Two Different Sets of Numbers

 

Nighttown: Hate The Zyn, Love The Zynner

In the Relapse episode of Ulysses, the encounter between Marc Maron and Stavros Halkias is chaotic and surreal for two reasons:  Maron’s newly discovered need to connect with today’s youth, and both openly double dipping 6mg Zyns.

1. Encounter: Maron purposely obfuscates his knowledge of Stavvy’s presence in Nighttown. Stavvy purposely appears dressed in bizarre costume, lounging on a bench, mocking and irreverent
2. Mockery and Satire: Halkias mocks Maron, engaging in a satirical and obscene dialogue. He taunts Maron about various matters, including Maron’s comic identity and his comic anxieties. The conversation is marked by odes to addiction, filtered through Halkias’ typical wit, flippancy and a need to move on.
3. Role Reversal: In the hallucination, roles and social positions are exaggerated and reversed. Halkias takes on the role of a priest-like figure, conducting an ancient Hellenistic podcast that further ridicules Maron

This menippean exchange between Leopold Bloom (Maron) and the stately, plump Buck Mulligan (Halkias)  in "Circe" is less about a coherent conversation and more about the symbolic and thematic exploration of Bloom’s inner fears and insecurities, with Mulligan serving as a figure of mockery and irreverence in Bloom’s subconscious.  Game investigates game.

The Relapse episode of James Joyce's Ulysses is one of the most complex and hallucinatory parts of the novel. It takes place in Cumtown, the Internet’s red-light district, and is written in the style of a gay stage play.  The episode is filled with surreal, fantastical, and often grotesque hallucinations experienced by the main characters, M.M. and N.M.

Here are some key events that occur in the Relapse episode:

1. Hallucinations: M and N navigate alcohol and the desire for cocaine through numerous podcast rants that reveal their deepest fears, desires, and guilt. Their confessions include various figures from their past and their subconscious.
2. Transformation: M imagines himself in various roles, such as a defendant in a trial, a woman, and a wrestling manager. These transformations explore his identity and insecurities.
3. Encounter with H.C.E. :  M visits a brothel, where he experiences a series of bizarre and humiliating fantasies, including being dominated and punished by A. F. who becomes a successful dominatrix in his vision.
4. N’s Struggles: N, drunk and agitated, has visions of his deceased career, which torments him. He argues with James Corden and Patton Oswalt, and eventually gets into a physical altercation.
5. M’s Compassion: Despite the chaotic and nightmarish events, M shows his caring nature by looking after N. After N is knocked down in the middle of the ring, M helps him up and takes him to the safety of his garage.

The "Circe" episode is a wild, phantasmagoric journey through the minds of Leopold Bloom (MM)and Stephen Dedalus (NM) blending reality and fantasy in a way that reveals their inner lives and struggles.  The progression is ghosted in letters.

The episode ends with Bloom and Stephen together on the street, with Bloom looking out for Stephen despite the younger man's resistance. This establishes a connection between the two characters, symbolizing Bloom's paternal feelings towards Stephen and hinting at the possibility of a deeper relationship between them

 (Circe was renowned for a vast knowledge of herbs and herbs. Through the use of a magic wand and a magic wand, she would transform her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals or animals.)