A few folks here may remember that I wrote my Plan II senior thesis on Thomas Pynchon back in 1980. I'm reviewing his new book (to be published in September) and came across this:

"There is something creepily familiar about this go-north argument. By a corollary of Godwin's law valid only on the Upper West Side, Stalin's name, like Hitler's, is 100% certain to enter a discussion of any length, and Maxine now recalls Ernie telling her about the genocidal Georgian and his plans back in the 1930s for colonizing the Arctic with domed cities and armies of young technicians, otherwise known, Ernie was always careful to point out, as forced labor, bringing out for multimedia emphasis his 78rpm album of THE ATTRACTIVE SCHOOLGIRL OF ZAZHOPINSK, an obscure opera from the purge era, strangled Russian bass-tenor duets invoking steppes of ice, thermodynamic night." BLEEDING EDGE, by Thomas Pynchon, pages 309-310

I thought this little snippet might amuse.

--Mike