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Fw: Lolita, Butterflies, & Tennis]
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EDITOR's NOTE. Kurt Johnson, together with Steve Coates, is the author of NABOKOV's BLUES, a fascinating and immensely readable account of VN as a lepidopterist.
----- Original Message -----
From: Kurt Johnson
To: NABOKV-L_1
Sent: Monday, February 26, 2001 12:18 AM
Subject: Re: Lolita, Butterflies, & Tennis]
I'm a little behind the time-curve on this reply but re: these two emails about "nets" (and Lolita, Butterflies & Tennis), also remember there is the special kind of biological collecting net (I believe we gave its name somewhere in Nabokov's Blues-- its named after the French entomologist who invented it) which is, indeed, shaped like a tennis court net and is stretched across an large area to catch insects (or birds) en masse (depending on the mesh size) as they fly by. In this kind of huge collecting net, the mesh is built with pockets into which the insects or birds "flop" and can't get out. It looks much like a tennis court or volley ball court net. Right now I'm not near a copy of the book [N's Blues] and the name of this net, a standard piece of equipment for insect/bird surveys, is one of those that you immediately remember when doing a lot of field work but forget after a decade or so (or with age!). But, its quite probable Nabokov knew of this kind of net and thus the suggested parallels re Lolita, Butterflies, Tennis have some relevance. Incidentally, the birds or insects wings are not hurt in such a net and they can be identified and let go etc. Speaking of Nabokov's Blues, the paperback now seems to be slated for mid-March-- the usual delays. And, speaking of this kind of huge "tennis net"-like collecting net, I most remember using it in tropical Argentina, along the Brazil border at night with blacklights-- but the reason is a more self-serving one. We were given quite a memorable warning when blacklighting in those locales. Our guide said "Remember to wear stout boots-- the black lights bring out the bugs; the bugs bring out the toads and frogs; and, the toads and frogs bring out the snakes". Well, although we got LOTS of frogs and toads, luckily we didn't see the wrong kind of snakes-- BUT we did get "nailed" by ant lions some 6-8 inches in wing span. When they landed on your light cotton shirt, to hold on they would dig in with their sharply spined legs (all six of them at once). Ouch!
Kurt Johnson
----- Original Message -----
From: D. Barton Johnson
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 3:17 AM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: Lolita, Butterflies, & Tennis]
-------------------
I suggest KT try and catch a butterfly with a tennis racket to see if it
really is "morphologically identical" to a butterfly net.
Dieter E. Zimmer, Hamburg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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----- Original Message -----
From: Kurt Johnson
To: NABOKV-L_1
Sent: Monday, February 26, 2001 12:18 AM
Subject: Re: Lolita, Butterflies, & Tennis]
I'm a little behind the time-curve on this reply but re: these two emails about "nets" (and Lolita, Butterflies & Tennis), also remember there is the special kind of biological collecting net (I believe we gave its name somewhere in Nabokov's Blues-- its named after the French entomologist who invented it) which is, indeed, shaped like a tennis court net and is stretched across an large area to catch insects (or birds) en masse (depending on the mesh size) as they fly by. In this kind of huge collecting net, the mesh is built with pockets into which the insects or birds "flop" and can't get out. It looks much like a tennis court or volley ball court net. Right now I'm not near a copy of the book [N's Blues] and the name of this net, a standard piece of equipment for insect/bird surveys, is one of those that you immediately remember when doing a lot of field work but forget after a decade or so (or with age!). But, its quite probable Nabokov knew of this kind of net and thus the suggested parallels re Lolita, Butterflies, Tennis have some relevance. Incidentally, the birds or insects wings are not hurt in such a net and they can be identified and let go etc. Speaking of Nabokov's Blues, the paperback now seems to be slated for mid-March-- the usual delays. And, speaking of this kind of huge "tennis net"-like collecting net, I most remember using it in tropical Argentina, along the Brazil border at night with blacklights-- but the reason is a more self-serving one. We were given quite a memorable warning when blacklighting in those locales. Our guide said "Remember to wear stout boots-- the black lights bring out the bugs; the bugs bring out the toads and frogs; and, the toads and frogs bring out the snakes". Well, although we got LOTS of frogs and toads, luckily we didn't see the wrong kind of snakes-- BUT we did get "nailed" by ant lions some 6-8 inches in wing span. When they landed on your light cotton shirt, to hold on they would dig in with their sharply spined legs (all six of them at once). Ouch!
Kurt Johnson
----- Original Message -----
From: D. Barton Johnson
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 3:17 AM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: Lolita, Butterflies, & Tennis]
-------------------
I suggest KT try and catch a butterfly with a tennis racket to see if it
really is "morphologically identical" to a butterfly net.
Dieter E. Zimmer, Hamburg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com