M

McGarrett, Steve
97; Steve McGarrett is a fictional character in the long running (12 seasons, 1968-1980) crime drama television series Hawaii Five-O. McGarrett was the lead character in the series with a regular supporting cast. Throughout the series he was a fictional police officer; 202;

McNutley, Trevor "Shiny Mac"
132; Spotted Dick's bass player; 156

McPherson, Aimee Semple (1890-1944)
238; often called Sister Aimee, she was a Canadian-born evangelist and media sensation in the 1920s and 1930s who founded the Foursquare Church. She was a pioneer in the use of modern media, especially radio, which she used to create a form of religion that drew heavily on the appeal of popular entertainment. On May 18, 1926, McPherson went to Ocean Park Beach, north of Venice Beach, with her secretary, to go swimming. Soon after arrival, McPherson disappeared. It was generally assumed at the time that she had drowned. On June 23, 1926, just weeks after her disappearance, McPherson stumbled out of the desert in Agua Prieta, Sonora, a Mexican town just across the border from Douglas, Arizona. She claimed that she had been kidnapped, drugged, tortured, and held for ransom in a shack in Mexico, then had escaped and walked through the desert for about 13 hours to freedom. However, she'd really run off with her lover, Kenneth G. Ormiston, an engineer at radio station KFSG.

magazines
169; a bunch

Magda
96; waitress at Zucky's; 367

magenta & green
See green and magenta

Magic Kingdom
Disneyland is an American theme park in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of The Walt Disney Company. It opened to the general public July 18, 1955. "The Magic Kingdom" was used as an unofficial nickname for Disneyland before the Walt Disney World Resort was opened in 1971; "Happy and Dopey ... skipping around" 33

mah-jongg
81: Ancient Chinese game of skill, strategy, calculation and luck, played with ivory and bamboo tiles. It was introduced in the United States in the 1920s and became popular here. Wikipedia entry

Makaha of Sound
37; more like wall of a wave

Malloy, Pete
202; The TV show Adam-12 (1968-1975) followed the daily activities of a pair of LAPD patrol officers – seven-year veteran officer Peter 'Pete' Malloy (Martin Milner) and rookie officer James 'Jim' Reed (Kent McCord). Like Dragnet, the episodes were based on true incidents culled from LAPD case files.

Man of La Muncha
256; one of Doc's hangouts, in Gordita Beach

Manson, Charles ("Charlie")
29; 38; 53; 119; 135; 138; 179; "D'Jack Frost" - the Family's "favorite surplus store in Santa Monica" 199; Cielo Drive, 208; 209; 280; 292; Doc's thing for Manson chicks, 304; 308; 311; Bigfoot, 332

Manuel
181; owner of Resurrection of the Body

Mao Zedong, aka "Chairman Mao"
301; Led the Communist Party of China and was the leader of the People’s Republic of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976.

Marcuse, Herbert
301; A philosopher, critical theorist, and member of the neo-Marxist Frankfurt School, which is known for its critique of capitalism.

Marketts, the
134; early 1960s American instrumental pop group, formed in Hollywood, California. Their biggest surf hit was "Outer Limits" in 1964. They may be the model for the Boards, because their line-up constantly changed, being made up of various session musicians from the Los Angeles area. They took their direction from producer Joe Saraceno who took the group's style in whatever direction he thought would catch the record-buying public's ear. "Here Comes the Ho-dads," not "Here Come the Hodads" as Pynchon writes in minor variation, was a song released on their 1963 album The Surfing Scene. Sid Meier's "Civilization II: Conflicts in Civilization Scenarios" includes this scenario: "Alien Invasion (sometime in the future) - Here come the Hodads! Vicious monsters from space have landed and already devastated most of the Earth's population. Who will stop them?"

Surfer slang: A "Hodad" is one of those guys who has a surfboard, but never surfs. A fake surfer, usually more interested in the gals. See Urban Dictionary

Marlowe, Philip
97; famous fictional PI created by Raymond Chandler

Martin, Dean
233; watching Jonathan Frid in Las Vegas; 245

Marx, Gummo
283; fourth Marx brother. More here.

masse shots
148; A steep curve or complete reversal of cue ball direction without the necessity of any rail or object ball being struck, due to extreme spin imparted to the cue ball by a steeply elevated cue. Can damage a pool table's felt.

Mavericks
99; Northern California big-wave surfing location, in Half Moon Bay (Pynchon's use is anacronistic); first surfed in 1961 but deemed too dangerous by the trio that attempted it; not surfed again until 1975 by Jeff Clark who surfed Mavericks alone until 1990 when word got out. Trivia alert: Apparently named after a dog who swam out with the first people who tried to surf the wave.

May Company
348; where Doc and Crocker Fenway plan to conduct exchange

Meatball Flag
155; fictional band, "Soul Gidget"; in auto racing, a "meatball" flag is a black flag with an orange disk in its center, which indicates that a car is being summoned to the pits due to mechanical problems that are interfering with the race, such as an oil, water, or fuel leak. The name is likely a reference to the nickname the Allies gave to the Japanese flag, which is white with a red circle in the middle: "meatball" flag.

Mehta, Zubin (b. 1936)
148; Music Director of Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra from 1962-1978

Mercy
354; bartender at Linus's Tavern near San Pedro; 359

Merman, Ethel
221; Puck's and Einar's impersonation of "No Business Like Show Business"; "You're Not Sick, You're Just in Love" 247; "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from Gypsy: A Musical Fable, 247

Merrill, Carol

47; assistant on TV game show Let's Make a Deal

MGM
Metro Goldwyn Mayer - In 1957, the studio reported a loss for the first time in its history. Hollywood as a whole was in trouble by then anyway, thanks to television and the decline of the star contract system on which the studios' power depended. Ten years later, MGM was bought by Kirk Kerkorian, an old-style American buccaneer who had made his fortune flying visitors to Las Vegas. The following year, thousands of props, costumes and other priceless memorabilia went under the auctioneer's hammer. The auction, which lasted for weeks, occurred in April 1970 and Judy Garland's Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz was one of the lots sold; auction, 125, 344

Michelangelo
Creation of Adam, The, 124; Last Supper, 137

Midnight Special
315; an inexpensive American pale ale, now discontinued.

Mighty Mouse
40

Mike
183; owner of Teke Greek restaurant

Mildred
303; Shasta's dog

Mildred Pierce (1945)
Based on the 1941 novel by James M. Cain, Mildred Pierce is a Warner Bros. feature film starring Joan Crawford in a noir-ish tale about a sacrificing mother and her ungrateful daughter. It was Crawford's first film for Warners after leaving MGM. Veda is Mildred's daughter in the film. In the novel, Mildred attempts to strange Veda; 360

Milton
52; bookkeeper at Gotcha!; 94

Mira Costa
103; high school attended by Spike and Sortilege

Mod Squad, The
32; 97; 123; Popular hour long cop drama that aired on ABC from '68-73. Aaron Spelling produced. The three cops were young adults who often went undercover. Wikipedia Entry

Modern Institute for Cognitive Repatterning and Overhaul ("MICRO")
55; Doc's made-up "private clinic out near Hacienda Heights" that specializes in "repairs of stressed personalities"

Moe
80; one of the Three Stooges

Monkees
232; A pop rock quartet assembled by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider in Los Angeles in 1966 for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968. The members were Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Englishman Davy Jones. Although the show was canceled in 1968, the band continued releasing records until 1970.

Morrison, Jim
77; Morrison (1943-1971) was the lead singer and main lyricist for the rock group The Doors. 'Before you slip into unconsciousness" is the opening line from 'The Crystal Ship' which was on The Doors 1967 self-titled debut album.

Moses, Robert (1888-1981)
58; the quote is real and basically means that in urban development the ends justify the means. Moses was "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of urban planning in the United States. Although never elected to public office, he was arguably the most powerful person in New York state government from the 1930s to the 1950s. He changed shorelines, built roadways in the sky, and transformed neighborhoods forever. His decisions favoring highways over public transit helped create the modern suburbs of Long Island and influenced a generation of engineers, architects, and urban planners who spread his philosophies across the nation.

Mothra
10; Or Mosura; Giant moth who frequently battles Godzilla. First appeared in 1961 in a self-titled film.

Murphy, George (1902-1992)
American dancer, actor, and politician; he played Roger in the 1938 film Little Miss Broadway and performed a song-and-dance duet with Shirley Temple, "We Should Be Together."; 360

Musso & Frank's
Musso & Frank Grill is a world famous restaurant located at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Opened in 1919, it is steeped in Hollywood history, having been the hideout of a host of famous Hollywood celebrities from days gone by. It is named for original owners Joseph Musso and Frank Toulet; Burke Stodger hangout, 310

Myrna
127; house wirehair dog at Boards mansion

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