Mephistopheles, Mephistophilis, Mephostophilus-

A sneering, jeering, leering tempter. The character is that of a devil in Goethe's Faust. He is next in rank to Satan.

 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-

One of the best known German poets.

 

Faust-

Widely considered to be Goethe's greatest piece. The age-old story of a man selling his soul to the Devil, and Mephistopheles is a principal character.

 

Kitty Kelly, Albert Goldman and Anna Pasternak-

Tabloid "dirt" writers. Authors of such drudging books as The Royals; His way: The unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra; Jackie Oh! (Kelley) Elvis: The Last 24 Hours; The Lives of John Lennon (Goldman) and Princess in Love (Pasternak) 

 

Bacchus-

Greek God of wine, vegetation, and fertility. His worship was celebrated in orgiastic rites such as the Bacchanalia.

 

Codpieces-

a flap for the crotch of men's tight-fitting breeches; 15-16th century

 

Bruegel- Pieter Bruegel (1525-69)-

Also known as Peter the Elder. Considered to be one of the greatest Flemish painters of the 16th century.

 

Pollock, Paul Jackson - (1912-56)

American Abstract Expressionist painter who used sticks to dribble paint onto a canvas, earning him the nickname "Jack the Dripper".

 

Pillock- British slang- 

idiot, irritating person; stupid

 

Tub-thumper-

a very loud, somewhat obnoxious supporter

 

Priapus-

The son of Dionysius and Aphrodite in Greek Mythology. Priapus was the protector of gardens, fruits, and domesticated animals, and more importantly, was a strong phallic fertility deity. People would place carvings of Priapus with very obvious genatalia in their gardens to ensure fruitful seasons.

 

Ephemera-

something of no lasting significance

 

Paul Cezánne- (1839-1906)-

French painter.Was a leading figure in the revolution toward abstraction.

 

Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri di- (1864-1901)

French painter and lithographer. Due to a childhood accident, Lautrec's growth was stunted. (In other words, he was a tiny little bugger who liked to paint)

 

Beardsley, Aubrey Vincent-(1872-98)

English illustrator and writer. Influenced heavily by Greek vases, Japanese woodcuts and the French Rococo period.

 

Munch, Edvard-(1863-1944)

Norwegian painter and graphic artist. Very into death, fear, and all sorts of other groovy depressing subjects. ;-) Most famous for The Shriek (also known as The Scream)(1893), the painting that this interlude is talking about.

 

Tosser- British Slang-

An idiot, a despicable person.

 

H.P. Lovecraft-

 Science-Fiction/Horror writer who often made references to "the book of the dead" or The Necronomicon. Although Lovecraft himself admitted the 'work' to be a well-crafted work of fiction, many believe the book truly exists. Interestingly enough, according to fable, the book was written by an Arab in 730 AD and later translated into English by Dr. John Dee, a role played by Richard in the Derek Jarman film, Jubilee.

 

Cockerel-

A male fowl less than one year old.

 

raison' d'être-

French for "reason to be", the point of one's existence.

 

Jollity-n. [from jolly.]

Noisy mirth; gayety; merriment; festivity. (I really put this one here because while transcribing, I wasn't sure if it was a word or not!!)

 

Pontificate-

to speak or express opinions in a pompous or dogmatic way (to be loud and annoying)

 

Tennessee Williams-

(1911-1983) American Playwright, author of Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie.

 

Edward D. Wood-

(Ed Wood! Ed Wood! Rah! Rah! Rah!) B-Movie king. Not that I don't think anyone would know this, I just had to toss up this link in reference, The Church of the Heavenly Wood. A legal religion that believes good ol' Ed to be the savior of the world.

 

Incubus and Succubus-

These go hand in hand. They are demons that have sex with humans, Incubus being the male variety and Succubus the female.

 

Theatre Critics-

Scum. (hee-hee)

 

Trainspotter- Noun.

Generally a usually intelligent but particularly anally retentive person; the person may be obsessed with an interest, like trainspotting, stamp collecting (Um, Rocky fans wouldn't fall into this category, would we? ;-P Of course not!!)etc. Originates from the much ridiculed hobby of trainspotting.

 

Pissed-Adj.

Drunk.

 

Barnet

- From what I've been able to discern, barnet is British slang for 'hair', shortened from 'barnet fair' - however, this still doesn't make much sense to me . . .

 

Dead cert -

British slang- something that is definite. eg "It's a dead cert he'll be there tonight"

 

Sinister-

In Latin, means "left". The Romans believed the left to be unlucky. (I wonder where they put their earrings then?)

 

Bacchanalian-

Latin; Worshippers of Bacchus, orgies, the temple to Bacchus.