Chapter 44: 440-447

Page 440

Ley-lines
The term "ley lines" was coined by Alfred Watkins when explaining his theory that ancient sites around Britain had actually been constructed or formed giving alignments between and across the inhabited landscape of Britain. The sites mentioned include Stone Circles, Standing Stones, Long Barrows, Cairns, Burial Mounds and Churches; 440; MORE; Wikipedia entry

Any Argument from Design, here, must include a yearning for Flight
"Argument from design for the existence of God, that is, proved by the simplicity and orderliness of his thereby presumed Creation. A GR theme and a poke at rationalism, which, the more it succeeds in reducing complexity to order, the more it emphasisies (sic) the presence of design, or is that Design, a terribly loaded word for we paranoid." -- Dinn's Notes on the Pynchon-L

Oölite
"(geology) a deposit of spherical grains within a mineral cortex accreted around a nucleus, often of quartz grains" -- Wiktionary

"I'm confused here as to how limestone can be used to make prisms, since all the limestone I have ever climbed up has been opaque. Is there transparent oölite? Or are the egg-stones a plant." -- Dinn's Notes on the Pynchon-L

Master-valve of rose Quartz
"Master-valve" -- interesting choice of words! Generally speaking, a "valve" is a device (esp. a flap or hinge) that opens one line while closing another, generally to control flow.

March
1765

Azimuth

1. An arc of the horizon intercepted between the meridian of the place and a vertical circle passing through the center of any object; as, the azimuth of a star; the azimuth or bearing of a line surveying.
2. The quadrant of an azimuth circle.

-- Wiktionary

Page 441

strike
Consider some multiple meanings of "strike" (v.) (all quotes from the OED):

• "To bring (an arc) into being"
• "To make one's way, go"
• "Of a serpent or other venomous animal: To wound (a person) with its fangs or sting"
• "To mark with lines, draw a line"
• "To mark, stigmatize"
• "To deal a blow, to smite"
• "To imprint on the mind"
• "to produce a flame with flint and steel or by the friction of a match"
• "To produce (music, a sound, note) by touching a string or playing upon an instrument"; "Of a clock: To make one or more strokes on its sounding part"
• "To kill or wound (deer) with an arrow or spear"; "To hit with a missile, a shot, etc"
• "To lance or cut (a vein)"
• "Of lightning, thunder, a thunderbolt: To descend violently upon and blast"; "To send out or forth (a beam of light)"
• "said of a moving shadow"
• "Of a thought, an idea: To come into the mind of, occur to (a person)"
• "To agree (to articles or terms)"
• "of an electric charge, to pass as a spark"

Annotation Index