AH Cultural Descriptions

[ennobee]

Master/$lave

The mythical 'Last Album' or 'Lost Album' by US rapper Tupak Shakur, reportedly the project he was working on by the time of his shooting death in 1996. Various sources claim the album was between 75 and 95% complete at the time Tupak was killed, but afterwards was shelved by Death Row Records. Conspiracy theorists link the album to Tupak's assassination and claim that it would contain songs that would spill the beans on Death Row's boss Suge Knight, expose a Las Vegas crime boss as a pedophile or even confirm the existence of reptilioid aliens impersonating the world leaders. More realist music critics counter that the 'album' was a project, barely more than an idea and that at the time of Tupak's death, only one song had actually been recorded.

The one thing that is certain is the title of the record (or project) and, after Tupak used a series of square posters displaying the writings 'Master/$lave' as set decorations for his last live concert in Vegas it was agreed that this poster would have become the album's cover.


In 2019 a video still posted on the internet seemed to show a framed display with the 'Master/$lave' poster/album cover and a platinum record hanging in the background in the Nakatomi Tower vault scene in Die Hard. The same display was later discovered as set decoration on the wall of the Dominic Casino vault in Ocean' Eleven. This led several conspiracy theorists to formulate the idea that the real tapes for the Master/$lave albums are actually in the Trump Tower in Las Vegas.

Next up:
Nature adores a vacuum

 

[MarquessAngewoah]

Next up:
Nature adores a vacuum

Nature adores a vacuum was a series of Theses written by Greta Thunberg, Alexandria Cortez, and other climate activists. It promoted a mass suicide, claiming nature wanted humans to go extinct, and the world being a vacuum of everything else besides humans. It was banned in several states and conservative countries, but in Sweden, France, Portugal, Netherlands, and Belgium, it was legal and was used by powerful politicians supporting it in these countries.

Next Up:

Nightshade Crown

 

[brunohusker]

Next Up:

Nightshade Crown

A trophy given to the best LaCrosse team in British North America. It was named after Lady Amelia Beckett, First Baroness Nightshade. Baroness Nightshade, had been a big fan of LaCrosse and promoted it across North America, and personally presented the trophy on numerous occasions until her death in 1961.

The SWAG (Secret Wives and Girlfriends) Club

 

[Reflection]

The SWAG (Secret Wives and Girlfriends) Club

An organization of women based in New York, who would discuss their ambitions for politics and business in private, under the guise of being a book club. Most prominent throughout the '50s and '60s, the SWAG ultimate declined into obscurity by the '80s, culminating in its ultimate dissolution in 1990, but still remains a notable topic of discussion for that time.

Jean-Luc & Gandalf: Wacky Wits by Wacky Brits!

 

[MNM041]

Jean-Luc & Gandalf: Wacky Wits by Wacky Brits!

A bit from the famed British sketch Wacky Wits By Wacky Brits. The sketch is of course most notably for the fact that while Gandalf and Picard are both played by regular cast members from the show, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart both show up, mostly to say how bad their impressions are.

Codename: Dragonfly

 

[MarquessAngewoah]

Codename: Dragonfly

In the War of 1812, British Spies used this to signal that they go around and request information from the Americans, denoting that they are flying around America. They were mostly Welsh, which is why it was called Dragonfly, because they were from Wales.

Next Up:
Royal Virginia Airlines

 

[ennobee]

Royal Virginia Airlines

Tabloid header referring to Richard Branson's 'Virgin Airlines' after a tax review of the organization revealed that the two biggest stockholders in the company were the Royal Family of the Netherlands and Prince Andrew of Windsor. Since then pundits keep mocking the airline as Prince Andrew's personal piggy bank and suggest he'll go 'flying Royal Virginia' every time he gets into legal trouble again.

Next up:
I think before I am

 

[brunohusker]

Next up:
I think before I am

A misquote by Canadian PM and former Toronto real estate developer Donald Drumpf during a 2019 debate with Liberal leader Alex Trebek. While both Trebek and Drumpf were personally friends, Trebek had insulted Drumpf’s knowledge of government, claiming he “only knew how to gauge the Ontario real estate market” , even though Drumpf had been an MP from Missasauga since 2008, and had replaced Stephen Harper as Conservative leader in 2016.

Drumpf then responded with this quote, but was lampooned by Canadian and American critics, with American President Andrew Schneer getting in on the action. Eventually Drumpf would lead the Conservatives to their worst defeat ever, even falling behind Keifer Sutherland’s NDP.

Trebek would eventually pass away in 2021, being replaced by mp Seth Rogen of Vancouver.

Dewey Largo

 

[Reflection]

Dewey Largo

An animated music comedy series by Matt Groening about the titular Dewey Largo, a wannabe conductor who can never catch a break. The show was made in 1985, but was cancelled after only one season due to bad ratings. However, Groening would go on to make The Simpsons, and Dewey Largo was transplanted into that series as Lisa's teacher, with it being implicit that his series is also canon to this show too.

Operation Sunset

 

[ennobee]

Operation Sunset​

An adult version of Milton&Bradley's electric children's game 'operation' where instead of just picking plastic bones out of a cardboard patient, the players aim to become the most successful cosmetic surgeons on Sunset Strip.

The game lingered in relative obscurity for most of the 1980's and 90's until in 2008, M&B released a video version playable on the new Nintendo WII. The game became such a hit that the catchphrase "Californication" for a successful 'operation' even made it into popular culture.

Next up:
Doctor Strange

 

[Whitewings]

Doctor Strange

Doctor Vincent Strange, MD, DSM, became known for a series of popular science novels such as Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep, Count Bloodcount and Doctor Nero's Neurosis, examining from a neuroscientific viewpoint the behaviours of zombies, vampires, mad scientists, and other such Hollywood creations. Noted for their highly detailed examinations and scientifically rigourous treatment of their fantastical subjects, the series has remained popular since first introduced.

Slay and Rescue!

 

[Reflection]

Slay and Rescue!

The headline of a 1981 news report by the New York Times, where Ronald Reagan ordered a covert operation with the Marines and Navy SEALs to initiate a rescue of the American hostages in Iran, just one month after assuming the Presidency. The headline "Slay and Rescue!" in big bold letters came after the mission was a success, where the quickly and cleanly disposed of the Iranian authorities holding them, and extracted the hostages via helicopter, in the span of less than 2 hours. This solidified Reagan as a hero the American people needed, though it did get a major backlash in the Islamic world, most prominently Iran itself, who portrayed him in propaganda as an Imperialist.

Spider-Man in the USSR

 

[ordinarylittleme]

Spider-Man in the USSR

Ukrainian-American comic series in the 1950s, just after WW2, depicting Spider-Man as the PTSD-stricken personification of the USSR, known for its accurate depiction of bilingualism, growing up poor, and the frequent use of profanity. Banned in the USSR itself for being anti-Communist, and its creator was executed, but was very popular as underground resistance fuel. In the 2000s, a movie adaptation starring an all-Ukrainian cast was released but it was overshadowed by the soundtrack, which is considered to have revolutionized the genre of psychedelic bedroom pop music.

Mariology Gone Wrong

 

[brunohusker]

Mariology Gone Wrong

An article written in New Worker magazine in 1970 detailing the fall of former American Socialist Party leader Dorothy Day. Day had converted to Catholicism as a young woman and was influential in convincing a number of Catholics to join the 2nd revolution of the 1930’s by claiming that Catholics should not support Catholicism and that Anarchism was acceptable and a way to help poverty in America and the world.

However, as leaders like Earl Browder and Gus Hall took over leadership and started religious purges, Day found herself on the outs and eventually escaped, first to England, and then to Canada after nearly being killed by Mosleyite terrorists in London.

Many in the party felt Day betrayed the revolution and sadly, many felt she was more loyal to Rome than to the USA or anarchism or syndicalism, and as such, writer Kurt Vonnegut wrote Mariology Gone Wrong, accusing Day of putting more faith into Mary and the Saints rather than her God or Christ, and thus forgot the poor of America.

Day herself accused Vonnegut and the New Worker staff of bringing back old anti-catholic tropes, and even bishops loyal to the state like Joseph Bernadin felt that Day had very valid points and that the government needed to listen, or else many Catholics might either leave or worse.

Ivan Go Home!

 

[Reflection]

Ivan Go Home!

A sitcom that ran from 1979 to 1984 about the wacky misadventures of a Soviet spy living in New York, named Ivan Alexandrov or "John Alexander", starring the Ukrainian-American stand-up comedian Yakov Smirnoff. A major source of comedy is highlighting the contrast of Ivan's overall loyalty to the USSR with his love of American capitalism, trying to both fit in with Americans (and hopefully not reveal himself as a double agent) while also trying desperately to NOT get accused of being a traitor or liability by the Soviet politburo who needs to "dealt with".

The Clash - Contra!

 

[John Spangler]

The Clash - Contra!

Fifth book in the Clash superhero comic book series. In this story the Clash, an international team of superheroes, fight against a communist attempt to overthrow the Nicaraguan government. The series was heavily influenced by Cold War politics, but it's still well regarded as of today.

Laurel and Hardy meet Dracula

 

[brunohusker]

Laurel and Hardy meet Dracula

An attempted 1980 revival of the Laurel and Hardy film series, starring John Lithgow as Stan Laurel, and John Belushi as Oliver Hardy, with Orson Welles as Dracula.

The production was a troubled one however, as Belushi had just got out or rehab and fell back off the wagon, while Welles seemed to be barely present and often spent his time scarfing down hotdogs and even supposedly beat Belushi in a hot dog eating contest.

It also didn’t help that director John Landis had tried to get Belushi to gain weight and Welles to lose some, which caused a bit of fighting. The film was finished and made back it’s money but reviewers felt it was pedestrian at best.

Evil Petting Zoo

 

[Reflection]

Evil Petting Zoo

1982 Stephen King novel about a petting zoo in Maine that's been corrupted by an evil spirit, turning them into vicious beasts, just as a school field trip is held there. It's one of the lesser known books his bibliography, especially compared to its predecessor Cujo, and King remarked he came up with that idea while high on LSD mixed with coke.

Ivan Meets G.I. Joe

 

[TheBeanieBaron]

Ivan Meets G.I. Joe

Animated crossover special between Ivan Go Home! and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero that aired in 1985. The plot is about Ivan Alexandrov accidentally joining the G. I. Joe Team and how he helps them to stop another one of Cobra's attempts to take over the world. While its one of the lesser known installments in the G. I. Joe canon, the special is most well known for the memes that spawned from some of the dialogue Ivan says.

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers of the New Republic

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers of the New Republic

A comic commissioned by the government of the Second American Republic. Despite managing to gain the approval of a plurality of the adult population youthful rebellion still festered. The youths, unhappy with the radical change of government and tuned into the political sphere by the chaos of the fall of the First Republic, formed gangs that terrorized the cities. While not posing a direct treat to the government and predicted by many to be a temporary problem which will go away over time, the Directory still felt uneasy with teenage hooligans burning administration buildings and taking potshots at government administrators. Rather than send in the tanks, having learned the lesson the First Republic failed to learn, the Government instead decided to turn to comics which had gained a mainstream audience during the War of the Rebellion. So the Government contacted Walt Disney, famed for his freelance illustrations for DC and Marvel's children comics, and commissioned him to come up with an entirely original concept for a new comic line to build government support amongst the young. He came up with Chip and Dale, two chipmunks who ran the Rescue Rangers, a pseudo-vigilante group of heroes employed by the Gaia Defense Force, a cabal of gods representing Mother Nature. In the first issue Chip and Dale fight a group of terrorists who try to dump liquid plutonium into a lake to fight 'The Government' and are drawn in to fight not just for the Earth but the Government as well. While the comics were met with generally favorable reviews their obvious pro-Government propaganda turned off many would be readers and the Government retracted its subsidies after the fourth issue. Chip and Dale would continue on as a D-list comic until finally publishing its last issue in 1977, Chip and Dale Save the Earth

Tickle Me Timbers

Teardrops on my washing Machine

The Singing Sixties