MD3PAD 21-24 // GRGR 1,8

[Michael Bailey]

 Toby G Levy wrote:

>
>         A Lunarian (meaning night person, perhaps?)

http://devils.glossaryof.com/L/lunarian.shtml

LUNARIAN
LUNARIAN, n. An inhabitant of the moon, as distinguished from Lunatic,
one whom the moon inhabits. The Lunarians have been described by
Lucian, Locke and other observers, but without much agreement. For
example, Bragellos avers their anatomical identity with Man, but
Professor Newcomb says they are more like the hill tribes of Vermont.

...at first they can't distinguish whether the party they're meeting
are Fops, Macaronis, or Lunarians...fops is a common enough term,
macaroni is known to most US school kids from the song "Yankee Doodle
Dandy", so apparently another English term for a sort of silly,
well-dressed (and armed) reveler is "Lunarian"

>
>         In the back of the bar there is an arena set up for cockfighting
> and a match is in progress. The smell of chicken blood draws the dog
> toward the arena.
>

"the substance we are not supposed to acknowledge drips and flies everywhere"
the word "bloody" is still a curse word in England; I've read
suggestions that it's a contraction of "by our lady" so as to swear by
the Virgin Mary

---------------

"Out of the blackness of the ward, a half-open file drawer of pain
each bed a folder, come cries, struck cries, as from cold metal." (P
47, 28-29)

why half-open?  Because they are "just off" the ward - nearby but it's
not fully open to their view...also, it's dark, as the recesses of a
half-open file drawer would be.  And much of modern medical care is
record-keeping, so file cabinets are a vis medicatrix  as important as
the hypodermics ("steel bones") sterilized by steam in the autoclaves.
 Pointsman finds some comfort ("glad to rest these moments in the
half-darkness") - he's probably gotten the toilet bowl off his foot by
now...