Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Pages 700-706

2008-05-01T21:06:54Z

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==Page 701==
701.01 '''Drunkards Three''' 
The title echoes [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergeants_3 ''Sergeants 3''], a 1962 film starring Frank Sinatra and other Rat Pack members. It is a remake of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunga_Din_%28film%29 ''Gunga Din''] set in the west, with Sammy Davis, Jr. in the Sam Jaffe role.

==Page 702==
702.15 '''recalling Tchaikovsky''' 
Wimpe’s recollection of the composer is prompted by one of the stories concerning his rather mysterious death: that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky Tchaikovsky] (1840-1893) had drunk a glass of unboiled water during a cholera epidemic. While another story had the composer committing suicide because of the supposedly unfavorable reception of his 6th ("Pathetique") Symphony, it is now generally believed that he actually was forced to take poison to avoid the exposure of his love affair with a male member of the imperial family or maybe it was just kidney failure! Whatever the actual case, Pynchon's reference might have been prompted by Ken Russell's film [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Music_Lovers ''The Music Lovers''] (1971), with Richard Chamberlain as Tchaikovsky and which makes pointed reference to the contaminated water story.

==Page 703==
703.05 '''Jeaach''' 
The name is another pseudo-German phonetic rendering of an expression of disgust.

==Page 705==
'''functions of Moslem angels''' 

The belief in angels is one of the central articles of faith in Islam. Indeed, the Archangel Gabriel dictated the Qur'an to Muhammad. Angels are ministers of God and agents of revelation, who are made of smokeless fire or Divine Light. They have no free will as they follow God's will exclusively. Their functions include recording every human being's actions, placing a soul in a newborn child, maintaining certain environmental conditions of the planet (such as nurturing vegetation and distributing the rain), taking the soul at the time of death and more. They guard the gates of heaven and hell.

Beneath the order of angels is the order of jinn. Jinn have free will.

In 1991, some 17 years after GR appeared, the Russian physicists Igor Novikov and Andrei Lossev published a paper in the journal ''Classical and Quantum Gravity'' entitled "The Jinn of the Time Machine: Non-trivial Self-Consistent Solutions" concerning some theoretical issues in time travel. They use the jinn in their thought experiment in a particularly Pynchonian way -- though probably without knowing anything about Pynchon or ''GR''. The jinn essentially move in a circular timespace which at some point make them appear to move against the second law of thermodynamics. As they move forward in time they self-organize and instead of gaining entropy, they lose entropy. (cf. Toomey, David: ''The New Time Travelers'', 2007, pp. 196-202.)

Taking this idea back to GR, it may be that the function of Moslem Angels is to serve as "The Counterforce" that is, to restore order to a world run down to ruin through entropy. An Anti-Slothrop of sorts.

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Pages 397-433

2008-03-29T00:02:16Z

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==Page 398==
[[image:hansel-gretel.jpg|thumb|''Hansel and Gretel''|100px|right]]'''dog with the saucer eyes . . . beard of the goat on the bridge . . . the troll below . . . plastic witch . . . Hansel . . . Gretel''' 
Features at Zwolfkinder, all evoking children’s fairy tales: "The Tinder Box," the Billy Goats Gruff, Hansel and Gretel.

==Page 402==
'''The Spree''' 
A river, not a canal, that runs through Berlin.

'''who would eat an apple in the street''' 
A phrase of German/Yiddish origin, suggesting a poor person of no breeding.

==Page 403==
[[image:kyudo-target.jpg|thumb|Zen Target|150px|right]]'''Zen bow and roll of pressed straw''' 
Archery is a sport often associated with Zen discipline in Japan, where it is known as ''kyūdō''. Many archers practice ''kyūdō'' as a sport, with marksmanship being paramount. However, the goal most devotees of kyūdō seek is ''seisha seichu'', "correct shooting is correct hitting". The archer seeks not to hit a target but (according to some sources) to become one with the arrow as it flies, as Fahringer advocates becoming "one with the Rocket." One of the earliest introductions of ''kyūdō'' in the west was by a German, Eugen Herrigel, who studied Zen and archery in Japan in the 1930s. His ''Zen in the Art of Archery'' (1953) remains a classic in its field. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyudo Wikipedia entry]

'''bodhisattva''' 
In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a "Buddhist saint," one who has nearly attained nirvana but delays it in order to aid others. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva Wikipedia entry]

==Page 405==
'''good company at Herr Halliger’s Inn''' 
Note the echo of the title of von Goll’s perverse film.

==Page 412==
'''"I lost my heart in Heidelburg"''' 
Although [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] asserts that the song derives from Tony Bennet’s recording "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," there are more likely origins. The title suggests the lyrics to "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen" (see note at V134.27) or "Avalon" ("I found my love in Avalon") by Al Jolson and Vincent Rose. In addition, the lyric suggests Sigmund Romberg’s venerable operetta ''The Student Prince'', about the heir to a throne who falls in love with a barmaid in the university town. The show also features the song "Gaudeamus Igitur" (V432.13).

:Igor Zabel offers a more a concrete reference: "I lost my heart in Heidelberg": a popular German song from the twenties: "Ich hab' mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren". The song was written for a musical of the same name by German composer Fred Raymond. [[I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg|Read the lyrics...]]

==Page 421==
'''Juch-heiereasas-sa! O-tempo-tempora!''' 
From the song "Ein lustger Musikante marschierte am Nil" by Emmanuel Geibel (1815-1884). [http://ingeb.org/Lieder/einlustg.html German words and midi music]

==Page 422==
'''love something like the persistence of vision''' 
"The notion of 'persistence of vision' seems to have been appropriated from psychology". From Herbert's essay below. 
The term "persistence of vision" is still in popular use, and fits Pynchon’s (and Pokler’s) needs well in this context.

The phrase "persistence of vision:" has long been misapplied to explanations of how the spectator perceives motion from the sequential flashing of still images on film. The term which usually refers to the positive afterimage retained by the retina of the eye has been rejected by psychologists and students of perception as imprecise and misleading. The illusion of motion is actually a much more complicated process, involving several elements of cognition. A very good synopsis of the problems with the term by Stephen Herbert is available [http://www.grand-illusions.com/percept.htm here].

==Page 425==
'''425.24ff you go and sit exactly on the target...one is safest at the center of the target area''' 

Major-General Dr. Walter Dornberger, head of Peenemunde rocket development and von Braun's superior, actually made this suggestion when the airburst problem resisted solution: "the bull's eye is the safest spot on the map." Instead of sending a sacrificial underling such as Pokler to do the sitting, Dornberger and von Braun, to their credit, sat their own personal asses down on the target. They did this every day for about a week. On the very last rocket observed from the target, von Braun
:"was standing in an open field [and]... beheld the rocket coming out of the blue sky." To his horror, he realized it was pointed straight at them [Dornberger, v.B] -- it would be a direct hit. "I threw myself down to the ground, but a moment later a terrific explosion hurled me high into the air. I landed in a ditch and noted with some amazement that I...had not suffered as much as a scratch." quoted in Neufeld, ''Von Braun'', p.181.

==Page 432==
'''"Gaudeumus igitur"''' 
Igor Zabel elaborates further on Weisenburger's note:

:"The song is a symbol of the university (as such) and its anthem (e.g., it is sometimes performed at ceremonial occasions). The mentioning here refers to the "feeling of graduation". ''Gaudeamus igitur'' is traditionally sung by the students of the final class of Gymnasium (i.e., university students to-be) as they celebrate their graduation."

'''Obersturmbannfuehrer''' 
A rank in the SS, which corresponds to the Lieutenant Colonel.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 397-433

2008-03-28T23:59:28Z

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==Page 398==
[[image:hansel-gretel.jpg|thumb|''Hansel and Gretel''|100px|right]]'''dog with the saucer eyes . . . beard of the goat on the bridge . . . the troll below . . . plastic witch . . . Hansel . . . Gretel''' 
Features at Zwolfkinder, all evoking children’s fairy tales: "The Tinder Box," the Billy Goats Gruff, Hansel and Gretel.

==Page 402==
'''The Spree''' 
A river, not a canal, that runs through Berlin.

'''who would eat an apple in the street''' 
A phrase of German/Yiddish origin, suggesting a poor person of no breeding.

==Page 403==
[[image:kyudo-target.jpg|thumb|Zen Target|150px|right]]'''Zen bow and roll of pressed straw''' 
Archery is a sport often associated with Zen discipline in Japan, where it is known as ''kyūdō''. Many archers practice ''kyūdō'' as a sport, with marksmanship being paramount. However, the goal most devotees of kyūdō seek is ''seisha seichu'', "correct shooting is correct hitting". The archer seeks not to hit a target but (according to some sources) to become one with the arrow as it flies, as Fahringer advocates becoming "one with the Rocket." One of the earliest introductions of ''kyūdō'' in the west was by a German, Eugen Herrigel, who studied Zen and archery in Japan in the 1930s. His ''Zen in the Art of Archery'' (1953) remains a classic in its field. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyudo Wikipedia entry]

'''bodhisattva''' 
In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a "Buddhist saint," one who has nearly attained nirvana but delays it in order to aid others. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva Wikipedia entry]

==Page 405==
'''good company at Herr Halliger’s Inn''' 
Note the echo of the title of von Goll’s perverse film.

==Page 412==
'''"I lost my heart in Heidelburg"''' 
Although [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] asserts that the song derives from Tony Bennet’s recording "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," there are more likely origins. The title suggests the lyrics to "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen" (see note at V134.27) or "Avalon" ("I found my love in Avalon") by Al Jolson and Vincent Rose. In addition, the lyric suggests Sigmund Romberg’s venerable operetta ''The Student Prince'', about the heir to a throne who falls in love with a barmaid in the university town. The show also features the song "Gaudeamus Igitur" (V432.13).

:Igor Zabel offers a more a concrete reference: "I lost my heart in Heidelberg": a popular German song from the twenties: "Ich hab' mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren". The song was written for a musical of the same name by German composer Fred Raymond. [[I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg|Read the lyrics...]]

==Page 421==
'''Juch-heiereasas-sa! O-tempo-tempora!''' 
From the song "Ein lustger Musikante marschierte am Nil" by Emmanuel Geibel (1815-1884). [http://ingeb.org/Lieder/einlustg.html German words and midi music]

==Page 422==
'''love something like the persistence of vision''' 
"The notion of 'persistence of vision' seems to have been appropriated from psychology". From Herbert's essay below. 
The term "persistence of vision" is still in popular use, and fits Pynchon’s (and Pokler’s) needs well in this context.

The phrase "persistence of vision:" has long been misapplied to explanations of how the spectator perceives motion from the sequential flashing of still images on film. The term which usually refers to the positive afterimage retained by the retina of the eye has been rejected by psychologists and students of perception as imprecise and misleading. The illusion of motion is actually a much more complicated process, involving several elements of cognition. A very good synopsis of the problems with the term by Stephen Herbert is available [http://www.grand-illusions.com/percept.htm here].

==Page 425==
'''425.24ff you go and sit exactly on the target...one is safest at the center of the target area''' 

Major-General Dr. Walter Dornberger, head of Peenemunde rocket development and von Braun's superior, actually made this suggestion when the airburst problem resisted solution: "the bull's eye is the safest spot on the map." Instead of sending a sacrificial underling such as Pokler to do the sitting, Dornberger and von Braun, to their credit, sat their own personal asses down on the target. They did this every day for about a week. On the very last rocket observed from the target, von Braun
:"was standing in an open field, and knowing the accurate launching time from a warning sign...I [v.B] beheld the rocket coming out of the blue sky." To his horror, he realized it was pointed strait at them [Dornberger, v.B] -- it would be a direct hit. "I threw myself down to the ground, but a moment later a terrific explosion hurled me high into the air. I landed in a ditch and noted with some amazement that I...had not suffered as much as a scratch." quoted in Neufeld, ''Von Braun'', p.181.

==Page 432==
'''"Gaudeumus igitur"''' 
Igor Zabel elaborates further on Weisenburger's note:

:"The song is a symbol of the university (as such) and its anthem (e.g., it is sometimes performed at ceremonial occasions). The mentioning here refers to the "feeling of graduation". ''Gaudeamus igitur'' is traditionally sung by the students of the final class of Gymnasium (i.e., university students to-be) as they celebrate their graduation."

'''Obersturmbannfuehrer''' 
A rank in the SS, which corresponds to the Lieutenant Colonel.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 397-433

2008-03-28T23:58:06Z

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==Page 398==
[[image:hansel-gretel.jpg|thumb|''Hansel and Gretel''|100px|right]]'''dog with the saucer eyes . . . beard of the goat on the bridge . . . the troll below . . . plastic witch . . . Hansel . . . Gretel''' 
Features at Zwolfkinder, all evoking children’s fairy tales: "The Tinder Box," the Billy Goats Gruff, Hansel and Gretel.

==Page 402==
'''The Spree''' 
A river, not a canal, that runs through Berlin.

'''who would eat an apple in the street''' 
A phrase of German/Yiddish origin, suggesting a poor person of no breeding.

==Page 403==
[[image:kyudo-target.jpg|thumb|Zen Target|150px|right]]'''Zen bow and roll of pressed straw''' 
Archery is a sport often associated with Zen discipline in Japan, where it is known as ''kyūdō''. Many archers practice ''kyūdō'' as a sport, with marksmanship being paramount. However, the goal most devotees of kyūdō seek is ''seisha seichu'', "correct shooting is correct hitting". The archer seeks not to hit a target but (according to some sources) to become one with the arrow as it flies, as Fahringer advocates becoming "one with the Rocket." One of the earliest introductions of ''kyūdō'' in the west was by a German, Eugen Herrigel, who studied Zen and archery in Japan in the 1930s. His ''Zen in the Art of Archery'' (1953) remains a classic in its field. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyudo Wikipedia entry]

'''bodhisattva''' 
In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a "Buddhist saint," one who has nearly attained nirvana but delays it in order to aid others. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva Wikipedia entry]

==Page 405==
'''good company at Herr Halliger’s Inn''' 
Note the echo of the title of von Goll’s perverse film.

==Page 412==
'''"I lost my heart in Heidelburg"''' 
Although [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] asserts that the song derives from Tony Bennet’s recording "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," there are more likely origins. The title suggests the lyrics to "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen" (see note at V134.27) or "Avalon" ("I found my love in Avalon") by Al Jolson and Vincent Rose. In addition, the lyric suggests Sigmund Romberg’s venerable operetta ''The Student Prince'', about the heir to a throne who falls in love with a barmaid in the university town. The show also features the song "Gaudeamus Igitur" (V432.13).

:Igor Zabel offers a more a concrete reference: "I lost my heart in Heidelberg": a popular German song from the twenties: "Ich hab' mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren". The song was written for a musical of the same name by German composer Fred Raymond. [[I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg|Read the lyrics...]]

==Page 421==
'''Juch-heiereasas-sa! O-tempo-tempora!''' 
From the song "Ein lustger Musikante marschierte am Nil" by Emmanuel Geibel (1815-1884). [http://ingeb.org/Lieder/einlustg.html German words and midi music]

==Page 422==
'''love something like the persistence of vision''' 
"The notion of 'persistence of vision' seems to have been appropriated from psychology". From Herbert's essay below. 
The term "persistence of vision" is still in popular use, and fits Pynchon’s (and Pokler’s) needs well in this context.

The phrase "persistence of vision:" has long been misapplied to explanations of how the spectator perceives motion from the sequential flashing of still images on film. The term which usually refers to the positive afterimage retained by the retina of the eye has been rejected by psychologists and students of perception as imprecise and misleading. The illusion of motion is actually a much more complicated process, involving several elements of cognition. A very good synopsis of the problems with the term by Stephen Herbert is available [http://www.grand-illusions.com/percept.htm here].

==Page 425==
'''425.24ff you go and sit exactly on the target...one is safest at the center of the target area''' 

Major-General Dr. Walter Dornberger, head of Peenemunde rocket development and von Braun's superior, actually made this suggestion when the airburst problem resisted solution: "the bull's eye is the safest spot on the map." Instead of sending a sacrificial underling such as Pokler to do the sitting, Dornberger and von Braun, to their credit, sat their own personal asses down on the target. They did this every day for about a week. On the very last rocket observed from the target von Braun
:"was standing in an open field, and knowing the accurate launching time from a warning sign...I [v.B] beheld the rocket coming out of the blue sky." To his horror, he realized it was pointed strait at them [Dornberger, v.B] -- it would be a direct hit. "I threw myself down to the ground, but a moment later a terrific explosion hurled me high into the air. I landed in a ditch and noted with some amazement that I...had not suffered as much as a scratch." quoted in Neufeld, ''Von Braun'', p.181.

==Page 432==
'''"Gaudeumus igitur"''' 
Igor Zabel elaborates further on Weisenburger's note:

:"The song is a symbol of the university (as such) and its anthem (e.g., it is sometimes performed at ceremonial occasions). The mentioning here refers to the "feeling of graduation". ''Gaudeamus igitur'' is traditionally sung by the students of the final class of Gymnasium (i.e., university students to-be) as they celebrate their graduation."

'''Obersturmbannfuehrer''' 
A rank in the SS, which corresponds to the Lieutenant Colonel.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 295-314

2008-03-27T23:41:51Z

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==Page 297==
'''297.36 Articles of Immachination''' 
As opposed to Articles of Incorporation

==Page 298==
'''298.24 Etzel Ölsch '''
Etzel, or Attila the Hun, is first featured as the agent of destruction in the ''Nibelungen'' movie during which Franz Pökler falls asleep (159.19). According to the [http://duden-suche.de/suche/abstract.php?artikel_id=34277&verweis=1&shortname=famnamen#34279 Duden dictionary of family names], Oelsch is a variant of Oelschner, which refers to various east German placenames of Slavic origin.

==Page 299==

'''298.10 how long, how long you sfacim-a dis country''' 
The question "how long" addressed to a "You" echoes Psalm 13 ("How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?"). While ''sfacimento'' (related to disfacimento, ultimately from ''disfare'', 'undo') means decay in literary Italian, in Neapolitan slang ''sfacim'' stands for semen (or a mean person). See the exchange in [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_6 V., 140/146 ].

'''299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise''' 
In the 2007 biography ''Von Braun:Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War'', Michael Neufeld writes that after the August 1943 attack on Peenemunde, the rocket works were moved to an abandoned underground storage facility. The tunnels were, in historical fact, just as described here: like the letter "s" stretched lengthwise connected by cross tunnels. Each "s" was large enough to accommodate a long train. The prison labor from Dora -- mostly Poles, Russians, French and German leftist/communists and few if any Jews -- lived and died in wretched conditions in the cross-tunnels.

The tunnels are arranged like a two-dimensional parody of the DNA molecule. The 44 cross-tunnels might suggest the 22 pairs of chromosomes possessed by each individual. Correspondent Debby Katz adds the following comment:

:"Cross tunnels suggest often -illustrated base pairings in DNA (adenine-thymine A-T, or cytosine-guanine, C-G) the order of which defines the "sense" of the coded message within the molecule. We human-types possess 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22. One pair, the X-X or X-Y is, of course, not an identical pairing in the male of the species. But the Y is without a doubt information-holding, as an X-O female (45 chromosomes, missing the second X chromosome) is not a male, but a female with a lot of problems."

:Not sure where the idea of the DNA double helix comes from, but it is not supported by the text. If the tunnels resembled a helix, a better metaphor would be a spiral staircase, not a ladder with a slight s-curve. Also, the tunnels are designed with Rocket imagery in mind (DNA is not rocket imagery). No, as the book says, the tunnels are suggestive of the '''double integral''', translating rocket acceleration into a point -- the Brennschluss point. And as noted above, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22.

==Page 300==
'''300.03 Hupla''' 
Or "hoopla," a big fuss.

==Page 301==
'''301.38 1000 yards east of Waterloo Station''' 
Coincidence?: About 1000 yards east (actually east-southeast) of Waterloo Station, off Southwark Bridge Road, near its intersection with Southwark Street, is a little ''cul-de-sac'' where the rocket might impact. Its name is America Street.

==Page 302==
'''302.20-21 a constellation...a 13th sign of the Zodiac named for it''' 
Though probably not intended as such by TRP, there is in fact a 13th Zodiacal constellation named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiucus Ophiuchus], formerly Serpentarius, both meaning "the serpent holder," found between Scorpio and Sagittarius. "Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one not counted as an astrological sign." It is passed over. 

Going way off on a limb, Ophiuchus may map to Tchitcherine in that they both handle Snakes and see the lightning of God...
:" but they [Ophiuchus and Tchitcherine?] lie so close to Earth that from many places they can't be seen at all, and from different places inside the zone where they can be seen, they fall into completely different patterns..."

Also ties in with the later discussion of the Serpent and Kekule's dream. 

'''302.32-33 the gentlemanly reflex that made him edit, switch names, insert fantasies into the yarns''' 
The habit of switching names and inserting fantasies might explain why the project SEZ WHO (270-271, Speed and Perdoo trying to locate Slothrop's girls) fails completely.

==Page 306==
'''306.19 hanging by the foot''' 
Note how Slothrop, as he hangs upside down by one foot, momentarily turns into a version of the Tarot card The Hanged Man, which also turns up in his Tarot reading on p. 738.

This rope actually existed in historical fact. The Mittelwerke tunnels had a large crane mit rope to lift the rocket to an upright position for testing.

==Page 308==
'''308.8-10 "''There'' he is," in a great roar..."go ''git'' him boys!"''' 
Major Marvy at this point and forward resembles the Queen of Hearts in the Alice stories as he chases after Slothrop boisterously yelling, in essence, "Off with his head!"

==Page 310==
'''310.06 "Gruss Gott"''' 
Glimpf's greeting to Slothrop makes more sense as explained by Igor Zabel:
"'Gruss Gott!' is not 'Great God!' but 'Greet (you) God!' a very common greeting in Austria, Bavaria and southern Germany, more common, in fact, than 'Good morning'. It should be written with an umlaut (grüss)."

==Page 312==
'''312.17 white Stetson''' 
Both Marvy’s dress and speech echo the character of Major Stanley "King" Kong, the bomber pilot played by Slim Pickens in Stanley Kubrick’s ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964).

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 433-447

2008-03-17T20:01:13Z

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==Page 433==
433.32 '''"Der Feind hoert zu"''' 
Not 'The listening enemy' but 'The enemy is listening', a warning not to speak carelessly.

==Page 435==
[[image:wilmer-gunsel.jpg|thumb|Elisha Cook as Wilmer|100px|right]]435.10 '''gunsels''' 
Both of the meanings supplied by [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] (a male homosexual and/or a gunslinger) also apply to a likely source for the Pynchon’s use of the word: the character Wilmer in Dashiell Hammett’s ''The Maltese Falcon'' and John Huston’s 1940 film adaptation, with Elisha Cook, Jr. in the role.
wilmer.jpg (15758 bytes)

435.16 '''veronica''' 
In bullfighting, a matador’s move with his cape similar to the one that Slothrop employs here.

==Page 439==
439.26 '''a nasal hardon here''' 
Trudi’s invasion of Slothrop’s nose is a reversal of male pornographic fantasies of crawling into women’s vaginas, etc. The connections between the nose and penis have a long cultural history, including the novel Tristram Shandy and early works by Freud.

Cf. also, The chapter "In Which Esther Gets a Nose Job" in ''V.''.<bt>

Also shades of the 1971 porn film, ''The Erotic Adventures of Pinocchio.''

==Page 442==
[[image:muttjeff.gif|thumb|Mutt & Jeff|100px|right]]442.09 '''They are a Mutt and Jeff routine.''' 
Mutt and Jeff were the tall and short friends featured in the earliest daily comic strip, begun in 1907 by Bud Fisher.

442.39-40 '''Irving Berlin medley''' 
[[image:irving-berlin.jpg|thumb|Irving Berlin|70px|left]][[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] has Berlin dying in 1975, but the composer did not die until September 1989 at the age of 101! The medley includes the two songs cited on page V443: "God Bless America" and "This Is the Army, Mr. Jones." The latter song gave its name to a 1943 film starring future California Senator George Murphy and future California Governor and U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Berlin composed "God Bless America" for a musical in 1917 but dropped it, then revised it for Kate Smith in 1938, who made the song the "unofficial American anthem." It is sung by Smith in This is the Army; in which Berlin himself also sings, "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning." The film also features the song "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen." See note at [[Pages 120-136#134|p. 134.27]].

==Page 445==
[[image:carole-lombard.jpg|thumb|Carole Lombard|100px|right]]445.22 '''I’m a Lombard''' 
Although Greta evokes the geographical region, she may also be referring to film star Carole Lombard, the comic actress whose airplane crashed while she was on a war bonds tour during the war. Lombard had glamour as a star, although she is best known for roles in "screwball" comedies like ''Nothing Sacred'' (1937) and ''My Man Godfrey'' (1936) that undercut that image.

445.23 '''Close enough, sweetheart''' 
Slothrop’s hard-boiled reply to Greta echoes the cynicism of film characters like those played by Humphrey Bogart.

==Page 446==
446.18 '''Wannsee''' 
A popular beach, but also the location of the infamous conference on January 20th, 1942, where the strategy of the 'final solution' of the Jewish question was determined.

446 '''Hauptstufe''' 
Appears to mean: the "pen where we keep the sacred cattle" in German, but there is disagreement. Fits sharply, Pynchonesquely, here.

Not sure about sacred cattle, but Hauptstufe is the second stage, the main (haupt)stage (stuffe)of a multistage rocket. In the vanBraun-designed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_V#Stages Saturn V] rocket, the second stage S-II consists of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. This stage accelerated the rocket through the upper atmosphere. So, Rocketman's cry of "Hauptstufe!" might be the Rocketman ("Racketenmenschsprache"?) equivalent of Superman's "Up, Up, and Away!"

==Page 447==
'''dog show...stud service''' 
In Betty Freidan's best-selling feminist tract of the 1960s, ''The Feminine Mystique'' she mentions some bored, deeply unfufilled suburban wives with no outlet for their full intelligence and creativity, who did IT with their dogs.

Human-animal sexual encounters also happen in ''Against the Day''.

Notice in this dream of Slothrop's, the key colors are violet and green. Colors heavily associated with certain 'emancipated' suffragettes in ''Against the Day''.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 433-447

2008-03-17T20:00:55Z

Sideming: /* Page 446 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 433==
433.32 '''"Der Feind hoert zu"''' 
Not 'The listening enemy' but 'The enemy is listening', a warning not to speak carelessly.

==Page 435==
[[image:wilmer-gunsel.jpg|thumb|Elisha Cook as Wilmer|100px|right]]435.10 '''gunsels''' 
Both of the meanings supplied by [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] (a male homosexual and/or a gunslinger) also apply to a likely source for the Pynchon’s use of the word: the character Wilmer in Dashiell Hammett’s ''The Maltese Falcon'' and John Huston’s 1940 film adaptation, with Elisha Cook, Jr. in the role.
wilmer.jpg (15758 bytes)

435.16 '''veronica''' 
In bullfighting, a matador’s move with his cape similar to the one that Slothrop employs here.

==Page 439==
439.26 '''a nasal hardon here''' 
Trudi’s invasion of Slothrop’s nose is a reversal of male pornographic fantasies of crawling into women’s vaginas, etc. The connections between the nose and penis have a long cultural history, including the novel Tristram Shandy and early works by Freud.

Cf. also, The chapter "In Which Esther Gets a Nose Job" in ''V.''.<bt>

Also shades of the 1971 porn film, ''The Erotic Adventures of Pinocchio.''

==Page 442==
[[image:muttjeff.gif|thumb|Mutt & Jeff|100px|right]]442.09 '''They are a Mutt and Jeff routine.''' 
Mutt and Jeff were the tall and short friends featured in the earliest daily comic strip, begun in 1907 by Bud Fisher.

442.39-40 '''Irving Berlin medley''' 
[[image:irving-berlin.jpg|thumb|Irving Berlin|70px|left]][[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] has Berlin dying in 1975, but the composer did not die until September 1989 at the age of 101! The medley includes the two songs cited on page V443: "God Bless America" and "This Is the Army, Mr. Jones." The latter song gave its name to a 1943 film starring future California Senator George Murphy and future California Governor and U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Berlin composed "God Bless America" for a musical in 1917 but dropped it, then revised it for Kate Smith in 1938, who made the song the "unofficial American anthem." It is sung by Smith in This is the Army; in which Berlin himself also sings, "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning." The film also features the song "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen." See note at [[Pages 120-136#134|p. 134.27]].

==Page 445==
[[image:carole-lombard.jpg|thumb|Carole Lombard|100px|right]]445.22 '''I’m a Lombard''' 
Although Greta evokes the geographical region, she may also be referring to film star Carole Lombard, the comic actress whose airplane crashed while she was on a war bonds tour during the war. Lombard had glamour as a star, although she is best known for roles in "screwball" comedies like ''Nothing Sacred'' (1937) and ''My Man Godfrey'' (1936) that undercut that image.

445.23 '''Close enough, sweetheart''' 
Slothrop’s hard-boiled reply to Greta echoes the cynicism of film characters like those played by Humphrey Bogart.

==Page 446==
446.18 '''Wannsee''' 
A popular beach, but also the location of the infamous conference on January 20th, 1942, where the strategy of the 'final solution' of the Jewish question was determined.

446 '''Hauptstufe''' 
Appears to mean: the "pen where we keep the sacred cattle" in German, but there is disagreement. Fits sharply, Pynchonesquely, here.

Not sure about sacred cattle, but Hauptstufe is the second stage, the main (haupt)stage (stuffe)of a multistage rocket. In the vanBraun-designed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_V#Stages Saturn V] rocket, the second stage S-II consists of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. This stage accelerated the rocket through the upper atmospher. So, Rocketman's cry of "Hauptstufe!" might be the Rocketman ("Racketenmenschsprache"?) equivalent of Superman's "Up, Up, and Away!"

==Page 447==
'''dog show...stud service''' 
In Betty Freidan's best-selling feminist tract of the 1960s, ''The Feminine Mystique'' she mentions some bored, deeply unfufilled suburban wives with no outlet for their full intelligence and creativity, who did IT with their dogs.

Human-animal sexual encounters also happen in ''Against the Day''.

Notice in this dream of Slothrop's, the key colors are violet and green. Colors heavily associated with certain 'emancipated' suffragettes in ''Against the Day''.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 433-447

2008-03-17T19:56:45Z

Sideming: /* Page 446 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 433==
433.32 '''"Der Feind hoert zu"''' 
Not 'The listening enemy' but 'The enemy is listening', a warning not to speak carelessly.

==Page 435==
[[image:wilmer-gunsel.jpg|thumb|Elisha Cook as Wilmer|100px|right]]435.10 '''gunsels''' 
Both of the meanings supplied by [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] (a male homosexual and/or a gunslinger) also apply to a likely source for the Pynchon’s use of the word: the character Wilmer in Dashiell Hammett’s ''The Maltese Falcon'' and John Huston’s 1940 film adaptation, with Elisha Cook, Jr. in the role.
wilmer.jpg (15758 bytes)

435.16 '''veronica''' 
In bullfighting, a matador’s move with his cape similar to the one that Slothrop employs here.

==Page 439==
439.26 '''a nasal hardon here''' 
Trudi’s invasion of Slothrop’s nose is a reversal of male pornographic fantasies of crawling into women’s vaginas, etc. The connections between the nose and penis have a long cultural history, including the novel Tristram Shandy and early works by Freud.

Cf. also, The chapter "In Which Esther Gets a Nose Job" in ''V.''.<bt>

Also shades of the 1971 porn film, ''The Erotic Adventures of Pinocchio.''

==Page 442==
[[image:muttjeff.gif|thumb|Mutt & Jeff|100px|right]]442.09 '''They are a Mutt and Jeff routine.''' 
Mutt and Jeff were the tall and short friends featured in the earliest daily comic strip, begun in 1907 by Bud Fisher.

442.39-40 '''Irving Berlin medley''' 
[[image:irving-berlin.jpg|thumb|Irving Berlin|70px|left]][[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] has Berlin dying in 1975, but the composer did not die until September 1989 at the age of 101! The medley includes the two songs cited on page V443: "God Bless America" and "This Is the Army, Mr. Jones." The latter song gave its name to a 1943 film starring future California Senator George Murphy and future California Governor and U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Berlin composed "God Bless America" for a musical in 1917 but dropped it, then revised it for Kate Smith in 1938, who made the song the "unofficial American anthem." It is sung by Smith in This is the Army; in which Berlin himself also sings, "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning." The film also features the song "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen." See note at [[Pages 120-136#134|p. 134.27]].

==Page 445==
[[image:carole-lombard.jpg|thumb|Carole Lombard|100px|right]]445.22 '''I’m a Lombard''' 
Although Greta evokes the geographical region, she may also be referring to film star Carole Lombard, the comic actress whose airplane crashed while she was on a war bonds tour during the war. Lombard had glamour as a star, although she is best known for roles in "screwball" comedies like ''Nothing Sacred'' (1937) and ''My Man Godfrey'' (1936) that undercut that image.

445.23 '''Close enough, sweetheart''' 
Slothrop’s hard-boiled reply to Greta echoes the cynicism of film characters like those played by Humphrey Bogart.

==Page 446==
446.18 '''Wannsee''' 
A popular beach, but also the location of the infamous conference on January 20th, 1942, where the strategy of the 'final solution' of the Jewish question was determined.

446 '''Hauptstufe''' 
Appears to mean: the "pen where we keep the sacred cattle" in German, but there is disagreement. Fits sharply, Pynchonesquely, here.

Not sure about sacred cattle, but Hauptstufe is the second stage, the main (haupt)stage (stuffe)of a multistage rocket. In the vanBraun-designed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_V#Stages Saturn V] rocket, the second stage is S-II consisting of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. This stage accelerated the rocket through the upper atmospher. So, Rocketman's cry of "Hauptstufe!" might be the Rocketman ("Racketenmenschsprache"?) equivalent of Superman's "Up, Up, and Away!"

==Page 447==
'''dog show...stud service''' 
In Betty Freidan's best-selling feminist tract of the 1960s, ''The Feminine Mystique'' she mentions some bored, deeply unfufilled suburban wives with no outlet for their full intelligence and creativity, who did IT with their dogs.

Human-animal sexual encounters also happen in ''Against the Day''.

Notice in this dream of Slothrop's, the key colors are violet and green. Colors heavily associated with certain 'emancipated' suffragettes in ''Against the Day''.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 295-314

2008-03-11T22:35:08Z

Sideming: /* Page 299 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 297==
'''297.36 Articles of Immachination''' 
As opposed to Articles of Incorporation

==Page 298==
'''298.24 Etzel Ölsch '''
Etzel, or Attila the Hun, is first featured as the agent of destruction in the ''Nibelungen'' movie during which Franz Pökler falls asleep (159.19). According to the [http://duden-suche.de/suche/abstract.php?artikel_id=34277&verweis=1&shortname=famnamen#34279 Duden dictionary of family names], Oelsch is a variant of Oelschner, which refers to various east German placenames of Slavic origin.

==Page 299==

'''298.10 how long, how long you sfacim-a dis country''' 
The question "how long" addressed to a "You" echoes Psalm 13 ("How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?"). While ''sfacimento'' (related to disfacimento, ultimately from ''disfare'', 'undo') means decay in literary Italian, in Neapolitan slang ''sfacim'' stands for semen (or a mean person). See the exchange in [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_6 V., 140/146 ].

'''299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise''' 
In the 2007 biography ''Von Braun:Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War'', Michael Neufeld writes that after the August 1943 attack on Peenemunde, the rocket works were moved to an abandoned underground storage facility. The tunnels were, in historical fact, just as described here: like the letter "s" stretched lengthwise connected by cross tunnels. Each "s" was large enough to accommodate a long train. The prison labor from Dora -- mostly Poles, Russians, French and German leftist/communists and few if any Jews -- lived and died in wretched conditions in the cross-tunnels.

The tunnels are arranged like a two-dimensional parody of the DNA molecule. The 44 cross-tunnels might suggest the 22 pairs of chromosomes possessed by each individual. Correspondent Debby Katz adds the following comment:

:"Cross tunnels suggest often -illustrated base pairings in DNA (adenine-thymine A-T, or cytosine-guanine, C-G) the order of which defines the "sense" of the coded message within the molecule. We human-types possess 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22. One pair, the X-X or X-Y is, of course, not an identical pairing in the male of the species. But the Y is without a doubt information-holding, as an X-O female (45 chromosomes, missing the second X chromosome) is not a male, but a female with a lot of problems."

:Not sure where the idea of the DNA double helix comes from, but it is not supported by the text. If the tunnels resembled a helix, a better metaphor would be a spiral staircase, not a ladder with a slight s-curve. Also, the tunnels are designed with Rocket imagery in mind (DNA is not rocket imagery). No, as the book says, the tunnels are suggestive of the '''double integral''', translating rocket acceleration into a point -- the Brennschluss point. And as noted above, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22.

==Page 300==
'''300.03 Hupla''' 
Or "hoopla," a big fuss.

==Page 301==
'''301.38 1000 yards east of Waterloo Station''' 
Coincidence?: About 1000 yards east (actually east-southeast) of Waterloo Station, off Southwark Bridge Road, near its intersection with Southwark Street, is a little ''cul-de-sac'' where the rocket might impact. Its name is America Street.

==Page 302==
'''302.20-21 a constellation...a 13th sign of the Zodiac named for it''' 
Though probably not intended as such by TRP, there is in fact a 13th Zodiacal constellation named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiucus Ophiuchus], formerly Serpentarius, both meaning "the serpent holder," found between Scorpio and Sagittarius. "Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one not counted as an astrological sign." It is passed over. 

Going way off on a limb, Ophiuchus may map to Tchitcherine in that they both handle Snakes and see the lightning of God...
:" but they [Ophiuchus and Tchitcherine?] lie so close to Earth that from many places they can't be seen at all, and from different places inside the zone where they can be seen, they fall into completely different patterns..."

Also ties in with the later discussion of the Serpent and Kekule's dream.

==Page 306==
'''306.19 hanging by the foot''' 
Note how Slothrop, as he hangs upside down by one foot, momentarily turns into a version of the Tarot card The Hanged Man, which also turns up in his Tarot reading on p. 738.

==Page 308==
'''308.8-10 "''There'' he is," in a great roar..."go ''git'' him boys!"''' 
Major Marvy at this point and forward resembles the Queen of Hearts in the Alice stories as he chases after Slothrop boisterously yelling, in essence, "Off with his head!"

==Page 310==
'''310.06 "Gruss Gott"''' 
Glimpf's greeting to Slothrop makes more sense as explained by Igor Zabel:
"'Gruss Gott!' is not 'Great God!' but 'Greet (you) God!' a very common greeting in Austria, Bavaria and southern Germany, more common, in fact, than 'Good morning'. It should be written with an umlaut (grüss)."

==Page 312==
'''312.17 white Stetson''' 
Both Marvy’s dress and speech echo the character of Major Stanley "King" Kong, the bomber pilot played by Slim Pickens in Stanley Kubrick’s ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964).

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 244-249

2008-02-22T21:23:43Z

Sideming: /* Page 246 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 246==
[[image:waxwing.jpg|thumb|100px|Waxwing|right]]'''246.35 Blodgett Waxwing''' 
Waxwing’s last name may come from ''Pale Fire'' by Pynchon’s Cornell teacher Vladimir Nabokov. The novel takes the form of a long poem with annotations by a mad scholar. The poem begins, "I was the shadow of the waxwing slain/ By the false azure in the windowpane." Blodgett is the "real" last name of the heroine in all three versions of the film ''A Star Is Born''. The waxwing is also of interest because of its striking appearance: Its black "mask" is appropriate for someone in Blodgett's line of work.

The waxwing also eats the aril, the bright red, seed-containing berry of the yew tree, thus dispersing the yew seed undamaged. The yew, mentioned in the text, is the tree of death. All parts of the tree, including the seed but not the aril, are poisonous and if eaten can literally kill a horse (also pigs, cattle and other livestock).

Like the bird, this man Waxwing is able to safely carry and distribute lethal cargo, undamaged, without harm to himself.

==Page 247==
[[image:steele-JPK.jpg|thumb|100px|Steele & JPK|right]]'''247.06 Bob Steele''' 
Steele’s westerns were produced by Nalline Slothrop’s pal, Joseph Kennedy, Sr.

'''247.14 Theophile''' 
From the Greek for "Lover of God."

==Page 248==
'''248.40-41 a business card, embossed with a chess knight''' 
On the television show ''Have Gun Will Travel'', which debuted in 1957, the gunslinger-for-hire Paladin (Richard Boone) gave out business cards embossed with a chess knight.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 433-447

2008-02-22T20:57:03Z

Sideming: /* Page 439 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 433==
433.32 '''"Der Feind hoert zu"''' 
Not 'The listening enemy' but 'The enemy is listening', a warning not to speak carelessly.

==Page 435==
[[image:wilmer-gunsel.jpg|thumb|Elisha Cook as Wilmer|100px|right]]435.10 '''gunsels''' 
Both of the meanings supplied by [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] (a male homosexual and/or a gunslinger) also apply to a likely source for the Pynchon’s use of the word: the character Wilmer in Dashiell Hammett’s ''The Maltese Falcon'' and John Huston’s 1940 film adaptation, with Elisha Cook, Jr. in the role.
wilmer.jpg (15758 bytes)

435.16 '''veronica''' 
In bullfighting, a matador’s move with his cape similar to the one that Slothrop employs here.

==Page 439==
439.26 '''a nasal hardon here''' 
Trudi’s invasion of Slothrop’s nose is a reversal of male pornographic fantasies of crawling into women’s vaginas, etc. The connections between the nose and penis have a long cultural history, including the novel Tristram Shandy and early works by Freud.

Cf. also, The chapter "In Which Esther Gets a Nose Job" in ''V.''.<bt>

Also shades of the 1971 porn film, ''The Erotic Adventures of Pinocchio.''

==Page 442==
[[image:muttjeff.gif|thumb|Mutt & Jeff|100px|right]]442.09 '''They are a Mutt and Jeff routine.''' 
Mutt and Jeff were the tall and short friends featured in the earliest daily comic strip, begun in 1907 by Bud Fisher.

442.39-40 '''Irving Berlin medley''' 
[[image:irving-berlin.jpg|thumb|Irving Berlin|70px|left]][[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] has Berlin dying in 1975, but the composer did not die until September 1989 at the age of 101! The medley includes the two songs cited on page V443: "God Bless America" and "This Is the Army, Mr. Jones." The latter song gave its name to a 1943 film starring future California Senator George Murphy and future California Governor and U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Berlin composed "God Bless America" for a musical in 1917 but dropped it, then revised it for Kate Smith in 1938, who made the song the "unofficial American anthem." It is sung by Smith in This is the Army; in which Berlin himself also sings, "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning." The film also features the song "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen." See note at [[Pages 120-136#134|p. 134.27]].

==Page 445==
[[image:carole-lombard.jpg|thumb|Carole Lombard|100px|right]]445.22 '''I’m a Lombard''' 
Although Greta evokes the geographical region, she may also be referring to film star Carole Lombard, the comic actress whose airplane crashed while she was on a war bonds tour during the war. Lombard had glamour as a star, although she is best known for roles in "screwball" comedies like ''Nothing Sacred'' (1937) and ''My Man Godfrey'' (1936) that undercut that image.

445.23 '''Close enough, sweetheart''' 
Slothrop’s hard-boiled reply to Greta echoes the cynicism of film characters like those played by Humphrey Bogart.

==Page 446==
446.18 '''Wannsee''' 
A popular beach, but also the location of the infamous conference on January 20th, 1942, where the strategy of the 'final solution' of the Jewish question was determined.

446 '''Hauptstufe''' 
Appears to mean: the "pen where we keep the sacred cattle" in German, but there is disagreement. Fits sharply, Pynchonesquely, here.

==Page 447==
'''dog show...stud service''' 
In Betty Freidan's best-selling feminist tract of the 1960s, ''The Feminine Mystique'' she mentions some bored, deeply unfufilled suburban wives with no outlet for their full intelligence and creativity, who did IT with their dogs.

Human-animal sexual encounters also happen in ''Against the Day''.

Notice in this dream of Slothrop's, the key colors are violet and green. Colors heavily associated with certain 'emancipated' suffragettes in ''Against the Day''.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 295-314

2008-02-22T20:47:58Z

Sideming: /* Page 308 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 297==
'''297.36 Articles of Immachination''' 
As opposed to Articles of Incorporation

==Page 298==
'''298.24 Etzel Ölsch '''
Etzel, or Attila the Hun, is first featured as the agent of destruction in the ''Nibelungen'' movie during which Franz Pökler falls asleep (159.19). According to the [http://duden-suche.de/suche/abstract.php?artikel_id=34277&verweis=1&shortname=famnamen#34279 Duden dictionary of family names], Oelsch is a variant of Oelschner, which refers to various east German placenames of Slavic origin.

==Page 299==
'''299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise''' 
The tunnels are arranged like a two-dimensional parody of the DNA molecule. The 44 cross-tunnels might suggest the 22 pairs of chromosomes possessed by each individual. Correspondent Debby Katz adds the following comment:

:"Cross tunnels suggest often -illustrated base pairings in DNA (adenine-thymine A-T, or cytosine-guanine, C-G) the order of which defines the "sense" of the coded message within the molecule. We human-types possess 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22. One pair, the X-X or X-Y is, of course, not an identical pairing in the male of the species. But the Y is without a doubt information-holding, as an X-O female (45 chromosomes, missing the second X chromosome) is not a male, but a female with a lot of problems."

:Not sure where the idea of the DNA double helix comes from, but it is not supported by the text. If the tunnels resembled a helix, a better metaphor would be a spiral staircase, not a ladder with a slight s-curve. Also, the tunnels are designed with Rocket imagery in mind (DNA is not rocket imagery). No, as the book says, the tunnels are suggestive of the '''double integral''', translating rocket acceleration into a point -- the Brennschluss point. And as noted above, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22.

==Page 300==
'''300.03 Hupla''' 
Or "hoopla," a big fuss.

==Page 301==
'''301.38 1000 yards east of Waterloo Station''' 
Coincidence?: About 1000 yards east (actually east-southeast) of Waterloo Station, off Southwark Bridge Road, near its intersection with Southwark Street, is a little ''cul-de-sac'' where the rocket might impact. Its name is America Street.

==Page 302==
'''302.20-21 a constellation...a 13th sign of the Zodiac named for it''' 
Though probably not intended as such by TRP, there is in fact a 13th Zodiacal constellation named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiucus Ophiuchus], formerly Serpentarius, both meaning "the serpent holder," found between Scorpio and Sagittarius. "Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one not counted as an astrological sign." It is passed over. 

Going way off on a limb, Ophiuchus may map to Tchitcherine in that they both handle Snakes and see the lightning of God...
:" but they [Ophiuchus and Tchitcherine?] lie so close to Earth that from many places they can't be seen at all, and from different places inside the zone where they can be seen, they fall into completely different patterns..."

Also ties in with the later discussion of the Serpent and Kekule's dream.

==Page 306==
'''306.19 hanging by the foot''' 
Note how Slothrop, as he hangs upside down by one foot, momentarily turns into a version of the Tarot card The Hanged Man, which also turns up in his Tarot reading on p. 738.

==Page 308==
'''308.8-10 "''There'' he is," in a great roar..."go ''git'' him boys!"''' 
Major Marvy at this point and forward resembles the Queen of Hearts in the Alice stories as he chases after Slothrop boisterously yelling, in essence, "Off with his head!"

==Page 310==
'''310.06 "Gruss Gott"''' 
Glimpf's greeting to Slothrop makes more sense as explained by Igor Zabel:
"'Gruss Gott!' is not 'Great God!' but 'Greet (you) God!' a very common greeting in Austria, Bavaria and southern Germany, more common, in fact, than 'Good morning'. It should be written with an umlaut (grüss)."

==Page 312==
'''312.17 white Stetson''' 
Both Marvy’s dress and speech echo the character of Major Stanley "King" Kong, the bomber pilot played by Slim Pickens in Stanley Kubrick’s ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964).

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 295-314

2008-02-22T20:47:22Z

Sideming: /* Page 302 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 297==
'''297.36 Articles of Immachination''' 
As opposed to Articles of Incorporation

==Page 298==
'''298.24 Etzel Ölsch '''
Etzel, or Attila the Hun, is first featured as the agent of destruction in the ''Nibelungen'' movie during which Franz Pökler falls asleep (159.19). According to the [http://duden-suche.de/suche/abstract.php?artikel_id=34277&verweis=1&shortname=famnamen#34279 Duden dictionary of family names], Oelsch is a variant of Oelschner, which refers to various east German placenames of Slavic origin.

==Page 299==
'''299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise''' 
The tunnels are arranged like a two-dimensional parody of the DNA molecule. The 44 cross-tunnels might suggest the 22 pairs of chromosomes possessed by each individual. Correspondent Debby Katz adds the following comment:

:"Cross tunnels suggest often -illustrated base pairings in DNA (adenine-thymine A-T, or cytosine-guanine, C-G) the order of which defines the "sense" of the coded message within the molecule. We human-types possess 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22. One pair, the X-X or X-Y is, of course, not an identical pairing in the male of the species. But the Y is without a doubt information-holding, as an X-O female (45 chromosomes, missing the second X chromosome) is not a male, but a female with a lot of problems."

:Not sure where the idea of the DNA double helix comes from, but it is not supported by the text. If the tunnels resembled a helix, a better metaphor would be a spiral staircase, not a ladder with a slight s-curve. Also, the tunnels are designed with Rocket imagery in mind (DNA is not rocket imagery). No, as the book says, the tunnels are suggestive of the '''double integral''', translating rocket acceleration into a point -- the Brennschluss point. And as noted above, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22.

==Page 300==
'''300.03 Hupla''' 
Or "hoopla," a big fuss.

==Page 301==
'''301.38 1000 yards east of Waterloo Station''' 
Coincidence?: About 1000 yards east (actually east-southeast) of Waterloo Station, off Southwark Bridge Road, near its intersection with Southwark Street, is a little ''cul-de-sac'' where the rocket might impact. Its name is America Street.

==Page 302==
'''302.20-21 a constellation...a 13th sign of the Zodiac named for it''' 
Though probably not intended as such by TRP, there is in fact a 13th Zodiacal constellation named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiucus Ophiuchus], formerly Serpentarius, both meaning "the serpent holder," found between Scorpio and Sagittarius. "Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one not counted as an astrological sign." It is passed over. 

Going way off on a limb, Ophiuchus may map to Tchitcherine in that they both handle Snakes and see the lightning of God...
:" but they [Ophiuchus and Tchitcherine?] lie so close to Earth that from many places they can't be seen at all, and from different places inside the zone where they can be seen, they fall into completely different patterns..."

Also ties in with the later discussion of the Serpent and Kekule's dream.

==Page 306==
'''306.19 hanging by the foot''' 
Note how Slothrop, as he hangs upside down by one foot, momentarily turns into a version of the Tarot card The Hanged Man, which also turns up in his Tarot reading on p. 738.

==Page 308==
'''308.8-10 "''There'' he is," in a great roar..."go ''git'' him boys!"''' 
Major Marvy at this point and forward resembles the Red Queen in the Alice stories as he chases after Slothrop boisterously yelling, in essence, "Off with his head!"

==Page 310==
'''310.06 "Gruss Gott"''' 
Glimpf's greeting to Slothrop makes more sense as explained by Igor Zabel:
"'Gruss Gott!' is not 'Great God!' but 'Greet (you) God!' a very common greeting in Austria, Bavaria and southern Germany, more common, in fact, than 'Good morning'. It should be written with an umlaut (grüss)."

==Page 312==
'''312.17 white Stetson''' 
Both Marvy’s dress and speech echo the character of Major Stanley "King" Kong, the bomber pilot played by Slim Pickens in Stanley Kubrick’s ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964).

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 371-383

2008-02-13T22:39:38Z

Sideming: /* Page 377 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 372==
'''Berliner Luft''' 
German: "air of Berlin." It is an often-used phrase, in the sense of the special Berlin atmosphere.

==Page 376==
'''376.31-33 the knight who leaps perpetually -- across the chessboard of the zone''' 
In ''Through the Looking Glass,'' Alice attempts to get to the other end of the chessboard to become a queen herself. Along the way she is helped, without much success by the White Knight. 
The conversation and reactions here between Saure and Slothrop are almost a pastiche of the Alice stories. By 1973, when ''GR'' appeared, "acid" and Alice were of course linked forever in the popular consciousness -- largely thanks to Jefferson Airplane.

[[image:zorro-poster.jpg|thumb|100px|right]]'''Zorro? The Green Hornet?''' 
Douglas Fairbanks starred in ''The Mark of Zorro'' in 1920, not 1932, as in [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger's first ''Companion'' edition, corrected in the second ed.]]. Tyrone (!) Power starred in a sound remake in 1940. As noted at [[Pages 735-760#Page 752|p. 752]], Britt Reid, the secret identity of The Green Hornet, was the son of Dan Reid, the nephew of the Lone Ranger.

==Page 377==
'''377.1-2 The wrong word was Schwarzgerat.''' 
Yes, the mythical White Woman is scared away by mention of the "black tool." Clever innuendo/double entendre here. Also possiblly underscoring that the White Woman relates to Virgo(?).

'''377.31-35 photo...long, stiff sausage of very large diameter being stuffed into his mouth...though the hand or agency...is not visible''' 
Reminiscent of the photos of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret%2C_Duchess_of_Argyll Margaret, Duchess of Argyll] fellating a naked man where only the man's face and torso, not his head, is shown.

==Page 378==
'''Jubilee Jim''' 
Slothrop’s song evokes the pre-industrial peddler Jim Fisk mentioned in [[Pages 20-29#Page 27|''The Berkshire Hills'']].

==Page 380==
'''Haupstufe!''' 
Compare the radio Superman’s words as he is about to fly: "Up, up, and away!"

==Page 382==
'''Mickey Rooney''' 
Rooney was in Germany, attached to an Army entertainment unit, at the time of the Potsdam Conference but was unable to go to Potsdam and meet Truman himself. However, there is a more likely, if more obscure, reason for the movie star’s presence here: Rocketman’s second magazine, ''Hello, Pal Comics'', only lasted for three issues. ''The Comic Buyer’s Guide'' notes, though, that the comic was unusual because it featured a photograph of a movie star on the cover of each issue. The cover of issue #1 was devoted to Mickey Rooney! Also see my article: "Rooney and the Rocketman" [http://www.ham.muohio.edu/~krafftjm/pynchon.html ''Pynchon Notes''] n 24-25 (1989): 113-115. [[Pages 359-371#Page 366|See note at 366]].

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==Page 360==
360.21-22 '''cadence being counted by a Negro voice—yo lep, yo lep, yo lep O right O lep''' 
Syncopated cadence for the march of the American workers: "your left . . . " The work detail is presumably black, since the Armed Services were not integrated until after the war.

==Page 361==
[[image:rocket-insignia.jpg|thumb|200px|right]]361.5 '''insigne''' 

[[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] explains "insigne" as being the latin spelling for a sign or mark. In fact, ''insigne'' is the singular form of the more familiar 'insignia', which is the plural form. That said, the photos to the right are of the A4 V3 (version 3) before launch from Test Stand VII on August 16 1942. The photo shows the V3 insigne, a (less than) pretty witch astride a rocket, carrying her obsolete broom. The color illustration is an artist's impression of the insigne. The inscription means Bon Voyage. Both images are from ''V Weapons of the 3rd Reich'' by Dieter Holsken (Monogram 1994)

==Page 362==
'''362.2-6 Well, I think we're here, but only in a statistical way''' 
Enzian's Zone-Hereros have a quantum mechanical existence similar to the thought experiment of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat Schrödinger's cat.]
Again we find here the same mathematical-logical condundrums and absurdities as found throughout the works of Lewis Caroll -- not to mention a cat who's sometimes there and sometimes not and sometimes just a grin. 

Compare this brand of contingent being with that of being existant only within Stalin's pathological dream or like Alice in the dream of the Red King. Statistical contingency seems digital compared to the analog counterpart of dream contingency.

==Page 365==
365.13 '''Grosser Stern''' 
This reference is not to a street but to a crossing in the Tiergarten.

==Page 366==
366.12 '''Tonto''' 
See [[Pages 735-760#Page752|note for page 752]]

[[image:scoop-comics.jpg|thumb|150px|right]]366.14 '''Raketemensch!''' 
The comic book hero Rocketman originated (along with Rocketgirl) in ''Scoop Comics'' #1, published by Harry "A" Chesler, in 1941. In 1943, the heroes were featured in Harvey Comics’ ''Hello, Pal Comics'', beginning with issue #1. The cover of the 1952 Ajax ''Rocketman Comics'' (mentioned by Weisenburger) is reproduced in the 1989 edition of the ''Comic Buyers Price Guide'': the hero depicted on the cover wears a rig that looks more like a diving helmet than a nosecone. [[#Page 383|See note below at p. 382]].

366.24-25 '''a four-color dispensation''' 
In other words, a comic-book scene, printed in color. The four-color printing process (including magenta, cyan, yellow, and black), which allows a full range of colors to be represented, was perfected in the early 1930s. [[Pages 60-71#Page 69|See note for p. 69]]

==Page 370==
370.01 '''Seaman Bodine''' 
"Pig" Bodine, Pynchon’s most enduring character, originating in the short story "Lowlands" and continuing in ''V.'' An ancestor of Bodine’s appears in [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Mason & Dixon''], as well as in [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Against the Day''].

370.37 '''The Green Hershey Bar''' 
That is, the hashish.

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==Page 247==
249.30 '''like Tenniel's Alice''' 
Tenniel drew Alice for the original editions of ''Alice in Wonderland'' and ''Through the Looking Glass''.

==Page 249==
249.5 & 6 '''Anglo vigilantes from Whittier''' 
Whittier High School and Whittier College is where President Richard M. Nixon, President when GR was published, hailed from. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon]]

This literary device tying Nixon to race riots and social repression works on literary license only, and in reviewing the historic situation it appears that the riots were not so much white vigilantes from Whittier attacking Zoot Suiters, as much as drunken Navy men gone wild and finding an easy target in Mexican American youth.

This seems doubly galling on Pynchon's part:

First, Whittier, CA, was and largely remains a Quaker community, named after the Quaker Abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Quakers are among the most pacificistic of peoples. In addition they embody many of the values Pynchon seems to support: egalitarianism, heirarchy-less assembly, the notion of a God available to all people unmediated by a priesthood or the elect, etc. Violence is not part of their program.

Second, Pynchon is throwing the blame for the riots on Whittier (this contributor has never been to Whittier) instead of what appears to be the true cause of the riots -- nasty, drunken, sailors -- those guys TRP hung out with for a while -- and then other service branches joining in the race baiting. Please see the PBS ''American Experience'' website and program for more information: [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/zoot/index.html The Zoot Suit Riots].

Richard Nixon, however, remains at the center of this Navy-Violence-Whittier-Quaker venn diagram. A Quaker from Whittier who in WWII served in the Navy. I, for one, could never figure how a Quaker president could bomb Cambodia or deal in such political slime.

==Page 250==
250.25-26 '''Sandoz (where, as every schoolchild knows, the legendary Dr. Hofmann made his important discovery)'''

That is, Albert Hofmann discovered the psychedelic effects of LSD-25 in 1943.

==Page 252==
252.19-20 '''penis-in-the-popcorn-box routine''' 
Old urban 'legend', known as *Penis Surprise*. Urban Dictionary.

==Page 253==
253.03-4 '''this smile [Slothrop's own] asks from him more grace..''' 
'Grace' is the last word of ''Against the Day'' and a key thematic concept therein.

253.20-21 '''heads for a bistro on the old-Nice side of La Porte Fausse''' 
[http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NIKAIA-porteFausseD1.jpg La Porte Fausse] is a passage connecting the glamorous, touristy "modern"(19th century) centre of Nice with the crammed old town, which used to be a working-class district. It is called "The False Gate" because it looks as if it were just a gateway to a house. Passing to the other side seems to be an objective metaphor for entering the preterite world.

==Page 255==
255.26 '''it's Murray Smile''' 
It would seem that this name is derived from Murray Wilson, Beach Boy Brian Wilson's abusive father, and the LP ''Smile'', the legendary 1967 Beach Boys album that was never completed due to Brian's mental collapse and loss of will; Pynchon hung out with Brian during the legendary "Smile" Period [[Pynchon and Brian Wilson]]

==Page 257==
257.31-32 '''The War has been reconfiguring time and space into its own image. The track runs in different networks now.''' 
Cf. the railway network as a metaphor for parallel worlds or alternative histories in [[http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page COL 49]].

==Page 260==
260.3
'''perpetual motion or as we like to call it Entropy Management''' 
The whole passage reads somewhat like an ultra-condensed version of [[http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page COL49]], Chapter Five.

260.9-10
'''robobopsters ... got a little goatee made out of steel wool.''' 
Seems to be a bit anachronistic. After all, bebop was first promoted as "bebop" as late as 1944, and its popularity began to grow beyond Harlem in the summer of 1945. (The much-imitated goatee belonged to Dizzy Gillespie.)

260.30
'''"You interested in some L.S.D."''' 
As a man from Sandoz, Mario Schweitar is aware of the hallucinogenic effect of LSD, discovered by Albert Hofmann in 1943. Slothrop, of course, has never head about it. Schweitar's "mournful" remark about the "wrong country" seems to be a complaint about Schwitzerland's neutrality and small market; the CIA and the U.S. Army used LSD in tests before it became a counter-culture fad.

==Page 261==
261.29
'''Gemüse-Brücke''' 
Gemüsebrücke, or Gmüesbrugg, is the traditional name for the Rathausbrücke (a vegetable market used to be here).

==Page 262==
262.5-6
'''Wilhelm Tell Overture''' 
The Rossini thread is picked up here after Rue Rossini in Nice. Another escape from Their gaze.

262.6-7
'''hope nobody was looking through that one-way glass''' 
A recurrence of the "half-silvered images", introduced on the very first page; representing political power, which sees but cannnot be clearly seen. Sounds quite Foucauldian.

262.9
'''King Tiger tank''' 
''Königstiger'' (officially Panzerkampfwagen VI) was the most impressive German heavy tank in World War II, although it had several construction faults. Just like a Rolls, it was a kind of rarity; Porsche produced only 489 such tanks from late 1943 to March 1945. The comparison emphasizes the concept of WW II as a cluster of ambilateral business transactions.

==Page 263==
263.20-21
'''The paper is fifteen years old.''' 
Another echo of COL 49, Ch 5, where another Hispanic anarchist, Jesús Arrabal has an issue of ''Regeneración'' from 1904 on his table at a greasy spoon.

==Page 264==
264.40-41
'''In ordinary times ... the center always wins. Its power grows with time, and that can't be reversed''' 
This is a combination of Max Weber's notion of center and periphery with the Second Law of thermodynamics. So "decentralizing" in "extraordinary times" (p. 265.1-2) is an act of "entropy management".

==Page 265==
265.24-25 '''connections of many years' standing with the Republican underground''' 
Meaning the Spanish Republic (1931-39), in which anarchists played a major role.

==Page 267==
267.35-36 '''Reformation country, Zwingli's town''' 
Yes but this only highlights a strange omission: even the narrator fails to notice that Slothrop has just visited the real birthplace of Puritanism, that is, Geneva.

==Page 268==
268.5-6
'''as a mantra... they have been taught to speak inwardly ''oss''''' 
Buddhist mantras start with the syllable ''om'', representing the Universe as inward vibration. ''Oss'', with the voiceless (non-vibrating) sibilant is apparently an anti-mantra meaning bones, representing Nothing, just the escape of air.

268.34-35
'''step by step he, It, the Repressed, approaches''' 
"It, the Repressed" is clearly Freudian terminology. Here, Jamf's "German-scientist mind, battered down by Death to only the most brute reflexes," seems to fade into Infant Tyrone's mind ''conditioned'' to the most brute reflexes by the German scientist; and that is the ambiguous "he" Slothrop is afraid of.
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2008-02-13T22:26:15Z

Sideming: /* Page 249 */

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==Page 247==
249.30 '''like Tenniel's Alice''' 
Tenniel drew Alice for the original editions of ''Alice in Wonderland'' and ''Through the Looking Glass''.

==Page 249==
249.5 & 6 '''Anglo vigilantes from Whittier''' 
Whittier High School and Whittier College is where President Richard M. Nixon, President when GR was published, hailed from. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon]]

This literary device tying Nixon to race riots and social repression works on literary license only, and in reviewing the historic situation it appears that the riots were not so much white vigilantes from Whittier attacking Zoot Suiters, as much as drunken Navy men gone wild and finding an easy target in Mexican American youth.

This seems doubly galling on Pynchon's part:

First, Whittier, CA, was and largely remains a Quaker community, named after the Quaker Abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Quakers are among the most pacificistic of peoples. In addition they embody many of the values Pynchon seems to support: egalitarianism, heirarchy-less assembly, the notion of a God available to all people unmediated by a priesthood or the elect, etc. Violence is not part of their program.

Second, Pynchon is throwing the blame for the riots on Whittier (this contributor has never been to Whittier) instead of what appears to be the true cause of the riots -- nasty, drunken, sailors -- those guys TRP hung out with for a while -- and then other service branches joining in the race baiting. Please see the PBS website and program for more information: [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/zoot/index.html The Zoot Suit Riots].

Richard Nixon, however, remains at the center of this Navy-Violence-Whittier-Quaker venn diagram. A Quaker from Whittier who in WWII served in the Navy. I, for one, could never figure how a Quaker president could bomb Cambodia or deal in such political slime.

==Page 250==
250.25-26 '''Sandoz (where, as every schoolchild knows, the legendary Dr. Hofmann made his important discovery)'''

That is, Albert Hofmann discovered the psychedelic effects of LSD-25 in 1943.

==Page 252==
252.19-20 '''penis-in-the-popcorn-box routine''' 
Old urban 'legend', known as *Penis Surprise*. Urban Dictionary.

==Page 253==
253.03-4 '''this smile [Slothrop's own] asks from him more grace..''' 
'Grace' is the last word of ''Against the Day'' and a key thematic concept therein.

253.20-21 '''heads for a bistro on the old-Nice side of La Porte Fausse''' 
[http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NIKAIA-porteFausseD1.jpg La Porte Fausse] is a passage connecting the glamorous, touristy "modern"(19th century) centre of Nice with the crammed old town, which used to be a working-class district. It is called "The False Gate" because it looks as if it were just a gateway to a house. Passing to the other side seems to be an objective metaphor for entering the preterite world.

==Page 255==
255.26 '''it's Murray Smile''' 
It would seem that this name is derived from Murray Wilson, Beach Boy Brian Wilson's abusive father, and the LP ''Smile'', the legendary 1967 Beach Boys album that was never completed due to Brian's mental collapse and loss of will; Pynchon hung out with Brian during the legendary "Smile" Period [[Pynchon and Brian Wilson]]

==Page 257==
257.31-32 '''The War has been reconfiguring time and space into its own image. The track runs in different networks now.''' 
Cf. the railway network as a metaphor for parallel worlds or alternative histories in [[http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page COL 49]].

==Page 260==
260.3
'''perpetual motion or as we like to call it Entropy Management''' 
The whole passage reads somewhat like an ultra-condensed version of [[http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page COL49]], Chapter Five.

260.9-10
'''robobopsters ... got a little goatee made out of steel wool.''' 
Seems to be a bit anachronistic. After all, bebop was first promoted as "bebop" as late as 1944, and its popularity began to grow beyond Harlem in the summer of 1945. (The much-imitated goatee belonged to Dizzy Gillespie.)

260.30
'''"You interested in some L.S.D."''' 
As a man from Sandoz, Mario Schweitar is aware of the hallucinogenic effect of LSD, discovered by Albert Hofmann in 1943. Slothrop, of course, has never head about it. Schweitar's "mournful" remark about the "wrong country" seems to be a complaint about Schwitzerland's neutrality and small market; the CIA and the U.S. Army used LSD in tests before it became a counter-culture fad.

==Page 261==
261.29
'''Gemüse-Brücke''' 
Gemüsebrücke, or Gmüesbrugg, is the traditional name for the Rathausbrücke (a vegetable market used to be here).

==Page 262==
262.5-6
'''Wilhelm Tell Overture''' 
The Rossini thread is picked up here after Rue Rossini in Nice. Another escape from Their gaze.

262.6-7
'''hope nobody was looking through that one-way glass''' 
A recurrence of the "half-silvered images", introduced on the very first page; representing political power, which sees but cannnot be clearly seen. Sounds quite Foucauldian.

262.9
'''King Tiger tank''' 
''Königstiger'' (officially Panzerkampfwagen VI) was the most impressive German heavy tank in World War II, although it had several construction faults. Just like a Rolls, it was a kind of rarity; Porsche produced only 489 such tanks from late 1943 to March 1945. The comparison emphasizes the concept of WW II as a cluster of ambilateral business transactions.

==Page 263==
263.20-21
'''The paper is fifteen years old.''' 
Another echo of COL 49, Ch 5, where another Hispanic anarchist, Jesús Arrabal has an issue of ''Regeneración'' from 1904 on his table at a greasy spoon.

==Page 264==
264.40-41
'''In ordinary times ... the center always wins. Its power grows with time, and that can't be reversed''' 
This is a combination of Max Weber's notion of center and periphery with the Second Law of thermodynamics. So "decentralizing" in "extraordinary times" (p. 265.1-2) is an act of "entropy management".

==Page 265==
265.24-25 '''connections of many years' standing with the Republican underground''' 
Meaning the Spanish Republic (1931-39), in which anarchists played a major role.

==Page 267==
267.35-36 '''Reformation country, Zwingli's town''' 
Yes but this only highlights a strange omission: even the narrator fails to notice that Slothrop has just visited the real birthplace of Puritanism, that is, Geneva.

==Page 268==
268.5-6
'''as a mantra... they have been taught to speak inwardly ''oss''''' 
Buddhist mantras start with the syllable ''om'', representing the Universe as inward vibration. ''Oss'', with the voiceless (non-vibrating) sibilant is apparently an anti-mantra meaning bones, representing Nothing, just the escape of air.

268.34-35
'''step by step he, It, the Repressed, approaches''' 
"It, the Repressed" is clearly Freudian terminology. Here, Jamf's "German-scientist mind, battered down by Death to only the most brute reflexes," seems to fade into Infant Tyrone's mind ''conditioned'' to the most brute reflexes by the German scientist; and that is the ambiguous "he" Slothrop is afraid of.
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Pages 371-383

2008-02-13T22:19:19Z

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==Page 372==
'''Berliner Luft''' 
German: "air of Berlin." It is an often-used phrase, in the sense of the special Berlin atmosphere.

==Page 376==
'''376.31-33 the knight who leaps perpetually -- across the chessboard of the zone''' 
In ''Through the Looking Glass,'' Alice attempts to get to the other end of the chessboard to become a queen herself. Along the way she is helped, without much success by the White Knight. 
The conversation and reactions here between Saure and Slothrop are almost a pastiche of the Alice stories. By 1973, when ''GR'' appeared, "acid" and Alice were of course linked forever in the popular consciousness -- largely thanks to Jefferson Airplane.

[[image:zorro-poster.jpg|thumb|100px|right]]'''Zorro? The Green Hornet?''' 
Douglas Fairbanks starred in ''The Mark of Zorro'' in 1920, not 1932, as in [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger's first ''Companion'' edition, corrected in the second ed.]]. Tyrone (!) Power starred in a sound remake in 1940. As noted at [[Pages 735-760#Page 752|p. 752]], Britt Reid, the secret identity of The Green Hornet, was the son of Dan Reid, the nephew of the Lone Ranger.

==Page 377==
'''377.1-2 The wrong word was Schwarzgerat.''' 
Yes, the mythical White Woman is scared away by mention of the "black tool." Clever innuendo/double entendre here.

'''377.31-35 photo...long, stiff sausage of very large diameter being stuffed into his mouth...though the hand or agency...is not visible''' 
Reminiscent of the photos of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret%2C_Duchess_of_Argyll Margaret, Duchess of Argyll] fellating a naked man where only the man's face and torso, not his head, is shown.

==Page 378==
'''Jubilee Jim''' 
Slothrop’s song evokes the pre-industrial peddler Jim Fisk mentioned in [[Pages 20-29#Page 27|''The Berkshire Hills'']].

==Page 380==
'''Haupstufe!''' 
Compare the radio Superman’s words as he is about to fly: "Up, up, and away!"

==Page 382==
'''Mickey Rooney''' 
Rooney was in Germany, attached to an Army entertainment unit, at the time of the Potsdam Conference but was unable to go to Potsdam and meet Truman himself. However, there is a more likely, if more obscure, reason for the movie star’s presence here: Rocketman’s second magazine, ''Hello, Pal Comics'', only lasted for three issues. ''The Comic Buyer’s Guide'' notes, though, that the comic was unusual because it featured a photograph of a movie star on the cover of each issue. The cover of issue #1 was devoted to Mickey Rooney! Also see my article: "Rooney and the Rocketman" [http://www.ham.muohio.edu/~krafftjm/pynchon.html ''Pynchon Notes''] n 24-25 (1989): 113-115. [[Pages 359-371#Page 366|See note at 366]].

{{GR PbP}}

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2008-02-13T22:18:22Z

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==Page 372==
'''Berliner Luft''' 
German: "air of Berlin." It is an often-used phrase, in the sense of the special Berlin atmosphere.

==Page 376==
'''376.31-33 the knight who leaps perpetually -- across the chessboard of the zone''' 
In ''Through the Looking Glass,'' Alice attempts to get to the other end of the chessboard to become a queen herself. Along the way she is helped, without much success by the White Knight. 
The conversation and reactions here between Saure and Slothrop is almost a pastiche of the Alice stories. By 1973, when ''GR'' appeared, "acid" and Alice were of course linked forever in the popular consciousness -- largely thanks to Jefferson Airplane.

[[image:zorro-poster.jpg|thumb|100px|right]]'''Zorro? The Green Hornet?''' 
Douglas Fairbanks starred in ''The Mark of Zorro'' in 1920, not 1932, as in [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger's first ''Companion'' edition, corrected in the second ed.]]. Tyrone (!) Power starred in a sound remake in 1940. As noted at [[Pages 735-760#Page 752|p. 752]], Britt Reid, the secret identity of The Green Hornet, was the son of Dan Reid, the nephew of the Lone Ranger.

==Page 377==
'''377.1-2 The wrong word was Schwarzgerat.''' 
Yes, the mythical White Woman is scared away by mention of the "black tool." Clever innuendo/double entendre here.

'''377.31-35 photo...long, stiff sausage of very large diameter being stuffed into his mouth...though the hand or agency...is not visible''' 
Reminiscent of the photos of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret%2C_Duchess_of_Argyll Margaret, Duchess of Argyll] fellating a naked man where only the man's face and torso, not his head, is shown.

==Page 378==
'''Jubilee Jim''' 
Slothrop’s song evokes the pre-industrial peddler Jim Fisk mentioned in [[Pages 20-29#Page 27|''The Berkshire Hills'']].

==Page 380==
'''Haupstufe!''' 
Compare the radio Superman’s words as he is about to fly: "Up, up, and away!"

==Page 382==
'''Mickey Rooney''' 
Rooney was in Germany, attached to an Army entertainment unit, at the time of the Potsdam Conference but was unable to go to Potsdam and meet Truman himself. However, there is a more likely, if more obscure, reason for the movie star’s presence here: Rocketman’s second magazine, ''Hello, Pal Comics'', only lasted for three issues. ''The Comic Buyer’s Guide'' notes, though, that the comic was unusual because it featured a photograph of a movie star on the cover of each issue. The cover of issue #1 was devoted to Mickey Rooney! Also see my article: "Rooney and the Rocketman" [http://www.ham.muohio.edu/~krafftjm/pynchon.html ''Pynchon Notes''] n 24-25 (1989): 113-115. [[Pages 359-371#Page 366|See note at 366]].

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 295-314

2008-02-13T22:15:08Z

Sideming: /* Page 302 */

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==Page 297==
'''297.36 Articles of Immachination''' 
As opposed to Articles of Incorporation

==Page 299==
'''299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise''' 
The tunnels are arranged like a two-dimensional parody of the DNA molecule. The 44 cross-tunnels might suggest the 22 pairs of chromosomes possessed by each individual. Correspondent Debby Katz adds the following comment:

:"Cross tunnels suggest often -illustrated base pairings in DNA (adenine-thymine A-T, or cytosine-guanine, C-G) the order of which defines the "sense" of the coded message within the molecule. We human-types possess 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22. One pair, the X-X or X-Y is, of course, not an identical pairing in the male of the species. But the Y is without a doubt information-holding, as an X-O female (45 chromosomes, missing the second X chromosome) is not a male, but a female with a lot of problems."

:Not sure where the idea of the DNA double helix comes from, but it is not supported by the text. If the tunnels resembled a helix, a better metaphor would be a spiral staircase, not a ladder with a slight s-curve. Also, the tunnels are designed with Rocket imagery in mind (DNA is not rocket imagery). No, as the book says, the tunnels are suggestive of the '''double integral''', translating rocket acceleration into a point -- the Brennschluss point. And as noted above, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22.

==Page 300==
'''300.03 Hupla''' 
Or "hoopla," a big fuss.

==Page 301==
'''301.38 1000 yards east of Waterloo Station''' 
Coincidence?: About 1000 yards east (actually east-southeast) of Waterloo Station, off Southwark Bridge Road, near its intersection with Southwark Street, is a little ''cul-de-sac'' where the rocket might impact. Its name is America Street.

==Page 302==
'''302.20-21 a constellation...a 13th sign of the Zodiac named for it''' 
Though probably not intended as such by TRP, there is in fact a 13th Zodiacal constellation named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiucus Ophiuchus], "the serpent holder," found between Scorpio and Sagittarius. "Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one not counted as an astrological sign." It is passed over. 

Going way off on a limb, Ophiuchus may map to Tchitcherine in that they both handle Snakes and see the lightning of God...
:" but they [Ophiuchus and Tchitcherine?] lie so close to Earth that from many places they can't be seen at all, and from different places inside the zone where they can be seen, they fall into completely different patterns..."

==Page 306==
'''306.19 hanging by the foot''' 
Note how Slothrop, as he hangs upside down by one foot, momentarily turns into a version of the Tarot card The Hanged Man, which also turns up in his Tarot reading on p. 738.

==Page 308==
'''308.8-10 "''There'' he is," in a great roar..."go ''git'' him boys!"''' 
Major Marvy at this point and forward resembles the Red Queen in the Alice stories as he chases after Slothrop boisterously yelling, in essence, "Off with his head!"

==Page 310==
'''310.06 "Gruss Gott"''' 
Glimpf's greeting to Slothrop makes more sense as explained by Igor Zabel:
"'Gruss Gott!' is not 'Great God!' but 'Greet (you) God!' a very common greeting in Austria, Bavaria and southern Germany, more common, in fact, than 'Good morning'. It should be written with an umlaut (grüss)."

==Page 312==
'''312.17 white Stetson''' 
Both Marvy’s dress and speech echo the character of Major Stanley "King" Kong, the bomber pilot played by Slim Pickens in Stanley Kubrick’s ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964).

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 371-383

2008-02-13T07:27:54Z

Sideming: /* Page 377 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 372==
'''Berliner Luft''' 
German: "air of Berlin." It is an often-used phrase, in the sense of the special Berlin atmosphere.

==Page 376==
'''p. 376.31-33 the knight who leaps perpetually -- across the chessboard of the zone''' 
In ''Through the Looking Glass,'' Alice attempts to get to the other end of the chessboard to become a queen herself. Along the way she is helped, without much success by the White Knight. 
The conversation and reactions here between Saure and Slothrop is almost a pastiche of the Alice stories. By 1973, when ''GR'' appeared, "acid" and Alice were of course linked forever in the popular consciousness -- largely thanks to Jefferson Airplane.

[[image:zorro-poster.jpg|thumb|100px|right]]'''Zorro? The Green Hornet?''' 
Douglas Fairbanks starred in ''The Mark of Zorro'' in 1920, not 1932, as in [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger's first ''Companion'' edition, corrected in the second ed.]]. Tyrone (!) Power starred in a sound remake in 1940. As noted at [[Pages 735-760#Page 752|p. 752]], Britt Reid, the secret identity of The Green Hornet, was the son of Dan Reid, the nephew of the Lone Ranger.

==Page 377==
'''377.1-2 The wrong word was Schwarzgerat.''' 
Yes, the mythical White Woman is scared away by mention of the "black tool." Clever innuendo/double entendre here.

'''377.31-35 photo...long, stiff sausage of very large diameter being stuffed into his mouth...though the hand or agency...is not visible''' 
Reminiscent of the photos of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret%2C_Duchess_of_Argyll Margaret, Duchess of Argyll] fellating a naked man where only the man's face and torso, not his head, is shown.

==Page 378==
'''Jubilee Jim''' 
Slothrop’s song evokes the pre-industrial peddler Jim Fisk mentioned in [[Pages 20-29#Page 27|''The Berkshire Hills'']].

==Page 380==
'''Haupstufe!''' 
Compare the radio Superman’s words as he is about to fly: "Up, up, and away!"

==Page 382==
'''Mickey Rooney''' 
Rooney was in Germany, attached to an Army entertainment unit, at the time of the Potsdam Conference but was unable to go to Potsdam and meet Truman himself. However, there is a more likely, if more obscure, reason for the movie star’s presence here: Rocketman’s second magazine, ''Hello, Pal Comics'', only lasted for three issues. ''The Comic Buyer’s Guide'' notes, though, that the comic was unusual because it featured a photograph of a movie star on the cover of each issue. The cover of issue #1 was devoted to Mickey Rooney! Also see my article: "Rooney and the Rocketman" [http://www.ham.muohio.edu/~krafftjm/pynchon.html ''Pynchon Notes''] n 24-25 (1989): 113-115. [[Pages 359-371#Page 366|See note at 366]].

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 371-383

2008-02-13T07:18:04Z

Sideming: /* Page 376 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 372==
'''Berliner Luft''' 
German: "air of Berlin." It is an often-used phrase, in the sense of the special Berlin atmosphere.

==Page 376==
'''p. 376.31-33 the knight who leaps perpetually -- across the chessboard of the zone''' 
In ''Through the Looking Glass,'' Alice attempts to get to the other end of the chessboard to become a queen herself. Along the way she is helped, without much success by the White Knight. 
The conversation and reactions here between Saure and Slothrop is almost a pastiche of the Alice stories. By 1973, when ''GR'' appeared, "acid" and Alice were of course linked forever in the popular consciousness -- largely thanks to Jefferson Airplane.

[[image:zorro-poster.jpg|thumb|100px|right]]'''Zorro? The Green Hornet?''' 
Douglas Fairbanks starred in ''The Mark of Zorro'' in 1920, not 1932, as in [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger's first ''Companion'' edition, corrected in the second ed.]]. Tyrone (!) Power starred in a sound remake in 1940. As noted at [[Pages 735-760#Page 752|p. 752]], Britt Reid, the secret identity of The Green Hornet, was the son of Dan Reid, the nephew of the Lone Ranger.

==Page 377==
'''377.1-2 The wrong word was Schwarzgerat.''' 
Yes, the mythical White Woman is scared away by mention of the "black tool." Clever innuendo/double entendre here.

==Page 378==
'''Jubilee Jim''' 
Slothrop’s song evokes the pre-industrial peddler Jim Fisk mentioned in [[Pages 20-29#Page 27|''The Berkshire Hills'']].

==Page 380==
'''Haupstufe!''' 
Compare the radio Superman’s words as he is about to fly: "Up, up, and away!"

==Page 382==
'''Mickey Rooney''' 
Rooney was in Germany, attached to an Army entertainment unit, at the time of the Potsdam Conference but was unable to go to Potsdam and meet Truman himself. However, there is a more likely, if more obscure, reason for the movie star’s presence here: Rocketman’s second magazine, ''Hello, Pal Comics'', only lasted for three issues. ''The Comic Buyer’s Guide'' notes, though, that the comic was unusual because it featured a photograph of a movie star on the cover of each issue. The cover of issue #1 was devoted to Mickey Rooney! Also see my article: "Rooney and the Rocketman" [http://www.ham.muohio.edu/~krafftjm/pynchon.html ''Pynchon Notes''] n 24-25 (1989): 113-115. [[Pages 359-371#Page 366|See note at 366]].

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 359-371

2008-02-13T07:10:40Z

Sideming: /* Page 362 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 360==
360.21-22 '''cadence being counted by a Negro voice—yo lep, yo lep, yo lep O right O lep''' 
Syncopated cadence for the march of the American workers: "your left . . . " The work detail is presumably black, since the Armed Services were not integrated until after the war.

==Page 361==
[[image:rocket-insignia.jpg|thumb|200px|right]]361.5 '''insigne''' 

[[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] explains "insigne" as being the latin spelling for a sign or mark. In fact, ''insigne'' is the singular form of the more familiar 'insignia', which is the plural form. That said, the photos to the right are of the A4 V3 (version 3) before launch from Test Stand VII on August 16 1942. The photo shows the V3 insigne, a (less than) pretty witch astride a rocket, carrying her obsolete broom. The color illustration is an artist's impression of the insigne. The inscription means Bon Voyage. Both images are from ''V Weapons of the 3rd Reich'' by Dieter Holsken (Monogram 1994)

==Page 362==
'''362.2-6 Well, I think we're here, but only in a statistical way''' 
Enzian's Zone-Hereros have a quantum mechanical existence similar to the thought experiment of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat Schrödinger's cat.]
Again we find here the same mathematical-logical condundrums and absurdities as found throughout the works of Lewis Caroll -- not to mention a cat who's sometimes there and sometimes not and sometimes just a grin.

==Page 365==
365.13 '''Grosser Stern''' 
This reference is not to a street but to a crossing in the Tiergarten.

==Page 366==
366.12 '''Tonto''' 
See [[Pages 735-760#Page752|note for page 752]]

[[image:scoop-comics.jpg|thumb|150px|right]]366.14 '''Raketemensch!''' 
The comic book hero Rocketman originated (along with Rocketgirl) in ''Scoop Comics'' #1, published by Harry "A" Chesler, in 1941. In 1943, the heroes were featured in Harvey Comics’ ''Hello, Pal Comics'', beginning with issue #1. The cover of the 1952 Ajax ''Rocketman Comics'' (mentioned by Weisenburger) is reproduced in the 1989 edition of the ''Comic Buyers Price Guide'': the hero depicted on the cover wears a rig that looks more like a diving helmet than a nosecone. [[#Page 383|See note below at p. 382]].

366.24-25 '''a four-color dispensation''' 
In other words, a comic-book scene, printed in color. The four-color printing process (including magenta, cyan, yellow, and black), which allows a full range of colors to be represented, was perfected in the early 1930s. [[Pages 60-71#Page 69|See note for p. 69]]

==Page 370==
370.01 '''Seaman Bodine''' 
"Pig" Bodine, Pynchon’s most enduring character, originating in the short story "Lowlands" and continuing in ''V.'' An ancestor of Bodine’s appears in [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Mason & Dixon''], as well as in [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Against the Day''].

370.37 '''The Green Hershey Bar''' 
That is, the hashish.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 359-371

2008-02-13T07:10:21Z

Sideming: /* Page 365 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 360==
360.21-22 '''cadence being counted by a Negro voice—yo lep, yo lep, yo lep O right O lep''' 
Syncopated cadence for the march of the American workers: "your left . . . " The work detail is presumably black, since the Armed Services were not integrated until after the war.

==Page 361==
[[image:rocket-insignia.jpg|thumb|200px|right]]361.5 '''insigne''' 

[[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] explains "insigne" as being the latin spelling for a sign or mark. In fact, ''insigne'' is the singular form of the more familiar 'insignia', which is the plural form. That said, the photos to the right are of the A4 V3 (version 3) before launch from Test Stand VII on August 16 1942. The photo shows the V3 insigne, a (less than) pretty witch astride a rocket, carrying her obsolete broom. The color illustration is an artist's impression of the insigne. The inscription means Bon Voyage. Both images are from ''V Weapons of the 3rd Reich'' by Dieter Holsken (Monogram 1994)

==Page 362==
'''362.2-6 Well, I think we're here, but only in a statistical way''' 
Enzian's Zone-Hereros have a quantum mechanical existence similar to the thought experiment of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat Schrödinger's cat.]
Again we find here the same mathematical-logical condundrums and absurdities as found throughout the works of Lewis Caroll -- not to mention a cat who's sometimes there and sometimes not and sometimes just a grin.

==Page 365==
365.13 '''Grosser Stern''' 
This reference is not to a street but to a crossing in the Tiergarten.

==Page 366==
366.12 '''Tonto''' 
See [[Pages 735-760#Page752|note for page 752]]

[[image:scoop-comics.jpg|thumb|150px|right]]366.14 '''Raketemensch!''' 
The comic book hero Rocketman originated (along with Rocketgirl) in ''Scoop Comics'' #1, published by Harry "A" Chesler, in 1941. In 1943, the heroes were featured in Harvey Comics’ ''Hello, Pal Comics'', beginning with issue #1. The cover of the 1952 Ajax ''Rocketman Comics'' (mentioned by Weisenburger) is reproduced in the 1989 edition of the ''Comic Buyers Price Guide'': the hero depicted on the cover wears a rig that looks more like a diving helmet than a nosecone. [[#Page 383|See note below at p. 382]].

366.24-25 '''a four-color dispensation''' 
In other words, a comic-book scene, printed in color. The four-color printing process (including magenta, cyan, yellow, and black), which allows a full range of colors to be represented, was perfected in the early 1930s. [[Pages 60-71#Page 69|See note for p. 69]]

==Page 370==
370.01 '''Seaman Bodine''' 
"Pig" Bodine, Pynchon’s most enduring character, originating in the short story "Lowlands" and continuing in ''V.'' An ancestor of Bodine’s appears in [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Mason & Dixon''], as well as in [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Against the Day''].

370.37 '''The Green Hershey Bar''' 
That is, the hashish.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 295-314

2008-02-13T06:53:28Z

Sideming: /* Page 306 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 297==
'''297.36 Articles of Immachination''' 
As opposed to Articles of Incorporation

==Page 299==
'''299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise''' 
The tunnels are arranged like a two-dimensional parody of the DNA molecule. The 44 cross-tunnels might suggest the 22 pairs of chromosomes possessed by each individual. Correspondent Debby Katz adds the following comment:

:"Cross tunnels suggest often -illustrated base pairings in DNA (adenine-thymine A-T, or cytosine-guanine, C-G) the order of which defines the "sense" of the coded message within the molecule. We human-types possess 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22. One pair, the X-X or X-Y is, of course, not an identical pairing in the male of the species. But the Y is without a doubt information-holding, as an X-O female (45 chromosomes, missing the second X chromosome) is not a male, but a female with a lot of problems."

:Not sure where the idea of the DNA double helix comes from, but it is not supported by the text. If the tunnels resembled a helix, a better metaphor would be a spiral staircase, not a ladder with a slight s-curve. Also, the tunnels are designed with Rocket imagery in mind (DNA is not rocket imagery). No, as the book says, the tunnels are suggestive of the '''double integral''', translating rocket acceleration into a point -- the Brennschluss point. And as noted above, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22.

==Page 300==
'''300.03 Hupla''' 
Or "hoopla," a big fuss.

==Page 301==
'''301.38 1000 yards east of Waterloo Station''' 
Coincidence?: About 1000 yards east (actually east-southeast) of Waterloo Station, off Southwark Bridge Road, near its intersection with Southwark Street, is a little ''cul-de-sac'' where the rocket might impact. Its name is America Street.

==Page 302==
'''302.20-21 a constellation...a 13th sign of the Zodiac named for it''' 
Though probably not intended as such by TRP, there is in fact a 13th Zodiacal constellation named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiucus Ophiuchus], "the serpent holder," found between Scorpio and Sagittarius. "Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one not counted as an astrological sign." 

Going way off on a limb, Ophiuchus may map to Tchitcherine in that they both handle Snakes and see the lightning of God...
:" but they [Ophiuchus and Tchitcherine?] lie so close to Earth that from many places they can't be seen at all, and from different places inside the zone where they can be seen, they fall into completely different patterns..."

==Page 306==
'''306.19 hanging by the foot''' 
Note how Slothrop, as he hangs upside down by one foot, momentarily turns into a version of the Tarot card The Hanged Man, which also turns up in his Tarot reading on p. 738.

==Page 308==
'''308.8-10 "''There'' he is," in a great roar..."go ''git'' him boys!"''' 
Major Marvy at this point and forward resembles the Red Queen in the Alice stories as he chases after Slothrop boisterously yelling, in essence, "Off with his head!"

==Page 310==
'''310.06 "Gruss Gott"''' 
Glimpf's greeting to Slothrop makes more sense as explained by Igor Zabel:
"'Gruss Gott!' is not 'Great God!' but 'Greet (you) God!' a very common greeting in Austria, Bavaria and southern Germany, more common, in fact, than 'Good morning'. It should be written with an umlaut (grüss)."

==Page 312==
'''312.17 white Stetson''' 
Both Marvy’s dress and speech echo the character of Major Stanley "King" Kong, the bomber pilot played by Slim Pickens in Stanley Kubrick’s ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964).

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 295-314

2008-02-13T06:41:29Z

Sideming: /* Page 301 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 297==
'''297.36 Articles of Immachination''' 
As opposed to Articles of Incorporation

==Page 299==
'''299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise''' 
The tunnels are arranged like a two-dimensional parody of the DNA molecule. The 44 cross-tunnels might suggest the 22 pairs of chromosomes possessed by each individual. Correspondent Debby Katz adds the following comment:

:"Cross tunnels suggest often -illustrated base pairings in DNA (adenine-thymine A-T, or cytosine-guanine, C-G) the order of which defines the "sense" of the coded message within the molecule. We human-types possess 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22. One pair, the X-X or X-Y is, of course, not an identical pairing in the male of the species. But the Y is without a doubt information-holding, as an X-O female (45 chromosomes, missing the second X chromosome) is not a male, but a female with a lot of problems."

:Not sure where the idea of the DNA double helix comes from, but it is not supported by the text. If the tunnels resembled a helix, a better metaphor would be a spiral staircase, not a ladder with a slight s-curve. Also, the tunnels are designed with Rocket imagery in mind (DNA is not rocket imagery). No, as the book says, the tunnels are suggestive of the '''double integral''', translating rocket acceleration into a point -- the Brennschluss point. And as noted above, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22.

==Page 300==
'''300.03 Hupla''' 
Or "hoopla," a big fuss.

==Page 301==
'''301.38 1000 yards east of Waterloo Station''' 
Coincidence?: About 1000 yards east (actually east-southeast) of Waterloo Station, off Southwark Bridge Road, near its intersection with Southwark Street, is a little ''cul-de-sac'' where the rocket might impact. Its name is America Street.

==Page 302==
'''302.20-21 a constellation...a 13th sign of the Zodiac named for it''' 
Though probably not intended as such by TRP, there is in fact a 13th Zodiacal constellation named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiucus Ophiuchus], "the serpent holder," found between Scorpio and Sagittarius. "Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one not counted as an astrological sign." 

Going way off on a limb, Ophiuchus may map to Tchitcherine in that they both handle Snakes and see the lightning of God...
:" but they [Ophiuchus and Tchitcherine?] lie so close to Earth that from many places they can't be seen at all, and from different places inside the zone where they can be seen, they fall into completely different patterns..."

==Page 306==
'''306.19 hanging by the foot''' 
Note how Slothrop, as he hangs upside down by one foot, momentarily turns into a version of the Tarot card The Hanged Man, which also turns up in his Tarot reading on p. 738.

==Page 310==
'''310.06 "Gruss Gott"''' 
Glimpf's greeting to Slothrop makes more sense as explained by Igor Zabel:
"'Gruss Gott!' is not 'Great God!' but 'Greet (you) God!' a very common greeting in Austria, Bavaria and southern Germany, more common, in fact, than 'Good morning'. It should be written with an umlaut (grüss)."

==Page 312==
'''312.17 white Stetson''' 
Both Marvy’s dress and speech echo the character of Major Stanley "King" Kong, the bomber pilot played by Slim Pickens in Stanley Kubrick’s ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964).

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 371-383

2008-02-13T04:20:55Z

Sideming: /* Page 378 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 372==
'''Berliner Luft''' 
German: "air of Berlin." It is an often-used phrase, in the sense of the special Berlin atmosphere.

==Page 376==
'''p. 376.31-33 the knight who leaps perpetually -- across the chessboard of the zone''' 
Alice again. In ''Through the Looking Glass,'' Alice attempts to get to the other end of the chessboard to become a queen herself. Along the way she is helped, without much success by the White Knight. 
The conversation and reactions here between Saure and Slothrop is almost a pastiche of the Alice stories. By 1973, when ''GR'' appeared, "acid" and Alice were of course linked forever in the popular consciousness -- largely thanks to Jefferson Airplane.

[[image:zorro-poster.jpg|thumb|100px|right]]'''Zorro? The Green Hornet?''' 
Douglas Fairbanks starred in ''The Mark of Zorro'' in 1920, not 1932, as in [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger's first ''Companion'' edition, corrected in the second ed.]]. Tyrone (!) Power starred in a sound remake in 1940. As noted at [[Pages 735-760#Page 752|p. 752]], Britt Reid, the secret identity of The Green Hornet, was the son of Dan Reid, the nephew of the Lone Ranger.

==Page 377==
'''377.1-2 The wrong word was Schwarzgerat.''' 
Yes, the mythical White Woman is scared away by mention of the "black tool." Clever innuendo/double entendre here.

==Page 378==
'''Jubilee Jim''' 
Slothrop’s song evokes the pre-industrial peddler Jim Fisk mentioned in [[Pages 20-29#Page 27|''The Berkshire Hills'']].

==Page 380==
'''Haupstufe!''' 
Compare the radio Superman’s words as he is about to fly: "Up, up, and away!"

==Page 382==
'''Mickey Rooney''' 
Rooney was in Germany, attached to an Army entertainment unit, at the time of the Potsdam Conference but was unable to go to Potsdam and meet Truman himself. However, there is a more likely, if more obscure, reason for the movie star’s presence here: Rocketman’s second magazine, ''Hello, Pal Comics'', only lasted for three issues. ''The Comic Buyer’s Guide'' notes, though, that the comic was unusual because it featured a photograph of a movie star on the cover of each issue. The cover of issue #1 was devoted to Mickey Rooney! Also see my article: "Rooney and the Rocketman" [http://www.ham.muohio.edu/~krafftjm/pynchon.html ''Pynchon Notes''] n 24-25 (1989): 113-115. [[Pages 359-371#Page 366|See note at 366]].

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 371-383

2008-02-13T04:16:28Z

Sideming: /* Page 376 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 372==
'''Berliner Luft''' 
German: "air of Berlin." It is an often-used phrase, in the sense of the special Berlin atmosphere.

==Page 376==
'''p. 376.31-33 the knight who leaps perpetually -- across the chessboard of the zone''' 
Alice again. In ''Through the Looking Glass,'' Alice attempts to get to the other end of the chessboard to become a queen herself. Along the way she is helped, without much success by the White Knight. 
The conversation and reactions here between Saure and Slothrop is almost a pastiche of the Alice stories. By 1973, when ''GR'' appeared, "acid" and Alice were of course linked forever in the popular consciousness -- largely thanks to Jefferson Airplane.

[[image:zorro-poster.jpg|thumb|100px|right]]'''Zorro? The Green Hornet?''' 
Douglas Fairbanks starred in ''The Mark of Zorro'' in 1920, not 1932, as in [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger's first ''Companion'' edition, corrected in the second ed.]]. Tyrone (!) Power starred in a sound remake in 1940. As noted at [[Pages 735-760#Page 752|p. 752]], Britt Reid, the secret identity of The Green Hornet, was the son of Dan Reid, the nephew of the Lone Ranger.

==Page 378==
'''Jubilee Jim''' 
Slothrop’s song evokes the pre-industrial peddler Jim Fisk mentioned in [[Pages 20-29#Page 27|''The Berkshire Hills'']].

==Page 380==
'''Haupstufe!''' 
Compare the radio Superman’s words as he is about to fly: "Up, up, and away!"

==Page 382==
'''Mickey Rooney''' 
Rooney was in Germany, attached to an Army entertainment unit, at the time of the Potsdam Conference but was unable to go to Potsdam and meet Truman himself. However, there is a more likely, if more obscure, reason for the movie star’s presence here: Rocketman’s second magazine, ''Hello, Pal Comics'', only lasted for three issues. ''The Comic Buyer’s Guide'' notes, though, that the comic was unusual because it featured a photograph of a movie star on the cover of each issue. The cover of issue #1 was devoted to Mickey Rooney! Also see my article: "Rooney and the Rocketman" [http://www.ham.muohio.edu/~krafftjm/pynchon.html ''Pynchon Notes''] n 24-25 (1989): 113-115. [[Pages 359-371#Page 366|See note at 366]].

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 279-295

2008-02-13T03:51:07Z

Sideming: /* Page 285 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 281==
'''281.01-02 die kalte Sophie''' 
"cold wisdom"? Correspondent Morten Peters gives a better explanation!:
"-the allusion may be intended by Pynchon, but originally this is just the German traditional agricolan term for the last day of the "eisheiligen", which are normally the last days in the year that can be really cold."
Igor Zabel also offers the following:

:"The days of the three "ice-men" (May 12, 13 and 14) are followed by the day of Sophia, 15 May, called "the cold Sophia" because it is considered to be the conclusion of the cold days in May. The "ice-saints" are believed to be the end of the winter period; they represent a period when, in high spring, it can get quite cold and sometimes snow may fall. It is a dangerous time for peasants since the cold period can endanger or even destroy the harvest. In 1945, these days have passed without damaging the wine grapes. We have the same tradition in Slovenia, the popular name for the "kalte Sophie" is "polulana Zofka" which means the "wet" or "peed Sophy" (since it usually rains on that day)."

==Page 285==
'''285.37 Jim Fisk style''' 
Before his involvement with gold markets and railroads, Fisk was a Yankee peddler working the Berkshires. There are several references to him in ''The Berkshire Hills'' (though his name is misspelled "Fiske").

==Page 287===
''''287.11-12 double row of shiny bright teeth hangs in the air''' 
Reminiscent of Alice and the Cheshire Cat:
:''Well! I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,” thought Alice; “but a grin without a cat! It’s the most curious thing I ever saw in all my life!”'' [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/alice-table.html Alice in Wonderland], Chapter 6, "Pig and Pepper"

==Page 290==
'''290.8 Under my linden tree''' 
Allusion to Walter von der Vogelweide's most famous love song "Under der linden", where the singer implied is also a young girl.

'''290.15 Geli Tripping''' 
Another name taken from Gilbert and Sullivan, this time from ''HMS Pinafore''. When the Female Relations of Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty, board the ship, they sing, "Gaily tripping,/ Lightly skipping,/ Flock the maidens to the shipping." The name is not without psychedelic overtones reminiscent of the Merry Pranksters.

'''290.16 A Soviet intelligence officer named Tchitcherine''' 
Explaining the sources for the name, Weisenburger cites Theodore von Kármán (''The Wind and Beyond''. Boston: Little, 1967), and David Seed ("Pynchon's Two Tchitcherines", ''Pynchon Notes'' 5:11-12). Kármán writes the following: "Frank Tchitcherine was of Russian origin, and in fact had been related to the first minister of education in the Kerensky government. This Tchitcherine helped convince the Germans to disclose their hiding place for literally tons on research documents pertaining to the rocket and supersonic flight." It seems that Von Kármán was wrong about both the date and the function. There was only one Chicherin on the Russian political scene at that time. Kerensky's minister of education was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Manuilov A. A. Manuilov], who was in no position to convince the Germans about anything as the two nations were at war while the Kerensky government was in office. (In fact, German rocket research began in earnest only after 1929, when Hermann Oberth published ''Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen''.) On the other hand, Georgy Chicherin, an aristocrat by birth and a lover of German culture, was an ideal diplomatic partner for German foreign ministers Von Brockdorff-Rantzau, Rathenau, and Stresemann.
"Vaslav" is obviously taken from Nijinsky's first name. There is no such Russian name as Vaslav. Originally it was Vatslav but the affricate [ts] was smoothed to [s], perhaps because it was easier for the French to pronounce.

==Page 293==
293.15
'''I was voted the Sweetheart of 3/Art. Abt. (mot) 485''' 
Contrary to what Weisenburger claims in his Companion, there ''was'' such a unit. In fact, their job was launching V2s. Under the supervision on SS-Gruppenführer Kammler, Division z. V. (zur Vergeltung) was set up for launching A4 rockets [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Waffen/V2.htm]. Within the Division, Artillerie-Abteilung (motorisiert) 485 belonged to Gruppe Nord, together with SS-Werfer-Batterie 500. The Abteilung (batalion) was transformed into a regiment in August 1944. While launching units 1 and 2 were in the Hague area, 3/Art. Abt. (mot) 485 was stationed in Western Germany.

==Page 294==
'''294.11 Ge-li, Ge-li, Ge-li''' 
Although often evoked by mimics, Cary Grant never actually said "Ju-dy, Ju-dy, Ju-dy."

'''294.20-21 Thanx for the info, and a tip of the Scuffling hat to ya''' 
Slothrop copies the signoff to Jimmy Hatlo’s comic strip "They’ll Do It Every Time," which was based on ideas from readers. These contributors were typically acknowledged with the words, "Thanx, and a tip of the Hatlo hat to..."

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==Page 228==
'''Miss Borgesius is still active on the program, and Mr. Duncan Sandys is having all his questions answered.''' 
Putting them in the same sentence is a fine example of Pynchonesque intuition; in 2000 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,352561,00.html Duncan Sandys was revealed] as the "headless man" involved in a decades-old sex scandal. In 1963 photos emerged of the Duchess of Argyll performing fellatio on him, while a third person, identified as Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., was masturbating and making Polaroid snaps. And yes, there is a von Braun connection.

==Page 229==
229.23

'''From overhead, from a German camera-angle'''
 
The German, or Dutch, or Batman angle is actually [http://www.brokenprojector.com/wordpress/?p=6 a tilted camera-angle]. "From overhead" implies a German bomber's (or rocket's) view.

==Page 232==
'''232.06 Savarin..."Severin"''' 
Savarin: the cofee. 
Severin: two possible referents: 
a. Severin von Kusiemski: a character in ''Venus in Furs'' by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. 
b. Mark Severin(1906-1987): engraver of postage stamps and over 500 Ex-Libris bookplates many of which were erotic.

[[image:malacca.jpg|thumb|70px|right]]'''232.16 a Malacca cane''' 
Although Weisenburger cites Fu Manchu stories as a source for this item, it is more clearly being used simply to inflict pain in the ritual between Katje and the Brigadier. Malacca canes are thick, with a knob at one end. They are sometimes used in sado-masochistic settings such as the one here.

'''232.20 tattered tommy up on White Sheet Ridge''' 
A key land formation at the the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Messines Battle of Messines], a prelude to the Third Battle of Passchendaele a month later. In April-May 1917, the Germans held the White Sheet and Pilkem Ridges squeezing Ypres in the middle. On June 7th 1917 at 3:10am the British attack began as 19 landmines simultaneously exploded; the British opened fire and two hours later the Germans were driven from the formation.

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==Page 228==
'''Miss Borgesius is still active on the program, and Mr. Duncan Sandys is having all his questions answered.''' 
Putting them in the same sentence is a fine example of Pynchonesque intuition; in 2000 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,352561,00.html Duncan Sandys was revealed] as the "headless man" involved in a decades-old sex scandal. In 1963 photos emerged of the Duchess of Argyll performing fellatio on him, while a third person, identified as Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., was masturbating and making Polaroid snaps. And yes, there is a von Braun connection.

==Page 229==
229.23

'''From overhead, from a German camera-angle'''
 
The German, or Dutch, or Batman angle is actually [http://www.brokenprojector.com/wordpress/?p=6 a tilted camera-angle]. "From overhead" implies a German bomber's (or rocket's) view.

==Page 232==
'''232.06 Savarin..."Severin"''' 
Savarin: the cofee. 
Severin: two possible referents: 
a. Severin von Kusiemski: a character in ''Venus in Furs'' by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. 
b. Mark Severin(1906-1987): engraver of postage stamps and over 500 Ex-Libris bookplates many of which were erotic.

[[image:malacca.jpg|thumb|70px|right]]'''232.16 a Malacca cane''' 
Although Weisenburger cites Fu Manchu stories as a source for this item, it is more clearly being used simply to inflict pain in the ritual between Katje and the Brigadier. Malacca canes are thick, with a knob at one end. They are sometimes used in sado-masochistic settings such as the one here.

'''232.20 tattered tommy up on White Sheet Ridge''' 
A key land formation at the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele. In April-May 1917, the Germans held the White Sheet and Pilkem Ridges squeezing Ypres in the middle. On June 7th 1917 at 3:10am (some say 2:50am) the British attack began as 19 landmines simultaneously exploded; the British opened fire and two hours later the Germans were driven from the formation.

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==Page 228==
'''Miss Borgesius is still active on the program, and Mr. Duncan Sandys is having all his questions answered.''' 
Putting them in the same sentence is a fine example of Pynchonesque intuition; in 2000 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,352561,00.html Duncan Sandys was revealed] as the "headless man" involved in a decades-old sex scandal. In 1963 photos emerged of the Duchess of Argyll performing fellatio on him, while a third person, identified as Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., was masturbating and making Polaroid snaps. And yes, there is a von Braun connection.

==Page 229==
229.23

'''From overhead, from a German camera-angle'''
 
The German, or Dutch, or Batman angle is actually [http://www.brokenprojector.com/wordpress/?p=6 a tilted camera-angle]. "From overhead" implies a German bomber's (or rocket's) view.

==Page 232==
'''232.06 Savarin..."Severin"''' 
Savarin: the cofee. 
Severin: two possible referents: 
a. Severin von Kusiemski: a character in ''Venus in Furs'' by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. 
b. Mark Severin(1906-1987): engraver of postage stamps and over 500 Ex-Libris bookplates many of which were erotic.

[[image:malacca.jpg|thumb|70px|right]]'''232.16 a Malacca cane''' 
Although Weisenburger cites Fu Manchu stories as a source for this item, it is more clearly being used simply to inflict pain in the ritual between Katje and the Brigadier. Malacca canes are thick, with a knob at one end. They are sometimes used in sado-masochistic settings such as the one here.

'''232.20 tattered tommy up on White Sheet Ridge''' 
A key land formation at the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele. In April-May 1915, the Germans held the White Sheet and Pilkem Ridges squeezing Ypres in the middle. On June 7th 1916 at 3:10am the British attack began as 19 landmines simultaneously exploded; the British opened fire and two hours later the Germans were driven from the formation.

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==Page 269==
269.35 '''White Lotos Day pilgrimage 19 Avenue Road, St. John's Wood''' 
The address was the one-time home of Annie Besant which became headquarters for Blavatsky (HPB) and the TS(!) -- Theosophical Society-- once Besant joined the group. HPB died on May 8th, 1891, and May 8th became White Lotos Day, commemorating the anniversary of HPB shedding her mortal coil. May 8th, 1945 was V-E Day, of course. May 8th interestingly enough was also the death day (different years) of Oswald Spengler and Gustave Flaubert.
Oh, and as every school boy knows, May 8th is Pynchon's birthday!

==Page 270==
270.16 '''Floyd Perdoo''' 
From the French "perdue": "lost."

==Page 272==
272.19 '''young Sigmund Freud''' 
Refers to Freud’s rejection of the "seduction theory." Freud originally believed that many of his women patients suffered from neurotic behavior due to sexual abuse as children. He came to reject that belief as improbable and began to hypothesize the workings of the unconscious as a result. See Edwin Treacle’s musings at [[#Page 277|277.03-05]].

==Page 277==
277.03-05 '''as the dead father who never slept with you, Penelope, returns night after night to your bed, trying to snuggle in behind you..." 

From an interview with Freud biographer Peter D. Kramer <ref>"An Interview with Freud Biographer Peter D. Kramer, [http://www.calitreview.com/Interviews/kramer_8036.htm California Literary Review Website], Jan 29, 2007</ref>:

:Over time, Freud offered differing views on infantile sexuality, all of them problematic. The most dramatic mistake became associated with the phrase “seduction theory.” As he was turning forty, in a desperate attempt to achieve fame Freud gave a speech to his Viennese colleagues on the origins of hysteria. In it, he claimed to have analyzed a series of 18 patients suffering from hysteria or a combination of hysteria and obsessionality. In every case, he had uncovered evidence of an early sexual event. All the hysterics had experienced “coitus-like acts” between the ages of two and four—at the hands of parents, siblings, other relatives, or nannies and these events were the original cause of their disorder. The tale of Freud’s entry into and exit from this stance is complex, but his original presentation suggests not so much that Freud was misled by patients but that he misdirected them through making his expectations clear.

:Famously, Freud soon reversed the direction of infantile sexuality and claimed that what was pathogenic was children’s repressed desire for the parent of the opposite sex.

==References==
<references />

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==Page 297==
'''297.36 Articles of Immachination''' 
As opposed to Articles of Incorporation

==Page 299==
'''299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise''' 
The tunnels are arranged like a two-dimensional parody of the DNA molecule. The 44 cross-tunnels might suggest the 22 pairs of chromosomes possessed by each individual. Correspondent Debby Katz adds the following comment:

:"Cross tunnels suggest often -illustrated base pairings in DNA (adenine-thymine A-T, or cytosine-guanine, C-G) the order of which defines the "sense" of the coded message within the molecule. We human-types possess 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22. One pair, the X-X or X-Y is, of course, not an identical pairing in the male of the species. But the Y is without a doubt information-holding, as an X-O female (45 chromosomes, missing the second X chromosome) is not a male, but a female with a lot of problems."

:Not sure where the idea of the DNA double helix comes from, but it is not supported by the text. If the tunnels resembled a helix, a better metaphor would be a spiral staircase, not a ladder with a slight s-curve. Also, the tunnels are designed with Rocket imagery in mind (DNA is not rocket imagery). No, as the book says, the tunnels are suggestive of the '''double integral''', translating rocket acceleration into a point -- the Brennschluss point. And as noted above, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22.

==Page 300==
'''300.03 Hupla''' 
Or "hoopla," a big fuss.

==Page 301==
'''301.38 1000 yards east of Waterloo Station''' 
Coincidence?: About 1000 yards east (actually east-southeast) of Waterloo Station, off Southwark Bridge Road, near its intersection with Southwark Street, is a little ''cul-de-sac'' where the rocket might impact. Its name is America Street.

==Page 306==
'''306.19 hanging by the foot''' 
Note how Slothrop, as he hangs upside down by one foot, momentarily turns into a version of the Tarot card The Hanged Man, which also turns up in his Tarot reading on p. 738.

==Page 310==
'''310.06 "Gruss Gott"''' 
Glimpf's greeting to Slothrop makes more sense as explained by Igor Zabel:
"'Gruss Gott!' is not 'Great God!' but 'Greet (you) God!' a very common greeting in Austria, Bavaria and southern Germany, more common, in fact, than 'Good morning'. It should be written with an umlaut (grüss)."

==Page 312==
'''312.17 white Stetson''' 
Both Marvy’s dress and speech echo the character of Major Stanley "King" Kong, the bomber pilot played by Slim Pickens in Stanley Kubrick’s ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964).

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==Page 297==
'''297.36 Articles of Immachination''' 
As opposed to Articles of Incorporation

==Page 299==
'''299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise''' 
The tunnels are arranged like a two-dimensional parody of the DNA molecule. The 44 cross-tunnels might suggest the 22 pairs of chromosomes possessed by each individual. Correspondent Debby Katz adds the following comment:

:"Cross tunnels suggest often -illustrated base pairings in DNA (adenine-thymine A-T, or cytosine-guanine, C-G) the order of which defines the "sense" of the coded message within the molecule. We human-types possess 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22. One pair, the X-X or X-Y is, of course, not an identical pairing in the male of the species. But the Y is without a doubt information-holding, as an X-O female (45 chromosomes, missing the second X chromosome) is not a male, but a female with a lot of problems."

:Not sure where the idea of the DNA double helix comes from, but it is not supported by the text. If the tunnels resembled a helix, a better metaphor would be a spiral staircase, not a ladder with a slight s-curve. Also, the tunnels are designed with Rocket imagery in mind (DNA is not rocket imagery). No, as the book says, the tunnels are suggestive of the double integral, translating rocket acceleration into a point -- the Brennschluss point. And as noted above, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 22.

==Page 300==
'''300.03 Hupla''' 
Or "hoopla," a big fuss.

==Page 301==
'''301.38 1000 yards east of Waterloo Station''' 
Coincidence?: About 1000 yards east (actually east-southeast) of Waterloo Station, off Southwark Bridge Road, near its intersection with Southwark Street, is a little ''cul-de-sac'' where the rocket might impact. Its name is America Street.

==Page 306==
'''306.19 hanging by the foot''' 
Note how Slothrop, as he hangs upside down by one foot, momentarily turns into a version of the Tarot card The Hanged Man, which also turns up in his Tarot reading on p. 738.

==Page 310==
'''310.06 "Gruss Gott"''' 
Glimpf's greeting to Slothrop makes more sense as explained by Igor Zabel:
"'Gruss Gott!' is not 'Great God!' but 'Greet (you) God!' a very common greeting in Austria, Bavaria and southern Germany, more common, in fact, than 'Good morning'. It should be written with an umlaut (grüss)."

==Page 312==
'''312.17 white Stetson''' 
Both Marvy’s dress and speech echo the character of Major Stanley "King" Kong, the bomber pilot played by Slim Pickens in Stanley Kubrick’s ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964).

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==Page 280==
'''280.15 Geli Tripping''' 
Another name taken from Gilbert and Sullivan, this time from ''HMS Pinafore''. When the Female Relations of Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty, board the ship, they sing, "Gaily tripping,/ Lightly skipping,/ Flock the maidens to the shipping." The name is not without psychedelic overtones reminiscent of the Merry Pranksters.

==Page 281==
'''281.01-02 die kalte Sophie''' 
"cold wisdom"? Correspondent Morten Peters gives a better explanation!:
"-the allusion may be intended by Pynchon, but originally this is just the German traditional agricolan term for the last day of the "eisheiligen", which are normally the last days in the year that can be really cold."
Igor Zabel also offers the following:

:"The days of the three "ice-men" (May 12, 13 and 14) are followed by the day of Sophia, 15 May, called "the cold Sophia" because it is considered to be the conclusion of the cold days in May. The "ice-saints" are believed to be the end of the winter period; they represent a period when, in high spring, it can get quite cold and sometimes snow may fall. It is a dangerous time for peasants since the cold period can endanger or even destroy the harvest. In 1945, these days have passed without damaging the wine grapes. We have the same tradition in Slovenia, the popular name for the "kalte Sophie" is "polulana Zofka" which means the "wet" or "peed Sophy" (since it usually rains on that day)."

==Page 285==
'''285.37 Jim Fisk style''' 
Before his involvement with gold markets and railroads, Fisk was a Yankee peddler working the Berkshires. There are several references to him in ''The Berkshire Hills'' (though his name is misspelled "Fiske").

==Page 294==
'''294.11 Ge-li, Ge-li, Ge-li''' 
Although often evoked by mimics, Cary Grant never actually said "Ju-dy, Ju-dy, Ju-dy."

'''294.20-21 Thanx for the info, and a tip of the Scuffling hat to ya''' 
Slothrop copies the signoff to Jimmy Hatlo’s comic strip "They’ll Do It Every Time," which was based on ideas from readers. These contributors were typically acknowledged with the words, "Thanx, and a tip of the Hatlo hat to..."

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==Page 247==
249.30 '''like Tenniel's Alice''' 
Tenniel drew Alice for the original editions of ''Alice in Wonderland'' and ''Through the Looking Glass''.

==Page 249==
249.5 & 6 '''Anglo vigilantes from Whittier''' 
Whittier High School and Whittier College is where President Richard M. Nixon, President when GR was published, hailed from. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon]]

This literary device tying Nixon to race riots and social repression works on literary license only, and in reviewing the historic situation it appears that the riots were not so much white vigilantes from Whittier attacking Zoot Suiters, as drunken Navy men gone wild and finding an easy target in Mexican American youth.

This seems doubly galling on Pynchon's part:

First, Whittier, CA, was and largely remains a Quaker community, named after the Quaker Abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Quakers are among the most pacificistic of peoples. In addition they embody many of the values Pynchon seems to support: egalitarianism, heirarchy-less assembly, the notion of a God available to all people unmediated by a priesthood or the elect, etc. Violence is not part of their program.

Second, Pynchon is throwing the blame for the riots on Whittier (this contributor has never been to Whittier) instead of what appears to be the true cause of the riots -- nasty, drunken, sailors -- those guys TRP hung out with for a while -- and then other service branches joining in the race baiting. Please see the PBS website and program for more information: [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/zoot/index.html The Zoot Suit Riots].

Richard Nixon, however, remains at the center of this Navy-Violence-Whittier-Quaker venn diagram. A Quaker from Whittier who in WWII served in the Navy. I, for one, could never figure how a Quaker president could bomb Cambodia or deal in such political slime.

==Page 250==
250.25-26 '''Sandoz (where, as every schoolchild knows, the legendary Dr. Hofmann made his important discovery)'''

That is, Albert Hofmann discovered the psychedelic effects of LSD-25 in 1943.

==Page 252==
252.19-20 '''penis-in-the-popcorn-box routine''' 
Old urban 'legend', known as *Penis Surprise*. Urban Dictionary.

==Page 253==
253.03-4 '''this smile [Slothrop's own] asks from him more grace..''' 
'Grace' is the last word of ''Against the Day'' and a key thematic concept therein.

253.20-21 '''heads for a bistro on the old-Nice side of La Porte Fausse''' 
[http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NIKAIA-porteFausseD1.jpg La Porte Fausse] is a passage connecting the glamorous, touristy "modern"(19th century) centre of Nice with the crammed old town, which used to be a working-class district. It is called "The False Gate" because it looks as if it were just a gateway to a house. Passing to the other side seems to be an objective metaphor for entering the preterite world.

==Page 255==
255.26 '''it's Murray Smile''' 
It would seem that this name is derived from Murray Wilson, Beach Boy Brian Wilson's abusive father, and the LP ''Smile'', the legendary 1967 Beach Boys album that was never completed due to Brian's mental collapse and loss of will; Pynchon hung out with Brian during the legendary "Smile" Period [[Pynchon and Brian Wilson]]

==Page 257==
257.31-32 '''The War has been reconfiguring time and space into its own image. The track runs in different networks now.''' 
Cf. the railway network as a metaphor for parallel worlds or alternative histories in [[http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page COL 49]].

==Page 260==
260.3
'''perpetual motion or as we like to call it Entropy Management''' 
The whole passage reads somewhat like an ultra-condensed version of [[http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page COL49]], Chapter Five.

260.9-10
'''robobobsters ... got a little goatee made out of steel wool.''' 
Seems to be a bit anachronistic. After all, bebop was first promoted as "bebop" as late as 1944, and its popularity began to grow beyond Harlem in the summer of 1945. (The much-imitated goatee belonged to Dizzy Gillespie.)

260.30
'''"You interested in some L.S.D."''' 
As a man from Sandoz, Mario Schweitar is aware of the hallucinogenic effect of LSD, discovered by Albert Hofmann in 1943. Slothrop, of course, has never head about it. Schweitar's "mournful" remark about the "wrong country" seems to be a complaint about Schwitzerland's neutrality and small market; the CIA and the U.S. Army used LSD in tests before it became a counter-culture fad.

==Page 261==
261.29
'''Gemüse-Brücke''' 
Gemüsebrücke, or Gmüesbrugg, is the traditional name for the Rathausbrücke (a vegetable market used to be here).

==Page 262==
262.5-6
'''Wilhelm Tell Overture''' 
The Rossini thread is picked up here after Rue Rossini in Nice. Another escape from Their gaze.

262.6-7
'''hope nobody was looking through that one-way glass''' 
A recurrence of the "half-silvered images", introduced on the very first page; representing political power, which sees but cannnot be clearly seen. Sounds quite Foucauldian.

262.9
'''King Tiger tank''' 
''Königstiger'' (officially Panzerkampfwagen VI) was the most impressive German heavy tank in World War II, although it had several construction faults. Just like a Rolls, it was a kind of rarity; Porsche produced only 489 such tanks from late 1943 to March 1945. The comparison emphasizes the concept of WW II as a cluster of ambilateral business transactions.

==Page 263==
263.20-21
'''The paper is fifteen years old.''' 
Another echo of COL 49, Ch 5, where another Hispanic anarchist, Jesús Arrabal has an issue of ''Regeneración'' from 1904 on his table at a greasy spoon.

==Page 264==
264.40-41
'''In ordinary times ... the center always wins. Its power grows with time, and that can't be reversed''' 
This is a combination of Max Weber's notion of center and periphery with the Second Law of thermodynamics. So "decentralizing" in "extraordinary times" (p. 265.1-2) is an act of "entropy management".

==Page 265==
265.24-25 '''connections of many years' standing with the Republican underground''' 
Meaning the Spanish Republic (1931-39), in which anarchists played a major role.

==Page 267==
267.35-36 '''Reformation country, Zwingli's town''' 
Yes but this only highlights a strange omission: even the narrator fails to notice that Slothrop has just visited the real birthplace of Puritanism, that is, Geneva.

==Page 268==
268.5-6
'''as a mantra... they have been taught to speak inwardly ''oss''''' 
Buddhist mantras start with the syllable ''om'', representing the Universe as inward vibration. ''Oss'', with the voiceless (non-vibrating) sibilant is apparently an anti-mantra meaning bones, representing Nothing, just the escape of air.

268.34-35
'''step by step he, It, the Repressed, approaches''' 
"It, the Repressed" is clearly Freudian terminology. Here, Jamf's "German-scientist mind, battered down by Death to only the most brute reflexes," seems to fade into Infant Tyrone's mind ''conditioned'' to the most brute reflexes by the German scientist; and that is the ambiguous "he" Slothrop is afraid of.
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==Page 190==
'''190.30 RHIP''' 
"Rank has its privileges."

==Page 192==
[[image:mark-sheridan.jpg|thumb|100px|Mark Sheridan|right]]'''192.15-16 humming "You Can Do a Lot of Things at the Seaside That You Can’t Do in Town"''' 
This pre-World War I British music hall tune was composed by Mark Sheridan. It appears as the "B" side of his recording of the early WWI song "Belgium Put the Kibosh on the Kaiser."

==Page 200==
'''200.5-6 They are playing croquet.''' 

The surreal quality of a treed Slothrop landing in the midst of senior officers and plump ladies playing croquet brings to mind Alice playing [http://xahlee.org/p/alice/alice-ch08.html croquet] with the plump Queen of Hearts, the King of Hearts and their court in ''Alice in Wonderland''.

==Page 201==
'''201.5 Lawrence of Arabia''' 
Lawrence did not command regular troops in the Mediterranean Theatre, as described by Weisenburger, but led Arab partisan operations against the Turks during the war. The subaltern’s snide remarks to Slothrop echo the scene in David Lean's 1962 ''Lawrence of Arabia'' when Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) first appears at British headquarters in Cairo wearing Arab clothing.

==Page 202==
[[image:charles-coburn.jpg|thumb|100px|Charles Coburn|right]]'''202.34 Bwa-deboolong''' 
It is no wonder that Weisenburger cannot find a Bois de Boulogne in Monaco: The reference is actually to a turn-of-the-century music hall tune, "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo," by Fred Gilbert. The persona of the song is a man who has recently returned to Paris after a streak of luck at the tables. The chorus:

:As I walk along the Bois de Boulogne 
:With an independent air, 
:You can hear the girls declare, 
:"There goes a millionaire!" 
:You can hear them sigh and wish to die, 
:You can see them wink the other eye 
:At the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo.

The song crops up in several films, notably in Orson Welles’ ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1942). The song’s meter is also echoed in the "Vulgar Song" at p.213.20-30 and the song at p244.13-16. The song was made very popular by performer Charles Coborn, who was still making appearances at music halls until his death in 1945. Audio clips of Coborn performing are available [http://www.rfwilmut.clara.net/musichll/musich.html here].

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==Page 190==
'''RHIP''' 
"Rank has its privileges."

==Page 192==
[[image:mark-sheridan.jpg|thumb|100px|Mark Sheridan|right]]'''192.15-16 humming "You Can Do a Lot of Things at the Seaside That You Can’t Do in Town"''' 
This pre-World War I British music hall tune was composed by Mark Sheridan. It appears as the "B" side of his recording of the early WWI song "Belgium Put the Kibosh on the Kaiser."

==Page 200==
'''200.5-6 They are playing croquet.''' 

The surreal quality of a treed Slothrop landing in the midst of senior officers and plump ladies playing croquet brings to mind Alice playing [http://xahlee.org/p/alice/alice-ch08.html croquet] with the plump Queen of Hearts, the King of Hearts and their court in ''Alice in Wonderland''.

==Page 201==
'''201.5 Lawrence of Arabia''' 
Lawrence did not command regular troops in the Mediterranean Theatre, as described by Weisenburger, but led Arab partisan operations against the Turks during the war. The subaltern’s snide remarks to Slothrop echo the scene in David Lean's 1962 ''Lawrence of Arabia'' when Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) first appears at British headquarters in Cairo wearing Arab clothing.

==Page 202==
[[image:charles-coburn.jpg|thumb|100px|Charles Coburn|right]]'''202.34 Bwa-deboolong''' 
It is no wonder that Weisenburger cannot find a Bois de Boulogne in Monaco: The reference is actually to a turn-of-the-century music hall tune, "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo," by Fred Gilbert. The persona of the song is a man who has recently returned to Paris after a streak of luck at the tables. The chorus:

:As I walk along the Bois de Boulogne 
:With an independent air, 
:You can hear the girls declare, 
:"There goes a millionaire!" 
:You can hear them sigh and wish to die, 
:You can see them wink the other eye 
:At the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo.

The song crops up in several films, notably in Orson Welles’ ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1942). The song’s meter is also echoed in the "Vulgar Song" at p.213.20-30 and the song at p244.13-16. The song was made very popular by performer Charles Coborn, who was still making appearances at music halls until his death in 1945. Audio clips of Coborn performing are available [http://www.rfwilmut.clara.net/musichll/musich.html here].

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==Page 192==
[[image:mark-sheridan.jpg|thumb|100px|Mark Sheridan|right]]'''192.15-16 humming "You Can Do a Lot of Things at the Seaside That You Can’t Do in Town"''' 
This pre-World War I British music hall tune was composed by Mark Sheridan. It appears as the "B" side of his recording of the early WWI song "Belgium Put the Kibosh on the Kaiser."

==Page 200==
'''200.5-6 They are playing croquet.''' 

The surreal quality of a treed Slothrop landing in the midst of senior officers and plump ladies playing croquet brings to mind Alice playing [http://xahlee.org/p/alice/alice-ch08.html croquet] with the plump Queen of Hearts, the King of Hearts and their court in ''Alice in Wonderland''.

==Page 201==
'''201.5 Lawrence of Arabia''' 
Lawrence did not command regular troops in the Mediterranean Theatre, as described by Weisenburger, but led Arab partisan operations against the Turks during the war. The subaltern’s snide remarks to Slothrop echo the scene in David Lean's 1962 ''Lawrence of Arabia'' when Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) first appears at British headquarters in Cairo wearing Arab clothing.

==Page 202==
[[image:charles-coburn.jpg|thumb|100px|Charles Coburn|right]]'''202.34 Bwa-deboolong''' 
It is no wonder that Weisenburger cannot find a Bois de Boulogne in Monaco: The reference is actually to a turn-of-the-century music hall tune, "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo," by Fred Gilbert. The persona of the song is a man who has recently returned to Paris after a streak of luck at the tables. The chorus:

:As I walk along the Bois de Boulogne 
:With an independent air, 
:You can hear the girls declare, 
:"There goes a millionaire!" 
:You can hear them sigh and wish to die, 
:You can see them wink the other eye 
:At the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo.

The song crops up in several films, notably in Orson Welles’ ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1942). The song’s meter is also echoed in the "Vulgar Song" at p.213.20-30 and the song at p244.13-16. The song was made very popular by performer Charles Coborn, who was still making appearances at music halls until his death in 1945. Audio clips of Coborn performing are available [http://www.rfwilmut.clara.net/musichll/musich.html here].

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'''Un Perm' au Casino Hermann Goering '''
reader suggestion:
The image and metaphor of ''a permanent wave'' will become apparent as this section unfolds.
Something else to note: How many times does Tyrone change costumes?

==Page 182==
[[image:van-johnson.jpg|thumb|100px|right]]'''182.04 I’m some kind of a Van Johnson''' 
Johnson’s film was titled ''Thirty Seconds over Tokyo'' (not "Minutes"), but there are more likely references at work, given the context of Bloat and Tantivy comparing British love life to Slothrop's. In at least two 1944 films, ''Between Two Women'' and ''Two Girls and a Sailor'', Johnson had to cope with multiple romances.

==Page 185==
'''185.22 prewar Comets and Hamptons''' 
The Hampton sailboat had nothing to do with New Hampshire, as Weisenburger suggests; it was created for the Hampton Yacht Club in Hampton, Virginia. The Hampton is also known as the HOD ("Hampton One-Design") and was created by Vincent "Pappy" Serio in 1934. This may be the origin of the name of Pynchon's character "Pappy Hod," the sailor who first appeared in ''V.'' and is referred to later in ''Gravity's Rainbow'' (p. 715 and p. 748), although Pynchon uses the name for other connotations. See Weisenburger's note at V715.02.

==Page 189==
'''189.30-31 another episode in some huge pathological dream of Stalin's''' 

Whether intended or not, this brought to mind the [http://paleotrope.wordpress.com/2006/09/13/solipsism-and-other-minds/ Dream of the Red King] in ''Alice in Wonderland''. People in Soviet Russia were real, like Alice, only in that they exist in the Red King's (Stalin) dreams. And as Alice learned, crying can only make matters worse: her tears cannot make her any more real and crying risks waking the king -- in which case, of course, no more Alice.

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==Page 156==
156.18 '''the Judenschnautze''' 
As [[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] notes, Pynchon probably means "Judenschnauze" here, but the term is more likely to mean "Jewish snout" (or nose) than "Jewish jaw." The term reflects Leni’s antisemitic stereotyping. See note at [[#Page 159|159.38]]. Schnauze is a word for a canine face, so it might mean "Jewish mug" as well. It also denotes a manner of speech, as in "Er hat eine berliner Schnauze" ("He speaks the Berlin dialect").

==Page 159==
159.19 '''Niebelungen''' 
[[Weisenburger's Companion to Gravity's Rainbow|Weisenburger]] takes his description of the film from Siegfried Kracauer’s ''From Caligari to Hitler'', but overlooks a key point. It is no wonder that Pokler "missed Attila the Hun roaring in from the East to wipe out the Burgundians"; Attila never did roar in from the East! As Kracauer correctly describes the film’s ending, Attila does massacre the Burgundians, but only after inviting them to dinner and setting a hall on fire (prompted by the urgings of his wife, the wronged Kriemhild). Is the textual error Pokler’s, Leni’s, or Pynchon’s? Given that all the explicit German film references are to films by Fritz Lang and that few of those films were widely available (with the notable exception of ''Metropolis''), we could suspect that Pynchon was working from secondary sources or his own memory of a Lang festival at which he, like Pokler, fell asleep. (Lang did appear at such a festival at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1969, when Pynchon may have been living in the area.) Lang is a useful touchstone for Pynchon in this novel since almost all of his films (including such American movies as ''You Only Live Once'' and ''Scarlet Street'') deal with characters trapped by an inexorable destiny. See note at [[Pages 577-580#Page 578|578.31]].
nibeldin.jpg (74051 bytes)

==Page 159==
159.38 '''the Jewish wolf Pflaumbaum''' 
At this stage, for all her professed radicalism, Leni allows herself to be deluded by ethnic stereotyping. Notice her attraction to Rebecca because of her Otherness. Soon, though, Leni will be "Judaized" ([[Pages 205-226#Page 219|219.41]]), even more so when she is sent to the Dora concentration camp. Of Pflaumbaum’s fate, see note at [[Pages 580-591#Page 582|582.05]]. Also see note at [[Pages 473-482#Page 474|474.39]].

==Page 160==
160.18 '''It may have been a quota film.''' 
With the great influx of films from the United States to Europe between the wars, several film-producing countries, including Germany, enacted decrees that a certain number of films shown had to be of national origin. These "quota" films were often quick and shoddy productions made only to satisfy government demands so that the more profitable American films could still be shown.

==Page 161==
[[image:justus-liebig.jpg|thumb|60px|Justus Liebig|right]]161.22 '''Kurt Mondaugen''' 
Mondaugen was introduced as a character in the South-West Africa episodes of ''V.'', especially as the focal point of the chapter "Mondaugen’s Story." See note at [[Pages 145-154#Page 152|152.21]].

161.34-35 '''true succession, Liebig to [ . . . ] Jamf''' 
Picture of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justus_Liebig Justus Liebig] (right)

==Page 163==
163.20-21 '''Leni sang with the other children the charming anti-semitic street refrain of the time''' 
The source of Leni’s initially racist attitudes lies here, in her youth.

==Page 166==
166.1-9 '''All right. Mauve [ . . . ]''' 
For more on the history of this breakthrough in dye-making and organic chemistry, see Simon Garfield's ''Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World'' (New York: Norton, 2001).

==Page 167==
167.29-30 '''Heinz Rippenstoss''' 
The name of the would-be Nazi wag is literally "nudge in the ribs." 
Seemingly a riff on "von Ribbentrob", Hitler's foreign minister, found guilty at Nuremberg and hung.

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==Page 152==
'''152.11-12 More than any mere "Kreis" [ . . . ] full mandalas''' 
Correspondent Igor Zabel offers the following gloss on Weisenberger's note, which makes sense in the context of the passage:

:"Kreis is not 'cross' but 'circle', here also in the sense of a social circle. We should, therefore, understand the passage in the sense that the social structure of the visitors was so complex that they formed not only a circle but also whole mandalas while sitting around the table during the séances."

'''152.16 Walter Asch''' 
The last name derives from "asche": cinders, ashes.
He is the first character whose zodical sign is mentioned: Taurus.

'''152.19 Wimpe, the IG-man''' 
[[image:wimpy.jpg|thumb|100px|Popeye & Wimpy|right]]The name does suggest the word "wimpy," as Weisenburger suggests, but it also evokes Popeye’s hamburger-mooching pal J. Wellington Wimpy. However, correspondent Alex Johnston notes that the actual German pronunciation ("Vimpe") would not have such connotations at all.

'''152.21 Lieutenant Weissmann''' 
Weissmann ("white man"), who turns out to be Capt. Blicero, is the decadent character associated with one of the manifestations of the Lady V. in Pynchon’s first novel in the section "Mondaugen's Story." ''See note at'' [[Pages 154-167#Page 161|161.22]].

==Page 154==

'''154.23 "Die Faust Hoch"''' 
Literally, "the fist high" or "the high fist." As in "hebt die Faust hoch" --
"raise the fist high." Clearly a Labor-Communist-revolutionary workers magazine. Now a rap group.

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==Page 139==
'''139.09 Dromond''' 
The word is defined by ''Webster’s New World English Dictionary'' as a "large, medieval, swift-sailing water ship."

'''139.14 the mummy’s curse''' 
An allusion to the supposed fate of the Carter-Carnarvon expedition that opened the tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen.

==Page 142==
'''142.32 Reichssieger von Thantatz Alpdrucken''' 
The name of the dog that Pointsman seeks translates loosely as "Realm of Victory over the Nightmare of Death." Dale Jack offers the following explanation and correction:

:"''Reichssieger'' could be translated simply as "champion" or "victor"; "Reichs" is the possessive prefix tacked on just about everything during Hitler's rule, and refers specifically the Third Reich. "Thanatz" should be spelled "Thanatz", as it is in ''GR'' (taken from the Greek word for death). "Von" in this case means "of" or "from" and implies that he induces, rather than vanquishes fear. "Von" in this context could also be a dig at the aristocracy. Your translation of "alpdrucken" is basically correct; it is actually the impression (''drucken'') of dread or fear one has during any bad dream, as opposed to an actual nightmare (''alptraum''). This gives another rough translation: The Reich's Deadly Night-terror Champion. The structure of the name mimics standard pedigree dogs' titles-breeder's kennel, given name, then owner's kennel. For example, Daisy Hill's Fluffy of Shady Lane."

Is this the same Weimaraner whose amber eye is pictured in the jigsaw puzzle fragment on Slothrop's desk? (cf. p.26) Is Slothrop somehow catching echoes ala PSI of Pointsman's dreams?

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==Page 98==
'''98.16 Young Rauhandel''' 
A former friend of Blicero, probably a lover willing to indulge his sado-masochistic tastes. The name literally means "Rough Trade."

'''98.24 the Ufa-Theatre''' 
Weisenburger’s information on Ufa is essentially correct, but he misgives Georg Wilhelm Pabst’s first name as "Rudolf." One curiosity in Pynchon's German film references is the lack of any mention of F.W. Murnau, perhaps the greatest director of that era. His films ''Nosferatu'' (the first film version of Dracula) and ''Faust'' would seem to be natural allusions for Pynchon to use.

==Page 101==
'''101.1-2 ''In Hoc Signo Vinces'''''

Latin, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_hoc_signo_vinces "in this sign you will conquer."]. According to legend Constantine the Great adopted this Greek phrase, "εν τούτω νίκα", after his vision of a chi and rho on the sky just before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312 CE). He had his men paint the chi rho on their sheilds and led them all to victory. Thus did he become the Emperor of Rome and subsequently moved the capital of the empire to Constantinople (formerly Byzas, now Istanbul) and most important for the history of the west -- proclaimed Christianity the official religion of the empire.

In context in GR there are various possible meanings:
- The swastika, the broken cross at the mandala's center on the launch pad, the symbol of the Reich, shall win the war and proclaim a new empire -- the Third Reich which was to last a 1000 years -- which, come to think of it, was about as long as Constantinople was the center of the Roman, then Eastern Roman, then Byzantine (but always Christian) Empire (Constantinople falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1459). Common to both Nazi and Constantine rendering is the interplay of the Cross/Swastika over the face of the sun.

- Subsequently, the phrase became the motto of the Sobieski line -- Jan III Sobieski having defeated the Ottomans in 1683 at the Battle of Vienna just outside the city's gates. The phrase has also been used by Irish nobility, the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, the Portuguese, the Knights Templars, Freemasons, and the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Which leads to the most amusing reading of the passage: whoever carved the words into the tree did so as a fraternity prank.

==Page 106==
[[image:white-zombie.jpg|thumb|100px|White Zombie|right]]'''106.34-37 White Zombie ... perhaps Dumbo''' 
Despite the connections with other forms of death-in-life that are referred to throughout ''Gravity’s Rainbow'', White Zombie is the only direct reference to [[image:dumbo.gif|thumb|80px|Dumbo|left]]zombies. That may be because the zombie myth is of black and African origin. Pynchon has carefully chosen the title to reflect his use of whiteness as the color of death. Although the depiction of the crows in ''Dumbo'' is clearly racist, they give the little elephant the "magic" feather that he thinks he needs (but really doesn’t) in order to fly. The Disney film will continue to be an important touchstone later in the novel when Slothrop meets Pig Bodine. Compare Pynchon's bitterly ironic use of the ''Dumbo'' reference at V135.02-07. Although it is not clear that Pynchon was aware of it, the B-17 bomber was nicknamed the "Dumbo" by American troops in the Pacific during World War II.

This contributor would bet a first edition hardcover of ''Gravity's Rainbow'' that Pynchon was aware of the "Dumbo". Even I knew it and I know next to nothing about WW II factually.[[User:MKOHUT|MKOHUT]] 13:40, 8 July 2007 (PDT)

==Page 109==
'''109.9-11 freak saffrons, streaming indigos''' 
The isolated Dutchman going slowly mad under the southern sun, whose "very perceptions" are changed (and who writes numerous letters to his brother) seems to be a reference to Vincent Van Gogh; the kind of tacit anachronism that Pynchon likes to use in [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ Mason & Dixon].

==Page 111==
'''111.07-09 For as much as they are creatures of God and have the gift of rational discourse, acknowledging that only in his Word is eternal life to be found...''' 
Weisenburger suggests that this is a prayer for new colonial subjects, but the context Frans van der Groov’s hopes for a Conversion of the Dodos suggests that it comes from a discourse on the possibility of salvation or conversion for Jews or others. Given Katje’s problematic relationship to the Holocaust, the passage becomes even more suggestively sinister. The sentence does suggest the views of James (or Jacob) Arminius, the Dutch theologian who broke with the Dutch Reformed Church over issues of predestination and election. Arminius argued that Christ’s salvation was available to all in contrast to the official church's staunch belief in predestination. Frans would extend that grace to dodos as well. Also see note at [[Pages_549-597#555|555.29]].

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==Page 83==
'''83.34-37 meddling with another man's mind...Harvard University''' 
During WWII [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_A._Murray Dr Henry A. Murray], then assistant director of the Harvard Psychological Clinic, joined the OSS in Europe and assisted James Miller in developing psychological profiles of prospective special agents -- so called stress tests. He also analyzed Hitler for the Allies, predicting that if Germany lost the war, Hitler would commit suicide; that Hitler was impotent as far as heterosexual relations were concerned; and that Hitler had possibly participated in a homosexual relationship -- all suggestive of Blicero.

After 1947 and the Cold War it seemed every self-respecting psychologist was doing side jobs for the CIA in "persuasion technologies" including LSD, various other drugs, sleep deprivation, isolation tanks, hypnosis, etc. even, allegedly, unto the death of the "patient". Perhaps best well known was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKULTRA MK Ultra]under the direction of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Gottlieb Dr. Sidney Gottlieb].

Murray himself returned to Harvard where he continued his meddling with the minds of others. One of the minds he meddled with from 1958 to 1962 belong to Theodore Kaczynski. Alston Chase's book ''Harvard and the Unabomber: The Education of an American Terrorist'' tells of the psychological experiments which Kaczynski is reported to have undergone at Harvard, under the direction of Murray. Chase connects these experiences in a controversial thesis to Kaczynski's later career as the Unabomber. As is generally well known in Pynchon circles, TRP himself was suspected of being the Unabomber.

And then of course there was the Leary-Alpert led [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Psilocybin_Project Harvard Psilocybin Project] between 1960 and 1962 ...

==Page 85==
'''85.25 Edwin Treacle''' 
Although derived from a word meaning an antidote to poison, "treacle" is the British term for molasses and is often used to describe something excessively sweet and sticky.

==Page 88==
'''88.10 the submontane Venus''' 
That is, the goddess of the Tannhauser legend and opera.
'''
88.34 yang-yin rubbish''' 
Note that Pointsman here rejects the concept only to become entranced by it later.

Venus is also the goddess of love, of course.

==Page 91==
'''91.27 Dr. Bleagh''' 
An expression of disgust. (Try saying it!)

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==Page 83==
'''83.34-37 meddling with another man's mind...Harvard University''' 
During WWII [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_A._Murray Dr Henry A. Murray], then assistant director of the Harvard Psychological Clinic, joined the OSS in Europe and assisted James Miller in developing psychological profiles of prospective special agents -- so called stress tests. He also analyzed Hitler for the Allies, predicting that if Germany lost the war, Hitler would commit suicide and that he was impotent as far as heterosexual relations were concerned with the possibility that Hitler had participated in a homosexual relationship -- suggestive of Blicero.

After 1947 and the Cold War it seemed every self-respecting psychologist was doing side jobs for the CIA in "persuasion technologies" including LSD, various other drugs, sleep deprivation, isolation tanks, hypnosis, etc. even, allegedly, unto the death of the "patient". Perhaps best well known was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKULTRA MK Ultra]under the direction of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Gottlieb Dr. Sidney Gottlieb].

Murray himself returned to Harvard where he continued his meddling with the minds of others. One of the minds he meddled with from 1958 to 1962 belong to Theodore Kaczynski. Alston Chase's book ''Harvard and the Unabomber: The Education of an American Terrorist'' tells of the psychological experiments which Kaczynski is reported to have undergone at Harvard, under the direction of Murray. Chase connects these experiences in a controversial thesis to Kaczynski's later career as the Unabomber. As is generally well known in Pynchon circles, TRP himself was suspected of being the Unabomber.

And then of course there was the Leary-Alpert led [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Psilocybin_Project Harvard Psilocybin Project] between 1960 and 1962 ...

==Page 85==
'''85.25 Edwin Treacle''' 
Although derived from a word meaning an antidote to poison, "treacle" is the British term for molasses and is often used to describe something excessively sweet and sticky.

==Page 88==
'''88.10 the submontane Venus''' 
That is, the goddess of the Tannhauser legend and opera.
'''
88.34 yang-yin rubbish''' 
Note that Pointsman here rejects the concept only to become entranced by it later.

Venus is also the goddess of love, of course.

==Page 91==
'''91.27 Dr. Bleagh''' 
An expression of disgust. (Try saying it!)

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