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Archive-name: firesign-theatre/lexicon/part1
Last-modified: 1994/8/30 Version: 2.0 See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge About This Archive ------------------ This archive is posted monthly to alt.comedy.firesgn-thtre, alt.fan.firesign-theatre, alt.answers, and news.answers. It is also available via anonymous ftp to rtfm.mit.edu in the directory /pub/usenet/alt.answers/firesign-theatre/lexicon/*, or by sending e-mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the message "send usenet/alt.answers/firesign-theatre/lexicon/*". Include the line "help" in the message for more information on the server. Send new entries/updates, etc. to ritter@earthlink.net Changes: 1. Split int <32K parts! Side 4) The Firesign Theatre: Lexicon and Concordance File (1/4) ================================================================ INDEX: Part 1: ALVARADO-CURFEW Part 2: DCTDHMTP-GORGONZOLA Part 3: HCYB-OZ Part 4: PAPOON-ZIPS [A] --- ALVARADO: {PICO}'s sidekick, as in "It's Pico and Alvarado". From the streets Pico and Alvarado in Los Angeles. PICO and ALVARADO are both {BEANERS}. They are featured in the plays {BOZOS},{DWARF}, as well as others. {NICK DANGER} had to swim down Alvarado to his convertable during a severe rain storm. Pico and Alvarado sometimes like to yell, "{PARK} it and Lock it! Not Responsible!" AMES: Harry Ames, Jr. A fictional actor who portrays Lieutenant {BRADSHAW} on the {NICK DANGER} series. There is also a Gun Salesman names Ed Ames, who runs the "Ames Guns" store in {DWARF}. ANCHOVIES: Small fish with beady little eyes. We first encounter anchovies in {DWARF}, when George Tirebiter calls a {PIZZA} parlor (note the name of the pizza joint he calls): GEORGE [mumbling]: Let's see...Ocelots. Paupers. Pipe-nipples, Polombras, Pizzas! Armenian Gardens...Hank's Juggernaut... New Leviathan...Nick's Swell... SOUND: HE PICKS UP THE PHONE AND DIALS. THE NEWSCAST GOES ON. < Broadcast deleted> GEORGE [phoning]: Uh, this is George Tirebiter, Camden N 200 R. [pause] Uh, I want to order a pizza to go, and no anchovies. [pause] What ? [clicks phone] Oh, man! Nobody will come up here at all! Apparently, Tirebiter mistakenly called {NICK DANGER}, in the episode, "Cut 'Em Off at the Past". On that album, we hear the same conversation, but from the other side of the phone: ANNOUNCER: He walks in! He's ready for mystery...he's ready for excitement! He's ready for anything...he's... SOUND: TELEPHONE PICKED UP NICK: Nick Danger, Third Eye! GEORGE: (ON FILTER) Uh-I wanna order a pizza to go, and no anchovies. NICK: No anchovies? You've got the wrong man. I spell my name...Danger! [click] GEORGE: (FILTER) What? MUSIC: "NICK DANGER" THEME IN AND UNDER. Note: This is a direct quote from the "Big Mystery" Joke book, and so the attribution of "GEORGE" to the guy on the other side of the phone is the FT's, not an inference (some people thought it was the voice of the teenage Porgie that called Nick). In another episode of Nick Danger, "The case of the Missing Yolks" (Video), and the "Three faces of Al" (album), Rocky {ROCOCO} calls up Nick at the start of the play, and turns everything around: ROCKY: I want to order an anchovy to go, and hold the pizza. NICK: Anchovies? ROCKY: Yeah, those little black things, with eyes! NICK: You've got the wrong man. I spell my name (LOOKS BACK AT THE DOOR) ...REGNAD. ANTELOPE FREEWAY: A {LOS ANGELES} Freeway, north of the {SAN FERNANDINO} valley towards Palmdale. Used to demonstrate {ZENO'S PARADOX} in the {TWO PLACES} album. ARTIE CHOKE: A {HOLOGRAM} in the FT's {BOZO} play. Artie, the Lonesome Beet and the Whisperin' Squash were all once intended to be characters in an FT western radio show, featuring an all-vegetable cast. AUSTIN: Philip Austin, one of the FT members. [B] --- BABE: The name of {EVERYMAN} in the FT's play {TWO PLACES}. In the liner notes for the "Two Places" CD, Phil Austin writes: It has often been correctly note that the progress of Babe is linked with that of Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Epic poem, "The Odyssey". Although HCYB does not literally follow the form of "The Odyssey", there are several key meetings between the two stories and certainly, like Joyce's "Ulysses", HCYB derives much inspiration from the age-old story of a man trying to return home. Odysseus (Ulysses) finds himself imprisoned, bound by the spell of the witch Calypso, when his outrages against the gods are forgiven and he is allowed to return home. All we will see of this on HCYB is Babe running across a street, nearly to be killed, and entering the emporium of one {RALPH SPOILSPORT}, who may or may not be the god Hermes, sent to sell Babe the instrument of his homecoming. (Some see HCYB as the musings of Ralph, that Ralph is the storyteller and Babe portrays him as a young man. Well...) BALCONY: Whatever it is, Louise Wong's got one you can do {SHAKESPEARE} from! BARNEY: Barney is a {BOZO}. The new "Bozo" CD gives a definition: "Barny or Barney: In the English circus, a fight. The closest American equivalent is {CLEM}." BBOP: Not Bee-bop, but the FT's "Big Book of Plays". BEAR WHIZ BEER: A popular beverage in FT plays, heard in both {EYKIW} and in {YOLKS}. "It's in the water! that's why it's yellow!" Currently a company in Colorado has appropriated the Logo for tee-shirts and posters [and the editor spotted a *Neon* sign of BWB in Manitou Springs during a recent vacation!]. BWB has entered the mainstream (sorry) of american culture: mathias thallmayer writes: I was looking at the current issue of the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette (a magazine devoted to modeling narrow gauge railroads, for you fireheads) and what should I see: a review of a 1:22.5 scale Bear Wizz Beer Refigerator car (based on the bachman mechanism). The logo looks pretty good: a bear standing human style, back to us but looking over his shoulder, er, er... I'd always pictured him with a rear leg raised, but close enough.... The reviewer (Bob Brown) said it was pretty colorful. It comes from the "Feather River Canyon Loco Works" in Pagosa Springs, CO. A recent entry from the Los Angeles Times, June 30, 1994, page E-2: The FDA alleges that the tobacco industry has been secretly adding twice the amount of nicotine to cigarettes to make them more addictive. "In a related story, Kraft has admitted that they've been adding twice as much whiz to their jars of cheese." --Morning Sickness, Premiere Radio Network Cheese Whiz Beer? BEDDOES: Dr. Beddoes, head of Dr. Beddoes Pneumatic Institute, which in real life was a 19th century operation dedicated to experimenting with nitrous oxide (laughing gas). See {TESLACLE'S DEVIANT}, {FUDD'S LAW}. BERGMAN: Peter Bergman, one of the FT members. See also {LOVE IN}. BOB BUNNY: A fifteen year-old kid, who is the side-kick of {MARK TIME} of the Circum-Solar Federation. He is also a fan of {YOUNG GUY}, Motor Detective, and asks him the {PORRIDGE BIRD} question, which he found carved on the Great Wall of Mars. BOTTLES: {MUDHEAD}'s crazy hopped-up girlfriend, in Porgie {TIREBITER} movies. She is played by Barbara Bobo. Her name is likely a play on the word "Jugs". BOZO: See {BOZOS}. BOZOS: A Bozo likes to {CLONE} and be with other Bozos. One of the {FIVE LIFESTYLES OF MAN}, according to the FT. Honk! Honk! See also {BEANERS}, {BOOGIES}, {ZIPS} and {BERZERKERS}. Featured in the FT play,"I Think Were All Bozos's on this Bus". The FT gives the following definition: "BOZO: A man, fellow, guy; esp. a large, rough man or one with more brawn than brains. 1934: "Drive the heap, bozo" -- Chandler, _Finger Man_. From Sp. dial. "boso" (from "vosotros") - you (pl.) which resembles a direct address." --Dictionary of American Slang by Wentworth and Flexner, 1960. B.O.Z.O is also referred to as an acronym for the "Brotherhood Of {ZIPS} and Others". BEANERS: A non-offensive term derived from the ethnically offensive one, referring to the lifestyle rather than the race. One of the {FIVE LIFESTYLES OF MAN}, according to the FT. BEATLES: A 60's Rock-and-Roll group. A few Beatles references: In {NICK DANGER}: Announcer: "Out of the Fog, into the smog"... "There's a fog upon L.A. ..." (Blue Jay Way, Magical Mystery Tour) Rocky Rococo: A play on "Rocky Raccoon" Catherwood: says "Goo-goo-goo-joob" (ref: "I am the Walrus"), and then says "I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink" (cf "I'm So Tired", from the "White Album"). His references to {CELLOPHANE}, although a clear {SFX} device, could also be the line "Cellophane flowers of yellow and green" (cf "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" -- Sgt. Pepper). Nick: says his story has more holes in it than the Albert Hall (cf "A Day in the Life" -- Sgt. Pepper). "It was {PIG NITE} at the {OM} mane padme Sigma House." is a reference to the mantra: "Om mani padme hum" (note the awful math pun: Sigma-->Sum-->Hum). This also possibly a reference to "Piggies" on the White Album, although some Fraternities actually used to have a Pig Nite, where they would bring ugly women. Nancy: "<long list of names>, but everyone knew her as Nancy" is from "Rocky Raccoon" (White Album, again!): Her name was Magil and she called herself Lil But everyone knew her as Nancy... Also, her boyfriend's name is "Dan" in the Song (Dan Catherwood): Now she and her man who called himself Dan Were in the next room at the hoe down In {HEMLOCK STONES}, they sing "Get Back" at the end. Also, Stones tells Flotsom to meet him in the Pub in disguise, and Flotsom asks "In the pub in the skys?", which is a reference to "Lucy In the Skys, with Diamonds,". This tune was denied by the Beatles to be an LSD reference, and apparently is also tied to a John Fredd and the Playboy Band tune called "Judy in Disguise, With Glasses". So, we have come full circle. In {HCYB}, one of the {RALPH SPOILSPORT} motors commercials begins, "Don't we do it in the road here at Ralph's Spoilsport Motors..." (cf "Why Dont We Do it In the Road" from the "White Album"). One of the kids in "Le Trent Huit Cunegonde" (Returned for Regrooving) was named "Malcom X.John Lennon" In the "Dear Friends" album, one of the skits ends with a politician singing, "Those Moscow girls really knock me out" (a mis-quote from "Back in the USSR" -- the girls were Ukrainian). BERZERKER: See {BERZERKERS}. BERZERKERS: One of the {FIVE LIFESTYLES OF MAN}, according to the FT. BMJB: The FT's "Big Mystery Joke Book", containing the transcripts of {HEMLOCK STONES} Sumatran Rat play, {NICK DANGER}'s "Cut 'Em Off at the Past" play, "Temporarily Humboldt County", "{MARK TIME}" from the "Dear Friends" album, "{YOUNG GUY}", motor detective, and others. BOOGIES:A non-offensive term derived from the ethnically offensive one, referring to the lifestyle rather than the race. One of the {FIVE LIFESTYLES OF MAN}, according to the FT. BRADSHAW: Lieutenant Alvin Bradshaw, in the FT police forces. Loosely based on the Officer Bradshaw from the old Highway Patrol episodes, Bradshaw is constantly pestering the private investigators {NICK DANGER} and his Javanese counterpart {YOUNG GUY}, Motor Detective. {YOUNG GUY} once discovered that "BRAD" stands for "Bernard", indicating that Bradshaw is actually "George Bernard Shaw, famous author and riterary smart-guy". Bradshaw is played by the fictional character Harry Ames, Jr. BUNCHE: Ralph Bunche, was a black American official of the United Nations who won the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation of the 1948-49 Arab-Israeli War. Rumored in {DWARF} to have been the honorary Aquarium parent (along with Ida Lupino) of the first man-made baby Adam one-three. BUS: What I think We're all {BOZO}'s on. The "Bozo" CD liner notes quote the following definition: "BUS: A circuit in a mixing board which carries signals from one or more inputs to any output or set of outputs." The {PRESIDENT} is referred to as the "Terminal Bus -- the output". [C] --- CELLOPHANE: An {SFX} tool, used to simulate fire on radio. In {NICK DANGER}, Catherwood asks if he Nick wants to pull his "cues" out of the cellophane before they scorch. See also {CORNSTARCH}. In the Fall 93 Reunion tour update, Catherwood asks Nick to pull his cues out of the "bubble wrap". CHEESE: Many types of CHEESE appear in FT skits: {GORGONZOLA} the Cheese-monster, Cheese-Logs, Cheese-Log-Throws, not to mention {RAT}S. On the album cover of {ITNWYOYO}, on the wall (below the billboards for 'Dead Cat Soap" and "Billy Jack Dogfood") there are signs for 'Bowel {OIL}' and'{SWELL} Cheese'. See also {PIZZA}. CHING: See {I CHING}. CHROMIUM: It's just this little CHROMIUM switch, here! The first lines of {DWARF}. CLEM: The {EVERYMAN} of the FT play {BOZOS}. Also known as "UhClem" to the main computer in the {FUTURE FAIR}. The liner notes for "Bozos" quotes the following definition from "The Language of American Popular Entertainment": "Clem: Its most common meaning is that of a general fight or riot between town hoodlums who attack shows and the circus or carnival employees. As an interjection, clem has replaces 'hey rube' as a battle cry for a forthcoming fight. In this case, Clem attacks the Future Fair main computer by inserting a gypsy program to confuse {DOCTOR MEMORY}, bringing the whole operation down. The FT in later skits apparently developed Clems motivation and story as follows (David {OSSMAN} writes): "Clem, a shoeless computer programmer for the Fair, was fired after he re-programmed the {RALPH SPOILSPORT} Speedway ride to 'Smoke Dope' ie, slow down, free-associate, play. He has now re-entered the Fair and broken into the maintenance circuits of {DOCTOR MEMORY} in order to re-program it to 'forget the past'. As on the album, he succeeds in confusing the good Dr. into contradictory on/off instructions which sabotage the machine and destroy the fantastic illusions we had taken for Reality. CLONE: To either replicate yourself into a {HOLOGRAM}, or to act like all the other {BOZO}S. CONFIDENCE IN THE SYSTEM: A timely drug. Here's an advertisement for it by the FT on Ben Bland's All Day Matinee on the "Just Folks" album.: You know, this is the midst of the disillusionment and heartbreak season and,with the recent outbreak of that suicidal strain of despair up in Boston,well, you'd better keep a close watch on your emotions. So remember the seven danger signals of depression; that's a general and lasting feeling of hope-lessness, inability to concentrate, loss of self-esteem, fear of rejection, feelings of guilt, misdirected anger, and extreme dependency on others. At the first sign of these symptoms, friends, follow these simple rules: keep working, drink as much as possible, and... take your television's advice. And y'know more TV's recommend an amazing new psychic breakthrough than any other, and that's... Confidence in the System. Fast, safe, and guaranteed through constant Federal control, Confidence in the System will keep THEM in power longer, longer, longer, and tend to calm and obscure the miseries of disillusionment and despair. In easy-to-swallow Propaganda form or new fast-acting Thought Control, that's Confidence in the System. So have some... today. CORNSTARCH: Used to simulate snow in {NICK DANGER}. Catherwood asks Nick to come in out of the Cornstarch and dry his mucklucks by the fire. Cornstarch is a prop widely used by foley artists (a/k/a "Sound Effects Guys" -- "thanks Rocky!") to simulate walking through snow. You don't walk in it. You leave it in its handy box. Squeezing and massaging the box near a mike gives that squeaky sound, not unlike walking on packed snow on a cold day. It also expels a fine dusting of cornstarch, which settles nicely onto scripts, mikes, tape reels, etc. Experienced foley artists leave the cornstarch box inside a plastic bag. See also {CELLOPHANE}. CUNEGONDE: As in "Le Trent Huit Cunegonde" (The 38th Cunegonde). This is referred to in {DWARF}, and is the title of another FT piece. Cunegonde has generated quite a discussion amongst the FT irregulars... A number of fans noted that Cunegonde is the daughter of the Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh, a central character in Voltaire's "Candide". Jeff Bulf notes the use of this name elsewhere in the arts: Cunegonde and its variants in other languages seems to be a standard name for what we would now call "bimbo" characters in European film. And presumably in stage before that. I cannot remember the title of a black-and-white scandinavian movie with tease/tart named Kunigunda. I saw it when I was in high school anyway, which puts it before the first Firesign performances. (Was it a {BERGMAN}? Doesn't sound like his sort of character.) The name seems to be used as if it were a month; several fans have tried to link it with the French Revolution and its renaming of the calendar months; E.g., July became "Thermidor" -- best recalled by the "Thermidorean reaction" that followed some brutality as the revolution took its course. As for the origin of the name Cunegonde, Evan M Corcoran was kind enough to track this down with the help of his brother in France: ...Here's what he came up with, from the five volume Grand Larousse dictionary, translated free for your personal libation: Cunegonde - (saint), Germanic imperatrice (v. 978 - abbey of Kaufungen, Hesse, 1033 or 1040 [I'm not exactly sure what this means, I'll ask my brother]) Spouse of Henri II the Saint, canonised in 1200. later he has continued: One more historical note: I checked out Sainte Cunegonde, and as far as I could determine, she is not the patroness of anything. There is ANOTHER Sainte Cunegonde who is patroness of Poland and Lithuania, but she's not the one parodied in Candide. Or is she... Both Cunegondes are also spelled Kunigonda in some places. And St. Vitus is the patron of comedians. So, Cunegonde might be saint of something (perhaps, Cows?) CURFEW: Gezundheit! Offers are usually not good after curfew in sectors R or N, and you should never go into forbidden sectors after curfew (see {DWARF}). In the TV comedy "Space Ghost - Coast To Coast" there was a parody of a children's advertisement with the fine-print disclaimer: Produced by the Cogswell Cogs Co. Offer not good after curfew in sectors R or N. User Contributions:Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: |
Firesign Theatre: Lexicon, Part 1/4
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