Revision as of 06:56, 13 August 2013

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Pre-dawn, May 1st, YDAU - Steeply & Marathe on the Pleasure Center

Page 470

stereotaxy
also known as "stereotaxis," this is three-dimensional brain imaging

Elder, Elders
James Olds, co-discovered the "pleasure center"

plutonium-239
a fissile isotope of plutonium

ablative surgery

a treatment for neurological disorders involving freezing or burning of brain tissue

Page 471

Q-dopa
not a real neurotransmitter

Page 472

MK-Ultra
an actual CIA mind-control experiment starting in the 1950s and continuing well into the 1960s and possibly 70s

Endnote 198

Orlikow et al. v. United States of America
This was a real case, and you can read the proceedings here.

Page 472 (cont'd)

G.C.
Government of Canada, perhaps

M.M.P.I.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, a commonly administered psychological test designed to give an overview of personality, neuroses, etc.

Page 473

Millon's
the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, another psych inventory

Approception
apparently not a real test

shiatsu
a type of Asian massage

weal
well-being

Turner, Bush, Casey
Admiral Stansfield Turner was head of the CIA from 1977 to 1981. George H.W. Bush (later President) was CIA head from 1976 to 1977. William J. Casey was head from 1981 to 1987.

Langley
the town in Virginia where the CIA is headquartered

pernicious

subtly harmful

Page 474

divans
couches or sofas

rutting
heat, i.e., sexual excitement

N.S.A.
National Security Agency

C7
The C7 is a modified version of the American M-16 combat rifle. It's implied here that C7 was some kind of security apparatus, but there is no evidence that such a body existed.

emery board
nail file

Page 475

Gately Driving / Antitoi Brothers

Page 475

princess-and-pea
a reference to the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea," wherein despite several mattresses, a princess can still feel a single pea below her

cluster migraines
Cluster headaches and migraines are actually two distinct syndromes.

quiche
a baked flan or tart with a savory filling thickened with eggs

feldspar
a rock-forming mineral

Page 476

E.R.
Emergency Room

Rebel Yell
a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War

CITGO
one of the major oil companies. The neon Citgo sign described here is an iconic landmark in Boston.

70 kph.
about 43.5 miles per hour

Father & Son Market...Riley's Roast Beef
all of these are references to actual stores and clubs in Allston/Brighton, though many have closed or been renamed and some are on nearby streets and would not be visible to Gately as he drives down Comm. Ave.

CVS
a large chain of drugstores

75 k
about 46.6 miles per hour

ς
the Greek letter sigma as it appears in lower case at the ends of words

mysticetously
in the manner of a baleen whale

cognomen
a descriptive nickname

Page 477

tallboys

16oz cans of beer

80 kph
almost 50 miles per hour

Berklee School of Music
a real school, one of the highest-prestige music schools in the U.S.

Page 478

tonic machines
"tonic" is a (rapidly disappearing) Boston area term for carbonated soft drinks.

Endnote 202

argot
slang, jargon

Escherian
referring to the work of Maurits Cornelis (M.C.) Escher (1898-1972), a Dutch graphic artist famous for his illustrations of repeated patterns and impossible structures. "Escherian signs" would seem to indicate signs that are confusing or impossible to follow.

Page 478 (cont'd)

Bread & Circus in Inman Square
a real health food store on Prospect Street in Cambridge between Central and Inman Squares. The Bread & Circus chain was bought by Whole Foods, so this store is now operating as a Whole Foods.

microbiotic
probably an intentional misspelling of macrobiotic; a macrobiotic diet primarily consists of whole grains, beans, and vegetables based on the Taoist principles of yin and yang

slalom
to zigzag between obstacles

Page 479

madonnas
statues of the Virgin Mary

bodegas
small grocery stores, usually in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods that are also usually owned and operated by Spanish-speaking people

crèche
a nativity scene

propinquous
Probably what's intended is "propinquitous," meaning "proximal" or "nearby."

Chickens Fresh Killed Daily
a reference to the prominent 'Live Poultry Fresh Killed' sign of the Mayflower Poultry Company at 621 Cambridge Street, East Cambridge, about a half a mile from Inman Square.

Ryle's Jazz Club
a reference to Ryles Jazz Club (no apostrophe) in Inman Square, Cambridge, at 212 Hampshire Street.

briar pipes
a type of pipe for smoking

tympanum
a, usually decorative, semicircular or triangular wall face above an entrance

Sancta Something
perhaps a reference to the Sancta Sanctorum, a famous Italian side chapel

finials
decorative ornaments placed on the apex of roofs

60 k
about 37.3 miles per hour

Page 480

MF
Millennial Fizzy

aerodyne
a heavier-than-air aircraft deriving lift from motion

Endnote 203

solecism
nonstandard or ungrammatical usage

Page 480 (cont'd)

viz.
abbreviation for videlicet (Latin), meaning "namely" or "specifically" or "in other words"

CQBC
not a real entity, but probably here denoting a French-Canadian radio station

sterno
a fuel made from denatured and jellied alcohol burned directly from the can

hobnail boots
heavy-duty boots with hobnails, short, thick-headed nails used to protect footwear, on the soles to provide durability and traction on unfavorable terrain

monomitotic
"Mitosis" is cell division, and Wallace is playing with words again: "monomitosis" could be the one-time-only splitting of a cell; in this case, the "cell" is a group of insurgents rather than the biological unit, and "monomitotic" might imply that once it splits (i.e., separates to accomplish its targeted task), it dissolves or disbands.

Gaspé Peninsula
a region in northern Québec

U.S.A. Civic War hero's Boylston St. statue
probably a reference the Robert Gould Shaw statue that Joelle van Dyne passes on p. 223. DFW appears to have moved the Shaw memorial from Beacon Street to Boylston Street.

chiens-courants
French: running dogs, hounds

Page 481

interdicted
prohibited with official authority

Van Buskirk of Montreal
appears to be a fictional glass company

Provincial Autoroute 55
Quebec north-south highway that runs from Shawinigan to Stanstead at the US border, where it connects with...

U.S.A. 91
Interstate 91, which runs from New Haven, Conn, to Derby Line, Vt., at the Canadian border

Bellow's Falls VT
a town off Route 91, about 70 miles west of Manchester, N.H.

credulous
gullible

paisley
a popular design originating in Scotland

Nehru jacket
A collarless jacket named for Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), first Prime Minister of India and father of Indira Gandhi

école-spéciale
French: special school

Ste.-Anne-des-Monts
city on the north shore of the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec

Va chier, putain!
French: Piss off, whore!

trop formidable
French: too strong

Page 482

Basel
a city of Switzerland about 50 miles north of the capital of Bern

tu-sais-quoi
French: you know what

impost
something imposed, as a tax or duty

notions
miscellaneous small, useful items

Page 483

Endnote 204

Saprogenic
of or pertaining to putrefaction or rotting

treacly
sweet or sentimental

Page 483 (cont'd)

illicit
illegal

IL NE FAUT PLUS QU'ON PURSUIVE LE BONHEUR
French: It is no longer necessary to pursue happiness

Page 484

domestic
a person hired to perform household tasks, e.g., cleaning

125-kilo
about 276 lbs

variegated
streaked or patched with multiple colors

defile
a line of soldiers

ROPAS
Portuguese: CLOTHES

glyph
a symbolic figure that is usually engraved or incised

Page 485

union-suit underwear
one-piece long undergarments

chiens
French: dogs

stelliform
in the form of a star

Page 486

transperçant
French: "stabbing or piercing," but also "transfixing"

baguette
a long roll of French bread

cerise
deep red to purple in color

teratoid
resembling a monster; monstrous (from Greek teras, terat- "monster.")

supplicant's
beggar's

'n soir, 'sieur
an elision of bon soir, monsieur, i.e., "Good evening, sir" in French

'Malhereusement, ton collégue est décédé. Il faisait une excellente soupe aux pois.'
French: Sadly, your friend is dead. He made an excellent pea soup.

on p. 425, Marathe outlined a hypothetical in which two people both wanted a Habitant soupe aus pois that belonged to someone who had recently died

'Non? Ou c'était toi, faisait-elle?'
French: No? Or was it you that made it?

Page 487

wangs
slaps or bangs against

frère
French: brother

sphincter
Any muscle in ring form, here it means the anus, which has failed Lucien by allowing him to soil himself

ne pas plaisanter
French: not pleasure

iront paître
French: they will go to eat

entend-il?
French: Does he hear?

maxillofacial
relating to the jaw and face

Page 488

inutile
French: useless

natal
like a baby's

aphonia
loss of or inability to speak due to damage to or disease of the larynx

aphrasiac
the inability to speak words in intelligible order

Chic-Choc lakes
the Chic-Choc mountains are in the Gaspé Peninsula

Cap-Chat
a town in the Gaspé Peninsula

inguinal canal
a passage in the lower front part of the abdominal wall

sigmoid
the sigmoid colon is the part of the large intestine closest to the rectum

muskie
short for "muskellunge," a type of fish

Page 489