HW: everything there is to know

[Andy Gilham]

Chris suggested:

>Given how much collective knowledge the fans of the band have, esp
>on BOC-L, why not try to put together a sort of FAQ listing songs,
>meanings/stories (however disputed) and references. T

I was thinking on these lines myself; in fact, I just spent a half-hour when
I should have been working writing the following (I started with the Calvert
era, for no particular reason):

*Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music*

Reefer Madness - title taken from circa 1940's anti-marijuana propaganda film
Steppenwolf - book by Hermann Hesse


*Quark, Strangeness and Charm*

Damnation Alley - book by Roger Zelazny
Quark, Strangeness and Charm - in fact, Einstein was married, and had several
children including at least one outside his marriage; and of course,
Copernicus made his discoveries before the invention fo the telescope
Hassan I Sahba - leader of mediaeval Moslem sect known as the Hashishim, or
"assassins", who used hashish to induce an ecstatic state; Black September
was the name of a Palestinian terrorist organisation notorious for the
massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games; a "petrodollar" is a
term for hard currency earned by oil producing countries.
Days of the Underground - autobiographical piece about Hawkwind's early days;
John the Bog and Smiling Mike were friends of the band.
The Iron Dream - book by Norman Spinrad


*25 Years On*

Psi Power - refers to "Zener cards" used in attempts to measure telepathic
phenomena; these cards are marked with symbols such as squares and triangles,
which one subject will try and telepathically send to another
Free Fall - 32 feet per second squared is the rate of accelartion due to
gravity
Flying Doctor - Australia's Flying Doctor service provides emergency medical
care in the remote outback; a Percival Proctor is a light aircraft; a
coolibah tree is a native Australian tree.


*PXR5*

Jack of Shadows - book by Roger Zelazny
Robot - refers to Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics
High Rise - book by JG Ballard


I'm happy to extend this and collate any contributions, if there's support?

- Andy