Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Chapter 18

2014-04-26T00:55:09Z

Mikefallopian: /* Page 206 */ post coverage of russian spy anna chapman

==Page 198==
'''“You give us thirty-two minutes—you don’t get it back.”''' 
WINS is a NYC news station with the slogan " You give us 22 minutes, we give you the world."

==Page 199==
'''Lester Traipse across the street...in the company of a blond bombshell''' 
I would never argue that Pynchon explicitly had the "Master of Suspense" in mind when he wrote this paragraph, but it certainly does have a Hitchcockian vibe. "Vertigo," anyone?

==Page 201==
'''Daphne and Wilma's''' 
Could this be an allusion to Daphne and Velma, two female detectives (like our Maxine) from the cartoon ''Scooby Doo''? ... with a dash of the Flintstones.

'''The Officina in Santa Maria Novella''' 
Actually "Officina di Santa Maria Novella", one of the oldest pharmacies of the world, now a producer of perfumes and cosmetics; there is also a museum. [http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Pharmacy-Santa-Maria-Novella.html/ Source]

==Page 203==
'''Moskowitz''' 
Possibly a reference to Stanley M. Moskowitz (c. 1937 - June 29, 2006) who was a top official of the Central Intelligence Agency. Moskowitz was born in the Bronx and graduated from Alfred University. While attending graduate school at Duke University, he left to join the CIA in 1962, where he worked for over four decades. In the 1980s, he was a national intelligence officer for Russia and Eastern Europe and became congressional liaison, serving under two CIA directors. From 1995-1999, he was the station chief in Israel, where he tried with some success to mediate between the Israelis and Palestinians. His term ended soon after the Benjamin Netanyahu government became dissatisfied with his role and an Israeli paper outed his identity as CIA station chief. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Moskowitz WIKI].

==Page 204==
'''"And whoop there it is"''' 
I believe this is referring to Conkling's erection, where he catches Maxine checking it out and there's an awkward moment, to say the least... 
And "Whoomp! (There It Is)" was a top-ten hit for the group Tag Team in 1993. If, for some reason, you want to hear it, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffCEr327W44 here you go].

==Page 206==
'''The ''Post'', for whom the Cold War still emits a warm nostalgic glow, loves stores like this, so the screaming began, KGB assassination squads running loose through the city and so forth, and this sort of thing would go on for the better part of a week.''' 
Surely the author is familiar first hand with the ''Post'' coverage of the arrest and deportation of Russian spy Anna Chapman in 2010,
[http://www.google.com/search?q=ny+post+anna+chapman&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=QwFbU_bKLtKnyATqrIL4AQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1081&bih=560] WIKI [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Chapman]. Also noteworthy is Chapman's characterization of her time in New York City by citing Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1294450/Anna-Chapman-resurfaces-Facebook-quoting-Dickens-spying-ordeal.html]

'''luminol''' 
Luminol is used by forensic investigators to detect trace amounts of blood left at crime scenes, as it reacts with iron found in hemoglobin. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminol WIKI].

==Page 208==
'''9:30 . . .''' 
A hardcore punk club in DC [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9:30_Club Wiki].

==Page 209==
'''As Scarlett O'Hara observes . . .''' 
The last line of ''Gone with the Wind'': "After all, tomorrow is another day."

Perhaps worth quoting a few more lines from the ending. 
"With the spirit of her people who would not know defeat, even when
it stared them in the face, she raised her chin. She could get
Rhett back. She knew she could. There had never been a man she
couldn't get, once she set her mind upon him.

"I'll think of it all tomorrow, at Tara. I can stand it then.
Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to get him back. After all,
tomorrow is another day."

Complete text of [http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200161.txt Gone with the Wind.]

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Chapter 14

2014-04-25T05:04:42Z

Mikefallopian: /* Page 158 */ information wants to be free annotation

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==Page 146==

'''E-rated video game''' 
E is for "everyone", i.e. a non-age-restricted rating.

'''James Bond at the baccarat table''' 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNWGbZlDPlQ See] ultra-cool Bond introduce himself at the baccarat table, a game he played throughout the books and films.

==Page 147==
'''Lennie on ''Law & Order''''' 
Lennie Briscoe was a detective for 12 seasons on the TV show ''Law & Order''.

==Page 148==
'''Zabar's''' 
Zabar's is a specialty food store at 2245 Broadway and 80th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, founded by Louis Zabar. It is one of the best known commercial landmarks of the neighborhood, and is known for its selection of bagels, smoked fish, olives, and cheeses. Zabar's is frequently referenced in popular culture. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabar%27s WIKI].

==Page 149==
'''''noraebang''''' 
In Korea, Karaoke is most commonly called "Noraebang" Noraebang is even conducted in transport vehicles such as tourist buses. Noraebang is the equivalent to the Karaoke-Box in Japan. Karaoke boxes consist of multiple rooms containing karaoke equipment, usually rented out for time periods, whereas singing before an audience in a karaoke bar is called Karaoke in Korea.

'''Streetlight People, Don't Stop Believing, karaoke boilerplate''' 
A proper karaoke boilerplate would certainly include Journey's 1981 hit "Don't Stop Believin'" which is the top-selling catalog track in iTunes history with over 5 million digital copies sold, as well as the best-selling rock song in digital history until it was over taken by Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" in January 2014.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Stop_Believin'] And it's also in the top 15 most popular karaoke songs, according to [http://mentalfloss.com/article/49789/15-most-requested-karaoke-songs this site].

'''Regulation D''' 
Reserve Requirements for Depository Institutions (Regulation D) is a Federal Reserve Board regulation that limits the number of preauthorized withdrawals and transfers from a savings account or money market account. The regulation applies to all United States banking institutions offering such accounts. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_D_%28FRB%29 WIKI].

'''Filene's Basement''' 
A store where designer clothes are sold on discount.

==Page 150==
'''Vinalon''' 
From [http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2785895/posts this news site]:

<blockquote>The low-grade synthetic fiber indelibly associated with North Korea's failed "juche" or self-reliance ideology has become fit only for rags, Radio Free Asia reported on Thursday. Once touted as the future of the socialist clothing industry, Vinalon fabric is now chiefly used as rags, or as wallpaper paste by heating it to high temperatures, RFA quoted North Korean expatriates in China as saying.

Developed by Dr. Lee Sung-ki during Japanese colonial rule in 1939, Vinalon is made from limestone and anthracite, unlike other synthetic fibers that are made from petroleum by-products. It is produced only in North Korea. The problem is its inefficiency. A Unification Ministry official said, "The North has to use too much electricity to extract Vinalon from anthracite. It would be more cost-effective to import finished textile products, even at a rip-off price." - 9/30/11 [http://www.vinalon.eu/ More...]</blockquote>

'''comfortably bridge-attired''' 
Bridge attire is a pricing and styling category of misses apparel. Typically, bridge designers are one notch under designer (luxury) lines. Bridge lines have more unique styling than contemporary misses but are ''usually'' not as pricey as designer lines. The name comes from the fact that they are a "bridge" between less expensive lines and luxury lines. [http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/what_is_a_bridge_line/]

The hierarchy with regard to styling, price and exclusivity from highest to lowest is: <blockquote>Haute Couture 
Designer RTW 
Bridge 
Contemporary</blockquote>

'''Mikimoto''' 
Japanese jewelry company, pretty much top of the line in pearls.

'''Tim Horton's''' 
A ubiquitous doughnut/coffee shop in Canada.

==Page 151==
'''we're trying to go legit . . . like Michael Corleone''' 
The main character in the ''Godfather'' films. After he becomes the head of his family, he tries to make his family's business legitimate.

'''''Amy & Joey'', an Off-Broadway musical''' 
This fictional musical is about Joey Buttafuoco (from Massapequa, NY). In 1992, he had an affair with Amy Fisher, who then shot Buttafuoco's wife Mary Jo. Mary Jo survived.
:Funny, we're 150 pages into a Pynchon novel and this is the first song. Must be some kinda record.

==Page 153==
'''like Gloria Grahame in ''Oklahoma!''''' 
Gloria Grahame starred in the 1955 musical film ''Oklahoma!''

==Page 154==

'''Soju Wallbangers''' 
Soju is Korean rice liquor. A "Harvey Wallbanger" is a cocktail made with vodka, Galliano, and orange juice.

'''Darkeden''' 
DarkEden is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing computer game that's big in Korea. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkeden WIKI].

'''Cohiba''' 
Brando of Cuban cigars.

'''"Volare" . . . Domenico Modugno on ''Ed Sullivan'' back in '58''' 
This happened. Watch it [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4IjJav7xbg here].

:Pynchon's commentary on Volare lightly recalls a central theme of ''Gravity's Rainbow''-- flying in the sky, above it all, defying gravity...

'''Young man dreams he's flying . . .''' 
This paragraph is a faithful summary of the lyrics of "Volare" (which means "to fly"). Knowing that 9/11 is right around the corner, I found this unsettling.

'''I don't think it's 'I left my brains down in Africa'''' 
Spud is singing "Africa" by Toto. The actual lyrics are "I bless the rains down in Africa."

==Page 155==
'''Gematria''' 
Gematria is a traditional Jewish system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase. From [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gematria Wikipedia]: "The best-known example of Gematria is the Hebrew word Chai ("life"), which is composed of two letters which (using the assignments in the Mispar gadol table) add up to 18. This has made 18 a "lucky number" among Jews, and gifts in multiples of 18 are very common."

'''tables versus CSS''' 
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation semantics (the look and formatting) of a document written in a markup language. CSS is designed primarily to enable the separation of document content (written in HTML or a similar markup language) from document presentation, including elements such as the layout, colors, and fonts. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS WIKI].

==Page 156==
'''some telltale fidgeting of the Florsheims''' 
Florsheim is a brand of shoes.
:Brings to mind the comment of Lucas or Justin in regard to getting out of DeepArcher, i.e. just gotta click your heels three times. Also, all of the special focus on shoes so far... And the comment at one point of Maxine, I believe, that in NYC shoes told everything, or something to that effect.

'''Daikatana''' 
''John Romero's Daikatana'', or simply ''Daikatana'', is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive. The game is known as one of the major commercial failures of the video game industry. ''Daikatana'' was delayed multiple times from its conception in early 1997 to its eventual release in 2000. By this time, numerous games based on more advanced graphical technology (such as id Software's ''Quake III'' and Epic MegaGames' ''Unreal Tournament'') had already been released, causing ''Daikatana'' to lag technologically in the market with its dated ''Quake II'' game engine. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikatana WIKI].

==Page 158==
'''"When information wants to be free"''' 
Allusion to the technology activist slogan, coined by Stewart Brand [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Brand], first usage is reported to be at the 1984 Hacker's Conference. "Information wants to be free" is invoked by advocates against government or corporate control of the flow of information at the cost of the public domain.

Full quote below:

"On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other." - Stewart Brand, 1984

'''"Are You with Me, Dr. Wu"''' 
Actually, the song is simply called "Doctor Wu," from Steely Dan's 1975 album [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Lied Katy Lied.] Does [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=6519 Doctor Wu] metaphorically stand for a drug habit?
The harmony lyrics in question are: 
Are you with me Doctor Wu? 
Are you really just a shadow 
Of the man that I once knew? 
Are you crazy; are you high? 
Or just an ordinary guy? 
Have you done all you can do? 
Are you with me, Doctor? 

'''haewoned passengers''' 
Korean slang: to "haewon" someone is to mislead or confused them. [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=haewon] So these passengers are confused.

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Chapter 15

2014-04-25T04:47:04Z

Mikefallopian: /* Page 165 */

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==Page 160==
[[Image:ZiL-41047.jpg|200px|right|ZiL-41047]]

'''ZiL-41047''' 
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. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIL-41047 WIKI].

==Page 161==
'''''kagdila''''' 
Padonkaffsky jargon for "how are you." A misspelling of ''kak dela''.

'''methcathinone''' 
Methcathinone (sometimes called "cat" or "jeff") is a monoamine alkaloid and psychoactive stimulant similar to cathinone, the primary psychoactive compound in khat. It is used as a recreational drug and considered to be addictive. It is usually snorted, but can be smoked, injected, or taken orally. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methcathinone WIKI].

==Page 162==
'''''govno''''' 
Total shit

==Page 163==
'''live local bachata groups''' 
Bachata is an Afro latino genre of music that originated in the Dominican Republic in the early parts of the 20th century with the African descendants in the country and spread to other parts of Latin America and Mediterranean Europe. It became popular in the countryside and the rural neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic. Its subjects are often romantic; especially prevalent are tales of heartbreak and sadness. In fact, the original term used to name the genre was amargue ("bitterness," or "bitter music"), until the rather ambiguous (and mood-neutral) term bachata became popular. The form of dance, Bachata, also developed with the music. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachata_%28music%29 WIKI].

==Page 164==
'''Celia Cruz''' 
Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso de la Santísima Trinidad (October 21, 1925 – July 16, 2003) was a Cuban-American salsa performer. One of the most popular salsa artists of the 20th century, she earned twenty-three gold albums and was renowned internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" as well as "La Guarachera de Cuba." She spent much of her career living in New Jersey, and working in the United States and several Latin American countries. Leila Cobo of Billboard Magazine once said "Cruz is indisputably the best known and most influential female figure in the history of Cuban music." From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia_Cruz WIKI].

'''Paradise Garage''' 
Noteworthy members-only disco that operated from 1976 to 1987. It appears to have been very serious ''dance club;'' according to this lengthy [http://www.djhistory.com/features/larry-levans-paradise-garage djhistory] page, it was an exclusive, private place, extremely focused on music and dancing, a disco that did not serve serve alcohol, and instead had non-alcoholic drinks, and some snacks, simply on-hand for the dues-paying members. It's remembered fondly as a gathering space where the wide variety of members, united by their interest and commitment to dance, created some sense harmony and unity. From the djhistory page: In stark contrast to the harsh city lights outside, the Garage offered freedom, compassion and brotherhood.

In other words, it was the "anti" Studio 54.

'''Presidente longneck''' 
Dominican [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidente_%28beer%29 beer.]

'''"Cuándo Volverás"''' 
"Cuándo Volverás" is a 1999 song by Aventura. You can hear it [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3ItxMywq5o here].

'''Studio 54''' 
Studio 54 was a famous club in the late 1970s in Manhattan, known for rich people using drugs and dancing to Disco music.

==Page 165==
'''wolf-whistle''' 
A wolf-whistle is a two-toned sound (like 'whip-woo') commonly made using the above technique to show approval of something or someone (originally a person thought to be sexually attractive).

'''1937 Gar Wood''' 
This [http://www.hagerty.com/classic-car-articles-resources/Features/More-Articles/Marine/All-articles/2013/06/06/Marine-Marketwatch page] says the value of the rare boat could be over three hundred thousand dollars.

'''Pappy Mason''' 
Drug smuggler who has a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Mason WIKI] page. Immortalized by NYC Rapper Nas on 1994's Illmatic track "The World is Yours" where the rapper relates his fear of facing prison time spurring him to embrace writing rhymes.

'''the World Trade Center leaning, looming brilliantly curtained in light''' 
Another foreshadowing of 9/11

==Page 166==

'''Port Richmond''' 
A neighborhood on the north shore of Staten Island centered on an old commercial street, Port Richmond Avenue. I worked at Goldwyn Jewelers on Port Richmond Ave in high school. From [http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=139768&imageID=105178&parent_id=448946&snum=&s=&notword=&d=&c=&f=&k=0&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&sort=&total=31&num=0&imgs=20&pNum=&pos=18 NYPL]

'''Hey Denino's''' 
524 Port Richmond Ave, Staten Island, New York 10302 http://www.deninos.com/

'''Neglected little creeks... Yupper West Side''' 
This description of a mountainous garbagescape echoes a similar, lengthier, backdrop in Pynchon's shorter work ''Low-lands'' (1960) published in the compilation ''Slow Learner''.

'''Island of Meadows''' 
The Isle of Meadows is a 100-acre uninhabited island on Staten Island, New York in the United States. It is located along the western side of Staten Island, where the Fresh Kills empties into the Arthur Kill. The island is owned by the city of New York. In the 1990s, the island escaped becoming part of the Fresh Kills Landfill. It is now a nature preserve providing important meadow and salt marsh nesting habitat for herons, ibises, and egrets, and is not accessible to the public. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_Meadows WIKI].

'''This Land Is My Land, This Land Also Is My Land''' 
Obviously, a play on Woody Guthrie's song: "This land is my land, this land is your land."

'''A long, eerie wait ...''' 
A long, ''aerie'' wait

'''Officially the last barge came and went ...''' 
a few months later, the landfill became the staging site to sort through the wreckage from the World Trade Center (another 9/11 reference)

==Page 169==
'''Captain Stubing''' 
Captain on ''The Love Boat'', a TV show in the 70s and 80s. Also mentioned on pg. 16.

Can you believe this show lasted for 9 years and 249 episodes? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Love_Boat WIKI]

==Page 170==
'''Schachtmanite goons like Elliott Abrams''' 
Max Shachtman (September 10, 1904 – November 4, 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. He supported the Bay of Pigs invasion. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Shachtman WIKI].

Elliott Abrams (born January 24, 1948) is a well known neoconservative American diplomat, lawyer and political scientist who served in foreign policy positions for both U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. While serving for Reagan, Abrams and retired U.S. Marine Corps officer Oliver North were integral players in the Iran-Contra affair. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_Abrams WIKI].

'''Ríos Montt''' 
José Efraín Ríos Montt (born June 16, 1926) is a former de facto President of Guatemala, dictator, army general and former president of Congress. A General in the Guatemalan Army, Ríos Montt came to public office through a coup d'état on March 23, 1982. In turn, he was overthrown by his Defense Minister, Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, in another coup d'état on August 8, 1983. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rios_Montt WIKI].

'''EGP or Guerrilla Army Of The Poor''' 
See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ej%C3%A9rcito_Guerrillero_de_los_Pobres WIKI].

==Page 171==
'''I'm really Dr. Ruth Westheimer, nothing shocks me''' 
A famous and unflappable sex therapist.

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Chapter 12

2014-04-25T03:54:42Z

Mikefallopian: /* Page 122 */ entry on Park Ave GCT + skyscrapers

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==Page 121==
'''Dogen''' 
Dōgen Zenji (1200 – 1253) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher.

==Page 122==
'''For you suffer fools gladly, seeing you yourselves are wise''' 
2 Corinthians 11:19. Apparently, the American King James Version.

'''Park Avenue, despite attempts at someone's idea of neautification, has remained, for but the chronically clue-free, the most boring street in the city.''' 
Pynchon aptly admonishing the tyranny of glass superstructure that encroach on the architectural feat of Grand Central Terminal. Carved stone is no match for ironworks, asphalt, and the glass skyscraper home to both Pan Am and MetLife in its life, seen here. [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Grand_Central_Terminal_MetLife_Building_Park_Ave_viaduct_Summer_Streets.jpg]

==Page 123==
'''Julia Richman High''' 
Julia Richman High School is a defunct comprehensive high school in Manhattan, New York. Built in 1923 and located at East 67th Street and Second Avenue, the building was the only public high school in the Upper East Side of New York. The school is named after Julia Richman, the first woman district superintendent of schools in New York City. For much of the school's history it was a girl's high school; it changed to co-educational in 1967. In 1995, after years of academic decline, the city reorganized the school into six separately functioning small schools within a building renamed as the Julia Richman Education Complex. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Richman_High_School WIKI].

==Page 124==
'''Cy Twombley''' 
Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly, Jr. was an American artist well known for his large-scale, freely scribbled, calligraphic-style graffiti paintings, on solid fields of mostly gray, tan, or off-white colors. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cy_Twombly WIKI].
:Twombley paintings sell for millions and he is an example of a painter whose works are often bought for financial and/or status reasons by the ultra-rich today.

'''Bösendorfer Imperial''' 
Massive, expensive [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_B%C3%B6sendorfer_%28piano%29 piano] that has 97 keys and is even larger than the Steinway concert grand. The extra keys, by the way, are on the bass end of the keyboard.

'''Omar the Owl wall clocks''' 
Cute indeed. You can see one [http://www.amazon.com/George-Nelson-Zoo-Timer-Omar/dp/B005DPTTE0 here].

==Page 125==
'''Me, I want a hula hoop''' 
The lyrics to a popular Christmas [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOMvHtlzOI song by The Chipmunks]. A paragraph earlier, Tallis is descdribed as having a "sub-Chipmunk voice."

'''bagpipes''' 
The men who founded the institutions now merged as Carnegie Mellon were Scottish (Andrew Carnegie) and Scotch-Irish (Andrew Mellon).

==Page 127==
'''Al-vinnn?''' 
Another Chipmunks reference. A running joke throughout the Chipmunks cartoons is that the Chipmunk named Alvin is always late or screwing up. So he is often yelled at.

'''But Ricky, it's only a hat''' 
An allusion to the TV show ''I Love Lucy'', which often featured matrimonial dispute. Specifically, this line refers to the 1954 episode "Ricky Loses His Temper."

'''Smith & Wollensky''' 
Smith & Wollensky is the name of several high-end American steakhouses, with locations in New York, Philadelphia, Houston, Columbus, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago, Boston and Washington D.C. The first Smith and Wollensky steakhouse was founded in 1977 by Alan Stillman, best known for creating T.G.I. Friday's, and Ben Benson, who later opened his own steakhouse at 123 West 52nd Street, in a distinctive building on 49th Street & 3rd Avenue (once occupied by Manny Wolf's Steakhouse). Many of the restaurants have a wooden exterior with its trademark green and white colors. The individual Smith and Wollensky restaurants operate using slightly varied menus. In 1997, Ruth Reichl, then-restaurant reviewer for the New York Times, called Smith & Wollensky "A steakhouse to end all arguments." From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_%26_Wollensky WIKI].

==Page 130==
'''They're sending him to Collegiate. Where fuckin else?''' 
Collegiate School is a boys school, grades K-12, on the Upper West Side: 260 West 78th Street. [http://www.collegiateschool.org/]

'''the ruling-class polytechnic''' 
The Collegiate School is a polytechnic school, and likely conforms to this definition:

:The institutes of technology and polytechnics have been existing at least since the 18th century, but became popular after World War II with the expansion of technical education, associated with the new needs created by industrialization. An exception is the Ecole Polytechnique, the oldest one in the world, which educates French elites since its foundation in 1794. In some cases, polytechnics or institutes of technology are engineering schools or technical colleges.[http://polytechnic.askdefine.com/]

A "polytechnic," as Pynchon uses it here, is a school whose curriculum is geared toward a broad and thorough education in the subjects that are necessary to master the Modern World, i.e., specializing in technology or different sorts of technical subjects.

==Page 132==
'''''Scream, Blacula, Scream''''' 
''Scream Blacula Scream'' is a 1973 blaxploitation horror film, made under the working titles ''Blacula Is Beautiful'' and ''Blacula Lives Again!''. This is the only sequel to the 1972 film ''Blacula''. The movie was produced by American International Pictures (AIP) and Power Productions. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scream_Blacula_Scream WIKI].

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Chapter 5

2014-04-22T04:32:46Z

Mikefallopian: /* Page 51 */

==Page 41==
'''Yenta''' 
A busybody/gossip

'''Benford's Law''' 
Heavy handed editing? Not like Pynchon to explicitly define jargon (hash total and Luhn checks slip past without comment on the very next page).

==Page 42==
'''Consecutive invoice numbers. Hash totals that don't add up. Credit-card numbers failing their Luhn checks.''' 
If you were looking over invoice numbers, they'd be more random, not numbered consecutively. Consecutive invoice numbers imply someone was just making them up in order, as the probability is they wouldn't be in consecutive order.

A "hash total" is just a batch total done on one or more numeric fields which appears in every record. This is a meaningless total, e.g., add the Telephone Numbers together for a number of Customers. It is used as a verification device for documents or records. For example, the dates of letters in a file may be added and separately noted as hash total. Thereafter, to ensure that no letter has been misfiled or substituted, the dates are re-added and the new total is compared with the hash total. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_validation Wikipedia]

The Luhn algorithm or Luhn formula, also known as the "modulus 10" or "mod 10" algorithm, is a simple checksum formula used to validate a variety of identification numbers, such as credit card numbers, IMEI numbers, National Provider Identifier numbers in US and Canadian Social Insurance Numbers. It was created by IBM scientist Hans Peter Luhn and described in U.S. Patent No. 2,950,048, filed on January 6, 1954, and granted on August 23, 1960. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luhn_algorithm Wikipedia]

'''False Lunchmeat''' 
aka phony baloney

==Page 43==
'''Korobushka''' 
Traditional Russian song used as a musical track on Tetris. Pynchon also referenced Tetris in ''Against the Day'' [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_119-148#Page_123] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD1k_b4KsQ8 Hear it.]

'''the plaintive folk tune''' 
Referring to the song above. Any connection to the passage from page 1 of ''The Crying of Lot 49'' that mentions "a dry, disconsolate tune from the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0pUyqUqwuE fourth movement] of the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra"?
:I doubt it. Pynchon is pretty well-versed in classical music, and "plaintive folk tune" clearly refers, as noted, to the Korobushka.

I see a slight connection, maybe not even intended by Pynchon, but one that can still be made. With Korobushka, Tetris and the "plaintive folk tune," you have the linking of something garish, a video game theme song, "the anthem of nineties workplace fecklessness" with something more soulful. The fourth movement of the Bartok Concerto enacts something like this. From an online program guide to the Concerto: The fourth movement ("Interrupted Intermezzo") plays with clichés of "innocent" folk music, while the rude "interruption" is often claimed to represent Shostakovich, whose Seventh Symphony (the "Leningrad") had recently become a popular rallying cry of resistance to the invading Germans. (The music that is allegedly being parodied was itself intended by Shostakovich as a savage parody of the forces of totalitarianism). Other interpretations, however, have challenged that longstanding view of Bartók's intent.

'''just downloading some shit, 56K's a awesome speed''' 
In reference to 56Kbit/s, a moderate speed at the time for downloading from a file sharing website like, say, the immensely popular Napster.

==Page 45==
'''the li'l goombas of Web design''' 
a reference to ''Super Mario Bros.''

'''Zima's the bitch drink of the nineties''' 
This lemon-lime malt beverage was immensely popular in the years following its 1993 debut by Coors. It eventually gained a reputation as a girl's drink and was discontinued in 2008. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zima Wikipedia entry]

'''Fabian's Bit Bucket''' 
In computing, the '''bit bucket''' is jargon for where lost computerized data has gone, by any means; any data which does not end up where it is supposed to, being lost in transmission, a computer crash, or the like, is said to have gone to the bit bucket — that mysterious place on a computer where lost documents go, as in: "What happened to that important spreadsheet that I was just editing?" OR "Oh, it went into the bit bucket." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_bucket Wikipedia entry]

==Page 46==
'''Dr. Zizmor''' 
A physician whose subway ads were all over the NYC subway for over 30 years[http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/images/4/42/Dr_Zizmor_Subway_Ad.jpeg].

==Page 47==
'''a single over on Rikers''' 
a year in prison

'''Time is what the Stones call on their side, yes it is.''' 
"Time Is on My Side" is a song written by Jerry Ragovoy (under the pseudonym of Norman Meade)and made famous by the Rolling Stones in 1964. The chorus: "Time is on my side, yes it is."

==Page 48==
'''quants''' 
Quantitative analysts

==Page 49==
'''trichologists''' 
Trichology is the branch of dermatology that deals with the scientific study of the health of hair and scalp. Trichologists themselves are not normally licensed healthcare workers, although members of the medical profession can undertake courses and/or careers within trichology. Trichology can be used in forensic studies of hairs to find suspects. Forensic trichology can determine the approximate age, body mass, race, and other important traits of the hair's owner.[citation needed] Trichologists are loyal to the academic study of hair loss science.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichology

==Page 51==
'''a lemon-lime alcopop haze''' 
The reference is to the Zima drink, of a class of what is called “alcopop," very sweet alcohol drinks which are popular with young people. Zima has a lemon-lime flavor. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zima Wikipedia]

'''The sleazy old Deuce she remembers from her less responsible youth is no more, Giuliani and his developer friends and the forces of suburban righteousness have swept the place Disneyfied and sterile.''' 
Pynchon is referencing here the school of thought claiming "Disney Saved Times Square", charting the dramatic increase in tourism and cost of billboard space in NYC's famed epicenter along with the production of a string of long-running, highly profitable, and artistically restrained Disney musicals. Through Maxine's mention of "the old Deuce", Pychon expresses his preference for the seedier Times Square, as it is perhaps found in "V".

Times Square Redevelopment (NYTimes) [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/nyregion/04square.html?pagewanted=1&ref=nyregion&_r=0]
Disney Theatrical (Wikipedia) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Theatrical]

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}

2014-04-17T22:30:43Z

Mikefallopian: /* Page 5 */

{{BE PxP Header}}

==Title==
"Bleeding Edge" has a number of meanings. See [[Bleeding Edge Title]]. The phrase first appears on pg. 78 "What's known as bleeding-edge technology. [...] No proven use, high risk, something only early-adoption addicts feel comfortable with."

==Cover==
The cover photograph is of a server farm. I found it [http://www.wallpapervortex.com/wallpaper-18727_miscellaneous_server_farm_at_night.html here]. It's entitled "Server Farm at Night." Note how the image also evokes the World Trade Center, and the cover of Pynchon's [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page ''V.''] ...

More info at [[Bleeding Edge cover analysis]]

==Book jacket description==
Pynchon likely wrote [[Bleeding_Edge|the copy]] for the book jacket description of ''Bleeding Edge'' and he likely did the same for [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page ''Inherent Vice''].

==Epigraph==
'''Donald Edwin Westlake''' (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with over a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction or other genres. He was a three-time Edgar Award winner, one of only three writers (the others are Joe Gores and William L. DeAndrea) to win Edgars in three different categories (1968, Best Novel, ''God Save the Mark''; 1990, Best Short Story, "Too Many Crooks"; 1991, Best Motion Picture Screenplay, ''The Grifters''). In 1993, the Mystery Writers of America named Westlake a Grand Master, the highest honor bestowed by the society. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_E._Westlake More on Wikipedia]

See and hear Westlake paraphrase/misquote himself by calling New York City "the enigmatic blond who knows the answer but isn't going to tell you." [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0ptliV4fzc Youtube]

[http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/31/nyregion/they-love-new-york.html New York Times] article containing the epigraph proper.

==Title Page==
'''Flatiron Building''' 
The title page feature a photograph of the Flatiron Building, a skyscraper in NYC. "The neighborhood around it is called the Flatiron District after its signature building, which has become an icon of New York City." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatiron_Building Wikipedia]

==Dedication==
Like ''Inherent Vice'' and ''Against the Day'', ''Bleeding Edge'' has no dedication. Pynchon dedicated three of his earlier novels to friends and family: ''Mason & Dixon'' ("For Melanie, and for Jackson"), ''Vineland'' ("For my mother and father"), and ''Gravity's Rainbow'' ("For Richard Fariña").

==Page 1==

'''"the first day of spring, 2001"''' 
three instances of beginnings: the first day, of spring (the season of beginning and renewal), of the new millennium.

'''"though some still have her in their system"''' 
the novel's first sentence invokes the topic of personal data held in various databases or systems.

'''Loeffler''' 
Literally translated from German, it means 'someone who eats with a spoon'. It is not an uncommon last name in Germany; it is also the German name of a bird, the Eurasian Spoonbill. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Spoonbill Wikipedia]

Loeffler is also the name of a German composer, Charles Martin Loeffler. Very interesting to note that the composer's father wrote journalism under the name 'Tornov' or 'Tornow' while the son sometimes used it as a middle name. [http://mldd.blogspot.com/2011/07/charles-martin-loeffler-150-years.html]

'''"walking her boys to school"''' 
This scene -- a parent walking children to school in the Upper West Side of New York City -- is, more than any of Pynchon's novels, evocative of what is reported of Pynchon's biography.
:This could be an early hint that the novel has a more autobiographical element than any of his previous works? [[User:Benvolio|Benvolio]] ([[User talk:Benvolio|talk]])

[[File:Callerypear.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Callery pear trees blooming in NYC, Creative Commons licensed photo from [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kamekame/5621004054/sizes/z/in/photostream/ here]]]'''

'''Callery Pear trees''' 
Planted extensively in NYC due to its fast-growing nature and tolerance of pollution and other extreme conditions. [http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/trees-blooms/tree-database/callery-pear.html Central Park Conservancy] Their blooming is a first sign of spring.
:Much has been written on how Callery trees smell like semen. E.g., [http://www.theawl.com/2013/04/this-spring-new-york-city-smells-much-less-like-sperm article]

'''she drifts into a pick''' 
A "pick" is a basketball term. It refers to an offensive player blocking a defensive player.

==Page 2==

'''unsheltered''' 
a term meaning those homeless who sleep in such places as doorways and lobbies. "The word unhoused refers to that segment of a homeless community who do not have ordinary lawful access to buildings in which to sleep, as referred to in the HUD [United States Department of Housing and Urban Development] definition as persons occupying "place not designed for ... sleeping accommodation for human beings." "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness#Unsheltered_or_unhoused_people Wikipedia]

added thought: Pynchon has tickled his creatures with Heideggerian thought throughout his writing. Unsheltered is not the "normal" way in which we describe our "homeless".

'''Razor scooters''' 
a popular brand of scooter, but note how the word "razor" echoes/evokes the title, ''Bleeding Edge''.

'''Otto Kugelblitz''' 
A fictitious character, i.e. no real person. Maybe Otto Rank [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Rank] was the blueprint for Otto Kugelblitz. 
German, "ball lightning". The Kugelblitz was also the name of a tank in WWII. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kugelblitz Wikipedia]
:Many references to Germany, German words, names and German history run throughout Pynchon's oeuvre, to the point where Pynchon scholar David Cowart posits that "Pynchon seems to have had a German period, a post-German period, and a neo-Continental or global period. During his German phase he produced his first three novels... His next work, the long-awaited Vineland, represents a new phase in which the almost obsessive attention to German more seems to have faded." ''Thomas Pynchon and the Dark Passages of History'' (2012), at p. 59. [[User:Benvolio|Benvolio]] ([[User talk:Benvolio|talk]])
:A character name Skip the sentient ball lightning appears in ''Against the Day. [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=S]

'''the human life span runs through varieties of mental disorder as understood in his day- the solipsism of infancy, the sexual hysterias of adolescence and enty-level adulthood, the paranoia of middle age, the dementia of late life... all working up to death, which at last turns out to be "sanity"''' 
I was irritated that Pychnon writes so early in this book that much about the theory of a fictitious psychonalayst. It seems to me that this theory may of further importance, i.e. could it be a kind of program for this novel? 
Solipsism > sexual hysteria > paranoia > dementia > deatch > sanity 

'''on a cross street ''Law & Order'' has so far managed not to film on''' 
''Law & Order'' was the longest running crime drama on TV. It ran for 20 seasons and filmed its episodes on the streets of New York City. Of course, this adds to building sense of paranoia and fear in this opening description.

'''Berggasse 19''' 
The address in Vienna where Freud lived. It is now the site of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud_Museum_%28Vienna%29 Sigmund Freud Museum].

==Page 3==
'''Vyrva''' 
The name sounds like the German word "Wirrwarr", meaning something like "muddle", "huddle", etc.

'''"Maxi, hi?'''" 
Vyrva speaks in uptalk, or phrasing statements like questions, a linguistic characteristic found (among other places) in Southern California, especially among so-called "Valley girls". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptalk Wikipedia]

==Page 4==

'''Maxine runs a small fraud-investigation agency''' 
"Fraud" sounds quite similar to the name of the psychologist "Freud" who was mentioned on the previous pages. So is Maxine perhaps a "Freud-investigator"? There are so many hints about Freud and psychonalasis already on these first pages, this is why I assume that psychonalaysis may be a kind of program for the novel (see comments about Otto Kugelblitz on page 2).
NB "Gravity's Rainbow" was about another school of psychology, the "behaviourism".

'''antennas for the unspoken''' 
Cf, a letter by Pynchon: "Given the British genius for coded utterance, this could all be about something else entirely, impossible on this side of the ocean to appreciate in any nuanced way..." [http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/08/thomas-pynchon-on-plagiarism.html Source]

==Page 5==
'''"a whistle-blower at a snack food company over in Jersey which has been secretly negotiating with ex-employees of Krispy Kreme for the illegal purchase of top-secret temperature and humidity setting on the donut purveyor's "proof box," along with equally classified phototed of the donut extruder, which however now seem to be Polaroids of auto parts taken years ago in Queens, Photoshopped and whimsically at that." '''

Classic elements of Pynchon - paranoia, corporate espionage, classified recipes, prescient placement of scandal, and word play on breakfast and auto "donuts", along with pitting Jersey and Queens identities against one another, before finishing with a quaint throwback to the days and times when Photoshop was a more primitive tool.

Krispy Kreme is set to go public on NASDAQ only days from Maxine's message, and ironically centering around a company whose intellectual property (the recipes!) were bought and not developed. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krispy_Kreme#History].

==Page 6==
'''the gates of Danbury''' 
a federal prison. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Correctional_Institution,_Danbury Wikipedia]

'''Crazy Eddie''' 
American electronics store famous for its radio and TV ads in the 60s and 70s, featuring the slogan, "his prices are insane". The T-shirt in question was designed by, of all people, Robert Crumb. The TV ads featured New York disc jockey Jerry Carroll as the pitchman. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crazyeddie.jpg Wikipedia]

[[File:Crazyeddieshirt.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Crazy Eddie T-Shirt, designed by the legendary Robert Crumb''']]

"Crazy Eddie" also features prominently in the science fiction novel ''The Mote In God's Eye'' by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (1974), signifying both the point of insanity and the furthest known reaches of the universe as the author's aliens see it.

==Page 7==
'''as Britney always sez''' 
"Oops! I Did It Again" was a huge pop hit in 2000 for Britney Spears.

'''"Help Me Rhonda"''' 
1965 song by the Beach Boys. [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Pynchon_and_Brian_Wilson Pynchon reportedly recommended] that Jules Siegel listen to the Beach Boys' ''Pet Sounds'', as recounted in Siegel's article, "Who is Thomas Pynchon, and Why Did He Take Off With My Wife" (1977). Pynchon mentions "Help Me Rhonda" and two other Beach Boys hits in ''Inherent Vice''. [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Songs_mentioned_in_Inherent_Vice]

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}

Chapter 1

2014-04-17T22:29:34Z

Mikefallopian: Added page 5, added annotation re: KK IPO on nasdaq in spring 2001, commented on Pynchon themes at play.

{{BE PxP Header}}

==Title==
"Bleeding Edge" has a number of meanings. See [[Bleeding Edge Title]]. The phrase first appears on pg. 78 "What's known as bleeding-edge technology. [...] No proven use, high risk, something only early-adoption addicts feel comfortable with."

==Cover==
The cover photograph is of a server farm. I found it [http://www.wallpapervortex.com/wallpaper-18727_miscellaneous_server_farm_at_night.html here]. It's entitled "Server Farm at Night." Note how the image also evokes the World Trade Center, and the cover of Pynchon's [http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page ''V.''] ...

More info at [[Bleeding Edge cover analysis]]

==Book jacket description==
Pynchon likely wrote [[Bleeding_Edge|the copy]] for the book jacket description of ''Bleeding Edge'' and he likely did the same for [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page ''Inherent Vice''].

==Epigraph==
'''Donald Edwin Westlake''' (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with over a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction or other genres. He was a three-time Edgar Award winner, one of only three writers (the others are Joe Gores and William L. DeAndrea) to win Edgars in three different categories (1968, Best Novel, ''God Save the Mark''; 1990, Best Short Story, "Too Many Crooks"; 1991, Best Motion Picture Screenplay, ''The Grifters''). In 1993, the Mystery Writers of America named Westlake a Grand Master, the highest honor bestowed by the society. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_E._Westlake More on Wikipedia]

See and hear Westlake paraphrase/misquote himself by calling New York City "the enigmatic blond who knows the answer but isn't going to tell you." [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0ptliV4fzc Youtube]

[http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/31/nyregion/they-love-new-york.html New York Times] article containing the epigraph proper.

==Title Page==
'''Flatiron Building''' 
The title page feature a photograph of the Flatiron Building, a skyscraper in NYC. "The neighborhood around it is called the Flatiron District after its signature building, which has become an icon of New York City." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatiron_Building Wikipedia]

==Dedication==
Like ''Inherent Vice'' and ''Against the Day'', ''Bleeding Edge'' has no dedication. Pynchon dedicated three of his earlier novels to friends and family: ''Mason & Dixon'' ("For Melanie, and for Jackson"), ''Vineland'' ("For my mother and father"), and ''Gravity's Rainbow'' ("For Richard Fariña").

==Page 1==

'''"the first day of spring, 2001"''' 
three instances of beginnings: the first day, of spring (the season of beginning and renewal), of the new millennium.

'''"though some still have her in their system"''' 
the novel's first sentence invokes the topic of personal data held in various databases or systems.

'''Loeffler''' 
Literally translated from German, it means 'someone who eats with a spoon'. It is not an uncommon last name in Germany; it is also the German name of a bird, the Eurasian Spoonbill. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Spoonbill Wikipedia]

Loeffler is also the name of a German composer, Charles Martin Loeffler. Very interesting to note that the composer's father wrote journalism under the name 'Tornov' or 'Tornow' while the son sometimes used it as a middle name. [http://mldd.blogspot.com/2011/07/charles-martin-loeffler-150-years.html]

'''"walking her boys to school"''' 
This scene -- a parent walking children to school in the Upper West Side of New York City -- is, more than any of Pynchon's novels, evocative of what is reported of Pynchon's biography.
:This could be an early hint that the novel has a more autobiographical element than any of his previous works? [[User:Benvolio|Benvolio]] ([[User talk:Benvolio|talk]])

[[File:Callerypear.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Callery pear trees blooming in NYC, Creative Commons licensed photo from [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kamekame/5621004054/sizes/z/in/photostream/ here]]]'''

'''Callery Pear trees''' 
Planted extensively in NYC due to its fast-growing nature and tolerance of pollution and other extreme conditions. [http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/trees-blooms/tree-database/callery-pear.html Central Park Conservancy] Their blooming is a first sign of spring.
:Much has been written on how Callery trees smell like semen. E.g., [http://www.theawl.com/2013/04/this-spring-new-york-city-smells-much-less-like-sperm article]

'''she drifts into a pick''' 
A "pick" is a basketball term. It refers to an offensive player blocking a defensive player.

==Page 2==

'''unsheltered''' 
a term meaning those homeless who sleep in such places as doorways and lobbies. "The word unhoused refers to that segment of a homeless community who do not have ordinary lawful access to buildings in which to sleep, as referred to in the HUD [United States Department of Housing and Urban Development] definition as persons occupying "place not designed for ... sleeping accommodation for human beings." "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness#Unsheltered_or_unhoused_people Wikipedia]

added thought: Pynchon has tickled his creatures with Heideggerian thought throughout his writing. Unsheltered is not the "normal" way in which we describe our "homeless".

'''Razor scooters''' 
a popular brand of scooter, but note how the word "razor" echoes/evokes the title, ''Bleeding Edge''.

'''Otto Kugelblitz''' 
A fictitious character, i.e. no real person. Maybe Otto Rank [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Rank] was the blueprint for Otto Kugelblitz. 
German, "ball lightning". The Kugelblitz was also the name of a tank in WWII. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kugelblitz Wikipedia]
:Many references to Germany, German words, names and German history run throughout Pynchon's oeuvre, to the point where Pynchon scholar David Cowart posits that "Pynchon seems to have had a German period, a post-German period, and a neo-Continental or global period. During his German phase he produced his first three novels... His next work, the long-awaited Vineland, represents a new phase in which the almost obsessive attention to German more seems to have faded." ''Thomas Pynchon and the Dark Passages of History'' (2012), at p. 59. [[User:Benvolio|Benvolio]] ([[User talk:Benvolio|talk]])
:A character name Skip the sentient ball lightning appears in ''Against the Day. [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=S]

'''the human life span runs through varieties of mental disorder as understood in his day- the solipsism of infancy, the sexual hysterias of adolescence and enty-level adulthood, the paranoia of middle age, the dementia of late life... all working up to death, which at last turns out to be "sanity"''' 
I was irritated that Pychnon writes so early in this book that much about the theory of a fictitious psychonalayst. It seems to me that this theory may of further importance, i.e. could it be a kind of program for this novel? 
Solipsism > sexual hysteria > paranoia > dementia > deatch > sanity 

'''on a cross street ''Law & Order'' has so far managed not to film on''' 
''Law & Order'' was the longest running crime drama on TV. It ran for 20 seasons and filmed its episodes on the streets of New York City. Of course, this adds to building sense of paranoia and fear in this opening description.

'''Berggasse 19''' 
The address in Vienna where Freud lived. It is now the site of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud_Museum_%28Vienna%29 Sigmund Freud Museum].

==Page 3==
'''Vyrva''' 
The name sounds like the German word "Wirrwarr", meaning something like "muddle", "huddle", etc.

'''"Maxi, hi?'''" 
Vyrva speaks in uptalk, or phrasing statements like questions, a linguistic characteristic found (among other places) in Southern California, especially among so-called "Valley girls". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptalk Wikipedia]

==Page 4==

'''Maxine runs a small fraud-investigation agency''' 
"Fraud" sounds quite similar to the name of the psychologist "Freud" who was mentioned on the previous pages. So is Maxine perhaps a "Freud-investigator"? There are so many hints about Freud and psychonalasis already on these first pages, this is why I assume that psychonalaysis may be a kind of program for the novel (see comments about Otto Kugelblitz on page 2).
NB "Gravity's Rainbow" was about another school of psychology, the "behaviourism".

'''antennas for the unspoken''' 
Cf, a letter by Pynchon: "Given the British genius for coded utterance, this could all be about something else entirely, impossible on this side of the ocean to appreciate in any nuanced way..." [http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/08/thomas-pynchon-on-plagiarism.html Source]

==Page 5==
"a whistle-blower at a snack food company over in Jersey which has been secretly negotiating with ex-employees of Krispy Kreme for the illegal purchase of top-secret temperature and humidity setting on the donut purveyor's "proof box," along with equally classified phototed of the donut extruder, which however now seem to be Polaroids of auto parts taken years ago in Queens, Photoshopped and whimsically at that." 
Classic elements of Pynchon - paranoia, corporate espionage, classified recipes, prescient placement of scandal, and word play on breakfast and auto "donuts", along with pitting Jersey and Queens identities against one another, before finishing with a quaint throwback to the days and times when Photoshop was a more primitive tool.

Krispy Kreme is set to go public on NASDAQ only days from Maxine's message, and ironically centering around a company whose intellectual property (the recipes!) were bought and not developed. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krispy_Kreme#History].

==Page 6==
'''the gates of Danbury''' 
a federal prison. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Correctional_Institution,_Danbury Wikipedia]

'''Crazy Eddie''' 
American electronics store famous for its radio and TV ads in the 60s and 70s, featuring the slogan, "his prices are insane". The T-shirt in question was designed by, of all people, Robert Crumb. The TV ads featured New York disc jockey Jerry Carroll as the pitchman. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crazyeddie.jpg Wikipedia]

[[File:Crazyeddieshirt.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Crazy Eddie T-Shirt, designed by the legendary Robert Crumb''']]

"Crazy Eddie" also features prominently in the science fiction novel ''The Mote In God's Eye'' by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (1974), signifying both the point of insanity and the furthest known reaches of the universe as the author's aliens see it.

==Page 7==
'''as Britney always sez''' 
"Oops! I Did It Again" was a huge pop hit in 2000 for Britney Spears.

'''"Help Me Rhonda"''' 
1965 song by the Beach Boys. [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Pynchon_and_Brian_Wilson Pynchon reportedly recommended] that Jules Siegel listen to the Beach Boys' ''Pet Sounds'', as recounted in Siegel's article, "Who is Thomas Pynchon, and Why Did He Take Off With My Wife" (1977). Pynchon mentions "Help Me Rhonda" and two other Beach Boys hits in ''Inherent Vice''. [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Songs_mentioned_in_Inherent_Vice]

{{Bleeding Edge PbP}}