Pages 205-226
This page-by-page annotation is organized by sections, as delineated by the seven squares (sprockets) which separate each section. The page numbers for this page-by-page annotation are for the original Viking edition (760 pages). Editions by other publishers vary in pagination — the newer Penguin editions are 776 pages; the Bantam edition is 886 pages.
Contributors: Please use a 760-page edition (either the original Viking edition with the orange cover or the Penguin USA edition with the blue cover and rocket diagram — there are plenty on Ebay for around $10) or search the Google edition for the correct page number. Readers: To calculate the Bantam edition use this formula: Bantam page # x 1.165. Before p.50 it's about a page earlier; as you get later in the book, add a page.
Finally, profound thanks to Prof. Don Larsson for providing the foundation for this page-by-page annotation.
Contents
Page 206
206.20; P.I.D.
Political Intelligence Division
Plastic Man’s history is a bit different than that given by Weisenburger. The hero first appeared in Police Comics in January 1941. He had his own title starting in 1943 under the Quality Comics label, which ended in 1956. The character was picked up and revived by National Periodicals ("DC" Comics) in 1966, but the new magazine lasted only for ten issues. Since then, some of the original Plastic Man stories have been reprinted from time to time, and the character has appeared in other DC publications. Plastic Man’s costume was mainly red, but also contained yellow and black. His name should be two words, not one as in GR.
Page 207
207.8 Telefunken radio control. That 'Hawaii I'
Telefunken is a German radio and television company, founded in 1903, in Berlin, as a joint venture of two large companies, Siemens & Halske (S & H) and the Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (General Electricity Company). By 1941, AEG was the sole owner. During the Second World War Telefunken was a supplier of vacuum tubes, transmitters and radio relay systems, and developed radar facilities and directional finders, aiding the war efforts of the Third Reich. 'Hawaii I' was the surface station for a missile guidance system Telefunken developed.
Page 208
208.21 Palmolive and Camay
Two American brands of soap.
208.23 Moxie
A carbonated beverage that was one of the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. In its advertising, Moxie used “Make Mine Moxie!” advertising jingles, the slogan “Just Make It Moxie for Mine”, and a "Moxie Man" logo. The brand suffered a significant decline in sales during the 1930s.
Page 209
209.21 's Gravenhage
aka The Hague
Page 210
210.18 Johnson Smith
A mail-order company officially established in 1914 that sells novelty and gag gift items such as x-ray goggles, whoopee cushions, fake vomit, and joy buzzers. They often advertised in comic books.
210.18-19 Mustache Kit, 20 different shapes
Fu Manchu: a full, straight mustache that grows downward past the lips and on either side of the chin and extends down toward the toes; Groucho Marx: a thick greasepaint mustache.
210.28 Wyatt Earp
Earp had an extremely long and droopy mustache; see picture here
210.35 John Wilkes Booth's
Booth also had a droopy mustache, but not as long as Earp
210.30 Stuart Lake era
Lake wrote Frontier Marshal, a 1931 biography of Wyatt Earp which the author purported upon publication to be based on actual interviews but later admitted to be highly fictionalized. It served as the basis for several movies (including John Ford's My Darling Clementine) as well as the 1955 to 1961 Tube series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.
Page 211
211.39; ...a drinking game, it's called Prince...
A real drinking game, usually called 'Whales Tales'.
Page 212
212.27; jeroboam of Veuve Clicquot Brut
A 3 liter bottle of a slightly sweet, premium French champagne
212.33; trews
Men's clothing for the legs and lower abdomen, a traditional form of Irish and Scottish apparel.
212.33; degorgement
French: process in which sediment is removed from wine
Page 213
213.21 The Queen of Transylvan-ia
Transylvania is, of course, the mountainous region of Romania that is legendary home to Dracula.
- As well as the real-life birthplace of Hermann Oberth, the pioneer of German rocket science, inventor of liquid-fuel propulsion, consultant on [Die Frau im Mond]; the man who turned von Braun on.
Page 214
214.02 Taittinger
A French champagne.
214.04-05 Lady of Spain
The song, composed in 1931 by Tolchard Evans, Stanley Demerell and Bob Hargreaves, has become a cliché of accordion music.
Page 220
220.31 Schutzmann Joche
The constable’s last name, with an umlaut, would approximate another expression of disgust ("yuck-ey").
Page 222
222.02 Cagney of the French Riviera
James Cagney, American actor who played tough guys. Called "the professional gangster". In one famous movie scene, he shoves a grapefruit
into a woman's face over the breakfast table.
222.37 the bridge music
A cinematic reference; the kind of musical accompaniment in which familiar tunes echoed the theme of particular scenes (especially during montage sequences spanning periods of time) was a common feature of classic Hollywood films (for example, the scores of Max Steiner). In this context, the music is background to a montage of scenes of Slothrop and Katje working together.
Page 223
223.11 IG and radio methods
IG = INERTIAL guidance, i.e. guidance derived from inertia (Newton's first law)... measuring the forces on a gyroscope, which attempts to maintain the spin and orientation it had before the rocket's flight started. Put those forces (and the time during which they are sensed) through some arithmetic, and you get the current position and velocity of the rocket... leading to the right moment to shut down the engine (Brennschluss).
Alternately, the guidance system can receive signals from two or more radio sources (a la GPS, today's Global Positioning System) and use trigonometry to calculate its position. This was planned for the V2 and tested, but never became operational AFAIK. Used extensively by bombers.
Either way, the transition from *powered* and *controlled* flight to *ballistic* trajectory -- governed only by gravity, all its future implicit in this moment, fated and irreversible -- is a central metaphor, arguably *the* central metaphor, of the book.
223.19 Der Pfau
German: the peacock; interestingly, this word sounds very similar to the pronunciation of the letter 'V', just with a soft plosive 'P' in front, so that Pfau Zwei could easily be mistaken for 'V-2'
Page 225
225.32 a single clarinet
The instrument, with its evocation of "clowns and circuses," suggests Kurt Weill's score for Brecht's Three-Penny Opera but also Nino Rota’s scores for several Fellini films, notably 8½ (1963 — No wonder Slothrop "lacks the European reflexes" to it!)
| 1 Beyond the Zero |
3-7, 7-16, 17-19, 20-29, 29-37, 37-42, 42-47, 47-53, 53-60, 60-71, 71-72, 72-83, 83-92, 92-113, 114-120, 120-136, 136-144, 145-154, 154-167, 167-174, 174-177 |
|---|---|
| 2 Un Perm' au Casino Herman Goering |
181-189, 189-205, 205-226, 226-236, 236-244, 244-249, 249-269, 269-278 |
| 3 In the Zone |
279-295, 295-314, 314-329, 329-336, 336-359, 359-371, 371-383, 383-390, 390-392, 392-397, 397-433, 433-447, 448-456, 457-468, 468-472, 473-482, 482-488, 488-491, 492-505, 505-518, 518-525, 525-532, 532-536, 537-548, 549-557, 557-563, 563-566, 567-577, 577-580, 580-591, 591-610, 610-616 |
| 4 The Counterforce |
617-626, 626-640, 640-655, 656-663, 663-673, 674-700, 700-706, 706-717, 717-724, 724-733, 733-735, 735-760 |
