify the rules of this experiment thusly: Both Grand Poobahs and Big Poobahs will qualify for mugness. In other words, it’s a a thin slice of general amnesty — them what may have missed commenting a week or two, there’s still a way for us to get you into that mug. (So what’s the difference now, you may ask, between Grand and Big Poobah status? Well, for one, Grand Poobahs will find it surprisingly easy to get restaurant reservations at hot spots all around town.)
I’m trailing our target by around 20 or 30 pages — got to page 404 (v) last night. Still swooning from the opening Rocket Man/Potsdam sequences. And now remaining pages are starting to get thinner than pages read. And I’m starting to think about how I’ll miss you, you old sonuvabitch.
Next week: Meetcha at page 482 (v), you know — over by the “glowing black mudslide of nausea…” -CV

The Gravity’s Rainbow Deathmarch, Week 8

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Hey all,
Well congrats! This week we hit the halfway mark! All that, and we still have something like 13-15 people on the march, on and off the blog, which is pretty impressive. Like a 40% survival rate to-date. And I’d have to guess that most of the folks who made it this far will see the inside back of the cover.
From this point on, let’s revert to the Unified Thread approach. And let the donuts fall where they may. So long as they don’t fall into my Georgian fruit soup. You see? You see how I did that?! An obscure reference! The power! The power! And again: “No one here seems quite right in the head.” It’s so true….
Next week: Let’s make camp at page 433 (v), where we’ll find “…a blanket, or a night indoors, or a ride home….” -CV

x-post: and the poem and the second line and the Nada Gordon of it all

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After a longish, hard-drive induced hiatus, Monkey Vortex Radio Theater is back with our first new piece in about a month. This week: it’s a Koeneke/Soha transcontinental guitar/poem spectacular. I love it. My four-year-old loves it. And if you’re still the way I remember you being, and I’m pretty sure you are, you’ll love it too. Bop over and check it out: Poem with Its Second Line by Nada Gordon.

The Gravity’s Rainbow Deathmarch, Week 7, Book thread

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Well alright now, week 7 and as we near the halfway mark, there are still some 15 or so people with us, both on and off the blog. Not bad. If you’re hanging out around page 100-150 and wondering whether to push on or toss the book aside, I’d say (big surprise here) push on! Pages 200-320 (as far as I’ve gotten so far) are much more flat-out fun (and easier going) than the first 100 pages. Things have gotten pretty spectacular and, for my tastes at least, it’s been well worth the effort to get here. What do other people on the march think up to this point? Worth the effort? Overrated? Shout out….
OK, that said, you know the drill: This is the spot for book-related comments. Chat thread coming up shortly.
Next week: Let’s meet up at page 383 (p), ya know, “hovering coyly over the pit of Death….” See you at the next turn in the road, -CV

It’s OK

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This couple had a fight at the bar tonight
about 10 feet from my knees.
At the beginning, he was saying
he really didn’t do “Graphic User
Interface design” any more —
he was doing “Information Architecture.”
And then they said a lot of things I didn’t hear
and suddenly, it seemed,
she was crying
and he was trying to make it right
but he couldn’t.
And I wanted to lean over
and comfort her and say:
“Lady, it’s OK.
Information Architecture
is a good job
too.”

The Gravity’s Rainbow Deathmarch, Week 6, Book thread

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Hey presto: Week 6!
Welcome back from the break. Thanks to so-called “Bill” for the suggestion — it just in time for me. I finally caught up last night — for the first time in, oh about 6 weeks. For anyone still a ways back, the good news is that the trail from around 200-278 has struck most folks as a tad easier on the brain than, the opening stretch. Though perhaps not easier on the stomach….
This is the spot for bookly comments. Here’s one tidbit to startcha off: “Mindless Pleasures” (a phrase found on page 270 (p) was once the book’s working title. True that.
Chat thread coming shortly….
Next week: Let’s meet up at page 329 (p/v) (Bantam page # coming in a bit), with the section that ends “Enzian is heading into the North….” See ya there, -CV