Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Chapter 16

2015-10-03T20:16:53Z

Mattkb: Fixed typo

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<div id="spud coxswain">425/??? - '''spud coxswain'''</div>
A spud coxswain is the traditional title of a salad and vegetable chef onboard a naval vessel.

<div id="fo'c's''le">426/??? - '''streak for the fo'c's'le'''</div>
The forecastle is the forward part of a ship, often where crew quarters are located.

438/472 - '''single up all lines'''<br>
See [[Chapter_1#singleup|pg. 11/3]].

439/488 - '''the Suez Crisis''' <br />
International incident following the closure to Israeli shipping and nationalization of the Suez Canal by the arab nationalist regime of Gamal Abdel Nassar. The British & French supported an Israeli invasion w/ a large task force of warships, aircraft & troops stationed at Cyprus and Malta. British commandos first landed in Egypt by parachute on November 5th, and WWII era LCM landing craft on November 6th. 16 British servicemen were killed & 96 wounded in the action.

<div id="fenice">444/493 - '''a monk long defrocked named Fenice'''</div>
La Fenice is one of the most famous opera houses in Venice. It was built in 1774 when the San Benedetto opera house burned down and the theatre company there needed a new home. Thus the new opera house was called "La Fenice" ("the Phoenix") as it rose from the ashes of the San Benedetto. It was the leading opera house in Venice. In 1836 it burned down and was rebuilt in 1837. On January 29, 1996, it again burned down. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Fenice Wikipedia]

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Chapter 16

2015-10-03T20:16:22Z

Mattkb: Added entry on forecastle

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<div id="spud coxswain">425/??? - '''spud coxswain'''</div>
A spud coxswain is the traditional title of a salad and vegetable chef onboard a naval vessel.

<div id="fo'c's''le">426/??? - '''streak for the fo'c's''le'''</div>
The forecastle is the forward part of a ship, often where crew quarters are located.

438/472 - '''single up all lines'''<br>
See [[Chapter_1#singleup|pg. 11/3]].

439/488 - '''the Suez Crisis''' <br />
International incident following the closure to Israeli shipping and nationalization of the Suez Canal by the arab nationalist regime of Gamal Abdel Nassar. The British & French supported an Israeli invasion w/ a large task force of warships, aircraft & troops stationed at Cyprus and Malta. British commandos first landed in Egypt by parachute on November 5th, and WWII era LCM landing craft on November 6th. 16 British servicemen were killed & 96 wounded in the action.

<div id="fenice">444/493 - '''a monk long defrocked named Fenice'''</div>
La Fenice is one of the most famous opera houses in Venice. It was built in 1774 when the San Benedetto opera house burned down and the theatre company there needed a new home. Thus the new opera house was called "La Fenice" ("the Phoenix") as it rose from the ashes of the San Benedetto. It was the leading opera house in Venice. In 1836 it burned down and was rebuilt in 1837. On January 29, 1996, it again burned down. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Fenice Wikipedia]

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Chapter 16

2015-10-03T20:09:09Z

Mattkb: added entry on spud coxswain

{{V PbP Top}}

<div id="spud coxswain">425/??? - "spud coxswain"</div>
A spud coxswain is the traditional title of a salad and vegetable chef onboard a naval vessel.

438/472 - '''single up all lines'''<br>
See [[Chapter_1#singleup|pg. 11/3]].

439/488 - '''the Suez Crisis''' <br />
International incident following the closure to Israeli shipping and nationalization of the Suez Canal by the arab nationalist regime of Gamal Abdel Nassar. The British & French supported an Israeli invasion w/ a large task force of warships, aircraft & troops stationed at Cyprus and Malta. British commandos first landed in Egypt by parachute on November 5th, and WWII era LCM landing craft on November 6th. 16 British servicemen were killed & 96 wounded in the action.

<div id="fenice">444/493 - '''a monk long defrocked named Fenice'''</div>
La Fenice is one of the most famous opera houses in Venice. It was built in 1774 when the San Benedetto opera house burned down and the theatre company there needed a new home. Thus the new opera house was called "La Fenice" ("the Phoenix") as it rose from the ashes of the San Benedetto. It was the leading opera house in Venice. In 1836 it burned down and was rebuilt in 1837. On January 29, 1996, it again burned down. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Fenice Wikipedia]

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Chapter 14

2015-09-30T02:45:30Z

Mattkb: Added entry for Porcépic. Not sure if 547 page cite and could use help there.

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<div id="baión rhythm">???/409 -- '''baión rhythm''' <br />

Brazilian rhythm originating from the native peoples in North East Brazil. Here's a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQju28_q9rs sample]

<div id="Le Soleil">393/437 -- '''Le Soleil''' <br />

Literally translates to "the Sun." This was a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Soleil_(French_newspaper) real newspaper] which ceased publication in 1915. The paper lost a large amount of readership after supporting Capt. Dreyfus in 1898. Pynchon may also be invoking Rimbaud's poem "Sun and Flesh" (as per his mention on ???/430).

<div id="l'Heuremaudit">394/437 -- '''l'Heuremaudit''' <br />

In French Mélanie's name means "Time of the damned" or "Cursed hour."

<div id="Porcépic">396/??? -- '''Porcépic''' <br />

In French, a porcupine.

399/444 - '''La Libre Parole. . .Captain Dreyfus''' <br />
La Libre Parole was an anti-semitist newspaper founded by Edouard Drumont in 1892. The captain in question was Afred Dreyfus. Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French Army, was accused and convicted of spying based on little evidence - a verdict highly influence by anti-semitism. He was eventually exonerated after the actual spy was caught. The "Dreyfus Affair" was one of the major political dramas of the time and a rallying cry for forces fighting against antisemitism in France.

<div id="irredentist">414/460 -- '''Sgherraccio, a mad Irrendentist'''</div>
Sgherraccio is a member of a movement in Malta which sought to break away from British rule and join Italy; also, more generally, irredentists are members of a movement which seeks to break away from foreign rule and join its ethnically related unit. The word was coined in Italy from the phrase ''Italia irredenta'' ("unredeemed Italy"). This originally referred to Austro-Hungarian rule over mostly or partly Italian-inhabited territories such as Trentino and Trieste during the 19th and early 20th century. Sgherraccio, like [[F#ferrante|the Florentine Ferrante]], is a fierce Italian patriot. His name derives from the Italian phrase ''alla sgherra'' which means "cocked" as in a cocked hat, denoting arrogance, thus the metonym ''sgherro'' for a cocky person, i.e., a gangster or tough guy. The Italian suffix "-accio" denotes badness or ugliness and reinforces the gangster meaning. That Sgherraccio is a badass gangsta.

[http://italian.about.com/cs/grammar/ht/usesuffixes.htm Italian suffixes]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italia_irredenta Italia Irredenta]

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Chapter 14

2015-09-30T01:59:37Z

Mattkb: Added page numbers for 492 page edition on two entries

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<div id="baión rhythm">???/409 -- '''baión rhythm''' <br />

Brazilian rhythm originating from the native peoples in North East Brazil. Here's a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQju28_q9rs sample]

<div id="Le Soleil">393/437 -- '''Le Soleil''' <br />

Literally translates to "the Sun." This was a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Soleil_(French_newspaper) real newspaper] which ceased publication in 1915. The paper lost a large amount of readership after supporting Capt. Dreyfus in 1898. Pynchon may also be invoking Rimbaud's poem "Sun and Flesh" (as per his mention on ???/430).

<div id="l'Heuremaudit">394/437 -- '''l'Heuremaudit''' <br />

In French Mélanie's name means "Time of the damned" or "Cursed hour."

399/444 - '''La Libre Parole. . .Captain Dreyfus''' <br />
La Libre Parole was an anti-semitist newspaper founded by Edouard Drumont in 1892. The captain in question was Afred Dreyfus. Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French Army, was accused and convicted of spying based on little evidence - a verdict highly influence by anti-semitism. He was eventually exonerated after the actual spy was caught. The "Dreyfus Affair" was one of the major political dramas of the time and a rallying cry for forces fighting against antisemitism in France.

<div id="irredentist">414/460 -- '''Sgherraccio, a mad Irrendentist'''</div>
Sgherraccio is a member of a movement in Malta which sought to break away from British rule and join Italy; also, more generally, irredentists are members of a movement which seeks to break away from foreign rule and join its ethnically related unit. The word was coined in Italy from the phrase ''Italia irredenta'' ("unredeemed Italy"). This originally referred to Austro-Hungarian rule over mostly or partly Italian-inhabited territories such as Trentino and Trieste during the 19th and early 20th century. Sgherraccio, like [[F#ferrante|the Florentine Ferrante]], is a fierce Italian patriot. His name derives from the Italian phrase ''alla sgherra'' which means "cocked" as in a cocked hat, denoting arrogance, thus the metonym ''sgherro'' for a cocky person, i.e., a gangster or tough guy. The Italian suffix "-accio" denotes badness or ugliness and reinforces the gangster meaning. That Sgherraccio is a badass gangsta.

[http://italian.about.com/cs/grammar/ht/usesuffixes.htm Italian suffixes]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italia_irredenta Italia Irredenta]

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