Chapter 11
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a full scale attack of the Fee Bee jeebies
A take-off on "the heebie-jeebies," American slang for a feeling of spooked unease, "goosebumps"-adjacent.
T. P. O'Grizbee
"T.P." is American slang for "toilet paper." Also the initials of one "Thomas Pynchon"...!
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this Nazi angle
Think Milwaukee 1932, Casablanca 1942...
Seemed like somebody could have been after him.
Think Michael Curtiz's Casablanca, and the character of Victor Laszlo.
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Anecdotal Field Reports, sightings of unconventional vehicles undersea and airborne as well
A reflection of UFO/UAP sightings in the post-Roswell era, and the modern movement to achieve full "Disclosure" on the existence of these craft (or entities/phenomena...).
like the thirteenth floor in a skyscraper
Pynchon is a long time fan of the rock band The 13th Floor Elevators and their legendary (now deceased) frontman madcap-poet-songwriter Roky Erickson, who after the Elevators embarked on a solo career.
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a definite Pasadena
The phrase “take a Pasadena” began as a Hollywood–Los Angeles pun in the early 1930s, that is, to take a pass, as in decline an offer
Atlanta, G.A.
Al Capone was sent to Atlanta U.S. Penitentiary in May 1932, aged 33.
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Aggravated Mopery
“Mopery” is mock police jargon dating from the early 20th century.
It meant, depending on who was joking, "loitering aimlessly," "doing nothing in particular," or "committing an imaginary minor offense." The "charge" of "mopery" was often used in humor columns, radio comedy, and police-court parody sketches to poke fun at petty law enforcement. Adding "aggravated" just made it sound even more absurd, a send-up of inflated legal language.
During Carnera’s American fame he became a stock comic figure on the radio and in newspaper gags — the big dumb strongman who gets in trouble for silly reasons. Jokes often imagined him being arrested or confused by English phrases.
We haven't even begun to show how dangerous we can be, and the funning thing? Is, is we could be running the country any day now and you'll have to swear loyalty to us because by then we'll be in the next war fighting for our lives...
Pretty resonant with our times, eh?
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A Statue of Liberty made of Jell-O
What a metaphor. Is Americans' liberty as flimsy and soluble as gelatin?
