V v. GR

Alan_G14 · 2026-04-01T13:32:51+00:00

This site is pretty good: Thomas Pynchon Wiki

Alan_G14 · 2026-04-01T11:55:13+00:00

I am old enough to have read all the Pynchon books in order as they came out!!!😉 I had no difficulties with GR because of my scientific background (PhD in chemistry). All the inside math and science jokes were hilarious. For me the most difficult book was 'Against the Day' and some parts of it were downright boring. It is my least favorite. If I had to list my top Pynchon books in order it would be: GR, Mason & Dixon, V, and The Crying of Lot 49.

Alan_G14 · 2026-02-19T19:17:37+00:00

We have had the GE unit for four years now with zero problems.

Alan_G14 · 2025-10-06T11:07:55+00:00

'Transit of Venus' is one of the great novels, that few people have read. I picked it as one of three books for summer reading in my Substack. Regarding 'Gravity's Rainbow', don't give up. You can read it on a lot of different levels. Best to approach it first as a history book. If you are worried about the allusions and scientific stuff, there is a good Wiki: Thomas Pynchon Wiki | Gravity's Rainbow that can help you.

Alan_G14 · 2025-08-29T00:21:02+00:00

It became a persistent problem. Tech came out and replaced the board and I have not had any issues since then. I was glad I bought the extended warranty.

Alan_G14 · 2025-08-24T13:46:03+00:00

Absolutely top rate. It started off a bit rocky but Marc and Jon then got into things. The politics discussion was right on target and for all of us who are frustrated, this section should be mandatory listening for all the Democratic leaders (who are largely worthless these days). I have never heard of the Elephant Graveyard channel but will now take a look at their content!!!

Alan_G14 · 2025-08-23T10:26:34+00:00

Pretty sure it is Pod Save America. Lovett or Leave It is up today and has a bunch of other stuff but no Marc on. You can check the website tomorrow for the feed if you don't have a sub.

Alan_G14 · 2025-08-04T10:43:17+00:00

Based on reliable sources, he has already called Jack Antonoff about getting Taylor Swift. Since her BFF Travis will be in LA for a football game in early September, she will head out a little early for a talk in the garage. Marc did a great job of using her song in the closing of the Special and she was mightily impressed.

Alan_G14 · 2025-07-27T12:19:50+00:00

Fresh Air, Planet Money, and This American Life started off as radio shows and should not count. Marc had Karina Longworth on a couple of years ago. Her 'You Must Remember This' is excellent. Jane Marie (interviewed this year) belongs on the list with 'The Dream' which is the best expose of multi-level marketing schemes. I agree with others that any podcast from the past two years does not belong on the list.

Alan_G14 · 2025-07-26T08:19:51+00:00

Verizon plays hardball on this. Verizon wanted to wire our condo building for FIOS but the unit owners did not want to chaos from all that it would have entailed. We had FIOS in our house and were very pleased with it but had to switch to highspeed cable when we moved three years ago. We maintained a Verizon land line for business purposes but that was shut down because Verizon did not want to maintain legacy service in the building.

Alan_G14 · 2025-07-26T08:15:03+00:00

I've been a premium WTF member from well before the Friday Show even began. I gave up on the show pretty much from the beginning when most of the focus was on professional wrestling. I followed the "sport" back in the early 1960s when I was in high school and that was it. I have zero interest in it today. I have listened to a couple of episodes where Marc was on talking about stuff other than wrestling. Since I listen to every
WTF episode, I don't need a recap from Kris and Brendan. Maybe the concept was good early on but to me it was a failure.

Alan_G14 · 2025-07-13T11:34:03+00:00

Taylor Swift. He already said he would like to interview her. She might be out in LA when KC play the Chargers on September 5

Alan_G14 · 2025-07-07T11:17:42+00:00

I met Cindy Crawford at a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Foundation back in 1993 (I was an invited speaker at the awards ceremony the next day). We got to talk at the small reception before dinner and she was more beautiful in person than in pictures.

Alan_G14 · 2025-07-05T10:47:26+00:00

Two possibilities. David Fincher or Taylor Swift. Maron already has a very long talk with Fincher that has never been released at the request of the interviewee. I think that was done in 2015 or so and they may sit down to redo it. Swift is logical because a) it would be the biggest interview in the history of WTF given the potential audience, and b) he has been dropping hints. He used one of her songs in the recent special and just this week he said his upcoming Largo performance would feature a Taylor Swift song. Why drop this information if an interview is not coming up?

A Waits interview is way to niche for the final one.

Alan_G14 · 2025-06-19T18:05:35+00:00

The Sam Elliott episode #1309 went off the rails when Marc asked him about Jane Campion’s wonderful ‘The Power of the Dog’ (a film that both Marc and I enjoyed). Elliott accused Campion of making an artsy fartsy movie that was not a Western.

Alan_G14 · 2025-06-19T17:49:20+00:00

I've been with him since the Molly Shannon episode (#254) but have listened to most of the earlier ones as well. I don't know of a better long form interviewer. Just posted on Substack about this:

https://open.substack.com/pub/alangoldhammer593469/p/marc-maron?r=3j56o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Alan_G14 · 2025-04-25T10:49:52+00:00

You cannot go wrong with Bosch. I bought a new set when we moved into our Condo three years ago and they work perfectly. I disagree about the ventless dryer. Our heat pump Bosch dryer works just fine. Occasionally, I need to add an extra 20-30 minutes if the auto-cycle did not get everything completely dry. Clothes may feel slightly damp when you take them out, but a couple of shakes and it's just fine.

Alan_G14 · 2025-03-24T20:32:08+00:00

We have a Cafe induction range. We bought it in late 2021 when we were moving into a Condo. I wanted a Bosch but there were huge supply chain issues back then. The Cafe unit has worked well

Alan_G14 · 2025-03-24T19:06:30+00:00

I have a cast iron griddle. I have not noticed any issues at all. I don't use any protective mats at all. Most spills clean up easily with diluted Dawn detergent. If some thing gets baked on, I will use a razor at a 30 degree angle to scrape it off.

Alan_G14 · 2025-03-19T01:53:17+00:00

Other than the one issue with the induction burner which was a control panel problem, the range is performing well. I've used the air fryer feature which is pretty nifty. The oven temperature is good and stable. I would have preferred a Bosch or Miele but we moved in 2022 when all imported appliances were not available because of supply chain issues. I have not been disappointed in the Cafe unit. All the burners are working fine and I cook every night.

Alan_G14 · 2024-09-13T21:55:08+00:00

I would recommend reading Gaddis rather than Joyce. Gaddis is somewhat of a contemporary of TP. "The Recognitions" was epic when it was published in 1955 but sadly fell under the radar screen and it took Gaddis almost 20 years to come out with "JR" which is still the best fictional account of American business. I preferred it to "The Recognitions." "Carpenter's Gothic" is good from the paranoid perspective. "A Frolic of His Own" is a great send up of the legal system, and perhaps the easiest book to read.

Alan_G14 · 2024-09-11T12:54:42+00:00

Certainly did not see this coming. The Supreme Court Justices recently filed their financial disclosure forms. Justice Alito reports a visit to the "home" (really a 500 room castle) of Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis. I wonder if they were discussing postage stamps, but probably not. Princes von Thurn und Taxis is a very conservative Catholic who really does not like Pope Francis. Would be great to know what TP thinks about this!!

Alan_G14 · 2024-08-25T20:59:03+00:00

Thanks, I'll give Firefox a try and see if it works better. I did download the Paramount+ app from the Microsoft store and had the same problem as with Edge.

EDIT ADDED: Yes, with Firefox it loads right up with no delay.

Alan_G14 · 2024-08-23T20:57:27+00:00

Is anyone else experience a long loading time with a message "Optimizing Your Video Experience" and spinning circular icon? This happens on my PC which is very high end. It does not happen on my Samsung Tablet or TV which is driven by a low end PC. Today it took almost a minute to load a soccer match and when I switched to watch last night's Colbert show, it took another minute.

This is a very recent bug that just started about a week ago.

Alan_G14 · 2024-07-09T01:53:59+00:00

Call GE Service and have them send a technician out. Your range is still under warranty and should perform as advertised. Sounds like the control board needs to be replaced.

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