Four Horsemen of the Apopcalypse – Pop culture references in The Colbert Report: November 2-5, 2009

Welcome to No Fact Zone’s weekly roundup of cultural references on The Colbert Report. From Darcy to Danger Mouse, String Theory to Shakespeare, we’ve got the keys to this week’s obscure, oddball, and occasionally obscene cultural shout-outs (hey!).

Hey Zoners!   I have one word for you: Vaxaconda!  Stephen sure seemed more comfortable holding the Big Snake than  *being covered with Little Spiders, don’t you think?  But all around, a fantastic week beginning to end.  What about you?  Have a favorite joke or reference this week?  Post it in the comments!  (* = TCR/TDS link)

Monday: Alpha Dog of the Week – Arnold Schwarzenegger

“Governor Schwarzenegger, You need to start your day with a breakfast that reflects more accurately the dire state that California’s in.”

Let’s go for a side-by side comparison, shall we?

Munch’s The Scream &  The Screaming Breakfast

Pretty good likeness. I bet that was fun to assemble.  I’d be tempted to serve it to my 3 year old (bad idea, bad idea…).

“Kiss my gay ass?  Mr. Ammiano, you know Proposition 8 strictly forbids that.”

One of the most contentious ballot initiatives in the 2008 elections, Proposition 8 was an amendment to the California Constitution which restricted the legal definition of marriage in the state to opposite-sex couples. Introduced in an effort to override a previous California Supreme Court ruling which affirmed the constitutional rights of same-sex couples to marry, the ballot initiative attracted attention and funding from numerous outside interest groups, and ultimately passed.  Friend of the show * Dan Savage memorably analyzed the election results on TCR (sopping up! saddlebacking! a face-covering character break!).

Tuesday:  The Wørd – The Green Mile

“Remember, Enron transformed the power grid [Into The Power "Gridn't"], and Blackwater redefined military service [By Removing "Military" And "Service"], and KBR reinvented military contracting [And Invented The "Electric Shower"] ”

Shining examples of the efficiency of privatization, all:

• In 2000-2001, speculation in the wholesale energy market (most notably and callously, by Enron) raised prices so high in California that utilities were unable to purchase electricity for their consumers, leading to energy shortages and rolling blackouts throughout the state.  Soon after, creative (read: criminal) accounting practices at Enron were uncovered, and the company collapsed – the largest bankruptcy in history at the time – taking down individual investors, state pension funds, and accounting giant Arthur Andersen with it. (* see Stephen’s TDS coverage of the congressional hearings with Enron’s directors, and more seriously, * Jon’s interview about Enron with CNBC’s Ron Insana.)

• Private military company Blackwater Worldwide (now known as Xe) has been at the center of numerous controversies related to its operations in Iraq, including allegations of corruption, weapons smuggling, and indiscriminate killing of civilians. The company’s status as a private US contractor, and not an official military unit, makes the legal authority in these cases unclear, and critics such as Jeremy Scahill (* see his 2007 interview on TDS) have said they are essentially operating outside the law.

• Similarly, private military contractor KBR came under public scrutiny after as many as 12 soldiers were electrocuted in showers on US bases in Iraq, apparently due to faulty wiring done by KBR (which didn’t stop them from receiving millions of dollars in performance bonuses from the US government).  That, and they use contractual clauses to prevent employees from going to court when they’ve been gang-raped by coworkers (* a loophole recently addressed by Sen. Franken).

Wednesday:  ‘09 Off-Year Semi-Presidential Electferendum

And now for something completely different!  You could almost hear Python fans all over the country hooting with delight.  Of course, I’m sure all you lovely folks know these bits, and can recite them by heart (ah, but do you sing “The Philosophers Song” from memory?  Loudly?  In completely inappropriate places?  Ahem.).  For those of you who don’t (shame!!), and more so for those who do: The Meaning of Life vomit scene, a compilation of “It’s!” intros, Dead Parrot, and as a bonus, Ministry of Silly Walks.

Thursday: Cheating Death – Vaxaconda

“Not to be confused with the deadly Mambo snake, which is how Lou Bega refers to his penis.”

German musician Lou Bega’s song Mambo No. 5 was all over the airwaves back in 1999.  I hadn’t heard it in years, until just last weekend at a children’s Halloween carnival (ok, totally inappropriate lyrics for the kids, but a good beat), and now it’s on TCR.  Synchronicity!

“Side effects include Hunchfront, Mathlete’s foot, and Chest of the d’Urbervilles”

By request (hi, DB!), that’s a play on Thomas Hardy’s 1891 novel, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented (which, if you’re in for spoilers, you can read the entire plot thoroughly summarized).

• Four Horsemen of the Apopcalypse – Pop culture references in The Colbert Report: March 15-18, 2010
• Four Horsemen of the Apopcalypse – Pop culture references in The Colbert Report: March 8-11, 2010
• Four Horsemen of the Apopcalypse – Pop culture references in The Colbert Report: March 1-4, 2010
• Four Horsemen of the Apopcalypse – Pop culture references in The Colbert Report: February 8-11, 2010