AH Cultural Descriptions

[The_Persian_Cat]

A very rauchy movie about a man with erectile dysfunction and tries to kill the president for a cure.
“Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit deus pater”

A line from The Aeneid, where the exhausted Aeneas says "Maybe someday, you will rejoice to recall even this." The Aeneid was an epic poem written by Virgil as Rome transitioned from a republic to an empire, and this line was spoken by Dr J. Robert Oppenheimer about the atomic bombings of Kyoto and Tokyo, the subsequent occupation and incorporation of Japan into US territory, and the public rejoicing and celebration of this new age of American hegemony. Oppenheimer, despite being a key scientist in the US atomic weapons programme and a lifelong opponent of fascism, regretted what he had wrought on the world -- an age where the US was the sole nuclear power, and would nuke any enemy with impunity. When Oppenheimer quoted The Aeneid, he was reflecting on how Americans in the future would "rejoice to recall" the atomic bombing of Japan, and celebrate World War II as a glorious triumph rather than a time of horror.

The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade

 

[sampleswift]

A line from The Aeneid, where the exhausted Aeneas says "Maybe someday, you will rejoice to recall even this." The Aeneid was an epic poem written by Virgil as Rome transitioned from a republic to an empire, and this line was spoken by Dr J. Robert Oppenheimer about the atomic bombings of Kyoto and Tokyo, the subsequent occupation and incorporation of Japan into US territory, and the public rejoicing and celebration of this new age of American hegemony. Oppenheimer, despite being a key scientist in the US atomic weapons programme and a lifelong opponent of fascism, regretted what he had wrought on the world -- an age where the US was the sole nuclear power, and would nuke any enemy with impunity. When Oppenheimer quoted The Aeneid, he was reflecting on how Americans in the future would "rejoice to recall" the atomic bombing of Japan, and celebrate World War II as a glorious triumph rather than a time of horror.

The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade

Title of the pilot episode of the TV show "Arabian Knights". This show did introduce many viewers to the Golden Age of Islam and its developments culturally and scientifically.

Your words are worth nothing. Yes, this is a Wordsworth allusion.

 

[Ganesha]

Your words are worth nothing. Yes, this is a Wordsworth allusion.

The title of a photograph by contemporary Lebano-Arab photographer Khaled Daouk. Actually a composite of three photographs, Daouk exposed images of a Lebanon cedar, an Iranian tank, and an anti-occupation protest in Bayrut. He was arrested by the occupying Iranian authorities, but released after 72 hours due to public pressure. Nevertheless, the image was banned in the Iranian-occupied regions, and only exhibited again at a retrospective of Daouk's work in Paris in 2007.

Science Summit

Cheers,
Ganesha

 

[Kylia]

Science Summit

The name of a 2019 French Movie set at a lightly-fictionalized version of the Millennium Summit in the year 2000, held in New York, where the UN revealed the existence of Hell and the Cthuluesque Abyss, and the dangers creatures from both realms posed to Earth. Scientists were present in large numbers, and many were invited to disprove the evidence, but none succeeded. The Millennium Summit led to the creation of the International Dimensional Enforcement Task Force, which serves to prevent portals to Hell or the Abyss from being opened and closes those that do open as quickly as possible.

Red Beer, Green Steak, Blue Fries

 

[The_Persian_Cat]

The name of a 2019 French Movie set at a lightly-fictionalized version of the Millennium Summit in the year 2000, held in New York, where the UN revealed the existence of Hell and the Cthuluesque Abyss, and the dangers creatures from both realms posed to Earth. Scientists were present in large numbers, and many were invited to disprove the evidence, but none succeeded. The Millennium Summit led to the creation of the International Dimensional Enforcement Task Force, which serves to prevent portals to Hell or the Abyss from being opened and closes those that do open as quickly as possible.

Red Beer, Green Steak, Blue Fries

An anti-Western slogan in the Republic of Azerbaijan, popular among both Marxist and Islamist partisans after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The liberal republican government attempted to impose a top-down "modernisation" programme which created enormous wealth disparity and extremely high unemployment rates while also alienating traditional and Left-leaning segments of Azeri society and making Azerbaijan a haven for shady foreign business practices. At the same time, the President of Azerbaijan appealed to Azeri nationalist symbols even as he imposed cultural Westernisation, in the manner of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk or the Pahlavi Shahs of Iran. During the Azeri Civil War of 1992-1998, "Red Beer, Green Steak, Blue Fries" was a mocking slogan for revolutionary organisations, who said that the liberal-secular Azeri government was imposing American lifestyles in the colours of the Azeri flag, and enriching American businesses by selling Americanism to Azerbaijan.

Kinky Boots

 

[Plateosaurus]

Kinky Boots

A term used for the Palin Presidency where she reshuffled and fired her cabinet. Note, this takes place in the same TL as this.

Virtuous is the vulture, Sinful is the chicken

 

[ennobee]

Virtuous is the vulture, Sinful is the chicken

1) A literal translation of the German saying "Erhaben ist der Geier, sündig ist das Huhn", itself a funny rendering (German: Verballhōrnung) of the classic adage "Erhaben sei der Eifer, sündig ist das Ruh'n", whih translates to "virtuous is the zeal, sinful is the resting"

2) A German-American movie from 1939, today cited as one of the prime examples of Nazi-German 'Normalpropaganda' eg. The effort to show the rest of the world, specifically the USA that Nazi Germany might be technically at war with all of Europe, but for those not living there, Germans are pretty normal, decent and fun loving people. The movie was produced in the UFA studios of Berlin-Babelsberg using American actors. Although it was an Americanized version of the widely popular German theatre play 'Erhaben sei der Geier', the Nazi scriptwriters continuously struggled translating the German puns and wordplays, and despite otherwise solid acting , the final effort fell flat, never gaining the popularity of the 'German' movies made by exiled German directors and actors in Hollywood.

3) Subtitle for the 1963 Jerry Lewis comedy "The Virtuous Vulture", loosely based on the German movie "Der Erhabene Geier", itself an adaptation of the 1936 theater play "Erhaben sei der Geier", by German comic Heinz Ehrhart. However while Ehrhart's play even more than the original was spiked with funny rimes and wordplays, Lewis only left the plot of the play and replaced all untranslatable word humor with his signature physical routines. Although not an outstanding movie even by Lewis's standards, it was regardless a solid success in it's time and certainly better received than the 1939 NAZI piece.

Next up:
Cardi B

 

[sampleswift]

1) A literal translation of the German saying "Erhaben ist der Geier, sündig ist das Huhn", itself a funny rendering (German: Verballhōrnung) of the classic adage "Erhaben sei der Eifer, sündig ist das Ruh'n", whih translates to "virtuous is the zeal, sinful is the resting"

2) A German-American movie from 1939, today cited as one of the prime examples of Nazi-German 'Normalpropaganda' eg. The effort to show the rest of the world, specifically the USA that Nazi Germany might be technically at war with all of Europe, but for those not living there, Germans are pretty normal, decent and fun loving people. The movie was produced in the UFA studios of Berlin-Babelsberg using American actors. Although it was an Americanized version of the widely popular German theatre play 'Erhaben sei der Geier', the Nazi scriptwriters continuously struggled translating the German puns and wordplays, and despite otherwise solid acting , the final effort fell flat, never gaining the popularity of the 'German' movies made by exiled German directors and actors in Hollywood.

3) Subtitle for the 1963 Jerry Lewis comedy "The Virtuous Vulture", loosely based on the German movie "Der Erhabene Geier", itself an adaptation of the 1936 theater play "Erhaben sei der Geier", by German comic Heinz Ehrhart. However while Ehrhart's play even more than the original was spiked with funny rimes and wordplays, Lewis only left the plot of the play and replaced all untranslatable word humor with his signature physical routines. Although not an outstanding movie even by Lewis's standards, it was regardless a solid success in it's time and certainly better received than the 1939 NAZI piece.

Next up:
Cardi B

Short for "Cardiorespiratory Disorder B". This is a medical condition characterized by intense coughing fits and an uneven heartbeat.

Raising the Steaks

 

[George Kaplan]

Raising the Steaks
A popular part of the Republic of Texas’ Independence Day celebrations, contestants would compete to lift quantities of steaks over their heads. Winners of local contests would go on to compete in the national contest. Traditionally, part of the prize is getting to keep the steaks raised.

I Love Lucy

 

[Baron Bizarre]

I Love Lucy

Autobiography of Henry Browne Blackwell, husband of Lucy Stone, and father of Alice Stone Blackwell, the United States' first female President.

Even Friends May Argue: How Patton and Yamashita Made Franco Cry

 

[Kylia]

I Love Lucy

The campaign slogan for the 2028 Presidential Re-election campaign for Lucy Lawless, the first foreign-born president of the United States (not counting the ones grandfathered in because they were born pre-1789) after appropriate constitutional amendments were passed.

Broken Bottles All Across the Street

 

[sampleswift]

The campaign slogan for the 2028 Presidential Re-election campaign for Lucy Lawless, the first foreign-born president of the United States (not counting the ones grandfathered in because they were born pre-1789) after appropriate constitutional amendments were passed.

Broken Bottles All Across the Street

A book about the infamous Social Distancing protests across America. Some of the wreckage included broken bottles.

Even Friends May Argue: How Patton and Yamashita Made Franco Cry

Franco panicked when Patton discussed with Yamashita that they might be going after him due to the "White Terror".

"Ware wa meshia nari! Hahahaha! (我はメシアなり！はーっはっはっは！, "I am the Messiah! Hahahaha!")"

 

[Crazy Boris]

"Ware wa meshia nari! Hahahaha! (我はメシアなり！はーっはっはっは！, "I am the Messiah! Hahahaha!")"

The last words of Hiroshi Yamata, a Japanese cult leader who’s followers attempted to storm the national diet in 1998 to install Yamata as the supreme god-king of Japan. Yamata shouted this as he stood at the front of the building before a police sniper took him out. His followers, who believed he was immortal, quickly dispersed before they could even enter the building. The phrase has entered Japanese slang as a way to mock someone with a superiority complex.

The Onion King

 

[bunhead]

The Onion King

A rude nickname for German President Hans Stressman. It's a reference to the Yiddish insult "tisbele" which literally translates to "onion" but implies willful ignorance.

Badger Balm

 

[ennobee]

Badger Balm

1) A hair pomade tremendously popular in the US during the 'Roaring Twenties'. Both Al Capone and Eliot Ness were now to use copious amounts of it to keep their hair slick and shiny. The name 'badger' relates both to the slick badger's fur as to the inventor of the pomade, a New York apothecary of Dutch decent called Hubert Van Das.

2) Chicago 1920's Slang for cheap bootleg whiskey of dubios origin. Typically it got the same color and substance (and according to some sources the same taste) as the eponymous hair balm.


Next up:
Son of Sam

 

[Plateosaurus]

Son of Sam

In reference to Uncle Sam, the New Texas Republic used this to refer to Nicky Tom, their version.

Concerned People for a Boston-Free America

 

[Comte de Dordogne]

Concerned People for a Boston-Free America

The story begins with a pamphlet by Michael Dukakis called "Boston and the American Desert", playing on the rivalry between Boston and the rest of the country. Very badly taken by the thirteen states, a very popular petition in the whole country with the name "should Boston be destroyed by nuclear fire?" gathered almost 8 million signatures as the city is so unpopular beyond its agglomeration. Some French authors have drawn a parallel with Paris and the provinces of the kingdom.
In 1989 the situation worsened so much that a referendum was held with 89% of votes for the independence of the city.
The weight that independence had on the economy was so cataclysmic for the United States that it prompted many intellectuals to reflect on the impact of the American-Boston rivalry and the impact that childishness can have on political decisions.

"The Communist Red Cardinal"

 

[The_Persian_Cat]

The story begins with a pamphlet by Michael Dukakis called "Boston and the American Desert", playing on the rivalry between Boston and the rest of the country. Very badly taken by the thirteen states, a very popular petition in the whole country with the name "should Boston be destroyed by nuclear fire?" gathered almost 8 million signatures as the city is so unpopular beyond its agglomeration. Some French authors have drawn a parallel with Paris and the provinces of the kingdom.
In 1989 the situation worsened so much that a referendum was held with 89% of votes for the independence of the city.
The weight that independence had on the economy was so cataclysmic for the United States that it prompted many intellectuals to reflect on the impact of the American-Boston rivalry and the impact that childishness can have on political decisions.

"The Communist Red Cardinal"

The monicker for Ernesto Cardenal Martínez, the Nicaraguan theologian, political activist, and key figure in the Liberation Theology movement who in this timeline was successful in protesting the Second Vatican Council and getting appointed a cardinal, leading the Leftist movement within the institution of the Church. Cardinal Martínez led a revival of faith and popular Socialist activism across Latin America, sub-Saharan activism, Western Europe, and the Philippines. The Cardinal's opposition to the capitalist exploitation of the US and the atheistic materialism of the Soviet Union caused him to work closely with Charles de Gaulle in establishing the European Economic Community, and established a strong Catholic opposition to French Laicitism. In Ireland, Mozambique, and the Philippines, the Cardinal's Sandanistas became close collaborators with the IRA, FRELIMO, and the Hukbalahap. In Poland, opposition to Soviet hegemony coalesced around Lech Walesa's "Solidarity Party," which had strong endorsement from the Left-leaning Catholic Church in Poland due to the Cardinal's influence.

Hitler's Time-Travel Exemption Act

 

[Kylia]

A law passed by the UN Council on Time Travel in 2112, prohibiting anyone from attempting to steal original Hitler Watercolors from his workshop before it burned in a fire in 1935 - while the gifted painter survived, a dozen of his works (now known only in a few poor quality photographs and early sketches), after several well-publicized incidents where competing time travelers came to blows when trying to steal the same painting - there is now actually some reason to believe that time travelers may have inadvertantly caused that fire in the first place due to fighting over several paintings at one point.

The General Theory of Blood Magic

 

[The Professor]

Hitler's Time-Travel Exemption Act

A phrase that emerged from the popularisation of the Hitler Monologues, a mostly 1 handed play about Hitler trying to justify each of his decisions. In the third act he is interrupted by an audience member claiming to be him from the future.
The uniqueness of the play was that the interruption was planned to occur at different points thus stymying anyone who had seen it before.
At least one iteration resulted in Hitler's assassination by the Time Traveller and the arrival of the Time Police dragging him off.

The Cat Sty