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This article is from the Firesign Theatre: Lexicon FAQ, by Niles D. Ritter ritter@earthlink.net with numerous contributions by others.

Firesign Theatre Lexicon [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_

clavazzi@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:

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.

HUMBOLDT: See {HUMBOLT}.

HUMBOLT: Temporarily Humboldt (Humbolt) County.

wweber@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.

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