The Russian mafia has no sense of personal space

At the end of the book, the reader finds out that Cayce's apartment had been monitored by the Russian mafia from the moment she first mentioned the possibility of its involvement with the footage (even if only in jest).

She asks, towards the beginning of her interest in the footage, the other members in the footage forum, "Why couldn't it [the maker], say, be some Russian mafia kingpin, with a bent for self-expression, a previously undiscovered talent, and the wherewithal to generate and disseminate the footage? That's deliberately farfetched, but [...]" (Gibson 277). She's only kidding about the Russian mafia's involvement with the footage, but she turned out to be spot on.

From that moment on, which it is implied to be some time ago (way before her involvement with Blue Ant or her trip to London), the Russian mafia had kept tabs on Cayce by invading her apartment to monitor her phone calls and emails. They also stole her psychologist's records and had Dorotea keep track of her, even in New York.

Cayce seems to take all of this information without of a reaction.

My question is: How would you feel if you found out you had been monitored and watched for months, possibly even longer? What aspects of yourself do you think might change after hearing about being watched? Would you feel violated, as I believe I would, or would you take all this information in without much of a reaction, like Cayce?

What's Up With Mama Anarchia??

Just a few chapters ago I felt like I was starting to trust Dorotea when she was hired by Bigend. Not complete trust but more than I've felt so far. And now.....what's up with Mama Anarchia! We learn that she and Cayce are not friends. Parkaboy has this hatred toward her. Ivy is being falsely befriended by Mama to get info about Cayce. With all this said I smell... a Dorotea! Do you think Mama Anarchia and Dorotea are the same person or closely connected somehow?

Maybe she's not Dorotea but it does go to show that you just don't know who the person is online. You can't always know what someone looks like or what their intentions are. By the middle of pg 224 (hardcover) "At best they have exchanged a few strained messages.......Although Mama Anarchia has no way, that Cayce knows of,......... Creepy. She takes a deep breath." She comforts herself with "He took a duck in the face at two hundred and fifty knots." At this point Cayce is feeling creeped out and wondering, what's up with Mama Anarchia?

My, how our communication has Changed?!?...

I thought that it was interesting how they were so fixated on the laptop and getting this important information from it. Certain phrases like "He told Keiko he'd given it to you, so I wasn't worried. E-mail me." Click. (pg. 165)

After reading this, it really made me wonder and have some self reflection on how often I say to people, "E-mail Me" just to avoid personal conversation.

"I want to talk, but it has to be later. I'm sorry." (pg. 165)

Statements like this make me wonder how our natural way of communication is dying.

So I must ask How has our communication changed? And which type of communication do you prefer? And why?

Internet Relationships - Pattern Recognition

"She looks at the phone and wonders who Parkaboy is. Other, that is, than Parkaboy, acerbic obsessive theorist of the footage. What does he do when he's not doing this? She has no idea, and no idea what he looks like, or really, how he came to be as devoted as she knows he is to pursuing any further understanding of the footage. But now, in some way she can't quite grasp, the universe of F:F:F is everting. Manifesting physically in the world" (Gibson 206).

This part of the book really caught my attention, especially with all the online dating services that are out. Even myspace and facebook have been used to meet people, maybe for a possible relationship. In my own experience, I have met people in person that I met online, and they never look the same... Similar to SecondLife- you can make an avatar that looks nothing like you. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced some sort of online relationship, like Cayce, even if it is just friendship. Would meeting that person face to face change that relationship? In what ways is the technology of online relationships affecting how we relate to people face to face in society? Do you act the same?

Pattern Recognition Blog 2

Observation:

Since I've been reading this book, 'Pattern Recognition' I am noticing how many labels and logos there are.....and they're everywhere! Trademarks have alot of research and development that have gone into them. So much psychology that has been taken into consideration so that humans will behave in a way that makes them identify with the product and continue to buy it over a long period of time. Given all of the nuance that is associated with these labels I can understand how a person such a Cayce could be so overwhelmed by certain symbols.

Question:

What is Gibson saying so far about 'pattern recognition'? What does he mean by this?

Blogs We Like!

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1st reading - Patten Recognition

Gibson blends technolgy, society and self until there’s no separation. The self has found comfort in forums and chat rooms (pg5). Life, love and business takes place in the “mirror world” which closely resemble objects and behaviors taken place in the real world.

On (pg8) Damien labeled Cayce’s fashion sense as, “CPU’s” Cayce Pollards Units. That’s the type of clothing she wears. CPU’s are either black, white, or gray and ideally seem to have come into this world without human intervention.”

While Cayce works in the world of marketing, branding and logos, why does her character make it a point of being a minimalist by having all the trademarks sanded down on jeans and watches?

Teleport your Soul

 “Souls can’t move that quickly, and are left behind, and must be awaited, upon arrival, like lost luggage.” (Pattern Recognition, pg 2)

Genius Gibson.  Imagine if we could Teleport ourselves to any place instantly. Do you think that we would have the same relations between humans? Would feelings like fear, or loneliness, or attachment be found so frequently in our lives? How would it affect our souls?

…October 5^th. She woke up in a dark street in Italy. The day before, she had lost her purse in a coffee shop in Paris. Without her home keys, she kept going back to this one place where she thought that she would have lost it, a furniture store in Budapest.  Back home, in Chicago, she didn’t find any sign of life from her husband, and she imagines where would he be? His phone was off. Maybe he was in a conference in one of those countries that did not have the facilities of Global Signal. They haven’t seen each other since her birthday in July, and she wondered how nice would be if she could see him everyday. They were married in a contract of physical freedom, and for the first time, she regrets it…. 

Pattern Recognition ch. 1-2

I find it very interesting how Gibson shows the relationship between the self, society, and technology. The narrator often refers to the "Mirror-World," or the new society (England) where everything is different for Cayce, the main character. A lot of the differences described in the "mirror-world" that feel "alien" to Cayce are technology related: how the plugs on appliances are huge, cars are reversed, telephones feel different, lamps click on in a different way. Interestingly, it is also technology that brings Cayce a sense of home: "It is a way now, approximately, of being at home. The forum has become one of the most consistent places in her life, like a familiar cafe that exists somehow outside of geography and beyond time zones" (Gibson 4-5). That last line is what really stuck in my mind. In what ways does technology allow you to feel as if you're home when you're not? Are there certain technologies that have become consistent for you, such as the forum has for Cayce? Why?

Pattern Recognition: Reading & Blogging Schedule

Week 6: W Group A blogs

Th 10/8 Reading: Pattern Recognition, William Gibson pages 1-25 (chapters 1-3)

Week 6:

T 10/13 NO CLASS MON SCHEDULE

W Group B blogs

Th 10/15 Reading: Pattern Recognition 26-141; ch. 4-15

Week 7:

W Group C blogs

Th 10/22 Reading: Pattern Recognition pp. 142- 262 ch 16-31

Week 8:

W Group D blogs

Th 10/29 Reading: Pattern Recognition pp. 263-367; ch. 32-end