Joe Zeff posted on Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:08:51 -0700 as excerpted: > On 04/16/2013 11:04 AM, Maurice Batey wrote: >> On Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:41:13 -0700, Joe Zeff wrote: >> >>> And, I'd like to point out that the man's name is Duncan, not Shirley. >> >> Uh?! >> >> > I take it, then, that you've never watched the movie "Airplane."
MB> Surely pan knows... JZ> The man's name is Duncan, not Shirley If I watched it, it's long shrouded in foggy memory, but the joke is old and common enough that it's a matter of (USian at least) cultural literacy now. As with any cultural literacy reference, familiarity with the general reference, if not the specifics, is assumed. http://www.google.com/search?q=don%27t+call+me+shirley Sort of like "Where's the beef?", or "I've fallen and I can't get up!", or "Read my lips, no new taxes!", or with a bit more international flavor, any reference to "Salman Rushdie" or "Satanic Verses". Those are all "cultural literacy" references that people of a particular culture (and/or generation) can be assumed to have at least a passing familiarity with the reference, even if they don't know the specifics. A far more modern example would be Psy or Gangnam Style (youtube search them if you need to), or his latest, Gentleman (aka "Mother Father Gentleman!", the mv is a bit over the top in political incorrectness, but that's rather the point!, youtube...). -- Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs. "Every nonfree program has a lord, a master -- and if you use the program, he is your master." Richard Stallman _______________________________________________ Pan-users mailing list Pan-users@nongnu.org https://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/pan-users
