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'''holding his cheek and jaw when he talks like cutout photos of the late J. Benny'''<br /> | '''holding his cheek and jaw when he talks like cutout photos of the late J. Benny'''<br /> | ||
− | Comedian Jack Benny (1894-1974) would often hold his chin with his hand while addressing an audience. | + | Comedian Jack Benny (1894-1974) would often hold his chin with his hand while addressing an audience. See Benny's statue in Cucamonga where he is holding his cheek and jaw [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bennystatue.jpg]. |
'''tallly insubstantial ghostish figure'''<br /> | '''tallly insubstantial ghostish figure'''<br /> |
Revision as of 02:45, 15 March 2011
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Contents
More With Gately in the Hospital
Page 827
Page 828
Spam
a brand of spiced ham
holding his cheek and jaw when he talks like cutout photos of the late J. Benny
Comedian Jack Benny (1894-1974) would often hold his chin with his hand while addressing an audience. See Benny's statue in Cucamonga where he is holding his cheek and jaw [1].
tallly insubstantial ghostish figure
'tall' used adverbially with 3 successive "L"s. cute.
Page 829
Page 830
phantasms
apparitions or specters
Page 831
quanta
plural of quantum, an indivisible entity of energy
Heisenbergian
Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901-1976) was a German physicist and one of the fathers of quantum mechanics.
Page 832
velour
a felt that looks like velvet
ACCIACCATURA
Comes from the Italian verb acciaccare, "to crush". The acciaccatura (sometimes called short appoggiatura) is perhaps best thought of as a shorter, less melodically significant, variant of the long appoggiatura, where the delay of the principal note is scarcely perceptible – theoretically subtracting no time at all." (Wikipedia)
ALEMBIC
a device used for distillation made up of a tube connecting two containers
LATRODECTUS MACTANS
"Latrodectus mactans, the (southern) Black widow, is a highly venomous species of spider in the genus Latrodectus. They are well known for the distinctive black and red coloring of the female of the species and for the fact that she will occasionally eat her mate after reproduction. The species is native to the United States of America and Mexico. The female black widow's venom is particularly harmful to humans (males almost never bite humans). The injection of venom from these species is a comparatively dangerous or lethal bite." (Wikipedia)
NEUTRAL DENSITY POINT
it's not clear what this refers to, but it's quite possible it refers to a concept in optics similar to the concept applied in a Neutral Density Filter, given Infinite Jest's optics motif.
"In photography and optics, a neutral density filter or ND filter can be colorless (clear) or grey filter. An ideal neutral density filter reduces and/or modifies intensity of all wavelengths or colors of light equally, giving no changes in hue of color rendition.
The purpose of standard photographic neutral density filters is to allow the photographer greater flexibility to change the aperture, exposure time and/or blur of subject in different situations and atmospheric conditions." (Wikipedia)
CHIAROSCURO
a term originally used in drawing and painting, chiaroscuro is also used in photography and cinematography for techniques of contrasting light and dark
PROPRIOCEPTION
the sense of the relative position of the parts of the body
TESTUDO
Latin for "tortoise." May refer to a genus of tortoises, a type of harp, or a military formation.
ANNULATE
Having or consisting of rings or ringlike segments.
BRICOLAGE
the creation of an artistic work from a diverse range of things that are around
CATALEPT
a person suffering from catalepsy, a condition of rigidity and unresponsiveness
GERRYMANDER
the breaking up of territory into electoral districts so that one political party has a majority in as many districts as possible
SCOPOPHILIA
Translation of the Freudian notion of Schaulust, "pleasure in looking," in the sense of both seeing and being seen, as well as "curiosity." Freud distinguished between two frequently encountered forms of this partial drive: one active, "voyeurism," and the other passive, "exhibitionism," neither of which he would necessarily rank among perversions.
LAERTES
a character from Hamlet who blames Hamlet for the deaths of his father and sister (Polonius and Ophelia), and seeks to avenge them by killing Hamlet with a poisoned sword
EXTRUDING
to push or thrust out
STRIGIL
"A strigil was a small, curved, metal tool used in ancient Greece and Rome to scrape dirt and sweat from the body before effective soaps became available." (Wikipedia)
LORDOSIS
a condition where a person has a forward-curving spine
IMPOST
a tax or duty that is imposed - this word was use by Tiny Ewell while he was speaking to (or rather, at) Gately on page 815
SINISTRAL
left-handed
MENISCUS
A concavo-convex lens, or other crescent-shaped body.
CHRONAXY
"In the mathematical description of the functioning of the nervous system, the chronaxie (or chronaxy) is the minimum time over which an electric current double the strength of the rheobase needs to be applied, in order to stimulate a muscle fiber or nerve cell." (Wikipedia)
POOR YORICK
The (dead) jester in Hamlet. The quote referred to is by Hamlet, holding Yorick's skull after Yorick's remains are uncovered: 'Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest'
LUCULUS
Lucullus (two l's) was a Roman general of antiquity (Wikipedia)
MONTCLAIR
the model of car owned by James Incandenza's father, Mario
DE SICA
Vittorio De Sica (1902-1974) was an Italian filmmaker, probably most famous for The Bicycle Thief.
NEO-REAL
"Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors. Italian neorealist films mostly contend with the difficult economical and moral conditions of post-World War II Italy, reflecting the changes in the Italian psyche and the conditions of everyday life: poverty and desperation." (Wikipedia)
CRANE DOLLY
A camera dolly with a crane that holds the camera.
CIRCUMAMBIENTFOUNDDRAMALEVIRATEMARIAGE
Circumambient means walking around. "Found Drama" was one of James Incandenza's contributions to film artistic history. Levirate marriage is a tradition in several cultures whereby the younger brother of a deceased man marries the dead brother's widow.
HELIATED
When someone inhales helium, their voice becomes high-pitched.
Page 833
shinola
a now-defunct brand of mid-20th century shoe polish, preserved in the expression, "You don't know shit from Shinola."
epiphanyish
An epiphany is a divine manifestation, or by extension, a sudden, deep insight.
Page 834
Vertical Hold
refers to a setting on a television that adjusts the picture's vertical stabilization
'Ren and Stimpy'
the main characters in a once-popular animated television series
'Oo Is 'E When 'E's at 'Ome'
or "Who Is He When He's at Home?", which is apparently a common Irish saying
'Exposed Northerners'
Wallace is punning on the name of the once-popular television show Northern Exposure.
Nom
Gatley means "Norm," as in the Cheers character "Norm Peterson"; "Nom" is how a North Shore native such as Gately might pronounce the name.
fractional
comparatively small or insignificant
Page 835
figurants
performers with no spoken lines
The Sorrow and the Pity
a film about the Nazi occupation of France
Heineken Maneuver
Gately means "Heimlich Maneuver."
Schwulst or Altman
The only Schwulst I can find is Lance Schwulst, who is probably not the person referred to. Robert Bernard Altman (1925-2006) was an American filmmaker.
agora
a place of congregation, originally marketplaces in Ancient Greece
Page 836
DEXTRAL
right-handed
Page 837
acerbic
acidic; sharp or biting
Page 838
shell-game
a con game
Page 839
Mennonite
an Anabaptist denomination named for Menno Simons (1496-1561), a Frisian religious leader
avers
declares
vapid
lacking liveliness or spirit
Page 840
packy
short for "package store," a Massachusetts euphemism for "liquor store"
pre-metric
in the alternate timeline of Infinite Jest, it's obvious that U.S. Customary systems of measurement are finally abandoned, at some point (perhaps during Reconfiguration), for the global standard of the Metric System (ed.: optimism on Wallace's part, one might say) - the weights the M.P. used were marked with U.S. "pounds" (lbs) instead of Metric kilograms (kg).
Page 841
fencing
to sell stolen goods
beeswax
i.e., business
Page 842
lit
landed
Page 843
Page 844
ü
a German diphthong, somewhere between /u/ and /ee/
Al-Anon
Al-Anon/Alateen, Al-Anon Family Groups - support group for families/friends of alcoholics.
Stetson w/ feather
Stetson hats or Stetsons refers to the brand of hat manufactered by the John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. The word 'Stetson' is sometimes used as a genericized term for a cowboy hat. Although the Stetson company makes other styles of brimmed hat, the Stetson name has become synonymous with a style it pioneered, featuring a high crown and wide brim, popularly known as a Cowboy hat. Wikipedia
penchant
a predilection
Page 845