AtDTdA: (9) 248

[Jasper]

248 The Chums in Venice (continued)

Page 248:
the Silk Road
The Silk Road, or Silk Route, is an interconnected series of trade 
routes through various regions of the Asian continent mainly connecting 
Chang'an (today's Xi'an) in China, with Asia Minor and the 
Mediterranean. It extends over 8,000 km (5,000 miles) on land and sea.

Trade on the Silk Route was a significant factor in the development of 
the great civilizations of China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, India, and 
Rome, and helped to lay the foundations for the modern world.

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

See also:
http://www.fullcircleevents.org/witches_ball_2004/theme.html

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Doge, Doge's hat
For some thousand years, the chief magistrate and leader of the Most 
Serene Republic of Venice was styled the Doge, a rare but not unique 
Italian title derived from the Latin Dux, as the major Italian parallel 
Duce and the English Duke. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the 
city-state's aristocracy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge_of_Venice
*wiki*

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/ragazzi/
boys

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the Keys to the City
The key to the city is [an] award used in several countries, especially 
in the United States, to honor esteemed visitors, local residents, and 
organizations. This honor involves the ceremonial presentation of an 
ornamental key but carries no formal privileges or distinctions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_to_the_City#Key_to_the_City

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Attenzione al culo
Literally: "watch your ass."
*wiki*

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mask industry
Venetian masks have been worn in Venice, Italy, since antiquity.

Unlike the vast majority of their counterparts in contemporary European 
nations, each citizen in Venice enjoyed a high standard of living. 
Everyone was part of the great economic machine that was the Republic. 
Venice was capitalizing on its position, on its gains, long before its 
contemporaries had realized the value of a market economy. With a level 
of social wealth unequaled since, the citizens of Venice developed a 
unique culture—one in which the concealing of the identity in daily life 
became paramount to daily activity. Part of the secrecy was pragmatic: 
there were things to do, people to see, and perhaps you might not want 
others to know what deals you were cutting. After all, the city is 
relatively small.

Additionally, the masks served an important social purpose of keeping 
every citizen on an equal playing field. Masked, a servant could be 
mistaken for a nobleman—or vice versa. State inquisitors and spies could 
question citizens without fear of their true identity being discovered 
(and citizens could answer without fear of retribution). The morale of 
the people was maintained through the use of masks—for with no faces, 
everyone had voices.

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

Masks for sale:
http://www.digital-photo-web.com/image-files/venice-italy-pictures-p4081008.jpg
http://www.digital-photo-web.com/image-files/venice-italy-pictures-p4081063.jpg
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/studyinitaly/images/venice018.jpg

Masks in action:
http://www.psychicsahar.com/artman/uploads/venice-both-campanile_001.jpg
http://www.bellewstours.com/VeniceCarnival.jpg
http://www.phototravels.net/venice/venice-carnival.html

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the fabled Sfinciuno Itinerary
Itinerary: An account of travels, or a register of places and distances 
as a guide to travelers; as, the Itinerary of Antoninus.
[1913 Webster]

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Shambhala
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala is a mystical kingdom hidden 
somewhere beyond the snowpeaks of the Himalayas. Shambhala is believed 
to be a society where all the inhabitants are enlightened. During the 
19th century, Theosophical Society founder H.P. Blavatsky alluded to the 
Shambhala myth, giving it currency for Western occult enthusiasts. Later 
esoteric writers further emphasized and elaborated on the concept of a 
hidden land inhabited by a hidden mystic brotherhood whose members labor 
for the good of humanity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambhala
*wiki*

In Sanskrit means "place of peace or tranquility".

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cicerone
Italian for "guide"

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Professor Svegli of the University of Pisa
The fictional professor's name comes from the Italian sveglio for 
"clever, dextrous, skillful."
*wiki*

"This is not the kind of 'map' you are looking for"

Svengali hypnotism or Jedi Mind Trick?

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"try to forget the usual picture in two dimensions"
Cf. page 220, the idea behind the Tetractys as explained by Nigel and 
Neville.
*wiki*

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Khan-Tengri
Khan Tengri (Uighur, translated as "Lord of the spirits", or "Lord of 
the sky"; or Turkic translated as "Ruler of Skies", "Ruler Tengri") is a 
mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is located on the 
Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan border, east of lake Issyk Kul.

Khan Tengri is a massive marble pyramid, covered in snow and ice. At 
sunset the marble glows red, giving it the Kazakh name "Kan Tau" (blood 
mountain).

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

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Shiva
Shiva (also spelled Siva; Sanskrit Śiva) is considered to be the supreme 
God in Shaivism, a denomination of Hinduism.

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Mount Kailash
A peak in the Gangdisê mountains in China, the source of some of the 
longest rivers in Asia -- the Indus River, the Sutlej River, a tributary 
of the Ganges River, and the Brahmaputra River -- and is considered as a 
sacred place in four religions --Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bön 
faith. In Hindu mythology, it is considered to be the abode of Lord 
Shiva. The mountain lies near Lake Manasarowar and Lake Rakshastal in 
Tibet. It is the only significant mountain peak never to be scaled by 
man as a deference to Buddhist and Hindu beliefs.

Every year, thousands make a pilgrimage to Kailash, following a 
tradition going back thousands of years. Pilgrims of several religions 
believe that circumambulating Mount Kailash on foot is a holy ritual 
that will bring good fortune. The peregrination is made in a clockwise 
direction by Hindus and Buddhists. Followers of the Jain and Bönpo 
religions circumambulate the mountain in a counterclockwise direction. 
The path around Mount Kailash is 52 km (32 mi) long.

Following the Chinese army entering Tibet in 1950, and political and 
border disturbances across the Chinese-Indian boundary, pilgrimage to 
the legendary abode of Lord Shiva was stopped from 1959 to 1980. 
Thereafter a limited number of Indian pilgrims have been allowed to 
visit the place, under the supervision of the Chinese and Indian 
governments either by a lengthy and hazardous trek over the Himalayan 
terrain, travel by land from Kathmandu or from Lhasa where flights from 
Kathmandu are available to Tibet and thereafter travel over the great 
Tibetan plateau (ranging 10,000 to 16,000 feet) by car. The journey 
takes four night stops, finally arriving at Tarchen (4600 m).

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

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an episode of intentional blindness
Echoes the "denial of ordinary vision" that Lew sees when he meets 
Professor Renfrew (p. 240). Might these "blind spots" in sense evoke 
Iceland Spar?
*wiki*

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Today's kick-ass essay question
This chapter has a lot about mirrors and opposites, "landmarks" and 
"anti-landmarks", the dualities of Venice itself, etc. Describe how this 
theme relates to the book as a whole, and/or to Pynchon's body of work. 
How many doubles or mirrors come to mind? Contrast the use of mirrors 
with the use of glass. How do the two combine or oppose one another?

Some instances from this chapter alone:
p. 243: Venice "looking like some map of itself"
p. 243: "number that looks like a zero, is the same as our own"
p. 244: "smell of molten glass"
p. 244: "Isola degli Specchi, or, the Isle of Mirrors itself!"
p. 244: "A mirror-works under the water"
p. 245: The /Bol'shaia Igra/ and her Russian crew
p. 247: The red and white wines, "Red blood, pure mind"
p. 247: Shadow Doge
p. 249: "two distinct versions of 'Asia'"
p. 251: "I was also the winged Lion"
p. 255: Pugnax and Mostruccio
p. 256 "The aeronauts' dual citizenship in the realms of the quotidian 
and the ghostly"