Difference between pages "Pages 181-198" and "Pages 198-219"

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=☽ Late October (22nd), YDAU - WYYY, Madame Psychosis=
+
=November 6th, YDAU - ETA Weight Room=
  
==Page 181==
+
==Page 198==
  
'''Madame Psychosis'''<br />
+
[[Subsidized Time|Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment]]
not just a byname for DMZ, but also a radio show host
+
  
==Page 182==
+
'''Kornspan'''<br />
 +
German: corn chip ["Korn" means corn or grain, "Span" means chip or flake, but "Kornspan" makes no sense in German]
  
'''apotheosizing'''<br />
+
'''isometrics'''<br />
apotheosis is the glorifying of someone to a divine level
+
While this is just another name for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isometric_exercise isometric exercise], it's not clear how Pemulis would be making his face stronger.  ...Perhaps he is just making faces as a result of his trying to eavesdrop and in response to the other shouts in the weight room.
  
'''patricidal'''<br />
+
==Page 199==
having a tendency to kill one's father
+
  
'''entomologist'''<br />
+
[[Image:Bacon.jpg|thumb|caption|Bacon's ''Study after Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X''|right|150px]]
a person who studies insects scientifically
+
  
'''sephenoid'''<br />
+
'''like one of Bacon's popes'''<br />
a misspelling for [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sphenoid sphenoid], "a winged bone at the base of the cranium."
+
Francis Bacon (1909-1992) was an Irish artist. His portrait of Pope Innocent X can be seen to the right.
''Merriam-Webster Online. 25 May 2009''
+
  
'''Infundibular'''<br />
+
==Page 200==
having the form of a funnel. The infundibular recess alluded to here is a part of the pituitary gland's structure. Cf. "chronosynclastic infundibulum" in Vonnegut's ''Sirens of Titan'', an fictional place were "all the different kinds of truths fit together."
+
  
'''epiglottal'''<br />
+
'''rosin'''<br />
having to do with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiglottis epiglottis]
+
another spelling of "resin," this resin being used to provide a better grip in weightlifting
  
'''Hillel'''<br />
+
'''mesomorphic'''<br />
a nationwide (worldwide?) Jewish student union present on several campuses
+
having a muscular, husky body type
  
'''corpus callosum'''<br />
+
=Facts About Addiction and Tattoos=
the part of the brain connecting the left and right hemispheres
+
  
'''laryngeally fissured'''<br />
+
==Page 200==
having ridges like the human [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larynx larynx]
+
  
'''work-study'''<br />
+
'''D.S.S.'''<br />
receiving funding from the university in exchange for work rendered to the university
+
Department of Social Services
  
==Page 183==
+
'''papular'''<br />
 +
having papules, i.e., inflamed, raised elevations on the skin not filled with pus (insect bites produce papules in most cases)
  
'''chiffon'''<br />
+
'''''tecato gusano'''''<br />
a lightweight, balanced, plain-woven fabric
+
a worm from Tecate, Mexico, a small city in Baja California, bordering the U.S. Perhaps, but <i>tecato</i> is slang for a drug user, as web search will inform. Gusano indeed means worm.
  
'''limned'''<br />
+
==Page 201==
To limn means to describe or delineate
+
  
'''parietal'''<br />
+
'''Flents'''<br />
referring to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parietal_lobe parietal lobe] of the brain, responsible for sensory memory and response
+
a brand name of [http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/flents.html earplugs]
  
'''pop'''<br />
+
'''subsonic'''<br />
Midwesterners in the U.S. use this word to denote what others call "soda," i.e., Coca-Cola, 7-Up, etc.
+
of a speed less than that of sound
  
'''Dow'''<br />
+
'''arpeggio'''<br />
a pun on the Chinese word ''tao,'' ("the way") and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJIA Dow Jones Industrial Average]
+
in music, a chord played in parts (i.e., one note at a time) rather than together
  
'''gasper'''<br />
+
'''''pace'''''<br />
cigarette
+
a very loose translation from Latin would be "with due reference to"
  
'''E.S.T.'''<br />
+
==Page 202==
Eastern Standard Time
+
  
'''medulla'''<br />
+
'''Human Immuno-Virus'''<br />
literally that part of the brain responsible for autonomic functions like heartbeat, organ activity, etc.
+
HIV, i.e., the virus that causes AIDS
  
==Page 184==
+
'''datum'''<br />
 +
a piece of information; usually used in its plural, i.e., data
  
'''I. M. Pei'''<br />
+
'''nexus'''<br />
Ieoh Ming Pei (born 1917) is a Chinese-born American architect who designed, among other famous buildings, MIT's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Building_%28MIT%29 Green Building].
+
a means of connection
  
==Endnote 60==
+
'''glans'''<br />
 +
the end of the penis
  
'''J. A. Stratton'''<br />
+
'''D.E.C.'''<br />
Julius Adams Stratton (1901-1994) was an American educator and president of MIT between 1959 and 1965.
+
Digital Equipment Corporation, now a part of [http://www.dec.com/ Hewlitt-Packard]
  
==Page 184 (cont'd)==
+
==Endnote 70==
  
'''cerebral cortex'''<br />
+
'''N.R.A.'''<br />
that part of the brain responsible for higher-order thinking
+
National Rifle Association
  
'''"...what she's said for three years of midnights..."'''<br />
+
'''including 12-Step fellowships themselves'''<br />
Up until 'Look at that fucker ''Dance,''' the rest of her introduction is from [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201&version=9 Genesis 1].
+
See Chuck Palahniuk's novel ''Fight Club''.
  
'''Largest Whole Prime On The FM Band'''<br />
+
==Page 202 (cont'd)==
109 is a prime number, i.e., divisible only by itself and by 1. Actually the highest number you can get on FM is 108.
+
  
'''EM'''<br />
+
''''Texas Catheter''''<br />
probably denoting "electromagnetic"
+
This is "a condom-like device with a plug where the condom's reservoir tip would be, and an adhesive at the base. This device allows for urinary catheterization without the insertion of a true catheter" (Wikipedia).
  
'''centrifugal'''<br />
+
==Page 203==
that force in a spinning object that tends to push away objects from the angle of rotation
+
  
'''Hundt Act'''<br />
+
'''colloquia'''<br />
Reed E. Hundt (born 1948) was chairman of the Federal Communications Committee in 1996, when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed. Wallace may be riffing on that, as it appears there was no equivalent legislation in 1966.
+
Plural for "colloquium," these are akin to academic conferences, albeit slightly less formal.
  
'''spatter's center'''<br />
+
'''50 proof'''<br />
The spatter referred to here is probably the small amount of FM bands that can be sent out.
+
i.e., 25 percent alcohol
  
'''inelastic'''<br />
+
'''unalloyed'''<br />
When used with regard to demand, this term means tending not to change.
+
pure
  
'''3-km. cannon'''<br />
+
'''O.C.D.'''<br />
The range is about 1.86 miles.
+
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
  
'''P.E.'''<br />
+
'''epiphanic'''<br />
Physical Education
+
adjective form of "epiphany," a moment of sudden and great revelation or realization (Oxford Dictionary of English).
 +
 +
'''insipid'''<br />
 +
without any interesting qualities
  
'''Philology'''<br />
+
==Page 204==
The study of literature or language.
+
  
==Page 185==
+
'''Billerica'''<br />
 +
a town in Massachusetts, about 25 miles northwest of Boston
  
'''hypogonadism'''<br />
+
'''''vig'''''<br />
lack of function of the ovaries or testicles
+
short for "vigorish" (the bookie's fee for his services; see also p. 912)
  
'''Nodular leprosy with leonine facies'''<br />
+
'''argot'''<br />
a form of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy leprosy] that generates lesions made of nodes and that produces lion-like facial expressions (i.e., "leonine facies")
+
slang
  
'''The acromegalic and hyperkeratosistic. The enuretic.'''<br />
+
==Page 205==
Arcomegaly is a disorder of the pituitary gland whereby it produces too much human growth hormone, resulting in giantism. Hyperkeratosistic means that one is suffering from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperkeratosis hyperkeratosis]. Enuresis is the inability to urinate.
+
  
'''The spasmodically torticollic.'''<br />
+
'''pancreatitis'''<br />
having a head tilted to one side (torticollis) involving convulsions (spasmodic)
+
inflammation of the pancreas
  
'''transuranial metallurgist.'''<br />
+
==Page 206==
  
`transuranial' refers to the elements with an atomic number greater than 92.  
+
'''Scrofulous'''<br />
 +
Morally degenerate; corrupt.
  
'''G.S.L.'''<br />
+
'''Sauvignon'''<br />
Guaranteed Student Loan
+
one of two types of wine made from two related sorts of grapes
  
'''treillage'''<br />
+
'''Purple-Hearted'''<br />
latticework
+
A soldier receives a Purple Heart when s/he is wounded
  
'''interneural'''<br />
+
'''Store 24'''<br />
between nerves
+
A New England chain of convenience stores that often include both self-service gasoline and a deli, the website of which is [http://www.tedeschifoodshops.com/our-history.php here].
  
'''semitic ideograms'''<br />
+
==Page 207==
Semitic languages actually tend to be written uses alphabets, where a symbol denotes a phoneme, rather than in ideograms, like Chinese and Korean are. The oldest alphabet is the Phoenician, which was Semitic.0
+
  
'''rostral lamina'''<br />
+
'''200 kilos'''<br />
in biology, a beaklike or snoutlike (rostral) layer of tissue (lamina)
+
over 440 pounds
  
'''neuroform'''<br />
+
'''Scooter Puppies'''<br />
Neuroform is actually the brand-name of a type of stent.
+
This is likely a term that DFW coined, although Spin magazine used it in a blurb in 1996.  I suspect that they were inspired by DFW.  ??  Spin does provide one of the reviews in the front of the 2006 edition.
  
'''S.O.P.'''<br />
+
'''Gothic script'''<br />
Standard Operating Procedure
+
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Rudolf_Koch_gebrochene_Schriften.png Click here] to see examples.
  
'''neorealist'''<br />
+
'''undulating'''<br />
adhering to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_neorealism Italian neorealism]
+
moving in a wavelike motion
  
'''Peterson/Broughton and Dali/Buñuel'''<br />
+
'''necrotic'''<br />
[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0677403/ Sidney Peterson] and [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0112687/ James Broughton] collaborated on [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038855/ The Potted Psalm] (1946), an experimental film.
+
dead
  
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquis of Púbol (1904-1989) and Luis Buñuel Portolés (1900-1983) were both Spanish artists. They collaborated on ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020530/ Un chien andalou]'' (''An Andalusian Dog'', 1929), another experimental film.
+
'''White Flag group'''<br />
 +
A white flag is a military signal for "surrender." Many AA groups' names quote or allude to phrases or concepts from the AA program; this name alludes to the concept of surrender/abandon/acceptance or "turning over [one's] life and will to the care of God."
  
'''Deren/Hammid'''<br />
+
==Page 208==
[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0220305/ Maya Deren] and [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0352413/ Alexander Hammid] codirected [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036154/ Meshes of the Afternoon]
+
  
'''Antonioni'''<br />
+
'''magiscule''' <br />
Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007) was an Italian filmmaker probably most famous for [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060176/ Blowup].
+
A misspelling of "majuscule," meaning a capital letter, or uncial.
  
'''Tarkovsky'''<br />
+
'''hyperemic'''<br />
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (1932-1986) was a Soviet-Russian filmmaker, most famous for [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0176227/ Voyage in Time], made with Antonioni.
+
engorged with blood
  
'''Sometimes Ozu and Bresson'''<br />
+
'''palmate'''<br />
Yasujirō Ozu (1903-1963) was a Japanese filmmaker. Robert Bresson (1901-1999) was a French filmmaker.
+
having four or more leaves emanating from a single point
  
'''hoary dramaturgy'''<br />
+
'''Watertown'''<br />
According to Wikipedia, dramaturgy is "the art of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage." To call it "hoary" would be to imply it's old.
+
a suburb of Boston, ten miles to the west
  
'''Sir Herbert Tree'''<br />
+
'''half-m.-long'''<br />
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1852-1917) was a British actor and manager. You can hear his performances of ''Hamlet'' [http://www.bl.uk/treasures/shakespeare/playhamlet.html here].
+
a half-meter, or nearly 20 inches
  
'''Kaelesque'''<br />
+
'''gonfalonish'''<br />
In the style of Pauline Kael (1919-2001), an American film critic for ''New Yorker'' magazine.
+
resembling a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonfalon gonfalon]
  
'''De Palma, Tarantino'''<br />
+
'''mucronate'''<br />
[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000361/ Brian De Palma] and [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000233/ Quentin Tarantino]
+
[New Oxford American Dictionary, henceforth NOAD]:[Botany] [Zoology] ending abruptly in a short sharp point or mucro.
  
==Endnote 61==
+
'''St. Vitus's dance'''<br />
 +
a nickname for Sydenham’s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorea_%28disease%29 chorea]
  
'''dissociative formalism'''<br />
+
'''''HOW DO YOU LIK YOUR BLUEYED BOY NOW MR DETH!?'''''<br />
presumably [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formalist_film_theory formalism] that focuses too much on form and not enough on character and other aspects of filmmaking
+
Misspelling and slight misquotation of the last line of the poem "Buffalo Bill's/defunct," by e.e. cummings: "how do you like your blueeyed boy/Mister Death".  The full poem appears here:  [http://www.madeinwyoming.net/profiles/extras/BBPoemCummings.pdf]
  
'''Stan Brakhage and Hollis Frampton'''<br />
+
'''gestalt'''<br />
Stan Brakhage (1933-2003) and Hollis Frampton (1936-1984) were American avant-garde filmmakers.
+
Gestalt is "a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts" (''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'').
  
'''Beth B.'''<br />
+
==Page 209==
You can read about her [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0044579/ here].
+
  
'''the Snow brothers, Vigdis Simpson'''<br />
+
'''crocodilic'''<br />
One of the Snow brothers would have to be Michael Snow (born 1929), a Canadian-American filmmaker, principally known for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavelength_%281966_film%29 Wavelength]. Vigdis Simpson seems created.
+
White Flag reference to senior AA members, who sit under a picture of crocodiles sunbathing on a riverbank
  
==Page 185 (cont'd)==
+
'''St. Columbkill'''<br />
 +
a place name here, named for an actual Irish saint. There is a real Roman Catholic parish in Brighton called St. Columbkille.
  
'''Brutalism, Found Drama'''<br />
+
'''St. Elizabeth's Hospital'''<br />
Brutalism may refer to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalism brutalist architecture]. Found Drama is the cinematic extension of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Found_art Found Art].
+
St. Elizabeth's Medical Center is a real hospital in Brighton. Its Web site is [http://www.caritasstelizabeths.org/ here].
  
'''dissonant'''<br />
+
'''cantankerous'''<br />
inharmonious with other things (here, aspects of Madame Psychosis's taste)
+
disagreeable, argumentative
  
==Page 186==
+
'''Rita Hayworth'''<br />
 +
The era of [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000028/ Rita Hayworth] would be the '30s and '40s.
  
'''Baraka'''<br />
+
'''''SUBIKBAY'62USN4-07'''''<br />
Imamu Amiri Baraka (born Everett LeRoi Jones, 1934) is an African-American poet, playwright, author, and political activist.
+
SUBIKBAY is probably [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subic_Bay Subic Bay]. USN would be U.S. Navy.
  
'''piamater'''<br />
+
'''''SEMPER FI'''''<br />
actually two words: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pia_mater Pia mater]
+
Short for ''Semper fidelis'' ("always faithful"), motto of the U.S. Marine Corps
  
'''sulci'''<br />
+
'''autolyzed'''<br />
plural of "sulcus," a furrow or groove, particularly between sections of the brain
+
having undergone autolysis, i.e., the breakdown of tissue over time
  
'''A.Y. ('V.F.') Rickey's ''summum opus'''''<br />
+
'''BLTN'''<br />
A.Y. "Vector Field" Rickey, as first referenced back in Endnote 3 as the architect of the cardioid E.T.A. buildings.  Possibly named after [http://www.math.usma.edu/people/Rickey/ V. Frederick Rickey], a prominent mathematician. It is notable that there is, in fact, no Student Union building at MIT. 
+
Better Late Than Never
  
The ''summum opus'' would be the "greatest work" while a ''magnum opus'' would be a "great work."
+
==Page 210==
  
'''parietooccipital'''<br />
+
'''phylum'''<br />
referring to both the parietal lobe of the brain, as well as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occipital_lobe occipital] lobe, which is where vision is processed
+
A taxonomical term just below Kingdom (in humans, Animal), the phylum of mammals is ''Chordata'', which means they have a spinal cord.
  
'''Pons and abducent'''<br />
+
'''foment'''<br />
The Pons is a structure on the brain stem, while the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abducent_nerve abducens nerve] is a nerve in the muscles of the eye.
+
To foment is to instigate or stir up but the proper word here would be "ferment"
  
'''basilar-stem artery'''<br />
+
'''M.D.C.'''<br />
a stem of an artery that carries blood to the brain
+
Massachusetts Department of Corrections
  
'''oblongata'''<br />
+
'''Talwin'''<br />
the second half of the full name of the medulla
+
brand name of pentazocine, a narcotic painkiller
  
'''meatus'''<br />
+
==Page 211==
  
a passage or opening leading to the interior of the body.
+
'''cribbage'''<br />
 +
a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cribbage card game]
  
==Page 187==
+
'''canted'''<br />
 +
set at an oblique angle; this can also mean having rounded corners
  
'''FHC'''<br />
+
=The Incredibly Potent DMZ=
acronym for "fluorohydrocarbon," this is a type of [http://www.polymerplastics.com/fluoro_overview.shtml fluroplastic], known to give off poisonous fumes
+
  
'''Heathkit'''<br />
+
==Page 211==
The company's Web site is [http://www.heathkit-museum.com/ here].
+
  
'''10ºC'''<br />
+
'''film-noir'''<br />
fifty degrees Fahrenheit
+
According to Wikipedia, ''film noir'' (French for "dark film") is "a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s."
  
'''five m.'''<br />
+
'''psychosensual'''<br />
almost 16.5 feet
+
Whereas ''psychosensual'' would have a more sexual connotation...
  
'''vascularly hued'''<br />
+
'''psychosensory'''<br />
colored like a blood vessel
+
...''psychosensory'' would be more nearly precise, as it would apply to sensory stimulation, not necessarily sexual.
  
'''mercuric'''<br />
+
==Page 212==
employing the element [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(element) mercury]
+
  
'''wooferless'''<br />
+
'''CIA-era military experiments'''<br />
lacking the larger speaker (i.e., the "woofer") found in multi-speaker systems
+
probably a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MK-ULTRA MKULTRA]
  
'''saddle-noses'''<br />
+
'''hydrangea'''<br />
noses having a collapsed nasal bridge
+
several species of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea flowering plants], the color of whose blossoms ranges from pink to blue depending on soil acidity
  
'''atrophic'''<br />
+
'''gistless'''<br />
shrinking in size
+
having no essential heart of the matter
  
'''Scleredema adultorum'''<br />
+
'''Decoct'''<br />
a [http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic385.htm disease] characterized by non-pitting induration of the skin
+
to extract soluble parts by boiling
  
'''serodermatotic'''<br />
+
'''spectrometer'''<br />
suffering from serodermatosis, a skin disease with serous effusion into the skin
+
an optical or magnetic instrument used to conduct spectroscopic analysis of matter (in the case of a mass spectrometer) or light emitted by heated matter, plotting intensity v. wavelength, to determine its constituent elements, or combinations of elements
  
'''hydrocephalic'''<br />
+
'''Ram Das'''<br />
having water on the brain
+
A reference to Baba Ram Dass (born 1931 as Richard Alpert), an American-Jewish spiritual leader, author of ''Be Here Now'', and large influence on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Townshend Pete Townshend].
  
'''tabescent and chachetic'''<br />
+
==Page 213==
Tabescent refers to a person with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabes tabes dorsalis], and chachetic (probably misspelled) apparently refers to a person with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cachexia cachexia].
+
  
'''Brag's-Diseased'''<br />
+
'''frustum'''<br />
This would seem to be a type of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioma glioma], though it is mentioned almost nowhere.
+
A frustum is a truncated cone or pyramid, or specifically "the part of a conical solid left after cutting off a top portion with a plane parallel to the base" (''Random House Unabridged Dictionary''). "Cut a cone off the top of a cone, and a frustum is what remains." [editor]
  
'''carbuncular or steatocryptotic'''<br />
+
'''Lamb's Breath cannabis'''<br />
Carbuncular means "pimply," while steatocryptotic refers to a person suffering from steatocryptosis, which is derangement of the sebaceous glands.
+
a type of potent marijuana
  
'''Marin-Amat Syndrome'''<br />
+
'''20-g.'''<br />
This is involuntary closure on one eye, named for Manuel Marin Amat, an early 20th century Spanish ophthalmologist.
+
a 20-gram amount (about .7 ounces)
  
'''scrofulodermic'''<br />
+
'''Sierpinski gasket'''<br />
suffering from [http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic434.htm cutaneous tuberculosis]
+
Wacław Franciszek Sierpiński (1882-1969) was a Polish mathematician and one of the innovators of set theory.  The Sierpinski gasket is a fractal, also called the Sierpinski triangle.  See picture at right. [[Image:Sierpinski_Triangle.jpg|caption|Sierpinski gasket|right|150px]]
  
'''Bell-shaped steatopygiacs'''<br />
+
'''mullioned'''<br />
A steatopygiac is a person suffering from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steatopygia steatopygia]; if you're bell-shaped, it just means the fat is closer to the bottom than the top
+
having separate panes, when used for a window
  
'''Pityriasis Rosea'''<br />
+
'''fenestrated'''<br />
a skin disease marked by patches of pink, oval rash
+
fenestration  1 : the arrangement, proportioning, and design of windows and doors in a building.
  
'''"Blessed are the poor in body, for they."'''<br />
+
'''philatelic forceps, a loupe'''<br />
This is not one of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatitude Beatitudes].
+
Philatelic refers to stamp collecting, in which stamps are handled with forceps and examined with loupes, the latter being essentialy a magnifying lens one screws into one's eye socket or orbit. A loupe is also used by a jeweler to view flaws in diamonds, and forceps have many other uses.
  
'''U.H.I.D.'''<br />
+
'''Bunsen burner'''<br />
Union of the Hideously and Improbably Deformed
+
a laboratory [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunsen_burner burner] invented in part by Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (1811-1899), a German chemist.
  
'''probability waves for subhadronics'''<br />
+
'''titration'''<br />
Probability waves are a concept in quantum physics that expresses the probability that "a particle or particles in a particular state will be measured to have a given position and momentum" (Wikipedia). Subhadronic refers to a particle smaller than a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadron hadron].
+
the process of determining the strength of a compound
  
==Page 188==
+
'''Lysergics'''<br />
 +
Lysergic acid diethylamide - LSD
  
'''Radcliffe's Bunting Institute'''<br />
+
'''Muscimol'''<br /> (also known as agarin or pantherine) is the principal psychoactive constituent of Amanita muscaria and related species of mushroom.
Radcliffe is the women's college at Harvard University. According to the Harvard [http://www.harvard.edu/ Web site], "The Bunting Institute is a mutidisciplinary center for women scholars, writers, artists, and activists of demonstrated achievement and promise. Each year, approximately 40 women pursue projects that make significant contributions to their fields, working in a community that fosters interdisciplinary discourse, and creative and intellectual leadership. Some describe their experience as "the Bunting transformation."
+
  
'''L.A.S. tradition'''<br />
+
'''WATS'''<br />
Liberal Arts and Sciences
+
Wide Area Telecommunications Service: "bulk-rate telephone service that enables a subscriber to make an unlimited number of long-distance telephone calls within a given service area for a fixed monthly charge or to receive calls from given areas with no charge to the caller" (''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'')
  
==Endnote 64==
+
'''Methoxy'''<br />
 +
5-methoxy-diisopropyltryptamine often termed Foxy Methoxy or just Foxy, is a psychedelic tryptamine.
  
'''Samuel Johnson'''<br />
+
'''Fitviavi'''<br />
Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (1709-1784), was a British poet, essayist, novelist, literary critic, and lexicographer.
+
fit via vi is a Latin phrase from Book II of The Aeneid, line 494, that can be translated as “the way is forged by strength” or “Force finds a road.
  
'''Beesley'''<br />
+
'''Ergotics'''<br />
Patricia Beesley, an early 20th century American educator who did author the book named.
+
Effects of poisonous fungus that can infect grains. It has convulsive and gangrenous symptoms. Overuse of
 +
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylergometrine Methylergometrine] and Ergotamine (which is a migraine medication) can also cause the disease.  
  
'''cornup3.COM'''<br />
+
'''cross-key'''<br />
There is no such Web site.
+
to type in at the same time as search terms on a computer
  
==Page 188 (cont'd)==
+
==Page 214==
'''''mens-sana'' pedagogy'''<br />
+
"healthy-mind" teaching
+
  
'''''ad valorem'''''<br />
+
'''monograph'''<br />
Latin: by value
+
a scholarly study on a particular subject, usually published as a book
  
'''''corpore potis'''''<br />
+
'''Leavenworth'''<br />
Latin: able of body. The second part of the play on "Mens sana in corpore sano."
+
the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Disciplinary_Barracks U.S. Disciplinary Barracks] at Leavenworth, Kan.
  
'''Thorp's Trigonometry of Cubes'''<br />
+
'''Ethel Merman'''<br />
Edward Oakley Thorp (born 1932) is an American mathematician, but he seems not to have created a "trigonometry of cubes," which would be, frankly, impossible.
+
an American [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0581062/ actress], primarily known for her roles in Broadway musicals [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Merman wikipedia]
  
'''aphotic to apochromatic'''<br />
+
'''AWOL'''<br />
Aphotic means without light, while apochromatic means developing color.
+
Absent Without Leave, a military term
  
'''Best Boy'''<br />
+
==Page 215==
a member of a film crew, assistant to either the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaffer_%28motion_picture_industry%29 gaffer] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_grip key grip]
+
  
'''Cambridgeport'''<br />
+
'''Motrinish'''<br />
an area of Cambridge, Mass.
+
I.e., like Motrin, the original brand name of ibuprofen
  
==Page 189==
+
'''fools-rush-in'''<br />
 +
A reference to ''An Essay on Man'', a lengthy poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744), a British poet of great renown:
 +
No Place so Sacred from such Fops is barr'd,<br />
 +
Nor is Paul's Church more safe than Paul's Church-yard:<br />
 +
Nay, fly to Altars; there they'll talk you dead;<br />
 +
'''For Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.
  
'''leukodermatic'''<br />
+
'''psychomotor seizure'''<br />
white-skinned
+
a seizure characterized by psychic manifestation, and an older name for a complex motor seizure
  
'''xanthodantic'''<br />
+
'''Zen'''<br />
misspelling of xanthodontic, which means yellow-toothed
+
referring to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen Buddhism] ultimately, although here it applies more to perfection or transcendence
  
'''basilisk-breathed and pyorrheic'''<br />
+
'''dumbshow'''<br />
A basilisk is a type of dragon, and pyorrhea is the condition of having gum disease.
+
Here it means sign language or mime, but the term has a longer history in theater, where it refers to a preview of a part of a play done without lines.
  
==Page 190==
+
'''Antitoi'''<br />
 +
French: against you, as in opposed to you, opposition not propinquity being implied
  
'''peronic or teratoidal'''<br />
+
'''Nuck'''<br />
Peronic probably means having a bent penis (from ''Peyronies'' disease), while teratoidal means malformed.
+
a pejorative term for a French-Canadian, presumably shortened from "Canuck"
  
'''phrenologically malformed'''<br />
+
==Page 216==
malformed in the shape of the skull
+
  
'''supuratively lesioned'''<br />
+
'''Tenuate Dospan'''<br />
having lesions that ooze pus
+
Tenuate is a brand name of diethylcathinone, an appetite suppressant and mild amphetamine; Dospan is used for the time-release pills.
  
'''acervulus-nosed'''<br />
+
'''otiose'''<br />
having blisters on the nose
+
idle, superfluous or useless
  
'''radically -ectomied'''<br />
+
[[Image:Quaker.jpg|right]]
-having to do with body-part removal (think radical mastectomy)
+
  
'''diaphoretic'''<br />
+
'''"... the way W. Penn in his Quaker Oats hat in like the 16th century must have felt trading a few trinkets to babe-in-the-woods Natives for New Jersey..."'''<br />
perspiring
+
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penn William Penn] (1644-1718) was the British-born founder of the colony (and later state) of Pennsylvania. For the hat, see right. In 1677 a group of prominent Quakers that included Penn purchased the colonial province of West Jersey (half of the current state of  New Jersey), before founding Pennsylvania, and ultimately permitting 3 schismatic counties to break away to become what would in time be known as Delaware.
  
'''granulomatous'''<br />
+
'''Entrepôt'''<br />
having masses of ulcerated infections of the skin
+
a port, city, or other center to which goods are brought for import and export, and for collection and distribution.
  
'''lazarettes and oubliettes'''<br />
+
'''opportunity-cost'''<br />
A lazarette is a hospital that treats infectious diseases, while an oubliette is a dungeon accessible only by trapdoor.
+
In economics, this is what one loses in income, pleasure, etc., from engaging in another activity rather than the one that would have paid said income, pleasure, etc. Wallace (or Pemulis) is using the term incorrectly.
  
'''kyphotic and lordotic'''<br />
+
'''rotator cuff'''<br />
Kyphotic means having abnormal rear curvature of the spine (i.e., hunchbacked), while lordotic having abnormal forward curvature of the spine.
+
the group of muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder
  
'''cellulitic'''<br />
+
'''stolid'''<br />
Having cellulite, i.e., deposits of subcutaneous fat within fibrous connective tissue (as in the thighs, hips, and buttocks) that give a puckered and dimpled appearance to the skin surface ([http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cellulite Merriam-Webster])
+
unemotional or impassive
  
'''fatally pulchritudinous'''<br />
+
'''Sanguine'''<br />
deadly good-looking
+
optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation.
  
'''Actaeonizing'''<br />
+
'''''contre-pied'''''<br />
Reference to the story of Actaeon - "In the version that was offered by the Hellenistic poet Callimachus  (Hymn v), which has become the standard setting, Artemis was bathing in the woods when the hunter Actaeon stumbled across her, thus seeing her naked. He stopped and stared, amazed at her ravishing beauty. Once seen, Actaeon was punished by Artemis: she forbade him speech — if he tried to speak, he would be changed into a stag — for the unlucky profanation of her virginity's mystery. Upon hearing the call of his hunting party, he cried out to them and immediately was changed into a stag. His own hounds then turned upon him and tore him to pieces, not recognizing him." ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actaeon Wikipedia])
+
Literally French for "against-foot," this term is used to apply to a direction taken (mistakenly) by dogs in pursuit of an animal who has taken a different direction.
  
'''Medusoid'''<br />
+
'''purgatorial'''<br />
looking like a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgon gorgon]
+
Serving to purify of sin; expiatory.
  
'''papuled, the macular, the albinic'''<br />
+
'''128-256 Alphabetville'''<br />
Papules are inflammatory elevations of the skin. Macular means having opaque spots on the cornea. Albinic is having no melanin.
+
Because of his injury, Schacht was ranked in the lower 128 seeds in the tournament just after his hurt his knee. Alphabetville could refer to a ranking convention.  A common 'Equal Point Score' guideline for when two or several players have the same Ranking point score decides the position according to the player with most tournament participation within four years, and if these conditions should apply with both or several players then the Ranking position is arranged alphabetically after the surname.
  
'''''odalisques'''''<br />
+
'''11/5'''<br />
a concubine or slave in a harem
+
November 5th, [[Subsidized Time|Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment]]
  
'''ital'''<br />
+
'''Accrete'''<br />
italics, used for emphasis
+
To grow together; fuse.
  
'''crosiers'''<br />
+
'''arachnodactylic'''<br />
a crosier is a type of French roll
+
having long narrow fingers and toes, evocative of the long legs of spiders
  
'''lager'''<br />
+
==Page 217==
a type of beer, medium in darkness
+
  
'''vin blanc'''<br />
+
'''Order but not the same Family'''<br />
French: white wine
+
Like "phylum," these are also taxonomical terms. Human beings are ''Homo sapiens'', with ''Homo'' being the genus and ''sapiens'' being the species. Dogs and cats are in the same order: ''Carnivora'' (meat-eaters); but they are in different families: Dogs are in ''Canidae'' and cats in ''Felidae''. However, the hyena, which resembles a dog, is actually in the ''Felidae'' family. Q.e.d.
  
==Page 191==
+
'''Acton'''<br />
 +
town in Massachusetts about 25 miles west-northwest of Boston
  
[[Subsidized Time|Y.D.P.A.U.]]
+
'''Port Washington Academy'''<br />
 +
[http://www.pwta.com/JuniorDevelopment.htm PW] in Long Island is the largest indoor tennis facility on the east coast. It's also a nonprofit and looks small Compared to [http://www.evertacademy.com/about-us/ ETA/IMG]  
  
'''''Good Morning, Midnight'' and ''Maggie: A Girl of the Streets'' and ''Giovanni's Room'' and ''Under the Volcano'''''<br />
+
'''Xerox'''<br />
''Good Morning, Midnight'' is a novel by Jean Rhys (1890-1979), born Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, a Caribbean novelist, on the topic of a woman forced to confront her own loneliness and despair. ''Maggie: A Girl of the Streets'' is a novel by Stephen Crane (1871-1900), an American novelist, on the topic of a child prostitute. ''Giovanni's Room'' by African-American expatriate author James Arthur Baldwin (1924-1987) is a novel on the topic of a young man coming to terms with his homosexuality. ''Under the Volcano'' is a novel by Malcolm Lowry (1909-1957), a British writer, on the topic of alcoholism.
+
Why is PW like Xerox? Xerox let Apple employees see their GUI in the 70s. Some say they could be as rich as Apple if they hadn't. Because they failed to be the ones to bring their new GUI to the market, they don't have the eco/social damages of major computer chip manufacturing companies. Compare [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McEnroe John McEnroe] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitas_Gerulaitis Vitas Gerulaitis] developing their games at PW.
  
'''Bret Ellis'''<br />
+
'''Gargantuan'''<br />
Bret Easton Ellis (born 1965) is an American novelist probably best known for ''Less Than Zero'' (1985), about a drug addict who turns to prostitution, and ''American Psycho'' (1991), about a serial killer.
+
Since [http://www.pwta.com PW] is an after school program that only charges tuition for those who can afford to pay; it can hardly be called Gargantuan. It calls itself a Tennis Academy on it's website but it can hardly be compared to [http://www.evertacademy.com/programs/evert-tennis-academy-annual-and-semester-programs/academy-program/ ETA]. The word Gargantuan brings to mind François Rabelais 16th century story of Gargantua, a story which can be considered a point-by-point critique of the educational practices of the age and promoting free education. So then PW could be compared to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Rabelais#Th.C3.A9l.C3.A8me The Abby of Thélème]
  
'''van der Rohe'''<br />
+
'''TesTar'''<br />
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) was a German-born American architect.
+
I can't find anything on Testar but on page 261 the court coverings at PWTA are referred to as lungs. From context, perhaps a truncated portmanteau of '''Tes'''sellated '''Tar'''paulin. It might not be findable if DFW made it up.
  
==Endnote 66==
+
'''vivisected'''<br />
 +
cut apart while still alive
  
'''R.E.M. and Pearl Jam'''<br />
+
'''the weekend right before Thanksgiving week and the Whataburger Invitational'''<br />
R.E.M.'s lead singer, Michael Stipe, was famous for his unintelligible lyrics until around 1987's ''Document''. Pearl Jam's vocalist, Eddie Vedder, is as cryptic now as he was fifteen years ago, when they released their first record.
+
Hal and Permulis set a date for a 'window of opportunity' to take DMZ. Compare Page 16, where Hal says that the only other emergency room he has ever been in was exactly one year back from November, Year of Glad.  So, this may provide a nexus explaining what happened to Hal at the beginning of Infinite Jest.
  
==Page 191 (cont'd)==
+
==Page 218==
  
'''wall- and cross-eyed'''<br />
+
'''twins Siamese'''<br />
To be wall-eyed is to suffer from exotropia, which is a form of ocular paralysis in which one or both eyes turn outward.
+
The Vaught twin-sister tennis players are actually conjoined at the head.
  
'''ergotic of St. Anthony'''<br />
+
'''Akron'''<br />
An old name for ergot poisoning is "St. Anthony's fire," which is ergot poisoning. However, given the context, Wallace may be referring here to shingles.
+
a city in Ohio and rubber capital of the world
  
'''varicelliformally eruptive'''<br />
+
'''Charleston'''<br />
a type of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eczema_herpeticum eczema due to herpes].
+
the dance, not the city
  
'''sarcoma'd of Kaposi'''<br />
+
'''bell-lap'''<br />
Karposi's sarcoma is a usually benign skin cancer common in elderly Mediterranean men that has become the most easily identifiable visible symptom of AIDS.
+
a term from track, this is the final lap of a race
  
'''M. Hamilton as Oz's West Witch'''<br />
+
'''12/12's Boards'''<br />
Referring to [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/ The Wizard of Oz], the Wicked Witch of the West (and East) was played by [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002121/ Margaret Hamilton].
+
probably SATs or something like them
  
==Page 192==
+
'''meninges'''<br />
 +
the tissues that encase the brain
  
[[Image:RCA.jpg|right]]
+
'''glade'''<br />
 +
a clearing in a forest
  
'''RCA-Victorish'''<br />
+
==Endnote 76==
The image can be seen to the right.
+
  
'''snaggle-toothed'''<br />
+
'''Attention Deficit Disorder'''<br />
having a broken or projecting tooth
+
old terminology for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD.  Hal's objective symptoms describe the Inattentive Type.
  
'''wattled'''<br />
+
'''port or starboard'''<br />
having flesh hanging from one's chin, like a turkey
+
left or right
  
'''lycanthropically'''<br />
+
'''bell curve'''<br />
in a way suggesting a werewolf
+
the curve formed by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_distribution normal distribution] of IQs -- a concept fraught with problems of political correctness, racism or racialism, and different concepts of what "intelligence" is
  
'''Tourettic'''<br />
+
'''glabrous'''<br />
suffering from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourette%27s_Syndrome Tourette's syndrome]
+
having a surface devoid of hair, generally said of skin or a leaf
  
'''teratoid'''<br />
+
'''RAM'''<br />
resembling a monster
+
Random Access Memory
  
'''halitotic'''<br />
+
==Page 218 (cont'd)==
having bad breath
+
  
'''saurian- and equine-looking'''<br />
+
'''halcyon'''<br />
looking like a lizard or horse, respectively
+
prosperous, happy
  
'''invaginate'''<br />
+
[[Subsidized Time|Year of the Perdue Wonderchicken]]
sheathed
+
  
'''Cushing's Disease'''<br />
+
==Endnote 77==
Named for Harvey Williams Cushing (1869-1939), an American neurologist,  this disease is an endocrine disorder resulting in rapid weight gain, sweating, thinning of skin, and other negative side effects.
+
  
'''Rhinoplasty'''<br />
+
[[Subsidized Time|Y.P.W.]]
nose job
+
  
'''subdural'''<br />
+
'''H. Bosch's triptych ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'''''<br />
below the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dura_mater dura mater] in the skull
+
Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) was a Dutch painter. You can view the aforementioned triptych [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights here].
 
+
==Page 193==
+
 
+
'''les bâtiments sanctifíes'''<br />
+
French: the holy buildings
+
 
+
'''''Metropolis'''''<br />
+
a 1927 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/ film] directed by Fritz Lang
+
 
+
=Layout of the Enfield Marine Public Health Hospital complex=
+
 
+
==Page 193==
+
 
+
'''VA'''<br />
+
the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs
+
 
+
==Page 194==
+
 
+
'''solvent'''<br />
+
i.e., financially solvent
+
 
+
'''methadone'''<br />
+
a drug used to wean heroin addicts off that drug and onto methadone, which is equally addictive but produces no "high"
+
 
+
'''methedrine'''<br />
+
the brand name of methamphetamine
+
 
+
'''New Bedford'''<br />
+
a city of Massachusetts, about 50 miles south of Boston
+
 
+
==Page 195==
+
 
+
''''Vette'''<br />
+
a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette Chevrolet Corvette]
+
 
+
'''ornithology'''<br />
+
the study of birds
+
 
+
'''aminating'''<br />
+
introducing an amino acid into something
+
 
+
'''shiv'''<br />
+
an improvised prison weapon used for stabbing
+
 
+
==Page 196==
+
 
+
'''LTIs'''<br />
+
Long-Term Illnesses
+
 
+
==Endnote 67==
+
 
+
'''The Unexamined Life tavern'''<br />
+
Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living in ''Apology''.
+
 
+
'''parasolled'''<br />
+
having an umbrella on or in it
+
 
+
'''Mudslides'''<br />
+
a type of [http://drinkoftheweek.com/archive/m/mudslide.htm drink]
+
 
+
''''objay darts''''<br />
+
a bastardized form of ''objets d'arts'', French for "objects of art"
+
 
+
'''catatonic'''<br />
+
relating to catatonia, a neurogenic motor immobility arising from a disturbed mental state (resulting in little or no movement in the sufferer)
+
 
+
==Page 197==
+
 
+
'''mansard'''<br />
+
This is "a hip roof, each face of which has a steeper lower part and a shallower upper part" (''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'').
+
 
+
[[Image:mansard.png|'Mansard Roof| thumbnail|right]]
+
 
+
 
+
'''Clorets'''<br />
+
a brand name of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clorets popular gum]
+
 
+
==Page 198==
+
  
 
{{Top}}
 
{{Top}}
 
{{InfiniteJest PbP}}
 
{{InfiniteJest PbP}}

Revision as of 20:10, 27 October 2018

Editors: Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel. And please pay attention to formatting and grammar. Preview your changes before saving them. Thanks!

November 6th, YDAU - ETA Weight Room

Page 198

Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment

Kornspan
German: corn chip ["Korn" means corn or grain, "Span" means chip or flake, but "Kornspan" makes no sense in German]

isometrics
While this is just another name for isometric exercise, it's not clear how Pemulis would be making his face stronger. ...Perhaps he is just making faces as a result of his trying to eavesdrop and in response to the other shouts in the weight room.

Page 199

Bacon's Study after Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X

like one of Bacon's popes
Francis Bacon (1909-1992) was an Irish artist. His portrait of Pope Innocent X can be seen to the right.

Page 200

rosin
another spelling of "resin," this resin being used to provide a better grip in weightlifting

mesomorphic
having a muscular, husky body type

Facts About Addiction and Tattoos

Page 200

D.S.S.
Department of Social Services

papular
having papules, i.e., inflamed, raised elevations on the skin not filled with pus (insect bites produce papules in most cases)

tecato gusano
a worm from Tecate, Mexico, a small city in Baja California, bordering the U.S. Perhaps, but tecato is slang for a drug user, as web search will inform. Gusano indeed means worm.

Page 201

Flents
a brand name of earplugs

subsonic
of a speed less than that of sound

arpeggio
in music, a chord played in parts (i.e., one note at a time) rather than together

pace
a very loose translation from Latin would be "with due reference to"

Page 202

Human Immuno-Virus
HIV, i.e., the virus that causes AIDS

datum
a piece of information; usually used in its plural, i.e., data

nexus
a means of connection

glans
the end of the penis

D.E.C.
Digital Equipment Corporation, now a part of Hewlitt-Packard

Endnote 70

N.R.A.
National Rifle Association

including 12-Step fellowships themselves
See Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club.

Page 202 (cont'd)

'Texas Catheter'
This is "a condom-like device with a plug where the condom's reservoir tip would be, and an adhesive at the base. This device allows for urinary catheterization without the insertion of a true catheter" (Wikipedia).

Page 203

colloquia
Plural for "colloquium," these are akin to academic conferences, albeit slightly less formal.

50 proof
i.e., 25 percent alcohol

unalloyed
pure

O.C.D.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

epiphanic
adjective form of "epiphany," a moment of sudden and great revelation or realization (Oxford Dictionary of English).

insipid
without any interesting qualities

Page 204

Billerica
a town in Massachusetts, about 25 miles northwest of Boston

vig
short for "vigorish" (the bookie's fee for his services; see also p. 912)

argot
slang

Page 205

pancreatitis
inflammation of the pancreas

Page 206

Scrofulous
Morally degenerate; corrupt.

Sauvignon
one of two types of wine made from two related sorts of grapes

Purple-Hearted
A soldier receives a Purple Heart when s/he is wounded

Store 24
A New England chain of convenience stores that often include both self-service gasoline and a deli, the website of which is here.

Page 207

200 kilos
over 440 pounds

Scooter Puppies
This is likely a term that DFW coined, although Spin magazine used it in a blurb in 1996. I suspect that they were inspired by DFW.  ?? Spin does provide one of the reviews in the front of the 2006 edition.

Gothic script
Click here to see examples.

undulating
moving in a wavelike motion

necrotic
dead

White Flag group
A white flag is a military signal for "surrender." Many AA groups' names quote or allude to phrases or concepts from the AA program; this name alludes to the concept of surrender/abandon/acceptance or "turning over [one's] life and will to the care of God."

Page 208

magiscule
A misspelling of "majuscule," meaning a capital letter, or uncial.

hyperemic
engorged with blood

palmate
having four or more leaves emanating from a single point

Watertown
a suburb of Boston, ten miles to the west

half-m.-long
a half-meter, or nearly 20 inches

gonfalonish
resembling a gonfalon

mucronate
[New Oxford American Dictionary, henceforth NOAD]:[Botany] [Zoology] ending abruptly in a short sharp point or mucro.

St. Vitus's dance
a nickname for Sydenham’s chorea

HOW DO YOU LIK YOUR BLUEYED BOY NOW MR DETH!?
Misspelling and slight misquotation of the last line of the poem "Buffalo Bill's/defunct," by e.e. cummings: "how do you like your blueeyed boy/Mister Death". The full poem appears here: [1]

gestalt
Gestalt is "a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts" (Random House Unabridged Dictionary).

Page 209

crocodilic
White Flag reference to senior AA members, who sit under a picture of crocodiles sunbathing on a riverbank

St. Columbkill
a place name here, named for an actual Irish saint. There is a real Roman Catholic parish in Brighton called St. Columbkille.

St. Elizabeth's Hospital
St. Elizabeth's Medical Center is a real hospital in Brighton. Its Web site is here.

cantankerous
disagreeable, argumentative

Rita Hayworth
The era of Rita Hayworth would be the '30s and '40s.

SUBIKBAY'62USN4-07
SUBIKBAY is probably Subic Bay. USN would be U.S. Navy.

SEMPER FI
Short for Semper fidelis ("always faithful"), motto of the U.S. Marine Corps

autolyzed
having undergone autolysis, i.e., the breakdown of tissue over time

BLTN
Better Late Than Never

Page 210

phylum
A taxonomical term just below Kingdom (in humans, Animal), the phylum of mammals is Chordata, which means they have a spinal cord.

foment
To foment is to instigate or stir up but the proper word here would be "ferment"

M.D.C.
Massachusetts Department of Corrections

Talwin
brand name of pentazocine, a narcotic painkiller

Page 211

cribbage
a card game

canted
set at an oblique angle; this can also mean having rounded corners

The Incredibly Potent DMZ

Page 211

film-noir
According to Wikipedia, film noir (French for "dark film") is "a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s."

psychosensual
Whereas psychosensual would have a more sexual connotation...

psychosensory
...psychosensory would be more nearly precise, as it would apply to sensory stimulation, not necessarily sexual.

Page 212

CIA-era military experiments
probably a reference to MKULTRA

hydrangea
several species of flowering plants, the color of whose blossoms ranges from pink to blue depending on soil acidity

gistless
having no essential heart of the matter

Decoct
to extract soluble parts by boiling

spectrometer
an optical or magnetic instrument used to conduct spectroscopic analysis of matter (in the case of a mass spectrometer) or light emitted by heated matter, plotting intensity v. wavelength, to determine its constituent elements, or combinations of elements

Ram Das
A reference to Baba Ram Dass (born 1931 as Richard Alpert), an American-Jewish spiritual leader, author of Be Here Now, and large influence on Pete Townshend.

Page 213

frustum
A frustum is a truncated cone or pyramid, or specifically "the part of a conical solid left after cutting off a top portion with a plane parallel to the base" (Random House Unabridged Dictionary). "Cut a cone off the top of a cone, and a frustum is what remains." [editor]

Lamb's Breath cannabis
a type of potent marijuana

20-g.
a 20-gram amount (about .7 ounces)

Sierpinski gasket

Wacław Franciszek Sierpiński (1882-1969) was a Polish mathematician and one of the innovators of set theory. The Sierpinski gasket is a fractal, also called the Sierpinski triangle. See picture at right.
Sierpinski gasket

mullioned
having separate panes, when used for a window

fenestrated
fenestration 1 : the arrangement, proportioning, and design of windows and doors in a building.

philatelic forceps, a loupe
Philatelic refers to stamp collecting, in which stamps are handled with forceps and examined with loupes, the latter being essentialy a magnifying lens one screws into one's eye socket or orbit. A loupe is also used by a jeweler to view flaws in diamonds, and forceps have many other uses.

Bunsen burner
a laboratory burner invented in part by Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (1811-1899), a German chemist.

titration
the process of determining the strength of a compound

Lysergics
Lysergic acid diethylamide - LSD

Muscimol
(also known as agarin or pantherine) is the principal psychoactive constituent of Amanita muscaria and related species of mushroom.

WATS
Wide Area Telecommunications Service: "bulk-rate telephone service that enables a subscriber to make an unlimited number of long-distance telephone calls within a given service area for a fixed monthly charge or to receive calls from given areas with no charge to the caller" (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)

Methoxy
5-methoxy-diisopropyltryptamine often termed Foxy Methoxy or just Foxy, is a psychedelic tryptamine.

Fitviavi
fit via vi is a Latin phrase from Book II of The Aeneid, line 494, that can be translated as “the way is forged by strength” or “Force finds a road.”

Ergotics
Effects of poisonous fungus that can infect grains. It has convulsive and gangrenous symptoms. Overuse of Methylergometrine and Ergotamine (which is a migraine medication) can also cause the disease.

cross-key
to type in at the same time as search terms on a computer

Page 214

monograph
a scholarly study on a particular subject, usually published as a book

Leavenworth
the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Leavenworth, Kan.

Ethel Merman
an American actress, primarily known for her roles in Broadway musicals wikipedia

AWOL
Absent Without Leave, a military term

Page 215

Motrinish
I.e., like Motrin, the original brand name of ibuprofen

fools-rush-in
A reference to An Essay on Man, a lengthy poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744), a British poet of great renown: No Place so Sacred from such Fops is barr'd,
Nor is Paul's Church more safe than Paul's Church-yard:
Nay, fly to Altars; there they'll talk you dead;
For Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.

psychomotor seizure
a seizure characterized by psychic manifestation, and an older name for a complex motor seizure

Zen
referring to Buddhism ultimately, although here it applies more to perfection or transcendence

dumbshow
Here it means sign language or mime, but the term has a longer history in theater, where it refers to a preview of a part of a play done without lines.

Antitoi
French: against you, as in opposed to you, opposition not propinquity being implied

Nuck
a pejorative term for a French-Canadian, presumably shortened from "Canuck"

Page 216

Tenuate Dospan
Tenuate is a brand name of diethylcathinone, an appetite suppressant and mild amphetamine; Dospan is used for the time-release pills.

otiose
idle, superfluous or useless

Quaker.jpg

"... the way W. Penn in his Quaker Oats hat in like the 16th century must have felt trading a few trinkets to babe-in-the-woods Natives for New Jersey..."
William Penn (1644-1718) was the British-born founder of the colony (and later state) of Pennsylvania. For the hat, see right. In 1677 a group of prominent Quakers that included Penn purchased the colonial province of West Jersey (half of the current state of New Jersey), before founding Pennsylvania, and ultimately permitting 3 schismatic counties to break away to become what would in time be known as Delaware.

Entrepôt
a port, city, or other center to which goods are brought for import and export, and for collection and distribution.

opportunity-cost
In economics, this is what one loses in income, pleasure, etc., from engaging in another activity rather than the one that would have paid said income, pleasure, etc. Wallace (or Pemulis) is using the term incorrectly.

rotator cuff
the group of muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder

stolid
unemotional or impassive

Sanguine
optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation.

contre-pied
Literally French for "against-foot," this term is used to apply to a direction taken (mistakenly) by dogs in pursuit of an animal who has taken a different direction.

purgatorial
Serving to purify of sin; expiatory.

128-256 Alphabetville
Because of his injury, Schacht was ranked in the lower 128 seeds in the tournament just after his hurt his knee. Alphabetville could refer to a ranking convention. A common 'Equal Point Score' guideline for when two or several players have the same Ranking point score decides the position according to the player with most tournament participation within four years, and if these conditions should apply with both or several players then the Ranking position is arranged alphabetically after the surname.

11/5
November 5th, Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment

Accrete
To grow together; fuse.

arachnodactylic
having long narrow fingers and toes, evocative of the long legs of spiders

Page 217

Order but not the same Family
Like "phylum," these are also taxonomical terms. Human beings are Homo sapiens, with Homo being the genus and sapiens being the species. Dogs and cats are in the same order: Carnivora (meat-eaters); but they are in different families: Dogs are in Canidae and cats in Felidae. However, the hyena, which resembles a dog, is actually in the Felidae family. Q.e.d.

Acton
town in Massachusetts about 25 miles west-northwest of Boston

Port Washington Academy
PW in Long Island is the largest indoor tennis facility on the east coast. It's also a nonprofit and looks small Compared to ETA/IMG

Xerox
Why is PW like Xerox? Xerox let Apple employees see their GUI in the 70s. Some say they could be as rich as Apple if they hadn't. Because they failed to be the ones to bring their new GUI to the market, they don't have the eco/social damages of major computer chip manufacturing companies. Compare John McEnroe and Vitas Gerulaitis developing their games at PW.

Gargantuan
Since PW is an after school program that only charges tuition for those who can afford to pay; it can hardly be called Gargantuan. It calls itself a Tennis Academy on it's website but it can hardly be compared to ETA. The word Gargantuan brings to mind François Rabelais 16th century story of Gargantua, a story which can be considered a point-by-point critique of the educational practices of the age and promoting free education. So then PW could be compared to The Abby of Thélème

TesTar
I can't find anything on Testar but on page 261 the court coverings at PWTA are referred to as lungs. From context, perhaps a truncated portmanteau of Tessellated Tarpaulin. It might not be findable if DFW made it up.

vivisected
cut apart while still alive

the weekend right before Thanksgiving week and the Whataburger Invitational
Hal and Permulis set a date for a 'window of opportunity' to take DMZ. Compare Page 16, where Hal says that the only other emergency room he has ever been in was exactly one year back from November, Year of Glad. So, this may provide a nexus explaining what happened to Hal at the beginning of Infinite Jest.

Page 218

twins Siamese
The Vaught twin-sister tennis players are actually conjoined at the head.

Akron
a city in Ohio and rubber capital of the world

Charleston
the dance, not the city

bell-lap
a term from track, this is the final lap of a race

12/12's Boards
probably SATs or something like them

meninges
the tissues that encase the brain

glade
a clearing in a forest

Endnote 76

Attention Deficit Disorder
old terminology for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. Hal's objective symptoms describe the Inattentive Type.

port or starboard
left or right

bell curve
the curve formed by the normal distribution of IQs -- a concept fraught with problems of political correctness, racism or racialism, and different concepts of what "intelligence" is

glabrous
having a surface devoid of hair, generally said of skin or a leaf

RAM
Random Access Memory

Page 218 (cont'd)

halcyon
prosperous, happy

Year of the Perdue Wonderchicken

Endnote 77

Y.P.W.

H. Bosch's triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights
Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) was a Dutch painter. You can view the aforementioned triptych here.


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