Difference between revisions of "S"

Revision as of 11:41, 31 December 2009

St. Flip of Lawndale
99; surfer; 256; Shasta staying at his house, 303; his "mythical break" aka Death's Doorsill, 357

"Samba do Avião"
162; Portuguese: "song of the jet"; composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and used in the 1962 film Copacabana Palace by Italian director Steno (born Stefano Vanzina) (1915-1988)

Sanders, George (1906-1972)
Sanders was an Academy Award-winning English film and television actor. Known for his smooth upper-crust English accent, cocking his eyebrows was a facial gesture he deployed in many of his films to express skepticism and other reactions. In 1950, Sanders gave his most widely recognised performance, and achieved his greatest success, as the acerbic, cold-blooded theatre critic Addison DeWitt in All About Eve, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; 311

Sassoon, Vidal (b. 1928)
British-born Israeli hairdresser and businessman; 127

scag
334; street slang for "heroin"

Schiffer, Mr.
338; Doc's PE teacher in high school

Scott
353; Doc's cousin

Screaming Ultraviolet Brain
10; headshop operated by Ensenada Slim, in Gordita Beach; 256

Sea Wolf, The (1941)
Black-and-white film adaptation of Jack London's novel The Sea Wolf with Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, and John Garfield. Refined fiction writer Humphrey van Weyden and escaped convict Ruth Webster (Lupino) are passengers on a ship that collides with another vessel and sinks. They are rescued by the Ghost, a seal-hunting ship. At the helm is the brutal Captain Wolf Larsen (Robinson), a compassionless individual who delights in dominating and abusing his crew. Garfield plays the rebellious cabin boy George Leach who becomes Ruth Webster's protector; Doc recalling, 356

Shaggy
190; character in Hanna-Barbera cartoon "Scooby-Doo" (1969)

Shank, Bud
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. (1926-2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He played flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra, on various recording sessions including The Zodiac : Cosmic Sounds, and occasionally in live performances (as with The L.A. Four) until he gave it up later in his career to focus exclusively on the alto saxophone; at the Lighthouse Cafe, 298

Shannon
205; dead waitress at the Arizona Palms, in Doc's dream

Shannon, Del (1934-1990)
148; "Runaway"; suffering from depression, Shannon committed suicide in 1990 with a .22-calibre rifle; View a 1982 performance of "Runaway" on YouTube...

Shasta
See Hepworth, Shasta Fay

shikantaza
102; Japanese term for zazen introduced by Dogen Zenji and associated most with the Soto school of Zen Buddhism, but which also is "the base of all Zen disciplines."

short
333; hipster slang for "car"

Sinatra, Frank
61; "exchanging glances" ("Strangers in the Night"); watching Jonathan Frid, in Las Vegas, 233; Sinatroid, 337

"single up all lines"
119; a phrase frequently used by Pynchon, likely because of its multiple meanings, metaphorically.

"single up all lines" is used in its normal nautical context in V., p.11; The Crying of Lot 49, p.31; Gravity's Rainbow, p.489; Mason & Dixon, pp.258 and 260; and Against the Day, p.3. Perhaps we can understand this "line" as a text-string linking Pynchon's novels together (all but Vineland?). Of course, the fact that Vineland doesn't include the phrase sort of throws a spanner in the works!

"Skyful of Hearts"
338; song sung by Doc in Sinatroid style, at Kahuna Airlines

Skyhook Lodge
115; where Leo & Elmina are staying. A skyhook has the crane-like ability to hoist an object into the air on a line attached to the object via hook but not attached to anything at the skyward end. While the skyhook has long been in use for sundry purposes, its best use to date has been by Daniel Dennett in a philosophical context as discussed here.

Smedley
128; Spotted Dick's keyboard player, "doing Hanon exercises on his Farfisa" he calls Fiona

Smilax, Sauncho
26; Doc's attorney at Hardy, Gridley, & Chatfield who practice maritime law; 89; 117; lagan, 267; having seen The Wizard of Oz, 286; 340 DISCUSSION; Plants of Inherent Vice

Smith, Maggie
204; Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE (b. 1934), better known as Maggie Smith, is a pre-eminent English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing.

Sombrero, El
221; "world-renowed Taqueria in Las Vegas

"Something Happened to Me Yesterday"
193; Rolling Stones song on Between the Buttons (1967)

"Something in the Air"
1969 hit for one-hit-wonder UK band Thunderclap Newman. It was originally titled "Revolution" but later renamed to avoid confusion with the Beatles' 1968 song of that name. A sample verse:

Hand out the arms and ammo

We're going to blast our way through here

We've got to get together sooner or later

Because the revolution's here, and you know it's right

And you know that it's right

Sortilege
11; used to work in Doc's office; Sortilege is the foretelling of the future by drawing lots. Sortilege is a form of Cleromancy, a form of divination using sortition, casting of lots, or casting bones, in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice, but that are believed to reveal the will of God or other supernatural entities. Sortition, also known as allotment, is an equal-chance method of selection by some form of lottery such as drawing coloured pebbles from a bag; 101; "telling time from a broken clock" 282

It's apt that the 'sort' in 'Sortilege' comes from the word 'sort', recalling Maxwell's Demon and The Crying of Lot 49. Making it even more appropriate that the 'sorting' being done is the sorting of 'lots'.

"Soul Gidget"
155; by Meatball Flag

Sound Mind Cafe
172; "a secluded eatery" where Dr. Blatnoyd has first blind date with Japonica

Spade, Sam
Sam Spade is a fictional character who is the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's novel The Maltese Falcon (1930) and the various films and adaptations based on it, as well as in three lesser known short stories written by Hammett. Known for his cold detachment, keen eye for detail, and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice, Spade is the man who has seen the wretched, the corrupt, the tawdry side of life but still retains his "tarnished idealism"; 97

Spaniels, the
American R&B doo-wop group (1952-1974), best known for the hit "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight." Some historians of vocal groups consider Pookie Hudson to be the first true leader of a vocal group, because the Spaniels pioneered the technique of having the main singer solo at his own microphone, while the rest of the group shared a second microphone. "A Stranger in Love" was recorded for their album Heart and Soul Volume Two (1958); 368

Spanish Words & Phrases
142: ése - This guy, or just this
142: sinvergüenza - shameless
142: esta gente no sabe nada - these people know nothing
144: compinches - partner in crime
145: hijo de puta - son of a bitch
145: otra vez, si? - another time, yes?
174: la cabeza - the head
192: por vida - for life
224: quien es mas macho? - who is more manly?
331: palabra - word
338: peligro - danger
338: vato - dude, gangster, homeboy (colloquial)

Sparky
195; new kid at Gotcha! adept at the ARPAnet; 258; 267; 364

Spike
11; Vietnam veteran and boyfriend of Sortilege; 102

147; "Another member of Mickey's muscle patrol"; Dawnette, his fiance, 148; disappeared, 214; "the second AP Finance alumnus ... who'd hired on with Mickey" 285;

Doc's brother, "the one with the life" 112; in Doc's dream, 205; promoted, 352

Sportello, Larry ("Doc")
1; "sportello" is Italian for door or window; his Afro, 14; arrested, 23; is he black? 34; Hawaiian shirt, 77; aka Xpp, 106; going to Chryskylodon Institute, 186; goes to the Kismet in Las Vegas, 235; feeling "evidence everywhere of ancient visitation" in Las Vegas desert, 249; visiting Penny Kimball at the Hall of Justice, 275; tape interview at Hall of Justice, 281; conversation with Thomas Jefferson at the Plastic Nickel, 294; "hopeless stooge of the creditor class" 303; with Shasta, 303-310; negotiating with Crocker Fenway, 346; class-warfare conversation, 347-348

Sportello, Leo
112; Doc's father

Sportello, Vernix
352; Gilroy's wife

Spotted Dick
127; visiting British band, at Boards mansion; Spotted dick is a steamed suet pudding containing dried fruit (usually currants), commonly served with either custard or butter and brown sugar; "George Formby covers, old movie music, regional folk material, plus their own stuff, which tends to be tuneful, poetic ... English" 130; zombies, 132; "Long Trip Out" 198;

Staccato, Johnny
97; a private detective series which ran for twenty-seven episodes on NBC from 1959-1960. John Cassavetes played the lead role.

Star Trek
73; "not logical, Captain" 140; 254; Mr. Spock, 325

Stavrou, Inez
183; Tito's wife or girlfriend

Stavrou, Tito
181; Doc's friend who runs a limo service and has a gambling habit; in Las Vegas, 227; 335

Steamer Lane
363; song Coy plays at the Surfadelic Freak-In up at Will Rogers Park; Steamer Lane is a famous surfing location in Santa Cruz, California.

Stewart, James
in Vertigo, 298

Stodger, Burke
92; movie star (see Paternoster Ruby by Charles Edmonds Walk, 1910 - Alexander Stilwell Burke and Stodger, a plain-clothes cop - a noir-ish murder mystery); Commie Confidential, 93; set up Coy with the Viggies, 308; and Shasta, 309; .45-Caliber Kissoff, 309; I Was a Red Dope Fiend and Squeal, Pinko, Squeal ("modestly budgeted FBI dramas"), 309; Paternoster Ruby on Google Books

Stone Turntable
124; fictional "underground fan magazine"

Sun-Fary Market
159; where Doc leaves Jason Velveeta

"Super Market"
Appeared on Fapardokly's 1966 album Fapardokly; "triple-tongue highway classic" 368

Sureños
Group of Mexican American street gangs with origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California. There are hundreds of Sureño gangs in California, and each has its own identity on the streets; Tariq Khalil and Glen Charlock, 290

Surfadelic Freak-In
Beer appearing at, 297; Hope and Amethyst's free passes to, in Will Rogers Park, 362

Surfaris, The
101; "Wipe Out"

Surfer-Lowrider Wars
46

"Surfin' Bird"
124; 1963 surf tune by The Trashmen

Surfing
"absent surfers" 100; north shore of Oahu, 357

swag lamp
4

sweep frequency
199; the horizontal sweep frequency of a TV picture is 15,750 Hz. It is based on the fact that 30 frames times 525 (scan) lines equals 15,750.

Sybil Brand Institute
135; the Sybil Brand Institute For Women was a famous county jail in Los Angeles County, California. The facility was named after Sybil Brand (1899-2004), a noted local philanthropist and civic leader. Famously, this is where Susan Atkins admitted to another inmate that the Manson Family was responsible for the Tate-LaBianca murders.