Game: spot the obscure movie/book/etc.. references in doper's nicks

[Annie-Xmas]

Anyone get mines?

[Loach]

@Ellis Dee

Mudshark is a Zappa/Mothers reference, if I’m not mistaken.

That’s right, you heard right, the secret word for tonight is Mudshark!

Whereupon I proceeded to take that mittenful of the deadly yellow snow
crystals and rub it all into his beady little eyes with a vigorous
circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined
to take the place of the mudshark in your mythologyhere it goes,the circular motion, now Rub It!

[Annie-Xmas]

Why A Duck is a Groucho Marx reference

a-ha is an actual member of the band a-ha.

[Miss_Mapp]

@LifeOnWry

Fretful Porpentine is a reference to Hamlet. It’s also a jibe used by Claire to Jamie in one of the Diana Gabaldon Outlander books. When I guessed, I guessed the latter, and of course it was the former.

While I know it’s originally from Hamlet, “Fretful Porpentine” always makes me think of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. From Thank you, Jeeves:

"I’m sorely beset, Jeeves. Do you recall telling me once about someone who
told somebody he could tell him something which would make him think a
bit? Knitted socks and porcupines entered into it, I remember.’

 'I think you may be referring to the ghost of the father of Hamlet,

Prince of Denmark, sir. Addressing his son, he said “I could a tale
unfold whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young
blood, make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, thy
knotted and combined locks to part and each particular hair to stand on
end like quills upon the fretful porpentine.”’

 'That's right. Locks, of course, not socks. Odd that he should have

said porpentine when he meant porcupine. Slip of the tongue, no doubt,
as so often happens with ghosts."

Oh, and I always thought that “Lonesome Polecat” was from the Seven Brides… song too.

@well he's back

Hi everyone - Isn’t Miss Mapp’s a reference to the Mapp & Lucia books which were turned into a quite successful BBC or PBS series?

Yes, that’s right: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1559212756/103-4407141-4389406?v=glance

[Loach]

@yoyodyne

I always get a mental picture of you in a helicopter.

That’s close to the reason and therefore has nothing to do with the OP, thats why I didn’t mention it. I just didn’t want anyone to think I was Ken Loach. Or a fish.

[EllisDee]

@Loach

Whereupon I proceeded to take that mittenful of the deadly yellow snow
crystals and rub it all into his beady little eyes with a vigorous
circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined
to take the place of the mudshark in your mythologyhere it goes,the circular motion, now Rub It!

Sweet, many thanks for getting that KC song out of my head. I’d forgotten that particular Mudshark reference from '.

I was thinking more along the lines of:

Muuud, sh- sh- shaaarrrrk…

But am perfectly content to bemoan:

I can’t see! No no no no no
I can’t seeee! No no no no no
Oh whoa is me!
Cause I can’t see…
Temporarily…

Those damn pesky dog-doo sno-cones. They just don’t belong in your eyes, I tells ya.

[down_by_law]

@Annie-Xmas

Anyone get mines?

annie christmas was a larger than life keelboat pilot and bounty hunter in american folklore.

[Lisa-go-Blind]

I don’t know how obscure this is, but down by law refers to the Jim Jarmusch film of the same name.

[kidchameleon]

Mine is actually based upon Crusading Chameleon, but for some reason we thought he was Kid Chameleon, and it’s just stuck.

[Eonwe]

John Carter of Mars is an Edgar Rice Burroughs reference, as is Tars Tarkas.

[jayjay]

@Eonwe

John Carter of Mars is an Edgar Rice Burroughs reference, as is Tars Tarkas.

And of course, Eonwë is Manwë’s herald in Tolkien’s works.

How did I get to be the first to mention that one?!

[down_by_law]

@Lisa-go-Blind

I don’t know how obscure this is, but down by law refers to the Jim Jarmusch film of the same name.

actually, when i registered for the website, i was listening to digable planet’s “borough check” from the criminally underrated album, “blowout comb.” the opening line is something like:

brooklyn brooklyn,
big borough of dreams(?)
but everything in brooklyn,
aint always what it seems.
you might get heck
if you come from out of town
down by law and that’s word…

but the movie is nice, too.

[Annie-Xmas]

I would assume that new member iggy popov is a Russianizaton of rocker Iggy Pop.

[WordMan]

I assumed that, too Annie X-mas.

Anyone know the reference for my username?

[Voyager]

@Annie-Xmas

Why A Duck is a Groucho Marx reference

well, Chico actually. Groucho said Viaduct. And wire fence.

[Voyager]

BTW, mine is not a Star Trek reference. It isn’t a cultural reference yet - not until I sell my book.

[Ichini_Sanshigo]

Terminus Est, or “the place of parting” is a reference to Severian’s trusty face-shaving, decapitating sword in Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun.

My old screen name (smilla) was a literary reference, but not an obscure one. I don’t think.

[rowrrbazzle]

@faldureon

I can’t search the list of members so I am not sure, but if
Bodhi is a real username then she is the evil vampress from Baldur’s Gate 2

A search by partial username showed that bodhi made exactly one post: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=3028354#post3028354

[NicePete]

Mine is misspelled because some non-posting person has the correctly spelled version. Anybody? Pearlie Baker?

[Hamlet]

@Dr. Rieux

Mine’s probably not that obscure–it has been recognized in at least one previous thread.

I cam’t remember, Cam U?