Pages 314-329

2012-04-06T00:59:57Z

Csboling:

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==Page 314==
314.28-315.26 '''In the days when ... design to some compromise value.''' 
This passage is written in the style of a zen koan, an anecdote about teachers and students of zen Buddhism meant to be contemplated by followers and used to test the progress of students.

==Page 315==
315.08 '''Steve Edelman''' 
"Edelman" may be from the German for "nobleman," but the name sounds real, as though it might be a reference to a person whom Pynchon actually knew. Coincidentally, there is a Minneapolis talk-show host (who makes a brief cameo appearance in the film ''Fargo'') and TV producer named Steve Edelman as well as a studio musician based in Los Angeles (bass, not harmonica, unfortunately).

==Page 320==
320.08 '''Der Bingle''' 
Nickname for Bing Crosby, originally German, but later used by English-speaking fans as well

320.09 '''bu-bu-bu-boo''' 
An empty song phrase often used by mimics of Bing Crosby’s crooning style.

320.14 '''the Cards or Browns''' 
Two baseball teams from St. Louis, the Cardinals and the Browns. The Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954 and became the Orioles.

==Page 321==
[[image:seige-perilous.jpg|thumb|100px|right]]321.06-07 '''Siege Perilous''' 
Not Castle Perilous, as Weisenburger has it, but the Perilous Seat at King Arthur’s Round Table (which is why the jokers are sneaking Whoopee Cushions on it. The Whoopee Cushion itself emits an embarrassing farting sound when sat on). Only the pure could sit there without being destroyed (hence the "peril"), and in most versions Galahad alone qualified for the place.

==Page 322==
322.10 '''Samuel Maherero's''' 
Maharero seems to be a more common spelling. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Maharero English] and [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Maharero German] entries in Wikipedia

==Page 324==
324.18-19 '''damn him to the knob of that nervous imperial staff''' 
Apart from being an example of sexual/political double entendre, the exact phrase "Christ's imperial staff" occurs in [http://george-macdonald.book-lover.com/8pgm110/index_U174.html#i._8 a poem by George MacDonald] (himself an unorthodox Calvinist), dedicated to General Gordon of Khartoum fame.
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