Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Chapter 33

2014-02-28T16:31:44Z

Mar88:

{{BE PxP Header}}

==Page 354==
'''Jetsons-era spaceport''' 
Not a bad little [http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/2013/03/mid-21st-century-modern-that-jetsons-architecture/ essay] on Mid-21st Century Modern architecture.

'''cyberflaneurs''' 
"A person who idly surfs the internet." In 2012 the New York Times ran an article on the [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/the-death-of-the-cyberflaneur.html?pagewanted=all Death of the Cyberflaneur]

==Page 355==
'''a strange creepy nimbus like a follow spot in a club''' 
A nimbus is an aura, or a luminous cloud or a halo surrounding a supernatural being or a saint. A follow spot (or followspot) is a moving spot light that tracks a subject, eg a dancing couple on the dance floor.

'''''Battlestar Galactica''''' 
The reboot doesn't come out until 2004, so here they are talking about the original show.

'''posters of Denise Richards and Tia Carrere''' 
Denise Richards for her role in ''Starship Troopers'', no doubt, and Tia Carrere, for ''Relic Hunter'' maybe?

==Page 356==
'''Regulate''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1plPyJdXKIY YouTube] has it. The song was released in 1994.

'''''More Cowbell''''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGBD1KUz2RA YouTube] has a clip from this famous SNL skit, which was first aired, by the way, April 2000. 
Does this count as a sneaky Godzilla allusion since the band parodied in the skit, Blue Oyster Cult, also recorded the song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln8-Y-fIbqM Godzilla]?

'''Deus Ex theme''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1oxIrAX39M Youtube] to the rescue again. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex WIKI] has more on this 2000 cyberpunk-style video game.

356 - Deus Ex is a cyberpunk-themed action-role playing video game — combining first-person shooter, stealth and role-playing elements — developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_Ex Wikipedia]. Check out the theme:{{#ev:youtube|ZCk8ByyCsks}}

'''cyberelves''' 
Not to be confused, surely, with cyberflaneurs or the "little tiny people...from under the radiator..with little brooms, and dustpans" from page 346.

'''tarball''' 
Slang for a way to distribute code [http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/T/tarball.html tarball] derived from the tar archive format [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_%28computing%29 wiki]

==Page 357==
'''Kabbalistic vessels smashed at the Creation into all these bright drops of light''' 
Recalls [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page Gravity's Rainbow], page 148: "Fallen sparks. Fragments of vessels broken at the Creation."

'''An Abyss''' 
A reference to the Tree of Life in Hermetic Kabbalah.

From Lon Milo DuQuette's "Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot," page 63:

"The area (or non-area) between the supernal triad (sephiroth 1-2-3) and the rest of the Tree is called the Abyss. It is an inscrutable looking glass that separates the ideal (the abstract concepts of 1-2-3) from the actual (the manifest qualities of the phenomenal universe)."

In other words, it separates the unmanifested from the manifested, or, as Lucas puts it, the codeless from the coded.

==Page 358==
'''the edge of the unnavigable, the region of no information''' 
Bleeding edge?

'''the beginning before the Word''' 
John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

'''vertigo--lovesick, nauseous''' 
Yet more intimations of Hitchcock's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertigo_%28film%29 Vertigo.] "Lovesick, nauseous" could be the film's subtitle.

==Page 359==
'''Phatic how's Justin, how's Fiona, all fine thanks''' 
"Phatic" means denoting or relating to language used for general purposes of social interaction, rather than to convey information or ask questions, such as ''hello, how are you?'' and ''nice morning, isn't it?''

==Page 360==
'''King Kongs, which are Crown Royal plus banana liqueur''' 
Little odd, no, for the narrative voice to define something like this? I thought that was our job! Anyway, also known as a "Rock Star," this is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Royal#Mixing a real cocktail].

'''Fernet-Branca... That crazy motherfucker from Voorhees, Krueger!''' 
Cf. p. [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_7#Page_70 70].

==Page 361==
'''that crazy motherfucker from Voorhees, Krueger''' 
That would be Ian Longspoon. The name is likely a tip o' the hat to Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees of two classic slasher/horror films "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th".

'''what sort of look like giant letter J's, not to mention L's''' 
"It could stand for anything, couldn't it?" This is reminiscent of readers speculating on what the "V" stands for in Pynchon's first novel [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page ''V.''].

'''Oakley M Frames''' 
Somewhat spacey-looking, apparently famous, athletic sunglasses. [http://www.oakley.com/mframe Oakley] site.

==Page 362==
'''seldom-heard oldie "Soul Gidget"''' 
Fictional song by from ''Inherent Vice''. Nice touch. [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10#Page_155 Page 155.]

"One of the few known attempts at black surf music...by Meatball Flag." 
Lyrics:

Who's that strollin down the street, 
Hi-heel flip-flops on her feet, 
Always got a great big smile 
Never gets popped by Juv-o-nile— 
Who is it? 
Soul Gidget! 

Who never worries about her karma? 
Who be that signifyin on your mama? 
Out there lookin so bad and big, 
Like Sandra Dee in some Afro wig— 
Who is it? 
Soul Gidget! 

Surf's up, Soul Gidget’s there, 
Got that patchouli all in her hair, 
Down in Hermosa she’s runnin wild, 
Back in South Central she just a child— 
Uh who is it? 
Soul Gidget!

==Page 363==
'''you've got to believe...that was the '69 Mets''' 
The 1969 New York Mets season was the team's eighth as a Major League Baseball franchise and culminated with them winning the World Series over the Baltimore Orioles. They played their home games at Shea Stadium. The team was managed by Gil Hodges. The team is often referred to as the "Amazin' Mets" (a nickname coined by Casey Stengel, who managed the team from their inaugural season to 1965) or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_New_York_Mets_season the "Miracle Mets."].

HOWEVER, "You gotta believe!!!" was Mets pitcher Tug McGraw's catchphrase during [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_New_York_Mets_season the '''1973''' season], and that phrase wasn't used during the 1969 season.

==Page 364==
'''Duane Reade''' 
See pp. [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10#Page_107 107] and [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_37#Page_414 414].

'''ever try anal?...His specialty I bet?''' 
Little nod to Pynchon's niece, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_Taormino Tristan Taormino,] sex educator who wrote ''The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women''?

Note also that this is set up a bit earlier in their conversation (on page 360) with Vyrva saying "a-little-goes-a-long-way, pain-in-the-ass-unbearable".

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}

Chapter 33

2014-02-28T16:15:41Z

Mar88:

{{BE PxP Header}}

==Page 354==
'''Jetsons-era spaceport''' 
Not a bad little [http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/2013/03/mid-21st-century-modern-that-jetsons-architecture/ essay] on Mid-21st Century Modern architecture.

'''cyberflaneurs''' 
"A person who idly surfs the internet." In 2012 the New York Times ran an article on the [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/the-death-of-the-cyberflaneur.html?pagewanted=all Death of the Cyberflaneur]

==Page 355==
'''a strange creepy nimbus like a follow spot in a club''' 
A nimbus is an aura, or a luminous cloud or a halo surrounding a supernatural being or a saint. A follow spot (or followspot) is a moving spot light that tracks a subject, eg a dancing couple on the dance floor.

'''''Battlestar Galactica''''' 
The reboot doesn't come out until 2004, so here they are talking about the original show.

'''posters of Denise Richards and Tia Carrere''' 
Denise Richards for her role in ''Starship Troopers'', no doubt, and Tia Carrere, for ''Relic Hunter'' maybe?

==Page 356==
'''Regulate''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1plPyJdXKIY YouTube] has it. The song was released in 1994.

'''''More Cowbell''''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGBD1KUz2RA YouTube] has a clip from this famous SNL skit, which was first aired, by the way, April 2000. 
Does this count as a sneaky Godzilla allusion since the band parodied in the skit, Blue Oyster Cult, also recorded the song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln8-Y-fIbqM Godzilla]?

'''Deus Ex theme''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1oxIrAX39M Youtube] to the rescue again. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex WIKI] has more on this 2000 cyberpunk-style video game.

356 - Deus Ex is a cyberpunk-themed action-role playing video game — combining first-person shooter, stealth and role-playing elements — developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_Ex Wikipedia]. Check out the theme:{{#ev:youtube|ZCk8ByyCsks}}

'''cyberelves''' 
Not to be confused, surely, with cyberflaneurs or the "little tiny people...from under the radiator..with little brooms, and dustpans" from page 346.

'''tarball''' 
Slang for a way to distribute code [http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/T/tarball.html tarball] derived from the tar archive format [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_%28computing%29 wiki]

==Page 357==
'''Kabbalistic vessels smashed at the Creation into all these bright drops of light''' 
Recalls [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page Gravity's Rainbow], page 148: "Fallen sparks. Fragments of vessels broken at the Creation."

==Page 358==
'''the edge of the unnavigable, the region of no information''' 
Bleeding edge?

'''the beginning before the Word''' 
John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

'''vertigo--lovesick, nauseous''' 
Yet more intimations of Hitchcock's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertigo_%28film%29 Vertigo.] "Lovesick, nauseous" could be the film's subtitle.

==Page 359==
'''Phatic how's Justin, how's Fiona, all fine thanks''' 
"Phatic" means denoting or relating to language used for general purposes of social interaction, rather than to convey information or ask questions, such as ''hello, how are you?'' and ''nice morning, isn't it?''

==Page 360==
'''King Kongs, which are Crown Royal plus banana liqueur''' 
Little odd, no, for the narrative voice to define something like this? I thought that was our job! Anyway, also known as a "Rock Star," this is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Royal#Mixing a real cocktail].

'''Fernet-Branca... That crazy motherfucker from Voorhees, Krueger!''' 
Cf. p. [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_7#Page_70 70].

==Page 361==
'''that crazy motherfucker from Voorhees, Krueger''' 
That would be Ian Longspoon. The name is likely a tip o' the hat to Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees of two classic slasher/horror films "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th".

'''what sort of look like giant letter J's, not to mention L's''' 
"It could stand for anything, couldn't it?" This is reminiscent of readers speculating on what the "V" stands for in Pynchon's first novel [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page ''V.''].

'''Oakley M Frames''' 
Somewhat spacey-looking, apparently famous, athletic sunglasses. [http://www.oakley.com/mframe Oakley] site.

==Page 362==
'''seldom-heard oldie "Soul Gidget"''' 
Fictional song by from ''Inherent Vice''. Nice touch. [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10#Page_155 Page 155.]

"One of the few known attempts at black surf music...by Meatball Flag." 
Lyrics:

Who's that strollin down the street, 
Hi-heel flip-flops on her feet, 
Always got a great big smile 
Never gets popped by Juv-o-nile— 
Who is it? 
Soul Gidget! 

Who never worries about her karma? 
Who be that signifyin on your mama? 
Out there lookin so bad and big, 
Like Sandra Dee in some Afro wig— 
Who is it? 
Soul Gidget! 

Surf's up, Soul Gidget’s there, 
Got that patchouli all in her hair, 
Down in Hermosa she’s runnin wild, 
Back in South Central she just a child— 
Uh who is it? 
Soul Gidget!

==Page 363==
'''you've got to believe...that was the '69 Mets''' 
The 1969 New York Mets season was the team's eighth as a Major League Baseball franchise and culminated with them winning the World Series over the Baltimore Orioles. They played their home games at Shea Stadium. The team was managed by Gil Hodges. The team is often referred to as the "Amazin' Mets" (a nickname coined by Casey Stengel, who managed the team from their inaugural season to 1965) or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_New_York_Mets_season the "Miracle Mets."].

HOWEVER, "You gotta believe!!!" was Mets pitcher Tug McGraw's catchphrase during [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_New_York_Mets_season the '''1973''' season], and that phrase wasn't used during the 1969 season.

==Page 364==
'''Duane Reade''' 
See pp. [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10#Page_107 107] and [http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_37#Page_414 414].

'''ever try anal?...His specialty I bet?''' 
Little nod to Pynchon's niece, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_Taormino Tristan Taormino,] sex educator who wrote ''The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women''?

Note also that this is set up a bit earlier in their conversation (on page 360) with Vyrva saying "a-little-goes-a-long-way, pain-in-the-ass-unbearable".

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}

Chapter 22

2014-01-29T14:54:33Z

Mar88:

{{BE PxP Header}}

==Page 239==
'''Adderall''' 
While generally prescribed for ADD, its commonly snorted, and abused as an upper.

'''split for Seattle...hums a few bars of the Darth Vader theme''' 
Reference to Microsoft.

==Page 241==
'''recherché''' 
Choice, refined, exquisite... Also, Sandwichgrrl's comment here brings to mind Gabriel Ice's perhaps not-so-choice wine cellar which is a front for his weird tunnel system.

'''Ride the Wild Surf''' 
A 1964 beach party/surfing movie and a song by Jan & Dean. A play on "surfing the web."

'''summer will end all too soon''' 
''The Endless Summer'' was a famous 1966 surfing movie, continuing the surfing theme from a couple of lines earlier.

'''Robert Moses''' 
Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and was arguably one of the most polarizing figures in the history of urban planning in the United States. His decisions favoring highways over public transit helped create the modern suburbs of Long Island and influenced a generation of engineers, architects, and urban planners who spread his philosophies across the nation. One of his major contributions to urban planning was New York's large parkway network. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moses WIKI].

'''Gigantic vacuum-tube computers with half-acre footprints''' 
Dinosaurs. This whole section sorta screams, Moloch!

==Page 242==

'''Scope wizards''' 
In the late 1950s, only the military was flying supersonic jet aircraft like the all-weather capable F102A Delta Dagger or "One-O-Wonderful" F101B Voodoo. Nicknames were usually applied to the air and ground crews, using the "Voodoo" theme: "One-Oh-Wonder" for the pilots, '''"Scope Wizard" for the Radar Intercept Officers''' (RIOs, later called Weapon System Officers/WSOs or "Whizzos), and "Witch Doctors" for the maintenance guys. They were a formidable sight, whether taxiing past the alert hangars or taking off in formation.

'''bird colonel''' 
A full colonel in the US Army.

'''ADC from AFOSI Region 7''' 
Aerospace Defense Command [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace_Defense_Command (though inactivated in 1980?)] from United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

'''the gulag''' 
The Gulag was the Soviet Union government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems during the Stalin era, from the 1930s through the 1950s. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of extrajudicial punishment. The Gulag is recognized as a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet Union. The term is also sometimes used to describe the camps themselves. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulag WIKI].

'''Time travel...you have to do it from inside out, with your mind and body...navigating Time is an unforgiving discipline''' &c. 
The curse of the writer (in the world of Tron).

==Page 243==
'''MKUltra-type programs''' 
Project MKUltra is the code name of a U.S. government covert human research operation experimenting in the behavioral engineering of humans (mind control) through the CIA's Scientific Intelligence Division. The program began in the early 1950s, was officially sanctioned in 1953, was reduced in scope in 1964, further curtailed in 1967 and officially halted in 1973. The program engaged in many illegal activities; in particular it used unwitting U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects, which led to controversy regarding its legitimacy. MKUltra involved the use of many methodologies to manipulate people's mental states and alter brain functions, including the surreptitious administration of drugs (especially LSD) and other chemicals, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal and sexual abuse, as well as various forms of torture. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra Wikipedia entry]

==Page 244==
'''Lacanian''' 
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan (13 April 1901 – 9 September 1981) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's intellectuals in the 1960s and the 1970s, especially the post-structuralist philosophers. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacanian WIKI].

'''Alfonsín''' 
Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (March 12, 1927 – March 31, 2009) was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman, who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. Alfonsín was the first democratically elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization Process. He was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in 1985, among numerous other such recognitions. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonsin WIKI].

'''Menem-Cavallo era''' 
President Menem had already privatized the state telecom concern and national airlines (the once-premier airline in Latin America, Aerolíneas Argentinas, which was later almost run into the ground). The stability Cavallo's plan helped bring about, however, opened prospects for more privatizations than ever. Going on to total over 200 state enterprises, these included the costly state railroads concern, the state oil monopoly YPF, several public utilities, two government television stations, 10,000 km (6000 mi) of roads, steel and petrochemical firms, grain elevators, hotels, subways and even racetracks. A panoply of provincial and municipal banks were sold to financial giants abroad (sometimes over the opposition of their respective governors and mayors) and, taking a page from Chile's successful experiment, the mandatory state pensions system was opened to choice through the authorization of for private pension schemes. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domingo_Cavallo#The_Menem_administration WIKI].

'''Law of the Father''' 
An important idea in the work of Jacques Lacan, which is relevant since Leopold is a Lacanian shrink. 
In 1897 Freud remarked, on the basis of his analysis of his first patients and his self-analysis, that "The father forbids the child from realizing its unconscious wish to sleep with his mother" (letter to Fliess, October 15, 1897). This first outline of the Oedipus complex, which now appears simplistic, grew increasingly complex throughout Freud's research. In time the Law of the Father turned out to be directed both toward the mother ("You will not reintegrate your product") as well as her offspring swept up by desire. The law is also accompanied by an injunction against cannibalism and murder, and hold up ideals, primarily sexual ones ("Later you will enjoy, like me, a woman from another family"). Once introjected, this becomes the origin of the superego and ego ideal. The repression of drives, their suppression and sublimation, are the principal outcomes of the conflict that connects them structurally to this law. [http://www.answers.com/topic/law-of-the-father]

Bear in mind, though, that the quoted material above applies to Freud's early biology-based thinking. Taking cues from Freud's later cultural/anthropological interests, Lacan maps Oedipus and ego development onto the structures of language ("The Unconscious is structured like [a] language.") and more or less replaces Freud's Id-Ego-Superego mechanics with his own Real-Imaginary-Symbolic orders as his go-to hermeneutic machine.

'''Villa Freud''' 
This is an actual neighborhood located within the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires known for "its high concentration of psychoanalysts and psychiatrists, hence its name." See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Freud#Palermo_Norte.2C_Alto_Palermo_and_Villa_Freud WIKI].

==Page 245==
'''Maybe not as bad as getting disappeared''' 
During the last military dictatorship in Argentina, from 1976 to 1983, around 30,000 people got disappeared by the state.

'''''loquesea''''' 
Whatevs.

==Page 246==
'''"What, excuse me, gives you authority here? What happens in your practice, when you want to save somebody but lose them instead?"''' 
Maxine is a Jewish Mother with an ''it's-complicated'' relationship with the Law, whether civil, financial or Lacanian. Is Pynchon giving us a version of Freud/Lacan from the Mother's point of view (who no one ever asks about all this desire and desired object michegas)? Is she condemned to Windust's attentions because she is the Mother? Is she condemned to reading Windust as an abducted little boy who's been shocked and awed into usefulness as an IMF thug? Is she any different in this regard than Frenesi Gates or Oedipa Maas? Is she really Naomi Klein? Stay tuned.

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}

Chapter 22

2014-01-29T14:53:54Z

Mar88: Added annotation about Argentina, page 245.

{{BE PxP Header}}

==Page 239==
'''Adderall''' 
While generally prescribed for ADD, its commonly snorted, and abused as an upper.

'''split for Seattle...hums a few bars of the Darth Vader theme''' 
Reference to Microsoft.

==Page 241==
'''recherché''' 
Choice, refined, exquisite... Also, Sandwichgrrl's comment here brings to mind Gabriel Ice's perhaps not-so-choice wine cellar which is a front for his weird tunnel system.

'''Ride the Wild Surf''' 
A 1964 beach party/surfing movie and a song by Jan & Dean. A play on "surfing the web."

'''summer will end all too soon''' 
''The Endless Summer'' was a famous 1966 surfing movie, continuing the surfing theme from a couple of lines earlier.

'''Robert Moses''' 
Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and was arguably one of the most polarizing figures in the history of urban planning in the United States. His decisions favoring highways over public transit helped create the modern suburbs of Long Island and influenced a generation of engineers, architects, and urban planners who spread his philosophies across the nation. One of his major contributions to urban planning was New York's large parkway network. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moses WIKI].

'''Gigantic vacuum-tube computers with half-acre footprints''' 
Dinosaurs. This whole section sorta screams, Moloch!

==Page 242==

'''Scope wizards''' 
In the late 1950s, only the military was flying supersonic jet aircraft like the all-weather capable F102A Delta Dagger or "One-O-Wonderful" F101B Voodoo. Nicknames were usually applied to the air and ground crews, using the "Voodoo" theme: "One-Oh-Wonder" for the pilots, '''"Scope Wizard" for the Radar Intercept Officers''' (RIOs, later called Weapon System Officers/WSOs or "Whizzos), and "Witch Doctors" for the maintenance guys. They were a formidable sight, whether taxiing past the alert hangars or taking off in formation.

'''bird colonel''' 
A full colonel in the US Army.

'''ADC from AFOSI Region 7''' 
Aerospace Defense Command [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace_Defense_Command (though inactivated in 1980?)] from United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

'''the gulag''' 
The Gulag was the Soviet Union government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems during the Stalin era, from the 1930s through the 1950s. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of extrajudicial punishment. The Gulag is recognized as a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet Union. The term is also sometimes used to describe the camps themselves. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulag WIKI].

'''Time travel...you have to do it from inside out, with your mind and body...navigating Time is an unforgiving discipline''' &c. 
The curse of the writer (in the world of Tron).

==Page 243==
'''MKUltra-type programs''' 
Project MKUltra is the code name of a U.S. government covert human research operation experimenting in the behavioral engineering of humans (mind control) through the CIA's Scientific Intelligence Division. The program began in the early 1950s, was officially sanctioned in 1953, was reduced in scope in 1964, further curtailed in 1967 and officially halted in 1973. The program engaged in many illegal activities; in particular it used unwitting U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects, which led to controversy regarding its legitimacy. MKUltra involved the use of many methodologies to manipulate people's mental states and alter brain functions, including the surreptitious administration of drugs (especially LSD) and other chemicals, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal and sexual abuse, as well as various forms of torture. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra Wikipedia entry]

==Page 244==
'''Lacanian''' 
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan (13 April 1901 – 9 September 1981) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's intellectuals in the 1960s and the 1970s, especially the post-structuralist philosophers. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacanian WIKI].

'''Alfonsín''' 
Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (March 12, 1927 – March 31, 2009) was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman, who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. Alfonsín was the first democratically elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization Process. He was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in 1985, among numerous other such recognitions. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonsin WIKI].

'''Menem-Cavallo era''' 
President Menem had already privatized the state telecom concern and national airlines (the once-premier airline in Latin America, Aerolíneas Argentinas, which was later almost run into the ground). The stability Cavallo's plan helped bring about, however, opened prospects for more privatizations than ever. Going on to total over 200 state enterprises, these included the costly state railroads concern, the state oil monopoly YPF, several public utilities, two government television stations, 10,000 km (6000 mi) of roads, steel and petrochemical firms, grain elevators, hotels, subways and even racetracks. A panoply of provincial and municipal banks were sold to financial giants abroad (sometimes over the opposition of their respective governors and mayors) and, taking a page from Chile's successful experiment, the mandatory state pensions system was opened to choice through the authorization of for private pension schemes. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domingo_Cavallo#The_Menem_administration WIKI].

'''Law of the Father''' 
An important idea in the work of Jacques Lacan, which is relevant since Leopold is a Lacanian shrink. 
In 1897 Freud remarked, on the basis of his analysis of his first patients and his self-analysis, that "The father forbids the child from realizing its unconscious wish to sleep with his mother" (letter to Fliess, October 15, 1897). This first outline of the Oedipus complex, which now appears simplistic, grew increasingly complex throughout Freud's research. In time the Law of the Father turned out to be directed both toward the mother ("You will not reintegrate your product") as well as her offspring swept up by desire. The law is also accompanied by an injunction against cannibalism and murder, and hold up ideals, primarily sexual ones ("Later you will enjoy, like me, a woman from another family"). Once introjected, this becomes the origin of the superego and ego ideal. The repression of drives, their suppression and sublimation, are the principal outcomes of the conflict that connects them structurally to this law. [http://www.answers.com/topic/law-of-the-father]

Bear in mind, though, that the quoted material above applies to Freud's early biology-based thinking. Taking cues from Freud's later cultural/anthropological interests, Lacan maps Oedipus and ego development onto the structures of language ("The Unconscious is structured like [a] language.") and more or less replaces Freud's Id-Ego-Superego mechanics with his own Real-Imaginary-Symbolic orders as his go-to hermeneutic machine.

'''Villa Freud''' 
This is an actual neighborhood located within the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires known for "its high concentration of psychoanalysts and psychiatrists, hence its name." See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Freud#Palermo_Norte.2C_Alto_Palermo_and_Villa_Freud WIKI].

==Page 245==
'''Maybe not as bad as getting disappeared'''
During the last military dictatorship in Argentina, from 1976 to 1983, around 30,000 people got disappeared by the state.

'''''loquesea''''' 
Whatevs.

==Page 246==
'''"What, excuse me, gives you authority here? What happens in your practice, when you want to save somebody but lose them instead?"''' 
Maxine is a Jewish Mother with an ''it's-complicated'' relationship with the Law, whether civil, financial or Lacanian. Is Pynchon giving us a version of Freud/Lacan from the Mother's point of view (who no one ever asks about all this desire and desired object michegas)? Is she condemned to Windust's attentions because she is the Mother? Is she condemned to reading Windust as an abducted little boy who's been shocked and awed into usefulness as an IMF thug? Is she any different in this regard than Frenesi Gates or Oedipa Maas? Is she really Naomi Klein? Stay tuned.

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}