AH Cultural Descriptions

[brunohusker]

My Buddy Hans, with the Luger

A 1980 film directed by Gene Wilder and starring Wilder as a suburban father who befriends a German immigrant, Hans (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) who says he’s escaped East Germany to become a writer, but in reality, is a spy. However, when Wilder’s character George sees evidence of Hans’ spying, he tries to tell everyone he can but no one seems to believe him. Eventually, George is caught by Hans and everyone suspects it was a home invasion gone wrong, but eventually a note is found telling the truth that says Hans did it with his Luger.

The film was a commercial flop and Schwarzenegger eventually returned to Austria where he remade himself as a politician, winning the Austrian presidency in 1996.

Carmen Ohio

 

[ennobee]

Carmen Ohio

The mythical girlfriend of the town of Gary, Indiana. According to the lore, the two have been corresponding by mail since 1894 and due to tectonic movements will finally meet -according to the latest calculations- in 100.292 A.D. This promoted the city council of Gary to tentatively plan their wedding for April 14th of that year, being the Sunday after Easter. However, in 2021 it announced that due to the Pandemic, said wedding will probably have to be rescheduled.

Next up:
Buggs Bundy

 

[ordinarylittleme]

Next up:
Buggs Bundy

A play on Broadway that re-told the life of Ted Bundy if he, and all the people in his life, were gigantic bunnies. Noted for its accurate depiction of a rabbit's bodily functions and reproduction, the gorgeous scenery, and the thick Yankee accent of the actress portraying Bundy's wife. It won six Tony Awards, five Grammys and a Drama League Award.

Candy Apple Red

 

[Reflection]

Candy Apple Red

The name of a popular street racing/heist movie, released in 2004, starring Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Keira Knightley, Jamie Foxx, and Michael Keaton. The script was a heavily reworked version of an older movie that ultimately got canned a few years prior, called "The Fast and the Furious". Here, it plays out as one part street racing, one part heist (involving the main characters doing a high stakes bank robbery). The first half of the movie is lighthearted and fun, making for a whiplash when it shifts to a darker, dramatic tone. The movie's title is derived from the main character's signature car: A candy apple red '78 Ford Mustang.

Governor George Lucas

 

[brunohusker]

Governor George Lucas

No relation to the more famous film director, this George Lucas is a former Catholic priest who left after a decade as a priest and later became a lawyer in his native St. Louis and eventually governor of Missouri. While rumors have always circulated around Lucas, including that he left the priesthood for having a male or female lover, in addition to nasty and outlandish rumors about his Catholic faith from fundamentalist Protestants, Lucas has been seen by many as one of the better Republican governors in the United States due to his age endemic response and reprimanding of Senator Josh Hawley and has been married for nearly 25 years and has two adopted sons.

The Marlboro Woman

 

[ordinarylittleme]

The Marlboro Woman

A painting depicting a nude blonde woman perched atop an F1 car with three lit cigarettes between her red lips, and four between her legs. It was widely distributed despite the scandalous subject.

The Duchess, the Countess and the Baroness

 

[The Professor]

The Duchess, the Countess and the Baroness

A short story that formed the basis of the hit play Duchess, Countess, Baroness. Like the play it's essentially 3 scenes from the same character as she rises in station but falls in happiness and expectations. It's told backwards with the first fall of woe and bitterness, and last bright and cheerful and hopeful.
The play is typically 3 monologues and is variously played by 1 or 3 actors. The most common arrangements has 3 but with each handling a week performing all 3 monologues interspersed with a week each handling one.
The play was such a hit in the 90s that it spawned a parody episode of Frasier.

Winner, Loser, Star.

 

[John Spangler]

Winner, Loser, Star.

Autobiography of Elvis Presley, American musician turned politician. After being wounded during a skirmish with East German border guards, Elvis lost his ability to sing. He spent a few more years in the US Army, then became a politician. This career was even more succesful than his former one, and he eventually became president in 1982.

Doctor Breakwind, or How I learned to stop being ashamed and weaponize my farts

 

[ordinarylittleme]

Autobiography of Elvis Presley, American musician turned politician. After being wounded during a skirmish with East German border guards, Elvis lost his ability to sing. He spent a few more years in the US Army, then became a politician. This career was even more succesful than his former one, and he eventually became president in 1982.

Doctor Breakwind, or How I learned to stop being ashamed and weaponize my farts

Autobiography of Paul Oldfield or "Mr. Methane" co-written with his former romantic partner. Widely acclaimed for its flowery writing style and in-jokes between the two writers, it is also nowadays considered to be whitewashing his life story a little bit. It sold six million copies in the United States during its release week, and has been translated into eighteen languages.

Are you insane like me, been in pain like me?

 

[Reflection]

Are you insane like me, been in pain like me?

The tagline of Alice Cooper's odd 1983 movie School's Out, a horror comedy. This is one of his iconic lines, which was made the official tagline seen in the posters. To this day, it's an iconic chant used at Alice Cooper concerts.

Reagan–Thatcher–Gorbachev Agreement

 

[brunohusker]

Reagan–Thatcher–Gorbachev Agreement

An agreement made by the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom and Soviet Union to counter an nuclear strike by the greater German Reich. For years, the US and UK had been allied against the Reich, while the Soviets more or less stood on their own, running a rump government from Novosibirsk and having occasional skirmishes with Reich and Japanese Imperial forces. Eventually, the Soviets joined with the Anglo-American Alliance after signing a treaty in Aberdeen Scotland in 1986. Eventually, the Alliance would make headway against the Reich, allowing for Russian territory to be returned to the Russians by 2000.

Jews…..In……. Space!!!!! The Musical

 

[MNM041]

Jews…..In……. Space!!!!! The Musical

A Broadway musical, written and directed by Mel Brooks. A follow-up to his widely successful musical, The Producers, it follows two space traveling Rabbi's (who act like Spock and Han Solo), as they battle space Nazis. It's as ridiculous as it sounds. It's also been nominated for six Tony awards.

Warden of the Universe

 

[ennobee]

Warden of the Universe

Name given in the English translation to the spaceship 'Guardius Universalis' of the Franco-Italian co-production 'A Travers Les Etoiles'/'Tra Le Stelle'

The series ran in France and Italy from 1969 to 1974, but has seen various re-runs, particularly in Germany and even before 1989 in Poland and Rumania. In the US, PBS aired subtitled versions of the show in 1970 and 71, before NBC dubbed the series in English and launched it in 1973 under the title of 'Star Trek'.

The series was popular enough to warrant an American-made follow-up and so in 1988, NBC launched 'Star Trek, the Next Generation' with an all-American cast taking over where the European series had left off, this time aboard the new USS-NC 1701 Warden II.

Next up:
Bezos and Butt-head

 

[MNM041]

Bezos and Butt-head

2012 SNL Sketch parodying Democratic presidential candidate Jeff Bezos and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. As the title implies, the two are depicted in a manner similar to Beavis and Butt-Head. Two months after the sketch aired, both candidates dropped out of the race.

Rochelle Rochelle

 

[brunohusker]

Rochelle Rochelle

A book written in 1991 by journalist turned author Jerry Rivers about the infamous prostitution scandal that brought down New York Governor Donald Drumpf. Drumpf, a member of the Populist party and the first candidate from that party to win in New York, had a party house in New Rochelle that he used for famous parties. While Trump rarely participated in the drinking, he did most of his womanizing at the New Rochelle manor. Rivers himself had known Drumpf and had been invited to many of his soirées and even claimed Trump set him up with a number of underage and trafficked women. Drumpf later resigned and moved to the rapidly liberalizing Soviet Union, where he remade himself as an oil and gas tycoon before being kicked out after the nationalization of industries by premier Vladimir Putin.

Pizza De Mussolini

 

[PolishMagnet]

Pizza De Mussolini

An exploratory documentary following Mussolini's son, who opened a pizzeria after the liberalisation of the state in 1968. The doc features testimonials from friends and family of the young Mussolini, who share their experiences in the old Vs the new Italy.

Passion of the Christ 2

 

[MNM041]

Passion of the Christ 2

The second in a series of documentaries showcasing the dark side by of various religious organizations by Australian documentary filmmaker Mel Gibson and American journalist Jim Caviezel. This film in particular explore the increasingly lucrative telavangelists churches, most of which ended up getting investigated by the FBI after the documentary was released.

Love Lays Dying

 

[brunohusker]

Love Lays Dying

A book by William Faulkner written in 1943 about a young man named Homer Cartwright who leads a quiet resistance against a corrupt local colonel during the 2nd American Civil War. Faulkner had started the novel in the early days of Huey Long’s American Union State and had escaped by car, train and foot to California, where he lectured on the horrors of both the AUS and the McArthurite armies, which fought each other bitterly in his native Mississippi. Faulkner himself was praised by both the Pacific States government and even the Chicago Syndicate for his support of freedom and sympathetic portrayal of African Americans who he sympathized with as many local AUS militias wholesale slaughtered them, especially those under the influence of William Dudley Pelley.

Diet of Worms

 

[The_Persian_Cat]

Diet of Worms

A natural philosophy treatise published in 1756 by the Royal Society, in which Sir John Cavendish discusses the feeding habits, digestion, and other biological aspects of various worms and worm-like creatures (including lungfish). Although mocked by the general public as a waste of money, Diet of Worms proved to be a fascinating read thanks to Cavendish's engaging writing style, and had two major effects: 1) it promoted interest in the study of biology, particularly of invertibrates and other "primitive" creatures; and 2) it encouraged stylistic flourishes in scientific literature, rather than strictly clinical writing.

The Baghdad Battery

 

[MNM041]

The Baghdad Battery

Nickname given to the nuclear power plant in the heart of Iraq's capital city. The development of the battery led to Iraq becoming a leading force in the development of nuclear energy as a power source, which helped lead the world away from oil.

Angels with Filthy Souls​