Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Chapter 3

2013-09-28T02:39:12Z

Man-on-the-moon: French roundoff

==Page 20==
'''Pinot E-Grigio'''<br />
Pinot grigio is a kind of white wine. A very popular easy-drinking wine, often light, dry, and crisp. An egregious pun here?

'''Night Train'''<br />
Common abbreviation for Night Train Express, a cheap, sweet, high alcohol content, fortified wine made by E & J Gallo.

'''plotzing'''<br />
In Yiddish, to plotz literally means to crack, split, or burst. In slang it means "to
collapse or be beside oneself with frustration, annoyance, or other strong emotion."

==Page 21==
'''paraphrasing Jimi Hendrix'''<br />
"mayonnaise! All in your brain" cf. "Purple haze! all in my brain"

'''Maid-Rite'''<br />
Casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1926. Centered in the Midwest with headquarters in Iowa. Home of the "loose meat sandwich," which looks like a sloppy joe minus the tomato sauce.

==Page 22==

'''cheongsam'''<br />
Tight-fitting one-piece [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheongsam Chinese dress] for females. Very common in films and television.

''''59 Impala'''<br />
A 1965 Impala appears in ''Inherent Vice''.

'''three-month LIBOR'''<br />
a banking term. The average interest rate estimated by banks in London for borrowing from other banks.

==Page 23==
'''Ceres'''<br />
Roman goddess of agriculture, fitting name for the Board of Trade (i.e. commodities) bar.

==Page 24==
'''French roundoff'''
Computer fraud in which all interest income amounts less than half a cent are systematically credited to the perpetrator’s account. From [http://www.larry-adams.com/199309_article.htm].

'''Kashruth'''<br />
set of Jewish dietary laws.

'''Meyer Lansky'''<br/>
Known as the "Mob's Accountant," was a major organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States. For decades he was thought to be one of the most powerful individuals in the country. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_Lansky WIKI].

'''"it's a truth universally acknowledged"'''<br />
First sentence of ''Pride and Prejudice'': "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

==Page 25==
'''alexithymic lug'''<br />
describing Horst; alexithymia is a personality construct characterized by the sub-clinical inability to identify and describe emotions in the self. The core characteristics of alexithymia are marked dysfunction in emotional awareness, social attachment, and interpersonal relating.

==Page 26==
'''least enjoyable maybe the one between Hochdeutsch and Ashkenazi'''<br/>
Hochdeutsch generally means the standard German language (as opposed to regional dialects). Ashkenazi Jews historically spoke Yiddish.

'''Galician, actually'''<br />
The Galicia referred to here is the eastern European area that today forms most of western Ukraine and was part of the Austrian Empire from the late eighteenth to early twentieth century. During that time, the Jewish population of Galicia swelled significantly. After the Great War, Galicia passed to Poland. The Polish government prohibited both Galician Jews and Ukrainians from working in the state enterprises, institutions, railway, post, telegraph etc. These measures were applied in their strictest form. Galician Jews and Ukrainians experienced ethnic oppression by undergoing a forceful Polonization. In September 1939, most of Galicia passed to Soviet Ukraine. The majority of Galician Jews perished during the Holocaust. Most survivors immigrated to Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom or Australia. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Galicia_%28Eastern_Europe%29 Wikipedia]

'''Helvetia'''<br/>
Helvetia is the female national personification of Switzerland, officially Confœderatio Helvetica, the Swiss Confederation. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Swiss flag, and commonly with braided hair, commonly with a wreath as a symbol of confederation. The name is a derivation of the ethnonym Helvetii, the name of the Gaulish tribe inhabiting the Swiss Plateau prior to the Roman conquest. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helvetia WIKI].

'''Certain lobes of Heidi's spirit may have been compromised'''<br>
You mean servers?

'''Mexican divorce'''<br>
In the 1960s, some New Yorkers traveled south to obtain a "Mexican divorce". A Mexican divorce was easier, quicker, and less expensive than a divorce in most U.S. states. Celebrities who obtained a Mexican divorce include Johnny Carson, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, and Don Hewitt. It is also mentioned in the Jack Kerouac book ''On The Road''. It was often referred to as a quickie (or quicky) divorce. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_divorce WIKI].

==Page 27==
'''echt Latina... boricua'''<br />
Echt = German (and Yiddish?) for "genuine, real". Boricua = Puerto Rican.

'''Gracy Kelly...''Rear Window''...Thelma Ritter...Wendell Corey.'''<br />
All references to Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film "Rear Window." Oddly, the star of the film, James Stewart, doesn't get his name dropped. Thelma Ritter played Stewart's earthy, commonsensical nurse, a bit like the talkative Nurse from Romeo and Juliet. Wendell Corey played Stewart's skeptical policeman friend who helps save the day in the dramatic ending. You could say that Stewart, more than anyone else, is the one who 'saves' Grace Kelly from a murderer by calling the police at a crucial moment, and in general Kelly interacts more with Stewart than with Ritter or Corey, so I don't understand why Maxine is being identified more with them than with Stewart. Anyone have a better handle on this and can rewrite this entry?

'''The Deseret'''<br />
Boris Kachka, [http://www.vulture.com/2013/08/thomas-pynchon-bleeding-edge.html writing for New York Magazine], writes that this building is "obviously the Apthorp". Although the Apthorp building does not have turrents and gargoyles from pictures available, its courtyard ([http://nymag.com/realestate/vu/2007/10/38348/ photos here]) closely matches Pynchon's description of the Deseret. Kachka writes that Pynchon himself lived in an apartment facing this building for years.

The etymology of the term "deseret" [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deseret_(Book_of_Mormon) begins in the LDS scripture Book of Mormon, where the term is defined as honeybee], and used as an industrious symbol along with a beehive by Mormon leader Brigham Young.

==Page 28==
'''When Irish eyes are ''not'' smiling . . .'''<br/>
"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" is a song first published in 1912.

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}

Main Page

2013-09-17T10:11:51Z

Man-on-the-moon: /* Penguin Press's "Trailer" for Bleeding Edge and other promotional campaigns */

[[Image:BE-Final-Cover.jpg|500px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Bleeding Edge'' Wiki!'''</big>

To become a contributor/editor, [http://pynchonwiki.com/mycaptcha/captcha-page.php '''Create an account.''']

*[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594204233/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1594204233&linkCode=as2&tag=pyncwiki-20'''Order ''Bleeding Edge''''' (Amazon)]
*Check out the [[#Featured Articles|'''Featured Articles''']]

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Bleeding Edge''. Besides using the [[BE_Alpha_Nav|'''Alphabetical Index''']] and the [[Bleeding_Edge_-_Page_by_Page|'''page-by-page annotation''']], you can also take a look at [[Bleeding Edge cover analysis|''Bleeding Edge'' cover analyses]], read the [[Bleeding Edge Reviews|reviews]], or [[Bleeding Edge Title|entertain some theories on the source of the title]].

<div id="announcement-home" style="display:none">
Professor Don Larrson, he of the Companion's Companion to ''Bleeding Edge'' (which was rolled into this wiki), reviews Steve Weisenburger's the second, revised edition of ''A Gravity’s Rainbow Companion: Sources and Contexts for Pynchon’s Novel''. [[Weisenburger's Companion, 2nd Edition|Read it...]].

[[The_Hawaiian_Islands_and_Ukuleles|'''Hawaiian cultural references in ''Bleeding Edge''''']]</div>

<div style="clear:both;"></div>
==Penguin Press's "Trailer" for ''Bleeding Edge'' and other promotional campaigns==

Here's Penguin's trailer (Hmm...) for ''Bleeding Edge'' ... Features a different "Tom Pynchon" from the one who narrated the ''Inherent Vice'' trailer, and although it might not send folks rushing to the bookstore, but it's certain created a buzz! Writer '''William Gibson''' tweeted "Absolutely the best novel trailer so far in the history of the world" on September 4!

Penguin Press says the video was produced by Riz Sauvage (French: "Wild Rice") Productions, an outfit hithertofore unheard of, with zero presence online...

Also, the back cover of the advance reading copy says that they will have "promotional book playlist; wide-ranging online and social network campaign; comprehensive internet blog campaign" and so on. One of the few inconspicuous websites that might be linked to the campaign is found on [http://www.hashslingrz.com hashslingrz], where you can read several very Pynchonesque short-shorts.

<div class="center">
{{#ev:newvimeo|73716114}}
</div>
[[Comments_and_Questions_re_the_Bleeding_Edge_Trailer|'''Read  and participate in  a discussion of this video »''']]

==Featured Articles==
[[File:Lethem-BleedingEdge.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Image by Mario Wagner]] '''Jonathan Lethem's''' review of ''Bleeding Edge'' for '''The New York Times''', may be the most intelligent and insightful review of them all. Lethem ''gets'' it! "[There is] the sheer vitality and fascination, the plummets into beauty and horror, the unique flashes of galactic epiphany, in Pynchon’s method. Our reward for surrendering expectations that a novel should gather in clarity, rather than disperse into molecules, isn’t anomie but delight. Pynchon himself’s a good companion, full of real affection for his people and places, even as he lampoons them for suffering the postmodern condition of being only partly real. He spoils us with descriptive flights." [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/books/review/bleeding-edge-by-thomas-pynchon.html Read the review...]
<p style="clear:both;margin-bottom:8px;"></p>

[[File:Michiko-Kakutani.jpg|left|75px|thumb|Image: Slate]] Noticing that ''New York Times'' critic '''Michiko Kakutani''' has panned every Pynchon novel after ''Mason & Dixon'' (1997)  the latest target being [[Bleeding_Edge_Reviews#kakutani|''Bleeding Edge'']]  I became curious as to just who this grumpy critic is. If you're curious too, read "Assessing Michiko Kakutani":

"Kakutani doesn't offer the stylistic flair, the wit, or the insight one gets from Kael and other first-rate critics; for her, the verdict is the only thing. One has the sense of her deciding roughly at Page 2 whether or not a book is worthy; reading the rest of it to gather evidence for her case; spending some quality time with the Thesaurus; and then taking a large blunt hammer and pounding the message home." [http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2006/04/michiko_kakutani.html Read on...]
<p style="clear:both;margin-bottom:8px;"></p>

[[File:PubWeekly-logo.png|left]] '''''Bleeding Edge'' Review by David Kipen, for ''Publishers Weekly''''', is a well written and insightful appreciation of Pynchon's craft and his new novel! "No one, but no one, rivals Pynchon's range of language, his elasticity of syntax, his signature mix of dirty jokes, dread and shining decency." [http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59420-423-4 Read the review...]
<p style="clear:both"></p>

<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Bleeding Edge'' Alphabetical Index''', used to keep track of the myriad characters, real and imagined, as well as events, arcana, and lots of other stuff. The second is the '''Spoiler-Free Annotations by Page''', which allows the reader to look up and contribute allusions and references while reading the book, in a convenient and spoiler-free manner.

Apart from those, it's up to you.

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Bleeding Edge'', organized alphabetically:{{BE_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}

== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on this ''Bleeding Edge'' Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* When creating a new page, if its information pertains to one (and only one) specific Pynchon novel, please categorize it with the appropriate identifier. For example, a page pertaining to ''Bleeding Edge'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:BE]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&authuser=0&q=thomas+pynchon&oq=thomas+pynchon Latest news on Thomas Pynchon (Google News)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/ The Modern Word Pynchon page]
* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]
* [http://twitter.com/bleedingedge Bleeding Edge on Twitter]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Edge Wikipedia Bleeding Edge page]

* [http://literarywiki.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Literarywiki.org] - wiki annotations to works by Pynchon, Umberto Eco, and many others.

==Image Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on Pynchon Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Main Page

2013-09-17T10:06:32Z

Man-on-the-moon: added hashslingrz website

[[Image:BE-Final-Cover.jpg|500px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Bleeding Edge'' Wiki!'''</big>

To become a contributor/editor, [http://pynchonwiki.com/mycaptcha/captcha-page.php '''Create an account.''']

*[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594204233/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1594204233&linkCode=as2&tag=pyncwiki-20'''Order ''Bleeding Edge''''' (Amazon)]
*Check out the [[#Featured Articles|'''Featured Articles''']]

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Bleeding Edge''. Besides using the [[BE_Alpha_Nav|'''Alphabetical Index''']] and the [[Bleeding_Edge_-_Page_by_Page|'''page-by-page annotation''']], you can also take a look at [[Bleeding Edge cover analysis|''Bleeding Edge'' cover analyses]], read the [[Bleeding Edge Reviews|reviews]], or [[Bleeding Edge Title|entertain some theories on the source of the title]].

<div id="announcement-home" style="display:none">
Professor Don Larrson, he of the Companion's Companion to ''Bleeding Edge'' (which was rolled into this wiki), reviews Steve Weisenburger's the second, revised edition of ''A Gravity’s Rainbow Companion: Sources and Contexts for Pynchon’s Novel''. [[Weisenburger's Companion, 2nd Edition|Read it...]].

[[The_Hawaiian_Islands_and_Ukuleles|'''Hawaiian cultural references in ''Bleeding Edge''''']]</div>

<div style="clear:both;"></div>
==Penguin Press's "Trailer" for ''Bleeding Edge'' and other promotional campaigns==

Here's Penguin's trailer (Hmm...) for ''Bleeding Edge'' ... Features a different "Tom Pynchon" from the one who narrated the ''Inherent Vice'' trailer, and although it might not send folks rushing to the bookstore, but it's certain created a buzz! Writer '''William Gibson''' tweeted "Absolutely the best novel trailer so far in the history of the world" on September 4!

Penguin Press says the video was produced by Riz Sauvage (French: "Wild Rice") Productions, an outfit hithertofore unheard of, with zero presence online...

Also, the back cover of the advance reading copy says that they will have "promotional book playlist; wide-ranging online and social network campaign; comprehensive internet blog campaign" and so on. One of the few inconspicuous websites that might be linked to the campaign is found on [http://www.hashslingrz.com hashslingrz].

<div class="center">
{{#ev:newvimeo|73716114}}
</div>
[[Comments_and_Questions_re_the_Bleeding_Edge_Trailer|'''Read  and participate in  a discussion of this video »''']]

==Featured Articles==
[[File:Lethem-BleedingEdge.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Image by Mario Wagner]] '''Jonathan Lethem's''' review of ''Bleeding Edge'' for '''The New York Times''', may be the most intelligent and insightful review of them all. Lethem ''gets'' it! "[There is] the sheer vitality and fascination, the plummets into beauty and horror, the unique flashes of galactic epiphany, in Pynchon’s method. Our reward for surrendering expectations that a novel should gather in clarity, rather than disperse into molecules, isn’t anomie but delight. Pynchon himself’s a good companion, full of real affection for his people and places, even as he lampoons them for suffering the postmodern condition of being only partly real. He spoils us with descriptive flights." [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/books/review/bleeding-edge-by-thomas-pynchon.html Read the review...]
<p style="clear:both;margin-bottom:8px;"></p>

[[File:Michiko-Kakutani.jpg|left|75px|thumb|Image: Slate]] Noticing that ''New York Times'' critic '''Michiko Kakutani''' has panned every Pynchon novel after ''Mason & Dixon'' (1997)  the latest target being [[Bleeding_Edge_Reviews#kakutani|''Bleeding Edge'']]  I became curious as to just who this grumpy critic is. If you're curious too, read "Assessing Michiko Kakutani":

"Kakutani doesn't offer the stylistic flair, the wit, or the insight one gets from Kael and other first-rate critics; for her, the verdict is the only thing. One has the sense of her deciding roughly at Page 2 whether or not a book is worthy; reading the rest of it to gather evidence for her case; spending some quality time with the Thesaurus; and then taking a large blunt hammer and pounding the message home." [http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2006/04/michiko_kakutani.html Read on...]
<p style="clear:both;margin-bottom:8px;"></p>

[[File:PubWeekly-logo.png|left]] '''''Bleeding Edge'' Review by David Kipen, for ''Publishers Weekly''''', is a well written and insightful appreciation of Pynchon's craft and his new novel! "No one, but no one, rivals Pynchon's range of language, his elasticity of syntax, his signature mix of dirty jokes, dread and shining decency." [http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59420-423-4 Read the review...]
<p style="clear:both"></p>

<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Bleeding Edge'' Alphabetical Index''', used to keep track of the myriad characters, real and imagined, as well as events, arcana, and lots of other stuff. The second is the '''Spoiler-Free Annotations by Page''', which allows the reader to look up and contribute allusions and references while reading the book, in a convenient and spoiler-free manner.

Apart from those, it's up to you.

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Bleeding Edge'', organized alphabetically:{{BE_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}

== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on this ''Bleeding Edge'' Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* When creating a new page, if its information pertains to one (and only one) specific Pynchon novel, please categorize it with the appropriate identifier. For example, a page pertaining to ''Bleeding Edge'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:BE]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&authuser=0&q=thomas+pynchon&oq=thomas+pynchon Latest news on Thomas Pynchon (Google News)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/ The Modern Word Pynchon page]
* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]
* [http://twitter.com/bleedingedge Bleeding Edge on Twitter]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Edge Wikipedia Bleeding Edge page]

* [http://literarywiki.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Literarywiki.org] - wiki annotations to works by Pynchon, Umberto Eco, and many others.

==Image Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on Pynchon Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...