Counter Rant on R&B

The Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam can be found in Moosylvania, on the waters of Veronica Lake, near the Isle of Lucy, not far from Whynchataka Peak. One can also visit Bullwinkle’s alma mater Wossamotta U. or Rocket J. Squirrel’s alma mater, The Cedar Yorpantz Flying School. R&B was my favorite cartoon when I was little, then it disappeared for about a decade or so, then some network started rerunning it, and the reruns were even funnier because I had collected enough information during that decade to understand all (or most) of the jokes that flew right over my head when I was little.



The whole thing is so littered with cultural, historical, and cold war references that they should probably put out a set of DVD’s with a footnote option that allow you to turn on explanatory text at the bottom of the screen, like footnotes in other classic literature such as I was forced to read in high school and college. I wouldn’t need the footnotes for R&B but a lot of people would, especially younger or dumber ones.



Regarding the ‘Title or: Subtitle’ format, I’m not sure if it was ever a common practice before Bullwinkle. The other well known example is the complete title ‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’. R&B came out in 1959 and Dr. S was released in 1964. When I lived in Menomonie and they were talking about starting up the draft again, my roommates and I and a ‘Hell no We Won’t Go – or – I Always Wanted to See Canada’ party. We even made and displayed a title sign at the party, magic marker gloriously emblazoned on tan cardboard. They liked R&B too.