Submitted by IHad360K_KarmaDammit t3_ybrkgp in todayilearned
Here's the first cameo and here's the second.
Wow. I expected him to sound more like Bronson Pinchot for some reason.
Of course not, don’t be ridiculous.
Hello, my name is cousin Larry Appleton
When you rollin out the dough
Cousin Larry was great in She-Hulk btw.
Holy shit I KNEW he looked familiar!
Do the dance of joy!
how the fug he take a bite of that wing with a bag over his head?
Wing go under bag
YOU GO UNDER BAG
I watch an episode of the simpsons a day while doing stuff around the house and just today i saw his first cameo, i even asked whats up with the paper bag... and i just got the answer...
Ha! Pynchon was the writer of my very serious interest when I was working on my master's thesis back in Poland, with a special focus on the concept of entropy in the English literature.
After I got my degree (in Canada), I gave up literature and I have to say, without much pride or shame, I've never read a single novel or any work of fiction since then. That was over 25 years ago, when I switched to computer science and that's been my field all that time.
Cool post. Brought back some memories.
you've had an interesting life
What a comment
I like turtles
Marzipan
My grandma always had family in Germany send fantastic little marzipan sculptures to her house here in Canada for Christmas. I shit you not they'd send boxes of the stuff - one for eating and one for displaying. They wound up building a bookshelf, basically, that filled up one whole wall to keep them on. Mice, cats, soldier shaped nutcrackers, reindeer, a whole ass nativity scene. All kinds of shit
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Maybe they burnt out from all the reading, and then found a different passion. Not that strange.
Happened to me. My bachelors is in English teaching, but I got so burned out in college I will go years without reading a single book. When I was in high school, I read a book every week or two and couldn’t get enough. I think it was the atmosphere of being forced to read or teach certain things that held no interest to me and all the essays that amputated the enjoyable aspect of the reading experience for me. I began to have a subconscious distaste for reading at all. I would love to get a passion for reading again.
Yes.
You read that correctly.
To make it even weirder, I offer my IT consulting services to a public library among others.
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Children of Time. I recommend it to all my programmer buddies who miss literature.
I swore and threw "The Crying of Lot 49" across the room when I finished it and then yelled at Thomas Pynchon in a dream. Pynchon puns pack a punch.
He is also apparently i the Paul Thomas Anderson film 'Inherent Vice' which is, of course, based on his novel of the same name.
Didnt realize he wrote that. I really liked that movie, Joaquin Phoenix has always been a gem.
And Pynchon’s son, Jackson, is credited as a sound assistant or something on The Master, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Also stars Joaquin Phoenix.
Where?
They wont say, but there are theories, check imdb trivia.
This is fantastic:
> Of particular emphasis was Pynchon's outright refusal to utter the line "No wonder Homer is such a fat-ass." Pynchon's objection apparently had nothing to do with the salty language as he explained in a footnote to the edit, "... Homer is my role model and I can't speak ill of him."
Seems gravity’s pull to the rainbow of colors in the Simpson’s was too strong. Something something only Pynchon novel I read.
I'd go into hiding too if I had his fanbase.
I don't know anyone but my friend who has actually read one of his books. Can you elaborate?
In my experience, they are like any other obsessive fan group, albeit sharper and better read. They make a lot of corny in-jokes and assume everyone else in the world shares their interest in Pynchon. Harmless guys overall. Many of my friends who geeked out for Pynchon were also Pink Floyd fanatics, if that gives you any more context. Probably not. Anyway, they were fascinated by the eccentric side of Pynchon, which I found tiresome and juvenile. His books aren't enjoyable to read and sometimes his fans act like their appreciation for him is a sign of their intelligence. To me, it simply means they have the time and patience to slog through deliberately meandering and zany fiction by an author who is gifted and smart enough to know better.
His novels are brilliant, and they’re a blast to read. Comments like this always imply that people who enjoy his writing are pretentious, but whenever you find a discussion about Pynchon, the long and condescending comments are always from insufferable people who feel like it’s their job to make sure no one enjoys his work.
If anyone is acting like their preferences are a sign of their intelligence, it’s the stuffy, enlightened redditors who look down their noses at whatever they don’t like.
Well, now we have two well-written, reasonable statements of opposite opinions. I can’t decide one way or the other - you’ll have to take it to the octagon.
This is reddit; they have to duel with narwhal tusks and bacon weave shields. It's tradition
I would SO watch that show
calls FOX immediately
In honor of DFW I challenge you to a tennis match.
So similar to David Foster Wallace fans then? Not surprising that Pynchon was a huge influence on DFW.
Pynchon has a much better sense of humor IMO.
I've only read Infinite Jest. Haven't read any Pynchon. Which novel would you suggest I start on of his? Gravity's Rainbow? The Crying of Lot 49? V.? Inherent Vice?
I’m not the person you were asking, but I do have an answer! Broadly, he has a few very long novels and a few more not very long novels. Most people would recommend starting with one of the not very long ones.
Personally, I think Inherent Vice would be a good one to start with. It’s funny, super readable, and you have PTA’s film adaptation to look forward to when you’re done. I’ve heard of other Pynchon fans who don’t love that one as much as I do though, so ymmv. The canonical answer is probably Lot 49.
Another consideration is Bleeding Edge—not many (including me) would call it their favorite Pynchon, but r/ThomasPynchon is starting a reading group for it next month, if that’s your thing. If it isn’t your thing, though, I’d still start with IV (but I do think BE is underrated).
Gravity’s Rainbow is great and probably my personal favorite, but a lot of Pynchon fans seem to prefer his other epics (Mason & Dixon and Against the Day), and all three are very distinct stylistically. Mostly, when you see people hating on Pynchon like above, it’s because they tried and failed to get through GR—so I definitely wouldn’t recommend starting with it. I do really love it though.
Thanks for the reply!
I honestly had a hard time with Infinite Jest. Read like the first 100 pages on Google Books preview and was really lost. Decided to buy a used copy and tried getting through that monstrosity of a book.
I eventually did. Took several months. Found it hard to read for long stretches of time. There were definitely parts/passages/lines I liked in it, but man, it's such a beast of a book to tackle.
I've heard similar complaints about Gravity's Rainbow as well.
Maybe I'll try Inherent Vice or The Crying of Lot 49 first.
The Crying of Lot 49. It's every Pynchon trope condensed into 120 pages. If you like it, then read Gravity's Rainbow.
Thanks. Gonna read the free preview on Google Books and if I like it I'll give it a go.
See I feel you just described why I like Pynchon and hate Wallace...
I feel Pynchon is funny and plays with you. DFW is the snobby "I shall walk you through the spires of my intellect... Till you see how clever I am..."
Much better than self-proclaimed fans of non-fiction authors like Adam Smith... who generally don't understand any of his theory and can quote two sentences from a single famous book.
What books have you read of his?
Is this the inspiration for J.D. Salinger's "Hollywoo stars and celebrities: what do they know? Do they know things? Lets find out."
No -- J. D. Salinger was also famously reclusive.
There's a connection there. Shake some trees boys, let's get people talking....
My husband still celebrates finishing gravitys rainbow in college. Shortly thereafter he claimed he's done for awhile.
There was an episode of The John Larroquette Show that revolved around TP.
I saw an episode of Night Court with Larroquette's character saying something about hunting alligators in the sewers of New York, which I think was likely a reference to Pynchon's first novel "V" (Larroquette's a big TP fan supposedly).
Weirdly, his first episode was on tv last night
And you think that's a coincidence? Sir, this is Reddit.
There's a sci-fi author who has never been photographed, and brags about it on his website.
Greg Egan?
There was a picture taken of him and his son voting back in 2020.
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Years ago I read a local weekly paper story where the writer just looked up Pynchon in the phone book (it was the 80’s), called him and did a phone interview. He wasn’t reclusive, he was just not seeking publicity.
He looked like Tim McVeigh!
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Here’s the popular take on Socal
He’s another east coaster who adopted the hippie life and came to live out west.
Still the books are great.
Lives somewhere in Socal or north Baja ( I’ve heard both). Tied in with the Joan Baez/ Keplers Books crowd
Fun guy to grab a drink with
Hey, Guys! I found Thomas Pynchon!
Done
He did a wonderful job with that publicity thing, because I've never heard of him and don't have a clue who he is.
Contradictory title.
His work is (sort of) famous. He's not
What? He's one of the most respected authors of the last century. You not knowing of him well doesn't mean others don't. I'd wager more people would be able to tell you he is an author than would be able to name any of his works, so essentially the opposite of what you said.
Could you pick him our from a line-up?
Part of 'fame' is being 'recognisable'
“Banksy isn’t famous.”
Banksy has a public persona.
Could you pick him out of a line-up?
I heard that part of 'fame' is being 'recognisable'
So Banksy isn't famous.
We're getting into essentially substence theory here.
I'll revert back to my original comment.
The work is famous, the person isn't
E Why the block if you think you're winning the argument? Pathetic
You’ve painted yourself into a philosophical corner.
Since “Banksy isn’t famous,” you surely didn’t get the reference and had to look up “Banksy.”
Take the L, move along.
Best wishes.
lisiate t1_itijq4v wrote
I really like the way the thumbnail for this post cuts off half his face to preserve his anonymity.