Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Main Page

2006-11-26T00:14:42Z

Dkipen:

[[Image:Campanile.jpg|250px|thumb|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the Pynchon Wiki'''</big>

To become a contributor/editor, [http://pynchonwiki.com/mycaptcha/captcha-page.php '''Create an account.''']

:[http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FAgainst-Day-Thomas-Pynchon%2Fdp%2F159420120X%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fqid%3D1164267006%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks&tag=hyperartspynchon&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325'''Order ''Against the Day''''']

This is the newly created Wiki for -- inaugurally -- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon Thomas Pynchon's] ''Against the Day'', and eventually for the guides to Pynchon's other "big" novels, ''V.'', ''Gravity's Rainbow'' and ''Mason & Dixon'', which are currently available at [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]. Eventually, all the novels will be migrated here so that registered users of this wiki can create pages and make changes for those novels' guides.

You can take a look at the [[ATD cover|cover]], read the [[Against the Day description|book description]] written by Pynchon himself, or read the [[ATD Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Against the Day'' Alphabetical Index''', used to keep track of the myriad characters, real and imagined, as well as events, arcana, and lots of other stuff. The second is the '''Spoiler-Free Annotations by Page''', which allows the reader to look up and contribute allusions and references while reading the book, in a convenient and spoiler-free manner. These two sections are so far almost entirely different, but we're working on integrating them.

Apart from those, it's up to you!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Against the Day'', organized alphabetically:{{ATD_Alpha_Nav}}
<p>
<br>
== Spoiler-Free Annotations by Page ==
An alternate form of commentary on the text, to be linked up (or not) to the alphabetical index as future contributors suggest and agree upon. The guiding principle of these annotations is to remain spoiler-free, so that readers can follow along without the fear that later parts of the book will be revealed.

: '''Part One: The Light Over the Ranges'''

::[[ATD 1-25|Pages 1-25]]<br>
::[[ATD 26-56|Pages 26-56]]<br>
::[[ATD 57-80|Pages 57-80]]<br>
::[[ATD 81-96|Pages 81-96]]<br>
::[[ATD 97-118|Pages 97-118]]<br>

: '''Part Two: Iceland Spar'''

::[[ATD 119-148|Pages 119-148]]<br>

== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* When creating a new page, if its information pertains to one (and only one) specific Pynchon novel (currently just ''Against the Day'', please categorize it with the identifier "ATD" using this syntax: <nowiki>[[Category:ATD]]</nowiki>

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, [[ATD-T|see the page on Tait]]. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/thomaspynchon/ Random House UK ATD Page]
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/ The Modern Word Pynchon page]
: [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/countingdown.html The Modern Word: counting down to ATD]
: [http://z11.invisionfree.com/thefictionalwoods/index.php The Fictional Woods] - a Pynchon forum
* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]
* [http://www.sporadikos-logos.org/against-the-day/ ATD Blog]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Against_the_Day Wikipedia ATD page]
* [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* Penguin Group AtD Page (Hmmm. There isn't one...)

==Featured Article==

[[image:tesla.tower.jpg|150px|thumb|Tesla's Wardenclyffe laboratory|left]]
'''Was the Tunguska Event Caused by Tesla's Death Ray?'''<br />
Given that Tesla's inventions generally possessed an element of social conscience, of doing good for humanity, it may seem surprising that he created a number of devices with military applications. And the notion of the Tesla harnessing his mind for purposes of war may seem immensely frightening. After all, this is the man who boasted that with his resonance generator he could split the earth in two... and no one was ever quite sure whether he was joking.

([[Tesla's Death Ray | more...]])

<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on Pynchon Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

We will be providing more support for using this wiki in the coming weeks. Feel free to contact us (admin at pynchonwiki dot com) with any questions.

Thanks, and enjoy...

Main Page

2006-10-05T04:10:37Z

Dkipen:

<big>'''Welcome to the PynchonWiki'''</big>

This is newly created and eventually most of the guides currently available [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon here] will be migrated and wikified so that registered users of this wiki can create pages and make changes.

We'd like to thank Mr David Kipen for being the first contributor to this eventually historical website. You can read the beginnings of his [[annotation of Thomas Pynchon's blurb]] for ''Against the Day'' which first appeared at [http://www.amazon.com amazon.com].

If you would like to be a contributor to this wiki, please register (by clicking on the "register" link on the top right.

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

When creating a new page, if its information pertains to one (and only one) specific Pynchon novel, please preface it with the following identifiers:

* ATD = ''Against the Day''
* GR = ''Gravity's Rainbow''
* MD = ''Mason & Dixon''
* V = ''V.''
* CL49 = ''Crying of Lot 49''

For example, we're starting a chapter-by-chapter annotation of ''Against the Day'', and the first chapter is [[ATD Chapter 1]].

If you'd like to start an alphabetical page for ''Gravity's Rainbow'', you'd use [[GR - A]].

Here's [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing#Most_frequent_wiki_markup_explained a good page on editing wiki text].

I will be providing more support for using this wiki in the coming weeks. Feel free to contact me (tim at hyperarts dot com) with any questions.

Thanks, and enjoy...

Consult the [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents User's Guide] for information on using the wiki software.

== Getting started ==

* [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Configuration_settings Configuration settings list]
* [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:FAQ MediaWiki FAQ]
* [http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce MediaWiki release mailing list]

Main Page

2006-10-05T03:57:42Z

Dkipen:

<big>'''Welcome to the PynchonWiki'''</big>

This is newly created and eventually most of the guides currently available [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon here] will be migrated and wikified so that registered users of this wiki can create pages and make changes.

We'd like to thank Mr David Kipen for being the first contributor to this eventually historical website. You can read the beginnings of his [[annotation of Thomas Pynchon's blurb]] for ''Against the Day'' which first appeared at [http://www.amazon.com amazon.com].

If you would like to be a contributor to this wiki, please register (by clicking on the "register" link on the top right.

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

When creating a new page, if it is pertains to one specific Pynchon novel, please preface it with the following identifiers:

ATD = ''Against the Day'' GR = ''Gravity's Rainbow'' MD = ''Mason & Dixon'' V = ''V.'' CL49 = ''Crying of Lot 49''

I will be providing more support for using this wiki in the coming weeks. Feel free to contact me (tim at hyperarts dot com) with any questions.

Thanks, and enjoy...

Consult the [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents User's Guide] for information on using the wiki software.

== Getting started ==

* [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Configuration_settings Configuration settings list]
* [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:FAQ MediaWiki FAQ]
* [http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce MediaWiki release mailing list]

Annotation of Thomas Pynchon's blurb

2006-10-05T03:49:18Z

Dkipen:

The following is the blurb, attributed to Thomas Pynchon, that appeared, disappeared and reappeared on Amazon.com, for Pynchon's latest novel, ''Against the Day'', to be released 11/21/06 by Penguin...

Spanning the period between the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Columbian_Exposition Chicago World's Fair of 1893] and the years just after World War I, this novel moves from the [[bigtrouble|labor troubles in Colorado]] to turn-of-the-century New York, to London and Gottingen, Venice and Vienna, the Balkans, Central Asia, Siberia at the time of the mysterious Tunguska Event, Mexico during the Revolution, postwar Paris, silent-era Hollywood, and one or two places not strictly speaking on the map at all.
With a worldwide disaster looming just a few years ahead, it is a time of unrestrained corporate greed, false religiosity, moronic fecklessness, and evil intent in high places. No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred.

The sizable cast of characters includes anarchists, balloonists, gamblers, corporate tycoons, drug enthusiasts, innocents and decadents, mathematicians, mad scientists, shamans, psychics, and stage magicians, spies, detectives, adventuresses, and hired guns. There are cameo appearances by Nikola Tesla, Bela Lugosi, and Groucho Marx.

As an era of certainty comes crashing down around their ears and an unpredictable future commences, these folks are mostly just trying to pursue their lives. Sometimes they manage to catch up; sometimes it's their lives that pursue them.

Meanwhile, the author is up to his usual business. Characters stop what they're doing to sing what are for the most part stupid songs. Strange sexual practices take place. Obscure languages are spoken, not always idiomatically. Contrary-to-the-fact occurrences occur. If it is not the world, it is what the world might be with a minor adjustment or two. According to some, this is one of the main purposes of fiction.

Let the reader decide, let the reader beware. Good luck.

--Thomas Pynchon