Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Chapter 10

2012-01-13T00:43:40Z

Anomieman: /* Page 160 */

{{Inherent Vice PbP Text}}

==Page 154==
'''"...the phone began a God-awful clanging."''' 
See page 34. Doc's phone at the office is diffident; his phone at home clangs. Is this ambivalence about his work, while reality intrudes noisily on his home?

==Page 155==
'''"Soul Gidget"''' 
These lyrics have some similarities with "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes:

:''Who's the black private dick ''
:''That's a sex machine to all the chicks? ''
:''Shaft!''

:''Who is the man ''
:''That would risk his neck for his brother man? ''
:''Shaft!''

'''signifyin on your mama''' 
"Signifyin" is a verbal strategy employed in the African-American culture. The idea was developed most fully in Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s book ''The Signifying Monkey''. Signifyin indicates a kind of play or trickster technique. "Yo mama" jokes also appear in ''Mason & Dixon'' [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_44:_440-447#Page_445 (pg. 445)] and ''Against the Day'' [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_1-25#Page_12 (pg. 12)].

'''[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/arts/music/wild-man-fischer-outsider-musician-dies-at-66.html Wild Man Fischer]''' 
Mentally ill Los Angeles street musician who was discovered on Sunset Strip and signed by Frank Zappa to a record contract with Bizarre Records. Died June 16, 2011. Was mentioned also on page 309 of ''Vineland''.

YouTube video of WMF performing "My Sweet Little Cathy" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqei5299Q0Q]

'''Pink's''' 
[http://www.pinkshollywood.com/ Pink's] bills itself as "Hot Dogs to the Stars." It's been in the Hollywood area since 1939.

==Page 156==
'''"This Guy's in Love with You"''' 
A nitpick, perhaps, but this single was actually not a Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass release. It was credited to Herb Alpert. If deliberate, this may have been to show how little Doc followed that kind of music. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Guy%27s_in_Love_with_You Wikipedia]

==Page 157==
'''"Stick around, Barney"''' 
See [[Chapter_7#barney|entry, p. 102]]

'''Jason Velveeta''' 
Velveeta, a notoriously plastic "processed cheese product" is probably fueling a roundabout slang joke on "cheddar," used recently to mean money, specifically a pimp or dealer's money. Hence, Jason Velveeta is not really a very good pimp.

As cheeses go, Velveeta is fake, soft and easily melted. "Jason" is a quintessentially middle-class white first name. Velveeta is also associated with middle-class white culture in its most unhip and soul-free form. See, for example, this recent [http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s2i32975 spoof news story].

==Page 159==
'''O Cangaceiro'''
A Portuguese word rooted in "canga," meaning "yoke," that means "brigand" or "highwayman." In Brazilian Portuguese it carries the meaning "braggart."

==Page 160==
'''"Desafinado"''' 
A bossa nova-style song written by Jobim. Stan Getz's version was a hit in 1962. The title translates as "off key" or "out of tune."

'''a curious sort of hippie chick approached the piano, her hair short and tightly permed''' 
Remove that "hippie," and the picture is remarkably like that of Janet Leigh in the mid-'60s movie version of ''An American Dream'' (1966). Leigh doesn't sing Schwartz & Dietz, but the character's bossa-nova style performance of a Johnny Mandel song is much like the music described here.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TXddcs68u8 Watch]

'''Little Black Dress''' 
Simply cut, often short, cocktail dress [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_black_dress]. It's worth noting that the dress our singer is wearing is described as being from the 1950s, since the most famous, perhaps, little black dress of them all was worn by Audrey Hepburn in the later 1961 film [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_at_Tiffany%27s_%28film%29 Breakfast at Tiffany's.]

'''I can sure relate to that lyric, man''' 
And here are the lyrics to "It Never Entered My Mind":
:I don't care if there's powder on my nose. 
:I don't care if my hairdo is in place. 
:I've lost the very meaning of repose. 
:I never put a mudpack on my face. 
:Oh, who'd have thought 
:that I'd walk in the daze now? 
:I never go to shows at night, 
:but just to matinees now. 
:I see the show 
:and home I go. 

:Once I laughed when I heard you saying 
:that I'd be playing solitaire, 
:uneasy in my easy chair. 
:It never entered my mind. 

:Once you told me I was mistaken, 
:that I'd awaken with the sun 
:and order orange juice for one. 
:It never entered my mind. 

:You have what I lack myself 
:and now I even have to scratch my back myself. 

:Once you warned me that if you scorned me 
:I'd sing the maiden's prayer again 
:and wish that you where there again 
:to get into my hair again. 
:It never entered my mind. 

Introduced in the show ''Higher and Higher'' in 1940, where it was performed by Shirley Ross. Famous renditions of the song in the '50s and '60s that may have inspired our singer in the Little Black Dress were done by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis (as a jazz instrumental), and Leontyne Price (!).

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrgDbS9aHF4 Listen] and let Peggy Lee break your heart, too.

'''Dietz & Schwartz's 'Alone Together'''' 
These lyrics are also relevant to the scene, and to ''Inherent Vice'' as a whole:

:Alone together, beyond the crowd, 
:Above the world, we're not too proud 
:To cling together, We're strong 
:As long as we're together. 

:Alone together, the blinding rain 
:The starless night, were not in vain; 
:For we're together, and what is there 
:To fear together. 

:Our love is as deep as the sea, 
:Our love is as great as a love can be, 
:And we can weather the great unknown, 
:If we're alone together. 

Introduced in the revue ''Flying Colors'' (1932), the song has had famous interpreters, including Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles. There's another important D&S allusion in an upcoming chapter, folks. TP a connoisseur too of Broadway show tunes--who knew?

'''"...Doc bought himself and Coy cachaca with beer chasers."''' 
Cachaca is a rum-like beverage made from bagasse, the crushed fiber of sugar cane that is left over when sugar is made. It is a national symbol of Brazil and the basic ingredient of caipirinha.

==Page 162==

'''Samba do Avião''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK-k0SstIJQ Song] by Antonio Jobim. Title translates into "Song of the Jet." [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Tony_Bennett:Samba_Do_Avi%C3%A3o Lyrics,] in English translation, are a tribute to Rio de Janeiro as seen from a returning airplane. Substitute Los Angeles for Rio and the connection with certain parts of Inherent Vice become even more obvious.

'''then sat through the dawn''' 
Morning, the thirteenth day of the narrative, Sunday, April 5, 1970.

{{Inherent Vice PbP}}

Chapter 10

2012-01-13T00:41:36Z

Anomieman: /* Page 160 */

{{Inherent Vice PbP Text}}

==Page 154==
'''"...the phone began a God-awful clanging."''' 
See page 34. Doc's phone at the office is diffident; his phone at home clangs. Is this ambivalence about his work, while reality intrudes noisily on his home?

==Page 155==
'''"Soul Gidget"''' 
These lyrics have some similarities with "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes:

:''Who's the black private dick ''
:''That's a sex machine to all the chicks? ''
:''Shaft!''

:''Who is the man ''
:''That would risk his neck for his brother man? ''
:''Shaft!''

'''signifyin on your mama''' 
"Signifyin" is a verbal strategy employed in the African-American culture. The idea was developed most fully in Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s book ''The Signifying Monkey''. Signifyin indicates a kind of play or trickster technique. "Yo mama" jokes also appear in ''Mason & Dixon'' [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_44:_440-447#Page_445 (pg. 445)] and ''Against the Day'' [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_1-25#Page_12 (pg. 12)].

'''[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/arts/music/wild-man-fischer-outsider-musician-dies-at-66.html Wild Man Fischer]''' 
Mentally ill Los Angeles street musician who was discovered on Sunset Strip and signed by Frank Zappa to a record contract with Bizarre Records. Died June 16, 2011. Was mentioned also on page 309 of ''Vineland''.

YouTube video of WMF performing "My Sweet Little Cathy" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqei5299Q0Q]

'''Pink's''' 
[http://www.pinkshollywood.com/ Pink's] bills itself as "Hot Dogs to the Stars." It's been in the Hollywood area since 1939.

==Page 156==
'''"This Guy's in Love with You"''' 
A nitpick, perhaps, but this single was actually not a Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass release. It was credited to Herb Alpert. If deliberate, this may have been to show how little Doc followed that kind of music. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Guy%27s_in_Love_with_You Wikipedia]

==Page 157==
'''"Stick around, Barney"''' 
See [[Chapter_7#barney|entry, p. 102]]

'''Jason Velveeta''' 
Velveeta, a notoriously plastic "processed cheese product" is probably fueling a roundabout slang joke on "cheddar," used recently to mean money, specifically a pimp or dealer's money. Hence, Jason Velveeta is not really a very good pimp.

As cheeses go, Velveeta is fake, soft and easily melted. "Jason" is a quintessentially middle-class white first name. Velveeta is also associated with middle-class white culture in its most unhip and soul-free form. See, for example, this recent [http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s2i32975 spoof news story].

==Page 159==
'''O Cangaceiro'''
A Portuguese word rooted in "canga," meaning "yoke," that means "brigand" or "highwayman." In Brazilian Portuguese it carries the meaning "braggart."

==Page 160==
'''"Desafinado"''' 
A bossa nova-style song written by Jobim. Stan Getz's version was a hit in 1962. The title translates as "off key" or "out of tune."

'''a curious sort of hippie chick approached the piano, her hair short and tightly permed''' 
Remove that "hippie," and the picture is remarkably like that of Janet Leigh in the mid-'60s movie version of ''An American Dream'' (1966). Leigh doesn't sing Schwartz & Dietz, but the character's bossa-nova style performance of a Johnny Mandel song is much like the music described here.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TXddcs68u8 Watch]

'''Little Black Dress''' 
Simply cut, often short, cocktail dress [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_black_dress]. It's worth noting that the dress our singer is wearing is described as being from the 1950s, since the most famous, perhaps, little black dress of them all was worn by Audrey Hepburn in the later 1961 film [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_at_Tiffany%27s_%28film%29 Breakfast at Tiffany's.]

'''I can sure relate to that lyric, man''' 
And here are the lyrics to "It Never Entered My Mind":
:I don't care if there's powder on my nose. 
:I don't care if my hairdo is in place. 
:I've lost the very meaning of repose. 
:I never put a mudpack on my face. 
:Oh, who'd have thought 
:that I'd walk in the daze now? 
:I never go to shows at night, 
:but just to matinees now. 
:I see the show 
:and home I go. 

:Once I laughed when I heard you saying 
:that I'd be playing solitaire, 
:uneasy in my easy chair. 
:It never entered my mind. 

:Once you told me I was mistaken, 
:that I'd awaken with the sun 
:and order orange juice for one. 
:It never entered my mind. 

:You have what I lack myself 
:and now I even have to scratch my back myself. 

:Once you warned me that if you scorned me 
:I'd sing the maiden's prayer again 
:and wish that you where there again 
:to get into my hair again. 
:It never entered my mind. 

Introduced in the show ''Higher and Higher'' in 1940. Famous renditions of the song in the '50s and '60s that may have inspired our singer in the Little Black Dress were done by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis (as a jazz instrumental), and Leontyne Price (!).

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrgDbS9aHF4 Listen] and let Peggy Lee break your heart, too.

'''Dietz & Schwartz's 'Alone Together'''' 
These lyrics are also relevant to the scene, and to ''Inherent Vice'' as a whole:

:Alone together, beyond the crowd, 
:Above the world, we're not too proud 
:To cling together, We're strong 
:As long as we're together. 

:Alone together, the blinding rain 
:The starless night, were not in vain; 
:For we're together, and what is there 
:To fear together. 

:Our love is as deep as the sea, 
:Our love is as great as a love can be, 
:And we can weather the great unknown, 
:If we're alone together. 

Introduced in the revue ''Flying Colors'' (1932), the song has had famous interpreters, including Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles. There's another important D&S allusion in an upcoming chapter, folks. TP a connoisseur too of Broadway show tunes--who knew?

'''"...Doc bought himself and Coy cachaca with beer chasers."''' 
Cachaca is a rum-like beverage made from bagasse, the crushed fiber of sugar cane that is left over when sugar is made. It is a national symbol of Brazil and the basic ingredient of caipirinha.

==Page 162==

'''Samba do Avião''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK-k0SstIJQ Song] by Antonio Jobim. Title translates into "Song of the Jet." [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Tony_Bennett:Samba_Do_Avi%C3%A3o Lyrics,] in English translation, are a tribute to Rio de Janeiro as seen from a returning airplane. Substitute Los Angeles for Rio and the connection with certain parts of Inherent Vice become even more obvious.

'''then sat through the dawn''' 
Morning, the thirteenth day of the narrative, Sunday, April 5, 1970.

{{Inherent Vice PbP}}

Chapter 11

2012-01-13T00:28:25Z

Anomieman: /* Page 171 */

{{Inherent Vice PbP Text}}

==Page 166==
'''Brylcreem''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brylcreem Brylcreem] is a hair styling oil/gel for men that was very popular. It gives hair a wet, oily look.

'''on the natch''' 
"natch" is short for "natural" and "on the natch," in this context, means sober. On [[Chapter_15#Page_273|pg. 273]], the perennially sober Bigfoot is described as a "literal-minded natch-meister."

==Page 168==
'''Leuzinger High''' 
A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leuzinger_High_School real] high school, in Lawndale, California, which - particularly in the story's time period - was a relatively undesirable and low-priced city in the LA area.

'''Dr. Blatnoyd''' 
Probably a play on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blat_%28Russia%29 term] of Russian origin, meaning a man with underworld connections or a career criminal.

==Page 170==
'''Section Eight hippies''' 
Section Eight is low income housing funded with a federal subsidy.

==Page 171==
'''Japonica Fenway''' 
"Japonica" is just a Latinization of "Japanese," but it is most commonly used in formal Latin plant names. There are a wide variety of "____ Japonica" plants, such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia_japonica Camellia Japonica]. While it's not really possible to make any universal statement about such widely varied species, they tend to be ornamental and hardy. [[Plants of Inherent Vice|See: Plants of Inherent Vice]]

'''Crocker Fenway''' 
It is possible the first name is inspired by the character "Crocker Jarmon" from the movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068334/ The Candidate (1972)]. The character in the movie is an establishment, incumbent GOP Senator from California.

The first names of both characters may also refer to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocker_National_Bank Crocker National Bank], which historically was a conservative, Republican institution. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847658,00.html 1936 Time Magazine reference], [http://articles.latimes.com/1986-05-27/business/fi-7509_1 1986 Article].

'''though Doc may once have rescued Japonica''' 
Reminiscent of Carmen Sternwood, the unstable babe in Raymond Chandler's ''The Big Sleep'' (1939), and her rescue by detective Philip Marlowe. There was a wealthy father there, too.

'''the ancient American Indian belief that if you save somebody's life, you are responsible for them from then on, forever''' 
Last seen in Against the Day with Foley Walker and Scarsdale Vibe.

==Page 172==
'''Governor Reagan''' 
Ronald Reagan was governor of California from 1967 to 1975.

==Page 174==
'''"Miss Fenway," the doctor began to explain, "may seem a little psychotic today..."''' 
Reminiscent of the psychodontist, Dr. Dudley Eigenvalue, in V. From page 138 of that book (the beginning of chapter seven): "Back around the turn of the century, psychoanalysis had usurped from the priesthood the role of father-confessor. Now, it seemed, the analyst in his turn was about to be deposed by, of all people, the dentist." In general, "Smile Maintenance," at least as practiced by Dr. Blatnoyd, seems to cover some mixture of dentistry, psychology, and "hoddible fucking!"

==Page 175==
[[File:MercedesSedan.jpg|thumb|200px|right|1960 Mercedes-Benz W128 Sedan, image from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W128 Wikipedia]]]
'''Mercedes sedan''' 
ten-year-old Mercedes sedan with a roof panel

'''late rush-hour traffic''' 
Should be afternoon, the thirteenth day of the narrative, Sunday, April 5, 1970, but why would there be rush hour traffic? Why would postcards be delivered today, and why would the Golden Fang be open?.

==Page 176==
'''outdoor concerts where thousands . . . public self''' 
A good description of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock Woodstock], which had just taken place the previous year.

'''each person was listening in solitude, confinement and mutual silence''' 
Perhaps a foreshadowing of the iPod generation?

'''''head''phones!''' 
Here, "head" refers to drugs, as in [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=head+shop "head shop"].

'''Doc noticed (a) it was now dark''' 
Should be evening, the thirteenth day of the narrative, Sunday, April 5, 1970.

==Page 180==
'''Things were weird for a few days with the Dart''' 
The timeline gets broken here. From the end of the book to this point--from April 26 to May 8--the narrator has made it easy to follow the events of the book in real time. The narrator puts Doc to bed at night, gets him up in the morning, points out television shows and events.

The first half of the book, thirteen days up to the "few days" the Dart was in the shop, can also be matched with real time events. For example, Doc's parents visit during a division semifinal game between the 76ers and the Bucks. That series was played from March 25 to April 3. That would mean that the Dart was in the shop for a couple of weeks. Given the regret that Doc felt over a less-than-24-hour delay in the first and second days of the narrative, it's difficult to believe that he would drop the case for that long. Perhaps some kind of ''Dark Shadows'' parallel time is at work.

Or maybe Pynchon, contrary to reputation but like most authors, hasn't been perfectly careful about the relationship between his story's timeline and the real calendar's.

'''When he finally went over to pick up his ride''' 
Probably morning, Saturday, April 25, 1970. See below for an explanation of "probably". The obvious reference is to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who also came back on a Sunday. This is not Easter Sunday, though. It occurred on March 29 in 1970.

==Page 181==

'''Quonset hut''' 
Prefabricated metal building with a semicircular cross section. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quonset_hut Wikipedia]

''''64 Dodge Dart'''
[[Image:1964_Dodge_Dart.jpg|left|thumb|210px|1964 Dodge Dart Sedan, photo by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:64_Dodge_Dart_F34.jpg Scheinwerfermann]
]]

 
==Page 182==
'''I'll buy you lunch''' 
Probably morning, Saturday, April 25, 1970. I say probably because it seems unlikely that Doc could have lunch with Tito, make a few phone calls, and drive to Ojai, getting there before lunchtime. The narrator has been pretty careful, though, from the end of the book to this point in noting the ends and beginnings of days.

'''They went down Pico . . . before repeating an ethnic category.''' 
A possible nod to noted LA chowhound Johnathan Gold, who got his start as a Pulitzer Prize winning food critic eating his way across ethnic LA along Pico Blvd. Profiled here on NPR's [http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=110 "This American Life"] (See: ''Act Five. Taste.'')

==Page 184==

'''D and D, Tito''' 
Deaf and Dumb, i.e., my lips are sealed...

'''1934 Hispano-Suiza J12'''
[[File:Hispano-SuizaJ12.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Hispano-Suiza J12, photo from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispano-Suiza Wikipedia]‎]]

==Page 185==

'''Gold fang''' 
According to Google language tools, the Greek for "gold tooth" would be pronounced [http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&text=gold+tooth&sl=en&tl=el# "chrysó dónti"].

{{Inherent Vice PbP}}

Chapter 5

2012-01-13T00:20:14Z

Anomieman: /* Page 57 */

{{Inherent Vice PbP Text}}

==Page 55==
'''I may have a few minutes free around noon''' 
Morning, Friday, March 27, 1970, the fourth day of the narrative, and Good Friday.

==Page 56==
'''Bonzo Dog Band''' 
Located in the aesthetic cracks somewhere between the Goons and Monty Python, Spike Jones and Spinal Tap, The Bonzo Dog Band [formerly The Bonzo Doo-Dah Dog Band] was sometimes [incorrectly] cited as Britain's answer to Frank Zappa, The Bonzo Dog Band were the all-time masters of musical surrealism and not inconsequentially the Beatles favorite band. The Bonzo's performance of Sonny Bono's "Bang Bang [My Baby Shot Me Down]" appears as a bonus track on the 2007 reissue of their album "The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse."[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonzo_Dog_Doo-Dah_Band Wikipedia]

Interestingly, "Bang, Bang" is not only a bonus track on the 2007 edition of "The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse," but it's also listed as "previously unreleased." Does anyone have the liner notes and can tell us more?

A "surfadelic" version of "Bang Bang" is included on Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet's 1991 album "Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham."

The Bonzos perform "Death Cab For Cutie" on [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9y4vLrHsm4 YouTube]

'''KRLA''' 
KRLA, "The Big 11-10", became one of the top radio stations in the Los Angeles area, competing with KFWB and KHJ to be L.A.'s dominant top 40 station. KRLA featured local DJs like Dave Hull (The Hullabalooer), Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg, Emperor Bob Hudson, Ted Quillin, Bill Ballance, Reb Foster, Casey Kasem, Bob Eubanks, Dick Biondi, Sam Riddle, Dick Moreland, Jimmy O'Neill, Wink Martindale, Johnny Hayes.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDIS_(AM) Wikipedia] KRLA was also a major outlet for radio comedy, featuring live broadcasts of Stan Freberg, The Firesign Theater and the Credibility Gap.

'''Vibrasonic''' 
Made by Motorola, the Vibrasonic car radio featured "reverberant sound" by sending a delayed signal to the rear speakers.

==Page 57==

'''A presentable young Chicana in jeans'''

Luz, whose relationship with Sloane Wolfmann brings to mind Dolores Gonzales and Mavis Weld in Raymond Chandler's Hollywood novel ''The Little Sister'' (1949)

'''Some kidnapping.''' 
Doc doesn't ''hear'' some kidnapping; rather, he's being skeptical that a kidnapping has occurred, given the frivolity taking place, which he also expresses in the last paragraph on p. 61. Like "Yeah, right ... ''some'' kidnapping (eyes rolling)"...

'''which seemed to extend indefinitely in the direction of Pasadena''' 
Apparently another interior space which is larger than it would seem from outside, as on [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_2#Page_21 page 21].

==Page 58==
'''Little Church of the West''' 
Since 1942, celebrities as well as ordinary folks have been getting married in this Las Vegas [http://www.littlechurchlv.com/?sec=history wedding chapel].

'''Robert Moses''' 
Robert Moses (1888 – 1981) was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County, New York. His career is summed up by his sayings "cities are for traffic" and "if the ends don't justify the means, what does?" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moses Wikipedia]

The quotation is, at least approximately, taken from Robert Caro's biography of Moses, The Power Broker.

'''Dr. Van Helsing''' 
A funny joke here. Helsing is a character in Bram Stoker's ''Dracula''. He's a vampire hunter.

'''Jimmy Wong Howe''' 
Master cinematographer James Wong Howe, whose career stretched from silent pictures through the mid-'70s, was born Wong Tung Jim in Canton (now Guangzhou), China, on August 28, 1899, the son of Wong How. Wong Howe was famed for his innovations, including putting a cameraman with a hand-held camera on roller skates inside a boxing ring for Body and Soul (1947) to draw the audience into the ring. . . [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002146/bio IMDb]
Howe also was the DP on the very revolutionary film 'the Molly Maguires. /cw?

==Page 59==
'''where John Garfield is this evil gangster''' 
John Garfield (1913-1952) was an American actor especially adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He is acknowledged as the predecessor of such Method actors as Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Montgomery Clift. He was active in liberal politics, and when called to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, which was empowered to investigate purported communist infiltration in America, Garfield refused to name communist party members or followers, testifying that, indeed, he knew none in the film industry. As a result, his Hollywood career was pretty much destroyed and he spiralled into depression and substance abuse, dying at 39 years of age [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Garfield Wikipedia entry]. This is the first of many upcoming references to Garfield and his work, who proves to be one of Doc's few heroes. For a good short essay on Garfield and John Prine's song "The Late John Garfield Blues," from Prine's ''Diamonds in the Rough'' album (1972), go [http://www.celestialmonochord.org/2005/09/the_late_john_g.html here].

'''Ida Lupino''' 
Ida Lupino (1918 – 1995) was an Anglo-American film actress, director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her forty-eight year career, she appeared in fifty-nine films, and directed nine others. She also appeared in episodic television fifty-eight times and directed fifty other episodes. In addition, she contributed as a writer to five films and four TV episodes. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Lupino Wikipedia] 

'''The midday ''refrescos'' now, if you wouldn't mind''' 
Noonish, Friday, March 27, 1970, the fourth day of the narrative.

==Page 60==
'''We recently endowed another facility, in Ojai''' 
This will turn out to be the Chryskylodon Institute, the upscale rehab outfit, which is first mentioned by name on [[Chapter_5#Page_111|p. 111]].

'''the name of the institution [...] a long, foreign-looking word''' 
The Chryskylodon Institute (see above).

==Page 61==
'''Shall I be Mother?''' 
This is a British expression sometimes used when offering to [http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Shall+I+be+mother%3F pour tea].

'''Doc didn't actually see them "exchanging glances" as Frank might have put it ...''' 
A reference to Frank Sinatra's performance of "Strangers in the Night" (Kaempfert/Singleton/Snyder):

:"Strangers in the night exchanging glances 
:Wondering in the night 
:What were the chances we'd be sharing love 
:Before the night was through? 

==Page 62==
'''Bucky Fuller''' 
Buckminster Fuller was an American architect and inventor (among other things). He invented the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesic_dome Geodesic dome].

'''quadrille paper''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graph_paper Graph paper], which, of course, is what Pynchon wrote ''Gravity's Rainbow'' on, at least according to [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Thomas_Pynchon#Gravity.27s_Rainbow_and_Pynchon.27s_rise_to_prominence oft-repeated] legend.

'''Arrepentimiento''' 
Spanish: n. repentance, penitence, contrition--all concepts important to ''Inherent Vice''.

There's also a cool trilingual pun here: "pentimento" (now an English word, but from the Italian for 'repent') refers to an image in a painting that was painted over but then, with time, begins to show through the top layer of represented images. Lots of ways to connect this multi-level word to the plot and themes of ''Inherent Vice''.

==Page 64==
'''¿Dónde estás, mi hijita?''' 
Spanish for "Where are you, my daughter?"

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Chapter 14

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==Page 235==
'''Kismet'''
means Fate or fortune, but note also the other meanings below connected both to the history of the Vegas strip detailed here and to a certain earlier novel by Mr. Pynchon with "Lot" in the title: 
''Turkish, from Persian qismat; from Arabic qisma, lot; from qasama, to divide.''

'''"page right out of history," as the Flintstones might say''' 
''The Flintstones'' is animated American television sitcom that ran from 1960 to 1966 on ABC, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. ''The Flintstones'' theme begins:

:Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones. 
:They're the modern stone age family. 
:From the town of Bedrock, 
:They're a page right out of history.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s13X66BFd8 Have a listen on YouTube...]

==Page 237==
'''Qiana minidress''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiana Qiana]: silky nylon made by DuPont that swept the fashion world in the 1970s. Fake-silk shiny material often used in bold patterns and, yes, disco-clothing/costumes. Difficult to tailor, apparently. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it.

'''Wrong shoes.''' 
As Doc himself pointed out on page 21, when Jade asked if he was a cop.

==Page 238==
'''lines of latitude''' 
Impossible not to think of ''Mason & Dixon'' here.

'''bespoke suit''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bespoke Haute couture for men.] This could be a very expensive suit considering it was custom made for the individual, starting from hand-picked fabrics, and "created without use of a pre-existing pattern." Sign of a man who's really into suits, in other words.

'''Aimee Semple McPherson-type''' 
Evangelist, very popular in the 20's and 30's, founder of the Foursquare Church.
She's mentioned here because she was allegedly abducted, only to escape several days later and stumble out of the Arizona desert. But her stories had some holes and raised a lot of questions. Read more [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimee_Semple_Mcpherson#Reported_abduction here].

==Page 239==
'''gumsandal''' 
Obvious joke on a hippie, sandal wearing, private investigator, but also, just perhaps, with a hint of Dashiel Hammett's infamous [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gunsel 'gunsel.'] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjWKPdDk0_U Listen] to Pynchon himself say 'gumsandal' on the video promo to Inherent Vice.

'''Marty Robbins'd call ''foul evil deeds.''''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_Robbins Marty Robbins'] hit country song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bwoGbpYXRw El Paso.]

==Page 244==
'''Casey Kasem's Saturday-morning Shaggy voice''' 
That's right. Legendary radio host [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Kasem Casey Kasem] was the voice of Shaggy on the original ''Scooby Doo'' cartoon, which premiered in 1969. How many Scooby Doo references does this make?

==Page 245==
'''settled in in front of ''All-Nite Freaky Features''''' 
Late night, Wednesday, April 29, 1970.

==Page 246==
'''awakening next morning to Henry Kissinger''' 
Morning, Thursday, April 30, 1970

==Page 247==

'''a duet of the Ethel Merman favorite "You're Not Sick, You're Just In Love" from ''Call Me Madam''
Originally a duet, sung by Merman and Russell Nype, in Irving Berlin's score for the 1950 show.

'''tiptoein through no tulips''' 
Another reference to Tiny Tim.

==Page 248==
'''et cetera et cetera, and so forth as the King of Siam always sez''' 
In the 1956 film ''The King and I'', Yul Brynner, who played King Mongkut of Siam, repeatedly used the phrase "et cetera, et cetera, et cetera" to characterize the King as wanting to impress with his great knowledge of many things and his importance in not having to detail them. This was based upon the usage in the book ''Anna and the King of Siam'' which related the real king's playful interest in numerous things, with the phrase, "&c, &c" (used often by Pynchon).

'''Evening came, taking everybody by surprise.''' 
Evening, Thursday, April 30,1970.

==Page 249==

'''Rosa Eskenazi''' 
Eskenazi (1890-1980) was a famous Greek singer of Rebetiko and traditional Greek music from Asia Minor. Her recording career extended from the late 1920s into the 1970s. Her style was called Rebetiko, a type of Greek urban folk music that combines European and Middle Eastern music, and sometimes called the Greek blues, the themes being predominantly hard-luck women, no-good men, drinking, hashish and poverty.

'''Bessie Smith''' 
Smith (1894–1937) was an American blues singer. Sometimes referred to as "The Empress of the Blues," she is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and a major influence on subsequent jazz vocalists. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessie_Smith Wikipedia]

'''''rembetissas''''' 
female singers of Rebetiko music (see Rosa Eskenazi above)

'''and in first light got to the turnoff''' 
Dawn, Friday, May 1, 1970.

==Page 250==

'''Romex''' 
According to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romex Wikipedia:] A trademarked brand of power cable, often used in a generic sense to refer to any non-metallic sheathed electrical cable.

'''Riggs Warbling with a couple weeks' start on a beard''' 
I'm hoping that this will help to connect the timelines of the first and second halves of the book.

==Page 251==
'''more space, judging from the outside, than there could possibly be in here.''' 
Remember the [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_35:_349-361#Page_354 house and the carriage from ''Mason & Dixon'']?

==Page 253==
'''They left him watching ''Let's Make a Deal'''''
 Midday, Friday, May 1, 1970.

'''WELCOME TOOBFREEX! BEST CABLE IN TOWN!'''''
 "[T]ime-zone issues" and "a strange hiccup in space-time" indeed. The date is 1970 and cable TV is rare and usually not so encyclopedic in its offerings as Doc finds available from this motel. According to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_television_in_the_United_States Wikipedia on U.S. cable TV history], "In 1975, HBO (Home Box Office) was the first cable network to be delivered nationwide by satellite transmission. Prior to this, starting in 1972, it had been quietly providing pay programming to CATV systems in Pennsylvania and New York, using microwave technology for transmission. HBO was also the first true premium cable (or "pay-cable") network. However, there were notable precursors to premium cable in the pay-television industry that operated during the 1950s and 1960s (with a few systems lingering until 1980)." Via this mysterious motel's own version of premium cable, then, Doc seems to have entered a worm-hole in Time and traveled into the future, allowing him to preview the explosion of cable TV offerings for premium subscribers (including re-runs of favorite shows from the '50s and '60s) that proliferated only well after 1970. This time-travel moment enables Pynchon to revel in the great cornucopia of "video universe" references that spills out onto the next page. But the tone of the passage darkens considerably, despite Doc being mesmerized by cable's illusion of infinite choice and perfect reception/recall (vs. the lousy reception on Rigg's portable black and white TV). Doc senses uneasily that a "parenthesis" in time of what he thought was freedom may be closing, or has already closed....

While there's something to this - and the text itself does refer to a "strange hiccup in space-time" - no supernatural explanation is necessary. Local cable systems were fairly common in 1970 in areas with poor over-the-air reception. Entrepreuneurs, or in some cases governments, would erect an antenna large enough to pick up broadcast stations, then run cable to local users who otherwise would have no reception at all. Such a system, with a big enough antenna, located near the border between Mountain and Pacific Time, could pick up numerous stations, including network affiliates in different time zones, which would show the most of the same programming, but an hour apart. [http://www.ncta.com/About/About/HistoryofCableTelevision.aspx Note]

==Page 254==
'''Ya gonna eat dis toikey!''' 
As [http://www.theauteurs.com/notebook/posts/983 Glenn Kenny] points out, the actual quote is "Cawve da toikey." Was it Pynchon's intention to misquote or a lapse in memory?

'''...Toobfreex at play in the video universe...stubbing it out for good.''' 
Possible statement of the Inherent Vice that closed "this little parenthesis of light", the Psychedelic Sixties?

'''the tropic isle''' 
"Gilligan's Island" leads, of course, this list of '50s & '60s TV shows

'''the Long Branch Saloon''' 
"Miss Kitty" Russell's saloon in Dodge City, KS in the long-running "Gunsmoke" [http://www.jamesarness.com/gunsmoke.htm more info here]

'''the Starship Enterprise''' 
Captain Kirk's ship on "Star Trek", the cancellation of which sparks protests earlier in the book

'''Hawaiian crime fantasies''' 
"Hawaii Five-0"
[http://www.mjq.net/fiveo/ more info here]

'''cute kids...with invisible audiences''' 
Is there anything more more of a "low level bummer" about television than the laugh track? In later decades, it was sometimes replaced by a live audience, and more recently by comedies with neither.
[http://www.tvparty.com/laugh.html for a defense of the "laugh track"]

'''a slave girl in a bottle''' 
Barbara Eden as Jeannie in "I Dream of Jeannie"
[http://www.idreamofjeannie.com/ coming 11/09 on DVD]

'''and Arnold the Pig''' 
Fred and Doris Zifel's pig on "Green Acres"
[http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/ more info here]

==Page 255==

'''...how a certain hand might reach terribly out of the darkness and reclaim the time, easy as taking a joint from a doper and stubbing it out for good.''' 
Can't help thinking about the great [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_and_Loathing_in_Las_Vegas#The_.22wave_speech.22 'wave speech'] from Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Worth reading/watching/listening to (pick your format) alongside of "Inherent Vice." [http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=23451 Video clip] of Depp reading from it.

'''Doc didn't fall asleep until close to dawn'''
 Early morning, Saturday, May 2, 1970.

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