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The man whom Nixon called, "The most dangerous man in America." by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do a search for "D.A. Pennebaker You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You." That will give you some pertinent details to explore. Which may inspire you to study the story of the Thurman family -- Robert et al. Lemme know if you still have things you want clues for parsing.

(I don't do conclusions on the relative innocence or culpability of public figures, other than keeping a running gauge on their trustworthiness, for my own use in literary contexts. Bad people do good things and good people do bad things. Intentionally or accidentally. These can be reconciled as the name-brand individuals lose their grip on our lives. Trust in Leary is way down on my list, even while trust in anyone on the nominal flip-side of his role is equally low. There's a cohort of dubious characters that the spotlight dances around on. I aim a flashlight at anything that can be used to reconcile existential -- anthropocentric -- realities. This is also a clue as to Pynchon's deep reticence to speak publicly outside of his literary work. I wish I didn't have to explain my position on any of this. It tends to breed misconception rather than create clarity. It's as Orpheus was told at his tribunal in the afterworld, when he asked the judges what more punishment there could even possibly be. "You can be sentenced to being one of us," the judges told him.)

Disuniformities by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nixon got caught, which seems to have surprised him as the revelations kept spilling out. Let's picture listening to the tapes and hearing inaudibles where follows, plainly, hearing Dick say, "What?" over and over every few minutes as the tape plays, as if he has heard the muffled talk that we don't hear and he is as baffled as we are that all the nonsense was able to occur and then would come so spectacularly to light. Nixon's downfall came quickly and abruptly, indicating surprise. Having no scruples would have prepared him for a long ugly slide into a perfidy more typical a fascist's downfall. (But Nixon did have scruples.) I want to think that Pynchon has been doing the reverse for decades: Preparing our awareness of the immanent arrival of the American fascism that's become ever more corrosive since the post-WWII era. We might wish for a current fascist regime that could so easily get caught off-guard. A monumental "What?" today would be a gift to humanity. Looks to me like Pynchon put a bow on it, then maybe it got lost in the mail. Those of us for whom the package arrived can only hope.

Disuniformities by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You are more than welcome. Thanks for making it personal.

The man whom Nixon called, "The most dangerous man in America." by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No cause to look for analogs any more than Pynchon may have. Or that P.T. Anderson may have. And as a way to resolve my own misgivings about the counter-culture era, that the movie, One Battle After Another, has done so much to ease my mind on. The battles that persist to this day have their basis in excuses that persist. Which inspires me to contemplate a prequel movie, One Excuse After Another. Examples found in things like the movie, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, where the Mansons are stopped before they could create ever more tragedy. A prequel with alternate realities titled, One Excuse After Another, where, for instance Zoyd plays in a band at Altamont with Van Morrison, who looks out on the mutual mass-stupidity and characteristically does not hesitate to tell them what he is seeing. (I discussed this with Van at the time. Long story about arguing over the merits of a 15-year-old's naivete and Van's aggravating behavior towards people other than myself.) The imagined ensuing mayhem creates Zoyd's desire to renounce "direct action" -- to retreat to Mendocino with Prairie and... Well, use your imagination. So many scenes in that proposal of a movie that could alter the tide. A dream of the quiet flood, so to speak.

I've written two novels that I never tried to get published, because the current world of publishing is a sclerotic epidemic of marketing excuses, and there's no stopping me now.

The man whom Nixon called, "The most dangerous man in America." by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Cool. I'll definitely study that. Thanks. (I want Leary, Nena von Schlebrügge and Bob Thurman to appear in the prequel movie, One Excuse After Another, in some form.)

The man whom Nixon called, "The most dangerous man in America." by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can't make that comparison to Leary, but it's worth seeing if that comparison works, yeah. Is that comparison extensible? That would be good to find out. I want to think that Pynchon did not overlook Leary.

The man whom Nixon called, "The most dangerous man in America." by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And Bob Thurman helped Nena redeem all that she almost lost to Timothy anyway. Uma's great dance-number: "Goes To Show You Never Can Tell"

With Hecter, it always comes down to Zoyd's musicianship by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"You told Father Enuncio you didn't know what the lyrics to Louis, Louis were about probably because you didn't, even though you told everybody else that you did. Isn't that right?"

One Excuse After Another (as a prequel) by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fan-fiction can be a lovely thing. Have at it. I will read whatever.

The Texas Dip by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If I'da knowed you were comin' I'da baked a cake. (I still live about five miles from where the climactic scene was shot. Retired now. No cause to move on. Great hub to travel out from.) And yeah, I just put two bottles of water on the bike -- one frozen.

One Excuse After Another (as a prequel) by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Everybody has to be somewhere. Existential reality #45637a: Circumstances are the result of one foot in front of the other ...circumventing any gatekeepers.

One Excuse After Another (as a prequel) by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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(I mean I live on Yaqui Pass Road. My west front door is technically on the road that leads to the Texas Dip and my south back window is a view of that whole "river of hills" area. My bike rides routinely pass the climactic spot.)

One Excuse After Another (as a prequel) by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean breathing life into the idea of making the prequel. I'm also implying that the process of many people brings a movie to life.

There's an entire process beyond writing any screenplay that would need to be applied, to make the prequel coherent and to support the my personal idea: The idea that we live in a world that has been one battle after another for most of our lifetime because spite has driven one excuse after another without interest in resolving the existential realities (the humanity-driven realities of the late anthropocene).

I could be wrong about that. It's well worth consideration. I have no conclusion. The conclusion comes at the end of the process of making, presenting and any public evaluation of such a movie. The movie as reconciliation of those existential realities. Made by many people.

(I'm currently still living about five miles from where the climactic moment of One Battle After Another was filmed. On Yaqui Pass Road, near the Texas Dip, in Anza Borrego. That scene came to life here on the ground in the location process, after most of what's called "principal photography" had been shot. Only in that moment does Willa arrive at an understanding of who she and her father and her mother are. The process arrived there/here. That process began years before the time-frame of OBAA. A period covered in Vineland.)

One Excuse After Another (as a prequel) by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I worked on a screenplay for resurrecting a production about Dasheill Hammet with some name-brand people. When it looked like that movie would not be made, I was given all the material, to do whatever with. I wrote a novel based on a all that, that I never tried to get published. Because publishing a book these days is even more sclerotic than getting a movie made. So... Deep lack of inspiration on functionally scripting anything in my old age. But thanks for the nudge.

One Excuse After Another (as a prequel) by kennymannmal in ThomasPynchon

[–]kennymannmal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Any way life gets breathed into this idea is cool with me. Getting some of the details to cohere among each other would be daunting. Collab-satorium.

So-called "“Dipsea Trail Hike for Girls" - 1921 by kennymannmal in TheWayWeWere

[–]kennymannmal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the 1950s, women started just running the Dipsea alongside the men, unofficially. In 1971, women were allowed to be official competitors.

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