LORELAI: Jackson brought pea tendrils instead of Brussels sprouts. MICHEL: Well, aren’t we Evel Knievel?
Robert “Evel” Knievel (1938-2007), stunt performer and entertainer, who was especially popular in the 1970s. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.
As a point of interest, a biographical TV series called Evel starring Milo Ventigmiglia as Evel Knievel is currently searching for a TV network.
MICHEL: Fill me in, please. LORELAI: Jackson brought pea tendrils instead of Brussels sprouts.
Pea tendrils, also known as pea shoots, are the young leaves, flowers, stems, and vines of a pea plant. Pea tendrils are harvested before the pea pods are matured, and are therefore available in the spring and early summer. They have a similar flavour to peas.
Sookie complains that the pea tendrils are too delicate to eat with lamb shanks, and she is correct. They are more often eaten raw in salads, or lightly stir-fried and added to rice or pasta dishes.
[Lorelai is watching Sookie and Jackson argue] SOOKIE: You know, next time I want some grapefruit, I’m just gonna ask for a kazoo because you can only seem to get me the most bizarre opposite.
Kazoo, a musical instrument that adds a buzzing tone to the player’s voice when they hum into it. Kazoos are especially used in jazz, jug bands, and comedy music.
The kazoo was first patented in 1883, and the instrument we know as the modern kazoo first patented in Buffalo, New York, 1902. The Original American Kazoo Company was founded in Eden, New York, in 1916 – by 1994, they were making more than a million kazoos per day, and were the only manufacturers of metal kazoos in North America. Now called the Kazoo Factory and Museum, it is still in operation and open for guided tours.
EMILY: If you pay for first class and the airline sticks you in coach, people expect you to be upset. No one calls you demanding or unreasonable. And yet here is this woman whom I pay more than she can get anywhere else in Hartford, whose severance package could finance a summer cruise down the Rhine, dragging me into court saying that I was unfair.
The Rhine, the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe, at 1230 km (760 miles). It rises in the Swiss Alps, flows predominantly through Germany, and ends in the Netherlands, where it empties into the North Sea. It has been a vital waterway since the days of the Roman Empire, and cities along it include Basel, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Strasbourg, and Rotterdam.
Cruises down the Rhine are expensive, around $5000 per person for even a modest one. As Emily’s maids never seem to last more than about a week, it seems implausible they could have a generous severance package such as she describes.
EMILY: For years, I’ve been listening to you and your father and everyone else go on and on about how demanding I am, how I have to have things a certain way. Well, guess what? I pay to have them that way. I pay more than anyone else pays their maids, and when things are not the way I want, that means I’m not getting what I paid for. Why is that so hard to understand?
Emily’s justification for her demanding and unreasonable behaviour is that she pays high wages, higher than anyone else in Hartford. This certainly helps explain how she continues to attract new staff, when she has a terrible reputation.
Hitler was eventually arrested and charged with treason. The putsch (coup) brought Hitler to the attention of the German nation for the first time and generated international headlines. His arrest was followed by a widely publicised trial, which gave him a platform to express his nationalist sentiments to the nation.
Hitler was found guilty of treason and served 9 months in prison, where he wrote Mein Kampf. Once released, Hitler redirected his focus towards obtaining power through legal means rather than by revolution or force, and accordingly changed his tactics, further developing Nazi propaganda.
Emily has combined or conflated this with the Nuremburg rallies, celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party. They played a seminal role in propaganda events, conveying a unified Germany under Nazi control.
Hamburg, the second-largest city and third-largest port in Germany, with a population of 2.5 million, while the overall urban area has more than 5 million people. Situated on the River Elbe, it was a sovereign city state until the 1871 unification of Germany. The modern city has suffered disasters, including a fire, a flood, and World War II bombing raids, but has bounced back from each one.
EMILY: Of course I said it. Well, I can’t imagine who would take jackbooted as a compliment.
Jackboot, military and combat boot associated popularly with totalitarianism, as they were worn by German military and paramilitary forces during World War II. However, they have been used officially by other nations as well, including the UK, and had some civilian uses as well.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 