Book Club/Reader's Guide
Spoiler Alert!
The titles of acts are songs, and bits and pieces of their lyrics are embedded into the story to enhance the musical theme. Names of the songs and artists are on the Soundtrack page of this Web site.
Earth, the Musical contains other references that could be considered part of the game of reading the book. If you do not want to know the clues or the plot beforehand, please stop here and revisit this page when you've finished the book (or at least each act).
Act 1
Cash Cracken is the twin brother of Pash Cracken. Pash Cracken is a character in the Star Wars comic book series, which never mentioned his twin brother. Perhaps Pash's biggest claim to fame was assisting in the removal of Black Sun extremists from Kessel. Cash's star, of course, is destined to outshine his brother's.
The hitchhiker that Cash had once picked up was Arthur Dent from Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
The Corellian Engineering Corp. YT-1300 Transport Millennium Falcon that Cash filched was actually a light freighter, though it was armed with a laser cannon.
At the time this book was written, there were two Las Casuelas restaurants downtown Palm Springs: the original, which opened in 1958, and the larger/more popular/tourist-attracting Terraza.
The Palm Springs Public Library does (or at least at the time the book was written did) have a koi pond.
Things to think/talk about:
At the time the book was written, there was a Flying J gas station/truck stop near Palm Springs in Thousand Palms, just off Interstate 10. It's worth a stop should you find yourself traveling through the desert; take the Ramon Road exit.
GTO (Galactic Transport Orbiter) shares its acronym with Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit and Pontiac's Gran Turismo Omologato muscle car. An X-GTO is an ion-propelled craft, the "X" referring to xenon gas, which is ionized to produce thrust. T680 is merely the catalog number for engineering drawings of the craft.
Coincidentally, a Star Trek episode referred to Klingons as possessing an earthy, peaty smell with a touch of lilac.
Alien names are backward-spelled derivations of the names of well-known Earthlings: Thus, Sivle Yelserp and Trebla Nietsnie would, on Earth, be Elvis Presley and Albert Einstein. Smada Salguod would be Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its sequels.
Rollie was born in the same year and month as President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created NASA. The year was also when Project Orion (an attempt to build a nuclear bomb-propelled spaceship) took hold. On July 5, 1958, Project Orion physicist Freeman Dyson penned a "A Space-Traveler's Manifesto," which included this statement: "A truly isolated, small, and creative society will never again be possible on this planet." July 5 is also the date Elvis Presley recorded "That's All Right Mama," his first record to be played on the radio, and is the birthdate of surrealist Jean Cocteau, who once said, "True realism consists in revealing the surprising things which habit keeps covered and prevents us from seeing."
Rollie's place of birth (La Jolla, California) was where General Atomic worked on Project Orion.
Things to think/talk about:
Orion's Belt and Eridanus do exist, but yuridionite is a fictional commodity. Eridanus is a long, winding river that starts at the left foot of Orion in the north and ends far to the south. Fornax ("the Furnace") lies within a bend in Eridanus.
Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics for Sunday in the Park with George, based upon a painting by Georges Seurat; Bernadette Peters was, of course, brilliant in the musical.
Craigslist's Deep Space Communications Network began selling the opportunity to beam personal messages through its satellite broadcasting equipment in March 2005. The transmissions included job listings and personal ads.
Earth's scientists, en masse, agree that Europa is a big ball of ice. However, it is highly probable that in a parallel universe it could be mistaken for the Riviera. After all, Alan Guth of MIT suggested on BBC's Parallel Universes that in a 2002 alternative universe Al Gore was President.
Things to think/talk about:
The Viper roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in Los Angeles includes seven inversions.
In La Jolla, Calif., from 1957 to 1965, scientists attempted to build a spaceship propelled by nuclear bombs. The effort was dubbed Project Orion. The titles of research papers mentioned in Act 4 are real.
Robert Parker is a renowned wine expert whose point-based ratings influence the perceived value of a particular label and vintage.
Things to think/talk about:
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena does, in fact, host a two-day, free open house each May.
The scientist Halley is (you probably already figured this out) named in honor of Halley's Comet.
There is a Raphael's salon in Palm Springs (or at least there was one at the time the book was written), with Moroccan-themed decor.
Many of the concepts underlying Earth, the Musical are based on string theory, which postulates that the universe is made up of tiny strings of matter that vibrate in a space-time of multiple dimensions. And if there are vibrating strings, surely there must be music.
Things to think/talk about:
Again, another backward-spelled name: Trebor Toof is a reference to Robert Foot, a particle physicist and author of Shadowlands: The Quest for Mirror Matter in the Universe.
In 1908, a fireball exploded over Russia, releasing 15 megatons of energy and flattening more than 2,000 square kilometers but leaving no visible crater. Robert Foot speculated that the event could have been the result of a mirror asteroid. In 2007, scientists discovered the "missing" crater under Lake Cheko.
The descriptions of Fornaxians is hypothetical, but could be just as true as not true.
Alfie Omega is a thinly veiled reference to alpha and omega, the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet.
Things to think/talk about:
Moissanite is named after Henri Moissan, derived from rock samples taken from a meteor crater in Canyon Diablo, Ariz., in 1893. It has a higher reflective quality than diamonds.
Tupperware was created by Earl Silas Tupper, who worked for Dupont before striking out on his own. Unfortunately, in 1958 (a coincidence, given Rollie's birthdate?), he fired the woman responsible for the home-party selling tactic that made Tupperware successful.
Gwyneth Paltrow named her daughter Apple, Frank Zappa named his son Dweezil. It's only a matter of time before some celebrity names their child Pyrex.
"Ne soyez pas une ané" is French for "don't be an ass."
Things to think/talk about:
Silvie chose to use the last name Versace as the result of her newly found appreciation for designer fashions.
Things to think/talk about:
Marcus Chown is a cosmology consultant and author. Two of his books were used as reference material for Earth, the Musical: The Universe Next Door and The Never-Ending Days of Being Dead. Both are highly recommended reading.
There is (or was), in fact, a Starbucks 21 doors down from the Waldorf-Astoria. The numbered addresses are real.
Macy's is not open on Thanksgiving Day.
Things to think/talk about:
Cram Namyar is the backward spelling of Marc Rayman, project system engineer for JPL's Dawn Project who also worked on Deep Space 1, which tested ion propulsion. The Dawn spacecraft, which operates on ion propulsion, launched on 9/27/07 on its way to protoplanets Vesta (expected arrival Aug. 2011) and Ceres (expected arrival Feb. 2015). Rayman writes an online journal of the mission that can be read at dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/journal.asp. Rayman, who has a wonderful sense of humor, appeared in Discovery Channel's How William Shatner Changed the World.
New York Pizza is, in fact, Novosibirsk's most popular eatery. At the time Earth, the Musical was written, there were 15 locations in the city, eight of which were operated by the original American owner.
"Zdravstvuite" is Russian for "hello." Privet means "hi."
Things to think/talk about:
The Nuart Theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles continues (or, at least when this book was written, continued) to run The Rocky Horror Picture Show (released in 1975) at midnight on Saturdays. Perhaps one day, the Nuart will be screening Earth, the Musical, for cult fans.
Cartesian tea is a reference to the philosophy espoused by (and named for) René Descartes, who, questioning all his beliefs, concluded that matter and mind are distinct unto themselves.
Ajax Comet is a reference to popular household cleaners. Xenar is a lens that has been used to view comets, including Halley's.
More backward spellings: Nagas Lrac would translate to Carl Sagan and Gnikwah Nehpets to Stephen Hawking.
The quote from the woman who received a plasma television from Dr. Phil comes directly from an interview by a newspaper reporter.
Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet in 2006. What a difference a word makes.
Things to think/talk about:
The plane references are to Plato, Don Quixote, Dom Perignon, Star Trek's Lt. Uhura, and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.
Again, translating backward spellings related to aliens, the Fornaxian holiday of Gnivigsknaht would be Thanksgiving and the menu the same: yekrut (turkey), stelbig (giblets), and gniffuts (stuffing).
There is a Yucca Valley, but not a Mom's Home Cookin' Cafe & Karaoke Bar, though it's the kind of town that there could/should be such a place. And if it did exist, there would no doubt be someone there like Wendy (though her name may be different).
In 1998, a famous Elvis impersonator, Jimmy Ellis, was killed by a robber in a pawn shop in Orrville, Alabama. Wearing a mask, Ellis performed under the name Orion. Ellis is not a part of Earth, the Musical, but the link between Orion and performing as Elvis is one of those odd coincidences.
Things to think/talk about:
SWAT teams' primary hardcore weapons are submachine guns and assault rifles, but bazooka is more fun to pronounce and more likely to be what Rollie would picture SWAT teams carrying in his current state of mind.
Things to think/talk about:
There is no bar in Palm Springs called The Doghouse (at least there wasn't at the time Earth, the Musical was written). Nor was there a Big Daddy's. There are, however, homeless people in Palm Springs, though you will not see them huddled together.
Theophilus is also the name of a crater region on the moon. Fladeboe has no particular reference; it just fits well with Theophilus, don't you think?
Things to think/talk about:
Magnetite is an iron oxide and natural magnet. According to Remcure, the company that makes Magneurol6-S, University of New Hampshire researcher Richard Blakemore discovered that some bacteria create within their single-cell bodies long strings of magnetite. Remcure claims its pills deliver paranormal experiences.
Things to think/talk about:
According to entropy, the universe will ultimately run down. Ludwig Boltmann, who proposed the second law of thermodynamics hung himself in 1906. It is believed he committed suicide because his concept was ridiculed.
The title of the painting is a reference to a line in Kenny Loggins' "Leap of Faith": "Once in a life, you can find a time to see."
The world Rollie entered is that of the dadaists, who hung out at Cafe Voltaire in Zurich, including Hugo Ball, Tristan Tzara, Francis Picabia, Max Ernst, and Man Ray.
As noted in the book's acknowledgments, the poem in Act 16 was written by Judith Lepuschitz, a brilliant artist living in Idyllwild, California.
Things to think/talk about:
Asea and Vanakans are fictional and have no relationship to anything identified in the nonfictional realm.
Another backward spelling: Drahcir Nosnarb refers to Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Airlines and Virgin Galactic.
Things to think/talk about:
The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, whose mission was to explore Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune launched in 1977 with a "Golden Record" for the benefit of "spacefarers" who might encounter them. A committee headed by Carl Sagan selected the contents of the copper disks.
Shamley Green, the name Drahcir Nosnarb (Richard Branson) took on Earth is the name of the village in England where Branson grew up.
The fact that Galileo (named for physicist, astronomer, and philosopher Galileo Galilei) was a beagle is noteworthy for several reasons: (1) Beagle was the name of the ship in which Charles Darwin voyaged around the world and thus (2) was the name adopted by a British space probe that disappeared as it entered the Martian atmosphere on Christmas Day 2003 and (3) is the breed of Snoopy, who was honored when NASA named the Apollo 10 lunar lander after him. And, though the Star Trek movie came out after Earth, the Musical was written, it's interesting that the admiral's dog that Scotty loses is a — you guessed it — beagle.
As of the 2000 Census, there were 986 households in Landers, Calif., (about nine people per square mile), and the median house value was $44,700. Landers was the epicenter of a 7.3 magnitude earthquake on June 28, 1992.
As much as it sounds made up, the Integratron does, in fact, exist, as do (or did at the time Earth, the Musical was written) the Billy Holcomb Chapter of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clapus Vitas. In 2005, the group dedicated a historical plaque at the Integratron, at which Bob, the Noble Grand Humbug, sported a ponytail, baseball cap, and patch-covered vest. The Integratron is open for public tours and "sound baths." If you want to know more about it, visit integratron.com.
Pappy & Harriet's is (or at least at the time Earth, the Musical was written was) a popular bar in Pioneertown, not far from the Integratron.
Things to think/talk about:
Not only does Pioneertown exist, but also did Dazzlin' Dallas and the couple who raised a menagerie of animals.
The Star Wars comic book attributes The Cracken Twist to Pash Cracken as his tactic of subtracting the number two from the second digit of transmitted exit vector coordinates. After exhaustive research, the author concluded that Pash "stole" the idea from his twin brother and that it did not, as reported in the comic book, involve the Xyquine system, but rather the Xyznine system.
The song Cash sings at the Integraton is "Deep Purple." The song Silvie sings is "How High the Moon."
Things to think/talk about:
Daisies of the Galaxy is the name of a song and album by the Eels, written and sung by Mark "E" Everett, whose father, Hugh Everett III, proposed the Many Worlds Theory in the late 1950s. Everett traveled with a BBC crew to visit his father's peers in an effort to understand his late father's work; the documentary was titled Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives. The lyrics of Daisies of the Galaxy relate well to Rollie's current life.
Things to think/talk about:
Things to think/talk about:
Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson (1178-1241) was wealthy, politically active, and assassinated by henchmen of his son-in-law.
Palm Springs' Movie Colony is so named for the celebrities who once resided there, including Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, Dinah Shore, and Jack Benny.
The Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations, a project of the University of California at Berkeley, "piggybacks" onto a radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
In 2003, ground was broken for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile, designed to accommodate 66 antennas. The first antenna arrived in 2007, and construction was still underway when Earth, the Musical was written.
Things to think/talk about:
Things to think/talk about:
The Los Angeles Times newspaper conducts a two-day book festival on the UCLA campus each April.
Occipedalytes are so referred to as a combination of occidere (Latin for "to set," as in the sun), PED for the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics at Harvard University, and troglodytes (though the Occcipedalytes never resided in caves, there being no caves on Orion's Belt).
Although Halls of Judisica sounds similar to Halls of Justice, the two actually have little in common because the Halls of Judisica have no relationship whatsoever to police, there being no police on Orion's Belt, though they did have justices, which is even more astonishing since there are/were no lawyers on Orion's Belt. To clear matters up, the Halls of Judisica were the chambers where those who had obtained leadership status (known as stargazers) in decision-making (based primarily on their ability to convince others they were leaders and the occasional case of nepotism) met.
Things to think/talk about:
There is (or at least was at the time Earth, the Musical was written) a Mexican restaurant on the upscale El Paseo boulevard in Palm Desert called Restaurante Guillermo. It's not the sort of place Alfie would hang out, but he did have a meeting with a local author, who picked up the tab.
Since 1949, Sandia National Laboratories has developed science-based technologies that support U.S. national security.
General Atomic was the division within General Dynamics Corp. created to develop peaceful uses for atomic energy. It was at General Atomic that Project Orion (the design of a nuclear-driven spaceship) was undertaken.
Arthur Stanley Eddington was an English astrophysicist who wrote extensively on the theory of relativity. Eddington referred to "a jolly crockery turn of a music hall" in The Internal Constitution of the Stars.
Red Storm is a $90 million supercomputer at Sandia National Laboratories that was made with off-the-shelf components.
Named after Russian civil engineer Ivan Osipovich Yarkovsky, the Yarkovsky Effect is the force acting on a rotating body in space caused by thermal photons.
The Near Earth Object that struck Siberia in 1908 is the Tunguska fireball referred to in Act 6.
Designed by Frank Gehry, the stainless-steel Walt Disney Concert Hall is widely considered as close to acoustical perfection as you can get. Since 2003, it has been the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
More backward spellings: Ynos for Sony and Rebmobanu for Unabomber (a.k.a. Ted Kaczynski).
Things to think/talk about:
Another backward spelling: Silve Yelserp's brother is Allicsirp, or Priscilla (Presley).
Things to think/talk about:
Things to think/talk about:
Originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007, the Hydopolis Hotel in Dubai was still under construction at the time Earth, the Musical was written and was scheduled to be completed in 2009. The land upon which the hotel was/is being built belongs to Dubai's crown prince.
The Burj Dubai — the tallest manmade structure in the world — also was under construction at the time Earth, the Musical was written. Although the final height was kept secret, in January 2009, construction topped out at 2,684 feet. The Armani Hotel at the Burj Dubai was planned to occupy the lower 37 floors (with residences above that), but a hotel clerk would most likely claim the hotel to be the tallest structure in the world.
The Palazzo Dubai, with interiors designed by Versace, was under construction at the time Earth, the Musical was written and scheduled for a 2010 opening.
As with the hotels, the Sunny Mountain Ski Dome was under construction at the time Earth, the Musical was written and was scheduled to open in 2009.
Things to think/talk about:
The Mall of the Emirates, which stays open until midnight Thursday-Saturday, encompasses 400+ stores, 70 eating venues, a 14-screen multiplex, Ski Dubai, 500-seat community theater, and the Magic Planet amusement park. At the time Earth, the Musical was written, an expansion was planned that would be completed in 2010.
Things to think/talk about:
Cristal is a very upper-end Champagne produced by Louis Roederer (originally for Alexander II of Russia). At the time Earth, the Musical was written, a bottle sold for hundreds of dollars (thousands for vintages before 1970. Coincidentally (?), the Middle East and North Africa awards for advertising (originally for Arabic countries only) are named the Cristal Awards.
The World islands off the coast of Dubai were constructed from 2003 to 2008 by dredging sand from the sea. The 300 islands, situated to create a map of the world, cover an area 5.4 miles by 3.6 miles.
Taylor Power is the combination of two names related to Project Orion: Ted Taylor was the project founder. Gen. Thomas Power was the commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command during Project Orion. Power once said, "Whoever controls Orion will control the world." He was not, of course, talking about the World islands off the coast of Dubai.
Things to think/talk about:
Things to thing/talk about:
CERN stands for Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, or European Council for Nuclear Research, located on the border of France and Switzerland, near Geneva. Although CERN accepts visitors, it probably would object to anyone attempting to circumvent its operations, thus Silvie's need for deception.
Tobias Triton shares his last name with Neptune's largest moon.
Gordy Callisto shares his last name with a moon of Jupiter and an X-Men comics character.
Miranda Oberon shares her last name with a moon of Uranus, the name of a spaceship in Planet of the Apes, and the king of fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
What the Bleep Do We Know? is the name of a 2004 film about quantum physics/string theory.
Things to think/talk about;
Dr. DeGrasse shares his last name with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History, director of the Hayden Planetarium and author of several fascinating books, including Death by Black Hole. He also has appeared on Nova specials about space.
Things to think/talk about:
At the time Earth, the Musical was written, there was no Italian-French restaurant in the Palm Springs area, though there should have been (though there should not have been a pasta in puffed pastry dish).
Things to think/talk about:
Things to think/talk about:
Things to think/talk about:
Act 37
Things to think/talk about;
The titles of acts are songs, and bits and pieces of their lyrics are embedded into the story to enhance the musical theme. Names of the songs and artists are on the Soundtrack page of this Web site.
Earth, the Musical contains other references that could be considered part of the game of reading the book. If you do not want to know the clues or the plot beforehand, please stop here and revisit this page when you've finished the book (or at least each act).
Act 1
Cash Cracken is the twin brother of Pash Cracken. Pash Cracken is a character in the Star Wars comic book series, which never mentioned his twin brother. Perhaps Pash's biggest claim to fame was assisting in the removal of Black Sun extremists from Kessel. Cash's star, of course, is destined to outshine his brother's.
The hitchhiker that Cash had once picked up was Arthur Dent from Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
The Corellian Engineering Corp. YT-1300 Transport Millennium Falcon that Cash filched was actually a light freighter, though it was armed with a laser cannon.
At the time this book was written, there were two Las Casuelas restaurants downtown Palm Springs: the original, which opened in 1958, and the larger/more popular/tourist-attracting Terraza.
The Palm Springs Public Library does (or at least at the time the book was written did) have a koi pond.
Things to think/talk about:
- What does your book shelf say about you?
- Do you think people have a "purpose" in life to fulfill? Or could Rollie be correct that people merely have responsibilities?
At the time the book was written, there was a Flying J gas station/truck stop near Palm Springs in Thousand Palms, just off Interstate 10. It's worth a stop should you find yourself traveling through the desert; take the Ramon Road exit.
GTO (Galactic Transport Orbiter) shares its acronym with Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit and Pontiac's Gran Turismo Omologato muscle car. An X-GTO is an ion-propelled craft, the "X" referring to xenon gas, which is ionized to produce thrust. T680 is merely the catalog number for engineering drawings of the craft.
Coincidentally, a Star Trek episode referred to Klingons as possessing an earthy, peaty smell with a touch of lilac.
Alien names are backward-spelled derivations of the names of well-known Earthlings: Thus, Sivle Yelserp and Trebla Nietsnie would, on Earth, be Elvis Presley and Albert Einstein. Smada Salguod would be Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its sequels.
Rollie was born in the same year and month as President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created NASA. The year was also when Project Orion (an attempt to build a nuclear bomb-propelled spaceship) took hold. On July 5, 1958, Project Orion physicist Freeman Dyson penned a "A Space-Traveler's Manifesto," which included this statement: "A truly isolated, small, and creative society will never again be possible on this planet." July 5 is also the date Elvis Presley recorded "That's All Right Mama," his first record to be played on the radio, and is the birthdate of surrealist Jean Cocteau, who once said, "True realism consists in revealing the surprising things which habit keeps covered and prevents us from seeing."
Rollie's place of birth (La Jolla, California) was where General Atomic worked on Project Orion.
Things to think/talk about:
- Did you realize the aliens names were backward spellings and, if so, did you notice right away?
- Have you ever been abducted and taken aboard an alien spaceship? If so, did you panic? If not, do you think you would panic?
Orion's Belt and Eridanus do exist, but yuridionite is a fictional commodity. Eridanus is a long, winding river that starts at the left foot of Orion in the north and ends far to the south. Fornax ("the Furnace") lies within a bend in Eridanus.
Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics for Sunday in the Park with George, based upon a painting by Georges Seurat; Bernadette Peters was, of course, brilliant in the musical.
Craigslist's Deep Space Communications Network began selling the opportunity to beam personal messages through its satellite broadcasting equipment in March 2005. The transmissions included job listings and personal ads.
Earth's scientists, en masse, agree that Europa is a big ball of ice. However, it is highly probable that in a parallel universe it could be mistaken for the Riviera. After all, Alan Guth of MIT suggested on BBC's Parallel Universes that in a 2002 alternative universe Al Gore was President.
Things to think/talk about:
- If you were an alien with a message to relay to Earthlings, what tactic might you take?
- Do you think Rollie and Silvie have a future together? Do you think Cash and Silvie have a future together? Which match would be more likely to survive?
The Viper roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in Los Angeles includes seven inversions.
In La Jolla, Calif., from 1957 to 1965, scientists attempted to build a spaceship propelled by nuclear bombs. The effort was dubbed Project Orion. The titles of research papers mentioned in Act 4 are real.
Robert Parker is a renowned wine expert whose point-based ratings influence the perceived value of a particular label and vintage.
Things to think/talk about:
- Given the opportunity, would you hop aboard a spaceship bound for the other side of the galaxy, especially if you knew it would pass through a black hole?
- Should Rollie trust Silvie?
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena does, in fact, host a two-day, free open house each May.
The scientist Halley is (you probably already figured this out) named in honor of Halley's Comet.
There is a Raphael's salon in Palm Springs (or at least there was one at the time the book was written), with Moroccan-themed decor.
Many of the concepts underlying Earth, the Musical are based on string theory, which postulates that the universe is made up of tiny strings of matter that vibrate in a space-time of multiple dimensions. And if there are vibrating strings, surely there must be music.
Things to think/talk about:
- When you look at a star-filled sky, can you imagine that there is life out there and that it could be sentient life?
- Is Silvie's attempt to assimilate with Earthling culture a good thing or a bad thing?
Again, another backward-spelled name: Trebor Toof is a reference to Robert Foot, a particle physicist and author of Shadowlands: The Quest for Mirror Matter in the Universe.
In 1908, a fireball exploded over Russia, releasing 15 megatons of energy and flattening more than 2,000 square kilometers but leaving no visible crater. Robert Foot speculated that the event could have been the result of a mirror asteroid. In 2007, scientists discovered the "missing" crater under Lake Cheko.
The descriptions of Fornaxians is hypothetical, but could be just as true as not true.
Alfie Omega is a thinly veiled reference to alpha and omega, the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet.
Things to think/talk about:
- Can you recall a visit to a gas station during which you may have encountered an alien? If so, what leads you to that conclusion? If not, think harder, because you probably have.
- Lincoln and Kennedy were elected to Congress and the presidency 100 years apart; their assassins were born 100 years apart. Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy; Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln. A week before Lincoln was hot, he was in Monroe, La. A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe. So should Rollie think his run-ins with Alfie are more than coincidence?
Moissanite is named after Henri Moissan, derived from rock samples taken from a meteor crater in Canyon Diablo, Ariz., in 1893. It has a higher reflective quality than diamonds.
Tupperware was created by Earl Silas Tupper, who worked for Dupont before striking out on his own. Unfortunately, in 1958 (a coincidence, given Rollie's birthdate?), he fired the woman responsible for the home-party selling tactic that made Tupperware successful.
Gwyneth Paltrow named her daughter Apple, Frank Zappa named his son Dweezil. It's only a matter of time before some celebrity names their child Pyrex.
"Ne soyez pas une ané" is French for "don't be an ass."
Things to think/talk about:
- Why is QVC so popular? Is it a good thing because people can buy anything they want or bad because people will buy things they don't need?
- What would Earth be like if people lived on different "layers"?
Silvie chose to use the last name Versace as the result of her newly found appreciation for designer fashions.
Things to think/talk about:
- Are Alfie and Silvie equally matched in deception?
- What do you think Rollie and Silvie will find in New York?
Marcus Chown is a cosmology consultant and author. Two of his books were used as reference material for Earth, the Musical: The Universe Next Door and The Never-Ending Days of Being Dead. Both are highly recommended reading.
There is (or was), in fact, a Starbucks 21 doors down from the Waldorf-Astoria. The numbered addresses are real.
Macy's is not open on Thanksgiving Day.
Things to think/talk about:
- Can you think of a time when you lost someone in a crowd? What did you do?
- Do you think Rollie and Silvie ultimately will acknowledge their mutual love? And, hey, shouldn't New York's Macy's be open on Thanksgiving Day?
Cram Namyar is the backward spelling of Marc Rayman, project system engineer for JPL's Dawn Project who also worked on Deep Space 1, which tested ion propulsion. The Dawn spacecraft, which operates on ion propulsion, launched on 9/27/07 on its way to protoplanets Vesta (expected arrival Aug. 2011) and Ceres (expected arrival Feb. 2015). Rayman writes an online journal of the mission that can be read at dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/journal.asp. Rayman, who has a wonderful sense of humor, appeared in Discovery Channel's How William Shatner Changed the World.
New York Pizza is, in fact, Novosibirsk's most popular eatery. At the time Earth, the Musical was written, there were 15 locations in the city, eight of which were operated by the original American owner.
"Zdravstvuite" is Russian for "hello." Privet means "hi."
Things to think/talk about:
- Does the fact that Silvie will leave the possessions she acquires to charity justify the means by which she obtains them?
- How might Novosibirsk play into the mission from Silvie's perspective on the other side of the planet?
The Nuart Theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles continues (or, at least when this book was written, continued) to run The Rocky Horror Picture Show (released in 1975) at midnight on Saturdays. Perhaps one day, the Nuart will be screening Earth, the Musical, for cult fans.
Cartesian tea is a reference to the philosophy espoused by (and named for) René Descartes, who, questioning all his beliefs, concluded that matter and mind are distinct unto themselves.
Ajax Comet is a reference to popular household cleaners. Xenar is a lens that has been used to view comets, including Halley's.
More backward spellings: Nagas Lrac would translate to Carl Sagan and Gnikwah Nehpets to Stephen Hawking.
The quote from the woman who received a plasma television from Dr. Phil comes directly from an interview by a newspaper reporter.
Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet in 2006. What a difference a word makes.
Things to think/talk about:
- What does the cult following of The Rocky Horror Picture Show — or any cult following, for that matter, say about society?
- How much of a role do you think luck plays in your life?
The plane references are to Plato, Don Quixote, Dom Perignon, Star Trek's Lt. Uhura, and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.
Again, translating backward spellings related to aliens, the Fornaxian holiday of Gnivigsknaht would be Thanksgiving and the menu the same: yekrut (turkey), stelbig (giblets), and gniffuts (stuffing).
There is a Yucca Valley, but not a Mom's Home Cookin' Cafe & Karaoke Bar, though it's the kind of town that there could/should be such a place. And if it did exist, there would no doubt be someone there like Wendy (though her name may be different).
In 1998, a famous Elvis impersonator, Jimmy Ellis, was killed by a robber in a pawn shop in Orrville, Alabama. Wearing a mask, Ellis performed under the name Orion. Ellis is not a part of Earth, the Musical, but the link between Orion and performing as Elvis is one of those odd coincidences.
Things to think/talk about:
- Since she had vacationed with him on Europa, why didn't Silvie recognize Cash Cracken when she saw him dining with Alfie?
- Can you think of other examples of alien practical jokes?
SWAT teams' primary hardcore weapons are submachine guns and assault rifles, but bazooka is more fun to pronounce and more likely to be what Rollie would picture SWAT teams carrying in his current state of mind.
Things to think/talk about:
- Why indeed had Mom abducted Rollie and Silvie?
- Now do you think Rollie and Silvie or Cash and Silvie have futures together?
There is no bar in Palm Springs called The Doghouse (at least there wasn't at the time Earth, the Musical was written). Nor was there a Big Daddy's. There are, however, homeless people in Palm Springs, though you will not see them huddled together.
Theophilus is also the name of a crater region on the moon. Fladeboe has no particular reference; it just fits well with Theophilus, don't you think?
Things to think/talk about:
- Was it odd that Cash would turn to a homeless person for help?
- What sort of information do you think Theophilus Fladeboe related to Rollie?
Magnetite is an iron oxide and natural magnet. According to Remcure, the company that makes Magneurol6-S, University of New Hampshire researcher Richard Blakemore discovered that some bacteria create within their single-cell bodies long strings of magnetite. Remcure claims its pills deliver paranormal experiences.
Things to think/talk about:
- Are you beginning to believe in the role of coincidence?
- Should Cash try to re-establish a relationship with Silvie?
According to entropy, the universe will ultimately run down. Ludwig Boltmann, who proposed the second law of thermodynamics hung himself in 1906. It is believed he committed suicide because his concept was ridiculed.
The title of the painting is a reference to a line in Kenny Loggins' "Leap of Faith": "Once in a life, you can find a time to see."
The world Rollie entered is that of the dadaists, who hung out at Cafe Voltaire in Zurich, including Hugo Ball, Tristan Tzara, Francis Picabia, Max Ernst, and Man Ray.
As noted in the book's acknowledgments, the poem in Act 16 was written by Judith Lepuschitz, a brilliant artist living in Idyllwild, California.
Things to think/talk about:
- What is reality?
- Could there be another you somewhere in the universe?
Asea and Vanakans are fictional and have no relationship to anything identified in the nonfictional realm.
Another backward spelling: Drahcir Nosnarb refers to Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Airlines and Virgin Galactic.
Things to think/talk about:
- Now that Silvie's true identity has been revealed, what does it mean for Rollie in terms of the mission and in terms of his feelings for her?
- Was Cash wrong to trust Theo?
The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, whose mission was to explore Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune launched in 1977 with a "Golden Record" for the benefit of "spacefarers" who might encounter them. A committee headed by Carl Sagan selected the contents of the copper disks.
Shamley Green, the name Drahcir Nosnarb (Richard Branson) took on Earth is the name of the village in England where Branson grew up.
The fact that Galileo (named for physicist, astronomer, and philosopher Galileo Galilei) was a beagle is noteworthy for several reasons: (1) Beagle was the name of the ship in which Charles Darwin voyaged around the world and thus (2) was the name adopted by a British space probe that disappeared as it entered the Martian atmosphere on Christmas Day 2003 and (3) is the breed of Snoopy, who was honored when NASA named the Apollo 10 lunar lander after him. And, though the Star Trek movie came out after Earth, the Musical was written, it's interesting that the admiral's dog that Scotty loses is a — you guessed it — beagle.
As of the 2000 Census, there were 986 households in Landers, Calif., (about nine people per square mile), and the median house value was $44,700. Landers was the epicenter of a 7.3 magnitude earthquake on June 28, 1992.
As much as it sounds made up, the Integratron does, in fact, exist, as do (or did at the time Earth, the Musical was written) the Billy Holcomb Chapter of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clapus Vitas. In 2005, the group dedicated a historical plaque at the Integratron, at which Bob, the Noble Grand Humbug, sported a ponytail, baseball cap, and patch-covered vest. The Integratron is open for public tours and "sound baths." If you want to know more about it, visit integratron.com.
Pappy & Harriet's is (or at least at the time Earth, the Musical was written was) a popular bar in Pioneertown, not far from the Integratron.
Things to think/talk about:
- What do you think Silvie would do faced with the choice of leaving Earth or staying?
- Is the plan to emigrate Earth's dogs to Orion's Belt a wise one?
Not only does Pioneertown exist, but also did Dazzlin' Dallas and the couple who raised a menagerie of animals.
The Star Wars comic book attributes The Cracken Twist to Pash Cracken as his tactic of subtracting the number two from the second digit of transmitted exit vector coordinates. After exhaustive research, the author concluded that Pash "stole" the idea from his twin brother and that it did not, as reported in the comic book, involve the Xyquine system, but rather the Xyznine system.
The song Cash sings at the Integraton is "Deep Purple." The song Silvie sings is "How High the Moon."
Things to think/talk about:
- Given their mutual attraction to Silvie, can Rollie and Cash really be allies?
- Will Rollie forever regret his decision?
Daisies of the Galaxy is the name of a song and album by the Eels, written and sung by Mark "E" Everett, whose father, Hugh Everett III, proposed the Many Worlds Theory in the late 1950s. Everett traveled with a BBC crew to visit his father's peers in an effort to understand his late father's work; the documentary was titled Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives. The lyrics of Daisies of the Galaxy relate well to Rollie's current life.
Things to think/talk about:
- Are you surprised that Rollie has stuck with Alfie as his agent?
- Is it possible Silvie remembers Rollie and, if so, that she misses him as much as he misses her?
Things to think/talk about:
- Have you ever experienced a time when for no reason you sensed someone not physically present?
- Why has Silvie returned to Earth?
Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson (1178-1241) was wealthy, politically active, and assassinated by henchmen of his son-in-law.
Palm Springs' Movie Colony is so named for the celebrities who once resided there, including Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, Dinah Shore, and Jack Benny.
The Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations, a project of the University of California at Berkeley, "piggybacks" onto a radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
In 2003, ground was broken for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile, designed to accommodate 66 antennas. The first antenna arrived in 2007, and construction was still underway when Earth, the Musical was written.
Things to think/talk about:
- Should Rollie be leery about A.J.'s vocation searching for extraterrestrial life, given his knowledge of Orion's Belters and his having fallen in love with Silvie?
- Do you think Rollie and A.J. have a future together and, if so, do you think it would be better than any future he would have had with Silvie?
Things to think/talk about:
- Do you think Rollie's decision to ask A.J. to live with him is a wise one?
- Do you think A.J.'s decision to accept his offer is a wise one?
The Los Angeles Times newspaper conducts a two-day book festival on the UCLA campus each April.
Occipedalytes are so referred to as a combination of occidere (Latin for "to set," as in the sun), PED for the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics at Harvard University, and troglodytes (though the Occcipedalytes never resided in caves, there being no caves on Orion's Belt).
Although Halls of Judisica sounds similar to Halls of Justice, the two actually have little in common because the Halls of Judisica have no relationship whatsoever to police, there being no police on Orion's Belt, though they did have justices, which is even more astonishing since there are/were no lawyers on Orion's Belt. To clear matters up, the Halls of Judisica were the chambers where those who had obtained leadership status (known as stargazers) in decision-making (based primarily on their ability to convince others they were leaders and the occasional case of nepotism) met.
Things to think/talk about:
- What, if anything, do you think will end planet Earth?
- Why does Silvie really want to return to Earth? For great shoes, another Persian rug, or Rollie?
There is (or at least was at the time Earth, the Musical was written) a Mexican restaurant on the upscale El Paseo boulevard in Palm Desert called Restaurante Guillermo. It's not the sort of place Alfie would hang out, but he did have a meeting with a local author, who picked up the tab.
Since 1949, Sandia National Laboratories has developed science-based technologies that support U.S. national security.
General Atomic was the division within General Dynamics Corp. created to develop peaceful uses for atomic energy. It was at General Atomic that Project Orion (the design of a nuclear-driven spaceship) was undertaken.
Arthur Stanley Eddington was an English astrophysicist who wrote extensively on the theory of relativity. Eddington referred to "a jolly crockery turn of a music hall" in The Internal Constitution of the Stars.
Red Storm is a $90 million supercomputer at Sandia National Laboratories that was made with off-the-shelf components.
Named after Russian civil engineer Ivan Osipovich Yarkovsky, the Yarkovsky Effect is the force acting on a rotating body in space caused by thermal photons.
The Near Earth Object that struck Siberia in 1908 is the Tunguska fireball referred to in Act 6.
Designed by Frank Gehry, the stainless-steel Walt Disney Concert Hall is widely considered as close to acoustical perfection as you can get. Since 2003, it has been the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
More backward spellings: Ynos for Sony and Rebmobanu for Unabomber (a.k.a. Ted Kaczynski).
Things to think/talk about:
- Was returning to Earth a mistake for Silvie?
- Given an appreciation for coincidence, would you still consider it poetic or ironic that the asteroid struck the Walt Disney Concert Hall?
Another backward spelling: Silve Yelserp's brother is Allicsirp, or Priscilla (Presley).
Things to think/talk about:
- Given Rollie's affection for A.J., why should Silvie worry about stopping the Rebmobanu when she could just leave Earth and forget about it?
- Would you prefer a vacation away from Earth or in Dubai (which, of course, has its own altered reality)?
Things to think/talk about:
- What would happen if Silvie told Random the truth about her identity?
- Is the ability to be constantly connected a good or a bad thing?
Originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007, the Hydopolis Hotel in Dubai was still under construction at the time Earth, the Musical was written and was scheduled to be completed in 2009. The land upon which the hotel was/is being built belongs to Dubai's crown prince.
The Burj Dubai — the tallest manmade structure in the world — also was under construction at the time Earth, the Musical was written. Although the final height was kept secret, in January 2009, construction topped out at 2,684 feet. The Armani Hotel at the Burj Dubai was planned to occupy the lower 37 floors (with residences above that), but a hotel clerk would most likely claim the hotel to be the tallest structure in the world.
The Palazzo Dubai, with interiors designed by Versace, was under construction at the time Earth, the Musical was written and scheduled for a 2010 opening.
As with the hotels, the Sunny Mountain Ski Dome was under construction at the time Earth, the Musical was written and was scheduled to open in 2009.
Things to think/talk about:
- Is Rollie incapable of getting over Silvie and, if not, will that destroy his relationship with A.J.?
- Is Silvie incapable of getting over Rollie and, if not, how will she store all the shoes she will thus end up buying?
The Mall of the Emirates, which stays open until midnight Thursday-Saturday, encompasses 400+ stores, 70 eating venues, a 14-screen multiplex, Ski Dubai, 500-seat community theater, and the Magic Planet amusement park. At the time Earth, the Musical was written, an expansion was planned that would be completed in 2010.
Things to think/talk about:
- Considering the points made about the role of chance, do you believe it was coincidence or fate that literally brought Rollie and Silvie back together?
- Was it smart or stupid for Rollie to give Silvie his phone number?
Cristal is a very upper-end Champagne produced by Louis Roederer (originally for Alexander II of Russia). At the time Earth, the Musical was written, a bottle sold for hundreds of dollars (thousands for vintages before 1970. Coincidentally (?), the Middle East and North Africa awards for advertising (originally for Arabic countries only) are named the Cristal Awards.
The World islands off the coast of Dubai were constructed from 2003 to 2008 by dredging sand from the sea. The 300 islands, situated to create a map of the world, cover an area 5.4 miles by 3.6 miles.
Taylor Power is the combination of two names related to Project Orion: Ted Taylor was the project founder. Gen. Thomas Power was the commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command during Project Orion. Power once said, "Whoever controls Orion will control the world." He was not, of course, talking about the World islands off the coast of Dubai.
Things to think/talk about:
- How "real" are the objects you see before you, and how might they be affected by altering time and space?
- If you could lived anywhere in The World, what island would you choose?
Things to thing/talk about:
- Should Rollie tell A.J. more about his past relationship with Silvie?
- Did Rollie respond truthfully to A.J.'s question about who he would chose?
CERN stands for Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, or European Council for Nuclear Research, located on the border of France and Switzerland, near Geneva. Although CERN accepts visitors, it probably would object to anyone attempting to circumvent its operations, thus Silvie's need for deception.
Tobias Triton shares his last name with Neptune's largest moon.
Gordy Callisto shares his last name with a moon of Jupiter and an X-Men comics character.
Miranda Oberon shares her last name with a moon of Uranus, the name of a spaceship in Planet of the Apes, and the king of fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
What the Bleep Do We Know? is the name of a 2004 film about quantum physics/string theory.
Things to think/talk about;
- How would you sneak into a restricted area of CERN?
- What approach should the CERN officials have taken?
Dr. DeGrasse shares his last name with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History, director of the Hayden Planetarium and author of several fascinating books, including Death by Black Hole. He also has appeared on Nova specials about space.
Things to think/talk about:
- Was Rollie's violation of trust with A.J. justified?
- Now who do you want Rollie to end up with: Silvie or A.J.?
At the time Earth, the Musical was written, there was no Italian-French restaurant in the Palm Springs area, though there should have been (though there should not have been a pasta in puffed pastry dish).
Things to think/talk about:
- Among them Alfie, Random, Theo, Cash, A.J., Silvie, and Rollie, who has most followed the path you would have expected and/or wanted them to follow?
- Do you think Rollie — and everyone else on Earth — will make it to, let alone through, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way?
Things to think/talk about:
- How would you prepare to travel through a black hole?
- Have you ever felt as conflicted as Rollie?
Things to think/talk about:
- Are you glad Rollie ended up with A.J.?
- What should Rollie and A.J. name their baby?
Act 37
Things to think/talk about;
- Are you glad Rollie ended up with Silvie?
- Aren't you glad there's a reality where Elvis is alive and still performing?
