Exegesis

"I imagine so, although you developed a bad case of vertigo the last time we rode the Wild Mouse."

Vertigo - is a specific type of dizziness, a major symptom of a balance disorder. It is the sensation of spinning or swaying while the body is actually stationary with respect to the surroundings.
The effects of vertigo may be slight. It can cause nausea and vomiting and, in severe cases, it may give rise to difficulties with standing and walking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertigo_(medical)

A Wild Mouse roller coaster (or Wildemous, Mad Mouse or Rat Run) is a type of roller coaster characterized by small cars that seat four people or fewer and ride on top of the track, taking tight, flat turns (without cant) at modest speeds, yet producing high lateral G-forces.The feeling of a Wild Mouse coaster is amplified by using cars that are wider than the track itself, giving the impression that the riders are hanging off the side or that they might fly out, thus giving it the name "wild".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Mouse_roller_coaster

"-you had ridiculed my boeuf de bordelaise-"

As classic as top-flight French cookery can be. The combination of a fine fillet steak, just melting bone marrow and a rich red wine sauce is truly marvellous. Some might say that the correct cut of meat to use here is sirloin steak -- as in entrecôte à la Bordelaise. Absolutely and indisputably proper, no question. But I just adore the soft and luxurious texture of a fillet here, no matter how much is said about its lack of flavour. If a piece of fillet is well hung, its flavour always comes through.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/filet-de-boeuf-atilde-la-bordelaise-751271.html

"And on the beach I met a derelict who saw my pain, and he reached out to me as a human being."

a person abandoned by society, esp. a person without a permanent home and means of support; vagrant; bum.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/derelict

"They thought it was Dutch Elm disease, but it wasn't."

Dutch elm disease (DED) is a fungal disease of elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease has been accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it has devastated native populations of elms which had not had the opportunity to evolve resistance to the disease. The name Dutch elm disease refers to the identification of the disease in the 1920s in the Netherlands; the disease is not specific to the Dutch Elm hybrid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_elm_disease

"No, I meant it as a non sequitur."

Non sequitur - is a conversational and literary device, often used for comical purposes (as opposed to its use in formal logic). It is a comment which, due to its apparent lack of meaning relative to what it follows, seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing, as in the following joke
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur

"Some people say I look like Leif Erickson."

He was a Norse explorer who was probably the first European to land in North America (excluding Greenland). According to the Sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, which has been tentatively identified with the L'Anse aux Meadows Norse site on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leif_Ericson

"No incestuous slattern is going to turn my boy into a degenerate."

1. a slovenly, untidy woman or girl.
2. a slut; harlot.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slattern

"Have you ever read Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals?"

subtitled "A Polemic" (Eine Streitschrift), is a work by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed and first published in 1887 with the intention of expanding and following through on certain new doctrines sketched out in his previous work Beyond Good and Evil. The most straightforward of Nietzsche's books and the least aphoristic in form and style, it is considered by Nietzsche scholars to be a work of sustained brilliance and power, and Nietzsche's masterpiece.
It consists of a preface and three interrelated Abhandlungen ("treatises" or "essays"), which trace episodes in the evolution of moral concepts with a view to undermining "moral prejudices", and specifically the morality of Christianity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Genealogy_of_Morality

"It's nautical law."

Law of the Sea.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place from 1973 through 1982. The Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources. The Convention, concluded in 1982, replaced four 1958 treaties. UNCLOS came into force in 1994, a year after Guyana became the 60th state to sign the treaty.To date, 158 countries and the European Community have joined in the Convention. However, it is now regarded as a codification of the customary international law on the issue.
While the Secretary General of the United Nations receives instruments of ratification and accession and the UN provides support for meetings of states party to the Convention, the UN has no direct operational role in the implementation of the Convention. There is, however, a role played by organizations such as the International Maritime Organization, the International Whaling Commission, and the International Seabed Authority (the latter being established by the UN Convention).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_on_the_Law_of_the_Sea

"I love the movies, especially Jennifer Jones."

Jennifer Jones (born March 2, 1919) is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Song of Bernadette (1943).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Jones

"The Portrait of Jennie, and the lighthouse and the hurricane."

The film, set in 1934, tells the story of an impoverished painter in New York City, who meets a fey little girl in Central Park wearing old-fashioned clothing. He makes a sketch of her from memory which involves him with an art dealer who is impressed with his work. This inspires him to paint a portrait of her - the "Portrait Of Jennie." Jennie has seemed to age a few years each time Adams meets her. He soon falls in love with her, but is puzzled by the fact that she seems to be experiencing events that took place many years previously as if they had just happened. He sets out to investigate but does not reveal what he discovers to anyone, and is puzzled by what he finds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Jennie

"She might be on her way to a Black Mass."

Black Mass is the name given to a ceremony supposedly celebrated during the medieval Witches or Black Sabbath, which was a parody of the Catholic Christian Mass. Its main objective was the profanation of the Host, although there is no agreement among authors on how Hosts were obtained or profaned; the most common idea is that they were profaned by means of some ritual related to sexual practices. Authors also disagree on which rites were performed during the ceremony.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mass