July 2013
I happen to know all this, and instantly recognized Brock Vond as Guy Goodwin, because (a) I was familiar with Goodwin’s oeuvre at the time, and (b) once actually met Goodwin outside a federal courtroom in the early 70s. (I was, fortunately, not a party to the proceedings.) Heckuva guy, that Guy. He scared the bejeezus out of me. Seriously. You know the scenes in the first Star Wars where Darth Vader sweeps in with his cape and all? I think George Lucas was aiming to convey the same kind of psychopathic malevolence Goodwin radiated: a bone-chilling aura of get-me-out-of-here evil, with a double side order of crazy. Trust me, no aspect of Pynchon’s Vond is much of an exaggeration. And the Vond-Goodwin equation makes Pynchon’s descriptions of Vond — at one point he materializes in a fuzzy sky-blue 80s pantsuit — especially delicious. Anyway, Vineland is a great book, and sincerely I hope Hollywood considers it unfilmable.
So here’s this month’s issue, and barring any more disasters, there will be another moseyin’ along before too long. Please don’t forget to remember to subscribe.
And now, on with the show…
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Danny S.:
July 10th, 2013 at 6:00 am
So what exactly is a “dooryard”?
admin:
July 12th, 2013 at 5:57 pm
In this case, it’s a small area (about 20 x 10 ft) in front of our side (primary) door, enclosed by a tall picket fence.
Victoria Ayers:
August 16th, 2013 at 11:58 am
What about “Yard” anyway? I think of a “yard” as being a bare area of dirt, generally tramped down to a concrete-like surface, where a lot of work goes on, like in front of barn doors. When my kids were little they played on the lawn and now I have a garden without much lawn. But I’ve never had a yard.