Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter

    Wednesday, April 15, 2009

    What's In A Name


    When I think of Hoth my mind goes to directly to the frozen planet of the Star Wars Galaxy. This points out, one, what a geek I am and, two, that George Lucus has warped my fragile little mind. But I have to assume this weeks episode does not take place on planet Hoth. (Although I'm not sure I'd be surprised.) So I went on a search to find other meanings of Hoth. To wiki we go:
    • First and foremost I'd like to mention that upon searching for Hoth at wiki, I was immediatly redirected to the Hoth plant wiki site for the fictional planet. (I feel a tad less geeky now)
    • Höðr, a god in Norse mythology also known as Hoth.
    • Hermann Hoth, a German general in World War II
    • Harrow-on-the-Hill station,(H.O.T.H.) a London Underground and Chiltern Railways station in Harrow, Greater London.
    • Houses of the Holy, (H.O.T.H.)an album by English Rock band Led Zeppelin
    Ok so I'm thinking it probably doesn't refer to a London Underground Railway or a Zeppelin album. So lets look at the god of Norse mythology:
    • According to the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda the goddess Frigg made everything in existence swear never to harm Baldr, except for the mistletoe which she found too young to demand an oath from. The gods amused themselves by trying weapons on Baldr and seeing them fail to do any harm. Loki, upon finding out about Baldr's one weakness, made a missile from mistletoe, and helped Höðr shoot it at Baldr. After this Odin and the giantess Rindr gave birth to Váli who grew to adulthood within a day and slew Höðr.
    • The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus recorded an alternative version of this myth in his Gesta Danorum. In this version the mortal hero Høtherus and the demi-god Balderus compete for the hand of Nanna. Ultimately Høtherus slays Balderus.
    And the German General:
    I have to say that after searching for a clue into this title, I'm more confused than when I started so let's look at the Some Like it Hot reference:
    • Some Like It Hot (1959) is an American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon.
    • Two struggling musicians, Joe and Jerry (Curtis and Lemmon), witness what looks like the Saint Valentine's Day massacre of 1929. When the Chicago gangsters, led by 'Spats' Columbo (Raft) spot them, the duo flee for their lives. They escape and decide to leave town, only to find the sole out-of-town jobs available are in an all-girl band headed to Florida. The two disguise themselves as women, calling themselves Josephine and Geraldine (later Jerry changes his pseudonym to Daphne), join the band and board a train.
    Ok so I can start to see where this reference comes into play. It's a film about a giant con that ends with it all coming unraveled at a wedding between two men, one pretending to be a woman. When the bride reveiles himself as a man, the groom replies with, "Well nobody's perfect." Obviously this is a reference to the fact that the survivors jig is up in Dharmaville. But where does the hoth come in?

    I'll indulge one geeky Star Wars thought:
    • 1977, the year the survivors are in, is the year Star Wars came out. However, Hoth was not a known planet until Empire Strikes Back released in 1980.
    Given the current nature of the show I will say that I think it has to be reference to the Norse God.

    Thoughts, comments, concerns?

    If not before we'll figure it out tonight.

    No comments: