Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:The Kirghiz Light

2010-11-23T22:31:02Z

Spamhog:

Did anybody ever ask a Kirghiz about the Kirghiz Light?

I'll have Kirghiz guests over the weekend, I'll ask them.

spamhog [[User:Spamhog|Spamhog]] 07:27, 17 November 2010 (PST)

OK, I asked the Kirghiz, she says there was some strange event involving a ray of light from heaven in the last couple of years, but absolutely nothing specifically Kirghiz about it, and certainly nothing historical.

spamhog [[User:Spamhog|Spamhog]] 14:31, 23 November 2010 (PST)

Talk:The Kirghiz Light

2010-11-17T15:27:52Z

Spamhog: wtf is a Kirghiz Light?

Did anybody ever ask a Kirghiz about the Kirghiz Light?

I'll have Kirghiz guests over the weekend, I'll ask them.

spamhog [[User:Spamhog|Spamhog]] 07:27, 17 November 2010 (PST)

Pages 60-71

2010-07-06T15:58:25Z

Spamhog: /* Page 71 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 61==

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

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

==Page 63==
63.5 '''Moxie''' 
A carbonated beverage that was one of the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. In its advertising, it used “Make Mine Moxie!” advertising jingles, the slogan “Just Make It Moxie for Mine”, and a "Moxie Man" logo. The brand suffered a significant decline in sales during the 1930s.

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

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

==Page 64==

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

==Page 65==

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

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

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

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

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

==Page 66==

66.39 '''Capehart''' 

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

==Page 68==

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

==Page 69==

69.2 '''terre mauvais''' 
French "terre mauvaise" - the "badlands". A rare case of TRP misspelling a foreign word.

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

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

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

rondure -- a circular or gracefully rounded object.

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

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

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

The SBB (SIS/MI6 forerunner) allegedly discovered that semen, if not a catalyst, did at least make a good invisible ink.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semen#Semen_in_espionage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansfield_Smith-Cumming
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-spymaster-who-was-stranger-than-fiction-737707.html
spamhog [[User:Spamhog|Spamhog]] 08:58, 6 July 2010 (PDT)

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 433-447

2010-06-04T11:41:30Z

Spamhog: /* Page 446 */ Hauptstufe is part of the V2 launch sequence.

{{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==
435.8 '''George Raft suits''' 
An American film actor identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. He was also noted for his elegant fashion sense.

[[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.

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

435.20 '''Fickt nicht mit dem Raketemensch''' 
German: 'Don't fuck with the Rocketman'; although this is more of a direct translation of an English phrase than something a German would say.

435.21 '''hiyo Silver''' 
'Hi-yo, Silver, away!'--the tag line from the radio and Tube show [[L#loneranger|''The Lone Ranger'']] delivered at the end of each episode as he rode off into the sunset.

435.29 '''''Saturday Evening Post''''' 
American news magazine especially know for its covers portraying folksy, down-to-earth, mainstream Americans and their lifestyle.

==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 [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''V.''].

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!"

Being a native speaker of German, I can add that "Hauptstufe" does not mean anything even remotely like "pen where we keep the sacred cattle" in any context I am aware of. "Haupt-" can be used as a prefix meaning "main", and therefore, in extension, "central", as in "most important", but "Stufe" means either "stage" or "step (of stairs)", and is never used to mean any kind of enclosed place or pen. In general, although Pynchon`s German is ususally remarkably keen, at instances he comes up with quite odd translations - so odd, in fact, that I would suppose him to have done it on purpose, to test out and play with his readers' good faith in telling them the truth. Thats what he seems to be doing most of the time anyway.

In A-4 parlance, "Hauptstufe" refers to the fifth and final step in the firing progress for the single-stage rocket. It is preceded by "Vorstufe", in which the steam turbopumps run, LOX and alcohol are ignited but throttled, and the rocket sits on the pad for a few seconds. The burn is observed, visually and instrumentally, to detect anomalies. Up to that point the sequence can be aborted, the motor shut off, the rocket should survive and be largely serviceable. Hauptstufe is final. Throttles are fully opened, the rocket takes off and hopefully clears the launchpad. If it does not and falls down, a fireball is inevitable and warhead explosion is also possible.

==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 [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''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 [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Against the Day''].

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 71-72

2010-06-03T21:05:25Z

Spamhog: /* Page 72 */

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 71==
71.27 '''"... von Bayros or Beardsley."''' 
Marquis Franz von Bayros and Aubrey Beardsley were renowned for their erotic sketches in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Learn more about [http://beardsley.artpassions.net/ Beardsley] and [http://www.all-art.org/er_in_art/07.html von Bayros]

71.30 '''"... a De Mille set really..."''' 
This is open to skepticism, but I believe he's referring to Cecil B. DeMille, who was famous for his construction of grandiose sets, particularly "The City of the Pharaoh," the largest set in film history.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_B._DeMille Cecil B. Demille] at Wikipedia.

==Page 72==
72.27 '''...Wuotan and his mad army''' 
Wuotan is the Old High German spelling of Odin; the 'mad army' is mentioned again at [[Pages 72-83#Page 75|75.13]] in German as ''Wütende Heer''. It is interesting that Pynchon chose to translate ''wütende'' as 'mad' rather than, say, 'angry' or 'furious', thus allowing the reader to take 'mad' to mean 'insane'.
On the other hand, the disease rabies is called "Tollwut" in German, so "Wut" may not ring as a totally sane kind of rage. Historians and Nordic legends attributed a behavior called "bärsärkar-gång" (Swedish, same root of the English expression "going beserk") to Odin-worshiping proto-Lombard fighters. Rage, variously tied to willful adrenalin overload, traumatic stress, fly-agaric, or godly intervention, gave them superhuman strength but clouded their judgment and made them dangerous to friend and foe alike.

72.32 '''Was tust du für die Front, für den Sieg? Was has du heute für Deutschland getan?''' 
What are you doing for the front, for the victory? What have you done for Germany today? 
Also see [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/gravitys-rainbow/extra/german.html ThomasPynchon.com] for lots of ''GR'' translations.
{{GR PbP}}

Talk:Pages 20-29

2010-05-26T20:25:07Z

Spamhog: Created page with '23.10 Bovril is considered a Scottish fixation by the English and embraced as such by Scots. As of 2010 Bovril+Scotland googles 71 hits/million people, Bovril+England googles onl…'

23.10 Bovril is considered a Scottish fixation by the English and embraced as such by Scots. As of 2010 Bovril+Scotland googles 71 hits/million people, Bovril+England googles only 5.4 and clearly lower absolute nr. of hits, Bovril+Britain and Bovril+UK lower yet.

Spamhog [[User:Spamhog|Spamhog]] 13:25, 26 May 2010 (PDT)

Talk:Pages 154-167

2010-05-26T20:22:43Z

Spamhog: Created page with '160.11 T.H. - Different name for basically the same level of studies as Universität since technical education became a serious matter in the 1st half of the 19th century. Univer…'

160.11 T.H. - Different name for basically the same level of studies as Universität since technical education became a serious matter in the 1st half of the 19th century. Universität was traditionally where humanities, law, medicine were taught, and did ring more prestigious. A few decades ago, many THs changed name to "T. Universität" - but many of the most prestigious THs proudly retained that name. At the time, the THs were where all engineers and most scientists came from.

Spamhog [[User:Spamhog|Spamhog]] 13:22, 26 May 2010 (PDT)

Pages 295-314

2010-05-26T20:19:29Z

Spamhog: /* Page 306 */ Dora cranes had often been used for hanging executions.

{{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. ''Hoppla'' is also a German expression meaning 'oops'

==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 303==
303.20 '''Marie-Celeste''' 
The Mary Celeste (incorrectly referred to as Marie Celeste) was a brigantine merchant ship discovered in December 1872 in the Atlantic Ocean unmanned and apparently abandoned, despite the fact that the weather was fine and her crew had been experienced and able seamen;

==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 with rope to lift the rocket to an upright position for testing.

The soldier was a practical joker, but just up to a few weeks earlier Dora-Mittelwerk cranes were used for real slow-hanging executions of prisoners.

==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''' 
[[image:slim-pickens.jpg|thumb|120px|Slim Pickens in ''Dr. Strangelove''|right]]Both Marvy’s dress and speech echo the character of Major Stanley "King" Kong, the bomber pilot played by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slim_Pickens Slim Pickens] in Stanley Kubrick’s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove ''Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb''] (1964).

{{GR PbP}}

Talk:Pages 295-314

2010-05-26T20:16:34Z

Spamhog:

298.10 Congratulations! Excellent translation! :-)

299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise

I don't have the courage to savage the DNA reference... But I think it should be reviewed. Chromosomes have no visual relationship to the double helix, and are NOT within the helix - on the contrary, the double helix, millions of couples of bases long, coils and twists, knots up and splits into chromosomes in a very complicated way.

Speculation on the double helix arrangement came several years before GR but long after the war.

Spamhog [[User:Spamhog|Spamhog]] 13:14, 26 May 2010 (PDT)

Talk:Pages 295-314

2010-05-26T20:14:33Z

Spamhog:

298.10 Congratulations! Excellent translation! :-)

299.38 Picture the letters SS stretched lengthwise

I don't have the courage to savage the DNA reference as I fear it deserves. Chromosomes have no visual relationship to the double helix, and are NOT within the helix - on the contrary, the double helix, millions of couples of bases long, coils and twists, knots up and splits into chromosomes in a very complicated way.

Speculation on the double helix arrangement came several years before GR but long after the war.

Spamhog [[User:Spamhog|Spamhog]] 13:14, 26 May 2010 (PDT)

Talk:Pages 295-314

2010-05-26T20:09:31Z

Spamhog: Created page with 'Congratulations! Excellent translation of a contorted passage. :-)'

Congratulations! Excellent translation of a contorted passage. :-)

Pages 236-244

2010-05-26T20:08:07Z

Spamhog: /* Page 241 */ actually, in this case a crescent abutting a park :-)

{{GR PbP Text}}
==Page 237==
237.1 '''Bleicheröde''' 
According to McGovern, a cotton-mill town near Nordhausen where most of the rocket specialists and their families were resettled after Peenemünde was abandoned.

237 16-20 '''Carl Orff's lively...ardeo...''' 
From ''Tempus es iocundum (This is the joyful time)'', a song from Orff's famous cantata ''Carmina Burana''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| '''Latin text'''
| '''English translation'''
|-
| O, O, O,
| Oh, Oh, Oh,
|-
| To-tus flore-o!
| I am bursting out all over!
|-
| Iam amore virginali
| with first love
|-
| Totus ardeo...
| I am burning all over...
|}

==Page 239==
239.18-19 '''demons—yes, including Maxwell’s''' 
Pynchon introduced Maxwell’s Demon in ''The Crying of Lot 49'', where John Nefastis shows a supposedly working version of this theoretical entity to Oedipa. See the discussion of the Demon and the problem of entropy at
[http://www.pynchon.pomona.edu/entropy the Pomona College Pynchon site].

==Page 240==
240.20-21 '''the sour stuff''' 
a literal translation of the German word for oxygen: ''Sauerstoff''

240.24 '''Esso''' 
An American gas and oil company formed in 1911 upon the breakup of Standard Oil. It takes its name from the phonetic pronunciation of 'S.O.' In 1973, the name was replaced in the U.S. with Exxon.

240.27 '''Terraplane''' 
A car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan between 1932 and 1939.

240.41 '''like Cary Grant''' 
Though he was a naturalized American, Grant’s accent was hardly "quasi-British," as Weisenburger describes it. He was born Archibald Leach in Bristol, England in 1904.

==Page 241==
241.3 '''Josef Israelplein''' 
An esplanade in The Hague, actually ''Josef Israelsplein''.

==Page 243==
243.3 '''LOX''' 
Liquid Oxygen

243.17 '''Alkit uniforms''' 
Alkit was a clothing manufacturer which supplied uniforms, "especially R.A.F. outifts" according to their ads, to the British military.

243.28 '''formée cross''' 
A cross having four arms which are narrow at the center and expand toward the ends; Germany's Iron Cross is one example

243.39 '''George ("Poudre") de la Perlimpinpin''' 
''poudre'' is French for 'powder', but ''poudre de la perlimpinpin'' is slang for 'patent medicine' or 'snake oil'

==Page 244==
244.18 '''trente et quarante''' 
French: thirty and forty also called rouge et noir (red and black), is a 17th century gambling card game of French origin played with cards and a special table. It is rarely found in US casinos, but still very popular in Continental Europe casinos, and one of the two games played in the gambling rooms at Monte Carlo, roulette being the other. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trente_Et_Quarante Wikipedia entry]

244.23 '''Apache''' 
The term, used to describe Parisian thugs, was coined in 1902 by journalist Victor Morris. The word is also used in reference to the famous "Apache dance," where an Apache flings his woman about the floor.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 236-244

2010-05-26T20:03:26Z

Spamhog: /* Page 241 */ plein is a square or other wide opening, often the main town square

{{GR PbP Text}}
==Page 237==
237.1 '''Bleicheröde''' 
According to McGovern, a cotton-mill town near Nordhausen where most of the rocket specialists and their families were resettled after Peenemünde was abandoned.

237 16-20 '''Carl Orff's lively...ardeo...''' 
From ''Tempus es iocundum (This is the joyful time)'', a song from Orff's famous cantata ''Carmina Burana''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| '''Latin text'''
| '''English translation'''
|-
| O, O, O,
| Oh, Oh, Oh,
|-
| To-tus flore-o!
| I am bursting out all over!
|-
| Iam amore virginali
| with first love
|-
| Totus ardeo...
| I am burning all over...
|}

==Page 239==
239.18-19 '''demons—yes, including Maxwell’s''' 
Pynchon introduced Maxwell’s Demon in ''The Crying of Lot 49'', where John Nefastis shows a supposedly working version of this theoretical entity to Oedipa. See the discussion of the Demon and the problem of entropy at
[http://www.pynchon.pomona.edu/entropy the Pomona College Pynchon site].

==Page 240==
240.20-21 '''the sour stuff''' 
a literal translation of the German word for oxygen: ''Sauerstoff''

240.24 '''Esso''' 
An American gas and oil company formed in 1911 upon the breakup of Standard Oil. It takes its name from the phonetic pronunciation of 'S.O.' In 1973, the name was replaced in the U.S. with Exxon.

240.27 '''Terraplane''' 
A car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan between 1932 and 1939.

240.41 '''like Cary Grant''' 
Though he was a naturalized American, Grant’s accent was hardly "quasi-British," as Weisenburger describes it. He was born Archibald Leach in Bristol, England in 1904.

==Page 241==
241.3 '''Josef Israelplein''' 
A square in The Hague, actually ''Josef Israelsplein''

==Page 243==
243.3 '''LOX''' 
Liquid Oxygen

243.17 '''Alkit uniforms''' 
Alkit was a clothing manufacturer which supplied uniforms, "especially R.A.F. outifts" according to their ads, to the British military.

243.28 '''formée cross''' 
A cross having four arms which are narrow at the center and expand toward the ends; Germany's Iron Cross is one example

243.39 '''George ("Poudre") de la Perlimpinpin''' 
''poudre'' is French for 'powder', but ''poudre de la perlimpinpin'' is slang for 'patent medicine' or 'snake oil'

==Page 244==
244.18 '''trente et quarante''' 
French: thirty and forty also called rouge et noir (red and black), is a 17th century gambling card game of French origin played with cards and a special table. It is rarely found in US casinos, but still very popular in Continental Europe casinos, and one of the two games played in the gambling rooms at Monte Carlo, roulette being the other. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trente_Et_Quarante Wikipedia entry]

244.23 '''Apache''' 
The term, used to describe Parisian thugs, was coined in 1902 by journalist Victor Morris. The word is also used in reference to the famous "Apache dance," where an Apache flings his woman about the floor.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 181-189

2010-05-26T20:00:52Z

Spamhog: /* Page 185 */ "Heer" is the army. Wehrmacht is a catch-all term.

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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 181==
181.25 '''Hispano-Suiza''' 
A luxury automobile made by the Spanish firm of the same name; best known for their cars, engines (including world famous aviation engines) and weapons designs in the pre-World War II period.

==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.

182.6 '''Cravens''' 
A brand of cigarette named after the 3rd Earl of Craven, 1860; although named after a person, this is a refreshing instance of truth in advertising, especially for the cigarette industry

182.35 '''Clausewitz''' 
Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz (1780–1831) was a Prussian soldier, military historian and expert military theorist. He is most notable for his treatise ''Vom Kriege'', translated into English as ''On War''.

==Page 183==
183.10 '''J'ai deux amis, aussi''' 
French: I have two friends, too

183.17 '''déjeuner''' 
French: lunch

183.24 '''sur la plage''' 
French: on the beach

183.29 '''Fauve''' 
Les Fauves (French: ''Wild Beasts'') were a short-lived and loose grouping of early 20th century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong color over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism.

==Page 184==
184.14 '''Norfolk jacket''' 
A loose, belted, single-breasted jacket with box pleats on the back (and sometimes front), now with a belt or half-belt. The style was long popular for boys' jackets and suits, and is still used in some (primarily military and police) uniforms.

184.33 '''Cesar Flebótomo''' 
An excellent name for a casino manager: a caesar is a ruler, phlebotomy is the act of drawing blood, therefore 'King Bloodsucker'!

184.39 '''Messerschmitt''' 
Fighter plane from the German concern Messerschmitt AG

==Page 185==
185.22 '''Wehrmacht''' 
The word literally means ''defense force'' and denotes the whole warfighting establishment, including the Heer (land army) Kriegsmarine (navy) and Luftwaffe (air force), and even (although never formally) the Waffen SS.

185.22 '''chines''' 
A chine is a sharp angle in the hull of a boat, as compared to the rounded bottoms of most traditional hulls.

185.22 '''prewar Comets and Hamptons''' 
Two types of sailboat. 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 [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''V.''] and is referred to later in ''Gravity's Rainbow'' ([[Pages_706-717#Page 715|p. 715]] and [[Pages_735-760#Page 748|p. 748]]), although Pynchon uses the name for other connotations.

185.25 '''pédalo''' 
Paddle boat

==Page 186==
186.3 '''bombazine''' 
a fabric originally made of silk or silk and wool, and now also made of cotton and wool or of wool alone

==Page 187==
187.39 '''He can see her face now, soft nose of a doe, eyes behind blond lashes full of acid green.''' 
"Acid green" also makes an appearance in Pynchon's next novel, [http://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_2#Page_15 ''Vineland''].

187.37 '''nessay-pah''' 
American vocalization of the French phrase ''n'est-ce pas'' which translates as 'is it not'

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 154-167

2010-05-26T19:51:22Z

Spamhog: /* Page 160 */ Different name for basically the same level of studies as Universität since technical education became a serious matter in the 1st half of the 19th century. Universität was traditiona

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 154==
154.12 '''Studentenheim''' 
German: student residence or dorm

==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 157==
157.35 '''Gymnasium''' 
A type of school in the German secondary education system, typically running grades 6-13. There is a heavy focus on academic study. Graduates take the ''Abitur'' exam and many go on to university.

==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)

159.33 '''''Die Frau im Mond''''' 
German: 'woman in the moon'; A science fiction silent film that premiered October 15, 1929. It is often considered to be one of the first "serious" science fiction films.It was written and directed by [[Fritz Lang|Fritz Lang]], based on the novel ''Die Frau im Mond'' (1928, translated as ''The Rocket to the Moon'' during 1930) by his then-wife and collaborator Thea von Harbou. It was released in the USA as ''By Rocket to the Moon'', and in the UK as ''Woman in the Moon''.

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==
160.11 '''T.H.''' 
German: ''Technische Hochschule'' literally 'technical highschool', but actually at university level.

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 162==
162.12 '''Wandervogel''' 
German youth movement promoting a love of nature and the outdoors; see note [[W#wandervogel|here]]

162.15 '''kleinbürger''' 
German: the middle class, the bourgeoise; literally 'little citizen'

162.18 '''Dom''' 
German--cathedral

162.20 '''Biedermeier''' 
Refers to the historical period between the years 1815 and 1848, particularly in Germany and Central Europe. It is often used to denote the artistic styles that flourished then and that marked a contrast with the Romantic era which preceded it; mainly in the fields of literature, music, the visual arts and interior design. However, it can also be used, as it is here, to imply a petit-bourgeois conformity.

162.28 '''Bürgerlichkeit''' 
German: the quality of being bourgeois

==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 165==
165.21 '''Herrenklub''' 
German: gentlemen's club

==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.

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 120-136

2010-05-26T19:49:37Z

Spamhog: /* Page 134 */ Thus in WWII. Prewar: Empire Service. World Service only since the 60's.

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 121==
121.13-14 '''...watching Maria Montez and Jon Hall...''' 
The duo made a series of six Technicolor adventure films: ''Arabian Nights'' (1942), ''White Savage'' (1943), ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1944), ''Cobra Woman'' (1944), ''Gypsy Wildcat'' (1944), and ''Sudan'' (1945).

==Page 126==
126.19 '''this seventh Christmas of the War''' 
Although Weisenburger declares this a mistake ("a miscount"), upon closer inspection it's actually quite intentional, a sly device to underscore Roger's and Jessica's confusion. [[Sixes and Sevens|They're at sixes and sevens, you see...]]

==Page 127==
127.16 '''Tannoy''' 
Tannoy Ltd is an English manufacturer of loudspeakers and public-address (PA) systems. It became a household name as a result of supplying PA systems to the armed forces during World War II, and to Butlins and Pontins holiday camps after the war.

==Page 128==
128.14 '''join the waits''' 
Leicester's ancient tradition of Town Waits official musicians who supported the Lord Mayor at civic events, entertained townspeople and feted visitors. The waits were originally guards or watchmen who walked round the town at night looking out for fires or other trouble. They rang bells to tell people the time, or called out '2 o'clock and all's well'. They also played music for the Lord Mayor's guests on big occasions, and entertained the general public. This became their main job. By 1900 the waits' instruments were a cornet, a euphonium, a tenor horn and a trombone. From then, the waits mostly played popular requests for a small fee, which was given to charity. By the 1940s, a request would cost about half a crown (12p). The Leicester Waits were disbanded around 1947. [http://www.leicester.gov.uk/NewsSite/index01.asp?pgid=3182]; [[W#waits|Picture]]

==Page 129==

129.9 '''Tallis, Thomas (c. 1505–1585)''' 
An English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century Tudor England.

129.9 '''Purcell, Henry (c. 1659-1695)''' 
An English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music.

129.9 '''Suso, Heinrich (1295-1336)''' 
German mystic and preacher (Heinrich Seuse in German). His composition ''In Dulci Jubilo'' is a German/Latin macaronic carol (Pynchon (mis)dates it as "fifteenth century"); the first verse (of four), can be translated as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Original text
! English translation
|-
| In dulci jubilo,
| In sweet rejoicing
|-
| Nun singet und seid froh!
| now sing and be glad!
|-
| Alle unsre Wonne
| All our joy
|-
| Liegt in praesepio;
| lies in the manger;
|-
| Sie leuchtet wie die Sonne
| It shines like the sun
|-
| Matris in gremio.
| in the mother's lap.
|-
| Alpha es et O!
| You are the alpha and omega!
|}

==Page 130==
130.10-27 '''...thousands of old used toothpaste tubes...emptied and returned to the War...''' 
War with a minty smile? Menthol to cover the stench of the dead?

==Page 131==

131.1 '''...ein Volk ein Führer...''' 
German: 'one people, one leader'

131.11 '''Rundstedt offensive''' 
1944's Ardennes offensive, or Battle of the Bulge, was directed by the German field marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (1875-1953).

==Page 132==

132.11 '''Mr. Morrison''' 
Herbert Stanley Morrison (1888-1965), British Labour statesman who played a leading role in London local government for 25 years. At this point he was Home Secretary in Churchill's coalition government.

132.16 '''Alasils''' 
An English brand of pain relievers suggested for 'symptomatic pain generally, rheumatism, fibrositis, lumbago, headache, dysmenorrhoea, dental pain'.

132.20 '''Eyeties''' 
slang: Italians

132.20 '''''Giovinezza''''' 
The anthem of the Italian National Fascist Party; Italian for 'youth'

132.21 '''''Rigoletto''''' 
An opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851. It is considered by many to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdi's middle-to-late career.

132.21 '''''La bohème''''' 
An opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini. The world premiere performance of La bohème was in Turin on February 1, 1896 at the Teatro Regio and was conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini.

132.29 '''cioè''' 
Italian: 'that is', 'i.e.'

132.31 '''mano morto''' 
Italian: dead hand (should be mano morta)

132.32 '''CBI''' 
China-Burma-India theatre of WWII

==Page 134==
134.38-39 '''...your mother hoping to hang that Gold Star...''' 
The group American Gold Star Mothers was formed after WWI. The name derives from the custom of families of servicemen hanging a banner called a Service Flag in their front window. It had a star for each family member in the military. Living servicemen were represented by a blue star, and those who had lost their lives were represented by a gold star.

134.40 '''Home Service programme''' 
The domestic arm of the BBC, as opposed to Overseas Service and European Service.

==Page 135==
135.5 '''Miraculous Medal''' 
aka the Medal of the Immaculate Conception; created after a vision of the Virgin Mary; often worn by Catholics (and even non-Catholics) as protection through Mary's intercession

135.33 '''...when the 88 fell...''' 
135.7 a German 88 mm shell

135.33 '''SPQR''' 
Latin: senatus populusque Romanus = the senate and the people of Rome; refers to the government of the ancient Roman Republic

135.39 '''...tippin' those Toledos...''' 
Scales from the company Toledo Scale, founded in Columbus, OH in 1901; now known as Mettler Toledo

==Page 136==
136.6-7 '''''O Jesu parvule''''' 
First two lines of second verse of ''In Dulci Jubilo'' (see [[Pages 120-136#Page 129|129.9 Suso]] above)
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Original text
! English translation
|-
| O Jesu parvule
| O little Jesus
|-
| Nach dir ist mir so weh...
| For thee I long alway...
|}

136.27 '''...Mosquitoes and Lancasters...''' 
Two types of British bomber during WWII.
{{GR PbP}}

Pages 92-113

2010-05-26T19:46:52Z

Spamhog: /* Page 98 */ UFA Theater - Should be capitalized, it's an acronym - also, theater (American, German) or theatre (English)? Ufa is a town in Bashkiria, Russia.

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 95==

95.17 '''Wassenaar''' 
Wassenaar is in the Netherlands.

==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 99==
99.2 '''Wandervogel''' 
German youth movement promoting a love of nature and the outdoors; see note [[W#wandervogel|here]]

==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 110==
110.6 '''This furious host...''' 
Evokes 'Wuotan and his mad army'; see notes [[Pages 71-72#Page 72|72.27]] and [[Pages 72-83#Page 75|75.13]]

==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]].

{{GR PbP}}

Pages 71-72

2010-05-26T19:42:49Z

Spamhog: /* Page 72 */ German capitalization

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 71==
71.27 '''"... von Bayros or Beardsley."''' 
Marquis Franz von Bayros and Aubrey Beardsley were renowned for their erotic sketches in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Learn more about [http://beardsley.artpassions.net/ Beardsley] and [http://www.all-art.org/er_in_art/07.html von Bayros]

71.30 '''"... a De Mille set really..."''' 
This is open to skepticism, but I believe he's referring to Cecil B. DeMille, who was famous for his construction of grandiose sets, particularly "The City of the Pharaoh," the largest set in film history.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_B._DeMille Cecil B. Demille] at Wikipedia.

==Page 72==
72.27 '''...Wuotan and his mad army''' 
Wuotan is the Old High German spelling of Odin; the 'mad army' is mentioned again at [[Pages 72-83#Page 75|75.13]] in German as ''Wütende Heer''. It is interesting that Pynchon chose to translate ''wütende'' as 'mad' rather than, say, 'angry' or 'furious', thus allowing the reader to take 'mad' to mean 'insane'. On the other hand, the disease rabies is called "Tollwut" in German, so "Wut" may not ring as a totally sane kind of rage.

72.32 '''Was tust du für die Front, für den Sieg? Was has du heute für Deutschland getan?''' 
What are you doing for the front, for the victory? What have you done for Germany today? 
Also see [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/gravitys-rainbow/extra/german.html ThomasPynchon.com] for lots of ''GR'' translations.
{{GR PbP}}

Pages 71-72

2010-05-26T19:42:00Z

Spamhog: /* Page 72 */ "Tollwut" is rabies, "Wut" may indeed also sound insane.

{{GR PbP Text}}

==Page 71==
71.27 '''"... von Bayros or Beardsley."''' 
Marquis Franz von Bayros and Aubrey Beardsley were renowned for their erotic sketches in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Learn more about [http://beardsley.artpassions.net/ Beardsley] and [http://www.all-art.org/er_in_art/07.html von Bayros]

71.30 '''"... a De Mille set really..."''' 
This is open to skepticism, but I believe he's referring to Cecil B. DeMille, who was famous for his construction of grandiose sets, particularly "The City of the Pharaoh," the largest set in film history.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_B._DeMille Cecil B. Demille] at Wikipedia.

==Page 72==
72.27 '''...Wuotan and his mad army''' 
Wuotan is the Old High German spelling of Odin; the 'mad army' is mentioned again at [[Pages 72-83#Page 75|75.13]] in German as ''Wütende Heer''. It is interesting that Pynchon chose to translate ''wütende'' as 'mad' rather than, say, 'angry' or 'furious', thus allowing the reader to take 'mad' to mean 'insane'. On the other hand, the disease rabies is called "Tollwut" in German, so "Wut" may not ring as a totally sane kind of rage.

72.32 '''Was tust du für die Front, für den sieg? Was has du heute für Deutschland getan?''' 
What are you doing for the front, for the victory? What have you done for Germany today? 
Also see [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/gravitys-rainbow/extra/german.html ThomasPynchon.com] for lots of ''GR'' translations.
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Pages 20-29

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Spamhog: /* Page 23 */ von Liebig had a hand in Bovril

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==Page 20==

20.36 '''TDY''' 
Not "tour of duty," as in Weisenburger, but "temporary duty."

20.37 '''East End'''
This is the East End of London, particularly heavily bombed by the Germans in the war as London's docks were situated there. It was, and still is, the area where the poorest people of London live. Famously, Queen Elizabeth's mother made a royal visit there during the war where she was enthusiastically received.

==Page 21==

21.07 '''A lot of stuff prior to 1944 is getting blurry now.''' 
Even this early in the novel, Slothrop has problems with his "temporal bandwidth."

21.36 '''86’d''' 
While sources do agree with Weisenburger that the term "86" might originate in rhyming slang (for "nix"), they also agree that it was first used in the restaurant business to indicate menu items that were no longer available. The wider usage here may not have originated until the 1950s.

21 '''Tantivy's guest at the Junior Athenaeum''' 
According to the London Encyclopedia the Junior Athenaeum purchased Hope House at 116 Piccadilly in 1868, owning it until the building was demolished in 1936. The JA appears to have closed its doors in 1931, making this a possible anachronism. The Athenaeum Club proper is the most intellectually elite of the gentlemen's clubs; Darwin, Dickens and Trollope were members and Michael Faraday was secretary of the first committee.

==Page 22==

22.04 '''Frick Frack Club''' 
The term "frick and frack" is often used to designate two people or almost any two items closely associated with each other. The term originates from the stage names of a pair of Swiss skaters who starred in ice shows in the 1930s. Pynchon probably chose the name more for its senseless alliteration (like "Kit-Kat Club") than any specific meaning.

22 '''a build out of the chorus line at the Windmill'''; also p39 "It's not backstage at the Windmill" 
The Windmill opened in 1932 in a building which had been the Palais de Luxe Cinema and then a theatre. It featured comedy and burlesque revues. The only London theatre to remain open throughout the war, the Windmill continued until 1964 when it became a cinema, reverted to a strip club in 1973, became a theatre/restaurant in 1982 and finally re-opened as a strip club in 1986. From a recent advertisement: "The Windmill International - London's Premier Tableside Dancing Club with 75 Beautiful Dancing Girls who will perform tableside for you - full Nudity - fantastic stage and light show - Dress Smart".

==Page 23==

23.10 '''Bovril''' 
A beef extract--its main use is as a flavouring for soups, and as a drink when you put a teaspoon of the stuff in a mug of boiling water. The method for making the extract was perfected by Justus von Liebig, who co-founded the eponymous London based company.

23.19 '''Wrens''' 
Women's Royal Naval Service - British civilian support group of war effort

23.25 '''Ike jacket''' 
Eisenhower jacket--officially the M-44; a waist-cropped style jacket designed in 1943 and meant to be worn beneath the standard US field jacket, the M-43, as an added layer of insulation; supposedly made at Eisenhower's request

==Page 25==

25.06-07 '''Slothrop’s Progress . . . a parable''' 
"Slothrop’s Progress" echoes John Bunyan’s Puritan allegory ''The Pilgrim’s Progress''. The word "parable," interestingly, comes from the same root as "parabola."

Slothrop's Progress may be Time itself. Sir Arthur Eddington coined the term "time's arrow" to describe entropy's progress and time's irreversibility-- i.e. "as the universe gets older, it becomes more disordered, following the second law of thermodynamics." Entropy's progress defines time. Cf. ''Scientific American'', Jan 2008, p.26 for more.

25. 29 '''Bond Street Underground station'''
This is a station in the wealthier West End of London - also a site on the British version of 'Monopoly'

==Page 26==

26.30 '''back home in Mingeborough, Massachusetts''' 
The Berkshire town was first created by Pynchon in the short story "The Secret Integration," set in the mid-1960s. This story also introduced the Slothrop family, in the person of Hogan Slothrop, who is apparently the son of Tyrone’s brother. Minges (or "midges") are small, biting insects. However, "minge" is also a British slang term for a woman's genitals.

26.33 '''British Double Summer Time''' 
Correspondent Igor Zabel explains this term:
" . . . in Britain they had, during the war, the clocks an hour ahead in the winter time and two hours in the summer time."

26.37-38 '''Death is a debt to nature due . . . so must you.''' 
Weisenburger claims that this epitaph, with its debt to "nature" rather than God, would be heretical to Puritans. That might be so, but the inscription was fairly common on tombstones in the northeast from the mid-1700s until the early 1800s, a range that includes Constant’s 1760 death.

==Page 27==

27.04 '''Variable Slothrop''' 
The son of "Constant": The two names play a mathematical pun and suggest the family’s decline as well. Both names seem to be a pun as well on the name of Puritan minister and Harvard president, the Rev. Increase Mather of Massachusetts Bay Colony and his son, Cotton Mather. Increase attempted to decrease the heat surrounding the Salem Witch Trials through a series of sermons seeking moderation in the use of spectral evidence, even though he defended the trials and the judges. Parallels: Second law of thermodynamics - heated trials cooling. Increase-Cotton-Constant-Variable -- 

27.31-33 '''They began as fur traders, cordwainers, salters and smokers of bacon, went on into glassmaking, became selectmen, builders of tanneries, quarriers of marble.''' 
[[image:berkshire.jpg|thumb|100px|right]]One source listed in Weisenburger but that he did not have time to consult closely is ''The Berkshire Hills'' <ref>''The Berkshire Hills''', Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York, 1939</ref>, a guidebook prepared for this western Massachusetts region by the Federal Writers Project during the Depression. (See Pynchon’s comments in his introduction to ''Slow Learner''.) Although not the sole source, the book provides important background for "The Secret Integration" and the Berkshire segments of ''Gravity’s Rainbow''. Most of the offices and trades listed here (except for "smokers and salters of bacon") are noted at one place or another in the guidebook. Also see my article "From the Berkshires to the Brocken: Transformations of a Source in "The Secret Integration" and Gravity’s Rainbow," [http://www.ham.muohio.edu/~krafftjm/pynchon.html Pynchon Notes] 22-23 (Spring-Fall 1988): 87-98.

==Page 28==

28.02-03 '''paper—toilet paper, banknote stock, newsprint''' 
The Berkshire Hills describes several paper mills in the region and notes the importance of the industry. One producer, Crane and Company, first used the term "bond" for high-quality paper and provided special paper for U.S. currency from 1879 on <ref>Ibid, p. 238</ref>. Another company, in the town of Lee, gave the "first practical demonstration in America of the process of manufacturing paper from wood pulp instead of rags" <ref>Ibid, p. 143</ref>.

V28.33-34 '''Harrimans and Whitneys gone''' 
The Harrimans are mentioned in passing several times in The Berkshire Hills as being among the wealthy families who spent their summers in the region. William C. Whitney, President Cleveland’s Secretary of the Navy, is specifically mentioned as the founder of a vacation colony in Lenox in 1886 <ref>Ibid, p. 224</ref>.

==Page 29==

29.04 '''Hogan''' 
Tyrone Slothrop’s brother, presumably the father of the Hogan Slothrop of "The Secret Integration," set in the Berkshires a generation later.

==References==
<references/>

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