Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

ATD 1040-1062

2018-10-25T22:19:22Z

Pthomas: /* Page 1040 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 1040==

'''one of those swank new buildings going up along Broadway''' 
It is tempting to place Lew Basnight's office in the Bradbury Building at Broadway and Third. The Bradbury was featured in Blade Runner and many other films and television shows, sometimes as the office setting for private detectives. It fits Pynchon's description of the building interior, but it is a stretch to call the Pacific Electric Building at Sixth and Main "Right down the street". Opened in 1893, it was definitely "swank" but not exactly "new."

The another likely location is the intersection of Broadway and Sixth, but this contributor can find no image or reference for a building with a "domed skylight" at this spot.

'''the Pacific Electric Building and its new Coles P.E. Buffet''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cole%27s_Pacific_Electric_Buffet Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet] opened in 1908 on the ground floor of the fabled [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric_Building Pacific Electric Building]. It is one of Los Angeles's oldest restaurants and claims (in contest with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe%27s Philippe's], another restaurant in the neighborhood dating back to 1908) to have been the originator of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_dip_sandwich French dip sandwich]. Philippe's and the French dip sandwich were both recently featured in the outstanding PBS documentary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwiches_That_You_Will_Like Sandwiches That You Will Like].

==Page 1041==

'''living in Lincolnwood''' 
Perhaps a bilocation. During Prohibition, the area was called Tessville. It was notorious for speakeasies that were outside the jurisdiction of Chicago police. The town cleaned up its act and was renamed Lincolnwood in 1936. Only at that time did it become a place that someone might retire to.

'''Dr. Ghloix''' 
He was also the alienist of the Vormance expedition ([[ATD_119-148#Page 132|page 132]]).

'''shadow-factories''' 
Movie studios.

'''Thetis Pomidor''' 
Thetis the Silver-Footed is a Nereid (sea nymph) in Greek mythology. She is the mother of Achilles, who seeks to prevent his death by dipping him in the water of the river Styx (holding him by the famously vulnerable heel), by trying to prevent him from joining the war at Troy, and by persuading him not to try to avenge Patroclus. In the end she has made for him the magnificent shield he carries in his duel with Hector.

Pomidor is the Polish word for "tomato" (possibly other languages too). (A "tomato" = a "hottie" in mid 20th century slang).

==Page 1042==

'''Erno Rapée''' 
1891-1945, Hungarian-born composer for American movies. He published a book of "photoplay music" for the silents.

'''Shalimar''' 
Excessively evocative name for a detective's moll; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalimar the Wikipedia disambiguation page] leads to many of the meanings.

'''Mezzanine Perkins''' 
Her given name suggests a physical attribute also called "balcony," while her surname makes a nice fit with another desirable quality, "perkiness."

'''Chester LeStreet''' 
Chester le Street is a town in the north east of England. Home of Durham County Cricket club, amongst other things.

TRP almost certainly picked up on the name during research for 'Mason & Dixon'. Dixon was a native of County Durham, which is home to a number of odd place names (e.g. Pity Me, No Place). Chester-le-Street is roughly 15 miles south of Newcastle upon Tyne.

I imagine TRP keeping long lists of potential character names from odd terminology which he runs across in his research...

'''Vertex Club''' 
The vertex is the intersection of two lines of an angle, the zero point on a graph/grid. Recalls the V Note in ''V.''.

'''Balcony''' 
A platform that protrudes outward from the home.

'''Miss Jardine Maraca''' 
Allusion to Beach Boys guitarist [http://www.aljardine.com Al Jardine,] who bears a reasonably common surname? Rude teenagers in the 1960s sometimes used the word "maracas" when they didn't want to come right out and refer to a girl's bazongas.

==Page 1043==

'''the days just before the earthquake''' 
The quake of June 29, 1925, destroyed the center of Santa Barbara and occasioned rebuilding to a "Mission-style" plan.

'''chifferobe''' 
From ''chiffonier'' + ''wardrobe'', a combination chest of drawers and wardrobe for hanging clothes. Pronounced "SHIF-uh-rohb." Also ''chifforobe'', ''chiffrobe'', or ''chiffarobe''.

The disposal of an old chifferobe is a plot point in Harper Lee's ''To Kill a Mockingbird''.

'''hop''' 
Marijuana.

==Page 1044==

'''smoked a Fatima''' 
Sometime in the mid-20th century, this American cigarette brand sponsored a radio program starring Basil Rathbone.

''Possibly not relevant, but given the marijuana reference, the choice of this particular cigarette brand also echoes the phrase "smoke a fatty", i.e. a big joint of marijuana.''

==Page 1045==

'''glass mattes''' 
Scenes painted on glass could be filmed along with the action, so that large or intricate backgrounds did not have to be built to full scale.

==Page 1046==

'''Olga Nethersole''' 
British actress and producer, 1863-1941; had successful tours in the U.S. and elsewhere.

'''Mrs. Fiske''' 
American actress Minnie Maddern Fiske, 1865-1932; a leading figure on the stage; made movies of two of her theatrical productions.

==Page 1047==

'''Li'l Jailbirds''' 
Some points in common with the Little Tough Guys, Dead End Kids, East Side Kids and other movie series; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Tough_Guys see the Wikipedia entry.]

'''one-reel comedies''' 
A reel of film ran off in something over 12 minutes.

'''orthochromatic film''' 
Film with low sensitivity to red light. The human face reflects a lot of red light, which made little impression on the film, so that faces tended to look dark in the projected image. Adaptations in the studio included green makeup to bring the face into highlight.

'''it's a silent movie''' 
This is an anachronism. It's about 1925 here (if "just before the earthquake" on page 1043 still holds for this passage), talkies don't come around until 1927 ''(The Jazz Singer)'', and until then, all films (with a few experimental exceptions), "silent" would not have been necessary to mention. Later, "silent film" comes in as a retronym, like "pocket watch" after the introduction of wrist watches, and "analog watch" after the introduction of digital watches.

'''birch beer''' 
Carbonated soft drink made with birch bark or oil, typically popular in northeastern U.S. and Newfoundland.

'''stuffed peppers they liked to call "mangoes"''' 
This term for bell peppers occurs in the Midwest and especially southern Ohio.

'''rat cheese''' 
Informal for cheddar.

==Page 1048==

'''a P.E. stop''' 
"P.E." stands for "Pacific Electric." The Pacific Electric Railway (AAR reporting mark is PE), also known as the Red Car system, was a mass transit system in Southern California using streetcars, light rail and buses. At its greatest extent, around 1925, the system connected cities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, and to Riverside County and San Bernardino County in the Inland Empire. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric_Railway Wikipedia]

'''runs through the time between the picture was taken and now in a matter of seconds''' 
The reason this may sound plausible is that analog computers were used in just this way to generate artillery firing tables. But in the artillery case, the parameters of motion were given; photographic film does not record this information.

==Page 1049==

'''''Intolerance''''' 
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916) was D.W. Griffith's follow-up to ''Birth of a Nation''.
Intolerance and its effects are examined in four historical eras. In ancient Babylon, a mountain girl is caught up in the religious rivalry that leads to the city's downfall. In Judea, the hypocritical Pharisees condemn Jesus Christ. In 1572 Paris, unaware of the impending St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, two young Huguenots prepare for marriage. Finally, in modern America, social reformers destroy the lives of a young woman and her beloved. The sets were reportedly spectacular, and on a huge scale.

'''the ''Times'' bombing''' 
[http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archives/la/scandals/times.html The Bombing of the ''Los Angles Times''], October 1, 1910.

'''the constant term in the primitive, which differentiation has taken to zero''' 
Last part first: differentiation is the operation of finding the rate of change of a quantity; a constant doesn't change, so its differentiation yields a result of zero. The "primitive" is the function that was differentiated; if it contained a constant term, that has vanished and must be restored. Reconstruction of the primitive therefore involves reversing the differentiation (finding the "indefinite integral") and setting the correct value of the constant term. By guesswork in this instance. No, it doesn't work, but remember that this is ''alchemy'' we're talking about.

Or 'Pataphysics.

Consider a pun on "primitive" in Pynchon's worldview...the primitive being a good thing, now vanished.

==Page 1050==

'''his official . . . life . . . a completely different life''' 
The reconstruction of the "primitive" (page 1049) entails fixing a value for the constant term. The operator can choose the "official" value and get Lew's "supposed-to-be" life as output, or can choose a different value and track some unofficial life. The machine can't tell the difference.

'''Louis Le Prince''' 
1842-90. Inventor in 1888 of the "chronophotographe" process. Widely acknowledged to be first to photograph motion. He vanished from a train.

==Page 1051==

'''mazuma''' 
Slang; Yiddish derived from Hebrew: money.

==Page 1052==

'''a company-issued Bulldog''' 
A Bulldog is a small, "snubbie" revolver, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, perfect for carrying in the pocket as a concealed weapon or, in Deuce's case, in a shoulder holster. First referred to in the "Beavers of the Brain" song, [[ATD 171-198#Page 183|p. 183]]

==Page 1053==

''''em mick bastards bombed the ''Times''''' 
James and Joseph McNamara ultimately pleaded guilty to the bombing (see [[#Page 1049|page 1049]] and [[#Page 1058|page 1058]]).

'''dago dynamiters''' 
Deuce must have acquired this bit of alliterative bigotry somewhere and randomly dropped it into his rant.

==Page 1054==

'''the Universal Dream Casino''' 
a "dream casino" has been used by some writers to describe the 'ideal'
gambling place as in the phrase, "Bugsy Siegel's dream casino" in Vegas.
A 'dream casino'--real betting, it seems--company for women exists.
From the context, and novel's themes, I suggest that this phrase means
all of Lake's possible, fantasizable fates, played out as 'chance'.

'''Chinese fourths''' The interval of a fourth in music consists of 2 whole-tones plus one half-tone. The following are all fourths: from do to fa, re to sol, mi to la; fa to ti is a tritone. In the context here, the 2 notes in the interval are being played simultaneously. In the music of the Western world (North America, Europe, and Australia), if one plays parallel fourths (e.g., do-fa to re-sol, to mi-la), it sounds like Chinese music. Authentic Chinese music is played using an Eastern scale which is different from the Western scale people in the West are used to, which is why Chinese music might sound out of tune ("jangling") to someone from the West.

==Page 1055==

==Page 1056==

'''it's no longer possible to go back the way they came''' 
A situation encountered before in ''AtD,'' for example Kit's predicament at the doubling of ''Stupendica.''

==Page 1057==

'''Hamburger's''' 
[http://www.ulwaf.com/LA-1900s/08.08.html Hamburger's] opened in August, 1908, at the corner of Broadway, 8th, and Hill Streets. It was, at the time, "the biggest department store in town."

==Page 1058==

'''it wasn't Haymarket . . . It wasn't Ludlow. It wasn't the Palmer raids''' 
Haymarket bombing; Colorado coal war; Justice Department campaign against American leftists under Woodrow Wilson's attorney general Alexander M. Palmer.

'''Virgil Maraca''' 
For Virgil, [[ATD_821-848#Page_825|see page 825.]]

'''...when the land was free, before it got hijacked by capitalist Christer Republicans for their long term evil purposes....''' 
and once again (say it with me) "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred."

'''Gray Otis . . . the McNamaras . . . Brother Darrow''' 
the McNamaras were accused of dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building on October 1, 1910, resulting in the death of 21 persons. The crime was one of a nation-wide series intended to prevent the use of non-union materials and non-union labor. The defendants were strongly supported by the American Federation of Labor. Later the accused pleaded guilty, and James B. McNamara was sentenced to life imprisonment and John McNamara to imprisonment for 15 years. The pro-McNamara forces claimed that escaping gas, not a bomb, had destroyed the Times building. More extremist labor sympathizers charged that Otis himself had arranged the explosion.

Harrison Gray Otis (1837-1917) was an American newspaper publisher who directed the Los Angeles Times from 1886 until after World War I, which he edited with an iron hand, becoming one of the most powerful figures in southern California. He made his newspaper a voice of Republican interests, and he opposed labor unions.

The McNamara brothers trial, which ended just as it began with confessions of guilt by the McNamaras, set the cause of organized labor on the West Coast back by decades. [http://law.jrank.org/pages/2770/McNamara-Brothers-Trial-1911.html More...]

It also nearly ruined the career of Clarence Darrow (1857-1938), one of America's leading criminal defense lawyers, who represented the McNamaras in the trial. Bert Franklin, on Darrow's payroll, was caught bribing two of the jurors in the McNamara trial. He plead ed guilty to jury tampering and he testified that Darrow had known and approved of the bribery efforts.

Darrow was arrested and put on trial. When organized labor turned its back on Darrow's request for financial assistance, Darrow had to pay all the legal costs of the 13-week trial out of his own pocket. Darrow denied the charges, and on August 14 and 15, 1912, gave an impassioned closing speech to the jurors, in which he claimed that:

:"I am not on trial for having sought to bribe a man named Lockwood. I am on trial because I have been a lover of the poor, a friend of the oppressed, because I have stood by Labor for all these years."

On August 15, 1912, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty after deliberating for less than an hour. [http://law.jrank.org/pages/2768/McNamara-Brothers-Trial-1911-Darrow-Tried-Bribing-Jurors.html More about Darrow's trial...]

==Page 1059==

'''paradiddle''' 
In this sense perhaps more often "taradiddle." Fiddle, finagle, wriggle. In strict pedantic usage "paradiddle" is a kind of quadruple stroke on the snare drum. Nothing pedantic about it, LeStreet is the drummer in the house band at the Vertex Club and a paradiddle is a 4-beat exercise pattern on the snare drum. E.g., R-R-L-R-L-L-R-L or R-L-R-R-L-R-L-L or etc. (there are lots of paradiddles). The purpose is to play them fast enough so that it sounds like a roll. Different patterns produce rolls that sound distinct from each other, very important to a jazz drummer.

'''a barnstormer's Curtis JN''' 
An army surplus airplane from the World War, bought and flown by an itinerant pilot in aerobatic exhibitions. Nicknamed "Jenny," the plane was pictured on a 1918 airmail stamp; some sheets had the center image printed upside down: the "Jenny Invert."

==Page 1060==

'''constant-term recalibration, or C.T.R.''' 
[[ATD_1040-1062#Page_1050|See annotation to page 1050.]]

'''spagyrist''' 
Alchemist, especially one seeking cures. Follower of Paracelsus.

'''Doddling''' 
(1) Frequent misspelling of "dawdling." (2) Easy duty for an English bus conductor (e.g., issuing tickets but not supervising operations). (3) Sexual intercourse.

'''Tree of Diana''' 
Branching possibilities, alternate histories branching out from any given moment.

'''...one compassionate time-machine story, time travel in the name of love...''' 
Two come to mind: Robert Heinlein: ''The Door Into Summer'' and Jack Finney: ''Time and Again''. In both a protagonist succcessfully chases an impossible love through time.
:And don't forget the special meaning of "compassionate" in ''AtD,'' "the Compassionate" = the Chums of Chance.

A possibility: "The Compassionate" = "The Kindly Ones" = the Erinyes, or Furies, in Greek myth ? = The Chums of Chance.

'''Now, as if the terrible flood of time ...''' 
This beautiful paragraph is reminiscent of the famous time travel sequence in George Pal's film [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine_(1960_film) The Time Machine]. But here, instead of history, wars, etc. Lew sees his love. It is as if Pynchon is saying "This is how it ''should'' be done."

==Page 1061==

'''mathematical mists''' 
Recalls Kit's dream on P.566, of equations permitting a view into possible worlds.
Also recalls Julian Barbour's work on probablity mists hovering over possible time capsules. Please see his book, [http://www.platonia.com/index.html ''The End of Time''] for more details.

'''Béthenod-Latour alternator''' 
A high-frequency alternator, capable of producing continuous waves, important in the early development of wireless telegraphy and radio.

==Page 1062==

The material on Merle and Roswell in this chapter (pg. 1040-1062) completes the thread begun by the chapter (pg. 447-459) where Merle first meets meets Roswell. The two chapters are like a pair of bookends.

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 1040-1062

2018-10-25T22:18:38Z

Pthomas: /* Page 1040 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 1040==

'''one of those swank new buildings going up along Broadway'''
It is tempting to place Lew Basnight's office in the Bradbury Building at Broadway and Third. The Bradbury was featured in Blade Runner and many other films and television shows, sometimes as the office setting for private detectives. It fits Pynchon's description of the building interior, but it is a stretch to call the Pacific Electric Building at Sixth and Main "Right down the street". Opened in 1893, it was definitely "swank" but not exactly "new."

The another likely location is the intersection of Broadway and Sixth, but this contributor can find no image or reference for a building with a "domed skylight" at this spot.

'''the Pacific Electric Building and its new Coles P.E. Buffet''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cole%27s_Pacific_Electric_Buffet Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet] opened in 1908 on the ground floor of the fabled [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric_Building Pacific Electric Building]. It is one of Los Angeles's oldest restaurants and claims (in contest with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe%27s Philippe's], another restaurant in the neighborhood dating back to 1908) to have been the originator of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_dip_sandwich French dip sandwich]. Philippe's and the French dip sandwich were both recently featured in the outstanding PBS documentary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwiches_That_You_Will_Like Sandwiches That You Will Like].

==Page 1041==

'''living in Lincolnwood''' 
Perhaps a bilocation. During Prohibition, the area was called Tessville. It was notorious for speakeasies that were outside the jurisdiction of Chicago police. The town cleaned up its act and was renamed Lincolnwood in 1936. Only at that time did it become a place that someone might retire to.

'''Dr. Ghloix''' 
He was also the alienist of the Vormance expedition ([[ATD_119-148#Page 132|page 132]]).

'''shadow-factories''' 
Movie studios.

'''Thetis Pomidor''' 
Thetis the Silver-Footed is a Nereid (sea nymph) in Greek mythology. She is the mother of Achilles, who seeks to prevent his death by dipping him in the water of the river Styx (holding him by the famously vulnerable heel), by trying to prevent him from joining the war at Troy, and by persuading him not to try to avenge Patroclus. In the end she has made for him the magnificent shield he carries in his duel with Hector.

Pomidor is the Polish word for "tomato" (possibly other languages too). (A "tomato" = a "hottie" in mid 20th century slang).

==Page 1042==

'''Erno Rapée''' 
1891-1945, Hungarian-born composer for American movies. He published a book of "photoplay music" for the silents.

'''Shalimar''' 
Excessively evocative name for a detective's moll; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalimar the Wikipedia disambiguation page] leads to many of the meanings.

'''Mezzanine Perkins''' 
Her given name suggests a physical attribute also called "balcony," while her surname makes a nice fit with another desirable quality, "perkiness."

'''Chester LeStreet''' 
Chester le Street is a town in the north east of England. Home of Durham County Cricket club, amongst other things.

TRP almost certainly picked up on the name during research for 'Mason & Dixon'. Dixon was a native of County Durham, which is home to a number of odd place names (e.g. Pity Me, No Place). Chester-le-Street is roughly 15 miles south of Newcastle upon Tyne.

I imagine TRP keeping long lists of potential character names from odd terminology which he runs across in his research...

'''Vertex Club''' 
The vertex is the intersection of two lines of an angle, the zero point on a graph/grid. Recalls the V Note in ''V.''.

'''Balcony''' 
A platform that protrudes outward from the home.

'''Miss Jardine Maraca''' 
Allusion to Beach Boys guitarist [http://www.aljardine.com Al Jardine,] who bears a reasonably common surname? Rude teenagers in the 1960s sometimes used the word "maracas" when they didn't want to come right out and refer to a girl's bazongas.

==Page 1043==

'''the days just before the earthquake''' 
The quake of June 29, 1925, destroyed the center of Santa Barbara and occasioned rebuilding to a "Mission-style" plan.

'''chifferobe''' 
From ''chiffonier'' + ''wardrobe'', a combination chest of drawers and wardrobe for hanging clothes. Pronounced "SHIF-uh-rohb." Also ''chifforobe'', ''chiffrobe'', or ''chiffarobe''.

The disposal of an old chifferobe is a plot point in Harper Lee's ''To Kill a Mockingbird''.

'''hop''' 
Marijuana.

==Page 1044==

'''smoked a Fatima''' 
Sometime in the mid-20th century, this American cigarette brand sponsored a radio program starring Basil Rathbone.

''Possibly not relevant, but given the marijuana reference, the choice of this particular cigarette brand also echoes the phrase "smoke a fatty", i.e. a big joint of marijuana.''

==Page 1045==

'''glass mattes''' 
Scenes painted on glass could be filmed along with the action, so that large or intricate backgrounds did not have to be built to full scale.

==Page 1046==

'''Olga Nethersole''' 
British actress and producer, 1863-1941; had successful tours in the U.S. and elsewhere.

'''Mrs. Fiske''' 
American actress Minnie Maddern Fiske, 1865-1932; a leading figure on the stage; made movies of two of her theatrical productions.

==Page 1047==

'''Li'l Jailbirds''' 
Some points in common with the Little Tough Guys, Dead End Kids, East Side Kids and other movie series; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Tough_Guys see the Wikipedia entry.]

'''one-reel comedies''' 
A reel of film ran off in something over 12 minutes.

'''orthochromatic film''' 
Film with low sensitivity to red light. The human face reflects a lot of red light, which made little impression on the film, so that faces tended to look dark in the projected image. Adaptations in the studio included green makeup to bring the face into highlight.

'''it's a silent movie''' 
This is an anachronism. It's about 1925 here (if "just before the earthquake" on page 1043 still holds for this passage), talkies don't come around until 1927 ''(The Jazz Singer)'', and until then, all films (with a few experimental exceptions), "silent" would not have been necessary to mention. Later, "silent film" comes in as a retronym, like "pocket watch" after the introduction of wrist watches, and "analog watch" after the introduction of digital watches.

'''birch beer''' 
Carbonated soft drink made with birch bark or oil, typically popular in northeastern U.S. and Newfoundland.

'''stuffed peppers they liked to call "mangoes"''' 
This term for bell peppers occurs in the Midwest and especially southern Ohio.

'''rat cheese''' 
Informal for cheddar.

==Page 1048==

'''a P.E. stop''' 
"P.E." stands for "Pacific Electric." The Pacific Electric Railway (AAR reporting mark is PE), also known as the Red Car system, was a mass transit system in Southern California using streetcars, light rail and buses. At its greatest extent, around 1925, the system connected cities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, and to Riverside County and San Bernardino County in the Inland Empire. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric_Railway Wikipedia]

'''runs through the time between the picture was taken and now in a matter of seconds''' 
The reason this may sound plausible is that analog computers were used in just this way to generate artillery firing tables. But in the artillery case, the parameters of motion were given; photographic film does not record this information.

==Page 1049==

'''''Intolerance''''' 
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916) was D.W. Griffith's follow-up to ''Birth of a Nation''.
Intolerance and its effects are examined in four historical eras. In ancient Babylon, a mountain girl is caught up in the religious rivalry that leads to the city's downfall. In Judea, the hypocritical Pharisees condemn Jesus Christ. In 1572 Paris, unaware of the impending St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, two young Huguenots prepare for marriage. Finally, in modern America, social reformers destroy the lives of a young woman and her beloved. The sets were reportedly spectacular, and on a huge scale.

'''the ''Times'' bombing''' 
[http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archives/la/scandals/times.html The Bombing of the ''Los Angles Times''], October 1, 1910.

'''the constant term in the primitive, which differentiation has taken to zero''' 
Last part first: differentiation is the operation of finding the rate of change of a quantity; a constant doesn't change, so its differentiation yields a result of zero. The "primitive" is the function that was differentiated; if it contained a constant term, that has vanished and must be restored. Reconstruction of the primitive therefore involves reversing the differentiation (finding the "indefinite integral") and setting the correct value of the constant term. By guesswork in this instance. No, it doesn't work, but remember that this is ''alchemy'' we're talking about.

Or 'Pataphysics.

Consider a pun on "primitive" in Pynchon's worldview...the primitive being a good thing, now vanished.

==Page 1050==

'''his official . . . life . . . a completely different life''' 
The reconstruction of the "primitive" (page 1049) entails fixing a value for the constant term. The operator can choose the "official" value and get Lew's "supposed-to-be" life as output, or can choose a different value and track some unofficial life. The machine can't tell the difference.

'''Louis Le Prince''' 
1842-90. Inventor in 1888 of the "chronophotographe" process. Widely acknowledged to be first to photograph motion. He vanished from a train.

==Page 1051==

'''mazuma''' 
Slang; Yiddish derived from Hebrew: money.

==Page 1052==

'''a company-issued Bulldog''' 
A Bulldog is a small, "snubbie" revolver, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, perfect for carrying in the pocket as a concealed weapon or, in Deuce's case, in a shoulder holster. First referred to in the "Beavers of the Brain" song, [[ATD 171-198#Page 183|p. 183]]

==Page 1053==

''''em mick bastards bombed the ''Times''''' 
James and Joseph McNamara ultimately pleaded guilty to the bombing (see [[#Page 1049|page 1049]] and [[#Page 1058|page 1058]]).

'''dago dynamiters''' 
Deuce must have acquired this bit of alliterative bigotry somewhere and randomly dropped it into his rant.

==Page 1054==

'''the Universal Dream Casino''' 
a "dream casino" has been used by some writers to describe the 'ideal'
gambling place as in the phrase, "Bugsy Siegel's dream casino" in Vegas.
A 'dream casino'--real betting, it seems--company for women exists.
From the context, and novel's themes, I suggest that this phrase means
all of Lake's possible, fantasizable fates, played out as 'chance'.

'''Chinese fourths''' The interval of a fourth in music consists of 2 whole-tones plus one half-tone. The following are all fourths: from do to fa, re to sol, mi to la; fa to ti is a tritone. In the context here, the 2 notes in the interval are being played simultaneously. In the music of the Western world (North America, Europe, and Australia), if one plays parallel fourths (e.g., do-fa to re-sol, to mi-la), it sounds like Chinese music. Authentic Chinese music is played using an Eastern scale which is different from the Western scale people in the West are used to, which is why Chinese music might sound out of tune ("jangling") to someone from the West.

==Page 1055==

==Page 1056==

'''it's no longer possible to go back the way they came''' 
A situation encountered before in ''AtD,'' for example Kit's predicament at the doubling of ''Stupendica.''

==Page 1057==

'''Hamburger's''' 
[http://www.ulwaf.com/LA-1900s/08.08.html Hamburger's] opened in August, 1908, at the corner of Broadway, 8th, and Hill Streets. It was, at the time, "the biggest department store in town."

==Page 1058==

'''it wasn't Haymarket . . . It wasn't Ludlow. It wasn't the Palmer raids''' 
Haymarket bombing; Colorado coal war; Justice Department campaign against American leftists under Woodrow Wilson's attorney general Alexander M. Palmer.

'''Virgil Maraca''' 
For Virgil, [[ATD_821-848#Page_825|see page 825.]]

'''...when the land was free, before it got hijacked by capitalist Christer Republicans for their long term evil purposes....''' 
and once again (say it with me) "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred."

'''Gray Otis . . . the McNamaras . . . Brother Darrow''' 
the McNamaras were accused of dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building on October 1, 1910, resulting in the death of 21 persons. The crime was one of a nation-wide series intended to prevent the use of non-union materials and non-union labor. The defendants were strongly supported by the American Federation of Labor. Later the accused pleaded guilty, and James B. McNamara was sentenced to life imprisonment and John McNamara to imprisonment for 15 years. The pro-McNamara forces claimed that escaping gas, not a bomb, had destroyed the Times building. More extremist labor sympathizers charged that Otis himself had arranged the explosion.

Harrison Gray Otis (1837-1917) was an American newspaper publisher who directed the Los Angeles Times from 1886 until after World War I, which he edited with an iron hand, becoming one of the most powerful figures in southern California. He made his newspaper a voice of Republican interests, and he opposed labor unions.

The McNamara brothers trial, which ended just as it began with confessions of guilt by the McNamaras, set the cause of organized labor on the West Coast back by decades. [http://law.jrank.org/pages/2770/McNamara-Brothers-Trial-1911.html More...]

It also nearly ruined the career of Clarence Darrow (1857-1938), one of America's leading criminal defense lawyers, who represented the McNamaras in the trial. Bert Franklin, on Darrow's payroll, was caught bribing two of the jurors in the McNamara trial. He plead ed guilty to jury tampering and he testified that Darrow had known and approved of the bribery efforts.

Darrow was arrested and put on trial. When organized labor turned its back on Darrow's request for financial assistance, Darrow had to pay all the legal costs of the 13-week trial out of his own pocket. Darrow denied the charges, and on August 14 and 15, 1912, gave an impassioned closing speech to the jurors, in which he claimed that:

:"I am not on trial for having sought to bribe a man named Lockwood. I am on trial because I have been a lover of the poor, a friend of the oppressed, because I have stood by Labor for all these years."

On August 15, 1912, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty after deliberating for less than an hour. [http://law.jrank.org/pages/2768/McNamara-Brothers-Trial-1911-Darrow-Tried-Bribing-Jurors.html More about Darrow's trial...]

==Page 1059==

'''paradiddle''' 
In this sense perhaps more often "taradiddle." Fiddle, finagle, wriggle. In strict pedantic usage "paradiddle" is a kind of quadruple stroke on the snare drum. Nothing pedantic about it, LeStreet is the drummer in the house band at the Vertex Club and a paradiddle is a 4-beat exercise pattern on the snare drum. E.g., R-R-L-R-L-L-R-L or R-L-R-R-L-R-L-L or etc. (there are lots of paradiddles). The purpose is to play them fast enough so that it sounds like a roll. Different patterns produce rolls that sound distinct from each other, very important to a jazz drummer.

'''a barnstormer's Curtis JN''' 
An army surplus airplane from the World War, bought and flown by an itinerant pilot in aerobatic exhibitions. Nicknamed "Jenny," the plane was pictured on a 1918 airmail stamp; some sheets had the center image printed upside down: the "Jenny Invert."

==Page 1060==

'''constant-term recalibration, or C.T.R.''' 
[[ATD_1040-1062#Page_1050|See annotation to page 1050.]]

'''spagyrist''' 
Alchemist, especially one seeking cures. Follower of Paracelsus.

'''Doddling''' 
(1) Frequent misspelling of "dawdling." (2) Easy duty for an English bus conductor (e.g., issuing tickets but not supervising operations). (3) Sexual intercourse.

'''Tree of Diana''' 
Branching possibilities, alternate histories branching out from any given moment.

'''...one compassionate time-machine story, time travel in the name of love...''' 
Two come to mind: Robert Heinlein: ''The Door Into Summer'' and Jack Finney: ''Time and Again''. In both a protagonist succcessfully chases an impossible love through time.
:And don't forget the special meaning of "compassionate" in ''AtD,'' "the Compassionate" = the Chums of Chance.

A possibility: "The Compassionate" = "The Kindly Ones" = the Erinyes, or Furies, in Greek myth ? = The Chums of Chance.

'''Now, as if the terrible flood of time ...''' 
This beautiful paragraph is reminiscent of the famous time travel sequence in George Pal's film [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine_(1960_film) The Time Machine]. But here, instead of history, wars, etc. Lew sees his love. It is as if Pynchon is saying "This is how it ''should'' be done."

==Page 1061==

'''mathematical mists''' 
Recalls Kit's dream on P.566, of equations permitting a view into possible worlds.
Also recalls Julian Barbour's work on probablity mists hovering over possible time capsules. Please see his book, [http://www.platonia.com/index.html ''The End of Time''] for more details.

'''Béthenod-Latour alternator''' 
A high-frequency alternator, capable of producing continuous waves, important in the early development of wireless telegraphy and radio.

==Page 1062==

The material on Merle and Roswell in this chapter (pg. 1040-1062) completes the thread begun by the chapter (pg. 447-459) where Merle first meets meets Roswell. The two chapters are like a pair of bookends.

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 644-677

2018-10-16T22:20:10Z

Pthomas: /* Page 650 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 644==

'''Union Depot''' 
El Paso's Union Depot Passenger Station was built in 1905. The Depot was the first passenger train station to be built in the United States specifically for international railway traffic. It is located at San Francisco Ave downtown El Paso vey close to the US-Mexico border. There is a rumor around in El Paso that Pancho Villa used the Depot's bell tower as a lookout for the attack of Juárez during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). The Depot now is listed in the National Register of Historic Commission.

'''El Paso''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso,_Texas El Paso], the sixth largest city in Texas, is located at the western tip of Texas. It is the second largest city along the Mexican border. And lies across the Rio Grande is Juáres, Mexico, the other half of the bi-national metropolitan area.

'''Chamizal''' 
It was a disputed parcel of land between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. The dispute was caused by the differences between the bed of the Rio Grande as surveyed in 1852 and the present channel of the river. The river shifted south continually between 1852 and 1868 with the most radical shift in 1864. As a result, the newly exposed land, about 600 acres, came to be known in Spanish as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamizal El Chamizal], from ''chamiza'', the name of a species of wild cane or reed. The final resolution of the dispute came about only in 1963.

'''E.B. Soltera''' 
''Soltera'' is Spanish: spinster. Estrella Briggs, Unmarried.

'''Regeneration Equipment''' 
In chemical technology "regeneration" means taking a spent product out of the system and cleaning it up for reuse.

'''whiteness''' 
stressed motif. Cf. alabaster temples at the Columbian Exposition.Cf. whiteness in GR.

==Page 645==

'''E.P.T.''' 
El Paso, Texas.

'''buyer beware''' 
That is, ''caveat emptor''.

==Page 646==

'''Sakes''' 
For heaven's sakes.

'''Geronimo''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geronimo Geronimo] (1829-1909) was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against the encroachment of the United States on his tribal lands and perople for over 25 years.

'''Willow and Holt''' 
Willow: Stray's sister (pp. 361 & 367), Holt: Willow's husband (p. 367)

==Page 647==

'''''For really it was the sidekick who presented the problem. Restless type. Fair hair, hat back on his head so the big brim sort of haloed his face, shiny eyes and low-set, pointed ears like an elf's...''''' 
Billy the Kid? No, he died in 1881. 
[http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1258/Mptv/1258/3306_0333.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Wilder,%20Gene The Waco Kid,] the gunfighter played by Gene Wilder in ''Blazing Saddles''?

'''Daisy, Daisy''' 
"Daisy Bell" is a popular song whose lyrics ("Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer do...I'm half crazy, all for the love of you..." as well as the line "...a bicycle built for two") are considerably better known than the song's actual title.
"Daisy Bell" was composed by Harry Dacre in 1892. As David Ewen writes in American Popular Songs: "When Dacre, an English popular composer, first came to the United States, he brought with him a bicycle, for which he was charged duty. His friend (the songwriter William Jerome) remarked lightly: 'It's lucky you didn't bring a bicycle built for two, otherwise you'd have to pay double duty.' Dacre was so taken with the phrase 'bicycle built for two' that he decided to use it in a song. That song, Daisy Bell, first became successful in a London music hall, in a performance by Kate Lawrence. Tony Pastor was the first one to sing it in the United States. Its success in America began when Jennie Lindsay brought down the house with it at the Atlantic Gardens on the Bowery early in 1892." Wikipedia....see this for memorable occasions of its use.
It was evidently sung at the OK Corral gunfight, if TRP says so but I have not substantiated this yet.

:Pynchon did not say Doc Holliday sang "Daisy, Daisy" before or during the Gunfight. But Doc Holliday, in his "rejoinder to Frank McLaury", did use the 1880s' slang phrase "daisy" — according to some accounts. After the Gunfight people then, claimed by Pynchon, used the song "Daisy, Daisy" as a "sort of telegraphic code . . . for Boot Hill" (graveyard, see page 648). 

More popularly, sung by HAL, the failing shipboard computer, as it is disabled in Stanley Kubrick's film ''2001, A Space Odyssey.''

Agreed. Although all that's interesting enough info I guess, the most relevant piece of data that we need to make sense of the text in question and not just tangential random association is what the directly alluded to "rejoinder" itself was, namely:

"I've got you now," McLaury challenged.

"Blaze away! You're a daisy if you have," countered Holliday. (Daily Nugget, Oct 27, 1881)

Also of interest is how Doc didn't shoot McLaury following this exchange according to the autopsy reports, but got skimmed in the ass by McLaury but Morgan Earp actually got the killshot, thus proving Doc's bluster or bravery to be just that, a ballsy but not necessarily factually accurate "rejoinder" in the heat of a shoot-out.

==Page 648==
'''at the O.K. Corral''' 
It refers to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfight_at_the_O.K._Corral The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral]. The 30-second event occurred on October 26, 1881, in a vacant lot, behind the corral in Tombstone, AZ. It was Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday fought against Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Ike Clanton, Billy Clanton, Billy Claiborne and Wes Fuller. Frank and Tom McLaury and Billy Clanton were killed while Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp and Holliday were wounded. The gunfight supposed to be between law-and-order and open banditry and rustling in frontier towns of the Old West. The Gunfight has been the subject of many many books, movies, songs, . . . etc.

'''Boot Hill''' 
It is the name for any number of cemeteries, chiefly in th American West. During the 19th century it was a common name for the burial grounds of gunfighters or those who "died with their boots on" (ie. violently). Also, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boot_Hill Boot Hill] graves were made for people who died in a strange town without assets for a funeral.
The most famous Boot Hill graveyard of the Old West is, of course, in Tombstone, AZ. Buired at the site are various victims of violence and desease in Tombstone's early years, including those from the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Boot Hill was also the destination for bad-men and those lynched or legally hanged in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone%2C_Arizona Tombstone, AZ].

==Page 649==
'''Rosie's Cantina''' 
As found in Marty Robbins's 1959 hit song "El Paso" (a song frequently covered by the Grateful Dead). When the exiled narrator attempts to return to the cantina, he sees to his right "five mounted cowboys/Off to my left ride a dozen or more."

...Night-time would find me in Rosa's cantina;
Music would play and Felina would whirl.

The rest of the lyrics: [http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/robbins-marty/el-paso-11889.html El Paso].

'''L.&O.L.''' 
Law and Order League Cf page 644.

also internet slang for Laughing Out Loud (LOL). 
or "Lots of Luck"

'''light draining away''' 
cf. p.198: "He watched the light over the ranges slowly draining away", as Webb dies.

==Page 650==

'''ocotillo''' 
[http://weather.nmsu.edu/AbqPlantList/dshrub/Ocotillo.htm Ocotillo] is a drought-deciduous shrub. It can have anywhere from 6 to 100 wand like branches that grow from the root crown with a stem anywhere from 9 to 30 feet tall.

In northern Mexico and TransPecos Texas, cut branches are often rooted in a trench and wired together to form a living fence.

'''Rock Springs''' 
Wyoming town, center of the Wyoming oil boom of the late 1970s, early 1980s, known then as a wide open town.

'''Ladies' Friend''' 
a small pistol that could be concealed in a lady's clothing.

'''Creede''' 
Central Colorado town, like Telluride once a mining town, now a ski resort.

==Page 651==

'''Dixies and Fans and Mignonettes''' 
Just typical names of bar girls?

==Page 652==

'''Karawankenbahn . . . Tauern . . . Wochein''' 
A series of tunnels constructed as part of [http://historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=2&cid=13 a huge Austrian public works project] in the first years of the 20th century. They are named for ranges of mountains and hills they pass through. The objective was to develop rail transport to the port of Trieste. Read further in this entry for the location of Wochein. 

''Karawankenbahn'' means Karawanken Railway in German. 
Between 1867-1918 Trieste (Cf [[ATD_489-524#Page_516|page 516:Trieste]]) was part of Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was Austria's first seaport and the principal outlet for the ocean trade of the monarchy. But it did not have adequate railway communication with Austria's interior. To give a great impetus to the trade of Trieste in particular and to the over-sea trade of Austria in general, it was decided in 1901 to build the Karawanken Railway connecting Trieste and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klagenfurt Klagenfurt], the capital of the federal state of Carinthia in Austria. The railway was built over and through the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karavanke Karawanken] mountains, Europe's longest (70-mile long) mountain range on the border between current Slovenia and Austria. The ''Karawanken Tunnel'' was opened on October 1, 1906; it is the fourth longest railway tunnel in Austria with a length of over 4.8 miles (7,976 m). (For a [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Karawankentunnel_construction_train.jpg Karawanken Tunnel construction picture]). 

At the same time (1901-1909) another railway, ''Tauernbahn'' (Tauern Railway) over and through the Tauern mountains was built between Schwarzach-St.Veit (in the province of Salzburg) and Spittal an de Drau (in Carinthia). It can reach Trieste by connection through Karawanken and Wochein tunnels. [http://aeiou.iicm.tugraz.at/aeiou.encyclop.t/t105381.htm;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en Tauern Railway] passes underneath the Hohe Tauern Mountain Range through the 5-mile long ''Tauern Tunnel'' which was opened on July 7, 1909.

''Wochein'', the old German name, is now [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohinj ''Bohinj''] in Slovenia. It is an alpine valley and a municipality in the north-west of Slovenia, in the Julian Alps. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohinj_railway Bohinj Railway] is a railway in Slovenia extending into Trieste, Italy (both were parts of Austria-Hungary before 1918). It was built in 1904 with a 3.8-mile long ''Bohinj (Wochein) Tunnel'' under the 5,00-ft tall Koblas Mountain.

'''Brigue''' 
French name for the Swiss city of Brig, a historic town with 5,000 inhabitants. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brig,_Switzerland Brigue] is located close to the Swiss-Italian border. The language used in every day transactions is a unique German dialect.

'''Domodossola''' 
An Italian city located at the foot of the Italian Alps, a minor passenger-rail hub. Its strategic location accommodates Swiss rail passengers, acting as an international stopping-point between Locarno (a Swiss city in the Italian language zone) and Brig (a Swiss city in the German language zone) via the Simplon Pass. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domodossola Domodossola]].

'''two parallel galleries''' 
The description of the Simplon tunnel project seems to be close to the facts. The Simplon tunnel consists of two parallel tubes, the first of which was opened in 1905, the second not until 1921. The second gallery this passage refers to was built alongside the first tube in order to supply the workers with fresh air. It was later extended. 

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplon_Pass The Simplon Tunnel] is a 12.3-mile long railway tunnel consisting of two separate single-track tunnels completed 16 years apart — the first one opened on June 1, 1906 and the second one October 16, 1922. For half a century it was the world longest railway tunnel. It was planned by Alfred Brandt of the Hamburg firm of Brandt & Brandau, and its construction began in 1898. It was a tremendous feat of engineering in almost impossibly difficult conditions. It seems that Pynchon in describing the tunnel work followed closely [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1905simplon.html How the Swiss Built the Greatest Tunnel in the World].

==Page 653==

'''Brandt drills''' 
Brandt & Brandau were Hamburg engineers responsible for the tunnel project. Possibly also an allusion to Adolf Brand (1874-1945), German homosexual activist and anarchist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Brand Wikipedia article.]. "Brand" is also a German word for fire or combustion.

'''Kanuni Lekë Dukagjinit''' 
should be "Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit". "Kanuni" is Albanian for "code". 

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanuni_i_Lek%C3%AB_Dukagjinit Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit], ''The Code of Lekë Dukagjini'', is a set of laws developed by an Albanian prince, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lek%C3%AB_Dukagjini Lekë Dukagjini] (1410-1481), who fought against the Ottoman Empire. These laws were used mostly in northern Albania and Kosovo from the 15th century until the 20th century and were revived recently after the fall of the communist regime in the early 1990s. Some of the most infamous rules specified how murder was supposed to be handled (resembled the Italian ''vendetta'') and it often led to blood feuds that lasted until all the men of the involved families were killed.

'''League of Prizren''' 
Aimed for Albanian unity and autonomy; 1878; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Prizren Wikipedia article.]

==Page 654==

'''''Jetokam, jetokam!''''' 
I'm alive (Albanian).

'''Më fal''' 
Sorry (Albanian).

'''many superstitions inside this mountain''' 
Tunnelers and miners were among the most superstitious trades. Small wonder.

'''history. They suffered from it...survive to see the day.''' 
Title thematic.To see the day History [Time] ended?

==Page 655==

'''''non è vero?''''' 
It's not true?

'''Tatzelwurm''' 
A/k/a Swiss dragon. A mythical creature or cryptid, depending on who you believe. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatzelwurm Wikipedia entry]; [http://www.newanimal.org/tatzel.htm Cryptid zoo website.]

The name literally means "pawed worm".

'''[S]ometimes a Tatzelwurm is only a Tatzelwurm.''' 
Echoing the comment attributed to Freud, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar", the cigar-loving alienist who would have been on the faculty of the University of Vienna at this time.

==Page 656==
'''favogn''' 
Name used mostly in western Switzerland for ''föhn,'' a dry wind blowing down the lee side of the Alps.

'''adiabatic''' 
Term in thermodynamics meaning an absence of heat transfer. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiabatic_process Wikipedia entry.] Also, confusingly and probably not coincidentally, a term in quantum mechanics referring to an infinitely slow change in the Hamiltonian of a system. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiabatic_process_%28quantum_mechanics%29 Wikipedia entry.] Yes, it's that [[H#hamilton|Hamilton]].

'''balneomaniacs''' 
People avid for mineral baths and spas like those at . . .

'''Baden-Baden . . . Wagga Wagga''' 
In Germany and New South Wales (Australia) respectively.
Names, of course, which suggest bilocation.

'''Moazagotl clouds''' 
A persistent cloud formation associated with the föhn. [http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=moazagotl1 Technical definition.]

'''Ruperta Chirpingdon-Groin''' 
Great alliterative last name given her effect on men.

==Page 657==

'''''Macchè, gioia mia''''' 
Italian: No way, my joy!

'''''troglodita''''' 
Spanish: brute, pig. ? Italian: troglodyte, cave dweller, barbarian

'''''Càlmati''''' 
Italian: Take it easy.

'''''Tutto va bene. Un amico di pochi anni fa''''' 
Italian: It's all right. A friend from a few years ago.

'''Ambroid''' 
Synthetic amber used for costume jewelry.

'''''Tesoro''''' 
Italian: treasure.

:Honey

==Page 658==

'''Petite Roquette''' 
A Paris prison later used as a reformatory for boys.

'''Tatzelwurm''' 
Cryptozoologists also use the term "Swiss dragon" for this mythical Alpine beast. Its habitation is not said to be limited to mines and tunnels. Cf [[ATD_644-677#Page 655|page 655:Tatzelwurm]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatzelwurm Mostly uninformative Wikipedia entry.]

'''''Ndih'më! . . . Nxito!''''' 
Albanian: Help me!...Quickly!

'''a scream''' 
again that Pynchonian expression of horror as elsewhere in ATD, such as
in the 'inner sands' scenes and GR, of course.

'''''spital''''' 
Various languages: hospital, infirmary.

==Page 659==

'''''bien sûr''''' 
French: certainly. Here "''Of course'' it did."

'''showered again, unlocked his private pulley-rope, lowered his clothes . . . hung his wet working gear on the hook, raised it again and padlocked the rope''' 
from [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1905simplon.html How the Swiss Built the Greatest Tunnel in the World]: 
:"At the top of the building steampipes were fixed, and each man was entitled to his own private rope and padlock; this rope passes over a pulley in the roof, and has a hook at the end to which he can attach his day clothes, . . . and pulling them up by the cord and padlocking it he secures the safety of his belongings. On returning from his work he . . . has his bath, lowers his clothes, and, hanging his wet mining dress on the hook, raises it to the roof. Here it hangs until he again returns to work, when he finds his clothes dry and warm."

'''Domodossola''' 
Cf [[ATD_644-677#Page 652|page 652:Domodossola]].

'''didn't look back''' 
Sodom & Gomorrah motif.

'''They had been good friends, that crew''' 
A number of homoerotic allusions in the preceding passages.

'''St.-Gotthard''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Rail_Tunnel Gotthard Railway Tunnel] is a 9-mile long tunnel in Switzerland opened in 1882. The tunnel is part of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthardbahn Gotthardbahn] Gotthard Railway connecting Lucerne through the Alps to Cjiasso on the Swiss-Italian border.

==Page 660==

==Page 661==

'''Intra''' 
Now Verbania, on the shore of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Maggiore Lago Maggiore], Piedmont, in northwest Italy.

'''tramontana''' 
It's a wind coming from the North in Italy, usually cold and cutting.

'''Wilhelm Weber''' 
Cf [[ATD_588-614#Page_594|page 594:Wilhelm Weber]] (1804-1891), German Physicist.

'''Baron von Waltershausen''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Sartorius_von_Waltershausen Baron Wolfgang von Waltershausen] (1809-1876), a German geologist. He was Friedrich Gauss's close friend and biographer.

'''Riemann knew he was dying''' 
Riemann died of tuberculosis, July 20, 1866.

'''the Seven Weeks' War''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Prussian_War The Austro-Prussia War] (June 15 — August 23, 1866). Cf [[ATD_588-614#Page 594|page 594:Göttingen . . . war with Prussia]].

'''Cassel''' 
Now spelled [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kassel Kassel], a city in Hessen, Germany. It is about 25 miles southwest of Göttingen.

'''Hannover''' 
German name of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanover Hanover], a major city of northern Germany. It is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony where Göttingen, about 50 miles south, is also located.

'''Langensalza''' 
Since 1956, called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Langensalza Bad Langensalza], a city about 45 miles southeast of Göttingen, in Thuringia, Germany. It was a site of the 1866 Second Battle of Langensalza between Prussia and Hanover during the Seven Weeks' War.

'''Veneto''' 
The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veneto Veneto region], one of the twenty regions of Italy, is in northeastern Italy by the Adriatic Sea. It consists of seven provinces. One of them is Verona, home to Romeo and Juliet; another one is Venezia, home of Venice.

'''Custozza''' 
Also spelled Custoza. A village of northeastern Italy in the province of Verona. It was the site of the Battle of Custozza of June 24, 1866, between Austria and Italy resulted in Austria's victory.

'''Deep Germany''' 
"the folk-dream behind the Black Forest", and so on to p. 662

'''Black Forest''' 
A wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. It also has the source of the river Danube. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest The Black Forest] is part of the continental divide between the Atlantic Ocean watershed and the Black Sea watershed.

==Page 662==

'''elves''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf Elves] are mythical creatures of Germanic mythology and Germanic paganism which still survive in northern European folklore. Elves are often pictured as youthful-seeming men and women of great beauty living in forests and other natural places, underground, or in wells and springs. They have been portrayed to be long-lived or immortal and they have magical powers attributed to them.

'''shadows with undulating tails and moving wings''' 
shadow of Satan image?. Cf. p. 211 
-Feels more like another dragon image to me (following close on the heels of the Tatzelwurm references), due to the size of the shadows and the surrounding imagery in the paragraph.

'''the Haupt-Bahnhof in Frankfurt''' 
the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_Hauptbahnhof Central Railway Station] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt Frankfurt]. Regarding passenger volume alone, it is the second largest station outside Japan. Built close to where in earlier times the gallows had been located.

'''Orient Express''' 
Cf [[ATD_557-587#Page_567|page 567: the Orient Express]]. The accident mentioned happened on December 7th 1901, though according to [http://www.dooyoo.de/flughaefen-bahnhoefe-national/bahnhof-frankfurt-main/720973/] the train came to rest in the waiting hall rather than the restaurant.

'''collapse of the Campanile in Venice''' 
Bell-tower on St. Mark's Basilica. The campanile reached its present form in 1514. As it stands today, however, the tower is a reconstruction, completed in 1912 after the collapse of 1902. Cf [[ATD_243-272#Page 256|page 256:the tower collapses]], [[ATD_243-272#Page 259|page 259:dov'era com'era]], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mark's_Campanile St. Mark's Campanile].

'''roof of the Charing Cross Station''' 
A major railway station in London. The elegant original roof structure collapsed on 5 December 1905. By great fortune, only six lives were lost (two workmen on the roof, a bookstall vendor and three passers-by in the street, where most of the girders fell). It was rebuilt two years later. Cf [[ATD_557-587# Page 577|page 577:Charing Cross]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charing_Cross_railway_station Charing Cross Station]. 

So it is now 1906 in this chapter.

'''the revenge of Deep Germany...shameless German primitivism''' 
We have seen an earlier [[ATD 615-643#Page 632|reference]] to deeper Germany, to the pre-Christian, pre-rational Germany, here supposed to be avenging itself upon the mechanised, rational order that has supplanted it.

This pre-Christian Germany was the mythical Golden Age Nazism sought to draw upon and revive. In 1936 G.G. Jung wrote essay entitled "Wotan", in which he argued that the German psyche had been overwhelmed by the sudden awakening of the archetype of the ancient Norse god, Wotan, who had slumbered for 1,000 years, was the god of frenzy and magic and would, Jung predicted, more than likely lead the German people into some cataclysmic event.
 
[Fascinating reference. This reminds me strongly of the Vormance expedition from the "Iceland Spar" section of AtD, which brings some kind of artifact back to civilization, unleashing ruin; cf. pg. 142 for references to Norse gods being reawakened.] 
'''laden''' 
The use of this word in the context of anarchist bombs and collapsed buildings suggests a reference to one "bin Laden."
(quite a stretch....)

==Page 663==

'''''stranniki''''' 
Russian, literally: pilgrims, wanderers. Dissenters from the Russian Orthodox Church; a sect of Old Believers who rejected the Orthodox priesthood and sacraments. cf. ''The Way of the Pilgrim'' 

'''''podpol'niki,'' underground men''' 
They are ''pod pole,'' literally under the floor. Allusion to that religious Russian, Dostoevsky and his
''Notes from Underground'' (''Zapiski iz podpol'ya'').
Interestingly in that work, Dostoyevsky uses a Palace of Crystal as a metaphor for a functionalist utopia where everything works like clockwork and life is a complete bore. The narrator abhors and fears such a state and is obsessed with its destuction. Compare this to the train crash, and the roof and camponile collapse of the section above. Not to mention 9/11. "Shades" of Ted Kaczynnski here.

I don't know about all that. People keep assuming this is a "post-911 novel" (a marketing term or journalistic cliche more than anything). We don't know when Pynchon wrote this. By all accounts, he'd been writing a draft of this book since the early 60s. The Dostoyevski reference seems pretty obvious, though. Especially since TRP refers to "the fall of the crystal palace" on the first page of GR. Dostoevski's anxious, deluded anti-hero seems to be a good spokesperson of idealistic but pathological dissent appropriate to AtD.

'''"not the day we knew"''' 
Thematic re day.

'''"extralogical...mathematical work"''' 
math work is beyond logic, mystical-like.

'''"Now I am expelled from the garden"''' 
Yashmeen is expelled from the paradisiac Göttingen like Eve was expelled from the Garden of Eden; she's probably echoing (and Pynchon definitely is) Hilbert's famous and mistaken line about set theory and infinite sets: "Aus dem Paradies, das Cantor uns geschaffen, soll uns niemand vertreiben können. (From the paradise, that Cantor created for us, no-one can expel us.)"

'''smooth-enough World-Line''' 
linear History, not the ATD 'line', with a verbal pairing to 'World-Island', that Pynchonian way of naming the Earth.

Perhaps reference to: world line
n.

The path in space-time traveled by an elementary particle for the time and distance that it retains its identity.

...in general usage, a world line is the sequential path of personal human events (with time and place as dimensions) that marks the history of a person —perhaps starting at the time and place of one's birth until their death.

Much more here: [http://www.answers.com/topic/world-line] from answers.com

==Page 664==

'''Sanatorium Böpfli-Spazzoletta''' 
Allusion to the Davos tuberculosis sanatorium of Thomas Mann's ''The Magic Mountain'', which was indeed the anteroom of death for its protagonist, Hans Castorp, who goes on to be "cured" to serve in World War I, a personification of the death of Europe. Note that, at the sanatorium, Castorp falls in love with a Russian named Madame Chauchat, to whom Yashmeen's presence here may allude.
Alchemy is also a leitmotif of ''The Magic Mountain'', with the sanatorium as an enclosed system in which something is turned to gold (Castorp's enlightenment). 
I might be wrong, but I've found no evidence that a "Sanatorium Böpfli-Spazoletta" ever existed. The name is a compound of a (mock?) Swiss-German word and an Italian-sounding one and thus recalls the Simplon passage. ("spazzolata" means "a brush", hence "spazzoletta" might mean "a small brush".Which does not make the name any clearer.)

'''anterooms of death''' 
The metaphor repeated from page 526, now possibly with a different meaning. Interestingly enough a Swedish novel with the title "I dödens väntrum", literally "In the Anterooms of Death", was publlished in 1930. This novel takes place in a Swiss sanatorium. Three possibilities: sheer coincidence; "the anterooms of death" was a commonplace metaphor for sanatoriums in that day ("the consumptive chic" points in this direction; Pynchon actually knows about the Swedish novel.

'''Borsalino''' 
A fedoras made by Italy's famed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borsalino Borsalino] Company.

==Page 665==

'''Glenwood Springs''' 
Colorado town, then as now site of a famous inn and hot springs, hydrotherapy center and spa, located on the main line of the Denver & Rio Grand Western Railroad. Until the early 1980s, a popular excursion was an overnight trip from Denver along the upper Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon to the venerable hotel/baths on the D&RG's venerable rolling stock, the last privately operated passenger train in the U.S. The route is now operated by Amtrak, but the canyon has been ruined by the completion of I-70 through it. Pynchon's sinister railroad of the 1800s has been superseded, has become in its turn a nostalgic retreat from a newer modernity. For Kit, in his eastward trip from home, Glenwood Springs would have been the last large stop before Denver.

'''tunnel Italian''' 
The pidgin Reef learned in the tunnels.

'''St.-Gotthard Tunnel''' 
Cf [[ATD_644-677#Page 659|page 659:St.-Gotthard]].

'''Bellinzona''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellinzona Bellinzona] is the capital city of the canton Ticino, Switzerland. The city is famous for its three castles — Castelgrande, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro, now part of the UNESCO world heritage.

'''repeated figure being played on an alpenhorn''' 
Ri-i-co-la! The Swiss call the instrument alphorn or alpenhorn.

'''Mouffette''' 
French: Skunk.

'''Papillon''' 
French: Butterfly.
:Any of a breed of small dog related to the spaniel, having a long silky coat, a bushy tail that curves over its back, and large ears shaped like the wings of a butterfly. [http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/8/83/250px-Papillon_sitting_Flickr_edit.jpg picture]

==Page 666==
'''Reader, she bit him.''' 
Reef has failed, both literally and figuratively, to screw the pooch. (and, of course, a parody of the opening sentence of the final chapter of "Jane Eyre")

==Page 667==

'''skeezicks''' 
Affectionate term for a man. The foundling Skeezix was the protagonist of the comic strip "Gasoline Alley."

'''''vint''''' 
A real game. Which Reef here pretends not to understand, a classic card-sharp gambit.

'''''avantyuristka''''' 
Unfortunate placement of the hyphen makes it look as if it's ''avant-'' something, but it's a single Russian word, авантюристка, meaning "adventuress."

==Page 668==

'''reticule''' 
Lady's handbag, especially one made by netting or tatting. Cf [[ATD_525-556#Page_539|page 539:reticule]].

'''''Ite, missa est''''' 
Last words of the Latin mass: Go, you are sent.

literally: "go, the mass is said" or "go, the mass is done". Yashmeen's way of telling Kit there will be nothing more said about the subject. In more legalistic terms, she could have said "case closed", but there is a religious theme running through the whole page ("Sectarian vector wars, trafficking with the unseen, priesthoods and heresies"; "vows of abstinence").

'''dossing''' 
to sleep; particularly at a common lodging-house or 'doss-house.'

==Page 669==

'''Pinks''' 
Pinkerton agents.

==Page 670==

'''glowing giant amœbas that leave sticky residues''' 
A recent book, ''Spook,'' by Mary Roach, tells how 19th-century mediums prepared these cheesecloth apparitions and secreted them in their vaginas.

==Page 671==

'''''Bozhe moi!''''' 
Russian: My God.

'''bunco man''' 
The original bunco was a dishonest gambling game played with dice. Eventually the word evolved the sense 'the playing of a bunco game', and hence 'swindling or fraud of any sort'. From Spanish, Banco, a card game like monte. First recorded usage in 1870's, when it became popular quickly.

'''speakin as an old bunco man . . . it was him talkin''' 
Reef displaying the kind of skepticism that would eventually explode the whole spiritualist enterprise.

==Page 672==
==Page 673==
'''"I'm screamin again"''' 
Screamin motif in Webb's channelled memory.

'''"Take a picture next time."''' 
Photographs of ectoplasm, spirits and suchlike were very popular around 1900. This interest was fuelled by Roentgen's discovery of X-rays.

'''"eigenvalue"''' 
"(a) each of a set of values of a parameter for which a differential equation has a non-zero solution (an eigenfunction) under given conditions; (b) any of the numbers such that a given matrix minus that number times the identity matrix has zero determinant" (''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'')

==Page 674==

'''"great never-sleeping hydropathic"''' 
Internal and external use of water as a therapeutic treatment for all forms of disease. hydro·pathic (hdr-pathik) , hydro·pathi·cal...American Heritage Dictionary. 
In 1877, the estate became the property of the Craiglockhart Hydropathic Company, who set about building a hydropathic institute. Such was Craiglockhart's function until the advent of the First World War. Between 1916 and 1919 the building was used as a military psychiatric hospital for the treatment of shell-shocked officers. Wikipedia. 
see esp. the next paragraph. 

'''swamper''' 
One who performs general, menial duties.

'''''vis inertiæ''''' 
Latin: force of inertia. Not considered a "force" since Newton.

'''draining away''' 
once more "draining away", though for the first time not referring to light (cf. p.198, 649).

==Page 675==

'''Lee de Forest''' 
cf [[ATD_26-56#Page_29|page 29]]

'''All Kit had anymore''' 
???

'''As light began to steep in...'''

Like on page 566, this dream-passage seems to contain a top-down examination of Kit's progress; of his motives and awareness of complicity in the Traverse vengeance-quest against the Vibes. Similar to Kit's earlier dream(s?), it's a thematic reduction and feels like a significant 'clue':

<blockquote>As light began to steep in around the edges of the window blinds, Kit fell asleep again and dreamed of a bullet en route to the heart of an enemy, traveling for many years and many miles, hitting something now and then and ricocheting off at a different angle but continuing its journey as if conscious of where it must go, and he understood that this zigzagging around through four-dimensional space-time might be expressed as a vector in five dimensions. Whatever the number of ''n'' dimensions it inhabited, an observer would need one extra, ''n'' + 1, to see it and connect the end points to make a single resultant.</blockquote>

'''resultant''' 
notice this word and not 'result' in the above paragraph. 'Resultant' has math vector meanings! ...Issuing or following as a consequence or result. 1. Something that results; an outcome. 2. Mathematics A single vector that is the equivalent of a set of vectors....American Heritage Dictionary.

In addition to the broad narrative summary, there appears to be a metatextual implication here. Regarding the reader in Pynchon's overall 'Against The Day' scheme: the novel ''n'' must be observed from an ''n'' +1 perspective (that is: dimensionally distinct) to connect end-points and weave a single result, to engage and correlate strands and twines into a coherent narrative whole. Without an overarching consciousness there's apparent anarchy: with said consciousness there's meaning and vector. 

Part of which meaning I might argue is that Kit's revengeful bullet is part of the overarching 'problem' of mutual complicity, which we readers have to see. 

[[User:Bean|remy]] 10:52, 28 December 2006 (PST)

'''Hour of the Rat''' 
In Chinese astrology, the hours between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., marking the beginning of a new day. The rat is the first of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, as it is said to have won the race between them.

==Page 676==

'''Constantza''' 
Constanţa, Romania's seaport on the Black Sea.

'''Too many of us have to sit foolishly by...''' 
Vibe = Vibration, a wave disturbance of the aether; for most of us incoherent force driving human misery, but for the Traverse family a person, a personified malevolence on which vengenace can be wreaked.

==Page 677==

'''Buda-Pesth''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest Budapest], the capital city of Hungary. The cities of Buda and Pest (archaic spelling Pesth) were unified in 1872; the hyphenated spelling persisted for many years.

'''Psychical Research''' 
The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a non-profit organization in the United Kingdom whose purpose is to research and investigate supernatural, magical, paranormal, and occult phenomena in a scientific and unbiased manner. It was founded in 1882 by three dons of Trinity College, Cambridge, Edmund Gurney, Frederic William Henry Myers, and Henry Sidgwick, because of their interest in spiritualism. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Psychical_Research Wikipedia]. 
Wikipedia has no Budapest connection, but it says the Society was very active in its first thirty years, the time of ATD. A history of the Society might have the Budapest sections.

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 429-459

2018-10-11T16:11:27Z

Pthomas: /* Page 453 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 431==

'''metaphorical way''' and '''lateral resurrection''' 
Cf. [[ATD_397-428#Pafe 418|page 418]], where ''metaphor'' and ''lateral'' are also used in quick succession.

'''"Turkish Corner"''' 
The ''coin turquois'' or Turkish corner was an interior decorating fad ([http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197806/london.s.arab.hall.htm second half of 19th century]). Well-to-do householders had the English furniture removed from a space and put in low tables, divans, cushions, ceiling hangings, nargilehs and so forth.

'''Bactrian''' 
''Camel''. Even-toed ungulate, two-humped (twin-peaked) as compared with the one-humped dromedary.

'''Cameling''' 
Seems to mean riding on a camel, contextually.

'''light might be a ''secret determinant of history''''' 
One of the overarching themes of the book, it seems. Natural light
vs. artificial. A-and in this section the line must be more closely linked
to the Manichaeans and Light [p. 437] and Chick and Darby's remarks on 438. Light as 'Divine' light.......
Determinant also has an obvious mathematical meaning: a scalar invariant of a matrix which corresponding to its scale factor when the matrix is interpreted as a linear mapping. The determinant is non-obvious and its computation is of order n^3; hence, secret.

The [http://etext.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-38 ''Dictionary of the History of Ideas''] has a clear, readable essay on causation in history, well worth a look given that we are concerned with "determinants" and the nature of time/sequence/cause-and-effect.

==Page 432==

'''fatal word''' 
"Wife".

'''C.A.C.A.''' 
Caca; Spanish for "shit". The Chums have already begun to suspect the "shit", i.e. the malevolent organization that lies behind their boys' book heroics; the reader is now made aware of a large organization (see B.I.N., below) standing behind the massive airships and their crews. We all know what about the dynamics of large organizations, and the percentage of the time they spend in serving their purported purposes. Reminiscent of Van Vogt's Law: "90% of everything is shit (caca)".
:Not just Spanish; most western European languages. French (or Spanish) speaking Viennese could hear the word "caca" in '''K-K''' (Kaiserlich und Königlich, see Max Khäutsch and Franz Ferdinand episodes).

'''Medicine Hat, Alberta''' 
A real city with a population about 56,000. It is located in the southeastern part of the province of Alberta, Canada.

'''Gamomania''' 
"Gamos" is Greek for "marriage," and mania means "mania" or "madness."

'''H.M.S.F.''' 
His Majesty's Subdesertine Frigate (p425).

'''Balaam's ass''' 
refers to Num. 22:21-34 - Balaam rides out with the princes of Moab, but the Lord sends an angel to prevent him. Balaam does not see the angel but his ass does and will not go further. Balaam smites the ass three times, to no avail, until "the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam: What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?" Balaam's ass and the serpent (in the Garden of Eden) are the only speaking animals in the bible.

'''reported as long ago as Marco Polo''' 
From Marco Polo's ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (1298-99):
:". . . When a man is riding by night through this desert and something happens to make him loiter and lose touch with his companions . . . and afterwards he wants to rejoin them, then he hears spirit talking in such a way that they seem to be his companions. Sometimes, indeed, they even hail him by name. Often these voices make him stray from the path, so that he never finds it again. And in this way many travelers have been lost and have perished. And sometimes in the night they are conscious of a noise like the clatter of a great cavalcade of riders away from the road; and, believing that these are some of their own company, they go where they hear the noise and, when day breaks, find they are victims of an illusion and in an awkward plight. . . Yes, and even by daylight men hear these spirit voices, and often you fancy you are listening to the strains of many instruments, especially drums, and the clash of arms. . . . ." 
:(page 67, ''The Travels of Marco Polo'', The Folio Society 1968 edition.) 
For Marco Polo's bio and more see Cf. [[ATD_243-272#Page 247|page 247]] and [http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml Marco Polo and His Travels].

==Page 433==

'''mutatis mutandis''' 
''Medieval Latin.'' A direct translation from Latin of mutatis mutandis would read, 'with those things having been changed which need to be changed'. More colloquially, it can be interpreted as 'the necessary changes having been made,' where "the necessary changes" are usually implied by a prior statement assumed to be understood by the reader. It carries the connotation that the reader should pay attention to the corresponding differences between the current statement and a previous one, although they are analogous. This term is used frequently in economics and in law, to parameterize a statement with a new term, or note the application of an implied, mutually understood set of changes. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutatis_mutandis Wikipedia entry].

This suggests we should view communication from the camel with the same skepticism with which we view the voices, or possibly view this communication as we would that from Balaam's ass.

Another interpretation (that I find funny) is that we should 'make the necessary changes' in order to translate the camel's notion of skepticism (and even how a camel would do the skeptical eye-roll move) to our own.

'''''polygamy''''' 
Cf. Lake's conversion to (de facto) polyandry in Colorado Springs, p. 268. In both cases aquifers are the scene of the activity.

'''pan-spectral fields''' 
Well, ''pan'' means universal. As in ''panorama'', ''Pan-Am''. Another suggestion of possible worlds.

'''World-Island''' 
The phrase was coined by English geographer and geo-politician [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halford_John_Mackinder Sir Halford John Mackinder] who formulated [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartland_%28geopolitics%29 Heartland Theory] (1904) in his address to the Royal Geographic Society, "The Geographical Pivot of History." "World-Island" refers '''not to the Earth''', but to the continuous landmass of Eurasia measuring more than 21 million square miles (54 million km²). This landmass contains no waterways to the ocean and is contained by the Arctic ice cap and drainage to the north, the monsoon lands along the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, the Near East or land of the Five Seas, and Europe. This landmass is remote and inaccessible to its periphery. Mackinder argued in his address that this was the strategic region of the foremost importance in the World. The Heartland theory hypothesized the possibility for a huge empire being brought into existence in the Heartland, which wouldn't need to use coastal or transoceanic transport to supply its military industrial complex but would instead use railways, and that this empire couldn't be defeated by all the rest of the world against it; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolitics See also '''Geopolitics''' in Wikipedia]

'''"Euphrates" poplars''' 
One of the five classes of Poplars: ''turanga''. Its scientific name is ''populus euphratica'', a subtropical poplar found usually in Southwest Asia.

'''aryq''' 
Most likely variant of Arrack (OED): name applied in Eastern countries to any liquour of native manufacture, usually distilled coconut palm sap. - Or rather arak, the Middle Eastern equivalent of ouzo, Pernod, etc., which, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arak_%28distilled_beverage%29 according to Wikipedia,] should not be confused with southeast Asian arrack.

'''B.I.N.''' 
Biometric Institute of Neuropathy, see p. 432.

As in "Loony bin".

'''seventeen-syllable''' 
Haiku - japanese poems consisting of 17 syllables, classically arranged in three lines of 5 - 7 - 5 syllables each

Brilliant! 
''Still at it, Suckling?'' 
''Insufferable little'' 
''Prick, I'll break your neck!''

==Page 434==

'''Eta/Nu Transformators''' 
Probably an imaginary scientific device. Eta is most likely a reference to the metric tensor of (four dimensional) Minkowski space. Nu sometimes symbolizes frequency.
:Alternate view 
:In classical electromagnetism, Eta is the wave impedance and Nu is the velocity of the wave; both are related to the material parameters of the medium the wave is traveling in. Specifically, Eta determines how a wave moves between different media (reflection, refraction, and transmission), while the velocity is related to the frequency and wavelength of the wave. Thus, the device probably allows the ships inhabitants to see while in the sand.

'''pari passu''' 
on an equal footing

'''Deep Blavatsky''' 
Named for Madame Helena Blavatsky (Helena Petrovna Hahn), founder of the Theosophical Society [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blavatsky]. Cf. [[ATD_219-242#Page 219|page 219]].

==Page 435==

'''Gurkhas''' 
Nepalese forces that have fought alongside British troops.

'''German professors''' 
Likely a double allusion, first to Professor Werfner of Göttingen, referenced on p. 226, and also to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann], the German treasure hunter (not actually a professor) who first established the true historical location of Troy, the site of the Trojan War. His accomplishments are sadly underscored by his extremely amateurish excavation technique which destroyed as much as it extracted from the site.

'''"who keep waltzing out here by the wagonload, can dig till they're too blistered to dig any more, and they still won't ever find it, not without the right equipment - the map you fellows brought, plus our ship's Paramorphoscope"''' 
Could also be a nod to Steven Spielberg's 1981 film ''Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark''.

'''General Forrest''' 
Nathan Bedford Forrest, rebel leader in U.S. Civil War. Although he pioneered high-mobility tactics, he may never have uttered the famous quotation; see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest Wikipedia entry.]

Also, recognized as founder of the KKK -- see earlier episode in Colorado.

'''archiepiscopal''' 
Pertaining to an archbishop.

'''jewel-studded Victoria Crosses''' 
The VC is the highest medal for valo(u)r in the British military, about on a par with the Medal of Honor in the U.S. Created at the time of Crimean War, the VC was not awarded posthumously until 1907. Adding jewels to the award is pure fantasy.

'''Fabergé''' 
Russian jeweler. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Faberg%C3%A9 Wikipedia entry].

'''"appealing though they be or, shall I say, as they are"''' 
Captain Toadflax's corrects his grammatical mistake, an error that is partially obscured by the inverted construction he employs. If one straightens out his words into a more conventional form, e.g., "though they [secular pleasures] be appealing," the error is clearer: ''they'', the third person plural pronoun, requires ''are'' as a verb, i.e. ''pleasures are'' rather than ''pleasures be''. The ''OED'' lists many examples of ''be'' taking the place of ''are'' in similar contexts, but notes that this usage is either dialectal or archaic.
:Why Toadflax commits this error is less clear than what the error itself is. One possibility is that Pynchon is making an allusion to Captains Bildad and Peleg of ''Moby-Dick'', who speak in an archaic vernacular typical of New England Puritans.
::For more information, see the ''OED'', "be, v.," sub-entry, A.I.h.¶.
:'''It isn't an error!''' Toadflax first correctly uses the subjunctive, "appealing though they be"; the choice of mood says he is making a speculative statement, something like "however appealing they are imagined to be." Then he rephrases—changing the meaning of his statement—to the indicative mood, "appealing as they are," saying that the pleasures definitely, factually ''are'' appealing. The contrast of subjunctive and indicative is becoming archaic now, but it wasn't archaic or even odd coming from an educated speaker in the early 20th century.

'''subarenaceous''' 
arenaceous - Having the appearance or consistency of sand; sandy; largely composed of sand or quartz grains. <ref>'''Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. ed. 1989.</ref>

Hence subarenaceous 'means under the sand.'

==Page 436==

'''limen''' 
The limit below which a given stimulus ceases to be perceptible; the minimum amount of stimulus or nerve-excitation required to produce a sensation. Also called a threshold.<ref>'''Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. ed. 1989.</ref>

'''transmundane''' 
Beyond the mundane, beyond the world

'''lamaseries''' 
Domiciles of Buddhist lamas (as in "monasteries").

'''Torriform Inclusion''' 
A made-up condition from Torus==Arch.: a large convex molding, semicircular in cross section, located at the base of a classical column?
From the American Heritage Dictionary.
St. Cosmo has just seen, he thinks, a "watchtower".
'Watchtower'-Cf. the name of the magazine (and building in Brooklyn) that the Jehovah's Witnesses use.
'distinguishing man-made from God-made'...

More likely from ''turris'' (Latin), ''torre'' (Spanish&Italian) or similar meaning "tower."

'''Urban terrain''' 
(But only cities unwisely built on sand.)

'''Stilton Gaspereaux''' 
Stilton is type of blue cheese from England. 
Gaspereaux are alewives, a freshwater fish. [Alewives or "Gaspereaux" are caught fresh as the fish moves upstream our cold Canadian rivers.
www.botsfordfisheries.com/products]

'''Sven Hedin''' 
Swedish explorer, especially of the Asian countries, and excavator of ruins of ancient cities. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven_Hedin wikipedia] Hedin crossed Taklamakan desert in 1895 and found ruins of the sunken city [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandan_Oilik Dandan Oilik]. Today he is a controversial figure because of his complicated relations to naziism. Hitler was an admirer of his work.
:That suggests another angle for reading ATD as a novel about the genesis of the 20th century, considering the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahnenerbe Nazi obsession with Tibet]. There is also an alleged [http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_shambahla01.htm subterranean Shambhala] connection; the sources are dubious but the legend ''does'' exist.

'''Aurel Stein''' 
Sir Marc Aurel Stein. Hungarian-born explorer later knighted as a British citizen. Credited with the discovery, and arguably the exploitation, of the Mogao Grottoes in China. A rock-carved repository of ancient Buddhist texts and murals, the grottoes are known collectively as 'The Cave of a Thousand Buddhas' and protected a copy of the Mahayana Diamond sutra, acknowledged as the world's oldest dated printed text. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Aurel_Stein Wikipedia entry].

'''first known maps''' 
None of Ptolemy's maps has survived the classical period. They were, however, reconstructed in manuscript and engraved on copper or carved in wood for editions of the Ptolemy atlas. In 1482, the first woodcut edition, containing the first map of the world to include contemporary discoveries, was published in Ulm, Germany. It contains a brightly handcolored map of the Holy Land....

Allusion to the Map/Territory relation—the relationship between symbol and object. Coined by Alfred Korzybski, “The map is not the territory” is a related expression meaning that an abstraction derived from something, or a reaction to it, is not the thing itself, e.g., the pain from a stone falling on your foot is not the stone; one's opinion of a politician, favorable or unfavorable, is not that person; a metaphorical representation of a concept is not the concept itself; and so on. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_map_is_not_the_territory]Here, the (abstract) map itself could be a guide to a spritual quest or to conquest.

==Page 437==

'''Nernst lamps''' 
An electric lamp consisting of a short, slender rod of zirconium oxide (ceramic) in open air, heated to brilliant white incandescence by electrical current. It was developed by the German physicist and chemist Walther Nernst (1864-1941) in 1897 at Goettingen University. In 1905 he formulated the third law of thermodynamics, and in 1920 he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry. For a picture of the lamp [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nernst_lamp Nernst lamp]] and Nernst's bio [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Nernst Nernst.]]

'''range-finder''' 
Cf. 'range', passim

'''level of encryption''' 
(Cf Heisenberg?)Does not seem to allude to Heisenberg and his Uncertainty Principle so much as buried layers of meaning that can hide to invisibility.

'''Mount Kailash''' 
A mountain located in the Chinese Himalayas with great religious significance in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, it is seen as the residence of Shiva, God of destruction and regeneration. The mountain is visited every year by many religious pilgrims. In Buddhism, the mountain was believed to be the location of a battle between two ancient sorcerers: Milarepa (Tantric Buddhism) and Naro-Bonchung (Tibetan Bön religion). Pynchon is perhaps alluding to the population dividing nature of religions. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kailash wikipedia].

'''Shiva''' 
Shiva is the formless, timeless and spaceless Supreme God in Shaivism, one of the major branches of Hinduism practiced in India. Shiva means "One who purifies everyone by the utterance of His name" or "The Pure One". The name Shiva is the Holiest of Holy names. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva Shiva]].

'''polarize light... in time''' 
Thematic.

'''Manichaeans''' 
A gnostic sect that followed the third century Persian prophet Mani (Cf [[ATD_429-459#Page 439|page 439]]). Their main theological belief was in a stark divide between Good and Evil, Light and Darkness.

Basic to Manichaeism's doctrine was the conflicting dualism between the realm of God, represented by ''light'' and by spiritual enlightenment, and the realm of Satan, symbolized by ''darkness'' and by the world of material things. To account for the existence of evil in a world created by God, Mani posited a primal struggle in which the forces of Satan separated from God; humanity, composed of matter, that which belongs to Satan, but infused with a modicum of godly light, was a product of this struggle, and was a paradigm of the eternal war between the forces of ''light'' and those of ''darkness''. Christ, the ideal, light-clad soul, could redeem for each person that portion of light God had allotted. Light and dark were seen to be commingled in our present age as good and evil, but in the last days each would return to its proper, separate realm, as they were in the beginning. The Christian notion of the Fall and of personal sin was repugnent to the Manichaeans; they felt that the soul suffered not from a weak and corrupt will but from contact with matter. Evil was a physical, not a moral thing; a person's misfortunes were miseries, not sins. (taken from ''The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-2005, [[http://www.bartkeby.com/65/ma/Manichae.html Manichaean]].)

Very relevant here in ADT: one could call their theology, BINARY.

==Page 438==

'''expanded sense... Maxwell... Hertz''' 
All forms of electromagnetic radiation form a spectrum, of which visible light is a small part; all such radiation shares fundamental physical properties.
Cf. range as spectrum.

:Let us quote more fully — '''''the light we see as well as the expanded sense of it prophesied by Maxwell, confirmed by Hertz''''' — it means the ''expanded'' understanding of the nature of the visible light (''the sense of it''). In 1865 Maxwell prophesied that, base on his field equations, "light itself is an electromagnetic disturbance in the form of waves propagated through the electromagnetic field according to electromagnetic laws." (Cf [[ATD_57-80#Page 58|page 58]].) In 1877 Hertz experimentally discovered that light behaves exactly as an electromagnetic wave described by the Maxwell Field Equations and is part of the full electromagnetic spectrum. Therefore, Hertz confirmed what Maxwell predicted about the nature of light. (Cf [[ATD_318-335#Page 318|page 318]].)
:Regardless of how the scientific understanding of the nature of light has been expanded and changed, the Manichaean's view of light as invariant will remain, they will worship light to eternity. All other forms of matter are considered 'darkness'.
:Of course it is impossible for the Manichaens to know the dualism, light/darkness, of their theology has the reflection in the dualism of light. Light is a wave (electromagnetic wave) and simultaneously consists of particles (photons).

''''Perfects'''' 
Perfects are the priests of the Cathar, a pantheistic manicheistic sect from the middle ages.

:Since Gaspereaux (and Pynchon) are still talking about Manichaean, let's just talk about it. 
:Strict virtue for the Manichaean involved necessarily withdrawal from the world. The community was accordingly divided into two groups; the ''Elect'' or the "Perfects", the ''Primates Manichaeorum'', who embraced a rigourous rule, and the ''Hearers'', the ''auditores'',who led a more normal life and supported the ''Elect'' both by works and alms. 
A-and we know Pynchon's view of The Elect.

'''Mysteries''' 
''The Book of Secrets'' (or ''The Book of Mysteries''). The sacred Manichaean text by Mani. Cf [[ATD_429-459#Page 439|page 439]].

'''Graeco-Buddhist''' 
Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Graeco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 800 years in Central Asia in the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism Wikipedia]

'''Italo-Islamic style(s)''' 
A result of the Islamic Conquest of Sicily and parts of southern Italy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Sicily Wikipedia on the Emirate of Sicily] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Islam_in_southern_Italy 2] A primary locus of the Italo-Islamic style is also Malta, a setting of TRP's novel ''V''.

==Page 439==

'''Nuovo Rialto''' 
Seems like Pynchon creating a "New Rialto" city under these sands as many
cities take the name of an older city and add New....

From Wikipedia: Rialto is an area of the San Polo sestiere of Venice, known for its markets and for the Rialto Bridge.

The area was settled by the ninth century, when a small area in the middle of the Realtine Islands either side of the Rio Businiacus was known as the Rivoaltus. Soon, the Businiacus became known as the Grand Canal, and the district became the Rialto, referring to only the area on the left bank.

The Rialto became an important district in 1097, when Venice's market moved there, and in the following century a boat bridge was set up across the Grand Canal providing access to it. This was soon replaced by the Rialto Bridge.

Pynchon seems to love Venice so Nuovo Rialto is very ironically intended given this scene.

Not so ironic. The Rialto was a district dedicated to commerce and profit, not spiritual quests.

'''Mani''' 
Mani (216-276), founder of religion Manichaeism. He was born in the province Babylon which was then under Persian rule. His family was Persian, bu this name is Aramaic. Mani had probably originally belonged to a Christian sect, now called Elkhasitts. Between the age of 12 and 24, Mani had visions where an angel told him that he would be the prophet of a last divine revelation. Around AD 240, at the Persian court of King Shapur 1, Mani established his own religious philosophy. He and his followers (Manichaeans) regarded the world as irreconcilably divided into the kingdoms of light and darkness, good and evil. They practiced extreme asceticism in their struggle toward the light. At 26 he started on a long journey as the "Ambassador of Light" travelling through the Persian Empire and reaching as far as India, where he came under the influence of Buddhism. As Mani's teaching gained ground he came in opposition to the Zoroastrian priests and the Emperor Bahram 1. From 274 Mani lost the emperor's protection, and he either died in prison or was executed. His death was retold as an incident similar to the crucifixion of Jesus.

'''the Oxus''' 
The Oxus River of the Greeks. Its present-day name is the Amu Darya (or Amu river). It is the longest river in Central Asia. For more and map location see [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amu_Darya the Oxus]].

'''Jenghiz Khan''' 
Jenghiz (or Genghis) Khan (1162-1227), born as Temujin, a son of a Mongol chief. At thirteen he was called to succeed his father, and for years to struggle hard against hostile tribes. His ambition awakening with his continued success. He spent six years in subjugating the Naimans, between Lake Balkhash (in Southeastern Kazakhstan) and the Irtish (an enormous river in Western Siberia) , and in conquering Tangut, south of Gobi desert. In 1206 he started to use the name ''Jenghiz Khan'' — "Very Mighty Ruler". In 1211 he overran the empire of North China, and in 1217 conquered and annexed the Kara-Chitai empire from Lake Balkhash to Tibet.
In 1218 he attacked the powerful empire of Kharezm, bounded by the Jazartes, Indus, Persian Gulf and Caspian, took Bokhara, Smarkand, Kharezm and other chief cities and returned home in 1225. His lieutenants continued to expand Jenghiz Khan's empire further and further. Jenghiz Khan died on August 18, 1227. He was not only a warrior and conqueror, but a skillful administrator and ruler; he not only conquered empires stretching from the Black Sea to the Pacific, but organized them into states which outlasted the short span that usually measures the life of Asiatic sovereignties. (from Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 1984 edition.)

—Pynchon seems to have changed his mind on Genghis's spelling (cf. ''The Crying of Lot 49'')!

'''crystallography of the silica medium''' 
Computer-base [silicon] allusion!?
:No! The most common constituent of sand, in inland continental or non-tropical coastal settings, is silicon dioxide (''silica'') usually in the form of quartz which is very resistant to weathering.
:And computer chips are made with silicon metal, not silica.

'''clearly a thousand years more recent than they ought to have been''' 
That is, the Manichean shrines date from the fourteenth Century, not the fourth Century when Mani, the founder, started Manicheanism. Pynchon dating 'when it went bad' in history?

'''Passing of the Remarks''' 
Sounds like a humorous reification of what gets said between sailors. Modeled after Changing of the Guard?

'''Talk about battered caravanserais!'''

Stanza XVII of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:

Think, in this batter'd Caravanserai
Whose Portals are alternate Night and Day,
How Sultan after Sultan with his Pomp
Abode his destined Hour, and went his way.

A caravanserai is a rest station or an inn on a caravan route.

'''Steeplechase Park''' 
Steeplechase Park, located at Coney Island, was an amusement park and collection of rides, funhouses and the like. As a child I used to visit in the late 50's.

'''The Book of Secrets''' 
''The Book of Secrets'', (''Safar al–Asrar''), Manichaean sacred text by Mani. It was also called ''The Book of Mysteries'', and Titus just called it simply ''Mysteries''. It was characterized as "polemical and dogmatic." In eighteen chapters it was written to refute the false doctrines of the established sects and creeds in the world, including the sect of Bardesain or Bardesan. The book evidently dealt with the esoteric life of Jesus. The nature of Soul and Body was defined. And it also described reincarnation. A portion of the book was in the form of a dialogue between Jesus and his apostles. [[http://essenes.net/new/maniwritings.html Mani's writitngs]].

==Page 440==

'''screaming...with blood''' 
Screaming motif.

'''''chong pir''''' 
Presumably Uyghur for "big lice."

'''Uyghur''' 
Member of an ethnic group in western China. It is sometimes claimed that the Uyghurs are Indo-European in one sense or another.

'''''Pulex''''' 
Flea.

'''voiced interdental fricative''' 
The ''th'' sound, as in "the" or "with." (Bad example—many if not most speakers use the unvoiced sound in "with." Try "then, other, father.") Basically, the lice lisp. This could be meant to suggest that their speech contains static or noise.

'''skeleton rig''' 
The skeleton rig is a shoulder holster for carrying a concealed handgun. They were developed in the 1890s. A very nice looking one, as well as a description thereof, can be purchased at [http://www.holster-connection.com/html/ted_blocker/tb_Skeleton.html First American Ordnance website], which also just so happens to be my source for the above info.

'''andante''' 
Literally "going". An Italian word typically seen in notation for classical music. It denotes a moderately slow pace.

'''Sandman Saloon''' 
Tavern for the 'sandmen', without those great tavern names in the above-ground world. Negative associations to this saloon, it seems, unlike the usual saloons in TRP's world. A Neil Gaiman allusion?

==Page 441==

'''Leonard and Lyle''' 
Google comes up with mentioning Sir Leonard Lyle [http://www.parkexplorer.org.uk/park_intro.asp?ID=new16 1], sugar-magnate and heir to Abram Lyle [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abram_Lyle 2] and "Lyle‘s Golden Syrup" [http://www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/LylesGoldenSyrup/PastPresent/default.htm 3]. Thats one interesting logo, what with the dead lion/bees and the tibetan stamp on ATD, btw. Golden Syrup = oil?

'''Baku''' 
Cf [[ATD_149-170#Page_168|page 168: Baku]].

'''''teke''''' 
From this [http://home.earthlink.net/~lkritikos/glossary.html glossary on greek rembetiko music]: "teke (pl. tekedhes): A club where one could buy hashish and the use of a narghile in which to smoke it"

An American fraternity or a member thereof. Tau Kappa Epsilon. Founded in the 1890s; has had a reputation for being a bit wilder than many fraternities.

'''Spindletop''' 
From wikipedia: Spindletop is a salt dome oil field located in south Beaumont, Texas (approx. 30.02 -94.07) in the United States. On January 10, 1901, the well "Lucas 1" came in at Spindletop, marking the birthdate of the modern petroleum industry. At 100,000 barrels of oil a day, the gusher tripled U.S. oil production overnight, ensuring the second industrial revolution would be fueled not by wood and coal but by oil and its byproducts. Some of the companies chartered to exploit the wealth of Spindletop are some of today's largest and well known corporations such as ExxonMobil, and Texaco.

'''Groznyi''' 
Grozny or Groznyy (Russian: Гро́зный; Chechen: Соьлж-ГIала, Syolzh-Ghaala) is the capital of the Chechen Republic in Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River....As most of the residents there were Terek Cossacks, the town grew slowly until the development of Oil reserves in the early 20th century. This spiralled development of industry and petrochemical production. In addition to the oil drilled in the city itself, the city became a geographical centre of Russia's network of oil fields, and also in 1893 became part of the Transcaucasia - Russia Proper railway. From wikipedia

'''calyx bits''' 
Bits used for taking core samples in oil exploration. Rods are screwed together to make up the "drill string," with the bit at the bottom end. After exploration, the calyx bit is replaced with a rock bit; the borehole is stabilized with a "casing string" made of pipe (tubing) a little bigger than the bit.

Presumably some kind of mining drill-related equipment. "The mining operations were unusual in that much of the mining was done through large diameter holes drilled with calyx bits." [http://www.ut.blm.gov/sanrafaelohv/explore/historicmining.htm]

'''adults''' 
Chums not adults, then? No,they do not age, it seems.

'''''ässalamu äläykum''''' 
A muslim greeting. Translates to "Peace be with you." This is the Turkic spelling.

'''anticline''' 
An underground rock structure with a shape resembling a ridge on the surface. Oil exploration focuses on "domes" (like salt domes, see Spindletop entry above) and anticlines, because either of these provides a volume where oil—ascending because it's lighter than rock or water—can collect to make a "pool" that can be exploited.

==Page 442==
'''Had it not (p440) ....someones hidden plans''' 
This whole conversation implies a coming war over oil, being sold as a holy mission... why does that sound familiar? Of course, once again, "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred."

'''''equine altitude''''' 
High horse.

'''allure of Veneto-Uyghur women''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriatic_Veneti Veneti] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanais Veneto] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyghurs Uyghurs] Long distance trade (like wars and tourism in general) is very likely to enforce the intermingling of different [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_pool Gene Pools], which, more often than not, results in particularily beautiful specimens of the kinds involved. Travels of mediterrenean merchants along the various branches of the Silk Road seem to have been pretty common from at least 14th century on - see [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/pegol.html Pegelotti‘s Merchant Handbook] (ca. 1340) which partially reads like a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonely_planet Lonely Planet Guide] of back then. During the Renaissance most of the merchants (from Florence/Venice/Geneva) set out from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanais Tana/Tanais] which some sources put as a trade-post if not colony of the "West".

'''2 percent . . . most of them''' 
Implies at least 150 in crew.

'''Marco Querini''' 
An oasis named after Marco Querini? i.e. ''Oasi Marco Querini''. In January 1571, Venetians under Marco Querini defeated Turks near Famagusta, Cyprus.

'''Terrenascondite''' 
Italian: terre (pl. of terra) = lands; ascondito, an archaic form of the past participle of the verb nascondere (archaic: ascondere)= to hide. Translation is undoubtedly "hidden lands".

'''Pozzo San Vito''' 
Italian: Pozzo means well; San Vito is a Saint. Well of San Vito. ''Oasi Pozzo San Vito.'' San Vito, according [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintv07.htm to this site], died by being boiled in oil, other sources say it was lead - a hint to the subterranean resources here? Cfr. Italian: "Ballo di San Vito", that is, Saint Vitus' Dance, a syndrome having as a consequence tics or jerks. It may be an allusion to involuntary movements or disconntected behaviour(?).

==Page 443==

'''peterman option''' 
A 'peterman' is a slang term for a safe-blower.

'''Consommé Imperial''' 
A gingered chicken broth with julienne of carrots and leeks.

'''Timbales de Suprêmes de Volailles''' 
Chicken Supreme Pudding ? Um, Suprêmes de Volailles means the white meat of chicken prepared with a fortified white sauce. To make timbales, the meat is chopped and placed in individual molds, a little grated Gruyère cheese on top, and baked in a water bath (just like some puddings).

'''Gigot Grillé a la Sauce Piquante''' 
A 'gigot' is a leg of lamb or haunch of veal. 'Sauce Piquante' is a spicy sauce.

'''aubergines à la Sauce Mousseline''' 
Eggplants with mussel sauce. -No, the French for mussels is moules, not moussel. A Sauce Mousseline is Hollandaise lightened with a bit of whipped cream. An odd choice perhaps for eggplant, but then Sauce Piquante is more for pork or boiled beef (pot-au-feu) than lamb.

:I've never seen a dog eat eggplant, but it sounds like something one wouldn't want to miss. Only thing is, it has to be somebody else's dog.

'''Pouilly-Fuissé''' 
A white Burgundy made from the Chardonnay grape.

'''Graves''' 
Wine from the Graves district of France, a subregion of Bordeaux. Wines can be either red or white. Red Graves are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Whites are blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.

'''Miles...extra-temporal excursions''' 
Miles is like a Trespasser.

'''all that incarnation and slaughter will transpire in silence''' 
Calls to mind the silent battle scene in Akira Kurosawa's samurai retelling of ''King Lear'', titled ''Ran'', which translates roughly to "chaos."

==Page 444==

'''Oasi''' 
''Oases'' is the plural of ''oasis''. Here, ''Oasi'' is the Italian word for ''oasis''!

'''cataplexy''' 
Sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotional stimulus.

'''Nobel brothers''' 
Robert and Ludvig Nobel, brothers of Alfred Nobel of dynamite and prize fame, co-founders of Branobel, an important early oil company that controlled a large amount of Russian output. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branobel Wikipedia entry].

'''shaft-alley''' 
Somebody check this: the channel, running fore-and-aft deep in the ship's hull, where the propeller shafts are located.

'''the balloon is up''' 
British metaphor: The action has started. A phrase also used in ''V.''

'''F.O.''' 
Foreign Office

'''''Daily Mail''''' 
London tabloid, staunch early supporters of Adolf Hitler. Today specialises in stirring up hatred of immigrants and other minorities.

'''Inspector Sands''' 
A code word used in London to alert authorities without causing panic amongst the general public. Generally the alert is raised by the fire alarm. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Sands Wikipedia entry].

'''"Sands of Inner Asia"''' 
Captain, now Inspector Sands, seems to be being compared for his achievements to "Lawrence of Arabia" parodistically.

'''Taklamakan''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taklamakan The Taklamakan] (also Taklimakan) is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is known as the largest sand-only desert in the world. Some references fancifully state that Taklamakan means "if you go in, you won't come out"; others state that it means "Desert of Death" or "Place of No Return".

==Page 445==

'''Kashgar to Urumchi''' 
Two cities currently on the far western border of China. Presumably in this context they were two points inside the general area within which the 'Great Powers' competed to try and find Shambhala.

'''fell into the hands of''' 
An analogy with the present-day situation in Central Asia in particular. Throughout the book, there are references to Anarchist/Terrorists, to the spread of dynamite and other kinds of phenomena. These are all technologies that allow, or cause, power to flow into the hands of the powerless to use for their own purposes.

'''World-Island''' 
[[#Page_433|See entry at page 433]]

'''those Powers . . . still competing for it''' 
And to complete the analogy, the countries/peoples who have exercised power for centuries and are now baffled to see it flow into the hands of the powerless.

'''discreet summons''' 
Eg "paging Dr Blue".
It doesn't seem to me to be a phrase that needs a gloss: a discreet summons is simply what it says and made be made in any number of ways.

'''far wicket''' 
A 'wicket' may simply be a gate; but in the context of a novel and the bomber at Headingly cricket ground and Fenners, the Cambridge cricket ground, a 'wicket' is the three stumps at one end of a cricket pitch. ("The Gentleman Bomber of Headingly" - see p.236.)
:That isn't the context here; we are in a government building where supplicants have to pass through gates—wickets—and face bureaucrats through grilles—more wickets.

'''wog''' 
''Chiefly British.'' An ethnic slur used for any dark-skinned peoples. Alleged to stand for "Western Oriental Gentleman", but mainly applied to Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, and other brown-skinned Asians.
I have heard it comes from 'wily oriental gentleman'; but the Oxford English Dictionary states that the origin is uncertain and defines a 'wog' as someone especially of Arab extraction.
Eric Partridge, in'' A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English'' (8th ed., 1984), suggests that the term derives from "golliwog," the name of a black male doll character with frizzy hair popularized in Bertha Upton's children's story, The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls--and a 'Golliwog' (1895).

'''Vic removal''' 
"removing Vic" defined by Partridge (Dictionary of the Underworld, 1949) as robbing a stamp office. From the image of Queen Victoria on British postal stamps.

'''eating an explosive''' 
Cf Lew's Cyclomite.

==Page 446==

'''St Martin le Grand''' 
A street in the City of London.

'''Angel Street''' 
Another street in the City which meets St Martin le Grand at right-angles.

'''G.P.O. West''' 
G.P.O - General Post Office

'''pneumatic dispatches''' 
An extensive 'pneumatic dispatch' system existed on London during the Victorian era, started in 1851 and carrying on at least into the 1930's. By 1886 London had 94 telegram tubes totaling 34 1/2 miles and around 4.5 million telegraph messages were carried in cylinders at around 20mph. At its height the network extended some 57 miles connecting 67 branch offices via a central sorting office. See [http://www.capsu.org/history/telegram_conveyors.html] and
[http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/pneumess/pneumess.htm] (with illustrations).

'''drill suits''' 
Drill is a durable cotton fabric; khaki drill is used for uniforms.

'''chars''' 
Charwomen. Maids, cleaners.

'''Hundreds of telegraphers''' 
The scene described, including the pneumatic dispatches and the ostensible concern about terrorism, is very similar to one in Terry Gilliam's "Brazil."

'''clicks and rests''' 
Presumably the clicks of a telegraphic system and the rests or silences in between. [[Binarisms_Discussion|Another binarism.]]

'''Northern Temple of Connexion''' 
It's in the north of the City; and the phrase suggests the religious intensity of the need to connect or communicate as well as mildly satirising it.

'''marblework''' 
Such buildings would have used quantities of marble; hence the image of a 'temple' above.

'''Bloggins''' 
An archetypal ordinary man; an everyman figure.

'''allegro vivatchy''' 
phonetic of 'allegro vivace' - a musical term for a quick tempo. If the policeman had been manhandling an English suspect, he would have said "All right then, quick march." An early instance of cultural sensitivity. . . .

==Page 447==

'''grease-paint''' 
'Grease-paint' refers to old-fashioned stage make-up.

'''cylinder of gutta-percha''' 
Pneumatic dispatches were carried in cylinders of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutta-percha Gutta-Percha] -- an inelastic latex made from the sap of the Gutta-Percha tree -- covered in felt. See [http://www.capsu.org/history/telegram_conveyors.html]. Gutta-percha crops up a number of times in ATD, possibly enough to suggest some sort of motif or connection?

Gutta percha per se is a Victorian equivalent to rubber, or rather hard rubber (they knew to use soft latex for erasers, "gum boots" and such). Discovery of the vulcanization process led to replacement of gutta-percha in many applications.

'''its "D" box''' 
The receiving mechanism on the end of pneumatic dispatch pipe.

"The somewhat complicated pattern of double sluice valve originally used at the central stations has been superseded by a simpler form, known as the D box, so named Despatching from the shape of its cross section. This box is of and cast iron, and is provided with a close-fitting, Receiving brass-framed, sliding lid with a glass panel. This Apparatus, lid fits air-tight, and closes the box after a carrier has been inserted into the mouth of the tube; the latter enters at one end of the box and is there bell-mouthed. A supply pipe, to which is connected a 3-way cock, is joined on to the box and allows communication at will with either the pressure or vacuum mains, so that the apparatus becomes available for either sending (by pressure) or receiving (by vacuum) a carrier. Automatic working, by which the air supply is automatically turned on on the introduction of the carrier into a tube and on closing of the D box, and is cut off when the carrier arrives, was introduced in 1909." From the 1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica entry on Pneumatic Dispatch, cited at [http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/pneumess/pneumess.htm]

'''Holborn''' 
Holborn is between the Strand (at the northern end of Waterloo Bridge) and Bloomsbury.

'''Saffron Hill''' 
is in the City, an area named Farringdon, east of Holborn.

'''''tantum dic verbo'' isn't it''' 
Might be derived from that part of the Mass where it's said: "Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed '''tantum dic verbo''' et sanabitur anima mea" ("Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but '''speak the word''' only, and my soul shall be healed")

Sands seems to be telling Gaspereaux to "just say the word".

'''''intact''''' 
(Did I miss this?)

==Page 448==

'''because I'm mad''' 
Gaspereaux brings news, in overheard fragments, of Shambala intact, able to hold sand away from itself.....which "deranged utterance" [Sands] ....succumbs to a dim local until he, Gaspereaux, can no longer
imagine anything clearly beyond Dover. 
A 'mad' vision becomes local and quotidian.

'''half-sovereign case''' 
A sovereign is old English money for one pound, i.e 20 shillings. A half-sovereign is ten shillings old money.

'''Mr. Campbell-Bannerman''' 
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1836-1908) was a Liberal MP and then Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1905 to 1908. I'm not sure when he was knighted; but he's not the only character in the novel connected with Trinity College, Cambridge.

==Page 449==

'''Clarabella''' 
Clarabelle=name of the clown on The Howdy Doody Show [TV] in the fifties.

'''Audacity, Iowa''' 
Seemingly a joking oxymoron?

==Page 450==

'''DREAMTIME MOVY''' 
Misspelling is dreamlike? Or, more possibly, the spelling hadn't yet been standardized.
:The ''OED'' an cites an occurance of this spelling as late as 1919.

'''log... waterfall''' 
This passage anticipates a scene in D. W. Griffith's 1920 film [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_Down_East Way Down East] in which Lillian Gish, stranded on an ice-floe, rushes toward a potential demise over the edge of the falls. More specifically, Pynchon is here positing this (fictional) collision between the film (i.e., the diegetic world of the film) and the breaking projector (the non-diegetic world of the film!) as the origin of the... (wait for it) -- CLIFFHANGER.
:What does ''diegetic'' mean, please?
::[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/diegetic Here.]

'''lens-brother''' 
As the Chums refer to other aeronauts as 'sky-brothers', Merle, a photographer and mechanical enthusiast calls the movie projectionist 'lens-brother.' Implies peerage among a set of people. (I may refer to you as 'wiki-brother.')
(Like masonic sign?)(Also reminiscent of the lens (the K/kid/d) carries in Delaney's ''Dhalgren'')

'''Powers movement''' 
Around 1897, Nicholas Power improved the "Maltese Cross" used in the Geneva movement; his company sold [http://www.victorian-cinema.net/power.htm projectors] including the "Peerless" and the popular No. 5. The Power or Power[']s movement could not be adapted to sound projection.

'''Geneva''' 
A watch movement also used in film projection. "The Geneva movement is so called because of its use in Geneva watches as a stop wind. The projection on the driving disk acts as the pawl drive, and the concave projections on the lower disc act as stop pawls. This is used at the present time in motion picture machines for moving the film in front of the lens and is known as the intermittent movement."

'''Wilt Flambo''' 
Flambeau = torch (French).

'''acetylene''' 
When the flammable gas was used for illumination, it was often generated on the spot by dripping water onto lumps of calcium carbide.

==Page 451==

'''nitro in the film''' 
Cellulose nitrate was the predecessor to modern photographic films. The nitrate material might be coated with collodion, which served as the substrate to the chemistry that made the image. Nitrate film was/is notoriously flammable.

'''the tip''' 
The audience. Pynchon uses the word many times in ''AtD.''

'''strange relation''' 
Cf GR on calculus.

'''dark perplexity''' 
Cf Gen X?

'''dilapidated portals''' 
See p.406: the West Gate's "two flanking towers of rusticated stone and Gothical aspect... an aspect of terrible antiquity..."

'''queen-of-the-prairie''' 
[http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/68/index.html Meadowsweet,] ''Filipendula rubra,'' wild flower with clusters of pink blooms in midsummer.

'''Geneva''' 
[[#Page_450|See annotation to p. 450.]]

'''Picnickers brought with them [...] ukuleles''' 
In the days before portable recorded music playback, if you wanted to hear a song you learned how to play it, preferably on something reasonably easy to carry around, such as a ukulele or harmonica.
References to ukuleles and Hawaii and its culture abound in Pynchon's novels [http://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Hawaiian_Islands_and_Ukuleles ''Vineland''] and [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Hawaiian_Islands_and_Ukuleles ''Gravity's Rainbow'']. [[Hawaii|More on Hawaii & ukulele references in ''Against the Day'']]...

==Page 452==

'''Sempitern''' 
An archaic term meaning 'eternal', a poetic but appropriate name for a river? Echoing "Serpentine," the lake in London's Hyde Park.

'''Sicilians with equal apprehensions for the principle of the vendetta''' 
If the vendetta began when A killed B, couldn't B's son short-circuit the whole thing by going back in time and killing A first? And then who would be responsible for killing the son? Possible application to the Traverse/Vibe/Deuce relationship, too.

'''siegecraft of Time''' 
Cf Paris Commune siege, p.19.

'''to see in its vortex the fundamental structure of everything''' 
A reference to the Yeatsian conception of the gyre as the primary or fundamental form. "'The mind, whether expressed in history or in the individual life, has a precise movement, which can be quickened or slackened but cannot be fundamentally altered, and this movement can be expressed by a mathematical form’ and this form is the gyre." [http://www.yeatsvision.com/Geometry.html] 

More from wikipedia: "The theory of history articulated in A Vision centers on a diagram composed of two conical spirals, one situated inside the other, so that the widest part of one cone occupies the same plane as the tip of the other cone, and vice versa. Around these cones he imagined a set of spirals. Yeats claimed that this image (he called the spirals "gyres") captured contrary motions inherent within the process of history, and he divided each gyre into different regions that represented particular kinds of historical periods (and could also represent the psychological phases of an individual's development). Yeats believed that in 1921 the world was on the threshold of an apocalyptic moment, as history reached the end of the outer gyre (to speak roughly) and began moving along the inner gyre." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Coming_(poem)] 
Cf. the remark, "history is a step-function" in ''V.''. Is the above an
evolution of that remark/vision? http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_11

'''between Cleveland and Denver''' 
Merle's idiosyncratic choice of endpoints? This helps define where Candlebrow is, though.

'''automorphic functions''' 
Auto= self; same as in autogamy. American Heritage Dict. -morph = Form, structure, function. Self-forming, self-structuring-- or self-organizing as Pynchon says elsewhere in ADT.

The phrase has a specific meaning in mathematics, referring to a generalization of periodic functions.

==Page 453==
'''We thus enter the whirlwind''' 
God is sometimes referred to this way. Often Capitalized, but here the speaker is using it literally, but Pynchon maybe metaphorically?

'''Lobatchevskian''' 
of Nikolai Lobachevsky (1793-1856), a Russian Mathematician, co-founder, with Hungarian mathematician János Bolyai, of non-Euclidean geometry. Born at Nizhny Novgorod and a professor at Kazan University from 1814. In 1829 he published his non-Euclidean geometry paper, the first account of that subject in print.

''Abbreviated Lob''
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lob_bowling Lob bowling]: not related but as it is a cricket thing...

'''Automorphic Dispensation''' 
Self-forming, self-organizing, recurring or periodic dispensation. 
On the meaning of "dispensation" see [[ATD_119-148#Page_128|annotations to p. 128.]]

'''distressing regularity''' 
Explains dilapidation?

'''Thorvald''' 
Scandinavian name from the Old Norse name ''Þórvaldr''. It combines the name "Thor" (thunder) and scandinavian word "valdr" (ruler), to create the meaning "thunder ruler" or "ruler of the thunder". Either would be apt, in this case.

'''items of sheet metal''' 
Prefiguring the seemingly preferential destruction of trailer-parks by twentieth-century tornadoes.

The persisting storm also occurs in ''Mason & Dixon'', in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel ''Wyrd Sisters'' and in Walter Moers‘ [http://www.amazon.com/13-2-Lives-Captain-Bluebear/dp/1585678449/sr=1-1/qid=1170090170/ref=sr_1_1/002-4941751-7235229?ie=UTF8&s=books "13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear"].

'''''thresher dinners''''' 
Hearty communal midday meals for men taking part in harvest. Here a sacrifice to Thorvald.

==Page 454==

'''"gaff"''' 
A deceptive feature like the rabbit-concealing false bottom in a magician's top hat.

'''Giant Airships of 1896 and '7''' 
An early UFO sensation. From November 1896 to the summer of '97, newspapers reported numerous sightings of [http://www.balloonlife.com/publications/balloon_life/9607/airship.htm a large cigar-shaped airship]. The first reports came from Sacramento; the "ship" (or ships) moved from west to east, with [http://www.reall.org/newsletter/v06/n03/illinois-ufo-mania-of-1897.html a big concentration in Illinois.] "Contacts" with the people on board the craft all proved to be hoaxes, and the speed of the ship's travel was a pretty good match for the speed of propagation of phony newspaper stories from town to town.

In the context of ''AtD'' we have to ask: In a world where airships were common by 1893, operated by a sizable community of aeronautics clubs like the Chums of Chance, why would another airship create a sensation in 1896? Who would consider it mysterious?

And ''were'' airships common by 1893? [http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/ss/airship_5.htm This brief account] of the technology in our historical context says that trials date back to mid-century, but practical airships appeared only in 1898.

[http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Image:Mysterious-airship.jpg This artist's conception] is no less imaginative than sketches that appeared in the media in 1896-97. 

I'm guessing airships weren't as common as ''balloons''...

'''Chick''' 
First Chum to appear in non-Chums chapter? Chick is the Chum we know, besides Pugnax if we count him, to have come aboard The Inconvenience from the real world. Another meaning to Counterfly? More earthbound?

==Page 455==

'''Cleveland... trial... Bounce v. Vibe''' 
See p67 & 426

'''Somble, Strool, and Fleshway''' 
[[ATD_26-56#Page_34|See annotations to page 34.]]

''''paranoia querulans'... P.Q.''' 
[[Paranoia_Querulans|Described in the page so titled.]]

'''Hercules''' 
Allusion to Hercules Powder Company, major manufacturer of black powder and other explosives.

'''blasting agent''' 
Just a casual reference to the Hercules product. In a more technical context "blasting agents" are distinguished from "shattering explosives." A blasting agent releases its energy more slowly and produces a heaving action.

'''detonans''' 
That which is detonated - cod latin. Detonans is a present participle, roughly meaning "that detonates" or "detonating".

'''"I'm just another nutty inventor"''' 
Roswell has been discussing his plans to dynamite the Vibe Corp. which has used its power to harrass him. Throughout his work, esp. ''Gravity's Rainbow'', Pynchon has dealt with themes involving the split between elect and preterite, or to use a more simplified phrase, winners and losers. Dynamite offers the small and powerless, the "long-shot opponents of the mills of Capital" referred to earlier in the page, an expression of power of their own. In this way it is like the AK-47 today which has made it far more difficult for powers (e.g. the United States in Iraq) to exert control over populations.

==Page 456==

'''aigrette''' 
Literally an egret or aigrette (or Lesser White Heron); hence a tuft of feathers such as an egret has and hence a spray of gems worn on the head and finally luminous rays seen emerging from the moon in solar eclipses or, to quote the OED, "at the ends of electrified bodies" [[ATD_397-428#Page_405|(see annotation to p. 405.)]]

'''Pencil''' 
To mathematicians, a pencil is a family of geometric objects sharing a common property, such as a collection of lines that pass through a common point. (Of course, constipated mathematicians also find pencils useful for working out logs).

In Romance languages, a mathematic "pencil" is a "bundle" (ESP haz, CAT feix, IT fascio) and a "pencilist" a "feixista" (CAT) or "fascista" (ESP/IT). Merle is playing with something which reminds of Falange Española symbol. A intralinguistic pun or is Merle an underground fascist?

'''equivalent of a shrug''' 
Nice anthropomorphism.

'''I want to know light...take some in my hands...and bring it back''' 
More light-infatuation, but this sounds particularly Promethean to me. Everybody knows Prometheus is famous for stealing fire from the Gods and bringing it to man in his unburnable fennel, but for Pynchoniacs, Zeus' reaction to this is quite interesting. Imaginably, Zeus is pretty pissed, so "to punish Prometheus for this hubris (and all of mankind in the process), Zeus devised 'such evil for them that they shall desire death rather than life'". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus Wiki] Then he sends Prometheus "to Mount Caucasus, where an eagle (often shown as a vulture) by the name of Ethon (offspring of the monsters Typhon and Echidna) would pick at his liver; it would grow back each day and the eagle would eat it again." Talk about Eternal Return.

Finally "[t]o punish man for the offenses of Prometheus, Zeus told Hephaestus to "mingle together all things loveliest, sweetest, and best, but look that you also mingle therewith the opposites of each." So Hephaestus took gold and dross, wax and flint, pure snow and mud of the highways, honey and gall; he took the bloom of the rose and the toad's venom, the voice of laughing water and the peacocks squall; he took the sea's beauty and its treachery, the dog's fidelity and the wind's inconstancy, and the mother bird's heart of love and the cruelty of the tiger. All these, and other contraries past number, he blended cunningly into one substance and this he molded into the shape that Zeus had described to him. She was as beautiful as a goddess and Zeus named her Pandora which meant "all gifted"." And a little later on Pandora opens her eponymic box and "all suffering and despair" is unleashed upon mankind.

Some judicious readers may remember we've already been to the Pandora Works back on p.297, and we all know what those light-worshiping Alchemists will do with the metals they remove from mines just like it.

'''machinery . . . more complicated than it needs to be''' 
Merle and Roswell, as alchemists, suspect the problem of "moving pictures" may have a solution with fewer moving parts.

Merle and Roswell, as devotees of light (i.e. electromagnetic waves), are hinting at a method for displaying moving images that uses no moving parts and is well known to modern readers.

'''lost mines''' 
(Factual?) One of the classic "crazy old galoot" figures in Westerns is the deranged sourdough who can't stop talking about the incredibly rich lode he and his partner found and then lost.

==Page 457==

'''tourbillon''' 
A tourbillon is a type of mechanical clock or watch escapement invented in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet that is designed to counter the effects of gravity and other perturbing forces that can affect the accuracy of a chronometer. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourbillon Wikipedia]

Tourbillon is French for "whirlwind" - Thorvald‘s tiny chronometer-cousin.

'''make time impervious to gravity''' 
Thematic to this book and GR?

Yes! The desire to escape from history, mortality ("birth to death"), the flow of time is a major theme of this book. It is also a theme in ''Vineland'', where Brock Vond corrupts Frenesi by exploiting her desire to transcend ordinary life.

'''patent pencils''' 
Mechanical or (British) propelling pencils. "Patent" as in patent medicine, patent leather: innovative, gimmicky, making claims of uniqueness. (But the mechanical pencil was invented by a Japanese, HAYAKAWA Tokuji, in 1915, so that these "patent pencils" cannot be mechanical pencils, or this is an anachronism.)

Ebenezer Wood "constructed the first hexagon- and octagon-shaped pencil cases that we have today. Ebenezer did not patent his invention and shared his techniques with whoever asked." from Wikipedia.

'''zephyr gingham''' 
From [http://vintagesewing.info/1920s/26-fcm/fcm-16a.html this site]: gingham: A cotton fabric in checks or stripes nearly alike on both sides. zephyr: Anything light and airy. We have zephyr yarns, zephyr gingham, zephyr tissues.

'''lawn''' 
a thin or sheer linen or cotton fabric, either plain or printed.

'''pongee''' 
silk of a slightly uneven weave made from filaments of wild silk woven in natural tan color or its cotton imitation.

==Page 458==

'''professors... engineers''' 
Theory vs practice.

'''Latinate token of prestige''' 
PhD (''Philosophiae Doctor''), summa cum laude, etc.

'''suspicious of night horizons''' 
(sunsets?)Absence of light horizons? You can't see the horizon at night unless ''something'' is flashing and flaring over beyond it. Townsfolk are traditionally suspicious of strange flickerings in the sky. Fireworks specialists give you a way out: "Oh, Luigi was just trying out a new star shell."

'''current... purity''' 
Free of noise?

'''Minkowski''' 
Hermann Minkowski was a German mathematician who made useful contributions in the development of relativity, amongst other things. Cf [[ATD_318-335#Page 324|page 324]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Minkowski] 
Developed the 4 dimensional non Euclidean geometry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minkowski_space] used in special relativity. In a very crude simplification it says that time and space are the same thing. It all depends on the velocity of the observer, how space and time are mixed. This influenced most of later science fiction on time travels!!! (Like in "Back to the future", where the DeLorean has to reach a certain speed to jump in time.)

'''Three times ten... minus one seconds''' 
Three times ten to the fifth refers to the speed of light. The square root of minus 1 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_unit Wikipedia] is also known as the Imaginary Unit or i. i is sometimes also expressed as the square root of -1, as here. Complex numbers [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_number Wikipedia] can be expressed as a + bi where a is the real part of the complex number and b is the imaginary part. Complex numbers were an important element of the work of both Minkowski and Einstein. Also, for imaginary number Cf [[ATD_119-148#Page 133|page 133]] and complex number Cf [[ATD_119-148#Page 132|page 132]].
 
The use of complex numbers to describe the relativistic space-time metric is somewhat out of fashion in modern physics, it is merely used to make the metric tensor (i.e. "that other expression") symmetrical in all 4 dimensions. So in a way one might see time as an imaginary space axis, but the modern aproach uses an symmetrical metric tensor, which makes the non-Euclidean nature of our space-time more clear.
 
''Against the Day'' takes place at the time when Newtonian physics were being supplanted, at least in theory, by physics based on Relativity. This equation touches on that. But also, the use of a real and an imaginary number returns to the theme of duality that arises throughout the book. The spacetime measured by imaginary or complex numbers would seem to be something different though co-existent with 'our' spacetime.
 
:Minkowski's lecture at Candlebrow is clearly a version of the lecture in which he first set out his interpretation of Special Relativity in terms of four-dimensional geometry, given in Cologne on 21st September, 1908. Pynchon has taken this equation, and Minkowski's description of it as 'pregnant' and 'mystic', directly from the published text of the lecture. The transcription also makes it clear that Minkowksi did indeed use blackboard and chalk. It's in a volume called ''The Principle of Relativity'' by Einstein, Lorentz, Weyl and Minkowski.[[User:SdeB|SdeB]]

'''other expression''' 
Contextually, Roswell seems to be refering to the other side of the above equation...'that other expression 'over there'...they are at a slate "blackboard."

'''he called the equation "pregnant"''' 
Minkowski used the German word ''prägnant,'' which doesn't mean "pregnant." It means concise, precise, penetrating, important.

'''astronomical distance''' 
Small-scale astronomy then: 3x105 km is about two-thirds of the distance from the Earth to the Moon.

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 489-524

2015-03-03T01:20:47Z

Pthomas: /* Page 503 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 489==

'''Neville . . . Nigel''' 
Lew's rescuers after the attempt to blow him up in Colorado, page 185. These two characters remind one of Looney Tunes Goofy Gophers.

'''stage left or audience left?''' 
A theater has two directions called left. "Stage left" is to the left of the performers as they face the audience. "House left" or "audience left" is to the left of an audience member facing the stage.

'''desolate sighs''' 
(They're not gay?)

'''embryo Apostlet''' 
The Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an elite intellectual secret society at Cambridge University, founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the Bishop of Gibraltar. Undergraduates being considered for membership are called "embryos" and are invited to "embryo parties," where members judge whether the student should be invited to join. "-let" is a common suffix that denotes smallness or youth, like droplet (small drop) or piglet or eyelet &c &c..., thus, a young Apostle. [[Cambridge Apostles|More on the Cambridge Apostles and the Cambridge spy ring...]]

'''Cyprian Latewood''' 
The name connects the character to the Greek demigod Orpheus.

'''"Cyprian":''' 
:After Orpheus loses Eurydice forever by turning to see if she's still following him out of the underworld, he never loves another woman, turning instead to young boys. One of Greek god Apollo's beloved boys, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyparissus Cyparissus], loves a beautiful tame stag that he accidentally kills with a spear. In his grief, Apollo turns him into a cypress tree. The Cypress was one of the trees Orpheus charmed with song, according to [[Cyprian Latewood|Ovid in his ''Metamorphoses'']].

'''"Latewood":''' 
:The "late wood" is the outer portion of the growth ring on a tree, more dense than the "early wood" which appears early in the growing season, appearing later in the season, usually summer. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_ring Wikipedia entry]. The tree connection is strong. It was said that Orpheus could even charm the trees, and Rilke (who figures prominently in [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity's Rainbow'']) in the first of his ''Sonnets to Orpheus'', begins:

::Tree arising! O pure ascendance!
::Orpheus Sings! Towering tree within the ear!
::Everywhere stillness, yet in this abeyance:
::seeds of change and new beginnings near.

[[Cyprian Latewood|More about this connection...]]

All very interesting, but let's not forget the obvious:
'the Cyprian' in classical literature is a standard name for Aphrodite/Venus, goddess of love, because she was born in Cyprus, from the waves, as in the famous picture by Botticelli that plays a role in 'V' ('She hangs on the Western Wall'). 
And so, by association, 'a follower of Aphrodite', and in later usage, according to Webster, a prostitute.

:if we were looking for yet another sexual innuendo, it would be interesting to note that the French word "cyprine" (the pronounciation of which is very similar to "Cyprian") describes the vaginal secretions that occur during the period of sexual arousal. The origin of this word can be traced back to the explanation above (i.e. Aphrodite). As for Late''wood'', well, that's kind of self-explanatory, no?

'''sod''' 
Common use; short for ''sodomite.''

'''Eastern wog''' 
Cf p222.

'''The German Sea''' 
A public house; the name occurs again with a different meaning at the end of this chapter.

'''sub-Clerkenwell''' 
Clerkenwell is a neighborhood in London that has a reputation for producing the highest quality of watches, clocks and jewellery. A sub-Clerkenwell trinket would be a poorly made trinket

'''annoyance''' 
(Why?)
:the other's penis seemed larger than one's own?
::Annoyance not because of the penises but because they are rivals. Lethargic not because of the penises but because they aren't getting anywhere in their courtship. Finally, "each regarding the other's penis" because even straight men can't deny that that's one of the things they look at in the steamroom.

Note that ''annoyance'' is a synonym for ''inconvenience''.

==Page 490==

'''gyps''' 
A gyp is a college servant, whose office is that of a gentleman's valet, waiting on two or more collegians in the University of Cambridge. He differs from a bed-maker, inasmuch as he does not make beds; but he runs on errands, waits at table, wakes men for morning chapel, brushes their clothes, and so on. His perquisites are innumerable, and he is called a "gyp" (Greek: vulture) because he preys upon his employer like a vulture. At Oxford they are called scouts. [http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/brewers/gyp.html]

[[image:ByronsPool.jpg|thumb|Byron's Pool|100px|right]]'''Byron's Pool''' 
A conservation area in Cambridge. The pool is named after the romantic poet Lord Byron, who is believed to have enjoyed swimming there. Byron studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, starting in 1805.

'''"Div!"''' 
Probably short for "divine!" Of course, if these kids were Vectorists they would be aware of the double ''entendre'' with the '''div''' (divergence) operator.

'''"Whizzo!"''' 
An early-twentieth century English slang expression of delight. Uttered earlier, by Neville or Nigel, on introducing Lew to the Tarot deck, page 186.

'''''"That'' is that of which ''I'' speak!"''' 
prob. homosexuality. cf. "I am the Love that dare not speak its name." -- Lord Alfred Douglas's poem 'Two Loves' in ''Chameleon'' ca. 1896.

Made more famous as an utterance by Oscar Wilde during his trial for sodomy. His response: '"The Love that dare not speak its name" in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare.[...]. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an elder and a younger man, when the elder man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him."

: This seems wrong, given the typical Pynchon scene of males ogling/desiring women. There is no homosexuality invloved with these guys
but a "'range' [again] of remarks" and 'all-night rhapsodizing' over the beauty of naked women. This line "That, etc." seems more likely a comic spin on a famous line which we know Pynchon has alluded to before [V.]: Wittgenstein's "whereof I can not speak, thereof I must remain silent" from the Tractatus. He could NOT not speak of their nakedness.

This whole scene is reminiscent, perhaps, of the biblically famous Susannah and the Elders, where she, too, is watched appreciatively bathing. Wallace Stevens, among others, has a famous poem about it.

::All this about homosexuality is useful knowledge, but (a) the men here are motivated by lust directed at ''women'' and (b) this is among the "catchphrases of [a] day" when Oscar Wilde's love could not yet even speak its name. "''That'' is that of which ''I'' speak!" is a Pynchon trick, taking a 20th-21st century expression and paramorphically projecting it back in time. At the university it was upper-class and refined; today it has become a vulgarism, "That's what I'm talkin' about!" Other examples: "high susceptibility to primordial variables," page 801 (today "extreme sensitivity to initial conditions"); "as cheerful as a finch," page 21 ("as happy as a lark").

Exactly as in the last paragraph, a poke at the currently colloquial:
"That's what I'm talkin' about!"

::Late to the conversation, I know, but homosexuality is important here -- I believe that TRP was being historically accurate. Our early 21st century notion of homosexuality is different from the early 20th century notion, where people like, for example, Oscar Wilde were both married to women and certainly engaged in homosexual activity with men. The sexuality is more fluid. Therefore I find it completely believable that N&N could sometimes be engaging in homosexual behaviour with each other but also interested in a woman.

'''Cloisters Court''' 
Cloisters Court, part of Girton College, Cambridge University.

'''King's''' 
King's College, Cambridge University.

'''Queen Anne's Gate''' 
Some part of the British Home Office is, or was, located in the London (Westminster) street named Queen Anne's Gate.
: According to Wikipedia the British Home Office resided there from 1978 to 2004, so this is unlikely. Since the 1860's until recently, however, parts of the British secret service had their offices at Queen Anne's Gate - the context suggests that the N's report to that.

'''inconvenience''' 
Not sure what connection Pynchon is making here, but the word inconvenience could not come up accidentally in this novel.

True enough. The word seems to keep cropping up, too, but nonchalantly. By this point in the novel, I had already been kicking myself for not circling every prior use of the word.

For what it's worth, one of my Google searches for "inconvenience" yielded this bit of Pynchon-worthy information:

:John Evelyn, one of members of the Invisible College (the group that founded the Royal Society of the United Kingdom), published one of the first books on pre-industrial air pollution in 1661, '''''Fumufugium''': or, The Inconvience of the Aer, and Smoak of London Dissipated''.

:The first two paragraphs of Part I:

:It is not without some considerable ''Analogy'', that sundry of the ''Philosophers'' have named the ''Aer'' the ''Vehicle of the Soul'', as well as that of the Earth, and this frail Vessell of ours which contains it; since we all of us finde the benefit which we derive from it, not onely for the necessity of Respiration and functions of the Organs; but likewise for the use of the ''Spirits'' and ''Primigene Humors'', which doe most neerly approach that Divine particle. But we shall not need to insist, or refine much on this sublime Subject; and, perhaps, it might scandalize scrupulous Persons to pursue to the height it may possibly reach (as ''Diogenes'' and ''Anaximenes'' were wont to ''Deifie'' it) after we are past the ''Aetherial'', which is a certain ''Aer'' of ''Plato's'' denomination, as well as that of the lesse pure, more turbulent and dense, which, for the most part, we live and breath in, and which comes here to be examined as it relates to the design in hand, the City of ''London'', and the environs about it.

:It would doubtlesse be esteemed for a strange and extravagant ''Paradox'', that one should affirme, that the ''Aer'' itself is many times a potent and great disposer to ''Rebellion'' [note JE's book was printed right after Prince Charles' restoration]; and that ''Insulary people'', and indeed, most of the ''Septentrion Tracts'', where this ''Medium'' is grosse and heavy, are extremely versatile and obnoxious to change both in Religious and Secular Affaires: Plant the Foote of your Compasses on the very ''Pole'', and extend the other limb to 50 ''degrees of Latitude'': bring it about 'till it describe the Circle, and then reade the Histories of those Nations inclusively, and make the Calculation.

'''Newnham''' 
An all-women's college at Cambridge, founded in 1871.

'''Wrangleresses''' 
Made-up: top female Math Scholars at Cambridge. Top students were called Wranglers, all male at this time. "Cambridge University and within it of the Mathematics Tripos, the competitive graduation examination process that ranked candidates in order of “Wrangler”" ...

'''Phillippa Fawcett''' 
Typo, should be Philippa Fawcett (1868-1948). She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1890, she was the first woman to score the highest mark at Mathematics Tripos at Cambridge. She served as a College Lecturer in mathematics at Newnham College for 10 years. [http://www.agnesscott.edu/Lriddle/WOMEN/fawcett.htm]

'''Grace Chisholm and Will Young''' 
Grace Chisholm (1868-1944), an English mathematician. She went to Girton College, Cambridge in 1889 to study mathematics. Since no women were accepted to graduate schools in England, after graduation She went to the University of Göttingen to continue her mathematics education and received her PhD there in 1895. The following year she married William Young (1863-1942), one of her tutors at Girton and also a mathematician. (''romances with one's tutors à la . . .'') Grace Chisholm and Will Young formed a mathematical married partnetship of real significance. Husband and wife played a major role in set theory research. Between them they wrote 214 mathematical articles and several books, including one on geometry and one on set theory. [http://www.agnesscott.edu/LRIDDLE/WOMEN/young.htm Grace Chisholm] and [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Young.html William Young].

'''nautch-girl''' 
The nautch girl was an Indian traditional dancer in Hindu temple or court performing ritual and religious dances. Her costume generally was of bright color. Pynchon probably refered to Yahsmeen's beautiful but exotic, extraordinary look and poise.
[[http://www.hitchams.suffolk.sch.uk/india_art/starter/nautch_girls.htm nautch girl]].

And then, through the medium of carnivals, she became an exotic dancer. This whole phrase "nautch-girl extravagance of looks and self-possession" refers to the sense of dominance the stripper feels over the yawps in the audience. Which figures in the key scene of the musical ''Gypsy'' (1959, book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim).
And an [[ATD_119-148#Page_125|annotation to p. 125]] ("red as a cursed ruby") points to a weird ''AtD'' nautch girl connection.

'''socio-acrobatic aggrandizement''' 
'social climbing'

'''''opium beer''''' 
laudanum?, if not literally.

'''duc de Richelieu''' 
Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu (September 9, 1585 – December 4, 1642), was a French clergyman, noble, and statesman.

Consecrated as a bishop in 1607, he later entered politics, becoming a Secretary of State in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Church and the state, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642;
from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Wikipedia].

:Wrong Richelieu. The duke in question won his big battle at Mahon in 1756. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Fran%C3%A7ois_Armand_du_Plessis%2C_duc_de_Richelieu Here's the Wikipedia link for the right one.]

'''Line and staff''' 
Cyprian's father sees his work in the City as analogous to the profession of arms. Officers in the British and most other armies of the time were classified as "line," those commanding troops, and "staff," those performing administrative and planning functions.

==Page 491==

'''the City''' 
Major banks and other big-money institutions are located in the City of London, a fairly small subset of Metropolitan London.

'''can't ''ever'' tell''' 
Dog-eat-dog capitalism?

'''Reginald "Ratty" McHugh''', '''fifteen years or so later'''
Reginald nodded appreciatively FIFTEEN YEARS OR SO LATER?...What is going
on here time-wise? 
All the conversation before this line, between Cyprian and his father, is "recalled", having taken place some "fifteen years or so" earlier.

'''one more flag''' 
IE, his father's wallpaper brand.

I was thinking perhaps his father was trying to bring up the subject of his sodomitical activities, where the "enemy" in this case are "hidden" homosexuals, and this is how he was "dishonoring" the flag.

'''Balkan Sobranies''' 
An upscale brand of cigarette.

'''lilies-and-lassitude humor of the '90s''' 
Cult of Oscar Wilde?
Aubrey Beardsley and the pre-Raphaelites? 
More generally, the 'Aesthetes', not the same as the Pre-Raphaelites. People like Wilde. In Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Patience' the Wilde-like character is described as follows:

Though the Philistines may jostle, 
you will rank as an apostle 
in the high aesthetic band, 
If you walk down Piccadilly 
with a poppy or a lily 
in your medieval hand. 

And ev'ryone will say, 
As you walk your flow'ry way, 
"If he's content with a vegetable love 
which would certainly not suit me, 
Why, what a most particularly pure young man 
this pure young man must be!" 

'''table d'hôte''' 
French: host's table. In a restaurant, a meal chosen by the management, no substitutions please. If the appetizer is shrimp and you don't like shrimp, then don't eat the appetizer.

'''Very well, I contradict myself.''' 
Walt Whitman allusion. See Leaves of Grass. Next line in ADT affirms this.

==Page 492==

'''divine . . . prosaic''' 
(Walt Whitman was of course prosaic himself before he became divine.)

'''xanthocroid''' 
Prefix xantho- is from Greek and means yellow. Does the whole word mean "yellow-haired"? Yes, i.e. blondes.

'''Capsheaf''' 
Is this a third speaker, or another name for Ratty? Third speaker. Ratty puts in some words a little bit down the page.

In mathematics, a sheaf is the basic tool for expressing relationships between small regions of a space and large regions. Beginning with a topological space X, a sheaf assigns to every region (technically, open set) U of X some data F(U), such as a set, a group, or a ring. Often these data are a collection of geometric objects defined on that region, such as functions, vector fields, or differential forms. The data can be restricted to smaller regions, and compatible collections of data can be glued to give data over larger regions. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheaf_%28mathematics%29 wikipedia entry]

'''viva''' 
Slangy short form of ''viva voce,'' an oral examination. At Oxbridge, this would have been one standard method of examination for most degrees, and they are often intimidating, demanding experiences.

'''Crayke''' 
Crayke is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, about two miles east of Easingwold. Relevant?

Also, "crake" designates various species in the family [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crake Rallidae], which also includes rails, coots, gallinules, and swamphens. Crakes and rails generally are medium-sized, ground-dwelling birds, with adaptations of the foot suited to wetlands.

'''spot of audit''' 
[http://www.andrewcusack.com/blog/2006/12/drink_audit_ale.php Audit ale,] a strong ale served on a few special days. Some colleges at British universities brew their own or contract it out.

'''Shetland''' 
Shetland Islands, an island group northeast of the Orkney Islands, comprising a county of Scotland.

'''Shetland ponies''' 
one of a breed of small but sturdy, rough-coated ponies raised originally in the Shetland Islands.

'''''D'accord''''' 
French: right, OK.

'''reputation for viciousness''' 
The Shetland pony breed has a repuation for viciousness, even if this reputation isn't entirely accurate.

'''Arab''' 
Arabian hourse. One of a breed of horses, raised originally in Arabia and adjacent countries, noted for their intellegence, grace, and speed.

'''Thoroughbred''' 
One of a breed of horses, to which all race horse belong, originally developed in England by crossing Arbian stallions with European mares.

'''croft''' 
Farm.

'''Mainland''' 
The name of one of the 29 inhabited islands in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK. It is the largest island in Shetland Islands, the third largest in Great Britian.

'''Mavis Grind''' 
A narrow isthmus joining the Northmavine peninsula to the rest of Mainland in the Shetland Islands, UK. The name means "gate of the narrow isthmus" in the local dialect. Mavis Grind is said to be the only place in the UK where you can toss a stone across land from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

'''orthopædic journals''' 
Both prof and pony have to do some twisting in order to get the act done. Their skeletal disorders will, erhhm, ''spur'' the interest of orthopædists. Especially if she kicks.

'''Dymphna''' 
After [http://www.catholic-forum.com/SAINTS/saintd01.htm St. Dymphna,] whose intercession is effective against insanity, possession and epilepsy. Her shrine at Gheel, Belgium, has since the 11th century been a refuge for persons with mental illness and intellectual disability. The afflicted wealthy went to the shrine to be cured; they were boarded with townspeople, beginning a tradition of adult foster care for persons with mental illness which continues to this day; Gheel is a designated state psychiatric hospital center, at which all the patients live in foster family homes.

'''decks full of hearts''' 
(52 or 13 per deck?)

==Page 493==

'''Thucydides... remind me''' 
Thucydides' book is an account of the Peloponnesian war, organized in a rather difficult method in which all the actions of one season are described before proceeding to the next. Here are some erotic possibilities in it, however: 
-Pericles, in his famous funeral oration, says the citizen ought to have an eros for the city. 
-At one point some Athenians are lured out of a garrison by way of a gymnastic (that is male, nude) demonstration. 
-On the eve of the fateful Sicilian expedition, all the oversized phalloi of the hermes are mysteriously knocked off. One of the generals on the expedition, Alcibiades, is accused of the offense and is eventually called called back. In Plato's Symposium Alcibiades drunkenly crashes the party and confesses that Socrates has consistently spurned his sexual advances.

In this context, Thucydides is proposed specifically for its non-erotic qualities. In writing his histories, Thucydides attempted to produce a clinical account of the Peloponnesian war without the passion and inaccuracies of previous histories, such as those of Herodotus. Indeed it is hard to imagine a less erotic work. It is suggested for Cyprian Latewood to help him get over his infatuation with Yashmeen.

'''McHugh''' 
Talking to self?

'''''Peeng''-kyeah''' 
Pinky, name given to Yashmeen by the blonde girls, Lorelei, Noellyn an Faun.

'''alfresceehwh''' 
An alfresco, an outdoor gathering. ''-eehwh'' is a rendering of the accent for comic effect.

'''Lorelei, Noellyn, and Faun''' 
Lorelei, more frequently "Loreley": In a famous German myth, a mermaid sitting on a rock by the river Rhine. The rock itself is also named Loreley. With her song, she bewitches the captains of passing ships, who then steer into the rock. The syllable "Ley" derives from a Celtic word for "stone".

Faun: Faunus, the Roman god of fertility, also responsible for nightmares. Fauns are also the Romans counterparts of the Greek "satyrs", followers of Dionysos. Faunus is playing a flute, another connection to music.

Noellyn ?? 
She is No Ellen? 
Echo of Noel?

'''"all blonde, of course"''' 
with all the Germanic mythology around here, possibly a reference to the "blonde/blue-eyed"-cliche of German women. Possible play on light-theme? Blonde (light, reflection) opposed to the dark (absence of light, absorption) Yashmeen?

'''High Albedo''' 
Albedo: power of reflecting light. Blondes reflect more light than brunettes. 
Possibly a citation of ''Gravity's Rainbow'', p. 152 (Viking), "high-albedo stockings".

'''"dark rock...again and again"''' 
cf "Lorelei"

'''Pinky''' 
Nicknames opposite of truth?

''''''sans merci'''''' 
a reference to Keats's 19th century Romantic ballad 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci'. The lady of the title entraps men by making them fall in love with her and abandoning them.

French for "no mercy" or "no pity", or, more precisely in this case: "without mercy". Alludes to Pinky's cold and unforgiving nature.

==Page 494==

'''wrong altar''' 
She, a lesbian, tells him that he 'worships' a woman who is wrong for him.

'''gnomic tenses''' 
Gnomic = marked by aphorisms; aphoristic...'gnomic verse, a gnomic style".
American Heritage Dictionary.

: In Greek the gnomic tense is the timeless aorist, i.e. an aorist indicating no special time. In English there is the timeless present tense, e.g. in proverbs. Since the gnomic aorist differs from the usual aorist only in its usage the term "gnomic tenses" seems a little stressed.

'''circs''' 
Short form (typically British): circumstances.

''''If she's not content with a vegetable love'''' 
a reference to Marvell's seventeenth century poem 'To His Coy Mistress'. "Vegetable love" refers to the slow, slow way he would let his love grow, to become "vaster than empires and more slow" had they "world enough and time", but since they don't, since they are in human time, he is trying to 'convince' her to make love with him now. Another interpretation would be female masturbation via vegetables. 
True, but more directly, quoting Gilbert and Sullivan. See comments on p. 491 (lilies-and-lassitude).

'''Rugby blue''' 
To be a 'Rugby blue' means to have represented Oxford (colour: dark blue) or Cambridge (light blue) at Rugby, which is a major European sport, invented, supposedly, at Rugby school in England in the nineteenth century.

'''Mâconnais''' 
This refers to a bargain sub-Burgundian wine that comes from the Macon region of France.

:Bargain? You've obviously never enjoyed a good bottle of Mâcon Villages Cuvée Botrytis Domaine de la Bongran 2000, which, if you decide to treat yourself to a great bottle of white, will set you back at least 180$. It is true, though, that some wine snobs look down on Mâcon Wines because the region doesn't have any Grand Crus or Premier Crus.

<div id="grosssmith">'''George Grossmith...and that jolly Weedon'''</div>
George and Weedon Grossmith, authors of the sublime, hillarious 'Diary of a Nobody', which gave the world the adjective 'pooterish'. Undoubtedly an influence on Pynchon's depictions of the 'oh dear' side of Englishness. Pooter is a 'nobody' who decides to publish his diaries, even though he is of no interest and nothing of any note occurs. A prototypical blogger, some might suggest. Originally published in Punch magazine (I think), set in late 19th Century. Don't know if the Grossmiths went to Cambridge, will check....

The elder George Grossmith performed in Gilbert and Sullivan works. He was not university-educated. The younger G.G. was also a noted performer and collaborated with P.G. Wodehouse.

[plenty of info here: http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/english/DON/Diary_Home.htm]

==Page 495==

'''Junior or Senior?''' 
expressions used at traditional English (independent) schools to refer to younger and older brothers. Thus Smith Junior or Smith Senior.—

I don't think this is correct - the junior/senior here just refers to the question of whether it's Grossmith the father or Grossmith the son. The traditional expression for younger and older brothers is minor/major. So Smith major would be the elder Smith brother, Smith minor the younger brother.[[User:Geb|Geb]] 19:49, 10 April 2008 (PDT)geb

See [[#grossmith|Grossmith entry]] on preceding page.

'''"Small hands, some evidence of early trauma, cp. Wilhelm II file"''' 
Wilhelm II suffered an injury at birth and had a withered arm. All his photographs show him with the "small hand" in his pocket.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_II_of_Germany From Wikipedia]: 
William II, German Emperor (1859-1941), Reigned 1888-1918.

The role of William II in German history is sometimes a controversial issue in historical scholarship. Initially seen as an important, but embarrassing figure in German history until the late 1950s, for many years after that, the dominant view was that he had little or no influence on German policy leading up to the First World War. This has been challenged since the late 1970s, particularly by Professor John C. G. Röhl who saw William II as the key figure in understanding the recklessness and subsequent downfall of Imperial Germany.

'''"Map of the World"''' 
Like it says in the text, simply what Renfrew calls all his data.

Although the name is possibly of some significance! Renfrew's dossiers could act as a way of divining holistic truth from a series of perspectives or projections. Obviously interpreting this data requires the correct viewing individual, or "lens." In this way, Renfrew's "Map" is not unlike the Sfinciuno Itinerary.

Ah, I think it worth pointing out that Renfrew's dossiers on "everyone' is a paranoid's nightmare. The map is a "map" of what Refrew learns about everyone, not a common meaning of 'map", and reminding this reader of They/Them in ''Gravity's Rainbow'' who have a map of everywhere Slothrop--
and others?--appear to be/have been. At least. [[User:MKOHUT|MKOHUT]] 06:55, 3 October 2007 (PDT)

Also brings to mind the Wittgenstein line that TRP alludes to in ''The Crying of Lot 49'': "The world is all that is the case". If Renfrew
could map everything everyone does, he would have the whole [human] world
'mapped'.

'''Newmarket''' 
A famous English race-course, hence the following reference to the 'racing season'. 
And very close to Cambridge.

'''Morse and Vassilev''' 
In 1896-97 the first radio-telegraphic equipment was imported into Bulgaria for the needs of the armed forces and large postal offices. This was the start of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). At that time, the equipment was used only to transmit Morse code on electro-magnetic waves. Samuel F. B. Morse, an English speaking American, invented Morse code and the telegraph.(On May 24, 1844 he transmitted the first telegraph message: "What hath God wrought!"). BNR at one time was headed by Orlin Vassilev, a Bulgarian playwright. BNR at one time also employed former (Bulgarian) environment minister Valentin Vassilev. 
Charles Morse published a full textbook of Bulgarian grammar in 1860, and compiled the first Bulgarian-English dictionary.#REDIRECT [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian-American_relations]]

'''East Rumelian''' 
Cf [[ATD_336-357#Page_356|page 356: East Rumelia. ]] Rumelia was a Turkish province in the Balkan Peninsula. East Rumelia lay mostly in what is now Bulgaria.

'''the Treaty of Berlin''' 
In the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 Russia crushed Turkey and forced it to accept the Treaty of San Stefano. This created a greatly expanded Bulgaria under Russian protection. Britain feared that Russia might spread its control to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and to the Suez Canal, and therefore, with Austria, demanded a revised treaty. Weakened by war, Russia consented. The Treaty of San Stefano was replaced thus by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin_%281878%29 the Treaty of Berlin] (1878), the final act of the Congress of Berlin of the Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The new treaty recognized the complete independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. The autonomy of Bulgaria was also recognized but it remained under formal Ottoman overlordship and divied between the Principality of Bulgaria and the autonomous province of ''East Rumelia''. And the Ottoman province of Bosnia was placed uner Austro-Hungarian administration.

'''''zadruga''''' 
Bulgarian: labor cooperative.

'''''tchifliks''''' 
Bulgarian: farms.

'''''gradinarski druzhini''''' 
Bulgarian: gardening (or farming?) associations.

'''gossamer''' 
Sheer, light, delicate, flimsy, airy, tenuous, like a cobweb.

==Page 496==

'''sod . . . pouffe''' 
Derogatory terms for homosexual ("sod" from "sodomite").

'''failed canards''' 
Discredited rumors.

'''Lent . . . Easter . . . Long Vacation''' 
''Lent'' is an anual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for ''Easter'', beginning at Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter. After ''Lent'', ''Easter'' the school terms would soon glide into the summer recess, the ''Long Vacation.''
 
::At Cambridge University 'Lent Term' is the second term of the academic year (after Christmas), and 'Easter Term' is the third (between Easter and Summer - or 'Long' - vacations.) So 'Lent and Easter' qualifies 'The Terms' in the previous clause: the sense is 'Lent Term and Easter Term went gliding...' (The first term of the Cambridge year, incidentally, is called 'Michaelmas'.)

'''Colonial Office''' 
Defunct British Ministry, later Foreign & Colonial Office, now Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

'''Okhrana''' 
a secret police force of the Russian Empire and part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okhrana Wikipedia Entry]

'''Ballhausplatz''' 
Location of the Austrian State Chancellery and Foreign Ministry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballhausplatz Wikipedia Entry]

'''Wilhelmstrasse''' 
Administrative Center of the Kingdom of Prussia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelmstrasse Wikipedia Entry]

'''G.F.B. Riemann''' 
Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann. A German mathematician who did extensive work in differential geometry. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Riemann Wikipedia Entry]

[http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Riemann.html Bernhard Riemann] (1826-66), a German mathematician. He studied mathematics at the University of Göttingen and later taught that subject there. He did important work in geometry, complex analysis, and mathematical physics. Riemanm's work on Riemann geometry laid the foundation for Einstein's general relativity. He investigated the Riemann zeta function about which he stated the famous (and still not completely proven) Riemann hypothesis (see below). He died of tuberculosis in Selasca, Italy, at the age of 39.

'''Zeta function . . . conjecture''' 
The Riemann zeta function. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_zeta_function/ Wikipedia Entry]

The Riemann zeta function is an extremely important special function of mathematics and physics that arises in definite integration and is intimately related with very deep results surrounding the prime number theorem. While many of the properties of this function have been investigated, there remain important fundamental ''conjectures'' (most notably the Riemann hypothesis) that remain unproved to this day. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_zeta_function Zeta function]].

The Riemann hypothesis (''conjecture'') is a conjecture about the distribution of zeros of the Riemann zeta function. The Riemann zeta function is defined for all complex numbers (Cf [[ATD_119-148#Page132|page 132]]) not equal to zero. It has zeros at the negative even integers, (-2, -4, -6 and so on), called trivial zeros. The Riemann hypothesis is concerned with the non-trivial zeros, saying, ''"The real part of any non-trivial zero of the Riemann zeta function is 1/2."'' This conjecture remains unproved. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_hypothesis Riemann conjecture]].

Riemann's zeta function is also used in the Zipf Probability Distribution [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ZipfDistribution.html], which itself led to the formulation of Zipf's Principle of Least Effort that TRP mined for semantic resonances in GR. [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Zipf%27s_Principle_of_Least_Effort]

''''joint'''' 
Opium den.

'''Bob's your uncle''' 
An English and Commonwealth expression referring to the ease with which something can be done. Still used, though probably more common in the time in which ''Against the Day'' is set. Possible [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/70100.html derivations].

'''Limehouse''' 
An area of East London that borders on the River Thames near the Isle of Dogs. The name may derive from the lime kilns, or lime "oasts", that once flourished there. In the late 19th century the area was famous for opium dens [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limehouse Wikipedia].

==Page 497==

'''Knightsbridge''' 
Knightsbridge is a street in Westminster borough, London. Notable for its super rich and famous high profile residents and its exclusive shops. (Recent residents included members of the Saudi royal family, Joan Collins, Gucci, Prince Diana and so on; it's shops included Egyptian Fayed's Harrods, etc . . . ) [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightsbridge Knightsbridge]].

'''Hôtel Alsace''' 
The propre name is Hôtel d'Alsace. It was, and still is, located at number 13 rue des Beaux-Arts, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Oscar Wilde died there, under an assumed named, on november 30th, in 1900, following a two-day agony. Note some similarity of letters between the names Griswold and Wilde (both "sodomite"…). 

Also, Wilde's famous last words (well, recounted as last words but really uttered months before his death) was "either that wallpaper goes, or I do." Cyprian's uncle, Griswold, it seems, had the atrocious decorative taste that shoved Wilde into the great beyond. This is post-Wilde; the avant-garde pose has calcified into a tacky schtick, the "lilies-and-lassitude" 90s, like the foreclosed frontier, a dead duck in the sodomite water.

see "Gris"--four associative definitions that interestingly modify/play with, the name Wilde: gray; a pale rose' (as in vin gris)and Juan Gris, Spanish painter. [http://www.google.com/search?q=define:gris&hl=en&oi=definel&defl=all gris]

'''excess''' 
(So not wholly gossamer?)

'''Coronation Red''' 
The Peer‘s traditional robes at Coronation Day are made of crimson red velvet [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_the_British_Monarch Wikipedia] [http://www.geocities.com/noelcox/Peers_Robes.htm website]. Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were crowned at Westminster Abbey on 9 August 1902 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VII_of_the_United_Kingdom Wikipedia]

'''Ranji and C.B. Fry''' 
Two notable cricketers who would have been in their prime when the novel is set. Both played for England. 'Ranji' is short for Ranjitsinhji and is how he was familiarly known. [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/12930.html C.B. Fry] [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/19331.html Ranji]

'''Australian season''' 
A reference to the Australian cricket season which runs throughout their summer and the European winter.

More likely to refer to the tour of the Australian cricket team to England in the Summer of 1902. Of particular interest is the fact that the Aussies played a match against Cambridge University on June 9-10. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_cricket_team_in_England_in_1902 1902 Ashes Tour]

'''New Court''' 
A major building in St John's College (founded 1511), University of Cambridge. It was completed in 1831. It's style is Gothic, a romantic version of a mediaeval building; its basic plan is classical. For pictures and more info [http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/about/tour/new_court New Court].

'''Tavernier-Gravet slide rules''' 
French-made, some with special scales (slope conversions, etc.). [http://discover.com/issues/aug-03/features/featslide/ Photograph.]

'''High Church''' 
Anglican

'''Mags and Nuncs and Matins responsories''' 
A responsory is a form of (Christian) chant (call and response, perhaps), which is here qualified by Latin designations for specific prayers. 
Mags: possibly for ''Magnificat,'' the hymn beginning "My soul doth magnify the Lord"? 
Nunc = Now. For ''Nunc dimittis,'' the prayer beginning "Let thy servant now depart." 
Matin = Morning.

'''Trinity''' 
Trinity College, was founded by Henry VIII in 1546 as part of the Univeristy of Cambridge. Most of its major buildings date from the 16th and 17th centuries. "Princes, spies, poets and prime-ministers have all been taught here." (Trinity's own website [http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=2 Trinity])

'''King's''' 
King's College, Cambridge University, was found by Henry VI in 1441. From the first, the College's buildings were intened to be a magnificent display of the power of royal patronage. King's College Chapel, wanted by the King to be without equal in size and beauty and took nearly a century to complete, is one of the greatest examples of gothic architecture. It is also home to the world famous Choir, envisaged by Henry VI for daily singing of services in the chapel. [[http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/visitors/history.html King's]].

'''not Zion''' 
The context indicated that the original meaning Mount Zion, a hill near Jerusalem, was used; i.e. "not Mount Zion".

'''Compline hour''' 
Bedtime. Compline is the last prayers or service of the day.

'''Te Deum''' 
Te Deum = Thou, O God (Latin).

Since "the Te Deum" was used in the text, it meant the ancient Latin hymn of praise to God, in the form of a psalm, sung regularly at matins in the Roman Catholic Church and, usually in an English translation, at Morning Prayer in the Anglican Church, as well as on special occasions as a service of thanksgiving or commemoration. First words of the hymn, which begin; ''Te Deum laudāmus'' (we praise thee God). Te Deum also refers to the musical setting or form of this hymn with a certain structure which Filtham had blotched. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Deum Wikipedia]

Coincidence? According to the [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14468c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia] there is a discussion among scholars whether the hymn of the Te Deum goes back to a text written by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cyprian St. Cyprian of Carthage] : "...if the hymn was borrowed from St. Cyprian, why did it not include the "virgines" instead of stopping with "martyrum"?".

'''Khaki Election''' 
A term in British political history. It refered to the British general election of 1900. The reason for this name was that the issues of the election were overshadowed totally by the issue of the (2nd) Boer War (South African War, 1899-1902 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War Boer War]]), as ''khaki'' was the color of the new army uniform. A ''Khaki Election'' is now applied to any British national election which is heavily influenced by wartime or postwar sentiment. 1918 general election (end of World War I) and 1945 election (end of Wordl War II) were both described as Khaki Elections.

'''Filtham''' 
???

==Page 498==

'''violation of . . . child-labor statutes''' 
If such laws applied to children in the choirs of Cambridge colleges, the great length of the composition would keep them at work too many hours.

'''chromaticism . . . Richard Strauss''' 
Chromaticism refers to the use of the chromatic scale in composing music. Ever since Baroque Period (17th to early 18th century) almost all music were compsoed either in major or minor scale, in which only seven of the twelve tones of the octave were used. Beginning in the late Romanic Period (mid 19th to 20th century) the chromatic scale including all 12 tones of the octave was used. By using the tones that are not "supposed" to be in a certain key, the music thus composed had stronger dissonance and exaggerated tension. 

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was a German composer of the late Romantic era well known for his tone poems and operas. His ''Also sprach Zarathustra'' (1896), a symphonic poem, was made widely popular by Stanley Kubrick's film ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' in 1968 — the music (especially the brass fanfare opening) introduced the memorable ape/man sequence of the film. His many operas include ''Salome, Der Rosenkavalier, Capriccio'' and others. Chromaticism was not that new to Richard Strauss, but "relentless chromaticism" just might be too "modern" for him.

'''Staindrop''' 
Home of Jeremiah Dixon.

'''"Filtham's Tedium"''' 
(Talk about overlabored puns...)
:"Tedium" is a common humorous way to refer to somebody-or-other's "Te Deum."

'''dress regulations''' 
???

'''Gauss''' 
Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), a German mathematician and scientist, and one of the all-time greats. He worked in a wide variety of fields in both mathematics and physics including number theory, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, magnetism, astronomy and optics. His work has had an immense influence in many areas. Riemann was a student of his at Göttingen. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss Wikipedia].

'''Ramanujan''' 
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), one of India's greatest mathematical geniuses. Long before he came to Cambridge and though without any formal university education, Ramanujan made substantial contributions to the anlytical theory of numbers and worked on elliptic functions, continued fractions and infinite series. He, a poor savant from India, was invited in 1914 to Cambridge by G.H. Hardy after he wrote him a letter asking abstruse mathematical questions. In his letter, Ramanujan enclosed a long list of then unproved theorems which he had solved. After his arriving at Cambridge Ramanujan collaborated with G.H. Hardy resulting in important results. He was allowed to enroll in 1914 in Cambridge despite not having the proper qualifications and received a PhD degree in 1916. Plagued by health problems all his life, his health deteriorated rapidly from 1917, and he returned to India in 1919 and died there the following year. Two years before his death, however, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London. [[http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Ramanujan.html Ramanujan]]. Therefore,
". . . Ramanujan here at Trinity . . ." could have happened only between 1914 - 1919.

'''revisited, in some way 'relighted' the scene''' 
Light, mental light.

'''display of hurt feelings''' 
Cf p30.

==Page 499==

'''light up''' 
Dark world vs spark of value.

'''ζ-function''' 
Another reference to the Riemann zeta function.

'''Hilbert thinks of nothing else''' 
The Riemann hypothesis is one of the 20 problems put forth by Hilbert in 1900.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert_problem Wikipedia Entry]

'''desire... of rather a specialized sort''' 
???

'''Great Eastern''' 
Railway linking Cambridge and London.

==Page 500==

'''Weierstrass and Sofia Kovalevskaia''' 
Sofia Kovalevskaia was the first woman to apply for a mathematics degree at the University of Goettingen in Germany. She was not accepted at the university, but was allowed to tutor under one of the university's math professors. She wrote a paper there that became an important part of the theory of differential equations.

:Kovalevskaia's private math tutor was Weierstrass at Berlin (see below).

''Karl Weierstrass'' (1815-97), a German mathermatician. He attended the University of Bonn studying law, finance and economics instead of mathermatics, the subject he was really interested in and studied out of school. He left the Univeristy of Bonn without a degree and went to the University of Münster for mathematics. Later he became a teacher in the city of Münster. Around 1850 he took a chair at the Technical University of Berlin. For four years (1870-1874) he gave private mathematics lessons to Sofia Kovalevskaia while she was denied the university entrance in Berlin. His investigations were mainly on the topic of "Special Functions": Weierstrass Elliptic Function, Weierstrass Zeta Function, Weierstrass Product Theroem, etc.

''Sofia Kovalevskaia'' (1850-91) Russian mathematician and novelist. She was born in Moscow and showed an interest in mathematics from an early age. When 11 she studied differential and integral analysis from her father's calculus lecture notes that were used as wallpaper in the family house. She was given a special tutor of higher mathematics. At age 18 she entered a "false" marriage (it became genuine later) in order to be able to attend college abroad. In 1869 she enrolled as a provisional student at Heidelberg University. In 1870 she moved to Berlin attempting to study under ''Weierstrass'' and enroll at Berlin University. But the university refused to accept her because of her gender. However, Weierstrass was so impressed by her talent that he gave her private mathematics lessons twice a week for four years. By the spring of 1874, Kovalevskaia had completed three papers. Weierstrass deemed each of these worthy of a doctorate. And with his help, in Kovaleskaia's absence, University of Göttingen granted her a PhD in Mathematics (a historical first) and Master (''summa cum laude'') in Fine Art. In the same year she returned to Russia but failed to get an academic job. She did not practice mathematics for six years but pursued literary work instead. In 1880 she returned to mathematics and applied to teach at universities in Russia but was denied again. Finaly she found employment at Sweden's Stockholm University in 1883. She died of pneumonia in Stockholm in 1891. 
In her short life Kovalevskaia had won a historic place in mathermatics. She was the first woman to receive a doctorate in mathermatics, the first woman to obtain a permanent position on a university faculty in mathematics, the first woman having a place on the editorial staff of a mathematical journal, the first female member of St. Petersburg Academy of Science, and the first woman to win the most prestigeous mathematical contest of her day, an honor equivalent to the winning of a Nobel Prize. Her literary achievements was quite substantial. Her ''Russian Childhood'' won wide acclaim and was translated into many languages (the English edition still available). She had a couple of novels (''Nihilist Girl'' etc.) published as well. She dabbled in playwriting and produced a steady stream of both fiction and nonfiction publications for Russian journals.

'''Pythagorean doctrine''' 
From the text it refers to Pythagorean doctrine of transmigration of souls. Pythagoras and his disciples believed in reincarnation (or metempsychosis), according to which human souls are immortal and are reborn into other animals after death. ("reborn as a vegetable" may be questionable.) 
Perhaps not so questionable. There is, after all, the Pythagorean prohibition against eating beans, wind being 'pneuma' = spirit.

[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagora Pythagoras], one of the most famous and controversial ancient Greek philosophers, lived from ca. 570 to ca. 490 BC. He spent his early years on the island of Samos, off the coast of modern Turkey. At the age of 40, he moved to Crotona in southern Italy and most of his philosophical activity occurred there. His philosophical thinking exercised an important influence on the work of Plato. "Pythagoras was famous (1) as an expert on the fate of the soul after death . . .; (2) as an expert on religious ritual; (3) as a wonder-worker who had a thigh of gold and who could be two places at the same time; (4) as the founder of a strict way of life that emphasized dietary restrictions, . . . and rigorous self discipline." (on-line Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). 
Pythagoras was also a famous mathematician best known for the Pythagorean Theorem and the Music of the Spheres. Known as the father of numbers, his philosophy encompassed harmonics in mathematics, music, cosmology, geometry and had a lasting impact on hermeticism, gnosticism and alchemy.

'''sounds like maths''' 
Yashmeen seems to see 'maths' as otherwordly.

'''folio''' 
an edition of a book in pages that fold in half to make the leaves of a codex.

'''four-color chromolithograph''' 
Chromo--in Chemistry, chromium
 
:Nothing to do with chromium. Chromolithography means 'The art of printing in colours from stone' (OED), an early technique for printing in more than one colour. The chromo- prefix is a shortened form of chromato-, a Greek-derived prefix denoting 'to do with colour'.

'''Snazzbury''' 
???

'''Silent Frock''' 
Cf noise-canceling headphones.

'''toilette''' 
No longer in use in modern english, the term 'toilette' indicated a dressing table covered to the floor with cloth (toile) and lace, on which stood a dressing glass, which might also be draped in lace. Wikipedia

It's still used, and in addition to the dressing table meaning, it refers to how somebody is "got up"--dress, makeup and all.

==Page 501==

'''green, white, and mauve stripes''' 
Colors associated with the Suffragette Movement of the time.Diane Atkinson, one of the leading contemporary scholars on the suffrage movement, edited a book, Suffragettes in the Purple, White, and Green London 1906-1914, which served as a catalog at an exhibition of suffrage memorabilia at the Museum of London and which discusses the symbolism. Atkinson notes that the color scheme was devised by Mrs. Pethick-Lawrence, treasurer and co-editor of the weekly newspaper Votes for Women. In the spring 1908 issue of that paper, Pethick-Lawrence explained the symbolism of the colors:

"Purple as everyone knows is the royal colour. It stands for the royal blood that flows in the veins of every suffragette, the instinct of freedom and dignity...white stands for purity in private and public life...green is the colour of hope and the emblem of spring."

'''black crepon''' 
The shell is made of black rayon crepon and fully lined to within 2" of bottom hem. From a description of a black [nursing] dress online.

'''Italian-cloth''' 
The Champagne fairs were a circuit of six cloth fairs in the towns of Champagne and Brie, changing location every two months and spanning the year from January to October. At their height, in the 13th century, the Champagne fairs linked the cloth-producing cities of the Low Countries with the Italian dyeing and exporting centers. The fairs, which were already well-organized at the start of the century, were one of the earliest manifestations of a linked European economy, a characteristic of the High Middle Ages.

The towns provided huge warehouses, still to be seen at Provins. From the north came woolens and linen cloth. Wikipedia.

==Page 502==

'''modern lettering''' 
Refers to Art Nouveau lettering popular at the turn of the 20th century and still commonly used on entrance signs for Paris metro stations.

'''"a kind of helical ramp"''' 
Possibly a reference to the Riemann Sphere, which is built in large part upon complex numbers and which look something like a helix. 
[[Image:Riemann Sphere.jpg]]

'''L'ARIMEAUX ET QUEURLIS''' 
Larry, Moe, and Curly's

'''twilling''' 
Twill = A fabric with diagonal parallel ribs. 2. The weave used to produce such a fabric.
TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: twilled, twill·ing, twills
To weave (cloth) so as to produce a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. From The American Heritage Dictionary

==Page 503==

'''Earl's Court Wheel''' 
The apostrophe is an error.
Go to "List All Pages" and enter "Great Wheel of Earl's Court" for an excellent write-up elucidating much of this page.

Earl's Court is an area of London. A Ferris Wheel there. See "The Great Wheel of Earls Court" page.

Another "paramorphic" parallel to our time: The London Eye, a huge Ferris Wheel built for the Millenium Exposition of 2000. The trip around is not, as Yasmeen notes, thermodynamically reversible, since one would be "changed forever" in the course of the journey around the wheel (in the Heraclitean sense that "No man steps in the same river twice"--the river changes.) 
This is the connection between entropy in thermodynamics and entropy in information theory, embodied in Maxwell's Demon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%27s_Demon], at the center of Pynchon's ''Crying of Lot 49'', now back as a problem in non-Euclidean geometries and multiple dimensions.

'''whelks''' 
A whelk is a large marine gastropod (snail) found in temperate waters. 
Popular in the early 20th C as fast food sold from stalls in the street. You extracted the somewhat bogey-like creature with a pin and ate it.

'''five pound note, like in the song''' 
Music hall song "I've Got the Five-Pound Note" based on 1896 stranding of passengers for 4-10 hours [accounts vary].

'''Chinese Turkestan railway shares''' 
Chinese Turkestan is where the Chums of Chance are currently, in the sub-desertine vehicle.

'''jellied eel''' 
An East End of London delicacy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellied_eels Wikipedia]

'''West Ham, the Park, Upton Lane, lads all in claret and blue''' 
The "lads in claret and blue" are kicking a football around, as they are players of current Premiership side West Ham United. Founded in 1895, the "Hammers" are playing their home games at Boleyn Ground aka "Upton Park". Yep, soccer. However, it's highly dubious that Upton Park could be seen from Earl's Court, even at 300 feet. Much easier to see Chelsea, Fulham or Queen's Park Rangers grounds, all very close to Earl's Court.

'''lupine liminality''' 
Latin: lupus = wolf, limen = threshold. Allusion to the proverbial wolf at the door.

Lupine = any of a genus (Lupinus) of leguminous herbs including some poisonous forms and others cultivated for their long showy racemes of usually blue, purple, white, or yellow flowers or for green manure, fodder, or their edible seeds; also : an edible lupine seed.

The liminal state is characterized by ambiguity, openness, and indeterminacy. One's sense of identity dissolves to some extent, bringing about disorientation. Liminality is a period of transition, during which your normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed, opening the way to something new.

'''hydrangeas''' 
a kind of flower. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea Wikipedia]

'''Hardy,''' 
Cf. [[ATD_219-242#Page 239|page 239:McTaggart . . . Hardy]]. G.H. (Godfrey Harold) Hardy (1877-1947),famous Cambridge mathematician [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._H._Hardy Wikipedia]. He wrote "A Mathematician's Apology" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Mathematician%27s_Apology Wikipedia] [http://www.math.ualberta.ca/~mss/books/A%20Mathematician's%20Apology.pdf Full Text]. Knew all the most famous intellectuals and was himself very influential.

==Page 504==

'''Harwich... German Sea''' 
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east.The North Sea historically also known as the German Ocean. By the late nineteenth century, German Sea was a rare, scholarly usage ...

"The German Sea" is also a public house (p. 489).

'''Hook of Holland''' 
Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands. It is not a hook but the southwest ''corner'' of South-Holland province (Dutch ''hoek'' = corner).

''Hook of Holland'' is also the name of the ferry port, an entry point into Holland and Europe. It is served by ferry sailings from Harwich and is the main entry port when travelling from the UK. It is less than 15 miles southwest of The Hague. [[http://www.eurodrive.co.uk/ports.asp?ID=39&p=Hook-Of-Holland Port of Hook of Holland]].

'''madhouse at Osnabrück''' 
OSNABRUCK, a town and episcopal see of Germany, in the Prussian province of Hanover, situated on the Hase, 70 m. W. of the city of Hanover, 31 m. by rail N.E. of Munster, and at the junction of the lines Hamburg-Cologne and BerlinAmsterdam. Pop. (1905) 59,5 80. The lunatic asylum occupies a former nunnery.

==Page 505==

'''plug hats''' 
a plug hat may be a top hat or a bowler hat.

'''Cobh''' 
the historic port town of Cobh Ireland. Many ocean liners sailed from there, including the Titanic... the port of Queenstown (now known as Cobh)

==Page 506==

'''Euclid''' 
Avenue of classy mansions in Cleveland

Euclid (300 BC) is also the father of geometry. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid wikipedia entry] check out the section on optics and the theory of mirrors.

'''elms in Cleveland''' 
(Before Dutch elm disease?)

'''went on for years''' 
the Krakatoa eruption put dust and ashes aloft for years.

'''Krakatoa''' 
The correct name is Krakatau. It is a volcanic, uninhabited Indonesia's island lies between Java and Sumatra. A series of cataclysmic explosions of August 26 - 27, 1883, the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history, collapsed the northern two-thirds of the island beneath the sea, generating an immense tsunamis that ravaged adjeacent coastlines and killed over 36,000 perople. Tephra (volcanic rock and glass fragments) from the eruption fell as far as 1,500 miles downwind in the days following the explosion. The finest fragments were propelled high into the stratosphere, spreading outward as a broad cloud acroos the entire equatorial belt in only two weeks. These particles would remain suspended in the atmosphere for a long time. For years, the earth experienced exotic colors in the sky, halos around the sun and moon, and a spectacular array of anomalous sunsets and sunrises. In the year following the equption, average global temperatures fell by as much as 1.2° Celsius. Weather patterns continued to be chaotic for years and temperature did not return to normal until 1888. For more about 1883 eruption, map, pictures, current volcanic activities etc see [http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Krakatau.html Krakatau 1] and [http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/current_volcs/krakatau/krakatau.html Krakatau 2].

'''Krakatoa...child's story'''

''The 21 Balloons''? which could have been a Chums of Chance adventure!

'''Shorty''' 
the 'short-order' cook?

==Page 507==
'''I thought sunsets were just supposed to look like that...

Suggestive of the sentiments in Wordsworth's ''Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood'' [http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww331.html]

Also brought to mind The Orb's ''Little Fluffy Clouds'' (1990) in which Rickie Lee Jones answers the question.....

What were the skies like when you were young? [by saying]

''They went on forever
And ''they -- when I
We lived in Arizona
And the skies always had little fluffy clouds
And they were long and clear
And there were lots of stars, at night
And when it rained it would all turn
It -- they were beautiful
The most beautiful skies as a matter of fact
The sunsets were purple and red
And yellow and on fire
And the clouds would catch the colors everywhere
That's -- it's neat
Because I used to look at them all the time
When I was little
You don't see that''''

Circling the rabbit hole....In this song, The Orb uses a harmonica sample from the song ''The Man With The Harmonica'' from the film '''Once Upon a Time in the West''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fluffy_Clouds]. The film in turn seems to have strong Pynchon/AtD overtones, (pre-tones??) --
Frank vs. Harmonica, the railroads destroying the Old West...etc. Pynchon showing a strong preference for harmonicas, old movies and songs and protagonists named Frank.

'''how little I cared''' 
(Blaming Krakatoa???)Seems to me she is saying that her feelings for Bert faded, as everything was, maybe, supposed to, as had the fantastic sunsets
caused by Krakatoa when they got back to ordinary.

'''palm upward''' 
One of many "old wives' tales" described in [http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/pregnancy/oldwives/index.php this web page.]

'''Prospect Avenue''' 
Once fashionable street in Cleveland, Ohio.

'''leaf-spring suspension''' 
A form of suspension for wheeled vehicles. Still very occasionally used in automobiles, but more likely nowadays to be seen on a perambulator. A "leaf" here is a long thin strip of tempered steel (they may also be stacked for greater strength).

'''overrun''' 
the excess kerosene when made.

'''Flats''' 
lands around the Cuyahoga River.

==Page 508==

'''Cuyahoga''' 
Major river in Ohio that goes around Cleveland. Famous in the 60's for literally catching on fire from the combustible pollutants in it. Here, Pynchon shows that industrial pollution and its effect on the river. "It's like looking down into the sky".

'''your exact face''' 
(How common?)

'''allowing Erlys do the work''' 
Error in first edition. Should be "allowing Erlys to do the work..."

==Page 509==

'''descending minor triad''' 
in music, an interval of three half tones. 
No, the triad is a chord, so it's three notes moving downwards (soh-mi-doh) forming a minor chord.

'''Svengali''' 
In George Du Maurier's novel ''Trilby'' (1894), the hypnotist who makes the title character a great singer but keeps her under rigorous control.

'''tea roses''' 
Yellow-orange roses.

'''cosmos''' 
any composite plant of the genus ''Cosmos'', of tropical America, some species of which are cultivated for their showy flowers.

==Page 510==

'''first momentous glance''' 
Page 349 only?

'''Elis''' 
Yale University students, called so after founder Eli Yale.

'''snooting''' 
the act of snubbing, treating scornfully or with disdain (OED)

'''tuned to a 440 A''' 
the elusive 440 A. ... Today's A above middle C has been set at 440 cycles per second or 440 Hertz. ...

==Page 511==

'''preferring''' 
Cf Rose in James Cameron's ''Titanic''.

'''Root Tubsmith''' 
Most likely a fictional character.

'''Fuchs''' 
Lazarus Fuchs (1833-1902), a German mathematician. He worked on differential equations and the theory of functions, ordinary differential equations with complex functions as coefficients, elliptic integrals, etc. [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Fuchs.html Fuchs].

'''Schwarz''' 
Herman Schwarz (1843-1921), a German mathematician, known for his work in complex analysis. He worked in Halle, Göttingen and then Berlin, dealing with the subjects of function theory, differential geometry and the calculus of variation. [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Schwarz.html Schwarz].

'''Frobenius''' 
Ferdinand Frobenius (1849-1917), a German mathematician. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Georg_Frobenius], possibly important here for his contributions to Group Theory and to topology [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frobenius_theorem_%28differential_topology%29]. He received his doctorate from the Univeristy of Berlin supervised by Weierstrass. Later, he taught mathematics there as well. He combined results from the theory of algebraic equations, geometry and number theory, which led him to the representation theory and the character theory of groups. [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Frobenius.html Frobenius].

'''Professor Manning''' 
Henry Parker Manning (1859-1956) In 1889 he entered Johns Hopkins University to study mathematics, astronomy and physics. When he received his Ph.D. degree in 1891, his first printed paper had already appeared in the ''American Journal of Mathematics''. He was appointed instructor in mathematics at Brown that same year, and “with his advent,” Professor Raymond C. Archibald would later write, “a new era in the development of mathematics at Brown was ushered in.” From 1893 to 1908 Manning offered courses in higher mathematics never previously available at Brown, courses with names like “Theory of functions: algebraic functions, Riemann surfaces, and Abelian functions,” “Substitutions and transformation groups,” and “Quaternions, non-Euclidean geometry, and hyperspace.” After 1908 there were others in the department able to teach higher mathematics. His publications included ''Non-Euclidean Geometry'' in 1901, the first English language text in this subject, ''Irrational Numbers and their Representation by Sequences and Series'' in 1906, and ''Geometry of Four Dimensions'' in 1914. [http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=M0090]

'''language difference''' 
Kit and Root both speak English, but in different mathematical dialects.

'''Marseilles''' 
Second largest city of France; Mediterannean port, legendarily corrupt.

'''species of tarantella''' 
Tarantella is a fast dance or dance tune in 6/8 time. Probably named for Taranto, not tarantula.

'''dreamed it''' 
(Page?)

Page 349, at R.W. Vibe's "Italianate town house." Dally confirms this on page five hundred and twelve.

'''Cigar Deck''' 
A deck on a luxury yacht, hotel or residence where 'gentlemen' went to smoke cigars.... "venue has everything - including a full bar, cigar deck, and dance floor. ..."

==Page 512==

'''how to stop looking''' 
Cf p27.

'''lobelias''' 
Plant or flower of the genus Lobelia. At least one member of the genus is blue (Blue Lobelia.

'''Victor Herbert''' 
Irish-born American composer (1859-1924) of songs, operettas, light classics.

'''Wolf-Ferrari''' 
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948), born in Venice, composer of many extremely popular operas.

==Page 513==

'''She smelled falsely''' 
Error in first edition. Should be "She smiled falsely."

'''Reuben''' 
A hick, as in the carnie's cry, "Hey, Rube".
 
:Maybe, but given that Kit's ''age'' is at issue, may refer to the fact that Reuben was the eldest of the twelve sons of Jacob/Israel (Genesis 29.32).

'''sailing along on Moonlight Bay''' 
Apparently someone overheard Kit's dialog. This phrase would become part of the song "On Moonlight Bay," Madden (lyrics) and Weinrich (music), 1912.

==Page 515==

'''high-hatting''' 
Snubbing, cutting.

'''memories of desert plateau, mountian peaks...some unexpected river''' 
Instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with the back-country Rocky Mountains.
Cf also the description of the landscape Frank's riding through on page 394/395.

'''twenty-knot push''' 
The ship is making twenty knots (20 nautical miles per hour), hence generating a twenty knot wind toward the stern.

'''uncreated''' 
Featureless? ongoing present becoming the future as compared to his memories.

The watery void of Genesis, before creation of the land and life.

'''after 1914''' 
Still 10 years away.

'''S.M.S. ''Emperor Maximilian''''' 
S.M.S.: Seiner Majestäts Schiff, His Majesty's Ship (German or, as in this case, Austrian). One Habsburg Emperor Maximilian was set up in Mexico, then deposed and killed.

'''25,000-ton''' 
The ship's displacement (measure of its size).

'''dreadnoughts''' 
''HMS Dreadnought'' gave her name to a new philosophy that governed the design of capital ships beginning in the 1890s and continuing past the 1920s: high speed, heavy armor, heavy investment in the "main battery" and de-emphasis of secondary battery, main battery comprising the largest practicable guns mounted in turrets on the ship's centerline.

'''Slavonian''' 
Perhaps a deceptive name for the company; Slavonia was an inland province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, northwest of Croatia; Trieste would have been in Slovenia.

'''Schultz-Thorneycroft''' 
Apparently a maker of steamships' boilers.

'''Parsons turbines''' 
Cf. The Steam Turbine, by Sir Charles A. Parsons ---The Rede Lecture, 1911.
Was manufactured and named for Parsons--this lecture was after its extensive use.

'''British men-o'-war''' 
Warships.

==Page 516==

'''shell-rooms-to-be and giant powder magazines''' 
''Stupendica'' contains spaces that will belong to ''Maximilian'' on her transformation. (Indeed, she must contain the shells and powder too.)

'''circular cabins''' 
A battleship turret extends several decks below the gunhouse. No doubt there were stacks of these circular cabins.

'''twelve-inch barrels''' 
The typical main armament for dreadnoughts in this period (1904) was 12 inch guns - the guns having barrels. By WWI, newer dreadnoughts had 14-16" armament.

'''shelter deck''' 
???

'''to fold upward''' 
Transformer fashion.

'''casemates''' 
Turrets.

'''freeboard''' 
The amount of the ship above the water. You need a certain amount of freeboard to maintain balance, but battleships try to limit it as much as possible (so as to present a smaller target).

'''"Dazzle" camouflage''' 
Patterns as described in the text, meant to confuse enemy eyes. [http://www.bobolinkbooks.com/Camoupedia/DazzleCamouflage.html] Camouflage techniques used in World War I were developed in part by magician Jasper Maskelyne, a descendant of the Astronomer Royal in ''Mason & Dixon.''

'''dihedrals''' 
A dihedral is the figure formed by two planes intersecting in a line. The bow of a ship is pretty close.

'''Fangsley''' 
???

'''less horizontally disposed''' 
less level

Passenger liner has as many decks as possible above waterline. Warship has as many as possible ''below'' waterline, hence it's "taller."

'''Trieste''' 
Trieste is a city and port in northeastern Italy right on the border with Slovenia. It is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste on the Adriatic Sea, about 70 miles east of Venice across the Gulf of Venice. The city had been occupied, administrated, annexed by various countries in the past. As late as early 19th century Napoleon took it for France, and in 1813 Austrian empire annexed it and kept it until the end of World War I. In 1920 it was transfered to Italy. During World War II German occupied the city until 1945 when Yugoslav partisans under Tito briefly occupied the city. Between 1947 to 1954 Trieste was governed by British and American. Finally, in 1954 the city of Trieste went to Italy and the southern suburb went to Yugoslavia (now Slovenia).

'''Lloyd Arsenale''' 
Lloyd Shipyard, Austria's commercial counterpart of Stabilimento Tecnico. In 1833 a company with the name ''Lloyd Austriaco'' was founded as a maritime insurance organization. Three years later a new section, the Shipping Section was established and running company's own vessels. In 1853 Lloyd Austriaco started buidling its own shipyard, called ''Arsenale'', both for building new ships and maintenance of the fleet. The shipyard was completed and fully operative in 1861. In 1919 ''Lloyd Austriaco'' changed its name to ''Lloyd Triestino'', currently still operating in Trieste. [[http://www.italiamarittima.it/newhistory.asp?ordernum=10 Lloyd Arsenale]].

'''Stabilimento Tecnico''' 
Technical Plant, a shipyard. Stabilimento Tecnico was an Austro-Hungarian shipbuilding company based in Trieste. It served the Austro-Hungarian Navy on a large scale and was the largest shipyard of that country. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabilimento_Tecnico_Triestino Stabilimento]]. Four Tegetthoff class dreadnoughts were built by Stabilimento Tecnico for the Austro-Hungarian Navy: ''SMS Viribus Unitis, SMS Tegetthoff, SMS Prinz Eugen'' and ''SMS Szent Istvan''. They were of about 21,000 ton displacement and a speed of 20 kt with twelve 12-inch guns. Tegetthoff was a 19th century Austrian admiral.[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegetthoff_class_battleship Tegetthoff battleships]]. 
Stabilimento Tecnico and Lloyd Triestino are both currently active. In fact these two establishments are the largest industrial organizations in Trieste.

==Page 517==

'''''merged''''' 
Pynchon writes about bilocation in a peculiar sense: not necessarily one person being in two places, but one ''place'' being two (or one language being two, Dutch/Flemish, Serbian/Croatian).

'''Different witnesses.....no longer in either, simply appearing unforseen...''' 
Sounds a lot like the quantum mechanical measurement process. An electron can't be located until a measurement. May be easiest unerstood via the "Schroedinger's cat" picture.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat]

'''Promontorio''' 
In Italian promontorio is headland, a small stripe of mountain-like terrain surrounded on all but one side by see.

'''O.I.C. Bodine''' 
Gotta be Pig Bodine from ''V.'' and ''GR'' and descendant of Fender-Belly Bodine in [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Mason & Dixon''].
:Naw, three different Bodines. (1) Fender-Belly is the patriarch (flourished in the 1760s); (2) the stoker O.I.C. is in his prime in the decade around 1910; (3) Pig serves in WW2 and is still around to go roistering with Benny in the 1960s. The strangest thing about the Bodines—a family with saltwater in their DNA—is that they dropped anchor in Minnesota . . . or ever even visited such an inland spot as [http://www.city.albertlea.org/home.html Albert Lea.]

"O.I.C." is an initialism for Ohio Improved Chester, which is a breed of hog. Jack London actually [http://www.jacklondons.net/palace.html raised them on his ranch]. As has been pointed out, "O.I.C." standing for "Officer in Charge" in the Bodine context is a non-starter, as Bodine is neither an officer nor in charge of anything. He's a stoker, one of the lowest class of laborers aboard. Also, "oic" does have a piggish ring to it ("oink" without the "n"). And of course it also works as Internet slang: "Oh, I see," although this sounds a bit too cutesy for Pynchon, IMHO, and besides, as pointed out above, O.I.C. Bodine ain't the Bodine seen in other Pynchon novels, but most likely the father or uncle of Pig of ''V.'' and ''Gravity's Rainbow''.

In ''V.'', Pig's first appearance in a Pynchon novel (he also appears in "Lowlands," a Pynchon short story Flange's "big gaping [[Idiots and Idiocy in Against the Day|idiot]] buddy"), he brags of his Harley motorcycle (called Hogs, in the vernacular): "Ain't an SP car made that can take my Harley." (p.15) Perhaps this Bodine was given the nickname "O.I.C." by his Navy buddies as a joke, ''because'' the initialism stands for a breed of hog ''and'' "Officer in Charge" (which he's far from) ''and'' sounds like a pig's utterance (We know his putative son's or nephew's laugh sounds like a pig ("Hyeugh, hyeugh ... it was, as Pig intended, horribly obscene" ''V.'', p.14 so maybe it's inherited). And perhaps Pynchon gave him the last name of Bodine to connect him visually and/or temperamentally with the character Jethro Bodine of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies''] (1962-1971), also a big, not-too-smart goofball.

'''fermented potato mash''' 
Cf Veikko's vodka, [[ATD 81-96#Page 82|page 82]].

'''four shafts''' 
Four propellers.

'''''Mauretania''''' 
HMS Mauretania, launched 1907, sister ship of the ill-fated Lusitania (the sinking of the latter propelled the US into WW I). Served as Cunard liner, troopship, hospital ship in WW I.

'''''Zu befehl, Herr Hauptheitzer''''' 
German: Ready for orders, Chief Stoker. (Should be ''Zu Befehl, Herr Hauptheizer.'')

'''Black Gang''' 
The stoking crew, turned black by coal dust.

'''Oberhauptheitzer''' 
German: Master Chief Stoker. (Should be: ''Oberhauptheizer.'')

'''Mannlicher''' 
German military pistol.

'''''"Dampf mehr!"''''' 
German for "more steam!" (Should be: ''Mehr Dampf!'')
:If this is an error, as it appears to be (and as it's marked by [http://www.glanzundelend.de/glanzneu/pynchonpalm.htm German native speakers]), it may stem from a common phrase such as ''Wir haben keinen Dampf mehr,'' we have no more steam. Is there any remote possibility that ''Dampf mehr!'' was a form used in shipboard orders (spoken or telegraphed) at the time of the action?
:Following up this nagging question, I have found some photos of engine room telegraphs with German on the dials: [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiffstelegraf here] and [http://www.digitalstock.de/detail.php?bildnummer=178966&seite=5&abilder=20&uid=&kategorie= here]. Neither refers to ''Dampf'' at all (instead ''volle Kraft'' = full power, ''volle Fahrt'' = full speed). These finds seem to eliminate the possibility that ''Dampf mehr'' is a phrase Pynchon collected in this context.

'''singlet''' 
Undershirt.

'''syntonic wireless''' 

See [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_397-428#Page_397 p.397] and [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_219-242#Page_229 p. 229]. The comparison of wireless communications with messages from the spirit world echoes Kipling's short story [http://www.benlo.com/ham/wireless.html Wireless], Scribner's Magazine, August 1902. There are many Kipling echoes in AtD.

==Page 518==

'''ignorant off''' 
Error in first edition. Should be "ignorant of".

'''Marconi room''' 
Radio shack.

'''British and German battle groups were engaged off the Moroccan coast''' 
This could be a reference to the First Moroccan Crisis (a.k.a. Tangier Crisis) taking place between March 1905 and May 1906. This would be in keeping with the timeline of the novel, however, there seems to have been no engagement of troops between British and German forces. On the other hand, this could also be a reference to the Agadir Crisis (a.k.a. The Second Moroccan Crisis) of 1911 where the German gunboat, Panther, was deployed to the Moroccan port of Agadir, threatening British naval supremacy. Although the later altercation seems unlikely given the timeline of the story, Pynchon notes that the S.S. Stupendica received its message "from somewhere else not quite in the world, more like from a continuum lateral to it."

'''design maximum of nine degrees''' 
''Maximilian'' will right herself from a nine-degree heel but may be in trouble if she leans over farther.

'''nymphs''' 
Stage in the life cycle of many insects, including the cockroach.

'''''"Porca miseria"''''' 
Italian: good grief, for heaven's sake, dammit.

==Page 519==

'''tight circle''' 
Military as inane as circus clowns.

'''southeast by east''' 
The compass rose has 32 points, each 11 and a quarter degrees from the next. Southeast by east is one point to the east of southeast, i.e., 123 and three-quarters degrees clockwise from north.

'''deeper levels''' 
(Eg particle vs wave?)

'''A "deeper level" where dualities are resolved''' 
Engine room is far below the main deck, therefore a deeper level. The ''Stupendica/Maximilian'' duality is resolved there because it's a shared space.

'''Chinese''' 
???

Maybe the allusion refers to Chinese boxes, one box containing another box, containing another, etc? In the last box, at the "deeper level" dualities are resolved... don't know...

'''''nicht wahr''''' 
German: aint it true?

'''Graz''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graz Graz] is the capital of the Austrian province of Styria. It is the second largest city, after Vienna, in Austria. Graz's old town is one of the best-preserved city centers in Central Europe and is on the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites.

'''bilge-crab''' 
Most likely an insult meaning "below-decks crew".

==Page 520==

'''a Teutonic''' 
Ethnically a German.

'''Tangier''' 
a seaport in Northern Morocco on the west end of the Strait of Gibralta, about 500 miles northeast from Agadir, another Atlantic seaport. (Casablanca is midway between them.)

'''Mulai Ahmed er-Raisuli''' 
Infamous Morrocan outlaw/warlord. From this [http://www.explorers.org/publications/books_club/imprint/housetears.php website]: "Several decades before Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and Islamic insurgents, an international crisis ignited between the United States and the Middle East. In May 1904 Moroccan warlord Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli kidnapped Ion Perdicaris, a wealthy Greek-American resident of Tangier, in an attempt to extort money from the Sultan of Morocco. President Theodore Roosevelt responded with his "big stick" approach to diplomacy by dispatching a squadron of seven battleships to the Moroccan coast with the order: "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead." The nine-week standoff, with US troops and ships in Tangier Bay and Raisuli holding fort in the mountains, exposed the impotence of emerging American power and a critical misunderstanding about Moroccan politics. When it was discovered that Perdicaris was not an American citizen after all, the US government kept the embarrassing episode a secret until 1933. Profiting royally from the conflict, Raisuli built his palace, which he called the "House of Tears"." [http://www.capitalcentury.com/1904.html another source]

'''Agadir, Queen of the Iron Coast''' 
Agadir is a city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Souss-Massa-Dra region. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agadir Wikipedia] From the [http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia_Britannica/MOL_MOS/MOROCCO.html Encyclopedia Britannica]: "Sixty miles farther south lies Mogador, beyond which the coast becomes more and more inaccessible and dangerous in winter, being known to navigators as the " Iron Coast." From Cape Sim (Ras Tagriwalt), to m. south of Mogador, the direction is due south to Cape Ghir (Ighir Ufrani), the termination of Jebel Ida u Taman, a spur of the Atlas. Beyond this headland lies Agadir (Agadir Ighir), the Santa Cruz Mayor or Santa Cruz de Berberia
of the Spaniards, formerly known as the Gate of the Sudan.' It is a little town with white battlements three-quarters of a mile in circumference, on a steep eminence 600 ft. high." [http://www.rabat-maroc.net/marocautrefois/index.php?rep=AGADIR old postcards from Agadir]

'''''colonists''...justify German interests...shadow-colonists''' 
In July 1911, the german gunboat "Panther" approached the harbour of Agadir under the pretext to protect german citizens from Sus-tribesmen, resulting in the "Agadir-Crisis" and nearly triggering WW I three years early. As there were no german citizens to protect in Agadir, so one had to be dispatched from Mogador. See [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos137.htm Morocco Crisis of 1911.] and [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/05/23/its_not_the_first_war_under_false_pretenses/ source]

'''...destined for plantation...''' 
Typo in First Edition.
???

'''Sus... Susi''' 
The Sous Basin [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souss Wikipedia] and it‘s inhabitants, probably.

'''Abdel Aziz''' 
Sultan of Morocco 1894-1908 (aged 10-24yrs.) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdelaziz_of_Morocco Wikipedia]

'''Canaries''' 
Canary Islands, about 80 miles off Morocco‘s Atlantic coast [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_islands Wikipedia]

'''Many would go crazy and set out in small boats...''' 
Another paramorpic mirror image of our century. The Canaries, a Spanish possession, are the goal of untold thousands of would-be African entrants to the EU, i.e. a route of illegal immigration.

'''Lübeck''' 
Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein (northern Germany). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCbeck Wikipedia]

'''Berbers''' 
The Berbers (also called Amazigh people or Imazighen, "free men") are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. In actuality, Berber is a generic name given to numerous heterogeneous ethnic groups that share similar cultural, political, and economic practices. It is not a term originated by the group itself. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber_people Wikipedia]. Berbers of southwestern Morocco usually belong to the ones known as Chleuhs [http://c.1asphost.com/imazighen/chleuhs/algeria.htm pics]

==Page 521==

'''tree-climbing goats''' 
Can be seen often, esp. in Morocco [http://www.markhorrell.com/travel/morocco/antiatlas/goats3.html Pic]

'''argan trees''' 
The Argan (Argania spinosa, syn. A. sideroxylon Roem. & Schult.) is a species of tree endemic to the calcareous semi-desert Sous valley of southwestern
Morocco. It is the sole species in the genus Argania. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argan_tree Wikipedia]

'''Gnaoua''' 
The Gnawa or Gnaoua refers at once to a style of Moroccan music with sub-Saharan Africa origins or influence, an ethnic group and religious order at least in part descended from former slaves from Sub-Saharan Africa or black Africans migrated in caravans with the Trans-Saharan trade, or a combination of both [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnawa Wikipedia] [http://www.mincom.gov.ma/english/gallery/music/gnawa.html more on Gnaoua] [http://www.mincom.gov.ma/french/galerie/musique/mp3/gnaoua.mp3 Gnaoua music sample mp3] [http://www.ibiblio.org/gnawastories/GNAWA%20STORIES20cDRIVE.swf nicely made site on Gnawa]

'''''mlouk gnaoui''''' 
Mlouk is the plural of melk, a supernatural entity envoked in the Gnawa rituals. Various types are known and they are distinguished by colors. The following is a google translation of the relevant paragraph from [http://www.bladi.net/2556-les-differents-aspects-de-la-culture-gnaouie.html this site]: "The mlouk are of male or female sex, Moslems or Jews. Their color corresponds to their origins. Thus one distinguishes the mlouks from the sea (bahriyin) to which one allots the light blue; the celestial ones (samaouiyin), have as a color dark blue; the mlouk of the forest (rijal el ghaba), originating in Africa, have as a color the black just like the mlouk pertaining to the troop of Sidi Mimoun, finally the red mlouk (Al homar), related to blood and which haunt the slaughter-houses, have as a color the red. The white and the green, colors symbols of Islam sunnite, are reserved to the called upon saints, in particular Moulay Abdelkader Jilali and Chorfa. To the female mlouk three colors are allotted: the yellow for the coquettery of Lala Reflected, the red for Lala Rkia for its capacity to cure the menorrhagia and the black for Lala Aïcha Kendisha because of its Sudanese origin. The Jewish mlouks which are sometimes called upon after the troop of the female mlouk have the black color. Incense fumigations of various perfumes accompany the invocations by these mlouks, with a preference however for the benzoin or jaoui."

'''Seigneurs Noirs''' 
French: Black Lords. According to the above translation, those most probably are jewish mlouks.

'''Bardo State''' 
Tibetan Bhuddist belief in a state between two mortal incarnations, during which one has direct perception of reality--for better or worse, Karmically speaking. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo]

'''Habsburg navy''' 
Austrian Navy

'''Mogador road''' 
Mogador" is a city and tourist resort in Morocco, near Marrakech on the Atlantic coast. (31°30′47″N)
Mogador is another name for Essaouira [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogador Wkipedia] about 70 miles north of Agadir. [http://www.rabat-maroc.net/marocautrefois/index.php?rep=MOGADOR old postcards Mogador]

'''Tawil Balak''' 
In the Liner Notes for the Album "Love Songs of Lebanon" [http://www.smithsonianglobalsound.org/trackdetail.aspx?itemid=29129 downloadable from this site] the song ''Tawil Balak Ya Habboub'' translates as "Patience, My Love" - Tawil Balak being the Patience part. (Thats one nice soundtrack, btw!)

"Tawil", according to web-searches, is arabic for "allegorical explanation/interpretation/exegese" (of the Qu‘ran and Sunna texts). "Balak" might refer to the according Tora reading (Parsah) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balak_%28parsha%29 Wikipedia]. cf. Balaam‘s Ass p. 432. Do the cosmopolitan regulars at the bar like Moises spend their time interpreting holy texts?

'''Rahman''' 
???

'''Ostend''' 
a seaport in northwest Belgium. ''Ostende'' in German and French. It is the largest city at the Belgian North Sea coast. (It is about 1,700 miles from Agadir, Morocco.)

'''''Fomalhaut''''' 
The Maritime Digital Encyclopedia lists a "Dutch Vessel" named "Formalhaut" [http://www.ibiblio.org/maritime/photolibrary/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=688&pos=0 pic].

According to several websites [http://skytonight.com/news/3310401.html?showAll=y&c=y 1] [http://www.skyscript.co.uk/pis_aus.html 2] [http://www.icoproject.org/star.html 3] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomalhaut Wikipedia] etc. Fomalhaut is the 17th or 18th brightest star as seen from our planet and is located in the constellation called Pisces Austrinus (Southern Fish). The name derives from the Arabic Fum (or Fam) al-Hut, meaning "Mouth of the Fish" or according to a few web-resources the contributor has just visited, "Mouth of the Whale". The latter would mean its a strong connotation with the Biblical Legend of Jonah and the Whale (see annotations for this page below (not a spoiler, i hope).

Among most readers of Science-Fiction "Fomalhaut" is a location as common as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldebaran "Aldebaran"] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassiopeia_%28constellation%29 "Cassiopeia"].

As per today (07 01 10) the Wikipedia-Entry on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_Fomalhaut Demon Fomalhaut] is just a stub. According to most sites the contributor just visited, claiming credibility in the Book of Enoch [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch Wikipedia] and due to some more non-canonical catergorizations, Fomalhaut seems to be a member of the infamous gang of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallen_angel Fallen Angels], a daredevil companero to Lucifer that is. This sub-summation in a hierarchy of angels might refer to some astrological/-nomical constellations of the star Fomalhaut as is.

As usual, with TP, we dont know for sure if theres some outlandish pun intended/-cluded in the name of a person or thing. What, to give variety to it, about a german compositive noun? Ger. "formal" = formal (like in formal behavior) + "haut" = skin; "Formal Skin".

'''Moïsés''' 
???

'''Jonah... Massa''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah Jonah Wikipedia Entry] [http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/jonah/jonah.html "Jonah on the Web"] From the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Morocco website]: "Some 60 m. farther south (from Agadir), at the mouth of a river known by the same name, is the roadstead of Massa, with a mosque popularly reputed the scene of Jonah's restoration to terra firma."

==Page 522==

'''Two Fishes, two Jonahs, two Agadirs?''' 
The Jewish Encyclopedia 1901-1906 mentions rabbinic literature regarding two fishes - one male, one female - having swallowed Jonah: check out the "fish" paragraph [http://72.14.221.104/search?q=cache:8_12F1Yp1YoJ:www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp%3Fartid%3D388%26letter%3DJ+jonah+encyclopedia&hl=de&gl=at&ct=clnk&cd=1 here]. Both Tarshish (Cadiz), the "Agadir" in southwestern Spain, and Agadir in Morocco likely were founded by the Phoenicians: "Cadiz bears a Phoenician name, a deformation of Gaddir (wall), which we find in the Berber city of Agadir in Morroco." [http://faculty.uml.edu/jgarreau/50.315/Europ1.htm source]

Pynchon is riffing on Ch. 9 of Moby Dick where Father Mapple reads the biblical story of Jonah and talks about Tarshish being Cadiz and how that shows that he was trying to escape his fate for some unnammed "disobedience". Melville bilocates "god" and "man", insisting that the two forces are at odds. Melville also implicitly draws a parallel between Jonah and Ahab who rails against his being peglegged by Moby Dick and seeks revenge against the whale who ultimately consumes him, and Ishmael who humbly accepts his punishment and so survives to tell his tale. In AtD, the Moby Dick resonances ring most clearly in the Traverse bros/sis seeking revenge against sociocultural pieties for inflicting loss & grief & pain on the undeserving; the correspondence b/w the anarchist preacher Moss Gatlin and the ex-harpooner minister Mapple; Lew's mysterious penance and Webb's divided loyalties and now the story of Jonah and his fugitive flight, not unlike Kit's running from his troubles. Also, the name Fom al-Haut comes from scientific Arabic فم الحوت fam al-ħūt (al-janūbī) "the mouth of the (southern) fish/whale"

'''kashbah''' 
Wikipedia entries on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasbah Kasbah] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casbah Casbah] [http://www.rabat-maroc.net/marocautrefois/AGADIR/agadir-la-casbah-vue-en-avion.jpg The Casbah of Agadir as seen from above]

'''Ighir Ufrani''' 
a.k.a Cape Ghir, a cape north of Agadir.

'''''Mogador herring''...''alimzah''...''tasargelt''''' 
From the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Morocco Morocco Entry]: "Occasionally a small shoal (of mackarel) may be found as far south as Mogador. Soles, turbot, bream, bass, conger eel and mullet are common along the coast, and southern Morocco is visited occasionally by shoals of a large fish called the azlimzah (sciaena aquila), rough scaled and resembling a cod, and the tasargelt (Temnodon saltator), the "blue fish" of North America. Crayfish, prawns, oysters and mussels swarm in the rocky places, but the natives have no proper method of catching them, and edible crabs seem unknown. The tunny, pilchard and sardine, and a kind of shad known as the "Mogador herring," all prove at times of practical importance."

azlimzah (sciaena aquila) [http://www.finerareprints.com/animals/histoire_naturelle/vol_hn_fish_4999.htm pic] (the lower one).

tasargelt (Temnodon saltator) [http://www.amatorbalikci.net/resimupload/lufer.jpg pic] (not sure if this is the real thing!)

'''scruff''' 
???

'''Staketsel''' 
According to the [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staketsel Dutch Wikipedia] and its link to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pier english site] this means "pier". [http://arglist.com/cgi-bin/image?gallery=oostende&name=20040909-004 pic]

'''lazarettes''' 
Below-decks storage space in the stern of a vessel. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarette].

'''''mon chou''''' 
"My cabbage." A french term of affection.

==Page 523==

'''moon deck''' 
???

'''lower orlop''' 
Lowest deck of a multi-decked vessel (OED).

'''lateen-riggers''' 
Boats or larger craft with triangular sails rigged fore-and-aft (picture: [http://www.carfilhiot.co.uk/media/1/20050607-rig.jpg]common in the Mediterannean [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateen] after introduction by the Romans in the 3rd century.

'''Dally had expected Bria would be the first...''' 
Editorial error? If one substitutes "Dally" with "Erlys" this sentence makes much more sense.

I hesitate to assign such sloppiness to the notoriously meticulous Pynchon and his editorial team. Note that the previous sentence conflates Dally and Erlys's uncertainty about the romantic setback. And note earlier (p 512) Dally was scandalized (facetiously) over Bria's shameless and un-chaperon-like interest in Root.

==Page 524==

'''exhilirated''' 
Second occurrence of this misspelling of ''exhilarated.'' (Cf. page 236, line 38: "exhiliration".)

'''Piazza Grande''' 
The central square in many Italian cities.

'''Denza''' 
Cf [[ATD_336-357#Page 353|page 353]]. Luigi Denza (1846-1922), Italian composer, most famous for his "Funiculi, funicula".

'''Antonio Smareglia''' 
Italian opera composer (1854-1929).

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 489-524

2015-03-03T01:17:44Z

Pthomas: /* Page 503 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 489==

'''Neville . . . Nigel''' 
Lew's rescuers after the attempt to blow him up in Colorado, page 185. These two characters remind one of Looney Tunes Goofy Gophers.

'''stage left or audience left?''' 
A theater has two directions called left. "Stage left" is to the left of the performers as they face the audience. "House left" or "audience left" is to the left of an audience member facing the stage.

'''desolate sighs''' 
(They're not gay?)

'''embryo Apostlet''' 
The Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an elite intellectual secret society at Cambridge University, founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the Bishop of Gibraltar. Undergraduates being considered for membership are called "embryos" and are invited to "embryo parties," where members judge whether the student should be invited to join. "-let" is a common suffix that denotes smallness or youth, like droplet (small drop) or piglet or eyelet &c &c..., thus, a young Apostle. [[Cambridge Apostles|More on the Cambridge Apostles and the Cambridge spy ring...]]

'''Cyprian Latewood''' 
The name connects the character to the Greek demigod Orpheus.

'''"Cyprian":''' 
:After Orpheus loses Eurydice forever by turning to see if she's still following him out of the underworld, he never loves another woman, turning instead to young boys. One of Greek god Apollo's beloved boys, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyparissus Cyparissus], loves a beautiful tame stag that he accidentally kills with a spear. In his grief, Apollo turns him into a cypress tree. The Cypress was one of the trees Orpheus charmed with song, according to [[Cyprian Latewood|Ovid in his ''Metamorphoses'']].

'''"Latewood":''' 
:The "late wood" is the outer portion of the growth ring on a tree, more dense than the "early wood" which appears early in the growing season, appearing later in the season, usually summer. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_ring Wikipedia entry]. The tree connection is strong. It was said that Orpheus could even charm the trees, and Rilke (who figures prominently in [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity's Rainbow'']) in the first of his ''Sonnets to Orpheus'', begins:

::Tree arising! O pure ascendance!
::Orpheus Sings! Towering tree within the ear!
::Everywhere stillness, yet in this abeyance:
::seeds of change and new beginnings near.

[[Cyprian Latewood|More about this connection...]]

All very interesting, but let's not forget the obvious:
'the Cyprian' in classical literature is a standard name for Aphrodite/Venus, goddess of love, because she was born in Cyprus, from the waves, as in the famous picture by Botticelli that plays a role in 'V' ('She hangs on the Western Wall'). 
And so, by association, 'a follower of Aphrodite', and in later usage, according to Webster, a prostitute.

:if we were looking for yet another sexual innuendo, it would be interesting to note that the French word "cyprine" (the pronounciation of which is very similar to "Cyprian") describes the vaginal secretions that occur during the period of sexual arousal. The origin of this word can be traced back to the explanation above (i.e. Aphrodite). As for Late''wood'', well, that's kind of self-explanatory, no?

'''sod''' 
Common use; short for ''sodomite.''

'''Eastern wog''' 
Cf p222.

'''The German Sea''' 
A public house; the name occurs again with a different meaning at the end of this chapter.

'''sub-Clerkenwell''' 
Clerkenwell is a neighborhood in London that has a reputation for producing the highest quality of watches, clocks and jewellery. A sub-Clerkenwell trinket would be a poorly made trinket

'''annoyance''' 
(Why?)
:the other's penis seemed larger than one's own?
::Annoyance not because of the penises but because they are rivals. Lethargic not because of the penises but because they aren't getting anywhere in their courtship. Finally, "each regarding the other's penis" because even straight men can't deny that that's one of the things they look at in the steamroom.

Note that ''annoyance'' is a synonym for ''inconvenience''.

==Page 490==

'''gyps''' 
A gyp is a college servant, whose office is that of a gentleman's valet, waiting on two or more collegians in the University of Cambridge. He differs from a bed-maker, inasmuch as he does not make beds; but he runs on errands, waits at table, wakes men for morning chapel, brushes their clothes, and so on. His perquisites are innumerable, and he is called a "gyp" (Greek: vulture) because he preys upon his employer like a vulture. At Oxford they are called scouts. [http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/brewers/gyp.html]

[[image:ByronsPool.jpg|thumb|Byron's Pool|100px|right]]'''Byron's Pool''' 
A conservation area in Cambridge. The pool is named after the romantic poet Lord Byron, who is believed to have enjoyed swimming there. Byron studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, starting in 1805.

'''"Div!"''' 
Probably short for "divine!" Of course, if these kids were Vectorists they would be aware of the double ''entendre'' with the '''div''' (divergence) operator.

'''"Whizzo!"''' 
An early-twentieth century English slang expression of delight. Uttered earlier, by Neville or Nigel, on introducing Lew to the Tarot deck, page 186.

'''''"That'' is that of which ''I'' speak!"''' 
prob. homosexuality. cf. "I am the Love that dare not speak its name." -- Lord Alfred Douglas's poem 'Two Loves' in ''Chameleon'' ca. 1896.

Made more famous as an utterance by Oscar Wilde during his trial for sodomy. His response: '"The Love that dare not speak its name" in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare.[...]. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an elder and a younger man, when the elder man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him."

: This seems wrong, given the typical Pynchon scene of males ogling/desiring women. There is no homosexuality invloved with these guys
but a "'range' [again] of remarks" and 'all-night rhapsodizing' over the beauty of naked women. This line "That, etc." seems more likely a comic spin on a famous line which we know Pynchon has alluded to before [V.]: Wittgenstein's "whereof I can not speak, thereof I must remain silent" from the Tractatus. He could NOT not speak of their nakedness.

This whole scene is reminiscent, perhaps, of the biblically famous Susannah and the Elders, where she, too, is watched appreciatively bathing. Wallace Stevens, among others, has a famous poem about it.

::All this about homosexuality is useful knowledge, but (a) the men here are motivated by lust directed at ''women'' and (b) this is among the "catchphrases of [a] day" when Oscar Wilde's love could not yet even speak its name. "''That'' is that of which ''I'' speak!" is a Pynchon trick, taking a 20th-21st century expression and paramorphically projecting it back in time. At the university it was upper-class and refined; today it has become a vulgarism, "That's what I'm talkin' about!" Other examples: "high susceptibility to primordial variables," page 801 (today "extreme sensitivity to initial conditions"); "as cheerful as a finch," page 21 ("as happy as a lark").

Exactly as in the last paragraph, a poke at the currently colloquial:
"That's what I'm talkin' about!"

::Late to the conversation, I know, but homosexuality is important here -- I believe that TRP was being historically accurate. Our early 21st century notion of homosexuality is different from the early 20th century notion, where people like, for example, Oscar Wilde were both married to women and certainly engaged in homosexual activity with men. The sexuality is more fluid. Therefore I find it completely believable that N&N could sometimes be engaging in homosexual behaviour with each other but also interested in a woman.

'''Cloisters Court''' 
Cloisters Court, part of Girton College, Cambridge University.

'''King's''' 
King's College, Cambridge University.

'''Queen Anne's Gate''' 
Some part of the British Home Office is, or was, located in the London (Westminster) street named Queen Anne's Gate.
: According to Wikipedia the British Home Office resided there from 1978 to 2004, so this is unlikely. Since the 1860's until recently, however, parts of the British secret service had their offices at Queen Anne's Gate - the context suggests that the N's report to that.

'''inconvenience''' 
Not sure what connection Pynchon is making here, but the word inconvenience could not come up accidentally in this novel.

True enough. The word seems to keep cropping up, too, but nonchalantly. By this point in the novel, I had already been kicking myself for not circling every prior use of the word.

For what it's worth, one of my Google searches for "inconvenience" yielded this bit of Pynchon-worthy information:

:John Evelyn, one of members of the Invisible College (the group that founded the Royal Society of the United Kingdom), published one of the first books on pre-industrial air pollution in 1661, '''''Fumufugium''': or, The Inconvience of the Aer, and Smoak of London Dissipated''.

:The first two paragraphs of Part I:

:It is not without some considerable ''Analogy'', that sundry of the ''Philosophers'' have named the ''Aer'' the ''Vehicle of the Soul'', as well as that of the Earth, and this frail Vessell of ours which contains it; since we all of us finde the benefit which we derive from it, not onely for the necessity of Respiration and functions of the Organs; but likewise for the use of the ''Spirits'' and ''Primigene Humors'', which doe most neerly approach that Divine particle. But we shall not need to insist, or refine much on this sublime Subject; and, perhaps, it might scandalize scrupulous Persons to pursue to the height it may possibly reach (as ''Diogenes'' and ''Anaximenes'' were wont to ''Deifie'' it) after we are past the ''Aetherial'', which is a certain ''Aer'' of ''Plato's'' denomination, as well as that of the lesse pure, more turbulent and dense, which, for the most part, we live and breath in, and which comes here to be examined as it relates to the design in hand, the City of ''London'', and the environs about it.

:It would doubtlesse be esteemed for a strange and extravagant ''Paradox'', that one should affirme, that the ''Aer'' itself is many times a potent and great disposer to ''Rebellion'' [note JE's book was printed right after Prince Charles' restoration]; and that ''Insulary people'', and indeed, most of the ''Septentrion Tracts'', where this ''Medium'' is grosse and heavy, are extremely versatile and obnoxious to change both in Religious and Secular Affaires: Plant the Foote of your Compasses on the very ''Pole'', and extend the other limb to 50 ''degrees of Latitude'': bring it about 'till it describe the Circle, and then reade the Histories of those Nations inclusively, and make the Calculation.

'''Newnham''' 
An all-women's college at Cambridge, founded in 1871.

'''Wrangleresses''' 
Made-up: top female Math Scholars at Cambridge. Top students were called Wranglers, all male at this time. "Cambridge University and within it of the Mathematics Tripos, the competitive graduation examination process that ranked candidates in order of “Wrangler”" ...

'''Phillippa Fawcett''' 
Typo, should be Philippa Fawcett (1868-1948). She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1890, she was the first woman to score the highest mark at Mathematics Tripos at Cambridge. She served as a College Lecturer in mathematics at Newnham College for 10 years. [http://www.agnesscott.edu/Lriddle/WOMEN/fawcett.htm]

'''Grace Chisholm and Will Young''' 
Grace Chisholm (1868-1944), an English mathematician. She went to Girton College, Cambridge in 1889 to study mathematics. Since no women were accepted to graduate schools in England, after graduation She went to the University of Göttingen to continue her mathematics education and received her PhD there in 1895. The following year she married William Young (1863-1942), one of her tutors at Girton and also a mathematician. (''romances with one's tutors à la . . .'') Grace Chisholm and Will Young formed a mathematical married partnetship of real significance. Husband and wife played a major role in set theory research. Between them they wrote 214 mathematical articles and several books, including one on geometry and one on set theory. [http://www.agnesscott.edu/LRIDDLE/WOMEN/young.htm Grace Chisholm] and [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Young.html William Young].

'''nautch-girl''' 
The nautch girl was an Indian traditional dancer in Hindu temple or court performing ritual and religious dances. Her costume generally was of bright color. Pynchon probably refered to Yahsmeen's beautiful but exotic, extraordinary look and poise.
[[http://www.hitchams.suffolk.sch.uk/india_art/starter/nautch_girls.htm nautch girl]].

And then, through the medium of carnivals, she became an exotic dancer. This whole phrase "nautch-girl extravagance of looks and self-possession" refers to the sense of dominance the stripper feels over the yawps in the audience. Which figures in the key scene of the musical ''Gypsy'' (1959, book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim).
And an [[ATD_119-148#Page_125|annotation to p. 125]] ("red as a cursed ruby") points to a weird ''AtD'' nautch girl connection.

'''socio-acrobatic aggrandizement''' 
'social climbing'

'''''opium beer''''' 
laudanum?, if not literally.

'''duc de Richelieu''' 
Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu (September 9, 1585 – December 4, 1642), was a French clergyman, noble, and statesman.

Consecrated as a bishop in 1607, he later entered politics, becoming a Secretary of State in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Church and the state, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642;
from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Wikipedia].

:Wrong Richelieu. The duke in question won his big battle at Mahon in 1756. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Fran%C3%A7ois_Armand_du_Plessis%2C_duc_de_Richelieu Here's the Wikipedia link for the right one.]

'''Line and staff''' 
Cyprian's father sees his work in the City as analogous to the profession of arms. Officers in the British and most other armies of the time were classified as "line," those commanding troops, and "staff," those performing administrative and planning functions.

==Page 491==

'''the City''' 
Major banks and other big-money institutions are located in the City of London, a fairly small subset of Metropolitan London.

'''can't ''ever'' tell''' 
Dog-eat-dog capitalism?

'''Reginald "Ratty" McHugh''', '''fifteen years or so later'''
Reginald nodded appreciatively FIFTEEN YEARS OR SO LATER?...What is going
on here time-wise? 
All the conversation before this line, between Cyprian and his father, is "recalled", having taken place some "fifteen years or so" earlier.

'''one more flag''' 
IE, his father's wallpaper brand.

I was thinking perhaps his father was trying to bring up the subject of his sodomitical activities, where the "enemy" in this case are "hidden" homosexuals, and this is how he was "dishonoring" the flag.

'''Balkan Sobranies''' 
An upscale brand of cigarette.

'''lilies-and-lassitude humor of the '90s''' 
Cult of Oscar Wilde?
Aubrey Beardsley and the pre-Raphaelites? 
More generally, the 'Aesthetes', not the same as the Pre-Raphaelites. People like Wilde. In Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Patience' the Wilde-like character is described as follows:

Though the Philistines may jostle, 
you will rank as an apostle 
in the high aesthetic band, 
If you walk down Piccadilly 
with a poppy or a lily 
in your medieval hand. 

And ev'ryone will say, 
As you walk your flow'ry way, 
"If he's content with a vegetable love 
which would certainly not suit me, 
Why, what a most particularly pure young man 
this pure young man must be!" 

'''table d'hôte''' 
French: host's table. In a restaurant, a meal chosen by the management, no substitutions please. If the appetizer is shrimp and you don't like shrimp, then don't eat the appetizer.

'''Very well, I contradict myself.''' 
Walt Whitman allusion. See Leaves of Grass. Next line in ADT affirms this.

==Page 492==

'''divine . . . prosaic''' 
(Walt Whitman was of course prosaic himself before he became divine.)

'''xanthocroid''' 
Prefix xantho- is from Greek and means yellow. Does the whole word mean "yellow-haired"? Yes, i.e. blondes.

'''Capsheaf''' 
Is this a third speaker, or another name for Ratty? Third speaker. Ratty puts in some words a little bit down the page.

In mathematics, a sheaf is the basic tool for expressing relationships between small regions of a space and large regions. Beginning with a topological space X, a sheaf assigns to every region (technically, open set) U of X some data F(U), such as a set, a group, or a ring. Often these data are a collection of geometric objects defined on that region, such as functions, vector fields, or differential forms. The data can be restricted to smaller regions, and compatible collections of data can be glued to give data over larger regions. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheaf_%28mathematics%29 wikipedia entry]

'''viva''' 
Slangy short form of ''viva voce,'' an oral examination. At Oxbridge, this would have been one standard method of examination for most degrees, and they are often intimidating, demanding experiences.

'''Crayke''' 
Crayke is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, about two miles east of Easingwold. Relevant?

Also, "crake" designates various species in the family [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crake Rallidae], which also includes rails, coots, gallinules, and swamphens. Crakes and rails generally are medium-sized, ground-dwelling birds, with adaptations of the foot suited to wetlands.

'''spot of audit''' 
[http://www.andrewcusack.com/blog/2006/12/drink_audit_ale.php Audit ale,] a strong ale served on a few special days. Some colleges at British universities brew their own or contract it out.

'''Shetland''' 
Shetland Islands, an island group northeast of the Orkney Islands, comprising a county of Scotland.

'''Shetland ponies''' 
one of a breed of small but sturdy, rough-coated ponies raised originally in the Shetland Islands.

'''''D'accord''''' 
French: right, OK.

'''reputation for viciousness''' 
The Shetland pony breed has a repuation for viciousness, even if this reputation isn't entirely accurate.

'''Arab''' 
Arabian hourse. One of a breed of horses, raised originally in Arabia and adjacent countries, noted for their intellegence, grace, and speed.

'''Thoroughbred''' 
One of a breed of horses, to which all race horse belong, originally developed in England by crossing Arbian stallions with European mares.

'''croft''' 
Farm.

'''Mainland''' 
The name of one of the 29 inhabited islands in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK. It is the largest island in Shetland Islands, the third largest in Great Britian.

'''Mavis Grind''' 
A narrow isthmus joining the Northmavine peninsula to the rest of Mainland in the Shetland Islands, UK. The name means "gate of the narrow isthmus" in the local dialect. Mavis Grind is said to be the only place in the UK where you can toss a stone across land from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

'''orthopædic journals''' 
Both prof and pony have to do some twisting in order to get the act done. Their skeletal disorders will, erhhm, ''spur'' the interest of orthopædists. Especially if she kicks.

'''Dymphna''' 
After [http://www.catholic-forum.com/SAINTS/saintd01.htm St. Dymphna,] whose intercession is effective against insanity, possession and epilepsy. Her shrine at Gheel, Belgium, has since the 11th century been a refuge for persons with mental illness and intellectual disability. The afflicted wealthy went to the shrine to be cured; they were boarded with townspeople, beginning a tradition of adult foster care for persons with mental illness which continues to this day; Gheel is a designated state psychiatric hospital center, at which all the patients live in foster family homes.

'''decks full of hearts''' 
(52 or 13 per deck?)

==Page 493==

'''Thucydides... remind me''' 
Thucydides' book is an account of the Peloponnesian war, organized in a rather difficult method in which all the actions of one season are described before proceeding to the next. Here are some erotic possibilities in it, however: 
-Pericles, in his famous funeral oration, says the citizen ought to have an eros for the city. 
-At one point some Athenians are lured out of a garrison by way of a gymnastic (that is male, nude) demonstration. 
-On the eve of the fateful Sicilian expedition, all the oversized phalloi of the hermes are mysteriously knocked off. One of the generals on the expedition, Alcibiades, is accused of the offense and is eventually called called back. In Plato's Symposium Alcibiades drunkenly crashes the party and confesses that Socrates has consistently spurned his sexual advances.

In this context, Thucydides is proposed specifically for its non-erotic qualities. In writing his histories, Thucydides attempted to produce a clinical account of the Peloponnesian war without the passion and inaccuracies of previous histories, such as those of Herodotus. Indeed it is hard to imagine a less erotic work. It is suggested for Cyprian Latewood to help him get over his infatuation with Yashmeen.

'''McHugh''' 
Talking to self?

'''''Peeng''-kyeah''' 
Pinky, name given to Yashmeen by the blonde girls, Lorelei, Noellyn an Faun.

'''alfresceehwh''' 
An alfresco, an outdoor gathering. ''-eehwh'' is a rendering of the accent for comic effect.

'''Lorelei, Noellyn, and Faun''' 
Lorelei, more frequently "Loreley": In a famous German myth, a mermaid sitting on a rock by the river Rhine. The rock itself is also named Loreley. With her song, she bewitches the captains of passing ships, who then steer into the rock. The syllable "Ley" derives from a Celtic word for "stone".

Faun: Faunus, the Roman god of fertility, also responsible for nightmares. Fauns are also the Romans counterparts of the Greek "satyrs", followers of Dionysos. Faunus is playing a flute, another connection to music.

Noellyn ?? 
She is No Ellen? 
Echo of Noel?

'''"all blonde, of course"''' 
with all the Germanic mythology around here, possibly a reference to the "blonde/blue-eyed"-cliche of German women. Possible play on light-theme? Blonde (light, reflection) opposed to the dark (absence of light, absorption) Yashmeen?

'''High Albedo''' 
Albedo: power of reflecting light. Blondes reflect more light than brunettes. 
Possibly a citation of ''Gravity's Rainbow'', p. 152 (Viking), "high-albedo stockings".

'''"dark rock...again and again"''' 
cf "Lorelei"

'''Pinky''' 
Nicknames opposite of truth?

''''''sans merci'''''' 
a reference to Keats's 19th century Romantic ballad 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci'. The lady of the title entraps men by making them fall in love with her and abandoning them.

French for "no mercy" or "no pity", or, more precisely in this case: "without mercy". Alludes to Pinky's cold and unforgiving nature.

==Page 494==

'''wrong altar''' 
She, a lesbian, tells him that he 'worships' a woman who is wrong for him.

'''gnomic tenses''' 
Gnomic = marked by aphorisms; aphoristic...'gnomic verse, a gnomic style".
American Heritage Dictionary.

: In Greek the gnomic tense is the timeless aorist, i.e. an aorist indicating no special time. In English there is the timeless present tense, e.g. in proverbs. Since the gnomic aorist differs from the usual aorist only in its usage the term "gnomic tenses" seems a little stressed.

'''circs''' 
Short form (typically British): circumstances.

''''If she's not content with a vegetable love'''' 
a reference to Marvell's seventeenth century poem 'To His Coy Mistress'. "Vegetable love" refers to the slow, slow way he would let his love grow, to become "vaster than empires and more slow" had they "world enough and time", but since they don't, since they are in human time, he is trying to 'convince' her to make love with him now. Another interpretation would be female masturbation via vegetables. 
True, but more directly, quoting Gilbert and Sullivan. See comments on p. 491 (lilies-and-lassitude).

'''Rugby blue''' 
To be a 'Rugby blue' means to have represented Oxford (colour: dark blue) or Cambridge (light blue) at Rugby, which is a major European sport, invented, supposedly, at Rugby school in England in the nineteenth century.

'''Mâconnais''' 
This refers to a bargain sub-Burgundian wine that comes from the Macon region of France.

:Bargain? You've obviously never enjoyed a good bottle of Mâcon Villages Cuvée Botrytis Domaine de la Bongran 2000, which, if you decide to treat yourself to a great bottle of white, will set you back at least 180$. It is true, though, that some wine snobs look down on Mâcon Wines because the region doesn't have any Grand Crus or Premier Crus.

<div id="grosssmith">'''George Grossmith...and that jolly Weedon'''</div>
George and Weedon Grossmith, authors of the sublime, hillarious 'Diary of a Nobody', which gave the world the adjective 'pooterish'. Undoubtedly an influence on Pynchon's depictions of the 'oh dear' side of Englishness. Pooter is a 'nobody' who decides to publish his diaries, even though he is of no interest and nothing of any note occurs. A prototypical blogger, some might suggest. Originally published in Punch magazine (I think), set in late 19th Century. Don't know if the Grossmiths went to Cambridge, will check....

The elder George Grossmith performed in Gilbert and Sullivan works. He was not university-educated. The younger G.G. was also a noted performer and collaborated with P.G. Wodehouse.

[plenty of info here: http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/english/DON/Diary_Home.htm]

==Page 495==

'''Junior or Senior?''' 
expressions used at traditional English (independent) schools to refer to younger and older brothers. Thus Smith Junior or Smith Senior.—

I don't think this is correct - the junior/senior here just refers to the question of whether it's Grossmith the father or Grossmith the son. The traditional expression for younger and older brothers is minor/major. So Smith major would be the elder Smith brother, Smith minor the younger brother.[[User:Geb|Geb]] 19:49, 10 April 2008 (PDT)geb

See [[#grossmith|Grossmith entry]] on preceding page.

'''"Small hands, some evidence of early trauma, cp. Wilhelm II file"''' 
Wilhelm II suffered an injury at birth and had a withered arm. All his photographs show him with the "small hand" in his pocket.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_II_of_Germany From Wikipedia]: 
William II, German Emperor (1859-1941), Reigned 1888-1918.

The role of William II in German history is sometimes a controversial issue in historical scholarship. Initially seen as an important, but embarrassing figure in German history until the late 1950s, for many years after that, the dominant view was that he had little or no influence on German policy leading up to the First World War. This has been challenged since the late 1970s, particularly by Professor John C. G. Röhl who saw William II as the key figure in understanding the recklessness and subsequent downfall of Imperial Germany.

'''"Map of the World"''' 
Like it says in the text, simply what Renfrew calls all his data.

Although the name is possibly of some significance! Renfrew's dossiers could act as a way of divining holistic truth from a series of perspectives or projections. Obviously interpreting this data requires the correct viewing individual, or "lens." In this way, Renfrew's "Map" is not unlike the Sfinciuno Itinerary.

Ah, I think it worth pointing out that Renfrew's dossiers on "everyone' is a paranoid's nightmare. The map is a "map" of what Refrew learns about everyone, not a common meaning of 'map", and reminding this reader of They/Them in ''Gravity's Rainbow'' who have a map of everywhere Slothrop--
and others?--appear to be/have been. At least. [[User:MKOHUT|MKOHUT]] 06:55, 3 October 2007 (PDT)

Also brings to mind the Wittgenstein line that TRP alludes to in ''The Crying of Lot 49'': "The world is all that is the case". If Renfrew
could map everything everyone does, he would have the whole [human] world
'mapped'.

'''Newmarket''' 
A famous English race-course, hence the following reference to the 'racing season'. 
And very close to Cambridge.

'''Morse and Vassilev''' 
In 1896-97 the first radio-telegraphic equipment was imported into Bulgaria for the needs of the armed forces and large postal offices. This was the start of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). At that time, the equipment was used only to transmit Morse code on electro-magnetic waves. Samuel F. B. Morse, an English speaking American, invented Morse code and the telegraph.(On May 24, 1844 he transmitted the first telegraph message: "What hath God wrought!"). BNR at one time was headed by Orlin Vassilev, a Bulgarian playwright. BNR at one time also employed former (Bulgarian) environment minister Valentin Vassilev. 
Charles Morse published a full textbook of Bulgarian grammar in 1860, and compiled the first Bulgarian-English dictionary.#REDIRECT [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian-American_relations]]

'''East Rumelian''' 
Cf [[ATD_336-357#Page_356|page 356: East Rumelia. ]] Rumelia was a Turkish province in the Balkan Peninsula. East Rumelia lay mostly in what is now Bulgaria.

'''the Treaty of Berlin''' 
In the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 Russia crushed Turkey and forced it to accept the Treaty of San Stefano. This created a greatly expanded Bulgaria under Russian protection. Britain feared that Russia might spread its control to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and to the Suez Canal, and therefore, with Austria, demanded a revised treaty. Weakened by war, Russia consented. The Treaty of San Stefano was replaced thus by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin_%281878%29 the Treaty of Berlin] (1878), the final act of the Congress of Berlin of the Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The new treaty recognized the complete independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. The autonomy of Bulgaria was also recognized but it remained under formal Ottoman overlordship and divied between the Principality of Bulgaria and the autonomous province of ''East Rumelia''. And the Ottoman province of Bosnia was placed uner Austro-Hungarian administration.

'''''zadruga''''' 
Bulgarian: labor cooperative.

'''''tchifliks''''' 
Bulgarian: farms.

'''''gradinarski druzhini''''' 
Bulgarian: gardening (or farming?) associations.

'''gossamer''' 
Sheer, light, delicate, flimsy, airy, tenuous, like a cobweb.

==Page 496==

'''sod . . . pouffe''' 
Derogatory terms for homosexual ("sod" from "sodomite").

'''failed canards''' 
Discredited rumors.

'''Lent . . . Easter . . . Long Vacation''' 
''Lent'' is an anual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for ''Easter'', beginning at Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter. After ''Lent'', ''Easter'' the school terms would soon glide into the summer recess, the ''Long Vacation.''
 
::At Cambridge University 'Lent Term' is the second term of the academic year (after Christmas), and 'Easter Term' is the third (between Easter and Summer - or 'Long' - vacations.) So 'Lent and Easter' qualifies 'The Terms' in the previous clause: the sense is 'Lent Term and Easter Term went gliding...' (The first term of the Cambridge year, incidentally, is called 'Michaelmas'.)

'''Colonial Office''' 
Defunct British Ministry, later Foreign & Colonial Office, now Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

'''Okhrana''' 
a secret police force of the Russian Empire and part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okhrana Wikipedia Entry]

'''Ballhausplatz''' 
Location of the Austrian State Chancellery and Foreign Ministry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballhausplatz Wikipedia Entry]

'''Wilhelmstrasse''' 
Administrative Center of the Kingdom of Prussia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelmstrasse Wikipedia Entry]

'''G.F.B. Riemann''' 
Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann. A German mathematician who did extensive work in differential geometry. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Riemann Wikipedia Entry]

[http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Riemann.html Bernhard Riemann] (1826-66), a German mathematician. He studied mathematics at the University of Göttingen and later taught that subject there. He did important work in geometry, complex analysis, and mathematical physics. Riemanm's work on Riemann geometry laid the foundation for Einstein's general relativity. He investigated the Riemann zeta function about which he stated the famous (and still not completely proven) Riemann hypothesis (see below). He died of tuberculosis in Selasca, Italy, at the age of 39.

'''Zeta function . . . conjecture''' 
The Riemann zeta function. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_zeta_function/ Wikipedia Entry]

The Riemann zeta function is an extremely important special function of mathematics and physics that arises in definite integration and is intimately related with very deep results surrounding the prime number theorem. While many of the properties of this function have been investigated, there remain important fundamental ''conjectures'' (most notably the Riemann hypothesis) that remain unproved to this day. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_zeta_function Zeta function]].

The Riemann hypothesis (''conjecture'') is a conjecture about the distribution of zeros of the Riemann zeta function. The Riemann zeta function is defined for all complex numbers (Cf [[ATD_119-148#Page132|page 132]]) not equal to zero. It has zeros at the negative even integers, (-2, -4, -6 and so on), called trivial zeros. The Riemann hypothesis is concerned with the non-trivial zeros, saying, ''"The real part of any non-trivial zero of the Riemann zeta function is 1/2."'' This conjecture remains unproved. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_hypothesis Riemann conjecture]].

Riemann's zeta function is also used in the Zipf Probability Distribution [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ZipfDistribution.html], which itself led to the formulation of Zipf's Principle of Least Effort that TRP mined for semantic resonances in GR. [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Zipf%27s_Principle_of_Least_Effort]

''''joint'''' 
Opium den.

'''Bob's your uncle''' 
An English and Commonwealth expression referring to the ease with which something can be done. Still used, though probably more common in the time in which ''Against the Day'' is set. Possible [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/70100.html derivations].

'''Limehouse''' 
An area of East London that borders on the River Thames near the Isle of Dogs. The name may derive from the lime kilns, or lime "oasts", that once flourished there. In the late 19th century the area was famous for opium dens [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limehouse Wikipedia].

==Page 497==

'''Knightsbridge''' 
Knightsbridge is a street in Westminster borough, London. Notable for its super rich and famous high profile residents and its exclusive shops. (Recent residents included members of the Saudi royal family, Joan Collins, Gucci, Prince Diana and so on; it's shops included Egyptian Fayed's Harrods, etc . . . ) [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightsbridge Knightsbridge]].

'''Hôtel Alsace''' 
The propre name is Hôtel d'Alsace. It was, and still is, located at number 13 rue des Beaux-Arts, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Oscar Wilde died there, under an assumed named, on november 30th, in 1900, following a two-day agony. Note some similarity of letters between the names Griswold and Wilde (both "sodomite"…). 

Also, Wilde's famous last words (well, recounted as last words but really uttered months before his death) was "either that wallpaper goes, or I do." Cyprian's uncle, Griswold, it seems, had the atrocious decorative taste that shoved Wilde into the great beyond. This is post-Wilde; the avant-garde pose has calcified into a tacky schtick, the "lilies-and-lassitude" 90s, like the foreclosed frontier, a dead duck in the sodomite water.

see "Gris"--four associative definitions that interestingly modify/play with, the name Wilde: gray; a pale rose' (as in vin gris)and Juan Gris, Spanish painter. [http://www.google.com/search?q=define:gris&hl=en&oi=definel&defl=all gris]

'''excess''' 
(So not wholly gossamer?)

'''Coronation Red''' 
The Peer‘s traditional robes at Coronation Day are made of crimson red velvet [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_the_British_Monarch Wikipedia] [http://www.geocities.com/noelcox/Peers_Robes.htm website]. Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were crowned at Westminster Abbey on 9 August 1902 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VII_of_the_United_Kingdom Wikipedia]

'''Ranji and C.B. Fry''' 
Two notable cricketers who would have been in their prime when the novel is set. Both played for England. 'Ranji' is short for Ranjitsinhji and is how he was familiarly known. [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/12930.html C.B. Fry] [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/19331.html Ranji]

'''Australian season''' 
A reference to the Australian cricket season which runs throughout their summer and the European winter.

More likely to refer to the tour of the Australian cricket team to England in the Summer of 1902. Of particular interest is the fact that the Aussies played a match against Cambridge University on June 9-10. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_cricket_team_in_England_in_1902 1902 Ashes Tour]

'''New Court''' 
A major building in St John's College (founded 1511), University of Cambridge. It was completed in 1831. It's style is Gothic, a romantic version of a mediaeval building; its basic plan is classical. For pictures and more info [http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/about/tour/new_court New Court].

'''Tavernier-Gravet slide rules''' 
French-made, some with special scales (slope conversions, etc.). [http://discover.com/issues/aug-03/features/featslide/ Photograph.]

'''High Church''' 
Anglican

'''Mags and Nuncs and Matins responsories''' 
A responsory is a form of (Christian) chant (call and response, perhaps), which is here qualified by Latin designations for specific prayers. 
Mags: possibly for ''Magnificat,'' the hymn beginning "My soul doth magnify the Lord"? 
Nunc = Now. For ''Nunc dimittis,'' the prayer beginning "Let thy servant now depart." 
Matin = Morning.

'''Trinity''' 
Trinity College, was founded by Henry VIII in 1546 as part of the Univeristy of Cambridge. Most of its major buildings date from the 16th and 17th centuries. "Princes, spies, poets and prime-ministers have all been taught here." (Trinity's own website [http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=2 Trinity])

'''King's''' 
King's College, Cambridge University, was found by Henry VI in 1441. From the first, the College's buildings were intened to be a magnificent display of the power of royal patronage. King's College Chapel, wanted by the King to be without equal in size and beauty and took nearly a century to complete, is one of the greatest examples of gothic architecture. It is also home to the world famous Choir, envisaged by Henry VI for daily singing of services in the chapel. [[http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/visitors/history.html King's]].

'''not Zion''' 
The context indicated that the original meaning Mount Zion, a hill near Jerusalem, was used; i.e. "not Mount Zion".

'''Compline hour''' 
Bedtime. Compline is the last prayers or service of the day.

'''Te Deum''' 
Te Deum = Thou, O God (Latin).

Since "the Te Deum" was used in the text, it meant the ancient Latin hymn of praise to God, in the form of a psalm, sung regularly at matins in the Roman Catholic Church and, usually in an English translation, at Morning Prayer in the Anglican Church, as well as on special occasions as a service of thanksgiving or commemoration. First words of the hymn, which begin; ''Te Deum laudāmus'' (we praise thee God). Te Deum also refers to the musical setting or form of this hymn with a certain structure which Filtham had blotched. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Deum Wikipedia]

Coincidence? According to the [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14468c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia] there is a discussion among scholars whether the hymn of the Te Deum goes back to a text written by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cyprian St. Cyprian of Carthage] : "...if the hymn was borrowed from St. Cyprian, why did it not include the "virgines" instead of stopping with "martyrum"?".

'''Khaki Election''' 
A term in British political history. It refered to the British general election of 1900. The reason for this name was that the issues of the election were overshadowed totally by the issue of the (2nd) Boer War (South African War, 1899-1902 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War Boer War]]), as ''khaki'' was the color of the new army uniform. A ''Khaki Election'' is now applied to any British national election which is heavily influenced by wartime or postwar sentiment. 1918 general election (end of World War I) and 1945 election (end of Wordl War II) were both described as Khaki Elections.

'''Filtham''' 
???

==Page 498==

'''violation of . . . child-labor statutes''' 
If such laws applied to children in the choirs of Cambridge colleges, the great length of the composition would keep them at work too many hours.

'''chromaticism . . . Richard Strauss''' 
Chromaticism refers to the use of the chromatic scale in composing music. Ever since Baroque Period (17th to early 18th century) almost all music were compsoed either in major or minor scale, in which only seven of the twelve tones of the octave were used. Beginning in the late Romanic Period (mid 19th to 20th century) the chromatic scale including all 12 tones of the octave was used. By using the tones that are not "supposed" to be in a certain key, the music thus composed had stronger dissonance and exaggerated tension. 

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was a German composer of the late Romantic era well known for his tone poems and operas. His ''Also sprach Zarathustra'' (1896), a symphonic poem, was made widely popular by Stanley Kubrick's film ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' in 1968 — the music (especially the brass fanfare opening) introduced the memorable ape/man sequence of the film. His many operas include ''Salome, Der Rosenkavalier, Capriccio'' and others. Chromaticism was not that new to Richard Strauss, but "relentless chromaticism" just might be too "modern" for him.

'''Staindrop''' 
Home of Jeremiah Dixon.

'''"Filtham's Tedium"''' 
(Talk about overlabored puns...)
:"Tedium" is a common humorous way to refer to somebody-or-other's "Te Deum."

'''dress regulations''' 
???

'''Gauss''' 
Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), a German mathematician and scientist, and one of the all-time greats. He worked in a wide variety of fields in both mathematics and physics including number theory, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, magnetism, astronomy and optics. His work has had an immense influence in many areas. Riemann was a student of his at Göttingen. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss Wikipedia].

'''Ramanujan''' 
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), one of India's greatest mathematical geniuses. Long before he came to Cambridge and though without any formal university education, Ramanujan made substantial contributions to the anlytical theory of numbers and worked on elliptic functions, continued fractions and infinite series. He, a poor savant from India, was invited in 1914 to Cambridge by G.H. Hardy after he wrote him a letter asking abstruse mathematical questions. In his letter, Ramanujan enclosed a long list of then unproved theorems which he had solved. After his arriving at Cambridge Ramanujan collaborated with G.H. Hardy resulting in important results. He was allowed to enroll in 1914 in Cambridge despite not having the proper qualifications and received a PhD degree in 1916. Plagued by health problems all his life, his health deteriorated rapidly from 1917, and he returned to India in 1919 and died there the following year. Two years before his death, however, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London. [[http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Ramanujan.html Ramanujan]]. Therefore,
". . . Ramanujan here at Trinity . . ." could have happened only between 1914 - 1919.

'''revisited, in some way 'relighted' the scene''' 
Light, mental light.

'''display of hurt feelings''' 
Cf p30.

==Page 499==

'''light up''' 
Dark world vs spark of value.

'''ζ-function''' 
Another reference to the Riemann zeta function.

'''Hilbert thinks of nothing else''' 
The Riemann hypothesis is one of the 20 problems put forth by Hilbert in 1900.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert_problem Wikipedia Entry]

'''desire... of rather a specialized sort''' 
???

'''Great Eastern''' 
Railway linking Cambridge and London.

==Page 500==

'''Weierstrass and Sofia Kovalevskaia''' 
Sofia Kovalevskaia was the first woman to apply for a mathematics degree at the University of Goettingen in Germany. She was not accepted at the university, but was allowed to tutor under one of the university's math professors. She wrote a paper there that became an important part of the theory of differential equations.

:Kovalevskaia's private math tutor was Weierstrass at Berlin (see below).

''Karl Weierstrass'' (1815-97), a German mathermatician. He attended the University of Bonn studying law, finance and economics instead of mathermatics, the subject he was really interested in and studied out of school. He left the Univeristy of Bonn without a degree and went to the University of Münster for mathematics. Later he became a teacher in the city of Münster. Around 1850 he took a chair at the Technical University of Berlin. For four years (1870-1874) he gave private mathematics lessons to Sofia Kovalevskaia while she was denied the university entrance in Berlin. His investigations were mainly on the topic of "Special Functions": Weierstrass Elliptic Function, Weierstrass Zeta Function, Weierstrass Product Theroem, etc.

''Sofia Kovalevskaia'' (1850-91) Russian mathematician and novelist. She was born in Moscow and showed an interest in mathematics from an early age. When 11 she studied differential and integral analysis from her father's calculus lecture notes that were used as wallpaper in the family house. She was given a special tutor of higher mathematics. At age 18 she entered a "false" marriage (it became genuine later) in order to be able to attend college abroad. In 1869 she enrolled as a provisional student at Heidelberg University. In 1870 she moved to Berlin attempting to study under ''Weierstrass'' and enroll at Berlin University. But the university refused to accept her because of her gender. However, Weierstrass was so impressed by her talent that he gave her private mathematics lessons twice a week for four years. By the spring of 1874, Kovalevskaia had completed three papers. Weierstrass deemed each of these worthy of a doctorate. And with his help, in Kovaleskaia's absence, University of Göttingen granted her a PhD in Mathematics (a historical first) and Master (''summa cum laude'') in Fine Art. In the same year she returned to Russia but failed to get an academic job. She did not practice mathematics for six years but pursued literary work instead. In 1880 she returned to mathematics and applied to teach at universities in Russia but was denied again. Finaly she found employment at Sweden's Stockholm University in 1883. She died of pneumonia in Stockholm in 1891. 
In her short life Kovalevskaia had won a historic place in mathermatics. She was the first woman to receive a doctorate in mathermatics, the first woman to obtain a permanent position on a university faculty in mathematics, the first woman having a place on the editorial staff of a mathematical journal, the first female member of St. Petersburg Academy of Science, and the first woman to win the most prestigeous mathematical contest of her day, an honor equivalent to the winning of a Nobel Prize. Her literary achievements was quite substantial. Her ''Russian Childhood'' won wide acclaim and was translated into many languages (the English edition still available). She had a couple of novels (''Nihilist Girl'' etc.) published as well. She dabbled in playwriting and produced a steady stream of both fiction and nonfiction publications for Russian journals.

'''Pythagorean doctrine''' 
From the text it refers to Pythagorean doctrine of transmigration of souls. Pythagoras and his disciples believed in reincarnation (or metempsychosis), according to which human souls are immortal and are reborn into other animals after death. ("reborn as a vegetable" may be questionable.) 
Perhaps not so questionable. There is, after all, the Pythagorean prohibition against eating beans, wind being 'pneuma' = spirit.

[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagora Pythagoras], one of the most famous and controversial ancient Greek philosophers, lived from ca. 570 to ca. 490 BC. He spent his early years on the island of Samos, off the coast of modern Turkey. At the age of 40, he moved to Crotona in southern Italy and most of his philosophical activity occurred there. His philosophical thinking exercised an important influence on the work of Plato. "Pythagoras was famous (1) as an expert on the fate of the soul after death . . .; (2) as an expert on religious ritual; (3) as a wonder-worker who had a thigh of gold and who could be two places at the same time; (4) as the founder of a strict way of life that emphasized dietary restrictions, . . . and rigorous self discipline." (on-line Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). 
Pythagoras was also a famous mathematician best known for the Pythagorean Theorem and the Music of the Spheres. Known as the father of numbers, his philosophy encompassed harmonics in mathematics, music, cosmology, geometry and had a lasting impact on hermeticism, gnosticism and alchemy.

'''sounds like maths''' 
Yashmeen seems to see 'maths' as otherwordly.

'''folio''' 
an edition of a book in pages that fold in half to make the leaves of a codex.

'''four-color chromolithograph''' 
Chromo--in Chemistry, chromium
 
:Nothing to do with chromium. Chromolithography means 'The art of printing in colours from stone' (OED), an early technique for printing in more than one colour. The chromo- prefix is a shortened form of chromato-, a Greek-derived prefix denoting 'to do with colour'.

'''Snazzbury''' 
???

'''Silent Frock''' 
Cf noise-canceling headphones.

'''toilette''' 
No longer in use in modern english, the term 'toilette' indicated a dressing table covered to the floor with cloth (toile) and lace, on which stood a dressing glass, which might also be draped in lace. Wikipedia

It's still used, and in addition to the dressing table meaning, it refers to how somebody is "got up"--dress, makeup and all.

==Page 501==

'''green, white, and mauve stripes''' 
Colors associated with the Suffragette Movement of the time.Diane Atkinson, one of the leading contemporary scholars on the suffrage movement, edited a book, Suffragettes in the Purple, White, and Green London 1906-1914, which served as a catalog at an exhibition of suffrage memorabilia at the Museum of London and which discusses the symbolism. Atkinson notes that the color scheme was devised by Mrs. Pethick-Lawrence, treasurer and co-editor of the weekly newspaper Votes for Women. In the spring 1908 issue of that paper, Pethick-Lawrence explained the symbolism of the colors:

"Purple as everyone knows is the royal colour. It stands for the royal blood that flows in the veins of every suffragette, the instinct of freedom and dignity...white stands for purity in private and public life...green is the colour of hope and the emblem of spring."

'''black crepon''' 
The shell is made of black rayon crepon and fully lined to within 2" of bottom hem. From a description of a black [nursing] dress online.

'''Italian-cloth''' 
The Champagne fairs were a circuit of six cloth fairs in the towns of Champagne and Brie, changing location every two months and spanning the year from January to October. At their height, in the 13th century, the Champagne fairs linked the cloth-producing cities of the Low Countries with the Italian dyeing and exporting centers. The fairs, which were already well-organized at the start of the century, were one of the earliest manifestations of a linked European economy, a characteristic of the High Middle Ages.

The towns provided huge warehouses, still to be seen at Provins. From the north came woolens and linen cloth. Wikipedia.

==Page 502==

'''modern lettering''' 
Refers to Art Nouveau lettering popular at the turn of the 20th century and still commonly used on entrance signs for Paris metro stations.

'''"a kind of helical ramp"''' 
Possibly a reference to the Riemann Sphere, which is built in large part upon complex numbers and which look something like a helix. 
[[Image:Riemann Sphere.jpg]]

'''L'ARIMEAUX ET QUEURLIS''' 
Larry, Moe, and Curly's

'''twilling''' 
Twill = A fabric with diagonal parallel ribs. 2. The weave used to produce such a fabric.
TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: twilled, twill·ing, twills
To weave (cloth) so as to produce a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. From The American Heritage Dictionary

==Page 503==

'''Earl's Court Wheel''' 
The apostrophe is an error.
Go to "List All Pages" and enter "Great Wheel of Earl's Court" for an excellent write-up elucidating much of this page.

Earl's Court is an area of London. A Ferris Wheel there. See "The Great Wheel of Earls Court" page.

Another "paramorphic" parallel to our time: The London Eye, a huge Ferris Wheel built for the Millenium Exposition of 2000. The trip around is not, as Yasmeen notes, thermodynamically reversible, since one would be "changed forever" in the course of the journey around the wheel (in the Heraclitean sense that "No man steps in the same river twice"--the river changes.) 
This is the connection between entropy in thermodynamics and entropy in information theory, embodied in Maxwell's Demon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%27s_Demon], at the center of Pynchon's ''Crying of Lot 49'', now back as a problem in non-Euclidean geometries and multiple dimensions.

'''whelks''' 
A whelk is a large marine gastropod (snail) found in temperate waters. 
Popular in the early 20th C as fast food sold from stalls in the street. You extracted the somewhat bogey-like creature with a pin and ate it.

'''five pound note, like in the song''' 
¿¿¿???

'''Chinese Turkestan railway shares''' 
Chinese Turkestan is where the Chums of Chance are currently, in the sub-desertine vehicle.

'''jellied eel''' 
An East End of London delicacy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellied_eels Wikipedia]

'''West Ham, the Park, Upton Lane, lads all in claret and blue''' 
The "lads in claret and blue" are kicking a football around, as they are players of current Premiership side West Ham United. Founded in 1895, the "Hammers" are playing their home games at Boleyn Ground aka "Upton Park". Yep, soccer. However, it's highly dubious that Upton Park could be seen from Earl's Court, even at 300 feet. Much easier to see Chelsea, Fulham or Queen's Park Rangers grounds, all very close to Earl's Court.

'''lupine liminality''' 
Latin: lupus = wolf, limen = threshold. Allusion to the proverbial wolf at the door.

Lupine = any of a genus (Lupinus) of leguminous herbs including some poisonous forms and others cultivated for their long showy racemes of usually blue, purple, white, or yellow flowers or for green manure, fodder, or their edible seeds; also : an edible lupine seed.

The liminal state is characterized by ambiguity, openness, and indeterminacy. One's sense of identity dissolves to some extent, bringing about disorientation. Liminality is a period of transition, during which your normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed, opening the way to something new.

'''hydrangeas''' 
a kind of flower. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea Wikipedia]

'''Hardy,''' 
Cf. [[ATD_219-242#Page 239|page 239:McTaggart . . . Hardy]]. G.H. (Godfrey Harold) Hardy (1877-1947),famous Cambridge mathematician [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._H._Hardy Wikipedia]. He wrote "A Mathematician's Apology" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Mathematician%27s_Apology Wikipedia] [http://www.math.ualberta.ca/~mss/books/A%20Mathematician's%20Apology.pdf Full Text]. Knew all the most famous intellectuals and was himself very influential.

==Page 504==

'''Harwich... German Sea''' 
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east.The North Sea historically also known as the German Ocean. By the late nineteenth century, German Sea was a rare, scholarly usage ...

"The German Sea" is also a public house (p. 489).

'''Hook of Holland''' 
Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands. It is not a hook but the southwest ''corner'' of South-Holland province (Dutch ''hoek'' = corner).

''Hook of Holland'' is also the name of the ferry port, an entry point into Holland and Europe. It is served by ferry sailings from Harwich and is the main entry port when travelling from the UK. It is less than 15 miles southwest of The Hague. [[http://www.eurodrive.co.uk/ports.asp?ID=39&p=Hook-Of-Holland Port of Hook of Holland]].

'''madhouse at Osnabrück''' 
OSNABRUCK, a town and episcopal see of Germany, in the Prussian province of Hanover, situated on the Hase, 70 m. W. of the city of Hanover, 31 m. by rail N.E. of Munster, and at the junction of the lines Hamburg-Cologne and BerlinAmsterdam. Pop. (1905) 59,5 80. The lunatic asylum occupies a former nunnery.

==Page 505==

'''plug hats''' 
a plug hat may be a top hat or a bowler hat.

'''Cobh''' 
the historic port town of Cobh Ireland. Many ocean liners sailed from there, including the Titanic... the port of Queenstown (now known as Cobh)

==Page 506==

'''Euclid''' 
Avenue of classy mansions in Cleveland

Euclid (300 BC) is also the father of geometry. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid wikipedia entry] check out the section on optics and the theory of mirrors.

'''elms in Cleveland''' 
(Before Dutch elm disease?)

'''went on for years''' 
the Krakatoa eruption put dust and ashes aloft for years.

'''Krakatoa''' 
The correct name is Krakatau. It is a volcanic, uninhabited Indonesia's island lies between Java and Sumatra. A series of cataclysmic explosions of August 26 - 27, 1883, the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history, collapsed the northern two-thirds of the island beneath the sea, generating an immense tsunamis that ravaged adjeacent coastlines and killed over 36,000 perople. Tephra (volcanic rock and glass fragments) from the eruption fell as far as 1,500 miles downwind in the days following the explosion. The finest fragments were propelled high into the stratosphere, spreading outward as a broad cloud acroos the entire equatorial belt in only two weeks. These particles would remain suspended in the atmosphere for a long time. For years, the earth experienced exotic colors in the sky, halos around the sun and moon, and a spectacular array of anomalous sunsets and sunrises. In the year following the equption, average global temperatures fell by as much as 1.2° Celsius. Weather patterns continued to be chaotic for years and temperature did not return to normal until 1888. For more about 1883 eruption, map, pictures, current volcanic activities etc see [http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Krakatau.html Krakatau 1] and [http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/current_volcs/krakatau/krakatau.html Krakatau 2].

'''Krakatoa...child's story'''

''The 21 Balloons''? which could have been a Chums of Chance adventure!

'''Shorty''' 
the 'short-order' cook?

==Page 507==
'''I thought sunsets were just supposed to look like that...

Suggestive of the sentiments in Wordsworth's ''Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood'' [http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww331.html]

Also brought to mind The Orb's ''Little Fluffy Clouds'' (1990) in which Rickie Lee Jones answers the question.....

What were the skies like when you were young? [by saying]

''They went on forever
And ''they -- when I
We lived in Arizona
And the skies always had little fluffy clouds
And they were long and clear
And there were lots of stars, at night
And when it rained it would all turn
It -- they were beautiful
The most beautiful skies as a matter of fact
The sunsets were purple and red
And yellow and on fire
And the clouds would catch the colors everywhere
That's -- it's neat
Because I used to look at them all the time
When I was little
You don't see that''''

Circling the rabbit hole....In this song, The Orb uses a harmonica sample from the song ''The Man With The Harmonica'' from the film '''Once Upon a Time in the West''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fluffy_Clouds]. The film in turn seems to have strong Pynchon/AtD overtones, (pre-tones??) --
Frank vs. Harmonica, the railroads destroying the Old West...etc. Pynchon showing a strong preference for harmonicas, old movies and songs and protagonists named Frank.

'''how little I cared''' 
(Blaming Krakatoa???)Seems to me she is saying that her feelings for Bert faded, as everything was, maybe, supposed to, as had the fantastic sunsets
caused by Krakatoa when they got back to ordinary.

'''palm upward''' 
One of many "old wives' tales" described in [http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/pregnancy/oldwives/index.php this web page.]

'''Prospect Avenue''' 
Once fashionable street in Cleveland, Ohio.

'''leaf-spring suspension''' 
A form of suspension for wheeled vehicles. Still very occasionally used in automobiles, but more likely nowadays to be seen on a perambulator. A "leaf" here is a long thin strip of tempered steel (they may also be stacked for greater strength).

'''overrun''' 
the excess kerosene when made.

'''Flats''' 
lands around the Cuyahoga River.

==Page 508==

'''Cuyahoga''' 
Major river in Ohio that goes around Cleveland. Famous in the 60's for literally catching on fire from the combustible pollutants in it. Here, Pynchon shows that industrial pollution and its effect on the river. "It's like looking down into the sky".

'''your exact face''' 
(How common?)

'''allowing Erlys do the work''' 
Error in first edition. Should be "allowing Erlys to do the work..."

==Page 509==

'''descending minor triad''' 
in music, an interval of three half tones. 
No, the triad is a chord, so it's three notes moving downwards (soh-mi-doh) forming a minor chord.

'''Svengali''' 
In George Du Maurier's novel ''Trilby'' (1894), the hypnotist who makes the title character a great singer but keeps her under rigorous control.

'''tea roses''' 
Yellow-orange roses.

'''cosmos''' 
any composite plant of the genus ''Cosmos'', of tropical America, some species of which are cultivated for their showy flowers.

==Page 510==

'''first momentous glance''' 
Page 349 only?

'''Elis''' 
Yale University students, called so after founder Eli Yale.

'''snooting''' 
the act of snubbing, treating scornfully or with disdain (OED)

'''tuned to a 440 A''' 
the elusive 440 A. ... Today's A above middle C has been set at 440 cycles per second or 440 Hertz. ...

==Page 511==

'''preferring''' 
Cf Rose in James Cameron's ''Titanic''.

'''Root Tubsmith''' 
Most likely a fictional character.

'''Fuchs''' 
Lazarus Fuchs (1833-1902), a German mathematician. He worked on differential equations and the theory of functions, ordinary differential equations with complex functions as coefficients, elliptic integrals, etc. [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Fuchs.html Fuchs].

'''Schwarz''' 
Herman Schwarz (1843-1921), a German mathematician, known for his work in complex analysis. He worked in Halle, Göttingen and then Berlin, dealing with the subjects of function theory, differential geometry and the calculus of variation. [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Schwarz.html Schwarz].

'''Frobenius''' 
Ferdinand Frobenius (1849-1917), a German mathematician. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Georg_Frobenius], possibly important here for his contributions to Group Theory and to topology [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frobenius_theorem_%28differential_topology%29]. He received his doctorate from the Univeristy of Berlin supervised by Weierstrass. Later, he taught mathematics there as well. He combined results from the theory of algebraic equations, geometry and number theory, which led him to the representation theory and the character theory of groups. [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Frobenius.html Frobenius].

'''Professor Manning''' 
Henry Parker Manning (1859-1956) In 1889 he entered Johns Hopkins University to study mathematics, astronomy and physics. When he received his Ph.D. degree in 1891, his first printed paper had already appeared in the ''American Journal of Mathematics''. He was appointed instructor in mathematics at Brown that same year, and “with his advent,” Professor Raymond C. Archibald would later write, “a new era in the development of mathematics at Brown was ushered in.” From 1893 to 1908 Manning offered courses in higher mathematics never previously available at Brown, courses with names like “Theory of functions: algebraic functions, Riemann surfaces, and Abelian functions,” “Substitutions and transformation groups,” and “Quaternions, non-Euclidean geometry, and hyperspace.” After 1908 there were others in the department able to teach higher mathematics. His publications included ''Non-Euclidean Geometry'' in 1901, the first English language text in this subject, ''Irrational Numbers and their Representation by Sequences and Series'' in 1906, and ''Geometry of Four Dimensions'' in 1914. [http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=M0090]

'''language difference''' 
Kit and Root both speak English, but in different mathematical dialects.

'''Marseilles''' 
Second largest city of France; Mediterannean port, legendarily corrupt.

'''species of tarantella''' 
Tarantella is a fast dance or dance tune in 6/8 time. Probably named for Taranto, not tarantula.

'''dreamed it''' 
(Page?)

Page 349, at R.W. Vibe's "Italianate town house." Dally confirms this on page five hundred and twelve.

'''Cigar Deck''' 
A deck on a luxury yacht, hotel or residence where 'gentlemen' went to smoke cigars.... "venue has everything - including a full bar, cigar deck, and dance floor. ..."

==Page 512==

'''how to stop looking''' 
Cf p27.

'''lobelias''' 
Plant or flower of the genus Lobelia. At least one member of the genus is blue (Blue Lobelia.

'''Victor Herbert''' 
Irish-born American composer (1859-1924) of songs, operettas, light classics.

'''Wolf-Ferrari''' 
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948), born in Venice, composer of many extremely popular operas.

==Page 513==

'''She smelled falsely''' 
Error in first edition. Should be "She smiled falsely."

'''Reuben''' 
A hick, as in the carnie's cry, "Hey, Rube".
 
:Maybe, but given that Kit's ''age'' is at issue, may refer to the fact that Reuben was the eldest of the twelve sons of Jacob/Israel (Genesis 29.32).

'''sailing along on Moonlight Bay''' 
Apparently someone overheard Kit's dialog. This phrase would become part of the song "On Moonlight Bay," Madden (lyrics) and Weinrich (music), 1912.

==Page 515==

'''high-hatting''' 
Snubbing, cutting.

'''memories of desert plateau, mountian peaks...some unexpected river''' 
Instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with the back-country Rocky Mountains.
Cf also the description of the landscape Frank's riding through on page 394/395.

'''twenty-knot push''' 
The ship is making twenty knots (20 nautical miles per hour), hence generating a twenty knot wind toward the stern.

'''uncreated''' 
Featureless? ongoing present becoming the future as compared to his memories.

The watery void of Genesis, before creation of the land and life.

'''after 1914''' 
Still 10 years away.

'''S.M.S. ''Emperor Maximilian''''' 
S.M.S.: Seiner Majestäts Schiff, His Majesty's Ship (German or, as in this case, Austrian). One Habsburg Emperor Maximilian was set up in Mexico, then deposed and killed.

'''25,000-ton''' 
The ship's displacement (measure of its size).

'''dreadnoughts''' 
''HMS Dreadnought'' gave her name to a new philosophy that governed the design of capital ships beginning in the 1890s and continuing past the 1920s: high speed, heavy armor, heavy investment in the "main battery" and de-emphasis of secondary battery, main battery comprising the largest practicable guns mounted in turrets on the ship's centerline.

'''Slavonian''' 
Perhaps a deceptive name for the company; Slavonia was an inland province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, northwest of Croatia; Trieste would have been in Slovenia.

'''Schultz-Thorneycroft''' 
Apparently a maker of steamships' boilers.

'''Parsons turbines''' 
Cf. The Steam Turbine, by Sir Charles A. Parsons ---The Rede Lecture, 1911.
Was manufactured and named for Parsons--this lecture was after its extensive use.

'''British men-o'-war''' 
Warships.

==Page 516==

'''shell-rooms-to-be and giant powder magazines''' 
''Stupendica'' contains spaces that will belong to ''Maximilian'' on her transformation. (Indeed, she must contain the shells and powder too.)

'''circular cabins''' 
A battleship turret extends several decks below the gunhouse. No doubt there were stacks of these circular cabins.

'''twelve-inch barrels''' 
The typical main armament for dreadnoughts in this period (1904) was 12 inch guns - the guns having barrels. By WWI, newer dreadnoughts had 14-16" armament.

'''shelter deck''' 
???

'''to fold upward''' 
Transformer fashion.

'''casemates''' 
Turrets.

'''freeboard''' 
The amount of the ship above the water. You need a certain amount of freeboard to maintain balance, but battleships try to limit it as much as possible (so as to present a smaller target).

'''"Dazzle" camouflage''' 
Patterns as described in the text, meant to confuse enemy eyes. [http://www.bobolinkbooks.com/Camoupedia/DazzleCamouflage.html] Camouflage techniques used in World War I were developed in part by magician Jasper Maskelyne, a descendant of the Astronomer Royal in ''Mason & Dixon.''

'''dihedrals''' 
A dihedral is the figure formed by two planes intersecting in a line. The bow of a ship is pretty close.

'''Fangsley''' 
???

'''less horizontally disposed''' 
less level

Passenger liner has as many decks as possible above waterline. Warship has as many as possible ''below'' waterline, hence it's "taller."

'''Trieste''' 
Trieste is a city and port in northeastern Italy right on the border with Slovenia. It is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste on the Adriatic Sea, about 70 miles east of Venice across the Gulf of Venice. The city had been occupied, administrated, annexed by various countries in the past. As late as early 19th century Napoleon took it for France, and in 1813 Austrian empire annexed it and kept it until the end of World War I. In 1920 it was transfered to Italy. During World War II German occupied the city until 1945 when Yugoslav partisans under Tito briefly occupied the city. Between 1947 to 1954 Trieste was governed by British and American. Finally, in 1954 the city of Trieste went to Italy and the southern suburb went to Yugoslavia (now Slovenia).

'''Lloyd Arsenale''' 
Lloyd Shipyard, Austria's commercial counterpart of Stabilimento Tecnico. In 1833 a company with the name ''Lloyd Austriaco'' was founded as a maritime insurance organization. Three years later a new section, the Shipping Section was established and running company's own vessels. In 1853 Lloyd Austriaco started buidling its own shipyard, called ''Arsenale'', both for building new ships and maintenance of the fleet. The shipyard was completed and fully operative in 1861. In 1919 ''Lloyd Austriaco'' changed its name to ''Lloyd Triestino'', currently still operating in Trieste. [[http://www.italiamarittima.it/newhistory.asp?ordernum=10 Lloyd Arsenale]].

'''Stabilimento Tecnico''' 
Technical Plant, a shipyard. Stabilimento Tecnico was an Austro-Hungarian shipbuilding company based in Trieste. It served the Austro-Hungarian Navy on a large scale and was the largest shipyard of that country. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabilimento_Tecnico_Triestino Stabilimento]]. Four Tegetthoff class dreadnoughts were built by Stabilimento Tecnico for the Austro-Hungarian Navy: ''SMS Viribus Unitis, SMS Tegetthoff, SMS Prinz Eugen'' and ''SMS Szent Istvan''. They were of about 21,000 ton displacement and a speed of 20 kt with twelve 12-inch guns. Tegetthoff was a 19th century Austrian admiral.[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegetthoff_class_battleship Tegetthoff battleships]]. 
Stabilimento Tecnico and Lloyd Triestino are both currently active. In fact these two establishments are the largest industrial organizations in Trieste.

==Page 517==

'''''merged''''' 
Pynchon writes about bilocation in a peculiar sense: not necessarily one person being in two places, but one ''place'' being two (or one language being two, Dutch/Flemish, Serbian/Croatian).

'''Different witnesses.....no longer in either, simply appearing unforseen...''' 
Sounds a lot like the quantum mechanical measurement process. An electron can't be located until a measurement. May be easiest unerstood via the "Schroedinger's cat" picture.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat]

'''Promontorio''' 
In Italian promontorio is headland, a small stripe of mountain-like terrain surrounded on all but one side by see.

'''O.I.C. Bodine''' 
Gotta be Pig Bodine from ''V.'' and ''GR'' and descendant of Fender-Belly Bodine in [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Mason & Dixon''].
:Naw, three different Bodines. (1) Fender-Belly is the patriarch (flourished in the 1760s); (2) the stoker O.I.C. is in his prime in the decade around 1910; (3) Pig serves in WW2 and is still around to go roistering with Benny in the 1960s. The strangest thing about the Bodines—a family with saltwater in their DNA—is that they dropped anchor in Minnesota . . . or ever even visited such an inland spot as [http://www.city.albertlea.org/home.html Albert Lea.]

"O.I.C." is an initialism for Ohio Improved Chester, which is a breed of hog. Jack London actually [http://www.jacklondons.net/palace.html raised them on his ranch]. As has been pointed out, "O.I.C." standing for "Officer in Charge" in the Bodine context is a non-starter, as Bodine is neither an officer nor in charge of anything. He's a stoker, one of the lowest class of laborers aboard. Also, "oic" does have a piggish ring to it ("oink" without the "n"). And of course it also works as Internet slang: "Oh, I see," although this sounds a bit too cutesy for Pynchon, IMHO, and besides, as pointed out above, O.I.C. Bodine ain't the Bodine seen in other Pynchon novels, but most likely the father or uncle of Pig of ''V.'' and ''Gravity's Rainbow''.

In ''V.'', Pig's first appearance in a Pynchon novel (he also appears in "Lowlands," a Pynchon short story Flange's "big gaping [[Idiots and Idiocy in Against the Day|idiot]] buddy"), he brags of his Harley motorcycle (called Hogs, in the vernacular): "Ain't an SP car made that can take my Harley." (p.15) Perhaps this Bodine was given the nickname "O.I.C." by his Navy buddies as a joke, ''because'' the initialism stands for a breed of hog ''and'' "Officer in Charge" (which he's far from) ''and'' sounds like a pig's utterance (We know his putative son's or nephew's laugh sounds like a pig ("Hyeugh, hyeugh ... it was, as Pig intended, horribly obscene" ''V.'', p.14 so maybe it's inherited). And perhaps Pynchon gave him the last name of Bodine to connect him visually and/or temperamentally with the character Jethro Bodine of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies''] (1962-1971), also a big, not-too-smart goofball.

'''fermented potato mash''' 
Cf Veikko's vodka, [[ATD 81-96#Page 82|page 82]].

'''four shafts''' 
Four propellers.

'''''Mauretania''''' 
HMS Mauretania, launched 1907, sister ship of the ill-fated Lusitania (the sinking of the latter propelled the US into WW I). Served as Cunard liner, troopship, hospital ship in WW I.

'''''Zu befehl, Herr Hauptheitzer''''' 
German: Ready for orders, Chief Stoker. (Should be ''Zu Befehl, Herr Hauptheizer.'')

'''Black Gang''' 
The stoking crew, turned black by coal dust.

'''Oberhauptheitzer''' 
German: Master Chief Stoker. (Should be: ''Oberhauptheizer.'')

'''Mannlicher''' 
German military pistol.

'''''"Dampf mehr!"''''' 
German for "more steam!" (Should be: ''Mehr Dampf!'')
:If this is an error, as it appears to be (and as it's marked by [http://www.glanzundelend.de/glanzneu/pynchonpalm.htm German native speakers]), it may stem from a common phrase such as ''Wir haben keinen Dampf mehr,'' we have no more steam. Is there any remote possibility that ''Dampf mehr!'' was a form used in shipboard orders (spoken or telegraphed) at the time of the action?
:Following up this nagging question, I have found some photos of engine room telegraphs with German on the dials: [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiffstelegraf here] and [http://www.digitalstock.de/detail.php?bildnummer=178966&seite=5&abilder=20&uid=&kategorie= here]. Neither refers to ''Dampf'' at all (instead ''volle Kraft'' = full power, ''volle Fahrt'' = full speed). These finds seem to eliminate the possibility that ''Dampf mehr'' is a phrase Pynchon collected in this context.

'''singlet''' 
Undershirt.

'''syntonic wireless''' 

See [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_397-428#Page_397 p.397] and [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_219-242#Page_229 p. 229]. The comparison of wireless communications with messages from the spirit world echoes Kipling's short story [http://www.benlo.com/ham/wireless.html Wireless], Scribner's Magazine, August 1902. There are many Kipling echoes in AtD.

==Page 518==

'''ignorant off''' 
Error in first edition. Should be "ignorant of".

'''Marconi room''' 
Radio shack.

'''British and German battle groups were engaged off the Moroccan coast''' 
This could be a reference to the First Moroccan Crisis (a.k.a. Tangier Crisis) taking place between March 1905 and May 1906. This would be in keeping with the timeline of the novel, however, there seems to have been no engagement of troops between British and German forces. On the other hand, this could also be a reference to the Agadir Crisis (a.k.a. The Second Moroccan Crisis) of 1911 where the German gunboat, Panther, was deployed to the Moroccan port of Agadir, threatening British naval supremacy. Although the later altercation seems unlikely given the timeline of the story, Pynchon notes that the S.S. Stupendica received its message "from somewhere else not quite in the world, more like from a continuum lateral to it."

'''design maximum of nine degrees''' 
''Maximilian'' will right herself from a nine-degree heel but may be in trouble if she leans over farther.

'''nymphs''' 
Stage in the life cycle of many insects, including the cockroach.

'''''"Porca miseria"''''' 
Italian: good grief, for heaven's sake, dammit.

==Page 519==

'''tight circle''' 
Military as inane as circus clowns.

'''southeast by east''' 
The compass rose has 32 points, each 11 and a quarter degrees from the next. Southeast by east is one point to the east of southeast, i.e., 123 and three-quarters degrees clockwise from north.

'''deeper levels''' 
(Eg particle vs wave?)

'''A "deeper level" where dualities are resolved''' 
Engine room is far below the main deck, therefore a deeper level. The ''Stupendica/Maximilian'' duality is resolved there because it's a shared space.

'''Chinese''' 
???

Maybe the allusion refers to Chinese boxes, one box containing another box, containing another, etc? In the last box, at the "deeper level" dualities are resolved... don't know...

'''''nicht wahr''''' 
German: aint it true?

'''Graz''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graz Graz] is the capital of the Austrian province of Styria. It is the second largest city, after Vienna, in Austria. Graz's old town is one of the best-preserved city centers in Central Europe and is on the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites.

'''bilge-crab''' 
Most likely an insult meaning "below-decks crew".

==Page 520==

'''a Teutonic''' 
Ethnically a German.

'''Tangier''' 
a seaport in Northern Morocco on the west end of the Strait of Gibralta, about 500 miles northeast from Agadir, another Atlantic seaport. (Casablanca is midway between them.)

'''Mulai Ahmed er-Raisuli''' 
Infamous Morrocan outlaw/warlord. From this [http://www.explorers.org/publications/books_club/imprint/housetears.php website]: "Several decades before Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and Islamic insurgents, an international crisis ignited between the United States and the Middle East. In May 1904 Moroccan warlord Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli kidnapped Ion Perdicaris, a wealthy Greek-American resident of Tangier, in an attempt to extort money from the Sultan of Morocco. President Theodore Roosevelt responded with his "big stick" approach to diplomacy by dispatching a squadron of seven battleships to the Moroccan coast with the order: "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead." The nine-week standoff, with US troops and ships in Tangier Bay and Raisuli holding fort in the mountains, exposed the impotence of emerging American power and a critical misunderstanding about Moroccan politics. When it was discovered that Perdicaris was not an American citizen after all, the US government kept the embarrassing episode a secret until 1933. Profiting royally from the conflict, Raisuli built his palace, which he called the "House of Tears"." [http://www.capitalcentury.com/1904.html another source]

'''Agadir, Queen of the Iron Coast''' 
Agadir is a city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Souss-Massa-Dra region. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agadir Wikipedia] From the [http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia_Britannica/MOL_MOS/MOROCCO.html Encyclopedia Britannica]: "Sixty miles farther south lies Mogador, beyond which the coast becomes more and more inaccessible and dangerous in winter, being known to navigators as the " Iron Coast." From Cape Sim (Ras Tagriwalt), to m. south of Mogador, the direction is due south to Cape Ghir (Ighir Ufrani), the termination of Jebel Ida u Taman, a spur of the Atlas. Beyond this headland lies Agadir (Agadir Ighir), the Santa Cruz Mayor or Santa Cruz de Berberia
of the Spaniards, formerly known as the Gate of the Sudan.' It is a little town with white battlements three-quarters of a mile in circumference, on a steep eminence 600 ft. high." [http://www.rabat-maroc.net/marocautrefois/index.php?rep=AGADIR old postcards from Agadir]

'''''colonists''...justify German interests...shadow-colonists''' 
In July 1911, the german gunboat "Panther" approached the harbour of Agadir under the pretext to protect german citizens from Sus-tribesmen, resulting in the "Agadir-Crisis" and nearly triggering WW I three years early. As there were no german citizens to protect in Agadir, so one had to be dispatched from Mogador. See [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos137.htm Morocco Crisis of 1911.] and [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/05/23/its_not_the_first_war_under_false_pretenses/ source]

'''...destined for plantation...''' 
Typo in First Edition.
???

'''Sus... Susi''' 
The Sous Basin [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souss Wikipedia] and it‘s inhabitants, probably.

'''Abdel Aziz''' 
Sultan of Morocco 1894-1908 (aged 10-24yrs.) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdelaziz_of_Morocco Wikipedia]

'''Canaries''' 
Canary Islands, about 80 miles off Morocco‘s Atlantic coast [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_islands Wikipedia]

'''Many would go crazy and set out in small boats...''' 
Another paramorpic mirror image of our century. The Canaries, a Spanish possession, are the goal of untold thousands of would-be African entrants to the EU, i.e. a route of illegal immigration.

'''Lübeck''' 
Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein (northern Germany). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCbeck Wikipedia]

'''Berbers''' 
The Berbers (also called Amazigh people or Imazighen, "free men") are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. In actuality, Berber is a generic name given to numerous heterogeneous ethnic groups that share similar cultural, political, and economic practices. It is not a term originated by the group itself. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber_people Wikipedia]. Berbers of southwestern Morocco usually belong to the ones known as Chleuhs [http://c.1asphost.com/imazighen/chleuhs/algeria.htm pics]

==Page 521==

'''tree-climbing goats''' 
Can be seen often, esp. in Morocco [http://www.markhorrell.com/travel/morocco/antiatlas/goats3.html Pic]

'''argan trees''' 
The Argan (Argania spinosa, syn. A. sideroxylon Roem. & Schult.) is a species of tree endemic to the calcareous semi-desert Sous valley of southwestern
Morocco. It is the sole species in the genus Argania. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argan_tree Wikipedia]

'''Gnaoua''' 
The Gnawa or Gnaoua refers at once to a style of Moroccan music with sub-Saharan Africa origins or influence, an ethnic group and religious order at least in part descended from former slaves from Sub-Saharan Africa or black Africans migrated in caravans with the Trans-Saharan trade, or a combination of both [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnawa Wikipedia] [http://www.mincom.gov.ma/english/gallery/music/gnawa.html more on Gnaoua] [http://www.mincom.gov.ma/french/galerie/musique/mp3/gnaoua.mp3 Gnaoua music sample mp3] [http://www.ibiblio.org/gnawastories/GNAWA%20STORIES20cDRIVE.swf nicely made site on Gnawa]

'''''mlouk gnaoui''''' 
Mlouk is the plural of melk, a supernatural entity envoked in the Gnawa rituals. Various types are known and they are distinguished by colors. The following is a google translation of the relevant paragraph from [http://www.bladi.net/2556-les-differents-aspects-de-la-culture-gnaouie.html this site]: "The mlouk are of male or female sex, Moslems or Jews. Their color corresponds to their origins. Thus one distinguishes the mlouks from the sea (bahriyin) to which one allots the light blue; the celestial ones (samaouiyin), have as a color dark blue; the mlouk of the forest (rijal el ghaba), originating in Africa, have as a color the black just like the mlouk pertaining to the troop of Sidi Mimoun, finally the red mlouk (Al homar), related to blood and which haunt the slaughter-houses, have as a color the red. The white and the green, colors symbols of Islam sunnite, are reserved to the called upon saints, in particular Moulay Abdelkader Jilali and Chorfa. To the female mlouk three colors are allotted: the yellow for the coquettery of Lala Reflected, the red for Lala Rkia for its capacity to cure the menorrhagia and the black for Lala Aïcha Kendisha because of its Sudanese origin. The Jewish mlouks which are sometimes called upon after the troop of the female mlouk have the black color. Incense fumigations of various perfumes accompany the invocations by these mlouks, with a preference however for the benzoin or jaoui."

'''Seigneurs Noirs''' 
French: Black Lords. According to the above translation, those most probably are jewish mlouks.

'''Bardo State''' 
Tibetan Bhuddist belief in a state between two mortal incarnations, during which one has direct perception of reality--for better or worse, Karmically speaking. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo]

'''Habsburg navy''' 
Austrian Navy

'''Mogador road''' 
Mogador" is a city and tourist resort in Morocco, near Marrakech on the Atlantic coast. (31°30′47″N)
Mogador is another name for Essaouira [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogador Wkipedia] about 70 miles north of Agadir. [http://www.rabat-maroc.net/marocautrefois/index.php?rep=MOGADOR old postcards Mogador]

'''Tawil Balak''' 
In the Liner Notes for the Album "Love Songs of Lebanon" [http://www.smithsonianglobalsound.org/trackdetail.aspx?itemid=29129 downloadable from this site] the song ''Tawil Balak Ya Habboub'' translates as "Patience, My Love" - Tawil Balak being the Patience part. (Thats one nice soundtrack, btw!)

"Tawil", according to web-searches, is arabic for "allegorical explanation/interpretation/exegese" (of the Qu‘ran and Sunna texts). "Balak" might refer to the according Tora reading (Parsah) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balak_%28parsha%29 Wikipedia]. cf. Balaam‘s Ass p. 432. Do the cosmopolitan regulars at the bar like Moises spend their time interpreting holy texts?

'''Rahman''' 
???

'''Ostend''' 
a seaport in northwest Belgium. ''Ostende'' in German and French. It is the largest city at the Belgian North Sea coast. (It is about 1,700 miles from Agadir, Morocco.)

'''''Fomalhaut''''' 
The Maritime Digital Encyclopedia lists a "Dutch Vessel" named "Formalhaut" [http://www.ibiblio.org/maritime/photolibrary/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=688&pos=0 pic].

According to several websites [http://skytonight.com/news/3310401.html?showAll=y&c=y 1] [http://www.skyscript.co.uk/pis_aus.html 2] [http://www.icoproject.org/star.html 3] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomalhaut Wikipedia] etc. Fomalhaut is the 17th or 18th brightest star as seen from our planet and is located in the constellation called Pisces Austrinus (Southern Fish). The name derives from the Arabic Fum (or Fam) al-Hut, meaning "Mouth of the Fish" or according to a few web-resources the contributor has just visited, "Mouth of the Whale". The latter would mean its a strong connotation with the Biblical Legend of Jonah and the Whale (see annotations for this page below (not a spoiler, i hope).

Among most readers of Science-Fiction "Fomalhaut" is a location as common as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldebaran "Aldebaran"] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassiopeia_%28constellation%29 "Cassiopeia"].

As per today (07 01 10) the Wikipedia-Entry on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_Fomalhaut Demon Fomalhaut] is just a stub. According to most sites the contributor just visited, claiming credibility in the Book of Enoch [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch Wikipedia] and due to some more non-canonical catergorizations, Fomalhaut seems to be a member of the infamous gang of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallen_angel Fallen Angels], a daredevil companero to Lucifer that is. This sub-summation in a hierarchy of angels might refer to some astrological/-nomical constellations of the star Fomalhaut as is.

As usual, with TP, we dont know for sure if theres some outlandish pun intended/-cluded in the name of a person or thing. What, to give variety to it, about a german compositive noun? Ger. "formal" = formal (like in formal behavior) + "haut" = skin; "Formal Skin".

'''Moïsés''' 
???

'''Jonah... Massa''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah Jonah Wikipedia Entry] [http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/jonah/jonah.html "Jonah on the Web"] From the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Morocco website]: "Some 60 m. farther south (from Agadir), at the mouth of a river known by the same name, is the roadstead of Massa, with a mosque popularly reputed the scene of Jonah's restoration to terra firma."

==Page 522==

'''Two Fishes, two Jonahs, two Agadirs?''' 
The Jewish Encyclopedia 1901-1906 mentions rabbinic literature regarding two fishes - one male, one female - having swallowed Jonah: check out the "fish" paragraph [http://72.14.221.104/search?q=cache:8_12F1Yp1YoJ:www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp%3Fartid%3D388%26letter%3DJ+jonah+encyclopedia&hl=de&gl=at&ct=clnk&cd=1 here]. Both Tarshish (Cadiz), the "Agadir" in southwestern Spain, and Agadir in Morocco likely were founded by the Phoenicians: "Cadiz bears a Phoenician name, a deformation of Gaddir (wall), which we find in the Berber city of Agadir in Morroco." [http://faculty.uml.edu/jgarreau/50.315/Europ1.htm source]

Pynchon is riffing on Ch. 9 of Moby Dick where Father Mapple reads the biblical story of Jonah and talks about Tarshish being Cadiz and how that shows that he was trying to escape his fate for some unnammed "disobedience". Melville bilocates "god" and "man", insisting that the two forces are at odds. Melville also implicitly draws a parallel between Jonah and Ahab who rails against his being peglegged by Moby Dick and seeks revenge against the whale who ultimately consumes him, and Ishmael who humbly accepts his punishment and so survives to tell his tale. In AtD, the Moby Dick resonances ring most clearly in the Traverse bros/sis seeking revenge against sociocultural pieties for inflicting loss & grief & pain on the undeserving; the correspondence b/w the anarchist preacher Moss Gatlin and the ex-harpooner minister Mapple; Lew's mysterious penance and Webb's divided loyalties and now the story of Jonah and his fugitive flight, not unlike Kit's running from his troubles. Also, the name Fom al-Haut comes from scientific Arabic فم الحوت fam al-ħūt (al-janūbī) "the mouth of the (southern) fish/whale"

'''kashbah''' 
Wikipedia entries on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasbah Kasbah] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casbah Casbah] [http://www.rabat-maroc.net/marocautrefois/AGADIR/agadir-la-casbah-vue-en-avion.jpg The Casbah of Agadir as seen from above]

'''Ighir Ufrani''' 
a.k.a Cape Ghir, a cape north of Agadir.

'''''Mogador herring''...''alimzah''...''tasargelt''''' 
From the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Morocco Morocco Entry]: "Occasionally a small shoal (of mackarel) may be found as far south as Mogador. Soles, turbot, bream, bass, conger eel and mullet are common along the coast, and southern Morocco is visited occasionally by shoals of a large fish called the azlimzah (sciaena aquila), rough scaled and resembling a cod, and the tasargelt (Temnodon saltator), the "blue fish" of North America. Crayfish, prawns, oysters and mussels swarm in the rocky places, but the natives have no proper method of catching them, and edible crabs seem unknown. The tunny, pilchard and sardine, and a kind of shad known as the "Mogador herring," all prove at times of practical importance."

azlimzah (sciaena aquila) [http://www.finerareprints.com/animals/histoire_naturelle/vol_hn_fish_4999.htm pic] (the lower one).

tasargelt (Temnodon saltator) [http://www.amatorbalikci.net/resimupload/lufer.jpg pic] (not sure if this is the real thing!)

'''scruff''' 
???

'''Staketsel''' 
According to the [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staketsel Dutch Wikipedia] and its link to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pier english site] this means "pier". [http://arglist.com/cgi-bin/image?gallery=oostende&name=20040909-004 pic]

'''lazarettes''' 
Below-decks storage space in the stern of a vessel. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarette].

'''''mon chou''''' 
"My cabbage." A french term of affection.

==Page 523==

'''moon deck''' 
???

'''lower orlop''' 
Lowest deck of a multi-decked vessel (OED).

'''lateen-riggers''' 
Boats or larger craft with triangular sails rigged fore-and-aft (picture: [http://www.carfilhiot.co.uk/media/1/20050607-rig.jpg]common in the Mediterannean [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateen] after introduction by the Romans in the 3rd century.

'''Dally had expected Bria would be the first...''' 
Editorial error? If one substitutes "Dally" with "Erlys" this sentence makes much more sense.

I hesitate to assign such sloppiness to the notoriously meticulous Pynchon and his editorial team. Note that the previous sentence conflates Dally and Erlys's uncertainty about the romantic setback. And note earlier (p 512) Dally was scandalized (facetiously) over Bria's shameless and un-chaperon-like interest in Root.

==Page 524==

'''exhilirated''' 
Second occurrence of this misspelling of ''exhilarated.'' (Cf. page 236, line 38: "exhiliration".)

'''Piazza Grande''' 
The central square in many Italian cities.

'''Denza''' 
Cf [[ATD_336-357#Page 353|page 353]]. Luigi Denza (1846-1922), Italian composer, most famous for his "Funiculi, funicula".

'''Antonio Smareglia''' 
Italian opera composer (1854-1929).

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 489-524

2015-03-02T05:25:55Z

Pthomas: /* Page 496 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 489==

'''Neville . . . Nigel''' 
Lew's rescuers after the attempt to blow him up in Colorado, page 185. These two characters remind one of Looney Tunes Goofy Gophers.

'''stage left or audience left?''' 
A theater has two directions called left. "Stage left" is to the left of the performers as they face the audience. "House left" or "audience left" is to the left of an audience member facing the stage.

'''desolate sighs''' 
(They're not gay?)

'''embryo Apostlet''' 
The Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an elite intellectual secret society at Cambridge University, founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the Bishop of Gibraltar. Undergraduates being considered for membership are called "embryos" and are invited to "embryo parties," where members judge whether the student should be invited to join. "-let" is a common suffix that denotes smallness or youth, like droplet (small drop) or piglet or eyelet &c &c..., thus, a young Apostle. [[Cambridge Apostles|More on the Cambridge Apostles and the Cambridge spy ring...]]

'''Cyprian Latewood''' 
The name connects the character to the Greek demigod Orpheus.

'''"Cyprian":''' 
:After Orpheus loses Eurydice forever by turning to see if she's still following him out of the underworld, he never loves another woman, turning instead to young boys. One of Greek god Apollo's beloved boys, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyparissus Cyparissus], loves a beautiful tame stag that he accidentally kills with a spear. In his grief, Apollo turns him into a cypress tree. The Cypress was one of the trees Orpheus charmed with song, according to [[Cyprian Latewood|Ovid in his ''Metamorphoses'']].

'''"Latewood":''' 
:The "late wood" is the outer portion of the growth ring on a tree, more dense than the "early wood" which appears early in the growing season, appearing later in the season, usually summer. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_ring Wikipedia entry]. The tree connection is strong. It was said that Orpheus could even charm the trees, and Rilke (who figures prominently in [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity's Rainbow'']) in the first of his ''Sonnets to Orpheus'', begins:

::Tree arising! O pure ascendance!
::Orpheus Sings! Towering tree within the ear!
::Everywhere stillness, yet in this abeyance:
::seeds of change and new beginnings near.

[[Cyprian Latewood|More about this connection...]]

All very interesting, but let's not forget the obvious:
'the Cyprian' in classical literature is a standard name for Aphrodite/Venus, goddess of love, because she was born in Cyprus, from the waves, as in the famous picture by Botticelli that plays a role in 'V' ('She hangs on the Western Wall'). 
And so, by association, 'a follower of Aphrodite', and in later usage, according to Webster, a prostitute.

:if we were looking for yet another sexual innuendo, it would be interesting to note that the French word "cyprine" (the pronounciation of which is very similar to "Cyprian") describes the vaginal secretions that occur during the period of sexual arousal. The origin of this word can be traced back to the explanation above (i.e. Aphrodite). As for Late''wood'', well, that's kind of self-explanatory, no?

'''sod''' 
Common use; short for ''sodomite.''

'''Eastern wog''' 
Cf p222.

'''The German Sea''' 
A public house; the name occurs again with a different meaning at the end of this chapter.

'''sub-Clerkenwell''' 
Clerkenwell is a neighborhood in London that has a reputation for producing the highest quality of watches, clocks and jewellery. A sub-Clerkenwell trinket would be a poorly made trinket

'''annoyance''' 
(Why?)
:the other's penis seemed larger than one's own?
::Annoyance not because of the penises but because they are rivals. Lethargic not because of the penises but because they aren't getting anywhere in their courtship. Finally, "each regarding the other's penis" because even straight men can't deny that that's one of the things they look at in the steamroom.

Note that ''annoyance'' is a synonym for ''inconvenience''.

==Page 490==

'''gyps''' 
A gyp is a college servant, whose office is that of a gentleman's valet, waiting on two or more collegians in the University of Cambridge. He differs from a bed-maker, inasmuch as he does not make beds; but he runs on errands, waits at table, wakes men for morning chapel, brushes their clothes, and so on. His perquisites are innumerable, and he is called a "gyp" (Greek: vulture) because he preys upon his employer like a vulture. At Oxford they are called scouts. [http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/brewers/gyp.html]

[[image:ByronsPool.jpg|thumb|Byron's Pool|100px|right]]'''Byron's Pool''' 
A conservation area in Cambridge. The pool is named after the romantic poet Lord Byron, who is believed to have enjoyed swimming there. Byron studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, starting in 1805.

'''"Div!"''' 
Probably short for "divine!" Of course, if these kids were Vectorists they would be aware of the double ''entendre'' with the '''div''' (divergence) operator.

'''"Whizzo!"''' 
An early-twentieth century English slang expression of delight. Uttered earlier, by Neville or Nigel, on introducing Lew to the Tarot deck, page 186.

'''''"That'' is that of which ''I'' speak!"''' 
prob. homosexuality. cf. "I am the Love that dare not speak its name." -- Lord Alfred Douglas's poem 'Two Loves' in ''Chameleon'' ca. 1896.

Made more famous as an utterance by Oscar Wilde during his trial for sodomy. His response: '"The Love that dare not speak its name" in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare.[...]. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an elder and a younger man, when the elder man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him."

: This seems wrong, given the typical Pynchon scene of males ogling/desiring women. There is no homosexuality invloved with these guys
but a "'range' [again] of remarks" and 'all-night rhapsodizing' over the beauty of naked women. This line "That, etc." seems more likely a comic spin on a famous line which we know Pynchon has alluded to before [V.]: Wittgenstein's "whereof I can not speak, thereof I must remain silent" from the Tractatus. He could NOT not speak of their nakedness.

This whole scene is reminiscent, perhaps, of the biblically famous Susannah and the Elders, where she, too, is watched appreciatively bathing. Wallace Stevens, among others, has a famous poem about it.

::All this about homosexuality is useful knowledge, but (a) the men here are motivated by lust directed at ''women'' and (b) this is among the "catchphrases of [a] day" when Oscar Wilde's love could not yet even speak its name. "''That'' is that of which ''I'' speak!" is a Pynchon trick, taking a 20th-21st century expression and paramorphically projecting it back in time. At the university it was upper-class and refined; today it has become a vulgarism, "That's what I'm talkin' about!" Other examples: "high susceptibility to primordial variables," page 801 (today "extreme sensitivity to initial conditions"); "as cheerful as a finch," page 21 ("as happy as a lark").

Exactly as in the last paragraph, a poke at the currently colloquial:
"That's what I'm talkin' about!"

::Late to the conversation, I know, but homosexuality is important here -- I believe that TRP was being historically accurate. Our early 21st century notion of homosexuality is different from the early 20th century notion, where people like, for example, Oscar Wilde were both married to women and certainly engaged in homosexual activity with men. The sexuality is more fluid. Therefore I find it completely believable that N&N could sometimes be engaging in homosexual behaviour with each other but also interested in a woman.

'''Cloisters Court''' 
Cloisters Court, part of Girton College, Cambridge University.

'''King's''' 
King's College, Cambridge University.

'''Queen Anne's Gate''' 
Some part of the British Home Office is, or was, located in the London (Westminster) street named Queen Anne's Gate.
: According to Wikipedia the British Home Office resided there from 1978 to 2004, so this is unlikely. Since the 1860's until recently, however, parts of the British secret service had their offices at Queen Anne's Gate - the context suggests that the N's report to that.

'''inconvenience''' 
Not sure what connection Pynchon is making here, but the word inconvenience could not come up accidentally in this novel.

True enough. The word seems to keep cropping up, too, but nonchalantly. By this point in the novel, I had already been kicking myself for not circling every prior use of the word.

For what it's worth, one of my Google searches for "inconvenience" yielded this bit of Pynchon-worthy information:

:John Evelyn, one of members of the Invisible College (the group that founded the Royal Society of the United Kingdom), published one of the first books on pre-industrial air pollution in 1661, '''''Fumufugium''': or, The Inconvience of the Aer, and Smoak of London Dissipated''.

:The first two paragraphs of Part I:

:It is not without some considerable ''Analogy'', that sundry of the ''Philosophers'' have named the ''Aer'' the ''Vehicle of the Soul'', as well as that of the Earth, and this frail Vessell of ours which contains it; since we all of us finde the benefit which we derive from it, not onely for the necessity of Respiration and functions of the Organs; but likewise for the use of the ''Spirits'' and ''Primigene Humors'', which doe most neerly approach that Divine particle. But we shall not need to insist, or refine much on this sublime Subject; and, perhaps, it might scandalize scrupulous Persons to pursue to the height it may possibly reach (as ''Diogenes'' and ''Anaximenes'' were wont to ''Deifie'' it) after we are past the ''Aetherial'', which is a certain ''Aer'' of ''Plato's'' denomination, as well as that of the lesse pure, more turbulent and dense, which, for the most part, we live and breath in, and which comes here to be examined as it relates to the design in hand, the City of ''London'', and the environs about it.

:It would doubtlesse be esteemed for a strange and extravagant ''Paradox'', that one should affirme, that the ''Aer'' itself is many times a potent and great disposer to ''Rebellion'' [note JE's book was printed right after Prince Charles' restoration]; and that ''Insulary people'', and indeed, most of the ''Septentrion Tracts'', where this ''Medium'' is grosse and heavy, are extremely versatile and obnoxious to change both in Religious and Secular Affaires: Plant the Foote of your Compasses on the very ''Pole'', and extend the other limb to 50 ''degrees of Latitude'': bring it about 'till it describe the Circle, and then reade the Histories of those Nations inclusively, and make the Calculation.

'''Newnham''' 
An all-women's college at Cambridge, founded in 1871.

'''Wrangleresses''' 
Made-up: top female Math Scholars at Cambridge. Top students were called Wranglers, all male at this time. "Cambridge University and within it of the Mathematics Tripos, the competitive graduation examination process that ranked candidates in order of “Wrangler”" ...

'''Phillippa Fawcett''' 
Typo, should be Philippa Fawcett (1868-1948). She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1890, she was the first woman to score the highest mark at Mathematics Tripos at Cambridge. She served as a College Lecturer in mathematics at Newnham College for 10 years. [http://www.agnesscott.edu/Lriddle/WOMEN/fawcett.htm]

'''Grace Chisholm and Will Young''' 
Grace Chisholm (1868-1944), an English mathematician. She went to Girton College, Cambridge in 1889 to study mathematics. Since no women were accepted to graduate schools in England, after graduation She went to the University of Göttingen to continue her mathematics education and received her PhD there in 1895. The following year she married William Young (1863-1942), one of her tutors at Girton and also a mathematician. (''romances with one's tutors à la . . .'') Grace Chisholm and Will Young formed a mathematical married partnetship of real significance. Husband and wife played a major role in set theory research. Between them they wrote 214 mathematical articles and several books, including one on geometry and one on set theory. [http://www.agnesscott.edu/LRIDDLE/WOMEN/young.htm Grace Chisholm] and [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Young.html William Young].

'''nautch-girl''' 
The nautch girl was an Indian traditional dancer in Hindu temple or court performing ritual and religious dances. Her costume generally was of bright color. Pynchon probably refered to Yahsmeen's beautiful but exotic, extraordinary look and poise.
[[http://www.hitchams.suffolk.sch.uk/india_art/starter/nautch_girls.htm nautch girl]].

And then, through the medium of carnivals, she became an exotic dancer. This whole phrase "nautch-girl extravagance of looks and self-possession" refers to the sense of dominance the stripper feels over the yawps in the audience. Which figures in the key scene of the musical ''Gypsy'' (1959, book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim).
And an [[ATD_119-148#Page_125|annotation to p. 125]] ("red as a cursed ruby") points to a weird ''AtD'' nautch girl connection.

'''socio-acrobatic aggrandizement''' 
'social climbing'

'''''opium beer''''' 
laudanum?, if not literally.

'''duc de Richelieu''' 
Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu (September 9, 1585 – December 4, 1642), was a French clergyman, noble, and statesman.

Consecrated as a bishop in 1607, he later entered politics, becoming a Secretary of State in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Church and the state, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642;
from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Wikipedia].

:Wrong Richelieu. The duke in question won his big battle at Mahon in 1756. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Fran%C3%A7ois_Armand_du_Plessis%2C_duc_de_Richelieu Here's the Wikipedia link for the right one.]

'''Line and staff''' 
Cyprian's father sees his work in the City as analogous to the profession of arms. Officers in the British and most other armies of the time were classified as "line," those commanding troops, and "staff," those performing administrative and planning functions.

==Page 491==

'''the City''' 
Major banks and other big-money institutions are located in the City of London, a fairly small subset of Metropolitan London.

'''can't ''ever'' tell''' 
Dog-eat-dog capitalism?

'''Reginald "Ratty" McHugh''', '''fifteen years or so later'''
Reginald nodded appreciatively FIFTEEN YEARS OR SO LATER?...What is going
on here time-wise? 
All the conversation before this line, between Cyprian and his father, is "recalled", having taken place some "fifteen years or so" earlier.

'''one more flag''' 
IE, his father's wallpaper brand.

I was thinking perhaps his father was trying to bring up the subject of his sodomitical activities, where the "enemy" in this case are "hidden" homosexuals, and this is how he was "dishonoring" the flag.

'''Balkan Sobranies''' 
An upscale brand of cigarette.

'''lilies-and-lassitude humor of the '90s''' 
Cult of Oscar Wilde?
Aubrey Beardsley and the pre-Raphaelites? 
More generally, the 'Aesthetes', not the same as the Pre-Raphaelites. People like Wilde. In Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Patience' the Wilde-like character is described as follows:

Though the Philistines may jostle, 
you will rank as an apostle 
in the high aesthetic band, 
If you walk down Piccadilly 
with a poppy or a lily 
in your medieval hand. 

And ev'ryone will say, 
As you walk your flow'ry way, 
"If he's content with a vegetable love 
which would certainly not suit me, 
Why, what a most particularly pure young man 
this pure young man must be!" 

'''table d'hôte''' 
French: host's table. In a restaurant, a meal chosen by the management, no substitutions please. If the appetizer is shrimp and you don't like shrimp, then don't eat the appetizer.

'''Very well, I contradict myself.''' 
Walt Whitman allusion. See Leaves of Grass. Next line in ADT affirms this.

==Page 492==

'''divine . . . prosaic''' 
(Walt Whitman was of course prosaic himself before he became divine.)

'''xanthocroid''' 
Prefix xantho- is from Greek and means yellow. Does the whole word mean "yellow-haired"? Yes, i.e. blondes.

'''Capsheaf''' 
Is this a third speaker, or another name for Ratty? Third speaker. Ratty puts in some words a little bit down the page.

In mathematics, a sheaf is the basic tool for expressing relationships between small regions of a space and large regions. Beginning with a topological space X, a sheaf assigns to every region (technically, open set) U of X some data F(U), such as a set, a group, or a ring. Often these data are a collection of geometric objects defined on that region, such as functions, vector fields, or differential forms. The data can be restricted to smaller regions, and compatible collections of data can be glued to give data over larger regions. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheaf_%28mathematics%29 wikipedia entry]

'''viva''' 
Slangy short form of ''viva voce,'' an oral examination. At Oxbridge, this would have been one standard method of examination for most degrees, and they are often intimidating, demanding experiences.

'''Crayke''' 
Crayke is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, about two miles east of Easingwold. Relevant?

Also, "crake" designates various species in the family [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crake Rallidae], which also includes rails, coots, gallinules, and swamphens. Crakes and rails generally are medium-sized, ground-dwelling birds, with adaptations of the foot suited to wetlands.

'''spot of audit''' 
[http://www.andrewcusack.com/blog/2006/12/drink_audit_ale.php Audit ale,] a strong ale served on a few special days. Some colleges at British universities brew their own or contract it out.

'''Shetland''' 
Shetland Islands, an island group northeast of the Orkney Islands, comprising a county of Scotland.

'''Shetland ponies''' 
one of a breed of small but sturdy, rough-coated ponies raised originally in the Shetland Islands.

'''''D'accord''''' 
French: right, OK.

'''reputation for viciousness''' 
The Shetland pony breed has a repuation for viciousness, even if this reputation isn't entirely accurate.

'''Arab''' 
Arabian hourse. One of a breed of horses, raised originally in Arabia and adjacent countries, noted for their intellegence, grace, and speed.

'''Thoroughbred''' 
One of a breed of horses, to which all race horse belong, originally developed in England by crossing Arbian stallions with European mares.

'''croft''' 
Farm.

'''Mainland''' 
The name of one of the 29 inhabited islands in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK. It is the largest island in Shetland Islands, the third largest in Great Britian.

'''Mavis Grind''' 
A narrow isthmus joining the Northmavine peninsula to the rest of Mainland in the Shetland Islands, UK. The name means "gate of the narrow isthmus" in the local dialect. Mavis Grind is said to be the only place in the UK where you can toss a stone across land from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

'''orthopædic journals''' 
Both prof and pony have to do some twisting in order to get the act done. Their skeletal disorders will, erhhm, ''spur'' the interest of orthopædists. Especially if she kicks.

'''Dymphna''' 
After [http://www.catholic-forum.com/SAINTS/saintd01.htm St. Dymphna,] whose intercession is effective against insanity, possession and epilepsy. Her shrine at Gheel, Belgium, has since the 11th century been a refuge for persons with mental illness and intellectual disability. The afflicted wealthy went to the shrine to be cured; they were boarded with townspeople, beginning a tradition of adult foster care for persons with mental illness which continues to this day; Gheel is a designated state psychiatric hospital center, at which all the patients live in foster family homes.

'''decks full of hearts''' 
(52 or 13 per deck?)

==Page 493==

'''Thucydides... remind me''' 
Thucydides' book is an account of the Peloponnesian war, organized in a rather difficult method in which all the actions of one season are described before proceeding to the next. Here are some erotic possibilities in it, however: 
-Pericles, in his famous funeral oration, says the citizen ought to have an eros for the city. 
-At one point some Athenians are lured out of a garrison by way of a gymnastic (that is male, nude) demonstration. 
-On the eve of the fateful Sicilian expedition, all the oversized phalloi of the hermes are mysteriously knocked off. One of the generals on the expedition, Alcibiades, is accused of the offense and is eventually called called back. In Plato's Symposium Alcibiades drunkenly crashes the party and confesses that Socrates has consistently spurned his sexual advances.

In this context, Thucydides is proposed specifically for its non-erotic qualities. In writing his histories, Thucydides attempted to produce a clinical account of the Peloponnesian war without the passion and inaccuracies of previous histories, such as those of Herodotus. Indeed it is hard to imagine a less erotic work. It is suggested for Cyprian Latewood to help him get over his infatuation with Yashmeen.

'''McHugh''' 
Talking to self?

'''''Peeng''-kyeah''' 
Pinky, name given to Yashmeen by the blonde girls, Lorelei, Noellyn an Faun.

'''alfresceehwh''' 
An alfresco, an outdoor gathering. ''-eehwh'' is a rendering of the accent for comic effect.

'''Lorelei, Noellyn, and Faun''' 
Lorelei, more frequently "Loreley": In a famous German myth, a mermaid sitting on a rock by the river Rhine. The rock itself is also named Loreley. With her song, she bewitches the captains of passing ships, who then steer into the rock. The syllable "Ley" derives from a Celtic word for "stone".

Faun: Faunus, the Roman god of fertility, also responsible for nightmares. Fauns are also the Romans counterparts of the Greek "satyrs", followers of Dionysos. Faunus is playing a flute, another connection to music.

Noellyn ?? 
She is No Ellen? 
Echo of Noel?

'''"all blonde, of course"''' 
with all the Germanic mythology around here, possibly a reference to the "blonde/blue-eyed"-cliche of German women. Possible play on light-theme? Blonde (light, reflection) opposed to the dark (absence of light, absorption) Yashmeen?

'''High Albedo''' 
Albedo: power of reflecting light. Blondes reflect more light than brunettes. 
Possibly a citation of ''Gravity's Rainbow'', p. 152 (Viking), "high-albedo stockings".

'''"dark rock...again and again"''' 
cf "Lorelei"

'''Pinky''' 
Nicknames opposite of truth?

''''''sans merci'''''' 
a reference to Keats's 19th century Romantic ballad 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci'. The lady of the title entraps men by making them fall in love with her and abandoning them.

French for "no mercy" or "no pity", or, more precisely in this case: "without mercy". Alludes to Pinky's cold and unforgiving nature.

==Page 494==

'''wrong altar''' 
She, a lesbian, tells him that he 'worships' a woman who is wrong for him.

'''gnomic tenses''' 
Gnomic = marked by aphorisms; aphoristic...'gnomic verse, a gnomic style".
American Heritage Dictionary.

: In Greek the gnomic tense is the timeless aorist, i.e. an aorist indicating no special time. In English there is the timeless present tense, e.g. in proverbs. Since the gnomic aorist differs from the usual aorist only in its usage the term "gnomic tenses" seems a little stressed.

'''circs''' 
Short form (typically British): circumstances.

''''If she's not content with a vegetable love'''' 
a reference to Marvell's seventeenth century poem 'To His Coy Mistress'. "Vegetable love" refers to the slow, slow way he would let his love grow, to become "vaster than empires and more slow" had they "world enough and time", but since they don't, since they are in human time, he is trying to 'convince' her to make love with him now. Another interpretation would be female masturbation via vegetables. 
True, but more directly, quoting Gilbert and Sullivan. See comments on p. 491 (lilies-and-lassitude).

'''Rugby blue''' 
To be a 'Rugby blue' means to have represented Oxford (colour: dark blue) or Cambridge (light blue) at Rugby, which is a major European sport, invented, supposedly, at Rugby school in England in the nineteenth century.

'''Mâconnais''' 
This refers to a bargain sub-Burgundian wine that comes from the Macon region of France.

:Bargain? You've obviously never enjoyed a good bottle of Mâcon Villages Cuvée Botrytis Domaine de la Bongran 2000, which, if you decide to treat yourself to a great bottle of white, will set you back at least 180$. It is true, though, that some wine snobs look down on Mâcon Wines because the region doesn't have any Grand Crus or Premier Crus.

<div id="grosssmith">'''George Grossmith...and that jolly Weedon'''</div>
George and Weedon Grossmith, authors of the sublime, hillarious 'Diary of a Nobody', which gave the world the adjective 'pooterish'. Undoubtedly an influence on Pynchon's depictions of the 'oh dear' side of Englishness. Pooter is a 'nobody' who decides to publish his diaries, even though he is of no interest and nothing of any note occurs. A prototypical blogger, some might suggest. Originally published in Punch magazine (I think), set in late 19th Century. Don't know if the Grossmiths went to Cambridge, will check....

The elder George Grossmith performed in Gilbert and Sullivan works. He was not university-educated. The younger G.G. was also a noted performer and collaborated with P.G. Wodehouse.

[plenty of info here: http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/english/DON/Diary_Home.htm]

==Page 495==

'''Junior or Senior?''' 
expressions used at traditional English (independent) schools to refer to younger and older brothers. Thus Smith Junior or Smith Senior.—

I don't think this is correct - the junior/senior here just refers to the question of whether it's Grossmith the father or Grossmith the son. The traditional expression for younger and older brothers is minor/major. So Smith major would be the elder Smith brother, Smith minor the younger brother.[[User:Geb|Geb]] 19:49, 10 April 2008 (PDT)geb

See [[#grossmith|Grossmith entry]] on preceding page.

'''"Small hands, some evidence of early trauma, cp. Wilhelm II file"''' 
Wilhelm II suffered an injury at birth and had a withered arm. All his photographs show him with the "small hand" in his pocket.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_II_of_Germany From Wikipedia]: 
William II, German Emperor (1859-1941), Reigned 1888-1918.

The role of William II in German history is sometimes a controversial issue in historical scholarship. Initially seen as an important, but embarrassing figure in German history until the late 1950s, for many years after that, the dominant view was that he had little or no influence on German policy leading up to the First World War. This has been challenged since the late 1970s, particularly by Professor John C. G. Röhl who saw William II as the key figure in understanding the recklessness and subsequent downfall of Imperial Germany.

'''"Map of the World"''' 
Like it says in the text, simply what Renfrew calls all his data.

Although the name is possibly of some significance! Renfrew's dossiers could act as a way of divining holistic truth from a series of perspectives or projections. Obviously interpreting this data requires the correct viewing individual, or "lens." In this way, Renfrew's "Map" is not unlike the Sfinciuno Itinerary.

Ah, I think it worth pointing out that Renfrew's dossiers on "everyone' is a paranoid's nightmare. The map is a "map" of what Refrew learns about everyone, not a common meaning of 'map", and reminding this reader of They/Them in ''Gravity's Rainbow'' who have a map of everywhere Slothrop--
and others?--appear to be/have been. At least. [[User:MKOHUT|MKOHUT]] 06:55, 3 October 2007 (PDT)

Also brings to mind the Wittgenstein line that TRP alludes to in ''The Crying of Lot 49'': "The world is all that is the case". If Renfrew
could map everything everyone does, he would have the whole [human] world
'mapped'.

'''Newmarket''' 
A famous English race-course, hence the following reference to the 'racing season'. 
And very close to Cambridge.

'''Morse and Vassilev''' 
In 1896-97 the first radio-telegraphic equipment was imported into Bulgaria for the needs of the armed forces and large postal offices. This was the start of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). At that time, the equipment was used only to transmit Morse code on electro-magnetic waves. Samuel F. B. Morse, an English speaking American, invented Morse code and the telegraph.(On May 24, 1844 he transmitted the first telegraph message: "What hath God wrought!"). BNR at one time was headed by Orlin Vassilev, a Bulgarian playwright. BNR at one time also employed former (Bulgarian) environment minister Valentin Vassilev. 
Charles Morse published a full textbook of Bulgarian grammar in 1860, and compiled the first Bulgarian-English dictionary.#REDIRECT [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian-American_relations]]

'''East Rumelian''' 
Cf [[ATD_336-357#Page_356|page 356: East Rumelia. ]] Rumelia was a Turkish province in the Balkan Peninsula. East Rumelia lay mostly in what is now Bulgaria.

'''the Treaty of Berlin''' 
In the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 Russia crushed Turkey and forced it to accept the Treaty of San Stefano. This created a greatly expanded Bulgaria under Russian protection. Britain feared that Russia might spread its control to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and to the Suez Canal, and therefore, with Austria, demanded a revised treaty. Weakened by war, Russia consented. The Treaty of San Stefano was replaced thus by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin_%281878%29 the Treaty of Berlin] (1878), the final act of the Congress of Berlin of the Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The new treaty recognized the complete independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. The autonomy of Bulgaria was also recognized but it remained under formal Ottoman overlordship and divied between the Principality of Bulgaria and the autonomous province of ''East Rumelia''. And the Ottoman province of Bosnia was placed uner Austro-Hungarian administration.

'''''zadruga''''' 
Bulgarian: labor cooperative.

'''''tchifliks''''' 
Bulgarian: farms.

'''''gradinarski druzhini''''' 
Bulgarian: gardening (or farming?) associations.

'''gossamer''' 
Sheer, light, delicate, flimsy, airy, tenuous, like a cobweb.

==Page 496==

'''sod . . . pouffe''' 
Derogatory terms for homosexual ("sod" from "sodomite").

'''failed canards''' 
Discredited rumors.

'''Lent . . . Easter . . . Long Vacation''' 
''Lent'' is an anual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for ''Easter'', beginning at Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter. After ''Lent'', ''Easter'' the school terms would soon glide into the summer recess, the ''Long Vacation.''
 
::At Cambridge University 'Lent Term' is the second term of the academic year (after Christmas), and 'Easter Term' is the third (between Easter and Summer - or 'Long' - vacations.) So 'Lent and Easter' qualifies 'The Terms' in the previous clause: the sense is 'Lent Term and Easter Term went gliding...' (The first term of the Cambridge year, incidentally, is called 'Michaelmas'.)

'''Colonial Office''' 
Defunct British Ministry, later Foreign & Colonial Office, now Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

'''Okhrana''' 
a secret police force of the Russian Empire and part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okhrana Wikipedia Entry]

'''Ballhausplatz''' 
Location of the Austrian State Chancellery and Foreign Ministry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballhausplatz Wikipedia Entry]

'''Wilhelmstrasse''' 
Administrative Center of the Kingdom of Prussia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelmstrasse Wikipedia Entry]

'''G.F.B. Riemann''' 
Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann. A German mathematician who did extensive work in differential geometry. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Riemann Wikipedia Entry]

[http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Riemann.html Bernhard Riemann] (1826-66), a German mathematician. He studied mathematics at the University of Göttingen and later taught that subject there. He did important work in geometry, complex analysis, and mathematical physics. Riemanm's work on Riemann geometry laid the foundation for Einstein's general relativity. He investigated the Riemann zeta function about which he stated the famous (and still not completely proven) Riemann hypothesis (see below). He died of tuberculosis in Selasca, Italy, at the age of 39.

'''Zeta function . . . conjecture''' 
The Riemann zeta function. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_zeta_function/ Wikipedia Entry]

The Riemann zeta function is an extremely important special function of mathematics and physics that arises in definite integration and is intimately related with very deep results surrounding the prime number theorem. While many of the properties of this function have been investigated, there remain important fundamental ''conjectures'' (most notably the Riemann hypothesis) that remain unproved to this day. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_zeta_function Zeta function]].

The Riemann hypothesis (''conjecture'') is a conjecture about the distribution of zeros of the Riemann zeta function. The Riemann zeta function is defined for all complex numbers (Cf [[ATD_119-148#Page132|page 132]]) not equal to zero. It has zeros at the negative even integers, (-2, -4, -6 and so on), called trivial zeros. The Riemann hypothesis is concerned with the non-trivial zeros, saying, ''"The real part of any non-trivial zero of the Riemann zeta function is 1/2."'' This conjecture remains unproved. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_hypothesis Riemann conjecture]].

Riemann's zeta function is also used in the Zipf Probability Distribution [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ZipfDistribution.html], which itself led to the formulation of Zipf's Principle of Least Effort that TRP mined for semantic resonances in GR. [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Zipf%27s_Principle_of_Least_Effort]

''''joint'''' 
Opium den.

'''Bob's your uncle''' 
An English and Commonwealth expression referring to the ease with which something can be done. Still used, though probably more common in the time in which ''Against the Day'' is set. Possible [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/70100.html derivations].

'''Limehouse''' 
An area of East London that borders on the River Thames near the Isle of Dogs. The name may derive from the lime kilns, or lime "oasts", that once flourished there. In the late 19th century the area was famous for opium dens [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limehouse Wikipedia].

==Page 497==

'''Knightsbridge''' 
Knightsbridge is a street in Westminster borough, London. Notable for its super rich and famous high profile residents and its exclusive shops. (Recent residents included members of the Saudi royal family, Joan Collins, Gucci, Prince Diana and so on; it's shops included Egyptian Fayed's Harrods, etc . . . ) [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightsbridge Knightsbridge]].

'''Hôtel Alsace''' 
The propre name is Hôtel d'Alsace. It was, and still is, located at number 13 rue des Beaux-Arts, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Oscar Wilde died there, under an assumed named, on november 30th, in 1900, following a two-day agony. Note some similarity of letters between the names Griswold and Wilde (both "sodomite"…). 

Also, Wilde's famous last words (well, recounted as last words but really uttered months before his death) was "either that wallpaper goes, or I do." Cyprian's uncle, Griswold, it seems, had the atrocious decorative taste that shoved Wilde into the great beyond. This is post-Wilde; the avant-garde pose has calcified into a tacky schtick, the "lilies-and-lassitude" 90s, like the foreclosed frontier, a dead duck in the sodomite water.

see "Gris"--four associative definitions that interestingly modify/play with, the name Wilde: gray; a pale rose' (as in vin gris)and Juan Gris, Spanish painter. [http://www.google.com/search?q=define:gris&hl=en&oi=definel&defl=all gris]

'''excess''' 
(So not wholly gossamer?)

'''Coronation Red''' 
The Peer‘s traditional robes at Coronation Day are made of crimson red velvet [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_the_British_Monarch Wikipedia] [http://www.geocities.com/noelcox/Peers_Robes.htm website]. Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were crowned at Westminster Abbey on 9 August 1902 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VII_of_the_United_Kingdom Wikipedia]

'''Ranji and C.B. Fry''' 
Two notable cricketers who would have been in their prime when the novel is set. Both played for England. 'Ranji' is short for Ranjitsinhji and is how he was familiarly known. [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/12930.html C.B. Fry] [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/19331.html Ranji]

'''Australian season''' 
A reference to the Australian cricket season which runs throughout their summer and the European winter.

More likely to refer to the tour of the Australian cricket team to England in the Summer of 1902. Of particular interest is the fact that the Aussies played a match against Cambridge University on June 9-10. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_cricket_team_in_England_in_1902 1902 Ashes Tour]

'''New Court''' 
A major building in St John's College (founded 1511), University of Cambridge. It was completed in 1831. It's style is Gothic, a romantic version of a mediaeval building; its basic plan is classical. For pictures and more info [http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/about/tour/new_court New Court].

'''Tavernier-Gravet slide rules''' 
French-made, some with special scales (slope conversions, etc.). [http://discover.com/issues/aug-03/features/featslide/ Photograph.]

'''High Church''' 
Anglican

'''Mags and Nuncs and Matins responsories''' 
A responsory is a form of (Christian) chant (call and response, perhaps), which is here qualified by Latin designations for specific prayers. 
Mags: possibly for ''Magnificat,'' the hymn beginning "My soul doth magnify the Lord"? 
Nunc = Now. For ''Nunc dimittis,'' the prayer beginning "Let thy servant now depart." 
Matin = Morning.

'''Trinity''' 
Trinity College, was founded by Henry VIII in 1546 as part of the Univeristy of Cambridge. Most of its major buildings date from the 16th and 17th centuries. "Princes, spies, poets and prime-ministers have all been taught here." (Trinity's own website [http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=2 Trinity])

'''King's''' 
King's College, Cambridge University, was found by Henry VI in 1441. From the first, the College's buildings were intened to be a magnificent display of the power of royal patronage. King's College Chapel, wanted by the King to be without equal in size and beauty and took nearly a century to complete, is one of the greatest examples of gothic architecture. It is also home to the world famous Choir, envisaged by Henry VI for daily singing of services in the chapel. [[http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/visitors/history.html King's]].

'''not Zion''' 
The context indicated that the original meaning Mount Zion, a hill near Jerusalem, was used; i.e. "not Mount Zion".

'''Compline hour''' 
Bedtime. Compline is the last prayers or service of the day.

'''Te Deum''' 
Te Deum = Thou, O God (Latin).

Since "the Te Deum" was used in the text, it meant the ancient Latin hymn of praise to God, in the form of a psalm, sung regularly at matins in the Roman Catholic Church and, usually in an English translation, at Morning Prayer in the Anglican Church, as well as on special occasions as a service of thanksgiving or commemoration. First words of the hymn, which begin; ''Te Deum laudāmus'' (we praise thee God). Te Deum also refers to the musical setting or form of this hymn with a certain structure which Filtham had blotched. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Deum Wikipedia]

Coincidence? According to the [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14468c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia] there is a discussion among scholars whether the hymn of the Te Deum goes back to a text written by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cyprian St. Cyprian of Carthage] : "...if the hymn was borrowed from St. Cyprian, why did it not include the "virgines" instead of stopping with "martyrum"?".

'''Khaki Election''' 
A term in British political history. It refered to the British general election of 1900. The reason for this name was that the issues of the election were overshadowed totally by the issue of the (2nd) Boer War (South African War, 1899-1902 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War Boer War]]), as ''khaki'' was the color of the new army uniform. A ''Khaki Election'' is now applied to any British national election which is heavily influenced by wartime or postwar sentiment. 1918 general election (end of World War I) and 1945 election (end of Wordl War II) were both described as Khaki Elections.

'''Filtham''' 
???

==Page 498==

'''violation of . . . child-labor statutes''' 
If such laws applied to children in the choirs of Cambridge colleges, the great length of the composition would keep them at work too many hours.

'''chromaticism . . . Richard Strauss''' 
Chromaticism refers to the use of the chromatic scale in composing music. Ever since Baroque Period (17th to early 18th century) almost all music were compsoed either in major or minor scale, in which only seven of the twelve tones of the octave were used. Beginning in the late Romanic Period (mid 19th to 20th century) the chromatic scale including all 12 tones of the octave was used. By using the tones that are not "supposed" to be in a certain key, the music thus composed had stronger dissonance and exaggerated tension. 

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was a German composer of the late Romantic era well known for his tone poems and operas. His ''Also sprach Zarathustra'' (1896), a symphonic poem, was made widely popular by Stanley Kubrick's film ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' in 1968 — the music (especially the brass fanfare opening) introduced the memorable ape/man sequence of the film. His many operas include ''Salome, Der Rosenkavalier, Capriccio'' and others. Chromaticism was not that new to Richard Strauss, but "relentless chromaticism" just might be too "modern" for him.

'''Staindrop''' 
Home of Jeremiah Dixon.

'''"Filtham's Tedium"''' 
(Talk about overlabored puns...)
:"Tedium" is a common humorous way to refer to somebody-or-other's "Te Deum."

'''dress regulations''' 
???

'''Gauss''' 
Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), a German mathematician and scientist, and one of the all-time greats. He worked in a wide variety of fields in both mathematics and physics including number theory, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, magnetism, astronomy and optics. His work has had an immense influence in many areas. Riemann was a student of his at Göttingen. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss Wikipedia].

'''Ramanujan''' 
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), one of India's greatest mathematical geniuses. Long before he came to Cambridge and though without any formal university education, Ramanujan made substantial contributions to the anlytical theory of numbers and worked on elliptic functions, continued fractions and infinite series. He, a poor savant from India, was invited in 1914 to Cambridge by G.H. Hardy after he wrote him a letter asking abstruse mathematical questions. In his letter, Ramanujan enclosed a long list of then unproved theorems which he had solved. After his arriving at Cambridge Ramanujan collaborated with G.H. Hardy resulting in important results. He was allowed to enroll in 1914 in Cambridge despite not having the proper qualifications and received a PhD degree in 1916. Plagued by health problems all his life, his health deteriorated rapidly from 1917, and he returned to India in 1919 and died there the following year. Two years before his death, however, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London. [[http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Ramanujan.html Ramanujan]]. Therefore,
". . . Ramanujan here at Trinity . . ." could have happened only between 1914 - 1919.

'''revisited, in some way 'relighted' the scene''' 
Light, mental light.

'''display of hurt feelings''' 
Cf p30.

==Page 499==

'''light up''' 
Dark world vs spark of value.

'''ζ-function''' 
Another reference to the Riemann zeta function.

'''Hilbert thinks of nothing else''' 
The Riemann hypothesis is one of the 20 problems put forth by Hilbert in 1900.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert_problem Wikipedia Entry]

'''desire... of rather a specialized sort''' 
???

'''Great Eastern''' 
Railway linking Cambridge and London.

==Page 500==

'''Weierstrass and Sofia Kovalevskaia''' 
Sofia Kovalevskaia was the first woman to apply for a mathematics degree at the University of Goettingen in Germany. She was not accepted at the university, but was allowed to tutor under one of the university's math professors. She wrote a paper there that became an important part of the theory of differential equations.

:Kovalevskaia's private math tutor was Weierstrass at Berlin (see below).

''Karl Weierstrass'' (1815-97), a German mathermatician. He attended the University of Bonn studying law, finance and economics instead of mathermatics, the subject he was really interested in and studied out of school. He left the Univeristy of Bonn without a degree and went to the University of Münster for mathematics. Later he became a teacher in the city of Münster. Around 1850 he took a chair at the Technical University of Berlin. For four years (1870-1874) he gave private mathematics lessons to Sofia Kovalevskaia while she was denied the university entrance in Berlin. His investigations were mainly on the topic of "Special Functions": Weierstrass Elliptic Function, Weierstrass Zeta Function, Weierstrass Product Theroem, etc.

''Sofia Kovalevskaia'' (1850-91) Russian mathematician and novelist. She was born in Moscow and showed an interest in mathematics from an early age. When 11 she studied differential and integral analysis from her father's calculus lecture notes that were used as wallpaper in the family house. She was given a special tutor of higher mathematics. At age 18 she entered a "false" marriage (it became genuine later) in order to be able to attend college abroad. In 1869 she enrolled as a provisional student at Heidelberg University. In 1870 she moved to Berlin attempting to study under ''Weierstrass'' and enroll at Berlin University. But the university refused to accept her because of her gender. However, Weierstrass was so impressed by her talent that he gave her private mathematics lessons twice a week for four years. By the spring of 1874, Kovalevskaia had completed three papers. Weierstrass deemed each of these worthy of a doctorate. And with his help, in Kovaleskaia's absence, University of Göttingen granted her a PhD in Mathematics (a historical first) and Master (''summa cum laude'') in Fine Art. In the same year she returned to Russia but failed to get an academic job. She did not practice mathematics for six years but pursued literary work instead. In 1880 she returned to mathematics and applied to teach at universities in Russia but was denied again. Finaly she found employment at Sweden's Stockholm University in 1883. She died of pneumonia in Stockholm in 1891. 
In her short life Kovalevskaia had won a historic place in mathermatics. She was the first woman to receive a doctorate in mathermatics, the first woman to obtain a permanent position on a university faculty in mathematics, the first woman having a place on the editorial staff of a mathematical journal, the first female member of St. Petersburg Academy of Science, and the first woman to win the most prestigeous mathematical contest of her day, an honor equivalent to the winning of a Nobel Prize. Her literary achievements was quite substantial. Her ''Russian Childhood'' won wide acclaim and was translated into many languages (the English edition still available). She had a couple of novels (''Nihilist Girl'' etc.) published as well. She dabbled in playwriting and produced a steady stream of both fiction and nonfiction publications for Russian journals.

'''Pythagorean doctrine''' 
From the text it refers to Pythagorean doctrine of transmigration of souls. Pythagoras and his disciples believed in reincarnation (or metempsychosis), according to which human souls are immortal and are reborn into other animals after death. ("reborn as a vegetable" may be questionable.) 
Perhaps not so questionable. There is, after all, the Pythagorean prohibition against eating beans, wind being 'pneuma' = spirit.

[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagora Pythagoras], one of the most famous and controversial ancient Greek philosophers, lived from ca. 570 to ca. 490 BC. He spent his early years on the island of Samos, off the coast of modern Turkey. At the age of 40, he moved to Crotona in southern Italy and most of his philosophical activity occurred there. His philosophical thinking exercised an important influence on the work of Plato. "Pythagoras was famous (1) as an expert on the fate of the soul after death . . .; (2) as an expert on religious ritual; (3) as a wonder-worker who had a thigh of gold and who could be two places at the same time; (4) as the founder of a strict way of life that emphasized dietary restrictions, . . . and rigorous self discipline." (on-line Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). 
Pythagoras was also a famous mathematician best known for the Pythagorean Theorem and the Music of the Spheres. Known as the father of numbers, his philosophy encompassed harmonics in mathematics, music, cosmology, geometry and had a lasting impact on hermeticism, gnosticism and alchemy.

'''sounds like maths''' 
Yashmeen seems to see 'maths' as otherwordly.

'''folio''' 
an edition of a book in pages that fold in half to make the leaves of a codex.

'''four-color chromolithograph''' 
Chromo--in Chemistry, chromium
 
:Nothing to do with chromium. Chromolithography means 'The art of printing in colours from stone' (OED), an early technique for printing in more than one colour. The chromo- prefix is a shortened form of chromato-, a Greek-derived prefix denoting 'to do with colour'.

'''Snazzbury''' 
???

'''Silent Frock''' 
Cf noise-canceling headphones.

'''toilette''' 
No longer in use in modern english, the term 'toilette' indicated a dressing table covered to the floor with cloth (toile) and lace, on which stood a dressing glass, which might also be draped in lace. Wikipedia

It's still used, and in addition to the dressing table meaning, it refers to how somebody is "got up"--dress, makeup and all.

==Page 501==

'''green, white, and mauve stripes''' 
Colors associated with the Suffragette Movement of the time.Diane Atkinson, one of the leading contemporary scholars on the suffrage movement, edited a book, Suffragettes in the Purple, White, and Green London 1906-1914, which served as a catalog at an exhibition of suffrage memorabilia at the Museum of London and which discusses the symbolism. Atkinson notes that the color scheme was devised by Mrs. Pethick-Lawrence, treasurer and co-editor of the weekly newspaper Votes for Women. In the spring 1908 issue of that paper, Pethick-Lawrence explained the symbolism of the colors:

"Purple as everyone knows is the royal colour. It stands for the royal blood that flows in the veins of every suffragette, the instinct of freedom and dignity...white stands for purity in private and public life...green is the colour of hope and the emblem of spring."

'''black crepon''' 
The shell is made of black rayon crepon and fully lined to within 2" of bottom hem. From a description of a black [nursing] dress online.

'''Italian-cloth''' 
The Champagne fairs were a circuit of six cloth fairs in the towns of Champagne and Brie, changing location every two months and spanning the year from January to October. At their height, in the 13th century, the Champagne fairs linked the cloth-producing cities of the Low Countries with the Italian dyeing and exporting centers. The fairs, which were already well-organized at the start of the century, were one of the earliest manifestations of a linked European economy, a characteristic of the High Middle Ages.

The towns provided huge warehouses, still to be seen at Provins. From the north came woolens and linen cloth. Wikipedia.

==Page 502==

'''modern lettering''' 
Refers to Art Nouveau lettering popular at the turn of the 20th century and still commonly used on entrance signs for Paris metro stations.

'''"a kind of helical ramp"''' 
Possibly a reference to the Riemann Sphere, which is built in large part upon complex numbers and which look something like a helix. 
[[Image:Riemann Sphere.jpg]]

'''L'ARIMEAUX ET QUEURLIS''' 
Larry, Moe, and Curly's

'''twilling''' 
Twill = A fabric with diagonal parallel ribs. 2. The weave used to produce such a fabric.
TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: twilled, twill·ing, twills
To weave (cloth) so as to produce a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. From The American Heritage Dictionary

==Page 503==

'''Earl's Court Wheel''' 
Earl's Court is an area of London. A Ferris Wheel there.

Another "paramorphic" parallel to our time: The London Eye, a huge Ferris Wheel built for the Millenium Exposition of 2000. The trip around is not, as Yasmeen notes, thermodynamically reversible, since one would be "changed forever" in the course of the journey around the wheel (in the Heraclitean sense that "No man steps in the same river twice"--the river changes.) 
This is the connection between entropy in thermodynamics and entropy in information theory, embodied in Maxwell's Demon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%27s_Demon], at the center of Pynchon's ''Crying of Lot 49'', now back as a problem in non-Euclidean geometries and multiple dimensions.

'''whelks''' 
A whelk is a large marine gastropod (snail) found in temperate waters. 
Popular in the early 20th C as fast food sold from stalls in the street. You extracted the somewhat bogey-like creature with a pin and ate it.

'''five pound note, like in the song''' 
¿¿¿???

'''Chinese Turkestan railway shares''' 
Chinese Turkestan is where the Chums of Chance are currently, in the sub-desertine vehicle.

'''jellied eel''' 
An East End of London delicacy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellied_eels Wikipedia]

'''West Ham, the Park, Upton Lane, lads all in claret and blue''' 
The "lads in claret and blue" are kicking a football around, as they are players of current Premiership side West Ham United. Founded in 1895, the "Hammers" are playing their home games at Boleyn Ground aka "Upton Park". Yep, soccer. However, it's highly dubious that Upton Park could be seen from Earl's Court, even at 300 feet. Much easier to see Chelsea, Fulham or Queen's Park Rangers grounds, all very close to Earl's Court.

'''lupine liminality''' 
Latin: lupus = wolf, limen = threshold. Allusion to the proverbial wolf at the door.

Lupine = any of a genus (Lupinus) of leguminous herbs including some poisonous forms and others cultivated for their long showy racemes of usually blue, purple, white, or yellow flowers or for green manure, fodder, or their edible seeds; also : an edible lupine seed.

The liminal state is characterized by ambiguity, openness, and indeterminacy. One's sense of identity dissolves to some extent, bringing about disorientation. Liminality is a period of transition, during which your normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed, opening the way to something new.

'''hydrangeas''' 
a kind of flower. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea Wikipedia]

'''Hardy,''' 
Cf. [[ATD_219-242#Page 239|page 239:McTaggart . . . Hardy]]. G.H. (Godfrey Harold) Hardy (1877-1947),famous Cambridge mathematician [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._H._Hardy Wikipedia]. He wrote "A Mathematician's Apology" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Mathematician%27s_Apology Wikipedia] [http://www.math.ualberta.ca/~mss/books/A%20Mathematician's%20Apology.pdf Full Text]. Knew all the most famous intellectuals and was himself very influential.

==Page 504==

'''Harwich... German Sea''' 
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east.The North Sea historically also known as the German Ocean. By the late nineteenth century, German Sea was a rare, scholarly usage ...

"The German Sea" is also a public house (p. 489).

'''Hook of Holland''' 
Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands. It is not a hook but the southwest ''corner'' of South-Holland province (Dutch ''hoek'' = corner).

''Hook of Holland'' is also the name of the ferry port, an entry point into Holland and Europe. It is served by ferry sailings from Harwich and is the main entry port when travelling from the UK. It is less than 15 miles southwest of The Hague. [[http://www.eurodrive.co.uk/ports.asp?ID=39&p=Hook-Of-Holland Port of Hook of Holland]].

'''madhouse at Osnabrück''' 
OSNABRUCK, a town and episcopal see of Germany, in the Prussian province of Hanover, situated on the Hase, 70 m. W. of the city of Hanover, 31 m. by rail N.E. of Munster, and at the junction of the lines Hamburg-Cologne and BerlinAmsterdam. Pop. (1905) 59,5 80. The lunatic asylum occupies a former nunnery.

==Page 505==

'''plug hats''' 
a plug hat may be a top hat or a bowler hat.

'''Cobh''' 
the historic port town of Cobh Ireland. Many ocean liners sailed from there, including the Titanic... the port of Queenstown (now known as Cobh)

==Page 506==

'''Euclid''' 
Avenue of classy mansions in Cleveland

Euclid (300 BC) is also the father of geometry. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid wikipedia entry] check out the section on optics and the theory of mirrors.

'''elms in Cleveland''' 
(Before Dutch elm disease?)

'''went on for years''' 
the Krakatoa eruption put dust and ashes aloft for years.

'''Krakatoa''' 
The correct name is Krakatau. It is a volcanic, uninhabited Indonesia's island lies between Java and Sumatra. A series of cataclysmic explosions of August 26 - 27, 1883, the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history, collapsed the northern two-thirds of the island beneath the sea, generating an immense tsunamis that ravaged adjeacent coastlines and killed over 36,000 perople. Tephra (volcanic rock and glass fragments) from the eruption fell as far as 1,500 miles downwind in the days following the explosion. The finest fragments were propelled high into the stratosphere, spreading outward as a broad cloud acroos the entire equatorial belt in only two weeks. These particles would remain suspended in the atmosphere for a long time. For years, the earth experienced exotic colors in the sky, halos around the sun and moon, and a spectacular array of anomalous sunsets and sunrises. In the year following the equption, average global temperatures fell by as much as 1.2° Celsius. Weather patterns continued to be chaotic for years and temperature did not return to normal until 1888. For more about 1883 eruption, map, pictures, current volcanic activities etc see [http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Krakatau.html Krakatau 1] and [http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/current_volcs/krakatau/krakatau.html Krakatau 2].

'''Krakatoa...child's story'''

''The 21 Balloons''? which could have been a Chums of Chance adventure!

'''Shorty''' 
the 'short-order' cook?

==Page 507==
'''I thought sunsets were just supposed to look like that...

Suggestive of the sentiments in Wordsworth's ''Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood'' [http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww331.html]

Also brought to mind The Orb's ''Little Fluffy Clouds'' (1990) in which Rickie Lee Jones answers the question.....

What were the skies like when you were young? [by saying]

''They went on forever
And ''they -- when I
We lived in Arizona
And the skies always had little fluffy clouds
And they were long and clear
And there were lots of stars, at night
And when it rained it would all turn
It -- they were beautiful
The most beautiful skies as a matter of fact
The sunsets were purple and red
And yellow and on fire
And the clouds would catch the colors everywhere
That's -- it's neat
Because I used to look at them all the time
When I was little
You don't see that''''

Circling the rabbit hole....In this song, The Orb uses a harmonica sample from the song ''The Man With The Harmonica'' from the film '''Once Upon a Time in the West''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fluffy_Clouds]. The film in turn seems to have strong Pynchon/AtD overtones, (pre-tones??) --
Frank vs. Harmonica, the railroads destroying the Old West...etc. Pynchon showing a strong preference for harmonicas, old movies and songs and protagonists named Frank.

'''how little I cared''' 
(Blaming Krakatoa???)Seems to me she is saying that her feelings for Bert faded, as everything was, maybe, supposed to, as had the fantastic sunsets
caused by Krakatoa when they got back to ordinary.

'''palm upward''' 
One of many "old wives' tales" described in [http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/pregnancy/oldwives/index.php this web page.]

'''Prospect Avenue''' 
Once fashionable street in Cleveland, Ohio.

'''leaf-spring suspension''' 
A form of suspension for wheeled vehicles. Still very occasionally used in automobiles, but more likely nowadays to be seen on a perambulator. A "leaf" here is a long thin strip of tempered steel (they may also be stacked for greater strength).

'''overrun''' 
the excess kerosene when made.

'''Flats''' 
lands around the Cuyahoga River.

==Page 508==

'''Cuyahoga''' 
Major river in Ohio that goes around Cleveland. Famous in the 60's for literally catching on fire from the combustible pollutants in it. Here, Pynchon shows that industrial pollution and its effect on the river. "It's like looking down into the sky".

'''your exact face''' 
(How common?)

'''allowing Erlys do the work''' 
Error in first edition. Should be "allowing Erlys to do the work..."

==Page 509==

'''descending minor triad''' 
in music, an interval of three half tones. 
No, the triad is a chord, so it's three notes moving downwards (soh-mi-doh) forming a minor chord.

'''Svengali''' 
In George Du Maurier's novel ''Trilby'' (1894), the hypnotist who makes the title character a great singer but keeps her under rigorous control.

'''tea roses''' 
Yellow-orange roses.

'''cosmos''' 
any composite plant of the genus ''Cosmos'', of tropical America, some species of which are cultivated for their showy flowers.

==Page 510==

'''first momentous glance''' 
Page 349 only?

'''Elis''' 
Yale University students, called so after founder Eli Yale.

'''snooting''' 
the act of snubbing, treating scornfully or with disdain (OED)

'''tuned to a 440 A''' 
the elusive 440 A. ... Today's A above middle C has been set at 440 cycles per second or 440 Hertz. ...

==Page 511==

'''preferring''' 
Cf Rose in James Cameron's ''Titanic''.

'''Root Tubsmith''' 
Most likely a fictional character.

'''Fuchs''' 
Lazarus Fuchs (1833-1902), a German mathematician. He worked on differential equations and the theory of functions, ordinary differential equations with complex functions as coefficients, elliptic integrals, etc. [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Fuchs.html Fuchs].

'''Schwarz''' 
Herman Schwarz (1843-1921), a German mathematician, known for his work in complex analysis. He worked in Halle, Göttingen and then Berlin, dealing with the subjects of function theory, differential geometry and the calculus of variation. [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Schwarz.html Schwarz].

'''Frobenius''' 
Ferdinand Frobenius (1849-1917), a German mathematician. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Georg_Frobenius], possibly important here for his contributions to Group Theory and to topology [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frobenius_theorem_%28differential_topology%29]. He received his doctorate from the Univeristy of Berlin supervised by Weierstrass. Later, he taught mathematics there as well. He combined results from the theory of algebraic equations, geometry and number theory, which led him to the representation theory and the character theory of groups. [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Frobenius.html Frobenius].

'''Professor Manning''' 
Henry Parker Manning (1859-1956) In 1889 he entered Johns Hopkins University to study mathematics, astronomy and physics. When he received his Ph.D. degree in 1891, his first printed paper had already appeared in the ''American Journal of Mathematics''. He was appointed instructor in mathematics at Brown that same year, and “with his advent,” Professor Raymond C. Archibald would later write, “a new era in the development of mathematics at Brown was ushered in.” From 1893 to 1908 Manning offered courses in higher mathematics never previously available at Brown, courses with names like “Theory of functions: algebraic functions, Riemann surfaces, and Abelian functions,” “Substitutions and transformation groups,” and “Quaternions, non-Euclidean geometry, and hyperspace.” After 1908 there were others in the department able to teach higher mathematics. His publications included ''Non-Euclidean Geometry'' in 1901, the first English language text in this subject, ''Irrational Numbers and their Representation by Sequences and Series'' in 1906, and ''Geometry of Four Dimensions'' in 1914. [http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=M0090]

'''language difference''' 
Kit and Root both speak English, but in different mathematical dialects.

'''Marseilles''' 
Second largest city of France; Mediterannean port, legendarily corrupt.

'''species of tarantella''' 
Tarantella is a fast dance or dance tune in 6/8 time. Probably named for Taranto, not tarantula.

'''dreamed it''' 
(Page?)

Page 349, at R.W. Vibe's "Italianate town house." Dally confirms this on page five hundred and twelve.

'''Cigar Deck''' 
A deck on a luxury yacht, hotel or residence where 'gentlemen' went to smoke cigars.... "venue has everything - including a full bar, cigar deck, and dance floor. ..."

==Page 512==

'''how to stop looking''' 
Cf p27.

'''lobelias''' 
Plant or flower of the genus Lobelia. At least one member of the genus is blue (Blue Lobelia.

'''Victor Herbert''' 
Irish-born American composer (1859-1924) of songs, operettas, light classics.

'''Wolf-Ferrari''' 
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948), born in Venice, composer of many extremely popular operas.

==Page 513==

'''She smelled falsely''' 
Error in first edition. Should be "She smiled falsely."

'''Reuben''' 
A hick, as in the carnie's cry, "Hey, Rube".
 
:Maybe, but given that Kit's ''age'' is at issue, may refer to the fact that Reuben was the eldest of the twelve sons of Jacob/Israel (Genesis 29.32).

'''sailing along on Moonlight Bay''' 
Apparently someone overheard Kit's dialog. This phrase would become part of the song "On Moonlight Bay," Madden (lyrics) and Weinrich (music), 1912.

==Page 515==

'''high-hatting''' 
Snubbing, cutting.

'''memories of desert plateau, mountian peaks...some unexpected river''' 
Instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with the back-country Rocky Mountains.
Cf also the description of the landscape Frank's riding through on page 394/395.

'''twenty-knot push''' 
The ship is making twenty knots (20 nautical miles per hour), hence generating a twenty knot wind toward the stern.

'''uncreated''' 
Featureless? ongoing present becoming the future as compared to his memories.

The watery void of Genesis, before creation of the land and life.

'''after 1914''' 
Still 10 years away.

'''S.M.S. ''Emperor Maximilian''''' 
S.M.S.: Seiner Majestäts Schiff, His Majesty's Ship (German or, as in this case, Austrian). One Habsburg Emperor Maximilian was set up in Mexico, then deposed and killed.

'''25,000-ton''' 
The ship's displacement (measure of its size).

'''dreadnoughts''' 
''HMS Dreadnought'' gave her name to a new philosophy that governed the design of capital ships beginning in the 1890s and continuing past the 1920s: high speed, heavy armor, heavy investment in the "main battery" and de-emphasis of secondary battery, main battery comprising the largest practicable guns mounted in turrets on the ship's centerline.

'''Slavonian''' 
Perhaps a deceptive name for the company; Slavonia was an inland province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, northwest of Croatia; Trieste would have been in Slovenia.

'''Schultz-Thorneycroft''' 
Apparently a maker of steamships' boilers.

'''Parsons turbines''' 
Cf. The Steam Turbine, by Sir Charles A. Parsons ---The Rede Lecture, 1911.
Was manufactured and named for Parsons--this lecture was after its extensive use.

'''British men-o'-war''' 
Warships.

==Page 516==

'''shell-rooms-to-be and giant powder magazines''' 
''Stupendica'' contains spaces that will belong to ''Maximilian'' on her transformation. (Indeed, she must contain the shells and powder too.)

'''circular cabins''' 
A battleship turret extends several decks below the gunhouse. No doubt there were stacks of these circular cabins.

'''twelve-inch barrels''' 
The typical main armament for dreadnoughts in this period (1904) was 12 inch guns - the guns having barrels. By WWI, newer dreadnoughts had 14-16" armament.

'''shelter deck''' 
???

'''to fold upward''' 
Transformer fashion.

'''casemates''' 
Turrets.

'''freeboard''' 
The amount of the ship above the water. You need a certain amount of freeboard to maintain balance, but battleships try to limit it as much as possible (so as to present a smaller target).

'''"Dazzle" camouflage''' 
Patterns as described in the text, meant to confuse enemy eyes. [http://www.bobolinkbooks.com/Camoupedia/DazzleCamouflage.html] Camouflage techniques used in World War I were developed in part by magician Jasper Maskelyne, a descendant of the Astronomer Royal in ''Mason & Dixon.''

'''dihedrals''' 
A dihedral is the figure formed by two planes intersecting in a line. The bow of a ship is pretty close.

'''Fangsley''' 
???

'''less horizontally disposed''' 
less level

Passenger liner has as many decks as possible above waterline. Warship has as many as possible ''below'' waterline, hence it's "taller."

'''Trieste''' 
Trieste is a city and port in northeastern Italy right on the border with Slovenia. It is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste on the Adriatic Sea, about 70 miles east of Venice across the Gulf of Venice. The city had been occupied, administrated, annexed by various countries in the past. As late as early 19th century Napoleon took it for France, and in 1813 Austrian empire annexed it and kept it until the end of World War I. In 1920 it was transfered to Italy. During World War II German occupied the city until 1945 when Yugoslav partisans under Tito briefly occupied the city. Between 1947 to 1954 Trieste was governed by British and American. Finally, in 1954 the city of Trieste went to Italy and the southern suburb went to Yugoslavia (now Slovenia).

'''Lloyd Arsenale''' 
Lloyd Shipyard, Austria's commercial counterpart of Stabilimento Tecnico. In 1833 a company with the name ''Lloyd Austriaco'' was founded as a maritime insurance organization. Three years later a new section, the Shipping Section was established and running company's own vessels. In 1853 Lloyd Austriaco started buidling its own shipyard, called ''Arsenale'', both for building new ships and maintenance of the fleet. The shipyard was completed and fully operative in 1861. In 1919 ''Lloyd Austriaco'' changed its name to ''Lloyd Triestino'', currently still operating in Trieste. [[http://www.italiamarittima.it/newhistory.asp?ordernum=10 Lloyd Arsenale]].

'''Stabilimento Tecnico''' 
Technical Plant, a shipyard. Stabilimento Tecnico was an Austro-Hungarian shipbuilding company based in Trieste. It served the Austro-Hungarian Navy on a large scale and was the largest shipyard of that country. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabilimento_Tecnico_Triestino Stabilimento]]. Four Tegetthoff class dreadnoughts were built by Stabilimento Tecnico for the Austro-Hungarian Navy: ''SMS Viribus Unitis, SMS Tegetthoff, SMS Prinz Eugen'' and ''SMS Szent Istvan''. They were of about 21,000 ton displacement and a speed of 20 kt with twelve 12-inch guns. Tegetthoff was a 19th century Austrian admiral.[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegetthoff_class_battleship Tegetthoff battleships]]. 
Stabilimento Tecnico and Lloyd Triestino are both currently active. In fact these two establishments are the largest industrial organizations in Trieste.

==Page 517==

'''''merged''''' 
Pynchon writes about bilocation in a peculiar sense: not necessarily one person being in two places, but one ''place'' being two (or one language being two, Dutch/Flemish, Serbian/Croatian).

'''Different witnesses.....no longer in either, simply appearing unforseen...''' 
Sounds a lot like the quantum mechanical measurement process. An electron can't be located until a measurement. May be easiest unerstood via the "Schroedinger's cat" picture.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat]

'''Promontorio''' 
In Italian promontorio is headland, a small stripe of mountain-like terrain surrounded on all but one side by see.

'''O.I.C. Bodine''' 
Gotta be Pig Bodine from ''V.'' and ''GR'' and descendant of Fender-Belly Bodine in [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Mason & Dixon''].
:Naw, three different Bodines. (1) Fender-Belly is the patriarch (flourished in the 1760s); (2) the stoker O.I.C. is in his prime in the decade around 1910; (3) Pig serves in WW2 and is still around to go roistering with Benny in the 1960s. The strangest thing about the Bodines—a family with saltwater in their DNA—is that they dropped anchor in Minnesota . . . or ever even visited such an inland spot as [http://www.city.albertlea.org/home.html Albert Lea.]

"O.I.C." is an initialism for Ohio Improved Chester, which is a breed of hog. Jack London actually [http://www.jacklondons.net/palace.html raised them on his ranch]. As has been pointed out, "O.I.C." standing for "Officer in Charge" in the Bodine context is a non-starter, as Bodine is neither an officer nor in charge of anything. He's a stoker, one of the lowest class of laborers aboard. Also, "oic" does have a piggish ring to it ("oink" without the "n"). And of course it also works as Internet slang: "Oh, I see," although this sounds a bit too cutesy for Pynchon, IMHO, and besides, as pointed out above, O.I.C. Bodine ain't the Bodine seen in other Pynchon novels, but most likely the father or uncle of Pig of ''V.'' and ''Gravity's Rainbow''.

In ''V.'', Pig's first appearance in a Pynchon novel (he also appears in "Lowlands," a Pynchon short story Flange's "big gaping [[Idiots and Idiocy in Against the Day|idiot]] buddy"), he brags of his Harley motorcycle (called Hogs, in the vernacular): "Ain't an SP car made that can take my Harley." (p.15) Perhaps this Bodine was given the nickname "O.I.C." by his Navy buddies as a joke, ''because'' the initialism stands for a breed of hog ''and'' "Officer in Charge" (which he's far from) ''and'' sounds like a pig's utterance (We know his putative son's or nephew's laugh sounds like a pig ("Hyeugh, hyeugh ... it was, as Pig intended, horribly obscene" ''V.'', p.14 so maybe it's inherited). And perhaps Pynchon gave him the last name of Bodine to connect him visually and/or temperamentally with the character Jethro Bodine of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies''] (1962-1971), also a big, not-too-smart goofball.

'''fermented potato mash''' 
Cf Veikko's vodka, [[ATD 81-96#Page 82|page 82]].

'''four shafts''' 
Four propellers.

'''''Mauretania''''' 
HMS Mauretania, launched 1907, sister ship of the ill-fated Lusitania (the sinking of the latter propelled the US into WW I). Served as Cunard liner, troopship, hospital ship in WW I.

'''''Zu befehl, Herr Hauptheitzer''''' 
German: Ready for orders, Chief Stoker. (Should be ''Zu Befehl, Herr Hauptheizer.'')

'''Black Gang''' 
The stoking crew, turned black by coal dust.

'''Oberhauptheitzer''' 
German: Master Chief Stoker. (Should be: ''Oberhauptheizer.'')

'''Mannlicher''' 
German military pistol.

'''''"Dampf mehr!"''''' 
German for "more steam!" (Should be: ''Mehr Dampf!'')
:If this is an error, as it appears to be (and as it's marked by [http://www.glanzundelend.de/glanzneu/pynchonpalm.htm German native speakers]), it may stem from a common phrase such as ''Wir haben keinen Dampf mehr,'' we have no more steam. Is there any remote possibility that ''Dampf mehr!'' was a form used in shipboard orders (spoken or telegraphed) at the time of the action?
:Following up this nagging question, I have found some photos of engine room telegraphs with German on the dials: [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiffstelegraf here] and [http://www.digitalstock.de/detail.php?bildnummer=178966&seite=5&abilder=20&uid=&kategorie= here]. Neither refers to ''Dampf'' at all (instead ''volle Kraft'' = full power, ''volle Fahrt'' = full speed). These finds seem to eliminate the possibility that ''Dampf mehr'' is a phrase Pynchon collected in this context.

'''singlet''' 
Undershirt.

'''syntonic wireless''' 

See [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_397-428#Page_397 p.397] and [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_219-242#Page_229 p. 229]. The comparison of wireless communications with messages from the spirit world echoes Kipling's short story [http://www.benlo.com/ham/wireless.html Wireless], Scribner's Magazine, August 1902. There are many Kipling echoes in AtD.

==Page 518==

'''ignorant off''' 
Error in first edition. Should be "ignorant of".

'''Marconi room''' 
Radio shack.

'''British and German battle groups were engaged off the Moroccan coast''' 
This could be a reference to the First Moroccan Crisis (a.k.a. Tangier Crisis) taking place between March 1905 and May 1906. This would be in keeping with the timeline of the novel, however, there seems to have been no engagement of troops between British and German forces. On the other hand, this could also be a reference to the Agadir Crisis (a.k.a. The Second Moroccan Crisis) of 1911 where the German gunboat, Panther, was deployed to the Moroccan port of Agadir, threatening British naval supremacy. Although the later altercation seems unlikely given the timeline of the story, Pynchon notes that the S.S. Stupendica received its message "from somewhere else not quite in the world, more like from a continuum lateral to it."

'''design maximum of nine degrees''' 
''Maximilian'' will right herself from a nine-degree heel but may be in trouble if she leans over farther.

'''nymphs''' 
Stage in the life cycle of many insects, including the cockroach.

'''''"Porca miseria"''''' 
Italian: good grief, for heaven's sake, dammit.

==Page 519==

'''tight circle''' 
Military as inane as circus clowns.

'''southeast by east''' 
The compass rose has 32 points, each 11 and a quarter degrees from the next. Southeast by east is one point to the east of southeast, i.e., 123 and three-quarters degrees clockwise from north.

'''deeper levels''' 
(Eg particle vs wave?)

'''A "deeper level" where dualities are resolved''' 
Engine room is far below the main deck, therefore a deeper level. The ''Stupendica/Maximilian'' duality is resolved there because it's a shared space.

'''Chinese''' 
???

Maybe the allusion refers to Chinese boxes, one box containing another box, containing another, etc? In the last box, at the "deeper level" dualities are resolved... don't know...

'''''nicht wahr''''' 
German: aint it true?

'''Graz''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graz Graz] is the capital of the Austrian province of Styria. It is the second largest city, after Vienna, in Austria. Graz's old town is one of the best-preserved city centers in Central Europe and is on the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites.

'''bilge-crab''' 
Most likely an insult meaning "below-decks crew".

==Page 520==

'''a Teutonic''' 
Ethnically a German.

'''Tangier''' 
a seaport in Northern Morocco on the west end of the Strait of Gibralta, about 500 miles northeast from Agadir, another Atlantic seaport. (Casablanca is midway between them.)

'''Mulai Ahmed er-Raisuli''' 
Infamous Morrocan outlaw/warlord. From this [http://www.explorers.org/publications/books_club/imprint/housetears.php website]: "Several decades before Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and Islamic insurgents, an international crisis ignited between the United States and the Middle East. In May 1904 Moroccan warlord Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli kidnapped Ion Perdicaris, a wealthy Greek-American resident of Tangier, in an attempt to extort money from the Sultan of Morocco. President Theodore Roosevelt responded with his "big stick" approach to diplomacy by dispatching a squadron of seven battleships to the Moroccan coast with the order: "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead." The nine-week standoff, with US troops and ships in Tangier Bay and Raisuli holding fort in the mountains, exposed the impotence of emerging American power and a critical misunderstanding about Moroccan politics. When it was discovered that Perdicaris was not an American citizen after all, the US government kept the embarrassing episode a secret until 1933. Profiting royally from the conflict, Raisuli built his palace, which he called the "House of Tears"." [http://www.capitalcentury.com/1904.html another source]

'''Agadir, Queen of the Iron Coast''' 
Agadir is a city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Souss-Massa-Dra region. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agadir Wikipedia] From the [http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia_Britannica/MOL_MOS/MOROCCO.html Encyclopedia Britannica]: "Sixty miles farther south lies Mogador, beyond which the coast becomes more and more inaccessible and dangerous in winter, being known to navigators as the " Iron Coast." From Cape Sim (Ras Tagriwalt), to m. south of Mogador, the direction is due south to Cape Ghir (Ighir Ufrani), the termination of Jebel Ida u Taman, a spur of the Atlas. Beyond this headland lies Agadir (Agadir Ighir), the Santa Cruz Mayor or Santa Cruz de Berberia
of the Spaniards, formerly known as the Gate of the Sudan.' It is a little town with white battlements three-quarters of a mile in circumference, on a steep eminence 600 ft. high." [http://www.rabat-maroc.net/marocautrefois/index.php?rep=AGADIR old postcards from Agadir]

'''''colonists''...justify German interests...shadow-colonists''' 
In July 1911, the german gunboat "Panther" approached the harbour of Agadir under the pretext to protect german citizens from Sus-tribesmen, resulting in the "Agadir-Crisis" and nearly triggering WW I three years early. As there were no german citizens to protect in Agadir, so one had to be dispatched from Mogador. See [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos137.htm Morocco Crisis of 1911.] and [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/05/23/its_not_the_first_war_under_false_pretenses/ source]

'''...destined for plantation...''' 
Typo in First Edition.
???

'''Sus... Susi''' 
The Sous Basin [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souss Wikipedia] and it‘s inhabitants, probably.

'''Abdel Aziz''' 
Sultan of Morocco 1894-1908 (aged 10-24yrs.) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdelaziz_of_Morocco Wikipedia]

'''Canaries''' 
Canary Islands, about 80 miles off Morocco‘s Atlantic coast [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_islands Wikipedia]

'''Many would go crazy and set out in small boats...''' 
Another paramorpic mirror image of our century. The Canaries, a Spanish possession, are the goal of untold thousands of would-be African entrants to the EU, i.e. a route of illegal immigration.

'''Lübeck''' 
Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein (northern Germany). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCbeck Wikipedia]

'''Berbers''' 
The Berbers (also called Amazigh people or Imazighen, "free men") are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. In actuality, Berber is a generic name given to numerous heterogeneous ethnic groups that share similar cultural, political, and economic practices. It is not a term originated by the group itself. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber_people Wikipedia]. Berbers of southwestern Morocco usually belong to the ones known as Chleuhs [http://c.1asphost.com/imazighen/chleuhs/algeria.htm pics]

==Page 521==

'''tree-climbing goats''' 
Can be seen often, esp. in Morocco [http://www.markhorrell.com/travel/morocco/antiatlas/goats3.html Pic]

'''argan trees''' 
The Argan (Argania spinosa, syn. A. sideroxylon Roem. & Schult.) is a species of tree endemic to the calcareous semi-desert Sous valley of southwestern
Morocco. It is the sole species in the genus Argania. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argan_tree Wikipedia]

'''Gnaoua''' 
The Gnawa or Gnaoua refers at once to a style of Moroccan music with sub-Saharan Africa origins or influence, an ethnic group and religious order at least in part descended from former slaves from Sub-Saharan Africa or black Africans migrated in caravans with the Trans-Saharan trade, or a combination of both [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnawa Wikipedia] [http://www.mincom.gov.ma/english/gallery/music/gnawa.html more on Gnaoua] [http://www.mincom.gov.ma/french/galerie/musique/mp3/gnaoua.mp3 Gnaoua music sample mp3] [http://www.ibiblio.org/gnawastories/GNAWA%20STORIES20cDRIVE.swf nicely made site on Gnawa]

'''''mlouk gnaoui''''' 
Mlouk is the plural of melk, a supernatural entity envoked in the Gnawa rituals. Various types are known and they are distinguished by colors. The following is a google translation of the relevant paragraph from [http://www.bladi.net/2556-les-differents-aspects-de-la-culture-gnaouie.html this site]: "The mlouk are of male or female sex, Moslems or Jews. Their color corresponds to their origins. Thus one distinguishes the mlouks from the sea (bahriyin) to which one allots the light blue; the celestial ones (samaouiyin), have as a color dark blue; the mlouk of the forest (rijal el ghaba), originating in Africa, have as a color the black just like the mlouk pertaining to the troop of Sidi Mimoun, finally the red mlouk (Al homar), related to blood and which haunt the slaughter-houses, have as a color the red. The white and the green, colors symbols of Islam sunnite, are reserved to the called upon saints, in particular Moulay Abdelkader Jilali and Chorfa. To the female mlouk three colors are allotted: the yellow for the coquettery of Lala Reflected, the red for Lala Rkia for its capacity to cure the menorrhagia and the black for Lala Aïcha Kendisha because of its Sudanese origin. The Jewish mlouks which are sometimes called upon after the troop of the female mlouk have the black color. Incense fumigations of various perfumes accompany the invocations by these mlouks, with a preference however for the benzoin or jaoui."

'''Seigneurs Noirs''' 
French: Black Lords. According to the above translation, those most probably are jewish mlouks.

'''Bardo State''' 
Tibetan Bhuddist belief in a state between two mortal incarnations, during which one has direct perception of reality--for better or worse, Karmically speaking. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo]

'''Habsburg navy''' 
Austrian Navy

'''Mogador road''' 
Mogador" is a city and tourist resort in Morocco, near Marrakech on the Atlantic coast. (31°30′47″N)
Mogador is another name for Essaouira [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogador Wkipedia] about 70 miles north of Agadir. [http://www.rabat-maroc.net/marocautrefois/index.php?rep=MOGADOR old postcards Mogador]

'''Tawil Balak''' 
In the Liner Notes for the Album "Love Songs of Lebanon" [http://www.smithsonianglobalsound.org/trackdetail.aspx?itemid=29129 downloadable from this site] the song ''Tawil Balak Ya Habboub'' translates as "Patience, My Love" - Tawil Balak being the Patience part. (Thats one nice soundtrack, btw!)

"Tawil", according to web-searches, is arabic for "allegorical explanation/interpretation/exegese" (of the Qu‘ran and Sunna texts). "Balak" might refer to the according Tora reading (Parsah) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balak_%28parsha%29 Wikipedia]. cf. Balaam‘s Ass p. 432. Do the cosmopolitan regulars at the bar like Moises spend their time interpreting holy texts?

'''Rahman''' 
???

'''Ostend''' 
a seaport in northwest Belgium. ''Ostende'' in German and French. It is the largest city at the Belgian North Sea coast. (It is about 1,700 miles from Agadir, Morocco.)

'''''Fomalhaut''''' 
The Maritime Digital Encyclopedia lists a "Dutch Vessel" named "Formalhaut" [http://www.ibiblio.org/maritime/photolibrary/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=688&pos=0 pic].

According to several websites [http://skytonight.com/news/3310401.html?showAll=y&c=y 1] [http://www.skyscript.co.uk/pis_aus.html 2] [http://www.icoproject.org/star.html 3] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomalhaut Wikipedia] etc. Fomalhaut is the 17th or 18th brightest star as seen from our planet and is located in the constellation called Pisces Austrinus (Southern Fish). The name derives from the Arabic Fum (or Fam) al-Hut, meaning "Mouth of the Fish" or according to a few web-resources the contributor has just visited, "Mouth of the Whale". The latter would mean its a strong connotation with the Biblical Legend of Jonah and the Whale (see annotations for this page below (not a spoiler, i hope).

Among most readers of Science-Fiction "Fomalhaut" is a location as common as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldebaran "Aldebaran"] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassiopeia_%28constellation%29 "Cassiopeia"].

As per today (07 01 10) the Wikipedia-Entry on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_Fomalhaut Demon Fomalhaut] is just a stub. According to most sites the contributor just visited, claiming credibility in the Book of Enoch [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch Wikipedia] and due to some more non-canonical catergorizations, Fomalhaut seems to be a member of the infamous gang of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallen_angel Fallen Angels], a daredevil companero to Lucifer that is. This sub-summation in a hierarchy of angels might refer to some astrological/-nomical constellations of the star Fomalhaut as is.

As usual, with TP, we dont know for sure if theres some outlandish pun intended/-cluded in the name of a person or thing. What, to give variety to it, about a german compositive noun? Ger. "formal" = formal (like in formal behavior) + "haut" = skin; "Formal Skin".

'''Moïsés''' 
???

'''Jonah... Massa''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah Jonah Wikipedia Entry] [http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/jonah/jonah.html "Jonah on the Web"] From the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Morocco website]: "Some 60 m. farther south (from Agadir), at the mouth of a river known by the same name, is the roadstead of Massa, with a mosque popularly reputed the scene of Jonah's restoration to terra firma."

==Page 522==

'''Two Fishes, two Jonahs, two Agadirs?''' 
The Jewish Encyclopedia 1901-1906 mentions rabbinic literature regarding two fishes - one male, one female - having swallowed Jonah: check out the "fish" paragraph [http://72.14.221.104/search?q=cache:8_12F1Yp1YoJ:www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp%3Fartid%3D388%26letter%3DJ+jonah+encyclopedia&hl=de&gl=at&ct=clnk&cd=1 here]. Both Tarshish (Cadiz), the "Agadir" in southwestern Spain, and Agadir in Morocco likely were founded by the Phoenicians: "Cadiz bears a Phoenician name, a deformation of Gaddir (wall), which we find in the Berber city of Agadir in Morroco." [http://faculty.uml.edu/jgarreau/50.315/Europ1.htm source]

Pynchon is riffing on Ch. 9 of Moby Dick where Father Mapple reads the biblical story of Jonah and talks about Tarshish being Cadiz and how that shows that he was trying to escape his fate for some unnammed "disobedience". Melville bilocates "god" and "man", insisting that the two forces are at odds. Melville also implicitly draws a parallel between Jonah and Ahab who rails against his being peglegged by Moby Dick and seeks revenge against the whale who ultimately consumes him, and Ishmael who humbly accepts his punishment and so survives to tell his tale. In AtD, the Moby Dick resonances ring most clearly in the Traverse bros/sis seeking revenge against sociocultural pieties for inflicting loss & grief & pain on the undeserving; the correspondence b/w the anarchist preacher Moss Gatlin and the ex-harpooner minister Mapple; Lew's mysterious penance and Webb's divided loyalties and now the story of Jonah and his fugitive flight, not unlike Kit's running from his troubles. Also, the name Fom al-Haut comes from scientific Arabic فم الحوت fam al-ħūt (al-janūbī) "the mouth of the (southern) fish/whale"

'''kashbah''' 
Wikipedia entries on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasbah Kasbah] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casbah Casbah] [http://www.rabat-maroc.net/marocautrefois/AGADIR/agadir-la-casbah-vue-en-avion.jpg The Casbah of Agadir as seen from above]

'''Ighir Ufrani''' 
a.k.a Cape Ghir, a cape north of Agadir.

'''''Mogador herring''...''alimzah''...''tasargelt''''' 
From the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Morocco Morocco Entry]: "Occasionally a small shoal (of mackarel) may be found as far south as Mogador. Soles, turbot, bream, bass, conger eel and mullet are common along the coast, and southern Morocco is visited occasionally by shoals of a large fish called the azlimzah (sciaena aquila), rough scaled and resembling a cod, and the tasargelt (Temnodon saltator), the "blue fish" of North America. Crayfish, prawns, oysters and mussels swarm in the rocky places, but the natives have no proper method of catching them, and edible crabs seem unknown. The tunny, pilchard and sardine, and a kind of shad known as the "Mogador herring," all prove at times of practical importance."

azlimzah (sciaena aquila) [http://www.finerareprints.com/animals/histoire_naturelle/vol_hn_fish_4999.htm pic] (the lower one).

tasargelt (Temnodon saltator) [http://www.amatorbalikci.net/resimupload/lufer.jpg pic] (not sure if this is the real thing!)

'''scruff''' 
???

'''Staketsel''' 
According to the [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staketsel Dutch Wikipedia] and its link to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pier english site] this means "pier". [http://arglist.com/cgi-bin/image?gallery=oostende&name=20040909-004 pic]

'''lazarettes''' 
Below-decks storage space in the stern of a vessel. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarette].

'''''mon chou''''' 
"My cabbage." A french term of affection.

==Page 523==

'''moon deck''' 
???

'''lower orlop''' 
Lowest deck of a multi-decked vessel (OED).

'''lateen-riggers''' 
Boats or larger craft with triangular sails rigged fore-and-aft (picture: [http://www.carfilhiot.co.uk/media/1/20050607-rig.jpg]common in the Mediterannean [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateen] after introduction by the Romans in the 3rd century.

'''Dally had expected Bria would be the first...''' 
Editorial error? If one substitutes "Dally" with "Erlys" this sentence makes much more sense.

I hesitate to assign such sloppiness to the notoriously meticulous Pynchon and his editorial team. Note that the previous sentence conflates Dally and Erlys's uncertainty about the romantic setback. And note earlier (p 512) Dally was scandalized (facetiously) over Bria's shameless and un-chaperon-like interest in Root.

==Page 524==

'''exhilirated''' 
Second occurrence of this misspelling of ''exhilarated.'' (Cf. page 236, line 38: "exhiliration".)

'''Piazza Grande''' 
The central square in many Italian cities.

'''Denza''' 
Cf [[ATD_336-357#Page 353|page 353]]. Luigi Denza (1846-1922), Italian composer, most famous for his "Funiculi, funicula".

'''Antonio Smareglia''' 
Italian opera composer (1854-1929).

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 429-459

2015-03-01T05:24:49Z

Pthomas: /* Page 439 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 431==

'''metaphorical way''' and '''lateral resurrection''' 
Cf. [[ATD_397-428#Pafe 418|page 418]], where ''metaphor'' and ''lateral'' are also used in quick succession.

'''"Turkish Corner"''' 
The ''coin turquois'' or Turkish corner was an interior decorating fad ([http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197806/london.s.arab.hall.htm second half of 19th century]). Well-to-do householders had the English furniture removed from a space and put in low tables, divans, cushions, ceiling hangings, nargilehs and so forth.

'''Bactrian''' 
''Camel''. Even-toed ungulate, two-humped (twin-peaked) as compared with the one-humped dromedary.

'''Cameling''' 
Seems to mean riding on a camel, contextually.

'''light might be a ''secret determinant of history''''' 
One of the overarching themes of the book, it seems. Natural light
vs. artificial. A-and in this section the line must be more closely linked
to the Manichaeans and Light [p. 437] and Chick and Darby's remarks on 438. Light as 'Divine' light.......
Determinant also has an obvious mathematical meaning: a scalar invariant of a matrix which corresponding to its scale factor when the matrix is interpreted as a linear mapping. The determinant is non-obvious and its computation is of order n^3; hence, secret.

The [http://etext.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-38 ''Dictionary of the History of Ideas''] has a clear, readable essay on causation in history, well worth a look given that we are concerned with "determinants" and the nature of time/sequence/cause-and-effect.

==Page 432==

'''fatal word''' 
"Wife".

'''C.A.C.A.''' 
Caca; Spanish for "shit". The Chums have already begun to suspect the "shit", i.e. the malevolent organization that lies behind their boys' book heroics; the reader is now made aware of a large organization (see B.I.N., below) standing behind the massive airships and their crews. We all know what about the dynamics of large organizations, and the percentage of the time they spend in serving their purported purposes. Reminiscent of Van Vogt's Law: "90% of everything is shit (caca)".
:Not just Spanish; most western European languages. French (or Spanish) speaking Viennese could hear the word "caca" in '''K-K''' (Kaiserlich und Königlich, see Max Khäutsch and Franz Ferdinand episodes).

'''Medicine Hat, Alberta''' 
A real city with a population about 56,000. It is located in the southeastern part of the province of Alberta, Canada.

'''Gamomania''' 
"Gamos" is Greek for "marriage," and mania means "mania" or "madness."

'''H.M.S.F.''' 
His Majesty's Subdesertine Frigate (p425).

'''Balaam's ass''' 
refers to Num. 22:21-34 - Balaam rides out with the princes of Moab, but the Lord sends an angel to prevent him. Balaam does not see the angel but his ass does and will not go further. Balaam smites the ass three times, to no avail, until "the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam: What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?" Balaam's ass and the serpent (in the Garden of Eden) are the only speaking animals in the bible.

'''reported as long ago as Marco Polo''' 
From Marco Polo's ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (1298-99):
:". . . When a man is riding by night through this desert and something happens to make him loiter and lose touch with his companions . . . and afterwards he wants to rejoin them, then he hears spirit talking in such a way that they seem to be his companions. Sometimes, indeed, they even hail him by name. Often these voices make him stray from the path, so that he never finds it again. And in this way many travelers have been lost and have perished. And sometimes in the night they are conscious of a noise like the clatter of a great cavalcade of riders away from the road; and, believing that these are some of their own company, they go where they hear the noise and, when day breaks, find they are victims of an illusion and in an awkward plight. . . Yes, and even by daylight men hear these spirit voices, and often you fancy you are listening to the strains of many instruments, especially drums, and the clash of arms. . . . ." 
:(page 67, ''The Travels of Marco Polo'', The Folio Society 1968 edition.) 
For Marco Polo's bio and more see Cf. [[ATD_243-272#Page 247|page 247]] and [http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml Marco Polo and His Travels].

==Page 433==

'''mutatis mutandis''' 
''Medieval Latin.'' A direct translation from Latin of mutatis mutandis would read, 'with those things having been changed which need to be changed'. More colloquially, it can be interpreted as 'the necessary changes having been made,' where "the necessary changes" are usually implied by a prior statement assumed to be understood by the reader. It carries the connotation that the reader should pay attention to the corresponding differences between the current statement and a previous one, although they are analogous. This term is used frequently in economics and in law, to parameterize a statement with a new term, or note the application of an implied, mutually understood set of changes. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutatis_mutandis Wikipedia entry].

This suggests we should view communication from the camel with the same skepticism with which we view the voices, or possibly view this communication as we would that from Balaam's ass.

Another interpretation (that I find funny) is that we should 'make the necessary changes' in order to translate the camel's notion of skepticism (and even how a camel would do the skeptical eye-roll move) to our own.

'''''polygamy''''' 
Cf. Lake's conversion to (de facto) polyandry in Colorado Springs, p. 268. In both cases aquifers are the scene of the activity.

'''pan-spectral fields''' 
Well, ''pan'' means universal. As in ''panorama'', ''Pan-Am''. Another suggestion of possible worlds.

'''World-Island''' 
The phrase was coined by English geographer and geo-politician [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halford_John_Mackinder Sir Halford John Mackinder] who formulated [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartland_%28geopolitics%29 Heartland Theory] (1904) in his address to the Royal Geographic Society, "The Geographical Pivot of History." "World-Island" refers '''not to the Earth''', but to the continuous landmass of Eurasia measuring more than 21 million square miles (54 million km²). This landmass contains no waterways to the ocean and is contained by the Arctic ice cap and drainage to the north, the monsoon lands along the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, the Near East or land of the Five Seas, and Europe. This landmass is remote and inaccessible to its periphery. Mackinder argued in his address that this was the strategic region of the foremost importance in the World. The Heartland theory hypothesized the possibility for a huge empire being brought into existence in the Heartland, which wouldn't need to use coastal or transoceanic transport to supply its military industrial complex but would instead use railways, and that this empire couldn't be defeated by all the rest of the world against it; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolitics See also '''Geopolitics''' in Wikipedia]

'''"Euphrates" poplars''' 
One of the five classes of Poplars: ''turanga''. Its scientific name is ''populus euphratica'', a subtropical poplar found usually in Southwest Asia.

'''aryq''' 
Most likely variant of Arrack (OED): name applied in Eastern countries to any liquour of native manufacture, usually distilled coconut palm sap. - Or rather arak, the Middle Eastern equivalent of ouzo, Pernod, etc., which, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arak_%28distilled_beverage%29 according to Wikipedia,] should not be confused with southeast Asian arrack.

'''B.I.N.''' 
Biometric Institute of Neuropathy, see p. 432.

As in "Loony bin".

'''seventeen-syllable''' 
Haiku - japanese poems consisting of 17 syllables, classically arranged in three lines of 5 - 7 - 5 syllables each

Brilliant! 
''Still at it, Suckling?'' 
''Insufferable little'' 
''Prick, I'll break your neck!''

==Page 434==

'''Eta/Nu Transformators''' 
Probably an imaginary scientific device. Eta is most likely a reference to the metric tensor of (four dimensional) Minkowski space. Nu sometimes symbolizes frequency.
:Alternate view 
:In classical electromagnetism, Eta is the wave impedance and Nu is the velocity of the wave; both are related to the material parameters of the medium the wave is traveling in. Specifically, Eta determines how a wave moves between different media (reflection, refraction, and transmission), while the velocity is related to the frequency and wavelength of the wave. Thus, the device probably allows the ships inhabitants to see while in the sand.

'''pari passu''' 
on an equal footing

'''Deep Blavatsky''' 
Named for Madame Helena Blavatsky (Helena Petrovna Hahn), founder of the Theosophical Society [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blavatsky]. Cf. [[ATD_219-242#Page 219|page 219]].

==Page 435==

'''Gurkhas''' 
Nepalese forces that have fought alongside British troops.

'''German professors''' 
Likely a double allusion, first to Professor Werfner of Göttingen, referenced on p. 226, and also to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann], the German treasure hunter (not actually a professor) who first established the true historical location of Troy, the site of the Trojan War. His accomplishments are sadly underscored by his extremely amateurish excavation technique which destroyed as much as it extracted from the site.

'''"who keep waltzing out here by the wagonload, can dig till they're too blistered to dig any more, and they still won't ever find it, not without the right equipment - the map you fellows brought, plus our ship's Paramorphoscope"''' 
Could also be a nod to Steven Spielberg's 1981 film ''Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark''.

'''General Forrest''' 
Nathan Bedford Forrest, rebel leader in U.S. Civil War. Although he pioneered high-mobility tactics, he may never have uttered the famous quotation; see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest Wikipedia entry.]

Also, recognized as founder of the KKK -- see earlier episode in Colorado.

'''archiepiscopal''' 
Pertaining to an archbishop.

'''jewel-studded Victoria Crosses''' 
The VC is the highest medal for valo(u)r in the British military, about on a par with the Medal of Honor in the U.S. Created at the time of Crimean War, the VC was not awarded posthumously until 1907. Adding jewels to the award is pure fantasy.

'''Fabergé''' 
Russian jeweler. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Faberg%C3%A9 Wikipedia entry].

'''"appealing though they be or, shall I say, as they are"''' 
Captain Toadflax's corrects his grammatical mistake, an error that is partially obscured by the inverted construction he employs. If one straightens out his words into a more conventional form, e.g., "though they [secular pleasures] be appealing," the error is clearer: ''they'', the third person plural pronoun, requires ''are'' as a verb, i.e. ''pleasures are'' rather than ''pleasures be''. The ''OED'' lists many examples of ''be'' taking the place of ''are'' in similar contexts, but notes that this usage is either dialectal or archaic.
:Why Toadflax commits this error is less clear than what the error itself is. One possibility is that Pynchon is making an allusion to Captains Bildad and Peleg of ''Moby-Dick'', who speak in an archaic vernacular typical of New England Puritans.
::For more information, see the ''OED'', "be, v.," sub-entry, A.I.h.¶.
:'''It isn't an error!''' Toadflax first correctly uses the subjunctive, "appealing though they be"; the choice of mood says he is making a speculative statement, something like "however appealing they are imagined to be." Then he rephrases—changing the meaning of his statement—to the indicative mood, "appealing as they are," saying that the pleasures definitely, factually ''are'' appealing. The contrast of subjunctive and indicative is becoming archaic now, but it wasn't archaic or even odd coming from an educated speaker in the early 20th century.

'''subarenaceous''' 
arenaceous - Having the appearance or consistency of sand; sandy; largely composed of sand or quartz grains. <ref>'''Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. ed. 1989.</ref>

Hence subarenaceous 'means under the sand.'

==Page 436==

'''limen''' 
The limit below which a given stimulus ceases to be perceptible; the minimum amount of stimulus or nerve-excitation required to produce a sensation. Also called a threshold.<ref>'''Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. ed. 1989.</ref>

'''transmundane''' 
Beyond the mundane, beyond the world

'''lamaseries''' 
Domiciles of Buddhist lamas (as in "monasteries").

'''Torriform Inclusion''' 
A made-up condition from Torus==Arch.: a large convex molding, semicircular in cross section, located at the base of a classical column?
From the American Heritage Dictionary.
St. Cosmo has just seen, he thinks, a "watchtower".
'Watchtower'-Cf. the name of the magazine (and building in Brooklyn) that the Jehovah's Witnesses use.
'distinguishing man-made from God-made'...

More likely from ''turris'' (Latin), ''torre'' (Spanish&Italian) or similar meaning "tower."

'''Urban terrain''' 
(But only cities unwisely built on sand.)

'''Stilton Gaspereaux''' 
Stilton is type of blue cheese from England. 
Gaspereaux are alewives, a freshwater fish. [Alewives or "Gaspereaux" are caught fresh as the fish moves upstream our cold Canadian rivers.
www.botsfordfisheries.com/products]

'''Sven Hedin''' 
Swedish explorer, especially of the Asian countries, and excavator of ruins of ancient cities. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven_Hedin wikipedia] Hedin crossed Taklamakan desert in 1895 and found ruins of the sunken city [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandan_Oilik Dandan Oilik]. Today he is a controversial figure because of his complicated relations to naziism. Hitler was an admirer of his work.
:That suggests another angle for reading ATD as a novel about the genesis of the 20th century, considering the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahnenerbe Nazi obsession with Tibet]. There is also an alleged [http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_shambahla01.htm subterranean Shambhala] connection; the sources are dubious but the legend ''does'' exist.

'''Aurel Stein''' 
Sir Marc Aurel Stein. Hungarian-born explorer later knighted as a British citizen. Credited with the discovery, and arguably the exploitation, of the Mogao Grottoes in China. A rock-carved repository of ancient Buddhist texts and murals, the grottoes are known collectively as 'The Cave of a Thousand Buddhas' and protected a copy of the Mahayana Diamond sutra, acknowledged as the world's oldest dated printed text. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Aurel_Stein Wikipedia entry].

'''first known maps''' 
None of Ptolemy's maps has survived the classical period. They were, however, reconstructed in manuscript and engraved on copper or carved in wood for editions of the Ptolemy atlas. In 1482, the first woodcut edition, containing the first map of the world to include contemporary discoveries, was published in Ulm, Germany. It contains a brightly handcolored map of the Holy Land....

Allusion to the Map/Territory relation—the relationship between symbol and object. Coined by Alfred Korzybski, “The map is not the territory” is a related expression meaning that an abstraction derived from something, or a reaction to it, is not the thing itself, e.g., the pain from a stone falling on your foot is not the stone; one's opinion of a politician, favorable or unfavorable, is not that person; a metaphorical representation of a concept is not the concept itself; and so on. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_map_is_not_the_territory]Here, the (abstract) map itself could be a guide to a spritual quest or to conquest.

==Page 437==

'''Nernst lamps''' 
An electric lamp consisting of a short, slender rod of zirconium oxide (ceramic) in open air, heated to brilliant white incandescence by electrical current. It was developed by the German physicist and chemist Walther Nernst (1864-1941) in 1897 at Goettingen University. In 1905 he formulated the third law of thermodynamics, and in 1920 he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry. For a picture of the lamp [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nernst_lamp Nernst lamp]] and Nernst's bio [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Nernst Nernst.]]

'''range-finder''' 
Cf. 'range', passim

'''level of encryption''' 
(Cf Heisenberg?)Does not seem to allude to Heisenberg and his Uncertainty Principle so much as buried layers of meaning that can hide to invisibility.

'''Mount Kailash''' 
A mountain located in the Chinese Himalayas with great religious significance in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, it is seen as the residence of Shiva, God of destruction and regeneration. The mountain is visited every year by many religious pilgrims. In Buddhism, the mountain was believed to be the location of a battle between two ancient sorcerers: Milarepa (Tantric Buddhism) and Naro-Bonchung (Tibetan Bön religion). Pynchon is perhaps alluding to the population dividing nature of religions. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kailash wikipedia].

'''Shiva''' 
Shiva is the formless, timeless and spaceless Supreme God in Shaivism, one of the major branches of Hinduism practiced in India. Shiva means "One who purifies everyone by the utterance of His name" or "The Pure One". The name Shiva is the Holiest of Holy names. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva Shiva]].

'''polarize light... in time''' 
Thematic.

'''Manichaeans''' 
A gnostic sect that followed the third century Persian prophet Mani (Cf [[ATD_429-459#Page 439|page 439]]). Their main theological belief was in a stark divide between Good and Evil, Light and Darkness.

Basic to Manichaeism's doctrine was the conflicting dualism between the realm of God, represented by ''light'' and by spiritual enlightenment, and the realm of Satan, symbolized by ''darkness'' and by the world of material things. To account for the existence of evil in a world created by God, Mani posited a primal struggle in which the forces of Satan separated from God; humanity, composed of matter, that which belongs to Satan, but infused with a modicum of godly light, was a product of this struggle, and was a paradigm of the eternal war between the forces of ''light'' and those of ''darkness''. Christ, the ideal, light-clad soul, could redeem for each person that portion of light God had allotted. Light and dark were seen to be commingled in our present age as good and evil, but in the last days each would return to its proper, separate realm, as they were in the beginning. The Christian notion of the Fall and of personal sin was repugnent to the Manichaeans; they felt that the soul suffered not from a weak and corrupt will but from contact with matter. Evil was a physical, not a moral thing; a person's misfortunes were miseries, not sins. (taken from ''The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-2005, [[http://www.bartkeby.com/65/ma/Manichae.html Manichaean]].)

Very relevant here in ADT: one could call their theology, BINARY.

==Page 438==

'''expanded sense... Maxwell... Hertz''' 
All forms of electromagnetic radiation form a spectrum, of which visible light is a small part; all such radiation shares fundamental physical properties.
Cf. range as spectrum.

:Let us quote more fully — '''''the light we see as well as the expanded sense of it prophesied by Maxwell, confirmed by Hertz''''' — it means the ''expanded'' understanding of the nature of the visible light (''the sense of it''). In 1865 Maxwell prophesied that, base on his field equations, "light itself is an electromagnetic disturbance in the form of waves propagated through the electromagnetic field according to electromagnetic laws." (Cf [[ATD_57-80#Page 58|page 58]].) In 1877 Hertz experimentally discovered that light behaves exactly as an electromagnetic wave described by the Maxwell Field Equations and is part of the full electromagnetic spectrum. Therefore, Hertz confirmed what Maxwell predicted about the nature of light. (Cf [[ATD_318-335#Page 318|page 318]].)
:Regardless of how the scientific understanding of the nature of light has been expanded and changed, the Manichaean's view of light as invariant will remain, they will worship light to eternity. All other forms of matter are considered 'darkness'.
:Of course it is impossible for the Manichaens to know the dualism, light/darkness, of their theology has the reflection in the dualism of light. Light is a wave (electromagnetic wave) and simultaneously consists of particles (photons).

''''Perfects'''' 
Perfects are the priests of the Cathar, a pantheistic manicheistic sect from the middle ages.

:Since Gaspereaux (and Pynchon) are still talking about Manichaean, let's just talk about it. 
:Strict virtue for the Manichaean involved necessarily withdrawal from the world. The community was accordingly divided into two groups; the ''Elect'' or the "Perfects", the ''Primates Manichaeorum'', who embraced a rigourous rule, and the ''Hearers'', the ''auditores'',who led a more normal life and supported the ''Elect'' both by works and alms. 
A-and we know Pynchon's view of The Elect.

'''Mysteries''' 
''The Book of Secrets'' (or ''The Book of Mysteries''). The sacred Manichaean text by Mani. Cf [[ATD_429-459#Page 439|page 439]].

'''Graeco-Buddhist''' 
Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Graeco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 800 years in Central Asia in the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism Wikipedia]

'''Italo-Islamic style(s)''' 
A result of the Islamic Conquest of Sicily and parts of southern Italy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Sicily Wikipedia on the Emirate of Sicily] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Islam_in_southern_Italy 2] A primary locus of the Italo-Islamic style is also Malta, a setting of TRP's novel ''V''.

==Page 439==

'''Nuovo Rialto''' 
Seems like Pynchon creating a "New Rialto" city under these sands as many
cities take the name of an older city and add New....

From Wikipedia: Rialto is an area of the San Polo sestiere of Venice, known for its markets and for the Rialto Bridge.

The area was settled by the ninth century, when a small area in the middle of the Realtine Islands either side of the Rio Businiacus was known as the Rivoaltus. Soon, the Businiacus became known as the Grand Canal, and the district became the Rialto, referring to only the area on the left bank.

The Rialto became an important district in 1097, when Venice's market moved there, and in the following century a boat bridge was set up across the Grand Canal providing access to it. This was soon replaced by the Rialto Bridge.

Pynchon seems to love Venice so Nuovo Rialto is very ironically intended given this scene.

Not so ironic. The Rialto was a district dedicated to commerce and profit, not spiritual quests.

'''Mani''' 
Mani (216-276), founder of religion Manichaeism. He was born in the province Babylon which was then under Persian rule. His family was Persian, bu this name is Aramaic. Mani had probably originally belonged to a Christian sect, now called Elkhasitts. Between the age of 12 and 24, Mani had visions where an angel told him that he would be the prophet of a last divine revelation. Around AD 240, at the Persian court of King Shapur 1, Mani established his own religious philosophy. He and his followers (Manichaeans) regarded the world as irreconcilably divided into the kingdoms of light and darkness, good and evil. They practiced extreme asceticism in their struggle toward the light. At 26 he started on a long journey as the "Ambassador of Light" travelling through the Persian Empire and reaching as far as India, where he came under the influence of Buddhism. As Mani's teaching gained ground he came in opposition to the Zoroastrian priests and the Emperor Bahram 1. From 274 Mani lost the emperor's protection, and he either died in prison or was executed. His death was retold as an incident similar to the crucifixion of Jesus.

'''the Oxus''' 
The Oxus River of the Greeks. Its present-day name is the Amu Darya (or Amu river). It is the longest river in Central Asia. For more and map location see [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amu_Darya the Oxus]].

'''Jenghiz Khan''' 
Jenghiz (or Genghis) Khan (1162-1227), born as Temujin, a son of a Mongol chief. At thirteen he was called to succeed his father, and for years to struggle hard against hostile tribes. His ambition awakening with his continued success. He spent six years in subjugating the Naimans, between Lake Balkhash (in Southeastern Kazakhstan) and the Irtish (an enormous river in Western Siberia) , and in conquering Tangut, south of Gobi desert. In 1206 he started to use the name ''Jenghiz Khan'' — "Very Mighty Ruler". In 1211 he overran the empire of North China, and in 1217 conquered and annexed the Kara-Chitai empire from Lake Balkhash to Tibet.
In 1218 he attacked the powerful empire of Kharezm, bounded by the Jazartes, Indus, Persian Gulf and Caspian, took Bokhara, Smarkand, Kharezm and other chief cities and returned home in 1225. His lieutenants continued to expand Jenghiz Khan's empire further and further. Jenghiz Khan died on August 18, 1227. He was not only a warrior and conqueror, but a skillful administrator and ruler; he not only conquered empires stretching from the Black Sea to the Pacific, but organized them into states which outlasted the short span that usually measures the life of Asiatic sovereignties. (from Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 1984 edition.)

—Pynchon seems to have changed his mind on Genghis's spelling (cf. ''The Crying of Lot 49'')!

'''crystallography of the silica medium''' 
Computer-base [silicon] allusion!?
:No! The most common constituent of sand, in inland continental or non-tropical coastal settings, is silicon dioxide (''silica'') usually in the form of quartz which is very resistant to weathering.
:And computer chips are made with silicon metal, not silica.

'''clearly a thousand years more recent than they ought to have been''' 
That is, the Manichean shrines date from the fourteenth Century, not the fourth Century when Mani, the founder, started Manicheanism. Pynchon dating 'when it went bad' in history?

'''Passing of the Remarks''' 
Sounds like a humorous reification of what gets said between sailors. Modeled after Changing of the Guard?

'''Talk about battered caravanserais!'''

Stanza XVII of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:

Think, in this batter'd Caravanserai
Whose Portals are alternate Night and Day,
How Sultan after Sultan with his Pomp
Abode his destined Hour, and went his way.

A caravanserai is a rest station or an inn on a caravan route.

'''Steeplechase Park''' 
Steeplechase Park, located at Coney Island, was an amusement park and collection of rides, funhouses and the like. As a child I used to visit in the late 50's.

'''The Book of Secrets''' 
''The Book of Secrets'', (''Safar al–Asrar''), Manichaean sacred text by Mani. It was also called ''The Book of Mysteries'', and Titus just called it simply ''Mysteries''. It was characterized as "polemical and dogmatic." In eighteen chapters it was written to refute the false doctrines of the established sects and creeds in the world, including the sect of Bardesain or Bardesan. The book evidently dealt with the esoteric life of Jesus. The nature of Soul and Body was defined. And it also described reincarnation. A portion of the book was in the form of a dialogue between Jesus and his apostles. [[http://essenes.net/new/maniwritings.html Mani's writitngs]].

==Page 440==

'''screaming...with blood''' 
Screaming motif.

'''''chong pir''''' 
Presumably Uyghur for "big lice."

'''Uyghur''' 
Member of an ethnic group in western China. It is sometimes claimed that the Uyghurs are Indo-European in one sense or another.

'''''Pulex''''' 
Flea.

'''voiced interdental fricative''' 
The ''th'' sound, as in "the" or "with." (Bad example—many if not most speakers use the unvoiced sound in "with." Try "then, other, father.") Basically, the lice lisp. This could be meant to suggest that their speech contains static or noise.

'''skeleton rig''' 
The skeleton rig is a shoulder holster for carrying a concealed handgun. They were developed in the 1890s. A very nice looking one, as well as a description thereof, can be purchased at [http://www.holster-connection.com/html/ted_blocker/tb_Skeleton.html First American Ordnance website], which also just so happens to be my source for the above info.

'''andante''' 
Literally "going". An Italian word typically seen in notation for classical music. It denotes a moderately slow pace.

'''Sandman Saloon''' 
Tavern for the 'sandmen', without those great tavern names in the above-ground world. Negative associations to this saloon, it seems, unlike the usual saloons in TRP's world. A Neil Gaiman allusion?

==Page 441==

'''Leonard and Lyle''' 
Google comes up with mentioning Sir Leonard Lyle [http://www.parkexplorer.org.uk/park_intro.asp?ID=new16 1], sugar-magnate and heir to Abram Lyle [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abram_Lyle 2] and "Lyle‘s Golden Syrup" [http://www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/LylesGoldenSyrup/PastPresent/default.htm 3]. Thats one interesting logo, what with the dead lion/bees and the tibetan stamp on ATD, btw. Golden Syrup = oil?

'''Baku''' 
Cf [[ATD_149-170#Page_168|page 168: Baku]].

'''''teke''''' 
From this [http://home.earthlink.net/~lkritikos/glossary.html glossary on greek rembetiko music]: "teke (pl. tekedhes): A club where one could buy hashish and the use of a narghile in which to smoke it"

An American fraternity or a member thereof. Tau Kappa Epsilon. Founded in the 1890s; has had a reputation for being a bit wilder than many fraternities.

'''Spindletop''' 
From wikipedia: Spindletop is a salt dome oil field located in south Beaumont, Texas (approx. 30.02 -94.07) in the United States. On January 10, 1901, the well "Lucas 1" came in at Spindletop, marking the birthdate of the modern petroleum industry. At 100,000 barrels of oil a day, the gusher tripled U.S. oil production overnight, ensuring the second industrial revolution would be fueled not by wood and coal but by oil and its byproducts. Some of the companies chartered to exploit the wealth of Spindletop are some of today's largest and well known corporations such as ExxonMobil, and Texaco.

'''Groznyi''' 
Grozny or Groznyy (Russian: Гро́зный; Chechen: Соьлж-ГIала, Syolzh-Ghaala) is the capital of the Chechen Republic in Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River....As most of the residents there were Terek Cossacks, the town grew slowly until the development of Oil reserves in the early 20th century. This spiralled development of industry and petrochemical production. In addition to the oil drilled in the city itself, the city became a geographical centre of Russia's network of oil fields, and also in 1893 became part of the Transcaucasia - Russia Proper railway. From wikipedia

'''calyx bits''' 
Bits used for taking core samples in oil exploration. Rods are screwed together to make up the "drill string," with the bit at the bottom end. After exploration, the calyx bit is replaced with a rock bit; the borehole is stabilized with a "casing string" made of pipe (tubing) a little bigger than the bit.

Presumably some kind of mining drill-related equipment. "The mining operations were unusual in that much of the mining was done through large diameter holes drilled with calyx bits." [http://www.ut.blm.gov/sanrafaelohv/explore/historicmining.htm]

'''adults''' 
Chums not adults, then? No,they do not age, it seems.

'''''ässalamu äläykum''''' 
A muslim greeting. Translates to "Peace be with you." This is the Turkic spelling.

'''anticline''' 
An underground rock structure with a shape resembling a ridge on the surface. Oil exploration focuses on "domes" (like salt domes, see Spindletop entry above) and anticlines, because either of these provides a volume where oil—ascending because it's lighter than rock or water—can collect to make a "pool" that can be exploited.

==Page 442==
'''Had it not (p440) ....someones hidden plans''' 
This whole conversation implies a coming war over oil, being sold as a holy mission... why does that sound familiar? Of course, once again, "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred."

'''''equine altitude''''' 
High horse.

'''allure of Veneto-Uyghur women''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriatic_Veneti Veneti] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanais Veneto] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyghurs Uyghurs] Long distance trade (like wars and tourism in general) is very likely to enforce the intermingling of different [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_pool Gene Pools], which, more often than not, results in particularily beautiful specimens of the kinds involved. Travels of mediterrenean merchants along the various branches of the Silk Road seem to have been pretty common from at least 14th century on - see [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/pegol.html Pegelotti‘s Merchant Handbook] (ca. 1340) which partially reads like a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonely_planet Lonely Planet Guide] of back then. During the Renaissance most of the merchants (from Florence/Venice/Geneva) set out from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanais Tana/Tanais] which some sources put as a trade-post if not colony of the "West".

'''2 percent . . . most of them''' 
Implies at least 150 in crew.

'''Marco Querini''' 
An oasis named after Marco Querini? i.e. ''Oasi Marco Querini''. In January 1571, Venetians under Marco Querini defeated Turks near Famagusta, Cyprus.

'''Terrenascondite''' 
Italian: terre (pl. of terra) = lands; ascondito, an archaic form of the past participle of the verb nascondere (archaic: ascondere)= to hide. Translation is undoubtedly "hidden lands".

'''Pozzo San Vito''' 
Italian: Pozzo means well; San Vito is a Saint. Well of San Vito. ''Oasi Pozzo San Vito.'' San Vito, according [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintv07.htm to this site], died by being boiled in oil, other sources say it was lead - a hint to the subterranean resources here? Cfr. Italian: "Ballo di San Vito", that is, Saint Vitus' Dance, a syndrome having as a consequence tics or jerks. It may be an allusion to involuntary movements or disconntected behaviour(?).

==Page 443==

'''peterman option''' 
A 'peterman' is a slang term for a safe-blower.

'''Consommé Imperial''' 
A gingered chicken broth with julienne of carrots and leeks.

'''Timbales de Suprêmes de Volailles''' 
Chicken Supreme Pudding ? Um, Suprêmes de Volailles means the white meat of chicken prepared with a fortified white sauce. To make timbales, the meat is chopped and placed in individual molds, a little grated Gruyère cheese on top, and baked in a water bath (just like some puddings).

'''Gigot Grillé a la Sauce Piquante''' 
A 'gigot' is a leg of lamb or haunch of veal. 'Sauce Piquante' is a spicy sauce.

'''aubergines à la Sauce Mousseline''' 
Eggplants with mussel sauce. -No, the French for mussels is moules, not moussel. A Sauce Mousseline is Hollandaise lightened with a bit of whipped cream. An odd choice perhaps for eggplant, but then Sauce Piquante is more for pork or boiled beef (pot-au-feu) than lamb.

:I've never seen a dog eat eggplant, but it sounds like something one wouldn't want to miss. Only thing is, it has to be somebody else's dog.

'''Pouilly-Fuissé''' 
A white Burgundy made from the Chardonnay grape.

'''Graves''' 
Wine from the Graves district of France, a subregion of Bordeaux. Wines can be either red or white. Red Graves are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Whites are blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.

'''Miles...extra-temporal excursions''' 
Miles is like a Trespasser.

'''all that incarnation and slaughter will transpire in silence''' 
Calls to mind the silent battle scene in Akira Kurosawa's samurai retelling of ''King Lear'', titled ''Ran'', which translates roughly to "chaos."

==Page 444==

'''Oasi''' 
''Oases'' is the plural of ''oasis''. Here, ''Oasi'' is the Italian word for ''oasis''!

'''cataplexy''' 
Sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotional stimulus.

'''Nobel brothers''' 
Robert and Ludvig Nobel, brothers of Alfred Nobel of dynamite and prize fame, co-founders of Branobel, an important early oil company that controlled a large amount of Russian output. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branobel Wikipedia entry].

'''shaft-alley''' 
Somebody check this: the channel, running fore-and-aft deep in the ship's hull, where the propeller shafts are located.

'''the balloon is up''' 
British metaphor: The action has started. A phrase also used in ''V.''

'''F.O.''' 
Foreign Office

'''''Daily Mail''''' 
London tabloid, staunch early supporters of Adolf Hitler. Today specialises in stirring up hatred of immigrants and other minorities.

'''Inspector Sands''' 
A code word used in London to alert authorities without causing panic amongst the general public. Generally the alert is raised by the fire alarm. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Sands Wikipedia entry].

'''"Sands of Inner Asia"''' 
Captain, now Inspector Sands, seems to be being compared for his achievements to "Lawrence of Arabia" parodistically.

'''Taklamakan''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taklamakan The Taklamakan] (also Taklimakan) is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is known as the largest sand-only desert in the world. Some references fancifully state that Taklamakan means "if you go in, you won't come out"; others state that it means "Desert of Death" or "Place of No Return".

==Page 445==

'''Kashgar to Urumchi''' 
Two cities currently on the far western border of China. Presumably in this context they were two points inside the general area within which the 'Great Powers' competed to try and find Shambhala.

'''fell into the hands of''' 
An analogy with the present-day situation in Central Asia in particular. Throughout the book, there are references to Anarchist/Terrorists, to the spread of dynamite and other kinds of phenomena. These are all technologies that allow, or cause, power to flow into the hands of the powerless to use for their own purposes.

'''World-Island''' 
[[#Page_433|See entry at page 433]]

'''those Powers . . . still competing for it''' 
And to complete the analogy, the countries/peoples who have exercised power for centuries and are now baffled to see it flow into the hands of the powerless.

'''discreet summons''' 
Eg "paging Dr Blue".
It doesn't seem to me to be a phrase that needs a gloss: a discreet summons is simply what it says and made be made in any number of ways.

'''far wicket''' 
A 'wicket' may simply be a gate; but in the context of a novel and the bomber at Headingly cricket ground and Fenners, the Cambridge cricket ground, a 'wicket' is the three stumps at one end of a cricket pitch. ("The Gentleman Bomber of Headingly" - see p.236.)
:That isn't the context here; we are in a government building where supplicants have to pass through gates—wickets—and face bureaucrats through grilles—more wickets.

'''wog''' 
''Chiefly British.'' An ethnic slur used for any dark-skinned peoples. Alleged to stand for "Western Oriental Gentleman", but mainly applied to Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, and other brown-skinned Asians.
I have heard it comes from 'wily oriental gentleman'; but the Oxford English Dictionary states that the origin is uncertain and defines a 'wog' as someone especially of Arab extraction.
Eric Partridge, in'' A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English'' (8th ed., 1984), suggests that the term derives from "golliwog," the name of a black male doll character with frizzy hair popularized in Bertha Upton's children's story, The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls--and a 'Golliwog' (1895).

'''Vic removal''' 
"removing Vic" defined by Partridge (Dictionary of the Underworld, 1949) as robbing a stamp office. From the image of Queen Victoria on British postal stamps.

'''eating an explosive''' 
Cf Lew's Cyclomite.

==Page 446==

'''St Martin le Grand''' 
A street in the City of London.

'''Angel Street''' 
Another street in the City which meets St Martin le Grand at right-angles.

'''G.P.O. West''' 
G.P.O - General Post Office

'''pneumatic dispatches''' 
An extensive 'pneumatic dispatch' system existed on London during the Victorian era, started in 1851 and carrying on at least into the 1930's. By 1886 London had 94 telegram tubes totaling 34 1/2 miles and around 4.5 million telegraph messages were carried in cylinders at around 20mph. At its height the network extended some 57 miles connecting 67 branch offices via a central sorting office. See [http://www.capsu.org/history/telegram_conveyors.html] and
[http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/pneumess/pneumess.htm] (with illustrations).

'''drill suits''' 
Drill is a durable cotton fabric; khaki drill is used for uniforms.

'''chars''' 
Charwomen. Maids, cleaners.

'''Hundreds of telegraphers''' 
The scene described, including the pneumatic dispatches and the ostensible concern about terrorism, is very similar to one in Terry Gilliam's "Brazil."

'''clicks and rests''' 
Presumably the clicks of a telegraphic system and the rests or silences in between. [[Binarisms_Discussion|Another binarism.]]

'''Northern Temple of Connexion''' 
It's in the north of the City; and the phrase suggests the religious intensity of the need to connect or communicate as well as mildly satirising it.

'''marblework''' 
Such buildings would have used quantities of marble; hence the image of a 'temple' above.

'''Bloggins''' 
An archetypal ordinary man; an everyman figure.

'''allegro vivatchy''' 
phonetic of 'allegro vivace' - a musical term for a quick tempo. If the policeman had been manhandling an English suspect, he would have said "All right then, quick march." An early instance of cultural sensitivity. . . .

==Page 447==

'''grease-paint''' 
'Grease-paint' refers to old-fashioned stage make-up.

'''cylinder of gutta-percha''' 
Pneumatic dispatches were carried in cylinders of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutta-percha Gutta-Percha] -- an inelastic latex made from the sap of the Gutta-Percha tree -- covered in felt. See [http://www.capsu.org/history/telegram_conveyors.html]. Gutta-percha crops up a number of times in ATD, possibly enough to suggest some sort of motif or connection?

Gutta percha per se is a Victorian equivalent to rubber, or rather hard rubber (they knew to use soft latex for erasers, "gum boots" and such). Discovery of the vulcanization process led to replacement of gutta-percha in many applications.

'''its "D" box''' 
The receiving mechanism on the end of pneumatic dispatch pipe.

"The somewhat complicated pattern of double sluice valve originally used at the central stations has been superseded by a simpler form, known as the D box, so named Despatching from the shape of its cross section. This box is of and cast iron, and is provided with a close-fitting, Receiving brass-framed, sliding lid with a glass panel. This Apparatus, lid fits air-tight, and closes the box after a carrier has been inserted into the mouth of the tube; the latter enters at one end of the box and is there bell-mouthed. A supply pipe, to which is connected a 3-way cock, is joined on to the box and allows communication at will with either the pressure or vacuum mains, so that the apparatus becomes available for either sending (by pressure) or receiving (by vacuum) a carrier. Automatic working, by which the air supply is automatically turned on on the introduction of the carrier into a tube and on closing of the D box, and is cut off when the carrier arrives, was introduced in 1909." From the 1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica entry on Pneumatic Dispatch, cited at [http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/pneumess/pneumess.htm]

'''Holborn''' 
Holborn is between the Strand (at the northern end of Waterloo Bridge) and Bloomsbury.

'''Saffron Hill''' 
is in the City, an area named Farringdon, east of Holborn.

'''''tantum dic verbo'' isn't it''' 
Might be derived from that part of the Mass where it's said: "Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed '''tantum dic verbo''' et sanabitur anima mea" ("Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but '''speak the word''' only, and my soul shall be healed")

Sands seems to be telling Gaspereaux to "just say the word".

'''''intact''''' 
(Did I miss this?)

==Page 448==

'''because I'm mad''' 
Gaspereaux brings news, in overheard fragments, of Shambala intact, able to hold sand away from itself.....which "deranged utterance" [Sands] ....succumbs to a dim local until he, Gaspereaux, can no longer
imagine anything clearly beyond Dover. 
A 'mad' vision becomes local and quotidian.

'''half-sovereign case''' 
A sovereign is old English money for one pound, i.e 20 shillings. A half-sovereign is ten shillings old money.

'''Mr. Campbell-Bannerman''' 
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1836-1908) was a Liberal MP and then Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1905 to 1908. I'm not sure when he was knighted; but he's not the only character in the novel connected with Trinity College, Cambridge.

==Page 449==

'''Clarabella''' 
Clarabelle=name of the clown on The Howdy Doody Show [TV] in the fifties.

'''Audacity, Iowa''' 
Seemingly a joking oxymoron?

==Page 450==

'''DREAMTIME MOVY''' 
Misspelling is dreamlike? Or, more possibly, the spelling hadn't yet been standardized.
:The ''OED'' an cites an occurance of this spelling as late as 1919.

'''log... waterfall''' 
This passage anticipates a scene in D. W. Griffith's 1920 film [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_Down_East Way Down East] in which Lillian Gish, stranded on an ice-floe, rushes toward a potential demise over the edge of the falls. More specifically, Pynchon is here positing this (fictional) collision between the film (i.e., the diegetic world of the film) and the breaking projector (the non-diegetic world of the film!) as the origin of the... (wait for it) -- CLIFFHANGER.
:What does ''diegetic'' mean, please?
::[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/diegetic Here.]

'''lens-brother''' 
As the Chums refer to other aeronauts as 'sky-brothers', Merle, a photographer and mechanical enthusiast calls the movie projectionist 'lens-brother.' Implies peerage among a set of people. (I may refer to you as 'wiki-brother.')
(Like masonic sign?)(Also reminiscent of the lens (the K/kid/d) carries in Delaney's ''Dhalgren'')

'''Powers movement''' 
Around 1897, Nicholas Power improved the "Maltese Cross" used in the Geneva movement; his company sold [http://www.victorian-cinema.net/power.htm projectors] including the "Peerless" and the popular No. 5. The Power or Power[']s movement could not be adapted to sound projection.

'''Geneva''' 
A watch movement also used in film projection. "The Geneva movement is so called because of its use in Geneva watches as a stop wind. The projection on the driving disk acts as the pawl drive, and the concave projections on the lower disc act as stop pawls. This is used at the present time in motion picture machines for moving the film in front of the lens and is known as the intermittent movement."

'''Wilt Flambo''' 
Flambeau = torch (French).

'''acetylene''' 
When the flammable gas was used for illumination, it was often generated on the spot by dripping water onto lumps of calcium carbide.

==Page 451==

'''nitro in the film''' 
Cellulose nitrate was the predecessor to modern photographic films. The nitrate material might be coated with collodion, which served as the substrate to the chemistry that made the image. Nitrate film was/is notoriously flammable.

'''the tip''' 
The audience. Pynchon uses the word many times in ''AtD.''

'''strange relation''' 
Cf GR on calculus.

'''dark perplexity''' 
Cf Gen X?

'''dilapidated portals''' 
See p.406: the West Gate's "two flanking towers of rusticated stone and Gothical aspect... an aspect of terrible antiquity..."

'''queen-of-the-prairie''' 
[http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/68/index.html Meadowsweet,] ''Filipendula rubra,'' wild flower with clusters of pink blooms in midsummer.

'''Geneva''' 
[[#Page_450|See annotation to p. 450.]]

'''Picnickers brought with them [...] ukuleles''' 
In the days before portable recorded music playback, if you wanted to hear a song you learned how to play it, preferably on something reasonably easy to carry around, such as a ukulele or harmonica.
References to ukuleles and Hawaii and its culture abound in Pynchon's novels [http://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Hawaiian_Islands_and_Ukuleles ''Vineland''] and [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Hawaiian_Islands_and_Ukuleles ''Gravity's Rainbow'']. [[Hawaii|More on Hawaii & ukulele references in ''Against the Day'']]...

==Page 452==

'''Sempitern''' 
An archaic term meaning 'eternal', a poetic but appropriate name for a river? Echoing "Serpentine," the lake in London's Hyde Park.

'''Sicilians with equal apprehensions for the principle of the vendetta''' 
If the vendetta began when A killed B, couldn't B's son short-circuit the whole thing by going back in time and killing A first? And then who would be responsible for killing the son? Possible application to the Traverse/Vibe/Deuce relationship, too.

'''siegecraft of Time''' 
Cf Paris Commune siege, p.19.

'''to see in its vortex the fundamental structure of everything''' 
A reference to the Yeatsian conception of the gyre as the primary or fundamental form. "'The mind, whether expressed in history or in the individual life, has a precise movement, which can be quickened or slackened but cannot be fundamentally altered, and this movement can be expressed by a mathematical form’ and this form is the gyre." [http://www.yeatsvision.com/Geometry.html] 

More from wikipedia: "The theory of history articulated in A Vision centers on a diagram composed of two conical spirals, one situated inside the other, so that the widest part of one cone occupies the same plane as the tip of the other cone, and vice versa. Around these cones he imagined a set of spirals. Yeats claimed that this image (he called the spirals "gyres") captured contrary motions inherent within the process of history, and he divided each gyre into different regions that represented particular kinds of historical periods (and could also represent the psychological phases of an individual's development). Yeats believed that in 1921 the world was on the threshold of an apocalyptic moment, as history reached the end of the outer gyre (to speak roughly) and began moving along the inner gyre." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Coming_(poem)] 
Cf. the remark, "history is a step-function" in ''V.''. Is the above an
evolution of that remark/vision? http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_11

'''between Cleveland and Denver''' 
Merle's idiosyncratic choice of endpoints? This helps define where Candlebrow is, though.

'''automorphic functions''' 
Auto= self; same as in autogamy. American Heritage Dict. -morph = Form, structure, function. Self-forming, self-structuring-- or self-organizing as Pynchon says elsewhere in ADT.

The phrase has a specific meaning in mathematics, referring to a generalization of periodic functions.

==Page 453==
'''We thus enter the whirlwind''' 
God is sometimes referred to this way. Often Capitalized, but here the speaker is using it literally, but Pynchon maybe metaphorically?

'''Lobatchevskian''' 
of Nikolai Lobachevsky (1793-1856), a Russian Mathematician, co-founder, with Hungarian mathematician János Bolyai, of non-Euclidean geometry. Born at Nizhny Novgorod and a professor at Kazan University from 1814. In 1829 he published his non-Euclidean geometry paper, the first account of that subject in print.

''Abbreviated Lob''
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lob_bowling Lob bowling]: not related but as it is a cricket thing...

'''Automorphic Dispensation''' 
Self-forming, self-organizing, recurring or periodic dispensation. 
On the meaning of "dispensation" see [[ATD_119-148#Page_128|annotations to p. 128.]]

'''distressing regularity''' 
Explains dilapidation?

'''Thorvald''' 
Scandinavian name from the Old Norse name ''Þórvaldr''. It combines the name "Thor" (thunder) and scandinavian word "valdr" (ruler), to create the meaning "thunder ruler" or "ruler of the thunder". Either would be apt, in this case.

The persisting storm also occurs in ''Mason & Dixon'', in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel ''Wyrd Sisters'' and in Walter Moers‘ [http://www.amazon.com/13-2-Lives-Captain-Bluebear/dp/1585678449/sr=1-1/qid=1170090170/ref=sr_1_1/002-4941751-7235229?ie=UTF8&s=books "13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear"].

'''''thresher dinners''''' 
Hearty communal midday meals for men taking part in harvest. Here a sacrifice to Thorvald.

==Page 454==

'''"gaff"''' 
A deceptive feature like the rabbit-concealing false bottom in a magician's top hat.

'''Giant Airships of 1896 and '7''' 
An early UFO sensation. From November 1896 to the summer of '97, newspapers reported numerous sightings of [http://www.balloonlife.com/publications/balloon_life/9607/airship.htm a large cigar-shaped airship]. The first reports came from Sacramento; the "ship" (or ships) moved from west to east, with [http://www.reall.org/newsletter/v06/n03/illinois-ufo-mania-of-1897.html a big concentration in Illinois.] "Contacts" with the people on board the craft all proved to be hoaxes, and the speed of the ship's travel was a pretty good match for the speed of propagation of phony newspaper stories from town to town.

In the context of ''AtD'' we have to ask: In a world where airships were common by 1893, operated by a sizable community of aeronautics clubs like the Chums of Chance, why would another airship create a sensation in 1896? Who would consider it mysterious?

And ''were'' airships common by 1893? [http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/ss/airship_5.htm This brief account] of the technology in our historical context says that trials date back to mid-century, but practical airships appeared only in 1898.

[http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Image:Mysterious-airship.jpg This artist's conception] is no less imaginative than sketches that appeared in the media in 1896-97. 

I'm guessing airships weren't as common as ''balloons''...

'''Chick''' 
First Chum to appear in non-Chums chapter? Chick is the Chum we know, besides Pugnax if we count him, to have come aboard The Inconvenience from the real world. Another meaning to Counterfly? More earthbound?

==Page 455==

'''Cleveland... trial... Bounce v. Vibe''' 
See p67 & 426

'''Somble, Strool, and Fleshway''' 
[[ATD_26-56#Page_34|See annotations to page 34.]]

''''paranoia querulans'... P.Q.''' 
[[Paranoia_Querulans|Described in the page so titled.]]

'''Hercules''' 
Allusion to Hercules Powder Company, major manufacturer of black powder and other explosives.

'''blasting agent''' 
Just a casual reference to the Hercules product. In a more technical context "blasting agents" are distinguished from "shattering explosives." A blasting agent releases its energy more slowly and produces a heaving action.

'''detonans''' 
That which is detonated - cod latin. Detonans is a present participle, roughly meaning "that detonates" or "detonating".

'''"I'm just another nutty inventor"''' 
Roswell has been discussing his plans to dynamite the Vibe Corp. which has used its power to harrass him. Throughout his work, esp. ''Gravity's Rainbow'', Pynchon has dealt with themes involving the split between elect and preterite, or to use a more simplified phrase, winners and losers. Dynamite offers the small and powerless, the "long-shot opponents of the mills of Capital" referred to earlier in the page, an expression of power of their own. In this way it is like the AK-47 today which has made it far more difficult for powers (e.g. the United States in Iraq) to exert control over populations.

==Page 456==

'''aigrette''' 
Literally an egret or aigrette (or Lesser White Heron); hence a tuft of feathers such as an egret has and hence a spray of gems worn on the head and finally luminous rays seen emerging from the moon in solar eclipses or, to quote the OED, "at the ends of electrified bodies" [[ATD_397-428#Page_405|(see annotation to p. 405.)]]

'''Pencil''' 
To mathematicians, a pencil is a family of geometric objects sharing a common property, such as a collection of lines that pass through a common point. (Of course, constipated mathematicians also find pencils useful for working out logs).

In Romance languages, a mathematic "pencil" is a "bundle" (ESP haz, CAT feix, IT fascio) and a "pencilist" a "feixista" (CAT) or "fascista" (ESP/IT). Merle is playing with something which reminds of Falange Española symbol. A intralinguistic pun or is Merle an underground fascist?

'''equivalent of a shrug''' 
Nice anthropomorphism.

'''I want to know light...take some in my hands...and bring it back''' 
More light-infatuation, but this sounds particularly Promethean to me. Everybody knows Prometheus is famous for stealing fire from the Gods and bringing it to man in his unburnable fennel, but for Pynchoniacs, Zeus' reaction to this is quite interesting. Imaginably, Zeus is pretty pissed, so "to punish Prometheus for this hubris (and all of mankind in the process), Zeus devised 'such evil for them that they shall desire death rather than life'". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus Wiki] Then he sends Prometheus "to Mount Caucasus, where an eagle (often shown as a vulture) by the name of Ethon (offspring of the monsters Typhon and Echidna) would pick at his liver; it would grow back each day and the eagle would eat it again." Talk about Eternal Return.

Finally "[t]o punish man for the offenses of Prometheus, Zeus told Hephaestus to "mingle together all things loveliest, sweetest, and best, but look that you also mingle therewith the opposites of each." So Hephaestus took gold and dross, wax and flint, pure snow and mud of the highways, honey and gall; he took the bloom of the rose and the toad's venom, the voice of laughing water and the peacocks squall; he took the sea's beauty and its treachery, the dog's fidelity and the wind's inconstancy, and the mother bird's heart of love and the cruelty of the tiger. All these, and other contraries past number, he blended cunningly into one substance and this he molded into the shape that Zeus had described to him. She was as beautiful as a goddess and Zeus named her Pandora which meant "all gifted"." And a little later on Pandora opens her eponymic box and "all suffering and despair" is unleashed upon mankind.

Some judicious readers may remember we've already been to the Pandora Works back on p.297, and we all know what those light-worshiping Alchemists will do with the metals they remove from mines just like it.

'''machinery . . . more complicated than it needs to be''' 
Merle and Roswell, as alchemists, suspect the problem of "moving pictures" may have a solution with fewer moving parts.

Merle and Roswell, as devotees of light (i.e. electromagnetic waves), are hinting at a method for displaying moving images that uses no moving parts and is well known to modern readers.

'''lost mines''' 
(Factual?) One of the classic "crazy old galoot" figures in Westerns is the deranged sourdough who can't stop talking about the incredibly rich lode he and his partner found and then lost.

==Page 457==

'''tourbillon''' 
A tourbillon is a type of mechanical clock or watch escapement invented in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet that is designed to counter the effects of gravity and other perturbing forces that can affect the accuracy of a chronometer. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourbillon Wikipedia]

Tourbillon is French for "whirlwind" - Thorvald‘s tiny chronometer-cousin.

'''make time impervious to gravity''' 
Thematic to this book and GR?

Yes! The desire to escape from history, mortality ("birth to death"), the flow of time is a major theme of this book. It is also a theme in ''Vineland'', where Brock Vond corrupts Frenesi by exploiting her desire to transcend ordinary life.

'''patent pencils''' 
Mechanical or (British) propelling pencils. "Patent" as in patent medicine, patent leather: innovative, gimmicky, making claims of uniqueness. (But the mechanical pencil was invented by a Japanese, HAYAKAWA Tokuji, in 1915, so that these "patent pencils" cannot be mechanical pencils, or this is an anachronism.)

Ebenezer Wood "constructed the first hexagon- and octagon-shaped pencil cases that we have today. Ebenezer did not patent his invention and shared his techniques with whoever asked." from Wikipedia.

'''zephyr gingham''' 
From [http://vintagesewing.info/1920s/26-fcm/fcm-16a.html this site]: gingham: A cotton fabric in checks or stripes nearly alike on both sides. zephyr: Anything light and airy. We have zephyr yarns, zephyr gingham, zephyr tissues.

'''lawn''' 
a thin or sheer linen or cotton fabric, either plain or printed.

'''pongee''' 
silk of a slightly uneven weave made from filaments of wild silk woven in natural tan color or its cotton imitation.

==Page 458==

'''professors... engineers''' 
Theory vs practice.

'''Latinate token of prestige''' 
PhD (''Philosophiae Doctor''), summa cum laude, etc.

'''suspicious of night horizons''' 
(sunsets?)Absence of light horizons? You can't see the horizon at night unless ''something'' is flashing and flaring over beyond it. Townsfolk are traditionally suspicious of strange flickerings in the sky. Fireworks specialists give you a way out: "Oh, Luigi was just trying out a new star shell."

'''current... purity''' 
Free of noise?

'''Minkowski''' 
Hermann Minkowski was a German mathematician who made useful contributions in the development of relativity, amongst other things. Cf [[ATD_318-335#Page 324|page 324]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Minkowski] 
Developed the 4 dimensional non Euclidean geometry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minkowski_space] used in special relativity. In a very crude simplification it says that time and space are the same thing. It all depends on the velocity of the observer, how space and time are mixed. This influenced most of later science fiction on time travels!!! (Like in "Back to the future", where the DeLorean has to reach a certain speed to jump in time.)

'''Three times ten... minus one seconds''' 
Three times ten to the fifth refers to the speed of light. The square root of minus 1 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_unit Wikipedia] is also known as the Imaginary Unit or i. i is sometimes also expressed as the square root of -1, as here. Complex numbers [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_number Wikipedia] can be expressed as a + bi where a is the real part of the complex number and b is the imaginary part. Complex numbers were an important element of the work of both Minkowski and Einstein. Also, for imaginary number Cf [[ATD_119-148#Page 133|page 133]] and complex number Cf [[ATD_119-148#Page 132|page 132]].
 
The use of complex numbers to describe the relativistic space-time metric is somewhat out of fashion in modern physics, it is merely used to make the metric tensor (i.e. "that other expression") symmetrical in all 4 dimensions. So in a way one might see time as an imaginary space axis, but the modern aproach uses an symmetrical metric tensor, which makes the non-Euclidean nature of our space-time more clear.
 
''Against the Day'' takes place at the time when Newtonian physics were being supplanted, at least in theory, by physics based on Relativity. This equation touches on that. But also, the use of a real and an imaginary number returns to the theme of duality that arises throughout the book. The spacetime measured by imaginary or complex numbers would seem to be something different though co-existent with 'our' spacetime.
 
:Minkowski's lecture at Candlebrow is clearly a version of the lecture in which he first set out his interpretation of Special Relativity in terms of four-dimensional geometry, given in Cologne on 21st September, 1908. Pynchon has taken this equation, and Minkowski's description of it as 'pregnant' and 'mystic', directly from the published text of the lecture. The transcription also makes it clear that Minkowksi did indeed use blackboard and chalk. It's in a volume called ''The Principle of Relativity'' by Einstein, Lorentz, Weyl and Minkowski.[[User:SdeB|SdeB]]

'''other expression''' 
Contextually, Roswell seems to be refering to the other side of the above equation...'that other expression 'over there'...they are at a slate "blackboard."

'''he called the equation "pregnant"''' 
Minkowski used the German word ''prägnant,'' which doesn't mean "pregnant." It means concise, precise, penetrating, important.

'''astronomical distance''' 
Small-scale astronomy then: 3x105 km is about two-thirds of the distance from the Earth to the Moon.

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 429-459

2015-03-01T05:04:59Z

Pthomas: /* Page 439 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 431==

'''metaphorical way''' and '''lateral resurrection''' 
Cf. [[ATD_397-428#Pafe 418|page 418]], where ''metaphor'' and ''lateral'' are also used in quick succession.

'''"Turkish Corner"''' 
The ''coin turquois'' or Turkish corner was an interior decorating fad ([http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197806/london.s.arab.hall.htm second half of 19th century]). Well-to-do householders had the English furniture removed from a space and put in low tables, divans, cushions, ceiling hangings, nargilehs and so forth.

'''Bactrian''' 
''Camel''. Even-toed ungulate, two-humped (twin-peaked) as compared with the one-humped dromedary.

'''Cameling''' 
Seems to mean riding on a camel, contextually.

'''light might be a ''secret determinant of history''''' 
One of the overarching themes of the book, it seems. Natural light
vs. artificial. A-and in this section the line must be more closely linked
to the Manichaeans and Light [p. 437] and Chick and Darby's remarks on 438. Light as 'Divine' light.......
Determinant also has an obvious mathematical meaning: a scalar invariant of a matrix which corresponding to its scale factor when the matrix is interpreted as a linear mapping. The determinant is non-obvious and its computation is of order n^3; hence, secret.

The [http://etext.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-38 ''Dictionary of the History of Ideas''] has a clear, readable essay on causation in history, well worth a look given that we are concerned with "determinants" and the nature of time/sequence/cause-and-effect.

==Page 432==

'''fatal word''' 
"Wife".

'''C.A.C.A.''' 
Caca; Spanish for "shit". The Chums have already begun to suspect the "shit", i.e. the malevolent organization that lies behind their boys' book heroics; the reader is now made aware of a large organization (see B.I.N., below) standing behind the massive airships and their crews. We all know what about the dynamics of large organizations, and the percentage of the time they spend in serving their purported purposes. Reminiscent of Van Vogt's Law: "90% of everything is shit (caca)".
:Not just Spanish; most western European languages. French (or Spanish) speaking Viennese could hear the word "caca" in '''K-K''' (Kaiserlich und Königlich, see Max Khäutsch and Franz Ferdinand episodes).

'''Medicine Hat, Alberta''' 
A real city with a population about 56,000. It is located in the southeastern part of the province of Alberta, Canada.

'''Gamomania''' 
"Gamos" is Greek for "marriage," and mania means "mania" or "madness."

'''H.M.S.F.''' 
His Majesty's Subdesertine Frigate (p425).

'''Balaam's ass''' 
refers to Num. 22:21-34 - Balaam rides out with the princes of Moab, but the Lord sends an angel to prevent him. Balaam does not see the angel but his ass does and will not go further. Balaam smites the ass three times, to no avail, until "the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam: What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?" Balaam's ass and the serpent (in the Garden of Eden) are the only speaking animals in the bible.

'''reported as long ago as Marco Polo''' 
From Marco Polo's ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (1298-99):
:". . . When a man is riding by night through this desert and something happens to make him loiter and lose touch with his companions . . . and afterwards he wants to rejoin them, then he hears spirit talking in such a way that they seem to be his companions. Sometimes, indeed, they even hail him by name. Often these voices make him stray from the path, so that he never finds it again. And in this way many travelers have been lost and have perished. And sometimes in the night they are conscious of a noise like the clatter of a great cavalcade of riders away from the road; and, believing that these are some of their own company, they go where they hear the noise and, when day breaks, find they are victims of an illusion and in an awkward plight. . . Yes, and even by daylight men hear these spirit voices, and often you fancy you are listening to the strains of many instruments, especially drums, and the clash of arms. . . . ." 
:(page 67, ''The Travels of Marco Polo'', The Folio Society 1968 edition.) 
For Marco Polo's bio and more see Cf. [[ATD_243-272#Page 247|page 247]] and [http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml Marco Polo and His Travels].

==Page 433==

'''mutatis mutandis''' 
''Medieval Latin.'' A direct translation from Latin of mutatis mutandis would read, 'with those things having been changed which need to be changed'. More colloquially, it can be interpreted as 'the necessary changes having been made,' where "the necessary changes" are usually implied by a prior statement assumed to be understood by the reader. It carries the connotation that the reader should pay attention to the corresponding differences between the current statement and a previous one, although they are analogous. This term is used frequently in economics and in law, to parameterize a statement with a new term, or note the application of an implied, mutually understood set of changes. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutatis_mutandis Wikipedia entry].

This suggests we should view communication from the camel with the same skepticism with which we view the voices, or possibly view this communication as we would that from Balaam's ass.

Another interpretation (that I find funny) is that we should 'make the necessary changes' in order to translate the camel's notion of skepticism (and even how a camel would do the skeptical eye-roll move) to our own.

'''''polygamy''''' 
Cf. Lake's conversion to (de facto) polyandry in Colorado Springs, p. 268. In both cases aquifers are the scene of the activity.

'''pan-spectral fields''' 
Well, ''pan'' means universal. As in ''panorama'', ''Pan-Am''. Another suggestion of possible worlds.

'''World-Island''' 
The phrase was coined by English geographer and geo-politician [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halford_John_Mackinder Sir Halford John Mackinder] who formulated [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartland_%28geopolitics%29 Heartland Theory] (1904) in his address to the Royal Geographic Society, "The Geographical Pivot of History." "World-Island" refers '''not to the Earth''', but to the continuous landmass of Eurasia measuring more than 21 million square miles (54 million km²). This landmass contains no waterways to the ocean and is contained by the Arctic ice cap and drainage to the north, the monsoon lands along the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, the Near East or land of the Five Seas, and Europe. This landmass is remote and inaccessible to its periphery. Mackinder argued in his address that this was the strategic region of the foremost importance in the World. The Heartland theory hypothesized the possibility for a huge empire being brought into existence in the Heartland, which wouldn't need to use coastal or transoceanic transport to supply its military industrial complex but would instead use railways, and that this empire couldn't be defeated by all the rest of the world against it; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolitics See also '''Geopolitics''' in Wikipedia]

'''"Euphrates" poplars''' 
One of the five classes of Poplars: ''turanga''. Its scientific name is ''populus euphratica'', a subtropical poplar found usually in Southwest Asia.

'''aryq''' 
Most likely variant of Arrack (OED): name applied in Eastern countries to any liquour of native manufacture, usually distilled coconut palm sap. - Or rather arak, the Middle Eastern equivalent of ouzo, Pernod, etc., which, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arak_%28distilled_beverage%29 according to Wikipedia,] should not be confused with southeast Asian arrack.

'''B.I.N.''' 
Biometric Institute of Neuropathy, see p. 432.

As in "Loony bin".

'''seventeen-syllable''' 
Haiku - japanese poems consisting of 17 syllables, classically arranged in three lines of 5 - 7 - 5 syllables each

Brilliant! 
''Still at it, Suckling?'' 
''Insufferable little'' 
''Prick, I'll break your neck!''

==Page 434==

'''Eta/Nu Transformators''' 
Probably an imaginary scientific device. Eta is most likely a reference to the metric tensor of (four dimensional) Minkowski space. Nu sometimes symbolizes frequency.
:Alternate view 
:In classical electromagnetism, Eta is the wave impedance and Nu is the velocity of the wave; both are related to the material parameters of the medium the wave is traveling in. Specifically, Eta determines how a wave moves between different media (reflection, refraction, and transmission), while the velocity is related to the frequency and wavelength of the wave. Thus, the device probably allows the ships inhabitants to see while in the sand.

'''pari passu''' 
on an equal footing

'''Deep Blavatsky''' 
Named for Madame Helena Blavatsky (Helena Petrovna Hahn), founder of the Theosophical Society [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blavatsky]. Cf. [[ATD_219-242#Page 219|page 219]].

==Page 435==

'''Gurkhas''' 
Nepalese forces that have fought alongside British troops.

'''German professors''' 
Likely a double allusion, first to Professor Werfner of Göttingen, referenced on p. 226, and also to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann], the German treasure hunter (not actually a professor) who first established the true historical location of Troy, the site of the Trojan War. His accomplishments are sadly underscored by his extremely amateurish excavation technique which destroyed as much as it extracted from the site.

'''"who keep waltzing out here by the wagonload, can dig till they're too blistered to dig any more, and they still won't ever find it, not without the right equipment - the map you fellows brought, plus our ship's Paramorphoscope"''' 
Could also be a nod to Steven Spielberg's 1981 film ''Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark''.

'''General Forrest''' 
Nathan Bedford Forrest, rebel leader in U.S. Civil War. Although he pioneered high-mobility tactics, he may never have uttered the famous quotation; see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest Wikipedia entry.]

Also, recognized as founder of the KKK -- see earlier episode in Colorado.

'''archiepiscopal''' 
Pertaining to an archbishop.

'''jewel-studded Victoria Crosses''' 
The VC is the highest medal for valo(u)r in the British military, about on a par with the Medal of Honor in the U.S. Created at the time of Crimean War, the VC was not awarded posthumously until 1907. Adding jewels to the award is pure fantasy.

'''Fabergé''' 
Russian jeweler. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Faberg%C3%A9 Wikipedia entry].

'''"appealing though they be or, shall I say, as they are"''' 
Captain Toadflax's corrects his grammatical mistake, an error that is partially obscured by the inverted construction he employs. If one straightens out his words into a more conventional form, e.g., "though they [secular pleasures] be appealing," the error is clearer: ''they'', the third person plural pronoun, requires ''are'' as a verb, i.e. ''pleasures are'' rather than ''pleasures be''. The ''OED'' lists many examples of ''be'' taking the place of ''are'' in similar contexts, but notes that this usage is either dialectal or archaic.
:Why Toadflax commits this error is less clear than what the error itself is. One possibility is that Pynchon is making an allusion to Captains Bildad and Peleg of ''Moby-Dick'', who speak in an archaic vernacular typical of New England Puritans.
::For more information, see the ''OED'', "be, v.," sub-entry, A.I.h.¶.
:'''It isn't an error!''' Toadflax first correctly uses the subjunctive, "appealing though they be"; the choice of mood says he is making a speculative statement, something like "however appealing they are imagined to be." Then he rephrases—changing the meaning of his statement—to the indicative mood, "appealing as they are," saying that the pleasures definitely, factually ''are'' appealing. The contrast of subjunctive and indicative is becoming archaic now, but it wasn't archaic or even odd coming from an educated speaker in the early 20th century.

'''subarenaceous''' 
arenaceous - Having the appearance or consistency of sand; sandy; largely composed of sand or quartz grains. <ref>'''Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. ed. 1989.</ref>

Hence subarenaceous 'means under the sand.'

==Page 436==

'''limen''' 
The limit below which a given stimulus ceases to be perceptible; the minimum amount of stimulus or nerve-excitation required to produce a sensation. Also called a threshold.<ref>'''Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. ed. 1989.</ref>

'''transmundane''' 
Beyond the mundane, beyond the world

'''lamaseries''' 
Domiciles of Buddhist lamas (as in "monasteries").

'''Torriform Inclusion''' 
A made-up condition from Torus==Arch.: a large convex molding, semicircular in cross section, located at the base of a classical column?
From the American Heritage Dictionary.
St. Cosmo has just seen, he thinks, a "watchtower".
'Watchtower'-Cf. the name of the magazine (and building in Brooklyn) that the Jehovah's Witnesses use.
'distinguishing man-made from God-made'...

More likely from ''turris'' (Latin), ''torre'' (Spanish&Italian) or similar meaning "tower."

'''Urban terrain''' 
(But only cities unwisely built on sand.)

'''Stilton Gaspereaux''' 
Stilton is type of blue cheese from England. 
Gaspereaux are alewives, a freshwater fish. [Alewives or "Gaspereaux" are caught fresh as the fish moves upstream our cold Canadian rivers.
www.botsfordfisheries.com/products]

'''Sven Hedin''' 
Swedish explorer, especially of the Asian countries, and excavator of ruins of ancient cities. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven_Hedin wikipedia] Hedin crossed Taklamakan desert in 1895 and found ruins of the sunken city [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandan_Oilik Dandan Oilik]. Today he is a controversial figure because of his complicated relations to naziism. Hitler was an admirer of his work.
:That suggests another angle for reading ATD as a novel about the genesis of the 20th century, considering the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahnenerbe Nazi obsession with Tibet]. There is also an alleged [http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_shambahla01.htm subterranean Shambhala] connection; the sources are dubious but the legend ''does'' exist.

'''Aurel Stein''' 
Sir Marc Aurel Stein. Hungarian-born explorer later knighted as a British citizen. Credited with the discovery, and arguably the exploitation, of the Mogao Grottoes in China. A rock-carved repository of ancient Buddhist texts and murals, the grottoes are known collectively as 'The Cave of a Thousand Buddhas' and protected a copy of the Mahayana Diamond sutra, acknowledged as the world's oldest dated printed text. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Aurel_Stein Wikipedia entry].

'''first known maps''' 
None of Ptolemy's maps has survived the classical period. They were, however, reconstructed in manuscript and engraved on copper or carved in wood for editions of the Ptolemy atlas. In 1482, the first woodcut edition, containing the first map of the world to include contemporary discoveries, was published in Ulm, Germany. It contains a brightly handcolored map of the Holy Land....

Allusion to the Map/Territory relation—the relationship between symbol and object. Coined by Alfred Korzybski, “The map is not the territory” is a related expression meaning that an abstraction derived from something, or a reaction to it, is not the thing itself, e.g., the pain from a stone falling on your foot is not the stone; one's opinion of a politician, favorable or unfavorable, is not that person; a metaphorical representation of a concept is not the concept itself; and so on. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_map_is_not_the_territory]Here, the (abstract) map itself could be a guide to a spritual quest or to conquest.

==Page 437==

'''Nernst lamps''' 
An electric lamp consisting of a short, slender rod of zirconium oxide (ceramic) in open air, heated to brilliant white incandescence by electrical current. It was developed by the German physicist and chemist Walther Nernst (1864-1941) in 1897 at Goettingen University. In 1905 he formulated the third law of thermodynamics, and in 1920 he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry. For a picture of the lamp [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nernst_lamp Nernst lamp]] and Nernst's bio [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Nernst Nernst.]]

'''range-finder''' 
Cf. 'range', passim

'''level of encryption''' 
(Cf Heisenberg?)Does not seem to allude to Heisenberg and his Uncertainty Principle so much as buried layers of meaning that can hide to invisibility.

'''Mount Kailash''' 
A mountain located in the Chinese Himalayas with great religious significance in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, it is seen as the residence of Shiva, God of destruction and regeneration. The mountain is visited every year by many religious pilgrims. In Buddhism, the mountain was believed to be the location of a battle between two ancient sorcerers: Milarepa (Tantric Buddhism) and Naro-Bonchung (Tibetan Bön religion). Pynchon is perhaps alluding to the population dividing nature of religions. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kailash wikipedia].

'''Shiva''' 
Shiva is the formless, timeless and spaceless Supreme God in Shaivism, one of the major branches of Hinduism practiced in India. Shiva means "One who purifies everyone by the utterance of His name" or "The Pure One". The name Shiva is the Holiest of Holy names. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva Shiva]].

'''polarize light... in time''' 
Thematic.

'''Manichaeans''' 
A gnostic sect that followed the third century Persian prophet Mani (Cf [[ATD_429-459#Page 439|page 439]]). Their main theological belief was in a stark divide between Good and Evil, Light and Darkness.

Basic to Manichaeism's doctrine was the conflicting dualism between the realm of God, represented by ''light'' and by spiritual enlightenment, and the realm of Satan, symbolized by ''darkness'' and by the world of material things. To account for the existence of evil in a world created by God, Mani posited a primal struggle in which the forces of Satan separated from God; humanity, composed of matter, that which belongs to Satan, but infused with a modicum of godly light, was a product of this struggle, and was a paradigm of the eternal war between the forces of ''light'' and those of ''darkness''. Christ, the ideal, light-clad soul, could redeem for each person that portion of light God had allotted. Light and dark were seen to be commingled in our present age as good and evil, but in the last days each would return to its proper, separate realm, as they were in the beginning. The Christian notion of the Fall and of personal sin was repugnent to the Manichaeans; they felt that the soul suffered not from a weak and corrupt will but from contact with matter. Evil was a physical, not a moral thing; a person's misfortunes were miseries, not sins. (taken from ''The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-2005, [[http://www.bartkeby.com/65/ma/Manichae.html Manichaean]].)

Very relevant here in ADT: one could call their theology, BINARY.

==Page 438==

'''expanded sense... Maxwell... Hertz''' 
All forms of electromagnetic radiation form a spectrum, of which visible light is a small part; all such radiation shares fundamental physical properties.
Cf. range as spectrum.

:Let us quote more fully — '''''the light we see as well as the expanded sense of it prophesied by Maxwell, confirmed by Hertz''''' — it means the ''expanded'' understanding of the nature of the visible light (''the sense of it''). In 1865 Maxwell prophesied that, base on his field equations, "light itself is an electromagnetic disturbance in the form of waves propagated through the electromagnetic field according to electromagnetic laws." (Cf [[ATD_57-80#Page 58|page 58]].) In 1877 Hertz experimentally discovered that light behaves exactly as an electromagnetic wave described by the Maxwell Field Equations and is part of the full electromagnetic spectrum. Therefore, Hertz confirmed what Maxwell predicted about the nature of light. (Cf [[ATD_318-335#Page 318|page 318]].)
:Regardless of how the scientific understanding of the nature of light has been expanded and changed, the Manichaean's view of light as invariant will remain, they will worship light to eternity. All other forms of matter are considered 'darkness'.
:Of course it is impossible for the Manichaens to know the dualism, light/darkness, of their theology has the reflection in the dualism of light. Light is a wave (electromagnetic wave) and simultaneously consists of particles (photons).

''''Perfects'''' 
Perfects are the priests of the Cathar, a pantheistic manicheistic sect from the middle ages.

:Since Gaspereaux (and Pynchon) are still talking about Manichaean, let's just talk about it. 
:Strict virtue for the Manichaean involved necessarily withdrawal from the world. The community was accordingly divided into two groups; the ''Elect'' or the "Perfects", the ''Primates Manichaeorum'', who embraced a rigourous rule, and the ''Hearers'', the ''auditores'',who led a more normal life and supported the ''Elect'' both by works and alms. 
A-and we know Pynchon's view of The Elect.

'''Mysteries''' 
''The Book of Secrets'' (or ''The Book of Mysteries''). The sacred Manichaean text by Mani. Cf [[ATD_429-459#Page 439|page 439]].

'''Graeco-Buddhist''' 
Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Graeco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 800 years in Central Asia in the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism Wikipedia]

'''Italo-Islamic style(s)''' 
A result of the Islamic Conquest of Sicily and parts of southern Italy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Sicily Wikipedia on the Emirate of Sicily] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Islam_in_southern_Italy 2] A primary locus of the Italo-Islamic style is also Malta, a setting of TRP's novel ''V''.

==Page 439==

'''Nuovo Rialto''' 
Seems like Pynchon creating a "New Rialto" city under these sands as many
cities take the name of an older city and add New....

From Wikipedia: Rialto is an area of the San Polo sestiere of Venice, known for its markets and for the Rialto Bridge.

The area was settled by the ninth century, when a small area in the middle of the Realtine Islands either side of the Rio Businiacus was known as the Rivoaltus. Soon, the Businiacus became known as the Grand Canal, and the district became the Rialto, referring to only the area on the left bank.

The Rialto became an important district in 1097, when Venice's market moved there, and in the following century a boat bridge was set up across the Grand Canal providing access to it. This was soon replaced by the Rialto Bridge.

Pynchon seems to love Venice so Nuovo Rialto is very ironically intended given this scene.

'''Mani''' 
Mani (216-276), founder of religion Manichaeism. He was born in the province Babylon which was then under Persian rule. His family was Persian, bu this name is Aramaic. Mani had probably originally belonged to a Christian sect, now called Elkhasitts. Between the age of 12 and 24, Mani had visions where an angel told him that he would be the prophet of a last divine revelation. Around AD 240, at the Persian court of King Shapur 1, Mani established his own religious philosophy. He and his followers (Manichaeans) regarded the world as irreconcilably divided into the kingdoms of light and darkness, good and evil. They practiced extreme asceticism in their struggle toward the light. At 26 he started on a long journey as the "Ambassador of Light" travelling through the Persian Empire and reaching as far as India, where he came under the influence of Buddhism. As Mani's teaching gained ground he came in opposition to the Zoroastrian priests and the Emperor Bahram 1. From 274 Mani lost the emperor's protection, and he either died in prison or was executed. His death was retold as an incident similar to the crucifixion of Jesus.

'''the Oxus''' 
The Oxus River of the Greeks. Its present-day name is the Amu Darya (or Amu river). It is the longest river in Central Asia. For more and map location see [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amu_Darya the Oxus]].

'''Jenghiz Khan''' 
Jenghiz (or Genghis) Khan (1162-1227), born as Temujin, a son of a Mongol chief. At thirteen he was called to succeed his father, and for years to struggle hard against hostile tribes. His ambition awakening with his continued success. He spent six years in subjugating the Naimans, between Lake Balkhash (in Southeastern Kazakhstan) and the Irtish (an enormous river in Western Siberia) , and in conquering Tangut, south of Gobi desert. In 1206 he started to use the name ''Jenghiz Khan'' — "Very Mighty Ruler". In 1211 he overran the empire of North China, and in 1217 conquered and annexed the Kara-Chitai empire from Lake Balkhash to Tibet.
In 1218 he attacked the powerful empire of Kharezm, bounded by the Jazartes, Indus, Persian Gulf and Caspian, took Bokhara, Smarkand, Kharezm and other chief cities and returned home in 1225. His lieutenants continued to expand Jenghiz Khan's empire further and further. Jenghiz Khan died on August 18, 1227. He was not only a warrior and conqueror, but a skillful administrator and ruler; he not only conquered empires stretching from the Black Sea to the Pacific, but organized them into states which outlasted the short span that usually measures the life of Asiatic sovereignties. (from Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 1984 edition.)

—Pynchon seems to have changed his mind on Genghis's spelling (cf. ''The Crying of Lot 49'')!

'''crystallography of the silica medium''' 
Computer-base [silicon] allusion!?
:No! The most common constituent of sand, in inland continental or non-tropical coastal settings, is silicon dioxide (''silica'') usually in the form of quartz which is very resistant to weathering.
:And computer chips are made with silicon metal, not silica.

'''clearly a thousand years more recent than they ought to have been''' 
That is, the Manichean shrines date from the fourteenth Century, not the fourth Century when Mani, the founder, started Manicheanism. Pynchon dating 'when it went bad' in history?

'''Passing of the Remarks''' 
Sounds like a humorous reification of what gets said between sailors. Modeled after Changing of the Guard?

'''Talk about battered caravanserais!'''
Stanza XVII of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:

'''Steeplechase Park''' 
Steeplechase Park, located at Coney Island, was an amusement park and collection of rides, funhouses and the like. As a child I used to visit in the late 50's.

'''The Book of Secrets''' 
''The Book of Secrets'', (''Safar al–Asrar''), Manichaean sacred text by Mani. It was also called ''The Book of Mysteries'', and Titus just called it simply ''Mysteries''. It was characterized as "polemical and dogmatic." In eighteen chapters it was written to refute the false doctrines of the established sects and creeds in the world, including the sect of Bardesain or Bardesan. The book evidently dealt with the esoteric life of Jesus. The nature of Soul and Body was defined. And it also described reincarnation. A portion of the book was in the form of a dialogue between Jesus and his apostles. [[http://essenes.net/new/maniwritings.html Mani's writitngs]].

==Page 440==

'''screaming...with blood''' 
Screaming motif.

'''''chong pir''''' 
Presumably Uyghur for "big lice."

'''Uyghur''' 
Member of an ethnic group in western China. It is sometimes claimed that the Uyghurs are Indo-European in one sense or another.

'''''Pulex''''' 
Flea.

'''voiced interdental fricative''' 
The ''th'' sound, as in "the" or "with." (Bad example—many if not most speakers use the unvoiced sound in "with." Try "then, other, father.") Basically, the lice lisp. This could be meant to suggest that their speech contains static or noise.

'''skeleton rig''' 
The skeleton rig is a shoulder holster for carrying a concealed handgun. They were developed in the 1890s. A very nice looking one, as well as a description thereof, can be purchased at [http://www.holster-connection.com/html/ted_blocker/tb_Skeleton.html First American Ordnance website], which also just so happens to be my source for the above info.

'''andante''' 
Literally "going". An Italian word typically seen in notation for classical music. It denotes a moderately slow pace.

'''Sandman Saloon''' 
Tavern for the 'sandmen', without those great tavern names in the above-ground world. Negative associations to this saloon, it seems, unlike the usual saloons in TRP's world. A Neil Gaiman allusion?

==Page 441==

'''Leonard and Lyle''' 
Google comes up with mentioning Sir Leonard Lyle [http://www.parkexplorer.org.uk/park_intro.asp?ID=new16 1], sugar-magnate and heir to Abram Lyle [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abram_Lyle 2] and "Lyle‘s Golden Syrup" [http://www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/LylesGoldenSyrup/PastPresent/default.htm 3]. Thats one interesting logo, what with the dead lion/bees and the tibetan stamp on ATD, btw. Golden Syrup = oil?

'''Baku''' 
Cf [[ATD_149-170#Page_168|page 168: Baku]].

'''''teke''''' 
From this [http://home.earthlink.net/~lkritikos/glossary.html glossary on greek rembetiko music]: "teke (pl. tekedhes): A club where one could buy hashish and the use of a narghile in which to smoke it"

An American fraternity or a member thereof. Tau Kappa Epsilon. Founded in the 1890s; has had a reputation for being a bit wilder than many fraternities.

'''Spindletop''' 
From wikipedia: Spindletop is a salt dome oil field located in south Beaumont, Texas (approx. 30.02 -94.07) in the United States. On January 10, 1901, the well "Lucas 1" came in at Spindletop, marking the birthdate of the modern petroleum industry. At 100,000 barrels of oil a day, the gusher tripled U.S. oil production overnight, ensuring the second industrial revolution would be fueled not by wood and coal but by oil and its byproducts. Some of the companies chartered to exploit the wealth of Spindletop are some of today's largest and well known corporations such as ExxonMobil, and Texaco.

'''Groznyi''' 
Grozny or Groznyy (Russian: Гро́зный; Chechen: Соьлж-ГIала, Syolzh-Ghaala) is the capital of the Chechen Republic in Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River....As most of the residents there were Terek Cossacks, the town grew slowly until the development of Oil reserves in the early 20th century. This spiralled development of industry and petrochemical production. In addition to the oil drilled in the city itself, the city became a geographical centre of Russia's network of oil fields, and also in 1893 became part of the Transcaucasia - Russia Proper railway. From wikipedia

'''calyx bits''' 
Bits used for taking core samples in oil exploration. Rods are screwed together to make up the "drill string," with the bit at the bottom end. After exploration, the calyx bit is replaced with a rock bit; the borehole is stabilized with a "casing string" made of pipe (tubing) a little bigger than the bit.

Presumably some kind of mining drill-related equipment. "The mining operations were unusual in that much of the mining was done through large diameter holes drilled with calyx bits." [http://www.ut.blm.gov/sanrafaelohv/explore/historicmining.htm]

'''adults''' 
Chums not adults, then? No,they do not age, it seems.

'''''ässalamu äläykum''''' 
A muslim greeting. Translates to "Peace be with you." This is the Turkic spelling.

'''anticline''' 
An underground rock structure with a shape resembling a ridge on the surface. Oil exploration focuses on "domes" (like salt domes, see Spindletop entry above) and anticlines, because either of these provides a volume where oil—ascending because it's lighter than rock or water—can collect to make a "pool" that can be exploited.

==Page 442==
'''Had it not (p440) ....someones hidden plans''' 
This whole conversation implies a coming war over oil, being sold as a holy mission... why does that sound familiar? Of course, once again, "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred."

'''''equine altitude''''' 
High horse.

'''allure of Veneto-Uyghur women''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriatic_Veneti Veneti] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanais Veneto] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyghurs Uyghurs] Long distance trade (like wars and tourism in general) is very likely to enforce the intermingling of different [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_pool Gene Pools], which, more often than not, results in particularily beautiful specimens of the kinds involved. Travels of mediterrenean merchants along the various branches of the Silk Road seem to have been pretty common from at least 14th century on - see [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/pegol.html Pegelotti‘s Merchant Handbook] (ca. 1340) which partially reads like a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonely_planet Lonely Planet Guide] of back then. During the Renaissance most of the merchants (from Florence/Venice/Geneva) set out from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanais Tana/Tanais] which some sources put as a trade-post if not colony of the "West".

'''2 percent . . . most of them''' 
Implies at least 150 in crew.

'''Marco Querini''' 
An oasis named after Marco Querini? i.e. ''Oasi Marco Querini''. In January 1571, Venetians under Marco Querini defeated Turks near Famagusta, Cyprus.

'''Terrenascondite''' 
Italian: terre (pl. of terra) = lands; ascondito, an archaic form of the past participle of the verb nascondere (archaic: ascondere)= to hide. Translation is undoubtedly "hidden lands".

'''Pozzo San Vito''' 
Italian: Pozzo means well; San Vito is a Saint. Well of San Vito. ''Oasi Pozzo San Vito.'' San Vito, according [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintv07.htm to this site], died by being boiled in oil, other sources say it was lead - a hint to the subterranean resources here? Cfr. Italian: "Ballo di San Vito", that is, Saint Vitus' Dance, a syndrome having as a consequence tics or jerks. It may be an allusion to involuntary movements or disconntected behaviour(?).

==Page 443==

'''peterman option''' 
A 'peterman' is a slang term for a safe-blower.

'''Consommé Imperial''' 
A gingered chicken broth with julienne of carrots and leeks.

'''Timbales de Suprêmes de Volailles''' 
Chicken Supreme Pudding ? Um, Suprêmes de Volailles means the white meat of chicken prepared with a fortified white sauce. To make timbales, the meat is chopped and placed in individual molds, a little grated Gruyère cheese on top, and baked in a water bath (just like some puddings).

'''Gigot Grillé a la Sauce Piquante''' 
A 'gigot' is a leg of lamb or haunch of veal. 'Sauce Piquante' is a spicy sauce.

'''aubergines à la Sauce Mousseline''' 
Eggplants with mussel sauce. -No, the French for mussels is moules, not moussel. A Sauce Mousseline is Hollandaise lightened with a bit of whipped cream. An odd choice perhaps for eggplant, but then Sauce Piquante is more for pork or boiled beef (pot-au-feu) than lamb.

:I've never seen a dog eat eggplant, but it sounds like something one wouldn't want to miss. Only thing is, it has to be somebody else's dog.

'''Pouilly-Fuissé''' 
A white Burgundy made from the Chardonnay grape.

'''Graves''' 
Wine from the Graves district of France, a subregion of Bordeaux. Wines can be either red or white. Red Graves are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Whites are blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.

'''Miles...extra-temporal excursions''' 
Miles is like a Trespasser.

'''all that incarnation and slaughter will transpire in silence''' 
Calls to mind the silent battle scene in Akira Kurosawa's samurai retelling of ''King Lear'', titled ''Ran'', which translates roughly to "chaos."

==Page 444==

'''Oasi''' 
''Oases'' is the plural of ''oasis''. Here, ''Oasi'' is the Italian word for ''oasis''!

'''cataplexy''' 
Sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotional stimulus.

'''Nobel brothers''' 
Robert and Ludvig Nobel, brothers of Alfred Nobel of dynamite and prize fame, co-founders of Branobel, an important early oil company that controlled a large amount of Russian output. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branobel Wikipedia entry].

'''shaft-alley''' 
Somebody check this: the channel, running fore-and-aft deep in the ship's hull, where the propeller shafts are located.

'''the balloon is up''' 
British metaphor: The action has started. A phrase also used in ''V.''

'''F.O.''' 
Foreign Office

'''''Daily Mail''''' 
London tabloid, staunch early supporters of Adolf Hitler. Today specialises in stirring up hatred of immigrants and other minorities.

'''Inspector Sands''' 
A code word used in London to alert authorities without causing panic amongst the general public. Generally the alert is raised by the fire alarm. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Sands Wikipedia entry].

'''"Sands of Inner Asia"''' 
Captain, now Inspector Sands, seems to be being compared for his achievements to "Lawrence of Arabia" parodistically.

'''Taklamakan''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taklamakan The Taklamakan] (also Taklimakan) is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is known as the largest sand-only desert in the world. Some references fancifully state that Taklamakan means "if you go in, you won't come out"; others state that it means "Desert of Death" or "Place of No Return".

==Page 445==

'''Kashgar to Urumchi''' 
Two cities currently on the far western border of China. Presumably in this context they were two points inside the general area within which the 'Great Powers' competed to try and find Shambhala.

'''fell into the hands of''' 
An analogy with the present-day situation in Central Asia in particular. Throughout the book, there are references to Anarchist/Terrorists, to the spread of dynamite and other kinds of phenomena. These are all technologies that allow, or cause, power to flow into the hands of the powerless to use for their own purposes.

'''World-Island''' 
[[#Page_433|See entry at page 433]]

'''those Powers . . . still competing for it''' 
And to complete the analogy, the countries/peoples who have exercised power for centuries and are now baffled to see it flow into the hands of the powerless.

'''discreet summons''' 
Eg "paging Dr Blue".
It doesn't seem to me to be a phrase that needs a gloss: a discreet summons is simply what it says and made be made in any number of ways.

'''far wicket''' 
A 'wicket' may simply be a gate; but in the context of a novel and the bomber at Headingly cricket ground and Fenners, the Cambridge cricket ground, a 'wicket' is the three stumps at one end of a cricket pitch. ("The Gentleman Bomber of Headingly" - see p.236.)
:That isn't the context here; we are in a government building where supplicants have to pass through gates—wickets—and face bureaucrats through grilles—more wickets.

'''wog''' 
''Chiefly British.'' An ethnic slur used for any dark-skinned peoples. Alleged to stand for "Western Oriental Gentleman", but mainly applied to Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, and other brown-skinned Asians.
I have heard it comes from 'wily oriental gentleman'; but the Oxford English Dictionary states that the origin is uncertain and defines a 'wog' as someone especially of Arab extraction.
Eric Partridge, in'' A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English'' (8th ed., 1984), suggests that the term derives from "golliwog," the name of a black male doll character with frizzy hair popularized in Bertha Upton's children's story, The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls--and a 'Golliwog' (1895).

'''Vic removal''' 
"removing Vic" defined by Partridge (Dictionary of the Underworld, 1949) as robbing a stamp office. From the image of Queen Victoria on British postal stamps.

'''eating an explosive''' 
Cf Lew's Cyclomite.

==Page 446==

'''St Martin le Grand''' 
A street in the City of London.

'''Angel Street''' 
Another street in the City which meets St Martin le Grand at right-angles.

'''G.P.O. West''' 
G.P.O - General Post Office

'''pneumatic dispatches''' 
An extensive 'pneumatic dispatch' system existed on London during the Victorian era, started in 1851 and carrying on at least into the 1930's. By 1886 London had 94 telegram tubes totaling 34 1/2 miles and around 4.5 million telegraph messages were carried in cylinders at around 20mph. At its height the network extended some 57 miles connecting 67 branch offices via a central sorting office. See [http://www.capsu.org/history/telegram_conveyors.html] and
[http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/pneumess/pneumess.htm] (with illustrations).

'''drill suits''' 
Drill is a durable cotton fabric; khaki drill is used for uniforms.

'''chars''' 
Charwomen. Maids, cleaners.

'''Hundreds of telegraphers''' 
The scene described, including the pneumatic dispatches and the ostensible concern about terrorism, is very similar to one in Terry Gilliam's "Brazil."

'''clicks and rests''' 
Presumably the clicks of a telegraphic system and the rests or silences in between. [[Binarisms_Discussion|Another binarism.]]

'''Northern Temple of Connexion''' 
It's in the north of the City; and the phrase suggests the religious intensity of the need to connect or communicate as well as mildly satirising it.

'''marblework''' 
Such buildings would have used quantities of marble; hence the image of a 'temple' above.

'''Bloggins''' 
An archetypal ordinary man; an everyman figure.

'''allegro vivatchy''' 
phonetic of 'allegro vivace' - a musical term for a quick tempo. If the policeman had been manhandling an English suspect, he would have said "All right then, quick march." An early instance of cultural sensitivity. . . .

==Page 447==

'''grease-paint''' 
'Grease-paint' refers to old-fashioned stage make-up.

'''cylinder of gutta-percha''' 
Pneumatic dispatches were carried in cylinders of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutta-percha Gutta-Percha] -- an inelastic latex made from the sap of the Gutta-Percha tree -- covered in felt. See [http://www.capsu.org/history/telegram_conveyors.html]. Gutta-percha crops up a number of times in ATD, possibly enough to suggest some sort of motif or connection?

Gutta percha per se is a Victorian equivalent to rubber, or rather hard rubber (they knew to use soft latex for erasers, "gum boots" and such). Discovery of the vulcanization process led to replacement of gutta-percha in many applications.

'''its "D" box''' 
The receiving mechanism on the end of pneumatic dispatch pipe.

"The somewhat complicated pattern of double sluice valve originally used at the central stations has been superseded by a simpler form, known as the D box, so named Despatching from the shape of its cross section. This box is of and cast iron, and is provided with a close-fitting, Receiving brass-framed, sliding lid with a glass panel. This Apparatus, lid fits air-tight, and closes the box after a carrier has been inserted into the mouth of the tube; the latter enters at one end of the box and is there bell-mouthed. A supply pipe, to which is connected a 3-way cock, is joined on to the box and allows communication at will with either the pressure or vacuum mains, so that the apparatus becomes available for either sending (by pressure) or receiving (by vacuum) a carrier. Automatic working, by which the air supply is automatically turned on on the introduction of the carrier into a tube and on closing of the D box, and is cut off when the carrier arrives, was introduced in 1909." From the 1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica entry on Pneumatic Dispatch, cited at [http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/pneumess/pneumess.htm]

'''Holborn''' 
Holborn is between the Strand (at the northern end of Waterloo Bridge) and Bloomsbury.

'''Saffron Hill''' 
is in the City, an area named Farringdon, east of Holborn.

'''''tantum dic verbo'' isn't it''' 
Might be derived from that part of the Mass where it's said: "Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed '''tantum dic verbo''' et sanabitur anima mea" ("Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but '''speak the word''' only, and my soul shall be healed")

Sands seems to be telling Gaspereaux to "just say the word".

'''''intact''''' 
(Did I miss this?)

==Page 448==

'''because I'm mad''' 
Gaspereaux brings news, in overheard fragments, of Shambala intact, able to hold sand away from itself.....which "deranged utterance" [Sands] ....succumbs to a dim local until he, Gaspereaux, can no longer
imagine anything clearly beyond Dover. 
A 'mad' vision becomes local and quotidian.

'''half-sovereign case''' 
A sovereign is old English money for one pound, i.e 20 shillings. A half-sovereign is ten shillings old money.

'''Mr. Campbell-Bannerman''' 
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1836-1908) was a Liberal MP and then Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1905 to 1908. I'm not sure when he was knighted; but he's not the only character in the novel connected with Trinity College, Cambridge.

==Page 449==

'''Clarabella''' 
Clarabelle=name of the clown on The Howdy Doody Show [TV] in the fifties.

'''Audacity, Iowa''' 
Seemingly a joking oxymoron?

==Page 450==

'''DREAMTIME MOVY''' 
Misspelling is dreamlike? Or, more possibly, the spelling hadn't yet been standardized.
:The ''OED'' an cites an occurance of this spelling as late as 1919.

'''log... waterfall''' 
This passage anticipates a scene in D. W. Griffith's 1920 film [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_Down_East Way Down East] in which Lillian Gish, stranded on an ice-floe, rushes toward a potential demise over the edge of the falls. More specifically, Pynchon is here positing this (fictional) collision between the film (i.e., the diegetic world of the film) and the breaking projector (the non-diegetic world of the film!) as the origin of the... (wait for it) -- CLIFFHANGER.
:What does ''diegetic'' mean, please?
::[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/diegetic Here.]

'''lens-brother''' 
As the Chums refer to other aeronauts as 'sky-brothers', Merle, a photographer and mechanical enthusiast calls the movie projectionist 'lens-brother.' Implies peerage among a set of people. (I may refer to you as 'wiki-brother.')
(Like masonic sign?)(Also reminiscent of the lens (the K/kid/d) carries in Delaney's ''Dhalgren'')

'''Powers movement''' 
Around 1897, Nicholas Power improved the "Maltese Cross" used in the Geneva movement; his company sold [http://www.victorian-cinema.net/power.htm projectors] including the "Peerless" and the popular No. 5. The Power or Power[']s movement could not be adapted to sound projection.

'''Geneva''' 
A watch movement also used in film projection. "The Geneva movement is so called because of its use in Geneva watches as a stop wind. The projection on the driving disk acts as the pawl drive, and the concave projections on the lower disc act as stop pawls. This is used at the present time in motion picture machines for moving the film in front of the lens and is known as the intermittent movement."

'''Wilt Flambo''' 
Flambeau = torch (French).

'''acetylene''' 
When the flammable gas was used for illumination, it was often generated on the spot by dripping water onto lumps of calcium carbide.

==Page 451==

'''nitro in the film''' 
Cellulose nitrate was the predecessor to modern photographic films. The nitrate material might be coated with collodion, which served as the substrate to the chemistry that made the image. Nitrate film was/is notoriously flammable.

'''the tip''' 
The audience. Pynchon uses the word many times in ''AtD.''

'''strange relation''' 
Cf GR on calculus.

'''dark perplexity''' 
Cf Gen X?

'''dilapidated portals''' 
See p.406: the West Gate's "two flanking towers of rusticated stone and Gothical aspect... an aspect of terrible antiquity..."

'''queen-of-the-prairie''' 
[http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/68/index.html Meadowsweet,] ''Filipendula rubra,'' wild flower with clusters of pink blooms in midsummer.

'''Geneva''' 
[[#Page_450|See annotation to p. 450.]]

'''Picnickers brought with them [...] ukuleles''' 
In the days before portable recorded music playback, if you wanted to hear a song you learned how to play it, preferably on something reasonably easy to carry around, such as a ukulele or harmonica.
References to ukuleles and Hawaii and its culture abound in Pynchon's novels [http://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Hawaiian_Islands_and_Ukuleles ''Vineland''] and [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Hawaiian_Islands_and_Ukuleles ''Gravity's Rainbow'']. [[Hawaii|More on Hawaii & ukulele references in ''Against the Day'']]...

==Page 452==

'''Sempitern''' 
An archaic term meaning 'eternal', a poetic but appropriate name for a river? Echoing "Serpentine," the lake in London's Hyde Park.

'''Sicilians with equal apprehensions for the principle of the vendetta''' 
If the vendetta began when A killed B, couldn't B's son short-circuit the whole thing by going back in time and killing A first? And then who would be responsible for killing the son? Possible application to the Traverse/Vibe/Deuce relationship, too.

'''siegecraft of Time''' 
Cf Paris Commune siege, p.19.

'''to see in its vortex the fundamental structure of everything''' 
A reference to the Yeatsian conception of the gyre as the primary or fundamental form. "'The mind, whether expressed in history or in the individual life, has a precise movement, which can be quickened or slackened but cannot be fundamentally altered, and this movement can be expressed by a mathematical form’ and this form is the gyre." [http://www.yeatsvision.com/Geometry.html] 

More from wikipedia: "The theory of history articulated in A Vision centers on a diagram composed of two conical spirals, one situated inside the other, so that the widest part of one cone occupies the same plane as the tip of the other cone, and vice versa. Around these cones he imagined a set of spirals. Yeats claimed that this image (he called the spirals "gyres") captured contrary motions inherent within the process of history, and he divided each gyre into different regions that represented particular kinds of historical periods (and could also represent the psychological phases of an individual's development). Yeats believed that in 1921 the world was on the threshold of an apocalyptic moment, as history reached the end of the outer gyre (to speak roughly) and began moving along the inner gyre." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Coming_(poem)] 
Cf. the remark, "history is a step-function" in ''V.''. Is the above an
evolution of that remark/vision? http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_11

'''between Cleveland and Denver''' 
Merle's idiosyncratic choice of endpoints? This helps define where Candlebrow is, though.

'''automorphic functions''' 
Auto= self; same as in autogamy. American Heritage Dict. -morph = Form, structure, function. Self-forming, self-structuring-- or self-organizing as Pynchon says elsewhere in ADT.

The phrase has a specific meaning in mathematics, referring to a generalization of periodic functions.

==Page 453==
'''We thus enter the whirlwind''' 
God is sometimes referred to this way. Often Capitalized, but here the speaker is using it literally, but Pynchon maybe metaphorically?

'''Lobatchevskian''' 
of Nikolai Lobachevsky (1793-1856), a Russian Mathematician, co-founder, with Hungarian mathematician János Bolyai, of non-Euclidean geometry. Born at Nizhny Novgorod and a professor at Kazan University from 1814. In 1829 he published his non-Euclidean geometry paper, the first account of that subject in print.

''Abbreviated Lob''
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lob_bowling Lob bowling]: not related but as it is a cricket thing...

'''Automorphic Dispensation''' 
Self-forming, self-organizing, recurring or periodic dispensation. 
On the meaning of "dispensation" see [[ATD_119-148#Page_128|annotations to p. 128.]]

'''distressing regularity''' 
Explains dilapidation?

'''Thorvald''' 
Scandinavian name from the Old Norse name ''Þórvaldr''. It combines the name "Thor" (thunder) and scandinavian word "valdr" (ruler), to create the meaning "thunder ruler" or "ruler of the thunder". Either would be apt, in this case.

The persisting storm also occurs in ''Mason & Dixon'', in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel ''Wyrd Sisters'' and in Walter Moers‘ [http://www.amazon.com/13-2-Lives-Captain-Bluebear/dp/1585678449/sr=1-1/qid=1170090170/ref=sr_1_1/002-4941751-7235229?ie=UTF8&s=books "13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear"].

'''''thresher dinners''''' 
Hearty communal midday meals for men taking part in harvest. Here a sacrifice to Thorvald.

==Page 454==

'''"gaff"''' 
A deceptive feature like the rabbit-concealing false bottom in a magician's top hat.

'''Giant Airships of 1896 and '7''' 
An early UFO sensation. From November 1896 to the summer of '97, newspapers reported numerous sightings of [http://www.balloonlife.com/publications/balloon_life/9607/airship.htm a large cigar-shaped airship]. The first reports came from Sacramento; the "ship" (or ships) moved from west to east, with [http://www.reall.org/newsletter/v06/n03/illinois-ufo-mania-of-1897.html a big concentration in Illinois.] "Contacts" with the people on board the craft all proved to be hoaxes, and the speed of the ship's travel was a pretty good match for the speed of propagation of phony newspaper stories from town to town.

In the context of ''AtD'' we have to ask: In a world where airships were common by 1893, operated by a sizable community of aeronautics clubs like the Chums of Chance, why would another airship create a sensation in 1896? Who would consider it mysterious?

And ''were'' airships common by 1893? [http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/ss/airship_5.htm This brief account] of the technology in our historical context says that trials date back to mid-century, but practical airships appeared only in 1898.

[http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Image:Mysterious-airship.jpg This artist's conception] is no less imaginative than sketches that appeared in the media in 1896-97. 

I'm guessing airships weren't as common as ''balloons''...

'''Chick''' 
First Chum to appear in non-Chums chapter? Chick is the Chum we know, besides Pugnax if we count him, to have come aboard The Inconvenience from the real world. Another meaning to Counterfly? More earthbound?

==Page 455==

'''Cleveland... trial... Bounce v. Vibe''' 
See p67 & 426

'''Somble, Strool, and Fleshway''' 
[[ATD_26-56#Page_34|See annotations to page 34.]]

''''paranoia querulans'... P.Q.''' 
[[Paranoia_Querulans|Described in the page so titled.]]

'''Hercules''' 
Allusion to Hercules Powder Company, major manufacturer of black powder and other explosives.

'''blasting agent''' 
Just a casual reference to the Hercules product. In a more technical context "blasting agents" are distinguished from "shattering explosives." A blasting agent releases its energy more slowly and produces a heaving action.

'''detonans''' 
That which is detonated - cod latin. Detonans is a present participle, roughly meaning "that detonates" or "detonating".

'''"I'm just another nutty inventor"''' 
Roswell has been discussing his plans to dynamite the Vibe Corp. which has used its power to harrass him. Throughout his work, esp. ''Gravity's Rainbow'', Pynchon has dealt with themes involving the split between elect and preterite, or to use a more simplified phrase, winners and losers. Dynamite offers the small and powerless, the "long-shot opponents of the mills of Capital" referred to earlier in the page, an expression of power of their own. In this way it is like the AK-47 today which has made it far more difficult for powers (e.g. the United States in Iraq) to exert control over populations.

==Page 456==

'''aigrette''' 
Literally an egret or aigrette (or Lesser White Heron); hence a tuft of feathers such as an egret has and hence a spray of gems worn on the head and finally luminous rays seen emerging from the moon in solar eclipses or, to quote the OED, "at the ends of electrified bodies" [[ATD_397-428#Page_405|(see annotation to p. 405.)]]

'''Pencil''' 
To mathematicians, a pencil is a family of geometric objects sharing a common property, such as a collection of lines that pass through a common point. (Of course, constipated mathematicians also find pencils useful for working out logs).

In Romance languages, a mathematic "pencil" is a "bundle" (ESP haz, CAT feix, IT fascio) and a "pencilist" a "feixista" (CAT) or "fascista" (ESP/IT). Merle is playing with something which reminds of Falange Española symbol. A intralinguistic pun or is Merle an underground fascist?

'''equivalent of a shrug''' 
Nice anthropomorphism.

'''I want to know light...take some in my hands...and bring it back''' 
More light-infatuation, but this sounds particularly Promethean to me. Everybody knows Prometheus is famous for stealing fire from the Gods and bringing it to man in his unburnable fennel, but for Pynchoniacs, Zeus' reaction to this is quite interesting. Imaginably, Zeus is pretty pissed, so "to punish Prometheus for this hubris (and all of mankind in the process), Zeus devised 'such evil for them that they shall desire death rather than life'". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus Wiki] Then he sends Prometheus "to Mount Caucasus, where an eagle (often shown as a vulture) by the name of Ethon (offspring of the monsters Typhon and Echidna) would pick at his liver; it would grow back each day and the eagle would eat it again." Talk about Eternal Return.

Finally "[t]o punish man for the offenses of Prometheus, Zeus told Hephaestus to "mingle together all things loveliest, sweetest, and best, but look that you also mingle therewith the opposites of each." So Hephaestus took gold and dross, wax and flint, pure snow and mud of the highways, honey and gall; he took the bloom of the rose and the toad's venom, the voice of laughing water and the peacocks squall; he took the sea's beauty and its treachery, the dog's fidelity and the wind's inconstancy, and the mother bird's heart of love and the cruelty of the tiger. All these, and other contraries past number, he blended cunningly into one substance and this he molded into the shape that Zeus had described to him. She was as beautiful as a goddess and Zeus named her Pandora which meant "all gifted"." And a little later on Pandora opens her eponymic box and "all suffering and despair" is unleashed upon mankind.

Some judicious readers may remember we've already been to the Pandora Works back on p.297, and we all know what those light-worshiping Alchemists will do with the metals they remove from mines just like it.

'''machinery . . . more complicated than it needs to be''' 
Merle and Roswell, as alchemists, suspect the problem of "moving pictures" may have a solution with fewer moving parts.

Merle and Roswell, as devotees of light (i.e. electromagnetic waves), are hinting at a method for displaying moving images that uses no moving parts and is well known to modern readers.

'''lost mines''' 
(Factual?) One of the classic "crazy old galoot" figures in Westerns is the deranged sourdough who can't stop talking about the incredibly rich lode he and his partner found and then lost.

==Page 457==

'''tourbillon''' 
A tourbillon is a type of mechanical clock or watch escapement invented in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet that is designed to counter the effects of gravity and other perturbing forces that can affect the accuracy of a chronometer. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourbillon Wikipedia]

Tourbillon is French for "whirlwind" - Thorvald‘s tiny chronometer-cousin.

'''make time impervious to gravity''' 
Thematic to this book and GR?

Yes! The desire to escape from history, mortality ("birth to death"), the flow of time is a major theme of this book. It is also a theme in ''Vineland'', where Brock Vond corrupts Frenesi by exploiting her desire to transcend ordinary life.

'''patent pencils''' 
Mechanical or (British) propelling pencils. "Patent" as in patent medicine, patent leather: innovative, gimmicky, making claims of uniqueness. (But the mechanical pencil was invented by a Japanese, HAYAKAWA Tokuji, in 1915, so that these "patent pencils" cannot be mechanical pencils, or this is an anachronism.)

Ebenezer Wood "constructed the first hexagon- and octagon-shaped pencil cases that we have today. Ebenezer did not patent his invention and shared his techniques with whoever asked." from Wikipedia.

'''zephyr gingham''' 
From [http://vintagesewing.info/1920s/26-fcm/fcm-16a.html this site]: gingham: A cotton fabric in checks or stripes nearly alike on both sides. zephyr: Anything light and airy. We have zephyr yarns, zephyr gingham, zephyr tissues.

'''lawn''' 
a thin or sheer linen or cotton fabric, either plain or printed.

'''pongee''' 
silk of a slightly uneven weave made from filaments of wild silk woven in natural tan color or its cotton imitation.

==Page 458==

'''professors... engineers''' 
Theory vs practice.

'''Latinate token of prestige''' 
PhD (''Philosophiae Doctor''), summa cum laude, etc.

'''suspicious of night horizons''' 
(sunsets?)Absence of light horizons? You can't see the horizon at night unless ''something'' is flashing and flaring over beyond it. Townsfolk are traditionally suspicious of strange flickerings in the sky. Fireworks specialists give you a way out: "Oh, Luigi was just trying out a new star shell."

'''current... purity''' 
Free of noise?

'''Minkowski''' 
Hermann Minkowski was a German mathematician who made useful contributions in the development of relativity, amongst other things. Cf [[ATD_318-335#Page 324|page 324]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Minkowski] 
Developed the 4 dimensional non Euclidean geometry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minkowski_space] used in special relativity. In a very crude simplification it says that time and space are the same thing. It all depends on the velocity of the observer, how space and time are mixed. This influenced most of later science fiction on time travels!!! (Like in "Back to the future", where the DeLorean has to reach a certain speed to jump in time.)

'''Three times ten... minus one seconds''' 
Three times ten to the fifth refers to the speed of light. The square root of minus 1 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_unit Wikipedia] is also known as the Imaginary Unit or i. i is sometimes also expressed as the square root of -1, as here. Complex numbers [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_number Wikipedia] can be expressed as a + bi where a is the real part of the complex number and b is the imaginary part. Complex numbers were an important element of the work of both Minkowski and Einstein. Also, for imaginary number Cf [[ATD_119-148#Page 133|page 133]] and complex number Cf [[ATD_119-148#Page 132|page 132]].
 
The use of complex numbers to describe the relativistic space-time metric is somewhat out of fashion in modern physics, it is merely used to make the metric tensor (i.e. "that other expression") symmetrical in all 4 dimensions. So in a way one might see time as an imaginary space axis, but the modern aproach uses an symmetrical metric tensor, which makes the non-Euclidean nature of our space-time more clear.
 
''Against the Day'' takes place at the time when Newtonian physics were being supplanted, at least in theory, by physics based on Relativity. This equation touches on that. But also, the use of a real and an imaginary number returns to the theme of duality that arises throughout the book. The spacetime measured by imaginary or complex numbers would seem to be something different though co-existent with 'our' spacetime.
 
:Minkowski's lecture at Candlebrow is clearly a version of the lecture in which he first set out his interpretation of Special Relativity in terms of four-dimensional geometry, given in Cologne on 21st September, 1908. Pynchon has taken this equation, and Minkowski's description of it as 'pregnant' and 'mystic', directly from the published text of the lecture. The transcription also makes it clear that Minkowksi did indeed use blackboard and chalk. It's in a volume called ''The Principle of Relativity'' by Einstein, Lorentz, Weyl and Minkowski.[[User:SdeB|SdeB]]

'''other expression''' 
Contextually, Roswell seems to be refering to the other side of the above equation...'that other expression 'over there'...they are at a slate "blackboard."

'''he called the equation "pregnant"''' 
Minkowski used the German word ''prägnant,'' which doesn't mean "pregnant." It means concise, precise, penetrating, important.

'''astronomical distance''' 
Small-scale astronomy then: 3x105 km is about two-thirds of the distance from the Earth to the Moon.

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 397-428

2015-03-01T04:42:58Z

Pthomas: /* Page 425 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 397==

'''syntonic wireless''' [[Image:Columbian1892_obv.jpg|thumb|United States Mint image]][[Image:Columbian1892_rev.jpg|thumb|United States Mint image]]
syn·ton·ic (sĭn-tŏn'ĭk) adj.Psychology. Characterized by a high degree of emotional responsiveness to the environment.
Electricity. Of or relating to two oscillating circuits having the same resonant frequency.
[From Greek suntonos, high-strung, intense, attuned, from sunteinein, to draw tight : sun-, syn- + teinein, to stretch.]

Syntonic Wireless Telegraphy. [http://earlyradiohistory.us/1901ayrt.htm Ayrton Prediction]. Electrical Review, June 29, 1901, p. 820.

'''street-Arab''' 
a homeless boy who has been abandoned and roams the streets.
[http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn wordnet].

'''some koindt of a ''sailboat'' pitchuhv on it''' 
The reverse of the coin shows Columbus' flagship ''Santa Maria'' (the obverse has the navigator's portrait).

'''1893''' 
Columbian half dollars were struck in 1892 and 1893. [http://www.coinlink.com/CoinGuide/commemoratives/1892-1893-columbian-exposition-half-dollar/ CoinLink]

'''Columbian ''Half-Dollar''''' 
The 1892 Columbian Exposition half dollar was the first commemorative coin authorized by Congress. [http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/commemoratives/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=premodern]

'''"ten yeeuhz ago"''' 
Places this action in or around 1903.

==Page 398==

'''nuncio''' 
Casually, a messenger; more formally, a permanent official Papal representative at a foreign court.

'''Evening Quarters''' 
A muster of the ship's company at the end of the day. 
Is this at 1800 Hours?

'''H.G. Wells''' 
Herbert George Wells (1866-1946), one of the 19th Century science fiction writers whom Pynchon is both emulating and parodying in ''ATD''. H.G. Wells was an English novelist, sociologist, journalist, and historian. He wrote series of fantastic scientific romances ''The Time Machine'' (1895), ''The Invisible Man'' (1897), etc. In combination with scientific speculation he developed a strain of sociological idealism in ''The War of the Worlds'' (1898), ''First Men on the Moon'' (1901) and many others. He also wrote the well-known ''Outline of History'' (1920). For more see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.G._Wells Wikipedia entry].

'''jeu d'esprit''' 
French: play of wits. Witticism.
Here, Lindsay places Wells' masterful Time Machine (see above) in opposition with the more flashy and vulgar versions ("adulterated") of time travel offered in dime novels. Interesting that this comment would be made by someone who is himself a character in a dime novel.

'''National Imprest''' 
An imprest system is a system using loans as control against fraud and theft. The most common imprest system known is the petty cash system. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprest_system Wikipedia]. Interesting that the Chums' petty cash system goes
under the rubric National, not International?

'''"Plug" Loafsley''' 
Plug-ugly loafer/oaf?

'''Lollipop Lounge''' 
Lollipop is vulgar slang for an underage girl. There is at least one 'pornographic' magazine called Lollipops featuring supposedly underage girls.

'''Tenderloin''' 
2) A city district notorious for vice and graft. [After 'the Tenderloin', an area of New York City (from the easy income it once offered corrupt policeman). Cf p.334.
From the American Heritage Dictionary.

'''squalid empire''' 
Cf Alan Parker's 1976 movie "Bugsy Malone". [http://imdb.com/title/tt0074256/ IMDb]

==Page 399==

'''indigo... yellow''' 
Clashing-colors motif. Bright full-of-life colors.

'''dicer''' 
A hat [http://books.google.com/books?id=CUQSAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=dicer+hat&source=web&ots=3K_D1BkmBP&sig=xhzWDfgmMitS2mGUzL4ee8MHzTo], perhaps of the style now known as "baseball cap"[http://www.skateamerica.com/store/KR3W-Youth-Hat-Dicer-Black-ID_P15118C62.cfm].

'''opopanax and vervain''' 
Two fragrant, medicinal substances derived from flowering plants. They bloom yellow and violet, respectively. Wikipedia pages for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opoponax opopanax] and for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vervain vervain].
:Though Wikipedia prefers the spelling ''opoponax'', the ''OED'' suggests Pynchon's.

'''contrabass saxophone''' 
A rare but spectacular piece of hardware, somewhat taller than the person playing it, patented by Adolphe Sax in 1846. Pitched in E-flat—if you are keeping track—two octaves below the alto sax. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrabass_saxophone Wikipedia]

'''slide cornet''' 
A brass instrument with the voice of a cornet but using a slide instead of valves. Very, very rare.

'''mandola''' 
An eight-stringed instrument shaped like a mandolin but tuned the same as a viola. It is originally an Irish instrument.

'''"tin pan" piano''' 
A reference to New York's Tin Pan Alley. Probably, the tag means to indicate that the piano was out of tune or sounded 'cacophonous'. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_pan_alley Wikipedia entry]

'''anchored by . . . piano''' 
It's hard to imagine the sound of the ensemble: big reedy bass, lots of rhythm from the mandola, the abandoned wailing of the cornet, fuzzy arpeggios on the piano. Like a children's Fourth of July parade, plus hallucinogens.

'''houris''' 
According to the ''OED'', a "nymph of the Muslim Paradise. Hence applied allusively to a voluptuously beautiful woman." <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd Ed. 1989.</ref>

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "houris" is the plural of 'houri', as defined above.

'''Darby''' 
Over 21yo, if he's aged.

'''chanteuse''' 
A female singer of popular songs, esp. in France. <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

==Page 400==

'''paillettes''' 
2. a spangle used to ornament a dress or costume. [from Old French,diminutive of
paille,straw]. American Heritage Dictionary.

'''louche''' 
of questionable taste or morality. From Old French, losche= squint-eyed,
ultimately from Latin, luscus = blind in one eye. Source: American Heritage Dictionary.

''OED'' Oblique, not straightforward. Also, dubious, shifty, disreputable. <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

'''"jazz"''' 
The ''OED'' suggests that the spelling here was always more popular than ''jass'', as used on [[Pages 358-373#Page 370|p. 370]]. It makes sense that a musician like "Dope" Breedlove might use a less conventional spelling, as he would be familiar with the term before common usage had regularized its spelling. By contrast, within the "dime novel" idiom of the Chums of Chance narration (dime novelists not necessarily being, especially in those days, the swingin'-est of cats), while ''jazz'' still registers as a slang term, its spelling has already been regularized.

'''Dey high-hats us uptown''' 
They scorn or snub us.

'''Dey low-balls us downtown''' 
They underestimate us.

'''Missus Grundy''' 
Mrs. Grundy, proverbial looker-askance at any improper activity. "[A]n extremely conventional or priggish person" after a character alluded to in the play ''Speed The Plough,'' by Thomas Morton (1764-1838), British playwright. Source: American Heritage Dictionary.

''''ying'''' 
"Yen"? And play/contrast with yang?

==Page 401==

'''Angela Grace''' 
I.e., Angel of Grace

'''Gophiz... Hudson Dustuhs''' 
Gophers, Hudson Dusters. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Dusters New York street gangs.]

'''bushwahs''' 
Bourgeois.

'''slickin up''' 
Gentrification.

'''Mr. Mawgin''' 
J. Pierpont Morgan. Dr. Zoot has funding from the same source that supported Tesla earlier.

'''stanchion''' 
Upright structural member, here part of the El trestle.

'''find it''' 
(Small-penis joke.)

'''time-corroded''' 
Actually, on [[ATD 149-170#Pages 154-155|p. 154]] we learn that when these structures were erected, they were intentionally antiqued, "deliberately burned, attempts being made to blacken the stylized wreckage in aesthetic and interesting ways," a description that applies also to Pynchon's historical fiction with its antiquated language and its generally favorable view of all things black. Though, of course it's been a decade since the shrine was erected, and some actual time-corrosion may have occurred.

'''seeming to date from some ancient catastrophe, far older than the city.''' 
When, what is that catastrophe in ATD, pages 149-170?
:There's more than a hint in the geography. From Central Park to the Tenderloin, on a street where you can smell the waterfront; west and south till you hit (literally) the Ninth Avenue El; south on the El line. Eventually you get to the World Trade Center site.

'''I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY''' 
Italian: "Per me si va nella città dolente". Phrase first appears on [[ATD 149-170#Pages 154-155|p. 154]], where it is inscribed over the shrine that the citizens erect to the Destroyer. It is a quote from Canto III of Dante's ''Il Inferno,'' where it is emblazoned over the gates to Hell.

'''triatomic''' 
I.e., ozone or O3, which is a molecule composed of three bonded oxygen molecules. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone Wikipedia.]

==Page 402==

'''solenoidal relay''' 
Solenoid: a cylindrical coil of wire hollow in the center. To make a relay, stick an iron rod partway into the middle. Turn the current on, and the magnetic field pulls the iron in. Attach the rod to the bolt on the gate and you can unlock it by pushing a button.

'''Dr. Zoot''' 
homage to Zoot Sims, jazzman? 
Most often combined with Suit, as in
Zoot suit - Wikipedia. Often zoot suiters wear a felt hat with a long feather (called a tapa or ... By their dress, Zoot suiters expressed defiance, at a time when fabric was ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoot_suit
There is a contemporary "zootsuit" radio station devoted to old radio shows. Historically, much later than the period of ATD here, there were riots in Los Angeles called the Zoot Suit riots (alluded to in, wasn't it, ''The Crying of Lot 49''?)(Edit- nope, GR.)

'''pale''' 
Even tough-guy Plug fears the time machine.
Pynchon's perspective on artificial light, "already harsh illumination".

'''dynamo''' 
Electrical generator. Converts any rotational motion to AC or DC power.

'''Grandmother's day''' 
Pre-Civil War.

'''Breguet''' 
A distinctive fine watch of French design, usually with open circles ('moons') near the ends of the hands. (See also p.140) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breguet_(watch) Wikipedia entry]

'''shimming''' 
Insertion of thin material to make two parts line up. Think of the matchbook under the table leg.

'''revenue diverted''' 
(Why not no-revenue?)because revenue was spent---very cheaply: in only "the simplest upkeep."

==Page 403==

'''gutta-percha gasketry''' 
Gutta-percha (Palaquium) is genus of tropical trees native to southeast Asia and northern Australasia, from Taiwan south to Malaya and east to the Solomon Islands. It is also an inelastic natural latex produced from the sap of these trees. One use of gutta-percha was the "guttie" golf ball with a solid gutta-percha core, which appears [[ATD_919-945#Page 934|later in ''Against the Day'']]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutta-percha Wikipedia]

'''coaming''' 
Bodywork. Panels concealing frame, wiring, etc.

'''undog this hatch''' 
Nautical: disengage whatever is holding the door shut.

'''faith''' 
(Blind, not humble.)

'''nervous organizations''' 
Cf drugs. Cf. sympathetic vibrations, a physical kind of empathy.

'''pillioned''' 
Riding two to a horse.
Refers specifically to the "passenger seat", separated from the main saddle. Also applies to motorcycle riding where the small passenger seat is called a "pillion". Metonymically, pillion can be used to describe the passenger.

'''horses''' 
8 million horses were killed in WW1. At first battle of war, Mons, cavalry used extensively. This was before the war became fought through trench warfare. Shows how blindsided the direction the war took and how out of control it became for all involved. Note that "galloping" calvary has often been associated with romanticizing and glorifying of war in American lit. Cf. Rev Hightower in Faulkner's Light in August. (Recall, too, that Pynchon nicked AtD's title from Faulkner's famous Nobel Prize speech.)
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/horses_in_world_war_one.htm
Cavalry?

'''arrays of metallic points''' 
Bayonets? Appears to be a depiction of the (still future) Great War, WWI.

Or, if we are observing the future dead, the metallic points are the bullets fired, now holding static in the places where they interrupted the living.

==Page 404==

'''shockwaves of the Creation''' 
Anachronistic Big Bang theory? 
I must say that in the Big Bang theory, stars
were first created out of the bang; here the metaphor seems to accept that the stars already exist and "are blown through by the shockwaves of the Creation", capitalized, a common Pynchon touch, as in a Biblical allusion.

'''chamber shook''' 
(It didn't on p403.)

'''not beasts''' 
Airplanes?
Or Missiles/rockets? 'A screaming comes across the sky'....

'''smell''' 
Cf GR on Passchendaele.

==Page 405==

'''latest Oldsmobile''' 
(Dates.) 1903.

'''Candlebrow U.''' 
So what is a "candlebrow"? Consider those phallic ''ex voti'' candles offered up to [[St. Cosmo]]. The head of the candle-phallus, brow shaped, sits atop the cyclindrical candle-shaft and is, metaphorically, the candle's brow. And, natch, Gideon Candlebrow made the bucks necessary to fund Candlebrow U. with the miracle product [[#Page 407|"Smegmo,"]] the "Messiah of kitchen fats" (Imperial Margarine was advertised as "The King of Margarines") [http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Asmegma&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official smegma] is the "cheesy secretion" that collects atop the "candlebrow" beneath the foreskin. [[ATD 374-396#Page 374|Ewball Oust's name]] has similar connotations.

Maybe I'm pointing out the obvious, but it seems to me like Pynchon's way of saying Dickhead University. --[[User:Pomopaulrevere|Pomopaulrevere]]

'''double-domes''' 
'dome' is slang for the human brain, of course. [Amer Heritage] and seems to mean, in humorous context, two-headed or double-brained thinkers...(more doubling motif--as joke?)

:Or possibly a sexual ''double entendre''...consistent with the [[The Sexual Angle|rampant sexuality]] in ''AtD''. Why, several double-dome images come to mind, almost faster than "egghead"...

:also possibly a reference to numerous "mad scientist" contraptions that connect two (unwilling?) patients, hooked together by metallic helmets (domes), in order to "switch" "souls" from one body to another. Seems far-fetched, but in a book dominated by the idea of dopplegangers created by the refraction from Iceland spar, not so much...

:Also a possible reference to phrenology, the pseudo-science of skull shape in relation to personality traits. "Dome" in phrenology seems to refer to a desirable head shape, with the top of the skull large and rounded, like an egg with the larger end up. This seems to indicate morality, reason and self-restraint, in phrenology. Thus, could "double-dome" refer to someone with two possibly conflicting systems of morality, or reason? It seems a bit of a reach. But phrenology is probably something Pynchon would've paid attention to in his survey of the riot of pseudo-sciences clamoring for respect during that era.

'''drumming''' 
Traveling salesmanship.

<div id="balinhan"></div>'''a saloon down by the river called the Ball in Hand''' 
The Ball in Hand isn't the river, it's the saloon. Still, the name does have an English ring to it. The Bird in Hand is a common pub name in Britain.

Another cricket allusion? If so, rather obvious. Surely a straightforward sexual joke.
:Oh yes. As discussed a couple paragraphs down!

Ball in Hand might refer to the "orb," an emblem of sovereignty held in the monarch's left hand in many state portraits; the orb is a small globe usually surmounted by a cross. Or a physics allusion, though anachronistic by some 30 years: the dome of a Van de Graaff generator. The museum visitor places her hand on it, the docent cranks the machine, and the victim's hair flies into an [[ATD_26-56#Page_26|aigrette.]] Or a more carnal connotation, not anachronistic at all. Or fortunetelling. These remote connections do make cricket sound pretty good:

A term used in pocket billiards (especially 9-ball) when a player has scratched (sunk the cue ball) and the player who follows is allowed to place the cue ball wherever he/she wants.

:Given all the other [[The Sexual Angle|sexual references]] in ''AtD'', this definitely has a sexual ring to it. Consider that the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines "ball" as "5. Any rounded protuberant part of the body." It is thought that "ball" is derived from the Indo-European word ''bhel'', meaning to blow, swell; with derivatives referring to various round objects and to the notion of tumescent masculinity. Derivatives include ''boulevard'', ''boulder'', ''phallus'', ''balloon'', ''ballot'', and ''fool''. [http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/roots/zzb01800.html]

<div id="meatman">'''Alonzo Meatman'''</div>
Meatman translated to German is Fleischmann, as in [http://www.fleischmanns.com/products/index.jsp Fleischmann's], makers of yeast, margarine, and assorted spreads.

:Yes, perhaps a cheesy spread, like that smegmo! In 1973, Jerry Lee Lewis recorded an homage to his oral talents entitled "Meat Man" in which he brags of having "a maytag tongue with a sensitive taste." This fits in with [[The Sexual Angle]] in AtD. [[Meat Man|Read the lyrics...]]. And there ''are'' those [[ATD 57-80#Page 73|great balls of fire]] known as ball lightning.

'''they don't like to cross running water''' 
A preference shared by witches, vampires and in some accounts the Devil.

==Page 406==

'''counterfeit of the Timeless''' 
Thematic. Whole sentence seems the sharpest indictment of 'the Academy' as exemplified by Candlebrow U.

'''fatal discovery''' 
Note the contrast with "fateful discovery" on [[ATD 397-428#Page 398|p.398]].

'''''Imum Coeli''''' 
Latin for "bottom of the sky." In Astrology, it is the point in space where the ecliptic crosses the meridian in the north, exactly opposite the Midheaven. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imum_Coeli Wikipedia entry]

'''rusticated''' 
Of masonry, parts of buildings, etc.: Rendered rustic in appearance. <ref>Def. 3a. '''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

'''managing somehow...to present an aspect of terrible antiquity''' 
Perhaps because [very mild one-page spoiler ahead:] there's some truth to the conjecture of Professor Vanderjuice on the next page that "there's nothing to keep us from going back as far as we like, and holding the Conferences then, even back when this was all prehistoric around here, dinosaurs, giant ferns, flammivomous peaks everywhere sort of thing..."

'''Gideon Candlebrow''' 
made-up founder whose scandalous fortune underlay Candlebrow U?

'''Grossdale''' 
a gross dale?

'''great Lard Scandal of the '80s'''' 
Real event? (There were a couple of 'Lard Scandals" in last ten years but in countries other than Great Britain.) 

Since Gideon had to testify before congress about it, said Scandal must have happened in the States. He seems to have shipped lard that was deemed too "adulterated" to be sold in the US to good old Britain, thereby, as Pynchon puts it with a good dose of mean-spirited humor, "compromising further an already debased national cuisine". What did he use to adulterate the lard? The secret ingredient in Smegmo, maybe?

In [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_5#113 ''V.''] Pynchon mentions the "Great Sewer Scandal of 1955."

'''Christmas pudding controversy'''' 
Lard could certainly be used while making Christmas Pudding, aka Plum Pudding [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding Wikipedia entry], the quintessential British holiday treat. The traditional ingredient, though, is suet. Some families might have tried to substitute lard in the recipe, which would have radically altered the taste of the pudding, sparking bitter fights about the importance of culinary tradition. Could this "controversy" be a metaphor of the effects of American cultural imperialism? Maybe I should just do a taste test...

==Page 407==

'''"Smegmo"''' 
Smegma is a secretion of mammalian genitals [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smegma Wikipedia].

The word derives from a transliteration of the Greek word σμήγμα for soap.

As an "artificial substitute for everthing in the edible-fat category" pronounced kosher by an "eminent Rabbi of world hog capital Cincinnati, Ohio," Smegmo may be a code name for Crisco, a Procter & Gamble creation invented in Cincinnati in 1911 -- an anarchronism or time shift in the text -- and marketed through various ethnic cookbooks, including a Yiddish/English kosher cookbook published in 1933 with the "Hechsher (or certificate) of a prominent Orthodox rabbi, "denoting that Crisco contained nothing animal-based."
[http://www.crisco.com/about/history/1930.asp]

"Smegm"a + crisc "O" = Smegmo

:Interesting(?) sideline: Here in Denmark the slang word for smegma is 'nakkeost' -i.e. 'neck-cheese'. And of course anyone who's seen 'Red Dwarf' will know about the current British use of 'smeg' (Not smeggin'likely, get the smeg outa here! Smeg off!). What do Americans call it?

Smegmo and Candlebrow:
"The initial purpose [for Crisco] was to create a cheaper substance to make candles than the expensive animal fats in use at the time. Electricity began to diminish the candle market, and since the product looked like lard, they began selling it as a food." Yet another Lard Scandal? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisco]

Also P&G was founded as a candle (Procter) and soap (Gamble) company, making profits from the fat of slaughtered pigs in "Porkopolis," Cincinnati.

Finally, the stock ticker for P&G is PG which is pretty close to one of Pynchon's favorite animals -- PIG.

Cf. [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_525-556 cottonseed oil] p. 546.

'''margarine''' 
1887 saw the introduction of the Margarine Act in Great Britain, which required margarine to be labeled as such. This was in response to the adulteration of butter by oleomargarine (made from animal fats).

Candlebow + margarine reminds me of Camille Paglia on Renee Zellwegger as "margarine-browed" (which I don't really understand).

'''four thousand years''' 
Refers to the time believed to have elapsed since Abraham and the foundation of Judaism [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham Wikipedia]. Under kosher laws Jews are not allowed to mix milk and meat products in the same meal. The rabbi's proclamation about having waited 4000 years refers to the arrival of Smegmo as a non-milk substitute for butter that can be eaten with meat dishes.

'''"you kept hearing different stories about exactly what was in it"''' 
Refers to wide range of urban legend-like attributions as to the origins and/or makeup of smegma that exist especially among children.

There's a resonance with Coca-Cola, too: exaggerated secrecy about the formula, fanatical market development, endowment of a university (Emory in the case of the Woodruff and Candler fortunes).

'''First International Conference on Time-Travel''' 
MIT students held a [http://web.mit.edu/adorai/timetraveler/ Time Traveler Convention] on May 7, 2005. The organizers did only modest publicity, claiming that the event would be reported and people in the future would read about it and decide to attend. One of the principals pointed out that only one such convention would ever need to take place. Vanderjuice's reasoning is almost a mirror image of that.

'''''The Time Machine''''' 
A short novel by H. G. Wells, written as a series of articles in 1888 for ''The Science Schools Journal'', and published as a book in 1895. The central character, ''Time Traveller'', tells a group of friends that he has invented a machine which can travel through time, enabling him to investigate the destiny of the human species. In the year 802,701, where he is temporarily stranded, he finds the meek and beautiful ''Eloi'' ling in apparently idyllic circumstances, but discovers that they are the prey of the degenerate ''Morlocks'', descendants of laborers who have lived underground for centuries. In later eras he sees the life-forms which survive the extinction of man, and thirty million years hence he is witness to the world's final decline as the sun cools. (Taken from ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'', 1988 Edition.) For more information from other source see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine The Time Machine].

Wells' The Time Machine portrays the splitting of the Human Species between the Upper-worlders and the subterranean species called Morlocks. Wells compares the Upper-worlders and Morlocks to our own social differences between the Capitalist and the Laborer, the Haves and the Have-nots. When the Time Traveler first encounters a Morlock in chapter 5, he sees "A pair of eyes, luminous by reflection ''against the daylight'' without,...."

'''this year''' 
??? 1903.

'''back when this was all prehistoric around here''' 
See previous page "managing somehow..."

'''flammivomous''' 
Vomiting out flame. <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

'''sophomoric slogs''' 
Slog can be a forceful hit and a Cricket term. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slog Link]

'''nooky''' 
"nooky" is synonymous with "pussy" both of which are used metonymically to denote either the sex act or, in this case, women who are desirable as sex partners.

'''1925 or thereabouts''' 
Lindsay's unfamiliarity with the term "nooky" ''could'' continue until it becomes an accepted part of the English language, which occurred, according to the ''OED'', with its first substantiative written usage in 1928. The ''OED'', by the way, prefers the spelling ''nookie'' (the ''Shorter OED'' prefers "nooky"). However, the term was certainly in the vernacular long before it made it into the ''OED'' and is speculated to be of British origin, perhaps derived from "nugging" (having sex) or "nook" which a vagina could be considered, I suppose.

Most likely a simple "chummy" joke, implying that poor old Lindsay wouldn't get to experience the pleasures of the flesh for another 25 years. Considering that the Chums don't seem to age, I really can't say how old he will be when the blessed event finally comes.

:Actually, this seems like a fairly obvious poke at exactly the kind of scholarship we're participating in here-- Miles admits and acknowledges that the use of "nooky" here is an anachronism, which will only be of a concern to readers who were actively trying to get laid in 1903, and the kind of people who look up the origin of a word 100 years later to say "...but they didn't say 'nooky' in '03!"

'''Randolph''' 
(Has he been absent?)

==Page 408==

'''telegraphic messages''' 
(Why at night, particularly? Email parody?) Seems many telegraphic messages were delivered at night, perhaps because they could be picked up during the daytime and many came after evening began.

When telegrams were a customary means of communication, you could send a "straight wire," which would go right on the wire and get delivered promptly, or a "night letter," which would go into a queue for transmission in low-traffic times and be delivered the next morning. The rate for night letters was lower than that for straight wires.

'''"Goes with everything"''' 
Cf Al Capp's Shmoos?

'''a ''million'' uses for Smegmo''' 
Tracing out just one parallel: Coke—foundation of the Candler fortune and the Emory U. endowment—is a beverage, a sweetener and flavoring agent (Coca-Cola Cake a Southern favorite), a solvent (best thing for removing bugs from windshields) and a cleanser (''MythBuster''-tested for polishing automotive chrome). In an emergency you can fill your radiator with it, and used with care it will raise bread dough.

Tracing out another parallel: Crisco, not only the first but also emblamatic of all synthetic shortening, is "ubiquitous in the cuisine and among the table condiments..." It is found in baked products (breads, cakes, muffins, etc.), salad dressings, soups, potato chips, mayonnaise, cheese spreads, peanut butter, cake and biscuit mixes. Raisins are sometimes coated with it. You will find them in most processed foods.

'''in the way that certain odors can instantly return us to earlier years''' 
Recalls Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu in which the taste and smell of a madeleine cookie summons a collection of childhood memories.

'''"There's a seminar on that tomorrow ... Or do I mean day before yesterday?"''' 
Are all the folks at Candlebrow time travellers? Unlikely. This remark seems to be a typical collegiate witticism about classes. Seems about everyone can STUDY time travelling at Candlebrow.

'''Finney Hall''' 
Probably a Hall/Auditorium/Room in Candlebrow U. named after American author Jack Finney (1911-1995), who wrote a famous time travel novel, ''Time and Again'' (1970). See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Finney Jack Finney] for more.

'''florescent''' 
flowering, blooming.From florescense. Amer Heritage Dictionary

==Page 409==

'''Gibson Girls''' 
From illustrations of a kind of woman first made by Charles Dana Gibson. Besides certain physical features--see wikipedia---such women were thought
to be 'independent', often college girls, although not suffragettes.

'''"Why you insufferable little --"''' 
This line, paired with St. Cosmo's observation at the end of the following paragraph: "And might I add, Mr. Noseworth, that these constant attempts to strangle Suckling do our public image little good," seem a fairly direct reference to a well-worn trope from the ''Simpsons'' [http://www.snpp.com/guides/homer.file.html#strangle], in which the splenetic Homer, as played here by Noseworth, expresses his no-longer-controllable frustration with Bart, here the increasingly smartalecky Suckling.

Pynchon, as has been widely reported, has appeared on ''The Simpsons'' a couple times.

More than even "Vineland," it seems, this book is fraught with pop culture/low comedy asides. 

'''Wellesianism''' 
Relating to Orson Welles. On page 412 the term
''''Wellsian''' optimism' is used in a clear reference to H.G. Wells.

:Orson Wellesianism seems correct: The scene, an immense inventory of discarded time machines, is reminiscent of the final scenes of ''Citizen Kane'' which show Kane's enormous collection of objects in rows of stacks extending seemingly to infinity.

Also, Orson did the infamous War of the Worlds broadcast that sent people shooting in the streets. The Wells/Welles blurring would imply Vanderjuice knew of a future event/movie and I don't think such characterological foreknowledge (in the prof's case) or authorial intrusion is active in this text. So I think that it's a typo and not a really obvious/belabored pun.

Since this is followed by listing "Asimov Transeculars" among the discarded time machines, we may reasonably conclude that discussion of time travel frees Pynchon to insert what would otherwise be an anachronism. Relax and enjoy.

'''Asimov Transecular''' 
Interesting to find one of Isaac Asimov's time travel machines on the pile of "picked-over hulks of failed time machines." Of course, it would have to have been deposited there from some time in the future.

transecular 
Adj "that is made through the centuries" (Portuguese) [[User:Btchakir|Btchakir]] 16:48, 19 December 2006 (PST)

Rather than troubling to search for a Portuguese word, isn't it more likely that Asimov or Pynchon coined this in a nearly trivial way? ''Trans,'' across, plus ''secular,'' ages or centuries (from Latin [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=s&p=11 ''sæculum,''] an age, a generation, 120 years; also yielding French ''siècle,'' a century).

'''Asimov''' 
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), Russian born American biochemist and science fiction writer. His family emigrated to the US in 1923 and he was naturalised in 1928. He graduated from Columbia University and had been Professor of Biochemistry of the University of Boston since 1979. He began contributing stories to science fiction magazines in 1939 and his first book ''Pebble in the Sky'' was published in 1950. Many others followed. ''The Foundation Trilogy'' (1963) made an international reputation as the master of science fiction. Since 1958 he had published few novels, preferring to concentrate on text books and works of popularized science such as ''Intelligent Man's Guide to Science'' (2 Vols. 1960). And he also wrote ''Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare'' (1970). In his life time he wrote over 500 books that spanned the realm of human knowledge. [http://www.asimovonline.com/ Asimov Home Page] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issac_Asimov Isaac Asimov].

'''Tempomorph''' 
Tempo + morph = Time change

'''Q-98s''' 
FM station? The weapon used by Loony Tunes character Marvin the Martian is called the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator

'''Flow''' 
Flow of Time.

'''vulcanite''' 
Star Trek allusion? A kind of mineralized rubber.
:a hard, readilly cut and polished rubber, obtained by vulcanizing rubber with a large amount of sulfur or some sulfur compound under a moderate heat (110-140 degree C), used in the manufacture of combs, buttons, and for electric insulation.

'''Heusler's alloy''' 
any of various alloys of manganese and other nonferromagnetic metals that exhibit ferromagnetism. Named after Conrad Heuslet, 19th-century German mining engineer and chemist.

'''bonzoline''' 
Synthetic ivory, used to make billiard balls.

'''electrum''' 
An alloy of gold and silver, presumably not the same as ''argentaurum''.

'''lignum vitae''' 
The very hard heavy wood of any of several tropical American guaiacum trees. In Latin, literally "wood of life."

'''platinoid''' 
An alloy of copper, nickel, tungsten and zinc, formerly used in elecric coils.

'''magnalium''' 
Magnesium-aluminum alloy.

'''packfong silver''' 
A Chinese alloy of nickel, zinc and copper, resembling German silver. [http://dict.die.net/packfong/ packfong].

'''The Ball in Hand''' 
[[#balinhan|See annotations to p. 405.]]

'''safe harbor''' 
Paradoxical, I think.

'''automorphic''' 
auto = Self,same. Morph = to change. The theory of automorphic functions concerns a generalization of periodic functions such as the Earth's revolution.

'''Eternal Return''' 
A fascinating interpretation of history in which Time is a single cycle and once it has reached its conclusion begins anew, and each repetition of the cycle is utterly identical to the first. Perhaps originating in ''The New Science'' by Giambattista Vico, though made most famous by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who used it as the basis for his moral philosophy. Cf. Nietzsche, ''The Will to Power''.

Notice that at Candlebrow, the conferences converged to a "form' of Eternal Return. The almost instantaneous way the conferees can be "resurrected' and seem never to age, makes this form of the Eternal
Return a lot like Never-Never Land. 
A-and perhaps a Pynchon jape at Nietzsche's vision of history?

==Page 410==

'''revenance''' 
Related to revenant, a ghost, a returner from the dead.

'''River of Time''' 
cf "the invisible river, the flow of Time", p.252. Herein a 'parable' drawn from the flowing of a literal river, by some Candlbrow conferees.

Cf. "The River of Time" (first published in 1981 as "Coexistence" in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine) 

Cf. M&D's "in America, time is a river that goes through hell"

Cf. Heraclitus's Flux and Fire Philosophy. [http://www.thebigview.com/greeks/heraclitus.html]

'''Symmes Street''' possible reference to the Symme's Hole which leads into the hollow earth, i. e. a street on the extreme fringe

Symmes Street = Symmetry ?

'''gaslit''' 
Lightfuel motif.

'''St. Louis Fair''' 
1904.

Also "Pygmy boyfriends escaped from the St. Louis Fair" - in the book Ota Benga, about a pygmy who appeared in the St. Louis Fair, there is a reference to pygmies escaping from their exhibit and disappearing into neighborhoods of St. Louis, never to be found

'''''kielbasa sausage''''' 
Often referred to as Polish sausage (which is uncooked), Kielbasa sausage is a precooked, smoked, traditionally made of pork that is highly seasoned with garlic.

also used to describe a very large penis. Judging from the "disreputable" nature of the Ball in Hand, it wouldn't seem too far-fetched to imagine Polish comedians hitting themselves over the head with their own appendages.

'''fantan''' 
Traditional Chinese gambling game; also a card game [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan-Tan].

'''"preserver"''' 
Or "life-preserver": slang, a blackjack or cosh.

'''magenta-and-green''' 
Clashing-colors motif. This combination appears in a bandana in [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity's Rainbow''] (Viking p. 69 line 14). 
Life colors in Pynchon, it might be argued?, as is a bandana. 
The clashing of (anarchic) life motif, maybe? 

magenta is a color that was renamed for a battle, the Battle of Magenta!
see wikipedia.

There's something else striking about magenta and green: In the field of [http://www.rgbworld.com/color.html color mixing,] these are complementary in the sense that magenta results from filtering all the green out of white light and vice versa. Green is an additive primary (red-green-blue), while magenta is a subtractive primary (cyan-magenta-yellow). This does not hold for some other ''AtD'' color schemes (red/indigo comes to mind, but there are a dozen or so of these binary combinations).

==Page 411==

'''Finding of Unusual Circumstances Questionaire''' 
Also, presumably, known as the "F.U.C.Q." or "fucq" for short.

'''Hawaiian volcano''' 
Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, displays the results of 70 million years of volcanism, migration, and evolution — processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with complex and unique ecosystems, and a distinct human culture.

The park encompasses 333,000 acres and ranges from sea level to the summit of the earth's most massive volcano, Mauna Loa at 13,677 feet. ''Kilauea, the world's most active volcano, offers scientists insights on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands'' and visitors views of dramatic volcanic landscapes. Over half of the park is designated wilderness and provides unique hiking and camping opportunities. [[Hawaii|More on Hawaiian references in ''Against the Day'']]...

'''Zennist''' 
Practitioners of Zen Buddhism.

'''''Caged Women of Yokohama''''' 
Possible: Yokohama was one of the first Japanese cities with the heaviest
industrialization...wherein many young women from the surrounding rural
areas came to work in dreadful working and living conditions? "The early 20th century was marked by rapid growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories along reclaimed land to the north of the city towards Kawasaki, which eventually grew to be the Keihin Industrial Area. The growth of Japanese industry brought affluence to Yokohama, and many wealthy trading families constructed sprawling residences there, while the rapid influx of population from Japan and Korea also led to the formation of Kojiki-Yato, the largest slum in Japan at the time." Wikipedia. 
Misc. Like Telluride in the U.S., Yokohama had the first gaslit streetlamps in Japan. Wikipedia.

==Page 412==

'''koan''' 
Japanese. A ko-an is a story, dialogue, question or statement in the lore of Zen Buddhism. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koan koan].

'''"Does a dog possess the Buddha-nature?" [...] "Yes, obviously"''' 
According to the Zen parable the answer to the question is "Mu", which is both "No" and the sound of a dog's bark, thus neither simply yes nor no. See the explanantion given by the Learned English Dog in Mason & Dixon (Ch. 3, p. 22).

'''apricot and aquamarine''' 
Clashing-colors motif.

'''F.I.C.O.T.T.''' 
As Alonzo Meatman goes right on to explain, F.I.C.O.T.T. is the acronym for the First International Conference On Time Travel, but readers of ''Gravity's Rainbow'' will recall also "Fickt" from the line "Fickt nicht mit dem Raketemensch," or "Don't f--k with the Rocketman."

'''hootnanny''' 
Typo? Should be hootenanny, an informal performance by folk singers, typically with participation by the audience. The OED says that it can be spelled either way, and also hootananny.

'''Bohr... Mach... young Einstein... Spengler... Wells... McTaggart''' 
All of these people did work involving either speculation about time (Wells) or other subjects that reached their highest expression in Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which had implications regarding the nature of time and spacetime [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_relativity Wikipedia]. Pynchon refers to the fact that this work was underway and 'in the air' at the time of the novel. [[Bohr, Mach, Einstein, et al.|History and Discussion...]]

Notice how, among this stellar cast of scientists, Wells seems to be placed above the rest (cf: "Mr. Wells himself"), as if the writer of fiction trumped "real" scientists when it came to the idea of time travel.

'''dismissing . . . the ''existence'' of Time''' 
In a 1908 essay, ''The Unreality of Time'', McTaggart said "Our ground for rejecting time . . . is that time cannot be explained without assuming time." For the full text of the essay [http://www.ditext.com/mctaggart/time.html The Unreality of Time (1)] and other information [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unreality_of_Time The Unreality of Time (2)].

'''the McTaggartite''' 
disciple of Mctaggart?

'''neo-Augustinian''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo St. Augustine of Hippo] (354-430), in his autobiographical [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confessions/confessions.html ''Confessions''], is credited with reconceptualizing the notion of time in Christian terms. Throyle, on [[ATD 119-148#Page 143|p.143]], summarizes what he terms "Christian time," as a "linear way of regarding time, a simple straight line from past, through present, into the future." See also [[ATD E|'''Eschatology''']].

<div id="pudding">'''fatal steamed pudding'''</div>
Presumably the subject of the "Christmas-pudding controversy" mentioned on p. 406. In the context of Prof. Taggart's disbelief in time and the Augustinian's presumed belief that time moves inevitably toward Christ's return, a Christmas pudding (which, one should mention, is prepared with suet or similar animal fat, though presumably Smegmo can be substituted) is a symbol, insofar as it invokes the birth of Christ, of a pivotal moment in the proper sequence of Augustinian time. The pudding, which context here suggests the neo-Augustinian dropped on the McTaggartite, at once symbolizes the Fall of Man, as well as the McTaggartite's inevitable descent into Hell. The whole arrangement is problematized, however, by the comments of the County Coroner, who describes the outcome of the event dependent on "wagering," chance being irreconcilable with Augustinian time.

'''vertical distance''' 
Of pudding-drop?

<div id="stearinery">'''Old Stearinery Bell Tower'''</div>
A stearinery (probably made-up word) is a facility where stearin is made. Chemically, stearin is an ester of glycerol with stearic acid, or stearic acid itself. The name also denotes the solid component of a fat. Smegmo undoubtedly contains stearin, so the Old Stearinery was a key part of the original production process.

"Until 1863 lard stearin was used to produce the stearic acid for candle making. With lard expensive and in short supply, a new method was discovered to produce the stearic acid using tallow. What lard and lard stearin was available was instead developed into a cooking compound. The same process was later adapted to create Crisco, the first all-vegetable shortening." [http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/The-Procter-amp;-Gamble-Company-Company-History.html]

==Page 413==

'''322 feet''' 
The ''average'' acceleration produced by gravity at the Earth's surface (sea level) is 32.2 (or 32.17405 to be exact) feet per second per second. This apllies "in any direction out to the curve of the Earth, notorious locally for exerting a fascination upon minds healthy and disordered alike."

''Pedantry Alert:'' From a height of 322 feet, you see the horizon at a distance of 22 miles.

'''disordered''' 
Eg clocktower assassins?
:Also people who may be moved to ''knock towers down.''

'''homeopathist''' 
One who practices homeopathy.

'''"the ''lycopodium'' type"... Fear''' 
Lycopodium is a common homeopathic remedy for many disorders. Homeopathy being the introduction into the body, in infinitesimal amounts, of a possibly toxic or irritating agent that ends up stimulating the body to heal itself.

'''sky-brother''' 
???
My take was that he was assuaging any hurt feelings with Meatman by placing him on the level of a fellow "Chum of Chance".

Hmm... maybe Chick is implying that he and Meatman are indeed of the same cloth, not bound by the earthly realm, the former spending most of his time in the air and the latter being able to travel to other dimensions.

'''other Promise... resurrected... two millennia''' 
???
:maybe this refers simply to the Resurrection (and therefore the end of Time); the Promise is that the trumpet (Chick's?) shall sound, and the dead shall be raised.

God's promise of eternal life vs. Time Travel's promise of making you immortal.

'''speaking trumpet''' 
Brass forerunner of the megaphone. [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1671RSPT....6.3056M Abstract] of a 1671 paper; [http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conMediaFile.2647 photo] of a ship's speaking trumpet, 1799; [http://www.auroraregionalfiremuseum.org/giftshop/1850figure/source/horn.htm catalog entry] for a replica American fire brigade speaking trumpet, mid-19th century.

==Page 414==

'''purlieus''' 
outskirts, outlying areas; also (OED) "meaner streets about some main thoroughfare; a mean, squalid or disreputable street or quarter."

This whole section is a progress into the outlying areas, the fringes
(Cf. Pynchon's story ''Low-lands'', which takes place at a town dump)

'''millwork''' 
woodwork, doors, molding, wainscotting, etc, but cheap, prefabricated, not custom-fabricted on site.

'''penumbrae''' 
A penumbra is the outer and lighter part of the shadow created by an eclipse. "Penumbrae" is the plural form.

'''quiescence''' 
His name suggests a purveyor of meat, and he does "deliver" Chick to Mr. Ace.

==Page 415==

'''"Mr. Ace"''' 
This could be a nod to the 1946 film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038752/ ''Mr. Ace''] starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft who plays Eddie Ace, the head man of a crooked political machine who intends to scuttle the gubernatorial campaign of female senator Margaret Wyndham Chase (Sylvia Sidney). He uses every dirty trick in the book to destroy Margaret, but she perseveres on the strength of sheer honesty and integrity. Through her example, Ace mends his own ways, earning Margaret's love as a bonus, and he helps her to run as an independent on a clean-government ticket.

It may, more specifically, refer to the old-time radio show called ''The Cases of Mr. Ace'' which had a very limited run mostly on WNEW in New York in the late forties. Raft played Eddie Ace, the sole owner of Ace Detective Agency on 6th Avenue. In the episode from June 25, 1945, Ace described one gangster thus:

:"The face of a small fragile old man. His hair was glossy and deep black. His eyes were glossy and deep black."

Compare this to Pynchon's Mr. Ace: "Glossy black eyes, presented like weapons in a duel."

'''phatic''' 
Relating to speech that serves to establish social relationships rather than to inform.

'''Those of us who spoke this truth were denounced as heretics''' 
Yes, the old Pynchon theme of those in control, the oligarchs, silencing the counterforce.

Taking of refuge in a planet's past was the plot of a Captain Kirk-era ''Star Trek'' episode; the unintentionally transported Kirk is taken to be a religious dissenter; fortunately his judge is one of the "refugees".

'''certain of your great dynamos''' 
Cf. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Brooks_Adams Henry Adams], author of ''The Virgin and The Dynamo''. Pynchon has written of being influenced deeply by Adams, and his ideas are particularly evident in Pynchon's [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''].

'''Fraternity of the Venturesome''' 
Mistranslated 'Chums of Chance'.

'''''nzzt''''' 
Electrical short?

Suggests "he" could be a holographic image. Time traveling holograms were one feature of the "Temporal Cold War" subplot of ''Star Trek: Enterprise''; one such manifestation (complete with "nzzt's") is set in a huge dynamo station in a Nazi-occupied New York. This is two possible ''Star Trek'' allusions in a single page.

Electrical short is certainly relevant. The mistranslation is a kind-of short-circuit, then he gets the right phrase from his data bank. Bit like C3P0 in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_wars ''Star Wars'']?

'''You are not aware that each of your mission assignments is intended to prevent some attempt of our own to enter your time-regime.''' 
Aha! A little peek into the True Mission of the Chums. Time to take another look at those various adventures:

* ''Chums of Chance and The Evil Halfwit'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_5|p.5]])
* ''Chums of Chance and The Curse of the Great Kahuna'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_5|p.5]])
* ''Chums of Chance at Krakatoa'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_6|p.6]])
* ''Chums of Chance Search for Atlantis'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_6|p.6]])
* ''Chums of Chance in Old Mexico'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_7|p.7]])
* ''Chums of Chance and the Bowels of the Earth'' ([[ATD_97-118#Page_117|p.117]])
* ''The Chums of Chance and the Ice Pirates'' ([[ATD_119-148#Page_123|p.123]])
* ''The Chums of Chance Nearly Crash into the Kremlin'' ([[ATD_119-148#Page_123|p.123]])
* ''Chums of Chance at the Ends of the Earth'' ([[ATD_199-218#Page_214|p.214]])
* ''Chums of Chance and the Caged Women of Yokahama'' ([[ATD_397-428#Page_411|p.411]])
* ''Chums of Chance and the Wrath of the Yellow Fang'' ([[ATD_1018-1039#Page_1019|p.1019]])

==Page 416==

'''ZZnrrt''' 
Cf 415.

'''"irreversible processes"''' 
In thermodynamics, an irreversible process is one in which the intermediate states cannot be specified by any set of macroscopic variables, and which are not equilibrium states. Since the intermediate states are unknown this process cannot be reversed.

'''Squanto and the Pilgrims''' 
Squanto (Tisquantum) was one of the two Native American Indians (Samoset being the other) that assisted the Pilgrims during their first winter in the New World. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto Squanto].

Ironic (although Chick means it sincerley) since in this case the Chums of C are "Squanto" and their strange interlocutors from another dimension are the pilgrims. Chick innocently suggests that the strangers from the future just want help (as, like the pilgrims, they have just arrived and are low on supplies, so to speak). It is implied that just as the Indian's helping the pilgrims was re-payed with disease, genocide and war, the payback the Chums reap for helping these visitors from another dimension may not be what they expect.

'''entropy''' 
A term first used in 1850s by the German physicist Rudolf Clausius (1822-1888). It is the name of a quantity in thermodynamics, statistical mechanics and information theory variously representing the degree of disorder in a physical system, the extent to which the energy in a system is available for doing work, the distribution of the energy of a system between different modes, or the uncertainty in a given item of knowledge. In thermodynamics absolut entropies cannot be determined, only ''changes'' in entropy. One way of stating the second law of thermodynamics (Cf [[ATD_219-242#Page 238|page 238]]) is to say that in any change in an isolated system, the entropy increases. This increase in entropy represents the energy that is no longer available for doing work in that system. See [http://www.entropylaw.com/ Entropy & Laws of Thermodynamics.]

'''"It's our innocence . . . ."''' 
Speculation about the motives of people who come from the future claiming to need something from the past. It is a common fallacy in all ages to think back to the past as a 'golden age' and an age of 'innocence'. Lindsay elaborates further down the page: "[I]magine ''them''... so fallen, so corrupted, that we — even we — seem to them pure as lambs. And their own time so terrible that it's sent them desparately back...." Think also of the kind of 'golden age' rhetoric often employed by certain politicians.

==Page 417==

'''"we're totally"''' 
...fucked.

'''"He is not what he says he is."''' 
Pynchon denies Chums backstory/explanation.

In addition, his story would be plausible almost too plausible in terms of the thermodynamic theories of the day, i.e. the Heat Death of the Universe (about which Pynchon has written before: see [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] and ''Entropy'').

'''trespassers''' 
Presumably individuals in the company of Mr. Ace and Alonzo Meatman, whose intentions toward the Chums of Chance are apparently sinister and for their own benefit. They appear to travel back through the stream of time without any kind of permission to execute their plans, thus making them trespassers (or parasites).

The idea of trespass could be thought of in another way too. Miles mentions Mr. Ace knowing him as a 'peeper' who observes the trespassers as they come to his time. We could think of the 'trespassers' as anyone in any time who looks back at a point in history. As such, they are actually 'peepers'. That these seem to have found a way not just to peep but actually to participate makes them more than peepers, in fact, it is this that constitutes their 'trespass'.

Pynchon seems to be playing with how we view history and the past, a theme common to all his work. The Chums, whose existence is, to an extent, fictional even within the work of fiction, are a nexus meant to control boundaries between points in time (e.g. the future and the present, or its past). Historians and other future observers want to use the past for their own purposes. If they become visible to the people in that past, they will appear as 'trespassers' and violators. As Miles says, they do "not have our best interests in mind".

We ourselves (readers and perhaps even more, Wiki authors) are also trespassers from the standpoint of the Chums. We read about them in the novel, which takes us to the past, to their present, and inserts us in a way that is invisible to them. We then write up entries and think thoughts about what they do. We are in their world in some way that to them is utterly mysterious and sinister because, again, we have own agendas in mind and not theirs.

Right: And what about the biggest trespasser of all - the author himself. After all, he's the one who can offer them immortality.

As opposed to Tyrone Slothrop, who seemed to have taken on a life of his own and escaped from the book totally in GR.

'''I see them ''pointing something'' back at me not exactly a weapon an enigmatic object.''' 
Hmmm. Could this have anything to do with the [[Q-weapon_and_Photography|Q-weapon]]?

— – – mmm... does anyone think that it might be just a remote control, and that the window through which the trespassers and the Chums see each other might be just a TV set? [[[User:Sonni|Sonni]] 09:19, 21 February 2008 (PST)]

==Page 418==

'''Trespass''' 
With a capital T.

'''evidence... everywhere''' 
Cf [http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Crying of Lot 49''].

'''neuropathy''' 
An abnormal and usually degenerative state of the nervous system or nerves.

'''contracts''' 
With Devil.
More specifically, like Faust with Mephistopheles.

'''Other Units''' 
(So our five gossiped to others?)

'''exhaustive''' 
Cf Trekkies.

'''came to recall''' 
Cf PK Dick.

'''red and indigo''' 
Clashing?

'''Marching Academy Harmonica Band''' 
In this episode the academy goes by seven permutations of the name:
*Marching Academy Harmonica Band
*Harmonica Band Marching Academy
*Marching Harmonica Band Academy
*Harmonica Marching Band Academy
*Harmonica Band Marching Academy
*Marching Harmonica Band activities
*Harmonica Marching Band Training Academy
Its identity is not very securely tied down.
Clearly it's mutable, a kind of mirage. And surely there's a resonance with 'laughing academy'? And a hint of the Hogwarts train in 'Harry Potter'?

Pynchon devotes enough attention to that whole baffling "Academy" episode to make it appear fairly pivotal. The word order variations suggest an anagram _ "ham," as in "pig" again? "MBA," as in academic initiation into capitalism? "Bam!?" Maybe that whole episode hints at a naive, early 20th-century romanticized myth of military service _ boys seeking some adventure story, equated with a goofy lark like a harmonica band, but being thrust into the horrific mechanized slaughter of WWI. All the while, though, the anarchic jazz symbol of the harmonica, that other side of classic American soul, is trying to sneak through.

==Page 419==

'''"El Capitán"''' 
Sousa march. "El Capitán" was played by a military band on the deck of Admiral Dewey's battleship as he steamed into the Bay of Manila in 1898, to "liberate" the Philippines from Spain and also, not coincidentally, achieve access for U.S. capital and goods to East Asian markets once the Philippines became a colony. Thus the references to the "intricacies of greed as then being practiced by global capitalism" a few sentences later on p. 419 is hardly out of place for TRP, particularly when mixed with comments on how patriotic bromides and marching tunes go together. The harmonicas and the comment that improvisation is definitely NOT welcome in marching band arrangements, of course, provide Pynchon's own inimitable caustic/satiric touch; cf. the kazoos in GR. On "El Capitán": see Hess, Carol A. “John Philip Sousa’s ‘El Capitan’: Political Appropriation and the Spanish-American War.” ''American Music'' (Spring 1998).

'''"Whistling Rufus"''' 
[http://hetzler.homestead.com/NBCakeWalk.html A cakewalk song] written in 1899.

'''consecrated''' 
[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/consecrate] "1. To declare or set apart as sacred: consecrate a church."

'''Richardson Romanesque''' 
Style of American Romanesque architecture from 1880s-1890s, named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, notable for use of brown stone, rounded corners, arches and cylindrical turrets. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson_Romanesque Wikipedia Entry].

'''modal theory''' 
Context is suggestive of music theory, types of scales and keys of tonal music. However, Modal Realism is the view, notably propounded by David Lewis, that possible worlds are as real as the actual world. Possible worlds exist; the actual world is merely one among an infinite set of logically possible worlds, some nearer to the actual world and some more remote. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_realism]

'''chit''' 
Piece of military or bureaucratic paperwork; context suggests "request for transfer".

'''Bing Spooninger''' 
Like "Bing" Crosby, a crooner.

'''rack''' 
Current military and collegiate slang for "bed"--an anachronism.

==Page 420==

'''every note''' 
Om?

'''say "Wall"''' 
???

'''Yippy dippy dippy, doo!''' 
cf. ''Gravity's Rainbow'' (p. 66) where Slothrop goes down the toilet after, appropriately, a harmonica.

'''Now, it ain't that I wouldn't, 'cause I can but I won't,''' 
'''And I would if I wasn't, but I am so I don't''' 
This sounds very similar to a lyric from Frank Zappa's 'Stink-Foot:'

He said:
"IT DOESN'T, 'n YOU CAN'T!

I WON'T, 'n IT DON'T!

IT HASN'T, IT ISN'T, IT EVEN AIN'T

'N IT SHOULDN'T . . .

IT COULDN'T!"

He told me NO NO NO!

I told him YES YES YES!

I said: "I do it all the time . . .

Ain't this boogie a mess!"

'''difficult vocal feat''' 
???

'''segueing''' 
A deejaying term for moving from one song/track to another with no noticeable break if done correctly. 
Cf. [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity's Rainbow,''] Viking p. 70, line 36, where the phonetic spelling "segway" appears.

'''cakewalk''' 
An African-American entertainment having a cake as prize for the most accomplished steps and figures in walking; also, a stage dance developed from walking steps and figures typically involving a high prance with backward tilt. From this, slang for a one-sided contest or an easy task.

'''draw-note''' 
Note played on harmonica by "drawing" air through reed by sucking in rather than blowing out (insert crude sex joke here).

==Page 421==

'''popularity''' 
Masochistic love of oppressors.

'''''cover identity''''' 
Burden of resistance.

'''unannounced punishments . . . Combat-Inside-Ten-Meters''' 
Points up the Kafkaesque nature of the Academy.

:This bit in re: the Academy-- including the Combat-Inside-Ten-Meter-- could echo the Enfield Tennis Academy, one of the central locations in D.F. Wallace's "Infinite Jest."

'''Lombardy poplars.''' 
A large deciduous tree, reaching 30-40 m tall. They resemble large shrubs, due to their tall, slender appearance. They grow tall very quickly and usually die within 15 years of first planting. 

'''Out the window...''' 
The longest sentence so far in ATD.

'''Chromatic Harp''' 
A harmonica that plays all notes in an octave rather than a scale in a certain key. [http://www.hohnerusa.com/hchromatic.htm Examples].

'''Pitch Integrity Guard''' 
To prevent tampering with the notes in the ways described below - i.e. monitoring any tendency towards the 'Negroid'. 
= PIG - pigs long have held a fascination over Pynchon. 
A-and a Pitch Integrity Guard is a kind of cop, right? 

'''harmonica-reed files''' 
Filing the reeds would alter the notes slightly, allowing you to get 'in-between' notes that aren't in the normal major or minor scale.

'''sucking the tonic chords...Negroid sound''' 
Standard technique for playing blues harmonica ('harp'), also known as cross-blowing. The sucked notes are easier to 'bend' and wail with, so you can get the blues 'third', not quite minor, not quite major. Another technique that helps you get the 'Negroid sound' is soaking the harmonica, which gives the reeds a rougher, more bendable quality. That's probably the point of the 'late night visits to the latrine'. Compare with GR, where Slothrop (at college!) loses his harmonica down the toilet (he finds it much later in a stream in Germany! Gone back home, so to speak). There's a harmonica-soaking scene in Pennebaker's Dylan film 'Don't look Back'.
It wouldn't surprise me if there was some kind of folk wisdom that piss is even better than water for soaking the harp. Pee-culiar.

==Page 422==

'''I.G. Mundharfwerke''' 
Interessen-Gemeinschaft Mundharfwerke (Harmonica-works Association of Common Interests). "Mundharf" is Swabian German for "Harmonica". By analogy with I.G. Farben in ''GR'': the Mouth-Harp Cartel.

'''drifted''' 
Cf. Slothrop's desk in ''GR''.

'''the sprightly Offenbach air "Halls of Montezoo-HOO-ma!"''' 
The "Marines' Hymn" borrows the tune of the "Gendarmes' Duet" from the opera ''Geneviève de Brabant'' (1859) by French composer [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Offenbach Jacques Offenbach] (1819-1880). 
The lyrics of which are not entirely irrelevant: 
And if we meet a helpless woo-o-man 
Or little boys who do no harm 
We run them in, we run them in, 
We run them in, we run them in 
Because we are the bold gen-darmes! 

'''into the Latrine''' 
Cf. Slothrop's hallucination in ''GR''.

'''dentifrice''' 
A powder or other preparation for rubbing or cleansing the teeth; a tooth-powder or tooth-paste; also applied to liquid preparations.<ref>'''Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. ed. 1989.</ref>

'''vapor bearing...minerals''' 
Rows of mirrors facing each other (thus creating regular patterns, "chaining away for uncounted leagues") have been stained with images formed by regular use: breath, tiny bits of toothpaste or powder ("atomized dentifrice"), "shaving preparations," and mineral deposits from tapwater.

'''A.D.C.''' 
Aide-de-camp, administrative assistant to a commanding officer.

'''but they could find no entries in any of the daily Logs to help them remember''' 
Their situation has no precedent in any of the ''Chums'' novels. They have been betrayed, isolated and brainwashed, and they even doubt whether they are the authentic Chums. The following is not a spoiler: Any elementary handbook of plotting will tell you that they can't just single up all lines at the end of this episode and fly their ship "cheerly" on to the next adventure.

==Page 423==

'''revisit places where destinies took a wrong turn, or revisit in dreams the dreaming body of one loved more than either might have known...''' 
As far as we know, none of the Chums has actually experienced this. Sounds to me like an allusion to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust Faust] and Gretchen/Marguerite, since this actually happens in several of the Faust versions. Especially in the context of the Faustian bargain they have made with Mr. Ace.

'''None of them...''' 
Cf [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi#The_butterfly_dream Chuang Tzu's dream]: is he a man dreaming he's a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he's a man? On the rhetorical level of the story, this passage reiterates the dreamlike, near-delusional nature of the Chums' latest escape from what seems to have become their most dangerous foe. (418: "As if in a dream...").

'''volunteer decoys''' 
Fan-meme. 
Decoy = is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. 
I think this surprising phrase has Pynchonian meaning about the meaning of fiction like the Chums': 'escape', 'adventure' fiction is a decoy from
reality?

'''"At a Georgia Camp Meeting"''' 
a song by a Kerry Mills originally published in 1897.
Became a very popular 'cakewalk' tune. 
Lyrics: 
A camp meeting took place, by the colored race; way down in Georgia.
There were folks large and small, lanky, lean, fat and tall, at this great Georgia camp meeting.
When church was out, how the "sisters" did shout, they were so happy.
But the young folks were tired and wished to be inspired, and hired a big brass band.

Chorus: When the big brass band began to play pretty music so gay, hats were thrown away.
Thought them foolish people their necks would break,
When they quit their laughing and talking and went to walking for a big choc'late cake.

The old "sisters" raised sand, when they first heard the band; way down in Georgia.
The preacher did glare and the deacons did stare, at the young people prancing.
The band played so sweet that nobody could eat, 'twas so entrancing.
So the church folks agreed it was not a sinful deed, and they joined in with the rest. 

''':definition within above definition: 'cakewalk'''' 
Cakewalk is a traditional African American form of music and dance which originated among slaves in the US South. A cake, or slices of cake, were offered as prizes for the best dancers — a rare treat during slavery — giving the dance its name.
The dance was invented as a satirical parody of the formal European dances preferred by white slaveowners, and featured exaggerated imitations of the dance ritual, combined with traditional African dance steps. One common form of cakewalk dance involved couples (one male and one female, with their arms linked at the elbows) lined up in a circle, dancing forward alternating a series of short hopping steps with a series of very high kicking steps. Costumes worn for the cakewalk often included large, exaggerated bowties, suits, canes, and top hats....
The dance became nationally popular among whites and blacks for a time at the end of the 19th century. The syncopated music of the cakewalk became a nationally popular force in American mainstream music, and with growing complexity and sophistication evolved into ragtime music in the mid 1890s. The music was adopted into the works of various white composers, including John Philip Sousa and Claude Debussy; the latter wrote Golliwog's Cakewalk as the final movement of the Children's Corner suite (1908).

'''"deps"''' 
Dep. from American Heritage Dictionary = 1. department 2. departure 3. dependency 4. deponent 5. deposed 6. deposit 7. depot 8. deputy 
barring any other allusion, I think 'deps' here might stand for 1) departures or 2) departments (given words about other Chums above.
:Surrogates, decoys, escape: Surely these all make it certain that "deps" means "deputies." 
Also, another set of duplicates (or duplicate/shadow existence) in the section on Iceland Spar, the duplicating material.

'''route out of the past''' 
The nostalgia trap.

'''We wish we could tell you about everything that's been going on, but it's not over yet, it's at such a critical stage, and the less said right now the better. But someday . . . ''' 
The Chums imagine "the real Chums" as being engaged in a secret war that demands only one sacrifice from "the people," that of their innocence.

==Page 424==

''''coon' material''' 
Songs and humor in which African-Americans were stereotyped (as lazy, immoral, stupid, vain, etc.) and held in contempt. The most popular coon song, though, was written by an African-American, Ernest Hogan; titled "All Coons Look Alike to Me," it has an ''AtD'' resonance. Coon material was extremely popular between about 1880 and 1910; stripped of the word "coon," a diluted form still appears nightly on your TV. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coon_song Wikipedia] has a strikingly good article. For a partial list of coon references in ''AtD,'' [[ATD_26-56#Page_48|see annotation to p. 48.]]

'''isotropy''' 
the quality or condition of being equal along all directions. For more technical information see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotropy isotropy].

'''presently''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Crumb R. Crumb] did a comic like this: [http://crumbproducts.com/prints_images/sha.gif pic] 
Nice find. That comic succintly summarizes TRP's view of the effects of railroads and "civilization."

'''opposition''' 
(Was unconscious, now conscious?)Are the Chums now able to intercede
in 'human' affairs, unlike their earlier mandate?
:That's exactly it, their stretch in the camp—sorry, the harmonica academy—has modified the terms of the C of C Prime Directive.

'''dropped from altitudes''' 
(Cf pudding above, Padzhitnoff's four-block fragments)

==Page 425==

'''"After the Ball"''' 
Music and lyrics by Charles K. Harris. This number was interpolated into the score of the hit musical ''A Trip to Chinatown'' (1892) during its record-setting Broadway run. It was introduced by J. Aldrich Libbey. When Kern and Hammerstein wanted to add period flavor to ''Show Boat'' (1927), they used "After the Ball" in the Trocadero scene where it was performed by Norma Terris. [[After the Ball|Read the lyrics...]]

See also the [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Pages_174-177 pantomime song] in ''Gravity's Rainbow'' (pages 174-175):
<blockquote>"And the lamps in the stairway are dying, 
It's the season just after the ball . . ."</blockquote>

'''Bukhara''' 
Either the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Bukhara Emirate of Bukhara], a former country in Central Asia or its [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukhara capital]

'''T.D.Y.''' 
Abbrevation for Temporary Duty. [http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r614_11.pdf weblink]

'''Subdesertine''' 
submerge beneath the desert or sand.

'''''Saksaul''''' 
A plant/tree native to the deserts of Central Asia, particularly the Gobi desert; it has a very hard wood and is covered with knobs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxaul Wikipedia] [http://www.pbase.com/william_sokolenko/image/68724037 pic]

It may be significant that the saksaul tree is often planted in order to stabilize the sands. Part of western Europe's civilizing mission?

'''Q. Zane Toadflax''' 
(Sounds like Douglas Adams?). Toadflax is the common name for a group of plant genera which includes the snapdragon.

'''Hypopsammotic... Hypops''' 
''Hypo-'' (under) + ''psammot-'' (sand, from Greek ''psammos'') + ''-ic.'' Pynchon explains the device's function on the next page (426).

==Page 426==

'''beating their prices''' 
Contradicts p. 425 "no further expenditure".
:P. 425 merely says that "no further expenditure for that purpose [i.e. for Hypops rigs] will be approved." Presumably, the Chums have some additional discretionary fund from which to draw cash for emergency purchases such as these.

'''that medium which is wavelike as the sea, yet also particulate''' 
Alluding to the æther theory and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave-particle_duality dual (wave/particle) nature of light].

==Page 427==

'''temporarily lapsing into English''' 
Contrasts with the technical jargon the Chums have been steeped in over the past few days, including lectures by Roswell Bounce (they're only boys, after all). Often, mathematicians, physicists, and their students fail to explain their theories "in English." This little phrase can be taken as a professorial joke, aimed at both the author (for always coming back to obscure or difficult theories) and the reader (for never understanding them). 
I thought it was contrasting with Miles' frequent babbling habit. 

'''''pigs fly''''' 
Lindsay = pig. "When (or until) pigs fly" = never.

But Darby's surname is "suckling," which of course is highly suggestive of a young, maturing "pig," and he does seem to be exhibiting some legalistic _ fascist? _ tendencies.

'''X.O.''' 
The Executive Officer (XO) is the second-in-command, reporting to the Commanding Officer (CO).

'''legalistic''' 
Yes, Darby is now Legal Counsel.

==Page 428==
'''ill-starred Bell Tower''' 
Referring back of course to the [[#stearinery|Old Stearinery Bell Tower]] and the [[#pudding|Fatal Pudding]], and in turn to the [[Campanile]].

:The Campanile picture has me wondering. According to the sources, the old picture of the collapse of the Campanile is actually a fake. And it doesn't have the airship. It's a fun picture, but what is its status? There doesn't seem to be an appropriate place for this information in the wiki, or have I missed something?

:The Campanile picture is an illustration. Doubtful that anyone had their camera all set up for the awesome event. The airship was photoshopped in for, um, color...

::See also last paragraph of page 255.

Cf. Renata's tarot reading on [[ATD 243-272#Page 253|p. 253]], the last card of which is The Tower.

Cf. ''The Bell-Tower'' by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Melville Herman Melville], a famous short story from ''The Piazza Tales'' (1856) with an "ill-starred
bell tower" for sure. "Glancing backwards, they saw the groined belfry crashed sideways in.", a line from it which echos the picture used for the pynchonwiki home page. [http://www.melville.org/belltowr.htm Full text of ''The Bell-Tower'']

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 397-428

2015-03-01T04:18:35Z

Pthomas: /* Page 409 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 397==

'''syntonic wireless''' [[Image:Columbian1892_obv.jpg|thumb|United States Mint image]][[Image:Columbian1892_rev.jpg|thumb|United States Mint image]]
syn·ton·ic (sĭn-tŏn'ĭk) adj.Psychology. Characterized by a high degree of emotional responsiveness to the environment.
Electricity. Of or relating to two oscillating circuits having the same resonant frequency.
[From Greek suntonos, high-strung, intense, attuned, from sunteinein, to draw tight : sun-, syn- + teinein, to stretch.]

Syntonic Wireless Telegraphy. [http://earlyradiohistory.us/1901ayrt.htm Ayrton Prediction]. Electrical Review, June 29, 1901, p. 820.

'''street-Arab''' 
a homeless boy who has been abandoned and roams the streets.
[http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn wordnet].

'''some koindt of a ''sailboat'' pitchuhv on it''' 
The reverse of the coin shows Columbus' flagship ''Santa Maria'' (the obverse has the navigator's portrait).

'''1893''' 
Columbian half dollars were struck in 1892 and 1893. [http://www.coinlink.com/CoinGuide/commemoratives/1892-1893-columbian-exposition-half-dollar/ CoinLink]

'''Columbian ''Half-Dollar''''' 
The 1892 Columbian Exposition half dollar was the first commemorative coin authorized by Congress. [http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/commemoratives/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=premodern]

'''"ten yeeuhz ago"''' 
Places this action in or around 1903.

==Page 398==

'''nuncio''' 
Casually, a messenger; more formally, a permanent official Papal representative at a foreign court.

'''Evening Quarters''' 
A muster of the ship's company at the end of the day. 
Is this at 1800 Hours?

'''H.G. Wells''' 
Herbert George Wells (1866-1946), one of the 19th Century science fiction writers whom Pynchon is both emulating and parodying in ''ATD''. H.G. Wells was an English novelist, sociologist, journalist, and historian. He wrote series of fantastic scientific romances ''The Time Machine'' (1895), ''The Invisible Man'' (1897), etc. In combination with scientific speculation he developed a strain of sociological idealism in ''The War of the Worlds'' (1898), ''First Men on the Moon'' (1901) and many others. He also wrote the well-known ''Outline of History'' (1920). For more see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.G._Wells Wikipedia entry].

'''jeu d'esprit''' 
French: play of wits. Witticism.
Here, Lindsay places Wells' masterful Time Machine (see above) in opposition with the more flashy and vulgar versions ("adulterated") of time travel offered in dime novels. Interesting that this comment would be made by someone who is himself a character in a dime novel.

'''National Imprest''' 
An imprest system is a system using loans as control against fraud and theft. The most common imprest system known is the petty cash system. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprest_system Wikipedia]. Interesting that the Chums' petty cash system goes
under the rubric National, not International?

'''"Plug" Loafsley''' 
Plug-ugly loafer/oaf?

'''Lollipop Lounge''' 
Lollipop is vulgar slang for an underage girl. There is at least one 'pornographic' magazine called Lollipops featuring supposedly underage girls.

'''Tenderloin''' 
2) A city district notorious for vice and graft. [After 'the Tenderloin', an area of New York City (from the easy income it once offered corrupt policeman). Cf p.334.
From the American Heritage Dictionary.

'''squalid empire''' 
Cf Alan Parker's 1976 movie "Bugsy Malone". [http://imdb.com/title/tt0074256/ IMDb]

==Page 399==

'''indigo... yellow''' 
Clashing-colors motif. Bright full-of-life colors.

'''dicer''' 
A hat [http://books.google.com/books?id=CUQSAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=dicer+hat&source=web&ots=3K_D1BkmBP&sig=xhzWDfgmMitS2mGUzL4ee8MHzTo], perhaps of the style now known as "baseball cap"[http://www.skateamerica.com/store/KR3W-Youth-Hat-Dicer-Black-ID_P15118C62.cfm].

'''opopanax and vervain''' 
Two fragrant, medicinal substances derived from flowering plants. They bloom yellow and violet, respectively. Wikipedia pages for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opoponax opopanax] and for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vervain vervain].
:Though Wikipedia prefers the spelling ''opoponax'', the ''OED'' suggests Pynchon's.

'''contrabass saxophone''' 
A rare but spectacular piece of hardware, somewhat taller than the person playing it, patented by Adolphe Sax in 1846. Pitched in E-flat—if you are keeping track—two octaves below the alto sax. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrabass_saxophone Wikipedia]

'''slide cornet''' 
A brass instrument with the voice of a cornet but using a slide instead of valves. Very, very rare.

'''mandola''' 
An eight-stringed instrument shaped like a mandolin but tuned the same as a viola. It is originally an Irish instrument.

'''"tin pan" piano''' 
A reference to New York's Tin Pan Alley. Probably, the tag means to indicate that the piano was out of tune or sounded 'cacophonous'. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_pan_alley Wikipedia entry]

'''anchored by . . . piano''' 
It's hard to imagine the sound of the ensemble: big reedy bass, lots of rhythm from the mandola, the abandoned wailing of the cornet, fuzzy arpeggios on the piano. Like a children's Fourth of July parade, plus hallucinogens.

'''houris''' 
According to the ''OED'', a "nymph of the Muslim Paradise. Hence applied allusively to a voluptuously beautiful woman." <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd Ed. 1989.</ref>

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "houris" is the plural of 'houri', as defined above.

'''Darby''' 
Over 21yo, if he's aged.

'''chanteuse''' 
A female singer of popular songs, esp. in France. <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

==Page 400==

'''paillettes''' 
2. a spangle used to ornament a dress or costume. [from Old French,diminutive of
paille,straw]. American Heritage Dictionary.

'''louche''' 
of questionable taste or morality. From Old French, losche= squint-eyed,
ultimately from Latin, luscus = blind in one eye. Source: American Heritage Dictionary.

''OED'' Oblique, not straightforward. Also, dubious, shifty, disreputable. <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

'''"jazz"''' 
The ''OED'' suggests that the spelling here was always more popular than ''jass'', as used on [[Pages 358-373#Page 370|p. 370]]. It makes sense that a musician like "Dope" Breedlove might use a less conventional spelling, as he would be familiar with the term before common usage had regularized its spelling. By contrast, within the "dime novel" idiom of the Chums of Chance narration (dime novelists not necessarily being, especially in those days, the swingin'-est of cats), while ''jazz'' still registers as a slang term, its spelling has already been regularized.

'''Dey high-hats us uptown''' 
They scorn or snub us.

'''Dey low-balls us downtown''' 
They underestimate us.

'''Missus Grundy''' 
Mrs. Grundy, proverbial looker-askance at any improper activity. "[A]n extremely conventional or priggish person" after a character alluded to in the play ''Speed The Plough,'' by Thomas Morton (1764-1838), British playwright. Source: American Heritage Dictionary.

''''ying'''' 
"Yen"? And play/contrast with yang?

==Page 401==

'''Angela Grace''' 
I.e., Angel of Grace

'''Gophiz... Hudson Dustuhs''' 
Gophers, Hudson Dusters. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Dusters New York street gangs.]

'''bushwahs''' 
Bourgeois.

'''slickin up''' 
Gentrification.

'''Mr. Mawgin''' 
J. Pierpont Morgan. Dr. Zoot has funding from the same source that supported Tesla earlier.

'''stanchion''' 
Upright structural member, here part of the El trestle.

'''find it''' 
(Small-penis joke.)

'''time-corroded''' 
Actually, on [[ATD 149-170#Pages 154-155|p. 154]] we learn that when these structures were erected, they were intentionally antiqued, "deliberately burned, attempts being made to blacken the stylized wreckage in aesthetic and interesting ways," a description that applies also to Pynchon's historical fiction with its antiquated language and its generally favorable view of all things black. Though, of course it's been a decade since the shrine was erected, and some actual time-corrosion may have occurred.

'''seeming to date from some ancient catastrophe, far older than the city.''' 
When, what is that catastrophe in ATD, pages 149-170?
:There's more than a hint in the geography. From Central Park to the Tenderloin, on a street where you can smell the waterfront; west and south till you hit (literally) the Ninth Avenue El; south on the El line. Eventually you get to the World Trade Center site.

'''I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY''' 
Italian: "Per me si va nella città dolente". Phrase first appears on [[ATD 149-170#Pages 154-155|p. 154]], where it is inscribed over the shrine that the citizens erect to the Destroyer. It is a quote from Canto III of Dante's ''Il Inferno,'' where it is emblazoned over the gates to Hell.

'''triatomic''' 
I.e., ozone or O3, which is a molecule composed of three bonded oxygen molecules. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone Wikipedia.]

==Page 402==

'''solenoidal relay''' 
Solenoid: a cylindrical coil of wire hollow in the center. To make a relay, stick an iron rod partway into the middle. Turn the current on, and the magnetic field pulls the iron in. Attach the rod to the bolt on the gate and you can unlock it by pushing a button.

'''Dr. Zoot''' 
homage to Zoot Sims, jazzman? 
Most often combined with Suit, as in
Zoot suit - Wikipedia. Often zoot suiters wear a felt hat with a long feather (called a tapa or ... By their dress, Zoot suiters expressed defiance, at a time when fabric was ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoot_suit
There is a contemporary "zootsuit" radio station devoted to old radio shows. Historically, much later than the period of ATD here, there were riots in Los Angeles called the Zoot Suit riots (alluded to in, wasn't it, ''The Crying of Lot 49''?)(Edit- nope, GR.)

'''pale''' 
Even tough-guy Plug fears the time machine.
Pynchon's perspective on artificial light, "already harsh illumination".

'''dynamo''' 
Electrical generator. Converts any rotational motion to AC or DC power.

'''Grandmother's day''' 
Pre-Civil War.

'''Breguet''' 
A distinctive fine watch of French design, usually with open circles ('moons') near the ends of the hands. (See also p.140) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breguet_(watch) Wikipedia entry]

'''shimming''' 
Insertion of thin material to make two parts line up. Think of the matchbook under the table leg.

'''revenue diverted''' 
(Why not no-revenue?)because revenue was spent---very cheaply: in only "the simplest upkeep."

==Page 403==

'''gutta-percha gasketry''' 
Gutta-percha (Palaquium) is genus of tropical trees native to southeast Asia and northern Australasia, from Taiwan south to Malaya and east to the Solomon Islands. It is also an inelastic natural latex produced from the sap of these trees. One use of gutta-percha was the "guttie" golf ball with a solid gutta-percha core, which appears [[ATD_919-945#Page 934|later in ''Against the Day'']]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutta-percha Wikipedia]

'''coaming''' 
Bodywork. Panels concealing frame, wiring, etc.

'''undog this hatch''' 
Nautical: disengage whatever is holding the door shut.

'''faith''' 
(Blind, not humble.)

'''nervous organizations''' 
Cf drugs. Cf. sympathetic vibrations, a physical kind of empathy.

'''pillioned''' 
Riding two to a horse.
Refers specifically to the "passenger seat", separated from the main saddle. Also applies to motorcycle riding where the small passenger seat is called a "pillion". Metonymically, pillion can be used to describe the passenger.

'''horses''' 
8 million horses were killed in WW1. At first battle of war, Mons, cavalry used extensively. This was before the war became fought through trench warfare. Shows how blindsided the direction the war took and how out of control it became for all involved. Note that "galloping" calvary has often been associated with romanticizing and glorifying of war in American lit. Cf. Rev Hightower in Faulkner's Light in August. (Recall, too, that Pynchon nicked AtD's title from Faulkner's famous Nobel Prize speech.)
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/horses_in_world_war_one.htm
Cavalry?

'''arrays of metallic points''' 
Bayonets? Appears to be a depiction of the (still future) Great War, WWI.

Or, if we are observing the future dead, the metallic points are the bullets fired, now holding static in the places where they interrupted the living.

==Page 404==

'''shockwaves of the Creation''' 
Anachronistic Big Bang theory? 
I must say that in the Big Bang theory, stars
were first created out of the bang; here the metaphor seems to accept that the stars already exist and "are blown through by the shockwaves of the Creation", capitalized, a common Pynchon touch, as in a Biblical allusion.

'''chamber shook''' 
(It didn't on p403.)

'''not beasts''' 
Airplanes?
Or Missiles/rockets? 'A screaming comes across the sky'....

'''smell''' 
Cf GR on Passchendaele.

==Page 405==

'''latest Oldsmobile''' 
(Dates.) 1903.

'''Candlebrow U.''' 
So what is a "candlebrow"? Consider those phallic ''ex voti'' candles offered up to [[St. Cosmo]]. The head of the candle-phallus, brow shaped, sits atop the cyclindrical candle-shaft and is, metaphorically, the candle's brow. And, natch, Gideon Candlebrow made the bucks necessary to fund Candlebrow U. with the miracle product [[#Page 407|"Smegmo,"]] the "Messiah of kitchen fats" (Imperial Margarine was advertised as "The King of Margarines") [http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Asmegma&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official smegma] is the "cheesy secretion" that collects atop the "candlebrow" beneath the foreskin. [[ATD 374-396#Page 374|Ewball Oust's name]] has similar connotations.

Maybe I'm pointing out the obvious, but it seems to me like Pynchon's way of saying Dickhead University. --[[User:Pomopaulrevere|Pomopaulrevere]]

'''double-domes''' 
'dome' is slang for the human brain, of course. [Amer Heritage] and seems to mean, in humorous context, two-headed or double-brained thinkers...(more doubling motif--as joke?)

:Or possibly a sexual ''double entendre''...consistent with the [[The Sexual Angle|rampant sexuality]] in ''AtD''. Why, several double-dome images come to mind, almost faster than "egghead"...

:also possibly a reference to numerous "mad scientist" contraptions that connect two (unwilling?) patients, hooked together by metallic helmets (domes), in order to "switch" "souls" from one body to another. Seems far-fetched, but in a book dominated by the idea of dopplegangers created by the refraction from Iceland spar, not so much...

:Also a possible reference to phrenology, the pseudo-science of skull shape in relation to personality traits. "Dome" in phrenology seems to refer to a desirable head shape, with the top of the skull large and rounded, like an egg with the larger end up. This seems to indicate morality, reason and self-restraint, in phrenology. Thus, could "double-dome" refer to someone with two possibly conflicting systems of morality, or reason? It seems a bit of a reach. But phrenology is probably something Pynchon would've paid attention to in his survey of the riot of pseudo-sciences clamoring for respect during that era.

'''drumming''' 
Traveling salesmanship.

<div id="balinhan"></div>'''a saloon down by the river called the Ball in Hand''' 
The Ball in Hand isn't the river, it's the saloon. Still, the name does have an English ring to it. The Bird in Hand is a common pub name in Britain.

Another cricket allusion? If so, rather obvious. Surely a straightforward sexual joke.
:Oh yes. As discussed a couple paragraphs down!

Ball in Hand might refer to the "orb," an emblem of sovereignty held in the monarch's left hand in many state portraits; the orb is a small globe usually surmounted by a cross. Or a physics allusion, though anachronistic by some 30 years: the dome of a Van de Graaff generator. The museum visitor places her hand on it, the docent cranks the machine, and the victim's hair flies into an [[ATD_26-56#Page_26|aigrette.]] Or a more carnal connotation, not anachronistic at all. Or fortunetelling. These remote connections do make cricket sound pretty good:

A term used in pocket billiards (especially 9-ball) when a player has scratched (sunk the cue ball) and the player who follows is allowed to place the cue ball wherever he/she wants.

:Given all the other [[The Sexual Angle|sexual references]] in ''AtD'', this definitely has a sexual ring to it. Consider that the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines "ball" as "5. Any rounded protuberant part of the body." It is thought that "ball" is derived from the Indo-European word ''bhel'', meaning to blow, swell; with derivatives referring to various round objects and to the notion of tumescent masculinity. Derivatives include ''boulevard'', ''boulder'', ''phallus'', ''balloon'', ''ballot'', and ''fool''. [http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/roots/zzb01800.html]

<div id="meatman">'''Alonzo Meatman'''</div>
Meatman translated to German is Fleischmann, as in [http://www.fleischmanns.com/products/index.jsp Fleischmann's], makers of yeast, margarine, and assorted spreads.

:Yes, perhaps a cheesy spread, like that smegmo! In 1973, Jerry Lee Lewis recorded an homage to his oral talents entitled "Meat Man" in which he brags of having "a maytag tongue with a sensitive taste." This fits in with [[The Sexual Angle]] in AtD. [[Meat Man|Read the lyrics...]]. And there ''are'' those [[ATD 57-80#Page 73|great balls of fire]] known as ball lightning.

'''they don't like to cross running water''' 
A preference shared by witches, vampires and in some accounts the Devil.

==Page 406==

'''counterfeit of the Timeless''' 
Thematic. Whole sentence seems the sharpest indictment of 'the Academy' as exemplified by Candlebrow U.

'''fatal discovery''' 
Note the contrast with "fateful discovery" on [[ATD 397-428#Page 398|p.398]].

'''''Imum Coeli''''' 
Latin for "bottom of the sky." In Astrology, it is the point in space where the ecliptic crosses the meridian in the north, exactly opposite the Midheaven. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imum_Coeli Wikipedia entry]

'''rusticated''' 
Of masonry, parts of buildings, etc.: Rendered rustic in appearance. <ref>Def. 3a. '''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

'''managing somehow...to present an aspect of terrible antiquity''' 
Perhaps because [very mild one-page spoiler ahead:] there's some truth to the conjecture of Professor Vanderjuice on the next page that "there's nothing to keep us from going back as far as we like, and holding the Conferences then, even back when this was all prehistoric around here, dinosaurs, giant ferns, flammivomous peaks everywhere sort of thing..."

'''Gideon Candlebrow''' 
made-up founder whose scandalous fortune underlay Candlebrow U?

'''Grossdale''' 
a gross dale?

'''great Lard Scandal of the '80s'''' 
Real event? (There were a couple of 'Lard Scandals" in last ten years but in countries other than Great Britain.) 

Since Gideon had to testify before congress about it, said Scandal must have happened in the States. He seems to have shipped lard that was deemed too "adulterated" to be sold in the US to good old Britain, thereby, as Pynchon puts it with a good dose of mean-spirited humor, "compromising further an already debased national cuisine". What did he use to adulterate the lard? The secret ingredient in Smegmo, maybe?

In [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_5#113 ''V.''] Pynchon mentions the "Great Sewer Scandal of 1955."

'''Christmas pudding controversy'''' 
Lard could certainly be used while making Christmas Pudding, aka Plum Pudding [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding Wikipedia entry], the quintessential British holiday treat. The traditional ingredient, though, is suet. Some families might have tried to substitute lard in the recipe, which would have radically altered the taste of the pudding, sparking bitter fights about the importance of culinary tradition. Could this "controversy" be a metaphor of the effects of American cultural imperialism? Maybe I should just do a taste test...

==Page 407==

'''"Smegmo"''' 
Smegma is a secretion of mammalian genitals [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smegma Wikipedia].

The word derives from a transliteration of the Greek word σμήγμα for soap.

As an "artificial substitute for everthing in the edible-fat category" pronounced kosher by an "eminent Rabbi of world hog capital Cincinnati, Ohio," Smegmo may be a code name for Crisco, a Procter & Gamble creation invented in Cincinnati in 1911 -- an anarchronism or time shift in the text -- and marketed through various ethnic cookbooks, including a Yiddish/English kosher cookbook published in 1933 with the "Hechsher (or certificate) of a prominent Orthodox rabbi, "denoting that Crisco contained nothing animal-based."
[http://www.crisco.com/about/history/1930.asp]

"Smegm"a + crisc "O" = Smegmo

:Interesting(?) sideline: Here in Denmark the slang word for smegma is 'nakkeost' -i.e. 'neck-cheese'. And of course anyone who's seen 'Red Dwarf' will know about the current British use of 'smeg' (Not smeggin'likely, get the smeg outa here! Smeg off!). What do Americans call it?

Smegmo and Candlebrow:
"The initial purpose [for Crisco] was to create a cheaper substance to make candles than the expensive animal fats in use at the time. Electricity began to diminish the candle market, and since the product looked like lard, they began selling it as a food." Yet another Lard Scandal? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisco]

Also P&G was founded as a candle (Procter) and soap (Gamble) company, making profits from the fat of slaughtered pigs in "Porkopolis," Cincinnati.

Finally, the stock ticker for P&G is PG which is pretty close to one of Pynchon's favorite animals -- PIG.

Cf. [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_525-556 cottonseed oil] p. 546.

'''margarine''' 
1887 saw the introduction of the Margarine Act in Great Britain, which required margarine to be labeled as such. This was in response to the adulteration of butter by oleomargarine (made from animal fats).

Candlebow + margarine reminds me of Camille Paglia on Renee Zellwegger as "margarine-browed" (which I don't really understand).

'''four thousand years''' 
Refers to the time believed to have elapsed since Abraham and the foundation of Judaism [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham Wikipedia]. Under kosher laws Jews are not allowed to mix milk and meat products in the same meal. The rabbi's proclamation about having waited 4000 years refers to the arrival of Smegmo as a non-milk substitute for butter that can be eaten with meat dishes.

'''"you kept hearing different stories about exactly what was in it"''' 
Refers to wide range of urban legend-like attributions as to the origins and/or makeup of smegma that exist especially among children.

There's a resonance with Coca-Cola, too: exaggerated secrecy about the formula, fanatical market development, endowment of a university (Emory in the case of the Woodruff and Candler fortunes).

'''First International Conference on Time-Travel''' 
MIT students held a [http://web.mit.edu/adorai/timetraveler/ Time Traveler Convention] on May 7, 2005. The organizers did only modest publicity, claiming that the event would be reported and people in the future would read about it and decide to attend. One of the principals pointed out that only one such convention would ever need to take place. Vanderjuice's reasoning is almost a mirror image of that.

'''''The Time Machine''''' 
A short novel by H. G. Wells, written as a series of articles in 1888 for ''The Science Schools Journal'', and published as a book in 1895. The central character, ''Time Traveller'', tells a group of friends that he has invented a machine which can travel through time, enabling him to investigate the destiny of the human species. In the year 802,701, where he is temporarily stranded, he finds the meek and beautiful ''Eloi'' ling in apparently idyllic circumstances, but discovers that they are the prey of the degenerate ''Morlocks'', descendants of laborers who have lived underground for centuries. In later eras he sees the life-forms which survive the extinction of man, and thirty million years hence he is witness to the world's final decline as the sun cools. (Taken from ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'', 1988 Edition.) For more information from other source see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine The Time Machine].

Wells' The Time Machine portrays the splitting of the Human Species between the Upper-worlders and the subterranean species called Morlocks. Wells compares the Upper-worlders and Morlocks to our own social differences between the Capitalist and the Laborer, the Haves and the Have-nots. When the Time Traveler first encounters a Morlock in chapter 5, he sees "A pair of eyes, luminous by reflection ''against the daylight'' without,...."

'''this year''' 
??? 1903.

'''back when this was all prehistoric around here''' 
See previous page "managing somehow..."

'''flammivomous''' 
Vomiting out flame. <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

'''sophomoric slogs''' 
Slog can be a forceful hit and a Cricket term. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slog Link]

'''nooky''' 
"nooky" is synonymous with "pussy" both of which are used metonymically to denote either the sex act or, in this case, women who are desirable as sex partners.

'''1925 or thereabouts''' 
Lindsay's unfamiliarity with the term "nooky" ''could'' continue until it becomes an accepted part of the English language, which occurred, according to the ''OED'', with its first substantiative written usage in 1928. The ''OED'', by the way, prefers the spelling ''nookie'' (the ''Shorter OED'' prefers "nooky"). However, the term was certainly in the vernacular long before it made it into the ''OED'' and is speculated to be of British origin, perhaps derived from "nugging" (having sex) or "nook" which a vagina could be considered, I suppose.

Most likely a simple "chummy" joke, implying that poor old Lindsay wouldn't get to experience the pleasures of the flesh for another 25 years. Considering that the Chums don't seem to age, I really can't say how old he will be when the blessed event finally comes.

:Actually, this seems like a fairly obvious poke at exactly the kind of scholarship we're participating in here-- Miles admits and acknowledges that the use of "nooky" here is an anachronism, which will only be of a concern to readers who were actively trying to get laid in 1903, and the kind of people who look up the origin of a word 100 years later to say "...but they didn't say 'nooky' in '03!"

'''Randolph''' 
(Has he been absent?)

==Page 408==

'''telegraphic messages''' 
(Why at night, particularly? Email parody?) Seems many telegraphic messages were delivered at night, perhaps because they could be picked up during the daytime and many came after evening began.

When telegrams were a customary means of communication, you could send a "straight wire," which would go right on the wire and get delivered promptly, or a "night letter," which would go into a queue for transmission in low-traffic times and be delivered the next morning. The rate for night letters was lower than that for straight wires.

'''"Goes with everything"''' 
Cf Al Capp's Shmoos?

'''a ''million'' uses for Smegmo''' 
Tracing out just one parallel: Coke—foundation of the Candler fortune and the Emory U. endowment—is a beverage, a sweetener and flavoring agent (Coca-Cola Cake a Southern favorite), a solvent (best thing for removing bugs from windshields) and a cleanser (''MythBuster''-tested for polishing automotive chrome). In an emergency you can fill your radiator with it, and used with care it will raise bread dough.

Tracing out another parallel: Crisco, not only the first but also emblamatic of all synthetic shortening, is "ubiquitous in the cuisine and among the table condiments..." It is found in baked products (breads, cakes, muffins, etc.), salad dressings, soups, potato chips, mayonnaise, cheese spreads, peanut butter, cake and biscuit mixes. Raisins are sometimes coated with it. You will find them in most processed foods.

'''in the way that certain odors can instantly return us to earlier years''' 
Recalls Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu in which the taste and smell of a madeleine cookie summons a collection of childhood memories.

'''"There's a seminar on that tomorrow ... Or do I mean day before yesterday?"''' 
Are all the folks at Candlebrow time travellers? Unlikely. This remark seems to be a typical collegiate witticism about classes. Seems about everyone can STUDY time travelling at Candlebrow.

'''Finney Hall''' 
Probably a Hall/Auditorium/Room in Candlebrow U. named after American author Jack Finney (1911-1995), who wrote a famous time travel novel, ''Time and Again'' (1970). See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Finney Jack Finney] for more.

'''florescent''' 
flowering, blooming.From florescense. Amer Heritage Dictionary

==Page 409==

'''Gibson Girls''' 
From illustrations of a kind of woman first made by Charles Dana Gibson. Besides certain physical features--see wikipedia---such women were thought
to be 'independent', often college girls, although not suffragettes.

'''"Why you insufferable little --"''' 
This line, paired with St. Cosmo's observation at the end of the following paragraph: "And might I add, Mr. Noseworth, that these constant attempts to strangle Suckling do our public image little good," seem a fairly direct reference to a well-worn trope from the ''Simpsons'' [http://www.snpp.com/guides/homer.file.html#strangle], in which the splenetic Homer, as played here by Noseworth, expresses his no-longer-controllable frustration with Bart, here the increasingly smartalecky Suckling.

Pynchon, as has been widely reported, has appeared on ''The Simpsons'' a couple times.

More than even "Vineland," it seems, this book is fraught with pop culture/low comedy asides. 

'''Wellesianism''' 
Relating to Orson Welles. On page 412 the term
''''Wellsian''' optimism' is used in a clear reference to H.G. Wells.

:Orson Wellesianism seems correct: The scene, an immense inventory of discarded time machines, is reminiscent of the final scenes of ''Citizen Kane'' which show Kane's enormous collection of objects in rows of stacks extending seemingly to infinity.

Also, Orson did the infamous War of the Worlds broadcast that sent people shooting in the streets. The Wells/Welles blurring would imply Vanderjuice knew of a future event/movie and I don't think such characterological foreknowledge (in the prof's case) or authorial intrusion is active in this text. So I think that it's a typo and not a really obvious/belabored pun.

Since this is followed by listing "Asimov Transeculars" among the discarded time machines, we may reasonably conclude that discussion of time travel frees Pynchon to insert what would otherwise be an anachronism. Relax and enjoy.

'''Asimov Transecular''' 
Interesting to find one of Isaac Asimov's time travel machines on the pile of "picked-over hulks of failed time machines." Of course, it would have to have been deposited there from some time in the future.

transecular 
Adj "that is made through the centuries" (Portuguese) [[User:Btchakir|Btchakir]] 16:48, 19 December 2006 (PST)

Rather than troubling to search for a Portuguese word, isn't it more likely that Asimov or Pynchon coined this in a nearly trivial way? ''Trans,'' across, plus ''secular,'' ages or centuries (from Latin [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=s&p=11 ''sæculum,''] an age, a generation, 120 years; also yielding French ''siècle,'' a century).

'''Asimov''' 
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), Russian born American biochemist and science fiction writer. His family emigrated to the US in 1923 and he was naturalised in 1928. He graduated from Columbia University and had been Professor of Biochemistry of the University of Boston since 1979. He began contributing stories to science fiction magazines in 1939 and his first book ''Pebble in the Sky'' was published in 1950. Many others followed. ''The Foundation Trilogy'' (1963) made an international reputation as the master of science fiction. Since 1958 he had published few novels, preferring to concentrate on text books and works of popularized science such as ''Intelligent Man's Guide to Science'' (2 Vols. 1960). And he also wrote ''Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare'' (1970). In his life time he wrote over 500 books that spanned the realm of human knowledge. [http://www.asimovonline.com/ Asimov Home Page] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issac_Asimov Isaac Asimov].

'''Tempomorph''' 
Tempo + morph = Time change

'''Q-98s''' 
FM station? The weapon used by Loony Tunes character Marvin the Martian is called the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator

'''Flow''' 
Flow of Time.

'''vulcanite''' 
Star Trek allusion? A kind of mineralized rubber.
:a hard, readilly cut and polished rubber, obtained by vulcanizing rubber with a large amount of sulfur or some sulfur compound under a moderate heat (110-140 degree C), used in the manufacture of combs, buttons, and for electric insulation.

'''Heusler's alloy''' 
any of various alloys of manganese and other nonferromagnetic metals that exhibit ferromagnetism. Named after Conrad Heuslet, 19th-century German mining engineer and chemist.

'''bonzoline''' 
Synthetic ivory, used to make billiard balls.

'''electrum''' 
An alloy of gold and silver, presumably not the same as ''argentaurum''.

'''lignum vitae''' 
The very hard heavy wood of any of several tropical American guaiacum trees. In Latin, literally "wood of life."

'''platinoid''' 
An alloy of copper, nickel, tungsten and zinc, formerly used in elecric coils.

'''magnalium''' 
Magnesium-aluminum alloy.

'''packfong silver''' 
A Chinese alloy of nickel, zinc and copper, resembling German silver. [http://dict.die.net/packfong/ packfong].

'''The Ball in Hand''' 
[[#balinhan|See annotations to p. 405.]]

'''safe harbor''' 
Paradoxical, I think.

'''automorphic''' 
auto = Self,same. Morph = to change. The theory of automorphic functions concerns a generalization of periodic functions such as the Earth's revolution.

'''Eternal Return''' 
A fascinating interpretation of history in which Time is a single cycle and once it has reached its conclusion begins anew, and each repetition of the cycle is utterly identical to the first. Perhaps originating in ''The New Science'' by Giambattista Vico, though made most famous by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who used it as the basis for his moral philosophy. Cf. Nietzsche, ''The Will to Power''.

Notice that at Candlebrow, the conferences converged to a "form' of Eternal Return. The almost instantaneous way the conferees can be "resurrected' and seem never to age, makes this form of the Eternal
Return a lot like Never-Never Land. 
A-and perhaps a Pynchon jape at Nietzsche's vision of history?

==Page 410==

'''revenance''' 
Related to revenant, a ghost, a returner from the dead.

'''River of Time''' 
cf "the invisible river, the flow of Time", p.252. Herein a 'parable' drawn from the flowing of a literal river, by some Candlbrow conferees.

Cf. "The River of Time" (first published in 1981 as "Coexistence" in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine) 

Cf. M&D's "in America, time is a river that goes through hell"

Cf. Heraclitus's Flux and Fire Philosophy. [http://www.thebigview.com/greeks/heraclitus.html]

'''Symmes Street''' possible reference to the Symme's Hole which leads into the hollow earth, i. e. a street on the extreme fringe

Symmes Street = Symmetry ?

'''gaslit''' 
Lightfuel motif.

'''St. Louis Fair''' 
1904.

Also "Pygmy boyfriends escaped from the St. Louis Fair" - in the book Ota Benga, about a pygmy who appeared in the St. Louis Fair, there is a reference to pygmies escaping from their exhibit and disappearing into neighborhoods of St. Louis, never to be found

'''''kielbasa sausage''''' 
Often referred to as Polish sausage (which is uncooked), Kielbasa sausage is a precooked, smoked, traditionally made of pork that is highly seasoned with garlic.

also used to describe a very large penis. Judging from the "disreputable" nature of the Ball in Hand, it wouldn't seem too far-fetched to imagine Polish comedians hitting themselves over the head with their own appendages.

'''fantan''' 
Traditional Chinese gambling game; also a card game [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan-Tan].

'''"preserver"''' 
Or "life-preserver": slang, a blackjack or cosh.

'''magenta-and-green''' 
Clashing-colors motif. This combination appears in a bandana in [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity's Rainbow''] (Viking p. 69 line 14). 
Life colors in Pynchon, it might be argued?, as is a bandana. 
The clashing of (anarchic) life motif, maybe? 

magenta is a color that was renamed for a battle, the Battle of Magenta!
see wikipedia.

There's something else striking about magenta and green: In the field of [http://www.rgbworld.com/color.html color mixing,] these are complementary in the sense that magenta results from filtering all the green out of white light and vice versa. Green is an additive primary (red-green-blue), while magenta is a subtractive primary (cyan-magenta-yellow). This does not hold for some other ''AtD'' color schemes (red/indigo comes to mind, but there are a dozen or so of these binary combinations).

==Page 411==

'''Finding of Unusual Circumstances Questionaire''' 
Also, presumably, known as the "F.U.C.Q." or "fucq" for short.

'''Hawaiian volcano''' 
Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, displays the results of 70 million years of volcanism, migration, and evolution — processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with complex and unique ecosystems, and a distinct human culture.

The park encompasses 333,000 acres and ranges from sea level to the summit of the earth's most massive volcano, Mauna Loa at 13,677 feet. ''Kilauea, the world's most active volcano, offers scientists insights on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands'' and visitors views of dramatic volcanic landscapes. Over half of the park is designated wilderness and provides unique hiking and camping opportunities. [[Hawaii|More on Hawaiian references in ''Against the Day'']]...

'''Zennist''' 
Practitioners of Zen Buddhism.

'''''Caged Women of Yokohama''''' 
Possible: Yokohama was one of the first Japanese cities with the heaviest
industrialization...wherein many young women from the surrounding rural
areas came to work in dreadful working and living conditions? "The early 20th century was marked by rapid growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories along reclaimed land to the north of the city towards Kawasaki, which eventually grew to be the Keihin Industrial Area. The growth of Japanese industry brought affluence to Yokohama, and many wealthy trading families constructed sprawling residences there, while the rapid influx of population from Japan and Korea also led to the formation of Kojiki-Yato, the largest slum in Japan at the time." Wikipedia. 
Misc. Like Telluride in the U.S., Yokohama had the first gaslit streetlamps in Japan. Wikipedia.

==Page 412==

'''koan''' 
Japanese. A ko-an is a story, dialogue, question or statement in the lore of Zen Buddhism. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koan koan].

'''"Does a dog possess the Buddha-nature?" [...] "Yes, obviously"''' 
According to the Zen parable the answer to the question is "Mu", which is both "No" and the sound of a dog's bark, thus neither simply yes nor no. See the explanantion given by the Learned English Dog in Mason & Dixon (Ch. 3, p. 22).

'''apricot and aquamarine''' 
Clashing-colors motif.

'''F.I.C.O.T.T.''' 
As Alonzo Meatman goes right on to explain, F.I.C.O.T.T. is the acronym for the First International Conference On Time Travel, but readers of ''Gravity's Rainbow'' will recall also "Fickt" from the line "Fickt nicht mit dem Raketemensch," or "Don't f--k with the Rocketman."

'''hootnanny''' 
Typo? Should be hootenanny, an informal performance by folk singers, typically with participation by the audience. The OED says that it can be spelled either way, and also hootananny.

'''Bohr... Mach... young Einstein... Spengler... Wells... McTaggart''' 
All of these people did work involving either speculation about time (Wells) or other subjects that reached their highest expression in Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which had implications regarding the nature of time and spacetime [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_relativity Wikipedia]. Pynchon refers to the fact that this work was underway and 'in the air' at the time of the novel. [[Bohr, Mach, Einstein, et al.|History and Discussion...]]

Notice how, among this stellar cast of scientists, Wells seems to be placed above the rest (cf: "Mr. Wells himself"), as if the writer of fiction trumped "real" scientists when it came to the idea of time travel.

'''dismissing . . . the ''existence'' of Time''' 
In a 1908 essay, ''The Unreality of Time'', McTaggart said "Our ground for rejecting time . . . is that time cannot be explained without assuming time." For the full text of the essay [http://www.ditext.com/mctaggart/time.html The Unreality of Time (1)] and other information [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unreality_of_Time The Unreality of Time (2)].

'''the McTaggartite''' 
disciple of Mctaggart?

'''neo-Augustinian''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo St. Augustine of Hippo] (354-430), in his autobiographical [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confessions/confessions.html ''Confessions''], is credited with reconceptualizing the notion of time in Christian terms. Throyle, on [[ATD 119-148#Page 143|p.143]], summarizes what he terms "Christian time," as a "linear way of regarding time, a simple straight line from past, through present, into the future." See also [[ATD E|'''Eschatology''']].

<div id="pudding">'''fatal steamed pudding'''</div>
Presumably the subject of the "Christmas-pudding controversy" mentioned on p. 406. In the context of Prof. Taggart's disbelief in time and the Augustinian's presumed belief that time moves inevitably toward Christ's return, a Christmas pudding (which, one should mention, is prepared with suet or similar animal fat, though presumably Smegmo can be substituted) is a symbol, insofar as it invokes the birth of Christ, of a pivotal moment in the proper sequence of Augustinian time. The pudding, which context here suggests the neo-Augustinian dropped on the McTaggartite, at once symbolizes the Fall of Man, as well as the McTaggartite's inevitable descent into Hell. The whole arrangement is problematized, however, by the comments of the County Coroner, who describes the outcome of the event dependent on "wagering," chance being irreconcilable with Augustinian time.

'''vertical distance''' 
Of pudding-drop?

<div id="stearinery">'''Old Stearinery Bell Tower'''</div>
A stearinery (probably made-up word) is a facility where stearin is made. Chemically, stearin is an ester of glycerol with stearic acid, or stearic acid itself. The name also denotes the solid component of a fat. Smegmo undoubtedly contains stearin, so the Old Stearinery was a key part of the original production process.

"Until 1863 lard stearin was used to produce the stearic acid for candle making. With lard expensive and in short supply, a new method was discovered to produce the stearic acid using tallow. What lard and lard stearin was available was instead developed into a cooking compound. The same process was later adapted to create Crisco, the first all-vegetable shortening." [http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/The-Procter-amp;-Gamble-Company-Company-History.html]

==Page 413==

'''322 feet''' 
The ''average'' acceleration produced by gravity at the Earth's surface (sea level) is 32.2 (or 32.17405 to be exact) feet per second per second. This apllies "in any direction out to the curve of the Earth, notorious locally for exerting a fascination upon minds healthy and disordered alike."

''Pedantry Alert:'' From a height of 322 feet, you see the horizon at a distance of 22 miles.

'''disordered''' 
Eg clocktower assassins?
:Also people who may be moved to ''knock towers down.''

'''homeopathist''' 
One who practices homeopathy.

'''"the ''lycopodium'' type"... Fear''' 
Lycopodium is a common homeopathic remedy for many disorders. Homeopathy being the introduction into the body, in infinitesimal amounts, of a possibly toxic or irritating agent that ends up stimulating the body to heal itself.

'''sky-brother''' 
???
My take was that he was assuaging any hurt feelings with Meatman by placing him on the level of a fellow "Chum of Chance".

Hmm... maybe Chick is implying that he and Meatman are indeed of the same cloth, not bound by the earthly realm, the former spending most of his time in the air and the latter being able to travel to other dimensions.

'''other Promise... resurrected... two millennia''' 
???
:maybe this refers simply to the Resurrection (and therefore the end of Time); the Promise is that the trumpet (Chick's?) shall sound, and the dead shall be raised.

God's promise of eternal life vs. Time Travel's promise of making you immortal.

'''speaking trumpet''' 
Brass forerunner of the megaphone. [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1671RSPT....6.3056M Abstract] of a 1671 paper; [http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conMediaFile.2647 photo] of a ship's speaking trumpet, 1799; [http://www.auroraregionalfiremuseum.org/giftshop/1850figure/source/horn.htm catalog entry] for a replica American fire brigade speaking trumpet, mid-19th century.

==Page 414==

'''purlieus''' 
outskirts, outlying areas; also (OED) "meaner streets about some main thoroughfare; a mean, squalid or disreputable street or quarter."

This whole section is a progress into the outlying areas, the fringes
(Cf. Pynchon's story ''Low-lands'', which takes place at a town dump)

'''millwork''' 
woodwork, doors, molding, wainscotting, etc, but cheap, prefabricated, not custom-fabricted on site.

'''penumbrae''' 
A penumbra is the outer and lighter part of the shadow created by an eclipse. "Penumbrae" is the plural form.

'''quiescence''' 
His name suggests a purveyor of meat, and he does "deliver" Chick to Mr. Ace.

==Page 415==

'''"Mr. Ace"''' 
This could be a nod to the 1946 film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038752/ ''Mr. Ace''] starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft who plays Eddie Ace, the head man of a crooked political machine who intends to scuttle the gubernatorial campaign of female senator Margaret Wyndham Chase (Sylvia Sidney). He uses every dirty trick in the book to destroy Margaret, but she perseveres on the strength of sheer honesty and integrity. Through her example, Ace mends his own ways, earning Margaret's love as a bonus, and he helps her to run as an independent on a clean-government ticket.

It may, more specifically, refer to the old-time radio show called ''The Cases of Mr. Ace'' which had a very limited run mostly on WNEW in New York in the late forties. Raft played Eddie Ace, the sole owner of Ace Detective Agency on 6th Avenue. In the episode from June 25, 1945, Ace described one gangster thus:

:"The face of a small fragile old man. His hair was glossy and deep black. His eyes were glossy and deep black."

Compare this to Pynchon's Mr. Ace: "Glossy black eyes, presented like weapons in a duel."

'''phatic''' 
Relating to speech that serves to establish social relationships rather than to inform.

'''Those of us who spoke this truth were denounced as heretics''' 
Yes, the old Pynchon theme of those in control, the oligarchs, silencing the counterforce.

Taking of refuge in a planet's past was the plot of a Captain Kirk-era ''Star Trek'' episode; the unintentionally transported Kirk is taken to be a religious dissenter; fortunately his judge is one of the "refugees".

'''certain of your great dynamos''' 
Cf. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Brooks_Adams Henry Adams], author of ''The Virgin and The Dynamo''. Pynchon has written of being influenced deeply by Adams, and his ideas are particularly evident in Pynchon's [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''].

'''Fraternity of the Venturesome''' 
Mistranslated 'Chums of Chance'.

'''''nzzt''''' 
Electrical short?

Suggests "he" could be a holographic image. Time traveling holograms were one feature of the "Temporal Cold War" subplot of ''Star Trek: Enterprise''; one such manifestation (complete with "nzzt's") is set in a huge dynamo station in a Nazi-occupied New York. This is two possible ''Star Trek'' allusions in a single page.

Electrical short is certainly relevant. The mistranslation is a kind-of short-circuit, then he gets the right phrase from his data bank. Bit like C3P0 in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_wars ''Star Wars'']?

'''You are not aware that each of your mission assignments is intended to prevent some attempt of our own to enter your time-regime.''' 
Aha! A little peek into the True Mission of the Chums. Time to take another look at those various adventures:

* ''Chums of Chance and The Evil Halfwit'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_5|p.5]])
* ''Chums of Chance and The Curse of the Great Kahuna'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_5|p.5]])
* ''Chums of Chance at Krakatoa'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_6|p.6]])
* ''Chums of Chance Search for Atlantis'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_6|p.6]])
* ''Chums of Chance in Old Mexico'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_7|p.7]])
* ''Chums of Chance and the Bowels of the Earth'' ([[ATD_97-118#Page_117|p.117]])
* ''The Chums of Chance and the Ice Pirates'' ([[ATD_119-148#Page_123|p.123]])
* ''The Chums of Chance Nearly Crash into the Kremlin'' ([[ATD_119-148#Page_123|p.123]])
* ''Chums of Chance at the Ends of the Earth'' ([[ATD_199-218#Page_214|p.214]])
* ''Chums of Chance and the Caged Women of Yokahama'' ([[ATD_397-428#Page_411|p.411]])
* ''Chums of Chance and the Wrath of the Yellow Fang'' ([[ATD_1018-1039#Page_1019|p.1019]])

==Page 416==

'''ZZnrrt''' 
Cf 415.

'''"irreversible processes"''' 
In thermodynamics, an irreversible process is one in which the intermediate states cannot be specified by any set of macroscopic variables, and which are not equilibrium states. Since the intermediate states are unknown this process cannot be reversed.

'''Squanto and the Pilgrims''' 
Squanto (Tisquantum) was one of the two Native American Indians (Samoset being the other) that assisted the Pilgrims during their first winter in the New World. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto Squanto].

Ironic (although Chick means it sincerley) since in this case the Chums of C are "Squanto" and their strange interlocutors from another dimension are the pilgrims. Chick innocently suggests that the strangers from the future just want help (as, like the pilgrims, they have just arrived and are low on supplies, so to speak). It is implied that just as the Indian's helping the pilgrims was re-payed with disease, genocide and war, the payback the Chums reap for helping these visitors from another dimension may not be what they expect.

'''entropy''' 
A term first used in 1850s by the German physicist Rudolf Clausius (1822-1888). It is the name of a quantity in thermodynamics, statistical mechanics and information theory variously representing the degree of disorder in a physical system, the extent to which the energy in a system is available for doing work, the distribution of the energy of a system between different modes, or the uncertainty in a given item of knowledge. In thermodynamics absolut entropies cannot be determined, only ''changes'' in entropy. One way of stating the second law of thermodynamics (Cf [[ATD_219-242#Page 238|page 238]]) is to say that in any change in an isolated system, the entropy increases. This increase in entropy represents the energy that is no longer available for doing work in that system. See [http://www.entropylaw.com/ Entropy & Laws of Thermodynamics.]

'''"It's our innocence . . . ."''' 
Speculation about the motives of people who come from the future claiming to need something from the past. It is a common fallacy in all ages to think back to the past as a 'golden age' and an age of 'innocence'. Lindsay elaborates further down the page: "[I]magine ''them''... so fallen, so corrupted, that we — even we — seem to them pure as lambs. And their own time so terrible that it's sent them desparately back...." Think also of the kind of 'golden age' rhetoric often employed by certain politicians.

==Page 417==

'''"we're totally"''' 
...fucked.

'''"He is not what he says he is."''' 
Pynchon denies Chums backstory/explanation.

In addition, his story would be plausible almost too plausible in terms of the thermodynamic theories of the day, i.e. the Heat Death of the Universe (about which Pynchon has written before: see [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] and ''Entropy'').

'''trespassers''' 
Presumably individuals in the company of Mr. Ace and Alonzo Meatman, whose intentions toward the Chums of Chance are apparently sinister and for their own benefit. They appear to travel back through the stream of time without any kind of permission to execute their plans, thus making them trespassers (or parasites).

The idea of trespass could be thought of in another way too. Miles mentions Mr. Ace knowing him as a 'peeper' who observes the trespassers as they come to his time. We could think of the 'trespassers' as anyone in any time who looks back at a point in history. As such, they are actually 'peepers'. That these seem to have found a way not just to peep but actually to participate makes them more than peepers, in fact, it is this that constitutes their 'trespass'.

Pynchon seems to be playing with how we view history and the past, a theme common to all his work. The Chums, whose existence is, to an extent, fictional even within the work of fiction, are a nexus meant to control boundaries between points in time (e.g. the future and the present, or its past). Historians and other future observers want to use the past for their own purposes. If they become visible to the people in that past, they will appear as 'trespassers' and violators. As Miles says, they do "not have our best interests in mind".

We ourselves (readers and perhaps even more, Wiki authors) are also trespassers from the standpoint of the Chums. We read about them in the novel, which takes us to the past, to their present, and inserts us in a way that is invisible to them. We then write up entries and think thoughts about what they do. We are in their world in some way that to them is utterly mysterious and sinister because, again, we have own agendas in mind and not theirs.

Right: And what about the biggest trespasser of all - the author himself. After all, he's the one who can offer them immortality.

As opposed to Tyrone Slothrop, who seemed to have taken on a life of his own and escaped from the book totally in GR.

'''I see them ''pointing something'' back at me not exactly a weapon an enigmatic object.''' 
Hmmm. Could this have anything to do with the [[Q-weapon_and_Photography|Q-weapon]]?

— – – mmm... does anyone think that it might be just a remote control, and that the window through which the trespassers and the Chums see each other might be just a TV set? [[[User:Sonni|Sonni]] 09:19, 21 February 2008 (PST)]

==Page 418==

'''Trespass''' 
With a capital T.

'''evidence... everywhere''' 
Cf [http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Crying of Lot 49''].

'''neuropathy''' 
An abnormal and usually degenerative state of the nervous system or nerves.

'''contracts''' 
With Devil.
More specifically, like Faust with Mephistopheles.

'''Other Units''' 
(So our five gossiped to others?)

'''exhaustive''' 
Cf Trekkies.

'''came to recall''' 
Cf PK Dick.

'''red and indigo''' 
Clashing?

'''Marching Academy Harmonica Band''' 
In this episode the academy goes by seven permutations of the name:
*Marching Academy Harmonica Band
*Harmonica Band Marching Academy
*Marching Harmonica Band Academy
*Harmonica Marching Band Academy
*Harmonica Band Marching Academy
*Marching Harmonica Band activities
*Harmonica Marching Band Training Academy
Its identity is not very securely tied down.
Clearly it's mutable, a kind of mirage. And surely there's a resonance with 'laughing academy'? And a hint of the Hogwarts train in 'Harry Potter'?

Pynchon devotes enough attention to that whole baffling "Academy" episode to make it appear fairly pivotal. The word order variations suggest an anagram _ "ham," as in "pig" again? "MBA," as in academic initiation into capitalism? "Bam!?" Maybe that whole episode hints at a naive, early 20th-century romanticized myth of military service _ boys seeking some adventure story, equated with a goofy lark like a harmonica band, but being thrust into the horrific mechanized slaughter of WWI. All the while, though, the anarchic jazz symbol of the harmonica, that other side of classic American soul, is trying to sneak through.

==Page 419==

'''"El Capitán"''' 
Sousa march. "El Capitán" was played by a military band on the deck of Admiral Dewey's battleship as he steamed into the Bay of Manila in 1898, to "liberate" the Philippines from Spain and also, not coincidentally, achieve access for U.S. capital and goods to East Asian markets once the Philippines became a colony. Thus the references to the "intricacies of greed as then being practiced by global capitalism" a few sentences later on p. 419 is hardly out of place for TRP, particularly when mixed with comments on how patriotic bromides and marching tunes go together. The harmonicas and the comment that improvisation is definitely NOT welcome in marching band arrangements, of course, provide Pynchon's own inimitable caustic/satiric touch; cf. the kazoos in GR. On "El Capitán": see Hess, Carol A. “John Philip Sousa’s ‘El Capitan’: Political Appropriation and the Spanish-American War.” ''American Music'' (Spring 1998).

'''"Whistling Rufus"''' 
[http://hetzler.homestead.com/NBCakeWalk.html A cakewalk song] written in 1899.

'''consecrated''' 
[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/consecrate] "1. To declare or set apart as sacred: consecrate a church."

'''Richardson Romanesque''' 
Style of American Romanesque architecture from 1880s-1890s, named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, notable for use of brown stone, rounded corners, arches and cylindrical turrets. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson_Romanesque Wikipedia Entry].

'''modal theory''' 
Context is suggestive of music theory, types of scales and keys of tonal music. However, Modal Realism is the view, notably propounded by David Lewis, that possible worlds are as real as the actual world. Possible worlds exist; the actual world is merely one among an infinite set of logically possible worlds, some nearer to the actual world and some more remote. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_realism]

'''chit''' 
Piece of military or bureaucratic paperwork; context suggests "request for transfer".

'''Bing Spooninger''' 
Like "Bing" Crosby, a crooner.

'''rack''' 
Current military and collegiate slang for "bed"--an anachronism.

==Page 420==

'''every note''' 
Om?

'''say "Wall"''' 
???

'''Yippy dippy dippy, doo!''' 
cf. ''Gravity's Rainbow'' (p. 66) where Slothrop goes down the toilet after, appropriately, a harmonica.

'''Now, it ain't that I wouldn't, 'cause I can but I won't,''' 
'''And I would if I wasn't, but I am so I don't''' 
This sounds very similar to a lyric from Frank Zappa's 'Stink-Foot:'

He said:
"IT DOESN'T, 'n YOU CAN'T!

I WON'T, 'n IT DON'T!

IT HASN'T, IT ISN'T, IT EVEN AIN'T

'N IT SHOULDN'T . . .

IT COULDN'T!"

He told me NO NO NO!

I told him YES YES YES!

I said: "I do it all the time . . .

Ain't this boogie a mess!"

'''difficult vocal feat''' 
???

'''segueing''' 
A deejaying term for moving from one song/track to another with no noticeable break if done correctly. 
Cf. [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity's Rainbow,''] Viking p. 70, line 36, where the phonetic spelling "segway" appears.

'''cakewalk''' 
An African-American entertainment having a cake as prize for the most accomplished steps and figures in walking; also, a stage dance developed from walking steps and figures typically involving a high prance with backward tilt. From this, slang for a one-sided contest or an easy task.

'''draw-note''' 
Note played on harmonica by "drawing" air through reed by sucking in rather than blowing out (insert crude sex joke here).

==Page 421==

'''popularity''' 
Masochistic love of oppressors.

'''''cover identity''''' 
Burden of resistance.

'''unannounced punishments . . . Combat-Inside-Ten-Meters''' 
Points up the Kafkaesque nature of the Academy.

:This bit in re: the Academy-- including the Combat-Inside-Ten-Meter-- could echo the Enfield Tennis Academy, one of the central locations in D.F. Wallace's "Infinite Jest."

'''Lombardy poplars.''' 
A large deciduous tree, reaching 30-40 m tall. They resemble large shrubs, due to their tall, slender appearance. They grow tall very quickly and usually die within 15 years of first planting. 

'''Out the window...''' 
The longest sentence so far in ATD.

'''Chromatic Harp''' 
A harmonica that plays all notes in an octave rather than a scale in a certain key. [http://www.hohnerusa.com/hchromatic.htm Examples].

'''Pitch Integrity Guard''' 
To prevent tampering with the notes in the ways described below - i.e. monitoring any tendency towards the 'Negroid'. 
= PIG - pigs long have held a fascination over Pynchon. 
A-and a Pitch Integrity Guard is a kind of cop, right? 

'''harmonica-reed files''' 
Filing the reeds would alter the notes slightly, allowing you to get 'in-between' notes that aren't in the normal major or minor scale.

'''sucking the tonic chords...Negroid sound''' 
Standard technique for playing blues harmonica ('harp'), also known as cross-blowing. The sucked notes are easier to 'bend' and wail with, so you can get the blues 'third', not quite minor, not quite major. Another technique that helps you get the 'Negroid sound' is soaking the harmonica, which gives the reeds a rougher, more bendable quality. That's probably the point of the 'late night visits to the latrine'. Compare with GR, where Slothrop (at college!) loses his harmonica down the toilet (he finds it much later in a stream in Germany! Gone back home, so to speak). There's a harmonica-soaking scene in Pennebaker's Dylan film 'Don't look Back'.
It wouldn't surprise me if there was some kind of folk wisdom that piss is even better than water for soaking the harp. Pee-culiar.

==Page 422==

'''I.G. Mundharfwerke''' 
Interessen-Gemeinschaft Mundharfwerke (Harmonica-works Association of Common Interests). "Mundharf" is Swabian German for "Harmonica". By analogy with I.G. Farben in ''GR'': the Mouth-Harp Cartel.

'''drifted''' 
Cf. Slothrop's desk in ''GR''.

'''the sprightly Offenbach air "Halls of Montezoo-HOO-ma!"''' 
The "Marines' Hymn" borrows the tune of the "Gendarmes' Duet" from the opera ''Geneviève de Brabant'' (1859) by French composer [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Offenbach Jacques Offenbach] (1819-1880). 
The lyrics of which are not entirely irrelevant: 
And if we meet a helpless woo-o-man 
Or little boys who do no harm 
We run them in, we run them in, 
We run them in, we run them in 
Because we are the bold gen-darmes! 

'''into the Latrine''' 
Cf. Slothrop's hallucination in ''GR''.

'''dentifrice''' 
A powder or other preparation for rubbing or cleansing the teeth; a tooth-powder or tooth-paste; also applied to liquid preparations.<ref>'''Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. ed. 1989.</ref>

'''vapor bearing...minerals''' 
Rows of mirrors facing each other (thus creating regular patterns, "chaining away for uncounted leagues") have been stained with images formed by regular use: breath, tiny bits of toothpaste or powder ("atomized dentifrice"), "shaving preparations," and mineral deposits from tapwater.

'''A.D.C.''' 
Aide-de-camp, administrative assistant to a commanding officer.

'''but they could find no entries in any of the daily Logs to help them remember''' 
Their situation has no precedent in any of the ''Chums'' novels. They have been betrayed, isolated and brainwashed, and they even doubt whether they are the authentic Chums. The following is not a spoiler: Any elementary handbook of plotting will tell you that they can't just single up all lines at the end of this episode and fly their ship "cheerly" on to the next adventure.

==Page 423==

'''revisit places where destinies took a wrong turn, or revisit in dreams the dreaming body of one loved more than either might have known...''' 
As far as we know, none of the Chums has actually experienced this. Sounds to me like an allusion to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust Faust] and Gretchen/Marguerite, since this actually happens in several of the Faust versions. Especially in the context of the Faustian bargain they have made with Mr. Ace.

'''None of them...''' 
Cf [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi#The_butterfly_dream Chuang Tzu's dream]: is he a man dreaming he's a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he's a man? On the rhetorical level of the story, this passage reiterates the dreamlike, near-delusional nature of the Chums' latest escape from what seems to have become their most dangerous foe. (418: "As if in a dream...").

'''volunteer decoys''' 
Fan-meme. 
Decoy = is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. 
I think this surprising phrase has Pynchonian meaning about the meaning of fiction like the Chums': 'escape', 'adventure' fiction is a decoy from
reality?

'''"At a Georgia Camp Meeting"''' 
a song by a Kerry Mills originally published in 1897.
Became a very popular 'cakewalk' tune. 
Lyrics: 
A camp meeting took place, by the colored race; way down in Georgia.
There were folks large and small, lanky, lean, fat and tall, at this great Georgia camp meeting.
When church was out, how the "sisters" did shout, they were so happy.
But the young folks were tired and wished to be inspired, and hired a big brass band.

Chorus: When the big brass band began to play pretty music so gay, hats were thrown away.
Thought them foolish people their necks would break,
When they quit their laughing and talking and went to walking for a big choc'late cake.

The old "sisters" raised sand, when they first heard the band; way down in Georgia.
The preacher did glare and the deacons did stare, at the young people prancing.
The band played so sweet that nobody could eat, 'twas so entrancing.
So the church folks agreed it was not a sinful deed, and they joined in with the rest. 

''':definition within above definition: 'cakewalk'''' 
Cakewalk is a traditional African American form of music and dance which originated among slaves in the US South. A cake, or slices of cake, were offered as prizes for the best dancers — a rare treat during slavery — giving the dance its name.
The dance was invented as a satirical parody of the formal European dances preferred by white slaveowners, and featured exaggerated imitations of the dance ritual, combined with traditional African dance steps. One common form of cakewalk dance involved couples (one male and one female, with their arms linked at the elbows) lined up in a circle, dancing forward alternating a series of short hopping steps with a series of very high kicking steps. Costumes worn for the cakewalk often included large, exaggerated bowties, suits, canes, and top hats....
The dance became nationally popular among whites and blacks for a time at the end of the 19th century. The syncopated music of the cakewalk became a nationally popular force in American mainstream music, and with growing complexity and sophistication evolved into ragtime music in the mid 1890s. The music was adopted into the works of various white composers, including John Philip Sousa and Claude Debussy; the latter wrote Golliwog's Cakewalk as the final movement of the Children's Corner suite (1908).

'''"deps"''' 
Dep. from American Heritage Dictionary = 1. department 2. departure 3. dependency 4. deponent 5. deposed 6. deposit 7. depot 8. deputy 
barring any other allusion, I think 'deps' here might stand for 1) departures or 2) departments (given words about other Chums above.
:Surrogates, decoys, escape: Surely these all make it certain that "deps" means "deputies." 
Also, another set of duplicates (or duplicate/shadow existence) in the section on Iceland Spar, the duplicating material.

'''route out of the past''' 
The nostalgia trap.

'''We wish we could tell you about everything that's been going on, but it's not over yet, it's at such a critical stage, and the less said right now the better. But someday . . . ''' 
The Chums imagine "the real Chums" as being engaged in a secret war that demands only one sacrifice from "the people," that of their innocence.

==Page 424==

''''coon' material''' 
Songs and humor in which African-Americans were stereotyped (as lazy, immoral, stupid, vain, etc.) and held in contempt. The most popular coon song, though, was written by an African-American, Ernest Hogan; titled "All Coons Look Alike to Me," it has an ''AtD'' resonance. Coon material was extremely popular between about 1880 and 1910; stripped of the word "coon," a diluted form still appears nightly on your TV. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coon_song Wikipedia] has a strikingly good article. For a partial list of coon references in ''AtD,'' [[ATD_26-56#Page_48|see annotation to p. 48.]]

'''isotropy''' 
the quality or condition of being equal along all directions. For more technical information see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotropy isotropy].

'''presently''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Crumb R. Crumb] did a comic like this: [http://crumbproducts.com/prints_images/sha.gif pic] 
Nice find. That comic succintly summarizes TRP's view of the effects of railroads and "civilization."

'''opposition''' 
(Was unconscious, now conscious?)Are the Chums now able to intercede
in 'human' affairs, unlike their earlier mandate?
:That's exactly it, their stretch in the camp—sorry, the harmonica academy—has modified the terms of the C of C Prime Directive.

'''dropped from altitudes''' 
(Cf pudding above, Padzhitnoff's four-block fragments)

==Page 425==

'''"After the Ball"''' 
Music and lyrics by Charles K. Harris. This number was interpolated into the score of the hit musical ''A Trip to Chinatown'' (1892) during its record-setting Broadway run. It was introduced by J. Aldrich Libbey. When Kern and Hammerstein wanted to add period flavor to ''Show Boat'' (1927), they used "After the Ball" in the Trocadero scene where it was performed by Norma Terris. [[After the Ball|Read the lyrics...]]

See also the [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Pages_174-177 pantomime song] in ''Gravity's Rainbow'' (pages 174-175):
<blockquote>"And the lamps in the stairway are dying, 
It's the season just after the ball . . ."</blockquote>

'''Bukhara''' 
Either the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Bukhara Emirate of Bukhara], a former country in Central Asia or its [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukhara capital]

'''T.D.Y.''' 
Abbrevation for Temporary Duty. [http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r614_11.pdf weblink]

'''Subdesertine''' 
submerge beneath the desert or sand.

'''''Saksaul''''' 
A plant/tree native to the deserts of Central Asia, particularly the Gobi desert; it has a very hard wood and is covered with knobs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxaul Wikipedia] [http://www.pbase.com/william_sokolenko/image/68724037 pic]

It may be significant that the saksaul tree is often planted in order to stabilize the sands. Part of western Europe's civilizing mission?

'''Q. Zane Toadflax''' 
(Sounds like Douglas Adams?). Toadflax is the name of an [http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/weedfeeders/toadflax.html invasive plant species]

'''Hypopsammotic... Hypops''' 
''Hypo-'' (under) + ''psammot-'' (sand, from Greek ''psammos'') + ''-ic.'' Pynchon explains the device's function on the next page (426).

==Page 426==

'''beating their prices''' 
Contradicts p. 425 "no further expenditure".
:P. 425 merely says that "no further expenditure for that purpose [i.e. for Hypops rigs] will be approved." Presumably, the Chums have some additional discretionary fund from which to draw cash for emergency purchases such as these.

'''that medium which is wavelike as the sea, yet also particulate''' 
Alluding to the æther theory and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave-particle_duality dual (wave/particle) nature of light].

==Page 427==

'''temporarily lapsing into English''' 
Contrasts with the technical jargon the Chums have been steeped in over the past few days, including lectures by Roswell Bounce (they're only boys, after all). Often, mathematicians, physicists, and their students fail to explain their theories "in English." This little phrase can be taken as a professorial joke, aimed at both the author (for always coming back to obscure or difficult theories) and the reader (for never understanding them). 
I thought it was contrasting with Miles' frequent babbling habit. 

'''''pigs fly''''' 
Lindsay = pig. "When (or until) pigs fly" = never.

But Darby's surname is "suckling," which of course is highly suggestive of a young, maturing "pig," and he does seem to be exhibiting some legalistic _ fascist? _ tendencies.

'''X.O.''' 
The Executive Officer (XO) is the second-in-command, reporting to the Commanding Officer (CO).

'''legalistic''' 
Yes, Darby is now Legal Counsel.

==Page 428==
'''ill-starred Bell Tower''' 
Referring back of course to the [[#stearinery|Old Stearinery Bell Tower]] and the [[#pudding|Fatal Pudding]], and in turn to the [[Campanile]].

:The Campanile picture has me wondering. According to the sources, the old picture of the collapse of the Campanile is actually a fake. And it doesn't have the airship. It's a fun picture, but what is its status? There doesn't seem to be an appropriate place for this information in the wiki, or have I missed something?

:The Campanile picture is an illustration. Doubtful that anyone had their camera all set up for the awesome event. The airship was photoshopped in for, um, color...

::See also last paragraph of page 255.

Cf. Renata's tarot reading on [[ATD 243-272#Page 253|p. 253]], the last card of which is The Tower.

Cf. ''The Bell-Tower'' by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Melville Herman Melville], a famous short story from ''The Piazza Tales'' (1856) with an "ill-starred
bell tower" for sure. "Glancing backwards, they saw the groined belfry crashed sideways in.", a line from it which echos the picture used for the pynchonwiki home page. [http://www.melville.org/belltowr.htm Full text of ''The Bell-Tower'']

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 397-428

2015-03-01T04:11:26Z

Pthomas: /* Page 409 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 397==

'''syntonic wireless''' [[Image:Columbian1892_obv.jpg|thumb|United States Mint image]][[Image:Columbian1892_rev.jpg|thumb|United States Mint image]]
syn·ton·ic (sĭn-tŏn'ĭk) adj.Psychology. Characterized by a high degree of emotional responsiveness to the environment.
Electricity. Of or relating to two oscillating circuits having the same resonant frequency.
[From Greek suntonos, high-strung, intense, attuned, from sunteinein, to draw tight : sun-, syn- + teinein, to stretch.]

Syntonic Wireless Telegraphy. [http://earlyradiohistory.us/1901ayrt.htm Ayrton Prediction]. Electrical Review, June 29, 1901, p. 820.

'''street-Arab''' 
a homeless boy who has been abandoned and roams the streets.
[http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn wordnet].

'''some koindt of a ''sailboat'' pitchuhv on it''' 
The reverse of the coin shows Columbus' flagship ''Santa Maria'' (the obverse has the navigator's portrait).

'''1893''' 
Columbian half dollars were struck in 1892 and 1893. [http://www.coinlink.com/CoinGuide/commemoratives/1892-1893-columbian-exposition-half-dollar/ CoinLink]

'''Columbian ''Half-Dollar''''' 
The 1892 Columbian Exposition half dollar was the first commemorative coin authorized by Congress. [http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/commemoratives/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=premodern]

'''"ten yeeuhz ago"''' 
Places this action in or around 1903.

==Page 398==

'''nuncio''' 
Casually, a messenger; more formally, a permanent official Papal representative at a foreign court.

'''Evening Quarters''' 
A muster of the ship's company at the end of the day. 
Is this at 1800 Hours?

'''H.G. Wells''' 
Herbert George Wells (1866-1946), one of the 19th Century science fiction writers whom Pynchon is both emulating and parodying in ''ATD''. H.G. Wells was an English novelist, sociologist, journalist, and historian. He wrote series of fantastic scientific romances ''The Time Machine'' (1895), ''The Invisible Man'' (1897), etc. In combination with scientific speculation he developed a strain of sociological idealism in ''The War of the Worlds'' (1898), ''First Men on the Moon'' (1901) and many others. He also wrote the well-known ''Outline of History'' (1920). For more see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.G._Wells Wikipedia entry].

'''jeu d'esprit''' 
French: play of wits. Witticism.
Here, Lindsay places Wells' masterful Time Machine (see above) in opposition with the more flashy and vulgar versions ("adulterated") of time travel offered in dime novels. Interesting that this comment would be made by someone who is himself a character in a dime novel.

'''National Imprest''' 
An imprest system is a system using loans as control against fraud and theft. The most common imprest system known is the petty cash system. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprest_system Wikipedia]. Interesting that the Chums' petty cash system goes
under the rubric National, not International?

'''"Plug" Loafsley''' 
Plug-ugly loafer/oaf?

'''Lollipop Lounge''' 
Lollipop is vulgar slang for an underage girl. There is at least one 'pornographic' magazine called Lollipops featuring supposedly underage girls.

'''Tenderloin''' 
2) A city district notorious for vice and graft. [After 'the Tenderloin', an area of New York City (from the easy income it once offered corrupt policeman). Cf p.334.
From the American Heritage Dictionary.

'''squalid empire''' 
Cf Alan Parker's 1976 movie "Bugsy Malone". [http://imdb.com/title/tt0074256/ IMDb]

==Page 399==

'''indigo... yellow''' 
Clashing-colors motif. Bright full-of-life colors.

'''dicer''' 
A hat [http://books.google.com/books?id=CUQSAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=dicer+hat&source=web&ots=3K_D1BkmBP&sig=xhzWDfgmMitS2mGUzL4ee8MHzTo], perhaps of the style now known as "baseball cap"[http://www.skateamerica.com/store/KR3W-Youth-Hat-Dicer-Black-ID_P15118C62.cfm].

'''opopanax and vervain''' 
Two fragrant, medicinal substances derived from flowering plants. They bloom yellow and violet, respectively. Wikipedia pages for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opoponax opopanax] and for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vervain vervain].
:Though Wikipedia prefers the spelling ''opoponax'', the ''OED'' suggests Pynchon's.

'''contrabass saxophone''' 
A rare but spectacular piece of hardware, somewhat taller than the person playing it, patented by Adolphe Sax in 1846. Pitched in E-flat—if you are keeping track—two octaves below the alto sax. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrabass_saxophone Wikipedia]

'''slide cornet''' 
A brass instrument with the voice of a cornet but using a slide instead of valves. Very, very rare.

'''mandola''' 
An eight-stringed instrument shaped like a mandolin but tuned the same as a viola. It is originally an Irish instrument.

'''"tin pan" piano''' 
A reference to New York's Tin Pan Alley. Probably, the tag means to indicate that the piano was out of tune or sounded 'cacophonous'. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_pan_alley Wikipedia entry]

'''anchored by . . . piano''' 
It's hard to imagine the sound of the ensemble: big reedy bass, lots of rhythm from the mandola, the abandoned wailing of the cornet, fuzzy arpeggios on the piano. Like a children's Fourth of July parade, plus hallucinogens.

'''houris''' 
According to the ''OED'', a "nymph of the Muslim Paradise. Hence applied allusively to a voluptuously beautiful woman." <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd Ed. 1989.</ref>

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "houris" is the plural of 'houri', as defined above.

'''Darby''' 
Over 21yo, if he's aged.

'''chanteuse''' 
A female singer of popular songs, esp. in France. <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

==Page 400==

'''paillettes''' 
2. a spangle used to ornament a dress or costume. [from Old French,diminutive of
paille,straw]. American Heritage Dictionary.

'''louche''' 
of questionable taste or morality. From Old French, losche= squint-eyed,
ultimately from Latin, luscus = blind in one eye. Source: American Heritage Dictionary.

''OED'' Oblique, not straightforward. Also, dubious, shifty, disreputable. <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

'''"jazz"''' 
The ''OED'' suggests that the spelling here was always more popular than ''jass'', as used on [[Pages 358-373#Page 370|p. 370]]. It makes sense that a musician like "Dope" Breedlove might use a less conventional spelling, as he would be familiar with the term before common usage had regularized its spelling. By contrast, within the "dime novel" idiom of the Chums of Chance narration (dime novelists not necessarily being, especially in those days, the swingin'-est of cats), while ''jazz'' still registers as a slang term, its spelling has already been regularized.

'''Dey high-hats us uptown''' 
They scorn or snub us.

'''Dey low-balls us downtown''' 
They underestimate us.

'''Missus Grundy''' 
Mrs. Grundy, proverbial looker-askance at any improper activity. "[A]n extremely conventional or priggish person" after a character alluded to in the play ''Speed The Plough,'' by Thomas Morton (1764-1838), British playwright. Source: American Heritage Dictionary.

''''ying'''' 
"Yen"? And play/contrast with yang?

==Page 401==

'''Angela Grace''' 
I.e., Angel of Grace

'''Gophiz... Hudson Dustuhs''' 
Gophers, Hudson Dusters. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Dusters New York street gangs.]

'''bushwahs''' 
Bourgeois.

'''slickin up''' 
Gentrification.

'''Mr. Mawgin''' 
J. Pierpont Morgan. Dr. Zoot has funding from the same source that supported Tesla earlier.

'''stanchion''' 
Upright structural member, here part of the El trestle.

'''find it''' 
(Small-penis joke.)

'''time-corroded''' 
Actually, on [[ATD 149-170#Pages 154-155|p. 154]] we learn that when these structures were erected, they were intentionally antiqued, "deliberately burned, attempts being made to blacken the stylized wreckage in aesthetic and interesting ways," a description that applies also to Pynchon's historical fiction with its antiquated language and its generally favorable view of all things black. Though, of course it's been a decade since the shrine was erected, and some actual time-corrosion may have occurred.

'''seeming to date from some ancient catastrophe, far older than the city.''' 
When, what is that catastrophe in ATD, pages 149-170?
:There's more than a hint in the geography. From Central Park to the Tenderloin, on a street where you can smell the waterfront; west and south till you hit (literally) the Ninth Avenue El; south on the El line. Eventually you get to the World Trade Center site.

'''I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY''' 
Italian: "Per me si va nella città dolente". Phrase first appears on [[ATD 149-170#Pages 154-155|p. 154]], where it is inscribed over the shrine that the citizens erect to the Destroyer. It is a quote from Canto III of Dante's ''Il Inferno,'' where it is emblazoned over the gates to Hell.

'''triatomic''' 
I.e., ozone or O3, which is a molecule composed of three bonded oxygen molecules. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone Wikipedia.]

==Page 402==

'''solenoidal relay''' 
Solenoid: a cylindrical coil of wire hollow in the center. To make a relay, stick an iron rod partway into the middle. Turn the current on, and the magnetic field pulls the iron in. Attach the rod to the bolt on the gate and you can unlock it by pushing a button.

'''Dr. Zoot''' 
homage to Zoot Sims, jazzman? 
Most often combined with Suit, as in
Zoot suit - Wikipedia. Often zoot suiters wear a felt hat with a long feather (called a tapa or ... By their dress, Zoot suiters expressed defiance, at a time when fabric was ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoot_suit
There is a contemporary "zootsuit" radio station devoted to old radio shows. Historically, much later than the period of ATD here, there were riots in Los Angeles called the Zoot Suit riots (alluded to in, wasn't it, ''The Crying of Lot 49''?)(Edit- nope, GR.)

'''pale''' 
Even tough-guy Plug fears the time machine.
Pynchon's perspective on artificial light, "already harsh illumination".

'''dynamo''' 
Electrical generator. Converts any rotational motion to AC or DC power.

'''Grandmother's day''' 
Pre-Civil War.

'''Breguet''' 
A distinctive fine watch of French design, usually with open circles ('moons') near the ends of the hands. (See also p.140) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breguet_(watch) Wikipedia entry]

'''shimming''' 
Insertion of thin material to make two parts line up. Think of the matchbook under the table leg.

'''revenue diverted''' 
(Why not no-revenue?)because revenue was spent---very cheaply: in only "the simplest upkeep."

==Page 403==

'''gutta-percha gasketry''' 
Gutta-percha (Palaquium) is genus of tropical trees native to southeast Asia and northern Australasia, from Taiwan south to Malaya and east to the Solomon Islands. It is also an inelastic natural latex produced from the sap of these trees. One use of gutta-percha was the "guttie" golf ball with a solid gutta-percha core, which appears [[ATD_919-945#Page 934|later in ''Against the Day'']]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutta-percha Wikipedia]

'''coaming''' 
Bodywork. Panels concealing frame, wiring, etc.

'''undog this hatch''' 
Nautical: disengage whatever is holding the door shut.

'''faith''' 
(Blind, not humble.)

'''nervous organizations''' 
Cf drugs. Cf. sympathetic vibrations, a physical kind of empathy.

'''pillioned''' 
Riding two to a horse.
Refers specifically to the "passenger seat", separated from the main saddle. Also applies to motorcycle riding where the small passenger seat is called a "pillion". Metonymically, pillion can be used to describe the passenger.

'''horses''' 
8 million horses were killed in WW1. At first battle of war, Mons, cavalry used extensively. This was before the war became fought through trench warfare. Shows how blindsided the direction the war took and how out of control it became for all involved. Note that "galloping" calvary has often been associated with romanticizing and glorifying of war in American lit. Cf. Rev Hightower in Faulkner's Light in August. (Recall, too, that Pynchon nicked AtD's title from Faulkner's famous Nobel Prize speech.)
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/horses_in_world_war_one.htm
Cavalry?

'''arrays of metallic points''' 
Bayonets? Appears to be a depiction of the (still future) Great War, WWI.

Or, if we are observing the future dead, the metallic points are the bullets fired, now holding static in the places where they interrupted the living.

==Page 404==

'''shockwaves of the Creation''' 
Anachronistic Big Bang theory? 
I must say that in the Big Bang theory, stars
were first created out of the bang; here the metaphor seems to accept that the stars already exist and "are blown through by the shockwaves of the Creation", capitalized, a common Pynchon touch, as in a Biblical allusion.

'''chamber shook''' 
(It didn't on p403.)

'''not beasts''' 
Airplanes?
Or Missiles/rockets? 'A screaming comes across the sky'....

'''smell''' 
Cf GR on Passchendaele.

==Page 405==

'''latest Oldsmobile''' 
(Dates.) 1903.

'''Candlebrow U.''' 
So what is a "candlebrow"? Consider those phallic ''ex voti'' candles offered up to [[St. Cosmo]]. The head of the candle-phallus, brow shaped, sits atop the cyclindrical candle-shaft and is, metaphorically, the candle's brow. And, natch, Gideon Candlebrow made the bucks necessary to fund Candlebrow U. with the miracle product [[#Page 407|"Smegmo,"]] the "Messiah of kitchen fats" (Imperial Margarine was advertised as "The King of Margarines") [http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Asmegma&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official smegma] is the "cheesy secretion" that collects atop the "candlebrow" beneath the foreskin. [[ATD 374-396#Page 374|Ewball Oust's name]] has similar connotations.

Maybe I'm pointing out the obvious, but it seems to me like Pynchon's way of saying Dickhead University. --[[User:Pomopaulrevere|Pomopaulrevere]]

'''double-domes''' 
'dome' is slang for the human brain, of course. [Amer Heritage] and seems to mean, in humorous context, two-headed or double-brained thinkers...(more doubling motif--as joke?)

:Or possibly a sexual ''double entendre''...consistent with the [[The Sexual Angle|rampant sexuality]] in ''AtD''. Why, several double-dome images come to mind, almost faster than "egghead"...

:also possibly a reference to numerous "mad scientist" contraptions that connect two (unwilling?) patients, hooked together by metallic helmets (domes), in order to "switch" "souls" from one body to another. Seems far-fetched, but in a book dominated by the idea of dopplegangers created by the refraction from Iceland spar, not so much...

:Also a possible reference to phrenology, the pseudo-science of skull shape in relation to personality traits. "Dome" in phrenology seems to refer to a desirable head shape, with the top of the skull large and rounded, like an egg with the larger end up. This seems to indicate morality, reason and self-restraint, in phrenology. Thus, could "double-dome" refer to someone with two possibly conflicting systems of morality, or reason? It seems a bit of a reach. But phrenology is probably something Pynchon would've paid attention to in his survey of the riot of pseudo-sciences clamoring for respect during that era.

'''drumming''' 
Traveling salesmanship.

<div id="balinhan"></div>'''a saloon down by the river called the Ball in Hand''' 
The Ball in Hand isn't the river, it's the saloon. Still, the name does have an English ring to it. The Bird in Hand is a common pub name in Britain.

Another cricket allusion? If so, rather obvious. Surely a straightforward sexual joke.
:Oh yes. As discussed a couple paragraphs down!

Ball in Hand might refer to the "orb," an emblem of sovereignty held in the monarch's left hand in many state portraits; the orb is a small globe usually surmounted by a cross. Or a physics allusion, though anachronistic by some 30 years: the dome of a Van de Graaff generator. The museum visitor places her hand on it, the docent cranks the machine, and the victim's hair flies into an [[ATD_26-56#Page_26|aigrette.]] Or a more carnal connotation, not anachronistic at all. Or fortunetelling. These remote connections do make cricket sound pretty good:

A term used in pocket billiards (especially 9-ball) when a player has scratched (sunk the cue ball) and the player who follows is allowed to place the cue ball wherever he/she wants.

:Given all the other [[The Sexual Angle|sexual references]] in ''AtD'', this definitely has a sexual ring to it. Consider that the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines "ball" as "5. Any rounded protuberant part of the body." It is thought that "ball" is derived from the Indo-European word ''bhel'', meaning to blow, swell; with derivatives referring to various round objects and to the notion of tumescent masculinity. Derivatives include ''boulevard'', ''boulder'', ''phallus'', ''balloon'', ''ballot'', and ''fool''. [http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/roots/zzb01800.html]

<div id="meatman">'''Alonzo Meatman'''</div>
Meatman translated to German is Fleischmann, as in [http://www.fleischmanns.com/products/index.jsp Fleischmann's], makers of yeast, margarine, and assorted spreads.

:Yes, perhaps a cheesy spread, like that smegmo! In 1973, Jerry Lee Lewis recorded an homage to his oral talents entitled "Meat Man" in which he brags of having "a maytag tongue with a sensitive taste." This fits in with [[The Sexual Angle]] in AtD. [[Meat Man|Read the lyrics...]]. And there ''are'' those [[ATD 57-80#Page 73|great balls of fire]] known as ball lightning.

'''they don't like to cross running water''' 
A preference shared by witches, vampires and in some accounts the Devil.

==Page 406==

'''counterfeit of the Timeless''' 
Thematic. Whole sentence seems the sharpest indictment of 'the Academy' as exemplified by Candlebrow U.

'''fatal discovery''' 
Note the contrast with "fateful discovery" on [[ATD 397-428#Page 398|p.398]].

'''''Imum Coeli''''' 
Latin for "bottom of the sky." In Astrology, it is the point in space where the ecliptic crosses the meridian in the north, exactly opposite the Midheaven. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imum_Coeli Wikipedia entry]

'''rusticated''' 
Of masonry, parts of buildings, etc.: Rendered rustic in appearance. <ref>Def. 3a. '''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

'''managing somehow...to present an aspect of terrible antiquity''' 
Perhaps because [very mild one-page spoiler ahead:] there's some truth to the conjecture of Professor Vanderjuice on the next page that "there's nothing to keep us from going back as far as we like, and holding the Conferences then, even back when this was all prehistoric around here, dinosaurs, giant ferns, flammivomous peaks everywhere sort of thing..."

'''Gideon Candlebrow''' 
made-up founder whose scandalous fortune underlay Candlebrow U?

'''Grossdale''' 
a gross dale?

'''great Lard Scandal of the '80s'''' 
Real event? (There were a couple of 'Lard Scandals" in last ten years but in countries other than Great Britain.) 

Since Gideon had to testify before congress about it, said Scandal must have happened in the States. He seems to have shipped lard that was deemed too "adulterated" to be sold in the US to good old Britain, thereby, as Pynchon puts it with a good dose of mean-spirited humor, "compromising further an already debased national cuisine". What did he use to adulterate the lard? The secret ingredient in Smegmo, maybe?

In [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_5#113 ''V.''] Pynchon mentions the "Great Sewer Scandal of 1955."

'''Christmas pudding controversy'''' 
Lard could certainly be used while making Christmas Pudding, aka Plum Pudding [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding Wikipedia entry], the quintessential British holiday treat. The traditional ingredient, though, is suet. Some families might have tried to substitute lard in the recipe, which would have radically altered the taste of the pudding, sparking bitter fights about the importance of culinary tradition. Could this "controversy" be a metaphor of the effects of American cultural imperialism? Maybe I should just do a taste test...

==Page 407==

'''"Smegmo"''' 
Smegma is a secretion of mammalian genitals [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smegma Wikipedia].

The word derives from a transliteration of the Greek word σμήγμα for soap.

As an "artificial substitute for everthing in the edible-fat category" pronounced kosher by an "eminent Rabbi of world hog capital Cincinnati, Ohio," Smegmo may be a code name for Crisco, a Procter & Gamble creation invented in Cincinnati in 1911 -- an anarchronism or time shift in the text -- and marketed through various ethnic cookbooks, including a Yiddish/English kosher cookbook published in 1933 with the "Hechsher (or certificate) of a prominent Orthodox rabbi, "denoting that Crisco contained nothing animal-based."
[http://www.crisco.com/about/history/1930.asp]

"Smegm"a + crisc "O" = Smegmo

:Interesting(?) sideline: Here in Denmark the slang word for smegma is 'nakkeost' -i.e. 'neck-cheese'. And of course anyone who's seen 'Red Dwarf' will know about the current British use of 'smeg' (Not smeggin'likely, get the smeg outa here! Smeg off!). What do Americans call it?

Smegmo and Candlebrow:
"The initial purpose [for Crisco] was to create a cheaper substance to make candles than the expensive animal fats in use at the time. Electricity began to diminish the candle market, and since the product looked like lard, they began selling it as a food." Yet another Lard Scandal? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisco]

Also P&G was founded as a candle (Procter) and soap (Gamble) company, making profits from the fat of slaughtered pigs in "Porkopolis," Cincinnati.

Finally, the stock ticker for P&G is PG which is pretty close to one of Pynchon's favorite animals -- PIG.

Cf. [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_525-556 cottonseed oil] p. 546.

'''margarine''' 
1887 saw the introduction of the Margarine Act in Great Britain, which required margarine to be labeled as such. This was in response to the adulteration of butter by oleomargarine (made from animal fats).

Candlebow + margarine reminds me of Camille Paglia on Renee Zellwegger as "margarine-browed" (which I don't really understand).

'''four thousand years''' 
Refers to the time believed to have elapsed since Abraham and the foundation of Judaism [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham Wikipedia]. Under kosher laws Jews are not allowed to mix milk and meat products in the same meal. The rabbi's proclamation about having waited 4000 years refers to the arrival of Smegmo as a non-milk substitute for butter that can be eaten with meat dishes.

'''"you kept hearing different stories about exactly what was in it"''' 
Refers to wide range of urban legend-like attributions as to the origins and/or makeup of smegma that exist especially among children.

There's a resonance with Coca-Cola, too: exaggerated secrecy about the formula, fanatical market development, endowment of a university (Emory in the case of the Woodruff and Candler fortunes).

'''First International Conference on Time-Travel''' 
MIT students held a [http://web.mit.edu/adorai/timetraveler/ Time Traveler Convention] on May 7, 2005. The organizers did only modest publicity, claiming that the event would be reported and people in the future would read about it and decide to attend. One of the principals pointed out that only one such convention would ever need to take place. Vanderjuice's reasoning is almost a mirror image of that.

'''''The Time Machine''''' 
A short novel by H. G. Wells, written as a series of articles in 1888 for ''The Science Schools Journal'', and published as a book in 1895. The central character, ''Time Traveller'', tells a group of friends that he has invented a machine which can travel through time, enabling him to investigate the destiny of the human species. In the year 802,701, where he is temporarily stranded, he finds the meek and beautiful ''Eloi'' ling in apparently idyllic circumstances, but discovers that they are the prey of the degenerate ''Morlocks'', descendants of laborers who have lived underground for centuries. In later eras he sees the life-forms which survive the extinction of man, and thirty million years hence he is witness to the world's final decline as the sun cools. (Taken from ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'', 1988 Edition.) For more information from other source see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine The Time Machine].

Wells' The Time Machine portrays the splitting of the Human Species between the Upper-worlders and the subterranean species called Morlocks. Wells compares the Upper-worlders and Morlocks to our own social differences between the Capitalist and the Laborer, the Haves and the Have-nots. When the Time Traveler first encounters a Morlock in chapter 5, he sees "A pair of eyes, luminous by reflection ''against the daylight'' without,...."

'''this year''' 
??? 1903.

'''back when this was all prehistoric around here''' 
See previous page "managing somehow..."

'''flammivomous''' 
Vomiting out flame. <ref>'''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. Ed. 1989.</ref>

'''sophomoric slogs''' 
Slog can be a forceful hit and a Cricket term. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slog Link]

'''nooky''' 
"nooky" is synonymous with "pussy" both of which are used metonymically to denote either the sex act or, in this case, women who are desirable as sex partners.

'''1925 or thereabouts''' 
Lindsay's unfamiliarity with the term "nooky" ''could'' continue until it becomes an accepted part of the English language, which occurred, according to the ''OED'', with its first substantiative written usage in 1928. The ''OED'', by the way, prefers the spelling ''nookie'' (the ''Shorter OED'' prefers "nooky"). However, the term was certainly in the vernacular long before it made it into the ''OED'' and is speculated to be of British origin, perhaps derived from "nugging" (having sex) or "nook" which a vagina could be considered, I suppose.

Most likely a simple "chummy" joke, implying that poor old Lindsay wouldn't get to experience the pleasures of the flesh for another 25 years. Considering that the Chums don't seem to age, I really can't say how old he will be when the blessed event finally comes.

:Actually, this seems like a fairly obvious poke at exactly the kind of scholarship we're participating in here-- Miles admits and acknowledges that the use of "nooky" here is an anachronism, which will only be of a concern to readers who were actively trying to get laid in 1903, and the kind of people who look up the origin of a word 100 years later to say "...but they didn't say 'nooky' in '03!"

'''Randolph''' 
(Has he been absent?)

==Page 408==

'''telegraphic messages''' 
(Why at night, particularly? Email parody?) Seems many telegraphic messages were delivered at night, perhaps because they could be picked up during the daytime and many came after evening began.

When telegrams were a customary means of communication, you could send a "straight wire," which would go right on the wire and get delivered promptly, or a "night letter," which would go into a queue for transmission in low-traffic times and be delivered the next morning. The rate for night letters was lower than that for straight wires.

'''"Goes with everything"''' 
Cf Al Capp's Shmoos?

'''a ''million'' uses for Smegmo''' 
Tracing out just one parallel: Coke—foundation of the Candler fortune and the Emory U. endowment—is a beverage, a sweetener and flavoring agent (Coca-Cola Cake a Southern favorite), a solvent (best thing for removing bugs from windshields) and a cleanser (''MythBuster''-tested for polishing automotive chrome). In an emergency you can fill your radiator with it, and used with care it will raise bread dough.

Tracing out another parallel: Crisco, not only the first but also emblamatic of all synthetic shortening, is "ubiquitous in the cuisine and among the table condiments..." It is found in baked products (breads, cakes, muffins, etc.), salad dressings, soups, potato chips, mayonnaise, cheese spreads, peanut butter, cake and biscuit mixes. Raisins are sometimes coated with it. You will find them in most processed foods.

'''in the way that certain odors can instantly return us to earlier years''' 
Recalls Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu in which the taste and smell of a madeleine cookie summons a collection of childhood memories.

'''"There's a seminar on that tomorrow ... Or do I mean day before yesterday?"''' 
Are all the folks at Candlebrow time travellers? Unlikely. This remark seems to be a typical collegiate witticism about classes. Seems about everyone can STUDY time travelling at Candlebrow.

'''Finney Hall''' 
Probably a Hall/Auditorium/Room in Candlebrow U. named after American author Jack Finney (1911-1995), who wrote a famous time travel novel, ''Time and Again'' (1970). See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Finney Jack Finney] for more.

'''florescent''' 
flowering, blooming.From florescense. Amer Heritage Dictionary

==Page 409==

'''Gibson Girls''' 
From illustrations of a kind of woman first made by Charles Dana Gibson. Besides certain physical features--see wikipedia---such women were thought
to be 'independent', often college girls, although not suffragettes.

'''"Why you insufferable little --"''' 
This line, paired with St. Cosmo's observation at the end of the following paragraph: "And might I add, Mr. Noseworth, that these constant attempts to strangle Suckling do our public image little good," seem a fairly direct reference to a well-worn trope from the ''Simpsons'' [http://www.snpp.com/guides/homer.file.html#strangle], in which the splenetic Homer, as played here by Noseworth, expresses his no-longer-controllable frustration with Bart, here the increasingly smartalecky Suckling.

Pynchon, as has been widely reported, has appeared on ''The Simpsons'' a couple times.

More than even "Vineland," it seems, this book is fraught with pop culture/low comedy asides. 

'''Wellesianism''' 
Relating to Orson Welles. On page 412 the term
''''Wellsian''' optimism' is used in a clear reference to H.G. Wells.

:Orson Wellesianism seems correct: The scene, an immense inventory of discarded time machines, is reminiscent of the final scenes of ''Citizen Kane'' which show Kane's enormous collection of objects in rows of stacks extending seemingly to infinity.

Also, Orson did the infamous War of the Worlds broadcast that sent people shooting in the streets. The Wells/Welles blurring would imply Vanderjuice knew of a future event/movie and I don't think such characterological foreknowledge (in the prof's case) or authorial intrusion is active in this text. So I think that it's a typo and not a really obvious/belabored pun.

'''Asimov Transecular''' 
Interesting to find one of Isaac Asimov's time travel machines on the pile of "picked-over hulks of failed time machines." Of course, it would have to have been deposited there from some time in the future.

transecular 
Adj "that is made through the centuries" (Portuguese) [[User:Btchakir|Btchakir]] 16:48, 19 December 2006 (PST)

Rather than troubling to search for a Portuguese word, isn't it more likely that Asimov or Pynchon coined this in a nearly trivial way? ''Trans,'' across, plus ''secular,'' ages or centuries (from Latin [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=s&p=11 ''sæculum,''] an age, a generation, 120 years; also yielding French ''siècle,'' a century).

'''Asimov''' 
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), Russian born American biochemist and science fiction writer. His family emigrated to the US in 1923 and he was naturalised in 1928. He graduated from Columbia University and had been Professor of Biochemistry of the University of Boston since 1979. He began contributing stories to science fiction magazines in 1939 and his first book ''Pebble in the Sky'' was published in 1950. Many others followed. ''The Foundation Trilogy'' (1963) made an international reputation as the master of science fiction. Since 1958 he had published few novels, preferring to concentrate on text books and works of popularized science such as ''Intelligent Man's Guide to Science'' (2 Vols. 1960). And he also wrote ''Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare'' (1970). In his life time he wrote over 500 books that spanned the realm of human knowledge. [http://www.asimovonline.com/ Asimov Home Page] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issac_Asimov Isaac Asimov].

'''Tempomorph''' 
Tempo + morph = Time change

'''Q-98s''' 
FM station? The weapon used by Loony Tunes character Marvin the Martian is called the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator

'''Flow''' 
Flow of Time.

'''vulcanite''' 
Star Trek allusion? A kind of mineralized rubber.
:a hard, readilly cut and polished rubber, obtained by vulcanizing rubber with a large amount of sulfur or some sulfur compound under a moderate heat (110-140 degree C), used in the manufacture of combs, buttons, and for electric insulation.

'''Heusler's alloy''' 
any of various alloys of manganese and other nonferromagnetic metals that exhibit ferromagnetism. Named after Conrad Heuslet, 19th-century German mining engineer and chemist.

'''bonzoline''' 
Synthetic ivory, used to make billiard balls.

'''electrum''' 
An alloy of gold and silver, presumably not the same as ''argentaurum''.

'''lignum vitae''' 
The very hard heavy wood of any of several tropical American guaiacum trees. In Latin, literally "wood of life."

'''platinoid''' 
An alloy of copper, nickel, tungsten and zinc, formerly used in elecric coils.

'''magnalium''' 
Magnesium-aluminum alloy.

'''packfong silver''' 
A Chinese alloy of nickel, zinc and copper, resembling German silver. [http://dict.die.net/packfong/ packfong].

'''The Ball in Hand''' 
[[#balinhan|See annotations to p. 405.]]

'''safe harbor''' 
Paradoxical, I think.

'''automorphic''' 
auto = Self,same. Morph = to change. The theory of automorphic functions concerns a generalization of periodic functions such as the Earth's revolution.

'''Eternal Return''' 
A fascinating interpretation of history in which Time is a single cycle and once it has reached its conclusion begins anew, and each repetition of the cycle is utterly identical to the first. Perhaps originating in ''The New Science'' by Giambattista Vico, though made most famous by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who used it as the basis for his moral philosophy. Cf. Nietzsche, ''The Will to Power''.

Notice that at Candlebrow, the conferences converged to a "form' of Eternal Return. The almost instantaneous way the conferees can be "resurrected' and seem never to age, makes this form of the Eternal
Return a lot like Never-Never Land. 
A-and perhaps a Pynchon jape at Nietzsche's vision of history?

==Page 410==

'''revenance''' 
Related to revenant, a ghost, a returner from the dead.

'''River of Time''' 
cf "the invisible river, the flow of Time", p.252. Herein a 'parable' drawn from the flowing of a literal river, by some Candlbrow conferees.

Cf. "The River of Time" (first published in 1981 as "Coexistence" in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine) 

Cf. M&D's "in America, time is a river that goes through hell"

Cf. Heraclitus's Flux and Fire Philosophy. [http://www.thebigview.com/greeks/heraclitus.html]

'''Symmes Street''' possible reference to the Symme's Hole which leads into the hollow earth, i. e. a street on the extreme fringe

Symmes Street = Symmetry ?

'''gaslit''' 
Lightfuel motif.

'''St. Louis Fair''' 
1904.

Also "Pygmy boyfriends escaped from the St. Louis Fair" - in the book Ota Benga, about a pygmy who appeared in the St. Louis Fair, there is a reference to pygmies escaping from their exhibit and disappearing into neighborhoods of St. Louis, never to be found

'''''kielbasa sausage''''' 
Often referred to as Polish sausage (which is uncooked), Kielbasa sausage is a precooked, smoked, traditionally made of pork that is highly seasoned with garlic.

also used to describe a very large penis. Judging from the "disreputable" nature of the Ball in Hand, it wouldn't seem too far-fetched to imagine Polish comedians hitting themselves over the head with their own appendages.

'''fantan''' 
Traditional Chinese gambling game; also a card game [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan-Tan].

'''"preserver"''' 
Or "life-preserver": slang, a blackjack or cosh.

'''magenta-and-green''' 
Clashing-colors motif. This combination appears in a bandana in [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity's Rainbow''] (Viking p. 69 line 14). 
Life colors in Pynchon, it might be argued?, as is a bandana. 
The clashing of (anarchic) life motif, maybe? 

magenta is a color that was renamed for a battle, the Battle of Magenta!
see wikipedia.

There's something else striking about magenta and green: In the field of [http://www.rgbworld.com/color.html color mixing,] these are complementary in the sense that magenta results from filtering all the green out of white light and vice versa. Green is an additive primary (red-green-blue), while magenta is a subtractive primary (cyan-magenta-yellow). This does not hold for some other ''AtD'' color schemes (red/indigo comes to mind, but there are a dozen or so of these binary combinations).

==Page 411==

'''Finding of Unusual Circumstances Questionaire''' 
Also, presumably, known as the "F.U.C.Q." or "fucq" for short.

'''Hawaiian volcano''' 
Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, displays the results of 70 million years of volcanism, migration, and evolution — processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with complex and unique ecosystems, and a distinct human culture.

The park encompasses 333,000 acres and ranges from sea level to the summit of the earth's most massive volcano, Mauna Loa at 13,677 feet. ''Kilauea, the world's most active volcano, offers scientists insights on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands'' and visitors views of dramatic volcanic landscapes. Over half of the park is designated wilderness and provides unique hiking and camping opportunities. [[Hawaii|More on Hawaiian references in ''Against the Day'']]...

'''Zennist''' 
Practitioners of Zen Buddhism.

'''''Caged Women of Yokohama''''' 
Possible: Yokohama was one of the first Japanese cities with the heaviest
industrialization...wherein many young women from the surrounding rural
areas came to work in dreadful working and living conditions? "The early 20th century was marked by rapid growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories along reclaimed land to the north of the city towards Kawasaki, which eventually grew to be the Keihin Industrial Area. The growth of Japanese industry brought affluence to Yokohama, and many wealthy trading families constructed sprawling residences there, while the rapid influx of population from Japan and Korea also led to the formation of Kojiki-Yato, the largest slum in Japan at the time." Wikipedia. 
Misc. Like Telluride in the U.S., Yokohama had the first gaslit streetlamps in Japan. Wikipedia.

==Page 412==

'''koan''' 
Japanese. A ko-an is a story, dialogue, question or statement in the lore of Zen Buddhism. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koan koan].

'''"Does a dog possess the Buddha-nature?" [...] "Yes, obviously"''' 
According to the Zen parable the answer to the question is "Mu", which is both "No" and the sound of a dog's bark, thus neither simply yes nor no. See the explanantion given by the Learned English Dog in Mason & Dixon (Ch. 3, p. 22).

'''apricot and aquamarine''' 
Clashing-colors motif.

'''F.I.C.O.T.T.''' 
As Alonzo Meatman goes right on to explain, F.I.C.O.T.T. is the acronym for the First International Conference On Time Travel, but readers of ''Gravity's Rainbow'' will recall also "Fickt" from the line "Fickt nicht mit dem Raketemensch," or "Don't f--k with the Rocketman."

'''hootnanny''' 
Typo? Should be hootenanny, an informal performance by folk singers, typically with participation by the audience. The OED says that it can be spelled either way, and also hootananny.

'''Bohr... Mach... young Einstein... Spengler... Wells... McTaggart''' 
All of these people did work involving either speculation about time (Wells) or other subjects that reached their highest expression in Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which had implications regarding the nature of time and spacetime [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_relativity Wikipedia]. Pynchon refers to the fact that this work was underway and 'in the air' at the time of the novel. [[Bohr, Mach, Einstein, et al.|History and Discussion...]]

Notice how, among this stellar cast of scientists, Wells seems to be placed above the rest (cf: "Mr. Wells himself"), as if the writer of fiction trumped "real" scientists when it came to the idea of time travel.

'''dismissing . . . the ''existence'' of Time''' 
In a 1908 essay, ''The Unreality of Time'', McTaggart said "Our ground for rejecting time . . . is that time cannot be explained without assuming time." For the full text of the essay [http://www.ditext.com/mctaggart/time.html The Unreality of Time (1)] and other information [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unreality_of_Time The Unreality of Time (2)].

'''the McTaggartite''' 
disciple of Mctaggart?

'''neo-Augustinian''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo St. Augustine of Hippo] (354-430), in his autobiographical [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confessions/confessions.html ''Confessions''], is credited with reconceptualizing the notion of time in Christian terms. Throyle, on [[ATD 119-148#Page 143|p.143]], summarizes what he terms "Christian time," as a "linear way of regarding time, a simple straight line from past, through present, into the future." See also [[ATD E|'''Eschatology''']].

<div id="pudding">'''fatal steamed pudding'''</div>
Presumably the subject of the "Christmas-pudding controversy" mentioned on p. 406. In the context of Prof. Taggart's disbelief in time and the Augustinian's presumed belief that time moves inevitably toward Christ's return, a Christmas pudding (which, one should mention, is prepared with suet or similar animal fat, though presumably Smegmo can be substituted) is a symbol, insofar as it invokes the birth of Christ, of a pivotal moment in the proper sequence of Augustinian time. The pudding, which context here suggests the neo-Augustinian dropped on the McTaggartite, at once symbolizes the Fall of Man, as well as the McTaggartite's inevitable descent into Hell. The whole arrangement is problematized, however, by the comments of the County Coroner, who describes the outcome of the event dependent on "wagering," chance being irreconcilable with Augustinian time.

'''vertical distance''' 
Of pudding-drop?

<div id="stearinery">'''Old Stearinery Bell Tower'''</div>
A stearinery (probably made-up word) is a facility where stearin is made. Chemically, stearin is an ester of glycerol with stearic acid, or stearic acid itself. The name also denotes the solid component of a fat. Smegmo undoubtedly contains stearin, so the Old Stearinery was a key part of the original production process.

"Until 1863 lard stearin was used to produce the stearic acid for candle making. With lard expensive and in short supply, a new method was discovered to produce the stearic acid using tallow. What lard and lard stearin was available was instead developed into a cooking compound. The same process was later adapted to create Crisco, the first all-vegetable shortening." [http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/The-Procter-amp;-Gamble-Company-Company-History.html]

==Page 413==

'''322 feet''' 
The ''average'' acceleration produced by gravity at the Earth's surface (sea level) is 32.2 (or 32.17405 to be exact) feet per second per second. This apllies "in any direction out to the curve of the Earth, notorious locally for exerting a fascination upon minds healthy and disordered alike."

''Pedantry Alert:'' From a height of 322 feet, you see the horizon at a distance of 22 miles.

'''disordered''' 
Eg clocktower assassins?
:Also people who may be moved to ''knock towers down.''

'''homeopathist''' 
One who practices homeopathy.

'''"the ''lycopodium'' type"... Fear''' 
Lycopodium is a common homeopathic remedy for many disorders. Homeopathy being the introduction into the body, in infinitesimal amounts, of a possibly toxic or irritating agent that ends up stimulating the body to heal itself.

'''sky-brother''' 
???
My take was that he was assuaging any hurt feelings with Meatman by placing him on the level of a fellow "Chum of Chance".

Hmm... maybe Chick is implying that he and Meatman are indeed of the same cloth, not bound by the earthly realm, the former spending most of his time in the air and the latter being able to travel to other dimensions.

'''other Promise... resurrected... two millennia''' 
???
:maybe this refers simply to the Resurrection (and therefore the end of Time); the Promise is that the trumpet (Chick's?) shall sound, and the dead shall be raised.

God's promise of eternal life vs. Time Travel's promise of making you immortal.

'''speaking trumpet''' 
Brass forerunner of the megaphone. [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1671RSPT....6.3056M Abstract] of a 1671 paper; [http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conMediaFile.2647 photo] of a ship's speaking trumpet, 1799; [http://www.auroraregionalfiremuseum.org/giftshop/1850figure/source/horn.htm catalog entry] for a replica American fire brigade speaking trumpet, mid-19th century.

==Page 414==

'''purlieus''' 
outskirts, outlying areas; also (OED) "meaner streets about some main thoroughfare; a mean, squalid or disreputable street or quarter."

This whole section is a progress into the outlying areas, the fringes
(Cf. Pynchon's story ''Low-lands'', which takes place at a town dump)

'''millwork''' 
woodwork, doors, molding, wainscotting, etc, but cheap, prefabricated, not custom-fabricted on site.

'''penumbrae''' 
A penumbra is the outer and lighter part of the shadow created by an eclipse. "Penumbrae" is the plural form.

'''quiescence''' 
His name suggests a purveyor of meat, and he does "deliver" Chick to Mr. Ace.

==Page 415==

'''"Mr. Ace"''' 
This could be a nod to the 1946 film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038752/ ''Mr. Ace''] starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft who plays Eddie Ace, the head man of a crooked political machine who intends to scuttle the gubernatorial campaign of female senator Margaret Wyndham Chase (Sylvia Sidney). He uses every dirty trick in the book to destroy Margaret, but she perseveres on the strength of sheer honesty and integrity. Through her example, Ace mends his own ways, earning Margaret's love as a bonus, and he helps her to run as an independent on a clean-government ticket.

It may, more specifically, refer to the old-time radio show called ''The Cases of Mr. Ace'' which had a very limited run mostly on WNEW in New York in the late forties. Raft played Eddie Ace, the sole owner of Ace Detective Agency on 6th Avenue. In the episode from June 25, 1945, Ace described one gangster thus:

:"The face of a small fragile old man. His hair was glossy and deep black. His eyes were glossy and deep black."

Compare this to Pynchon's Mr. Ace: "Glossy black eyes, presented like weapons in a duel."

'''phatic''' 
Relating to speech that serves to establish social relationships rather than to inform.

'''Those of us who spoke this truth were denounced as heretics''' 
Yes, the old Pynchon theme of those in control, the oligarchs, silencing the counterforce.

Taking of refuge in a planet's past was the plot of a Captain Kirk-era ''Star Trek'' episode; the unintentionally transported Kirk is taken to be a religious dissenter; fortunately his judge is one of the "refugees".

'''certain of your great dynamos''' 
Cf. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Brooks_Adams Henry Adams], author of ''The Virgin and The Dynamo''. Pynchon has written of being influenced deeply by Adams, and his ideas are particularly evident in Pynchon's [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''].

'''Fraternity of the Venturesome''' 
Mistranslated 'Chums of Chance'.

'''''nzzt''''' 
Electrical short?

Suggests "he" could be a holographic image. Time traveling holograms were one feature of the "Temporal Cold War" subplot of ''Star Trek: Enterprise''; one such manifestation (complete with "nzzt's") is set in a huge dynamo station in a Nazi-occupied New York. This is two possible ''Star Trek'' allusions in a single page.

Electrical short is certainly relevant. The mistranslation is a kind-of short-circuit, then he gets the right phrase from his data bank. Bit like C3P0 in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_wars ''Star Wars'']?

'''You are not aware that each of your mission assignments is intended to prevent some attempt of our own to enter your time-regime.''' 
Aha! A little peek into the True Mission of the Chums. Time to take another look at those various adventures:

* ''Chums of Chance and The Evil Halfwit'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_5|p.5]])
* ''Chums of Chance and The Curse of the Great Kahuna'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_5|p.5]])
* ''Chums of Chance at Krakatoa'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_6|p.6]])
* ''Chums of Chance Search for Atlantis'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_6|p.6]])
* ''Chums of Chance in Old Mexico'' ([[ATD_1-25#Page_7|p.7]])
* ''Chums of Chance and the Bowels of the Earth'' ([[ATD_97-118#Page_117|p.117]])
* ''The Chums of Chance and the Ice Pirates'' ([[ATD_119-148#Page_123|p.123]])
* ''The Chums of Chance Nearly Crash into the Kremlin'' ([[ATD_119-148#Page_123|p.123]])
* ''Chums of Chance at the Ends of the Earth'' ([[ATD_199-218#Page_214|p.214]])
* ''Chums of Chance and the Caged Women of Yokahama'' ([[ATD_397-428#Page_411|p.411]])
* ''Chums of Chance and the Wrath of the Yellow Fang'' ([[ATD_1018-1039#Page_1019|p.1019]])

==Page 416==

'''ZZnrrt''' 
Cf 415.

'''"irreversible processes"''' 
In thermodynamics, an irreversible process is one in which the intermediate states cannot be specified by any set of macroscopic variables, and which are not equilibrium states. Since the intermediate states are unknown this process cannot be reversed.

'''Squanto and the Pilgrims''' 
Squanto (Tisquantum) was one of the two Native American Indians (Samoset being the other) that assisted the Pilgrims during their first winter in the New World. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto Squanto].

Ironic (although Chick means it sincerley) since in this case the Chums of C are "Squanto" and their strange interlocutors from another dimension are the pilgrims. Chick innocently suggests that the strangers from the future just want help (as, like the pilgrims, they have just arrived and are low on supplies, so to speak). It is implied that just as the Indian's helping the pilgrims was re-payed with disease, genocide and war, the payback the Chums reap for helping these visitors from another dimension may not be what they expect.

'''entropy''' 
A term first used in 1850s by the German physicist Rudolf Clausius (1822-1888). It is the name of a quantity in thermodynamics, statistical mechanics and information theory variously representing the degree of disorder in a physical system, the extent to which the energy in a system is available for doing work, the distribution of the energy of a system between different modes, or the uncertainty in a given item of knowledge. In thermodynamics absolut entropies cannot be determined, only ''changes'' in entropy. One way of stating the second law of thermodynamics (Cf [[ATD_219-242#Page 238|page 238]]) is to say that in any change in an isolated system, the entropy increases. This increase in entropy represents the energy that is no longer available for doing work in that system. See [http://www.entropylaw.com/ Entropy & Laws of Thermodynamics.]

'''"It's our innocence . . . ."''' 
Speculation about the motives of people who come from the future claiming to need something from the past. It is a common fallacy in all ages to think back to the past as a 'golden age' and an age of 'innocence'. Lindsay elaborates further down the page: "[I]magine ''them''... so fallen, so corrupted, that we — even we — seem to them pure as lambs. And their own time so terrible that it's sent them desparately back...." Think also of the kind of 'golden age' rhetoric often employed by certain politicians.

==Page 417==

'''"we're totally"''' 
...fucked.

'''"He is not what he says he is."''' 
Pynchon denies Chums backstory/explanation.

In addition, his story would be plausible almost too plausible in terms of the thermodynamic theories of the day, i.e. the Heat Death of the Universe (about which Pynchon has written before: see [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] and ''Entropy'').

'''trespassers''' 
Presumably individuals in the company of Mr. Ace and Alonzo Meatman, whose intentions toward the Chums of Chance are apparently sinister and for their own benefit. They appear to travel back through the stream of time without any kind of permission to execute their plans, thus making them trespassers (or parasites).

The idea of trespass could be thought of in another way too. Miles mentions Mr. Ace knowing him as a 'peeper' who observes the trespassers as they come to his time. We could think of the 'trespassers' as anyone in any time who looks back at a point in history. As such, they are actually 'peepers'. That these seem to have found a way not just to peep but actually to participate makes them more than peepers, in fact, it is this that constitutes their 'trespass'.

Pynchon seems to be playing with how we view history and the past, a theme common to all his work. The Chums, whose existence is, to an extent, fictional even within the work of fiction, are a nexus meant to control boundaries between points in time (e.g. the future and the present, or its past). Historians and other future observers want to use the past for their own purposes. If they become visible to the people in that past, they will appear as 'trespassers' and violators. As Miles says, they do "not have our best interests in mind".

We ourselves (readers and perhaps even more, Wiki authors) are also trespassers from the standpoint of the Chums. We read about them in the novel, which takes us to the past, to their present, and inserts us in a way that is invisible to them. We then write up entries and think thoughts about what they do. We are in their world in some way that to them is utterly mysterious and sinister because, again, we have own agendas in mind and not theirs.

Right: And what about the biggest trespasser of all - the author himself. After all, he's the one who can offer them immortality.

As opposed to Tyrone Slothrop, who seemed to have taken on a life of his own and escaped from the book totally in GR.

'''I see them ''pointing something'' back at me not exactly a weapon an enigmatic object.''' 
Hmmm. Could this have anything to do with the [[Q-weapon_and_Photography|Q-weapon]]?

— – – mmm... does anyone think that it might be just a remote control, and that the window through which the trespassers and the Chums see each other might be just a TV set? [[[User:Sonni|Sonni]] 09:19, 21 February 2008 (PST)]

==Page 418==

'''Trespass''' 
With a capital T.

'''evidence... everywhere''' 
Cf [http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Crying of Lot 49''].

'''neuropathy''' 
An abnormal and usually degenerative state of the nervous system or nerves.

'''contracts''' 
With Devil.
More specifically, like Faust with Mephistopheles.

'''Other Units''' 
(So our five gossiped to others?)

'''exhaustive''' 
Cf Trekkies.

'''came to recall''' 
Cf PK Dick.

'''red and indigo''' 
Clashing?

'''Marching Academy Harmonica Band''' 
In this episode the academy goes by seven permutations of the name:
*Marching Academy Harmonica Band
*Harmonica Band Marching Academy
*Marching Harmonica Band Academy
*Harmonica Marching Band Academy
*Harmonica Band Marching Academy
*Marching Harmonica Band activities
*Harmonica Marching Band Training Academy
Its identity is not very securely tied down.
Clearly it's mutable, a kind of mirage. And surely there's a resonance with 'laughing academy'? And a hint of the Hogwarts train in 'Harry Potter'?

Pynchon devotes enough attention to that whole baffling "Academy" episode to make it appear fairly pivotal. The word order variations suggest an anagram _ "ham," as in "pig" again? "MBA," as in academic initiation into capitalism? "Bam!?" Maybe that whole episode hints at a naive, early 20th-century romanticized myth of military service _ boys seeking some adventure story, equated with a goofy lark like a harmonica band, but being thrust into the horrific mechanized slaughter of WWI. All the while, though, the anarchic jazz symbol of the harmonica, that other side of classic American soul, is trying to sneak through.

==Page 419==

'''"El Capitán"''' 
Sousa march. "El Capitán" was played by a military band on the deck of Admiral Dewey's battleship as he steamed into the Bay of Manila in 1898, to "liberate" the Philippines from Spain and also, not coincidentally, achieve access for U.S. capital and goods to East Asian markets once the Philippines became a colony. Thus the references to the "intricacies of greed as then being practiced by global capitalism" a few sentences later on p. 419 is hardly out of place for TRP, particularly when mixed with comments on how patriotic bromides and marching tunes go together. The harmonicas and the comment that improvisation is definitely NOT welcome in marching band arrangements, of course, provide Pynchon's own inimitable caustic/satiric touch; cf. the kazoos in GR. On "El Capitán": see Hess, Carol A. “John Philip Sousa’s ‘El Capitan’: Political Appropriation and the Spanish-American War.” ''American Music'' (Spring 1998).

'''"Whistling Rufus"''' 
[http://hetzler.homestead.com/NBCakeWalk.html A cakewalk song] written in 1899.

'''consecrated''' 
[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/consecrate] "1. To declare or set apart as sacred: consecrate a church."

'''Richardson Romanesque''' 
Style of American Romanesque architecture from 1880s-1890s, named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, notable for use of brown stone, rounded corners, arches and cylindrical turrets. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson_Romanesque Wikipedia Entry].

'''modal theory''' 
Context is suggestive of music theory, types of scales and keys of tonal music. However, Modal Realism is the view, notably propounded by David Lewis, that possible worlds are as real as the actual world. Possible worlds exist; the actual world is merely one among an infinite set of logically possible worlds, some nearer to the actual world and some more remote. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_realism]

'''chit''' 
Piece of military or bureaucratic paperwork; context suggests "request for transfer".

'''Bing Spooninger''' 
Like "Bing" Crosby, a crooner.

'''rack''' 
Current military and collegiate slang for "bed"--an anachronism.

==Page 420==

'''every note''' 
Om?

'''say "Wall"''' 
???

'''Yippy dippy dippy, doo!''' 
cf. ''Gravity's Rainbow'' (p. 66) where Slothrop goes down the toilet after, appropriately, a harmonica.

'''Now, it ain't that I wouldn't, 'cause I can but I won't,''' 
'''And I would if I wasn't, but I am so I don't''' 
This sounds very similar to a lyric from Frank Zappa's 'Stink-Foot:'

He said:
"IT DOESN'T, 'n YOU CAN'T!

I WON'T, 'n IT DON'T!

IT HASN'T, IT ISN'T, IT EVEN AIN'T

'N IT SHOULDN'T . . .

IT COULDN'T!"

He told me NO NO NO!

I told him YES YES YES!

I said: "I do it all the time . . .

Ain't this boogie a mess!"

'''difficult vocal feat''' 
???

'''segueing''' 
A deejaying term for moving from one song/track to another with no noticeable break if done correctly. 
Cf. [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity's Rainbow,''] Viking p. 70, line 36, where the phonetic spelling "segway" appears.

'''cakewalk''' 
An African-American entertainment having a cake as prize for the most accomplished steps and figures in walking; also, a stage dance developed from walking steps and figures typically involving a high prance with backward tilt. From this, slang for a one-sided contest or an easy task.

'''draw-note''' 
Note played on harmonica by "drawing" air through reed by sucking in rather than blowing out (insert crude sex joke here).

==Page 421==

'''popularity''' 
Masochistic love of oppressors.

'''''cover identity''''' 
Burden of resistance.

'''unannounced punishments . . . Combat-Inside-Ten-Meters''' 
Points up the Kafkaesque nature of the Academy.

:This bit in re: the Academy-- including the Combat-Inside-Ten-Meter-- could echo the Enfield Tennis Academy, one of the central locations in D.F. Wallace's "Infinite Jest."

'''Lombardy poplars.''' 
A large deciduous tree, reaching 30-40 m tall. They resemble large shrubs, due to their tall, slender appearance. They grow tall very quickly and usually die within 15 years of first planting. 

'''Out the window...''' 
The longest sentence so far in ATD.

'''Chromatic Harp''' 
A harmonica that plays all notes in an octave rather than a scale in a certain key. [http://www.hohnerusa.com/hchromatic.htm Examples].

'''Pitch Integrity Guard''' 
To prevent tampering with the notes in the ways described below - i.e. monitoring any tendency towards the 'Negroid'. 
= PIG - pigs long have held a fascination over Pynchon. 
A-and a Pitch Integrity Guard is a kind of cop, right? 

'''harmonica-reed files''' 
Filing the reeds would alter the notes slightly, allowing you to get 'in-between' notes that aren't in the normal major or minor scale.

'''sucking the tonic chords...Negroid sound''' 
Standard technique for playing blues harmonica ('harp'), also known as cross-blowing. The sucked notes are easier to 'bend' and wail with, so you can get the blues 'third', not quite minor, not quite major. Another technique that helps you get the 'Negroid sound' is soaking the harmonica, which gives the reeds a rougher, more bendable quality. That's probably the point of the 'late night visits to the latrine'. Compare with GR, where Slothrop (at college!) loses his harmonica down the toilet (he finds it much later in a stream in Germany! Gone back home, so to speak). There's a harmonica-soaking scene in Pennebaker's Dylan film 'Don't look Back'.
It wouldn't surprise me if there was some kind of folk wisdom that piss is even better than water for soaking the harp. Pee-culiar.

==Page 422==

'''I.G. Mundharfwerke''' 
Interessen-Gemeinschaft Mundharfwerke (Harmonica-works Association of Common Interests). "Mundharf" is Swabian German for "Harmonica". By analogy with I.G. Farben in ''GR'': the Mouth-Harp Cartel.

'''drifted''' 
Cf. Slothrop's desk in ''GR''.

'''the sprightly Offenbach air "Halls of Montezoo-HOO-ma!"''' 
The "Marines' Hymn" borrows the tune of the "Gendarmes' Duet" from the opera ''Geneviève de Brabant'' (1859) by French composer [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Offenbach Jacques Offenbach] (1819-1880). 
The lyrics of which are not entirely irrelevant: 
And if we meet a helpless woo-o-man 
Or little boys who do no harm 
We run them in, we run them in, 
We run them in, we run them in 
Because we are the bold gen-darmes! 

'''into the Latrine''' 
Cf. Slothrop's hallucination in ''GR''.

'''dentifrice''' 
A powder or other preparation for rubbing or cleansing the teeth; a tooth-powder or tooth-paste; also applied to liquid preparations.<ref>'''Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd. ed. 1989.</ref>

'''vapor bearing...minerals''' 
Rows of mirrors facing each other (thus creating regular patterns, "chaining away for uncounted leagues") have been stained with images formed by regular use: breath, tiny bits of toothpaste or powder ("atomized dentifrice"), "shaving preparations," and mineral deposits from tapwater.

'''A.D.C.''' 
Aide-de-camp, administrative assistant to a commanding officer.

'''but they could find no entries in any of the daily Logs to help them remember''' 
Their situation has no precedent in any of the ''Chums'' novels. They have been betrayed, isolated and brainwashed, and they even doubt whether they are the authentic Chums. The following is not a spoiler: Any elementary handbook of plotting will tell you that they can't just single up all lines at the end of this episode and fly their ship "cheerly" on to the next adventure.

==Page 423==

'''revisit places where destinies took a wrong turn, or revisit in dreams the dreaming body of one loved more than either might have known...''' 
As far as we know, none of the Chums has actually experienced this. Sounds to me like an allusion to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust Faust] and Gretchen/Marguerite, since this actually happens in several of the Faust versions. Especially in the context of the Faustian bargain they have made with Mr. Ace.

'''None of them...''' 
Cf [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi#The_butterfly_dream Chuang Tzu's dream]: is he a man dreaming he's a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he's a man? On the rhetorical level of the story, this passage reiterates the dreamlike, near-delusional nature of the Chums' latest escape from what seems to have become their most dangerous foe. (418: "As if in a dream...").

'''volunteer decoys''' 
Fan-meme. 
Decoy = is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. 
I think this surprising phrase has Pynchonian meaning about the meaning of fiction like the Chums': 'escape', 'adventure' fiction is a decoy from
reality?

'''"At a Georgia Camp Meeting"''' 
a song by a Kerry Mills originally published in 1897.
Became a very popular 'cakewalk' tune. 
Lyrics: 
A camp meeting took place, by the colored race; way down in Georgia.
There were folks large and small, lanky, lean, fat and tall, at this great Georgia camp meeting.
When church was out, how the "sisters" did shout, they were so happy.
But the young folks were tired and wished to be inspired, and hired a big brass band.

Chorus: When the big brass band began to play pretty music so gay, hats were thrown away.
Thought them foolish people their necks would break,
When they quit their laughing and talking and went to walking for a big choc'late cake.

The old "sisters" raised sand, when they first heard the band; way down in Georgia.
The preacher did glare and the deacons did stare, at the young people prancing.
The band played so sweet that nobody could eat, 'twas so entrancing.
So the church folks agreed it was not a sinful deed, and they joined in with the rest. 

''':definition within above definition: 'cakewalk'''' 
Cakewalk is a traditional African American form of music and dance which originated among slaves in the US South. A cake, or slices of cake, were offered as prizes for the best dancers — a rare treat during slavery — giving the dance its name.
The dance was invented as a satirical parody of the formal European dances preferred by white slaveowners, and featured exaggerated imitations of the dance ritual, combined with traditional African dance steps. One common form of cakewalk dance involved couples (one male and one female, with their arms linked at the elbows) lined up in a circle, dancing forward alternating a series of short hopping steps with a series of very high kicking steps. Costumes worn for the cakewalk often included large, exaggerated bowties, suits, canes, and top hats....
The dance became nationally popular among whites and blacks for a time at the end of the 19th century. The syncopated music of the cakewalk became a nationally popular force in American mainstream music, and with growing complexity and sophistication evolved into ragtime music in the mid 1890s. The music was adopted into the works of various white composers, including John Philip Sousa and Claude Debussy; the latter wrote Golliwog's Cakewalk as the final movement of the Children's Corner suite (1908).

'''"deps"''' 
Dep. from American Heritage Dictionary = 1. department 2. departure 3. dependency 4. deponent 5. deposed 6. deposit 7. depot 8. deputy 
barring any other allusion, I think 'deps' here might stand for 1) departures or 2) departments (given words about other Chums above.
:Surrogates, decoys, escape: Surely these all make it certain that "deps" means "deputies." 
Also, another set of duplicates (or duplicate/shadow existence) in the section on Iceland Spar, the duplicating material.

'''route out of the past''' 
The nostalgia trap.

'''We wish we could tell you about everything that's been going on, but it's not over yet, it's at such a critical stage, and the less said right now the better. But someday . . . ''' 
The Chums imagine "the real Chums" as being engaged in a secret war that demands only one sacrifice from "the people," that of their innocence.

==Page 424==

''''coon' material''' 
Songs and humor in which African-Americans were stereotyped (as lazy, immoral, stupid, vain, etc.) and held in contempt. The most popular coon song, though, was written by an African-American, Ernest Hogan; titled "All Coons Look Alike to Me," it has an ''AtD'' resonance. Coon material was extremely popular between about 1880 and 1910; stripped of the word "coon," a diluted form still appears nightly on your TV. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coon_song Wikipedia] has a strikingly good article. For a partial list of coon references in ''AtD,'' [[ATD_26-56#Page_48|see annotation to p. 48.]]

'''isotropy''' 
the quality or condition of being equal along all directions. For more technical information see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotropy isotropy].

'''presently''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Crumb R. Crumb] did a comic like this: [http://crumbproducts.com/prints_images/sha.gif pic] 
Nice find. That comic succintly summarizes TRP's view of the effects of railroads and "civilization."

'''opposition''' 
(Was unconscious, now conscious?)Are the Chums now able to intercede
in 'human' affairs, unlike their earlier mandate?
:That's exactly it, their stretch in the camp—sorry, the harmonica academy—has modified the terms of the C of C Prime Directive.

'''dropped from altitudes''' 
(Cf pudding above, Padzhitnoff's four-block fragments)

==Page 425==

'''"After the Ball"''' 
Music and lyrics by Charles K. Harris. This number was interpolated into the score of the hit musical ''A Trip to Chinatown'' (1892) during its record-setting Broadway run. It was introduced by J. Aldrich Libbey. When Kern and Hammerstein wanted to add period flavor to ''Show Boat'' (1927), they used "After the Ball" in the Trocadero scene where it was performed by Norma Terris. [[After the Ball|Read the lyrics...]]

See also the [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Pages_174-177 pantomime song] in ''Gravity's Rainbow'' (pages 174-175):
<blockquote>"And the lamps in the stairway are dying, 
It's the season just after the ball . . ."</blockquote>

'''Bukhara''' 
Either the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Bukhara Emirate of Bukhara], a former country in Central Asia or its [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukhara capital]

'''T.D.Y.''' 
Abbrevation for Temporary Duty. [http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r614_11.pdf weblink]

'''Subdesertine''' 
submerge beneath the desert or sand.

'''''Saksaul''''' 
A plant/tree native to the deserts of Central Asia, particularly the Gobi desert; it has a very hard wood and is covered with knobs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxaul Wikipedia] [http://www.pbase.com/william_sokolenko/image/68724037 pic]

It may be significant that the saksaul tree is often planted in order to stabilize the sands. Part of western Europe's civilizing mission?

'''Q. Zane Toadflax''' 
(Sounds like Douglas Adams?). Toadflax is the name of an [http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/weedfeeders/toadflax.html invasive plant species]

'''Hypopsammotic... Hypops''' 
''Hypo-'' (under) + ''psammot-'' (sand, from Greek ''psammos'') + ''-ic.'' Pynchon explains the device's function on the next page (426).

==Page 426==

'''beating their prices''' 
Contradicts p. 425 "no further expenditure".
:P. 425 merely says that "no further expenditure for that purpose [i.e. for Hypops rigs] will be approved." Presumably, the Chums have some additional discretionary fund from which to draw cash for emergency purchases such as these.

'''that medium which is wavelike as the sea, yet also particulate''' 
Alluding to the æther theory and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave-particle_duality dual (wave/particle) nature of light].

==Page 427==

'''temporarily lapsing into English''' 
Contrasts with the technical jargon the Chums have been steeped in over the past few days, including lectures by Roswell Bounce (they're only boys, after all). Often, mathematicians, physicists, and their students fail to explain their theories "in English." This little phrase can be taken as a professorial joke, aimed at both the author (for always coming back to obscure or difficult theories) and the reader (for never understanding them). 
I thought it was contrasting with Miles' frequent babbling habit. 

'''''pigs fly''''' 
Lindsay = pig. "When (or until) pigs fly" = never.

But Darby's surname is "suckling," which of course is highly suggestive of a young, maturing "pig," and he does seem to be exhibiting some legalistic _ fascist? _ tendencies.

'''X.O.''' 
The Executive Officer (XO) is the second-in-command, reporting to the Commanding Officer (CO).

'''legalistic''' 
Yes, Darby is now Legal Counsel.

==Page 428==
'''ill-starred Bell Tower''' 
Referring back of course to the [[#stearinery|Old Stearinery Bell Tower]] and the [[#pudding|Fatal Pudding]], and in turn to the [[Campanile]].

:The Campanile picture has me wondering. According to the sources, the old picture of the collapse of the Campanile is actually a fake. And it doesn't have the airship. It's a fun picture, but what is its status? There doesn't seem to be an appropriate place for this information in the wiki, or have I missed something?

:The Campanile picture is an illustration. Doubtful that anyone had their camera all set up for the awesome event. The airship was photoshopped in for, um, color...

::See also last paragraph of page 255.

Cf. Renata's tarot reading on [[ATD 243-272#Page 253|p. 253]], the last card of which is The Tower.

Cf. ''The Bell-Tower'' by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Melville Herman Melville], a famous short story from ''The Piazza Tales'' (1856) with an "ill-starred
bell tower" for sure. "Glancing backwards, they saw the groined belfry crashed sideways in.", a line from it which echos the picture used for the pynchonwiki home page. [http://www.melville.org/belltowr.htm Full text of ''The Bell-Tower'']

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 336-357

2015-02-26T03:44:24Z

Pthomas: /* Page 338 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 336==

'''R-girls''' 
Rail girls?

Makes me think of b-girls, or bar girls [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=B-girls]. Seems appropriate, given the context, to imagine r-girls are the rails' equivalent.

'''White City''' 
The neighbourhood of extravagant buildings made for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. (First mentioned on [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_1-25#Page_3 page 3]).

'''Jackson Park''' 
The site of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Park_%28Chicago%29 Wikipedia]

'''"hoping for some glimpse of her White City, but saw only the darkened daytime one"''' 
"The White City... impressed everyone who saw it (at least before air pollution began to darken the façades) that plans were considered to refinish the [alabaster] exteriors in marble or some other material. These plans had to be abandoned in July 1894 when much of the fair grounds was destroyed in a fire. The fire occurred at the height of the Pullman Strike; since the strikers set other fires that very week, it is possible the fire was set by disgruntled Pullman employees." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_Exposition_of_1893 Wikipedia]

Pynchon has mentioned the decay of the White City earlier in the novel.

==Page 337==

'''Mrs. Dragsaw''' 
??? Speculation: dragsaw [http://www.answers.com/topic/dragsaw-1 (pic)] is a real word [http://www.answers.com/topic/dragsaw (definition)] and certainly a funny name, especially for a woman hiring waitresses in a restaurant that serves lunch. Pynchon has a penchant for funny, if not outrageous, names.

'''Chillicothe''' 
City in Ross County, Ohio. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chillicothe,_Ohio wiki]

==Page 338==

'''grubstake''' 
funds or supplies advanced to a mining prospector (or a person starting a business) in return for a promised share of the profits.

Or money saved up to see one through until income from a new venture began coming in.

'''One day up in the theater district...penis''' 
Again a reference to the newly-emerging gay subculture. The theater district was part of the Tenderloin and supplied many of that area's clients. The acting world was a longtime haven for otherwise closeted LGBT people.

'''Maude Adams''' 
American actress, 1872-1953. First to play Peter Pan on the American stage (1905). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maude_Adams Wikipedia article.] '''Not to be confused with Bond Girl Maud Adams!'''

'''Mock Duck's boys''' 
In the era of soysage, sunburgers and seitan, Mock Duck has just about dropped from public consciousness. A gluten-based vegetarian substance with at least an imagined resemblance to roast duck. Oriental grocers sometimes still carry it.

Actually, Mock Duck was a Tong leader in New York City, most active 1900
through 1912. Sai Wing Mock, aka "Mock Duck" was renowned for his eccentric
combat style; while hatchets, clubs and knives were standard weapons in
street-gang warfare, Mock Duck's method was to sow chaos and fear by crouching
in the center of the street, putting his head down, drawing two .44s and firing
wildly in all directions. (He was reportedly a terrible shot.)
(While Pynchon does add a lot of goofy names and implausible characters to his
fictions, it's the inclusions of the real ones that hold the history
together.)[[User:Infanttyrone|Infanttyrone]] 16:10, 11 December 2007 (PST)

==Page 339==

'''''en deshabille''''' 
partly dressed in a loose manner.

:more precisely, in this case, the French word for what Americans call a "négligée" (strange to translate a French word with another French word!). Very light indoor garment that one would never wear outside the house. "En déshabillé" literally means "in a déshabillé" or "wearing a déshabillé".

'''Modestine''' 
A 19th century first name. Perhaps a pun on the fact that she has not been modest.

'''let's say a ''short vacation''''' 
Maternity leave.

'''Hop Fung''' 
Not sure, but "wing hop fung" supposedly means "together forever prosper" [http://www.winghopfung.com/about.html]. Anyone?

: Wing=Forever, Hop=Together, Fung=Prosper

'''Celestial''' 
Chinese. "Celestial Empire" is a translation of one of the native names for China.

'''lobbygow''' 
"A hanger-on, go-between, or message runner, particularly one involved in the drug traffic—the speculation being that such persons usually hang about in lobbies" [http://mouthfulsfood.com/forums//lofiversion/index.php/t15.html cite]

'''"Chop Suey stories!"''' 
The Chinese in America making an industry out of fulfilling the natives' fantasies. Both the white-slavery dramatizations ("comediettas") and the dish chop suey itself are inauthentic but expected by Anglo tourists.

'''On Leong''' 
One of the many Chinese-American societies originally created for mutual support and protection (a ''tong'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong_%28organization%29]) that became a criminal organization. The On Leong were influential in many major American cities around the turn of the century.

Also known as the On Leong Laborer and Merchant Association [http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/Archive_Index/Chinese_Criminal_Enterprises.html]

==Page 340==

'''Hip Sing''' 
Like the On Leong, an influential Chinese-American criminal organization [http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/Archive_Index/Chinese_Criminal_Enterprises.html].

Perhaps also a "hip" parody of the cook in ''Bonanza'', Hop Sing.

'''Bloody Angle''' 
Site of 20 hours of sustained combat at the Battle of Spotsylvania, 1864, thought possibly the most severe sustaned engagement of the American Civil War [http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/ABPP/BATTLES/va048.htm].

'''Word had gotten around''' 
Dahlia's experiences on Broadway play out like a perverse parody of Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie. Like Dahlia, Dreiser's heroine is a small town girl who makes the transition from bit-part player to star. Furthermore, Dahlia arrives in New York City in 1900, the same year that Sister Carrie was published.

'''Dally in performance''' 
These acts seem quite similar to the Living Theater, which emerged several decades later. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Living_Theatre Wikipedia]

'''morning-hat''' 
Not sure if it refers to a specific hat or a family of hats, but It was used in the title of a fashion article published in the New York Times on Feb. 23rd, 1908 [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F0CE3D81F3EE233A25750C2A9649C946997D6CF].
Most likely a casual girl hat, opposed to evening wear.

==Page 341==

'''highbinders''' 
Members of a Chinese-American criminal gang. (The word later came to apply to corrupt politicians.)

'''day club''' 
??? Speculation: what Pynchon is humorously calling a [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nightstick nightstick] used in the daytime.

'''''Glans penis'''''-'''shaped helmets''' 
[[Image:glans-penis-shaped-helmet.jpg|thumb|''Glans penis''-shaped police helmet|right]] The odd, short-brimmed helmets worn by police officers in New York around the turn of the century and still worn by English police today [http://policehelmets.homestead.com/].

'''Mock Duck...firing two revolvers at a time in all directions''' 
Incredibly, Pynchon seems to be referencing the Hong Kong films of John Woo. The image of the Chinese gangster firing two guns simultaneously is a Woo trademark, first popularized in the 1986 film ''A Better Tomorrow'' and repeated in subsequent Woo films such as ''The Killer'' (1989) and ''Hard-Boiled'' (1992). The image was so closely associated with Woo's favorite leading man, Chow Yun-Fat, that it was even reprised for Chow's subsequent films in Hollywood.
According to Woo, the image of the outlaw firing two guns simultaneously was inspired by the final scene of ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''. This is interesting in light of the Butch Cassidy references in the Telluride section of ATD. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Woo#Trivia [wikipedia]]

There is an actual Tong leader being referenced here; Mock Duck was known for his two-gun style, but his methods were much different than Chow Yun-Fat's. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mock_Duck Wikipedia Entry]

==Page 342==

'''Tin Pan Alley''' 
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_Pan_Alley Wikipedia]

'''acid magenta''' 
Acid dye is a member of a class of dye that is applied from an acidic solution. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_dye]

'''Con McVeety''' 
Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Veety or a variant (Veety has been written as MacVittie, MacVittye, MacVittae, MacWittie, MacWitty and many more) include: Alan MacWittie who settled in New England in 1685; Duncan McVittie arrived in Philadelphia Pa. in 1775. [http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/veety-family-crest.htm]

'''worst acts''' 
Itself a cliche, ''e.g'', Woody Allen's ''Broadway Danny Rose.''

==Page 343==

'''..seven-fifty a week..silent discussion.. "Ten?" and the deal was done.''' 
Curious deal here inluding the oxymoron but surely not cents nor dollars. 
Ten dollars in 1900 has the purchasing power in 2005 of
: $239.93 using the Consumer Price Index
: $205.36 using the GDP deflator

'''dime museum''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dime_museum Wikipedia]

'''absquatulate ''' 
to leave quickly or in a hurry. The phrase "in some haste to absquatulate' seems a bit redundant.

Found this interesting piece of knowledge on Freedictionary.com [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/] which explains the origins of a lot of the words used in AtD:
"In the 19th century, the vibrant energy of American English appeared in the use of Latin affixes to create jocular pseudo-Latin "learned" words. (...) Absquatulate has a prefix ab-, "away from," and a suffix -ate, "to act upon in a specified manner," affixed to a nonexistent base form -squatul-, probably suggested by squat. Hence the whimsical absquatulate, "to squat away from."

'''Olio''' 
A random collection (very roughly equivalent to the Spanish word ''zarzuela''). In music halls and variety theater an olio, here an act or acts unrelated to the "real" show, would go up in front of the curtain during long scene changes.

'''australian cockroach''' 
It is very unlikely that it was an Australian Cockroach (Periplaneta australasiae), which has a length of 3.0cm - 3.5cm (approx 1 1/4"-1 3/8"). Most likely refers to another (unwinged) species, called the Rhinoceros Cockroach or Giant Burrowing Cockroach (Macropanesthia rhinoceros) which is indigenous to Australia and can weigh up to 35 g (1.2 oz) and measure up to 3.15 in (80 mm) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros_cockroach] Still a far cry from "the size of a sewer rat".

'''Bogoslaw Borowicz''' 
Borowicz is a polish name, patronymic from a pet form of Borowy, or from Borzyslaw, Bolebor, or some other personal name formed with the element bor ‘to fight’.

Found a reference to a Bogoslaw Borowicz in a scientific paper entitled "During Latency, Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 DNA Is Associated
with Nucleosomes in a Chromatin Structure" (!), published in 1989 in The Journal of Virology. [http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/reprint/63/2/943.pdf]

'''Floor show''' 
A Floorshow is a series of acts at a night club. That anyone could take this literally as "a display of floors" is both hilarious and very Pynchonian.

==Page 344==

'''strange tilings...mathematical issues''' 
This passage alludes to aperiodic tilings [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperiodic_tiling Wikipedia] such as the one discovered by Roger Penrose [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrose_tiling Wikipedia]. See "The wallpaper in particular presented not a repeating pattern at all" [[ATD_171-198#Page_182|in annotations to p. 182.]]

'''Dr. Ictibus''' 
The Latin word ''ictus'' is from the past participle of īcere, to stike, blow, stab, wound; it can also refer to the wound itself. ''Ictibus'', is the ablative plural case for ''ictus'', thus we have Dr. Took-away-the-wounds.

'''Safe-Deflector Hat''' 
Dave Garroway supposedly had a hat that calculated the angle to be safe from falling bricks, if I recall correctly. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Garroway Wikipedia]

'''Odo''' 
Something to do with [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainto26.htm Saint Odo], patron saint of rain?

Perhaps a reference to ''Star Trek'': Odo was the shape-shifting security officer of the space station ''Deep Space 9''. [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Odo Star Trek Wiki]

Or to the anarchist Odo in Ursula LeGuin's novel ''The Dispossessed.''

In any case, Odo's onstage speech reflects the Mad Scientist's lab assistant in dozens of horror movies.

'''''figurante''''' 
a dancer; a ballet girl.
:also the (feminized) French term for "extra"

'''a coon revue''' 
Musical entertainment with African-American performers—or just as likely white performers in blackface—doing skits and singing songs that perpetuated a range of stereotypes: step-dancing, exaggerated dialect, lax morals, etc. Coon material was extremely popular in New York and elsewhere in the Jim Crow era (and it hasn't disappeared yet). For a partial list of coon references in ''AtD,'' [[ATD_26-56#Page_48|see annotation to p. 48.]]

'''Williams and Walker''' 
Bert Williams and George Walker, well-known vaudevillians who sometimes billed themselves as "The Two Real Coons." Williams was first to cross the color line as a headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies. [http://www.si.umich.edu/chico/Harlem/text/williams_walker.html Here] is a good account of their careers.

'''Calpurnia... Mrs. Caesar''' 
Calpurnia was the wife of Julius Caesar and is a minor character in Shakespeare's play. She's a model of rectitude and courage, not someone who would like the subordinating title 'Mrs' which is thus a joke.

==Page 345==

'''Liu Bing''' 
One of three approaches to exegesis are possible here. 
:1) The name is a Chinese pun on English sounds and meanings. 
:2) The name is a reference to someone with this name. 
:3) The name is a reference to Chinese meanings in a Chinese or English pun. 
An example of the first approach: 
:Lubing? Like Lew Basnight as Lube-ass night [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_26-56#Page_36 see notes for page 36]. 

Two examples from the second approach: 
:Here, it is a woman, but in history Liu Bing was 
:1) The birth name of Emperor Chong of the Han Dynasty (143-145) who became emperor at the age of 1, and died a year later. 
:2) A high-ranking official of the Song Dynasty, (lived 433-477). 

Third approach: mix and match meanings for "Liu" and Bing". 

Liu can mean:
:lovely; beautiful; tassel; pomegranate; to flow; to spread; to circulate; to move clear; deep (of water); swift; precious stone; leave (message); to retain; to stay; to remain; to keep; to preserve; tumor; sulfur; bessemerizing of matte; lutetium; pure gold; sewing of wind; bay horse with black mane; large horned-owl; willow; skein; tuft; lock; creel; fish basket; the number 6; a clod of earth; land; the sound of the wind; to soar; to stroll; walk a horse; to stroll; to linger; dripping of rain from eaves, reheat by steaming

Bing can mean:
:soldiers; a force; an army; weapons; arms; military; war-like; ice; arrow-quiver; Trachycarpus excelsa; '''arecas'''; the third of the ten heavenly stems; the third position; third; number three; get rid of; put aside; reject; keep control; hold back; sad; mournful; bright; glorious; authority; handle; hilt; bright; brilliant; luminous(surname); to grasp; hold; maintain natural property or endowment; report to (a superior)bright ; shining, splendid(surname); ancient city name; happy; plate; scabbard; round flat cake; cookie; cake; pastry; furthermore; (not) at all; simultaneously; also; together with; to combine; to join; to merge amalgamate; combine; nightmare; start to sleep; ailment; sickness; illness; disease; fall ill; sick; defect.

So, Liu Bing might mean '''"lovely arecas,"''' "six cookies," "gold handle," "six soldiers" etc.

'''''Courage,'' Camille''' 
''Coo-RAZH,'' of course. The play ''Camille'' was adapted from ''The Lady of the Camellias'' (''La dame aux camélias,'' 1848) by Alexandre Dumas the Younger. In all French versions the character's name is Marguerite, so this gag only works in English-speaking countries. This phrase also appears in ''Inherent Vice'', pg. 314.

'''Lillian Russell''' 
American actress and singer (1860-1922) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Russell Wikipedia entry]. Yes, she generally did wear a hat in her photos.

'''Verbena''' 
Continuing Pynchon's running joke of naming AtD's women after flowering herbs.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbena Wikipedia]

'''I.J. & K. Smokefoot''' 
Speculation: Smokefoot is the name of a song written by Bobby Keys, Jim Gordon, and Jim Price. It appears on the 1972 album "Bobby Keys." [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wjfixqw5ldae~T1 Bobby Keys] was a very much in demand session sax player, appearing on many well-known albums, including the Stones' "Sticky Fingers" where he plays an extended solo on "Can't You Hear Me Knockin." While this is not at all related to what's going on in AtD at the moment, it is a way that Pynchon comes up with names and Pynchon surely knows who Bobby Keys is.

:''Along with speculation,'' the name Smokefoot has some nonmusical grounding. There's a fairly numerous and widespread American clan named Rauchfuss. Their surname, obviously, is German—like those of some nonfictional department store magnates (Gimbel, Bergdorf, Saks). If the first immigrant Rauchfuss had translated his name into English it would have come out Smokefoot. Although a moderately large Google search does not turn up a Rauchfuss or Smokefoot in the business, it is '''not''' irrelevant that one form of this name is current in the population.

Quaternions based on 'i * j * k'.
:Not too sure about this connection: the choice of ''i'', ''j'', and ''k'' in the definition of quaternary space is arbitrary, as are ''x'', ''y'', and ''z'' in more conventional definitions of three-dimensional space. Could just be that Pynchon just wrote a little three letter sequence in alphabetical order. Is there anything in the text that would support the connection between the department store and quaternions?
::Well, ''x, y'' and ''z'' are just as arbitrary—but when you see the sequence you think "coordinates, 3-space, vectors." So ''i j k'' in the book's context does suggest a link to quaternion notation. This merits a closer look.

::Besides the quaternion interpretation, the letters i,j,k commonly represent the standard basis vectors of R^3. There's little doubt that Pynchon had these meanings in mind when he chose those three letters.

'''Ladies' Mile''' 
Broadway from 9th to 23rd Streets, Gilded Age location of all the most fashionable shops [http://www.preserve2.org/ladiesmile/]

==Page 346==

'''sussurant''' 
Whispering, making a low continuous indistinct sound [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=susurrant].

'''Jachin and Boaz''' 
The two pillars on the porch of Solomon's Temple. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boaz_and_Jachin Wikipedia entry]. They also appear on the Tarot card of The High Priestess in the A.E. Waite Rider deck, whose designer, Pamela Colman Smith, is mentioned in ''ATD'' at p. 186. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_High_Priestess Wikipedia entry]. The two names could also be a possible reference to Freemasonry [http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/larsonwilliam.html], an institution that occasionally appears in Pynchon's work. Pillars named Jachin and Boaz apparently figure in the nomenclature of Masonic temples.

'''just a kid''' 
Dally was born c1889, so 14 or 15?

'''newly introduced''' 
Paris 1900? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator Wikipedia]

==Page 347==

'''Yosemite Falls''' 
For pictures see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_Falls Wikipedia].

'''"Her Mother Never Told Her"''' 
"Her mother never told her the things a young girl should know. 
About the ways of college men, and how they come and go, (mostly....go). 
Now age has taken her beauty, and sin has left its sad scar; 
So remember your mothers and sisters, boys, and let her sleep under the bar" [http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2332 Lyrics]

'''the Tombs''' 
NYC prison.

==Page 348==

'''Bleeker Street''' 
Cultural center of bohemian Greenwich Village, which at this time was a haven for leftists including Emma Goldman and John Reed. In later years it became an art showcase for talent including Hendrix, Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, et. al. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleecker_Street Wikipedia]

'''Saturday night in Kipperville''' 
Most likely a reference to the story ''Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel'' by Virginia Lee Burton, wherein Mike and promises to dig the cellar for Popperville's new town hall in one day using his steam shovel Mary Anne. The citizens from Kipperville and other nearby towns all come to watch. [[Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel|Read the Amazon description]].

'''arecas''' 
Areca is a genus of about 50 species of single-stemmed palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from Malaysia to the Solomon Islands. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areca wikipedia]

'''demimondaine''' 
A [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/demimondaine woman] belonging to the [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/demimonde demimonde]; a woman whose sexual promiscuity places her outside respectable society.

'''soubrettes''' 
Lady's maids; maid-servants. <ref>Def.2. '''The Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd Ed. 1989.</ref>

'''Perrier Jouet''' 
Brand of expensive Champagne.

'''ticker-tape machines''' 
Before the crawl at the bottom of the screen, you could get a Dow-Jones ticker installed in your home or office to bring you the latest from the market. Other ticker services delivered news, sports scores, etc., all printed out on a narrow paper tape. On days of special celebration, New York City allowed people to throw ticker tape from buildings—which on any other day would be a misdemeanor—hence the fossil expression "ticker-tape parade."

==Page 349==

'''Oomie Vamplet''' 
??? Pure speculation: [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=oomie oomie]. Vamplet has a [http://onlinedictionary.datasegment.com/word/vamplet definition], but also sounds like a vamp (a woman who uses her sex appeal to entrap and exploit men) who is small. Also, to vamp in music is to improvise simple accompaniment or variation of a tune.

'''Kate Chase Sprague''' 
Kate Chase Sprague was the daughter of Civil War era cabinet member Salmon P. Chase and wife of Rhode Island Governor William Sprague. She was accused of having had an affair with New York Senator Roscoe Conkling. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Chase wikipedia]

'''Congo violet''' 
evidently a real color: Violet dyes: trisulphon violet 2B, Congo violet;
from a patent application, # 4025164. www.patentsonline. A quite dark violet, I think, is implied...lots of associations to Congo.

'''"Funiculi, Funicula"''' 
A very popular Neapolitan song composed in 1880 by Italian composer Luigi Denza (cf p.353) to commemorate the opening of the first '''funicular''' (inclined railway) on Mount Vesuvius. The song's huge success made the Neapolitan songs spreading all over the world. In the '50s Mario Lanza made this song popular in the US but with slightly changed English lyrics. For the lyrics in its original Neapolitan dialect and English see [http://www.vesuvioinrete.it/funicolare/e_funicolare_funiculi.htm].

At least three times in ''AtD'' we have an instrumental tag to identify the nationality of a person entering the scene. Here it's the Italian one (never mind that Zombini's family comes from northern Italy, not Naples); there's also a four-note plinka-plinka to announce a Chinese person (on page ???) and an alphorn solo to cue a Swiss person (page ???).

==Page 350==

'''Chinchito''' 
"Little Bug." (Wasn't Herve Villachaise supposed to be well endowed?)

'''in the wallpaper''' 
Cf Lew on cyclomite.

'''Mickey Finn''' 
Mickey Finn in the punch is a drug-laced (clasically chloral hydrate) knockout drink. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Finn_%28drugs%29 Wikipedia].

==Page 351==

'''Sweet Caporal''' 
A [http://www.adclassix.com/ads/55sweetcaporal.htm brand] of cigarette.

'''came for me''' 
On page 69 Erlys left this note: "I'll be back for her when I can."

[[file:Apthorp.jpg|thumb|caption|The Apthorp, 1909| 250px|left]]'''"a French flat in a recently-erected building on upper Broadway"''' 
This is most likely [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apthorp the Apthorp] apartment building, which is 12 stories and on upper Broadway, with French-style apartments and modeled on the Pitti Palace. It was completed in 1908. However, I believe in ''Against the Day'' the year is 1903.

'''Pitti Palace''' 
The Palazzo Pitti is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Pitti Wikipedia]

'''''grattacielo''''' 
Italian: skyscraper.

'''Bria''' 
Daughter of Erlys Mills and Luca Zombini.

==Page 352==

'''''Little Nemo''''' 
A full-page color cartoon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Nemo_in_Slumberland Wikipedia] by Winsor McCay, started on October 15, 1905. Published in the New York Herald until 1911.

'''melted icebox ice''' 
(How nasty would this have been?)

'''majolica''' 
Tin-glazed earthenware [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majolica wikipedia]

'''Fletcher's Castoria''' 
A patent medicine composed of senna, sodium bicarbonate, essence of wintergreen, taraxicum, sugar and water, used as a laxative. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castoria Wikipedia entry].

'''three-cent pieces''' 
The U.S. minted three-cent coins until 1889.

'''''La Forza del Destino''''' 
Literally, the "force of destiny." An opera by Verdi [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Forza_del_Destino wikipedia]

'''''cretino''''' 
Cretin

==Page 353==

'''Luigi Denza''' 
Luigi Denza (2846-1922) was an Italian composer. In 1898, he moved to London and became a professor of singing at at the Royal Academy of Music.
Among the hundreds of songs he wrote, the most popular one was the Neapolitan song (1880) ''Funiculi, Funicula'' (cf 349). [http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Denza Wikipedia].

'''Psyche knot''' 
The knot in which Psyche kept her hair, as shown in ads for White Rock mineral water during this time frame. [http://www.whiterocking.org/pwc.html Pictures here].

Here are instructions on how to prepare a [http://frazzledfrau.tripod.com/titanic/psyche.htm Psyche knot].

'''also known as New York City, and found there true disappearance''' 
...just as Pynchon himself did, hiding in plain sight in New York City for years. From this [http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/48268/ New York Magazine story:]
" 'He's disappeared, and no one will ever find him, because that's how he wants it,' says a man walking past the entrance to Pynchon's apartment building."

==Page 354==

'''''"bella"''''' 
sweetheart; beauty.

'''Friuli''' 
an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friuli Wikipedia]

'''donkey salami''' 
Italian sausage-makers do use donkey meat; look for ''salame d'asino'' or ''mortadella di asino.'' It is not imported into the U.S. 

From Robert Musil's ''The Man Without Qualitites'' p. 939 of the 1995 translation by S. Wilkins. Musil and his lead character Ulrich had both served in the Austro-Hungarian army.

:''Considering the window display of German intellect, Ulrich was reminded of an old army joke: "Mortadella." This had been the nickname of an unpopular general, after the popular Italian sausage, and if anyone wondered why, the answer was: "Part pig, part donkey."''

'''like Austria, with gestures''' 
:One of the finest news films ever shown on TV concerned a regional election in this part of Italy. The candidates spoke excellent German but used their arms and hands in a highly un-German way.

'''platinum black''' 
"a fine black powder of platinum; used as a catalyst in chemical reactions" [http://www.answers.com/topic/platinum-black cite]

Pynchon may also have had in mind a black hole or "Black Body Radiation," which was discovered around 1900. In physics a black body is an ideal body that absorbs without reflection all of the electromagnetic radiation (light is one of them) incident on its surface. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbody_radiation Wikipedia].

'''''affondato, vero?''''' 
Italian for "Sunk, isn't it?" as in the battleship game.

'''bloody horror shows''' 
A reference to the Grand Guignol theater in Paris, which opened in 1897, known for its gory shows. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_guignol Wikipedia entry].

==Page 355==

'''Doubles the image...''' 
Suggestive of quantum doubling, i.e. universe splitting in one version/solution of the Multiverse problem.

'''''capisci?''''' 
Italian: you understand?

'''Houdini''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini Wikipedia]

'''''Porca miseria''''' 
All-purpose Italian expletive, not too crude. Translates into English as damn!

'''Teatro Malibran''' 
The 900-seat theather was built in 1677 for drama, opera and classical concerts. It was originally named Teatro di San Giovanni Crisostomo and later changed to Teatro Malibran to honor Maria Malibran, a well-known soprano of the early 19th century. During its long history the theather has been refurbished and rennovated numerous times, most recently in 2001. It is a beautiful landmark theather. It's doubtful Teatro Malibran is a proper venue for magic shows. For the beautiful indoor and outdoor pictures [http://www.noehill.com/med/med2002/malibran.asp Teatro Malibran].

==Page 356==

'''''Stupendica''''' 
Example of Pynchon's marvelous ship names (e.g. ''USS Scaffold'' and ''Susannah Squaducci'' in ''V.''); perhaps a play on ''Titanic''.

'''Chinese Gong Effect''' 
???

'''East Rumelian''' 
East Rumelia was an autonomous Bulgarian province, fomerly an Ottoman dependency south of the Balkans. After the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 it was to be ruled by Turkey but with a Christian prince as part of a complex territorial power-balance agreeable to all Powers at the 1878 Congress of Berlin. Interestingly, an area in which the Glagolitic alphabet was propounded (see P.252).

==Page 357==

'''Bert Snidell''' 
Bert Snidell was first mentioned on page 75.

'''Hindoo shuffle''' 
Hindoo, or Hindu, shuffle is one of numerous ways of shuffling playing cards. For a description [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuffling_playing_cards#Hindu_shuffle Wikipedia].

'''French drop''' 
A well-known vanishing act of a small object involving sleight of hands. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_drop Wikipedia].

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 318-335

2015-02-26T03:40:05Z

Pthomas: /* Page 333 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 318==
'''Tengo que get el fuck out of aquí''' 
"I have to get the fuck out of here."
Just a literal translation of the English phrase. The Spanish equivalent could be "Tengo que salir cagando de aquí" ("I have to go shitting out of here").

'''Yale... how little the place was about studying and learning''' 
Pynchon's sustained attack on Yale follows his treatment of Harvard in GR -- "'Harvard's there for other reasons. The "educating" part of it is just sort of a front'" (GR 193).
:I wonder if Pynchon's skewering of the Ivies is tied to both his admiration for ''The Education of Henry Adams'' (Adams said that at Harvard, he got little from his professors and less from his classmates) and Pynchon's autodidacticism. [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 20:55, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

:Not to mention that Pynchon went to Cornell.

'''Kabbalah''' 
Jewish mysticism. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabbalah Wikipedia]. Also see p.227: 'Kabbalist Tree of Life' tattooed 'below Madame Eskimoff's bared nape.'

'''latent in the Maxwell Field Equations years before Hertz found them''' 
Physics lore says that Maxwell's Equations, written to illuminate processes in fairly slow systems, were at first regarded as having fantastical solutions that predicted undetectable waves in the æther. No one until Hertz connected the equations with observed electromagnetic vibrations (and ultimately with light waves).

'''Hertz''' 
Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857-94), German physicist, born at Hamburg, studied under Kirchhoff and Helmholtz, and ultimately became professor at Bonn in 1899. In 1887 he realized Maxwell's predictions, by his fundamental discovery of electromagnetic waves, which, excepting wavelength, behave like light waves. The wave frequency unit, ''hertz'', cycle per second, was named after him in 1930. A crater at the far side of the Moon, just behind the eastern rim, was named in his honor. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Rudolf_Hertz Hertz]].

'''Shunkichi Kimura''' 
Shunkichi Kimura is mentioned in [http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ve3m-snd/japan.html this] article on Tesla's relationship with Japan. Cf [[ATD_26-56#Page 29|page 29]].

'''war with Russia''' 
Started 10 February 1904. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Japanese_War Wikipedia].

'''Gibbs had died''' 
28 April 1903. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_Gibbs Wikipedia] Pynchon's interest in Gibbs may stem from Gibbs's work in thermodynamics, particularly entropy, a theme that pervades Pynchon's work.

'''high-hat''' 
[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/high-hat High-hat] is an adjective in this context and so means snobbish; haughty.

==Page 319==

'''"he [would later ask] why did I want ''that'' so much?"''' 
Similar to a comment by Siegel in his Playboy article: (to paraphrase from memory) Pynchon was disappointed that he was not admitted to a fraternity at Cornell, but he lacked the crude sociability for that.

'''eyes in leafy ambuscade''' 
eyes behind a bush (with leaves) waiting in [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ambush ambush], (a bit of a pun) in the sense of the hiding place used for the surprise attack (no surprise attack in this context).

==Page 320==

'''Kit dreamed''' 
[http://chumpsofchoice.blogspot.com/2007/03/we-shall-pretend-to-know-nothing-pp-318.html Chumps of Choice] sez, "Just like Reef and Frank before him, now Kit has a conversation with his father -- though unlike the others, he does not yet know that Webb is dead."

'''scout''' 
In British universities, a housekeeper/valet. At Yale too?

'''Proximus''' 
Latin; means nearest, closest, next. It also is the name of, among many other things, a computer code performing a non-orthogonal matrix transform based on recursive partitioning of a data set.

May refer to Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf star, part of the Alpha Centauri star system and the nearest star to the Sun at a distance of 4.22 light-years. As the name suggests, it is located in the constellation of Centaurus.

'''Quincke''' 
Georg Hermann Quincke (1834-1924) was a German physicist. He was a physics professor at the Univeristy of Berlin between 1865 and 1872. As from 1875 he was the professor of physics at the University of Heidelberg until he retired in 1907. One of his many research works was to investigate experimentally the reflection of light, especially from the metallic surfaces. (Not sure whether this was done at Berlin or Heidelberg.) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Hermann_Quincke Wikipedia].

==Page 321==

==Page 322==

'''Moriarty's''' 
The unofficial Yale club, founded circa 1861, nicknamed Mory's, incorporated into the "Whiffenpoof Song" about 1909. The "Louie" in the song is Louis Linder, not to be confused with next entry.

'''Louis Lassen''' 
Founder of Louis' Lunch in New Haven, CT, still in operation today. Founded in 1895 and claims to have served the first hamburger in the US. [http://www.louislunch.com/ Website]. 

'''West Rock''' 
One of two prominent natural features near New Haven, CT. Reported to have been the location of a cave where [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regicides_of_Charles_I officials who presided over the execution of Charles I] took refuge when the Restoration reversed their political fortunes. West Rock is also the subject of [http://www.arttimesjournal.com/art/reviews/04church_frederic_copy.jpg a well known painting by Frederick Church] and sits over today's Wilbur Cross Parkway.

[[Image:wardenclyffe.png|thumb|right|200px]]'''trusswork tower''' 
Nikola Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower (1901 – 1917) also known as the Tesla Tower, was an early wireless telecommunications aerial tower intended for commercial wireless trans-Atlantic telephony, broadcasting, and to demonstrate the transmission of power without interconnecting wires. The core facility was never fully operational and was not completed due to economic problems. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower Wikipedia]

'''ten years before''' 
The meeting between Vibe and Vanderjuice in Chicago in 1892.
:1893?

==Page 323==

'''"apizza"''' 
A style of pizza common in New Haven, CT, distinguished by its white sauce and clams. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apizza Wikipedia entry]

'''tropism''' 
The turning of an organism, or a part of one, in a particular direction (either in the way of growth, bending, or locomotion) in response to some special external stimulus, as that of light (''phototropism, heliotropism''), heat (''thermotropism''), gravity (''geotropism''), etc. <ref>'''Oxford English Dictionary''' 2nd Ed. 1989</ref>

'''at the far edges of his visual field, a glimmering winged object''' 
Unusual imagery.
:Possibly a reference to Yeats. Yeats: "I began to imagine [around 1904], as always at my left side just out of the range of sight, a brazen winged beast which I associated with laughing, ecstatic destruction", noting that the beast was "Afterwards described in my poem 'The Second Coming'". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Coming_(poem)]

:Or the word 'glimmering' may be key in understanding that the peripheral winged object is none other than the famous firefly of the song "Glow little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer" written circa 1908 and re-recorded by Pynchon's beloved Spike Jones in 1946. In addition to the glow-worm being a glimmering winged object, the song makes multiple references to electricity and lightning, all very much in context with this section in particular and the novel in general. [http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/g/glowworm.shtml Lyrics]

:Both of these seem a stretch. [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]]

:Pynchon is being sarcastic; Vanderjuice is not actually seeing visions. At the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893 (pgs. 31-35) Vanderjuice sold-out to Vibe (metaphorically sold his soul to the Devil) and agreed to sabotage Tesla. Vanderjuice never finished the work and Vibe never required it. Vanderjuice has realized his moral error and his "soul" and conscience are returning; metaphorically he is finally seeing his "soul', AWOL since 1893. He advises Kit against Vibe. Good souls are traditionally depicted as glimmering and flying to heaven. In the choice between the Angel on one shoulder and the Devil on the other, Vanderjuice chooses the Angel.

==Page 324==

'''P.G. Tait on Quaternions''' 
Peter Guthrie Tait, a Scottish physicist and mathematician, wrote two books on Quaternions, "An Elementary Treatise on Quaternions" and "Introduction to Quaternions"

''''lamp' this''' 
"Look at this" ; "Check this out".

'''Grassman's ''Ausdehnungslehre''''' 
A treatise on the foundations of linear algebra (including vector spaces) by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Grassmann Hermann Grassmann].
:Literally, ''Ausdehnungslehre'' means Theory of Extension.

But in context, the statement that "Grassmann's ''Ausdehnungslehre'' can be extended to any number of dimensions you like" indicates that we are talking about a mathematical theory, not a book. The word Ausdehnungslehre has actually been borrowed in English, but the subject is more often referred to as "exterior algebra" or "algebra of the exterior product." It relates to an antisymmetric operator that acts on "differential forms." It is definitely a Vectorist pursuit.

'''a ukulele of some dark exotic wood''' 
[http://www.thomaspynchon.com/hawaiian-vacations-pynchon.html Ukulele and Hawaiian references] abound in Pynchon's novels [http://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Hawaiian_Islands_and_Ukuleles ''Vineland''] and [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Hawaiian_Islands_and_Ukuleles ''Gravity's Rainbow'']. [[Hawaii|More on Hawaiian references in ''Against the Day'']]...

'''That Göttingen Rag''' 
Reminiscent of [http://members.aol.com/quentncree/lehrer/vatican.htm The Vatican Rag] by American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, and mathematician [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer Tom Lehrer].

'''Dr. Hilbert''' 
[http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Hilbert.html David Hilbert] (1862-1943), German mathematician. Hilbert's work in integral equations in about 1909 led directly to 20th-century research in functional analysis (the branch of mathematics in which functions are studied collectively). This work also established the basis for his work on infinite-dimensional space, later called Hilbert space, a concept that is useful in mathematical analysis and quantum mechanics. He studied mathematics at the University of Königsber and received his doctorate in 1885. One of Hilbert's friends was Minkowski who also was a doctoral student at Königsberg. He became professor at Königsberg (1893-1895) and Göttingen (1895 to retirement), made important contributions to the theory of numbers, the theory of invariants and the application of integral equation to physical problems. His work in geometry had the greatest influence in that area after Euclid.

'''Minkowski''' 
[http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Minkowski.html Hermann Minkowski] (1864-1909), German mathematician. He was born near Kovna, Russia (now Kaunas, Lithuania) to German parents. When Minkowski was eight the family returned to Germany and settled in Königsberg. He entered the University of Königsberg at 1880 and became close friend with Hilbert. He received his doctorate in 1885. He was professor at Bonn, Königsberg, Zürich (where Einstein was his student), and Göttengen. He wrote on the theory of numbers and on space and time (1909). Minkowski developed a new view of space and time, and laid the mathematical foundation of Einstein's the Theory of Relativity.

'''Spectral Theory''' 
Introduced by Hilbert. In mathematics, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_theory Spectral Theory] is an inclusive term for theories extending the eigenvector and eigenvalue theory of a single square matrix.

'''''infinite'' dimensions''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert_space Hilbert space] can be of infinite dimensions.
In Pynchon's paramorphoscope, the physics of 1900 (the mathematics revealed multiple dimensions beyond the 4 of space and time) is concerned with the same issues as the physics of 2000 (in which string theory requires multiple dimensions). The relation of physics and mathematics to centers of political and economic power are echoes as well, here drawn together in Kit's life.

'''Eigenheit''''' 
A term used in some of David Hilbert's mathematical and logical systems, it appears to have several disputed meanings, including something like "peculiarities" or "unique values or characterizations" (eigenheiten) [http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Talk:Eigenvector].

But Eigenheit also means :"Own-ness" or "Self-Ownership" [http://flag.blackened.net/daver/anarchism/stirner/theego9.html], a concept of the German individualist-anarchist Max Stirner (Johann Caspar Schmidt)[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Stirner], an issue of real concern to Kit, both in his immediate situation vis a vis Scarsdale Vibe, and perhaps also because of Stirner's radical individualist concept of trade union activity.

'''Hamburg Amerika Line''''' 
Transatlantic shipping company established in Hamburg, Germany in 1847 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg_America_Line Wikipedia]. By 1872 the company was making weekly passages to New York from Hamburg via Southampton.

'''Felix Klein''' 
Another professor of mathematics at Göttingen and a contemporary of Hilbert, Minkowski and company (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_klein wikipedia]). His major contribution to mathematics was as the father of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erlangen_program Erlangen Program], wherein he proposed to classify all non-Euclidean geometries by the transformations to which the geometry is invariant, i.e. their symmetry groups.
See also the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_bottle Klein bottle].

==Page 325==

'''problem-set''' 
A set of physics problems to be worked out as homework.

'''th' Four-Color Problem's just a Stu-dent prank''' 
How many colors are necessary to color a map so that no adjacent regions have the same color? The theorem was first stated as a conjecture in the mid-1800s; a number of faulty or incomplete proofs were published around the turn of the century.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_color_theorem The Wikipedia entry] gives an account of the 1976 proof and the controversy surrounding it. 
The conjecture, now theorem, is that you can color any map in a plane with four colors. Regions are adjacent if they share a boundary but not if they share a single point. The Four Corners is familiar in ''AtD,'' so paint New Mexico red, Arizona green, and Utah beige. What color does Colorado have to be? Green works (no boundary with Arizona), so this map takes only three colors. But imagine the state of New Colozontah, a one-mile circle centered at the Corners; no matter how you assign the first three colors, now you have to have a fourth. And you can't draw a map that takes five, not without cheating (e.g., folding the paper).

'''wanted to trust 'Fax''' 
Suggests that he also wanted to trust "facts." 'Fax also suggests
a copy [of his father]?

'''good skate''' 
A good guy.

==Page 326==

'''all but careened''' 
The boat is nearly turned on its side by the force of the wind. You careen a boat on purpose (on dry land) for cleaning, caulking, or repairing areas well below the waterline.

'''McKim, Mead, and White''' 
Architectural firm established by Charles McKim, William Mead, and Stanford White. Introducing the Roman and Italian Renaissance style to public architecture and urban planning on the east coast around 1900. Asscociated with the "American Renaissance", "Beaux Arts" and the "City Beautiful" movement [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKim,_Mead,_and_White Wiki].

'''Granitza''' 
In various Slavic languages: boundary.

'''Curl''' 
In vector calculus, curl is a vector operator that shows a vector field's rate of rotation.

'''Laplacian''' 
In mathematics, Laplacian, or Laplace operator, is a differential operator. It is widely used in areas of wave propagation, heat flow, electrostatics, quatum mechanic, etc. It is named after French mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749-1827). ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Simon_Laplace Laplace].)

'''Velebit''' 
A ridge near the Adriatic coastline of Croatia. The terrain is limestone karst, characterized by eroded cavities and channels.

==Page 327==

'''one day''' 
???

'''Parthian''' 
from Parthia, 'an ancient country corresponding to modern northeast Iran,however, Parthian also means "delivered in or as if in retreat", according to the American Heritage Dictionary. The use cited comes from Bret Harte, American writer about the West of this book's time: "a Parthian volley of expletives from Uncle Billy".

The full expression "Parthian Shot" comes from the Parthian cavalryman's ability to fire arrows over their shoulders while retreating.

'''''morra''''' 
It is a hand game played for points by two people. Both players show either one or two fingers and simultaneously call out loud the number of fingers the other player will show. A correct call wins the number of points. [http://www.frontier.net/~grifftoe/morra.html morra].

==Page 328==

''''North Hempstead Turnpike'''' 
New York State Route 25A. 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_25A Wikipedia]

''''North River jibes'''' 
In sailing, to jibe is to shift a fore-and-aft sail from one side of a vessel to the other while sailing before the wind so as to sail on the opposite tack. This means the boom, a long spar extending from the mast to hold or extend the foot of the sail, shifts from one side of the vessel to the other, since the sail is attached to it. One does not want to get hit with the boom during a jibe (kind of like getting hit by a big baseball bat): it will hurt, if not kill, you and most likely knock you out if the boat. Apparently, 'Fax jibes a lot in the North River.

'''Sunny Jim'''
"[..] was a cartoon character created in 1902 in the United States by writer Minnie Maud Hanff and artist Dorothy Ficken for an advertising campaign designed to promote Force cereal, the first commercially successful wheat flake." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_Jim Link]

==Page 329==

==Page 330==

'''Neofungoline''' 
??? Speculation: A fungo, baseball jargon (origin unknown), is a fly ball hit for fielding practice by a player who tosses the ball up and hits it on its way down with a long, thin, light bat, called a fungo bat. This is the only use of the word so possibly neofungoline is more Pynchon inventiveness and cleverness. 
I read this as a spoof of an anti-fungal or anti-biotic product like Neosporin (as "Smegmo" is a spoof on Crisco).

'''have that long''' 
Vibe is about 60 years old.

'''trying not to speak too carefully''' 
Cf phony Yale posing.

==Page 331==

'''forward of the stacks''' 
Preferred cabins located upwind of soot and smuts from the ship's funnels.

'''So back in '63 had he paid not to have to go and fight''' 
Vibe had paid a civil war deferment to buy his way out of the army. Vibe was in good company: 
"men purchased army deferments and used the war years to amass tremendous personal wealth. On the Confederate side, men who owned 50 or more slaves were exempted from serving in the army, whereas wealthy Northern men were able to purchase deferments from the Union for the sum of $300. Among those who purchased deferments and went on to become millionaires as a result of war profiteering were John D Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J Pierpont Morgan, Philip Armour, James Mellon, and Jay Gould." [http://books.google.com/books?id=N2pyIc8VoWcC&pg=PA523&lpg=PA523&dq=civil+war+deferment&source=bl&ots=J21FP1thXT&sig=j67qab9X5FmSWzl9YkUp886jons&hl=en&ei=zwlQSvIukKqzA_Pq9aoN&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2 Rothenberg, _Race, class, and gender in the United States_]

'''one of those negative results with resonance far beyond itself''' 
Like the Michelson-Morley experiment.

'''Grand Central Station''' 
This was called Grand Central Terminal until the "new" Grand Central Station opened in 1912, which was after this episode occurs. [http://grandcentralterminal.com/pages/getpage.aspx?id=75133219-5FAF-40D2-B946-D3A6693EFF32 History of Grand Central Station]

==Page 332==

'''how mighty are the wings we shelter beneath''' 
Wings of God, thinks Vibe. There have been hints this is not so. 
Compare p. 211, where the Rev. Lube Carnal says, "We like to think of Jeshimon as being under God's wing," to which Reef protests, "But wait a minute, God doesn't have wings—" And Carnal replies, "The God you're thinking of, maybe not. But out here, the one who looks after us, it's a kind of winged God, you see." 
Maybe wings of power?

'''the bloodline of my enemy''' 
Interesting phrase. Not the blood of his enemy. Vibe says his own seed is cursed, and he is seeking by adoption to make the Traverse bloodline his own. See also [[ATD_149-170#Page_158|"it was desire," p. 158.]]

==Page 333==

'''I didn't have my war then''' 
Vibe saying his time to fight was not 1862 but in the 1890s. 
And note: above, Vibe bought a deferment out of civil war.

'''My civil war was yet to come ... Invasion of Chicago, battles of Homestead, Coeur d'Alene, San Juans...communards ... labor syndicates ...''' 
Vibe's battle is not the civil war between north and south, but rather civil war between workers and owners, labor and capital.

:Chigago Invasion: Haymarket bomb and following action? 1885 / 1886. Labor action beginning in Chicago

:battle of Homestead: 1892, seminal lockout and strike at Carnegie-owned steel plant in PA. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_Strike wikipedia article]

:Coeur d'Alene, San Juans: 1892, 1899, miners strikes, union activitiy, etc. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeur_d%27Alene_miners%27_dispute wikipedia on Coeur d'Alene]

These three early strikes involved anarcho-syndicalist activities. The Haymarket incident resulted in the execution of anarchists, an event which served as a political awakening for Emma Goldman. The Homestead Strike of course was famous for the thwarted attempt on the life mine owner Henry Clay Frick by Goldman's longtime companion Alexander Berkman. The San Juan strikes, while less memorable, did include anti-anarchist propaganda and Pinkerton intervention.

:timelines: 
:[http://www.lutins.org/labor.html An Eclectic List of Events in U.S. Labor History] 
:[http://www.ohiohistory.org/historyworksohio/timeline/timeline_detail.cfm?start=1877&end=1899 timeline: 1877 - 1899.]

'''headquarters in Pearl Street''' 
In Manhattan's financial district; on [http://www.mustseenewyork.com/maps/nyc-lower-manhattan-hotels.html this street map] it runs northeast from the ferry terminals. [http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/nycolonial/index.html Fraunces Tavern] (built 1719) stands at the corner of Pearl and Broad Streets.

The Edison Illuminating Company built America's first central power station at 255-57 Pearl Street. It began generating on September 4, 1882, powering 400 lamps. Scarsdale Vibe may have been a [fictional] investor, giving him motive for sabotaging the efforts of rival Nicola Tesla.
He certainly opposed Tesla's efforts to develop broadcast [free] power on economic grounds.

'''a ruler isolated in self-resonant fantasy''' 
Perhaps speaking to the furniture and hearing the echo agree with him. "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred."

==Page 334==

'''the moderate American tradition of Massachusetts Bay or Utah''' 
Benign, homegrown theocracy contrasted with deranged foreign theocracy. The Puritan Salem Witch Trials and the Mormon Mountain Meadows Massacre are the two most memorable instances of theological difference and religious intolerance in American history.

'''Cooper Square''' 
Cooper Square where Fourth and Third Avenue merge into the Bowery in New York City.

'''This boy Christopher, for one thing''' 
above (pg 332), Vibe wants to adopt webb family, Kit in particular. Here he indicates attraction to Kit. Wants to be molesting father?

'''Foley was no innocent''' 
Prior to the publication of Whitman's ''Leaves of Grass'' in 1855 and the US lecture tour of Oscar Wilde, homosexuality was a taboo unmentioned topic that was viewed purely as biological misuse of the sexual devices. Whitman publicized the 'love of comrades' and his 'adhesiveness' to them, especially in his ''Calmus'' section. The Wilde obscenity trials were the first instance of someone publicly defending themselves for being homosexual. Though the journalism of the time was slanted against it due to 'public morality', the reporters of the day described in vivid detail the under ground gay culture of Victorian England, the first time that such a life style was publicly exposed. In many ways, these two instances were the rudimentary foundations of gay liberation, it presented the inclination towards the 'Sin of Sodom' as a point to unite around for mutual benefit. The fact that this is the locale of Manhattan in which Emma Goldman blossomed as a new immigrant from Russia, and also where Goldman as an anarchist formally embraced open homosexuals in the movement, unlike Marx whose homophobia at the First International was a useful tool for exiling Bakunin and the anarchists, increases the historical significance. Foley, son of the most ardent of capitalists, finds himself drawn by his sexuality to a communal center of revolutionary and counter-cultural ideas which are the pure anathema of his father.

'''In the resorts where men danced with each other''' 
Early New York gay bars. Initially the world of LGBT culture had an undercurrent similar to a carnival sideshow, something that was not necessarily unintentional. Many transgender people found refuge and a way to live as openly trans by taking roles in various venues that needed cross-dressing acts, such as the Bearded Lady in a Sideshow or a seemingly-female rodeo clown. Vaudeville farces also functioned in a dual role, both as a seemingly-benign heterosexual entertainments and homosexual environs where gays could talk openly with one another.

'''Tenderloin''' 
A district of vice in New York City (''American Heritage Dictionary''). The West Side from about 27th Street to about 62nd Street. Gave its name to a very funny musical (1960; music by Jerry Bock, book by George Abbott and Jerome Weidman, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick). Historically a gay enclave akin to the later Greenwich Village which birthed the Beats, the Stonewall riots, and the modern LGBT rights movement. Name derived from the area's major economic contribution, meat packaging (the amount of irony to derive from this is up to the reader, it was not lost on the residents of NYC in that era). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenderloin,_Manhattan 1]

'''Nellie Noonan or Anna Held''' 
Anna Held was a popular stage performer of the 1890s and 1900s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Held wikipedia]. Nellie Noonan may be a reference to the title character in ''Little Nellie Kelly'', a George M. Cohan musical made into a film starring Judy Garland in 1940 ([http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032718/ imdb]), but Cohan wrote the musical in 1922. Foley is hanging out in early drag bars.

==Page 335==

'''the Wilderness''' 
A Civil War battle in May 1864, just before the battle of Cold Harbor. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Wilderness Wikipedia]

'''Cold Harbor''' 
Where Foley Walker, acting as Civil War Substitute, "took a Reb bullet" for Scarsdale Vibe - see p.100/101.

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 273-295

2015-02-24T05:53:35Z

Pthomas: /* Page 290 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 273==

'''the electric''' 
The Denver Tramway Company, beginning in 1886, operated electric railcars between central Denver and outlying communities. [http://www.denvergov.org/AboutDenver/history_narrative_3.asp Citation]

==Page 274==

'''Arapahoe''' 
Since Frank is at the moment in Denver, "on Arapahoe" would mean on Arapahoe Street. From the native tribe. Also a county in eastern CO and a scattering of places in US.

'''the Christian daring of Scarsdale's gesture''' 
To outside observers Vibe appears to be turning the other cheek.

'''drygulched''' 
In this context, ambushed and killed [http://www.reference.com/browse/all/drygulch drygulch].

'''after Repeal in '93''' 
Refers to the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which required the U.S. government to purchase an additional 4.5 million ounces of silver bullion every month with notes that could be redeemed for either silver or gold. Repealed by Congress after the Panic of 1893 to prevent depletion of the country's gold reserves. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Silver_Purchase_Act Wikipedia entry].

'''Lake County''' 
Colorado county of which Leadville is the county seat.

'''Haw Tabor''' 
Horace Tabor, a prospector, businessman, politician, and one of the wealthiest men in Colorado in the 19th Century. Tabor moved to Denver in 1859, later settling in Leadville in 1877. With the wealth he accumulated from his silver mine, Tabor established newspapers, a bank, and an opera house in Leadville (which still stands), and the Tabor Grand Opera House and the Tabor Block in Denver. In 1878, Tabor was elected Lieutenant Governor of Colorado and served in that post until January 1884. He served as U.S. Senator from Colorado for two months in 1883. Tabor ran unsuccessfully for Colorado governor in 1884, 1886, and 1888. In 1893, the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act devastated Tabor's fortune and his far-flung holdings were sold off. He died from appendicitis in 1899, and his legend still persists in Colorado.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Tabor Wikipedia entry].

'''Matchless''' 
The Matchless Mine in Leadville, formerly owned by Horace Tabor. Oscar Wilde visited the Matchless in 1882. The "widow" is Elizabeth Bonduel McCourt Doe, a/k/a "Baby Doe" Tabor, Horace Tabor's second wife (and his mistress before he married her in 1883). Baby Doe and her stubborn retention of the Matchless Mine is another Colorado legend. When Horace Tabor fell ill with appendicitis in 1899, his final request of Baby Doe was that she "hold onto the Matchless." This she did, with tragic results. After living in a shack beside the mine for 36 years, she froze to death one night in March 1935 after she ran out of firewood. Her body was found frozen with her arms crossed peacefully across her chest. After her death, 17 iron trunks that had been placed in storage in Denver were opened, as well as several gunny sacks and four trunks that had been left at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Leadville. All that was left from the Tabor fortune were several bolts of unique, untouched and exquisite cloth, several pieces of china, a tea service and some jewelry, including a diamond and sapphire ring. Baby Doe's story has inspired numerous works, including a movie and an opera by Douglas Moore, ''The Ballad of Baby Doe.'' More on Baby Doe Tabor, including pictures of the Matchless and the shack she lived and died in, can be found at these links: [http://www.babydoetabor.com/ Baby Doe Tabor.com]; [http://www.babydoe.org/index.php BabyDoe.org]

'''Zinc Rush''' 
Leadville had "rushes" on gold, silver, molybdenum, zinc...

'''the best-priced ore to be dug''' 
A mining engineer calculates the value of ore as the market price of its valuable constituents minus the cost of mining, concentrating and refining. Zinc metal brings less than gold or silver, but its ore may be attractive if it is rich in zinc and processing costs are low.

'''some bright engineer''' 
???

==Page 275==

'''concentrating mills''' 
First step in treating ore is concentration or beneficiation: breaking it into small pieces and separating the fragments that contain zinc from those that don't.

'''Molly-be-damned''' 
Molybdenum, which is still mined outside of Leadville.

'''Wren Provenance''' 
Let's not forget that one manifestation of [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] was Victoria Wren. One could see this as the "provenance of wren?" There appear to be many allusions to [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] in ''ATD''.

'''heaps''' 
slag heaps. For their picture see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slag_heap Wikipedia].

'''Sons of Heaven section''' 
This is a term for the emperors of China.
Cf. references to the Chinese as 'the celestials', e.g. in the HBO series [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadwood_(TV_series) ''Deadwood''].

'''Bear Paw''' 
An almond-flavored yeast-raised pastry shaped shaped like an irregular semicircle resembling a bear's claw. Octopus Ink seems to be a joking reference to the coffee. [I think the speaker here (Wren) is making a joking reference to the strange food that the Chinese saloon serves, not to pastry and coffee.]

Where fresh octopus is available, the ink is a not uncommon ingredient in Chinese and Japanese cuisine. It [and squid ink] is also used in a number of Mediterranean dishes. "Bear Paw in Octopus Ink" is Chinese/Coloradoan fusion. Real bear paw, not pastry. And it's Frank, not Wren, who is speaking.

==Page 276==

'''Jennie Rogers's House of Mirrors''' 
Jennie Rogers (1843-1909) was a notorious Denver madam who built the "House of Mirrors" at 1946 Market Street in Denver in 1889 and ran it until her death in 1909. The House of Mirrors embodies the Romanesque architecture of the era, and was specifically designed as a bordello. It was later taken over by the even more notorious Mattie Silks (1846-1929), who operated it until 1915, when it fell victim to so-called "reformers." The House of Mirrors still stands, and today operates as a bar and restauant. (This contributor has been drinking there many times.) More on its history, including pictures, and on the history of Denver's Market Street red-light district, can be found at [http://www.mattieshouseofmirrors.com/index.html this website].

'''"and there she was, not much on, what there was all black, tightly laced, stockings askew, standing in an open polyhedral of mirrors, examining herself from all the angles available. Transformed."''' 
Cf. Mélanie l' Heuremaudit in ''V.'', pp 397-8.

'''dress cavalry helmet''' 
A collection of pictures of various dress cavalry helmets can be found here: [http://news.webshots.com/album/165792861CIEtya cavalry helmet pictures].

==Page 277==

'''Aztlán''' 
Legendary or historical homeland of the Aztecs. Northwestern Mexico up to Utah in some reckonings.

'''He had a passing acquaintance with the Mancos and McElmo country...''' 
This is a clear reference to Mesa Verde [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Verde], on the Mancos River between Mancos and Cortez, CO, southwest of Telluride. Pynchon has taken considerable liberties with the history of the area, as recounted by Wren Provenance, although perhaps not with what was known for certain at the time, to perhaps heighten the area's mystery. The Mesa Verde inhabitants had been building pueblos on the mesa from the 7th and 8th centuries, building cliff dwellings from the 9th to the 13th centuries, ranging far to the north and west for game and firewood. The surface ruins were known from the 1870s; the famous Cliff Palace (shown in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Verde]) was discovered by local ranchers in 1888, and archaeological activities were underway by 1891. By the time the area was made a national park in 1906 it was clear that the cliff dwellings had been relatively rapidly ''abandoned'' in the 13th century. It has never been clear exactly why; theories include drought leading to loss of water and loss of essential firewood (the area is quite cold in winter) to overlogging or fire. Pynchon is accurate in noting evidence of intense fighting among the last cliff dwellers, even cannibalism, in the ruins.

'''images of creatures''' 
The ancient Puebloans of both the Mesa Verde and Chaco centers left numerous images, called petroglyphs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroglyph], many of which are as eerie as Pynchon suggests here (the Wikipedia article shows Newspaper Rock in Canyonlands National Park in Utah). They include figures of humans and other creatures, and of comets and the 1054 supernova now known as the Crab Nebula (there are more than 14 pages of pictures of ''Pueblo Petroglyphs'' on Google Images: [http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Pueblo+Petroglyphs&btnG=Search+Images]) ... and the cover of the UK paperback edition of AtD bears some resemblance the petroglyph on Newspaper Rock.

==Page 278==

'''the report''' 
??? (Answer:) Wren was on an anthropological expedition. This is the report on the findings of that expedition.

'''If they were the same ones who made the exodus...and became the Aztecs''' 
The earliest interpretations of the Pueblo ruins, from those found first, was that these were Aztec ruins, as at Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, NM ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_Ruin_National_Monument]). The Puebloans were in contact with mesoamerican civilizations, as indicated by findings of trade goods like parrot feathers, but these were probably traded through intermediaries. In fact, the Mesa Verde inhabitants were the ancestors of the modern Rio Grande Pueblos, e.g. Taos Pueblo ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taos_Pueblo]).

'''Albany... bar mirror''' 
???

'''Booth Virbling''' This seems to be one of Pynchon's made-up names.
As a crime reporter at the time, he was probably given to a heavy use of verbs...warbling verbs, one might say? Booth-- staid place where 'crime reporters' work? Last name pronounced German sounds like "fear bling"?

==Page 279==

'''Bulkley Wells''' 
Easier to find under correct spelling Bulkeley. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GDX/is_5_75/ai_65277661/pg_13 Here] is an account of some of his activities as mine manager and militia commander.

'''Ice Saw murder''' 
I saw murder?..eyewitness.??? Yes, a pun. Also, here is a picture of an [http://www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/harvesting/archives/images/index.html?RollID=roll4&FrameID=Icesaw_450 ice saw], used to saw through ice for the purpose of ice fishing. And there is more fun and games if the saw is made of ice, recalling the scenario where there is a dead body, some blood and a pool of water. How did the body die? It was hacked to death with the saw made of ice which is now melted.

The pictured saw--and the presumed murder weapon--is used to cut blocks of ice during winter to be stored in sawdust-insulated cellars for use in summer. Holes for ice-fishing on lakes are generally made by drilling and chipping. Never heard of much ice-fishing in Colorado.

'''sparking''' 
v. tr. "to court or woo". intr. "to play the suitor"

'''hurdy girls''' 
In an article titled [[http://www.phantomranch.net/folkdanc/articles/boysnite.htm Boys' Nite Out in Leadville]], the following:
<blockquote>
in the 1870s, the Colorado Miner described the hurdy-gurdy houses of Leadville as "breathing holes of hell, where customers imbibe torchlight whiskey and indulge in the quadrille and the whirling sinuosities of the waltz."
</blockquote>
and
<blockquote>"The very first women in the mining camps of California were German girls who were called hurdy-gurdy girls after the musical instruments of the same name, and the name also became attached to the dance hall. While a long way from virginal status, the first girls were so prized that they did not have to participate in prostitution"
</blockquote>

[[http://southwest.library.arizona.edu/cala/body.1_div.6.html Elsewhere]] mention is made of "hurdy-houses" which appear to be the same thing

==Page 280==

'''South Pacific islands''' 
Cf Margaret Mead (1901-78), a cultural anthropologist who visited and published extensively on Samoa. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Mead#Coming_of_Age_in_Samoa_and_the_Mead-Freeman_controversy Wikipedia entry]

==Page 281==
[[Image:telluridetoday.gif|thumb|200px|right|Telluride as it appears today ([http://www.hillhaus.com/blog/index.php?blog=7&cat=30 source])]]
'''first city''' 
The first extensive use of the alternating current was in arc lighting, the kind used in street lighting. There is some dispute in histories as to which city was first, but Telluride was among, if not the, first.

'''This Telluride chapter seems to express overtly part of Pynchon's key themes: when electricity hit the streets, it was Hell. Passim 280-281,
"the end of the world remained a possibility" to explain the unholy radiance [of the arc lighting].
Only a 'lunatic' argued it was not too late to turn back.
And Telluride is where the "owners" who had Webb killed, live.

'''"Beside the tracks at one bend stood a local lunatic"''' 
Like starting an amusement park ride.

'''"To-Hell-you-ride'''" 
To-Tell-u-ride

==Page 282==

'''level of hatred''' 
Cf capacitance?

'''drifts and stopes''' 
A drift is a horizontal or nearly horizontal underground opening. A stope is a usually steplike excavation underground for the removal of ore that is formed as the ore is mined in successive layers.

'''vagging bee''' 
"vag" is slang/shorthand for "vagrant"; the word "bee" as used here comes from the English dialect ''been'' or ''bean''. These were variations on ''boon'', once widely used in the sense of “voluntary help, given to a farmer by his neighbors, in time of harvest, haymaking, etc." In the early 1870s, the idea of bee began to be extended to situations that had some kind of communal basis, but weren’t farm work, some pretty sinister such as ''hanging bee'', ''lynching bee'' (this occurs in Mark Twain's ''Huckleberry Finn'') and ''whipping bee''. It is in this sense of a social gathering to perform some task that bee is used in ''Against the Day''. [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-spe2.htm From World Wide Words]

'''Bob Meldrum''' 
"Bad Man" Bob Meldrum served as agent to Pinkerton’s Detective Agency and a watchdog for the big cattle outfits around Little Snake River, gaining a reputation as a mean man with a quick trigger finger. He was rumored to be responsible for over fourteen wanton killings. Pynchon's characterisation of Meldrum (with his huge mustache and quick temper) is very similar to the Loony Tunes character Yosemite Sam.[http://www.museumnwco.org/lookBackArticle.php?lookBackID=35]

==Page 283==

'''''"joven"''''' 
Young fellow (Spanish).

'''Ellmore Disco''' 
Elmore = (H)ell More, i.e. More Hell?
:Possibly also an allusion to Elwood Blues, Dan Akroyd's character in '''The Blues Brothers'''.
:Or—with less distortion of the name—to Pynchon's near-contemporary Elmore Leonard, who writes many scenes of inventive and unconstrained violence.
::The explanation is simpler: Ellmore Disco sounds exactly as El Mordisco, The Bite in Spanish (remember, Ellmore is said to be Mexican, maybe "El Mordisco" was a nickname or alias he had there and when in the States he adapted to sound like an English Name). Why Ellmore Disco is El Mordisco I don't know. Perhaps being him the guy to see to in Telluride it means that he gets "a bite" (money) of the people who need favors from him.

'''headgear, tending to fancy black beavers''' 
Another instance of "beaver on the brain"?

'''when it was still Leadville''' 
where 'lead' is exchanged in gunfights, as here? Leadville, CO.

'''Seven-Toed Pete''' 
Seven Card Stud

==Page 284==

'''battered 'from the day''''

'''thunderstorm-proof mayonnaise''' 
Mayo is an ATD leitmotif. There is a folk belief, enshrined in no less an authority than the ''Joy Of Cooking'', that mayonnaise will separate if it is made when a thunderstorm is imminent.

'''jaconet... tartalan... crepe lissé''' 
jaconet 1.a soft, white, lightweight cotton textile 2. cotton cloth glazed on one side and dyed. 
Tarlatan (another printing error, apparently) is a kind of thin open muslin (the general name for the most delicately woven cotton fabrics) used especially for ball-dresses. 
Crepe lissé is a thin, transparent, smooth or glossy gauze-like fabric, plain woven, without any twill, of highly twisted raw silk or other staple.

'''Liberty's of London''' 
A famous department store in Regent Street, London, notable for its prints and fabrics. Opened in 1875 in a mock-Tudor building.

'''Grand Rapids style''' 
A simple, non-ornamental design style of furniture, with heavy emphasis
on office furniture. Mostly oak, it seems. From the 1860's, the office furniture was "mass-produced", whatever that means for the times. A kind of furniture allowing no "moral turpitude", as one online remark has it. (see Time.com use in 1978 below!)
Grand Rapids was a furniture center and major location for regular furniture exhibitions for decades before and after the time of ATD. Source: Grand Rapids Public Library catalog, passim.
:"The rooms are furnished in Grand Rapids style. The beds have pallets, but no springs, no Western-style mattresses, no top sheets; maid service consists of dumping a clean sheet and a blanket on the bed, to be made up by the guest."
:---Time.com...1978...on certain hotel rooms in China.

"Grand Rapids" doesn't imply a lack of ornamentation, not at all. The industry makes chairs and other items to the current taste. Once it was heavy oak bookcases with cornice moldings; today it's hi-tech office chairs. What marks Grand Rapids is design that lends itself to mass production.

:Oh, and those Chinese hotels? They bought perfectly good Grand Rapids bedsteads and dropped plywood in to save the price of springs. The pallets don't define the style!

'''Four Corners Boys''' 
Deuce and Sloat? Perhaps nicknamed so after what they did to Lake on page 269: "They took her down to the Four Corners..."

:the only historical reference I could find about a shooting in Cortez involving "Four Corners Boys" is rather recent: on May 29, 1998, City of Cortez Patrolman Dale Claxton was gunned down by three young men. Here's an exerpt from a news story dating back to october 2005: "The three suspects who made up '''the Four Corners Group''' appeared to be nothing more than weekend warriors and good old boys who talked more they acted. However that all changed when best friends Alan Pilon, Jason Wayne McVean and Robert Mathew Mason decided to take it to the big leagues. After the execution of Officer Claxton, the three men fled in the water truck heading toward Utah and its endless wilderness not known for its warmth and hospitable surroundings." Here's the complete article [http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/24Seven/articles/119760/]

==Page 285==

'''million apiece''' 
From 1900, a million dollars would have the value of @20 to 23 million in 2005, depending on ways of measuring purchasing value. It would have over $100 million dollars in value, measured against the worker's average wage at the time. See [http://www.measuringworth.com/ Measuring Worth site].
Note: The prediction is accurate. Think of such well-heeled communities as Aspen, Colorado that are to spring up.
'''music-hall Chinese''' 
What the hell is up with Pynchon's perennial mentions of China and Chinese?

There were a lot of Chinese in the west, starting with the gold rush in California, then building the transcontinental railway. Many remained, and Chinese laborers were pretty common out there.

'''C major... A miner''' 
A pun on the musical key of A minor. One octave of the C major scale consists of the notes c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c (all white keys on a piano). One octave of the A minor scale (technically, A natural minor) consists of the same note names as the C major scale, but starting on the "a" note, not on the "c" note: a-b-c-d-e-f-g-a. Because of this, A minor is called the relative minor of C major.

It is possible that the identical physical shape of the C major or A minor chord on the keyboard is depicted in Disco's smiling mouth, raising the possibility that he is missing 3 teeth corresponding to that schema. 'Ruinous' suggests some sort of dental deficiency. That, or he is missing all the teeth but those 3 which constitute the chord, though this would perhaps benefit from a more explicit description.

'''...it's out with that wackyzacky...''' 
The 'wakizashi' is a Japanese sword - 12 to 24 inches - often worn by a Samurai together with a Katana - another sword - and the two together are then called a Daish or somesuch. Although it would appear that this sword would have sometimes been used during Hara Kiri it is not the normal Hara Kiri weapon. That is usually a short - 6 to 12 inches long - double edged knife/sword called a Tant.' 

'''hari-kari''' 
Japanes: ''belly cutting''. Properly ''harakiri,'' but the distorted rhyming form has been in colloquial English for a long time.
What became a ritualised form of suicide in Japan chiefly amongst the nobility. It was sometimes offered to a nobleman as an honorable alternative to execution. A short knife or sword is plunged into the abdomen, drawn through and across the bowel laterally, with a small upwards twist at the end. Now extremely rare in Japan. More commonly referred to by the Chinese name for belly cutting - ''Seppuku'' - because eventually the Ritual was seen as being somewhat distastaeful, even dishonourable

'''Cal Rutan''' 
[[image:cal-rutan.jpg|thumb|Cal Rutan, on the left|right]]J. Calvin ("Cal") Rutan was the Telluride County sheriff during the labor struggles of 1902-1904.

==Page 286==

'''menudo''' 
Mexican tripe soup, so peppery it should come with a warning placard.

'''Loomis''' 
Loomis Disco. Possible reference to Adore Loomis, child victim of Homer Simpson in [[Nathanael West's]] novel ''[[The Day of the Locust]]'' (1939).

'''lowland alkali''' 
Any of various soluble mineral salts found in natural water and arid soils. And 'lowlands' are good places in Pynchon's vision.

'''hardpan''' 
A bedrock, foundation. Hard, unbroken ground. A layer of hard subsoil or clay, also called caliche.

==Page 287==

'''chicharrones''' 
Fried pork skins.

'''''Ristras''''' '''of .... dark purple chilies''' 
Strings of .... dried red peppers.

'''tortas''' 
Mexican sandwiches.

'''tamales''' 
Cornmeal paste wrapped in corn or banana husks and stuffed with chicken, pork or turkey and/or vegetables, then steamed.

'''sixty-degree wedges''' 
One-sixth of a pie.

'''''Por poco te faltó La Blanca''''' 
Spanish: You just missed La Blanca.
:In fact, it's a literal translation to Spanish of the English sentence. It should have been "Por poco te encontrás con La Blanca" or "Acabas de perderte a La Blanca" to be accurate and have some meaning (unless Lupe is saying "You almost get short of cocaine", since "la blanca", "the white one", is one of the slang names for cocaine).

==Page 288==

'''Montrose''' 
A city on Colorado's Western Slope. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose%2C_Colorado Wikipedia entry].

'''popcorn snows''' 
Apparently an informal meteorological term for giant snowflakes.[http://www.google.com/search?num=100&q=popcorn.snow&as_brr=0&sa=N&tab=pw Google]

The popcorn snows were first mentioned in L. Frank Baum's ''The Scarecrow of Oz'' (1915): 'In the Land of Mo the snow's made of popcorn, not frozen water crystals as it is in other places.' [http://www.halcyon.com/piglet/oziana/oz0726.htm Popcorn Snows].
Of course, Mr. Baum also wrote the classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900).

A popcorn blizzard also figures into one of the tales of Paul Bunyan, the legendary destroyer of American landscapes. It likely appeared in newspapers after 1920. This contributor taught fourth-grade reading last year and first came across it in a textbook retelling. More can be found at [http://www.jcs-group.com/mystery/bunyan.html].

Popcorn snow is also a term used to describe springtime snow conditions for skiing. Not far off base considering Telluride is now predominantly a ritzy ski town.

'''vanning''' 
in context, 'a winnowing device". Archaic, from American Heritage Dictionary.

'''Loopy''' 
Anglo pronunciation of Lupe, a diminutive of the given name Guadalupe. Lupita is another.

'''masa''' 
Spanish: mass; also short for ''masa harina'': corn (maize) flour.

'''''comal''''' 
A Mexican style skillet, usually made of cast iron in round or oval shape.

==Page 289==

'''''Pobrecito''''' 
Poor little boy.

'''half a cubic foot''' 
12" by 12" by 6".

==Page 290==

'''miner's gad''' 
According to the OED, "1. a steel wedge, 2. a small iron punch with a wooden handle used to break up ore."

'''McBryan's''' 
Now-defunct brand of whiskey.

'''trick animal''' 
???

==Page 291==

'''''seguro''''' 
Spanish: "sure"

'''parlor houses''' 
Brothels

'''Cosmopolitan Saloon and Gambling Club''' 
Cf [[ATD_243-272#Page_260|p.260]]. In Telluride, CO.

'''bullion day''' 
From ''Tomboy Bride: A Woman's Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West'' (1969) by Harriet Fish Backus:

:George was promoted to his position taking charge of recovering gold amalgam and delivery it to the mine office. Two or three times a month it was prepared for shipment on what was called Bullion Day.

:This was a day of importance on which the gold, free of quicksilver, was melted and poured into three bar-molds each approximately nine inches long, five wide and four deep, containing five hundred ounces and at that time worth ten thousand dollars. The crucible, filled with molten gold, was lifted from the furnace by a chain block and swung to a point directly above the molds in a proper position topour. Using long tongs the superintendent tipped the crucible just enough to let the white hot liquid flow into the molds. (p.71) [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZXe3snWpqgwC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=%22bullion+day%22+%2B+mining&source=web&ots=pWq7uBF5_8&sig=HmPILPJFR9ZPeSI688XCjG6Zm9U&hl=en]

'''Mr. Edison's scheme ... static electricity''' 
In the summer of 1900, Thomas Edison erected a plant at the Ortiz Mine in Dolores, New Mexico, to extract gold ore using static electricity. However, dry gravels could not be obtained and, due to the poor quality of the ore, the tests were deemed a failure.

'''Wetherill's magnet''' 
An apparatus for separating magnetic minerals from nonmagnetic minerals, a Wetherill magnetic separator consists of two horseshoe magnets placed side by side and parallel to each other. Three belts are employed with each pair of magnets. The first belt brings the ore in horizontally under one pole piece of the upper magnet. The second belt operates under the surface of the upper pole piece, rounds the tips, and moves up the bevel of its wedge, bringing with it magnetic particles which, as they get above the magnetic field, fall off. The third belt accomplishes the same for the other pole piece of the upper magnet. [http://books.google.com/books?id=fhEAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA633&lpg=PA633&dq=wetherill+magnet&source=web&ots=5ivwNQSM6V&sig=ItAb4vM8uTKzjkC_yYkMt76Equ8&hl=en]

==Page 292==

'''pocket Kodak''' 
Possibly the "No. 3 Folding Pocket KODAK Camera" produced by Eastman Kodak from 1900 to 1915.

'''Hieronymus Wheel''' 
Seems to describe a roulette wheel. Google and the OED turn up nothing on "Hieronymus Wheel," but Pynchon's bizarre choice of language obviously suggests the Dutch painter, Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch Wikipedia entry]. Perhaps Pynchon alludes to a certain wheel in a Bosch painting? Bosch's "Circle of Hell" depicts a wheel coming out of (or going into) the mouth of a fishlike creature, but that doesn't really make sense of the term, either. See [[Talk:ATD_273-295|discussion page 273-295]]

It refers to the Bosch painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things' (1485). It involves a wheel of the 7 big ones. Quite fitting in the dissipated environment of Hell-u-ride. Also, its divided in much the same way as a roulette wheel.

'''Dieter''' 
Oldfashioned German first name. Pronunciation: [diːtər]. Short for Dietrich. Popular male name in Germany after WWII.
:Since "Dieter" is "the barkeep" the English word ''dieter'' for someone who prescibes a diet comes to mind.
::Seems like a stretch. [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 13:28, 5 February 2007 (PST)
Possibly a reference to H. Dieter Zeh [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Dieter_Zeh]and his "Many Minds" interpretation of the multiverse issue [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-minds_interpretation].[[User:Bklyn48|Bklyn48]] 19:37, 1 January 2007 (PST)
:How so? [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 13:28, 5 February 2007 (PST)

The multiple interpretations of what is going on in the bar, which will become more apparent in the following pages, suggest the exemplification of this solution to the "multiple universes" problem.

'''Nippon''' 
Japan in Japanese.

'''bellows''' 
For explanation, see [http://licm.org.uk/livingImage/BellowsCamera.html Bellows Camera].

==Page 293==

'''Japanese''' 
Sumimasen = "Pardon me" or "Excuse me" 
Bobusan desu = This is Bob 
Gonnusuringaa = "gunslinger" 
("Gansuringaa" is a more appropriate Japanese transliteration of "gunslinger", but no Japanese will recognize the word anyway.) 
mottomo abunai desu = he is extremely dangerous 
(This is a bizarre Japanese expression.) 
Anna koto! = That sort of thing! 
(This does not seem to make sense contextually.)

Bit of a stretch, but the film ''Lost in Translation'' (2003, Sofia Coppola, director) features a character named Bob who visits Japan, where he is repeatedly called Bobusan.

'''fulgurescence''' 
n : an emission in flashes or sparks, like lightning. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstruse_topics_in_Pynchon's_Against_the_Day#Abstruse_words]

'''profanity... much of it in Japanese''' 
The Japanese language has little profanity in the Western sense: words considered vulgar and which cannot be spoken in polite company. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_profanity#Japanese Wikipedia entry on Profanity in Japanese]

'''"The loss of clarity . . . . in the dark"''' 
See the note for Hieronymous wheel in [[Talk:ATD_273-295|discussion]]. If the "Hieronymous wheel" refers to a Bosch painting, perhaps this scene continues some kind fo parallel to Hell or something else. The painting includes several unknown creatures, including a barrel with legs, while “thrashed about” suggests the central fish monster image of the painting.
:Cf. also:
:*p. 136, "and for that brief instant it would be possible to move from one version to the other.", i.e. from "Venice of the Arctic" to the secular Venice.
:*p. 221, "Lateral world-sets, other parts of the Creation, lie all around us, each with its crossover points or gates of transfer from one to another, and they can be anywhere, really . . . . An unscheduled Explosion, introduced into the accustomed flow of the day, may easily open, now and then, passages to elsewhere,"
:*p. 230, "'Let us imagine a lateral world, set only infintesimally to the side of the one we think we know.'"

::Cf., also the transdimensional travel of Buckaroo Bonzai in the Pynchon inspired film, ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension'' (1984), especially the images of 8th-Dimensional creatures that Bonzai sees as he passes through the mountain. [http://imdb.com/title/tt0086856/ IMDB entry].
::Cf., further, the notion of a "multiverse," that is, a physical ur-structure, comprised of many, if not infinite universes, of which ours is only one. Several contemporary cosmological theories require that a multiverse exist, though its existence remains highly conjectural. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse Wikipedia entry].

'''It became possible to believe that one had been spirited, in the swift cascade of light-flashes, to some distant geography where creatures as yet unknown thrashed about, howling affrightedly, in the dark.''' 
A possible reference to the phantastic dreamscapes of the Japanese animation-filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Among his works, plausibly coded into this lengthy sentence, are ''Spirited Away'' (''Sen to Chihiro no kamikakukushi / The Spiriting-Away of Sen and Chihiro'', 2001) and ''Howl's Moving Castle'' (''Howl no ugoku shiro'', 2004).

'''"the American West--it is a spiritual territory! in which we seek to study the secrets of your--national soul''' 
It is possible that Pynchon needs a link from the Colorado Mine Wars to the Russo-Japanese War, but why place a ''Japanese Trade Delegation'' seeking to learn the spiritual secrets of the American West (which Merle Rideout correctly points out, lacks any) in the middle of a gunfight or brawl in Telluride? This could be a sly allusion, in a book about alternate histories and timelines, to arguably one of the best "alternate history" books ever written, Philip K. Dick's "The Man in the High Castle". In a 1962 in which the Axis won World war II, Nobusuke Tagomi is head of the ''Ranking Trade Mission'' to the (Japanese-occupied) Pacific States of America. He, like many Japanese, are fascinated with the artifacts of "pre-War US Culture", most especially with artifacts of the Old West and with its martial arts, which possess the spiritual power of "Historicity" (much as American occupation troops in Japan collected swords and studied Zen Buddhism). Tagomi, in short, collects old six-shooters, and practices quick-drawing and firing, a fact which is central to the book's action. Colorado figures heavily in the book's action as well; in the relatively free Rocky Mountain States (a buffer state between the PSA and the German-occupied USA) a solitary author has written a novel in which the US and Britain won World War II...[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_In_the_High_Castle]. And don't forget that this 'K' in Philip K. Dick's name stands for ''Kindred''...

'''packing out pyrites''' 
Mining fool's gold. Or wasting your resources by loading it into cars or skips instead of throwing it on the tail heap.

'''katana''' 
Japanese samurai sword.
'''

==Page 294==

'''Baron Akashi''' 
A Japanese general whose career included spying, but, anachronistically, his career did not begin until 1889. He was a spy in Europe during Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). So would he've been famous even to the lengths of backwoods CO? How much spyin' can a poor boy do if he's famous?
:The burden of fame doesn't seem to have kept James Bond or Austin Powers from succeeding in their espionage activities.
:Baron Akashi himself was famous, but his sidekick was not. The former didn't show up at Telluride but the latter did as 'some li'l laundry runner'.

'''planning a hoist''' 
''Heist'' is now universal, but originally it was a dialect form of ''hoist.''

'''Squirrel and sarsaparilla''' 
Squirrel Whiskey and Sarsaparilla Soda. Squirrel whiskey was so called because it was supposedly so strong it would drive its drinkers up a tree. Sarsparilla, by contrast, is derived from the roots of the Sarsparilla tree.

==Page 295==

'''summer of '89''' 
Butch Cassidy and his accomplices robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride on 24 June 1889 ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy#1889.E2.80.931894_.E2.80.94_early_robberies.2C_going_to_prison Wikipedia])

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 273-295

2015-02-24T05:28:44Z

Pthomas: /* Page 279 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 273==

'''the electric''' 
The Denver Tramway Company, beginning in 1886, operated electric railcars between central Denver and outlying communities. [http://www.denvergov.org/AboutDenver/history_narrative_3.asp Citation]

==Page 274==

'''Arapahoe''' 
Since Frank is at the moment in Denver, "on Arapahoe" would mean on Arapahoe Street. From the native tribe. Also a county in eastern CO and a scattering of places in US.

'''the Christian daring of Scarsdale's gesture''' 
To outside observers Vibe appears to be turning the other cheek.

'''drygulched''' 
In this context, ambushed and killed [http://www.reference.com/browse/all/drygulch drygulch].

'''after Repeal in '93''' 
Refers to the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which required the U.S. government to purchase an additional 4.5 million ounces of silver bullion every month with notes that could be redeemed for either silver or gold. Repealed by Congress after the Panic of 1893 to prevent depletion of the country's gold reserves. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Silver_Purchase_Act Wikipedia entry].

'''Lake County''' 
Colorado county of which Leadville is the county seat.

'''Haw Tabor''' 
Horace Tabor, a prospector, businessman, politician, and one of the wealthiest men in Colorado in the 19th Century. Tabor moved to Denver in 1859, later settling in Leadville in 1877. With the wealth he accumulated from his silver mine, Tabor established newspapers, a bank, and an opera house in Leadville (which still stands), and the Tabor Grand Opera House and the Tabor Block in Denver. In 1878, Tabor was elected Lieutenant Governor of Colorado and served in that post until January 1884. He served as U.S. Senator from Colorado for two months in 1883. Tabor ran unsuccessfully for Colorado governor in 1884, 1886, and 1888. In 1893, the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act devastated Tabor's fortune and his far-flung holdings were sold off. He died from appendicitis in 1899, and his legend still persists in Colorado.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Tabor Wikipedia entry].

'''Matchless''' 
The Matchless Mine in Leadville, formerly owned by Horace Tabor. Oscar Wilde visited the Matchless in 1882. The "widow" is Elizabeth Bonduel McCourt Doe, a/k/a "Baby Doe" Tabor, Horace Tabor's second wife (and his mistress before he married her in 1883). Baby Doe and her stubborn retention of the Matchless Mine is another Colorado legend. When Horace Tabor fell ill with appendicitis in 1899, his final request of Baby Doe was that she "hold onto the Matchless." This she did, with tragic results. After living in a shack beside the mine for 36 years, she froze to death one night in March 1935 after she ran out of firewood. Her body was found frozen with her arms crossed peacefully across her chest. After her death, 17 iron trunks that had been placed in storage in Denver were opened, as well as several gunny sacks and four trunks that had been left at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Leadville. All that was left from the Tabor fortune were several bolts of unique, untouched and exquisite cloth, several pieces of china, a tea service and some jewelry, including a diamond and sapphire ring. Baby Doe's story has inspired numerous works, including a movie and an opera by Douglas Moore, ''The Ballad of Baby Doe.'' More on Baby Doe Tabor, including pictures of the Matchless and the shack she lived and died in, can be found at these links: [http://www.babydoetabor.com/ Baby Doe Tabor.com]; [http://www.babydoe.org/index.php BabyDoe.org]

'''Zinc Rush''' 
Leadville had "rushes" on gold, silver, molybdenum, zinc...

'''the best-priced ore to be dug''' 
A mining engineer calculates the value of ore as the market price of its valuable constituents minus the cost of mining, concentrating and refining. Zinc metal brings less than gold or silver, but its ore may be attractive if it is rich in zinc and processing costs are low.

'''some bright engineer''' 
???

==Page 275==

'''concentrating mills''' 
First step in treating ore is concentration or beneficiation: breaking it into small pieces and separating the fragments that contain zinc from those that don't.

'''Molly-be-damned''' 
Molybdenum, which is still mined outside of Leadville.

'''Wren Provenance''' 
Let's not forget that one manifestation of [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] was Victoria Wren. One could see this as the "provenance of wren?" There appear to be many allusions to [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] in ''ATD''.

'''heaps''' 
slag heaps. For their picture see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slag_heap Wikipedia].

'''Sons of Heaven section''' 
This is a term for the emperors of China.
Cf. references to the Chinese as 'the celestials', e.g. in the HBO series [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadwood_(TV_series) ''Deadwood''].

'''Bear Paw''' 
An almond-flavored yeast-raised pastry shaped shaped like an irregular semicircle resembling a bear's claw. Octopus Ink seems to be a joking reference to the coffee. [I think the speaker here (Wren) is making a joking reference to the strange food that the Chinese saloon serves, not to pastry and coffee.]

Where fresh octopus is available, the ink is a not uncommon ingredient in Chinese and Japanese cuisine. It [and squid ink] is also used in a number of Mediterranean dishes. "Bear Paw in Octopus Ink" is Chinese/Coloradoan fusion. Real bear paw, not pastry. And it's Frank, not Wren, who is speaking.

==Page 276==

'''Jennie Rogers's House of Mirrors''' 
Jennie Rogers (1843-1909) was a notorious Denver madam who built the "House of Mirrors" at 1946 Market Street in Denver in 1889 and ran it until her death in 1909. The House of Mirrors embodies the Romanesque architecture of the era, and was specifically designed as a bordello. It was later taken over by the even more notorious Mattie Silks (1846-1929), who operated it until 1915, when it fell victim to so-called "reformers." The House of Mirrors still stands, and today operates as a bar and restauant. (This contributor has been drinking there many times.) More on its history, including pictures, and on the history of Denver's Market Street red-light district, can be found at [http://www.mattieshouseofmirrors.com/index.html this website].

'''"and there she was, not much on, what there was all black, tightly laced, stockings askew, standing in an open polyhedral of mirrors, examining herself from all the angles available. Transformed."''' 
Cf. Mélanie l' Heuremaudit in ''V.'', pp 397-8.

'''dress cavalry helmet''' 
A collection of pictures of various dress cavalry helmets can be found here: [http://news.webshots.com/album/165792861CIEtya cavalry helmet pictures].

==Page 277==

'''Aztlán''' 
Legendary or historical homeland of the Aztecs. Northwestern Mexico up to Utah in some reckonings.

'''He had a passing acquaintance with the Mancos and McElmo country...''' 
This is a clear reference to Mesa Verde [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Verde], on the Mancos River between Mancos and Cortez, CO, southwest of Telluride. Pynchon has taken considerable liberties with the history of the area, as recounted by Wren Provenance, although perhaps not with what was known for certain at the time, to perhaps heighten the area's mystery. The Mesa Verde inhabitants had been building pueblos on the mesa from the 7th and 8th centuries, building cliff dwellings from the 9th to the 13th centuries, ranging far to the north and west for game and firewood. The surface ruins were known from the 1870s; the famous Cliff Palace (shown in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Verde]) was discovered by local ranchers in 1888, and archaeological activities were underway by 1891. By the time the area was made a national park in 1906 it was clear that the cliff dwellings had been relatively rapidly ''abandoned'' in the 13th century. It has never been clear exactly why; theories include drought leading to loss of water and loss of essential firewood (the area is quite cold in winter) to overlogging or fire. Pynchon is accurate in noting evidence of intense fighting among the last cliff dwellers, even cannibalism, in the ruins.

'''images of creatures''' 
The ancient Puebloans of both the Mesa Verde and Chaco centers left numerous images, called petroglyphs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroglyph], many of which are as eerie as Pynchon suggests here (the Wikipedia article shows Newspaper Rock in Canyonlands National Park in Utah). They include figures of humans and other creatures, and of comets and the 1054 supernova now known as the Crab Nebula (there are more than 14 pages of pictures of ''Pueblo Petroglyphs'' on Google Images: [http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Pueblo+Petroglyphs&btnG=Search+Images]) ... and the cover of the UK paperback edition of AtD bears some resemblance the petroglyph on Newspaper Rock.

==Page 278==

'''the report''' 
??? (Answer:) Wren was on an anthropological expedition. This is the report on the findings of that expedition.

'''If they were the same ones who made the exodus...and became the Aztecs''' 
The earliest interpretations of the Pueblo ruins, from those found first, was that these were Aztec ruins, as at Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, NM ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_Ruin_National_Monument]). The Puebloans were in contact with mesoamerican civilizations, as indicated by findings of trade goods like parrot feathers, but these were probably traded through intermediaries. In fact, the Mesa Verde inhabitants were the ancestors of the modern Rio Grande Pueblos, e.g. Taos Pueblo ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taos_Pueblo]).

'''Albany... bar mirror''' 
???

'''Booth Virbling''' This seems to be one of Pynchon's made-up names.
As a crime reporter at the time, he was probably given to a heavy use of verbs...warbling verbs, one might say? Booth-- staid place where 'crime reporters' work? Last name pronounced German sounds like "fear bling"?

==Page 279==

'''Bulkley Wells''' 
Easier to find under correct spelling Bulkeley. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GDX/is_5_75/ai_65277661/pg_13 Here] is an account of some of his activities as mine manager and militia commander.

'''Ice Saw murder''' 
I saw murder?..eyewitness.??? Yes, a pun. Also, here is a picture of an [http://www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/harvesting/archives/images/index.html?RollID=roll4&FrameID=Icesaw_450 ice saw], used to saw through ice for the purpose of ice fishing. And there is more fun and games if the saw is made of ice, recalling the scenario where there is a dead body, some blood and a pool of water. How did the body die? It was hacked to death with the saw made of ice which is now melted.

The pictured saw--and the presumed murder weapon--is used to cut blocks of ice during winter to be stored in sawdust-insulated cellars for use in summer. Holes for ice-fishing on lakes are generally made by drilling and chipping. Never heard of much ice-fishing in Colorado.

'''sparking''' 
v. tr. "to court or woo". intr. "to play the suitor"

'''hurdy girls''' 
In an article titled [[http://www.phantomranch.net/folkdanc/articles/boysnite.htm Boys' Nite Out in Leadville]], the following:
<blockquote>
in the 1870s, the Colorado Miner described the hurdy-gurdy houses of Leadville as "breathing holes of hell, where customers imbibe torchlight whiskey and indulge in the quadrille and the whirling sinuosities of the waltz."
</blockquote>
and
<blockquote>"The very first women in the mining camps of California were German girls who were called hurdy-gurdy girls after the musical instruments of the same name, and the name also became attached to the dance hall. While a long way from virginal status, the first girls were so prized that they did not have to participate in prostitution"
</blockquote>

[[http://southwest.library.arizona.edu/cala/body.1_div.6.html Elsewhere]] mention is made of "hurdy-houses" which appear to be the same thing

==Page 280==

'''South Pacific islands''' 
Cf Margaret Mead (1901-78), a cultural anthropologist who visited and published extensively on Samoa. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Mead#Coming_of_Age_in_Samoa_and_the_Mead-Freeman_controversy Wikipedia entry]

==Page 281==
[[Image:telluridetoday.gif|thumb|200px|right|Telluride as it appears today ([http://www.hillhaus.com/blog/index.php?blog=7&cat=30 source])]]
'''first city''' 
The first extensive use of the alternating current was in arc lighting, the kind used in street lighting. There is some dispute in histories as to which city was first, but Telluride was among, if not the, first.

'''This Telluride chapter seems to express overtly part of Pynchon's key themes: when electricity hit the streets, it was Hell. Passim 280-281,
"the end of the world remained a possibility" to explain the unholy radiance [of the arc lighting].
Only a 'lunatic' argued it was not too late to turn back.
And Telluride is where the "owners" who had Webb killed, live.

'''"Beside the tracks at one bend stood a local lunatic"''' 
Like starting an amusement park ride.

'''"To-Hell-you-ride'''" 
To-Tell-u-ride

==Page 282==

'''level of hatred''' 
Cf capacitance?

'''drifts and stopes''' 
A drift is a horizontal or nearly horizontal underground opening. A stope is a usually steplike excavation underground for the removal of ore that is formed as the ore is mined in successive layers.

'''vagging bee''' 
"vag" is slang/shorthand for "vagrant"; the word "bee" as used here comes from the English dialect ''been'' or ''bean''. These were variations on ''boon'', once widely used in the sense of “voluntary help, given to a farmer by his neighbors, in time of harvest, haymaking, etc." In the early 1870s, the idea of bee began to be extended to situations that had some kind of communal basis, but weren’t farm work, some pretty sinister such as ''hanging bee'', ''lynching bee'' (this occurs in Mark Twain's ''Huckleberry Finn'') and ''whipping bee''. It is in this sense of a social gathering to perform some task that bee is used in ''Against the Day''. [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-spe2.htm From World Wide Words]

'''Bob Meldrum''' 
"Bad Man" Bob Meldrum served as agent to Pinkerton’s Detective Agency and a watchdog for the big cattle outfits around Little Snake River, gaining a reputation as a mean man with a quick trigger finger. He was rumored to be responsible for over fourteen wanton killings. Pynchon's characterisation of Meldrum (with his huge mustache and quick temper) is very similar to the Loony Tunes character Yosemite Sam.[http://www.museumnwco.org/lookBackArticle.php?lookBackID=35]

==Page 283==

'''''"joven"''''' 
Young fellow (Spanish).

'''Ellmore Disco''' 
Elmore = (H)ell More, i.e. More Hell?
:Possibly also an allusion to Elwood Blues, Dan Akroyd's character in '''The Blues Brothers'''.
:Or—with less distortion of the name—to Pynchon's near-contemporary Elmore Leonard, who writes many scenes of inventive and unconstrained violence.
::The explanation is simpler: Ellmore Disco sounds exactly as El Mordisco, The Bite in Spanish (remember, Ellmore is said to be Mexican, maybe "El Mordisco" was a nickname or alias he had there and when in the States he adapted to sound like an English Name). Why Ellmore Disco is El Mordisco I don't know. Perhaps being him the guy to see to in Telluride it means that he gets "a bite" (money) of the people who need favors from him.

'''headgear, tending to fancy black beavers''' 
Another instance of "beaver on the brain"?

'''when it was still Leadville''' 
where 'lead' is exchanged in gunfights, as here? Leadville, CO.

'''Seven-Toed Pete''' 
Seven Card Stud

==Page 284==

'''battered 'from the day''''

'''thunderstorm-proof mayonnaise''' 
Mayo is an ATD leitmotif. There is a folk belief, enshrined in no less an authority than the ''Joy Of Cooking'', that mayonnaise will separate if it is made when a thunderstorm is imminent.

'''jaconet... tartalan... crepe lissé''' 
jaconet 1.a soft, white, lightweight cotton textile 2. cotton cloth glazed on one side and dyed. 
Tarlatan (another printing error, apparently) is a kind of thin open muslin (the general name for the most delicately woven cotton fabrics) used especially for ball-dresses. 
Crepe lissé is a thin, transparent, smooth or glossy gauze-like fabric, plain woven, without any twill, of highly twisted raw silk or other staple.

'''Liberty's of London''' 
A famous department store in Regent Street, London, notable for its prints and fabrics. Opened in 1875 in a mock-Tudor building.

'''Grand Rapids style''' 
A simple, non-ornamental design style of furniture, with heavy emphasis
on office furniture. Mostly oak, it seems. From the 1860's, the office furniture was "mass-produced", whatever that means for the times. A kind of furniture allowing no "moral turpitude", as one online remark has it. (see Time.com use in 1978 below!)
Grand Rapids was a furniture center and major location for regular furniture exhibitions for decades before and after the time of ATD. Source: Grand Rapids Public Library catalog, passim.
:"The rooms are furnished in Grand Rapids style. The beds have pallets, but no springs, no Western-style mattresses, no top sheets; maid service consists of dumping a clean sheet and a blanket on the bed, to be made up by the guest."
:---Time.com...1978...on certain hotel rooms in China.

"Grand Rapids" doesn't imply a lack of ornamentation, not at all. The industry makes chairs and other items to the current taste. Once it was heavy oak bookcases with cornice moldings; today it's hi-tech office chairs. What marks Grand Rapids is design that lends itself to mass production.

:Oh, and those Chinese hotels? They bought perfectly good Grand Rapids bedsteads and dropped plywood in to save the price of springs. The pallets don't define the style!

'''Four Corners Boys''' 
Deuce and Sloat? Perhaps nicknamed so after what they did to Lake on page 269: "They took her down to the Four Corners..."

:the only historical reference I could find about a shooting in Cortez involving "Four Corners Boys" is rather recent: on May 29, 1998, City of Cortez Patrolman Dale Claxton was gunned down by three young men. Here's an exerpt from a news story dating back to october 2005: "The three suspects who made up '''the Four Corners Group''' appeared to be nothing more than weekend warriors and good old boys who talked more they acted. However that all changed when best friends Alan Pilon, Jason Wayne McVean and Robert Mathew Mason decided to take it to the big leagues. After the execution of Officer Claxton, the three men fled in the water truck heading toward Utah and its endless wilderness not known for its warmth and hospitable surroundings." Here's the complete article [http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/24Seven/articles/119760/]

==Page 285==

'''million apiece''' 
From 1900, a million dollars would have the value of @20 to 23 million in 2005, depending on ways of measuring purchasing value. It would have over $100 million dollars in value, measured against the worker's average wage at the time. See [http://www.measuringworth.com/ Measuring Worth site].
Note: The prediction is accurate. Think of such well-heeled communities as Aspen, Colorado that are to spring up.
'''music-hall Chinese''' 
What the hell is up with Pynchon's perennial mentions of China and Chinese?

There were a lot of Chinese in the west, starting with the gold rush in California, then building the transcontinental railway. Many remained, and Chinese laborers were pretty common out there.

'''C major... A miner''' 
A pun on the musical key of A minor. One octave of the C major scale consists of the notes c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c (all white keys on a piano). One octave of the A minor scale (technically, A natural minor) consists of the same note names as the C major scale, but starting on the "a" note, not on the "c" note: a-b-c-d-e-f-g-a. Because of this, A minor is called the relative minor of C major.

It is possible that the identical physical shape of the C major or A minor chord on the keyboard is depicted in Disco's smiling mouth, raising the possibility that he is missing 3 teeth corresponding to that schema. 'Ruinous' suggests some sort of dental deficiency. That, or he is missing all the teeth but those 3 which constitute the chord, though this would perhaps benefit from a more explicit description.

'''...it's out with that wackyzacky...''' 
The 'wakizashi' is a Japanese sword - 12 to 24 inches - often worn by a Samurai together with a Katana - another sword - and the two together are then called a Daish or somesuch. Although it would appear that this sword would have sometimes been used during Hara Kiri it is not the normal Hara Kiri weapon. That is usually a short - 6 to 12 inches long - double edged knife/sword called a Tant.' 

'''hari-kari''' 
Japanes: ''belly cutting''. Properly ''harakiri,'' but the distorted rhyming form has been in colloquial English for a long time.
What became a ritualised form of suicide in Japan chiefly amongst the nobility. It was sometimes offered to a nobleman as an honorable alternative to execution. A short knife or sword is plunged into the abdomen, drawn through and across the bowel laterally, with a small upwards twist at the end. Now extremely rare in Japan. More commonly referred to by the Chinese name for belly cutting - ''Seppuku'' - because eventually the Ritual was seen as being somewhat distastaeful, even dishonourable

'''Cal Rutan''' 
[[image:cal-rutan.jpg|thumb|Cal Rutan, on the left|right]]J. Calvin ("Cal") Rutan was the Telluride County sheriff during the labor struggles of 1902-1904.

==Page 286==

'''menudo''' 
Mexican tripe soup, so peppery it should come with a warning placard.

'''Loomis''' 
Loomis Disco. Possible reference to Adore Loomis, child victim of Homer Simpson in [[Nathanael West's]] novel ''[[The Day of the Locust]]'' (1939).

'''lowland alkali''' 
Any of various soluble mineral salts found in natural water and arid soils. And 'lowlands' are good places in Pynchon's vision.

'''hardpan''' 
A bedrock, foundation. Hard, unbroken ground. A layer of hard subsoil or clay, also called caliche.

==Page 287==

'''chicharrones''' 
Fried pork skins.

'''''Ristras''''' '''of .... dark purple chilies''' 
Strings of .... dried red peppers.

'''tortas''' 
Mexican sandwiches.

'''tamales''' 
Cornmeal paste wrapped in corn or banana husks and stuffed with chicken, pork or turkey and/or vegetables, then steamed.

'''sixty-degree wedges''' 
One-sixth of a pie.

'''''Por poco te faltó La Blanca''''' 
Spanish: You just missed La Blanca.
:In fact, it's a literal translation to Spanish of the English sentence. It should have been "Por poco te encontrás con La Blanca" or "Acabas de perderte a La Blanca" to be accurate and have some meaning (unless Lupe is saying "You almost get short of cocaine", since "la blanca", "the white one", is one of the slang names for cocaine).

==Page 288==

'''Montrose''' 
A city on Colorado's Western Slope. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose%2C_Colorado Wikipedia entry].

'''popcorn snows''' 
Apparently an informal meteorological term for giant snowflakes.[http://www.google.com/search?num=100&q=popcorn.snow&as_brr=0&sa=N&tab=pw Google]

The popcorn snows were first mentioned in L. Frank Baum's ''The Scarecrow of Oz'' (1915): 'In the Land of Mo the snow's made of popcorn, not frozen water crystals as it is in other places.' [http://www.halcyon.com/piglet/oziana/oz0726.htm Popcorn Snows].
Of course, Mr. Baum also wrote the classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900).

A popcorn blizzard also figures into one of the tales of Paul Bunyan, the legendary destroyer of American landscapes. It likely appeared in newspapers after 1920. This contributor taught fourth-grade reading last year and first came across it in a textbook retelling. More can be found at [http://www.jcs-group.com/mystery/bunyan.html].

Popcorn snow is also a term used to describe springtime snow conditions for skiing. Not far off base considering Telluride is now predominantly a ritzy ski town.

'''vanning''' 
in context, 'a winnowing device". Archaic, from American Heritage Dictionary.

'''Loopy''' 
Anglo pronunciation of Lupe, a diminutive of the given name Guadalupe. Lupita is another.

'''masa''' 
Spanish: mass; also short for ''masa harina'': corn (maize) flour.

'''''comal''''' 
A Mexican style skillet, usually made of cast iron in round or oval shape.

==Page 289==

'''''Pobrecito''''' 
Poor little boy.

'''half a cubic foot''' 
12" by 12" by 6".

==Page 290==

'''miner's gad''' 
According to the OED, "1. a steel wedge, 2. a small iron punch with a wooden handle used to break up ore."

'''McBryan's''' 
???

'''trick animal''' 
???

==Page 291==

'''''seguro''''' 
Spanish: "sure"

'''parlor houses''' 
Brothels

'''Cosmopolitan Saloon and Gambling Club''' 
Cf [[ATD_243-272#Page_260|p.260]]. In Telluride, CO.

'''bullion day''' 
From ''Tomboy Bride: A Woman's Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West'' (1969) by Harriet Fish Backus:

:George was promoted to his position taking charge of recovering gold amalgam and delivery it to the mine office. Two or three times a month it was prepared for shipment on what was called Bullion Day.

:This was a day of importance on which the gold, free of quicksilver, was melted and poured into three bar-molds each approximately nine inches long, five wide and four deep, containing five hundred ounces and at that time worth ten thousand dollars. The crucible, filled with molten gold, was lifted from the furnace by a chain block and swung to a point directly above the molds in a proper position topour. Using long tongs the superintendent tipped the crucible just enough to let the white hot liquid flow into the molds. (p.71) [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZXe3snWpqgwC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=%22bullion+day%22+%2B+mining&source=web&ots=pWq7uBF5_8&sig=HmPILPJFR9ZPeSI688XCjG6Zm9U&hl=en]

'''Mr. Edison's scheme ... static electricity''' 
In the summer of 1900, Thomas Edison erected a plant at the Ortiz Mine in Dolores, New Mexico, to extract gold ore using static electricity. However, dry gravels could not be obtained and, due to the poor quality of the ore, the tests were deemed a failure.

'''Wetherill's magnet''' 
An apparatus for separating magnetic minerals from nonmagnetic minerals, a Wetherill magnetic separator consists of two horseshoe magnets placed side by side and parallel to each other. Three belts are employed with each pair of magnets. The first belt brings the ore in horizontally under one pole piece of the upper magnet. The second belt operates under the surface of the upper pole piece, rounds the tips, and moves up the bevel of its wedge, bringing with it magnetic particles which, as they get above the magnetic field, fall off. The third belt accomplishes the same for the other pole piece of the upper magnet. [http://books.google.com/books?id=fhEAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA633&lpg=PA633&dq=wetherill+magnet&source=web&ots=5ivwNQSM6V&sig=ItAb4vM8uTKzjkC_yYkMt76Equ8&hl=en]

==Page 292==

'''pocket Kodak''' 
Possibly the "No. 3 Folding Pocket KODAK Camera" produced by Eastman Kodak from 1900 to 1915.

'''Hieronymus Wheel''' 
Seems to describe a roulette wheel. Google and the OED turn up nothing on "Hieronymus Wheel," but Pynchon's bizarre choice of language obviously suggests the Dutch painter, Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch Wikipedia entry]. Perhaps Pynchon alludes to a certain wheel in a Bosch painting? Bosch's "Circle of Hell" depicts a wheel coming out of (or going into) the mouth of a fishlike creature, but that doesn't really make sense of the term, either. See [[Talk:ATD_273-295|discussion page 273-295]]

It refers to the Bosch painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things' (1485). It involves a wheel of the 7 big ones. Quite fitting in the dissipated environment of Hell-u-ride. Also, its divided in much the same way as a roulette wheel.

'''Dieter''' 
Oldfashioned German first name. Pronunciation: [diːtər]. Short for Dietrich. Popular male name in Germany after WWII.
:Since "Dieter" is "the barkeep" the English word ''dieter'' for someone who prescibes a diet comes to mind.
::Seems like a stretch. [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 13:28, 5 February 2007 (PST)
Possibly a reference to H. Dieter Zeh [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Dieter_Zeh]and his "Many Minds" interpretation of the multiverse issue [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-minds_interpretation].[[User:Bklyn48|Bklyn48]] 19:37, 1 January 2007 (PST)
:How so? [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 13:28, 5 February 2007 (PST)

The multiple interpretations of what is going on in the bar, which will become more apparent in the following pages, suggest the exemplification of this solution to the "multiple universes" problem.

'''Nippon''' 
Japan in Japanese.

'''bellows''' 
For explanation, see [http://licm.org.uk/livingImage/BellowsCamera.html Bellows Camera].

==Page 293==

'''Japanese''' 
Sumimasen = "Pardon me" or "Excuse me" 
Bobusan desu = This is Bob 
Gonnusuringaa = "gunslinger" 
("Gansuringaa" is a more appropriate Japanese transliteration of "gunslinger", but no Japanese will recognize the word anyway.) 
mottomo abunai desu = he is extremely dangerous 
(This is a bizarre Japanese expression.) 
Anna koto! = That sort of thing! 
(This does not seem to make sense contextually.)

Bit of a stretch, but the film ''Lost in Translation'' (2003, Sofia Coppola, director) features a character named Bob who visits Japan, where he is repeatedly called Bobusan.

'''fulgurescence''' 
n : an emission in flashes or sparks, like lightning. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstruse_topics_in_Pynchon's_Against_the_Day#Abstruse_words]

'''profanity... much of it in Japanese''' 
The Japanese language has little profanity in the Western sense: words considered vulgar and which cannot be spoken in polite company. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_profanity#Japanese Wikipedia entry on Profanity in Japanese]

'''"The loss of clarity . . . . in the dark"''' 
See the note for Hieronymous wheel in [[Talk:ATD_273-295|discussion]]. If the "Hieronymous wheel" refers to a Bosch painting, perhaps this scene continues some kind fo parallel to Hell or something else. The painting includes several unknown creatures, including a barrel with legs, while “thrashed about” suggests the central fish monster image of the painting.
:Cf. also:
:*p. 136, "and for that brief instant it would be possible to move from one version to the other.", i.e. from "Venice of the Arctic" to the secular Venice.
:*p. 221, "Lateral world-sets, other parts of the Creation, lie all around us, each with its crossover points or gates of transfer from one to another, and they can be anywhere, really . . . . An unscheduled Explosion, introduced into the accustomed flow of the day, may easily open, now and then, passages to elsewhere,"
:*p. 230, "'Let us imagine a lateral world, set only infintesimally to the side of the one we think we know.'"

::Cf., also the transdimensional travel of Buckaroo Bonzai in the Pynchon inspired film, ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension'' (1984), especially the images of 8th-Dimensional creatures that Bonzai sees as he passes through the mountain. [http://imdb.com/title/tt0086856/ IMDB entry].
::Cf., further, the notion of a "multiverse," that is, a physical ur-structure, comprised of many, if not infinite universes, of which ours is only one. Several contemporary cosmological theories require that a multiverse exist, though its existence remains highly conjectural. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse Wikipedia entry].

'''It became possible to believe that one had been spirited, in the swift cascade of light-flashes, to some distant geography where creatures as yet unknown thrashed about, howling affrightedly, in the dark.''' 
A possible reference to the phantastic dreamscapes of the Japanese animation-filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Among his works, plausibly coded into this lengthy sentence, are ''Spirited Away'' (''Sen to Chihiro no kamikakukushi / The Spiriting-Away of Sen and Chihiro'', 2001) and ''Howl's Moving Castle'' (''Howl no ugoku shiro'', 2004).

'''"the American West--it is a spiritual territory! in which we seek to study the secrets of your--national soul''' 
It is possible that Pynchon needs a link from the Colorado Mine Wars to the Russo-Japanese War, but why place a ''Japanese Trade Delegation'' seeking to learn the spiritual secrets of the American West (which Merle Rideout correctly points out, lacks any) in the middle of a gunfight or brawl in Telluride? This could be a sly allusion, in a book about alternate histories and timelines, to arguably one of the best "alternate history" books ever written, Philip K. Dick's "The Man in the High Castle". In a 1962 in which the Axis won World war II, Nobusuke Tagomi is head of the ''Ranking Trade Mission'' to the (Japanese-occupied) Pacific States of America. He, like many Japanese, are fascinated with the artifacts of "pre-War US Culture", most especially with artifacts of the Old West and with its martial arts, which possess the spiritual power of "Historicity" (much as American occupation troops in Japan collected swords and studied Zen Buddhism). Tagomi, in short, collects old six-shooters, and practices quick-drawing and firing, a fact which is central to the book's action. Colorado figures heavily in the book's action as well; in the relatively free Rocky Mountain States (a buffer state between the PSA and the German-occupied USA) a solitary author has written a novel in which the US and Britain won World War II...[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_In_the_High_Castle]. And don't forget that this 'K' in Philip K. Dick's name stands for ''Kindred''...

'''packing out pyrites''' 
Mining fool's gold. Or wasting your resources by loading it into cars or skips instead of throwing it on the tail heap.

'''katana''' 
Japanese samurai sword.
'''

==Page 294==

'''Baron Akashi''' 
A Japanese general whose career included spying, but, anachronistically, his career did not begin until 1889. He was a spy in Europe during Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). So would he've been famous even to the lengths of backwoods CO? How much spyin' can a poor boy do if he's famous?
:The burden of fame doesn't seem to have kept James Bond or Austin Powers from succeeding in their espionage activities.
:Baron Akashi himself was famous, but his sidekick was not. The former didn't show up at Telluride but the latter did as 'some li'l laundry runner'.

'''planning a hoist''' 
''Heist'' is now universal, but originally it was a dialect form of ''hoist.''

'''Squirrel and sarsaparilla''' 
Squirrel Whiskey and Sarsaparilla Soda. Squirrel whiskey was so called because it was supposedly so strong it would drive its drinkers up a tree. Sarsparilla, by contrast, is derived from the roots of the Sarsparilla tree.

==Page 295==

'''summer of '89''' 
Butch Cassidy and his accomplices robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride on 24 June 1889 ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy#1889.E2.80.931894_.E2.80.94_early_robberies.2C_going_to_prison Wikipedia])

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 273-295

2015-02-24T05:16:45Z

Pthomas: /* Page 275 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 273==

'''the electric''' 
The Denver Tramway Company, beginning in 1886, operated electric railcars between central Denver and outlying communities. [http://www.denvergov.org/AboutDenver/history_narrative_3.asp Citation]

==Page 274==

'''Arapahoe''' 
Since Frank is at the moment in Denver, "on Arapahoe" would mean on Arapahoe Street. From the native tribe. Also a county in eastern CO and a scattering of places in US.

'''the Christian daring of Scarsdale's gesture''' 
To outside observers Vibe appears to be turning the other cheek.

'''drygulched''' 
In this context, ambushed and killed [http://www.reference.com/browse/all/drygulch drygulch].

'''after Repeal in '93''' 
Refers to the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which required the U.S. government to purchase an additional 4.5 million ounces of silver bullion every month with notes that could be redeemed for either silver or gold. Repealed by Congress after the Panic of 1893 to prevent depletion of the country's gold reserves. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Silver_Purchase_Act Wikipedia entry].

'''Lake County''' 
Colorado county of which Leadville is the county seat.

'''Haw Tabor''' 
Horace Tabor, a prospector, businessman, politician, and one of the wealthiest men in Colorado in the 19th Century. Tabor moved to Denver in 1859, later settling in Leadville in 1877. With the wealth he accumulated from his silver mine, Tabor established newspapers, a bank, and an opera house in Leadville (which still stands), and the Tabor Grand Opera House and the Tabor Block in Denver. In 1878, Tabor was elected Lieutenant Governor of Colorado and served in that post until January 1884. He served as U.S. Senator from Colorado for two months in 1883. Tabor ran unsuccessfully for Colorado governor in 1884, 1886, and 1888. In 1893, the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act devastated Tabor's fortune and his far-flung holdings were sold off. He died from appendicitis in 1899, and his legend still persists in Colorado.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Tabor Wikipedia entry].

'''Matchless''' 
The Matchless Mine in Leadville, formerly owned by Horace Tabor. Oscar Wilde visited the Matchless in 1882. The "widow" is Elizabeth Bonduel McCourt Doe, a/k/a "Baby Doe" Tabor, Horace Tabor's second wife (and his mistress before he married her in 1883). Baby Doe and her stubborn retention of the Matchless Mine is another Colorado legend. When Horace Tabor fell ill with appendicitis in 1899, his final request of Baby Doe was that she "hold onto the Matchless." This she did, with tragic results. After living in a shack beside the mine for 36 years, she froze to death one night in March 1935 after she ran out of firewood. Her body was found frozen with her arms crossed peacefully across her chest. After her death, 17 iron trunks that had been placed in storage in Denver were opened, as well as several gunny sacks and four trunks that had been left at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Leadville. All that was left from the Tabor fortune were several bolts of unique, untouched and exquisite cloth, several pieces of china, a tea service and some jewelry, including a diamond and sapphire ring. Baby Doe's story has inspired numerous works, including a movie and an opera by Douglas Moore, ''The Ballad of Baby Doe.'' More on Baby Doe Tabor, including pictures of the Matchless and the shack she lived and died in, can be found at these links: [http://www.babydoetabor.com/ Baby Doe Tabor.com]; [http://www.babydoe.org/index.php BabyDoe.org]

'''Zinc Rush''' 
Leadville had "rushes" on gold, silver, molybdenum, zinc...

'''the best-priced ore to be dug''' 
A mining engineer calculates the value of ore as the market price of its valuable constituents minus the cost of mining, concentrating and refining. Zinc metal brings less than gold or silver, but its ore may be attractive if it is rich in zinc and processing costs are low.

'''some bright engineer''' 
???

==Page 275==

'''concentrating mills''' 
First step in treating ore is concentration or beneficiation: breaking it into small pieces and separating the fragments that contain zinc from those that don't.

'''Molly-be-damned''' 
Molybdenum, which is still mined outside of Leadville.

'''Wren Provenance''' 
Let's not forget that one manifestation of [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] was Victoria Wren. One could see this as the "provenance of wren?" There appear to be many allusions to [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] in ''ATD''.

'''heaps''' 
slag heaps. For their picture see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slag_heap Wikipedia].

'''Sons of Heaven section''' 
This is a term for the emperors of China.
Cf. references to the Chinese as 'the celestials', e.g. in the HBO series [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadwood_(TV_series) ''Deadwood''].

'''Bear Paw''' 
An almond-flavored yeast-raised pastry shaped shaped like an irregular semicircle resembling a bear's claw. Octopus Ink seems to be a joking reference to the coffee. [I think the speaker here (Wren) is making a joking reference to the strange food that the Chinese saloon serves, not to pastry and coffee.]

Where fresh octopus is available, the ink is a not uncommon ingredient in Chinese and Japanese cuisine. It [and squid ink] is also used in a number of Mediterranean dishes. "Bear Paw in Octopus Ink" is Chinese/Coloradoan fusion. Real bear paw, not pastry. And it's Frank, not Wren, who is speaking.

==Page 276==

'''Jennie Rogers's House of Mirrors''' 
Jennie Rogers (1843-1909) was a notorious Denver madam who built the "House of Mirrors" at 1946 Market Street in Denver in 1889 and ran it until her death in 1909. The House of Mirrors embodies the Romanesque architecture of the era, and was specifically designed as a bordello. It was later taken over by the even more notorious Mattie Silks (1846-1929), who operated it until 1915, when it fell victim to so-called "reformers." The House of Mirrors still stands, and today operates as a bar and restauant. (This contributor has been drinking there many times.) More on its history, including pictures, and on the history of Denver's Market Street red-light district, can be found at [http://www.mattieshouseofmirrors.com/index.html this website].

'''"and there she was, not much on, what there was all black, tightly laced, stockings askew, standing in an open polyhedral of mirrors, examining herself from all the angles available. Transformed."''' 
Cf. Mélanie l' Heuremaudit in ''V.'', pp 397-8.

'''dress cavalry helmet''' 
A collection of pictures of various dress cavalry helmets can be found here: [http://news.webshots.com/album/165792861CIEtya cavalry helmet pictures].

==Page 277==

'''Aztlán''' 
Legendary or historical homeland of the Aztecs. Northwestern Mexico up to Utah in some reckonings.

'''He had a passing acquaintance with the Mancos and McElmo country...''' 
This is a clear reference to Mesa Verde [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Verde], on the Mancos River between Mancos and Cortez, CO, southwest of Telluride. Pynchon has taken considerable liberties with the history of the area, as recounted by Wren Provenance, although perhaps not with what was known for certain at the time, to perhaps heighten the area's mystery. The Mesa Verde inhabitants had been building pueblos on the mesa from the 7th and 8th centuries, building cliff dwellings from the 9th to the 13th centuries, ranging far to the north and west for game and firewood. The surface ruins were known from the 1870s; the famous Cliff Palace (shown in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Verde]) was discovered by local ranchers in 1888, and archaeological activities were underway by 1891. By the time the area was made a national park in 1906 it was clear that the cliff dwellings had been relatively rapidly ''abandoned'' in the 13th century. It has never been clear exactly why; theories include drought leading to loss of water and loss of essential firewood (the area is quite cold in winter) to overlogging or fire. Pynchon is accurate in noting evidence of intense fighting among the last cliff dwellers, even cannibalism, in the ruins.

'''images of creatures''' 
The ancient Puebloans of both the Mesa Verde and Chaco centers left numerous images, called petroglyphs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroglyph], many of which are as eerie as Pynchon suggests here (the Wikipedia article shows Newspaper Rock in Canyonlands National Park in Utah). They include figures of humans and other creatures, and of comets and the 1054 supernova now known as the Crab Nebula (there are more than 14 pages of pictures of ''Pueblo Petroglyphs'' on Google Images: [http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Pueblo+Petroglyphs&btnG=Search+Images]) ... and the cover of the UK paperback edition of AtD bears some resemblance the petroglyph on Newspaper Rock.

==Page 278==

'''the report''' 
??? (Answer:) Wren was on an anthropological expedition. This is the report on the findings of that expedition.

'''If they were the same ones who made the exodus...and became the Aztecs''' 
The earliest interpretations of the Pueblo ruins, from those found first, was that these were Aztec ruins, as at Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, NM ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_Ruin_National_Monument]). The Puebloans were in contact with mesoamerican civilizations, as indicated by findings of trade goods like parrot feathers, but these were probably traded through intermediaries. In fact, the Mesa Verde inhabitants were the ancestors of the modern Rio Grande Pueblos, e.g. Taos Pueblo ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taos_Pueblo]).

'''Albany... bar mirror''' 
???

'''Booth Virbling''' This seems to be one of Pynchon's made-up names.
As a crime reporter at the time, he was probably given to a heavy use of verbs...warbling verbs, one might say? Booth-- staid place where 'crime reporters' work? Last name pronounced German sounds like "fear bling"?

==Page 279==

'''Bulkley Wells''' 
Easier to find under correct spelling Bulkeley. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GDX/is_5_75/ai_65277661/pg_13 Here] is an account of some of his activities as mine manager and militia commander.

'''Ice Saw murder''' 
I saw murder?..eyewitness.??? Yes, a pun. Also, here is a picture of an [http://www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/harvesting/archives/images/index.html?RollID=roll4&FrameID=Icesaw_450 ice saw], used to saw through ice for the purpose of ice fishing. And there is more fun and games if the saw is made of ice, recalling the scenario where there is a dead body, some blood and a pool of water. How did the body die? It was hacked to death with the saw made of ice which is now melted.

'''sparking''' 
v. tr. "to court or woo". intr. "to play the suitor"

'''hurdy girls''' 
In an article titled [[http://www.phantomranch.net/folkdanc/articles/boysnite.htm Boys' Nite Out in Leadville]], the following:
<blockquote>
in the 1870s, the Colorado Miner described the hurdy-gurdy houses of Leadville as "breathing holes of hell, where customers imbibe torchlight whiskey and indulge in the quadrille and the whirling sinuosities of the waltz."
</blockquote>
and
<blockquote>"The very first women in the mining camps of California were German girls who were called hurdy-gurdy girls after the musical instruments of the same name, and the name also became attached to the dance hall. While a long way from virginal status, the first girls were so prized that they did not have to participate in prostitution"
</blockquote>

[[http://southwest.library.arizona.edu/cala/body.1_div.6.html Elsewhere]] mention is made of "hurdy-houses" which appear to be the same thing

==Page 280==

'''South Pacific islands''' 
Cf Margaret Mead (1901-78), a cultural anthropologist who visited and published extensively on Samoa. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Mead#Coming_of_Age_in_Samoa_and_the_Mead-Freeman_controversy Wikipedia entry]

==Page 281==
[[Image:telluridetoday.gif|thumb|200px|right|Telluride as it appears today ([http://www.hillhaus.com/blog/index.php?blog=7&cat=30 source])]]
'''first city''' 
The first extensive use of the alternating current was in arc lighting, the kind used in street lighting. There is some dispute in histories as to which city was first, but Telluride was among, if not the, first.

'''This Telluride chapter seems to express overtly part of Pynchon's key themes: when electricity hit the streets, it was Hell. Passim 280-281,
"the end of the world remained a possibility" to explain the unholy radiance [of the arc lighting].
Only a 'lunatic' argued it was not too late to turn back.
And Telluride is where the "owners" who had Webb killed, live.

'''"Beside the tracks at one bend stood a local lunatic"''' 
Like starting an amusement park ride.

'''"To-Hell-you-ride'''" 
To-Tell-u-ride

==Page 282==

'''level of hatred''' 
Cf capacitance?

'''drifts and stopes''' 
A drift is a horizontal or nearly horizontal underground opening. A stope is a usually steplike excavation underground for the removal of ore that is formed as the ore is mined in successive layers.

'''vagging bee''' 
"vag" is slang/shorthand for "vagrant"; the word "bee" as used here comes from the English dialect ''been'' or ''bean''. These were variations on ''boon'', once widely used in the sense of “voluntary help, given to a farmer by his neighbors, in time of harvest, haymaking, etc." In the early 1870s, the idea of bee began to be extended to situations that had some kind of communal basis, but weren’t farm work, some pretty sinister such as ''hanging bee'', ''lynching bee'' (this occurs in Mark Twain's ''Huckleberry Finn'') and ''whipping bee''. It is in this sense of a social gathering to perform some task that bee is used in ''Against the Day''. [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-spe2.htm From World Wide Words]

'''Bob Meldrum''' 
"Bad Man" Bob Meldrum served as agent to Pinkerton’s Detective Agency and a watchdog for the big cattle outfits around Little Snake River, gaining a reputation as a mean man with a quick trigger finger. He was rumored to be responsible for over fourteen wanton killings. Pynchon's characterisation of Meldrum (with his huge mustache and quick temper) is very similar to the Loony Tunes character Yosemite Sam.[http://www.museumnwco.org/lookBackArticle.php?lookBackID=35]

==Page 283==

'''''"joven"''''' 
Young fellow (Spanish).

'''Ellmore Disco''' 
Elmore = (H)ell More, i.e. More Hell?
:Possibly also an allusion to Elwood Blues, Dan Akroyd's character in '''The Blues Brothers'''.
:Or—with less distortion of the name—to Pynchon's near-contemporary Elmore Leonard, who writes many scenes of inventive and unconstrained violence.
::The explanation is simpler: Ellmore Disco sounds exactly as El Mordisco, The Bite in Spanish (remember, Ellmore is said to be Mexican, maybe "El Mordisco" was a nickname or alias he had there and when in the States he adapted to sound like an English Name). Why Ellmore Disco is El Mordisco I don't know. Perhaps being him the guy to see to in Telluride it means that he gets "a bite" (money) of the people who need favors from him.

'''headgear, tending to fancy black beavers''' 
Another instance of "beaver on the brain"?

'''when it was still Leadville''' 
where 'lead' is exchanged in gunfights, as here? Leadville, CO.

'''Seven-Toed Pete''' 
Seven Card Stud

==Page 284==

'''battered 'from the day''''

'''thunderstorm-proof mayonnaise''' 
Mayo is an ATD leitmotif. There is a folk belief, enshrined in no less an authority than the ''Joy Of Cooking'', that mayonnaise will separate if it is made when a thunderstorm is imminent.

'''jaconet... tartalan... crepe lissé''' 
jaconet 1.a soft, white, lightweight cotton textile 2. cotton cloth glazed on one side and dyed. 
Tarlatan (another printing error, apparently) is a kind of thin open muslin (the general name for the most delicately woven cotton fabrics) used especially for ball-dresses. 
Crepe lissé is a thin, transparent, smooth or glossy gauze-like fabric, plain woven, without any twill, of highly twisted raw silk or other staple.

'''Liberty's of London''' 
A famous department store in Regent Street, London, notable for its prints and fabrics. Opened in 1875 in a mock-Tudor building.

'''Grand Rapids style''' 
A simple, non-ornamental design style of furniture, with heavy emphasis
on office furniture. Mostly oak, it seems. From the 1860's, the office furniture was "mass-produced", whatever that means for the times. A kind of furniture allowing no "moral turpitude", as one online remark has it. (see Time.com use in 1978 below!)
Grand Rapids was a furniture center and major location for regular furniture exhibitions for decades before and after the time of ATD. Source: Grand Rapids Public Library catalog, passim.
:"The rooms are furnished in Grand Rapids style. The beds have pallets, but no springs, no Western-style mattresses, no top sheets; maid service consists of dumping a clean sheet and a blanket on the bed, to be made up by the guest."
:---Time.com...1978...on certain hotel rooms in China.

"Grand Rapids" doesn't imply a lack of ornamentation, not at all. The industry makes chairs and other items to the current taste. Once it was heavy oak bookcases with cornice moldings; today it's hi-tech office chairs. What marks Grand Rapids is design that lends itself to mass production.

:Oh, and those Chinese hotels? They bought perfectly good Grand Rapids bedsteads and dropped plywood in to save the price of springs. The pallets don't define the style!

'''Four Corners Boys''' 
Deuce and Sloat? Perhaps nicknamed so after what they did to Lake on page 269: "They took her down to the Four Corners..."

:the only historical reference I could find about a shooting in Cortez involving "Four Corners Boys" is rather recent: on May 29, 1998, City of Cortez Patrolman Dale Claxton was gunned down by three young men. Here's an exerpt from a news story dating back to october 2005: "The three suspects who made up '''the Four Corners Group''' appeared to be nothing more than weekend warriors and good old boys who talked more they acted. However that all changed when best friends Alan Pilon, Jason Wayne McVean and Robert Mathew Mason decided to take it to the big leagues. After the execution of Officer Claxton, the three men fled in the water truck heading toward Utah and its endless wilderness not known for its warmth and hospitable surroundings." Here's the complete article [http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/24Seven/articles/119760/]

==Page 285==

'''million apiece''' 
From 1900, a million dollars would have the value of @20 to 23 million in 2005, depending on ways of measuring purchasing value. It would have over $100 million dollars in value, measured against the worker's average wage at the time. See [http://www.measuringworth.com/ Measuring Worth site].
Note: The prediction is accurate. Think of such well-heeled communities as Aspen, Colorado that are to spring up.
'''music-hall Chinese''' 
What the hell is up with Pynchon's perennial mentions of China and Chinese?

There were a lot of Chinese in the west, starting with the gold rush in California, then building the transcontinental railway. Many remained, and Chinese laborers were pretty common out there.

'''C major... A miner''' 
A pun on the musical key of A minor. One octave of the C major scale consists of the notes c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c (all white keys on a piano). One octave of the A minor scale (technically, A natural minor) consists of the same note names as the C major scale, but starting on the "a" note, not on the "c" note: a-b-c-d-e-f-g-a. Because of this, A minor is called the relative minor of C major.

It is possible that the identical physical shape of the C major or A minor chord on the keyboard is depicted in Disco's smiling mouth, raising the possibility that he is missing 3 teeth corresponding to that schema. 'Ruinous' suggests some sort of dental deficiency. That, or he is missing all the teeth but those 3 which constitute the chord, though this would perhaps benefit from a more explicit description.

'''...it's out with that wackyzacky...''' 
The 'wakizashi' is a Japanese sword - 12 to 24 inches - often worn by a Samurai together with a Katana - another sword - and the two together are then called a Daish or somesuch. Although it would appear that this sword would have sometimes been used during Hara Kiri it is not the normal Hara Kiri weapon. That is usually a short - 6 to 12 inches long - double edged knife/sword called a Tant.' 

'''hari-kari''' 
Japanes: ''belly cutting''. Properly ''harakiri,'' but the distorted rhyming form has been in colloquial English for a long time.
What became a ritualised form of suicide in Japan chiefly amongst the nobility. It was sometimes offered to a nobleman as an honorable alternative to execution. A short knife or sword is plunged into the abdomen, drawn through and across the bowel laterally, with a small upwards twist at the end. Now extremely rare in Japan. More commonly referred to by the Chinese name for belly cutting - ''Seppuku'' - because eventually the Ritual was seen as being somewhat distastaeful, even dishonourable

'''Cal Rutan''' 
[[image:cal-rutan.jpg|thumb|Cal Rutan, on the left|right]]J. Calvin ("Cal") Rutan was the Telluride County sheriff during the labor struggles of 1902-1904.

==Page 286==

'''menudo''' 
Mexican tripe soup, so peppery it should come with a warning placard.

'''Loomis''' 
Loomis Disco. Possible reference to Adore Loomis, child victim of Homer Simpson in [[Nathanael West's]] novel ''[[The Day of the Locust]]'' (1939).

'''lowland alkali''' 
Any of various soluble mineral salts found in natural water and arid soils. And 'lowlands' are good places in Pynchon's vision.

'''hardpan''' 
A bedrock, foundation. Hard, unbroken ground. A layer of hard subsoil or clay, also called caliche.

==Page 287==

'''chicharrones''' 
Fried pork skins.

'''''Ristras''''' '''of .... dark purple chilies''' 
Strings of .... dried red peppers.

'''tortas''' 
Mexican sandwiches.

'''tamales''' 
Cornmeal paste wrapped in corn or banana husks and stuffed with chicken, pork or turkey and/or vegetables, then steamed.

'''sixty-degree wedges''' 
One-sixth of a pie.

'''''Por poco te faltó La Blanca''''' 
Spanish: You just missed La Blanca.
:In fact, it's a literal translation to Spanish of the English sentence. It should have been "Por poco te encontrás con La Blanca" or "Acabas de perderte a La Blanca" to be accurate and have some meaning (unless Lupe is saying "You almost get short of cocaine", since "la blanca", "the white one", is one of the slang names for cocaine).

==Page 288==

'''Montrose''' 
A city on Colorado's Western Slope. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose%2C_Colorado Wikipedia entry].

'''popcorn snows''' 
Apparently an informal meteorological term for giant snowflakes.[http://www.google.com/search?num=100&q=popcorn.snow&as_brr=0&sa=N&tab=pw Google]

The popcorn snows were first mentioned in L. Frank Baum's ''The Scarecrow of Oz'' (1915): 'In the Land of Mo the snow's made of popcorn, not frozen water crystals as it is in other places.' [http://www.halcyon.com/piglet/oziana/oz0726.htm Popcorn Snows].
Of course, Mr. Baum also wrote the classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900).

A popcorn blizzard also figures into one of the tales of Paul Bunyan, the legendary destroyer of American landscapes. It likely appeared in newspapers after 1920. This contributor taught fourth-grade reading last year and first came across it in a textbook retelling. More can be found at [http://www.jcs-group.com/mystery/bunyan.html].

Popcorn snow is also a term used to describe springtime snow conditions for skiing. Not far off base considering Telluride is now predominantly a ritzy ski town.

'''vanning''' 
in context, 'a winnowing device". Archaic, from American Heritage Dictionary.

'''Loopy''' 
Anglo pronunciation of Lupe, a diminutive of the given name Guadalupe. Lupita is another.

'''masa''' 
Spanish: mass; also short for ''masa harina'': corn (maize) flour.

'''''comal''''' 
A Mexican style skillet, usually made of cast iron in round or oval shape.

==Page 289==

'''''Pobrecito''''' 
Poor little boy.

'''half a cubic foot''' 
12" by 12" by 6".

==Page 290==

'''miner's gad''' 
According to the OED, "1. a steel wedge, 2. a small iron punch with a wooden handle used to break up ore."

'''McBryan's''' 
???

'''trick animal''' 
???

==Page 291==

'''''seguro''''' 
Spanish: "sure"

'''parlor houses''' 
Brothels

'''Cosmopolitan Saloon and Gambling Club''' 
Cf [[ATD_243-272#Page_260|p.260]]. In Telluride, CO.

'''bullion day''' 
From ''Tomboy Bride: A Woman's Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West'' (1969) by Harriet Fish Backus:

:George was promoted to his position taking charge of recovering gold amalgam and delivery it to the mine office. Two or three times a month it was prepared for shipment on what was called Bullion Day.

:This was a day of importance on which the gold, free of quicksilver, was melted and poured into three bar-molds each approximately nine inches long, five wide and four deep, containing five hundred ounces and at that time worth ten thousand dollars. The crucible, filled with molten gold, was lifted from the furnace by a chain block and swung to a point directly above the molds in a proper position topour. Using long tongs the superintendent tipped the crucible just enough to let the white hot liquid flow into the molds. (p.71) [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZXe3snWpqgwC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=%22bullion+day%22+%2B+mining&source=web&ots=pWq7uBF5_8&sig=HmPILPJFR9ZPeSI688XCjG6Zm9U&hl=en]

'''Mr. Edison's scheme ... static electricity''' 
In the summer of 1900, Thomas Edison erected a plant at the Ortiz Mine in Dolores, New Mexico, to extract gold ore using static electricity. However, dry gravels could not be obtained and, due to the poor quality of the ore, the tests were deemed a failure.

'''Wetherill's magnet''' 
An apparatus for separating magnetic minerals from nonmagnetic minerals, a Wetherill magnetic separator consists of two horseshoe magnets placed side by side and parallel to each other. Three belts are employed with each pair of magnets. The first belt brings the ore in horizontally under one pole piece of the upper magnet. The second belt operates under the surface of the upper pole piece, rounds the tips, and moves up the bevel of its wedge, bringing with it magnetic particles which, as they get above the magnetic field, fall off. The third belt accomplishes the same for the other pole piece of the upper magnet. [http://books.google.com/books?id=fhEAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA633&lpg=PA633&dq=wetherill+magnet&source=web&ots=5ivwNQSM6V&sig=ItAb4vM8uTKzjkC_yYkMt76Equ8&hl=en]

==Page 292==

'''pocket Kodak''' 
Possibly the "No. 3 Folding Pocket KODAK Camera" produced by Eastman Kodak from 1900 to 1915.

'''Hieronymus Wheel''' 
Seems to describe a roulette wheel. Google and the OED turn up nothing on "Hieronymus Wheel," but Pynchon's bizarre choice of language obviously suggests the Dutch painter, Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch Wikipedia entry]. Perhaps Pynchon alludes to a certain wheel in a Bosch painting? Bosch's "Circle of Hell" depicts a wheel coming out of (or going into) the mouth of a fishlike creature, but that doesn't really make sense of the term, either. See [[Talk:ATD_273-295|discussion page 273-295]]

It refers to the Bosch painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things' (1485). It involves a wheel of the 7 big ones. Quite fitting in the dissipated environment of Hell-u-ride. Also, its divided in much the same way as a roulette wheel.

'''Dieter''' 
Oldfashioned German first name. Pronunciation: [diːtər]. Short for Dietrich. Popular male name in Germany after WWII.
:Since "Dieter" is "the barkeep" the English word ''dieter'' for someone who prescibes a diet comes to mind.
::Seems like a stretch. [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 13:28, 5 February 2007 (PST)
Possibly a reference to H. Dieter Zeh [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Dieter_Zeh]and his "Many Minds" interpretation of the multiverse issue [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-minds_interpretation].[[User:Bklyn48|Bklyn48]] 19:37, 1 January 2007 (PST)
:How so? [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 13:28, 5 February 2007 (PST)

The multiple interpretations of what is going on in the bar, which will become more apparent in the following pages, suggest the exemplification of this solution to the "multiple universes" problem.

'''Nippon''' 
Japan in Japanese.

'''bellows''' 
For explanation, see [http://licm.org.uk/livingImage/BellowsCamera.html Bellows Camera].

==Page 293==

'''Japanese''' 
Sumimasen = "Pardon me" or "Excuse me" 
Bobusan desu = This is Bob 
Gonnusuringaa = "gunslinger" 
("Gansuringaa" is a more appropriate Japanese transliteration of "gunslinger", but no Japanese will recognize the word anyway.) 
mottomo abunai desu = he is extremely dangerous 
(This is a bizarre Japanese expression.) 
Anna koto! = That sort of thing! 
(This does not seem to make sense contextually.)

Bit of a stretch, but the film ''Lost in Translation'' (2003, Sofia Coppola, director) features a character named Bob who visits Japan, where he is repeatedly called Bobusan.

'''fulgurescence''' 
n : an emission in flashes or sparks, like lightning. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstruse_topics_in_Pynchon's_Against_the_Day#Abstruse_words]

'''profanity... much of it in Japanese''' 
The Japanese language has little profanity in the Western sense: words considered vulgar and which cannot be spoken in polite company. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_profanity#Japanese Wikipedia entry on Profanity in Japanese]

'''"The loss of clarity . . . . in the dark"''' 
See the note for Hieronymous wheel in [[Talk:ATD_273-295|discussion]]. If the "Hieronymous wheel" refers to a Bosch painting, perhaps this scene continues some kind fo parallel to Hell or something else. The painting includes several unknown creatures, including a barrel with legs, while “thrashed about” suggests the central fish monster image of the painting.
:Cf. also:
:*p. 136, "and for that brief instant it would be possible to move from one version to the other.", i.e. from "Venice of the Arctic" to the secular Venice.
:*p. 221, "Lateral world-sets, other parts of the Creation, lie all around us, each with its crossover points or gates of transfer from one to another, and they can be anywhere, really . . . . An unscheduled Explosion, introduced into the accustomed flow of the day, may easily open, now and then, passages to elsewhere,"
:*p. 230, "'Let us imagine a lateral world, set only infintesimally to the side of the one we think we know.'"

::Cf., also the transdimensional travel of Buckaroo Bonzai in the Pynchon inspired film, ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension'' (1984), especially the images of 8th-Dimensional creatures that Bonzai sees as he passes through the mountain. [http://imdb.com/title/tt0086856/ IMDB entry].
::Cf., further, the notion of a "multiverse," that is, a physical ur-structure, comprised of many, if not infinite universes, of which ours is only one. Several contemporary cosmological theories require that a multiverse exist, though its existence remains highly conjectural. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse Wikipedia entry].

'''It became possible to believe that one had been spirited, in the swift cascade of light-flashes, to some distant geography where creatures as yet unknown thrashed about, howling affrightedly, in the dark.''' 
A possible reference to the phantastic dreamscapes of the Japanese animation-filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Among his works, plausibly coded into this lengthy sentence, are ''Spirited Away'' (''Sen to Chihiro no kamikakukushi / The Spiriting-Away of Sen and Chihiro'', 2001) and ''Howl's Moving Castle'' (''Howl no ugoku shiro'', 2004).

'''"the American West--it is a spiritual territory! in which we seek to study the secrets of your--national soul''' 
It is possible that Pynchon needs a link from the Colorado Mine Wars to the Russo-Japanese War, but why place a ''Japanese Trade Delegation'' seeking to learn the spiritual secrets of the American West (which Merle Rideout correctly points out, lacks any) in the middle of a gunfight or brawl in Telluride? This could be a sly allusion, in a book about alternate histories and timelines, to arguably one of the best "alternate history" books ever written, Philip K. Dick's "The Man in the High Castle". In a 1962 in which the Axis won World war II, Nobusuke Tagomi is head of the ''Ranking Trade Mission'' to the (Japanese-occupied) Pacific States of America. He, like many Japanese, are fascinated with the artifacts of "pre-War US Culture", most especially with artifacts of the Old West and with its martial arts, which possess the spiritual power of "Historicity" (much as American occupation troops in Japan collected swords and studied Zen Buddhism). Tagomi, in short, collects old six-shooters, and practices quick-drawing and firing, a fact which is central to the book's action. Colorado figures heavily in the book's action as well; in the relatively free Rocky Mountain States (a buffer state between the PSA and the German-occupied USA) a solitary author has written a novel in which the US and Britain won World War II...[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_In_the_High_Castle]. And don't forget that this 'K' in Philip K. Dick's name stands for ''Kindred''...

'''packing out pyrites''' 
Mining fool's gold. Or wasting your resources by loading it into cars or skips instead of throwing it on the tail heap.

'''katana''' 
Japanese samurai sword.
'''

==Page 294==

'''Baron Akashi''' 
A Japanese general whose career included spying, but, anachronistically, his career did not begin until 1889. He was a spy in Europe during Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). So would he've been famous even to the lengths of backwoods CO? How much spyin' can a poor boy do if he's famous?
:The burden of fame doesn't seem to have kept James Bond or Austin Powers from succeeding in their espionage activities.
:Baron Akashi himself was famous, but his sidekick was not. The former didn't show up at Telluride but the latter did as 'some li'l laundry runner'.

'''planning a hoist''' 
''Heist'' is now universal, but originally it was a dialect form of ''hoist.''

'''Squirrel and sarsaparilla''' 
Squirrel Whiskey and Sarsaparilla Soda. Squirrel whiskey was so called because it was supposedly so strong it would drive its drinkers up a tree. Sarsparilla, by contrast, is derived from the roots of the Sarsparilla tree.

==Page 295==

'''summer of '89''' 
Butch Cassidy and his accomplices robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride on 24 June 1889 ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy#1889.E2.80.931894_.E2.80.94_early_robberies.2C_going_to_prison Wikipedia])

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 273-295

2015-02-24T05:14:12Z

Pthomas:

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 273==

'''the electric''' 
The Denver Tramway Company, beginning in 1886, operated electric railcars between central Denver and outlying communities. [http://www.denvergov.org/AboutDenver/history_narrative_3.asp Citation]

==Page 274==

'''Arapahoe''' 
Since Frank is at the moment in Denver, "on Arapahoe" would mean on Arapahoe Street. From the native tribe. Also a county in eastern CO and a scattering of places in US.

'''the Christian daring of Scarsdale's gesture''' 
To outside observers Vibe appears to be turning the other cheek.

'''drygulched''' 
In this context, ambushed and killed [http://www.reference.com/browse/all/drygulch drygulch].

'''after Repeal in '93''' 
Refers to the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which required the U.S. government to purchase an additional 4.5 million ounces of silver bullion every month with notes that could be redeemed for either silver or gold. Repealed by Congress after the Panic of 1893 to prevent depletion of the country's gold reserves. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Silver_Purchase_Act Wikipedia entry].

'''Lake County''' 
Colorado county of which Leadville is the county seat.

'''Haw Tabor''' 
Horace Tabor, a prospector, businessman, politician, and one of the wealthiest men in Colorado in the 19th Century. Tabor moved to Denver in 1859, later settling in Leadville in 1877. With the wealth he accumulated from his silver mine, Tabor established newspapers, a bank, and an opera house in Leadville (which still stands), and the Tabor Grand Opera House and the Tabor Block in Denver. In 1878, Tabor was elected Lieutenant Governor of Colorado and served in that post until January 1884. He served as U.S. Senator from Colorado for two months in 1883. Tabor ran unsuccessfully for Colorado governor in 1884, 1886, and 1888. In 1893, the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act devastated Tabor's fortune and his far-flung holdings were sold off. He died from appendicitis in 1899, and his legend still persists in Colorado.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Tabor Wikipedia entry].

'''Matchless''' 
The Matchless Mine in Leadville, formerly owned by Horace Tabor. Oscar Wilde visited the Matchless in 1882. The "widow" is Elizabeth Bonduel McCourt Doe, a/k/a "Baby Doe" Tabor, Horace Tabor's second wife (and his mistress before he married her in 1883). Baby Doe and her stubborn retention of the Matchless Mine is another Colorado legend. When Horace Tabor fell ill with appendicitis in 1899, his final request of Baby Doe was that she "hold onto the Matchless." This she did, with tragic results. After living in a shack beside the mine for 36 years, she froze to death one night in March 1935 after she ran out of firewood. Her body was found frozen with her arms crossed peacefully across her chest. After her death, 17 iron trunks that had been placed in storage in Denver were opened, as well as several gunny sacks and four trunks that had been left at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Leadville. All that was left from the Tabor fortune were several bolts of unique, untouched and exquisite cloth, several pieces of china, a tea service and some jewelry, including a diamond and sapphire ring. Baby Doe's story has inspired numerous works, including a movie and an opera by Douglas Moore, ''The Ballad of Baby Doe.'' More on Baby Doe Tabor, including pictures of the Matchless and the shack she lived and died in, can be found at these links: [http://www.babydoetabor.com/ Baby Doe Tabor.com]; [http://www.babydoe.org/index.php BabyDoe.org]

'''Zinc Rush''' 
Leadville had "rushes" on gold, silver, molybdenum, zinc...

'''the best-priced ore to be dug''' 
A mining engineer calculates the value of ore as the market price of its valuable constituents minus the cost of mining, concentrating and refining. Zinc metal brings less than gold or silver, but its ore may be attractive if it is rich in zinc and processing costs are low.

'''some bright engineer''' 
???

==Page 275==

'''concentrating mills''' 
First step in treating ore is concentration or beneficiation: breaking it into small pieces and separating the fragments that contain zinc from those that don't.

'''Molly-be-damned''' 
Molybdenum, which is still mined outside of Leadville.

'''Wren Provenance''' 
Let's not forget that one manifestation of [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] was Victoria Wren. One could see this as the "provenance of wren?" There appear to be many allusions to [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''V.''] in ''ATD''.

'''heaps''' 
slag heaps. For their picture see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slag_heap Wikipedia].

'''Sons of Heaven section''' 
This is a term for the emperors of China.
Cf. references to the Chinese as 'the celestials', e.g. in the HBO series [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadwood_(TV_series) ''Deadwood''].

'''Bear Paw''' 
An almond-flavored yeast-raised pastry shaped shaped like an irregular semicircle resembling a bear's claw. Octopus Ink seems to be a joking reference to the coffee. [I think the speaker here (Wren) is making a joking reference to the strange food that the Chinese saloon serves, not to pastry and coffee.]

Where fresh octopus is available, the ink is a not uncommon ingredient in Chinese and Japanese cuisine. It [and squid ink] is also used in a number of Mediterranean dishes. "Bear Paw in Octopus Ink" is Chinese/Coloradoan fusion. Real bear paw, not pastry.

==Page 276==

'''Jennie Rogers's House of Mirrors''' 
Jennie Rogers (1843-1909) was a notorious Denver madam who built the "House of Mirrors" at 1946 Market Street in Denver in 1889 and ran it until her death in 1909. The House of Mirrors embodies the Romanesque architecture of the era, and was specifically designed as a bordello. It was later taken over by the even more notorious Mattie Silks (1846-1929), who operated it until 1915, when it fell victim to so-called "reformers." The House of Mirrors still stands, and today operates as a bar and restauant. (This contributor has been drinking there many times.) More on its history, including pictures, and on the history of Denver's Market Street red-light district, can be found at [http://www.mattieshouseofmirrors.com/index.html this website].

'''"and there she was, not much on, what there was all black, tightly laced, stockings askew, standing in an open polyhedral of mirrors, examining herself from all the angles available. Transformed."''' 
Cf. Mélanie l' Heuremaudit in ''V.'', pp 397-8.

'''dress cavalry helmet''' 
A collection of pictures of various dress cavalry helmets can be found here: [http://news.webshots.com/album/165792861CIEtya cavalry helmet pictures].

==Page 277==

'''Aztlán''' 
Legendary or historical homeland of the Aztecs. Northwestern Mexico up to Utah in some reckonings.

'''He had a passing acquaintance with the Mancos and McElmo country...''' 
This is a clear reference to Mesa Verde [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Verde], on the Mancos River between Mancos and Cortez, CO, southwest of Telluride. Pynchon has taken considerable liberties with the history of the area, as recounted by Wren Provenance, although perhaps not with what was known for certain at the time, to perhaps heighten the area's mystery. The Mesa Verde inhabitants had been building pueblos on the mesa from the 7th and 8th centuries, building cliff dwellings from the 9th to the 13th centuries, ranging far to the north and west for game and firewood. The surface ruins were known from the 1870s; the famous Cliff Palace (shown in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Verde]) was discovered by local ranchers in 1888, and archaeological activities were underway by 1891. By the time the area was made a national park in 1906 it was clear that the cliff dwellings had been relatively rapidly ''abandoned'' in the 13th century. It has never been clear exactly why; theories include drought leading to loss of water and loss of essential firewood (the area is quite cold in winter) to overlogging or fire. Pynchon is accurate in noting evidence of intense fighting among the last cliff dwellers, even cannibalism, in the ruins.

'''images of creatures''' 
The ancient Puebloans of both the Mesa Verde and Chaco centers left numerous images, called petroglyphs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroglyph], many of which are as eerie as Pynchon suggests here (the Wikipedia article shows Newspaper Rock in Canyonlands National Park in Utah). They include figures of humans and other creatures, and of comets and the 1054 supernova now known as the Crab Nebula (there are more than 14 pages of pictures of ''Pueblo Petroglyphs'' on Google Images: [http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Pueblo+Petroglyphs&btnG=Search+Images]) ... and the cover of the UK paperback edition of AtD bears some resemblance the petroglyph on Newspaper Rock.

==Page 278==

'''the report''' 
??? (Answer:) Wren was on an anthropological expedition. This is the report on the findings of that expedition.

'''If they were the same ones who made the exodus...and became the Aztecs''' 
The earliest interpretations of the Pueblo ruins, from those found first, was that these were Aztec ruins, as at Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, NM ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_Ruin_National_Monument]). The Puebloans were in contact with mesoamerican civilizations, as indicated by findings of trade goods like parrot feathers, but these were probably traded through intermediaries. In fact, the Mesa Verde inhabitants were the ancestors of the modern Rio Grande Pueblos, e.g. Taos Pueblo ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taos_Pueblo]).

'''Albany... bar mirror''' 
???

'''Booth Virbling''' This seems to be one of Pynchon's made-up names.
As a crime reporter at the time, he was probably given to a heavy use of verbs...warbling verbs, one might say? Booth-- staid place where 'crime reporters' work? Last name pronounced German sounds like "fear bling"?

==Page 279==

'''Bulkley Wells''' 
Easier to find under correct spelling Bulkeley. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GDX/is_5_75/ai_65277661/pg_13 Here] is an account of some of his activities as mine manager and militia commander.

'''Ice Saw murder''' 
I saw murder?..eyewitness.??? Yes, a pun. Also, here is a picture of an [http://www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/harvesting/archives/images/index.html?RollID=roll4&FrameID=Icesaw_450 ice saw], used to saw through ice for the purpose of ice fishing. And there is more fun and games if the saw is made of ice, recalling the scenario where there is a dead body, some blood and a pool of water. How did the body die? It was hacked to death with the saw made of ice which is now melted.

'''sparking''' 
v. tr. "to court or woo". intr. "to play the suitor"

'''hurdy girls''' 
In an article titled [[http://www.phantomranch.net/folkdanc/articles/boysnite.htm Boys' Nite Out in Leadville]], the following:
<blockquote>
in the 1870s, the Colorado Miner described the hurdy-gurdy houses of Leadville as "breathing holes of hell, where customers imbibe torchlight whiskey and indulge in the quadrille and the whirling sinuosities of the waltz."
</blockquote>
and
<blockquote>"The very first women in the mining camps of California were German girls who were called hurdy-gurdy girls after the musical instruments of the same name, and the name also became attached to the dance hall. While a long way from virginal status, the first girls were so prized that they did not have to participate in prostitution"
</blockquote>

[[http://southwest.library.arizona.edu/cala/body.1_div.6.html Elsewhere]] mention is made of "hurdy-houses" which appear to be the same thing

==Page 280==

'''South Pacific islands''' 
Cf Margaret Mead (1901-78), a cultural anthropologist who visited and published extensively on Samoa. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Mead#Coming_of_Age_in_Samoa_and_the_Mead-Freeman_controversy Wikipedia entry]

==Page 281==
[[Image:telluridetoday.gif|thumb|200px|right|Telluride as it appears today ([http://www.hillhaus.com/blog/index.php?blog=7&cat=30 source])]]
'''first city''' 
The first extensive use of the alternating current was in arc lighting, the kind used in street lighting. There is some dispute in histories as to which city was first, but Telluride was among, if not the, first.

'''This Telluride chapter seems to express overtly part of Pynchon's key themes: when electricity hit the streets, it was Hell. Passim 280-281,
"the end of the world remained a possibility" to explain the unholy radiance [of the arc lighting].
Only a 'lunatic' argued it was not too late to turn back.
And Telluride is where the "owners" who had Webb killed, live.

'''"Beside the tracks at one bend stood a local lunatic"''' 
Like starting an amusement park ride.

'''"To-Hell-you-ride'''" 
To-Tell-u-ride

==Page 282==

'''level of hatred''' 
Cf capacitance?

'''drifts and stopes''' 
A drift is a horizontal or nearly horizontal underground opening. A stope is a usually steplike excavation underground for the removal of ore that is formed as the ore is mined in successive layers.

'''vagging bee''' 
"vag" is slang/shorthand for "vagrant"; the word "bee" as used here comes from the English dialect ''been'' or ''bean''. These were variations on ''boon'', once widely used in the sense of “voluntary help, given to a farmer by his neighbors, in time of harvest, haymaking, etc." In the early 1870s, the idea of bee began to be extended to situations that had some kind of communal basis, but weren’t farm work, some pretty sinister such as ''hanging bee'', ''lynching bee'' (this occurs in Mark Twain's ''Huckleberry Finn'') and ''whipping bee''. It is in this sense of a social gathering to perform some task that bee is used in ''Against the Day''. [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-spe2.htm From World Wide Words]

'''Bob Meldrum''' 
"Bad Man" Bob Meldrum served as agent to Pinkerton’s Detective Agency and a watchdog for the big cattle outfits around Little Snake River, gaining a reputation as a mean man with a quick trigger finger. He was rumored to be responsible for over fourteen wanton killings. Pynchon's characterisation of Meldrum (with his huge mustache and quick temper) is very similar to the Loony Tunes character Yosemite Sam.[http://www.museumnwco.org/lookBackArticle.php?lookBackID=35]

==Page 283==

'''''"joven"''''' 
Young fellow (Spanish).

'''Ellmore Disco''' 
Elmore = (H)ell More, i.e. More Hell?
:Possibly also an allusion to Elwood Blues, Dan Akroyd's character in '''The Blues Brothers'''.
:Or—with less distortion of the name—to Pynchon's near-contemporary Elmore Leonard, who writes many scenes of inventive and unconstrained violence.
::The explanation is simpler: Ellmore Disco sounds exactly as El Mordisco, The Bite in Spanish (remember, Ellmore is said to be Mexican, maybe "El Mordisco" was a nickname or alias he had there and when in the States he adapted to sound like an English Name). Why Ellmore Disco is El Mordisco I don't know. Perhaps being him the guy to see to in Telluride it means that he gets "a bite" (money) of the people who need favors from him.

'''headgear, tending to fancy black beavers''' 
Another instance of "beaver on the brain"?

'''when it was still Leadville''' 
where 'lead' is exchanged in gunfights, as here? Leadville, CO.

'''Seven-Toed Pete''' 
Seven Card Stud

==Page 284==

'''battered 'from the day''''

'''thunderstorm-proof mayonnaise''' 
Mayo is an ATD leitmotif. There is a folk belief, enshrined in no less an authority than the ''Joy Of Cooking'', that mayonnaise will separate if it is made when a thunderstorm is imminent.

'''jaconet... tartalan... crepe lissé''' 
jaconet 1.a soft, white, lightweight cotton textile 2. cotton cloth glazed on one side and dyed. 
Tarlatan (another printing error, apparently) is a kind of thin open muslin (the general name for the most delicately woven cotton fabrics) used especially for ball-dresses. 
Crepe lissé is a thin, transparent, smooth or glossy gauze-like fabric, plain woven, without any twill, of highly twisted raw silk or other staple.

'''Liberty's of London''' 
A famous department store in Regent Street, London, notable for its prints and fabrics. Opened in 1875 in a mock-Tudor building.

'''Grand Rapids style''' 
A simple, non-ornamental design style of furniture, with heavy emphasis
on office furniture. Mostly oak, it seems. From the 1860's, the office furniture was "mass-produced", whatever that means for the times. A kind of furniture allowing no "moral turpitude", as one online remark has it. (see Time.com use in 1978 below!)
Grand Rapids was a furniture center and major location for regular furniture exhibitions for decades before and after the time of ATD. Source: Grand Rapids Public Library catalog, passim.
:"The rooms are furnished in Grand Rapids style. The beds have pallets, but no springs, no Western-style mattresses, no top sheets; maid service consists of dumping a clean sheet and a blanket on the bed, to be made up by the guest."
:---Time.com...1978...on certain hotel rooms in China.

"Grand Rapids" doesn't imply a lack of ornamentation, not at all. The industry makes chairs and other items to the current taste. Once it was heavy oak bookcases with cornice moldings; today it's hi-tech office chairs. What marks Grand Rapids is design that lends itself to mass production.

:Oh, and those Chinese hotels? They bought perfectly good Grand Rapids bedsteads and dropped plywood in to save the price of springs. The pallets don't define the style!

'''Four Corners Boys''' 
Deuce and Sloat? Perhaps nicknamed so after what they did to Lake on page 269: "They took her down to the Four Corners..."

:the only historical reference I could find about a shooting in Cortez involving "Four Corners Boys" is rather recent: on May 29, 1998, City of Cortez Patrolman Dale Claxton was gunned down by three young men. Here's an exerpt from a news story dating back to october 2005: "The three suspects who made up '''the Four Corners Group''' appeared to be nothing more than weekend warriors and good old boys who talked more they acted. However that all changed when best friends Alan Pilon, Jason Wayne McVean and Robert Mathew Mason decided to take it to the big leagues. After the execution of Officer Claxton, the three men fled in the water truck heading toward Utah and its endless wilderness not known for its warmth and hospitable surroundings." Here's the complete article [http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/24Seven/articles/119760/]

==Page 285==

'''million apiece''' 
From 1900, a million dollars would have the value of @20 to 23 million in 2005, depending on ways of measuring purchasing value. It would have over $100 million dollars in value, measured against the worker's average wage at the time. See [http://www.measuringworth.com/ Measuring Worth site].
Note: The prediction is accurate. Think of such well-heeled communities as Aspen, Colorado that are to spring up.
'''music-hall Chinese''' 
What the hell is up with Pynchon's perennial mentions of China and Chinese?

There were a lot of Chinese in the west, starting with the gold rush in California, then building the transcontinental railway. Many remained, and Chinese laborers were pretty common out there.

'''C major... A miner''' 
A pun on the musical key of A minor. One octave of the C major scale consists of the notes c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c (all white keys on a piano). One octave of the A minor scale (technically, A natural minor) consists of the same note names as the C major scale, but starting on the "a" note, not on the "c" note: a-b-c-d-e-f-g-a. Because of this, A minor is called the relative minor of C major.

It is possible that the identical physical shape of the C major or A minor chord on the keyboard is depicted in Disco's smiling mouth, raising the possibility that he is missing 3 teeth corresponding to that schema. 'Ruinous' suggests some sort of dental deficiency. That, or he is missing all the teeth but those 3 which constitute the chord, though this would perhaps benefit from a more explicit description.

'''...it's out with that wackyzacky...''' 
The 'wakizashi' is a Japanese sword - 12 to 24 inches - often worn by a Samurai together with a Katana - another sword - and the two together are then called a Daish or somesuch. Although it would appear that this sword would have sometimes been used during Hara Kiri it is not the normal Hara Kiri weapon. That is usually a short - 6 to 12 inches long - double edged knife/sword called a Tant.' 

'''hari-kari''' 
Japanes: ''belly cutting''. Properly ''harakiri,'' but the distorted rhyming form has been in colloquial English for a long time.
What became a ritualised form of suicide in Japan chiefly amongst the nobility. It was sometimes offered to a nobleman as an honorable alternative to execution. A short knife or sword is plunged into the abdomen, drawn through and across the bowel laterally, with a small upwards twist at the end. Now extremely rare in Japan. More commonly referred to by the Chinese name for belly cutting - ''Seppuku'' - because eventually the Ritual was seen as being somewhat distastaeful, even dishonourable

'''Cal Rutan''' 
[[image:cal-rutan.jpg|thumb|Cal Rutan, on the left|right]]J. Calvin ("Cal") Rutan was the Telluride County sheriff during the labor struggles of 1902-1904.

==Page 286==

'''menudo''' 
Mexican tripe soup, so peppery it should come with a warning placard.

'''Loomis''' 
Loomis Disco. Possible reference to Adore Loomis, child victim of Homer Simpson in [[Nathanael West's]] novel ''[[The Day of the Locust]]'' (1939).

'''lowland alkali''' 
Any of various soluble mineral salts found in natural water and arid soils. And 'lowlands' are good places in Pynchon's vision.

'''hardpan''' 
A bedrock, foundation. Hard, unbroken ground. A layer of hard subsoil or clay, also called caliche.

==Page 287==

'''chicharrones''' 
Fried pork skins.

'''''Ristras''''' '''of .... dark purple chilies''' 
Strings of .... dried red peppers.

'''tortas''' 
Mexican sandwiches.

'''tamales''' 
Cornmeal paste wrapped in corn or banana husks and stuffed with chicken, pork or turkey and/or vegetables, then steamed.

'''sixty-degree wedges''' 
One-sixth of a pie.

'''''Por poco te faltó La Blanca''''' 
Spanish: You just missed La Blanca.
:In fact, it's a literal translation to Spanish of the English sentence. It should have been "Por poco te encontrás con La Blanca" or "Acabas de perderte a La Blanca" to be accurate and have some meaning (unless Lupe is saying "You almost get short of cocaine", since "la blanca", "the white one", is one of the slang names for cocaine).

==Page 288==

'''Montrose''' 
A city on Colorado's Western Slope. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose%2C_Colorado Wikipedia entry].

'''popcorn snows''' 
Apparently an informal meteorological term for giant snowflakes.[http://www.google.com/search?num=100&q=popcorn.snow&as_brr=0&sa=N&tab=pw Google]

The popcorn snows were first mentioned in L. Frank Baum's ''The Scarecrow of Oz'' (1915): 'In the Land of Mo the snow's made of popcorn, not frozen water crystals as it is in other places.' [http://www.halcyon.com/piglet/oziana/oz0726.htm Popcorn Snows].
Of course, Mr. Baum also wrote the classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900).

A popcorn blizzard also figures into one of the tales of Paul Bunyan, the legendary destroyer of American landscapes. It likely appeared in newspapers after 1920. This contributor taught fourth-grade reading last year and first came across it in a textbook retelling. More can be found at [http://www.jcs-group.com/mystery/bunyan.html].

Popcorn snow is also a term used to describe springtime snow conditions for skiing. Not far off base considering Telluride is now predominantly a ritzy ski town.

'''vanning''' 
in context, 'a winnowing device". Archaic, from American Heritage Dictionary.

'''Loopy''' 
Anglo pronunciation of Lupe, a diminutive of the given name Guadalupe. Lupita is another.

'''masa''' 
Spanish: mass; also short for ''masa harina'': corn (maize) flour.

'''''comal''''' 
A Mexican style skillet, usually made of cast iron in round or oval shape.

==Page 289==

'''''Pobrecito''''' 
Poor little boy.

'''half a cubic foot''' 
12" by 12" by 6".

==Page 290==

'''miner's gad''' 
According to the OED, "1. a steel wedge, 2. a small iron punch with a wooden handle used to break up ore."

'''McBryan's''' 
???

'''trick animal''' 
???

==Page 291==

'''''seguro''''' 
Spanish: "sure"

'''parlor houses''' 
Brothels

'''Cosmopolitan Saloon and Gambling Club''' 
Cf [[ATD_243-272#Page_260|p.260]]. In Telluride, CO.

'''bullion day''' 
From ''Tomboy Bride: A Woman's Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West'' (1969) by Harriet Fish Backus:

:George was promoted to his position taking charge of recovering gold amalgam and delivery it to the mine office. Two or three times a month it was prepared for shipment on what was called Bullion Day.

:This was a day of importance on which the gold, free of quicksilver, was melted and poured into three bar-molds each approximately nine inches long, five wide and four deep, containing five hundred ounces and at that time worth ten thousand dollars. The crucible, filled with molten gold, was lifted from the furnace by a chain block and swung to a point directly above the molds in a proper position topour. Using long tongs the superintendent tipped the crucible just enough to let the white hot liquid flow into the molds. (p.71) [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZXe3snWpqgwC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=%22bullion+day%22+%2B+mining&source=web&ots=pWq7uBF5_8&sig=HmPILPJFR9ZPeSI688XCjG6Zm9U&hl=en]

'''Mr. Edison's scheme ... static electricity''' 
In the summer of 1900, Thomas Edison erected a plant at the Ortiz Mine in Dolores, New Mexico, to extract gold ore using static electricity. However, dry gravels could not be obtained and, due to the poor quality of the ore, the tests were deemed a failure.

'''Wetherill's magnet''' 
An apparatus for separating magnetic minerals from nonmagnetic minerals, a Wetherill magnetic separator consists of two horseshoe magnets placed side by side and parallel to each other. Three belts are employed with each pair of magnets. The first belt brings the ore in horizontally under one pole piece of the upper magnet. The second belt operates under the surface of the upper pole piece, rounds the tips, and moves up the bevel of its wedge, bringing with it magnetic particles which, as they get above the magnetic field, fall off. The third belt accomplishes the same for the other pole piece of the upper magnet. [http://books.google.com/books?id=fhEAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA633&lpg=PA633&dq=wetherill+magnet&source=web&ots=5ivwNQSM6V&sig=ItAb4vM8uTKzjkC_yYkMt76Equ8&hl=en]

==Page 292==

'''pocket Kodak''' 
Possibly the "No. 3 Folding Pocket KODAK Camera" produced by Eastman Kodak from 1900 to 1915.

'''Hieronymus Wheel''' 
Seems to describe a roulette wheel. Google and the OED turn up nothing on "Hieronymus Wheel," but Pynchon's bizarre choice of language obviously suggests the Dutch painter, Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch Wikipedia entry]. Perhaps Pynchon alludes to a certain wheel in a Bosch painting? Bosch's "Circle of Hell" depicts a wheel coming out of (or going into) the mouth of a fishlike creature, but that doesn't really make sense of the term, either. See [[Talk:ATD_273-295|discussion page 273-295]]

It refers to the Bosch painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things' (1485). It involves a wheel of the 7 big ones. Quite fitting in the dissipated environment of Hell-u-ride. Also, its divided in much the same way as a roulette wheel.

'''Dieter''' 
Oldfashioned German first name. Pronunciation: [diːtər]. Short for Dietrich. Popular male name in Germany after WWII.
:Since "Dieter" is "the barkeep" the English word ''dieter'' for someone who prescibes a diet comes to mind.
::Seems like a stretch. [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 13:28, 5 February 2007 (PST)
Possibly a reference to H. Dieter Zeh [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Dieter_Zeh]and his "Many Minds" interpretation of the multiverse issue [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-minds_interpretation].[[User:Bklyn48|Bklyn48]] 19:37, 1 January 2007 (PST)
:How so? [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 13:28, 5 February 2007 (PST)

The multiple interpretations of what is going on in the bar, which will become more apparent in the following pages, suggest the exemplification of this solution to the "multiple universes" problem.

'''Nippon''' 
Japan in Japanese.

'''bellows''' 
For explanation, see [http://licm.org.uk/livingImage/BellowsCamera.html Bellows Camera].

==Page 293==

'''Japanese''' 
Sumimasen = "Pardon me" or "Excuse me" 
Bobusan desu = This is Bob 
Gonnusuringaa = "gunslinger" 
("Gansuringaa" is a more appropriate Japanese transliteration of "gunslinger", but no Japanese will recognize the word anyway.) 
mottomo abunai desu = he is extremely dangerous 
(This is a bizarre Japanese expression.) 
Anna koto! = That sort of thing! 
(This does not seem to make sense contextually.)

Bit of a stretch, but the film ''Lost in Translation'' (2003, Sofia Coppola, director) features a character named Bob who visits Japan, where he is repeatedly called Bobusan.

'''fulgurescence''' 
n : an emission in flashes or sparks, like lightning. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstruse_topics_in_Pynchon's_Against_the_Day#Abstruse_words]

'''profanity... much of it in Japanese''' 
The Japanese language has little profanity in the Western sense: words considered vulgar and which cannot be spoken in polite company. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_profanity#Japanese Wikipedia entry on Profanity in Japanese]

'''"The loss of clarity . . . . in the dark"''' 
See the note for Hieronymous wheel in [[Talk:ATD_273-295|discussion]]. If the "Hieronymous wheel" refers to a Bosch painting, perhaps this scene continues some kind fo parallel to Hell or something else. The painting includes several unknown creatures, including a barrel with legs, while “thrashed about” suggests the central fish monster image of the painting.
:Cf. also:
:*p. 136, "and for that brief instant it would be possible to move from one version to the other.", i.e. from "Venice of the Arctic" to the secular Venice.
:*p. 221, "Lateral world-sets, other parts of the Creation, lie all around us, each with its crossover points or gates of transfer from one to another, and they can be anywhere, really . . . . An unscheduled Explosion, introduced into the accustomed flow of the day, may easily open, now and then, passages to elsewhere,"
:*p. 230, "'Let us imagine a lateral world, set only infintesimally to the side of the one we think we know.'"

::Cf., also the transdimensional travel of Buckaroo Bonzai in the Pynchon inspired film, ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension'' (1984), especially the images of 8th-Dimensional creatures that Bonzai sees as he passes through the mountain. [http://imdb.com/title/tt0086856/ IMDB entry].
::Cf., further, the notion of a "multiverse," that is, a physical ur-structure, comprised of many, if not infinite universes, of which ours is only one. Several contemporary cosmological theories require that a multiverse exist, though its existence remains highly conjectural. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse Wikipedia entry].

'''It became possible to believe that one had been spirited, in the swift cascade of light-flashes, to some distant geography where creatures as yet unknown thrashed about, howling affrightedly, in the dark.''' 
A possible reference to the phantastic dreamscapes of the Japanese animation-filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Among his works, plausibly coded into this lengthy sentence, are ''Spirited Away'' (''Sen to Chihiro no kamikakukushi / The Spiriting-Away of Sen and Chihiro'', 2001) and ''Howl's Moving Castle'' (''Howl no ugoku shiro'', 2004).

'''"the American West--it is a spiritual territory! in which we seek to study the secrets of your--national soul''' 
It is possible that Pynchon needs a link from the Colorado Mine Wars to the Russo-Japanese War, but why place a ''Japanese Trade Delegation'' seeking to learn the spiritual secrets of the American West (which Merle Rideout correctly points out, lacks any) in the middle of a gunfight or brawl in Telluride? This could be a sly allusion, in a book about alternate histories and timelines, to arguably one of the best "alternate history" books ever written, Philip K. Dick's "The Man in the High Castle". In a 1962 in which the Axis won World war II, Nobusuke Tagomi is head of the ''Ranking Trade Mission'' to the (Japanese-occupied) Pacific States of America. He, like many Japanese, are fascinated with the artifacts of "pre-War US Culture", most especially with artifacts of the Old West and with its martial arts, which possess the spiritual power of "Historicity" (much as American occupation troops in Japan collected swords and studied Zen Buddhism). Tagomi, in short, collects old six-shooters, and practices quick-drawing and firing, a fact which is central to the book's action. Colorado figures heavily in the book's action as well; in the relatively free Rocky Mountain States (a buffer state between the PSA and the German-occupied USA) a solitary author has written a novel in which the US and Britain won World War II...[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_In_the_High_Castle]. And don't forget that this 'K' in Philip K. Dick's name stands for ''Kindred''...

'''packing out pyrites''' 
Mining fool's gold. Or wasting your resources by loading it into cars or skips instead of throwing it on the tail heap.

'''katana''' 
Japanese samurai sword.
'''

==Page 294==

'''Baron Akashi''' 
A Japanese general whose career included spying, but, anachronistically, his career did not begin until 1889. He was a spy in Europe during Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). So would he've been famous even to the lengths of backwoods CO? How much spyin' can a poor boy do if he's famous?
:The burden of fame doesn't seem to have kept James Bond or Austin Powers from succeeding in their espionage activities.
:Baron Akashi himself was famous, but his sidekick was not. The former didn't show up at Telluride but the latter did as 'some li'l laundry runner'.

'''planning a hoist''' 
''Heist'' is now universal, but originally it was a dialect form of ''hoist.''

'''Squirrel and sarsaparilla''' 
Squirrel Whiskey and Sarsaparilla Soda. Squirrel whiskey was so called because it was supposedly so strong it would drive its drinkers up a tree. Sarsparilla, by contrast, is derived from the roots of the Sarsparilla tree.

==Page 295==

'''summer of '89''' 
Butch Cassidy and his accomplices robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride on 24 June 1889 ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy#1889.E2.80.931894_.E2.80.94_early_robberies.2C_going_to_prison Wikipedia])

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 171-198

2015-02-22T03:56:17Z

Pthomas:

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 171==

[[image:kenosha-kid.jpg|thumb|125px|"The Kenosha Kid" by Forbes Parkhill (Aug 1931) 
[http://themodernword.com/pynchon/Pynchon_kenosha_kid.html Full text and images at The Modern Word]|right]]'''Kieselguhr Kid''' 
Dynamite, a blasting explosive, was invented in 1867 by Alfred P. Nobel by mixing nitroglycerin with kieselguhr.

Kieselguhr is more commonly called diatomite or diatomaceous earth.

The name also recalls the [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=K#kenoshakid Kenosha Kid sequence of ''Gravity's Rainbow''], which may have taken its name from a 1931 pulp fiction story by Forbes Parkhill, a two-fisted wild west adventure.

'''...detective agencies like Pinkerton‘s and Thiel‘s''' 
see Wikipedia Entries [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinkerton_Detective_Agency 1],[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiel_Detective_Service_Company 2]

'''they could look at the unsolved cases the way a banker might at instruments of debt''' 
And bankers call those instruments ''negotiable paper.''

'''reaction of 1849''' 
Acts of European governments to suppress the widespread liberal revolutions of 1848. The reaction impelled many people to emigrate to the U.S.

'''Sangre de Cristos''' 
southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangre_De_Cristo_Mountains Wikipedia Entry]

Spanish: Blood of Christ

Robert Oppenheimer had a ranch in the Sangre de Cristos and loved to ride horseback through the area since he was 18. When the Manhattan Project sought a location to set up shop, Oppenheimer saw Los Alamos as a way to combine his two great loves (physics and NM) with the military's need of a secure and isolated place for the bomb's development.

==Page 172==

'''The Kid's family had supposedly come . . . whenever the Kid's in the county''' 
''The Legend of the Kieselguhr Kid,'' with parallels to the Legends of Zorro, the Lone Ranger and many others.

'''Couple dozen, in big bandoliers across his chest''' 
Similar to the way suicide bombers in the Middle East wear their munitions?

'''Uncompahgre''' 
The Uncompahgre Plateau in Colorado.

'''Butch Cassidy''' 
infamous outlaw [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy Wikipedia Entry]

'''Dr. Lombroso''' 
Born in Verona, Italy, Dr. Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909), using concepts drawn from Physiognomy, early Eugenics, Psychiatry and Social Darwinism, devised the theory that criminality was inherited, and that the born criminal could be identified by physical defects, which confirmed a criminal as savage, or atavistic; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Lombroso Wikipedia entry]

'''Lodazal''' 
spanish for bog, quagmire 
Burke Ponghill has some "swampland" for sale, it's in Colorado, wanna buy some? Comes with a bridge he'd be happy to sell you too. Calls to mind the Florida land speculation boom/bust of the 1920s in general and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isola_di_Lolando Isola di Lolando] in particular. Built to look like a Venetian island, it still sits abandonded in Biscayne Bay.

==Page 173==

'''"evil-doers"''' 
This immediately brings to mind the post 9/11 George W. Bush use of the term, once again relating the time of AtD, with its "unrestrained corporate greed, false religiosity, moronic fecklessness, and evil intent in high places" with current day America - unless, of course, "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred." [[User:Thew|Thew]] 18:49, 30 May 2007 (PDT)

'''"got us a man of principle"''' 
Eerily reminiscent of Theodore Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber, the convicted American murderer known for his campaign of mail bombings, many of which were addressed to specific victims, intended by Kaczynski to draw attention to what he percieved as the ills of technology on modern society. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unabomber Wikipedia entry].

There a several tenuous threads of connection between Pynchon and the Unabomber. Pynchon has written works exploring the dangers of modern technology and, more specifically, ludditism. [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_essays_luddite.html] [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/paper_gibbs.html] As a young man, Pynchon co-wrote such a play, ''Minstral Island'', with his Cornell classmate Kirkpatrick Sale, who later would become one of the world's most prominent and outspoken luddites. Sale later said, "The Unabomber and I share a great many views about the pernicious effect of the Industrial Revolution, the evils of modern technologies, the stifling effect of mass society, the vast extent of suffering in a machine-dominated world and the inevitability of social and environmental catastrophe if the industrial system goes unchecked," although naturally Sale condemned the Unabomber's method. When the Unabomber's identity was still unknown, Pynchon was suggested (with who knows what degree of seriousness, and by whom) as a possible suspect. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon#1990s_and_2000s]

'''"jizzmatic juices backin' up, putting pressure on the brain" 
'Jizzmatic juices' seems to be a Pynchon-created slang phrase for semen, adapted from the dictionary-found slang word for semen, "jism". Pynchon has "a lady acquaintence" of Mr. Ponghill as responsible for the "naive theory" [Lew Basnight], commonly-enough held, that lack of sex "lack of exposure to the fair sex", previous paragraph can affect the brain and therefore one's judgment.
:In the 19th century, this was actually a "scientific" theory. The idea was that the human body was a closed system w/ a certain amount of energy. For women, intellectual activity was presumed to send blood to the head, meaning that it would not be available for reproduction. For men, lack of sexual activity was presumed to lead to a clogged up system dangerous to health. Among other things this point was used to justify men's visits to prostitutes. See for instance this book excerpt via Google Books[http://books.google.com/books?id=6eOlhNkjXaAC&pg=PA215&dq=men+medicine+health+19th+century&sig=E76pPUJ8M9VnXZ5E2afIfcr3o_M]

:Yes yes. this "lack of exposure to the fair sex" can cause [[ATD 171-198#Page 183|Beaver on the Brain]]

:Actually you can find the term "jizz" at the [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jizz Urban Dictionary] - [[User:Ctsats|Ctsats]] 12:49 GMT+2, 26 January 2007

'''"Don't mean he ain't got a right to his privacy."''' 
Continues the Unabomber/Pynchon connection. Pynchon follows the description of a dynamite bomber with the right to privacy, something that Pynchon has guarded closely for his entire life. For more on Pynchon and privacy, see [[ATD_26-56#Page_37|page 37]].

==Page 174==

'''back to the campfires of his youth, only then it was God didn't have a name''' 
"What is God's name?" or "What is God's first name?" was a topic that reliably led adolescent boys to yatter pointlessly on for hours when their adult leaders wanted to be left alone in camp.

'''examine his skull, the lobes for social feeling just aren't there''' 
In the pseudo-science [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology phrenology], parts of the brain (i.e., "lobes") are measured to determine moral character.

'''"your own brother"''' 
The Unabomber was turned in by his brother. ("Kaczynski" means 'ducky' or 'duckman'. Did TRP hide this somewhere?)

==Page 175==

'''every cabin . . . concealed stories that were anything but peaceful''' 
Compare Sherlock Holmes in "The Copper Beeches": "It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys of London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside."

'''culinary delights of mushrooms that would turn a silver coin to black... 
Per http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/200-299/nb235.htm, 
"It is false to believe that
/toadstools/, the common name for poisonous mushrooms, can be
detected by the fact that, when cooked, they will turn silver black ..."

'''"Only slowly would it occur to his ultra-keen detective's reasoning that these bombs could have been set by anybody, including those who would clearly benefit if "Anarchists", however loosely defined, could be blamed for it."''' 
Is this an(other) allusion to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_demolition_hypothesis_for_the_collapse_of_the_World_Trade_Center Controlled demolition hypothesis] for the collapse of the WTC? Cf. a similar reference in [[ATD_81-96#Page_85|page 85]] and the discussion therein.

Pynchon seems to be a smart enough guy to not believe such ridiculous theories. It's all too easy to read into these true historical events (the short-lived period of anarchist bombings of the late 19th and early 20 centuries) similitudes with more recent events, but the context in AtD is clear enough that this sort of speculation seems to be nothing more than speculation. Of course, that's the fodder for conspiracy theorists...--[[User:Kirkm|Kirkm]] 04:40, 21 February 2007 (PST)

I see a broader parallel between government manipulation of 19th century fear of "anarchists" and 20th century fears of "terrorists." As in the 2006 film "Children of Men," where the government is responsible for the "terrorist" bombings. --[[User:Cal|Cal]] 11:48, 14 June 2007 (PST)

The idea of controlled demolitions undertaken on the gov.'s behalf isn't a new one, and those who think the idea is too outlandish for the period have failed to "Remember the Maine!" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_%28ACR-1%29]

Anyways, whether Pynchon believes the WTC "conspiracy theories" or not, it seems obvious that he is encouraging the reader to make the connection. If anyone knows that it's "all too easy to read into these true historical [or fictional] events... similitudes with more recent events" it's TRP. --[[User:Pomopaulrevere|Pomopaulrevere]]
:I disagree that TRP is "encouraging" us to make such a connex, and anyway, the Maine was either an accident or destroyed by a [Spanish] mine, so it isn't parallel. The yellow press went to work, even though the US gov't at that point was not sure it wanted war with Cuba. -- Owl of Minerva

It seems to me that when Ruggles writes statements like the quote above, or makes a reference to someone removing the rubble of a building to an out of country location, or a little later on when he has the Chums suspect their Subdesertine scherzo is really only a front for oil exploration, he does so with the full knowledge that his vigilantly paranoid (and generally anti-establishment) readers might suspect he is referring to present day events. This is the same man who wrote Proverbs for Paranoids after all. I guess it comes down to whether or not you think Pynchon had his tongue planted firmly in cheek when he wrote on Amazon that "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred". You see where I stand. --[[User:Pomopaulrevere|Pomopaulrevere]] 

:Sorry, Pomopaul, my comment sounded rather snooty. I did NOT mean that trp wants no connex made, but rather that he is connecting past and present power politics based on disasters, especially human-caused disasters, rather than encouraging us to believe that our own gov't caused 9/11. In AtD, I see materialist power politics with not-thought-out and unintended consequences. The Austrian Emperor, for instance, is not trying to provoke war with Serbia in order to bring about the extinction of that Empire, but that is the unintended result. But you have given me pause, for you are certainly correct about Proverbs for Paranoids.... -- Owl

:A wrong premise seems to underlie some discussion in the wiki: the notion of a passage '''''referring to''''' something outside the book. The writing stands on its own feet; if it didn't, we all would have quit reading. But you don't go to the Velázquez show to learn what the Spanish princesses looked like. The artist proposes new terms that you can use to understand your world. A lot of us think we can use Pynchon's terms this way: magic, straight lines, Panic fear, born of light, the sacrifice of innocence. If that's so, then the best end of the wiki is to help users parse the terms. It misses the point to discuss what Pynchon ''thinks'' or ''intends'' or to make this book be about the 21st century.

:Well, maybe we need to continue this discussion on a Talk page. "Referring" to something outside the book has different meanings,of course, and certain literalnesses of referring many of us might find....narrow......or plain wrong but I would argue that TRP would agree with Melville on the NECESSITY of works to 'tie in' to the real world. [citation needed]. I think one of the best things about the wiki is that is allows that to be shown--and shown deeply and thematically---against the blindness of some readers and even 'critics' and reviewers who say Pynchon's works are so 'postmodern' they are only about themselves. I think the above poster might not differ with this assessment, but I wanted to stress it. [[User:MKOHUT|MKOHUT]] 08:40, 22 June 2007 (PDT)

==Page 176==

'''the Pullman plant''' 
The 1894 strike of labor unions against the Pullman Palace Car Company in Pullman, Illinois, caused a national conflict. President Cleveland sent in troops, which resulted in violence.

'''McCormick Reaper''' 
Cyrus McCormick, a famous nineteenth-century Chicagoan, invented a reaper/harvester. The McCormick factories were later the site of labor strikes that led to the Haymarket Square riot in 1886, which is mentioned later on this page.

'''revealing the Plutonic powers as they daily sent their legions of gnomes underground''' 
Here we may have a key to understanding the war in the Earth's Interior—in which Chthonica, Princess of Plutonia, saw her castle besieged by the Legion of Gnomes—when the Chums of Chance seem to have joined the Plutonic cause; [[ATD_97-118#Page_117|see text and annotations, p. 117.]]

'''"the Powers, who always had more dwarves waiting, even eagerly, to be sent below."''' 
A Tolkien-inspired imagery? Dwarfs figure prominently into Norse mythology and fantasy works before Tolkien, but Tolkien supposedly began the use of the spelling, "dwarves," employed here. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf Wikipedia entry on Dwarf] 
:I would hope it's an allusion to Wagner's Ring rather than to Tolkien. On pp. 127-28, Iceland Spar, there is discussion of the far north and Nordic travels there. Beyond the Ginnungagap lay Niflheim or in German Niebelheim, meaning Foggy Home, and in Wagner it lay under the earth, with bent-over workers, perhaps dwarves, forced to mine gold and other minerals. This makes the comment above, about the earth's interior and Chthonica, fit even better.

'''Tortoni's on Arapahoe''' 
Italian restaurant located in the 1500 block of Arapahoe Street in downtown Denver. [http://www.rootsweb.com/~codenver/miracle/104.htm Photo]

'''Gahan's saloon across the street from City Hall''' 
Saloon operated by William Gahan, a Denver City Councilman, and his brothers conveniently located at 1401 Larimer Street in Denver, across the street from City Hall. Gahan operated two other saloons, including one at 1133 Larimer Street, which he supposedly kept open on Sundays, harbored gambling, and sponsored a boys' baseball team that played for beer.

'''Ed Chase, the boss of the red-light district''' 
Edward "Big Ed" Chase (1838-1921) was a New Yorker from Saratoga Springs who became the leader of criminal activities in Denver from 1860 on, and as such was an influential and respected man. He ran saloons, gambling houses, bordellos, and theaters (specializing in "burlesque"), and served on the Denver City Council from 1866-1869. After that, he was a behind-the-scenes ward boss and power broker for the Republican party, which dominated Denver politics at the time. Nearly every 19th century election in Denver was clouded by charges that Chase had organized an army of voters out of riffraff, vagrants, prostitutes, barflies and gamblers. By the time of his death in 1921, Chase had come to be regarded as a respected real estate investor and capitalist. For more info, consult ''The City & The Saloon: Denver 1858-1918'' by Thomas J. Noel.

'''"another little Haymarket"''' 
On May 4th 1886 a workers' protest meeting was held at the West Randolph Street Haymarket in Chicago. A bomb was thrown at the police, the police opened fire and many officers and protesters were killed ([http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/571.html chicagohistory.org])

==Page 177==

'''The Row''' 
Denver‘s red light district developed along McGaa Street (subsequently renamed Holladay and then Market Street) [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3951/is_200010/ai_n8908963 1] [http://www.womenof.com/Articles/d011899.asp 2]

==Page 178==

'''W.F.M.''' 
Western Federation of Miners [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Federation_of_Miners Wikipedia Entry]

'''Tansy Wagwheel''' 
Other ''AtD'' women named for herbs and ornamentals include Stray's friend [[ATD_199-218#Page_203|Sage in Nochecita,]] [[ATD_243-272#Page_263|Lake's colleague Oleander Prudge,]] [[ATD_149-170#Page_160|Cousin Dittany Vibe,]] [[ATD_336-357#Page_345|Verbena at Smokefoot's,]] and of course [[ATD_26-56#Page_28|Dahlia Rideout.]]

'''Dynamite Them All, and Let Jesus Sort Them Out''' 
Ms. Wagwheel's words echo Arnaud Amaury's (the Papal legate) comment after the Albigensian Crusade: "Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius " ("Kill them all, God will know his own").
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albigensian_Crusade#cite_note-21 Wikipedia Note]

'''Ku Klux Klan''' 
The Klan itself was not in its heyday at the time this episode took place, and not only is it unlikely that the Klan would have shown itself at the time, but also that it would have been this far west. The "modern" Klan was only reformed in 1915. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan Wikipedia]. IN the 1920s, Colorado would become a stronghold of the "modern" Klan.

'''heeled''' 
Carrying a sidearm. (The word also means "having money," but here the first meaning is pretty clear.)

==Page 179==

'''Buck Wells''' 
An elite American who was on the board of the Telluride Mining Association, head of a mining company and was aggressively anti-union even to the point of false murder charges. Bulkeley Wells http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulkeley_Wells

'''Clovis Yutts''' 
"Yutz" is a slang word (from Yiddish) for a clueless goof.

'''different tempos and keys''' 
Cf 'anarchist miracle' in "Lot 49" (chapter 5).

In the early 1970s San Francisco was the site of the Black Flag Concerts, where anybody was allowed to make any music. People who attended said it was disorienting to wander through the crowd listening to folk singers, kazoo bands and Celtic harpists all belting away. (The Black Flag is a traditional emblem of anarchism.)

Also perhaps a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ives Charles Ives], who wrote much music containing combatting sections in different keys, tempi and melody. The quintessential image of Ives' music is that of four marching bands playing different tunes arriving at the same village square. Ives attended Yale, though graduated in 1898, two years prior to the scene beginning on page 156.

Or perhaps just an image of musical anarchy to match the political Anarchism.

==Page 180==

'''Valley Tan''' 
Mormon whiskey reported by Mark Twain. [http://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/in_another_time/091795.html cite]

As Twain himself suggests, Valley Tan was not so much a whiskey as a “first cousin to it.” It was a brand of patent medicines that were produced in Salt Lake City at the Valley Tan Remedies (V.T.R.) Laboratory beginning in 1884. A brief profile of the company can be found at this [http://www.fohbc.com/PDF_Files/ValleyTanRemedies_Sanders.pdf website.]

'''The Unsleepin Eye''' 
The logo of the Pinkerton Agency is a giant eyeball with the words "We Never Sleep." See it [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We_never_sleep.jpg here].

==Page 181==

'''it'll be run Anarchist run for you, Brother Basnight''' 
Echoes Chick on p. 8: "legal ain't got nothing to do with it—it's run, Yankee, run, and Katie bar the door."

==Page 182==

'''faded into the mobility''' 
"Mobility" also appears in ''Mason & Dixon.'' The word was later shortened to "mob."

'''"kept wasting Agency money rattling off one telegram after another."''' 
Cf. the following excerpt from a letter by novelist Raymond Chandler to Jamie Hamilton, 21 March 1949:
:"I remember several years ago when Howard Hawks was making ''The Big Sleep'', the movie, he and Bogart got into an argument as to whether one of the characters was murdered or commited suicide. They sent me a wire (there's a joke about this too) asking me, and dammit I didn't know either. Of course I got hooted at. The joke was in connection with Jack Warner, the head of Warner Bros. Believe it or not, he saw the wire, the wire cost the studio 70 cents, and he called Hawks up and asked him whether it was really necessary to send a telegram about a point like that. That's one way to run a business." (''The Raymond Chandler Papers'', ed. by Tom Hiney and Frank McShane, Penguin 2001, p. 105)

'''P.E.T.N.''' 
The explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate. Ingredient of Semtex, discovered 1891. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PETN Wikipedia]

'''Dr. Oyswharf''' 
There is, in Norfolk, Virginia, a district (?) called "Oyster Wharf"; there is, in London, a development called "Oyster Wharf" not sure if it's significant or points anywhere, but it appears that this fellow's name is a contraction of those two words. More generically, an "oyster wharf" is any wharf where the oystermen come in and offload their catch. Back in the day, they would give oysters away for free. Oyster shells are a natural source of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3).

Bear in mind that the Chums' Upper Hierarchy communicated orders to the Chums via a pearl. Miles Blundell "well before sunup, had visited the shellfish market in the teeming narrow lanes of the old town in Surabaya, East Java" and procured a bucket of "Special Japanese Oysters" ([[ATD 97-118#Page 113|p. 113]]). The pearl was inserted into a device which rendered a "photographic image." This connects with the red crystal used in Merle's and Roswell's device ([[ATD_1018-1039#Page 1037|p. 1037]]).

Also bear in mind the sexual implications of the oyster, both its use as slang for the vagina (because its shape is evocative of the vagina, and some say its smell, as well) as well as its reputation as a aphrodisiac. This plays into [[The_Sexual_Angle|the sexual pattern]] that runs through ''Against the Day''. A few tidbits:

:Oysters were documented as a aphrodisiac food by the Romans in the second century A.D as mentioned in a satire by Juvenal. He described the wanton ways of women after ingesting wine and eating "giant oysters". An additional hypotheses is that the oyster resembles the "female" genitals. In reality oysters are a very nutritious and high in protein. [http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/aphrodis_foods.htm]

:Oysters have always been linked with love. When Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, sprang forth from the sea on an oyster shell and promptly gave birth to Eros, the word "aphrodisiac" was born. The dashing lover Casanova also used to start a meal eating 12 dozen oysters. [http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0298/oysters.html]

Interesting that the oyster plays to the sexual connection, ''and'' the "artful sons of Nippon" using paramorphism to change aragonite, the "nacreous" (an adjective frequently used to describe semen) part of the pearl "to microscopic crystals of the doubly-refracting calcite known as Iceland spar" ([[ATD 97-118#Page 114|p. 114]]).

Also: "Oysvarf" in Yiddish means, literally, vomitus; An "oysvarf" translates roughly as "a little puke".
:Actually, my checking indicates that it's ''oysvurf'', not ''oysvarf'', which is Yiddish for an outcast or bad person.

Also might be a reference to Owsley Stanley,"'underground' LSD chemist, the first to produce large quantities of pure LSD" and "the primary LSD supplier to Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters". wiki:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley]

'''mixtures of nitro compounds and polymethylenes''' 
Nitro compounds include TNT, nitroglycerine and many other explosives. Polymethylenes are probably polymethylene waxes used as stabilizers or desensitizers.

'''experiencing the hotel dining room in a range of colors, not to mention cultural references, which had not been there when he came in''' 
Kinda like the way many of us are seeing ''AtD'' after prolonged exposure to the wiki. . . .

'''"The wallpaper in particular presented not a repeating pattern at all"''' 
Cf. Lucius Sheppard's 1985 short story ''The Fundamental Things'', where a lady starts translating her wallpaper pattern to Hebrew.

The connection between explosives and psychedelics is apparently not based in chemistry but it has appeared elsewhere in popular culture. The 1967 James Bond spoof ''Casino Royale'' has a scene where pillowcases are inflated with a psychedelic gas, a fuse is attached, and a powerful explosion is the result.

==Page 183==

[[image:beaver-on-the-brain.jpg|thumb|Beaver on the Brain T-Shirt|right]]'''Yes we're Beavers of the Brain... 
This little hallucinated ditty, sung by "a race of very small but perfectly visible inhabitants" of Lew Basnight's steak, is reminiscent of "We Represent the Lollipop Guild" sung by three tough-looking Munchkin boys in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_%281939_film%29 ''The Wizard of Oz''] (1939). "Beavers of the Brain" also brings to mind the phrase "Beaver on the brain" (describing a horny male or, perhaps, lesbian) which even adorns t-shirts (see right).

Cf. "Pussy on the brain" - [[ATD_243-272#Page 260|p.260]]

See also, [[The Sexual Angle]].

'''Keep that Bulldog in your pocket...''' 
A "Bulldog" is a small, "snubbie" revolver, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, perfect for carrying in the pocket as a concealed weapon. It also carries a somewhat sexual connotation.

'''Cyclomite''' 
A spelling error may lead to the idea that cyclomite is a name for the explosive RDX; that's cyclo'''n'''ite.

:I don't think this is a spelling error. Connects with dynomite. No way.

:Didn't make myself clear. If cyclomite is a Pynchon coinage, a Google search should give only Pynchon-linked hits. But I got a hit on an explosive—causing me to be short of breath till I realized it was just a misspelling for the correct term '''(in that context)''' "cyclonite," or RDX.

'''plasticerator''' 
Plasti-, moldable (in this case chewable); cera- related to Latin ''cera'' = wax, ''cerumen'' = earwax; -ator, an agent to modify a product. The word "plasticerator" does not seem to have caught on. It would not be a failed synonym for "plasticizer," an agent to make rigid plastics pliable.

==Page 184==

'''there's a strange chemical relation between these nitro explosives and the human heart''' 
Indeed. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitroglycerine Nitroglycerin] is used to make dynamite but it's also a medicine used to treat heart conditions.

'''Cyclomite habit''' 
Several documents from the time attest to addictive behavior of workers exposed to high levels of nitroglycerin. Nitroglycerin exposure brings rapid severe headaches as a result of vasodilation (known as NG head). The body does adapt after a period of time but the adaptation only lasts ~96 hours. Workers exposed to the chemical (skin or inhalation) during the work week were known to keep sticks of dynamite under their hats as they went home and etc. They wouldn't want to lose the adaptation over the weekend and be forced to deal with the headache again on Monday. See, for example, this 1978 document from the CDC which contains an extensive history of the substance:[http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pdfs/78-167c.pdf] Also: the section titled "glonism" in this 1899 document:[http://books.google.com/books?id=OSYSAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA15&ots=nDkGXXmz9o&dq=%22glonoinism%22&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q=%22glonoinism%22&f=false] and this one:[http://books.google.com/books?id=oSITAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA154&ots=1zzemCXsXU&dq=%22glonoinism%22&pg=PA154#v=onepage&q=%22glonoinism%22&f=false] [[User:MichaelSaavedra|MichaelSaavedra]] ([[User talk:MichaelSaavedra|talk]]) 18:58, 12 August 2013 (PDT)

'''Kankakee''' 
city in Illinois.

'''Wall of Death''' 
Without risk of spoilage, [[ATD_460-488#Page_476|see annotation to p. 476.]]

'''things would happen gradually enough to afford time to do something about it''' 
A central idea in ''Gravity's Rainbow'', which features a rocket that breaks the sound barrier and thus the ability to kill you before you hear it coming.

'''the world turned all inside out''' 
This passage describes acid flashbacks.
:It's certainly written so as to suggest acid flashbacks but it's describing Lew's experience of being blown up

'''the carnival theory''' 
On page 90 Kit Traverse had "seen a dynamited carny jump up out of the blast good as new."

==Page 185==

'''Trilby hat''' 
Derived from George du Maurier's 1894 novel [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilby Trilby]. The novel was adapted into a long-running play starring Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Svengali. A hat of this style was worn on stage during the play's first London production.

'''excursion''' 
Wilde's US lecture tour was in 1882.

==Page 186==
'''and Leadville in particular''' 
In 1882, the Tabor Opera House hosted Oscar Wilde during his lecture tour, one of many celebrities who graced the city.

'''Anasazi''' 
Ancient Pueblo Peoples, see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anasazi "Anasazi"]

Probably the Hovenweep ruins, now a national monument about 25 miles west of Dolores, Colorado.

'''"Like a Red Indian Stonehenge!" - "Only different!"''' 
Cf. " 'Thanatoid' means 'like death, only different.' " (''Vineland'', p. 170). See also [[ATD_119-148#Page_133| page 133]].

[[image:hangedman.jpg|thumb|150px|right|The Hanged Man by Colman-Smith]]
'''''grifa''''' 
Marijuana. [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Grifa cite]

'''Miss Colman-Smith is West Indian [tarot cards]''' 
Pamela Colman Smith (1878—1951) was an artist, illustrator, and writer. She is best known for designing the Rider-Waite-Smith deck of tarot cards for Arthur Edward Waite. Smith was born in England, the daughter of an American merchant from Brooklyn, Charles Edward Smith and his Jamaican wife Corinne Colman. Due to her father’s job with the West India Improvement Company, the family often moved, spending time in London, Kingston, Jamaica and Brooklyn, New York. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Colman_Smith Wikipedia entry]

Pynchon's interest in the tarot is evident in ''Gravity's Rainbow''. Two tarot cards are referred to here -- the Hanged Man ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider-Waite image]) and the Knight of Swords ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_arcana#Swords image]). The reference is an anachronism, as the deck wasn't published until 1909.

The two tarot cards could be seen to have opposite interpretations. In readings [http://www.learntarot.com/skn.htm the Knight of Swords] is indicative of direct action, whereas [http://www.learntarot.com/maj12.htm the Hanged Man] is indicative of letting go and waiting for results.

'''''espadas . . . copas''''' 
Spanish: Swords, Cups. The Tarot suits corresponding to spades and clubs.

'''Querent''' 
Latin: one who asks. The subject of a Tarot reading (in some settings, the mark).

'''Perseid''' 
"The shower is visible from mid-July each year, but the bulk of its activity falls between August 8 and 14 with a peak on August 12. During the peak, rates of a hundred or more meteors per hour can be registered." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseid Wikipedia]
This paragraph again suggests [[ATD_81-96#Page_83|p. 83]], Indian, and even Indian ghosts' amusement with the Whites. 

==Page 187==

'''hell of a blow-up . . . . maiden's sigh''' 
Possible allusion to the testing of Trinity Bomb, the first explosion of an atomic weapon, which took place at White Sands, New Mexico on July 16, 1945. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_test Wikipedia].

See the text on the "anti-Stone," pp. 78-79, [[ATD_57-80#Page_78|and annotations.]]

'''A second Moon''' 
[[ATD_119-148#Page_144|On page 144,]] ''Inconvenience'' is described as a "misplaced moon."

'''Galveston''' 
In the summer of 1900 Galveston was a major seaport; many of its cotton warehouses still stand. In the 19th century it was a port of entry for immigrants from Germany, Bohemia, the Balkans and elsewhere. The 1900 hurricane was the making of Houston, a few dozen miles up slow-flowing Buffalo Bayou—which was turned into the Ship Channel within a few years.

==Page 188==

'''Galveston Hurricane''' 
An historical event (8th September 1900, 6000 dead).
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Hurricane_of_1900 [Wikipedia]]

'''wherever could you have been living, before that frightful bomb brought you to us?''' 
Perhaps an allusion to and rhetorical parallel of the "wake-up bomb" of the 9/11 attacks, and the relative increase of attention paid by the American media and public to such post-9/11 disasters as the slaughter of citizens in the Afghan and Iraq offensives, the destruction wrought by the South Asian tsunami, the displacement of the "hidden" poor of the Gulf States by Hurricane Katrina, the carnage of the earthquake in Iran, the rampant and still-raging genocides of Sudan, and so on.
:It has to work in ''AtD'' before it can be an allusion to something else! Here Neville seems to say Lew was ''not'' with him and Nigel until the explosion delivered "the New Lew" into "the world reconstituted" (p. 185), not that the N's simply found him in his torpor. "It didn't seem like Colorado anymore" (also p. 185). The explosion did more than knock Lew out; now he's living somewhere else. The reader is well-advised to trust Pynchon and let the text mean what it means before interpreting other histories into it.

:By my reading, this is the second time Lew has been displaced into another, parallel, world. The first time (in Ch. 1) occurred when he left innocence to find himself having committed some unmentionable crime, of which he has no recollection (bec/ he committed no crime in his original world).

'''neuræsthenic''' 
This is the second appearance of the word (the first was on page 83). Neurasthenia was a kind of catch-all at the time for what today would be called depression, fatigue, anxiety, etc.

==Page 189==

'''squarehead compadres''' 
Scandinavians, especially Swedes, are sometimes referred to as ''squareheads''. In HBO's ''Deadwood'', for example, the orphaned girl Sophia (whose Scandinavian family migrated from Minnesota) is the ''squarehead girl''.

'''Fireman Jim Flynn''' 
The nickname undoubtedly comes from railroading, not firefighting.

==Page 190==

'''blue northers''' 
In the West, the Plains and down to Texas, a blue norther is a fast-moving weather front with lightning, rain and wind, followed by a rapid drop in temperature.

==Page 191==
'''Blair Street'''
When train passengers arrive in Silverton they debark on Notorious Blair Street. The street was home to 32 saloons, gambling halls and houses of ill-repute in a three-block stretch. More [http://www.coloradoinfo.com/travel.asp?pageid=19%7C381%7C388%7C402 here].

'''ineradicable''' 
Incapable of being eradicated or rooted out. <ref>(The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989)</ref>

==Page 192==

'''nearly twenty''' 
1883 + 19yo = 1902?

'''stamps beating''' 
Breaking ore into small pieces in preparation for refining.

==Page 193==

'''Uncompahgre''' 
A Plateau in Western Colorado, named after the Uncompahgre Ute Indian Tribe. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncompahgre_%28disambiguation%29 [Wikipedia]]

'''Deuce Kindred''' 
A seaman deuce is an apprentice seaman. See V. 
Deuce=Two=Also?...Deuce=Two=Doubling? 
Philip K. Dick's full name is Philip Kindred Dick.

'''Deuce had been one of those Sickly Youths . . . Strenuosity''' 
[[ATD_149-170#Page_159|Theodore Roosevelt]] was the model for feeble boys growing into bold men. His "Strenuous Life" doctrine was uncomfortably close to the adult Deuce's ways.

'''absorbed . . . re-emission . . . fluorescence of vindictiveness''' 
In a fluorescent tube, invisible ultraviolet radiation from the electrical discharge is absorbed by "phosphors" on the inside of the glass. The UV excites the phosphor atoms, which then—instead of giving off ultraviolet of their own—re-emit the energy at a different wavelength, one that is visible.

'''workin fathoms''' 
Mining under a contract that paid by the volume of rock extracted. See [[ATD_296-317#Page_302|annotations to p. 302]] (but to avoid spoilers, don't look up or down).

'''not since the aught-one strike''' 
So 1901 is in the past.

'''three-dollar sack suit''' 
That is, a suit one might buy at a store where one fills a sack with clothes and then pays three dollars for the lot.
A sack suit is an ordinary 19th-c. business suit which "evolved into the modern three piece suit."
[http://www.lahacal.org/gentleman/sack.html source]

==Page 194==

'''the fish at that table''' 
The player whose money the others mean to take.

'''Dallas Divide''' 
Mountain Pass dividing the Uncompahgre Plateau from the San Juan Mountains. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Divide [Wikipedia]]

==Page 195==

'''Sloat Fresno''' 
Possibly named for Commodore John D. Sloat ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Sloat Wikipedia entry]), American naval officer who claimed California, then a territory of Mexico, as part of the United States on July 7, 1846. The text of the declaration can be found [http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/documents/sloat.htm here]. Another source may be the Sloat Lumber Co. of Quincy, CA, which used an uncommon 30 gauge track, about which all I can find is [http://members.tripod.com/~Sloat_Lumber_Co/PROTOTYP.HTM here]. Fresno is presumably a reference to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresno%2C_CA city in California], though its direct relation to either the Commodore or the Sloat Lumber Co. is unclear.

''Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West,'' by Cormac McCarthy, has a character named Sloat, but he's so minor that the only dialog he gets is when he denies being related to the commodore.

Sloat is another term for slat, a narrow piece of wood. Fresno is Spanish for ash.

In terms of sound and connotation, Sloat sounds like "stoat" (a weasel) combined with "sl" -- slippery, slimey, sluggish. All of which fits him.

'''the earlier troubles''' 
The Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek_miners%27_strike_of_1894] See also: the Western Federation of Miners. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Federation_of_Miners]

'''copping the borax''' 
? Seemingly a term invented by Pynchon. No idea what it means, but borax is a mineral used in detergent, pottery, a lots of other things. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax Wikipedia on Borax]
:to "cop the borax" is, as Pynchon explains, to "jump the bounty." The phrase appears in several works published 1872-1875 by George Pickering Burnham. See, for example, [http://books.google.com/books?id=e-YRAAAAYAAJ&dq] Also: [http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp091_verb_cop_etymology.pdf] [[User:MichaelSaavedra|MichaelSaavedra]] ([[User talk:MichaelSaavedra|talk]]) 18:36, 12 August 2013 (PDT)

"Borax" is a slang word for cheap, poorly made products. Makers of borax for use in cleansing used to give away junky items as premiums. If you look at it the other way around, "borax" could mean a premium, hence an enlistment bonus. "Copping" of course is getting something by underhand means.
:this sense didn't exist until the ~1920s. In the mid-late 19th C borax had a decidedly positive connotation. Phrases like "this valuable material" and "handsome profit" in relation to borax abound. See, for example, [http://books.google.com/books?id=0KAEAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA235&ots=3PQlYOhcbd&dq=%22On%20borax%20in%20California%3A%22&pg=PA235#v=onepage&q=%22On%20borax%20in%20California:%22&f=false|American Journal of Pharmacy, Volume 38 (1866)] and so forth. There are hundreds of examples. There were also quite a few stories of men getting rich on borax mineral rights at the time. [[User:MichaelSaavedra|MichaelSaavedra]] ([[User talk:MichaelSaavedra|talk]]) 18:36, 12 August 2013 (PDT)

'''from Fort Bliss to the Coeur d'Alenes''' 
From Dan to Beersheba, so to speak. Fort Bliss is near El Paso, Texas. The Coeur d'Alène Mountains are in the panhandle of Idaho and the western end of Montana.

'''Montrose''' 
Montrose, CO. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose%2C_Colorado [Wikipedia]]

'''li'l buddy''' 
Brings to mind Gilligan and the Skipper from ''Gilligan's Island'': Sloat, like the Skipper, is twice his buddy's size; in both pairs, it is uncertain just who is whose sidekick; and the Skipper referred to Gilligan by, "li'l buddy."

This phrase also appears in ''Vineland'' (pg. 26) and in ''Inherent Vice'' ([http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_7#Page_92 pg. 92]).

==Page 196==

'''red liquor''' 
Colored liquor, such as bourbon or whiskey.

==Page 197==

'''Sloat tending to bodies, Deuce... the spirit''' 
Again, the body/soul dichotomy. See [[ATD_97-118#Page_101|page 101]] and [[The_World_is_at_Fault|The World is at Fault]] letter by Pynchon.
:This describes a complementarity as well as a dichotomy, and leads us back to the theme of doubling and Doppelgänger.

[[image:couplingpin.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Coupling pin]]'''coupling pin''' See photo.

==Page 198==

'''The Light Over the Ranges''' 
Repeats the title of Part One. May also suggest Tesla's 03 July 1899 'vision' ([[ATD_97-118#Page_97|page 97]]). May also be tied to the light/dark theme running through parts of the book thus far: light over the (dark) ranges. Note the concurrence of the leitmotives light-time-water in the sentence "He watched the light over the ranges slowly draining away". The image of "draining light" might also hint at the wave-particle duality.

'''Jeshimon''' 
Literally: "the waste", more specifically the wilderness of Judah in the Bible, near the Dead Sea. [http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/jeshimon.html christiananswers.net]. Fuller annotation at [[ATD_199-218#Page_209|page 209.]]

'''"Sir, please relocate your hand or I shall be obliged to do so myself"''' 
A fine flowery way of saying, "Move it or lose it, Sport."

'''Cortez''' 
In far southwestern Colorado near the Utah state line.

'''decolletage''' 
The low-cut neck of a bodice. <ref>(Def.1. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989)</ref>

'''shadow had taken the immeasurable plain''' 
Contrasts "the light over the ranges". Possibly an allusion to Sodom and Gomorrah, the "cities of the plain" in Genesis 19, in which the angels advise Lot and his family: "do not look back and do not stop anywhere in the Plain. Flee to the hills or you will be swept away" (19:17). ''The cities of the plain'', is also the title of i) the translated fourth volume of Proust's ''A la recherche du temps perdu'' (original title ''Sodome et Gomorrhe'') and ii) Cormac McCarthy's third novel of ''The Border Trilogy''.

This is the third possible reference to Proust so far. See also [[ATD_149-170#Page_165|page 165]], and [[#Page_188|page 188]].

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 171-198

2015-02-21T04:27:59Z

Pthomas:

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 171==

[[image:kenosha-kid.jpg|thumb|125px|"The Kenosha Kid" by Forbes Parkhill (Aug 1931) 
[http://themodernword.com/pynchon/Pynchon_kenosha_kid.html Full text and images at The Modern Word]|right]]'''Kieselguhr Kid''' 
Dynamite, a blasting explosive, was invented in 1867 by Alfred P. Nobel by mixing nitroglycerin with kieselguhr.

Kieselguhr is more commonly called diatomite or diatomaceous earth.

The name also recalls the [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=K#kenoshakid Kenosha Kid sequence of ''Gravity's Rainbow''], which may have taken its name from a 1931 pulp fiction story by Forbes Parkhill, a two-fisted wild west adventure.

'''...detective agencies like Pinkerton‘s and Thiel‘s''' 
see Wikipedia Entries [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinkerton_Detective_Agency 1],[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiel_Detective_Service_Company 2]

'''they could look at the unsolved cases the way a banker might at instruments of debt''' 
And bankers call those instruments ''negotiable paper.''

'''reaction of 1849''' 
Acts of European governments to suppress the widespread liberal revolutions of 1848. The reaction impelled many people to emigrate to the U.S.

'''Sangre de Cristos''' 
southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangre_De_Cristo_Mountains Wikipedia Entry]

Spanish: Blood of Christ

Robert Oppenheimer had a ranch in the Sangre de Cristos and loved to ride horseback through the area since he was 18. When the Manhattan Project sought a location to set up shop, Oppenheimer saw Los Alamos as a way to combine his two great loves (physics and NM) with the military's need of a secure and isolated place for the bomb's development.

==Page 172==

'''The Kid's family had supposedly come . . . whenever the Kid's in the county''' 
''The Legend of the Kieselguhr Kid,'' with parallels to the Legends of Zorro, the Lone Ranger and many others.

'''Couple dozen, in big bandoliers across his chest''' 
Similar to the way suicide bombers in the Middle East wear their munitions?

'''Uncompahgre''' 
The Uncompahgre Plateau in Colorado.

'''Butch Cassidy''' 
infamous outlaw [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy Wikipedia Entry]

'''Dr. Lombroso''' 
Born in Verona, Italy, Dr. Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909), using concepts drawn from Physiognomy, early Eugenics, Psychiatry and Social Darwinism, devised the theory that criminality was inherited, and that the born criminal could be identified by physical defects, which confirmed a criminal as savage, or atavistic; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Lombroso Wikipedia entry]

'''Lodazal''' 
spanish for bog, quagmire 
Burke Ponghill has some "swampland" for sale, it's in Colorado, wanna buy some? Comes with a bridge he'd be happy to sell you too. Calls to mind the Florida land speculation boom/bust of the 1920s in general and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isola_di_Lolando Isola di Lolando] in particular. Built to look like a Venetian island, it still sits abandonded in Biscayne Bay.

==Page 173==

'''"evil-doers"''' 
This immediately brings to mind the post 9/11 George W. Bush use of the term, once again relating the time of AtD, with its "unrestrained corporate greed, false religiosity, moronic fecklessness, and evil intent in high places" with current day America - unless, of course, "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred." [[User:Thew|Thew]] 18:49, 30 May 2007 (PDT)

'''"got us a man of principle"''' 
Eerily reminiscent of Theodore Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber, the convicted American murderer known for his campaign of mail bombings, many of which were addressed to specific victims, intended by Kaczynski to draw attention to what he percieved as the ills of technology on modern society. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unabomber Wikipedia entry].

There a several tenuous threads of connection between Pynchon and the Unabomber. Pynchon has written works exploring the dangers of modern technology and, more specifically, ludditism. [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_essays_luddite.html] [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/paper_gibbs.html] As a young man, Pynchon co-wrote such a play, ''Minstral Island'', with his Cornell classmate Kirkpatrick Sale, who later would become one of the world's most prominent and outspoken luddites. Sale later said, "The Unabomber and I share a great many views about the pernicious effect of the Industrial Revolution, the evils of modern technologies, the stifling effect of mass society, the vast extent of suffering in a machine-dominated world and the inevitability of social and environmental catastrophe if the industrial system goes unchecked," although naturally Sale condemned the Unabomber's method. When the Unabomber's identity was still unknown, Pynchon was suggested (with who knows what degree of seriousness, and by whom) as a possible suspect. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon#1990s_and_2000s]

'''"jizzmatic juices backin' up, putting pressure on the brain" 
'Jizzmatic juices' seems to be a Pynchon-created slang phrase for semen, adapted from the dictionary-found slang word for semen, "jism". Pynchon has "a lady acquaintence" of Mr. Ponghill as responsible for the "naive theory" [Lew Basnight], commonly-enough held, that lack of sex "lack of exposure to the fair sex", previous paragraph can affect the brain and therefore one's judgment.
:In the 19th century, this was actually a "scientific" theory. The idea was that the human body was a closed system w/ a certain amount of energy. For women, intellectual activity was presumed to send blood to the head, meaning that it would not be available for reproduction. For men, lack of sexual activity was presumed to lead to a clogged up system dangerous to health. Among other things this point was used to justify men's visits to prostitutes. See for instance this book excerpt via Google Books[http://books.google.com/books?id=6eOlhNkjXaAC&pg=PA215&dq=men+medicine+health+19th+century&sig=E76pPUJ8M9VnXZ5E2afIfcr3o_M]

:Yes yes. this "lack of exposure to the fair sex" can cause [[ATD 171-198#Page 183|Beaver on the Brain]]

:Actually you can find the term "jizz" at the [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jizz Urban Dictionary] - [[User:Ctsats|Ctsats]] 12:49 GMT+2, 26 January 2007

'''"Don't mean he ain't got a right to his privacy."''' 
Continues the Unabomber/Pynchon connection. Pynchon follows the description of a dynamite bomber with the right to privacy, something that Pynchon has guarded closely for his entire life. For more on Pynchon and privacy, see [[ATD_26-56#Page_37|page 37]].

==Page 174==

'''back to the campfires of his youth, only then it was God didn't have a name''' 
"What is God's name?" or "What is God's first name?" was a topic that reliably led adolescent boys to yatter pointlessly on for hours when their adult leaders wanted to be left alone in camp.

'''examine his skull, the lobes for social feeling just aren't there''' 
In the pseudo-science [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology phrenology], parts of the brain (i.e., "lobes") are measured to determine moral character.

'''"your own brother"''' 
The Unabomber was turned in by his brother. ("Kaczynski" means 'ducky' or 'duckman'. Did TRP hide this somewhere?)

==Page 175==

'''every cabin . . . concealed stories that were anything but peaceful''' 
Compare Sherlock Holmes in "The Copper Beeches": "It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys of London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside."

'''culinary delights of mushrooms that would turn a silver coin to black... 
Per http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/200-299/nb235.htm, 
"It is false to believe that
/toadstools/, the common name for poisonous mushrooms, can be
detected by the fact that, when cooked, they will turn silver black ..."

'''"Only slowly would it occur to his ultra-keen detective's reasoning that these bombs could have been set by anybody, including those who would clearly benefit if "Anarchists", however loosely defined, could be blamed for it."''' 
Is this an(other) allusion to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_demolition_hypothesis_for_the_collapse_of_the_World_Trade_Center Controlled demolition hypothesis] for the collapse of the WTC? Cf. a similar reference in [[ATD_81-96#Page_85|page 85]] and the discussion therein.

Pynchon seems to be a smart enough guy to not believe such ridiculous theories. It's all too easy to read into these true historical events (the short-lived period of anarchist bombings of the late 19th and early 20 centuries) similitudes with more recent events, but the context in AtD is clear enough that this sort of speculation seems to be nothing more than speculation. Of course, that's the fodder for conspiracy theorists...--[[User:Kirkm|Kirkm]] 04:40, 21 February 2007 (PST)

I see a broader parallel between government manipulation of 19th century fear of "anarchists" and 20th century fears of "terrorists." As in the 2006 film "Children of Men," where the government is responsible for the "terrorist" bombings. --[[User:Cal|Cal]] 11:48, 14 June 2007 (PST)

The idea of controlled demolitions undertaken on the gov.'s behalf isn't a new one, and those who think the idea is too outlandish for the period have failed to "Remember the Maine!" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_%28ACR-1%29]

Anyways, whether Pynchon believes the WTC "conspiracy theories" or not, it seems obvious that he is encouraging the reader to make the connection. If anyone knows that it's "all too easy to read into these true historical [or fictional] events... similitudes with more recent events" it's TRP. --[[User:Pomopaulrevere|Pomopaulrevere]]
:I disagree that TRP is "encouraging" us to make such a connex, and anyway, the Maine was either an accident or destroyed by a [Spanish] mine, so it isn't parallel. The yellow press went to work, even though the US gov't at that point was not sure it wanted war with Cuba. -- Owl of Minerva

It seems to me that when Ruggles writes statements like the quote above, or makes a reference to someone removing the rubble of a building to an out of country location, or a little later on when he has the Chums suspect their Subdesertine scherzo is really only a front for oil exploration, he does so with the full knowledge that his vigilantly paranoid (and generally anti-establishment) readers might suspect he is referring to present day events. This is the same man who wrote Proverbs for Paranoids after all. I guess it comes down to whether or not you think Pynchon had his tongue planted firmly in cheek when he wrote on Amazon that "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred". You see where I stand. --[[User:Pomopaulrevere|Pomopaulrevere]] 

:Sorry, Pomopaul, my comment sounded rather snooty. I did NOT mean that trp wants no connex made, but rather that he is connecting past and present power politics based on disasters, especially human-caused disasters, rather than encouraging us to believe that our own gov't caused 9/11. In AtD, I see materialist power politics with not-thought-out and unintended consequences. The Austrian Emperor, for instance, is not trying to provoke war with Serbia in order to bring about the extinction of that Empire, but that is the unintended result. But you have given me pause, for you are certainly correct about Proverbs for Paranoids.... -- Owl

:A wrong premise seems to underlie some discussion in the wiki: the notion of a passage '''''referring to''''' something outside the book. The writing stands on its own feet; if it didn't, we all would have quit reading. But you don't go to the Velázquez show to learn what the Spanish princesses looked like. The artist proposes new terms that you can use to understand your world. A lot of us think we can use Pynchon's terms this way: magic, straight lines, Panic fear, born of light, the sacrifice of innocence. If that's so, then the best end of the wiki is to help users parse the terms. It misses the point to discuss what Pynchon ''thinks'' or ''intends'' or to make this book be about the 21st century.

:Well, maybe we need to continue this discussion on a Talk page. "Referring" to something outside the book has different meanings,of course, and certain literalnesses of referring many of us might find....narrow......or plain wrong but I would argue that TRP would agree with Melville on the NECESSITY of works to 'tie in' to the real world. [citation needed]. I think one of the best things about the wiki is that is allows that to be shown--and shown deeply and thematically---against the blindness of some readers and even 'critics' and reviewers who say Pynchon's works are so 'postmodern' they are only about themselves. I think the above poster might not differ with this assessment, but I wanted to stress it. [[User:MKOHUT|MKOHUT]] 08:40, 22 June 2007 (PDT)

==Page 176==

'''the Pullman plant''' 
The 1894 strike of labor unions against the Pullman Palace Car Company in Pullman, Illinois, caused a national conflict. President Cleveland sent in troops, which resulted in violence.

'''McCormick Reaper''' 
Cyrus McCormick, a famous nineteenth-century Chicagoan, invented a reaper/harvester. The McCormick factories were later the site of labor strikes that led to the Haymarket Square riot in 1886, which is mentioned later on this page.

'''revealing the Plutonic powers as they daily sent their legions of gnomes underground''' 
Here we may have a key to understanding the war in the Earth's Interior—in which Chthonica, Princess of Plutonia, saw her castle besieged by the Legion of Gnomes—when the Chums of Chance seem to have joined the Plutonic cause; [[ATD_97-118#Page_117|see text and annotations, p. 117.]]

'''"the Powers, who always had more dwarves waiting, even eagerly, to be sent below."''' 
A Tolkien-inspired imagery? Dwarfs figure prominently into Norse mythology and fantasy works before Tolkien, but Tolkien supposedly began the use of the spelling, "dwarves," employed here. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf Wikipedia entry on Dwarf] 
:I would hope it's an allusion to Wagner's Ring rather than to Tolkien. On pp. 127-28, Iceland Spar, there is discussion of the far north and Nordic travels there. Beyond the Ginnungagap lay Niflheim or in German Niebelheim, meaning Foggy Home, and in Wagner it lay under the earth, with bent-over workers, perhaps dwarves, forced to mine gold and other minerals. This makes the comment above, about the earth's interior and Chthonica, fit even better.

'''Tortoni's on Arapahoe''' 
Italian restaurant located in the 1500 block of Arapahoe Street in downtown Denver. [http://www.rootsweb.com/~codenver/miracle/104.htm Photo]

'''Gahan's saloon across the street from City Hall''' 
Saloon operated by William Gahan, a Denver City Councilman, and his brothers conveniently located at 1401 Larimer Street in Denver, across the street from City Hall. Gahan operated two other saloons, including one at 1133 Larimer Street, which he supposedly kept open on Sundays, harbored gambling, and sponsored a boys' baseball team that played for beer.

'''Ed Chase, the boss of the red-light district''' 
Edward "Big Ed" Chase (1838-1921) was a New Yorker from Saratoga Springs who became the leader of criminal activities in Denver from 1860 on, and as such was an influential and respected man. He ran saloons, gambling houses, bordellos, and theaters (specializing in "burlesque"), and served on the Denver City Council from 1866-1869. After that, he was a behind-the-scenes ward boss and power broker for the Republican party, which dominated Denver politics at the time. Nearly every 19th century election in Denver was clouded by charges that Chase had organized an army of voters out of riffraff, vagrants, prostitutes, barflies and gamblers. By the time of his death in 1921, Chase had come to be regarded as a respected real estate investor and capitalist. For more info, consult ''The City & The Saloon: Denver 1858-1918'' by Thomas J. Noel.

'''"another little Haymarket"''' 
On May 4th 1886 a workers' protest meeting was held at the West Randolph Street Haymarket in Chicago. A bomb was thrown at the police, the police opened fire and many officers and protesters were killed ([http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/571.html chicagohistory.org])

==Page 177==

'''The Row''' 
Denver‘s red light district developed along McGaa Street (subsequently renamed Holladay and then Market Street) [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3951/is_200010/ai_n8908963 1] [http://www.womenof.com/Articles/d011899.asp 2]

==Page 178==

'''W.F.M.''' 
Western Federation of Miners [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Federation_of_Miners Wikipedia Entry]

'''Tansy Wagwheel''' 
Other ''AtD'' women named for herbs and ornamentals include Stray's friend [[ATD_199-218#Page_203|Sage in Nochecita,]] [[ATD_243-272#Page_263|Lake's colleague Oleander Prudge,]] [[ATD_149-170#Page_160|Cousin Dittany Vibe,]] [[ATD_336-357#Page_345|Verbena at Smokefoot's,]] and of course [[ATD_26-56#Page_28|Dahlia Rideout.]]

'''Dynamite Them All, and Let Jesus Sort Them Out''' 
Ms. Wagwheel's words echo Arnaud Amaury's (the Papal legate) comment after the Albigensian Crusade: "Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius " ("Kill them all, God will know his own").
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albigensian_Crusade#cite_note-21 Wikipedia Note]

'''Ku Klux Klan''' 
The Klan itself was not in its heyday at the time this episode took place, and not only is it unlikely that the Klan would have shown itself at the time, but also that it would have been this far west. The "modern" Klan was only reformed in 1915. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan Wikipedia]. IN the 1920s, Colorado would become a stronghold of the "modern" Klan.

'''heeled''' 
Carrying a sidearm. (The word also means "having money," but here the first meaning is pretty clear.)

==Page 179==

'''Buck Wells''' 
An elite American who was on the board of the Telluride Mining Association, head of a mining company and was aggressively anti-union even to the point of false murder charges. Bulkeley Wells http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulkeley_Wells

'''Clovis Yutts''' 
"Yutz" is a slang word (from Yiddish) for a clueless goof.

'''different tempos and keys''' 
Cf 'anarchist miracle' in "Lot 49" (chapter 5).

In the early 1970s San Francisco was the site of the Black Flag Concerts, where anybody was allowed to make any music. People who attended said it was disorienting to wander through the crowd listening to folk singers, kazoo bands and Celtic harpists all belting away. (The Black Flag is a traditional emblem of anarchism.)

Also perhaps a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ives Charles Ives], who wrote much music containing combatting sections in different keys, tempi and melody. The quintessential image of Ives' music is that of four marching bands playing different tunes arriving at the same village square. Ives attended Yale, though graduated in 1898, two years prior to the scene beginning on page 156.

Or perhaps just an image of musical anarchy to match the political Anarchism.

==Page 180==

'''Valley Tan''' 
Mormon whiskey reported by Mark Twain. [http://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/in_another_time/091795.html cite]

As Twain himself suggests, Valley Tan was not so much a whiskey as a “first cousin to it.” It was a brand of patent medicines that were produced in Salt Lake City at the Valley Tan Remedies (V.T.R.) Laboratory beginning in 1884. A brief profile of the company can be found at this [http://www.fohbc.com/PDF_Files/ValleyTanRemedies_Sanders.pdf website.]

'''The Unsleepin Eye''' 
The logo of the Pinkerton Agency is a giant eyeball with the words "We Never Sleep." See it [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We_never_sleep.jpg here].

==Page 181==

'''it'll be run Anarchist run for you, Brother Basnight''' 
Echoes Chick on p. 8: "legal ain't got nothing to do with it—it's run, Yankee, run, and Katie bar the door."

==Page 182==

'''faded into the mobility''' 
"Mobility" also appears in ''Mason & Dixon.'' The word was later shortened to "mob."

'''"kept wasting Agency money rattling off one telegram after another."''' 
Cf. the following excerpt from a letter by novelist Raymond Chandler to Jamie Hamilton, 21 March 1949:
:"I remember several years ago when Howard Hawks was making ''The Big Sleep'', the movie, he and Bogart got into an argument as to whether one of the characters was murdered or commited suicide. They sent me a wire (there's a joke about this too) asking me, and dammit I didn't know either. Of course I got hooted at. The joke was in connection with Jack Warner, the head of Warner Bros. Believe it or not, he saw the wire, the wire cost the studio 70 cents, and he called Hawks up and asked him whether it was really necessary to send a telegram about a point like that. That's one way to run a business." (''The Raymond Chandler Papers'', ed. by Tom Hiney and Frank McShane, Penguin 2001, p. 105)

'''P.E.T.N.''' 
The explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate. Ingredient of Semtex, discovered 1891. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PETN Wikipedia]

'''Dr. Oyswharf''' 
There is, in Norfolk, Virginia, a district (?) called "Oyster Wharf"; there is, in London, a development called "Oyster Wharf" not sure if it's significant or points anywhere, but it appears that this fellow's name is a contraction of those two words. More generically, an "oyster wharf" is any wharf where the oystermen come in and offload their catch. Back in the day, they would give oysters away for free. Oyster shells are a natural source of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3).

Bear in mind that the Chums' Upper Hierarchy communicated orders to the Chums via a pearl. Miles Blundell "well before sunup, had visited the shellfish market in the teeming narrow lanes of the old town in Surabaya, East Java" and procured a bucket of "Special Japanese Oysters" ([[ATD 97-118#Page 113|p. 113]]). The pearl was inserted into a device which rendered a "photographic image." This connects with the red crystal used in Merle's and Roswell's device ([[ATD_1018-1039#Page 1037|p. 1037]]).

Also bear in mind the sexual implications of the oyster, both its use as slang for the vagina (because its shape is evocative of the vagina, and some say its smell, as well) as well as its reputation as a aphrodisiac. This plays into [[The_Sexual_Angle|the sexual pattern]] that runs through ''Against the Day''. A few tidbits:

:Oysters were documented as a aphrodisiac food by the Romans in the second century A.D as mentioned in a satire by Juvenal. He described the wanton ways of women after ingesting wine and eating "giant oysters". An additional hypotheses is that the oyster resembles the "female" genitals. In reality oysters are a very nutritious and high in protein. [http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/aphrodis_foods.htm]

:Oysters have always been linked with love. When Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, sprang forth from the sea on an oyster shell and promptly gave birth to Eros, the word "aphrodisiac" was born. The dashing lover Casanova also used to start a meal eating 12 dozen oysters. [http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0298/oysters.html]

Interesting that the oyster plays to the sexual connection, ''and'' the "artful sons of Nippon" using paramorphism to change aragonite, the "nacreous" (an adjective frequently used to describe semen) part of the pearl "to microscopic crystals of the doubly-refracting calcite known as Iceland spar" ([[ATD 97-118#Page 114|p. 114]]).

Also: "Oysvarf" in Yiddish means, literally, vomitus; An "oysvarf" translates roughly as "a little puke".
:Actually, my checking indicates that it's ''oysvurf'', not ''oysvarf'', which is Yiddish for an outcast or bad person.

Also might be a reference to Owsley Stanley,"'underground' LSD chemist, the first to produce large quantities of pure LSD" and "the primary LSD supplier to Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters". wiki:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley]

'''mixtures of nitro compounds and polymethylenes''' 
Nitro compounds include TNT, nitroglycerine and many other explosives. Polymethylenes are probably polymethylene waxes used as stabilizers or desensitizers.

'''experiencing the hotel dining room in a range of colors, not to mention cultural references, which had not been there when he came in''' 
Kinda like the way many of us are seeing ''AtD'' after prolonged exposure to the wiki. . . .

'''"The wallpaper in particular presented not a repeating pattern at all"''' 
Cf. Lucius Sheppard's 1985 short story ''The Fundamental Things'', where a lady starts translating her wallpaper pattern to Hebrew.

The connection between explosives and psychedelics is apparently not based in chemistry but it has appeared elsewhere in popular culture. The 1967 James Bond spoof ''Casino Royale'' has a scene where pillowcases are inflated with a psychedelic gas, a fuse is attached, and a powerful explosion is the result.

==Page 183==

[[image:beaver-on-the-brain.jpg|thumb|Beaver on the Brain T-Shirt|right]]'''Yes we're Beavers of the Brain... 
This little hallucinated ditty, sung by "a race of very small but perfectly visible inhabitants" of Lew Basnight's steak, is reminiscent of "We Represent the Lollipop Guild" sung by three tough-looking Munchkin boys in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_%281939_film%29 ''The Wizard of Oz''] (1939). "Beavers of the Brain" also brings to mind the phrase "Beaver on the brain" (describing a horny male or, perhaps, lesbian) which even adorns t-shirts (see right).

Cf. "Pussy on the brain" - [[ATD_243-272#Page 260|p.260]]

See also, [[The Sexual Angle]].

'''Keep that Bulldog in your pocket...''' 
A "Bulldog" is a small, "snubbie" revolver, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, perfect for carrying in the pocket as a concealed weapon. It also carries a somewhat sexual connotation.

'''Cyclomite''' 
A spelling error may lead to the idea that cyclomite is a name for the explosive RDX; that's cyclo'''n'''ite.

:I don't think this is a spelling error. Connects with dynomite. No way.

:Didn't make myself clear. If cyclomite is a Pynchon coinage, a Google search should give only Pynchon-linked hits. But I got a hit on an explosive—causing me to be short of breath till I realized it was just a misspelling for the correct term '''(in that context)''' "cyclonite," or RDX.

'''plasticerator''' 
Plasti-, moldable (in this case chewable); cera- related to Latin ''cera'' = wax, ''cerumen'' = earwax; -ator, an agent to modify a product. The word "plasticerator" does not seem to have caught on. It would not be a failed synonym for "plasticizer," an agent to make rigid plastics pliable.

==Page 184==

'''there's a strange chemical relation between these nitro explosives and the human heart''' 
Indeed. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitroglycerine Nitroglycerin] is used to make dynamite but it's also a medicine used to treat heart conditions.

'''Cyclomite habit''' 
Several documents from the time attest to addictive behavior of workers exposed to high levels of nitroglycerin. Nitroglycerin exposure brings rapid severe headaches as a result of vasodilation (known as NG head). The body does adapt after a period of time but the adaptation only lasts ~96 hours. Workers exposed to the chemical (skin or inhalation) during the work week were known to keep sticks of dynamite under their hats as they went home and etc. They wouldn't want to lose the adaptation over the weekend and be forced to deal with the headache again on Monday. See, for example, this 1978 document from the CDC which contains an extensive history of the substance:[http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pdfs/78-167c.pdf] Also: the section titled "glonism" in this 1899 document:[http://books.google.com/books?id=OSYSAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA15&ots=nDkGXXmz9o&dq=%22glonoinism%22&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q=%22glonoinism%22&f=false] and this one:[http://books.google.com/books?id=oSITAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA154&ots=1zzemCXsXU&dq=%22glonoinism%22&pg=PA154#v=onepage&q=%22glonoinism%22&f=false] [[User:MichaelSaavedra|MichaelSaavedra]] ([[User talk:MichaelSaavedra|talk]]) 18:58, 12 August 2013 (PDT)

'''Kankakee''' 
city in Illinois.

'''Wall of Death''' 
Without risk of spoilage, [[ATD_460-488#Page_476|see annotation to p. 476.]]

'''things would happen gradually enough to afford time to do something about it''' 
A central idea in ''Gravity's Rainbow'', which features a rocket that breaks the sound barrier and thus the ability to kill you before you hear it coming.

'''the world turned all inside out''' 
This passage describes acid flashbacks.
:It's certainly written so as to suggest acid flashbacks but it's describing Lew's experience of being blown up

'''the carnival theory''' 
On page 90 Kit Traverse had "seen a dynamited carny jump up out of the blast good as new."

==Page 185==

'''Trilby hat''' 
Derived from George du Maurier's 1894 novel [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilby Trilby]. The novel was adapted into a long-running play starring Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Svengali. A hat of this style was worn on stage during the play's first London production.

'''excursion''' 
Wilde's US lecture tour was in 1882.

==Page 186==
'''and Leadville in particular''' 
In 1882, the Tabor Opera House hosted Oscar Wilde during his lecture tour, one of many celebrities who graced the city.

'''Anasazi''' 
Ancient Pueblo Peoples, see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anasazi "Anasazi"]

'''"Like a Red Indian Stonehenge!" - "Only different!"''' 
Cf. " 'Thanatoid' means 'like death, only different.' " (''Vineland'', p. 170). See also [[ATD_119-148#Page_133| page 133]].

[[image:hangedman.jpg|thumb|150px|right|The Hanged Man by Colman-Smith]]
'''''grifa''''' 
Marijuana. [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Grifa cite]

'''Miss Colman-Smith is West Indian [tarot cards]''' 
Pamela Colman Smith (1878—1951) was an artist, illustrator, and writer. She is best known for designing the Rider-Waite-Smith deck of tarot cards for Arthur Edward Waite. Smith was born in England, the daughter of an American merchant from Brooklyn, Charles Edward Smith and his Jamaican wife Corinne Colman. Due to her father’s job with the West India Improvement Company, the family often moved, spending time in London, Kingston, Jamaica and Brooklyn, New York. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Colman_Smith Wikipedia entry]

Pynchon's interest in the tarot is evident in ''Gravity's Rainbow''. Two tarot cards are referred to here -- the Hanged Man ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider-Waite image]) and the Knight of Swords ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_arcana#Swords image]). The reference is an anachronism, as the deck wasn't published until 1909.

The two tarot cards could be seen to have opposite interpretations. In readings [http://www.learntarot.com/skn.htm the Knight of Swords] is indicative of direct action, whereas [http://www.learntarot.com/maj12.htm the Hanged Man] is indicative of letting go and waiting for results.

'''''espadas . . . copas''''' 
Spanish: Swords, Cups. The Tarot suits corresponding to spades and clubs.

'''Querent''' 
Latin: one who asks. The subject of a Tarot reading (in some settings, the mark).

'''Perseid''' 
"The shower is visible from mid-July each year, but the bulk of its activity falls between August 8 and 14 with a peak on August 12. During the peak, rates of a hundred or more meteors per hour can be registered." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseid Wikipedia]
This paragraph again suggests [[ATD_81-96#Page_83|p. 83]], Indian, and even Indian ghosts' amusement with the Whites. 

==Page 187==

'''hell of a blow-up . . . . maiden's sigh''' 
Possible allusion to the testing of Trinity Bomb, the first explosion of an atomic weapon, which took place at White Sands, New Mexico on July 16, 1945. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_test Wikipedia].

See the text on the "anti-Stone," pp. 78-79, [[ATD_57-80#Page_78|and annotations.]]

'''A second Moon''' 
[[ATD_119-148#Page_144|On page 144,]] ''Inconvenience'' is described as a "misplaced moon."

'''Galveston''' 
In the summer of 1900 Galveston was a major seaport; many of its cotton warehouses still stand. In the 19th century it was a port of entry for immigrants from Germany, Bohemia, the Balkans and elsewhere. The 1900 hurricane was the making of Houston, a few dozen miles up slow-flowing Buffalo Bayou—which was turned into the Ship Channel within a few years.

==Page 188==

'''Galveston Hurricane''' 
An historical event (8th September 1900, 6000 dead).
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Hurricane_of_1900 [Wikipedia]]

'''wherever could you have been living, before that frightful bomb brought you to us?''' 
Perhaps an allusion to and rhetorical parallel of the "wake-up bomb" of the 9/11 attacks, and the relative increase of attention paid by the American media and public to such post-9/11 disasters as the slaughter of citizens in the Afghan and Iraq offensives, the destruction wrought by the South Asian tsunami, the displacement of the "hidden" poor of the Gulf States by Hurricane Katrina, the carnage of the earthquake in Iran, the rampant and still-raging genocides of Sudan, and so on.
:It has to work in ''AtD'' before it can be an allusion to something else! Here Neville seems to say Lew was ''not'' with him and Nigel until the explosion delivered "the New Lew" into "the world reconstituted" (p. 185), not that the N's simply found him in his torpor. "It didn't seem like Colorado anymore" (also p. 185). The explosion did more than knock Lew out; now he's living somewhere else. The reader is well-advised to trust Pynchon and let the text mean what it means before interpreting other histories into it.

:By my reading, this is the second time Lew has been displaced into another, parallel, world. The first time (in Ch. 1) occurred when he left innocence to find himself having committed some unmentionable crime, of which he has no recollection (bec/ he committed no crime in his original world).

'''neuræsthenic''' 
This is the second appearance of the word (the first was on page 83). Neurasthenia was a kind of catch-all at the time for what today would be called depression, fatigue, anxiety, etc.

==Page 189==

'''squarehead compadres''' 
Scandinavians, especially Swedes, are sometimes referred to as ''squareheads''. In HBO's ''Deadwood'', for example, the orphaned girl Sophia (whose Scandinavian family migrated from Minnesota) is the ''squarehead girl''.

'''Fireman Jim Flynn''' 
The nickname undoubtedly comes from railroading, not firefighting.

==Page 190==

'''blue northers''' 
In the West, the Plains and down to Texas, a blue norther is a fast-moving weather front with lightning, rain and wind, followed by a rapid drop in temperature.

==Page 191==
'''Blair Street'''
When train passengers arrive in Silverton they debark on Notorious Blair Street. The street was home to 32 saloons, gambling halls and houses of ill-repute in a three-block stretch. More [http://www.coloradoinfo.com/travel.asp?pageid=19%7C381%7C388%7C402 here].

'''ineradicable''' 
Incapable of being eradicated or rooted out. <ref>(The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989)</ref>

==Page 192==

'''nearly twenty''' 
1883 + 19yo = 1902?

'''stamps beating''' 
Breaking ore into small pieces in preparation for refining.

==Page 193==

'''Uncompahgre''' 
A Plateau in Western Colorado, named after the Uncompahgre Ute Indian Tribe. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncompahgre_%28disambiguation%29 [Wikipedia]]

'''Deuce Kindred''' 
A seaman deuce is an apprentice seaman. See V. 
Deuce=Two=Also?...Deuce=Two=Doubling? 
Philip K. Dick's full name is Philip Kindred Dick.

'''Deuce had been one of those Sickly Youths . . . Strenuosity''' 
[[ATD_149-170#Page_159|Theodore Roosevelt]] was the model for feeble boys growing into bold men. His "Strenuous Life" doctrine was uncomfortably close to the adult Deuce's ways.

'''absorbed . . . re-emission . . . fluorescence of vindictiveness''' 
In a fluorescent tube, invisible ultraviolet radiation from the electrical discharge is absorbed by "phosphors" on the inside of the glass. The UV excites the phosphor atoms, which then—instead of giving off ultraviolet of their own—re-emit the energy at a different wavelength, one that is visible.

'''workin fathoms''' 
Mining under a contract that paid by the volume of rock extracted. See [[ATD_296-317#Page_302|annotations to p. 302]] (but to avoid spoilers, don't look up or down).

'''not since the aught-one strike''' 
So 1901 is in the past.

'''three-dollar sack suit''' 
That is, a suit one might buy at a store where one fills a sack with clothes and then pays three dollars for the lot.
A sack suit is an ordinary 19th-c. business suit which "evolved into the modern three piece suit."
[http://www.lahacal.org/gentleman/sack.html source]

==Page 194==

'''the fish at that table''' 
The player whose money the others mean to take.

'''Dallas Divide''' 
Mountain Pass dividing the Uncompahgre Plateau from the San Juan Mountains. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Divide [Wikipedia]]

==Page 195==

'''Sloat Fresno''' 
Possibly named for Commodore John D. Sloat ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Sloat Wikipedia entry]), American naval officer who claimed California, then a territory of Mexico, as part of the United States on July 7, 1846. The text of the declaration can be found [http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/documents/sloat.htm here]. Another source may be the Sloat Lumber Co. of Quincy, CA, which used an uncommon 30 gauge track, about which all I can find is [http://members.tripod.com/~Sloat_Lumber_Co/PROTOTYP.HTM here]. Fresno is presumably a reference to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresno%2C_CA city in California], though its direct relation to either the Commodore or the Sloat Lumber Co. is unclear.

''Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West,'' by Cormac McCarthy, has a character named Sloat, but he's so minor that the only dialog he gets is when he denies being related to the commodore.

Sloat is another term for slat, a narrow piece of wood. Fresno is Spanish for ash.

In terms of sound and connotation, Sloat sounds like "stoat" (a weasel) combined with "sl" -- slippery, slimey, sluggish. All of which fits him.

'''the earlier troubles''' 
The Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek_miners%27_strike_of_1894] See also: the Western Federation of Miners. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Federation_of_Miners]

'''copping the borax''' 
? Seemingly a term invented by Pynchon. No idea what it means, but borax is a mineral used in detergent, pottery, a lots of other things. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax Wikipedia on Borax]
:to "cop the borax" is, as Pynchon explains, to "jump the bounty." The phrase appears in several works published 1872-1875 by George Pickering Burnham. See, for example, [http://books.google.com/books?id=e-YRAAAAYAAJ&dq] Also: [http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp091_verb_cop_etymology.pdf] [[User:MichaelSaavedra|MichaelSaavedra]] ([[User talk:MichaelSaavedra|talk]]) 18:36, 12 August 2013 (PDT)

"Borax" is a slang word for cheap, poorly made products. Makers of borax for use in cleansing used to give away junky items as premiums. If you look at it the other way around, "borax" could mean a premium, hence an enlistment bonus. "Copping" of course is getting something by underhand means.
:this sense didn't exist until the ~1920s. In the mid-late 19th C borax had a decidedly positive connotation. Phrases like "this valuable material" and "handsome profit" in relation to borax abound. See, for example, [http://books.google.com/books?id=0KAEAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA235&ots=3PQlYOhcbd&dq=%22On%20borax%20in%20California%3A%22&pg=PA235#v=onepage&q=%22On%20borax%20in%20California:%22&f=false|American Journal of Pharmacy, Volume 38 (1866)] and so forth. There are hundreds of examples. There were also quite a few stories of men getting rich on borax mineral rights at the time. [[User:MichaelSaavedra|MichaelSaavedra]] ([[User talk:MichaelSaavedra|talk]]) 18:36, 12 August 2013 (PDT)

'''from Fort Bliss to the Coeur d'Alenes''' 
From Dan to Beersheba, so to speak. Fort Bliss is near El Paso, Texas. The Coeur d'Alène Mountains are in the panhandle of Idaho and the western end of Montana.

'''Montrose''' 
Montrose, CO. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose%2C_Colorado [Wikipedia]]

'''li'l buddy''' 
Brings to mind Gilligan and the Skipper from ''Gilligan's Island'': Sloat, like the Skipper, is twice his buddy's size; in both pairs, it is uncertain just who is whose sidekick; and the Skipper referred to Gilligan by, "li'l buddy."

This phrase also appears in ''Vineland'' (pg. 26) and in ''Inherent Vice'' ([http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_7#Page_92 pg. 92]).

==Page 196==

'''red liquor''' 
Colored liquor, such as bourbon or whiskey.

==Page 197==

'''Sloat tending to bodies, Deuce... the spirit''' 
Again, the body/soul dichotomy. See [[ATD_97-118#Page_101|page 101]] and [[The_World_is_at_Fault|The World is at Fault]] letter by Pynchon.
:This describes a complementarity as well as a dichotomy, and leads us back to the theme of doubling and Doppelgänger.

[[image:couplingpin.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Coupling pin]]'''coupling pin''' See photo.

==Page 198==

'''The Light Over the Ranges''' 
Repeats the title of Part One. May also suggest Tesla's 03 July 1899 'vision' ([[ATD_97-118#Page_97|page 97]]). May also be tied to the light/dark theme running through parts of the book thus far: light over the (dark) ranges. Note the concurrence of the leitmotives light-time-water in the sentence "He watched the light over the ranges slowly draining away". The image of "draining light" might also hint at the wave-particle duality.

'''Jeshimon''' 
Literally: "the waste", more specifically the wilderness of Judah in the Bible, near the Dead Sea. [http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/jeshimon.html christiananswers.net]. Fuller annotation at [[ATD_199-218#Page_209|page 209.]]

'''"Sir, please relocate your hand or I shall be obliged to do so myself"''' 
A fine flowery way of saying, "Move it or lose it, Sport."

'''Cortez''' 
In far southwestern Colorado near the Utah state line.

'''decolletage''' 
The low-cut neck of a bodice. <ref>(Def.1. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989)</ref>

'''shadow had taken the immeasurable plain''' 
Contrasts "the light over the ranges". Possibly an allusion to Sodom and Gomorrah, the "cities of the plain" in Genesis 19, in which the angels advise Lot and his family: "do not look back and do not stop anywhere in the Plain. Flee to the hills or you will be swept away" (19:17). ''The cities of the plain'', is also the title of i) the translated fourth volume of Proust's ''A la recherche du temps perdu'' (original title ''Sodome et Gomorrhe'') and ii) Cormac McCarthy's third novel of ''The Border Trilogy''.

This is the third possible reference to Proust so far. See also [[ATD_149-170#Page_165|page 165]], and [[#Page_188|page 188]].

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 149-170

2015-02-21T04:17:37Z

Pthomas:

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 149==

'''meteorite''' 
Cf ''Smilla's Sense of Snow'' by Peter Hoeg.

'''the far-fallen object''' 
That makes one think of Milton's Lucifer, doesn't it? But going back a few pages, "Flames were always your destiny, my children" (p. 145). And if the object doesn't bring light to the great city, it does bring fire. Lucifer is not too strong a connection, but still in the background.

The Yiddish word ''farfallen'' means both "fallen" and "bygone."

The alien visitors disguised as a meterorite is reminiscent of the arrival of Martians in Grovers Mill, NJ in Orson Wells adaptation of ''War of the Worlds.''

==Page 150==
'''the entangled carriages, wagons, and streetcars ... hitched to animals months dead and yet unremoved''' 
An anticipation of the scenes of destruction following the U.S. federal government's and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fema FEMA]'s botched relief efforts at the onset and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the southeastern United States in August and September 2005. 
:also a likely visual reference to the popular belief that the Christian Rapture will involve abandoned vehicles jamming the highways as motorists ascend skyward.

Another possibility would be a reference to the 1917 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion Halifax Explosion], in which the French freighter [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Mont-Blanc SS Mont-Blanc] accidentally exploded in Halifax harbor. The next day saw a terrible blizzard hit the city, bringing the total death toll from the event up to around 2,000.

'''Tammanoid creatures, able to deliver votes''' 
As in "Tammany Hall", the often corrupt political machine that played a role in New York City politics for nearly two centuries. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammany_Hall Wikipedia entry].

'''a stationary star, let alone one of the falling sort''' 
''Gravity's Rainbow'', p. 760: "But it was ''not a star'', it was falling, a bright angel of death." The whole passage seems strongly connected to GR. Could also be a reference to Lucifer, who is referred to as the falling star. 
And behind both AtD and GR, there are strong overtones from the ''Book of Revelation:''
:9:1 -''The fifth angel blew his trumpet. I saw a star, that had fallen down from Heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the fathomless pit.''
:9:2 - ''Then he opened the pit and smoke like the smoke of a vast furnace rose out of it, so that the light of the sun and the air itself grew dark from the smoke of the pit.''

'''White Wings''' 
For many years (1880s or 1890s through 1950s?) the most visible and dependable of New York City's public services: the street sweepers. And of course, just a wee bit of angelic resonance.

==Page 151==

'''the Eskimo view''' 
But cf page 142, where the Eskimos are "eager" to help.

'''...at least one consultation with somebody - that "there would always be time..."''' 
once more ''Gravity's Rainbow'', p.760: "There is time, if you need the comfort, to touch the person next to you...".

'''Panic fear''' 
Note the capital letter; this is not blind, uncontrolled fear in general but specifically fear associated with the great nature-god Pan.

'''Panic fear... affecting pose''' 
Although there are hints in the previous pages, here is where the parallels with 9/11 become too clear to ignore. Pynchon's presenting 9/11 as a story of a meteor dug from the ice will no doubt fill pages of analysis soon. To start, though, Pynchon critiques post-9/11 opportunism ("many in the aftermath did profit briefly by... affecting that pose"). Many say 'opportunism' has attended many, many disasters. For a full, spoiler-filled discussion, see [[Against the Day and September 11]] 

'''Deep downtown, where a narrow waterway from long ago still ran up into the city...''' 
Ok, this is fiction but we've all convinced ourselves we're talking about New York. Pynchon could have invented this waterway but that's not his style. So where is this waterway in downtown NY? 

Several waterways existed in lower Manhattan that were later filled in or paved over. [http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/nycolonial/index.html A map from 1874] --[[User:Kirkm|Kirkm]] 12:14, 20 February 2007 (PST)

The most prominent, which makes sense of the geography ("deep downtown")but not the time, would be Canal Street; the eponymous canal had been filled in long before the time of this action.

'''a cargo ship... in whose hold... kept in restraints... stirred a Figure with supernatural powers''' 
Also reminiscent of ''King Kong'', where the chained ape is transported by ship to New York. ''King Kong'' figures prominently in the film-happy Gravity's Rainbow.

'''which no one in its as-yet-unwritten history had ever known how to stop''' 
Christian religions teach that the work of the Devil can be stopped; on the other hand, the Devil's history is anything but unwritten (see Genesis, ''Paradise Lost,'' Neil Gaiman, etc.). Keep searching.

==Page 152==

'''with only dwindling moments of normal history remaining''' 
Do we infer that history, somehow plotted in advance, is about to go off its rails? ''AtD'' refers several times to the idea of an already settled history being disrupted by some action. Drave on p. 41, for example: "Most people have a wheel riding up on a wire, or some rails in the street, some kind of guide or groove, to keep them moving in the direction of their destiny. But you keep bouncing free." And Lew's summary: "Going off my trolley." Also [[ATD_26-56#Page_33|on p. 33: Scarsdale Vibe on the essence of modern history.]]

'''Tenderloin toughs''' 
The red-light district of Manhattan at the time, in Midtown Manhattan from 23rd Street to 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue to Seventh Avenue.

'''Fire and blood were about to roll like fate upon the complacent multitudes''' 
cf. Genesis 19:24: "and then the LORD rained down fire and brimstone from the skies on Sodom and Gomorrah."
:Well, in its own terms Genesis is describing a punishment. It would be a distortion to say the "complacent multitudes" are being punished. Scarred, killed, robbed, yes, but not punished.

'''beautiful patterns''' 
Cf. "picturesque patterns," p. 81, as well as Igor Padzhitnoff's Tetris-like bombardments on [[ATD 119-148#Page 123|p. 123]].

==Page 153==

'''a chorale of pain''' 
If enough people are suffering together, they become a choir; see annotations to [[ATD_1-25#Page_19|page 19]] and [[ATD_97-118#Page_116|page 116.]]

'''a three dimensional image in full color, not exactly of Christ but with the same beard, robes, ability to emit light''' 
Note that the unnamed enemy allegedly said, "The man-shaped light shall not deliver you" back on page 145. On whether this may or may not also allude to Osama bin Laden, see the [[Talk:ATD_149-170|149-170 Talk Page]].

:Or Christ himself "doubly refracted" into the anti-Christ.[[User:S-Fremin|S-Fremin]] 08:19, 20 January 2007 (PST)

:Also recalls, once again, the last page of ''Gravity's Rainbow'', with its "closeup of the face, a face we all know".

Projecting a three dimensional image: most projections are two dimensional, like a movie. This is holographic projection. Holography was invented in 1947, so this is either an anachronism or a slip into science fiction or just fiction.
:Since Iceland spar is used to make holograms, I would argue that within the "reality" of the text, there is no reason the Figure from the ice could not project a hologram image.

If not Christ then possibly the 12th Imam, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahdi the Mahdi] which ties in with the Doosra later. Incidentally, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad concluded his 17 September 2005 address to the United Nations General Assembly with discussion of the Mahdi and a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahdaviat prayer] for his appearance.

Scene also, with mass hysteria, noise, and especially this hologram image recall climax of classic film, ''Quatermass and the Pit'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quatermass_and_the_pit Wikipedia]

'''Our Protector...who remained, guardedly, unnamed''' 
unnamable--ineffable--like the atomic bomb on p.78 (Cf. Webb, Merle and the "Anti-Stone") 

The Godhead, the highest God, is the unnameable, the ineffable.

The word "guardedly," however, can take on two meanings here. 

First, it can refer to the proscription in many religions of saying the name of God, which is beyond human language anyhow, but is thought of as the ultimate word of power, hence the Commandment:
:''Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain''
Also consider the Jewish use of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton Tetragrammaton] refered to as "The Name" often pronounced Yahweh or Jehovah, but in fact no one knows the true pronunciation. 

Second "guardedly" in a protective or spineless sense: they don't know which devine or demonic power they're dealing with. Even the Archbishop seems unsure who the Figure is and everyone is hedging their bets so that once they learn the name of this god (the Figure) they can then claim to have known it all along as a way to propitiate it. In so doing they ''may'' save their hides and cities, but from a Judeo-Christian perspective they have violated the commandment of having no gods before the God of the Covenant. They have already violated the commandment(s) regarding the making of graven images or likenesses, or the bowing down to and serving such likeness (like the golden calf). Bottom line: they're selling their souls to save their skins.

'''recent incorporation''' 
1898. New York City is a special case. The city consists of the entire area of five counties. These counties retain a small amount of governance as boroughs. Under the state legislation, commonly called Consolidation, that allowed the city (as the City of Greater New York) to annex huge areas beyond its original borders (including smaller cities, towns and villages) in 1898, the State of New York retains certain powers over the city. At the time of Consolidation, Queens County was split between the western towns, which voted to join the city, and those that did not. The next year (1899), the eastern towns of Queens County separated to become Nassau County. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_New_York#Borough Wikipedia entry]

'''So the city . . . face of their violator''' 
It's important that this paragraph describes the great city ''before'' the Figure devastated it.

==Pages 154-155==

'''weeping widow...cruelest bitch of a city''' 
Personifications of the city, as in ''Gravity's Rainbow'' (p.4: "last crystallizations of all the city has denied, threatened, lied to its children"). What is "he" and "she" referring to in the following paragraph?

'''Hellfire''' 
once more fire and brimstone.

'''the Destroyer''' 
Allusion to the Hindu god Shiva?

'''I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY''' 
From the description of the gate to hell in Canto III in ''The Divine Comedy Volume I: Inferno'' by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321). Pynchon quotes from the modern translation by Mark Musa:

:"I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY,
:I AM THE WAY INTO ETERNAL GRIEF,
:I AM THE WAY TO A FORSAKEN RACE.

:JUSTICE IT WAS THAT MOVED MY GREAT CREATOR;
:DIVINE OMNIPOTENCE CREATED ME,
:AND HIGHEST WISDOM JOINED WITH PRIMAL LOVE.

:BEFORE ME NOTHING BUT ETERNAL THINGS
:WERE MADE, AND I SHALL LAST ETERNALLY.
:ABANDON EVERY HOPE, ALL YOU WHO ENTER."

Note that Pynchon echoes the word "race" on the previous page: "an embittered and amnesiac race".

:The "votive shrine . . . Downtown" may be intended to evoke the shrine at the footprints at Ground Zero, "votive" here invoking the twin beams of light that took the place of the WTC towers in the months following 9-11, though it should be noted that the actual description invokes the basement cavities of the the towers' foot-prints much more accurately.

'''From the Journals of Mr. Fleetwood Vibe...''' 
The short narrative spanning pp.138-155 bears some of the hallmarks characteristic of the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft: (1) a narrator (Fleetwood) who relates a series of horrible, cosmic events in the form of a memoir or journal entry; (2) a slumbering entity, or "visitor" (p149), mistaken for a more mundane object (meteorite, in this case), and; (3) the incapacity of humans to anticipate or respond to the foreignness of this cosmic vistior and its actions. Given that this horrible thing was retrieved from the Arctic, it is reminiscent of Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" (though, ''Antarctic'' in setting; 1931; [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/At_the_Mountains_of_Madness Wikisource text of the novella]) and, given the meteor-like form of this visitor, "The Colour out of Space" (1927; [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Colour_Out_of_Space Wikisource text of the story]). The ensuing chaos that overtakes the city is very similar to Lovecraft's 'prose poem' "Nyarthathotep." (1920; [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nyarlathotep Wikisource text])

:Also, the beginning of Hunter's escape, when he gets "lost" and the streets "made no sense anymore" recalls the Lovecraft story, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Music_of_Erich_Zann "The Music of Erich Zann"]. It is also similar to Winston Smith's early wanderings in ''1984''.

In addition, the whole passage probably makes reference to several 1950s Sci-Fi movies, most importantly "The Thing from Another World" (1951) by Howard Hawks and Christian Nyby (remade as "The Thing" by John Carpenter in 1982) in which scientists discover an alien and lethal lifeform under the ice of the arctic. The idea of the alien lifeform falling to earth and being mistaken for a meteorite at first is prominent in Jack Arnold's "It Came from Outer Space" (1954), although the aliens in that case are benevolent rather than dangerous.

Hunter Penhallow's escape might be read as a happy ending getaway inversion of the claustrophobic opening sequence of ''Gravity's Rainbow'', where nobody gets saved; "in this world brought low" echoes "the Light that hath brought the Towers low" on the final page of Gravity's Rainbow..."Light" may prefigure Against the Day's treatment of that subject, too.

:cf also "The Museum at night...unlighted and towering", p.150

The disorientation that Hunter experiences (city streets skewing, finding a mysterious group of people) echoes Lew Basnight's encounter with Drave's group ([[ATD_26-56#Page_39|p39]]), and the vision on the opening pages of ''Gravity's Rainbow''.

:In regards to Hunter's escape echoing Lew Basnight's "Chicago" sequence: It seems as if Hunter is also able to step to the side of the day? [[User:Greenlantern|Greenlantern]] 13:35, 20 February 2007 (PST)

:The connection of Hunter's "meeting" and Lew's encounter with Drave seems valid and useful. As to Hunter's having a power of invisibility, that's less well substantiated. I suggest instead that the refugees (throughout history refugees have known to keep their coats and hats on) have a way of fleeing into time. "The longer they traveled, the more 'futuristic' would the scenery grow." It's futuristic because it exists in the future!

I agree that the two scenes are linked. There is another link, which is the distortion of space that has been mentioned already several times in AtD, in contexts of map lines or electromagnetic fields that become distorted so that parallel lines are no longer that.

==Page 156==

'''clouded and windless late-November day''' 
From 1898 to 1942 and again from 1946 to 1975, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Harvard-Yale_football_games Harvard-Yale football game]—followed by persons in one province of the United States—was played in the last half of every November. 
The timing—a matter of months from Tesla's storm to now—suggests that the game is that of 1899, which was played on November 18 at Cambridge. A Cornell man might relish the fact that the outcome was a 0-0 tie.

'''Taft Hotel''' 
The Taft in New Haven opened in 1912; it isn't clear whether there might have been an earlier property of that name. The Taft in New York City opened in 1926. So placing a Taft Hotel in New Haven in 1899 is another anachronism (which appear often and seem to serve some purpose). A Google search turns up the suggestion (on an ephemeral eBay page) that there may have been a Taft's Hotel in West Cambridge in the mid-19th century too.

Not so hidden Ohio president: Wm H. Taft, of Cincinnati was president in 1912, a Yale grad, Skull&Bones member.

'''Irish pennants''' 
[http://www.jacksjoint.com/sailor_terminology.htm#Irish%20Pennant Untidy ends of thread or string.]

'''rival school hues''' 
Yale: blue and white. Harvard: crimson white, and black.

'''"Mr. Rinehart"''' 
A Harvard rallying cry, supposedly dating to 1900. The original Rinehart obtained his law degree from Harvard in 1903. In 1900 Mr. Rinehart occupied a high room in Gray's Hall at Harvard. It was easier for his friends to call to him from the ground than to climb three flights of stairs when they wanted him to join them. They would stand at the corner of Gray's and shout, "Oh, Rinehart." Many another student was called in the same way, and no particular attention was paid. But one sweltering night, when students were grinding for final examinations, one of them heard the familiar "Oh, Rinehart" from below and reacted instantly. He tossed aside his book and echoed the cry into the Yard. Within a minute, the enclosure resounded with the phrase from side to side and end to end. Something about the sound and accent of the name appealed to the students and from then until the end of the session the cry was heard nightly throughout the Yard. [http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0110b&L=ads-l&P=9765 source]

In later years, the origin story for the tradition changed: Rinehart became a lonely freshman who shouted his own name to see what it would sound like to be popular. He was discovered shouting his own name and the cry of "Rinehart" was used to make fun of him. The tradition continued until after World War II, when it faded from memory. Contemporary students apparently aren't familiar with the story or tradition. [http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/003880.html Language Log]

'''Tibetan prayer wheel principle''' 
Previously mentioned on [[ATD_119-148#Page_130|page 130]], where the principle was used to transport oneself to the tropical locale of the ''¡Cuidado, Cabrón!'' hot sauce label.

==Page 157==

'''"crimson" is cognate with "worm"''' 
[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003873.html Largely true.] The American Heritage Dictionary gives the [http://www.bartleby.com/61/79/W0227900.html etymology for ''worm''] as "Middle English, from Old English ''wurm,'' variant of ''wyrm.''" The root ''wyrm'' in turn derives from the Indo-European base [http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE571.html wer-2], meaning to turn or bend. (Words descended from wer-2 include ''stalwart, weird, vertebra, wrath, wrong, wrestle, briar'' and ''rhapsody.'') The modern word ''crimson'' derives from Middle English ''cremesin,'' which (via one of several alternative pathways) comes from Arabic ''qirmizy,'' a word based on ''qirmiz,'' the kermes insect. This insect, which lives on the Kermes oak (''Quercus coccifera''), was an early source for red dye but fell out of favor after the introduction of [http://www.bell.lib.umn.edu/Products/cochinea.html cochineal]. The Arabic name for this insect probably stems from the Sanskrit ''kṛmi-ja-,'' referring to a red dye produced from worms. The ''-ja'' is from an Indo-European root ''*gene-,'' meaning "to produce" (whence, ultimately, our word "gene" and the ''-gen'' in chemical element names). The other component, ''kṛmi-,'' means "worm", and takes us back to Indo-European wer-2.

'''"no professional football"''' 
NFL founded 1902. [http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1869-1910 cite]

'''grease runs''' 
Deliveries of graft payments.

'''the Tombs''' 
A prison in New York City. [http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/histry3a.html History of the Tombs]

'''dime novel''' 
Adoption of poor but plucky boy by industrialist in need of an heir sounds like a plot by [http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/dp/pennies/1860_alger.html Horatio Alger, Jr.] (1832 or 1834-99). A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Alger,_Jr. Wikipedia entry] gives one plot summary that serves for quite a few of Alger's 135 dime novels.

'''crockful of cucumbers''' 
Male children? (Cucumber is slang for penis.) 
Obviously, yes, but not because they have penises. You put cucumbers in a crock to pickle them; Vibe's sons have all the energy and initiative of vegetables soaking up brine.

==Page 158==

'''Willard Gibbs''' 
Cf [[ATD_26-56#Page 29|page 29]]. J. Willard Gibbs (1839-1903), an American mathematical physicist.

'''it was desire''' 
"Desire" is a word of power in ''AtD.'' We saw it in Harald the Ruthless, [[ATD_97-118#Page_117|p. 117,]] and will see it again.

'''lust in idleness''' 
"Love-in-idleness" is a traditional name for the pansy.

'''Hamiltonian''' 
Hamilton Quaternion (Cf [[ATD_119-148#Page 130|page 130]]) disciples.

In classical mechanics, Hamiltonian is a function used to describe a dynamical system (as a pendulum or a particle in motion) in terms of generalized coordinates and momenta. It is equal to the total energy of the system when time is not explicitly part of the function. It is named after the Irish mathematician Sir William R. Hamilton (1805-1865). ([http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Mathematicians/Hamilton.html Hamilton].)

==Page 159==

'''Walter Camp''' 
[http://waltercamp.org/index.php/info/ Yale University athlete (1859-1925) who helped create the game of American football.]

'''Witherspoon Street''' 
Runs to the north, away from the main gate of the Princeton campus. See also [[Witherspoon Street|DISCUSSION]].

'''Rooseveltian strenuosity''' 
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) advised Americans to live "the strenuous life"—and provided an example. 
[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1207796-1,00.html He suffered from asthma as a boy] and was considered a poor risk to grow up at all. Through vigorous exercise and outdoor living he became strong and, more often than not, healthy. He was elected vice-president after service in the Spanish-American War, succeeding to [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tr26.html the presidency (1901-9)] when William McKinley was assassinated. 
In a speech to the Hamilton Club of Chicago in 1899, he said:
<blockquote>I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph. 
("The Strenuous Life," collected in [http://www.bartleby.com/58/ his book of the same name, 1900.])</blockquote>

''''Fax's brother Cragmont''' 
There is a Cragmont area in Berkeley, Calif., and a Cragmont assembly ground (church campground) in Black Mountain, N.C. Doesn't seem to be a New York suburb, though.

'''across the perilous æther''' 
Repeating the phrase from p. 99 [[ATD_97-118#Page_99|(see annotations).]] Here ''æther'' means "air" or "empty space."

'''an expedition heading for Africa''' 
At the time of the Vormance expedition, Fleetwood has already been to Africa, so this episode precedes Vormance.

'''meat lozenges''' 
Lightweight for hikers. "Brand's meat lozenges, which are about the size of a four-penny piece and a quarter of an inch thick" [http://www.rootsweb.com/~nzlscant/mountcook.htm cite]

'''Seven Sisters''' 
Seven women's colleges at the time. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sisters_(colleges) Wikipedia]

==Page 160==

'''Dittany''' 
(1) [http://www.alchemy-works.com/herb_dittany.html White dittany,] ''Dictamnus albus'' var. ''dasycarpus,'' with reputed medicinal properties; (2) [http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/design/handbooks/herbgarden/7.html common dittany,] Maryland dittany or stone mint, ''Cunila origanoides''; or (3) [http://cretashop.gr/br/productsbr/diet/dittany_br.htm dittany of Crete,] ''Origanum dictamnus'' L., a species of oregano said to have aphrodisiac qualities. Herb (2) is native to North America, but the smart money's on (3).

==Page 161==

'''Elsie de Wolfe''' 
(1865-1950), American interior designer, hostess, and actress, best known for her innovative and anti-Victorian interiors. She is often credited with inventing the profession of interior decoration. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_De_Wolfe Wikipedia entry]

'''"musical dramas"''' 
The musical ''comedy'' genre was nascent, while operetta was a mature form with plenty of audience appeal. R.W. Vibe was misguided, though, if he thought Conkling's 30-year career (see next entry) could be condensed to three entertaining acts.

'''Roscoe Conkling''' 
New York Radical Republican politician (1829–1888) who served in both the House and the Senate. He opposed reform, acted as a friend of big business, engineered the selection of Chester A. Arthur as vice-president, and was suspected of involvement in the Garfield assassination that made Arthur president. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roscoe_Conkling See also his Wikipedia entry.]

'''Tubby the pig''' 
Pynchon thinks pigs are cool. For examples, the character Pig Bodine, the Porky Pig tattoo and the Plechazunga costume in ''Gravity's Rainbow''. Pynchon was allegedly notorious for carrying around a 6- to 7-inch yellow plastic pig ([http://www.theaesthetic.com/NewFiles/pynchon.html source]), and his room was allegedly decorated with pig toys around the 1960s, according to Jules Siegel's Playboy article on the writer.

==Page 162==

'''Sillery''' 
Wine from the French town of the same name. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sillery%2C_Marne Wikipedia]

'''puce''' 
A brownish color; perhaps meant as a play on "puke"? 
Seems straigtforward in the text: overlay Scarsdale's gray tones with Edwarda's mauve and sometimes you get puce. Sort of.

==Page 163==

'''"Kit was wondering through the house when he heard piano music"''' 
Just like Kurt Mondaugen, in chapter 9 of ''V.'' (p. 238)

'''R. Wilshire Vibe had not endeared himself to his nephew''' 
Because ''African Antics'' comically played up the dangers Fleetwood was about to face.

'''Tell me, what-cha gonn-na do, When they come screamin, after you?''' 
This reminds me of The Guns of Brixton, by The Clash, which contains the lines:

''When they kick out your front door 
''How you gonna come? 
''With your hands on your head 
''Or on the trigger of your gun ''

Is it possible this line is a reference to the popular American television reality series [http://www.cops.com/ COPS], whose theme song contains the lyrics:

''Bad boys, bad boys 
''Whatcha gonna do? 
''Boad boys, bad boys 
''Whatcha gonna do? 
''Whatcha gonna do 
''When they come for you? ''

The series follows the daily lives and patrols of "real life" police officers on patrol in varoius American cities, often focusing on the down-trodden and marginalized in American society. The overall effect of the program is often to further separate the "us" from the "them", in that we can sit idly by and use the unfortunate, stupid, or criminal as our entertainment.

==Page 164==

'''Logical paradoxes''' 
Fleetwood has presented Kit with a statement similar to the notorious liar paradox with "...you shouldn't trust anything I have to say about this family."
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liar_paradox Wikipedia] 
Whether the statement actually qualifies as a paradox is not immediately clear. Fleetwood is not just saying "you shouldn't trust anything I have to say," which is self referential in the manner of the liar paradox. He is specifically referring to some sentences he might utter "...about this family." Unless we are willing to interpret Fleetwood's sentence itself as being about his family, and not just some other sentences he might utter, it is not paradoxical. Fleetwood is a member of the family. His sentence makes a statement that casts doubt on what he might say about a member of the family. This statement by Fleetwood about what he might say can be (but arguably not "must be") interpreted, in a general sense, as a statement about his family (which includes himself). On that interpretation he is making a statement that denies that the statement itself can be trusted. 
There is a second way Fletwood's statement does not clearly show itself to be a paradox. Most variations on the liar paradox are statements that claim themselves to be false; this is different from a statement saying that it cannot be trusted. If something cannot be trusted, it might still be true.

==Page 165==

'''"your strongest certainty...you remember everything"''' 
The whole paragraph recalls Proust's ''A la recherche du temps perdu'', where random perceptions suddenly bring back lost memories. Through this remembrance the past is regained, and it is suddenly possible to constitute identity. This might be mirrored in Fleetwood's "single great episode of light" in which one hasn't "discovered it but returned to it".

'''all my colleagues care about is finding waterfalls''' 
A quest Kit must have sympathized with; see p. 98 [[ATD_97-118#Page_98|and annotations.]]

'''a simply-connected space with an unbroken line around it''' 
Orthodox Jewish communities often make a symbolic perimeter around their space so that they can, for example, carry a book as they walk to Sabbath worship; by convention they are still "home"—thus not enjoined against some kinds of work—as long as they stay inside this ''eruv.'' One such neighborhood in Atlanta uses a set of electrical power lines to bound its area.

In this context, "simply connected" means the region inside the perimeter does not contain any "islands" that don't belong to the space. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simply_connected Wikipedia gives an admirably clear explanation.]

==Page 166==

'''hair ropes''' 
Cowboy superstition: horsehair ropes kept snakes away.

'''"some peaceful expanse of rangeland"''' 
The use of the word "range" along with the previous page's description of heavenly light suggest some connection to the phrase, "the light over the range."

In fact, there were several proposals for an African "Zion", most notoriously a Nazi plan to settle all Jews in Madagascar.

'''by way of commentary''' 
On Fleetwood's rotten joke.

'''"stand your ground"''' 
Ellmann tells a similar story about Joyce's father facing charging riders in Phoenix Park.

==Page 167==

'''...it was a time honored principle to do nothing for free [...] Trust me. Buy Rand shares''' 
It is implied that Rand is a gold mining company (does anyone know if this is/was a real company?). Regardless, Yitzhak and Fleetwood are talking about South Africa. Although the ''rand'' is the currency of South Africa today, it was not in circulation intil 1961. ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_pound source]) The famous Kruger''rand'' is a gold coin, but that was introduced in 1967. ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krugerrand source]) The Witwaters''rand'' is the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built.

The Rand is a gold field, not a company or currency (in this context). See [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_119-148#Page_146 note on page 146]

It is possible that Pynchon is also mocking the philosophy of Ayn Rand, which is often characterized as a defense of selfishness or strong individualism. Pynchon [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0277-335X(198201)47%3A1%3C62%3ALATWWO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W previously parodied] Ayn Rand and her Theory of Objectivism as "Mafia Winsome" and her "Theory of Heroic Love" in ''V.''
: It seems a stretch to interpret this as a reference to Ayn Rand, especially as these sound like historical facts: although the Australian gold rush began in the 1850s, the rich Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie fields of gold were found in the 1890s, apparently triggering later rushes. ([http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/goldrush/ source]) But perhaps... [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 17:59, 22 December 2006 (PST)

'''war going on''' 
The Second Boer War started 11 October 1899, between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic). After a protracted hard-fought war, the two independent republics lost and were absorbed into the British Empire. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War Wikipedia]

==Page 168==

'''Eastern Question''' 
Europe's concern with post-Ottoman Turkey. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Question Wikipedia]

'''"Fleetwood wanted to be like them...He prayed to become one of them. [...] Nothing "took." "''' 
Cf. William Gibson's 1981 short story ''Hinterlands'' ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterlands_%28short_story%29 Wikipedia entry]), for a similar case of people willing unsuccesfully to be "taken" by the unknown (albeit without Pynchon's explanation as to why this doesn't happen):
:"We both have the drive, though, that special need, that freak dynamic that lets us keep going back to Heaven. We both got it the same way, lay out there in our little boats for weeks, waiting for the Highway to take us. And when our last flare was gone, we were hauled back here by tugs. Some people just aren't taken, and nobody knows why. And you'll never get a second chance. [...] But I'd wanted to go, wanted it so bad. Charmian, too."

'''Massawa''' 
a port on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. Important for many centuries, it has been colonised by Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, Italy, Britain... It became the capital of the Italian colony of Eritrea until this was moved to Asmara in 1900. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massawa Wikipedia entry]

'''Lourenço Marques''' 
Today known as Maputo, capital city of Mozambique. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maputo Wikipedia entry]

'''''cantinhas''''' 
Portuguese: taverns (like Spanish ''cantinas'').

'''rotgut rejectamenta of Bucelas and Dão''' 
Rotgut= "poor-quality and potentially toxic alcoholic liquor." Rejectamenta= "things thrown out or away," so the reject wine. Bucelas, Portugal is a famous wine-growing region. Dão is a type of Portuguese wine.

'''Johannesburg''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg Johannesburg], also known as ''eGoli'', the place of Gold, is the financial, economic and cultural center, but not the capital, of South Africa. The discovery of gold in 1880s brought a large number of whites to this region from all over the world. Apartheid, a racial segregation system, was enforced between 1948-1990. While gold mining no longer takes place within the city limits, most mining companies still have their headquarters in Johannesburg.

'''"like Baku with giraffes"''' 
''Gravity's Rainbow'' mentions Baku by name three times, according to [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/gravity/alpha/b.html the Pynchon Pages index]:

352; seaport capital of Azerbaydzhanskaya SSR, Soviet Union, on the west coast of the Caspian Sea; 353; Blobadjian "pursued through the black end of Baku by a passel of screaming Arabists" 354
(Actually there are four references, as it appears twice in page 354 - [[User:Ctsats|Ctsats]] 20:28, 25 January 2007)

And not to forget the giraffe: "Foppl stood holding a sjambok or cattle whip of giraffe hide" (''V.'', chapter 9, p. 240)

After reading this section, and the oddly-separated text of Fleetwood's reverie about his pursuit of wealth in the Transvaal, and his murder of the Kaffir, the family name struck me, "Vibe" = "V" I be. Certainly this section brings back the African horror of "V."

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku Baku], Azerbaijan's capital, is located on the southern shore of the Apsheron peninsula of the Caspian Sea. The origin of the name, based on the most widely known theory, comes from ''bad kube'', meaning "city of winds". Today's Baku is reallly three cities rolled into one: the old town (885-1872), the boomtown (1872-1920) and the Soviet-built town (1921-1991). The basis of Baku's economy is petroleum. Commercial exploitation began in 1872, (Baku is where Nobel Brothers acquired their wealth and the money for the ''Nobel Peace Prize''), and by the beginning of the 20th century the Baku oil field was the largest in the world and Baku supplied half of the world's oil production. But towards the end of the 20th century much of the land's petroleum had been exhausted, and drilling had extended into the sea. Baku ranks as one of the largest world centers for the production of oil industry equipment.

==Page 169==

'''Kaffirs''' 
African blacks. The word Kaffir, derived from Arabic ''kafir,'' "infidel," is considered [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaffir_%28ethnic_slur%29 extremely insulting,] and calling someone this name has been a civil cause of action in South Africa since the 1970s.

'''eGoli''' 
Zulu name for Johannesburg and a possible pun on e-coli.

'''to be shot or to step into a mine shaft''' 
Completing the story Fleetwood didn't tell on p. 147.

==Page 170==

'''long descent into the abyss through the blue ground'''

Many South African diamonds are mined from kimberlite volcanic "pipes". Surface material is usually weathered to a shade of yellow; deeper material, serpentinized kimberlite, is called "blue ground" by miners.

'''some grave imbalance in the structure of the world . . . Be serious''' 
Fleetwood's dreams connect forward (in time—but back to pp. 121-55 in ''AtD'') to the scourging of the great city.

'''Word was about that Alden Vormance was getting up a party to go north and recover a meteorite.'''

Admiral Robert E. Peary, arctic explorer, recovered two large meteorites on his Greenland expedition of 1893-1895. He recovered a third meteorite on his expedition of 1896-1897. He recounted these experiences in ''Northward Over the Great Ice'' published in 1898 and now available on Google Books.

In The Shooting Star, the tenth book of The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé, the ship The Aurora is on a mission to recover a meteorite from the Arctic Circle.

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 81-96

2015-02-19T02:39:51Z

Pthomas:

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 81==
'''July Fourth started hot and grew hotter,...''' 

[[image:Gpynch.jpg|thumb|Guardan Review|right]] On Saturday, 18 November 2006, the UK's Guardian newspaper, in a Review section which featured a drawing of what Pynchon might now look like on its cover, published a full-page excerpt from ''Against the Day''. This comprised pages 81 to 85 (up to "he wondered sometimes if he would've ever signed on."), with the addition of the final paragraph from page 96, ending with "Happy Fourth of July, Webb." This was a much more substantial excerpt than the one which appeared in the Penguin Press catalogue, and was arguably a more alluring one in terms of attracting the general reader. These were the only official excerpts published before ATD itself, on 21 November 2006.

The Guardian excerpt is now online:
[http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,,1950566,00.html]

The timing of this chapter, opening on a summer morning, parallels that of the novel's very first chapter.

Makes reference to that July Fourth feeling in YR 2000 New York when the internet / new economy / electronic revolution was getting hot while reaching its maximum peak.

'''nitro beginning to ooze out of dynamite sticks''' 
The important point about dynamite is when it '''doesn't''' blow up. Alfred Nobel discovered that he could stabilize nitroglycerine by soaking it into a powdered clay; the product was not sensitive to shock or heat. That is, until it separated in hot weather, with greasy-feeling free nitro collecting on the outside of the sticks. (A minor plot point in the TV series ''Lost,'' isn't it?)

'''Feast of St. Barbara''' 
According to legend, Saint Barbara was the extremely beautiful daughter of a wealthy heathen named Dioscorus, who lived near Nicomedia in Asia Minor, in the 4th Century AD. Because of her singular beauty and fearful that she be demanded in marriage and taken away from him, he jealously shut her up in a tower to protect her from the outside world. When Barbara converted to Christianity, her enraged father killed her and was subsequently struck down by lightening. St. Barbara was venerated as early as the seventh century. The legend of the lightning bolt which struck down her father caused her to be regarded as the patron saint in time of danger from thunderstorms, fires and sudden death. When gunpowder made its appearance in the Western world, Saint Barbara was invoked for aid against accidents resulting from explosions since some of the earlier artillery pieces often blew up instead of firing their projectile, Saint Barbara became the patroness of the artillerymen. [http://sill-www.army.mil/pao/pabarbar.htm]

'''Propaganda of the Deed''' 
Anarchist terrorism.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_of_the_deed [Wikipedia]]

'''Zarzuela''' 
Webb's horse is named for a Spanish genre of musical theater. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarzuela [Wikipedia]]

'''cicadas''' 
[http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/insect/05590.html Cicadas in Colorado] are annual, not 17- or 13-year periodical species, so they don't help pin down the year of the action.

==Page 82==
'''Skinner''' 
Commonly, a skinner is a person who skins sections of animals or whole animals, such as cattle, sheep, and pigs, to prepare them for cooking. Historically the term referred to those engaged in the trade of skins and furs.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinner (profession) Wikipedia] However, in this context, "skinner" refers to a more obscure definition: a worker who drives mules. Long teams of mules, up to ten pairs of mules on one wagon were used to haul borax from the mines to the railroads. A skinner could "skin" or outsmart a mule. ("skin" is old criminal slang for "defraud" or "cheat.")

'''"Rocky Mountain canaries"''' 
This was the nickname the miners gave to burros, because of their braying.

'''Chinaman''' 
There was a large number of Chinese who worked on the railroads in the Rocky Mountains, especially as dynamiters, in the late 18th and early 20th centuries.

'''burro-puncher''' 
See [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=donkey+punch donkey punch].

Although no sexual metaphor is too crude for Pynchon, in this case I think he is sticking to 19th Century Colorado usage. [http://www.wordnik.com/words/cow-puncher Cow-puncher] is a synonym for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy cowboy] or cattle-herder used particularly in Texas. In [http://books.google.com/books?id=ouhYP06JObQC&pg=PA327&lpg=PA327&dq=burro+puncher&source=bl&ots=NYaO5FUrCl&sig=KPAiT6beEH2SNGkxNFDgCHE_E6Y&hl=en&ei=l_kXTIbsDISsNcjXsJQL&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=burro%20puncher&f=false ''Burro Punching in the San Juans''] (ca. 1879), George M. Darley writes

:Burro punching ... means to walk behind a pack train punching the patient, sure-footed and valuable, although greatly abused little animal. Often I have walked behind a burro when going to preach the Gospel in the "regions beyond." The term "burro-puncher" became so common during the early days of the "Great San Juan Excitement" that all who had anything to do with the little animal were called "burro-punchers." Some who are not [possible typo: now?] counted among the "leading lights" in Colorado were glad to have a burro carry their "grub" and blankets when first they went into the San Juans. This was a safe way of traveling, considering the roughness of the trails....

'''Eclipse Union mine''' 
The Eclipse mine was one of many in the Cripple Creek District, Lake County, Colorado, in the late 19th century. From this [http://www.scripophily.net/jaflmiandtuc.html website]:

:The Ajax vein had been staked over its length by five adjoining claims located in 1878 the Ajax, Bobtail, Nero, Park View, and Union Flag. All were patented in 1883 by the Eclipse Mining Company, which had been incorporated a year earlier with capital stock of $50,000. A year later the mine was developed via three adits (40, 100, and 400 feet long) and three shafts (each 30 feet deep). Immediately adjacent to the claims along the vein the company owned four patented mill sites of 5 acres each (Corregan and Lingane 1883).

Doubtful that the "Union" capital "U" infers that the mine was unionized, rather the Eclipse Union mine is likely a fictional entity, based on the actual existence of the Eclipse and Union mines, both active in the late 19th century in Lake County, Colorado [http://www.topozone.com/states/Colorado.asp?county=Lake&feature=Mine], with a double-entendre that references the mine owners' drive to ''eclipse'' the unions, i.e., wipe them out. Or perhaps Pynchon simply came across such a named mine in his research...

[[image:Moses.jpg|thumb|Michelangelo's "Moses"|right|160px]]'''flames issuing out of his head''' 
This hallucination likely refers to Veikko's "insane fanaticism" "even on his calmest days," his eyes "illuminated from within" [[#Page 83|p.83]]. There's also the allusion to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses Moses] coming from the mountain with fire from his head; this is the source for Michelangelo's "horns" on his statue, as well as other 17th century depictions of Moses. These depictions were based on a mistranslation of a Hebrew word that can mean horns or ray of light. More [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses#Horned_Moses here]. Veikko carries the word, but won't be allowed into the new "Promised Land." Like Moses, Veikko is fanatical about freeing his people from enslavement, in ''ATD'' from the mine owners and bosses. This is the first we meet Veikko which sounds close to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giambattista_Vico Giambattista Vico], a possible source of Pynchonian elements. 

This can also allude to the Pentecost, as described in the second chapter of Acts: "Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them." [http://mamalong.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/pentecost1.jpg Here] is a typical image of the disciples with flames on their heads.

'''dynamite headache''' 
In the early 20th century, the nitroglycerin in dynamite was discovered to cause severe headaches. Dynamite (DNT) is highly skin-penetrating and such headaches, dubbed "dynamite headaches," were often suffered by workers in plants manufacturing explosives. Dynamite headaches were also common among miners, who were often exposed to vaporized nitroglycerin when detonating dynamite.

The headaches result from the vasodilation effect of nitroglycerin, the same mechanism that makes it effective in the treatment of angina, myocardial infarction [heart attack], and pulmonary edema. Headache is considered an overdose effect.

'''Cour d'Alene bullpens''' 
Spelled ''Coeur'', actually. During the July 1892 strikes, the violence provided the mine owners and the governor with an excuse to bring in six companies of the Idaho National Guard to "suppress insurrection and violence." Federal troops also arrived, and they confined six hundred miners in bullpens without any hearings or formal charges. Some were later "sent up" for violating injunctions, others for obstructing the United States mail. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeur_d'Alene_miners'_dispute Wikipedia entry]

'''Cripple Creek''' 
Cripple Creek was the location of a miner's strike in 1894. It was a significant labor event and it was the first time that a state Militia was called out in support of the miners. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek_miners'_strike_of_1894 Wikipedia entry]

'''side-door pullman''' 
Boxcar.

==Page 83==

'''They thought it was funny''' 
Many authorities report that Indians think almost everything whites do is funny. In particular:

'''Colorado . . . created as a reservation for whites''' 
Drawing straight lines on the ground and calling them limits. Most of the reservations in the West and on the Plains are bounded by such lines rather than "natural" boundaries like crestlines. So is Colorado: "four straight lines on paper" -- a Cartesian state of geography.

'''General Bobrikoff''' 
Or Bobrikov, N.I. (1839-1904), given dictatorial powers in Finland, viewed there as oppressor, assassinated on June 16, 1904, the day of the action in Joyce's Ulysses.

'''mean and cold, same wealth without conscience, same poor people in misery, army and police free as wolves to commit cruelties on behalf of the bosses, bosses ready to do anything to protect what they had stolen''' 
So simple and yet so truthful. History keeps repeating itself... One endless vicious cycle of the same lame old... One reason for James Joyce spend years writing thousand pages of sophisticated {Finnegan/Ulyssean} gibberish in defense of such unvarnished genuine statement. John Zorn once said... "governments have been thinking for thousands of years on how to fuck us up." And its the artist role to break away from that and say... now look...

'''neuræsthenic''' 
Neurasthenia (Fatigue syndrome) is a neurotic disorder. [http://www.who.int/classifications/apps/icd/icd10online/?gf40.htm+f480 Definition/Symptoms]

This word appears again on [[ATD_171-198#Page_188|page 188]]. It may be a reference to Proust, who was neurasthenic. It may also simply be a fancy word for disinterested in this context. 
:The diagnosis was frequently used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially for men (women were "hysterics"). In World War I, soldiers suffering what we would call post-traumatic stress disorder were diagnosed as neurasthenic -- if they weren't refused medical aid and/ or executed as deserters. See Elaine Showalter, '''''The Female Malady: Women, Madness, and English Culture, 1830-1980''''' (NY: Pantheon, 1985)

==Page 84==

'''1900''' 
So the current Fourth of July must be 1901 or later (not 1899). 
And not 1904: Gen. Bobrikoff (preceding page) was assassinated in June of that year, so Veikko's toast goes stale. Therefore 1901, '02 or '03.

On August 14, 1900, American, British, Russian and American troops entered Beijing to quell the Boxer Rebellion.

'''''Minneskort''''' 
Modern Swedish word for computer memory cards. Swedish is a minority language in Finland. (TRP likely saw it on a Nokia phone.)

'''Fink trusses''' 
This [http://pghbridges.com/basics.htm perfectly delightful site] for bridge spotters identifies the Fink truss as a design by Albert Fink dating from the 1860s. It's illustrated way down toward the bottom of the page. All the compression and tension members lie below the plane of the deck where the tracks are laid.

'''...it bein a three-day holiday''' 
Indicates that this passage takes place in 1902, as the Fourth of July fell on a Friday. ([http://www.hf.rim.or.jp/~kaji/cal/cal.cgi?1902 Source])

==Page 85==

'''nippers''' 
Boys who assist a costermonger, carter, etc. Later (more generally): the most junior members of a group of workmen, esp. one employed in menial tasks. (def.4a. ''The Oxford English Dictionary.'' 2nd ed. 1989.)

'''swampers''' 
Workmen who clear a road for lumberers in a ‘swamp’ or forest. Though the OED doesn't specify mining work in it definition, it is probable that swampers also clear the roads and paths for miners. (def.1a. ''The Oxford English Dictionary.'' 2nd ed. 1989.)

'''Innocent Victims . . . Monsters That Did the Deed''' 
Use of capitals seems to emphasize the fact that these persons are simply convenient stock characters in the forwarding of the owners'/government's agenda.

'''"some of these explosions, the more deadly of them, in fact, were really set off to begin with not by Anarchists but by the owners themselves."''' 
Is this an allusion to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_demolition_hypothesis_for_the_collapse_of_the_World_Trade_Center Controlled demolition hypothesis] for the collapse of the WTC? 

NO! In labor history, many 'accidents' and some planned deeds by owners were blamed on radicals, anarchists, etc. It was common in the early days of the labor movement for owners to conspire to make the unions look bad in this manner. One such example is cited [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_labor_issues_and_events here] in 1910, and it is certainly far from the only one.

See, however, a much more straightforward allusion in [[ATD_171-198#Page_175|page 175]].
:While it's true that many "anarchist" explosions were planned by the owners of industry, to suggest that this is NOT! an allusion to the possibility of US Government involvement in the 9-11 attacks seems rather limiting. Pynchon hinted strongly that this novel is an allegory for our own time in the jacket blurb, and much of what makes this chapter interesting is the way it creates a disturbing analogy between the terrorism carried out by Webb, a highly sympathetic figure, and that carried out by the 9-11 hijackers, whom we so love to hate.

'''Which left precious few targets except for the railroad.''' 
Frank Norris's 1901 novel ''The Octopus'' is summed up in one short paragraph. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Octopus_%28Frank_Norris%29 Wikipedia entry].

==Page 86==
'''faro''' 
An old card game that was very popular in the nineteenth-century American West. For example, the great [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Jay Ricky Jay] plays a faro dealer in the TV show ''Deadwood''. More [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faro_(card_game) here].

'''Shorty's Billiard Saloon''' 
This is based on real accounts of billiard balls sparking and exploding in saloons. The balls in question used a then-new thermoplastic compound of cellulose nitrate and camphor developed and patented under the trademark "celluloid" by John Wesley Hyatt as a substitute for ivory. See [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=C Celluloid] for Wikipedia links to Hyatt and Celluloid.

'''without being hit once''' 
Similar to a pivotal scene in the film ''Pulp Fiction''. Samuel Jackson's character is shot at in fairly close range and is not hit even once. This prompts a spiritual awakening and his decisions to leave his life of crime.

'''a state of heightened receptivity''' 
People who talk about enlightenment and unsubstantiated alternative "therapies" use this phrase a lot—[http://www.enlightenment.com/forums/msgs.cfm?msg=708&forum=6&tz=240 example]—but in simplest terms it just means [http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/pdf%2F8004%2F8004r2.pdf hypnosis.]

'''pernicious''' 
Of a thing, action, intent, etc.: causing or likely to cause harm, esp. in a gradual or insidious manner; dangerous, destructive; evil. Also in weakened use: having a harmful influence; undesirable. (def.2a. ''The Oxford English Dictionary.'' 2nd ed. 1989.)

==Page 87==

'''those French Anarchists . . . Emile Henry . . . Vaillant''' 
Emile Henry (1872 - May 21, 1894) was a French anarchist who on February 12, 1894 detonated a bomb at the Café Terminus in the Parisian Gare Saint-Lazare killing one person and wounding twenty. Henry was angered over the execution of another Anarchist, Auguste Vaillant, for the destruction of a government building that hurt no one, and took it upon himself to strike back to avenge his fellow revolutionary's death. He saw the Cafe as a representation of the bourgeois itself and his intent was to kill as many people as possible in the bombing. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emile_Henry Wikipedia entry].

'''how can anyone set off a bomb that will take innocent lives?''' 
Rev. Moss Gatlin's rhetorical question and its wisecrack response, "Long fuse" seems a calculated echo of Kubrick's ''Full Metal Jacket.'' ("How you shoot women and children?" "Easy -- don't lead 'em so much.") Discussion here also recalls the Weathermen, a violent off-shoot of the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) during the Vietnam Era.

'''listening . . . to the sermon . . . those absolute terms''' 
While there is a movement or school called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_anarchism Christian anarchism] (use the Wikipedia article with caution), Gatlin's ideas do not harmonize with it. As his sermon on pages 86-87 makes plain, he follows quite a different line.

'''Mason-Dixon line''' 
We learn that the Traverse family had been "an old ridegerunning clan from southern Pennsylvania, close to the Mason-Dixon." No Traverses appear, however, in Pynchon's ''Mason & Dixon'' (except in the sense that the whole M-D survey was conducted by the traverse method), but one can speculate that had they been, the Traverse ancestors may have been victims of the Line's bad Feng Shui. From this, one could infer a connection between the Line and Colorado Anarchism.

'''Civil War''' 
This is the first instance of the term, for a war so far in the novel being referred to as "The Rebellion".

==Page 88==

'''westward drift''' 
Webb Traverse's wanderings are referred to as "this westward drift". The phrase is probably not accidental: in scientific circles "westward drift" is used for either of two geophysical phenomena: the gradual westward [http://home.jesus.ox.ac.uk/~dacheson/res2.html movement of the magnetic north pole] and the westward [http://bulletin.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/118/1-2/199 rotation of the outer layers of the Earth] (the lithosphere) relative to the inner layers.

In Frederick Jackson Turnerian circles, this westward momentum would be in harmony with both the progress of the US frontier as well as the westward transfer, according to Bishop Berkeley, of empire.

'''twelve-cylinder Confederate Colt''' 
A hard weapon to identify. Some Colt revolvers were sold to the Southern forces in the first few days after Fort Sumter, but it's far more likely that this is a knockoff of Colt's 1851 design made, for example, at Augusta, Georgia. Plenty of these got into service. Caliber is probably .36 or .44, but there are other possibilities. "Twelve-cylinder" is nonsense; there is a rare version of the Colt cylinder with ''twelve cylinder stops,'' but it holds ''six'' percussion rounds (ball and cap system). The cylinder stops are depressions on the outer surface of the cylinder forming part of the mechanism that aligns the chamber with the barrel for firing. Photos of sidearms online are ephemeral (many vanish once the auction concludes), so no link here, even if any of the available images did show the variant. To see today's selection, trying [http://www.google.com/search?q=%22confederate+revolver%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a googling "Confederate revolver"]...

==Page 89==

'''silver-boom babies''' 
Assuming the silver boom of 1890-1892 is meant, Webb's kids were aged about 9 to 16. [[Timeline|Timeline with spoilers]]

'''Ace of spades...death card''' 
The ace of spades seems to have been considered the "death card" in the Vietnam War. [http://www.newtscards.com/secret_weapon_death_playing_cards.asp Article]

Oh, ''long'' before that. Schoolchildren in the 1950s (who would pretty reliably believe anything) believed in the association, and aren't there about a shelf's worth of spy and mystery novels where the Ace of Spades portends death?

Going back farther,
:''In Robert Louis Stevenson's story "The Suicide Club" (1878), the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_of_Spades Ace of Spades] functions as the "sign of death" within a secret society whose members commit "suicide" by submitting to be killed, if they draw the Ace of Spades from a pack of 52 cards during a club meeting, by another member drawing the Ace of Clubs.''

Also, as the highest card in the deck, it commonly defeats everything else, as does death. 
Why Mayva should be likened to the Ace of Spades is still to be explained.

'''fancy briar pipe . . . beat-up old corncob''' 
Briar pipes appeared in Europe from the 1850s on. The Missouri Meerschaum brand of corncob pipe dates from 1869. Until close to 1900, clay pipes were probably more common than either.

'''took the cog railway up Pike's Peak''' 
Something you can still do today. Make your reservations [http://www.cograilway.com/ here]!

'''Bob Ford's Funeral''' 
Robert Ford assassinated his famous fellow outlaw Jesse James. His funeral took place in June 1892. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ford_(outlaw) [Wikipedia]]

'''Creede''' 
Central Colorado mining town, now a ski resort.

'''Telluride''' 
Far southwestern Colorado mining town, now a ski and mountain resort, with an annual film festival. Named for the telluride ores typical of the vicinity, but the name has more possible significance in AtD.

Used as an adjective, Telluric: Of or belonging to the earth; terrestrial; pertaining to the earth as a planet; also, arising from the earth or soil (OED). In turn the origin of Tellurism: Magnetic influence or principle supposed by some to pervade all nature, and to produce the phenomenon of Animal Magnetism; also the theory of Animal Magnetism based on this, propounded in 1822 by Keiser in Germany (OED). "Animal Magnetism" is referred to in English as Mesmerism [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Magnetism].

'''extreme and unmerciful whiteness''' 
It doesn't seem to be accidental that "white" and "whiteness" are hard to endure in ''AtD.'' Consider [[ATD_26-56#Page_52|"the whiteness of the place nearly unbearable";]] the White City and White City Investigations; and other uses.

'''repeal of the Silver Act''' 
Prior to 1892, both Silver and Gold were used as a metallic standard for currency in the United States. The Sherman Act authorized the treasury to purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver per month. This inflated the price of silver, causing eastern investors to start hoarding gold as a hedge. The unrest this caused in the Colorado mines resulted in the repeal of the Act. When this happened, the mining of silver began to rapidly decline, causing further destabilization in the silver mining industry.

'''tiresome moral exercise''' 
May be a preterite association with President Clinton's impeachment and Senate trial over the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

==Page 90==

'''before he got shot''' 
1899. [http://www.butchandsundance.com/players/ketchumgang.htm [cite]]

'''the Cornish wives in Jacktown''' 
Many Western miners came from Cornwall. The stock nickname for any Cornishman was "Cousin Jack." So Jacktown is the area where the Cornish families live.
'''singlejacker''' 
A miner who drilled holes in the rock by hiting a drill with a hammer making a 1/4 turn after every blow. Miners could also (chose to) work in pairs, known as doublejacking, though narrow conditions sometimes prevented this. See this [http://crownkinghiker.blogspot.com/2011/05/single-jack-miner-according-to-frank.html?m=1 blog entry] which has a description and a photo roughly contemporaneous to the time here.

'''Lake''' @
'Lake Traverse' is a real lake between Minnesota and South Dakota. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Traverse Wikipedia]

'''dynamited carny jump up out of that blast good as new''' 
This passage recalls Daffy Duck cartoons.

==Page 91==

'''theory and practice of resistance to power''' 
[http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/maotsetun138236.html Mao Tse-tung] (or Mao Zedong) said, "The guerrilla must move among the people as a fish swims in the sea." Gatlin anticipates the principle, with a kicker that's especially pertinent to ''AtD:'' to succeed at invisibility, you must first succeed at visibility.

'''"Sleep? is when you sleep"''' 
Not likely this is a typo. We often include a question in our answer, in this case summarising the question with "sleep?" then immediately answering. And just as it does falling at the end of a sentence, the "?" reflects a change of vocal pitch/stress. As for the sentence fragment, Webb is a man of few words, and "The reservation I have about what you say is" are not some of them.

Alludes Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki's teachings on Zen... "shower is when you shower." First pages of William Burroughs' The Ticket That Exploded comes to mind ~ the notion about sleep, heartbeat and mind/spiritual/innerSelf survivalism... that fearful feeling of falling asleep and never waking up again to fulfill your true revolutionary objectives.

==Page 92==

'''$3-blessed-50 a day''' 
This might be an over-estimate; in 2006 dollars, that comes to over $86 a day, not a bad wage indeed. [http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppowerus/ Calculator]

$86 dollars a day not a bad wage?? Assuming an 8-12 hour day, that comes out to about today's minimum wage -- which is hardly a living wage. This seems about right. Just enough to keep body, soul and family together. Maybe. The text implies that $3.50/day was just barely a "living wage."

Compare $3.50 in context on [[ATD_374-396|p. 378]]...

Wages at the time immediately prior to the Cripple Creek strike of 1884 were $3 a day for an 8 hour day. The initial cause of the strike was an attempt by mine owners to increase the working day to 10 hours with no increase in pay. [http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek_miners%27_strike_of_1894]. Wikipedia mentions that at the time of the Couer d'Alene strike of 1892 wages were typically $3 - $3.50. The latter was demanded for all workers, by the strikers, as a "living wage". [http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeur_d%27Alene,_Idaho_labor_strike_of_1892#section_1]

'''Western Federation of Miners''' 
A radical labor union created in 1893. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Federation_of_Miners Wikipedia] They played a leading part in the founding of the IWW. They fought many bitter disputes and were often the subject of violence by mine owners agents and others.

'''. . . a mule dropping on the edge of life's mountain trail, ready to be either squashed flat or kicked into the void.''' 
Brings directly to mind a scene from Cormac McCarthy's 1985 highly praised novel ''Blood Meridian or The Evening Redness In The West'':
:"The following evening as they rode up onto the western rim they lost one of the mules. It went skittering off down the canyon wall with the contents of the panniers exploding soundlessly in the hot dry air and it fell through sunlight and through shade, turning in that lonely void until it fell from sight into a sink of cold blue space that absolved it forever of memory in the mind of any living thing that was." (Modern Library Edition 2001, p. 147).
The novel is considered as one of the 20th century American masterpieces ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Meridian Wikipedia entry]). It is set about 45 years before the beginning of AtD (1849-50) at the Mexico - Texas borderlands. In fact, partly due to Pynchon's frequent references to ''red'' light, ''west'' and ''sunset'' (see [[Red%2C_West_and_Sunsets|here]] for a growing list), I suspect a kind of deeper relation between the two novels, but more evidence is required.
:I hate to mention this, because the McCarthy connection is so cogent, but doesn't that phrase in ''AtD'' refer to a "mule dropping" rather than a mule that drops? Or rather: doesn't that phrase ''refract'' (or bi-refract) the passage from ''Blood Meridian,'' bringing the mule's flight to mind while overtly talking about a turd? (A mule doesn't have the option of being squashed flat, but a dropping does.)

:This entry spurred me to read ''Blood Meridian,'' and while ''AtD'' is completely independent of that work, yes, the two novels do reflect a ruddy western light on each other. A really voracious reader will find, I suspect, that ''AtD'' is subtly linked to many other late-20th/early-21st century fictions. Contributors to this wiki have noted some such parallels; one that I found by chance is described in the [[ATD_119-148#Page_142|annotations to p. 142]] ("scentless snow walls"). These relationships suggest yet another interpretation of the title, if we needed another: The book is to be read as object against ground, ''against'' the literature of ''the day.''—[[User:Volver|Volver]]

:I agree, apart from the 'late-20th/early-21st century' point - I think that the link you suggest does exist but extends much beyond. See for example [http://againsttheday.wordpress.com/2007/01/20/child-of-the-storm-ii/ this] extremely interesting entry in the AtD Weblog. [[User:Ctsats|Ctsats]] 01:45, 2 May 2007 (PDT)

'''no fugitive laws for them''' 
The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugitive_slave_law Fugitive Slave Law] allowed Southern slave owners to chase their escaped slaves into free territory and retrieve their "property."

'''That's wicked, Rev.''' 
Switch that around and you've got Rev. Wicks (Cherrycoke), the narrator of '''Mason & Dixon'''.

==Page 93==
'''Labor produces all wealth . . .''' 
This was [http://www.laborarts.org/collections/item.cfm?itemid=178 the slogan] for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Federation_of_Miners Western Federation of Miners].

'''plutes''' 
Plutocrats: members of the wealthy class controlling a government

'''Labor produces all wealth. Wealth belongs to the producer thereof.''' 
Reviewers of ATD have quoted this line, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/16/AR2006111601252.html] but Pynchon did not make it up. It comes from authentic miner's union literature of the time. [http://laborarts.org/collections/item.cfm?itemid=178]

'''Compassion''' 
With 'Republicans' below, a possible reference to 'compassionate conservatism' of the Bush administration. "...starving, homeless, and dead..." is what the Republicans mean by compassion, demonstrating the need for the "foreign phrase book". Has always been thus,historically and now?

'''Republicans''' 
William McKinley was elected in 1896 on the Republican ticket, defeating Democrat William Jennings Bryan, ushering in a chain of Republican Presidents until Woodrow Wilson was elected in 1912. Obviously, could also be interpreted as a jab at the current Republican Party.

==Page 94==

'''duster''' 
Long coat. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duster_(clothing) Wikipedia entry]

'''the people's work, if not God's, the two forces according to Reverend Gatlin having the same voice''' 
Gatlin has in mind the proverb ''Vox populi vox Dei,'' "the voice of the people is the voice of God." There's a twist, though; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vox_populi see Wikipedia.]

'''"Don't beg, you hear me? Don't any of you ever, fucking, beg, me or nobody, for nothin." 
Could have easily been TRP's response to interview requests!!!

:I think it's about honor, not annoyance.

'''There's a master list in Washington, D.C...maintained by the U.S. Secret Service.''' 
The Secret Service, founded in 1865 as a treasury force, was not a presidential protection force until 1902. Prior to this, it functioned more or less like the FBI today. This passage suggests that we are after McKinley's assassination (1901) and the period when the Secret Service began protecting the president, though page 97 suggests that this occurred in 1899.

'''Say, open up em peepers 'fore you walk over a cliff someplace''' 
Card 0 of the Rider-Waite Tarot depicts The Fool walking in bright sunlight, his eyes shut, about to fall over a precipice if he doesn't heed the little dog who's trying to warn him of the peril. It isn't out of the question that Webb has encountered the Tarot, but if he has not, his use of the image speaks strongly for its archetypal nature.

==Page 95==

'''dynamite rounders''' 
Rounders was a precursor to baseball. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rounders [Wikipedia]]

Consider the alternative, that the "rounders" are the kids; "every sheriff has at least a dozen in his county" can refer to the game of rounders only by a stretch of meaning. Rounders: rascals, mischief-makers, in this case making mischief with dynamite.

'''waiting for the rest of the joke''' 
Cf Dally and Lindsay, p27.

==Page 96==

'''"We ready?"''' 
The destruction of the railroad bridge is reminiscent of scenes in Edward Abbey's anarchistic 1975 novel ''The Monkey Wrench Gang.'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkey_Wrench_Gang Wikipedia entry].

'''Sufficient unto the day''' 
From [http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/matthew.htm#c6 The Gospel According to Saint Matthew: 6:34]. "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall
take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (The New Testament of the King James Bible). This phrase also appears in [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity's Rainbow'']:

:"No one knows exactly when the hit will come every morning, before the markets open, out before the milkmen, They make Their new update and decide on what's going to be sufficient unto the day." [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Pages_537-548#Page_544 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', page 544].

'''Happy Fourth of July, Webb''' 
Endearing? Veikko is eight years older than Webb.

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 1-25

2015-02-17T01:17:36Z

Pthomas:

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==cover text==
[[image:Ispar.jpg|right|thumb|125px|An alphabet viewed through Iceland spar ('birefringence')]]
Words viewed through the translucent crystal known as 'Iceland spar,' look like this-- with multiple 'ghost' images. Note that here, the ghost images appear in multiple typefaces. The combination of traditional serif fonts with modern sans-serif fonts suggests the themes of time, past/present, etc.

==cover seal==
The seal is written in Tibetan. Someone going by the name 'Ya Sam' [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0612&msg=112066&keywords=Namgyal posted] on the Pynchon-l message board:

"I contacted the Tibetan Cultural Centre with the request to translate
the mysterious legend on the AtD seal. They were kind enough to forward my
request to the Tibetan tranlsator Tenzin Namgyal to whose generosity we
owe the solution of one more ATD related mystery.

It is the Tibetan language, alright, and it means ...... Tibetan
Government Chamber of Commerce.

Read their response below:

:Dear Ya Sam, 
:I showed the seal you sent to our Tibetan translator, Tenzin Namgyal. He says the word to word translation is: Tibetan Government Commerce Chamber in other words: Tibetan Government Chamber of commerce. Why Pynchon has chosen to place this on the cover of his book is anyones guess. Reading the book reviews gave no insight into the reason. Perhaps after one has read it?

:Best wishes,

:Sandy Belth 
:Tibetan Cultural Center"

The seal also bears some resemblance to the doubloon in ''Moby-Dick'' that Ahab nails to the mainmast as a prize to the first crew member to sight the white whale. Melville's description runs thus:

:"''It so chanced that the doubloon of the Pequod was a most wealthy example of these things. On its round border it bore the letters, REPUBLICA DEL ECUADOR: QUITO. So this bright coin came from a country planted in the middle of the world, and beneath the great equator, and named after it; and it had been cast midway up the Andes, in the unwaning clime that knows no autumn. Zoned by those letters you saw the likeness of three Andes' summits; from one a flame; a tower on another; on the third a crowing cock; while arching over all was a segment of the partitioned zodiac, the signs all marked with their usual cabalistics, and the keystone sun entering the equinoctial point at Libra.''" (Ch.99, "The Doubloon")

The seal draws attention in Pynchonian fashion to a rarely discussed aspect of Tibet. In the West Tibet is regarded as a land of mysticism and supernatural events, far removed from the materialistic concerns of the spiritually immature West. But the seal shows: even Tibet had a Chamber of Commerce. "There is money everywhere", even in Shambhala.

==copyright page==
The copyright page states that ''Against the Day'' is published by Viking Penguin, but on the title page and elsewhere we can read that the book is published by Penguin Press. The copyright pages of other books from Penguin Press state "Penguin Press" as the publisher, as could be expected, and it seems likely that the substitution of "Penguin Press" with "Viking" is one of many typographical errors in the book (see [[errata]]).
I have confirmed from inside Penguin Press that this is a copyediting mistake. Here is a direct e-mail answer about the Viking Penguin listing: "this was a copyediting mistake that will be corrected. There was never a Viking contract for this book."

==Dedication==
Most of Pynchon's novels contain dedications-- ''Mason & Dixon'' ("For Melanie, and for Jackson") , ''Vineland'' ("For my mother and father"), and ''Gravity's Rainbow'' ("For Richard Fariña")-- but not so ''Against the Day,'' as published. Advance reading copies of the book did contain the words "Dedication TK" in italics, but this is simply [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Come publisher-speak] for "dedication to come." It is unknown whether Pynchon ever considered inclusion of a dedication or whether the publisher simply left the page open just in case, but the ultimate lack of a dedication may suggest that Pynchon feels he's thanked everyone he needs to thank.

==Epigraph==
'''"It's always night, or we wouldn't need light." - Thelonious Monk''' 
Jazz and particularly bebop seem to be a lifelong interest of Pynchon’s, appearing in some form in all his works and what biographical snippets exist. As a college student, Pynchon “spent a lot of time in jazz clubs, nursing the two-beer minimum,” by his own admission (''Slow Learner'', Introduction). The Chumps of Choice blog [http://chumpsofchoice.blogspot.com/2006/12/that-thelonious-monk-epigraph.html notes] that: 1) in his youth, Pynchon allegedly referred to Monk as a "God"; 2) [[file:Monk-Time-022864_cover.jpg|left|150px|caption|Time Magazine, Feb 28, 1964]]the character McClintic Sphere in ''V''. takes Monk's middle name, Sphere; and 3) "It's always night, or we wouldn't need light" was apparently something Monk was given to saying, rather than something he once said.

On [[ATD_724-747#Page 732|page 732]]: "...daylit America ... its steadfast denial of night."

The epigraph's possible source: [http://aphelis.net/portrait-thelonious-monk-boris-chaliapin-1964/ Time magazine, February 28, 1964] article titled [http://www.monkzone.com/Profiles_interviews/Time%20Magazine%20article.htm “The Loneliest Monk”] written by Barry Farrell (pp. 84-88).

'''NOTE:''' There's no reason to believe that the above-linked article is the "possible source" of Monk's oft-repeated quote. Perhaps Pynchon saw this article, perhaps he encountered that quote via more esoteric channels. Whatever. It's all just speculation...

'''NOTE:''' Reading Charles Hollander's [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Does_McClintic_Sphere_in_V._stand_for_Thelonious_Monk%3F excellent article on Thelonious Monk and McClintic Sphere], a character in Pynchon's ''V.''.

==Page 1==
'''"Now single up all lines!""''' 
Pynchon was in the Navy for a spell and "single up all lines" is a common nautical term. Ships are docked with lines doubled -- that is, with two sets of ropes or chains holding the vessel to the dock. To "single up all lines" is to remove the redundant second lines in preparation to make way.

But the opening line has many possible connotations.
:The Modern Word's Quail [http://www.themodernword.com/reviews/pynchon_atd.html writes] that "it is simultaneously a self-directive and a call to the reader; suggesting that ''Against the Day'' is a culmination of his previous work, and also charging the reader to find meaning within its twisting labyrinth. It may also be a sly, preemptive joke on the book’s initial critics, as the novel begins with the launch of a bloated gasbag bearing a somewhat provocative name."

:"single up all lines" is used in its normal nautical context in [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#single_up_all_lines ''V.'', pp. 11 and 438]; [http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_2#single_up_all_lines ''The Crying of Lot 49'', p.31]; [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Pages_488-491#single_up_all_lines ''Gravity's Rainbow'', p.489]; [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_26:_257-265#Page_258 ''Mason & Dixon'', pp.258 and 260]; [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_8#Page_119 ''Inherent Vice'', p. 119-120]. Perhaps we can understand this "line" as a text-string linking Pynchon's novels together (all but [http://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''Vineland'']?) in preparation for a voyage to...?

Also, in the very first sentence, Pynchon introduces the concept of doubling (with the word "Single"!) "single up all lines" as a call to journey, to movement and expansion, a beginning. Then, on [[#Page_10|page 10]]: "only in straight lines and at right angles and a progressive reduction of choices, until the final turn through the final gate that led to the killing-floor." Thus, a progressive singling or reduction of all lines/paths, a rationalization/routinization unto death. Both represent "a progressive reduction of choices" a collapsing of many possibilities into one "reality." ''See also'' [[ATD_557-587#Page_585|annotation, page 585]] and more on [[Routinization of Charisma]].

The missing quotation mark indicates continuation. Are we holding in our hands the latest boy's adventure tale featuring our favorites, "the Chums of Chance."? (While in all likelihood purely coincidental, it is nevertheless interesting to note the following from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake "boys to your bellybone and chuck a chum of chance!" p. 85 Penguin Books, 1999)

:The ''Finnegans Wake'' line you quote is actually "be British, boys to your bellybone and chuck a chum '''a''' chance!" but close enough anyway to suspect a source [[User:WikiAdmin|WikiAdmin]] 07:38, 16 April 2010 (PDT)

Henry Veggian in [http://boundary2.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/35/1/197.pdf his paper entitled "Thomas Pynchon Against the Day"] makes the same point:
:"The novel begins quietly, almost without irony, with a typographical lapse. A set of quotation marks are missing before the first lines of ''Against the Day''." Veggian playfully intimates that it is the authorial "hot air" which takes the "Inconvenience" aloft.

:'''The "missing quotation mark" is not a typo or any sort of Authorial Intention'''; it's simply the publisher's style for the large-font first letter of each section to stand outside the punctuation and font style. On page 588, there is no quotation mark before the "S" in "Smells" and on page 318 the "T" in "Tengo" is not italicized whereas the rest of the word is. Veggian's interpretation is a great example of reading a bit too much into Pynchon's work. I'm surprised that he missed something that seems to me fairly obvious. [[User:WikiAdmin|WikiAdmin]] 11:55, 4 April 2009 (PDT)

'''The Light Over the Ranges''' 
"Range" is defined in the ''Oxford American Dictionary'' as "a line or series of mountains or hills : the coastal ranges of the northwest," so "range" or "ranges" can be used to denote a number of mountains. Some other connotations may include:

:'Ranges' may also refer to farms, homesteads and ranches in 1893 America. America was predominantly that in 1893. Cf. "Home, home on the range".

:"celebrating in song the wider range of life..." Thomas Pynchon on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Waddell Helen Waddell's] ''The Wandering Scholars'', p. 8, Introduction to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Learner ''Slow Learner], 1984.

:In addition, light over ranges is an issue throughout the novel: exploitation and development of electrical and electronics was a concern of the Raymond, Pynchon & Company and Pynchon and company, an investment firm run by yacht enthusiast George M. Pynchon. Pynchon & Company invested in Edison's work.

:I wonder whether "light over the ranges" could refer to space-time along the line of the theories of general relativity, particularly since the voyage of ''inconvenience'' appears at times to take place under that conceptual framework. In addition, keeping in mind Pynchon's educational background, I would add to the above definitions and considerations that "range" is also a mathematical concept.

==Page 3==

'''"Now single up all lines!"''' 
Pynchon was in the Navy for a spell and "single up all lines" is a common nautical term. Ships are docked with lines doubled -- that is, with two sets of ropes or chains holding the vessel to the dock. To "single up all lines" is to remove the redundant second lines in preparation to make way.

But the opening line has many possible connotations.
:The Modern Word's Quail [http://www.themodernword.com/reviews/pynchon_atd.html writes] that "it is simultaneously a self-directive and a call to the reader; suggesting that ''Against the Day'' is a culmination of his previous work, and also charging the reader to find meaning within its twisting labyrinth. It may also be a sly, preemptive joke on the book’s initial critics, as the novel begins with the launch of a bloated gasbag bearing a somewhat provocative name."

:"single up all lines" is used in its normal nautical context in [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#single_up_all_lines ''V.'', p.11]; [http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_2#single_up_all_lines ''The Crying of Lot 49'', p.31]; [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Pages_488-491#single_up_all_lines ''Gravity's Rainbow'', p.489]; and [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_26:_257-265#Page_258 ''Mason & Dixon'', pp.258 and 260]. Perhaps we can understand this "line" as a text-string linking Pynchon's novels together (all but [http://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki ''Vineland''] and ''Bleeding Edge'') in preparation for a voyage to...?

Also, in the very first sentence, Pynchon introduces the concept of doubling (with the word "Single"!) "single up all lines" as a call to journey, to movement and expansion, a beginning. Then, on [[#Page_10|page 10]]: "only in straight lines and at right angles and a progressive reduction of choices, until the final turn through the final gate that led to the killing-floor." Thus, a progressive singling or reduction of all lines/paths, a rationalization/routinization unto death. Both represent "a progressive reduction of choices" a collapsing of many possibilities into one "reality." ''See also'' [[ATD_557-587#Page_585|annotation, page 585]] and more on [[Routinization of Charisma]].

'''"Cheerly now...handsomely...very well!!"''' 
Cheerly means "heartily," and was traditionally used as cry of encouragement among sailors. Handsomely (in nautical context): carefully, in good order, unhurriedly.

:Pynchon uses nautical language in most of his novels. ''Mason & Dixon'': "Cheerly. Cheerly, then, Lads..." (54).

William Shakespeare, ''The Tempest,'' Act I Sc. 1, line 5: "Heigh, my hearts! Cheerly, cheerly, my hearts!"

'''"Windy City, here we come!"''' 
The nickname for Chicago, of course; here of particular relevance, given the nature of the ship. The earliest known references to the "Windy City" are from 1876. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windy_City,_Origin_of_Name_(Chicago)| Origin of name "Windy City" at Wikipedia]

'''"Up we go!"''' 
"Up" is an unexpected direction in the context of nautical language, and the anonymous character's observation gives the narrator an excuse to explain that this is no ordinary ship.

'''Randolph St. Cosmo, the ship commander''' 
[[image:ex-voti-isernia.jpg|thumb|175px|Ex voti of Wax, from Isernia|right]]Historically, there are two versions of the 3rd century CE figure St. Cosmo (aka St. Cosmas): the "randy" St. Cosmo, aka the "modern Priapus," and the saintly martyred St. Cosmo of Church lore (associated with healing cult, in some places succeeding Greek Askleipios cult). Pynchon, it seems, is connecting Randolph St. Cosmo to the former. "Randy," as astute observers will note, is an adjective which means, well, "horny." There's a distinct sexual thread woven throughout ''Against the Day'' [[The Sexual Angle|(See the ''beginnings'' of exploring this angle...]]) a-and Heartsease, St. Cosmo's mate, is the first to get pregnant! so this seems to fit right in. [[St. Cosmo|Read more about the historical St. Cosmo...]]; and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sts._Cosmas_and_Damian Wikipedia entry]; [[Randolph St. Cosmo|More on Randolph St. Cosmo]]

In [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=V#veery ''Mason & Dixon''], Pynchon has the Veery brothers, Cosmo and Damian, who are professional effigy makes in Philadelphia! And, just to make it interesting, "He's a rare Wax Artist, our Cosmo is." ([http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_29:_289-295#Page_290 p. 290]) (Note: Wax phallus effigies were offered by the women to St. Cosmo at the festivals held in his name, as shown above.) [[St. Cosmo|Read more about the historical St. Cosmo]]; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sts._Cosmas_and_Damian Wikipedia entry]

The commander's name also evokes Randolph St., a main thoroughfare in Chicago. Perhaps also saint(liness) and cosmos?

'''Now secure the Special Sky Detail''' 
When a naval vessel is departing from port or returning to port, a specially trained team is put in charge of the complicated process. The command is, [http://tpub.com/content/administration/12968a/css/12968a_41.htm "Now set the Special Sea Detail."] 'Once the ship is aloft and clear of ground obstructions, the command comes, "Now secure the Special Sky Detail," meaning disband the team for the time being and all return to regular duties.

'''"scuttlebutt" . . . thousand . . . wonders''' 
A most vigorous campaign [to host the Columbian Exposition] was then inaugurated, the three other cities making a common cause against Washington, whose claim was based on the fact that the proposed exposition was to be held under auspices of the national government, and hence that the capital was the most appropriate place.... By each of the claimants every advantage was urged, and by each of their rivals every defect was exaggerated. Congressional committees accorded a hearing to the several delegations, that of Chicago being represented, among others, by DeWitt C. Cregier, Thomas B. Bryan, and Edward T. Jeffery. from "Book of the Fair" by Hubert Bancroft, 1893.
:"Scuttlebutt" is a very close equivalent to "water-cooler gossip." [http://www.jacksjoint.com/sailor_terminology.htm Here is a glossary] of nautical terms with some of the etymologies.

'''''Inconvenience''''' 
Pynchon's fictional navy includes the USS Scaffold, Impulsive, and the Susanna Squaducci (''V.''), and the John E. Badass (''GR''). Chumps of Choice blog [http://chumpsofchoice.blogspot.com/2006/12/now-single-up-all-lines.html notes] that the British Royal Navy has a long tradition of warships with names like Impulsive, Incendiary, Inconstant, Indignant, etc.

Here a possible pun on the homonym "in" ("not", as "in-credible", or just "in", as "in-side"); "in-convenience" is a fitting name for a vehicle ("convey in").

In other Pynchon novels: 1) In ''Mason & Dixon'', the H.M.S. Inconvenience is the ship of Fender-Belly Bodine. [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=I#inconvenience More]. 2) In ''Mason & Dixon'', the word is applied to the difficulties of an Other, other human beings as we act, interact. See citations at the ''M & D'' wiki. 2) In ''Gravity's Rainbow'': "the gift of Daedalus that allowed him [Pokler] to put as much labyrinth as required between himself and the
''inconveniences of caring''. [Italics mine] They had sold him convenience, so much of it, all on credit, and now They were collecting." (435)

'''patriotic bunting''' 
TRP reminds again that this is a very American skyship. Compare the Chums' uniform below. 

AtD has many echoes of Doctorow's "Ragtime": Doctorow fictionalises the same era, including anarchists, bombings, and early Hollywood.

'''aeronautics''' 
It has been suggested that Pynchon relied to the Britannica 11th as a major reference for his treatment of early aeronautics. [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Aeronautics|Brittanica 11th on Aeronautics] 

'''five-lad crew''' 
Randolph St. Cosmo (ship commander), Lindsay Noseworth (master-at-arms), Miles Blundell (handyman apprentice), Darby Suckling (factotum and mascot), and Chick Counterfly.

'''The [[Chums of Chance]]''' 
To be chummy with chance might mean lucky, fond of gambling, fond of chaos, irrational, adventurous, or anarchist. Or maybe they became chums by accident.

The names of the Chums may also be derived from famous Jazz musicians: Miles (Davis), Chick (Corea), Darby (Hicks), (Boots) Randolph, and (Vachel) Lindsay (a stretch here?), notes the [http://chumpsofchoice.blogspot.com/2006/12/now-single-up-all-lines.html#c116587978292060684 Chumps of Choice blog].

Cameraderie and isolation are two recurring topics in Pynchon's works. The Chums are a band of heroes like those commonly featured in the 19th century boys' fiction that Pynchon evokes, but also recall Pynchon's high school fictions, [http://themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_hamster.html Voice of the Hamster] and [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_boys.html The Boys], in which the teenage Pynchon lovingly portrayed his group of high school chums, known as, simply, "The Boys."

[[image:dart-explorigator.jpg|thumb|120px|right]]The Chums are reminiscent of two comics of the early 20th century, [[Little Nemo|''Little Nemo in Slumberland'']], by Windsor McCay, and ''The Explorigator'', by Harry Grant Dart. "The Explorigator" was the name of a fantastic airship that traversed the universe. It was manned by Admiral Fudge, a youthful adventurer and inventor, accompanied by a group of friends, also children his age (around nine or ten): Detective Rubbersole, Maurice Mizzentop, Nicholas Nohooks, Grenadier Shift, Teddy Typewriter, and Ah Fergetitt. [[The Explorigator|More on ''The Explorigator'']]

'''Chicago''' 
It has been suggested that Pynchon relied on the [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/ 1911 Edition of the Encycl[[http://www.example.com link title]]opaedia Britannica] as a major reference for his treatment of 1890s Chicago. [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Chicago 1911 Britannica entry on Chicago]

'''World's Columbian Exposition''' 
also called The Chicago World's Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World. Chicago bested New York City, Washington, D.C. and St. Louis, Missouri, for the honor of hosting the fair. The fair had a profound effect on architecture, the arts, Chicago's self image and American industrial optimism. The International Exposition was held in a building which for the first time was devoted to electrical exhibits. It was a historical moment and the beginning of a revolution, as Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse introduced the public to electrical power by providing alternating current to illuminate the Exposition. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_Columbian_Exposition Wikipedia entry]. This World's Fair was enveloped in optimism for the future. "The thousand or more such wonders which awaited [the Chums] there." p.3. See also the 2004 bestseller, ''The Devil in the White City'', a non-fiction work that details the building of the Fair, the growth of Chicago, and the first serial murderer in America.

'''Ferris wheel''' 
The first of its kind, designed for the Exposition [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_wheel]

'''...temples of commerce and industry''' 
evocative of Chicago's Museum of ''Science and Industry'', which rests on the very site of the Exposition's White City, overlooking its "sparkling lagoon" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Science_and_Industry_(Chicago)]. A central theme of the text is the relationship between Science and Commerce.

'''Since their orders had come through . . .''' 
A first intimation of the shadowy power structure behind the Chums' operations.

'''lifelines''' 
Called "manropes" on sailing ships. Ropes running fore-and-aft above the gunwales to prevent sailors getting blown overboard. They were held up by short stanchions inserted into holes in the rails. Source: ''The Ashley Book of Knots,'' 1944.

'''as my faithful readers will remember''' 
Pynchon here is immediately inserting this story into a larger canon of Chums of Chance fictions, titles of which are mentioned in subsequent pages.

'''mascotte''' 
The English word 'mascot' has its origin from French mascotte: an operetta first performed in 1880 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_mascotte], with the virginal mascotte a sort of good luck charmer. The spelling may also be a tribute to the Dutch brand of rolling papers. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mascotte_%28rolling_papers%29 Wikipedia]

==Page 4==

'''Professor''' 
Randolph St. Cosmo is called Professor.
"Professor" was a common title for early hot-air balloonists. [EC]

'''"Turn to"''' 
a shipboard expression, "put your back into it". Evokes the "Go to!" of Majistral and compatriots, ''V.'', chapter 11.

'''"a form of monomania"''' 
an overdetermined obsession with a single idea or goal. In ''Moby Dick,'' which Pynchon references in several of his novels, Ahab suffers from monomania in his obsessive quest for the white whale; aboard the ''Inconvenience,'' Lindsay Noseworth is a parodic version of the Melvillian disciplinary autocrat, exemplified by Ahab or, even more, by Claggart, the Master-at-Arms in ''Billy Budd.'' --[[User:POD|POD]] 16:07, 9 June 2009 (PDT)

'''Perhaps its familiarity... rendered it temporarily invisible to you." 
Perhaps an admonition from the author that familiar things will be easily overlooked?
I think the fact that they were picnic baskets matters... TRP perhaps saying, as he seems to suggest elsewhere, that we overlook the simple pleasures too often.
:There's more to this, as becomes apparent shortly. Here are more opposites; things seen vs unseen, visible vs. invisible.

'''Chick Counterfly''' 
Rich with meaning or just another goofy Pynchon name? Some possibilities include: (1) A counter fly is an annoyance in (say) the butcher's shop. (2) Chick always speaks "counter" to anyone else's "flight" of imagery. (3) The only non-''AtD''-related uses of this word that I've found came in patents describing mechanisms; "the counterfly direction" means contrary to the direction everything else is flying in, hence this character counters the flying of the craft? (4) He is the only Chum we know who was "rescued" from the "real" world. Meaning there? To be counter to flying is to be earthbound, where he started and he is the one with whom the conversation about relanding on a different "earth" happens.

==Page 5==
'''picklesome''' 
Having the nature of a pickle, i.e, a boy who is inclined to mischief.

'''Pugnax''' 
'Pugnax' is Latin for, "combative, fond of fighting, stubborn, contentious" (i.e. one who is pugnacious). Pugnax's fantastic intelligence recalls another intelligent Pynchon dog, the Learned English Dog (referred to as "LED") in ''Mason & Dixon''. Perhaps Pugnax is the Chums's sixth "lad": "Learned American Dog." His manner of speech is somewhat reminiscent of the mystery-solving cartoon dog Scooby-Doo, and [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0612&msg=112507&sort=date members of PYNCHON-L] have speculated that his eyebrows and reading habits allude to Gromit, from the [http://www.wallaceandgromit.com/ Wallace and Gromit] claymation films.

Perhaps, in keeping with a very strong [[Birds|"bird" theme]] (the original aeronauts!) in ''Against the Day'', Pynchon may have named Pugnax after a bird called the Ruff (''Philomachus pugnax'') which is a medium-sized wader. Note that Pugnax's first "utterance" is "Rr Rff-rff Rr-rr-rff-rrf-rrf"... You can even make a semiserious case that the Aeronauts are named for a bird, the white-throated swift, ''Aeronautes saxatalis'' [[ATD_243-272#Page_266|(mentioned on p. 266)]].

'''"...during a confidential assignment in Our Nation's Capitol (see ''The Chums of Chance and the Evil Halfwit'')..."''' 
This could be seen as a criticism of an American President, present or past. President Bush is a candidate, considering the Pynchon-authored [[Against the Day description|Amazon.com book description]] which included "With a worldwide disaster looming just a few years ahead, it is a time of unrestrained corporate greed, false religiosity, moronic fecklessness, and evil intent in high places. No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred."

The Chums "rescued Pugnax, then but a pup"--an innocent, a child creature--"from a furious encounter..between rival packs of the city's wild dogs".
The wild dogs equal both political parties?

'''Washington Monument''' 
Begun 1848, completed 1884 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_monument]]

'''lavatorial assaults''' 
recalls jokes and urban legends regarding frozen waste from leaky airplane lavatories (i.e., "you can still be hit by an icy B.M.")

Loosely reminiscent of the V-2 rockets in ''Gravity's Rainbow'', "from the sky, which no one can "begin to try to record, much less coordinate reports of"... That is, pee from the sky is "folklore, superstition, or perhaps...the religious" in ATD compared to rockets screaming across the sky and the destruction in GR.

==Page 6==

'''''Princess Casamassima''''' 
''The Princess Casamassima'' is an 1886 novel by Henry James. It is the story of an intelligent but confused young London bookbinder, Hyacinth Robinson, who becomes involved in radical politics and a terrorist assassination plot. The novel certainly does have notable relevance in today's climate of terrorism and political violence. While the book's details are not directly applicable to current issues, the central theme admiration for the beautiful if imperfect world vs. a desire to change it through terrorism will seem all too familiar to contemporary readers. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_Casamassima Wikipedia] [[Princess Casamassima|Discussion of ''The Princess Casamassima'']]

'''Placing . . . an emphasis''' 
Lapse of authorial control? Surely the creator of the ''Chums'' novels would not write such a Pynchonian sentence fragment!

'''Pugnax sniffed . . . as always this scent eluded him''' 
It is unclear so far why Pugnax would detect no scent from Lindsay.

'''''Krakatoa''''' 
Erupted 1883. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krakatoa Wikipedia entry.]

'''Heino Vanderjuice of New Haven''' 
Scientist who designed the ''Inconvenience's'' hydrogen engine. "Vanderjuice" is a Dutch-sounding name suggesting "fond o' juice," "wonder juice", and "wander juice". "Heino" is a man's given name [http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=heino meaning 'home'] in German, Dutch, Finnish, and Estonian. Perhaps an allusion to the German pop star, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heino Heino].

'''no better than a perpetual-motion machine''' 
A perpetual-motion machine is not just one that runs forever, but one that ''performs work'' forever without any input of energy. All PM machines ever invented have been either hoaxes ("secret free energy source the government doesn't want you to know about") or mistakes. The hydrogen generator/engine is neither, which is why the disdainful phrase "no better than" is crucial.

By the way, how does one generate hydrogen? In high school chem lab we used zinc filings and hydrochloric acid, but that seems unsuitable with Miles around. Is it possible Vanderjuice has invented a photovoltaic electrolysis cell?

'''Miles, with his marginal gifts of coördination, and Chick, with a want of alacrity fully as perceptible''' 
Like the old gag: The food in this restaurant isn't any good, but the service is awful. Miles and Chick's telepathic intercourse during Bitches Brew era.

'''ratlines and shrouds''' 
''Inconvenience'' is rigged like a sailing ship of the period, though it's hard to see why she needs to be. Shrouds fan out from a masthead down to a rail; ratlines run horizontally to join them. The whole affair serves the sailors as a ladder.

'''". . . anemometer of the Robinson's type"''' 
Cup anemometer (> Grk. ''anemos,'' "wind"; cf. Lat. ''animus,'' "spirit") invented in 1846 by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thomas_Romney_Robinson Dr. John Thomas Romney Robinson]. Cup anemometers are still commonly used to measure wind speed because of their simplicity and reliability in a variety of environmental conditions. [http://www.arm.ac.uk/annrep/annrep2000/node13.html pic]

'''how rapidly the ship was proceeding''' 
But you can't measure the craft's progress by measuring wind speed at a point on the craft itself. All you get from the anemometer is a speed relative to the air, which is in variable motion. Since the craft is moving at the speed of the wind plus the speed of its propulsion device, the speed found by the anemometer is basically useless.

==Page 7==

'''Porfirio Díaz''' 
President of Mexico 1876-1880, 1884-1911. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porfirio_D%C3%ADaz Wikipedia]

In most countries, the Interior Ministry (Ministry of Internal Affairs, Home Office, etc.) ran programs like secret police. Are the Chums working for forces of conservativism?

'''"beside a black-water river of the Deep South". 
Blackwater River is in lower central Florida, pretty deep south; but there are numerous rivers in swampy areas that run black with organic matter. 
Given that it was founded in 1997, and is military-related and in the South, see ''Blackwater USA'', a private military company founded by Erik Prince and Al Clark.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_USA]
Thousands of news stories in September/October 2007.

'''a bitter and unresolved "piece of business"''' 
Rather than give a proper reason for the Chums to be in the Deep South, the narrator cops out by pleading that it's "not advisable" to specify.
:It's not a cop-out, it sets the question of what is going on in the mysterious organization to which the Chums belong.

'''"the Rebellion of thirty years previous"''' 
The Civil War ended in 1865. The South called the Civil War "the war between the states" to emphasize both their right to secede from the union and that this was a war between sovereign states; the North called it "the Rebellion" and thus the soldiers were "rebels" or "rebs." The official papers of the war have the title of "Official Records of the War of Rebellion," emphasizing that the South had no right to secede.

'''"one still not advisable to set upon one's page"''' 
The American Civil War, that "rebellion of thirty years previous," has not yet become a suitable subject for an adventure tale such as the Chums' series.

'''absquatulated''' 
Means to move away quickly, usually to avoid capture. Apparently a mock-Latinate formation, "to go off and squat somewhere else." [http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-abs1.htm A brief article] on the history and etymology of "absquatulate." 
The word is used in [http://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Vineland''].

'''commonly known as "Dick"''' 
So together they would be Chick with Dick.

'''to approach the gates of the Penitentiary''' 
A genuine saying. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Quay Matthew Quay,] a political kingmaker of the 1880s and 90s, said of Benjamin Harrison's squeaker victory over Grover Cleveland in 1888 that Harrison would "never know how many Republicans were compelled to approach the gates of the penitentiary to make him president."

'''posse comitatus''' 
What Western movie fans know as a "posse," i.e., citizens conscripted by a sheriff to assist in law enforcement. (See the Wikipedia entry on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_comitatus_(common_law) Posse Comitatus].) Remember that the ''Chums'' author gets paid by the word.

==Page 8==

'''a pocketful of specie''' 
Specie means coins as opposed to paper money.

'''the town of Thick Bush''' 
Aside from whether this phrase might apply to some political figure of the past or present, "thick bush" is the literal meaning of the Spanish Matagorda, the name of many towns in Latin America and one on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

'''carpetbagger''' 
A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpetbagger carpetbagger] is a derogatory term used by southerns to describe northerners who, like Dick, move down South.

'''"which directs us never to interfere with legal customs of any locality down at which we may happen to have touched"''' 
Like the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_directive Prime Directive] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_trek ''Star Trek'']. Lindsay's fussy syntax echoes Winston Churchill's exasperated "This is the kind of carping criticism up with which I will not put."

'''legal customs''' 
Legal = pertaining to law, in this case lynch law. The Chums are interpreting their Prime Directive pretty broadly here.

'''Katie bar the door''' 
An expression that means that there's trouble brewing. (See [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-kat1.htm this article] about the expression's etymology.)

'''Ku Klux Klan''' 
Reminiscent of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan Klan] encounter scenes in the Coen Brothers' ''O Brother, Where Art Thou''.

'''tupelo, cypress, and hickory''' 
The trees are no help in locating the town; all three kinds like bottom land and grow all over the South.

'''speed . . . made it nearly invisible from the ground''' 
Few people in 1893 had seen a manmade object moving at 60 miles an hour, and many thought such a speed was lethal anyway. The ''Chums'' author suggests such an outlandish speed would make ''Inconvenience'' just a blur in the sky. Of course you can read the fin numbers on an airliner landing at 150 knots, but he didn't know that.

''Pedantry alert:'' In perfectly transparent air a ship flying a mile off the ground is visible about 125 miles away. If its flight path takes it right over your head, you can follow it for 250 miles. If it is making a groundspeed of 60 miles per hour, it takes 4 hours and change to go from horizon to horizon. In typical "clear" air (visibility say 30 miles), you will see the ship in your sky for a solid hour. These rough figures show how wrong the narrator is about speed.

'''way better than a mile a minute''' 
The Chums' point of departure is unknown, but they arrived in Chicago after catching a southerly wind (pg 3), southerly meaning "wind blowing from the south." The Chums surpass 60 miles an hour here, but as their previous speed was unknown, it's difficult to know where they were leaving from. (New Orleans to Chicago is 834 miles, slightly less than 14 hours at 60 miles/hour, so a possibility.)

'''"Crackerjack!" exclaimed Chick.''' 
Cracker Jack, the food, was first sold at the Chicago Exhibition of 1893, though it did not bear its present name. As one word here, however, it is not the candy: "Crackerjack" entered English first as a noun referring to "a person or thing of marked excellence," then as an adjective. The foodstuff gained its present name, according to the [http://www.crackerjack.com/history.php official Cracker Jack website], in 1896. The OED lists the first written use of "crackerjack" as 1895, two years after the present scene. It is by no means impossible, however, that the term would have been current in the spoken language in 1893.

'''"rookies"''' 
Again, the vocabulary is carefully chosen from the narrative period: wikipedia, citing the OED, "the earliest example [of 'rookie']... is from Rudyard Kipling's Barrack-Room Ballads (published 1892): So 'ark an' 'eed, you rookies, which is always grumblin' sore'"

==Page 9==

'''locker''' 
On board ship, any cabinet with a door or lid.

'''"Do not imagine, that in coming aboard ''Inconvenience'' you have escaped into any realm of the counterfactual..."''' 
This may be Pynchon directly addressing the reader. Given that his [[Against_the_Day_description|book description]] proclaims the world of AtD as "what the world might be with a minor adjustment or two," this paragraph seems to indicate that Pynchon, like all great fantasy or sci-fi writers, does not intend to create a world where anything goes. Rather, he will create a world that differs from ours but then obey the rules and constraints he's already established. 
Cf. Pynchon's own relevant words in the introduction to Slow Learner. He remarks that in non-realistic fiction, he had to learn that not anything went.

A-and it must mean, coming from the commander, that all aboard the ''Inconvenience'' are also subject to the 'facts' of the world. "The World is All that is the Case", from Wittgenstein. [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=W]

'''"Going up is like going north."''' 
Air gets cooler as the ship ascends into higher altitudes, and therefore like travelling northward. This page also suggests some further mystery of the Chums may be revealed to Chick and the reader in time.

North is not a positive place in Pynchon's world. It is associated with anti-life coldness as here compared to the South.

==Page 10==
'''Columbian Exposition''' 
aka The Chicago World's Fair. It was called "Columbian" because it was supposed to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in North America. They missed it by a year because of delays.

'''butchery unremitting''' 
One is reminded of Carl Sandburg's [http://carl-sandburg.com/chicago.htm famous poem] about Chicago. The first line: "Hog butcher for the world."

'''rationalized into movement only in straight lines and at right angles and a progressive reduction of choices, until the final turn through the final gate that led to the killing-floor.''' 

See [[#Page 3| p.3 entry, above]] for a comparison of this passage with "single up all lines." The Rationalization/Routinization of Charisma is a common trope in Pynchon, particularly in [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Routinization_of_Charisma ''Gravity's Rainbow''].

==Page 11==

'''plummet''' 
In the real world, this might be bad physics, as closing the valve wouldn't slow the descent. Objects in a fluid medium like air float if their weight is less than the weight of the fluid they displace (hence why one fills a balloon with a light gas such as hydrogen or helium). Once the ''Inconvenience'' loses its buoyancy, it will continue to fall, unless its weight is reduced to what a lesser amount of hydrogen could support. The Inconvenience, however, has a hydrogen producing apparatus that could kick in, slow, and eventually stop their descent.

'''bear a hand''' 
Nautical: help out.

==Page 12==

'''Liverpool Kiss''' 
A head butt.

'''''your'' mother''' 
A possible forerunner to the "yo mama" jokes, which appear in ''Mason & Dixon'' (pg. 445) and ''Inherent Vice'' [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10 (pg. 155)]. See also pg. 48 of this novel.

'''Herr Riemann''' 
Riemann, Georg Friedrich Bernhard (1826-1866) (pronounced REE mahn or in IPA: ['ri:man]) was a German mathematician who made important contributions to analysis and differential geometry, some of them paving the way for the later development of general relativity. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann Wikipedia entry].

'''''Mr.'' Noseworth''' 
Lindsay insisting on proper naval forms: an ensign, lieutenant (junior grade), lieutenant or lieutenant commander in the U.S. navy is correctly addressed as "Mister Surname."

'''"topological genius"''' 
Riemann's differential geometry goes beyond the Cartesian grid. See conic sections and dimensionality above, page 10.

==Page 13==

'''There was an "eager stampede" to the rail''' 
Why is eager stampede in quotation marks? The sentence reads fine without it. Does it seem to show ironic knowingness on the part of the narrator? If so, why and who is the narrator?
: I suspect this is a stylistic device from the turn of the century light literature that Pynchon is emulating-- placing a novel term in quotation marks. [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 01:35, 23 December 2006 (PST)

:insightfully true, I suspect, but it still shows 'narratorial knowingness', yes?

: Cf. Flaubert's use of quotations in ''Madame Bovary'' to isolate what he deemed the contemptible argot of the bourgeoisie.

::Apparently not a cliche: [http://books.google.com//books?num=100&q=eager.stampede&as_brr=0 GoogleBooks]

'''"...among the brighter star-shapes of exploded ballast bags..."''' 
Recalls the opening line of ''Mason & Dixon'': "Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr‘d the Sides of Outbuildings, as of Cousins..."

'''"...quite as if were some giant eyeball, perhaps that of Society itself, ever scrutinizing from above, in a spirit of constructive censure."''' 
This is strikingly reminiscent of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odilon_Redon Odilon Redon's] 1882 Lithograph ''L'Oeil, comme un ballon bizarre se dirige vers l'infini (The Eye Like a Strange Balloon Mounts Toward Infinity).'' [http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3ADE%3AI%3A2&page_number=4&template_id=1&sort_order=1 At MoMa's Online Collection]
Notice that society = censure, if constructive. Gamboling nude on a summer day was OK until the ''Inconvenience'', as eyeball, appeared.
:The Odilon Redon lithograph appears on the cover of the 1998 Vintage paperback edition of Ian McEwan's Enduring Love, whose first unforgettable chapter triggers the novel with a ballooning incident leaving the reader dangling over the edge of suspense and suspension.

The giant eyeball is also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We_never_sleep.jpg the logo] of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, which plays an important role later in the novel. A similar image appears in ''Inherent Vice'' [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#Page_14 (pg. 14)].

Not to mention a potent symbol from classic 1960s counterculture, often associated with psychedelia and the Grateful Dead _ yet another proud American institution with a penchant for hidden meanings, obsession with minute symbolic details, and many passionate followers. From what Deadheads have told me, the Flying Eyeball symbol is associated with both dissociative drugs and Zen Buddhist thinking _ the detached observer free of an ego and all physical entrapments, the traveling trickster-voyeur, the absolutely freed soul.

'''the indecorous couple . . . foliage''' 
Adam and Eve? We have a man and a naked woman hiding in the foliage from an all-seeing eye in the sky.

==Page 14==

'''charmed into docility''' 
If it took only one small lad to moor the ship, she was indeed docile. A wiki contributor once saw a Goodyear blimp in Houston, Texas, landing. The craft had half a dozen long falls of rope hanging from her nose, and a ground crew of nearly two dozen men ready to take hold of them. The blimp approached nose-low, the crew took the ropes, and a gust of wind suddenly moved the ship. The crew chief gave a safety command and all the men let loose their ropes at once. On the third pass, all hands working together managed to stop the ship and get her moored. If ''Inconvenience'' was a fraction as changeable and hard to control, Darby made a great job of getting the ship staked out by himself.

'''Jacob's-ladder''' 
Used here as "a marine ladder of rope or chain with wooden or iron rungs" (Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged) but is suggestive of Jacob's ladder in Genesis:

Genesis 28:12 And he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. (King James version)

'''a giant sack of soiled laundry''' 
Perhaps ''freshly'' soiled during the great hydrogen valve disaster.

'''''vol-à-voile''''' 
The narrator has turned the French phrase ''vol-à-voiles'' (gliding) into a verb (removing the ''s'').

'''gold-beaters' skin''' 
Very thin vellum (membrane taken from the caecum or blind stomach of an ox). To prepare gold for gilding, it was placed between sheets of vellum and hammered thin.

'''Evening Quarters''' 
Naval practice of mustering the crew at the end of the day's work.

'''Hawaii''' 
Hawaii appears in ''Inherent Vice'' [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_12#Page_191 (p. 191)] and ''Vineland'' [http://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_5#Page_60 {pg. 60)] and [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=H ''Gravity's Rainbow''].

==Page 15==

'''ukulelist''' 
Ukuleles ([http://www.thomaspynchon.com/hawaiian-vacations-pynchon.html and Hawaii references]) also appear in ''Gravity's Rainbow'', ''Vineland'', and ''Mason & Dixon''. According to Jules Siegel's article, "Who is Thomas Pynchon, and why did he take off with my wife?", Pynchon himself played the ukulele in college. [[Hawaii|More on Hawaii &c. in ''Against the Day'']]...

'''Vagabonds of the Void''' 
The song performed by the Chums of Chance reflects the Rock and Roll attitude of the group towards the groundworld upon arrival. It's also the first time in the book we truly encounter the hipness of the group with some sort of Nine Inch Nails fronting edge to it. 

[[image:Macassar-Oil.jpg|thumb|175px|''Macassar Oil. An Oily Puff for Soft Heads''|right]]'''Beaufort Scale''' 
A scale for measuring wind strength, developed 1805.

'''"Let the lightning lash ~ And the thunder trash" 
Again, the Chums are rock stars, the coolest cats in town.

'''"...forty-four buttons...one for each State of the Union." 
Wyoming was the 44th state admitted to the union in 1890. Recall the patriotic bunting and red-white-blue uniforms of the opening page.

'''port section of the crew''' 
The half of the crew permitted to go freely ashore this time. The other half tomorrow. "Port" and "starboard": are these simply either/or words that sailors remember easily?

'''Macassar oil''' 
Macassar oil is an oil used primarily by men in Victorian and Edwardian times to smooth their hair. It was advertised as containing oil from Macassar, which is the former name of Ujung Pandang, a district on the island of Celebes in Indonesia. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macassar_oil Wikipedia entry]
 This is why the ornamental doily-like linen cloths on the upper backs and arms of upholstered furniture were called '''''antimacassars'''''.

==Page 16==

'''mufti''' 
civvies, with an Arabic root [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mufti_(dress)]

'''ascot''' 
formal morning dress of the period, with a later counter-culture comeback (witness Fred in Scooby Doo) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascot_tie]

'''Kentucky hemp''' 
hemp was once a primary cash crop of Kentucky[http://www.kentuckyhemp.com/library/museum.html]; and, given Randy St. Cosmo's dual nature, a further counter-culture reference may be detected.

'''About the fringes,' Randolph reminded the liberty-goers, 'of any gathering on the scale of this Exposition, are apt to lurk vicious and debased elements, whose sole aim is to take advantage of the unwary.''' 
Indeed, the Chicago World's Fair was haunted by one of America's more prolific and original serial killers, H.H. Holmes. Born in 1861, Holmes came to Chicago as a pharmacist and built an office building that was eventually dubbed 'The Castle'. Consisting of commercial stores on the first floor, and offices and apartments on the upper floors, the building also housed hidden rooms where Holmes murdered his victims, chutes that conveyed the bodies to the basement, and a chamber of horrors in the basement where he destroyed the corpses. Holmes took advantage of the World's Columbian Exposition to lure victims, primarily females who had come unaccompanied to Chicago, to the Castle for torture and murder. It is estimated that he killed over 200 people at the Castle while the Exposition was in operation. Two very good books about Holmes are The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson and Depraved by Harold Schechter. It is doubtful that Pynchon was thinking explicitly of Holmes when he wrote this passage, although he must be aware of the story. Randolph could not have known about Holmes since Holmes was not captured until after the Fair was over. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._H.H._Holmes Wikipedia entry] 

This also sets up oppositions between dark vs light (of the White City), order vs disorder; good vs evil.

'''tension of the gas''' 
I.e., the pressure in the bag.

==Page 17==

'''"as if it were something the stripling had only read about, in some boys' book of adventures...as if that page of their chronicles lay turned and done"''' 
The narrator makes us aware that Darby's adventures are as if/will be written down...the 'reality' of almost killing all of them is now just words on a page.

'''"and the order 'About-face' had been uttered by some potent though invisible Commandant of Earthly Days, toward whom Darby, in amiable obedience, had turned again."''' 
Is this just a metaphor from the narrator to describe what it is like for Darby, or is it also self-referential to
all the adventures of the Chums?. Another Q: Is the Commandant of Earthly Days the invisible presence from whom the chums get their orders? 
:Related Q: Do the Chums receive their orders from the author of their books?

'''we were usually out the door and on the main road''' 
Dick and Chick knew the judge was more likely to order them out of town than into the lockup.

'''Chinese foofooraw''' 
Also spelled foofaraw, a great deal of fuss, or useless frills. Cf folderol. However, why Chinese?
:Chick's father tried to sell Mississippi to a Chinese syndicate.

'''cubeb''' 
The name for the berry and for the oil obtained from the unripe berry of the East Indian climbing shrub ''P. cubeba''. The dried fruits are sometimes used as a condiment or are ground and smoked in cigarette form as an herbal remedy. [http://columbia.thefreedictionary.com/pepper The Free Dictionary] Also appears in ''Gravity's Rainbow,'' page 118.

'''"...goldurn Keeley Cure"''' 
A treatment for alcohol, nicotine and narcotic addiction involving injections of "bichloride" or "double chloride" of gold, and also known as the "gold cure" (note the curious use of the euphemism 'goldurn' for 'goddamn' and the recurring preoccupation with the gold standard). Named for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Keeley Dr. Leslie E. Keeley,] who opened the first of many Keeley Institutes in [http://www.dwighthigh.k12.il.us/dwight/dwight.htm Dwight, Illinois], not far from Chicago, in 1879.

==Page 18==

'''headgear''' 
Description vaguely reminiscent of "Madame Bovary". [http://robotwisdom.com/flaubert/bovary/bovary1.html [notes]]

'''indigo''' 
An influential and ancient dye, not synthetic until 1878 (commercially 1897)[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo_dye]. Dare we mention the indigo and scarlet (πορφυροῦν καὶ κόκκινον) of Revelation 17.4's 'great prostitute'? The colors, at least, seem more ancient than the Chums' red-white-blues (and the Chums are "runts of the organization", p. 19); add in the oriental fez reference with the Shriners' Masonic/Arabic overtones [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriners] and Arabic Mohair (angora goat, easily dyed)[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohair]

'''eclipse green''' 
Apparently an actual shade. [http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/DIO_DRO/DIRECT.html [cite]]

'''Bindlestiffs of the Blue A.C.''' 
Bindlestiff means hobo; hence, the Hoboes of the Sky Aeronautical Club.

'''("Penny") Black''' 
The Penny Black was the world's first official adhesive postage stamp, issued by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1840. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Black Wikipedia entry]; See also [[ATD_219-242#Page 231|p.231]].

'''Tzigane''' 
French for "gypsy". Also a piece by Ravel. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzigane_(Ravel) Wikipedia entry]

'''Egypt''' 
Little Egypt is the southern area of the state of Illinois in the United States of America. Named so because it has a considerable river delta and a metropolis called Cairo (KAY-roe). The region is and was sometimes called simply "Egypt," especially in the 19th century. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Egypt_(region) Wikipedia entry]

==Page 19==

'''goin all blue from the light of that electric fluid''' 
Their ship was beset by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Elmo%27s_fire St. Elmo's fire,] a low-energy electrical discharge often seen on surface vessels and occasionally on aircraft. Electric charge does behave in some respects like a fluid and was long described in such terms.

'''Voices calling out together''' 
There is no reason to doubt they heard the voices, but an aural hallucination is not out of the question: a chorus of voices is one of the easiest effects to produce with a synthesizer.

[[image:balloons-paris.jpg|thumb|200px|Garçons de '71|right]]'''Garçons de '71''' 
French: The Boys of '71; During the Siege of Paris in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War Franco-Prussian War], 1870-1871, balloons were manufactured within railroad stations in Paris. The balloons were used to get mail and passengers out of Paris. The ''Garçons de '71'' are a (probably) fictional cadre of young men who operated such balloons [[Garçons de '71|Read on...]]

'''a condition of ''permanent siege''''' 
Surely no one has failed to notice what a "wartime president" is allowed to get away with. "No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred."

'''pétroleurs de Paris''' 
An early form of Molotov cocktail thrower during the Siege of Paris. There were pétroleurs and pétroleuses.

==Page 20==

'''they'll fly wherever they're needed''' 
While the Chums obey orders from above, the Garçons de '71 follow a different imperative.

'''energy we could feel, directed personally at us''' 
Someone may be trying to influence what the Bindlestiffs do, or keep them away from the Garçons' work of mercy.

==Page 21==

'''electrical glow of the Fair''' 
Electricity played an important role at the Fair. There was a battle between Edison's direct current and Tesla's alternating current. More [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Columbian_Exposition#Electricity_at_the_fair here].

'''admissions gate''' 
Apparently a break in the fence, capitalized on by freelance impresarios.

'''fifty-cent pieces''' 
Odd. According to [http://users.vnet.net/schulman/Columbian/columbian.html this remarkable Columbian Exposition site,] regular admission was just half a dollar. Maybe Lindsay and Miles could have negotiated with the midget.[The link is broken.]

==Page 22==
'''quatercentennial celebration''' 
The Fair was supposed to take place in 1892 to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in North America. That's why it's called the "World's Columbian Exposition."

'''Columbus's advent''' 
"advent" means something like "arrival." It's often used in relation to Christmas, which is Christ's "advent."

'''music . . . unusually syncopated''' 
nascent jazz

'''Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show''' 
Buffalo Bill's show was very popular at the time, but for some reason he was not allowed to be part of the Fair, so he set up his own exhibition right near the Fair and drew a large audience. More [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bill here].

'''''white'' exhibits . . darkness and savagery''' .
Nice play on whiteness here. The "White City" (the center of the Fair) was so called because of the white stucco used. But the novel points out here that whiteness (aka--cultural, racial whiteness) held the center of the fair while exhibits from people/cultures of color were relegated to the perimeters of the Fair--literally marginalized.

'''Kodaks''' 
The word Kodak was trademarked in 1888, and the first Kodak camera was sold with the slogan, "You press the button - we do the rest." In 1891, the company released the first daylight-loading camera, so film could be changed without a darkroom. Kodaks would have been a novelty at the fair in 1893.

'''half-light . . . in the interests of mercy . . . the safety of the lights''' 
Interesting contrast suggesting a tradeoff between comfort/solace in the shadows and safety in the bright light.

'''Isandhlwana''' 
Isandlwana is an isolated hill in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. On January 22, 1879, it was the site of the Battle of Isandlwana, where over 20,000 Zulu warriors defeated a contingent of British soldiers in the first engagement of the Anglo-Zulu War. Almost the entire column of about 1,200 British soldiers was killed. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isandhlwana [Wikipedia]] You will find a chapter on Isandhlwana in any book that has the words "military" and "blunders" in the title.

==Page 23==

'''Tarahumara''' 
Indian tribe of Northern New Mexico, in the Sierra Madres, known for cave-dwelling in the late 19th century. [[Tarahumare_Indians|About the Tarahumara]]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarahumara [Wikipedia]]

'''"geek"''' 
A geek's act comprised things no one would do who had not sunk all the way to the bottom of the carnie world: eating live creatures, throwing fits, and so forth. Much like the television show "Fear Factor," but sad rather than stultifying.

'''Negro in a "pork-pie" hat''' 
A type of hat made of felt or straw which has a cylindrical crown and flat top, originated in mid-19th century. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork-pie_hat Wikipedia] What with all the jazz references in Pynchon's work, this may be a tip of the hat to Charles Mingus, composer of the timeless ''Goodbye Pork Pie Hat'', or Lester Young, to whom Mingus dedicated the tune. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodbye_Pork_Pie_Hat Wikipedia] In ''The Crying of Lot 49'', McMingus is a partner in a law firm representing Pierce Inverarity.

'''monte''' 
Three-card monte.

==Page 24==

'''the curse of Scotland''' 
A term used in poker, bridge and various other card games for the nine of diamonds. Dates from 1710. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curse_of_Scotland [Wikipedia]]

'''nine of diamonds''' 
The name of a club in ''Inherent Vice''. See [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=N here]. The nine of diamonds is also famous for possibly being the fifth card in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hickok#Death "Dead Man's Hand"]. When Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead in 1876, he was playing poker. He was holding two pairs (aces and eights), which is called the "Dead Man's Hand." The fifth card was rumored to be a nine of diamonds.

'''like the electricity coming on... how everything fits together, connects. It doesn't last long, though.''' 
From something as random as calling out a card trick comes this extremely profound quote by Miles Blundell (full quote edited here). The heart of this quote/thought seems to be crucial.

What Miles describes is also the symptoms of a mild seizure - could he be epileptic? Epileptics were often credited with shamanic or prophetic powers, and many sightings of religious figures have been attributed to seizures. On [[#Page 4|page 4]], Miles is also said to suffer from "confusion in his motor processes", which may be related.

Although seizures are electrical discharges from the brain, epileptics rarely describe sensing electricity. They see altered light, hear altered sounds, or feel auras, though usually described as inside of themselves, not around them. They also feel confusion, not clarity. The full description seems to better represent that of a "peak experience", or a transcendental state. I also wonder whether, "Pretty soon, I'm just back to tripping over my feet again", refers to more earth-bound means of attaining mind-altered states.

This is one of several early suggestions that Miles and Lew Basnight experience similar states.

'''Cracker Jack''' 
First sold at the at the first Chicago World's Fair in 1893. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_Jack [Wikipedia]]

'''New Levee district''' 
Chicago's redlight district c1890. [http://www.ipsn.org/genesis.htm [cite]]

'''Epworth League''' 
A Methodist youth organization founded in 1889. [http://www.southernmethodistchurch.org/id48.htm [cite]]

==Page 25==

'''Haymarket bomb''' 
The Haymarket Riot on May 4, 1886, in Chicago may be the origin of international May Day observances and in popular literature inspired the caricature of "a bomb-throwing anarchist." The causes of the incident are still controversial, although deeply polarized attitudes separating the business class and the working class in late 19th century Chicago are generally acknowledged as having precipitated the tragedy and its aftermath. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_bombing Wikipedia entry].

'''if the Governor decides to pardon that gang of anarchistic murderers''' 
In May of 1886, 350,000 workers, including 70,000 in Chicago were taking to the streets to rally for the eight hour work day. After four workers were killed by the police on May 3, the anarchist leaders in Chicago called for a meeting in Haymarket Square. Although the rally was peaceful, the police came in on horseback to break it up and an unknown individual in the crowd hurled a homemade bomb into the air. After the explosion, which killed a policeman, the police opened fire on the crowd. Subsequently, the anarchist leaders deemed responsible for the rally were arrested and tried for the murder of the policeman. The Eight men were convicted of the bombing and seven of them sentenced to death. Governor Richard J. Oglesby commuted two death sentences to life. Four were hanged and a fifth committed suicide. A later governor, John P. Altgeld, pardoned the three survivors on June 26, 1893, concluding that all eight of them were innocent. The last words of anarchist August Spies before he was hanged were 'The time will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today.' Two very good books on the Haymarket Riot and the events surrounding it include The Haymarket Tragedy by Paul Avrich and Death In The Haymarket by James Green.

'''Pinkertons''' 
The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinkertons Pinkerton National Detective Agency] was established in 1850 and soon became the most famous and ubiquitous detective agency in the country. At one point, there were more Pinkerton agents than US soldiers. They were especially used by federal and state agencies to break up union organizations and protests.

'''mixture of contempt and pity''' 
This is ''definitely'' not from one of the Chums' adventure stories.

'''embonpoint''' 
Convexity of body; what used to be called a "prosperous" look.

'''duck soup''' 
Meaning "an easy task," but also the name of a Marx Bros. movie. Perhaps relevant, given the cameo by Groucho promised on the book sleeve. Many of the Marx Brothers early movies had animal references in the title: Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, Duck Soup. The titles usually had nothing at all to do with the plot, although they contributed to the lunatic nature of the comedy. The expression 'Horse Feathers' is used a few times later on in Against The Day.

==References==
<references />

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}