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Fw: === Spectral Evidence? ===
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----- Original Message -----
From: Thomas Bolt
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 10:01 AM
Subject: === Spectral Evidence? ===
If we assume that the NEW YORK TIMES is in general factually accurate, strives to avoid poor taste and to treat serious subjects seriously, what conclusions can we form on noticing that Vladimir Nabokov was, according to the NYT, interviewed for his own obituary?
from
July 5, 1977
Vladimir Nabokov, Author of 'Lolita' and 'Ada,' Is Dead
By ALDEN WHITMAN:
...
Mr. Nabokov did employ pseudonyms. "My main pseudonym, Sirin, thrived from 1920 to 1940," he said in an interview for this article. "Occasionally I used the little silk mask of an additional pen name in order to deceive this or that captious critic-with most gratifying results ("At last a great writer!" cried my favorite Zoilus in 1939).
http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/02/lifetimes/nab-v-obit.html
Either this is a sleepy editorial error made in hashing several interviews and articles into an obituary, or a truly Nabokovian moment. Or both?
Both, overwhelmingly: yellowspot descriptions interpolate several rarer inklings, going here t00.
OED:
Yellow-spot unicorn hawk
...a species of hawk-moth, Sphinx quinque-maculatus
http://rbcm1.rbcm.gov.bc.ca/nh_papers/sphinxmoths/sphinx.html :
Manduca quinquemaculata (Haworth), Tomato Hornworm, Five-spotted Hawkmoth
Wingspan 90 - 110 mm. Description: Adult: Gray or brownish wings with light areas on the outer forewings and two dark zigzag lines crossing middle of wing; five orange-yellow spots along each side of the abdomen. Larva: Pale or dark green with black horn; V-shaped white mark on the side of each segment. Flight Period: Summer to fall. Habitat and Habit: Open areas, especially those under cultivation. Larvae feed on species of the nightshade family (Solanaceae) such as tomato and tobacco. The larvae can be serious pests. Range: Common from North Carolina north to Nova Scotia and Ontario, west to southern British Columbia. Uncommon in southeast North America.