AtDDtA(15): The "Old Man"

[Dave Monroe]

   "Earlier that day Alonzo had paid his weekly visit to the 'Old
Man.'" (AtD, Pt. II, p. 421)


"a sunny verdigris campus"

Main Entry: ver·di·gris
Pronunciation: 'v&r-d&-"grEs, -"gris, -gr&s also -"grE
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English vertegrese, from Anglo-French verdegrece,
vert de Grece, literally, green of Greece
1 a : a green or greenish-blue poisonous pigment resulting from the
action of acetic acid on copper and consisting of one or more basic
copper acetates b : normal copper acetate Cu(C2H3O2)2·H2O
2 : a green or bluish deposit especially of copper carbonates formed
on copper, brass, or bronze surfaces

http://m-w.com/dictionary/verdigris


"Lombardy poplars"

The true Lombardy Poplar, selected in Lombardy, northern Italy, in the
17th century. The growth is fastigiate, with a very narrow crown.
Coming from the Mediterranean region, it is adapted to hot, dry
summers and grows poorly in humid conditions, being short-lived due to
fungal diseases. It is a male clone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Poplar

Some of us who soldiered in France during World War I remember
highways and canals lined on both sides, for miles, with tall trees so
straight and narrow that they resembled Grecian columns -- columns
such as those which now surround the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
They were called "Lombardy Poplars"....

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/700-799/nb753.htm


"the kindly seamed face of the Commandant, with its ..."

Cf. ...

   "Inside McClintic Sphere was swinging his ass off. His skin was
hard, as if it were part of the skull: every vein and whisker on that
head stood out sharp and clear under the green baby spot: you could
see the twin lines running down from either side of his lower lip,
etched in by the force of his embouchure, looking like extensions of
his mustache." (V., p. 55)

"... with ITS [emphasis added] closely maintained white mustache and gold teeth"

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0011&msg=50825

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0011&msg=50829

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0011&msg=50841

Thanks AGAIN, Thomas, and Terrance, whither goest thou?  Help!


"to appearance the slow and amiable smile of the drug habitue, but in
fact an all but nihilistic dismissal of whatever the world might
present him"

Help!


"Chromatic Harp Safety"

The chromatic harmonica is a type of harmonica that uses a
button-activated sliding bar to redirect air from the hole in the
mouthpiece to the selected reed-plate desired. This harp is used for
Celtic, Classical, and Jazz, as well as many other styles.
Traditionally these are made so that when the button is not pressed,
an altered diatonic major scale of the key of the harmonica is
available and depressing the button accesses the same scale a
semi-tone higher in each hole, thus giving an instrument capable of
playing the 12 notes of the Western chromatic scale....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_harmonica


"the particular need to keep those nasal hairs closely trimmed"

Cf. ...

"closely maintained white mustache


"Pitch Integrity Guard"

Pigs

http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/gravity/extra/pigs.html

Main Entry: pig
Pronunciation: 'pig
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English pigge
1 a : a young domesticated swine not yet sexually mature; broadly : a
wild or domestic swine b : an animal related to or resembling the pig
2 a : PORK b : the dressed carcass of a young swine weighing less than
130 pounds (60 kilograms) c : PIGSKIN
3 : a dirty, gluttonous, or repulsive person
4 : a crude casting of metal (as iron)
5 slang : an immoral woman
6 slang, usually disparaging : POLICE OFFICER

Main Entry: pig
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): pigged; pig·ging
intransitive verb
1 : FARROW
2 : to live like a pig <pig it>
transitive verb : FARROW

http://m-w.com/dictionary/pig


"the famous D-Flat reverberating Harmonica"

Help again!


"the Phantom Filer"

If your harmonica goes out of tune, you don't have to throw it out
right away. Tuning is simple. Just remove some metal from the reed....

http://www.ehow.com/how_7020_tune-harmonica.html

Various tools can be used for removing metal from the reeds.
Different people have their own preferences.

    * Small jeweler file
    * Small chisel
    * Wet-dry emery type (usually black) fine grained sandpaper
    * Fish-hook sharpener
    * Dremmel-type rotary tool ...

http://www.angelfire.com/tx/myquill/Tuning.html

TOOLS! TOOLS! TOOLS!

http://www.harmonicasessions.com/feb06/h-workbench.html


"producing a vaguely Negroid sound"

Diatonic functions of notes and chords

Each degree of a scale, as well as many chromatically-altered notes,
has a different diatonic function as does each chord built upon those
notes. A pitch or pitch class and its enharmonic equivalents have
different meanings. For example, a C♯ cannot substitute for a D♭, even
though in equal temperament they are identical pitches, because the D♭
can serve as the third of a B♭ minor chord while a C♯ cannot, and the
C♯ can serve as the fifth degree of an F♯ major scale while a D♭
cannot.

In theory as commonly taught in the US, there are seven different
functions, while in Germany, from the theories of Hugo Riemann, there
are only three, and functions besides the tonic, subdominant and
dominant are named as "parallels" (US: relatives) to those
functions....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatonic_function#Diatonic_functions_of_notes_and_chords

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatonic_function

"In blues chord progressions, the tonic, subdominant and dominant
chords are often played as dominant sevenths, the lowered seventh
(minor seventh) being an important component of the blues scale."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues#Musical_style

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues

Help!


"the Provisional Anti-Urination Watch"

P.A.U.W.?  Help yet again!