diff --git a/wscript b/wscript
index ed06bcf4b7..fdbb281ed0 100644
--- a/wscript
+++ b/wscript
@@ -450,8 +450,17 @@ def configure(conf):
 
     if sys.platform == 'darwin':
 
+        # libintl may or may not be trivially locatable
+        if not os.path.isfile ('/usr/include/libintl.h'):
+            # XXXX hack hack hack
+            prefinclude = ' '.join ('-I', os.path.expanduser ('~/gtk/inst/include'))
+            preflib = ' '.join ('-L', os.path.expanduser ('~/gtk/inst/lib'))
+            conf.env.append_value('CFLAGS', [ prefinclude ])
+            conf.env.append_value('CXXFLAGS',  [prefinclude ])
+            conf.env.append_value('LINKFLAGS', [ preflib ])
+
         # this is required, potentially, for anything we link and then relocate into a bundle
-        conf.env.append_value('LINKFLAGS', [ '-Xlinker', '-headerpad', '-Xlinker', '2048'])
+        conf.env.append_value('LINKFLAGS', [ '-Xlinker', '-headerpad_max_install_names' ])
 
         conf.define ('HAVE_COREAUDIO', 1)
         conf.define ('AUDIOUNIT_SUPPORT', 1)