Thursday, March 1, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
She realized how rare it was to see what stands before you,(Quotes and Thoughts from Pages 361-400 of Underworld by Don Delillo )
"She realized how rare it was to see what stands before you, what a novelty of basic sensation in the grinding life of the city to look across a measured space and be undistracted by signs and streetlights and taxis and scaffolding, by your own bespattered mind, sorting the data, and by the energy that hurrying people make, lunch crowds and buses and bike messengers, all that consciousness powering down the flumes of Manhattan so that it becomes impossible to see across a street to the turquoise tiles of some terra-cotta facade, a winged beast carved above the lintel." - page 379
Klara Sax has returned to the novel is now wondering the streets of Manhattan. She plans to create a documentary film on a talented graffiti artist from the Bronx. In this particular passage, Don Delillo creates a scene that is understood by anyone who has spent considerable amounts of time in New York. Waking the streets in a major city, especially New York is sensation over load and is over whelming. I personally found interesting about this was the clause, "by your own bespattered mind, sorting the data." The work that our brains do each day to focus on what is important and what is scattered truly is amazing.
I recall David Foster Wallace discussing this concept in his interview with David Lipsky. He states, "I recieved five hundred thousand discrete bits of information today, of which maybe twenty-five are important. And how am I going to sort those out, you know?" This statement is valid.
"It didn't always help. When Klara heard praise it sounded weak and tentative to her, badly rehearsed, when she was criticized in the press or through the intimate roundabouts of rumor and half news, she had to struggle against the feeling that they might be right, she was doing shallow and meek and dismissible work." -page 382
In the world of sports today, Boston Red Sox Left Fielder Carl Crawford said upon his arrival at Spring Training that he was surprised to hear that team owner John Henry stated on the radio in the off season that he was against the decision to sign Crawford as a free agent.
Crawford response was, "It was unfortunate he feels that way. It's nothing for me to say to him. I wasn't happy about it. I was a little surprised to hear the comments but you know it's unfortunate he feels that way. Wish those words hadn't came out."
Honestly, why should it bother Carl Crawford what John Henry thinks about the decision. The guy signed a seven year, $142 million contract which is guaranteed no matter how he performs for the remainder of his baseball career.
If money is a symbol of success in this world, than Carl Crawford is in an elite group. The fear of not living up to expectations or of being criticized is always evident. It is a human trait. Crawford discussed if the high contract expectations had an impact on his performance last season where he had career lows in production. "You never know until you sit back and think about it. It probably had its affect on me. You want to show you’re worth the money. The pressure builds up on playing in Boston. This year I have to find ways to get over that and play my game."
It is a "struggle against the feeling that they might be right," for all of us!
Klara Sax has returned to the novel is now wondering the streets of Manhattan. She plans to create a documentary film on a talented graffiti artist from the Bronx. In this particular passage, Don Delillo creates a scene that is understood by anyone who has spent considerable amounts of time in New York. Waking the streets in a major city, especially New York is sensation over load and is over whelming. I personally found interesting about this was the clause, "by your own bespattered mind, sorting the data." The work that our brains do each day to focus on what is important and what is scattered truly is amazing.
I recall David Foster Wallace discussing this concept in his interview with David Lipsky. He states, "I recieved five hundred thousand discrete bits of information today, of which maybe twenty-five are important. And how am I going to sort those out, you know?" This statement is valid.
"It didn't always help. When Klara heard praise it sounded weak and tentative to her, badly rehearsed, when she was criticized in the press or through the intimate roundabouts of rumor and half news, she had to struggle against the feeling that they might be right, she was doing shallow and meek and dismissible work." -page 382
In the world of sports today, Boston Red Sox Left Fielder Carl Crawford said upon his arrival at Spring Training that he was surprised to hear that team owner John Henry stated on the radio in the off season that he was against the decision to sign Crawford as a free agent.
Crawford response was, "It was unfortunate he feels that way. It's nothing for me to say to him. I wasn't happy about it. I was a little surprised to hear the comments but you know it's unfortunate he feels that way. Wish those words hadn't came out."
Honestly, why should it bother Carl Crawford what John Henry thinks about the decision. The guy signed a seven year, $142 million contract which is guaranteed no matter how he performs for the remainder of his baseball career.
If money is a symbol of success in this world, than Carl Crawford is in an elite group. The fear of not living up to expectations or of being criticized is always evident. It is a human trait. Crawford discussed if the high contract expectations had an impact on his performance last season where he had career lows in production. "You never know until you sit back and think about it. It probably had its affect on me. You want to show you’re worth the money. The pressure builds up on playing in Boston. This year I have to find ways to get over that and play my game."
It is a "struggle against the feeling that they might be right," for all of us!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
I was selfish about the past, selfish and protective (Quotes and Thoughts from pages 330 - 360 of Underworld by Don Delillo)
"I was selfish about the past, selfish and protective. I didn't know how to bring Marian into those years. And I think silence is the condition you accept as judgement on your crimes." - page 344
This passage occurs after Nick Shay has told his wife about the one night stand with Donna in Mojave Springs. They had just finished a family trip to see ancient ruins. This section was filled with moments that need to be analyzed. My head hurts from trying to navigate this section.
Reading this passage one might assume that Nick is expressing remorse about his marital transgression. Yet I think it is in reference to his unwillingness to give his wife total access to his life. This is the strain of true intimacy. It seems clear that she doesn't know about the murder that Nick committed as a minor.
Prior to this passage Delillo provides the reader with a coy description of Marian's upbringing.
"Marian is from a Big Ten town, raised safely, protected from the swarm of street life and feeling deprived because of it - privileged and deprived, an American sort of thing."
-page 344
Delillo continues to describe how Marian is repulsed by crimes and violence seen on television shows. Yet she wants to know more about Nick's past. She thrives on his honesty. One way to read this section is to assume that Nick will not share his life because the truth would seem cartoonist. Maybe she would have the same reactions to his past that she has had to the television because it was so close to the violence of TV. Her Midwest sensibilities in check.
This passage occurs after Nick Shay has told his wife about the one night stand with Donna in Mojave Springs. They had just finished a family trip to see ancient ruins. This section was filled with moments that need to be analyzed. My head hurts from trying to navigate this section.
Reading this passage one might assume that Nick is expressing remorse about his marital transgression. Yet I think it is in reference to his unwillingness to give his wife total access to his life. This is the strain of true intimacy. It seems clear that she doesn't know about the murder that Nick committed as a minor.
Prior to this passage Delillo provides the reader with a coy description of Marian's upbringing.
"Marian is from a Big Ten town, raised safely, protected from the swarm of street life and feeling deprived because of it - privileged and deprived, an American sort of thing."
-page 344
Delillo continues to describe how Marian is repulsed by crimes and violence seen on television shows. Yet she wants to know more about Nick's past. She thrives on his honesty. One way to read this section is to assume that Nick will not share his life because the truth would seem cartoonist. Maybe she would have the same reactions to his past that she has had to the television because it was so close to the violence of TV. Her Midwest sensibilities in check.
Monday, February 13, 2012
What's the point of waking up in the morning (Quotes and Thoughts from Pages 280-330 of Underworld by Don Delillo )
The following passage occurs during an exchange with Tommy Chan, maybe
the first baseball memorabilist in the country and Marvin Lindy, a man in
search of the baseball hit by Bobby Thompson to win the pennant for the Giants. Tommy was mocking the collectors who come to his store to pursue the past through the acquisition of
sports relics.
(Eleanor) said, "Don't you have to give people an incentive to buy? Not that it's any of my-"
(Tommy) "An incentive." What a novel idea. "The incentive is within, I think. These materials have no esthetic interest. They're discolored and crumbling. Old paper, that's all it is. My customers come here largely for the clutter and mess. It's a history they feel they are a part of."
(Eleanor) said, "Don't you have to give people an incentive to buy? Not that it's any of my-"
(Tommy) "An incentive." What a novel idea. "The incentive is within, I think. These materials have no esthetic interest. They're discolored and crumbling. Old paper, that's all it is. My customers come here largely for the clutter and mess. It's a history they feel they are a part of."
-page 322
But Tommy does proclaim that Marvin's personal obsession to find the baseball does have some poetic merit.
(Tommy) "The revenge of popular culture on those who take it too seriously."
(Eleanor) "...But then he thought, How can I not be serious? What's not to be serious about? What could I take more seriously than this? And what's the point of waking up in the morning if you don't try to match the enormousness of the known forces in the world with something powerful in your own life?" - page 323
When I was a student at Syracuse University, members of the local community were up in arms about the state of the football program. The team was not winning enough games to satisfy the masses. The president of Syracuse at the time was Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw. He famously told the fans of the team that they needed to "Get a life." Basically, stating that placing that much emphasis on wins in losses in football was a waste of precious time and that they would be better served finding a more appropriate passion and direction.
Naturally this comment from Buzz created quite a stir. Who was he to judge what others decide to take seriously in their own lives? Many were outraged and I think rightly so. It is up to each individual to decide what to dedicate their lives to.
Monday, February 6, 2012
I noticed how people played at being executives while actually holding executive positions.(Quotes and Thoughts from pages 100-280 of Underworld by Don Delillo)
"I noticed how people played at being executives while actually
holding executive positions. Did I do this myself? You maintain a
shifting distance between yourself and your job. There's a
self-conscious space, a sense of formal play that is sort of arrested
panic, and maybe you show it in a forced gesture or a ritual clearing of
the throat. Something out of childhood whistles through this space, a
sense of games and half made selves, but it is not that you're
pretending to be someone else. You're pretending to be exactly who you
are. That's the curious thing." -page 103
"It would have been easier to believe that she deserved it. He left because she was heartless, foolish, angry, she was a bad housekeeper, a bad mother, a cold woman. But she could not invent a reliable plot for any of these excuses."
page 207
"And these were your streets. It's a curious rite of passage, isn't it? Visit the old places. First you wonder how you lived so uncomplainingly in such cramped circumstances. The streets are narrower, the buildings are smaller than you remembered. It's like coming back to Lilliput. And think of the rooms. Think of the tiny bathroom, shared by the family, by the grandparents, by the uncle who's slightly u'pazz. But what else do you see? These people you barely glance at. How can you seem them clearly? You can't."
-page 213
Random Thoughts so far...
....Sometimes in life you won't get the answers to why things end, begin, or happen. A single event can have such a lasting both positive and negative impact on the future. This seems to be a recurring theme so far within Don Delillo's Underworld. The prologue profiles the Bobby Thompson Home Run that elevated not only the Giants to the National League Pennant but created instant optimism for an entire community in New York. Ironically, on the same day across the world, the Russians were testing a nuclear bomb. The irony is that an event can create joy but on the same day another event can signify the end of an era.
...The disappearance of Jimmy Constanza while he headed out for Lucky strike cigarettes. Why did he do it? Did he actually leave or was he killed because of his gambling connections? I doubt that Delillo will provide a solid answer to these questions. Now that I am 280 pages into the novel the plot is finally starting to unfold. Or is it? Maybe it is just the theme that is more transparent.
...I am not sure what the purpose of the Texas High Way killer subplot is. This thread of the story is so odd and out there that I want to understand why it is included. Like with Infinite Jest and other epic postmodern novels that I have read, there are probably passages that will only make sense after a second reading. This is the best and worst part about reading these long tomes. Maybe those with a better memory and attention span might pick up on certain passages having significance. It all appears like random specs from a magic eye poster to me.
... The section of Sister Edgar delivering food in the Bronx was fabulous. I am caught up in the individual vignettes and rather than trying to paste together a larger story. I found that for me it is more about enjoying the novel line by line. For most of the night I found myself reading it aloud to myself.
...The novel's is hard to follow because of the non-linear structure of the story. The first few sections it appears that Delillo is sort of teaching the reader how to process the novel. I found myself reading and had these "wait a second that already happened moments." It is kind of told in reverse chronological order but with the extended descriptions it seems like the novel is progressing forward. Hard to explain the feeling of reading this novel. It is partly dream like.
...Nick's wife, Mirana smoking the heroin during her affair shocked and surprised the heck out of me. I didn't see that coming at all. The description of her encounter with Brian and the tone of replies by the individual characters was classic. It is something about the nature of an affair. It is the secrecy that is engaging, not really the person or the sex itself. The fact that they have to go to her assistants apartment to do it. The detail and description of the affair was fascinating.
"It would have been easier to believe that she deserved it. He left because she was heartless, foolish, angry, she was a bad housekeeper, a bad mother, a cold woman. But she could not invent a reliable plot for any of these excuses."
page 207
"And these were your streets. It's a curious rite of passage, isn't it? Visit the old places. First you wonder how you lived so uncomplainingly in such cramped circumstances. The streets are narrower, the buildings are smaller than you remembered. It's like coming back to Lilliput. And think of the rooms. Think of the tiny bathroom, shared by the family, by the grandparents, by the uncle who's slightly u'pazz. But what else do you see? These people you barely glance at. How can you seem them clearly? You can't."
-page 213
Random Thoughts so far...
....Sometimes in life you won't get the answers to why things end, begin, or happen. A single event can have such a lasting both positive and negative impact on the future. This seems to be a recurring theme so far within Don Delillo's Underworld. The prologue profiles the Bobby Thompson Home Run that elevated not only the Giants to the National League Pennant but created instant optimism for an entire community in New York. Ironically, on the same day across the world, the Russians were testing a nuclear bomb. The irony is that an event can create joy but on the same day another event can signify the end of an era.
...The disappearance of Jimmy Constanza while he headed out for Lucky strike cigarettes. Why did he do it? Did he actually leave or was he killed because of his gambling connections? I doubt that Delillo will provide a solid answer to these questions. Now that I am 280 pages into the novel the plot is finally starting to unfold. Or is it? Maybe it is just the theme that is more transparent.
...I am not sure what the purpose of the Texas High Way killer subplot is. This thread of the story is so odd and out there that I want to understand why it is included. Like with Infinite Jest and other epic postmodern novels that I have read, there are probably passages that will only make sense after a second reading. This is the best and worst part about reading these long tomes. Maybe those with a better memory and attention span might pick up on certain passages having significance. It all appears like random specs from a magic eye poster to me.
... The section of Sister Edgar delivering food in the Bronx was fabulous. I am caught up in the individual vignettes and rather than trying to paste together a larger story. I found that for me it is more about enjoying the novel line by line. For most of the night I found myself reading it aloud to myself.
...The novel's is hard to follow because of the non-linear structure of the story. The first few sections it appears that Delillo is sort of teaching the reader how to process the novel. I found myself reading and had these "wait a second that already happened moments." It is kind of told in reverse chronological order but with the extended descriptions it seems like the novel is progressing forward. Hard to explain the feeling of reading this novel. It is partly dream like.
...Nick's wife, Mirana smoking the heroin during her affair shocked and surprised the heck out of me. I didn't see that coming at all. The description of her encounter with Brian and the tone of replies by the individual characters was classic. It is something about the nature of an affair. It is the secrecy that is engaging, not really the person or the sex itself. The fact that they have to go to her assistants apartment to do it. The detail and description of the affair was fascinating.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
What I really want to get at is the ordinary thing, the ordinary life behind the thing. (Quotes and Thoughts from pages 1-100 of Underworld by Don Delillo)
"What I really want to get at is the ordinary thing, the ordinary life behind the thing. Because that's the heart and soul of what we're doing here." - page 77
Prior to this passage, Klara Sax is engaged in an interview about her latest film project to paint decommissioned Cold War era bombers. She is discuss how maybe the Cold War held the world together and created a way of measuring things. Us. vs. Them.
"Many of the things that were anchored to the balance of power and the balance of terror seem to be undone, unstuck. Things have no limits now. Money has no limits. I don't understand money anymore. Money has no limits. I don't understand money anymore. Money is undone. Violence is undone, violence is easier now, it's uprooted, out of control, it has no measure anymore, it has no level of values." - page 76
On Money, Delillo was a little ahead of his time in predicting how things might turn out in new millennium. This passage connects with the work of author New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and his theory on economics from his book The World is Flat. He writes, "The convergence of technology and events has allowed India, China, and so many other countries to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, creating an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the world's two biggest nations, giving them a huge new stake in the success of globalization."
Delillo's mention of violence in the quote also relates to the modern world. The most catastrophic event for the United States in the new millennium was the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the Iraq/Afghanistan war. There is no clear adversary in the world which we live now. Maybe in some ways the US was better off when there were clear defined super powers. When the image and stock piling of weapons and the fear of war was a better reality of random acts of terror. These decommissioned bombers are relics to a world that no longer exists.
"Some times I see something so moving I know I'm not supposed to linger. See it and leave. If you stay too long, you wear out the wordless shock. Love it and trust it and leave." - page 83
"It's the special skill of the adolescent to imagine the end of the world as an adjunct to his own discontent." -page 88
Prior to this passage, Klara Sax is engaged in an interview about her latest film project to paint decommissioned Cold War era bombers. She is discuss how maybe the Cold War held the world together and created a way of measuring things. Us. vs. Them.
"Many of the things that were anchored to the balance of power and the balance of terror seem to be undone, unstuck. Things have no limits now. Money has no limits. I don't understand money anymore. Money has no limits. I don't understand money anymore. Money is undone. Violence is undone, violence is easier now, it's uprooted, out of control, it has no measure anymore, it has no level of values." - page 76
On Money, Delillo was a little ahead of his time in predicting how things might turn out in new millennium. This passage connects with the work of author New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and his theory on economics from his book The World is Flat. He writes, "The convergence of technology and events has allowed India, China, and so many other countries to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, creating an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the world's two biggest nations, giving them a huge new stake in the success of globalization."
Delillo's mention of violence in the quote also relates to the modern world. The most catastrophic event for the United States in the new millennium was the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the Iraq/Afghanistan war. There is no clear adversary in the world which we live now. Maybe in some ways the US was better off when there were clear defined super powers. When the image and stock piling of weapons and the fear of war was a better reality of random acts of terror. These decommissioned bombers are relics to a world that no longer exists.
"Some times I see something so moving I know I'm not supposed to linger. See it and leave. If you stay too long, you wear out the wordless shock. Love it and trust it and leave." - page 83
"It's the special skill of the adolescent to imagine the end of the world as an adjunct to his own discontent." -page 88
“Even the lowest
household trash is closely observed. People look at their garbage differently
now, seeing every bottle and crushed carton in a planetary context.” – page 88
"The corporation
is supposed to take us outside of ourselves. We design these organized bodies
to respond to the marketplace, face foursquare into the world. But things tend
to drift dimly inward. Gossip, rumor, promotions, personalities, it's only natural,
isn't it-all the human lapses that take up space the company soul. But the
world persists, the world heals in a way. You feel the contact points around
you, the caress of linked grids that gave you a sense of order and command.
It's there in the warbling banks of phones, in the fax machines and
photocopiers and all the oceanic logic stored in your computer. Bemoan
technology all you want. It expands your self-esteem and connects you in your
well-pressed suit to the things that slip through the world otherwise
unperceived." - page 89
Reading Underworld by Don DeLillo
After reading Infinite Jest in 2009, I made a promise to myself that I would try to attempt to read more long epic novels. Recently it has not been the case. My book club takes some precious reading time away from the task. This is not a bad thing. If anything the club forces an attention and dedication to completing a more diverse group books. In the interum there have been many books that I have started and put down for no particular reason. Yet the club has forced my resolve and made me complete at least one book each month. It would be embarrassing to lead a discussion and not have taken the time to finish the novel. So what does this have to do with Underworld?
In the past few months this behemoth has sat staring me in the face. Underworld. It is thick. 827 pages. It is dark. Gray covered with an iconic image of the world trade center from the church.
The only way to start is to start so I did. The beginning was intense. The novel's prologue describes the world series game in 1951. It is hard to read a story when you already know the end. As a baseball fan it is impossible to follow the sport and not be very aware of the "shot heard...around the world"...Bobby Thompson's home run to catapult the New York Giants to win the pennant.
Delillo still finds a way to make the story unique and special. I am now past the prologue and getting into the meat of the story. Yet I know myself. In order to make it through this entire book I need something to keep my attention. So I am going to blog my progress and put up different quotes and ideas that interest me along the way. The guilt of not updating this will hopefully keep me on task.
In the past few months this behemoth has sat staring me in the face. Underworld. It is thick. 827 pages. It is dark. Gray covered with an iconic image of the world trade center from the church.
The only way to start is to start so I did. The beginning was intense. The novel's prologue describes the world series game in 1951. It is hard to read a story when you already know the end. As a baseball fan it is impossible to follow the sport and not be very aware of the "shot heard...around the world"...Bobby Thompson's home run to catapult the New York Giants to win the pennant.
Delillo still finds a way to make the story unique and special. I am now past the prologue and getting into the meat of the story. Yet I know myself. In order to make it through this entire book I need something to keep my attention. So I am going to blog my progress and put up different quotes and ideas that interest me along the way. The guilt of not updating this will hopefully keep me on task.
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