Cultrface – a blog dedicated to culture and how it enriches our lives.

The day that Dick Dastardly finally won a race in Lisbon (and legitimately)

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Henrique Casinhas/SOPA Images/Shutterstock (9879654a) “The Mean Machine” were the winners of the 3rd Red Bull Lisbon Grand Prix 3rd Annual Red Bull Grand Prix, Lisbon, Portugal – 09 Sep 2018

Wacky Races remains one of my all-time favourite cartoons. All the characters had their respective charms and quirks, but the canonical baddy, Dick Dastardly, was my favourite. He was the perfect pantomime villain who’d stop and nothing to cheat his way to victory. Of course he never got one in the series (which pained me as a kid—don’t ask why I was rooting for the villain) but in real life, he did (kinda) via a Red Bull Soapbox Race in Lisbon in 2018.

The “Mean Machine” team entered the 3rd Red Bull Lisbon Grand Prix as a family (the Uehara’s), all dressed up as various characters from the cartoon. But it was Dick Dastardly behind the wheel, with Muttley in tow and my goodness were they fast. So fast, in fact, that they won and crossed the finish line in style. I watched this back on Christmas Day and it filled my heart with so much joy.

You can watch the full episode on Red Bull’s website.

Live like a Roman with this stuffed dates recipe

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Stuffed Dates - Ancient Roman Recipe

Dates aren’t the most popular fruit now but back in Ancient Rome, they were a delicacy and the above video demonstrates how to make stuffed dates. The recipe comes from a cookbook called Apicius, believed to have been written by Roman gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius.

Ingredients

  • Dates
  • Walnuts
  • Pine nuts
  • Honey
  • Black pepper
  • Salt

And if you’re looking for an accompanying wine, I hear that a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon works well.

Someone found the CD player from Batman Returns

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The Bat CD player which is actually a 1991 Emerson AD2525 Compact Disk Player

One of my favourite scenes from Batman Returns is when Bruce scratched a CD in his Bat-CD player. A user named agliarept on the RPF forum went on search for the exact model and eventually found it:

After a lot of random cd player searches, I finally found the one utilized for the Batman Returns player. Matched every part of the player and even the laser diode/mount holes match up exactly.

1991 Emerson AD2525 Compact Disk Player (Same year the film was getting made)

Just ordered one and going to replicate this soon.

Wonder if the lid was just trimmed and repainted or if another lid was used to replace it.

I can finally rest now lol.

No news yet on whether he managed to get the Bat symbol on it but I’ll keep my eyes peeled.

Koichi Yamadera: the voice acting god

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Koichi Yamadera (Spike/Beerus) [Part 1] - Voice acting/seiyuu 山寺宏一声優 collection
Koichi Yamadera [PART 2] - Voice acting/seiyuu 山寺 宏一 声優 collection that you might not know!

When I looked at my Letterboxd Year in Review from last year, I noticed Koichi Yamadera as my top actor. I had no idea who that was at first glance but a quick search explained why he ranked so highly in review: I watched every Pokémon movie and he was in every single one. And a deeper dive unveiled much more.

Koichi Yamadera has voiced characters in Cowboy Bebop (as lead character Spike Spiegel), Ghost in the Shell, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Fullmetal Alchemist, Dragon Ball Super, Ranma ½, and Lupin III. He’s also voiced Donald Duck and Stitch amongst others for Disney’s Japanese dubs and in live action films, he’s provided dubs for Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Brad Pitt, Michael J. Fox, Michael Keaton, and so many more that I’m gonna stop listing them because you get the idea.

Seriously, look at his Wikipedia page and get ready to scroll forever.

The best of theatre in 2022, according to other publications

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I’m not much of a theatre goer. In fact, when I went this October to see Legally Blonde at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil, it was my first time in about 18 years (when I went to see Pygmalion in London). But having a partner who loves musicals means I get something of a contact high. That’s why I thought I’d compile a list of lists reviewing the best of theatre this year.

Note: I know some of my other friends are also into theatre and may disagree with these lists and/or have their own suggestions, so if you’re reading, please leave a comment and I’ll add those in too. Also, these are UK and US productions only by the looks of things.

Have yourself a very Root Beer Christmas

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Root Beer Christmas

Today, on the 5th day of Christmas, I had a root beer. And then I realised I’d never written about it on the site so I decided to do some research and found this movie trailer. If I hadn’t seen the title, I never would have guessed it had anything to do with the drink. M. Night Shyamalan couldn’t have thought up a better twist.

A Root Beer Christmas, better known as A Christmas Wish (not to be confused with at least 5 other films called A Christmas Wish which is probably why A Root Beer Christmas was the alternate name), is a 2011 TV movie about a mother abandoned by her husband a few days before Christmas, who travels cross-country with her kids in search of work. It stars Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Edward Herrmann (Gilmore Girls), K.C. Clyde (Yellowstone), Oscar nominee Tess Harper (Crimes of the Heart), and some root beer bottles.

Ernie Button and the dried remains of single malt scotch

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Ernie Button is a photographer from Arizona and in his series Vanishing Spirits: The Dried Remains of Single Malt Scotch, he took shots of the bottoms of empty single malt Scotch whisky bottles with incredible lighting. They look like new planets.

These look a lot like kailliroscopes and Roman De Giuli’s vast topographies made from paints, powders, and water.

Whiskey and glass related: The Spartan Whiskey Decanter and Rick Deckard’s whiskey glass

Skander Khlif – Tram To Lisbon

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© Skander Khlif

Skander Khlif is a German photographer and his latest photo series shows areas of Lisbon via the city’s famous trams.

Some info on the Lisbon trams:

The Lisbon tramway network is a system of trams that serves Lisbon, capital city of Portugal. In operation since 1873, it presently comprises six lines. The system has a length of 31 km, and 63 trams in operation (45 historic “Remodelados”, 8 historic “Ligeiros” and 10 modern articulated trams). The depot is located in Santo Amaro, in Alcântara.

via wikipedia

Despite visiting Lisbon three times since 2017 (including November this year), I’ve yet to ride the tram. Photos like these will inspire me to do it next year.

Super Fly, The Little Mermaid, and Iron Man amongst 25 films added to Library of Congress' National Film Registry

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Every year since 1989, 25 films are added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry “for preservation, based on their cultural, historic and aesthetic importance to America’s film heritage”. 2022’s inductees are (in chronological order):

  • Mardi Gras Carnival (1898)
  • Cab Calloway Home Movies (1948-1951)
  • Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
  • Charade (1963)           
  • Scorpio Rising (1963)
  • Behind Every Good Man (1967)
  • Titicut Follies (1967)
  • Mingus (1968)  
  • Manzanar (1971)
  • Betty Tells Her Story (1972)
  • Super Fly (1972)
  • Attica (1974)
  • Carrie (1976)
  • Union Maids (1976)
  • Word is Out: Stories of Our Lives (1977)
  • Bush Mama (1979)
  • The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)
  • Itam Hakim, Hopiit (1984)
  • Hairspray (1988)
  • The Little Mermaid (1989)
  • Tongues Untied (1989)
  • When Harry Met Sally (1989) 
  • House Party (1990)
  • Iron Man (2008)
  • Pariah (2011)

And for anyone interested, I’ve only seen four of them (Carrie, The Little Mermaid, When Harry Met Sally, and Iron Man). Also nice to see films like Super Fly and House Party make the cut.

(via CBS News)

3 seconds of every Star Trek: The Next Generation episode

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3 Seconds of Every Star Trek: TNG Episode

I had so many laughs watching this. As the title suggests, SentinelOfSomething spliced 3 seconds—give or take—of every Star Trek: The Next Generation episode and makes the show look even more unhinged than it already was. Fingers crossed he does a Deep Space 9 version (aka my favourite).

What does Batman eat?

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The Daily Crate did some investigating on Batman, one of the most famous investigators of all time, to find out what the hell he eats.

Sometimes, nothing. A common trope in Batman comics is ever-faithful butler Alfred trying to get Bruce to eat. Food often sits cold and uneaten next to the Bat-Computer, despite his best efforts. He is, apparently, much more successful in feeding the actual bats that call the cave home. But, sometimes, Batman takes a bite out of more than just crime.

Early comics show Batman eating an “Olympian” diet of steak and salad while out on the town as Bruce Wayne. The 60s Batman TV series featured important lessons from the not-so-Dark Knight like “drink your milk” and “eat your vegetables.” In multiple comics through the modern age, Batman is sometimes shown eating sandwiches while patrolling Gotham’s rooftops — it is rarely discussed where he keeps these sandwiches while fighting crime. And, of course, Batman is one of the few heroes who can withstand Green Arrow’s infamously hot chili. Presumably because he’s Batman.

Of course, in live action movies, we’ve seen some eating attempts:

  • In Batman (1989), you’ll have seen him have dinner with Vicki Vale (with two different meals in two different rooms, all prepared by Alfred)
  • In Batman Returns, he ate some vichyssoise (so Bruce is a soup guy?)
  • In Batman Forever, Alfred offered him some food before he went out in the Batmobile, to which Batman said “I’ll get drive-thru.”

That’s all I can think of right now but please leave a comment if you can think of anymore examples.

The world's largest crotcheted Christmas tree now resides in Lisbon

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The Associação de Moradores Unidos da Apelação, a group of 70 girls and women from Lisbon, Portugal, have broken the record for the world’s largest crocheted Christmas tree. It stands at 55ft tall, breaking the previous record of 52ft, set in Ecuador.

“We never thought this project would be so successful. We initially thought of a small tree … as we realized that there would be many people involved, we advanced … and entered it in the Guinness Book of Records,”

Catarina Canelas – PROJECT COORDINATOR

(via lisbon.travel and Gaudium Press)