Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Chapter 40

2014-03-08T20:32:09Z

Geronimo: /* Page 462 */

{{BE PxP Header}}
==Page 450==
'''She's innocent...She's so fuckin innocent''' 
Echos of Britney Spears from [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#Page_7 page 7]? Maybe, maybe not. It's just that at the end of this novel there are so many references to previous happenings that one just can't be sure, can one?
 
 
'''Hypnotiq''' 
Misspelling/typo of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hpnotiq Hpnotiq,] a turquoise liqueur?

==Page 451==
'''''The Geek That Couldn't Sleep''''' 
Playing on the 1939 animated short [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gkWB5QtPFQ The Bear that Couldn't Sleep]?

'''bagpipe players, improvisiong grace notes on "Candle in the Wind"''' 
I thought I was going to have to be the one to take one for the team by being the one to annotate this oppressively ubiquitous Elton John song associated with the deaths of Princess Diana and Marilyn Monroe, but I'm thrilled to say [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyw1lC7tFLY YouTube] has a dude playing it on bagpipes. Thank you, dude and YouTube.

==Page 452==
'''CMU''' 
Carnegie Mellon University, see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Mellon_University WIKI].

'''leading indicator...bagpipe players would get a heads-up before the next one happens?''' 
Little bit of [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Tyrone_Slothrop Slothrop] here, as well as a bleeding edge?

'''The Montauk Project''' 
Just a refresher, on page 117 March explains "The Montauk Project is every horrible suspicion you've ever had since World War II, all the paranoid production values, a vast underground facility, exotic weapons, space aliens, time travel, other dimensions..."

'''Cue the theremin music''' 
Refers to the theme song of the original TV series ''Star Trek'' (I think?), which used the eerie sound of the theremin. Relates to the extra terrestrial/sci-fi activities at Montauk mentioned a few lines earlier.

It more likely is an allusion to the music from ''The Day the Earth Stood Still''. I don't believe there is a theremin in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzRb1OVpat0 the original Star Trek theme]

Two things. One: apparently the vocal style of the ''Star Trek'' theme song really was meant to imitate specifically the theremin, and not just to sound 'spacey.' Two: ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' gets referenced on page [[Chapter_10#Page_100|100.]]

==Page 454==
'''Igor's ZiL-41047''' 
The ZIL-41047 is a limousine built by ZIL of Russia. Production of ZIL models ceased in 2002 due to their previous customer base turning to more modern Western vehicles.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIL-41047]

See p. [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_15#Page_160 160].

==Page 455==
'''''govno''''' 
Russian: "shit"

==Page 456==
'''fake barn and silo of Stew Leonard''' 
Stew Leonard's is chain of four supermarkets in Connecticut and New York which ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' deemed "The World's Largest Dairy", with Fortune magazine listing Stew Leonard's as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For". "Anyone who comes from Connecticut or thereabouts knows this landmark chain of grocery stores where mechanized cows sing and roosters crow," according to a writer for the ''Sun-Sentinel'' of Florida. A typical Stew Leonard's store will attract customers from a wider geographic area than a typical supermarket because customers are willing to drive longer distances. The store's fame comes from its innovative in-store marketing, which includes a barnlike wood decor, a winding path for shoppers instead of straight, parallel aisles, and animatronic singing animals perched above the shelving. In 1993, Stew Leonard Sr. was convicted of committing tax fraud through an elaborate scheme including short-weighting to divert more than $17 million in cash register receipts over a ten-year period. He was sentenced to 52-months in jail. Court documents indicated that Stew Leonard Jr. played a role in the tax fraud. However, in the interest of protecting his son and the store, Stew Leonard Sr. pleaded guilty in exchange for an agreement from the prosecutors to not bring charges against Stew Leonard Jr. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stew_Leonard%27s WIKI].

'''... Chimpan Zee bridge. ''' 

The Tappan Zee Bridge.

'''DDT's road anthem "Ty Nye Odin" (You Are Not Alone)...and the soulful ballad "Veter"''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lWulSZIvFQ Ty Nye Odin] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7z0jtmbOC8 Veter] on YouTube. 

Anyone else getting a slight whiff, a silage, perhaps, of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AEMiz6rcxc nihilists] from ''The Big Lebowski''?

==Page 457==
'''Mohawk for 'firefly'''' 
This [http://winddancer45.tripod.com/MohawkLanguage.html page] says "tewattsirokwas" does mean "firefly."

'''Camp Tewattsirokwas ... the Gimelmans from Cedarhurst'''
The camp and the Gimelmans are, as far as I can tell, fictional.

You will need a lot of watts (a terrawatt?) to operate a server farm and a lot of cooling (Lake Heatsink)

'''the Schachtman unpleasantness''' 
Max Shachtman (1904 – 1972) was an American Marxist theorist. He evolved from being an associate of Leon Trotsky to a social democrat and mentor of senior assistants to AFL-CIO President George Meany. In 1938, Shachtman shocked Trotsky by publishing an article in the New International in which James Burnham declared his opposition to dialectical materialism, the philosophy of Marxism. Although Trotsky reassured Shachtman, "I did not deny in the least the usefulness of the article you and Burnham wrote," the issue would soon be revived as Shachtman and Trotsky clashed on the outbreak of World War II. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Shachtman]

'''Marching to Astoria''' 
Reference to Archie Bunker's version. Actually Marching to Pretoria, which was sung at many upstate sleepaway camps. http://youtu.be/Hap0jqU0WsQ

'''aaahhh! Wesley Epstein!''' 
Perhaps one of Maxine's crushes at summer camp?

'''spiel from the Geek's Cotillion''' 
This would be Ice's speech at the Tworkeffx party in [[Chapter_28|| Chapter 28]] (p. 310) wherein he says that the thing to do is "to go north, set up server farms where heat dissipation won't be so much of a problem [...] Domed communities across the Arctic tundra."

'''Ride Wit Me''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtSDWq6HsJE YouTube.] Help the view count pass the 31 million mark.

==Page 458==
'''one of those vircators''' 
A vircator (VIRtual CAthode oscillaTOR) is a microwave generator that is capable of generating brief pulses of tunable, narrow band microwaves at very high power levels. Vircators have been used as electromagnetic (EM) pulse generators and for generating X-rays.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vircator]

This scence sounds like it came from Repo Man [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repo_Man_%28film%29 wiki]

==Page 459==
'''Gaussian blur''' 
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauß (30 April 1777 – 23 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physical scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, algebra, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, electrostatics, astronomy, and optics. Sometimes referred to as the ''Princeps mathematicorum'' (Latin, "the Prince of Mathematicians" or "the foremost of mathematicians") and "greatest mathematician since antiquity", Gauss had a remarkable influence in many fields of mathematics and science and is ranked as one of history's most influential mathematicians. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss WIKI].

==Page 460==
'''Overflow exploit, denial of service'''
<blockquote>'''Buffer overflow:''' In computer security and programming, a buffer overflow, or buffer overrun, is an anomaly where a program, while writing data to a buffer, overruns the buffer's boundary and overwrites adjacent memory. This is a special case of violation of memory safety. Buffer overflows can be triggered by inputs that are designed to execute code, or alter the way the program operates. This may result in erratic program behavior, including memory access errors, incorrect results, a crash, or a breach of system security. Thus, they are the basis of many software vulnerabilities and can be maliciously exploited.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_overflow] 

'''Denial of Service (DoS):''' In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of efforts to temporarily or indefinitely interrupt or suspend services of a host connected to the Internet.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial_of_service_attack]</blockquote>

'''Anasha can do funny things to a man''' 
"Anasha" is Russian for the dried resin exuded by female indian hemp plant, aka hashish

'''HALO... HAHO''' 
High-altitude military parachuting (or military free fall (MFF)) is a method of delivering personnel, equipment, and supplies from a transport aircraft at a high altitude via free-fall parachute insertion. Two techniques are used: HALO (high altitude - low opening) and HAHO (high altitude - high opening). In the HALO technique, the parachutist opens his parachute at a low altitude after free-falling for a period of time, while in the HAHO technique, the parachutist opens his parachute at a high altitude just a few seconds after jumping from the aircraft. HALO techniques date back to 1960 when the U.S. Air Force was conducting experiments that followed earlier work by Colonel John Stapp in the late 1940s through early 1950s on survivability factors for high-flying pilots needing to eject at high altitudes. In recent years, the HALO technique has been practiced by civilians as a form of skydiving. HALO is used for delivering equipment, supplies, or personnel, while HAHO is generally used only for personnel. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HALO_jump WIKI].

==Page 461==
'''Spetsnaz''' 
See p. [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_13#Page_139 139].

'''Wahhabist bullshit front''' 
See p. [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_31#Page_344 344].

'''hedgehog in the fog''' 
English translation of the Russian animated film [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCsJZV7aCdY ''Yozhik v Tumane''] mentioned on page 273.

==Page 462==
'''The ''padonki'' exchange a hopeful glance.''' 
Padonki (Russian: падонки) is an an underground, nonconformist counter-culture within the Russian-speaking Internet that originated in 1997. It's most famous for using a distinctive slang, known as padonkaffsky jargon or, alternatively, as Olbanian. They pride themselves on their ability to creatively disrupt, question and make fun of mainstream culture. A padonok is any individual who has the ability to detach from social, cultural, ideological, and political norms. The singular of padonki is padonok (Russian: падонок), an intentional misspelling of podonok (Russian: подонок), which means riff-raff, scoundrel, or scum. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padonki]]

==Page 462==
'''Do svidanya Maksi! Poka, byelokurva!''' 
I think there is some sort of bilingual pun on saying goodbye. My brother speaks Russian and says the first sentence says "Goodbye, Maxi!" The second one he didn't know. I rearranged it into Poka bilo Kurva, which in Bosnian Google translate came up as "Show any Pickup." Anyone versed in these languages? [[User:H2oetry|H2oetry]] ([[User talk:H2oetry|talk]])

I've found '''''Poka''''', '''''byelo-''''' and '''''kurva''''' translated separately on the web as, respectively, ''So long!''. . . ''white''. . . ''whore''. So maybe we argue that our Maxie is an avatar of the White Goddess in decline? Or maybe it's just one ol' pal saying good-bye to another with an affectionate dig.

Alternatively "Poka, byelokurva" can be read as a final disrespect to Tallis after a friendly goodbye to Maxine. Tallis as the "white whore" would follow Misha and Grisha's "amused exchange in Russian that Maxine imagines going something like 'Fucking American women only care about price they bring on market? Nation of whores.'" on page 455.

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}

Chapter 40

2014-03-08T20:31:35Z

Geronimo: /* Page 462 */

{{BE PxP Header}}
==Page 450==
'''She's innocent...She's so fuckin innocent''' 
Echos of Britney Spears from [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#Page_7 page 7]? Maybe, maybe not. It's just that at the end of this novel there are so many references to previous happenings that one just can't be sure, can one?
 
 
'''Hypnotiq''' 
Misspelling/typo of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hpnotiq Hpnotiq,] a turquoise liqueur?

==Page 451==
'''''The Geek That Couldn't Sleep''''' 
Playing on the 1939 animated short [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gkWB5QtPFQ The Bear that Couldn't Sleep]?

'''bagpipe players, improvisiong grace notes on "Candle in the Wind"''' 
I thought I was going to have to be the one to take one for the team by being the one to annotate this oppressively ubiquitous Elton John song associated with the deaths of Princess Diana and Marilyn Monroe, but I'm thrilled to say [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyw1lC7tFLY YouTube] has a dude playing it on bagpipes. Thank you, dude and YouTube.

==Page 452==
'''CMU''' 
Carnegie Mellon University, see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Mellon_University WIKI].

'''leading indicator...bagpipe players would get a heads-up before the next one happens?''' 
Little bit of [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Tyrone_Slothrop Slothrop] here, as well as a bleeding edge?

'''The Montauk Project''' 
Just a refresher, on page 117 March explains "The Montauk Project is every horrible suspicion you've ever had since World War II, all the paranoid production values, a vast underground facility, exotic weapons, space aliens, time travel, other dimensions..."

'''Cue the theremin music''' 
Refers to the theme song of the original TV series ''Star Trek'' (I think?), which used the eerie sound of the theremin. Relates to the extra terrestrial/sci-fi activities at Montauk mentioned a few lines earlier.

It more likely is an allusion to the music from ''The Day the Earth Stood Still''. I don't believe there is a theremin in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzRb1OVpat0 the original Star Trek theme]

Two things. One: apparently the vocal style of the ''Star Trek'' theme song really was meant to imitate specifically the theremin, and not just to sound 'spacey.' Two: ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' gets referenced on page [[Chapter_10#Page_100|100.]]

==Page 454==
'''Igor's ZiL-41047''' 
The ZIL-41047 is a limousine built by ZIL of Russia. Production of ZIL models ceased in 2002 due to their previous customer base turning to more modern Western vehicles.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIL-41047]

See p. [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_15#Page_160 160].

==Page 455==
'''''govno''''' 
Russian: "shit"

==Page 456==
'''fake barn and silo of Stew Leonard''' 
Stew Leonard's is chain of four supermarkets in Connecticut and New York which ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' deemed "The World's Largest Dairy", with Fortune magazine listing Stew Leonard's as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For". "Anyone who comes from Connecticut or thereabouts knows this landmark chain of grocery stores where mechanized cows sing and roosters crow," according to a writer for the ''Sun-Sentinel'' of Florida. A typical Stew Leonard's store will attract customers from a wider geographic area than a typical supermarket because customers are willing to drive longer distances. The store's fame comes from its innovative in-store marketing, which includes a barnlike wood decor, a winding path for shoppers instead of straight, parallel aisles, and animatronic singing animals perched above the shelving. In 1993, Stew Leonard Sr. was convicted of committing tax fraud through an elaborate scheme including short-weighting to divert more than $17 million in cash register receipts over a ten-year period. He was sentenced to 52-months in jail. Court documents indicated that Stew Leonard Jr. played a role in the tax fraud. However, in the interest of protecting his son and the store, Stew Leonard Sr. pleaded guilty in exchange for an agreement from the prosecutors to not bring charges against Stew Leonard Jr. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stew_Leonard%27s WIKI].

'''... Chimpan Zee bridge. ''' 

The Tappan Zee Bridge.

'''DDT's road anthem "Ty Nye Odin" (You Are Not Alone)...and the soulful ballad "Veter"''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lWulSZIvFQ Ty Nye Odin] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7z0jtmbOC8 Veter] on YouTube. 

Anyone else getting a slight whiff, a silage, perhaps, of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AEMiz6rcxc nihilists] from ''The Big Lebowski''?

==Page 457==
'''Mohawk for 'firefly'''' 
This [http://winddancer45.tripod.com/MohawkLanguage.html page] says "tewattsirokwas" does mean "firefly."

'''Camp Tewattsirokwas ... the Gimelmans from Cedarhurst'''
The camp and the Gimelmans are, as far as I can tell, fictional.

You will need a lot of watts (a terrawatt?) to operate a server farm and a lot of cooling (Lake Heatsink)

'''the Schachtman unpleasantness''' 
Max Shachtman (1904 – 1972) was an American Marxist theorist. He evolved from being an associate of Leon Trotsky to a social democrat and mentor of senior assistants to AFL-CIO President George Meany. In 1938, Shachtman shocked Trotsky by publishing an article in the New International in which James Burnham declared his opposition to dialectical materialism, the philosophy of Marxism. Although Trotsky reassured Shachtman, "I did not deny in the least the usefulness of the article you and Burnham wrote," the issue would soon be revived as Shachtman and Trotsky clashed on the outbreak of World War II. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Shachtman]

'''Marching to Astoria''' 
Reference to Archie Bunker's version. Actually Marching to Pretoria, which was sung at many upstate sleepaway camps. http://youtu.be/Hap0jqU0WsQ

'''aaahhh! Wesley Epstein!''' 
Perhaps one of Maxine's crushes at summer camp?

'''spiel from the Geek's Cotillion''' 
This would be Ice's speech at the Tworkeffx party in [[Chapter_28|| Chapter 28]] (p. 310) wherein he says that the thing to do is "to go north, set up server farms where heat dissipation won't be so much of a problem [...] Domed communities across the Arctic tundra."

'''Ride Wit Me''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtSDWq6HsJE YouTube.] Help the view count pass the 31 million mark.

==Page 458==
'''one of those vircators''' 
A vircator (VIRtual CAthode oscillaTOR) is a microwave generator that is capable of generating brief pulses of tunable, narrow band microwaves at very high power levels. Vircators have been used as electromagnetic (EM) pulse generators and for generating X-rays.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vircator]

This scence sounds like it came from Repo Man [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repo_Man_%28film%29 wiki]

==Page 459==
'''Gaussian blur''' 
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauß (30 April 1777 – 23 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physical scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, algebra, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, electrostatics, astronomy, and optics. Sometimes referred to as the ''Princeps mathematicorum'' (Latin, "the Prince of Mathematicians" or "the foremost of mathematicians") and "greatest mathematician since antiquity", Gauss had a remarkable influence in many fields of mathematics and science and is ranked as one of history's most influential mathematicians. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss WIKI].

==Page 460==
'''Overflow exploit, denial of service'''
<blockquote>'''Buffer overflow:''' In computer security and programming, a buffer overflow, or buffer overrun, is an anomaly where a program, while writing data to a buffer, overruns the buffer's boundary and overwrites adjacent memory. This is a special case of violation of memory safety. Buffer overflows can be triggered by inputs that are designed to execute code, or alter the way the program operates. This may result in erratic program behavior, including memory access errors, incorrect results, a crash, or a breach of system security. Thus, they are the basis of many software vulnerabilities and can be maliciously exploited.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_overflow] 

'''Denial of Service (DoS):''' In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of efforts to temporarily or indefinitely interrupt or suspend services of a host connected to the Internet.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial_of_service_attack]</blockquote>

'''Anasha can do funny things to a man''' 
"Anasha" is Russian for the dried resin exuded by female indian hemp plant, aka hashish

'''HALO... HAHO''' 
High-altitude military parachuting (or military free fall (MFF)) is a method of delivering personnel, equipment, and supplies from a transport aircraft at a high altitude via free-fall parachute insertion. Two techniques are used: HALO (high altitude - low opening) and HAHO (high altitude - high opening). In the HALO technique, the parachutist opens his parachute at a low altitude after free-falling for a period of time, while in the HAHO technique, the parachutist opens his parachute at a high altitude just a few seconds after jumping from the aircraft. HALO techniques date back to 1960 when the U.S. Air Force was conducting experiments that followed earlier work by Colonel John Stapp in the late 1940s through early 1950s on survivability factors for high-flying pilots needing to eject at high altitudes. In recent years, the HALO technique has been practiced by civilians as a form of skydiving. HALO is used for delivering equipment, supplies, or personnel, while HAHO is generally used only for personnel. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HALO_jump WIKI].

==Page 461==
'''Spetsnaz''' 
See p. [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_13#Page_139 139].

'''Wahhabist bullshit front''' 
See p. [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_31#Page_344 344].

'''hedgehog in the fog''' 
English translation of the Russian animated film [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCsJZV7aCdY ''Yozhik v Tumane''] mentioned on page 273.

==Page 462==
'''The ''padonki'' exchange a hopeful glance.''' 
Padonki (Russian: падонки) is an an underground, nonconformist counter-culture within the Russian-speaking Internet that originated in 1997. It's most famous for using a distinctive slang, known as padonkaffsky jargon or, alternatively, as Olbanian. They pride themselves on their ability to creatively disrupt, question and make fun of mainstream culture. A padonok is any individual who has the ability to detach from social, cultural, ideological, and political norms. The singular of padonki is padonok (Russian: падонок), an intentional misspelling of podonok (Russian: подонок), which means riff-raff, scoundrel, or scum. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padonki]]

==Page 462==
'''Do svidanya Maksi! Poka, byelokurva!''' 
I think there is some sort of bilingual pun on saying goodbye. My brother speaks Russian and says the first sentence says "Goodbye, Maxi!" The second one he didn't know. I rearranged it into Poka bilo Kurva, which in Bosnian Google translate came up as "Show any Pickup." Anyone versed in these languages? [[User:H2oetry|H2oetry]] ([[User talk:H2oetry|talk]])

I've found '''''Poka''''', '''''byelo-''''' and '''''kurva''''' translated separately on the web as, respectively, ''So long!''. . . ''white''. . . ''whore''. So maybe we argue that our Maxie is an avatar of the White Goddess in decline? Or maybe it's just one ol' pal saying good-bye to another with an affectionate dig.

Alternatively ""Poka, byelokurva"" can be read as a final disrespect to Tallis after a friendly goodbye to Maxine. Tallis as the "white whore" would follow Misha and Grisha's ""amused exchange in Russian that Maxine imagines going something like 'Fucking American women only care about price they bring on market? Nation of whores.'"" on page 455.

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}

Chapter 40

2014-03-08T20:30:35Z

Geronimo: /* Page 462 */

Chapter 39

2014-03-08T19:40:44Z

Geronimo: /* Page 441 */

{{BE PxP Header}}

==Page 440==
'''ALL HOPE ABANDON''' 
In Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', the sign above the entrance to hell reads, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

'''some modest vig''' 
Vigorish, or simply ''the vig'', also known as ''juice'', ''the cut'' or ''the take'', is the amount charged by a bookmaker, or bookie, for his services. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigorish WIKI].

==Page 441==
'''Hungarian Pastry Shop''' 
See [http://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1 page 4 of ''The Crying of Lot 49''] to hear about the time when a thin-skinned Mucho Mass was offended at a party by a Hungarian pastry chef, a man who may or may not have used the word "creampuff" maliciously.

Undoubtedly the famous Hungarian Pastry Shop on Amsterdam Avenue between 110th and 111th in Manhattan, just blocks from Columbia University where Xiomara has spent the morning. The capitalised "P" and "S" indicates a proper noun and not a pastry shop that happens to be Hungarian.

'''before either of them knows it, it's turning into morning talk-show TV''' 
A similar experience to how some readers find much of the novel?

==Page 442==
'''Old Ebbitt''' 
Old Ebbitt Grill is a historic bar and restaurant located at 675 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is Washington's oldest bar and restaurant, and as of 2012 was owned by Clyde's Restaurant Group. It opened as an unnamed restaurant in the Ebbitt House hotel. The hotel was razed and rebuilt in the same location in 1827. Ebbitt House was razed in 1926 to make way for the National Press Club Building, but the restaurant was incorporated by Anders Lofstrand, Sr., as a stand-alone business. It moved into new quarters at 1427 F Street NW. After Lofstrand's death in 1955, the restaurant was purchased by Peter Bechas in 1961. The restaurant was sold at a tax sale in June 1970, and was purchased by Clyde's Restaurant Group. The 1427 F Street NW location was demolished in 1983, and Old Ebbitt Grill moved into its current quarters at 675 15th Street NW. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Ebbitt_Grill WIKI].

... and right down the block from the White House

'''"Something about [...] "...vertical hoop, high percentage of fouls, some of them flagrant, usually fatal?"''' 
Maxine's description is actually pretty accurate:

<blockquote> "One of the ways that the Mayan peoples competed against each other was by playing what has been called the Ball Game. They used a rubber ball, about 20 inches in diameter, to play the Game, which was played on a stone "court" whose measurements varied. The court had walls that sloped inward, and hanging high on the walls were stone rings. The goal of the game was to pass the ball around, without having it touch your hands, and then get the ball to pass through one of the rings. Since the rings were so high and players were not allowed to use their hands, it was extremely difficult to get the ball through a ring. In fact, when a player did manage to get a ball through a ring, that usually ended the game. The game ended otherwise when the ball touched the ground. The Mayan Ball Game was a solemn experience, filled with ritual importance. Religious leaders attended, as did most chieftains and other government leaders. Sacred songs were sung and played. Other religious activities took place as well. The winners of the game were treated as heroes and given a great feast. '''The penalty for losing a game was sometimes unusually harsh: death'''. The leader of the team who lost the game was sometimes killed. This fit in with the Mayan belief that human sacrifice was necessary for the continued success of the peoples' agriculture, trade, and overall health."
[http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/worldhistory/mayanballgame.htm]</blockquote>

The "Mayan Ball Game" was a feature of the underworld death court Xibalba: <blockquote>"Xibalba was home of a famous ballcourt in which the heroes of the Popol Vuh succumbed to the trickery of the Xibalbans in the form of a deadly, bladed ball, as well as the site in which the Maya Hero Twins outwitted the Xibalbans and brought about their downfall."[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xibalba]</blockquote>

==Page 443==
'''Huehuetenango''' 
In the highlands of Guatemala, was a Pre-Columbian Mayan city.

'''Xibalba''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xibalba Wikipedia]: "roughly translated as "place of fear", Xibalba is the name of the underworld in K'iche' Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya death gods and their helpers. In 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the vicinity of Cobán, Guatemala. According to some of the K'iche' Maya presently living in the vicinity, the area is still associated with death. Cave systems in nearby Belize have also been referred to as the entrance to Xibalba."

==Page 444==
'''''Salsipuedes''''' 
"Leave if you can"

'''Kaibil''' 
The Kaibiles are a special operations force of the Military of Guatemala. They specialize in jungle warfare tactics and counter-insurgency operations. The corps' soldiers are distinguished from regular troops by maroon berets with patches bearing a blazing sword. Its motto, inspired by Henri de la Rochejaquelein, is: "If I advance, follow me. If I stop, urge me on. If I retreat, kill me." From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaibil WIKI].

'''D.F.''' 
Mexico City, or that is, Federal District, or ''Distrito Federal''.

==Page 445==
'''Huehuetenango''' 
Huehuetenango is a city and a municipality in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is also the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The municipality's population was over 81,000 people in 2002. The city is located 269 km from Guatemala City, and is the last departmental capital on the Pan-American Highway before reaching the Mexican border at La Mesilla. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huehuetenango WIKI].

'''''de Guatemala a Guatepeor''''' 
figuratively speaking, "out of the frying pan into the fire"

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}