ATDTDA (7): 201-203 decoding

[Peter Petto]

"sacred arrangements" - in this case I'm assuming that this refers to 
arranged marriages under the auspices of the Mormon Church of the 
Latter Day Saints; however in mystic traditions this term may refer 
to intimate relationships.

202: Cooper - of course the immediate thought is probably Gary 
Cooper, the tall laconic actor who started out as an extra in 
Westerns, and whose career peaked in the showdown film High Noon (a 
Cold War allegory too). But also, a cooper is an artisan who 
constructs wooden barrels and tubs.

seven-eighths - Pynchon has a thing for math, and as a math teacher 
I'll tell you that a good understanding of ratio and proportion is 
one essential foundation for all of the fancier stuff -- so it's 
delightful to see him using a more unusual fraction (than say half, 
or two-thirds) here. These power of negative two divisions are 
characteristics of our rulers: multiples of 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 
1/32, 1/64, because in construction it is often necessary to divide 
things in half "on the fly" -- and an easy way to do this if you have 
an odd numerator is to double the denominator.

V-twin - is this reference a little ahead of its time? it refers to a 
V-shaped motorcycle engine where the two cylinders forming the V 
share the same crankshaft pin. (If they don't, the shape is not a 
V-twin but rather a "V-2.") I don't think this configuration became 
common until the Indian motorcycle began winning racings and breaking 
records using it. I see the AtD wiki showing motorcycles commercially 
available in 1894, but I don't think that was true for this design 
until 1906.

"Cornell" model Acme guitar - Pynchon attended Cornell; Dennis 
Cornell currently modifies electric guitars to effect tonal variation 
and Acme Guitar Works now exists as a purveyor of vintage electric 
guitars (Fender and many others) and will install his custom pickups 
for you -- all this from some quick websearching, making me wonder 
whether this is invention -- the Acme name (alongside Ajax, and as 
competition increased eventually AAA and AAAA) became popular with 
telephones and yellow pages as it put you first in the phonebook

Sears and Roebuck - a catalog sales company founded in the 1880s, 
very popular with Western and midWestern farmers because it undercut 
the pricing of the general stores where most of them had previously 
shopped -- by the turn of the century the catalog was over 500 pages, 
and was prized for its clearly-stated prices and its dual-use as 
toilet paper. The company still exists, and for a while the Sears 
Tower in Chicago was the world's tallest building. Their major 
competitor was Montgomery-Ward. Contrast Sears AND Roebuck with 
Montgomery HYPHEN Ward; Mason & Dixon with Mason-Dixon line.

Durango - yet another town in Southwest Colorado, it's where the San 
Juan Skyway bends from east-west to north-south

203: vibratoless - more Math Lore here...a sinusoidal change in pitch 
which on an instrument adds expression and vocal-like 
qualities...which would mean that vibratoless voices have an inhuman 
quality.

-- 
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Peter Petto <ppetto at apk.net>
Bay Village, OH