Along for the Read

You'll hear the gang talking about their history with reading, their motivation behind now recording this weekly podcast, and what we hope to get from the experience of recording our thoughts on each chapter of the book we're reading together. You'll also be introduced to our first book.

Chapter 1 introduces us to the main character, Hiro, and his struggles in the world of pizza delivery. We get a bit of a glimpse into the world of the universe in which pizza delivery is a very important, and revered gig.

After Hiro receives a pizza with very little time left in which to get it delivered, he's got to prove his mad skillz piloting The Deliverator... However, along the way he's 'pooned by a Kourier, and trouble ensues.

We review chapters 3 & 4. Two out of three of us agree, these chapters are great! We get to learn about Hiro's past, and what got him here, and where he goes to escape where he is... spoiler: it's the Metaverse!

The crew reviews chapters 5 & 6. Hiro is offered the titular drug Snow Crash by a mysterious "black and white", which he dismisses as a sillly idea. Meanwhile, Y.T. is caught in a sticky situation by the cops, and thrown in the clink for leaving the scene of a crime. Phrase of the week: “There are enough Clints and Brandys to found a new ethnic group”

Snow Crash chapters 7 & 8 are discussed. We learn a good bit about Hiro while in hiss head as he scopes the scene at The Black Sun.  He's trying to find information to upload to the CIC.  Yet he's quickly distracted by his "one that got away", Juanita. Hiro attempts avoiding Juanita, which fails horribly.  Meanwhile the present is far too pressing a matter to Juanita.  She amplifies the intrigue about this new drug (?) Snow Crash, and posits that Da5id has expressed an interest in it.   Words: Retinue - This one's real.  Look it up! "Bitheads" - Seems it's the hacker version of a shit-head "Willbes" - A more optimistic interpretation of “wannabes” Phrases: (spoilers!) “gossip ex machina” (Description of how Hiro steals data “right out of the guts of the system” because “his is a hacker.”) “How slow can a mammal be and still have respiratory functions?” (Juanita’s though when Hiro surmised that Juanita’s grandmother was Juanita’s role model because she might’ve been a programmer.) “To condense fact from the vapor of nuance” (Juanita describing the phenomenon of her grandmother knowing she was pregnant with only her facial expressions as context clues.) “Hiro didn’t know whether he was rich or poor, educated or ignorant, talented or lucky.”

Snow Crash chapters 9 & 10 are discussed. We're there as Hiro watches Da5id try the drug Snow Crash, and Hiro helps Y.T. regain her freedom. Words: Bolus - A small rounded mass of a substance, especially of chewed food at the moment of swallowing.  OR - A type of large pill used in veterinary medicine. Desultory - Lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm. Tocsin - An alarm bell or signal. "Liquid Knuckles" - Mace / pepper spray, it seems... "Bundy stunners" - Context says it's this universe's Taser. “Franchulates” - Another Snow Crash-ism describing the self-governed "burbclaves". Phrases: “Any more of them and they’ll be able to form a government” -- in reference to the number of jeeks as the border of Mr Lee’s Greater Hong Kong https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=15448931

Snow Crash chapters 11 & 12 are discussed. Worst. Swordfight. Ever. Yet more racism. Sympathetic ro-beasts. A new-formed partnership. Our favorite rebellious teen is an actual teen. Words: Folderol Phrases: “A nebula of aromatic freshness trailing behind her like the tail of a comet” -- describing Y.T. when she exits the overly air-freshened taxi.

Snow Crash chapters 13 & 14 are discussed. We have L. Bob Rife, refugees, talking libraries, snow angels made from drug paraphernalia, Google Earth, and a great time chatting about it all. Words: Lithe Ziggurats Infoastronomy Gogglehead ...and of course, we share with you our theories about what comes next.

Snow Crash chapters 15 & 16 are discussed. This week we attend a concert, we meet Lagos, we're introduced to one spectacular hairdo, and we begin investigating a murder. Words: Nam-shub Oldster Studentish Effluent   Phrases: “My fond ambition is of your pants” -- Sushi K “Tenderest of sphincters” “Burned their brains to ash in the radiant heat of their own imaginings”

Snow Crash chapters 17 & 18 are discussed. We head to Compton with a new fellow, Jason and Y.T. meets the always avuncular Enzo. Words: Three-ringers Avuncular again.  Starting to think Neal just learned it… “Whiplash arrestor” Phrases: “Road kills -- enormous road kills -- road kills so big that they could only be human beings, smeared out into chunky swaths a block long.”

That's not a typo... We're releasing episodes out of order, so our Halloween episode drops just in time. This week we're taking a break from Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash to bring you our takes on H. P. Lovecraft's The Music of Erich Zann. So peer through the window of our minds to hear the swirling empty vacuum of our thoughts on this classic horror story.

Snow Crash chapters 19 & 20 are discussed. As if a concert by The Meltdowns, with a headliner by Sushi K wasn't enough, we also meet Lagos, and Lagos meets Raven. Words: Carom - again it's used Smirched - rather the besmirched Phrases: “Sure,” she says.  She says it in the chirpy tone of voice that she uses when she’s lying and she wants to make sure you know it.” --talking about Y.T.

Chapters 21 and 22 are discussed. Our first interaction with Uncle Enzo, and the mafia makes Y.T. and offer she cannot refuse... Words: Ramp turd - Someone (a Kourier?) that waits hours at an off-ramp for a ride YoMa - Young Mafia Burnous - A long, loose hooded cloak worn by Arabs EBGOC - Executive Branch General Operations Command NBCI - Nuclear-Biological-Chemical-Informational agents Greenhoused-up - used to describe high temperatures