Pg. 33-39 The Scope scene
I thought this was interesting because it seemed–based on what I’ve read–a very distinctively sixties atmosphere. Everyone in the bar seemed to think they were somehow different, and they felt like there was something different going on in the bar that no one else knew about, but they were in on. The whole thing with the postal system and them having their own little private system was funny to me because it seemed like they wanted to rebel against “the man”, but they just weren’t quite sure how….So this group of people just decided that it was the postal system that was causing all the problems and decided to take matters into their own hands. Again, it seems a very 60′s thing to do. Also, the Stockhausen thing was hilarious because it was just another way for them to experience something that they didn’t really understand or necessarily like, but they thought it was different and weird, so they accepted it as being something that they should try to understand or at least listen to in their little shady 1960′s bar of anarchy. This book almost seems like a reflection of that same notion; the author might not (or he might be–he probably does) know exactly what he is trying to get across or what the meaning in everything is supposed to be, but he is writing a book about whatever it is anyway because it seems like it should have some sort of meaning. I guess I am thinking this book is just a sort of reflection of the time so far, and his little humorous bits of nonsense and his actual meaning are supposed to join together to create the atmosphere that he felt was going on at that time, maybe? I don’t know. It just seemed like the 60′s were a time when people really wanted to find meaning, and they might have sometimes taken it a bit too far to find meaning in meaningless things, or they might have just followed whatever happened to be doing something. None of this is really making much sense anymore, so I had better stop.
“‘Hey, blokes,’ yelled Dean or perhaps Serge, ‘let’s pinch a boat.’” and the rest of the bits about the Paranoids…. (pg. 41-…)
While I am not really sure what is going on with the characters about whom I’m actually supposed to be caring and paying attention to, I am finding The Paranoids amusing. They are not even trying to find a cause to rebel against or a higher meaning. They are just wandering around “pinching boats”, smoking marijuana, and speaking in a British accent for the hell of it. They don’t seem necessarily committed to their band, and they are following this weird older couple around…. It is just really funny to me, and I think they might also have something to do with the lack of meaning thing that I seem to be beating to death. Anyway, I have nothing meaningful to say about The Paranoids, except that it’s nice that they have nothing meaninful to say….And it’s not even certain if one is named Dean or Serge… Haha.
