Difference between revisions of "F"

Latest revision as of 10:23, 7 January 2015

Fairfield, Vehi
102; Sortilege's guru; 306

fantan
81; similar to roulette, fantan (or Fan-Tan) was once a favorite pastime of the Chinese in America. Wikipedia entry

Fapardokly
Merrell Wayne Fankhauser (b. 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s with bands including the Impacts, Exiles, Fapardokly, HMS Bounty, Fankhauser-Cassidy Band, and MU. "Super Market" appeared on Fapardokly's 1966 album Fapardokly; "triple-tongue highway classic" 368; Check out some Fapardokly on YouTube...

Fazzo, Fabian
238; gent who looks like "a banker in an old movie" at the Kismet in Las Vegas; Chief Operating Officer, Kiscorp, 362

feng shui
Ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven (astronomy) and Earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. Traditional feng shui practice always requires an extremely accurate Chinese compass, or luo pan, in order to determine the directions in finding any auspicious sector in a desired location; mirror at Golden Fang HQ, 168

Fenway, Crocker
171; Japonica's wealthy father; 314; "Prince of Palos Verdes" 341

170; at Golden Fang HQ for "Smile Maintenance"; a Cybernet Organism / Kozmic Traveler visiting other worlds v. Real Japonica, 173; her car, Wolfgang, 175; See: Plants of Inherent Vice

FFO
154; music club on Sunset, where Spotted Dick is playing; Funds From Operations (FFO): a term used in real estate investment trusts (REITs) to define the cash flow from their operations.

Fields, W. C. (1880-1946)
9; American comedian, actor and juggler. Fields created one of the great American comic personas of the first half of the 20th century: a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathetic character despite his snarling contempt for dogs, children, and women; Elmina's father's routine, 112

Fiona
129; Smedley's Farfisa organ

Five-pointed star cut
~170; Article in "2000 Hair Styles" read by Doc in waiting room. Actually cutting a star from fabric or paper with one cut (esp. Betsy Ross and first US flag).

Flaco the Bad
12; acquaintance of Doc's; 100; 256

flatland
The Los Angeles flatland is the area of Los Angeles and Orange counties that is inland, at the foot of the San Gabriel, Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountains and the Palos Verdes peninsula, as contrasted with the "hipper" beach communities; 4

Flatweed, Special Agent
72; FBI agent, partner of Special Agent Hugo Borderline; with Penny Kimball; with SA Borderline, in Las Vegas, 220, 222; at Kismet Lounge, 243-244

Fleming, Art (1924-1995)
American television host, most notably the original host of the TV game show Jeopardy!; "Art Fleming look on his face" 48

Flintstones, The
An animated American television sitcom that ran from 1960 to 1966 on ABC, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions; "page right out of history" 235; 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.

Flying Nun, The
9; The Flying Nun (ABC sitcom '67-'70) starred Sally Field (who also played surf bunny Gidget in an earlier sitcom) as a young nun with a talent for catching the wind like a wave. Despite the reference to Bigfoot playing "comical Mexicans," the series actually took place in Puerto Rico. Wikipedia entry

"Fly Me to the Moon"
75; Popular standard song written by Bart Howard in 1954. It was titled originally "In Other Words", and was introduced by Felicia Sanders in cabarets. The song became known popularly as "Fly Me to the Moon" from its first line, and after a few years the publishers changed the title to that officially. The song has also been recorded by Nat King Cole and, probably most recognizably, by Frank Sinatra who recorded the song on his 1964 album It Might as Well Be Swing accompanied by Count Basie. The arrangement by Quincy Jones has become the rendition by which most people recognise the song. Jones changed the time signature, which was originally 3/4 waltz-time, to 4/4 and gave it a 'swing' feel. Sinatra's recording was a hit and was played by the astronauts of Apollo 10, on their lunar-orbital mission and again on the moon itself by the astronaut Buzz Aldrin during Apollo 11. Wikipedia entry

Folsom
271; Folsom State Prison is located east of Sacramento in Northern California, probably best known because of the Johnny Cash song "Folsom Prison Blues."

Fonda, Henry (1905-1982)
American film and stage actor, best known for his roles as plain-speaking idealists. Fonda's subtle, naturalistic acting style preceded by many years the popularization of method acting; Fort Apache (1948), 171

Fortnight, Trillium
216; "dishevelled girl in a tiny skirt" referred to Doc by Boris Spivey and Dawnette, teaches music theory at UCLA; marries Puck Beaverton, 246; admitted to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas with concussion, cuts and bruises, released in the custody of her parents several days later, 366. A trillium is a rather fragile type of wildflower; See: Plants of Inherent Vice Trillium is introduced to Pynchon readers in Vineland (p. 308), where she greets Zoyd and Prairie when they arrive a Mucho Maas's townhouse. Mucho is a character introduced in Pynchon's second novel, The Crying of Lot 49.

Freak Brothers

Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers

Gilbert Shelton's series of "Underground Comix"—"The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers"—was one of the most popular "Comix" of its time among fans of the form. Featuring the stoned adventures of Freewheelin' Franklin, Phineas T. Freakears, Fat Freddy Freekowtski and the ever popular Fat Freddy's Cat. Famous for [among other things] Freewheelin' Franklin's dictum: "Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope."; 33; Wikipedia entry

196; 1932 American horror film about sideshow performers, directed and produced by Tod Browning and released by MGM, with a cast mostly composed of actual carnival performers. The film was based on Tod Robbins' short story "Spurs". Director Browning took the exceptional step of casting real people with deformities as the eponymous sideshow "freaks," rather than using costumes and makeup; "Code of the Freaks": "If you offend one of them, you have offended them all" Also mentioned in Gravity's Rainbow.

Frid, Jonathan
233; Barnabas ... the vampire guy on Dark Shadows, in Las Vegas, singing "Haunted Heart"

Fritz
See Drybeam, Fritz

Fromme, Lynette "Squeaky" (b. 1948)
283; American criminal, former member of the Manson Family, convicted of attempting to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford in 1975. She is currently serving a life sentence in prison; "righteous-ass bitch" 293

Brand of breakfast cereal produced by Kelloggs. The cereal pieces are torus-shaped (hence "loops") and come in a variety of bright colors and a blend of artificial fruit flavors. Kellogg's introduced Froot Loops in 1963. Originally, there were red, orange, and yellow loops, but green, then purple, and finally blue were added by the 1990s; 308; A stoner treat, they are also eaten in Vineland.

'fro pick
3; An "Afro" pick, aka a comb for the Afro hairstyle; this doesn't mean Doc has an Afro, only that he borrowed one "for protection."

Frothingham, Rhus
275; LA deputy DA with whom Penny Kimball shares a cubicle at the Hall of Justice; 282; See: Plants of Inherent Vice

Fuller, Buckminster ("Bucky") (1895-1983)
62; an American architect, author, designer, futurist, inventor, and visionary. Fuller wrote more than thirty books, coining and popularizing terms such as "Spaceship Earth", ephemeralization, and synergetics. He also worked in the development of numerous inventions, chiefly in the fields of design and architecture, the best known of which is the geodesic dome. Carbon molecules known as fullerenes or buckyballs were named for their resemblance to geodesic spheres.251

Full Moon in Pisces
241-242; song Lark is singing at the Kismet

Furies, the
156; opening for Spotted Dick at FFO - 3 basses and no lead guitar