Firesign Theatre: Lexicon (1/4)
Niles D. Ritter
Last-modified: 1994/8/30
Version: 2.0
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Changes:
1. Split int <32K parts!
Side 4) The Firesign Theatre: Lexicon and Concordance File (1/4)
================================================================
INDEX:
Part 1: ALVARADO-CURFEW
Part 2: DCTDHMTP-GORGONZOLA
Part 3: HCYB-OZ
Part 4: PAPOON-ZIPS
[A]
---
ALVARADO: {PICO}'s sidekick, as in "It's Pico and Alvarado". From the
streets Pico and Alvarado in Los Angeles. PICO and ALVARADO are both
{BEANERS}. They are featured in the plays {BOZOS},{DWARF}, as well as
others. {NICK DANGER} had to swim down Alvarado to his convertable
during a severe rain storm. Pico and Alvarado sometimes like to
yell, "{PARK} it and Lock it! Not Responsible!"
AMES: Harry Ames, Jr. A fictional actor who portrays Lieutenant
{BRADSHAW} on the {NICK DANGER} series. There is also a Gun
Salesman names Ed Ames, who runs the "Ames Guns" store in {DWARF}.
ANCHOVIES: Small fish with beady little eyes. We first encounter
anchovies in {DWARF}, when George Tirebiter calls a {PIZZA} parlor
(note the name of the pizza joint he calls):
GEORGE [mumbling]: Let's see...Ocelots. Paupers. Pipe-nipples,
Polombras, Pizzas! Armenian Gardens...Hank's Juggernaut...
New Leviathan...Nick's Swell...
SOUND: HE PICKS UP THE PHONE AND DIALS. THE NEWSCAST GOES ON.
< Broadcast deleted>
GEORGE [phoning]: Uh, this is George Tirebiter, Camden N 200 R.
[pause] Uh, I want to order a pizza to go, and no anchovies.
[pause] What ? [clicks phone] Oh, man! Nobody will come
up here at all!
Apparently, Tirebiter mistakenly called {NICK DANGER}, in the
episode, "Cut 'Em Off at the Past". On that album, we hear the
same conversation, but from the other side of the phone:
ANNOUNCER: He walks in! He's ready for mystery...he's ready for
excitement! He's ready for anything...he's...
SOUND: TELEPHONE PICKED UP
NICK: Nick Danger, Third Eye!
GEORGE: (ON FILTER) Uh-I wanna order a pizza to go, and no
anchovies.
NICK: No anchovies? You've got the wrong man. I spell
my name...Danger! [click]
GEORGE: (FILTER) What?
MUSIC: "NICK DANGER" THEME IN AND UNDER.
Note: This is a direct quote from the "Big Mystery" Joke book, and
so the attribution of "GEORGE" to the guy on the other side of the
phone is the FT's, not an inference (some people thought it was
the voice of the teenage Porgie that called Nick).
In another episode of Nick Danger, "The case of the Missing Yolks"
(Video), and the "Three faces of Al" (album), Rocky {ROCOCO} calls
up Nick at the start of the play, and turns everything around:
ROCKY: I want to order an anchovy to go, and hold the pizza.
NICK: Anchovies?
ROCKY: Yeah, those little black things, with eyes!
NICK: You've got the wrong man. I spell my name
(LOOKS BACK AT THE DOOR) ...REGNAD.
ANTELOPE FREEWAY: A {LOS ANGELES} Freeway, north of the
{SAN FERNANDINO} valley towards Palmdale. Used to demonstrate
{ZENO'S PARADOX} in the {TWO PLACES} album.
ARTIE CHOKE: A {HOLOGRAM} in the FT's {BOZO} play. Artie, the Lonesome
Beet and the Whisperin' Squash were all once intended to be characters
in an FT western radio show, featuring an all-vegetable cast.
AUSTIN: Philip Austin, one of the FT members.
[B]
---
BABE: The name of {EVERYMAN} in the FT's play {TWO PLACES}. In the
liner notes for the "Two Places" CD, Phil Austin writes:
It has often been correctly note that the progress of Babe is linked
with that of Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Epic poem, "The Odyssey".
Although HCYB does not literally follow the form of "The Odyssey",
there are several key meetings between the two stories and certainly,
like Joyce's "Ulysses", HCYB derives much inspiration from the age-old
story of a man trying to return home. Odysseus (Ulysses) finds himself
imprisoned, bound by the spell of the witch Calypso, when his outrages
against the gods are forgiven and he is allowed to return home. All
we will see of this on HCYB is Babe running across a street, nearly to
be killed, and entering the emporium of one {RALPH SPOILSPORT}, who
may or may not be the god Hermes, sent to sell Babe the instrument of
his homecoming. (Some see HCYB as the musings of Ralph, that Ralph is
the storyteller and Babe portrays him as a young man. Well...)
BALCONY: Whatever it is, Louise Wong's got one you can do {SHAKESPEARE}
from!
BARNEY: Barney is a {BOZO}. The new "Bozo" CD gives a definition:
"Barny or Barney: In the English circus, a fight. The closest
American equivalent is {CLEM}."
BBOP: Not Bee-bop, but the FT's "Big Book of Plays".
BEAR WHIZ BEER: A popular beverage in FT plays, heard in both
{EYKIW} and in {YOLKS}. "It's in the water! that's why it's yellow!"
Currently a company in Colorado has appropriated the Logo for tee-shirts
and posters [and the editor spotted a *Neon* sign of BWB in Manitou
Springs during a recent vacation!].
BWB has entered the mainstream (sorry) of american culture:
mathias thallmayer writes:
I was looking at the current issue of the Narrow Gauge and
Shortline Gazette (a magazine devoted to modeling narrow
gauge railroads, for you fireheads) and what should I see: a
review of a 1:22.5 scale Bear Wizz Beer Refigerator car
(based on the bachman mechanism). The logo looks pretty
good: a bear standing human style, back to us but looking over
his shoulder, er, er... I'd always pictured him with a rear
leg raised, but close enough.... The reviewer (Bob Brown)
said it was pretty colorful. It comes from the "Feather River
Canyon Loco Works" in Pagosa Springs, CO.
A recent entry from the Los Angeles Times, June 30, 1994, page E-2:
The FDA alleges that the tobacco industry has been secretly
adding twice the amount of nicotine to cigarettes to make them
more addictive. "In a related story, Kraft has admitted that
they've been adding twice as much whiz to their jars of cheese."
--Morning Sickness, Premiere Radio Network
Cheese Whiz Beer?
BEDDOES: Dr. Beddoes, head of Dr. Beddoes Pneumatic Institute,
which in real life was a 19th century operation dedicated to
experimenting with nitrous oxide (laughing gas). See
{TESLACLE'S DEVIANT}, {FUDD'S LAW}.
BERGMAN: Peter Bergman, one of the FT members. See also {LOVE IN}.
BOB BUNNY: A fifteen year-old kid, who is the side-kick of {MARK TIME}
of the Circum-Solar Federation. He is also a fan of {YOUNG GUY}, Motor
Detective, and asks him the {PORRIDGE BIRD} question, which he found
carved on the Great Wall of Mars.
BOTTLES: {MUDHEAD}'s crazy hopped-up girlfriend, in Porgie {TIREBITER}
movies. She is played by Barbara Bobo. Her name is likely a
play on the word "Jugs".
BOZO: See {BOZOS}.
BOZOS: A Bozo likes to {CLONE} and be with other Bozos. One of the
{FIVE LIFESTYLES OF MAN}, according to the FT. Honk! Honk! See also
{BEANERS}, {BOOGIES}, {ZIPS} and {BERZERKERS}. Featured in the FT
play,"I Think Were All Bozos's on this Bus". The FT gives the following
definition:
"BOZO: A man, fellow, guy; esp. a large, rough man or one with more
brawn than brains. 1934: "Drive the heap, bozo" -- Chandler,
_Finger Man_. From Sp. dial. "boso" (from "vosotros") - you (pl.)
which resembles a direct address."
--Dictionary of American Slang by Wentworth and Flexner, 1960.
B.O.Z.O is also referred to as an acronym for the "Brotherhood Of {ZIPS}
and Others".
BEANERS: A non-offensive term derived from the ethnically offensive
one, referring to the lifestyle rather than the race. One of the
{FIVE LIFESTYLES OF MAN}, according to the FT.
BEATLES: A 60's Rock-and-Roll group. A few Beatles references:
In {NICK DANGER}:
Announcer: "Out of the Fog, into the smog"...
"There's a fog upon L.A. ..." (Blue Jay Way, Magical Mystery Tour)
Rocky Rococo: A play on "Rocky Raccoon"
Catherwood: says "Goo-goo-goo-joob" (ref: "I am the Walrus"),
and then says "I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink"
(cf "I'm So Tired", from the "White Album"). His references
to {CELLOPHANE}, although a clear {SFX} device, could also
be the line "Cellophane flowers of yellow and green"
(cf "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" -- Sgt. Pepper).
Nick: says his story has more holes in it than the Albert Hall
(cf "A Day in the Life" -- Sgt. Pepper).
"It was {PIG NITE} at the {OM} mane padme Sigma House."
is a reference to the mantra: "Om mani padme hum" (note
the awful math pun: Sigma-->Sum-->Hum). This also possibly
a reference to "Piggies" on the White Album, although
some Fraternities actually used to have a Pig Nite, where
they would bring ugly women.
Nancy: "<long list of names>, but everyone knew her as Nancy"
is from "Rocky Raccoon" (White Album, again!):
Her name was Magil and she called herself Lil
But everyone knew her as Nancy...
Also, her boyfriend's name is "Dan" in the Song
(Dan Catherwood):
Now she and her man who called himself Dan
Were in the next room at the hoe down
In {HEMLOCK STONES}, they sing "Get Back" at the end. Also, Stones
tells Flotsom to meet him in the Pub in disguise, and Flotsom asks
"In the pub in the skys?", which is a reference to "Lucy In the Skys,
with Diamonds,". This tune was denied by the Beatles to be an LSD
reference, and apparently is also tied to a John Fredd and the Playboy
Band tune called "Judy in Disguise, With Glasses". So, we have come
full circle.
In {HCYB}, one of the {RALPH SPOILSPORT} motors commercials begins,
"Don't we do it in the road here at Ralph's Spoilsport Motors..."
(cf "Why Dont We Do it In the Road" from the "White Album").
One of the kids in "Le Trent Huit Cunegonde" (Returned for Regrooving)
was named "Malcom X.John Lennon"
In the "Dear Friends" album, one of the skits ends with a politician
singing, "Those Moscow girls really knock me out" (a mis-quote from
"Back in the USSR" -- the girls were Ukrainian).
BERZERKER: See {BERZERKERS}.
BERZERKERS: One of the {FIVE LIFESTYLES OF MAN}, according to the FT.
BMJB: The FT's "Big Mystery Joke Book", containing the transcripts
of {HEMLOCK STONES} Sumatran Rat play, {NICK DANGER}'s "Cut 'Em Off
at the Past" play, "Temporarily Humboldt County", "{MARK TIME}" from
the "Dear Friends" album, "{YOUNG GUY}", motor detective, and others.
BOOGIES:A non-offensive term derived from the ethnically offensive one,
referring to the lifestyle rather than the race. One of the
{FIVE LIFESTYLES OF MAN}, according to the FT.
BRADSHAW: Lieutenant Alvin Bradshaw, in the FT police forces. Loosely
based on the Officer Bradshaw from the old Highway Patrol episodes,
Bradshaw is constantly pestering the private investigators
{NICK DANGER} and his Javanese counterpart {YOUNG GUY}, Motor Detective.
{YOUNG GUY} once discovered that "BRAD" stands for "Bernard",
indicating that Bradshaw is actually "George Bernard Shaw, famous
author and riterary smart-guy". Bradshaw is played by the fictional
character Harry Ames, Jr.
BUNCHE: Ralph Bunche, was a black American official of the United
Nations who won the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation of the
1948-49 Arab-Israeli War. Rumored in {DWARF} to have been the
honorary Aquarium parent (along with Ida Lupino) of the first
man-made baby Adam one-three.
BUS: What I think We're all {BOZO}'s on. The "Bozo" CD liner notes
quote the following definition:
"BUS: A circuit in a mixing board which carries signals from one
or more inputs to any output or set of outputs."
The {PRESIDENT} is referred to as the "Terminal Bus -- the output".
[C]
---
CELLOPHANE: An {SFX} tool, used to simulate fire on radio. In
{NICK DANGER}, Catherwood asks if he Nick wants to pull his "cues" out
of the cellophane before they scorch. See also {CORNSTARCH}. In the
Fall 93 Reunion tour update, Catherwood asks Nick to pull his cues out
of the "bubble wrap".
CHEESE: Many types of CHEESE appear in FT skits: {GORGONZOLA} the
Cheese-monster, Cheese-Logs, Cheese-Log-Throws, not to mention {RAT}S.
On the album cover of {ITNWYOYO}, on the wall (below the billboards for
'Dead Cat Soap" and "Billy Jack Dogfood") there are signs for 'Bowel
{OIL}' and'{SWELL} Cheese'. See also {PIZZA}.
CHING: See {I CHING}.
CHROMIUM: It's just this little CHROMIUM switch, here! The first lines
of {DWARF}.
CLEM: The {EVERYMAN} of the FT play {BOZOS}. Also known as "UhClem" to
the main computer in the {FUTURE FAIR}. The liner notes for "Bozos"
quotes the following definition from "The Language of American Popular
Entertainment":
"Clem: Its most common meaning is that of a general fight or riot
between town hoodlums who attack shows and the circus or carnival
employees. As an interjection, clem has replaces 'hey rube' as a
battle cry for a forthcoming fight.
In this case, Clem attacks the Future Fair main computer by inserting
a gypsy program to confuse {DOCTOR MEMORY}, bringing the whole operation
down. The FT in later skits apparently developed Clems motivation
and story as follows (David {OSSMAN} writes):
"Clem, a shoeless computer programmer for the Fair, was fired after
he re-programmed the {RALPH SPOILSPORT} Speedway ride to 'Smoke Dope'
ie, slow down, free-associate, play. He has now re-entered the Fair
and broken into the maintenance circuits of {DOCTOR MEMORY} in order
to re-program it to 'forget the past'. As on the album, he succeeds
in confusing the good Dr. into contradictory on/off instructions
which sabotage the machine and destroy the fantastic illusions we
had taken for Reality.
CLONE: To either replicate yourself into a {HOLOGRAM}, or to act like
all the other {BOZO}S.
CONFIDENCE IN THE SYSTEM: A timely drug. Here's an advertisement
for it by the FT on Ben Bland's All Day Matinee on the "Just Folks"
album.:
You know, this is the midst of the disillusionment and heartbreak season
and,with the recent outbreak of that suicidal strain of despair up in
Boston,well, you'd better keep a close watch on your emotions. So
remember the seven danger signals of depression; that's a general and
lasting feeling of hope-lessness, inability to concentrate, loss of
self-esteem, fear of rejection, feelings of guilt, misdirected anger,
and extreme dependency on others. At the first sign of these symptoms,
friends, follow these simple rules: keep working, drink as much as
possible, and... take your television's advice. And y'know more TV's
recommend an amazing new psychic breakthrough than any other, and
that's... Confidence in the System. Fast, safe, and guaranteed through
constant Federal control, Confidence in the System will keep THEM in
power longer, longer, longer, and tend to calm and obscure the miseries
of disillusionment and despair. In easy-to-swallow Propaganda form or
new fast-acting Thought Control, that's Confidence in the System. So
have some... today.
CORNSTARCH: Used to simulate snow in {NICK DANGER}. Catherwood asks
Nick to come in out of the Cornstarch and dry his mucklucks by the
fire. Cornstarch is a prop widely used by foley artists (a/k/a "Sound
Effects Guys" -- "thanks Rocky!") to simulate walking through snow. You
don't walk in it. You leave it in its handy box. Squeezing and
massaging the box near a mike gives that squeaky sound, not unlike
walking on packed snow on a cold day. It also expels a fine dusting of
cornstarch, which settles nicely onto scripts, mikes, tape reels, etc.
Experienced foley artists leave the cornstarch box inside a plastic bag.
See also {CELLOPHANE}.
CUNEGONDE: As in "Le Trent Huit Cunegonde" (The 38th Cunegonde).
This is referred to in {DWARF}, and is the title of another FT piece.
Cunegonde has generated quite a discussion amongst the FT irregulars...
A number of fans noted that Cunegonde is the daughter of the Baron
Thunder-ten-tronckh, a central character in Voltaire's "Candide".
Jeff Bulf notes the use of this name elsewhere in the arts:
Cunegonde and its variants in other languages seems to be a standard
name for what we would now call "bimbo" characters in European film.
And presumably in stage before that. I cannot remember the title of a
black-and-white scandinavian movie with tease/tart named Kunigunda.
I saw it when I was in high school anyway, which puts it before the
first Firesign performances. (Was it a {BERGMAN}? Doesn't sound like
his sort of character.)
The name seems to be used as if it were a month; several fans have tried
to link it with the French Revolution and its renaming of the calendar
months; E.g., July became "Thermidor" -- best recalled by the
"Thermidorean reaction" that followed some brutality as the revolution
took its course.
As for the origin of the name Cunegonde, Evan M Corcoran was kind enough
to track this down with the help of his brother in France:
...Here's what he came up with, from the five volume Grand Larousse
dictionary, translated free for your personal libation:
Cunegonde - (saint), Germanic imperatrice (v. 978 - abbey of
Kaufungen, Hesse, 1033 or 1040 [I'm not exactly sure what this means,
I'll ask my brother]) Spouse of Henri II the Saint, canonised in 1200.
later he has continued:
One more historical note: I checked out Sainte Cunegonde, and as far
as I could determine, she is not the patroness of anything. There is
ANOTHER Sainte Cunegonde who is patroness of Poland and Lithuania,
but she's not the one parodied in Candide. Or is she... Both
Cunegondes are also spelled Kunigonda in some places. And St. Vitus
is the patron of comedians.
So, Cunegonde might be saint of something (perhaps, Cows?)
CURFEW: Gezundheit! Offers are usually not good after curfew in
sectors R or N, and you should never go into forbidden sectors
after curfew (see {DWARF}). In the TV comedy "Space Ghost - Coast
To Coast" there was a parody of a children's advertisement with
the fine-print disclaimer:
Produced by the Cogswell Cogs Co. Offer not good after curfew in
sectors R or N.
Niles D. Ritter
Last-modified: 1994/8/30
Version: 2.0
Side 4) The Firesign Theatre: Lexicon and Concordance File(2/4)
===============================================================
[D]
---
DCTDHMTP: Don't Crush That {DWARF}, Hand Me the Pliers!.
DOCTOR MEMORY: The big computer that runs everything in the
{FUTURE FAIR}, described in the FT's {BOZO} play. The Doctor was also
mentioned in a poem on the "Dear Friends" album. He is based on an old
SAILON LISP program written for the PDP-10 running the TOPS-10 operating
system.
AhClem repeatedly calls Dr. Memory "Mac" - which far predates the
current Apple computer line; but the MIT AI lab, where the Doctor
program originated, grew out of Project Mac (for Machine Aided
Cognition and/or Multiple Access Computer)
DWARF: "Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers": An FT play about
the life of the {EVERYMAN} George {TIREBITER}. The title appears to be
a marijuana reference. "Dwarf" is slang for a marijuana cigarette
which has been almost completely consumed (ie, "roach") and the
"pliers" are pliers or any other device which can be used to hold the
dwarf by the very end in order to consume the rest of the cigarette
("roach clip"). Hence, "don't crush that nearly-consumed marijuana
cigarette, hand me a pair of pliers (so that I can smoke the rest)."
This could also be tied in to Hal Roach, the famous producer of old
silent comedies, who only recently died at the age of 100+. He is given
a brief mention at the end of "Dwarf", when {TIREBITER}'S secretary
indicates that Mr. Roach had left a message, along with Laurel & Hardy,
Harpo Marx ("Honk! Honk!- he would leave his name..") The FT sometimes
refer to a "Hot Roach Studios", which they presumably ran.
The liner notes for the "Dwarf" CD mentions that the original title
for Dwarf was "We'll be Heironymus Bosch in Jest a Minute, but Faust..."
indicating connections between the play and the man who "sold out" to
the devil, as well as the nature of interruptions as a part of life.
{ROCKY ROCOCO}, the nemesis of {NICK DANGER}, is a dwarf:
CATHER: "Nancy, who's that ugly dwarf with his hand in your mouth?"
ROCKY: "Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
There were also dwarf maples at the {SAME OLD PLACE}.
See also {WORDSWORTH} for a poetic reference.
[E]
---
EAT FLAMING DEATH: From the Jargon Lexicon of the Hacker's
Dictionary:
eat flaming death: imp. A construction popularized among hackers by
the infamous CPU Wars comic; supposed to derive from a famously
turgid line in a WWII-era anti-Nazi propaganda comic that ran
"Eat flaming death, non-Aryan mongrels!" or something of the sort
(however, it is also reported that the Firesign Theater's
1975 album "In The Next World, You're On Your Own" included the
phrase "Eat flaming death, fascist media pigs"; this may have been
an influence). Used in humorously overblown expressions of
hostility. "Eat flaming death, EBCDIC users!"
EGGS: Let's just call them, the "{PHENOMENA}". {PORRIDGE BIRD}s lay
their eggs in the air. Maybe its because there are aliens in them!
ELECTRICIAN: "Waiting for the Electrician, or Someone like
Him". Another FT play, featured on the album of the same name. The
first of the cycle of plays following the life of {EVERYMAN},named
P, in this case (a tribute to Kafka's "K").
The Electrician was also a mysterious character that appeared in the
{HEMLOCK STONES} play "The Giant Rat of Sumatra", and pursued the great
{ZEPELLIN TUBE} that was stolen by Jonas ACME. Little did Jonas
realize that the Electrician was in fact, his own ward and heir,
young Frank Acne, Jr.!
The "Electrician" seems to be derived from a dream Peter {BERGMAN}
accounted from the Christmas Broadcast, KPFK Radio Free Oz, in 1967.
He had a dream of the electrician coming to pull the plug on the
world, making everyone live real close together. And so we are
all now "waiting for the electrician" (or someone like him),
very Samuel Beckett-like (Waiting for Godot).
See also {HUMBOLT}.
ERSATZ: As in "Ersatz Broth Coffee (The Real One!)", as advertised
on {DWARF}. "Ersatz" means "substitute" or "synthetic". John V. Scialli
notes:
Some clarity is needed. The Coffee is Ersatz Brothers' Coffee.The
real one. This is not just (really) a play on the words ersatz and
real. Rather, Dan, during World War II coffee was rationed and ground
chickory was used as a substitute. This was known by a clear
descriptor "ersatz coffee."
Not to mention spanish fly!
EVERYMAN: A useful term to describe the often nameless heroes of the
FT plays. The FT's {BBOP} book describes how the hero transmutes from
one play into the next(summarized here):
"Waiting for the {ELECTRICIAN} or Someone like Him": The{EVERYMAN} is
named "P" (after Phil, and in homage to Kafka's K).The play ends with
"P" escaping from the country Enroute...
...and winding up on Ventura Blvd, in the process of buying a new car.
{EVERYMAN}'s name is now Babe, and his story is told in "How Can You Be
in {TWO PLACES} At Once, when you're not Anywhere At All". Babe drifts
through many adventures, and with the help of {RALPH SPOILSPORT}, falls
asleep to a hemp-laced version of James Joyce's Molly Bloom soliloquy
from Ulysses...
( as a side trip, Babe and {NICK DANGER} are literally flip-sides of
each other: "Wait a minute; didn't I say that on the other side of
this record?" THAT's how you can be in two places at once!)
...and wakes up at 4AM, now named George Leroy {TIREBITER}! His story
is now told by the {DWARF} play, as the {EVERYMAN} sees his life played
out on various channels of the television, where he is, by turns, an
old movie director, a political candidate,a child star, a high-school
kid, an adult actor, an Army Officer,and a quiz-show MC. Eventually, he
"sells out", wakes up from the TV world, regains his youth, and runs
out to get an ice-cream bar from the truck...
...Hunger satisfied, and with nothing else to do on a beautiful Fall
morning, George-now transmogrified into a young man named {CLEM} -- is
amused and intrigued by the arrival of the {FUTURE FAIR} Tour Bus, as
described in the {BOZO}S play (note that when Barney,the {BOZO},
reminds Clem to inflate his {SHOES},Clem replies that he no longer wears
shoes -- as Porgie {TIREBITER} in {DWARF} did).As he wanders through
the Fair, he asks both the {PRESIDENT}and{DOCTOR MEMORY} a question
about the {PORRIDGE BIRD},which brings down the whole show. The fair and
all its creations vanish, leaving only the fireworks of the departure.
And now, the story changes,and the Future is Past, (coming full circle
?) ...
EYKIW: Everything You Know Is Wrong! An FT play satirizing {SEEKER}S.
[F]
---
FALL OVER: A common phrase occurring throughout FT plays is "(s)He's
no fun, (s)he fell right over". This is tied indirectly to {FUDD'S LAW}:
If you push something hard enough it will fall over. {NANCY} is a
real push-over. See also {TESLACLE'S DEVIANT} and {BOZO}.
Lots of people fall over in FT plays, presumably in obedience to
{FUDD'S LAW}. Among them, {BABE} in the {TWO PLACES} play,{NANCY} fell
over in
an episode of {NICK DANGER}, Third-eye,and Edmund's Nuncle fell over in
the play "Waiting for the Count of Monte Cristo (or someone like Him,"
in the {NOT INSANE} album ("What,what,Dead drunk ... NAY DEAD!").
The Nick Danger reference is particularly dizzying, as the following
transcript shows:
NANCY: [DIZZY] The whole world is spinning!
NICK: That's lucky for us! If it were flat, all the Chinese would
fall off!
[SOUND OF NANCY FALLING]
NICK: She's no fun, she fell right over. Wait a minute...didn't I
say that on the other side of the record. Where am I? I better
check...
[PORTION OF OTHER SIDE OF RECORD PLAYED BACKWARDS]
NICK: Oh, it's OK, they're speaking Chinese..
-- Note: the "Chinese" are on the other side of a *flat* vinyl record,
which is spinning!
This phrase was quoted recently by the character Dr. Venckman on the
cartoon version of "The Real Ghostbusters", in the episode titled,
'My Uncle Harold'.
In {BOZO} we hear, "Animals without backbones hid from each other,
or fell down."
FIREHEAD: A Firesign-Theatre Fan.
FIVE LIFESTYLES OF MAN: {BOZO}S, {BOOGIES}, {BEANERS}, {ZIPS} and
{BERZERKERS}. The FT's {BBOP} book describes them all as follows:
<pre>
The five lifestyles of man in the future are, starting from top to
bottom, though it's circular:
First the {BERZERKER}. Clue to a Berserker: Anybody who's got a
gun.Anybody in a lime-green car with eight-foot tires, called Demon or
Barracuda. Any Army officer, anybody in uniform. A Bobby is not a
Berserker. But maybe he is because he carries his job, his badge. Most
people who have jobs. There's a Berserker aspect to all of us. You can
play softball with a Berserker. A Berserker doesn't always have to
kill, but in the back of his mind, it's not a bad idea.
Under the Berserkers are the {ZIPS}. The archetypal Zip is the 1930's
guy with the thin moustache. Zips have always been concerned with hair.
We're exhibiting Zip tendencies in having rather fancily cut
moustaches. We're all prone to these various aspects. There's a Zip in
everyone's kip, is the World War One English expression. Zips love new
products. Zips are often found inside new headphones. They've got zip,
pep. Zzzzzip! Zip me up! Most actors are Zips. There's a category
called Hip Zip, which David invented yesterday.
B.O.Z.O. is the Brotherhood of Zips and Others. Bozos are people who
band together for fun and profit. They have no jobs. Anybody who goes
on a tour is a Bozo. Why does a Bozo cross the street? Because there's a
Bozo on the other side. It comes from the phrase *vosotros*, meaning
others. They're the huge, fat, middle waist. The archetype is an Irish
drunk clown with red hair and nose, and pale skin. Fields, William
Bendix. Everybody tends to drift towards Bozoness. It has Oz in it.
They mean well. They're straight-looking except they've got inflatable
shoes. They like their comforts. The Bozos have learned to enjoy their
free time, which is all the time.
(###"*vos otros*" is a multilevel pun on the spanish noun, *bosotros*,
meaning clowns, "the 'b' and the 'v' being the same" -- ed.)
Now, the {BOOGIES}. You see a bunch of Boogies around you. That's our
lifestyle. There are more spades in this class than any other. But the
world is changing. There are now getting to be a lot of spade Zips. And
spade Bozos. Boogies don't differentiate between grass and alcohol.
People who work in post offices are generally Boogies. They take it
easy. They don't Zip. They're not Bozos because they don't clone. They
boogie around rather than hanging around one another. They Boogie.
The other class is the {BEANERS}. The Beaners live outside the Law of
Gravity. They have more color television sets than anybody in the
world. They're always appearing either on or with you color TV. They
watch themselves on color TV. Beaners are very concerned with their own
refuse, which they leave piled up around their house, but always in
use. They're always going to use it. Hundreds of old pickup trucks. All
Indians are Beaners. They don't care. Why should they? Beaners can't
tell lies. They fear no one. "Don't point your finger at me Daddy-o, I
cut it off!" Pico and Alvarado are Beaners. We love the Beaners.
Most youth is Bozo-like now [early 70's]. That's why people get so
upset when Berzerkers come into a Bozo gathering. 'Cause Bozos never do
anything to anybody. Bozos keep having rock festivals. They create
marijuana free-areas. Grass has moved into Bozodom.
The Berserkers and Zips run things now. Why does a Zip pay taxes?
Because he likes to fill out the forms. Berserkers run things by
telling you the Beaners are going to get you. Those desperate Beaners
may strike at any time! All politicians are Berserkers.
</pre>
Update for the 90's:
During the late 70's the youth began drifting into {ZIP}ness, with the
disco-era, and the general populace, in definite {BERZERKER} mode,began
the Reagan years....
The use by former {PRESIDENT} George Bush, referring to some other
politicians as "Bozos" may not have been influenced by the FT, but it
might as well have been. Bush himself, like most politicians,was a
{BERZERKER}.
Clinton has been showing definite {BOZO} tendencies in the way that he
{CLONES}, {BOOGIE}ness with his non-inhaling experiments,{ZIP}ness with
Cristophe, but to date only a few {BERZERKER} tendencies...
But remember: it's all cyclical!
FLOTSAM JETSAM: The sidekick of {HEMLOCK STONES}.
FOLEY: Sound Effects Techniques. See {SFX}.
FOOD: Let's Eat! Here are just some of the many foodstuffs
discussed in Firesign Theatre lore:
Nick's Swell {PIZZA} with no {ANCHOVIES}
A mighty {HOT DOG} is our lord!
{RAT} IN A BOX (Mouse on a stick Yum!)
Silverberg won't go over Pork Chop Hill
HAMBURGER All over the highway in Mystic Conn.
Louie's Wipe Out Pumice Hamburgers
GROAT CAKES (Heavy on the 30-weight Mom!)
GROAT CLUSTERS
{CHEESE LOGS}
{CORN} ! Now we can make tortillas/whisky !
{OIL BEER} - used in {MOTOR FLUID GIMLET}s
{EGGS} Let's just call them, the "{PHENOMENA}".
{BEAR-WHIZ BEER}
{BLUE MOSS} Now you too can be an alien!
{RAT IN A BOX} Guts in a Cup! (Yum!) Mouse on a Stick (Wow!)
French-Fried Fleas and Beer-battered Ticks
Squirrel Squares from Road-Ready Flatsnax
{LOOSTNERS} Caster-oil flakes
{NASI GOERING}
{OCTOBER BLIND} The Duck-flavored coffee!
{ERSATZ BROTHERS COFFEE} The real one!
{PICKLES}
{CRACKERBACK JOX}
More {SUGAR} !
Arnie's Whole Beef Halves (We deliver everywhere):
Admirable Bird's Deep Fried Chicken Fingers
Mrs. Smith's Deep Disk Sheep Dip Cherry Stone Pies
How about some of that old Phillipino Creamy
(coming in shorts & quarts)?
Tubs of Slaw (sorry only one tub per family)
Ma Rainie's MOLESKIN COOKIES
Sleepy Joes at House of Bad Brains de Chicanos from Outer Space
Red beans and reds!
P.J. Probe wines - with Weal Meat Fwavor
Billy Jack Dog Food ("Us old folks like it, too!")
CLAM CAKES, unless they get too damp.
The nicest PECARRY PIE in all of Lompoc.
"Beans...last of the Beans."
"I'm so sick of Chinese Food!"
EDIBLE STEERING COLUMNS
Pignuts
Oil Beer
Coke ("I understand it comes in bottles in this country.")
Uncle Siggy's Peruvian Cocoa Powder
One fancy ale ("comin' up......he forgot the glass!")
A taste of fabulous YUCATAN BLUE.
Laughing Cow Cheese
Maraschino Cherries
Mescaline
What about the varied menu at Vince Ptomaine's Leg of
the Crow Restaurant?
And who can forget the bite-sized individually
wrapped portions of genuine meat, as advertised
by Kim Clock?
FOUR OR FIVE CRAZY GUYS: The Firesign Theatre.
FUDD'S LAW: "If You Push Something Hard Enough, It Will {FALL OVER}".
A Law Enunciated by the FT in the {WALL OF SCIENCE} segment of
{ITWABOTB}. The full name is "Fudd's First Law of Opposition", and
was enunciated by Sir Sidney Fudd.
Here are some other FT Rules, with references:
1. If you give the people a light, they'll follow it anywhere. {POOP}
2. If you push something hard enough, it'll fall over. {ITWABOTB}
3. If you dig a deep enough hole, everybody'll want to jump into it.
{EYKIW}.
See also {TESLACLE'S DEVIANT}, and {FALL OVER}.
FT: The Firesign Theatre.
FUTURE FAIRE: See {FUTURE FAIR}.
FUTURE FAIR: From {BOZOS} -- The FUTURE FAIR was an amusement park
which looked fondly back to the future. (The movie title "Back to the
Future" may have been influence by this). "A fair for all and no fare
for anybody!" The motivations for this fair are numerous: the 1933
Chicago Worlds Fair, with its "Hall of Science" (see {WALL OF SCIENCE}),
and the 1939 World of Tomorrow Worlds Fair in New York, with its
"Futurama" display.
FTAEBGB: (Faster,Further) Than Anyone's Ever Been Gone Before!
Lots of people are always breaking the limits in FT plays.
In {HEMLOCK STONES} Sumatran {RAT} episode, after installing the
{ZEPPELIN TUBE} into their yacht, Violet Dudley, says, "Whoo! that's
faster than anyone's ever been gone before!
For example, in {NICK DANGER}, "Cut 'Em Off At the Past" episode, we
hear:
CATHERWOOD: "I'll be gone for thousand years!"
NANCY: "Gee, that's longer than anyone's ever been gone before."
CATHERWOOD: "But to you it will seem only a moment. Very well,
my dear: Forward Into The Past!" <fading>
NANCY: "I hope he gets back before all this dry ice melts."
[G]
---
GEORGE TIREBITER: See {TIREBITER}.
GOLDEN HINDE: A series hosted by Bob {HINDE}. "Welcome to the
wonderful world of Snails and adventure as we board the Golden Hinde".
Based upon a TV show from the '50's. A guy and his wife and family
would travel all over the world, and then show the home movies theytook,
with their narration. This has been quoted several times in {MST3K}.
The `Golden Hind' was the ship in which, in 1577-1580, Francis Drake
sailed around the world. Originally, the ship was named the `Pelican',
but while he was travelling, Drake changed the name in honor of
his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton. Hatton's crest was a golden
hind. (A "hind" is a sort of female deer, more specifically
a female three years or older; especially a female red deer.)
GOON SHOW: A British comedy show from the 50's which had great
influence on the Firesign Theatre. They were British surrealists
comprised of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe (Peter
Bergman worked for a while with Spike Milligan while in England).
A number of FT terms are references to Goon Shows:
Michael Packer writes:
Two FT pieces payed tribute to the
Goons; "The Giant Rat Of Sumatra" an "By The Light Of The
Silvery...". George L. Tirebiter's voice was lifted
directly from a Goon Show character. One of the "Unclaimed
Melodies" (The Spanish Suitcase) is the title of a Goon
script. Lastly, the phrase "It's great to be alive in
1985", originally from the Goon Show entitled "1985",
appeared in altered form on P & B's "TV Or Not TV".
GORGONZOLA: A fearsome {CHEESE}-monster! Mentioned by {BRADSHAW} on a
{YOUNG GUY} Motor-Detective radio show, and elsewhere. See also
{CHEESE}.
Niles D. Ritter
Last-modified: 1994/8/30
Version: 2.0
Side 4) The Firesign Theatre: Lexicon and Concordance File(3/4)
===============================================================
[H]
---
HCYB: How Can You Be in {TWO PLACES} at Once, When You're Not Anywhere
at All?
HEMLOCK STONES: Yet another FT detective, loosely based on Sherlock
Holmes. Known as "Hemlock Stones, the Great Defective". His sidekick is
{FLOTSAM JETSAM}.
Michael Rogers writes,
For those who are not devotees of Sherlock Holmes I came across
this while reading Conan Doyle a couple of weeks ago:
"'Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman,
Watson,' said Holmes in a reminiscent voice. 'It was
a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra,
a story for which the world is not yet prepared.'"
-from _The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire_
clav...@nyx.cs.du.edu (The_Doge) continues,
Actually, there are a fair number of Canonical references in
"Giant Rat"....
For example: "Violet Dawn Dudley" refers to the fact that some
of the more interesting heroines in the Canon are named Violet ("The
Solitary Cyclist" is one example). And then there's the frequent use
of the name "Moriarity" in various guises. And the fact that Watson
had just returned from the Afghani wars when he met Holmes..
Bill Johnson writes,
What B+W Sherlock Holmes movie with Basil Rathbone had an
opening sequence strikingly like the one which opens the Hemlock
Stones mystery, where he is playing his violin while his asssistant
is trying to find food, and both are discussing a case they just
finished?
John Burkardt answers,
>The movie you saw was "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", starring
>Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
>Holmes was plucking his violin, trying to find a frequency that would
>disturb flies, reasoning that if he found such a frequency, he could
>have a simple fly repeller.
>The movie was made about 1939, I believe.
HIDEO GUMP: A Japanese business man, whose son Hideo Gump, Jr.played
the role of {YOUNG GUY}, Motor Detective!
HINDE: Refers either to the {GOLDEN HINDE} or Bob Hinde, the host of
the show. Briefly appeared in {DWARF}, and in {EYKIW}, where we first
meet the aliens. They have appeared in several {MST3K} episodes as well.
HOLOGRAM: A 3D cybernetic {CLONE} of someone, made popular in the play
{ITWABOTB}.
HOPI: Hopi Indian culture has a lot of influence on FT terms.
John V. Scialli writes:
<pre>
I know that the Native Amnerikan stuff on Electrician
derived from the three or four boises from I da know (Proctor stayed
behind with his show) spending time living amongst the Hopi in Hopiland
(Arizona & New Amerikanexprexico). They brought back material for a
serious documentary and information which was accurate. The legend of
the Great White Brother is moralistic, but it is moralistic to the Hopi
who *had* (may still be if they haven't lost hopi) welcomed the Anglo's
arrival as a Sign, sign here.
I bet you think the character Mudhead derived from the Archie
comicbooks. Of course and not so. Mudhead is a very important (& my
favorite) Kachina. Mudhead is the last Kachina during pageants. He is
the Clown who provides comic relief. Kachina have multiple layers of
meaning. I know the one where Mudhead is the living embodiment of the
warning against brother-sister incest, less a baby with a bizarre head
pop out (of the sodium shop). Phil Proctor said that at a deeper level,
Mudhead appears at the end of ceremonies to mock what has gone on
before. He admonishes children not to believe anything they have just
been taught by adults and especially not to respect the opinions of
tribal leaders, these leaders are out of touch. Phil came up with this
great phrase, "Their leaders have heads of mud while our's
have feet of clay." Wouldn't that be a great album title "Heads of mud,
feet of clay," huh? And what a paradocs in that it is the elders putting
on the ceremony. Kinda like Principal Pooproctor "fuck you'ing" the kids
back. Anyway, the high school madness plot is derived from this and
other legends. If you found Electrician too moralizing it has to do with
technique, not message. Dwarf taught the same things but infiltrated our
consciousnesses with only 10% of the effect "visible" at the time.
</pre>
HUMBOLDT: See {HUMBOLT}.
HUMBOLT: Temporarily Humboldt (Humbolt) County.
wwe...@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (W. John Weber) writes,
In a radio show prepared by David {OSSMAN}, and heard only in Seattle
and Bloominton, IN, celebrating the 20th birthday of Electrician it was
explained. Humbolt County is an actual county in which the FT boys had
friends, and they were fairly interested in Native American politics.
The government (white) had declared the area Humbolt County, but the
Indians in order to refuse the whites appelation (and I guess to remind
them that no man really owns the land) called it Temporarily Humbolt
County.
[I]
---
I CHING: "The Book of Changes". A Chinese fortune telling device,
involving the tossing of coins or (more traditionally) the dividing and
counting of yarrow stalks,called {POOH STICKS} by some. The binary
patterns which come up are used in looking up the corresponding pattern
in an I CHING dictionary of patterns. In "Return for Regrooving" on the
{ELECTRICIAN} album, the Hippie Republic of China reported, "We threw I
Ching... out the window! We are now unanimous!"
There was also a Sally I CHING who just turned 12 today on {DWARF}.
By far the most insightful translation of the I Ching is one by Richard
Wilhelm, with introduction by C.G. Jung. In fact this is the trans used
by FT, as the wording on the albums IS the Wilhelm wording.
The Firesign Theatre, in writing their {EVERYMAN} plays, had a
tradition of throwing the I CHING before and after each of their plays.
For example, in {BOZO}'s, the first words we hear are "Biting
Through...", which is an I CHING.
The {TWO PLACES} album uses The Army hexagram, where Nick Danger says,
NICK: Well, Bradshaw -- It's like in The Army, you know--The Great
Prince issues commands, founds states, vests families with fiefs.
Inferior people should not be employed
BRADSHAW: Nick, I can't know success, but you still put me through
too many changes.
(This last remark refers to the fact that the "I Ching" means "Book of
Changes")
The last line of {NICK DANGER} in {TWO PLACES} may also be found in the
Unix version documentation for ching(6), under "DIAGNOSTICS", which is
based upon the Wilhelm translation. In fact, using "ching" we can
determine the exact configuration that was thrown for the {TWO PLACES}
album. In the liner notes for one of the CD's it was noted that they
threw the hexagram "The Army", with the changing line leading to
"Youthful folly".
The way all this stuff works is, you throw some yarrow sticks (also
called pooh sticks) or coins, and derive a set of six numerical
values, between 6 and 9. The even numbers represent the -- --
broken line, and the odd numbers represend the ------ solid line.
Also, lines which came from the numbers 6 and 9 are called changing
lines; if there are any changing lines then they are considered
unstable, and will turn into their opposite. So, you have to
also use the hexagram resulting from flipping the changing lines.
Now, The Army is: And Y. Folly is: So the configuration was:
-- -- ------ 6 (change)
-- -- -- -- 8 (no change)
-- -- -- -- 8 (no change)
-- -- -- -- 8 (no change)
------ ------ 7 (no change)
-- -- -- -- 8 (no change)
So, let's go to our favorite unix-box and throw the Firesign Theatre's
exact hexagram:
$ /usr/games/ching 878886
7. Shih / The Army
-- --
-- -- above K'un The Receptive, Earth
-- --
-- --
----- below K'an The Abysmal, Water
-- --
The Judgement
The Army. The army needs perseverance
And a strong man.
Good fortune without blame.
The Image
In the middle of the earth is water:
The image of the Army.
Thus the superior man increases his masses
By generosity toward the people.
The Lines
Six at the top means:
The great prince issues commands,
Founds states, vests families with fiefs.
Inferior people should not be employed.
4. Meng / Youthful Folly
-----
-- -- above Ken Keeping Still, Mountain
-- --
-- --
----- below K'an The Abysmal, Water
-- --
The Judgement
Youthful Folly has success.
It is not I who seek the young fool;
The young fool seeks me.
At the first oracle I inform him.
If he asks two or three times, it is importunity.
If he importunes, I give him no information.
Perseverance furthers.
The Image
A spring wells up at the foot of the mountain:
The image of Youth.
Thus the superior man fosters his character
By thoroughness in all that he does.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
An interesting sidelight; note the reference to Ken, Keeping Still.
If any of you have read the FT's Big Mystery Joke Book, the last
play is one called "The Dream Play, (for Monkey, Dreamer, Mudhead
and Snake)" written by Phil Austin. It starts out with the Dreamer
reciting:
Once upon a time, when time was nothing like it is today,
you must imagine that you sat still, upon the side of a
mountain called Keeping Still. You have clear eyes and
they are very strong and they see a great land and beyond
it a great sea and above it a great sky...
I'm pretty sure that "Ken" is actually K'en, which was the name of
one of the characters Phil {PROCTOR} played in {DWARF}.
Unforturnately, we don't know the changing lines for the other hexagram
thrown for {BOZO}s, "Biting Through", so we cant get the exact
judgement. In any case, this is what we get with all the changing lines
activated (we'll ignore the changed hex, since it could have been
any of the 63 others):
% /usr/games/ching 966969
21. Shih Ho / Biting Through
-----
-- -- above Li The Clinging, Flame
-----
-- --
-- -- below Chen The Arousing, Thunder
-----
The Judgement
Biting Through has success.
It is favorable to let justice be administered.
The Image
Thunder and lightning:
The image of Biting Through.
Thus the kings of former times made firm the laws
Through clearly defined penalties.
The Lines
Nine at the beginning means:
His feet are fastened in the stocks,
So that his toes disappear.
No blame.
Six in the second place means:
Bites through tender meat,
So that his nose disappears.
No blame.
Six in the third place means:
Bites on old dried meat
And strikes on something poisonous.
Slight humiliation. No blame.
Nine in the fourth place means:
Bites on dried gristly meat.
Receives metal arrows.
It furthers one to be mindful of difficulties
And to be persevering.
Good fortune.
() Six in the fifth place means:
Bites on dried lean meat.
Receives yellow gold.
Perseveringly aware of danger.
No blame.
Nine at the top means:
His neck is fastened in the wooden cangue,
So that his ears disappear.
Misfortune.
Now *there's* something to chew on! :-)
Final note: Peter {BERGMAN} remarks that as far as he can remember,
there was no particular hexagram for the other two albums.
ITNWYOYO: In the Next World You're On Your Own. An FT album.
ITWABOTB: I Think We're All {BOZO}S On This Bus. One of the
cornerstones of FT philosophy and viewpoints, and the fourth in the
FT's {EVERYMAN} cycle of plays.
INSANE: See {NOT INSANE}.
[J]
---
JOE SWINE: "Ok, swami whatever-your-name-is, we'll be back to this
Christ-consciousness racket in just a minute.". Definitely Joe Pine,
a radio/tv interview show host. An early version of Wally George and
Morton Downey. From {DWARF}.
[K]
---
Kali Yuga: From "TV or Not TV", "Umperor Kali Yuga" is a play on the
Roman Emperor Caligula and the hindu term Kali Yuga. Bongo sez:
Kali Yuga is a hindu term for the age just (thankfully) coming to an
end, in a system that (more or less) defines human spiritual receptivity
as a cyclical function emcompassing multiple thousands of years.
In such a system, Kali Yuga is considered the darkest age, which some
believe bottomed out about 500 or 600 A.D. As we are now supposedly on
the ascendant cusp exiting the age, "watching Kali Yuga pass" is a
nicely poignant pun on the times in which we live.
[L]
---
LANGERHANS: As in The Far-flung Islets of Langerhans:
The Rocket Man writes:
Well, the Islets of Langerhans aren't on any map.
In 1869, Paul Langerhans, a German pathologist, described
cells in the human pancreas which secrete insulin. These
cells became know as the 'Islets of Langerhans'.
Diabetes is a disorder where the Islets of Langerhans do
not properly supply the body with insulin.
LEPRECHAUNS: Posed the {PORRIDGE BIRD} question to {EVERYMAN}. And
just look at the havok THAT recked!
LOMPOC: Another town in Southern California. Also used by W.C.Fields:
Cat writes:
The reason Fields used Lompoc, aside from the fact that it was fun to
pronounce, was that it was the capitol of the temperence movement in the
US, and you know W.C. Field's tolerance for temperence; at least that
was the surmise of David Ossman when he visited Lompoc in 1970, and
reported back to the other Crazee Guys on their radio show at the time.
Dave said it was actually pronounced lom-poke, but he may have been high
on pork at the time.
LOOSTNERS: Caster-oil flakes. One of {NICK DANGER}'s sponsors. "With
real glycerin vibra-fome!"
LOS ANGELES: A city featured in many Firesign Theatre terms. The
FT got their start in Peter Bergman's Radio Free Oz on KPFK in
Los Angeles. Here are some LA related terms:
{RALPH SPOILSPORT} - Ralph Williams
{JOE SWINE} - Joe Pine ("Ok, Swami..")
{YUCAIPA HEAP} - Yucaipa/Uriah Heep hybrid.
George {TIREBITER}
{PICO} and {ALVARADO}
{ANTELOPE FREEWAY} - "one five-hundred-twelfth mile"
Mulholland Drive
{SEPULVEEDA}
{SAN FERNANDINO} - San Fernando
{OXNARD}
The {GOLDEN HINDE}
{LOMPOC}
{TAJUNGA}
LOVE IN: A 60's phenomenon whose name and event was coined and
created by Peter Bergman. The first one occurred in Echo Park in
{LOS ANGELES} with 40,000 people.
LUPINO: Ida Lupino, an old Hollywood actress. See Ralph {BUNCHE}.
[M]
---
MARK TIME: A space-adventurer from the Circum-Solar Federation,
serialized by the FT in their "Dear Friends" album, and also a
ride in the {FUTURE FAIR}. His side-kick is {BOB BUNNY}.
MEMORY: See {DOCTOR MEMORY}!
MOUSE: Deacon E. L. Mouse, one of the characters in {DWARF}, serving
under pastor Rod Flash. He was apparently named after a pet beetle
that Phil {AUSTIN} had of the same name.
MUDHEAD: {PORGIE} {TIREBITER}'s friend in the movies. Motivated
by Jughead and Archie, and by Henry Aldrich, the old radio show.
Speculation: Starting with the second film, Henry's pal was a certain
"Dizzy" Stevens. The connection between Dizzy and Jughead is via
baseball: "Dizzy" Dean was a renowned pitcher, and "Mudhead" was
one of the nicknames of an early black baseball great.
This may also be a reference to the Zuni mudheads.
MALMBORG: See {QUID MALMBORG IN PLANO}
MST3K: Mystery Science Theatre 3000. A TV series on the Comedy Channel
which often makes references to obscure Firesign Theatre phrases,
including loose shoes, {SHOES} for industry, hi i'm joe beets, dear
friends, sit in a tree and learn to play the flute, as well as the
{GOLDEN HINDE}.
Hal Broome writes:
This time on Mystery Science Theater 3000; the "experiment" was
a Jack Palance stinker called THE OUTLAW, and the robot's line was:
"Don't crush that {DWARF}, hand me the pliers".
There was sort of an albino-type dwarf ("a negative of Herche V.")
which received this line. The whole movie seemed an Italian rip-off
of the GOR series (a feminist S.F. series -- NOT!).
[N]
---
NANCY: Also known as Melanie Haber, Audrey Farber, Susan
Underhill,and... Betty Jo Bialowsky! {NICK DANGER}'s old college beau,
in "Cut 'em off at the Past!". Her name is a {BEATLES} reference.
Tom Teslacle names his "Automated Pushover" after Nancy, based on
{TESLACLE'S DEVIANT}, a corollary to {FUDD'S LAW}, in {BOZO}.
Also, in British Slang Nancy is a prostitute or loose woman. "Comes in
and goes out like anything!"
NASI GOERING: An FT song. Also a type of dutch food, apparently:
Nasi Goreng..."A Spicy Dutch Treat"
Indonesian Rice, vegetables and pork, with a fried egg and
Kroepoek
NICK DANGER: A private-eye, made popular in the FT play,"Nick Danger,
Third Eye", on the {TWO PLACES} album, and in the video episode, "The
Case 0f the Missing {YOLKS}". His Japanese counterpart is {YOUNG GUY},
Motor Detective! He is tied to George {TIREBITER} via {ANCHOVIES},
which George doesn't like on his {PIZZA}s. He is also tied to {BOZO}s
when the Whisperin' Squash suggests to {CLEM} that he could "Cut Em'
Off at the Past". Parts of the "Cut 'Em Off at the Past" episode are
conjectured to have been influenced by Philip K. Dicks 1962 novel,
_The Man In The High Castle_, which also used the {I CHING}.
NOT INSANE: The reason you should have voted for {PAPOON}, rather than
those other {BERZERKERS} and {BOZO}S. He's not insane! Refers also to
the FT's album of the same name. Crazy {ROCKY} also said, "I'm not
insane!" in the {YOLKS} video.
The 1960 Lenny Bruce album "Togetherness" contains a bit called "Our
Governers." On it, Lenny does a surreal take on a supposedly real
comment made by "Gov. Long" (probably Earl Long of Louisiana). The gov.
apparently said, on the campaign trail, "I'M NOT A NUT!!!!!!--which
Lenny really admires as a political slogan, adding: "I DON'T WET THE
BED---ELECT ME!"
Also: George McGovern's original 1972 running mate, Thomas Eggleton, who
was dropped from the ticket when revelations of earlier psychiatric
analysis came out. The comments at the time referred to the fact that
whatever had been wrong with him had been cured...thus he was now
diagnosed as "Not Insane".
[O]
---
OIL: A famous prayer in {TWO PLACES} goes:
"...annointed with oil on troubled waters? oh Heavenly Grid,
help us bear up thy *Standard, our *Chevron flashing
bright across the *Gulf of Compromise, standing
*Humble on the *Rich Field of *Mobile *American Thinking?
Here in this *Shell, we call Life..."
which has 8(*) oil-company references in it.
In {HEMLOCK STONES} there was also Pignut Oil (not {PIG NITE}), and
Boyle M. Owl and his Bowel Oil Company.
OM: OM MANE PADME HUM; An ancient (Sanskrit) buddhist mantra. Referred
to in {NICK DANGER}. The phrase "Om mane padme hum" translates from
Sanskrit as "Hail to the jewel in the lotus". Related to the chant
"Namu Myoho Renge Kyo", used in some Japanese buddhist sects."Myoho
Renge Kyo" is the title of the Lotus Sutra, tranlated into Chinese by
Kumarajiva and then transliterated into Japanese. Loosely translated,
"Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" becomes "Hail to the Mystic Law(jewel) of the
Lotus Sutra"
OSSMAN: David Ossman, one of the FT members.
OXNARD: A real place on the California coast, home of the {YOLK}s.
{ROCKY ROCOCO} is thought to be responsible for everything bad that
happens there. (In the FT video, "The case of the missing {YOLK}s").
OZ: The land of {BOZOS}. Refers to Radio Free Oz, on Pacifica-sponsored
KPFK radio in Los Angeles, where the FT used to broadcast their show.
David {OSSMAN} is also referred to sometimes as Oz.
Niles D. Ritter
Last-modified: 1994/8/30
Version: 2.0
Side 4) The Firesign Theatre: Lexicon and Concordance File(4/4)
===============================================================
[P]
---
PAPOON: An FT character who ran for {PRESIDENT}. He's {NOT INSANE}!
PARK: "Park and Lock it! Not Responsible" A common yell in FT plays.
{PICO} and {ALVARADO} yell it a lot. According to the {BBOP} book,
when Peter {BERGMAN} was young, he and a kid named Bruce Berger
opened up a parking lot one night in an empty lot across from an
Emporium show in the Midwest. As Peter put it, "We made $50 wearing
Cleveland Indians baseball caps, yelling, "*Park and Lock It! Not
Responsible!"
PHENOMENA: Look's like you've got your phenomena scrambled. See
{EGG}s.
PICO: {ALVARADO}'s friend, as in "It's Pico and Alvarado". Another
street in Los Angeles.They are also historical references: Pico and
Alvarado were the last two Mexican governors of Alta California.
There really is an intersection at Pico Blvd, and Alvarado, which used
to boast, among other things, a decent Salvadoran restaurant. Much of
the area was burned to the ground during the recent Disturbances...
(let's just call them, the {PHENOMENA} :-)
PICKLES: Lots of pickles in FT. {ROCKY ROCOCO} is always carrying
some around in a brown paper bag, and often wears Pickle on a Rope
perfume. "Pickles down the rat-hole!", says {HEMLOCK STONES}. On
the old "Dear Friends" shows they used to have a squeeky pickle that
you could hear every so often.
PIG NITE: A fraternity party tradition: The idea
is that you have a party and that each fraternity brother is supposed
bring the ugliest girl he can find. The one with the ugliest girl
gets some sort of prize. That is Pig Nite. Attended by {NICK DANGER}.
PIZZA: Nick's Swell Pizza has a phone number very similar to
{NICK DANGER}'s, when George {TIREBITER} tried to order one. On
{TWO PLACES} we also hear:
SCHNIFTER: Das ist immer alles Aulung und ist rauch mit and potzen
Volkswagen und niemann stint und "Swell Pizza!!"
Nick also fools {ROCOCO} in {YOLKS} by pretending to be a pizza
delivery boy.
PLAYER: Another {EVERYMAN}, in the record "Eat or Be Eaten", who, like
{BABE}, has his adventures in a car.
POOH: Winnie the Pooh has influenced a number of FT lines. For example,
Tom Teslacle says "It goes in and out like anything," which is a
misquote of Eeyore (see {TESLACLE'S DEVIANT}) In addition, the FT
would sometimes read directly from the Books of Pooh for each
other's birthdays.
POOH STICKS: How the FT guys referred to the yarrow stalks used
to throw the {I CHING}. Gary Fritz writes of the origin of this
term from {POOH}:
Pooh Bear tripped while carrying a fir cone over a bridge, and noticed
that it eventually came out the other side. Then, being ever the
scientist, he dropped two, to see if one came out before the other --
and one did! This was then developed into a game where Pooh, Piglet,
Christopher Robin, and the rest of the crew would drop sticks in the
water and see whose came out first. And they called the game
"Poohsticks."
POOP: A character in many FT plays, who gives speeches with numerous
spoonerisms and Freudian slips, eg. "In the words of the Foundry, er..
Founder, Ukaipa Heep,". Appears as Principal Poop in {DWARF}.
PORRIDGE BIRD: A (mythical?) bird which lays its {EGG}s in the air.
Why? See {WDTPBLHEITA}.
PORGIE: Porgie {TIREBITER}. One of George Leroy {TIREBITER}'s many
personas. Apparently motivated by Archie & Jughead, and by the old
"Henry Aldrich" radio shows. The old radio show always started out:
MOTHER: Henry! Henry Aldrich!
HENRY: Coming, Mother!
PRESIDENT: A popular ride in the {FUTURE FAIR}. You get to ask a
question of the computer-operated President, and get a free simulfax
copy of your question, together with his answer. {CLEM} broke the
President by asking him about {PORRIDGE BIRD}s.
...{PAPOON} also ran for President!
PROCTOR: Philip Proctor, one of the FT members. Plays the {POOP},
among many.
[Q]
---
QUID MALMBORG IN PLANO: A mysterious phrase which recurs in {BOZOS}.
It was first exclaimed by the discoverer of {FUDD'S LAW}. No
one (yet) seems to know its true origin, although it is said to have
been written on a cigarette lighter that Phil {PROCTOR} used to have,
and belonged to a person named Malmborg, who lived in Plano, Texas.
This has since been confirmed by Peter {BERGMAN}.
Another listener is convinced that he saw this pseudo-latin phrase
inscribed in a drawing by Albrecht Duerer.
The phrase seems to be a mixture of latin and middle-english: "Quid"
may be translated from the latin root meaning "this/something/that",
and "plano" simply means "flat/horizontal/smooth".
The nearest translation of "malmborg" we are willing to conjecture is
based on the Middle-English word "malm" which the OED tells us is a
type of man-made chalky clay, which is often worked into "malm-bricks",
so perhaps this phrase refers to the conversion of this(quid) clay
into flat (plano) bricks, as consternation turns to lucidation.
The mixture of ME and latin, together with the brick reference, may
indicate a Freemason influence, but this is wild conjecture on the
part of the editor.
Many other theories abound. For example:
malborg sounds suspiciously like 'malbolg' (malbolgia?). Malbolgia,
as read-ers of Dante may remember, are the "bad pockets" of Hell,
where the corrupt and treacherous souls simmer. Here one finds
thieves, hypocrites, whores and panderers. Schismatics are ripped
to pieces and reconstituted in an assembly-line manner, liars are
steeped in a sea of shit. It is lower than that part of
the Inferno where the sensual and brutal are found, and just above the
lowest part, where Judas and a coterie of betrayers sit. Dante puts
several nasty folks in Malbolgia, including a few popes. Nixon probably
has (had) a reservation.
[R]
---
RALPH SPOILSPORT: A used-car salesman, based on Ralph William's ads
in Los Angeles. Also refers to a kind of mantra, which when recited
sounds like a used-car ad: "Hiya friend, Ralph Spoilsport, Ralph
Spoilsport motors, the largest new-used and used-new dealership...". He
appears in {TWO PLACES}. See {BABE} for a comparison between Ralph and
Hermes, messenger of the gods.
RANCHO MALARIO: A set of Clowndominiums build at a former indian
reservation. Includes the famous "Trail of Tears" golf course. Mentioned
in {TWO PLACES}, and also {EYKIW}, when Bob Hind was interviewing Buz
and Bunny Krumhunger about their visit with the aliens.
RAT: Rats are featured prominently in FT plays, notably, in
{HEMLOCK STONES} "Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra", in the song
"Rat in a Box" (in the {NICK DANGER} video, {YOLKS}), and in their
play "The Year of the Rat".
"The Giant Rat of Sumatra" is "a tale for which the world is not yet
ready", which is a line attributed the the "real" Dr. Watson in "The
Adventure of the Sussex Vampire" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
REGNAD KCIN: See {NICK DANGER}, the other way around (on the other
side of the record/door!). See also {ANCHOVIES}, {TWO PLACES}.
RESPONSIBLE: See {PARK}.
ROACH: See {DWARF}.
ROCOCO: See {ROCKY ROCOCO}.
ROCKY ROCOCO: {NICK DANGER}'s nemesis. Rococo is an extended
impression
of Peter Lorre playing Joel Cairo in the film "The Maltese Falcon. His
name is an apparent play on the Beatle's "Rocky Racoon".
Rocky Rococo is known to be a {DWARF}, wear terrible perfumes, like
"pyramid patchuli", and "pickle on a rope". He is also thought to be
responsible for everything bad that happens in {OXNARD}. His main
offensive tactic appears to be to put people on installment plans, and
then pressure them when they can't keep up the payments.
His Japanese counterpart may be Rocky Rocomoto, whose TV series,
"Million-Dollar Monster Crasic" (on the {NOT INSANE} album), featured
the Shake-a-speare play "Anythinge you want to", in addition to
{YOUNG GUY}, Motor Detective.
In Minneapolis and maybe nationwide, there is a pizzeria chain called
"Rocky Rococco", with a Middle-Eastern looking guy in a white suit on
the logo.
[S]
---
SAME OLD PLACE: The Old Same Place, in Santa Barbara, where {NANCY}
and Catherwood, her butler/husband lived. See also {NICK DANGER}.
SEPULVEEDA: A mis-pronounced street in Los Angeles in {NICK DANGER}.
The actual street is Sepulveda. See also {PICO}, {ALVARADO},
{TAJUNGA}, {LOS ANGELES}.
SEEKER: There's a seeker born every minute! See {EYKIW}!
SFX: A standard radio term for "Sound Effects" man. Also known
as "foley" in the entertainment/movie biz. {ROCKY ROCOCO} had to split
his "half-a-key" with the SFX man. The tools used in
SFX are often mixed up in FT plays with the real things they're
supposed to imitate: see, eg, {CELLOPHANE}, {CORNSTARCH}.
There are often SFX-reference jokes in FT, For example:
NICK: [MUFFLED VOICE] Rocky Rococo, that sleazy weazle, how did
he get in here? And... How do I make my voice do this?
or:
NANCY: [SLAPPING NOISE] Oh Nicky, Nick, Nick, Nick! Are you all
right?
NICK: [Coming To] Uhhh..Yes.
NANCY: Then stop slapping me!
SHAKESPEARE: What you can do from Louise Wong's {BALCONY}.
SCHICKELGRUBER: One of Hitler's father's family names. This is from a
document pulled off of gopher:
B. Hitler's childhood contacts with Jews are almost
entirely unknown
1. However, at some time before he left home, he
heard a story that may have great relevance
for his later beliefs
2. And that story was that he had a Jewish grand-
father
3. His father's mother, Anna Maria Schicklgruber,
had worked as a servant in the house of a
Jewish family, the "Frankenburgers" in Graz
SHOES: Shoes are ubiquitous in FT plays. "Shoes for industry!" "Don't
take off your shoes!" (Porgie {TIREBITER} did), or if you're a {BOZO}
you can inflate them. In the liner notes for the Bozo CD, Philip
{AUSTIN} says,
"By now, any serious Firesign Theatre listener knows that 'taking
off your shoes' serves us as an an anology for childhood itself and
its attendant dreams of freedom."
From the back page of the Variety Section of the Minneapolis Tribune,
Oct. 28, 1993. An article written by Mike Harden, Scripps Howard News
Service.
Headline:
FOR DECADES, SHE'S HELPED SUPPLY SHOES FOR DEAD
It's about Alyce Maddox who's worked over forty years for Practical
Burial Footwear, a company that makes special shoes for mortuaries
to bury people in. Bottom of third column:
"Shoes for the dead? Why bother?"
Holy mudhead, mackerel! Life immitates art.
SUGAR: A popular phrase in FT is "More Sugar!". We hear a voice yelling
"More Sugar!" during Pastor Flashes' Hour of Reckoning, in the {DWARF}
play, and mention is made of the "More Sugar Foundation" in the
"Not Insane" album.
From THE LAST BATTLE by C.S. Lewis, (c) 1956
Book 7 in the Chronicles of Narnia
page 10 of the 1970 Collier edition:
"But isn't everything right already?" said Puzzle.
"What!" cried Shift. "Everything right? -- when there are no oranges
or bananas?"
"Well, you know," said Puzzle, "there aren't many people -- in fact,
I don't think there's anyone but yourself -- who wants those sort of
things."
"There's sugar too," said Shift.
"H'm, yes," said the Ass. "It would be nice if there was
more sugar."
SWELL: Swell {CHEESE}, which is put on Nick's Swell {PIZZA}.
[T]
---
TAJUNGA: Yet another mis-pronounced LA street name in {NICK DANGER}.
Tujunga canyon is a bit north of Pasadena, and the FT used to perform
there.
TESLACLE'S DEVIANT: "Who goes in, must come out". This is a corollary
to {FUDD'S LAW}, and is referred to in the {BOZO} play,and also in
{HEMLOCK STONES}, Giant {RAT} of Sumatra play, where Stones chases the
{ELECTRICIAN} into the bathroom, and continues to search, claiming,
"what goes in must come out! Fudd's Law!" First enunciated by
Tom Teslacle ( a reference to Nikolai Tesla) to Dick {BEDDOES}. See
also {NANCY}.
TIREBITER: The last name of George Leroy Tirebiter, another
incarnation of P, the {EVERYMAN} in the FT's play {DWARF}. Also the
name of the {YOLK}'S neighbors in the {NICK DANGER} video. The original
George Tirebiter was a dog. In the liner notes for the Dwarf CD,
Phil Austin writes:
The dog, the immortal George Tirebiter, was the doughty unofficial
mascot of USC (Univ. South. Calif.) athletic teams in earlier
times, renowned for his devotion to attacking the spinning wheels
of large American automobiles....
The five ages of George Leroy Tirebiter are these:
-Tirebiter the Child, called Porge or Porgie.
[###Porgie and Mudhead is verbal play on "Archie and Jughead"].
-Tirebiter the College Student, called
George Tirebiter Camden N200-R. [###that's his last name]
-Tirebiter the Soldier, called Lt. Tirebiter.
-Tirebiter the Actor, Called Dave Casman. [###play on {OSSMAN}]
-Tirebiter the Old Man, called George Leroy Tirebiter.
It should also be mentioned that a sixth incarnation of Tirebiter,
named George Matetsky, actually encounters his alter-ego {NICK DANGER},
an Early Bird Theatre presentation of a movie whose title starts with
"Luck". George Matetsky was the real name of "The Mad Bomber" -- a real-
life enraged weirdo in the 50's who used to blow things up and send
ranting messages about his dislike for Pres. Eisenhower.
David Ossman remarked in a interview once that George Tirebiter,
the dog, used to walk past his house every day when he lived near
USC, that he much later met the fellow who named the dog, and was able
to explain how that dog's name had become a good part of his career...
This is quoted from the LA Times, "Only in L.A" column, at the bottom of
page B2, Wed Nov 10, 1993:
"...True, USC did boast an unofficial mascot named George Tirebiter
for a few glorious years in the 1940s and 1950s..
Tirebiter, a scraggly mutt who wandered onto campus after his owner
died, grew to be beloved for his nasty temper, which often manifested
itself in chases after automobiles.
So treasured was Tirebiter that miscreants from a rival school once
captured him and shaved the letters "UCLA" into his coat. Alas, the
hound tried to chew on one too many Firestones [tires] and was run over
in 1950.
The school newspaper eulogized: `Gone to heaven, where he will have
cushion rides for breakfast, white sidewalls for lunch, and cold rubber
recaps for dinner.'
TORTURING: "Not to be Torturing Me!" Said by HIDEO {GUMP}, Jr., who
played {YOUNG GUY}, Motor Detective. He was being tortured because
"decision-making factor absent from brain", following a terrible brain-
washing session in radio prison, at the hands of {BRADSHAW} !
TWO PLACES: "How Can You Be in Two Places At Once, when you're not
Anywhere At All?" The record album containg the {EVERYMAN} story of
{BABE}, and also the {NICK DANGER} episode, "Cut Em Off at the Past!"
[U]
---
UNDERHILL: Susan Underhill -- Another of {NANCY}'s last names.
[V]
---
VIOLET DUDLEY: An American ingenue in {HEMLOCK STONES}.
[W]
---
WALL OF SCIENCE: Another ride in the {FUTURE FAIR}, describing the
evolution of the universe. "Man, woman, child, ALL are up against the
WALL OF SCIENCE".
Joes Hanes writes:
..an incisive parody of the 60's high school science films. The
recounting of the history of life makes many allusions to real
paleontology, e.g,
"... sand dollar, which shrank to almost nothing at the bottom of the
pool" refers to the fossil ancestors of all present day sand dollars,
which apparently escaped a mass extinction by virtue of their extremely
small size.
" ... in the late Devouring period, fish became obnoxious" In the real
late Devonian, fish became ubiquitous.
WDTPBLHEITA: Why Does The Porridge Bird Lay His {EGGS}s In The Air?
This question was asked by the character P in {ITWABOTB}, first directly
to the {PRESIDENT}, who broke, and then to {DOCTOR MEMORY},who became
confused, and shut down the whole {FUTURE FAIR}. Dr. Memory kept
getting the question wrong, for example:
"White dust 'n' perished birds leaves its hex in the air?" Nooo.
"Wise doves 'n' parish bards lazy leg in the Eire?" Nooo.
"Wise-ass the poor-rich Barney laser's edge in the fair?"
This question was posed to {EVERYMAN} by the Leprechauns, although
{BOB BUNNY} reported that he found it written on the Great Wall of Mars.
{BOB BUNNY} asked this question of {HIDEO GUMP}, Jr, during a segment
of {YOUNG GUY}, Motor Detective. Young Guy promised to answer the
question tomorrow!
Reports also indicate that in the record "Eat or Be Eaten", Laura asks
{PLAYER} the question at the end of the record, to which Player
replies, "Aw, that's the old Leprechaun scam... that's EASY!"
An FT fan writes:
This is definitely a classical reference, which I've been racking my
brains for, but can't remember. It seems to me that some Greek or
Roman historian (Herodotus?) describes a bird which does indeed lay its
eggs in the air, with the obvious unfortunate result...
WHIZ: See {BEAR WHIZ BEER}
WORDSWORTH: William Wordsworth, the poet. One of his poems is
referenced in {DWARF} "Intimations Ode" (also known as the
"Immortality Ode"), from stanza V, where he writes:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
*But trailing clouds of glory do we come*
From God, who is our home . . .
Let's Eat!
[X]
---
[Y]
---
YOLK: The poorest people in the country, depicted in {NICK DANGER} and
the "Case of the Missing Yolks" video. They lived in {OXNARD}, and
"Didn't have half of what the have-nots had!".
YOUNG GUY: Another FT private detective. "Young Guy, Motor Detective",
played by {HIDEO GUMP}, Jr.
YUCAIPA HEAP: A play on the So. Cal town of Yucaipa, and Uriah Heep,
a character from one of Charles Dickens' novels. See also {LOS ANGELES},
{POOP}.
[Z]
---
ZEPELLIN TUBE: A source of immense power, possessed by the Sumatran
{RAT}s in an adventure of {HEMLOCK STONES}.
ZENO'S PARADOX: A paradox devised by the Greek philosopher Zeno,
which seems to prove that motion as such is impossible; Reason:
Consider an arrow flying towards a target. Before it gets to the
target it must first get halfway there, but before it gets to that
point it must first get 1/4 the way there, but before that (etc..)
Since an infinite number of things must be done first, the arrow
could never get *anywhere*; ergo, motion is impossible.
This paradox is referred to indirectly in the {TWO PLACES} album,
where {BABE} falls asleep in his car, while the talking freeway
signs read off:
"Antelope Freeway, one mile"
"Antelope Freeway, one half mile"
"Antelope Freeway, one quarter mile"
"Antelope Freeway, one eighth mile"
"Antelope Freeway, one sixteenth mile"
"Antelope Freeway, one thirtysecondth mile"
"Antelope Freeway, one sixty-fourth mile"
"Antelope Freeway, one one-hundred-and-twenty-eighth mile"
...
ZIPS: As in "I'm hip like a zip, let's take a trip". One of the
{FIVE LIFESTYLES OF MAN} according to the FT. {BOZO} is an acronym for
"The Brotherhood Of Zips and Others".
HMay
My Detroit cousins... the same ones who introduced me to FT... in the 60s
used the expression "to kipe," meaning... to steal, to shoplift...
Thus... YUCAIPA HEAP = you kipe a heap, or "you steal a lot"
Rick Namey
Bruce H Prussack
So don't hide arms, get side arms. At Ames Guns - in YUCAIPA.
--
-Bruce H. Prussack b...@panix.com
I don't have to show you any stinking disclaimer