Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Chapter 14

2009-08-27T05:56:14Z

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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''' 
Qiana: silky nylon made by DuPont that swept the fashion world in the 1970s.

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

'''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 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 247==
'''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''' 
A reference to the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''The King & I''.

==Page 251==
'''more space, judging from the outside, than there could possibly be in here.''' 
Remember the house and the carriage from Mason & Dixon?

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Chapter 15

2009-08-27T05:55:58Z

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==Page 257==
[[File:NormaZimmer.jpg|thumb|right|The cover of a 1969 album]]
'''Norma Zimmer''' 
She performed on the Lawrence Welk show and, in the story's period, looked approximately like this.

==Page 258==
'''This ARPAnet trip is eating up my time''' 
Fritz is perhaps the world's first Internet addict.

==Page 259==
'''if it happened to Thomas Noguchi''' 
Thomas Noguchi, Los Angeles' widely admired chief coroner, was fired by the LA County Board of Supervisors in 1969, and only reinstated after a month-long hearing. The firing was a cause celebre at the time, involving accusations of racial discrimination (against the Board) and of egotism, publicity-seeking, an inordinately gleeful attitude toward death (especially celebrity death), and other personality issues (against Noguchi). In 1982, he was demoted to Deputy Coroner for similar reasons.

==Page 261==
'''Shoot the Pier''' 
In surfing, to "shoot the pier" is to ride a surfboard in between the pilings of a pier.

==Page 262==
'''positioning the Book Review over his lap''' 
He's hiding his erection.

==Page 266==
'''You know how many musicians have been overdosing in recent years''' 
Brian Jones (July 1969), Jimi Hendrix (Sept. 1970), Janis Joplin (Oct. 1970), Jim Morrison (July 1971) . . .

==Page 267==
'''lagan''' 
Pynchon makes lagans - which are literally left by Wolfmann earlier, and by Venice dopers here - into a metaphor for things that are deliberately lost and found again. Among other people and things, this could allude to Coy Harlingen, Mickey Wolfmann, pieces of information (a basic element of nearly all detective stories), Mickey Wolfmann's conscience or lack thereof, and innocence and purity generally.

==Page 270==
'''Swedish Fish''' 
See [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_3#Page_49 note for page 49].

==Page 271==
'''Eleventh Commandment''' 
See [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_3#Page_48 note for page 48].

'''as Elvis always sez, when you have such luck''' 
Doc is quoting "All Shook Up":
:My hands are shaky and my knees are weak 
:I can't seem to stand on my own two feet 
:Who do you thank when you have such luck? 
:I'm in love 
:I'm all shook up 

==Page 273==
'''Dig yourself''' 
This was probably a common enough phrase, but perhaps--just maybe--there's a connection to Bob Dylan here. In Dylan's iconic video for "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (the one in which Dylan holds placards with snippets from the lyrics), there are only three cards Dylan holds up that are not part of the song lyrics, including one that says: "Dig Yourself" (the other two, which appear in succession, say "Watch it!" and "Here they come!"). See the video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-xIulyVsG8 here]. The card in question is at 1:51. (I know that that might be a stretch, but a guy can dream, can't he?)

'''natch-meister''' 
See [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_11#Page_166 note for pg. 166].

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Chapter 15

2009-08-27T05:49:24Z

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==Page 251==
'''more space, judging from the outside, than there could possibly be in here.''' 
Remember the house and the carriage from Mason & Dixon?

==Page 257==
[[File:NormaZimmer.jpg|thumb|right|The cover of a 1969 album]]
'''Norma Zimmer''' 
She performed on the Lawrence Welk show and, in the story's period, looked approximately like this.

==Page 258==
'''This ARPAnet trip is eating up my time''' 
Fritz is perhaps the world's first Internet addict.

==Page 259==
'''if it happened to Thomas Noguchi''' 
Thomas Noguchi, Los Angeles' widely admired chief coroner, was fired by the LA County Board of Supervisors in 1969, and only reinstated after a month-long hearing. The firing was a cause celebre at the time, involving accusations of racial discrimination (against the Board) and of egotism, publicity-seeking, an inordinately gleeful attitude toward death (especially celebrity death), and other personality issues (against Noguchi). In 1982, he was demoted to Deputy Coroner for similar reasons.

==Page 261==
'''Shoot the Pier''' 
In surfing, to "shoot the pier" is to ride a surfboard in between the pilings of a pier.

==Page 262==
'''positioning the Book Review over his lap''' 
He's hiding his erection.

==Page 266==
'''You know how many musicians have been overdosing in recent years''' 
Brian Jones (July 1969), Jimi Hendrix (Sept. 1970), Janis Joplin (Oct. 1970), Jim Morrison (July 1971) . . .

==Page 267==
'''lagan''' 
Pynchon makes lagans - which are literally left by Wolfmann earlier, and by Venice dopers here - into a metaphor for things that are deliberately lost and found again. Among other people and things, this could allude to Coy Harlingen, Mickey Wolfmann, pieces of information (a basic element of nearly all detective stories), Mickey Wolfmann's conscience or lack thereof, and innocence and purity generally.

==Page 270==
'''Swedish Fish''' 
See [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_3#Page_49 note for page 49].

==Page 271==
'''Eleventh Commandment''' 
See [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_3#Page_48 note for page 48].

'''as Elvis always sez, when you have such luck''' 
Doc is quoting "All Shook Up":
:My hands are shaky and my knees are weak 
:I can't seem to stand on my own two feet 
:Who do you thank when you have such luck? 
:I'm in love 
:I'm all shook up 

==Page 273==
'''Dig yourself''' 
This was probably a common enough phrase, but perhaps--just maybe--there's a connection to Bob Dylan here. In Dylan's iconic video for "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (the one in which Dylan holds placards with snippets from the lyrics), there are only three cards Dylan holds up that are not part of the song lyrics, including one that says: "Dig Yourself" (the other two, which appear in succession, say "Watch it!" and "Here they come!"). See the video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-xIulyVsG8 here]. The card in question is at 1:51. (I know that that might be a stretch, but a guy can dream, can't he?)

'''natch-meister''' 
See [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_11#Page_166 note for pg. 166].

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Chapter 15

2009-08-27T05:49:12Z

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Chapter 11

2009-08-25T00:30:01Z

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==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 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.

==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.

'''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].

'''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 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

==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"].

==Page 181==

''''64 Dodge Dart'''
[[File:1964_Dodge_Dart.jpg|thumb|200px|left|1964 Dodge Dart Sedan, photo by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:64_Dodge_Dart_F34.jpg Scheinwerfermann]
]]
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Chapter 20

2009-08-05T08:05:39Z

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'''You know what the Indians say. You saved my life, now you've got to-''' 
Recalls the bit in AtD between Scarsdale Vibe and Foley Walker. ''"You know what the Indians out west believe? That if you save the life of another, he becomes your responsibility forever."''

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Chapter 20

2009-08-05T08:05:13Z

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==Page 363==

'''You know what the Indians say. You saved my life, now you've got to-''' 
Recalls the bit in AtD between Scarsdale Vibe and Foley Walker. "You know what the Indians out west believe? That if you save the life of another, he becomes your responsibility forever."

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Chapter 20

2009-08-05T08:02:50Z

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==Page 363==

'''You know what the Indians say. You saved my life, now you've got to-''' 
Recalls the bit in AtD between Scarsdale Vibe and Foley Walker. "You know what the Indians out west believe? That if you save the life of another, he becomes your responsibility forever."

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Chapter 20

2009-08-05T08:02:03Z

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==Page 363==
'''You know what the Indians say. You saved my life, now you've got to-''' 
Recalls the bit in AtD between Scarsdale Vibe and Foley Walker. "You know what the Indians out west believe? That if you save the life of another, he becomes your responsibility forever."

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