"The horror, the horror!"

[Pain_Man]

algore is going to screw up something my wife's company has been working on for nearly ten years. The Las Vegas Desert Springs Preserve--a flagship project in the Sustainability movement. He's been hired as keynote speaker for the ceremony officially completing the ceremony.

 

When the company's project manager told my wife this, he was absolutely green from the shock. :&

 

This is not cool. While I was planning to attend it, obviously now, I cannot.

 

How, in good, conscience, can I be in the same room as algore?

 

The mere thought has my lunch lurching.

 

Oh, the horror, the horror!

 

Well, it could have been worse. It could have been Count Taxula himself rather than algore.

 

(And if you don't get that this is a joke...you're probably not an American. )

[Kenadjian]

You're dead right, I have no idea what the hell you just said.

[cathater]

algore?

wasn't I just discuss him in the nanny staters topic?

[dbminter]

Actually, I didn't get the joke either from just reading it. But, it was easy to figure out for obvious reasons.

[lfcrule1972]

[Pain_Man]

First you have to follow American politics, which as Aussie, you probably don't. Not that I'm finding fault, I don't follow Aussie politics.

 

Second, you need to have been a Rush listener (and I don't mean the band) during the '92 election.

 

He did a parody political commerical about Clinton.

 

"...Count Taxula and his [sidekick], algore!"

 

Ever since then, Conservatives always refer to Al Gore as algore. My wife said that when the project manager told her this he actually said "algore" instead of "Al Gore."

 

(At least this was taken as a joke. That's a good sign. )

 

You're dead right, I have no idea what the hell you just said.

Edited January 12, 2007 by Pain_Man

[zacoz]

Explanation still doesn't help me get it - but maybe I'm just not very

 

Can't see any different pronunciation between "algore" and "Al Gore", only thing I can think of is "all gore", but till don't get "taxula" linkage. You're right don't follow US polotics and obviously need to to get it.

[Pain_Man]

Count Taxula as in Count Dracula. Because, despite his promises, it was clear that everyone's taxes would go up and not just the evil , greedy, dastardly, thieving bastard richies. Under William Jefferson Blythe Clinton $30K a year became "rich."

 

algore as in Igor.

 

And, just as Rush (and I) predicted, Slick Willy raised taxes on everyone.

 

Don't trouble yourself with our country's politics. Our politics suck. Our politicians suck harder (on our wallets!!). You don't want to wade into that mire.

 

The joke was intended for Americans. Sometimes I forget just how many Brits, Aussies and others are members of our li'l group here.

 

After all, posts have no accent. And the Net tends to smooth out national differences in orthography.

 

Explanation still doesn't help me get it - but maybe I'm just not very

 

Can't see any different pronunciation between "algore" and "Al Gore", only thing I can think of is "all gore", but till don't get "taxula" linkage. You're right don't follow US polotics and obviously need to to get it.

[kirk1701™]

Can't wait to 08 myself so I already started campaigning

 

algore I had never heard that joke but good one PM

[zacoz]

Ah, ok, I was a bit slow on thinking about dracula's sidekick ... maybe I need to go pull out Van Helsing again

[dbminter]

Ah, but, Igor (Originally Ygor.) had nothing to do with Dracula. Ygor first appeared in Son Of Frankenstein. The closest thing Dracula would have had to Ygor is Renfield.

[lfcrule1972]

I thought Igor was Dr Frankensteins assistant as well ! Oh well it doesn't really matter all Govt's are bloodsucking parasites no matter which end of the political spectrum they come from.....

[dbminter]

Well, you've come to the right source. I consider myself the world's unofficial expert on Frankenstein.

 

 

Frankenstein had no assistant in the original novel. He had to do the job on his own for obvious reasons. In Universal's first Frankenstein movie, Frankenstein had a hunched over assistant named Fritz. He even had a cane. Fritz was played by Dwight Frye who would, interestingly enough, return in the sequel, Bride Of Frankenstein, as Dr. Proetorius's assistant. Ygor was a shepherd who the villagers attempted to hang and broke his neck. But, he survived and per the usual customs with hanging, if the victim survives he is "cleared" of his crimes; it is viewed as the will of god. Ygor was played Bela Lugosi and would return in the sequel to Son Of Frankenstein, The Ghost Of Frankenstein. In that film, he manages to trick both the Monster and a surgeon (Played by Lionel Atwill who was in every one of Universal's original Frankenstein cycle except for the first picture.) into putting his brain into the monster's body. So, interestingly enough, Bela Lugosi ends up playing the monster in the sequel, Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man, where Lon Chaney, Jr. who had played the monster in Ghost, appears as Larry Talbot.

 

 

So, what happened was a case similar to how public conception has equated the name of Frankenstein with his monster. That though the creature never had a name, people call it Frankenstein even though that's the name of its creator. A similar situation has occurred with Igor. Because there was a hunched over assistant in the Frankenstein movie, and Ygor was assisting the son of Frankenstein in the movie of the same name, and Ygor had a hunch deformity, people have equated Fritz with Ygor and both together. Since most people's interpretation of Frankenstein comes from the Universal movies, they have it printed in their memory that Frankenstein had an assistant named Igor. And, in popular culture, the word Igor has come to have that connotation. When you say Igor, you immediately think of someone's hunched over slave, taking orders from a mad scientist.

[Pain_Man]

It is. Wish I could take credit for it. But credit must go to Rush. (This year I celebrate 17 years of listening to him; he celebrates 17 years as the most succesful radio personality in the history of the medium.)

 

 

Can't wait to 08 myself so I already started campaigning

 

algore I had never heard that joke but good one PM

[Pain_Man]

You would know that. Useless knowledge. What other kind is worth knowing?

 

I think people are confusing the Bram Stoker novel with a certain cinematic version...

 

 

Ah, but, Igor (Originally Ygor.) had nothing to do with Dracula. Ygor first appeared in Son Of Frankenstein. The closest thing Dracula would have had to Ygor is Renfield.

[Pain_Man]

Sadly, true.

 

Politicians don't get popular by taking away the government teat, they get popular by adding more teats.

 

Then when it comes time to pay for the milk, people start screaming....that someone else should pay for their teat. Otherwise, it's "unfair."

 

Budget cuts are kind of like cops: everybody loves 'em as long as they're fucking with the neighbor and not us.

 

 

And, as the Durants put it, "No government is ever at a loss for ways to spend its people's money."

 

It was true under Augustus two thousand years ago. It's true today. It'll be true 10,000 years from now.

 

Here's a shocker: the US government's margin of error in both revenue and expenditure is $200 billion. That's the entire GDP of Mexico!

 

 

I thought Igor was Dr Frankensteins assistant as well ! Oh well it doesn't really matter all Govt's are bloodsucking parasites no matter which end of the political spectrum they come from.....

[Pain_Man]

Well, you've come to the right source. I consider myself the world's unofficial expert on Frankenstein.

 

 

Better'n being the world's expert on salmon parasites.

[dbminter]

Are you an expert on salmon parasites?

[Pain_Man]

Uhh, what?!

 

Are you an expert on salmon parasites?

[dbminter]

Check your last reply and hopefully, once the sweet smelling smoke clears it will all become clear.