The Thomas Pynchon Wiki

Apparently more than one person out there thinks Thomas Pynchon is one of the most complex people around. Need proof? Have you been to the Thomas Pynchon wiki project? Every major work (except for Slow Learner) is there. If you never read him, and want to see just how complex he is, then check out this site, and you'll learn very quickly why his books can be like puzzles. I recommend starting with the one for Against the Day. I'm surprised someone hasn't given this kind of treatment to Joyce.

Apparently the whole thing started the same day the book launched, because it was just way to hard for readers to keep track of everything. Here's the annotations for just one page of the 800+ page Pynchon epic:

Page 683
Franz JosefFranz Josef (1830-1916), Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1848 to 1916. His 68-year reign is the third-longest in the recorded history of Europe.
the BelvedereThe Belvedere Palace, Vienna, comprises two magnificent baroque mansions facing each other across a sloping formal garden. Prince Eugene of Savoy, whose campaigns against the Turks enabled the Habsburg Emprie to reclaim Hungary, purchased some land beyond Vienna's city walls in 1693, upon which he ordered a park with elaborate water features and fountains to be built. In 1714 the Prince had the lower Belvedere built and in 1721 the upper one. The Palace now is open to public tours. See Belvedere Pictures.

Prince Eugene of SavoyPrince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736) was the greatest general to serve the Habsburgs.

BallhausplatzBallhausplatz is a square in central Vienna containing the building that over 200 years has been the official residence of the State Chancellor. As a result, Ballhausplatz is often used as shorthand for the Austrian Chancellery
the Anglo-Russian EntenteCf page 618:the Anglo-Russian Entente.
WilhelmstrasseCf page 496:Wilhelmstrasse.
gemütlicher alter JungeGerman: good old boy.

a man who is standing where he should not be.This ominous sentence could be applied to the likes of GWB and those shady charcters who allegedly stood on the grassy knoll (among others).
some symmetry was being brokenSpontaneous symmetry breaking in physics takes place when a system that is symmetric with respect to some symmetry group goes into a vacuum state that is not symmetric. At this point the system no longer appears to behave in a symmetric manner. A common example to help explain this phenomenon is a ball sitting on top of a hill. This ball is in a completely symmetric state. However, it is not a stable one: the ball can easily roll down the hill. At some point, the ball will spontaneously roll down the hill in one direction or another. The symmetry has been broken because the direction the ball rolled down in has now been singled out from other directions [2].

Here, the meaning appears to be that the equilibrium of the twinned professors is broken; Werfner is in London, where he "should not be" (Renfrew's territory); a historical stasis has been broken; this must mean something. Perhaps a foreshadowing of the collapse of the Great Power "symmetry" of 1814 to 1914.

Not spontaneous symmetry broken, just plain broken symmetry. Cf page 537:broken symmetries.

Finally Something Useful to Do With Encyclopedias!

Let's face it, Wikipedia will replace teachers, librarians, and any kind of educator very soon; I'd say we have a good ten years. I just hope wikipedia isn't still mad at me in ten years for that little McSweeney's prank (?) I pulled a few years back! (really Wikipedia, I meant no harm...I only meant to prove a point. Please, can we be friends?!)

So when people put all of their trust into the powers of Wikipedia, what should we do with all those encyclopedias? Well...a pictures worth a thousand words:

The Wiki Book Project

I don't like the word Web 2.0. Some of you already know this. It's gimmicky, and really nothing more then rhetoric used by snobby lecturers at conferences no one wants to be at--for some reason these people believe the word can best be describe with a PowerPoint Presentation that is pretty, but makes no sense.

There is one good thing about the word. It's got people talking about the idea of Wiki. I believe Wiki is what the Web was made for--it brings a diverse group of people together to create something collaboratively that can be used to help the masses.

I read recently about a new Bible translation going on as a Wiki project. Only time will tell if the project is a success; I find it hard to believe that something like the Bible can be translated by scholars and amateurs alike and not have serious bias and debates arise. Regardless of the outcome, it's a fascinating experiment.

The idea of teamwork has never been so exciting! It's no longer about working closely with people you work with; it's about working closely with people you have never once meant!

One of the reasons I posted "The Library Tree" not just as an electronic book, but as a Wiki book was because I was curious to see how many people take it seriously, how many people take it as fun, and how many people try to vandalize the effort people are making. In reality I think it takes all three for such an experiment to work.

There needs to be people on a Wiki project who is all about order and structure; someone who just wants to be silly and have fun; and someone all about making waves.

So whoever you are, take those creative energies and put them to use...