After listening to some podcast interviews with Bill Gibson, primarily the CBC "Words At Large" Q&A where he discusses Milgrim's book in depth; and based on memory of dust jacket author photos of Himself wearing a Paul Stuartish coat; and the author's admission that Milgrim's character appeared later in the course of writing the manuscript, having pushed his way into the story unexpectedly...

I would like to submit that Milgrim's pilfered Paul Stuart jacket (containing his newly obsessed-about The Pursuit of the Millennium) was in fact stolen from William Gibson himself. We don't really get many details on the swipe...

A subversive and indirect way of inserting himself into the narrative. I find that idea amusing.

but then how would he still have the coat for the dustcover photo!?

I don't see Gibson getting all PoMo like that. Kind of staid.

Actually I think a lot of his characters are stealing his clothes (or the one's he likes or wants)

Cayce has his Rickson's and button-fly 501's, etc.

He's not about to start describing the poor quality of Chinese sewn clothes from Walmart in detail.

Fickin' elitist!

There is a certain relevancy to the brand-name dropping involved in these narratives that is only potent when a narrow scope is maintained.

If one was to expand that range to include every sub-sub-sub brand knock-off of a knock-off bit of merchandise - I suspect we would see a completely different message emerge.

Blarf!

I don't follow you.

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Originally posted by UberDog:
I don't follow you.

but i bet he still looks over his shoulder, just to be on the safe side.

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CBC "Words At Large"

Paranoia! Cha-cha-cha! Paranoia! Cha-cha-cha!

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Originally posted by Fashionpolice:
Actually I think a lot of his characters are stealing his clothes (or the one's he likes or wants)

Cayce has his Rickson's and button-fly 501's, etc.

Ah, but have the buttons on WG's 501's been carefully ground to remove all logos?

Nope, I checked!

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Originally posted by Fashionpolice:
Nope, I checked!

"Dammit, Bill! Will you just stand still for a second while I look at your ass grommets?"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: UberDog,

quote:

Originally posted by UberDog:
I don't see Gibson getting all PoMo like that. Kind of staid.

PoMo? I don't get it. I'm kinda simple. I just hear Gib saying that later on in the book, this character came out of the subtextual woodwork, become crucial at least narratively enticing, and so Gib out his own old coat on the guy because, hey, you write what you know.

But then, I am kinda simple in some ways. There's probably some subirony here that I'm missing.

Kinda like recycled rust.

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He's not about to start describing the poor quality of Chinese sewn clothes from Walmart in detail.

I seem to recall him talking about something very similar in an article recently.

Is that a tongue I see in your cheek? With 501 button ground logo marks?

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Originally posted by kenmeer livermaile:

quote:

Originally posted by UberDog:
I don't see Gibson getting all PoMo like that. Kind of staid.

PoMo? I don't get it. I'm kinda simple. I just hear Gib saying that later on in the book, this character came out of the subtextual woodwork, become crucial at least narratively enticing, and so Gib out his own old coat on the guy because, hey, you write what you know.

But then, I am kinda simple in some ways. There's probably some subirony here that I'm missing.

Kinda like recycled rust.

PoMo = Post Modern.

Someone, maybe you?, suggested that he was purposefully self-referecning his own existence as author in the text.

I tend to believe that any PoMo tendencies of Mr. G are subconscious.

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PoMo = Post Modern.

Thanks for clearing that up. Considering I put Post Modernism as one of my religious beliefs on facebook... didn't really wanna go with ex-pseudo-cult member.

I don't see exactly how Bill writing his book/coat combo into SC for Milgrim to steal would constitute "getting" Post-Modern. You make "PoMo" seem like some Tourrette's-ish mental condition that only strikes creative types.

After listening to a couple of interviews - I found out that our man Gibson was given the book from a friend (already well-read) while doing a little recon in NYC. He probably carried it around in his coat pocket, having formed a mild obsession around it. As KL mentions, Milgrim forced his way into the narrative later on in the writing, so maybe he helped himself to the coat while he was at it.

It could be that Bill wasn't getting all Meta and shit - but maybe he jammed that book into Milgrim's pilfered pocket as a kind of "take that" assertion... considering the overall importance the book has in the formation of some of the background structures (Bigend's mother for instance).

Maybe I'm just blowing smoke up my own hole.

What does In Pursuit of the Millnieum have to do with Big's mama?

Actually he said he got "The Pursuit of the Millenium" when the book was under way, although milleniarism was already an interest of his (which is why a friend passed him the book). He only discovered after the book was published that Cohn's book was one of Guy Debord's favourites.

All according to him, but doubting an author's declarations about his own work is too post-modern for me.