PE Check123 Chapter 16 - Thomas Pynchon Wiki | Bleeding Edge

Chapter 16

Revision as of 22:43, 28 September 2013 by Tallpaul (Talk | contribs) (Page 174)

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Page 172

'85 Sassicaia
Tenuta San Guido is an Italian wine producer in the DOC Bolgheri in Toscana, known as a producer of "Super Tuscan" wine. Its wine Sassicaia is considered one of Italy's leading Bordeaux-style red wines. Tenuta San Guido is member of the Primum Familiae Vini. From WIKI.

Page 173

riyals
Unit of currency in the Middle East.

Page 174

Eternal September
A foreboding name. The Eternal September started September 1993, the month that internet service provider America Online (AOL) began offering Usenet access to its (very many) members . Before then, every year in September, a large number of new university freshmen acquired access to Usenet for the first time, and thongs took some time to calm down as they become accustomed to Usenet's standards of conduct. After Eternal September the calm never came as more and more people came on line.

Page 177

"Up to whom they must never miss a chance to suck"
Perhaps Pynchon is riffing on Winston Churchill's alleged marginal note of 27 February 1944, to a priggish civil servant's memo objecting to the ending of a sentences with prepositions: "This is the kind of tedious nonsense up with which I will not put!"

Motor City psychobilly Elvis Hitler
Yes. There really is a band called Elvis Hitler. And they're from Detroit (a.k.a., the "Motor City").

singing the Green Acres theme to the tune of "Purple Haze"
And yes, Elvis Hitler really did a version of the Green Acres theme to the tune of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze." You can hear it here.

The bizzaro song in question is called "Green Haze, Parts 1 and 2," from their 1988 album "Disgraceland." Is Maxine feeling nostalgia from this particular song, or for "Green Acres" and/or "Purple Haze"? Maxine doesn't strike me as a psychobilly person, but maybe. Also, "Green Haze" is the name of an early Miles Davis tune, YouTube, found on "The Musings of Miles." Who knew?

zaftig body
Slightly fat in an attractive way.

Page 178

Jules and Jim
Jules and Jim is a 1962 French film directed by François Truffaut based on Henri-Pierre Roché's 1953 semi-autobiographical novel about his relationship with writer Franz Hessel and his wife, Helen Grund. Truffaut came across the book in the mid-1950s whilst browsing through some secondhand books in Paris and later befriended the elderly Roché. The author approved of the young director's attempt to translate his work to another medium. The film ranked 46 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010. From WIKI.

hours on the LIE
Long Island Expressway

"sub-vaudville routine"
So bad, it's not even up to vaudeville's corny standards

Page 179

Mrs. Grundy
A figurative name for a holier-than-thou, self-righteous person, a goody-two-shoes. Named after a minor character in Thomas Morton's play Speed the Plough (1798).

According to Wiki, she (Pynchonesquely?) never makes an appearance in the play, and is merely talked about.

Page 180

begins idly to channel-surf. A form of meditating.
Interesting to note the shift from Vinelands 80's Tube addicts to Bleeding Edges 00's new form of meditating. Could it have to do with the availability of channels?

Page 181

Homer strangling Bart . . .
Refers to characters from the animated TV show The Simpsons, in which the father (Homer) often gets angry and strangles his son Bart. Pynchon himself (well, his voice, at least) has appeared a couple of times on this television program.

Page 182

Buddhist Parable of the Burning Coal
Some musings on this Buddhist story and similar ones on a "Fake Buddha Quotes" site. Follow the link to see how coal relates to sensuality and excrement. Where have you gone, Brigadier Pudding?


Chapter 1
pp. 1-7
Chapter 2
pp. 8-19
Chapter 3
pp. 20-29
Chapter 4
pp. 30-40
Chapter 5
pp. 41-52
Chapter 6
pp. 53-67
Chapter 7
pp. 68-79
Chapter 8
pp. 80-86
Chapter 9
pp. 87-95
Chapter 10
pp. 96-111
Chapter 11
pp. 112-120
Chapter 12
pp. 121-133
Chapter 13
pp. 134-144
Chapter 14
pp. 145-159
Chapter 15
pp. 160-171
Chapter 16
pp. 172-184
Chapter 17
pp. 185-197
Chapter 18
pp. 198-210
Chapter 19
pp. 211-218
Chapter 20
pp. 219-229
Chapter 21
pp. 230-238
Chapter 22
pp. 239-246
Chapter 23
pp. 247-255
Chapter 24
pp. 256-264
Chapter 25
pp. 265-273
Chapter 26
pp. 274-287
Chapter 27
pp. 288-300
Chapter 28
pp. 301-313
Chapter 29
pp. 314-326
Chapter 30
pp. 327-337
Chapter 31
pp. 338-346
Chapter 32
pp. 347-353
Chapter 33
pp. 354-364
Chapter 34
pp. 365-382
Chapter 35
pp. 383-394
Chapter 36
pp. 395-407
Chapter 37
pp. 408-422
Chapter 38
pp. 423-438
Chapter 39
pp. 439-447
Chapter 40
pp. 448-462
Chapter 41
pp. 463-477
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