Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Pages 114-120

2009-05-31T19:54:07Z

Jpicco:

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 117==
'''...exactly the sort of thing Hop Harrigan used to pull to get Tank Tinker to quit playing his ocarina...''' 
Both Hop and Tank are aviation heroes from DC comics. Hop is a pilot; Tank is his mechanic. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hop_Harrigan
--[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 09:20, 27 May 2009 (PDT)

==Page 118==
'''Cubeb? He used to ''smoke'' that stuff.''' 
Not an uncommon practice, apparently. "Edgar Rice Burroughs, being fond of smoking cubeb cigarettes, humorously stated that if he had not smoked so many cubebs, there might never have been Tarzan." More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubeb#Cigarettes_and_spirits
--[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 09:24, 27 May 2009 (PDT)

Pages 167-174

2009-05-31T19:48:05Z

Jpicco: /* Page 169 */

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==Page 167==

'''"And the crowds they swarm in Knightsbridge, and the wireless carols drone, and the Underground's a mob-scene, but Pointsman's all alone"''' [sung to the tune of the Kinks' "A Well-Respected Man" ... "And he gets up in the morning, and he goes to work at 9, etc etc"]

==Page 169==
'''"What did the Cockney exclaim to the cowboy from San Antonio?"'''

I think Weisenburger tries way too hard on this one. If you ask me, the punchline to this terrible joke is simply "Cor, Tex!" with the "cor" from the Cockney slang exclamation "Cor blimey!" and the "Tex" from the American cowboy diminutive, indicating a person from Texas.
--[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 12:47, 31 May 2009 (PDT)

==page 172==
'''the white riders''' 
Death. American [Arizonian; some sources say] Folktale. ''The White Rider''[[http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/az2.html]]

==Page 173==

'''babies born...also following a Poisson Distribution''' 
births parallel the rockets of death.

'''Christmas bugs''' 
Waterbugs... that are "agents of unification". Pynchon likes Christmas and creatures in the 'Low-lands'. These bugs were in History's most famous 'manger'....a tranquil world.

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Pages 167-174

2009-05-31T19:47:40Z

Jpicco: /* Page 167 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 167==

'''"And the crowds they swarm in Knightsbridge, and the wireless carols drone, and the Underground's a mob-scene, but Pointsman's all alone"''' [sung to the tune of the Kinks' "A Well-Respected Man" ... "And he gets up in the morning, and he goes to work at 9, etc etc"]

==Page 169==
'''"What did the Cockney exclaim to the cowboy from San Antonio?"'''
I think Weisenburger tries way too hard on this one. If you ask me, the punchline to this terrible joke is simply "Cor, Tex!" with the "cor" from the Cockney slang exclamation "Cor blimey!" and the "Tex" from the American cowboy diminutive, indicating a person from Texas.
--[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 12:47, 31 May 2009 (PDT)

==page 172==
'''the white riders''' 
Death. American [Arizonian; some sources say] Folktale. ''The White Rider''[[http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/az2.html]]

==Page 173==

'''babies born...also following a Poisson Distribution''' 
births parallel the rockets of death.

'''Christmas bugs''' 
Waterbugs... that are "agents of unification". Pynchon likes Christmas and creatures in the 'Low-lands'. These bugs were in History's most famous 'manger'....a tranquil world.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 114-120

2009-05-27T16:24:19Z

Jpicco: /* Page 117 */

==Page 117==
'''...exactly the sort of thing Hop Harrigan used to pull to get Tank Tinker to quit playing his ocarina...''' 
Both Hop and Tank are aviation heroes from DC comics. Hop is a pilot; Tank is his mechanic. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hop_Harrigan
--[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 09:20, 27 May 2009 (PDT)

==Page 118==
'''Cubeb? He used to ''smoke'' that stuff.''' 
Not an uncommon practice, apparently. "Edgar Rice Burroughs, being fond of smoking cubeb cigarettes, humorously stated that if he had not smoked so many cubebs, there might never have been Tarzan." More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubeb#Cigarettes_and_spirits
--[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 09:24, 27 May 2009 (PDT)

Pages 114-120

2009-05-27T16:20:21Z

Jpicco: New page: ==Page 117== '''...exactly the sort of thing Hop Harrigan used to pull to get Tank Tinker to quit playing his ocarina...''' Both Hop and Tank are aviation heroes from DC comics. Hop ...

Pages 53-60

2009-05-19T23:16:28Z

Jpicco: /* Page 55 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 54==

54.25 '''Poisson Distribution/Equation''' 
"In probability theory and statistics, the Poisson distribution is a discrete probability distribution that expresses the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed period of time if these events occur with a known average rate and independently of the time since the last event."

For the purpose of comprehension, all that needs to be understood of this distribution is that, given a mean success rate, one can use the distribution to predict the probability of a number of successes other than the mean (here the rocket strikes), when success is very unlikely, but inevitable given a large number of events. (This concept recurs on pp. 55, 56, 85, 140, 171, 270.) To learn more, check out the Wikipedia article quoted above: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson_distribution Poisson Distribution at Wikipedia]

Poisson distribution. (2008, September 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:45, September 22, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poisson_distribution&oldid=237707448

==Page 55==

'''Whittaker and Watson''' 
Whittaker and Watson is the informal name of a book formally entitled ''A Course of Modern Analysis.''
Read the whole thing if you want!: http://books.google.com/books?id=_hoPAAAAIAAJ

==Page 57==

'''...she gives him her Fay Wray look...''' 

Fay Wray played the heroine, Ann Darrow, in the 1933 film ''King Kong.'' So the look Jess gives Roger must've been something like [http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/jpicco/wrayfd08.jpg this.]

==Page 59==

59.01-02 '''Frank Bridge Variations''' 
The "Frank Bridge Variations" is a composition ("Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge," Opus 10, 1937) by Benjamin Britten, named after one of his teachers. It was one of Britten's first works to win international notice.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 53-60

2009-05-19T23:15:54Z

Jpicco: /* Page 54 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 54==

54.25 '''Poisson Distribution/Equation''' 
"In probability theory and statistics, the Poisson distribution is a discrete probability distribution that expresses the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed period of time if these events occur with a known average rate and independently of the time since the last event."

For the purpose of comprehension, all that needs to be understood of this distribution is that, given a mean success rate, one can use the distribution to predict the probability of a number of successes other than the mean (here the rocket strikes), when success is very unlikely, but inevitable given a large number of events. (This concept recurs on pp. 55, 56, 85, 140, 171, 270.) To learn more, check out the Wikipedia article quoted above: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson_distribution Poisson Distribution at Wikipedia]

Poisson distribution. (2008, September 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:45, September 22, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poisson_distribution&oldid=237707448

==Page 55==

'''Whittaker and Watson''' 
Whittaker and Watson is the informal name of a book formally entitled ''A Course of Modern Analysis.''
Read the whole thing if you want!: http://books.google.com/books?id=_hoPAAAAIAAJ

==Page 59==

59.01-02 '''Frank Bridge Variations''' 
The "Frank Bridge Variations" is a composition ("Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge," Opus 10, 1937) by Benjamin Britten, named after one of his teachers. It was one of Britten's first works to win international notice.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 53-60

2009-05-19T23:15:35Z

Jpicco: /* Page 54 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 54==

54.25 '''Poisson Distribution/Equation''' 
"In probability theory and statistics, the Poisson distribution is a discrete probability distribution that expresses the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed period of time if these events occur with a known average rate and independently of the time since the last event."

For the purpose of comprehension, all that needs to be understood of this distribution is that, given a mean success rate, one can use the distribution to predict the probability of a number of successes other than the mean (here the rocket strikes), when success is very unlikely, but inevitable given a large number of events. (This concept recurs on pp. 55, 56, 85, 140, 171, 270.) To learn more, check out the Wikipedia article quoted above: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson_distribution Poisson Distribution at Wikipedia]

Poisson distribution. (2008, September 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:45, September 22, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poisson_distribution&oldid=237707448

==Page 54==

'''Whittaker and Watson''' 
Whittaker and Watson is the informal name of a book formally entitled ''A Course of Modern Analysis.''
Read the whole thing if you want!: http://books.google.com/books?id=_hoPAAAAIAAJ

==Page 59==

59.01-02 '''Frank Bridge Variations''' 
The "Frank Bridge Variations" is a composition ("Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge," Opus 10, 1937) by Benjamin Britten, named after one of his teachers. It was one of Britten's first works to win international notice.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 53-60

2009-05-19T23:14:36Z

Jpicco: /* Page 54 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 54==

54.25 '''Poisson Distribution/Equation''' 
"In probability theory and statistics, the Poisson distribution is a discrete probability distribution that expresses the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed period of time if these events occur with a known average rate and independently of the time since the last event."

For the purpose of comprehension, all that needs to be understood of this distribution is that, given a mean success rate, one can use the distribution to predict the probability of a number of successes other than the mean (here the rocket strikes), when success is very unlikely, but inevitable given a large number of events. (This concept recurs on pp. 55, 56, 85, 140, 171, 270.) To learn more, check out the Wikipedia article quoted above: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson_distribution Poisson Distribution at Wikipedia]

Poisson distribution. (2008, September 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:45, September 22, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poisson_distribution&oldid=237707448

==Page 54==

'''Whittaker and Watson''' 
Whittaker and Watson is the informal name of a book formally entitled ''A Course of Modern Analysis.''
Read the whole thing if you want!: http://books.google.com/books?id=_hoPAAAAIAAJ

'''...she gives him her Fay Wray look...''' 

Fay Wray played the heroine, Ann Darrow, in the 1933 film ''King Kong.'' So the look Jess gives Roger must've been something like [http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/jpicco/wrayfd08.jpg this.]

==Page 59==

59.01-02 '''Frank Bridge Variations''' 
The "Frank Bridge Variations" is a composition ("Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge," Opus 10, 1937) by Benjamin Britten, named after one of his teachers. It was one of Britten's first works to win international notice.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 60-71

2009-05-19T23:13:22Z

Jpicco: /* Page 63 */

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==Page 61==

'''Got a hardon in my fist...''' 
This song goes right along with the tune of "Bye Bye Blackbird," starting with the "Pack up all my cares and woe..." refrain that, in this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO6PpD-tRLU YouTube], begins at about 0:52.

'''"ruptured duck"''' 
A [http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPages/Whatis/whatis.htm cloth insignia] depicting an eagle inside a wreath.
==Page 63==

63.22 '''Red, the Negro shoeshine boy''' 
Stating the obvious, Red is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcom_X#_note-timeline Malcolm X], whose nickname "Red" referred to his hair color -- a dark cinnamon brown. In February 1941 Malcolm moved to Boston to live with his older half-sister, worked a variety of jobs including shoeshine and became involved in Boston's "underworld fringe," pimping among other things.

63.32-37 '''"Yardbird" Parker is finding out [ . . . ]''' 
Refers to jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker. Correspondent Igor Zabel offers the following addition to [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]]'s note on this passage:
"On one of Parker's CDs (Swedish Schnapps +), I found the passage which was quoted by [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] after Max Harrison, but slightly different, and it is interesting because Parker directly mentions Cherokee: 'Well, that night, I was working over 'Cherokee' and, as I did, I found that by using the higher intervals of a chord as a melody line and backing them with appropriately related changes, I could play the thing I'd been hearing. I came alive.' The quotation is taken from 'Hear Me Talkin' To Ya'."

==Page 64==

64.19 '''"'Slip the talcum to me, Malcolm!'"''' 
This homoerotic scene seems based on some facts. It is known that Malcolm X prostituted himself for money and according to Bruce Perry's biography, ''Malcolm: The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America'' (Station Hill, New York, 1991) he had various homosexual liaisons throughout his life. Interestingly, Malcolm worked as a butler to a wealthy Boston bachelor, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1486997,00.html William Paul Lennon]. According to Malcolm's sidekick Malcolm Jarvis, he [Malcolm] was paid to sprinkle Lennon with talcum powder and bring him to orgasm.

==Page 65==

65.15 '''"Gobbler" Biddle''' 
The Biddles are one of the leading families of Philadelphia, who sometimes vacationed in the Berkshires. Specifically, the "Gobbler" could be Nicholas Biddle (Harvard, 1944). 
Interestingly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Beverly_Biddle Francis B. Biddle] (Harvard College 1909, Harvard Law 1911) was US Attorney General (1941-1945) at this time. FBB was responsible for directing the FBI to arrest "enemy aliens" leading to Japanese-American internment camps; served as the primary judge during the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal; and authored of ''The Fear of Freedom'' and other works.

65.16 '''Fu’s Folly in Cambridge''' 
Although, as [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] notes, the character is named for Fu Manchu (who is an important reference for Pointsman later in the novel), it should be recalled that there was also a "Fu" who was a member of the Whole Sick Crew in ''V.''

Resembles the old Young & Yee Restaurant (now closed) at 27 Church Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA, which for over 40 years slopped greasey chop suey. An anachronism to the novel's time period, yes, but perhaps an inspiration to the author.

65.33 '''Jack Kennedy''' 
Contrary to [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]], Kennedy’s first book was titled '''''Why''' England Slept'' (not "When"). 

JFK is said to be in Slothrop's Harvard class. Estimating, Slothrop was born ca 1917-18 and entered Harvard in 1936, the year of Harvard's tricentennial. They were both in their mid-20s during the action in ''GR''.

==Page 66==

66.39 '''Capehart''' 

The [http://www.myvintagetv.com/capehart.htm Capehart] automatic phonograph with a turn-over mechanism was the epitome of luxury phonographs, technical excellence and supreme electronics in the 1930s and 40s.

==Page 68==

68.01 '''Half an Ark’s better than none.''' 
For Crutchfield, there is only '''one''' of everything, as opposed to two of every animal on Noah’s (whole) Ark. (And how much use is half an Ark in a flood, anyway?)

==Page 69==

69.2 '''terre mauvais''' 
The "badlands."

69.14 '''a bandana of the regulation magenta and green''' 
The coal-tar colors of organic chemistry that resonate throughout the novel. 
Coal tar colors? Coal tar is a brown or black liquid of high viscosity,
Wikipedia. 
Pynchon seems to associate positive things with these colors--see ''Against the Day'' particularly--as he does with bandanas. A-and bananas.

69.16 '''Rancho Peligroso''' 
Evokes the Siege Perilous of the Arthurian Grail legend as well as ''Rancho Notorious'', a 1952 Western directed by Fritz Lang and starring Marlene Dietrich. See note at [[V321.06-07]]

69.27 '''callipygian rondure''' 
[http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-cal3.htm callipygian] -- having shapely buttocks, originally used in conjunction with the noted statue of Aphrodite (which is itself a play on "Afro" and "Venus"), the
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_Kallipygos "Venus Kallipygos"].

rondure -- a circular or gracefully rounded object.

==Page 71==
[[image:tyrosine.jpg|thumb|100px|Tyrosine Molecule|right]]71.11 '''kryptosam''' 
Correspondent Matthias Bauer notes that "sam" derives from the German "samen," for "seed." "Krypto," of course, derives from the same word as "cryptography," the study of codes. [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] claims that the "tyrosine" from which kryptosam is supposed to derive is "undoubtedly fictional," but it is in fact an amino acid, which can convert to melanin, just as Jamf's note indicates (although it is unclear whether semen will in fact act as the catalytic agent). 

Tyrosine is found in casein, and the name derives from the Greek, ''tyros'' meaning cheese. 

Significant properties of note for Tyrosine: 
- Tyrosine functions as a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenol phenol], which Nazi doctors used in injections for rapid executions. Phenols were used extensively at Auschwitz-Birkenau. 
- Tyrosine occurs in proteins that are part of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_transduction signal transduction] process -- a biological processes that converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another -- cell signalling.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 53-60

2009-05-19T22:56:17Z

Jpicco: /* Page 54 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 54==

54.25 '''Poisson Distribution/Equation''' 
"In probability theory and statistics, the Poisson distribution is a discrete probability distribution that expresses the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed period of time if these events occur with a known average rate and independently of the time since the last event."

For the purpose of comprehension, all that needs to be understood of this distribution is that, given a mean success rate, one can use the distribution to predict the probability of a number of successes other than the mean (here the rocket strikes), when success is very unlikely, but inevitable given a large number of events. (This concept recurs on pp. 55, 56, 85, 140, 171, 270.) To learn more, check out the Wikipedia article quoted above: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson_distribution Poisson Distribution at Wikipedia]

Poisson distribution. (2008, September 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:45, September 22, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poisson_distribution&oldid=237707448

==Page 54==

'''Whittaker and Watson''' 
Whittaker and Watson is the informal name of a book formally entitled ''A Course of Modern Analysis.''
Read the whole thing if you want!: http://books.google.com/books?id=_hoPAAAAIAAJ

==Page 54==

'''...she gives him her Fay Wray look...''' 

Fay Wray played the heroine, Ann Darrow, in the 1933 film ''King Kong.'' So the look Jess gives Roger must've been something like [http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/jpicco/wrayfd08.jpg this.]

==Page 59==

59.01-02 '''Frank Bridge Variations''' 
The "Frank Bridge Variations" is a composition ("Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge," Opus 10, 1937) by Benjamin Britten, named after one of his teachers. It was one of Britten's first works to win international notice.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 53-60

2009-05-19T22:32:15Z

Jpicco: /* Page 54 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 54==

54.25 '''Poisson Distribution/Equation''' 
"In probability theory and statistics, the Poisson distribution is a discrete probability distribution that expresses the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed period of time if these events occur with a known average rate and independently of the time since the last event."

For the purpose of comprehension, all that needs to be understood of this distribution is that, given a mean success rate, one can use the distribution to predict the probability of a number of successes other than the mean (here the rocket strikes), when success is very unlikely, but inevitable given a large number of events. (This concept recurs on pp. 55, 56, 85, 140, 171, 270.) To learn more, check out the Wikipedia article quoted above: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson_distribution Poisson Distribution at Wikipedia]

Poisson distribution. (2008, September 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:45, September 22, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poisson_distribution&oldid=237707448

==Page 54==

'''Whittaker and Watson''' 
Whittaker and Watson is the informal name of a book formally entitled ''A Course of Modern Analysis.''
Read the whole thing if you want!: http://books.google.com/books?id=_hoPAAAAIAAJ

==Page 59==

59.01-02 '''Frank Bridge Variations''' 
The "Frank Bridge Variations" is a composition ("Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge," Opus 10, 1937) by Benjamin Britten, named after one of his teachers. It was one of Britten's first works to win international notice.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 53-60

2009-05-19T22:17:37Z

Jpicco: /* Page 54 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 54==

54.25 '''Poisson Distribution/Equation''' 
"In probability theory and statistics, the Poisson distribution is a discrete probability distribution that expresses the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed period of time if these events occur with a known average rate and independently of the time since the last event."

For the purpose of comprehension, all that needs to be understood of this distribution is that, given a mean success rate, one can use the distribution to predict the probability of a number of successes other than the mean (here the rocket strikes), when success is very unlikely, but inevitable given a large number of events. (This concept recurs on pp. 55, 56, 85, 140, 171, 270.) To learn more, check out the Wikipedia article quoted above: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson_distribution Poisson Distribution at Wikipedia]

Poisson distribution. (2008, September 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:45, September 22, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poisson_distribution&oldid=237707448

==Page 54==

'''Whittaker and Watson''' 
Whittaker and Watson is the informal name of a book formally entitled ''A Course of Modern Analysis''
Read the whole thing if you want!: http://books.google.com/books?id=_hoPAAAAIAAJ

==Page 59==

59.01-02 '''Frank Bridge Variations''' 
The "Frank Bridge Variations" is a composition ("Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge," Opus 10, 1937) by Benjamin Britten, named after one of his teachers. It was one of Britten's first works to win international notice.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 60-71

2009-05-19T22:00:31Z

Jpicco: /* Page 63 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 63==

63.22 '''Red, the Negro shoeshine boy''' 
Stating the obvious, Red is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcom_X#_note-timeline Malcolm X], whose nickname "Red" referred to his hair color -- a dark cinnamon brown. In February 1941 Malcolm moved to Boston to live with his older half-sister, worked a variety of jobs including shoeshine and became involved in Boston's "underworld fringe," pimping among other things.

63.32-37 '''"Yardbird" Parker is finding out [ . . . ]''' 
Refers to jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker. Correspondent Igor Zabel offers the following addition to [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]]'s note on this passage:
"On one of Parker's CDs (Swedish Schnapps +), I found the passage which was quoted by [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] after Max Harrison, but slightly different, and it is interesting because Parker directly mentions Cherokee: 'Well, that night, I was working over 'Cherokee' and, as I did, I found that by using the higher intervals of a chord as a melody line and backing them with appropriately related changes, I could play the thing I'd been hearing. I came alive.' The quotation is taken from 'Hear Me Talkin' To Ya'."

==Page 64==

64.19 '''"'Slip the talcum to me, Malcolm!'"''' 
This homoerotic scene seems based on some facts. It is known that Malcolm X prostituted himself for money and according to Bruce Perry's biography, ''Malcolm: The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America'' (Station Hill, New York, 1991) he had various homosexual liaisons throughout his life. Interestingly, Malcolm worked as a butler to a wealthy Boston bachelor, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1486997,00.html William Paul Lennon]. According to Malcolm's sidekick Malcolm Jarvis, he [Malcolm] was paid to sprinkle Lennon with talcum powder and bring him to orgasm.

==Page 65==

65.15 '''"Gobbler" Biddle''' 
The Biddles are one of the leading families of Philadelphia, who sometimes vacationed in the Berkshires. Specifically, the "Gobbler" could be Nicholas Biddle (Harvard, 1944). 
Interestingly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Beverly_Biddle Francis B. Biddle] (Harvard College 1909, Harvard Law 1911) was US Attorney General (1941-1945) at this time. FBB was responsible for directing the FBI to arrest "enemy aliens" leading to Japanese-American internment camps; served as the primary judge during the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal; and authored of ''The Fear of Freedom'' and other works.

65.16 '''Fu’s Folly in Cambridge''' 
Although, as [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] notes, the character is named for Fu Manchu (who is an important reference for Pointsman later in the novel), it should be recalled that there was also a "Fu" who was a member of the Whole Sick Crew in ''V.''

Resembles the old Young & Yee Restaurant (now closed) at 27 Church Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA, which for over 40 years slopped greasey chop suey. An anachronism to the novel's time period, yes, but perhaps an inspiration to the author.

65.33 '''Jack Kennedy''' 
Contrary to [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]], Kennedy’s first book was titled '''''Why''' England Slept'' (not "When"). 

JFK is said to be in Slothrop's Harvard class. Estimating, Slothrop was born ca 1917-18 and entered Harvard in 1936, the year of Harvard's tricentennial. They were both in their mid-20s during the action in ''GR''.

==Page 66==

66.39 '''Capehart''' 

The [http://www.myvintagetv.com/capehart.htm Capehart] automatic phonograph with a turn-over mechanism was the epitome of luxury phonographs, technical excellence and supreme electronics in the 1930s and 40s.

==Page 68==

68.01 '''Half an Ark’s better than none.''' 
For Crutchfield, there is only '''one''' of everything, as opposed to two of every animal on Noah’s (whole) Ark. (And how much use is half an Ark in a flood, anyway?)

==Page 69==

69.2 '''terre mauvais''' 
The "badlands."

69.14 '''a bandana of the regulation magenta and green''' 
The coal-tar colors of organic chemistry that resonate throughout the novel. 
Coal tar colors? Coal tar is a brown or black liquid of high viscosity,
Wikipedia. 
Pynchon seems to associate positive things with these colors--see ''Against the Day'' particularly--as he does with bandanas. A-and bananas.

69.16 '''Rancho Peligroso''' 
Evokes the Siege Perilous of the Arthurian Grail legend as well as ''Rancho Notorious'', a 1952 Western directed by Fritz Lang and starring Marlene Dietrich. See note at [[V321.06-07]]

69.27 '''callipygian rondure''' 
[http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-cal3.htm callipygian] -- having shapely buttocks, originally used in conjunction with the noted statue of Aphrodite (which is itself a play on "Afro" and "Venus"), the
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_Kallipygos "Venus Kallipygos"].

rondure -- a circular or gracefully rounded object.

==Page 71==
[[image:tyrosine.jpg|thumb|100px|Tyrosine Molecule|right]]71.11 '''kryptosam''' 
Correspondent Matthias Bauer notes that "sam" derives from the German "samen," for "seed." "Krypto," of course, derives from the same word as "cryptography," the study of codes. [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] claims that the "tyrosine" from which kryptosam is supposed to derive is "undoubtedly fictional," but it is in fact an amino acid, which can convert to melanin, just as Jamf's note indicates (although it is unclear whether semen will in fact act as the catalytic agent). 

Tyrosine is found in casein, and the name derives from the Greek, ''tyros'' meaning cheese. 

Significant properties of note for Tyrosine: 
- Tyrosine functions as a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenol phenol], which Nazi doctors used in injections for rapid executions. Phenols were used extensively at Auschwitz-Birkenau. 
- Tyrosine occurs in proteins that are part of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_transduction signal transduction] process -- a biological processes that converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another -- cell signalling.

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'''run three times around the building without thinking of a fox and you can cure anything'''

Hofstadter says in his book that a cure for hiccups is to run three times around the building without thinking about the word "wolf". His source?

Which book? Probably his most-quoted-from one, ''Godel, Escher, Bach'' [[User:MKOHUT|MKOHUT]] 13:23, 8 July 2007 (PDT)

==Page 48==

48.25 "''' . . . one of Lazslo Jamf’s subjects . . .''' " 
The name "Jamf" apparently derives from an acronym used by Charlie Parker: "'''J'''ive-'''A'''ss '''M'''other-'''F'''ucker"!

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[[image:lymer.jpg|thumb|150px|Cobb & Beach at Lyme Regis|right]]51.31-32 '''the Ick Regis jetty''' 
The name is Pynchon’s but evokes "The Cobb," the famous jetty at the city of Lyme Regis on the southern coast of England. 

Regis is the Latin genitive of Rex, "the King" thus, "of the king."
As William Safire notes, "The colloquial noun and interjection [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/magazine/25onlanguage.html?_r=1&oref=slogin ick], as well as its adjectival form, icky, are terms of disgust, distaste and revulsion." Oedipa Maas uses the term in [http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_3 CoL49] in response to a grisly play. 

Combining Ick and Regis, could therefore render the anarchic sentiment "sick of the king."

Interestingly, for PISCES and White Visitation to be headquartered in a place named Ick Regis, brings associations with the fish sickness "ick" also known as [http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA006 the white spot disease], which is a severe dermatitis of freshwater fish caused by a protozoan of the genus Ichthyophthirius and is especially destructive in aquariums and hatcheries called also ichthyophthiriasis, ichthyophthirius. Hence, the "white visitation" could, again, be a sickness.

'''blastulablob''' 
Apparently a TRP neologism. More about blastulas here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blastula
--[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 10:12, 16 May 2009 (PDT)

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'''Rundstedt offensive''' 
Is this simply a reference to The Battle of the Bulge?
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Rundstedt+Offensive
--[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 10:19, 16 May 2009 (PDT)
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'''F.R.C.S.''' 
Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a surgeon in the British Isles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FRCS
[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 09:53, 16 May 2009 (PDT)

'''Balaclava helmet''' 
...a form of headgear covering the whole head, exposing only the face or upper part of it, and sometimes only the eyes. The name "balaclava" comes from the town of Balaklava, near Sevastopol in Crimea (now Ukraine).[1] During the Crimean War, knitted balaclavas were sent over to the British troops to help protect them from the bitter cold weather. They are traditionally knitted from wool, and can be rolled up into a hat to cover just the crown of the head.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaclava_(clothing)
[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 09:53, 16 May 2009 (PDT)

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'''"Why it's Mrs. Nussbaum!"...Fred Allen..."You vere ekshpecting maybe ''Lessie?''"''' 
Pansy Nussbaum was a Jewish housewife character on Fred Allen's BBC radio show. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Allen#Allen.27s_Alley

"Lessie" refers to Lassie, the famous fictional dog of American TV and movies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassie
--[[User:Jpicco|Jpicco]] 10:04, 16 May 2009 (PDT)
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==Page 42==
'''F.R.C.S.''' 
Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a surgeon in the British Isles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FRCS

'''Balaclava helmet''' 
...a form of headgear covering the whole head, exposing only the face or upper part of it, and sometimes only the eyes. The name "balaclava" comes from the town of Balaklava, near Sevastopol in Crimea (now Ukraine).[1] During the Crimean War, knitted balaclavas were sent over to the British troops to help protect them from the bitter cold weather. They are traditionally knitted from wool, and can be rolled up into a hat to cover just the crown of the head.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaclava_(clothing)

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'''Balaclava helmet''' 
...a form of headgear covering the whole head, exposing only the face or upper part of it, and sometimes only the eyes. The name "balaclava" comes from the town of Balaklava, near Sevastopol in Crimea (now Ukraine).[1] During the Crimean War, knitted balaclavas were sent over to the British troops to help protect them from the bitter cold weather. They are traditionally knitted from wool, and can be rolled up into a hat to cover just the crown of the head.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaclava_(clothing)

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'''Balaclava helmet''' 
...a form of headgear covering the whole head, exposing only the face or upper part of it, and sometimes only the eyes. The name "balaclava" comes from the town of Balaklava, near Sevastopol in Crimea (now Ukraine).[1] During the Crimean War, knitted balaclavas were sent over to the British troops to help protect them from the bitter cold weather. They are traditionally knitted from wool, and can be rolled up into a hat to cover just the crown of the head.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaclava_(clothing)

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