Armageddon Outa Here. . . (for Olla)
The current unpleasantness in Eastern Europe has a lot of us obsessing about the issues of war and peace. At some point, the deeply satirical musical parodies of Tom Lehrer came up in a comment thread about geopolitics, if you can believe such a thing, right here on Hamster. There are very erudite pervs lurking here, folks.
In any case, whether we are talking about the potential for nuclear annihilation or a slower, dystopian slide on the skirts of climate change, the potential for apocalypse seems more real than it has in a long time, and I've been around a while. For some reason, thoughts of cynical Tom Lehrer made me think of other pieces laced with dark humor. We'll see how this flies:
Two classics from Lehrer:
"AEC" references the Atomic Energy Commission, the early steward of American nuclear power. . . and weaponry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyQR5ESFAyI
American rocketry owes a great deal to Werhrer von Braun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjDEsGZLbio&ab_channel=TheTomLehrerWisdomChannel
Two of my favorite clips from the Kubrick classic "Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPwW7RaPO_g
. . . and thank you, Vera Lynn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIpTE-aHEZ0
I reference the 1965 classic "The Flight of the Phoenix". . . I categorically refuse to view the 2004 remake. I heard how they had updated it to Mongolia, trading Bedouin Arabs for motorcycle riding criminals and other nonsense. But there were no CGI effects in 1965. . . a pilot actually died in making the film. . . but in the end, you can't beat a classic story with one helluva cast that included James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Hardy Kruger, Peter Finch, Ian Bannen. . . oh, they are all good, a marvelous ensemble..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IACjOvyx5hs&ab_channel=RocketWest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tob2k3D81Q
And why does that fit my theme of apocalyptic dread? Because of this video. . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyTdtf0LFMk
We'll meet again. . . on the last plane out.
In any case, whether we are talking about the potential for nuclear annihilation or a slower, dystopian slide on the skirts of climate change, the potential for apocalypse seems more real than it has in a long time, and I've been around a while. For some reason, thoughts of cynical Tom Lehrer made me think of other pieces laced with dark humor. We'll see how this flies:
Two classics from Lehrer:
"AEC" references the Atomic Energy Commission, the early steward of American nuclear power. . . and weaponry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyQR5ESFAyI
American rocketry owes a great deal to Werhrer von Braun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjDEsGZLbio&ab_channel=TheTomLehrerWisdomChannel
Two of my favorite clips from the Kubrick classic "Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPwW7RaPO_g
. . . and thank you, Vera Lynn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIpTE-aHEZ0
I reference the 1965 classic "The Flight of the Phoenix". . . I categorically refuse to view the 2004 remake. I heard how they had updated it to Mongolia, trading Bedouin Arabs for motorcycle riding criminals and other nonsense. But there were no CGI effects in 1965. . . a pilot actually died in making the film. . . but in the end, you can't beat a classic story with one helluva cast that included James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Hardy Kruger, Peter Finch, Ian Bannen. . . oh, they are all good, a marvelous ensemble..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IACjOvyx5hs&ab_channel=RocketWest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tob2k3D81Q
And why does that fit my theme of apocalyptic dread? Because of this video. . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyTdtf0LFMk
We'll meet again. . . on the last plane out.
4 years ago
