Mailbag/References

The fans of Christian Weston Chandler love to mail Chris using the names of famous individuals, both real and fictional. Chris only seems to realize that he's heard of these people before if they repeatedly mention who they are and what they've done in the body of their letter. For example, Chris noticed and called out Eddie Berganza and Stephen king because they repeatedly mentioned who they were and specifically what they did in their lives. Likewise, Chris failed to notice people like Trent Reznor and Leonardo Da Vinci because the letters did not repeatedly reinforce that they were written by someone important.

The list

Mailbag 1

• Leonardo DaVinci: Painter, inventor, super genius.

Mailbag 2

• Laura Winslow: The daughter from the TV series Family Matters.
• Ivan Drago: Rocky's opponent from Rocky IV.

Mailbag 3

• Manuel Noriega: Deposed dictatorial leader of Panama.
• While no names are mentioned, one letter speaks of a boy who dropped out of school at 16, was a terrible painter, and had started making political moves with an extreme ideology, essentially a quick summary of Adolf Hitler's early years.

Mailbag 4

• Todd Phillips: Filmmaker.
• Repeat appearance by Ivan Drago.
• Samael Morningstar: The devil.
• Joseph Stalin: Former dictatorial ruler of the Soviet Union.
• Gabe Newell: Co-founder of game development company Valve.

Mailbag 5

• Lieutenant Surge: One of the Gym Leaders in Pokemon.
• Erich Von Klinkerhoffen: Nazi from the sitcom Allo 'Allo!

Mailbag 6

• Levi Johnston: The guy who knocked up Sarah Palin's daughter.
• Kim Jong Un: Third son of Kim Jong-Il, the psychopathic manchild running North Korea.
• John Gacy: Serial murderer known as the "Killer Clown".

Mailbag 7

• Jeffrey Dahmer: Gay serial murderer who liked to eat people.
• Sergeant Charles Zim: A character from Starship Troopers, played by Clancy Brown in the movie.
• Repeat appearance by Levi Johnston.

Mailbag 8

• Linetrap. But she doesn't really count.

Mailbag 9

• Walter Sobchak: John Goodman's character in the movie The Big Lebowski.
• Horst Wessel: Slain activist made into an icon of the Nazi Party.
• Trent Reznor: Nine Inch Nails frontman.
• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Current president of Iran.

Mailbag 10

• Repeat appearance by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mailbag 11

• Paul Bernardo: Serial killer and rapist.
• Daniel Plainview: Daniel Day-Lewis' character in the movie There Will Be Blood.
• Joseph Joestar: The second-generation hero from the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Mailbag 12

• Besarion Jughashvili: Joseph Stalin's father.
• Another repeat appearance by Levi Johnston.

Mailbag 13

• Charles Darwin: Scientist best known for first postulating the Theory of Evolution.
• Gabriel Syme: Main character of the Christian allegory The Man Who Was Thursday.
• Rod Blagojevich: Disgraced former governor of Illinois.
• Walter Breuning: Guy who's really, really old.
• Oedipus Rex: Main character of the play by Sophocles of the same name.
• Erik Pikkuvikainen: Spliced-around version of Pekka-Eric Auvinen, the kid responsible for the Jokela school shooting.
• Albert Speer: German architect and minister in Hitler's government. Email address "domebuilder" refers to a famously disproportionate design.

Mailbag 14

• Joseph Jackson: Michael Jackson's father.
• Charles Whitman: Clock tower sniper.
• Paul McCartney: International rock star and former member of The Beatles.
• Gloria Steinem: Feminist activist.
• Elton John: International rock star. Wrote under his birth name: Reginald Dwight.
• Eddie Berganza: Comic artist.

Mailbag 15

• Norio Wakamoto: Japanese voice actor.
• Alfred Jarry: French absurdist author and playwright.

Mailbag 16

• Ron Jeremy: Porn star.
• Rembrandt Brown: Fictional singer from the TV show Sliders. His e-mail address, "Crying Man," refers to his nickname within the show.

Mailbag 17

• Johnny Winter: Blues singer.
• Robert Schneider: American film actor.

Mailbag 18

• Repeat appearance by Joseph Jackson.
• Edward Gein: Insane murderer and grave robber, inspired The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho.
• Wormwood: Apprentice demon from C.S. Lewis's novel The Screwtape Letters. Screwtape himself, Wormwood's uncle and mentor, is mentioned, referred to as "Mr. Tape".
• Maria Renard: A character in several Castlevania games.

Mailbag 19

• Marilyn vos Savant: Smartest person in the world.
• Light Yagami: Mass-murdering main character of Death Note. His name is written weeaboo style as "Yagami Raito".

Mailbag 20

• While not written by any specific character, a direct reference to Strong Bad.
• Corey Matthews: Main character of Boy Meets World.
• Bruce Lee: Martial artist and actor, written under his Chinese name "Lee Jun Fan".

Mailbag 21

• Margaret Mead: Christian anthropologist and writer.
• Jesus Christ: The Christian Messiah.
• Colin Baker: English actor who portrayed the 6th incarnation of The Doctor.

Mailbag 22

• Tom Jones: Popular Welsh lounge singer. Also the protagonist of Henry Fielding's novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, from whom the singer takes his stage name.

Mailbag 23

• Guybrush Threepwood: Protagonist of the Monkey Island adventure game series.
• Howard Roark: Main character of the Ayn Rand novel The Fountainhead.
• Gary Oak: Ash's rival from the Pokemon series.
• Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold: Columbine school shooters. The letter was not purported to be written by them specifically, but contained their pictures, and was written by someone claiming to be their teacher.
• Steven Patrick Morrissey: Singer, former member of The Smiths.
• Thomas Light: Inventor of Mega Man, from the video game series of the same name.

Mailbag 24

• Liz Borden: Boston woman famously accused of murdering her parents, but never convicted.
• Vivian Ward: Main character of the movie Pretty Woman.
• Zetsubou-sensei: Main character of the manga Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei.
• Wolverine: Marvel Comics superhero, written under his real name "Logan".
• Magneto: Marvel Comics supervillain, written under the name "Max Eisenhardt".

Mailbag 25

• Linetrap again.

Mailbag 26

• Trevor Wierzbowski: Minor character from the movie Aliens.
• Stephen King: Famed horror author. Chris actually noticed this one, probably because the writer of the letter was too blatant.
• Christopher Brown: R&B singer. His letter is written about his girlfriend Rihanna, and how he beat the hell out of her.

Mailbag 27

• Ted Kennedy: Politician, recently deceased. Wrote about Mary Jo Kopechne, the girl who died next to him in the infamous Chappaquiddick car accident.
• John Calvin: Christian philosopher whose ideas about predestination have shaped much of Protestantism.
• Jack Harkness: Character from Doctor Who and its spinoff, Torchwood (referred to by the email handle)
• Randal Graves: Character from Kevin Smith's movies.
• David Vanian: Lead singer for the punk rock band The Damned.
• And Linetrap again.

Mailbag 28

• Linetrap

Mailbag 29

• Herr Feldgrau: This enthusiastically racist correspondent is named after the color of German army uniforms during World War II: "feldgrau" is German for "field gray."
• Reprint of Eddie Berganza's letter. While it's likely Chris has no idea who this is, he called him out on his identity, probably because the letter made a very big deal out of his career.

Mailbag 30

• Meg Griffin: Character from Family Guy. Chris noticed and played along as the author was playing up his proposed Family Guy script.
• Jim Lee: Comic artist.
• Stan: Character from the Eminem song of the same name. Text of the letter was the first verse of said song, altered to apply to Chris.

Mailbag 31

• Michael Jackson: Dead singer, allegedly molested children.
• Repeat appearance by Stephen King. Chris either refused to respond or forgot.
• Rufus Shinra: Character from the video game Final Fantasy VII.

Mailbag 32

• While not using any character's name, one author's name and e-mail address were a reference to the Dethtroll episode of Metalocalypse.
• H. P. Lovecraft: Author, creator of the cosmic horror genre of literature.
• Jane Austen: Author of Pride and Prejudice and other romantic novels. Humorously, Chris accused her of being uncreative.

Mailbag 33

• Ed Burke: American politician. Might also refer to the British political philosopher Edmund Burke.

Mailbag 34

• Ezra Pound: Poet. Oddly, the e-mail address given referenced Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, which as a scary Jewish man as the villain.
• Gillian Seed: Main character of the video game Snatcher.
• Mary Anne Spier: Character from The Baby-Sitters Club, a series of novels for young girls.

Mailbag 35

• Repeat appearance by Michael Jackson.
• Repeat appearance by Gillian Seed.
• Josef Mengele: Nazi war criminal, famous for his inhumane medical experiments.
• Fred West: English serial killer and rapist.

Mailbag 36

• Kevin Mitnick: Renowned '80s computer hacker.
• Repeat appearance by Ron Jeremy, this time claiming to be a clergyman.

Mailbag 37

• Gary Larson: Creator of The Far Side cartoons.

Mailbag 38

• Freddie Mercury: Lead singer of the band Queen. Written under his Persian birth name Farrokh Bulsara.
• "Mr. Insanity" Toby Klein: American professional wrestler.

Mailbag 39

• Another repeat appearance by Michael Jackson.
• Gendo Ikari: Character from the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.
• Chang Yu-sheng: Late Chinese vocalist.
• Arle Nadja: Protagonist of the Puyo Puyo video games.
• Vidkun Quisling: Norwegian politician, attempted to seize power during WWII and was subsequently executed for treason.
• Mr. Magoo: Legally blind cartoon character.

Mailbag 40

• Blake: Black Sonichu. Not "famous", but Chris completely missed it anyways.
• Repeat appearance by Ron Jeremy.

Mailbag 41

• Milton Bradley: Board game pioneer.
• William McKinley: 25th president of the United States.
• Neil Gaiman: Novelist and author of the Sandman comic book series.
• Kathryn Janeway: Character from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager.

Mailbag 42

• Augustus Hill: Character from the TV series Oz.
• Jazz Hoyt: Another character from Oz.
• Randam Hajile: Character from the video game Snatcher.
• John Williams: Composer of film soundtracks.
• Robert Paulson: Character from the movie Fight Club. The only reference to his full name was in his e-mail address.
• Tomás de Torquemada: Leader of the Spanish Inquisition. Written under the name "Thomas Torquemada".
• Kareem Saïd: Yet another character from Oz. Written under the name "Kareem Siad".

Mailbag 43

• Masaki Sumitani: Japanese comedian and actor. Most famous for his character Hard Gay.
• Ken Shabby: Recurring character from Monty Python's Flying Circus.
• R. Dorothy Wayneright: Android girl from the anime series Big O.
• G.K. Chesterton: English Catholic apologist and author.

Mailbag 44

• Max Cady:Character from the novel The Executioners, adapted for the movies as Cape Fear.
• Trevor McFur: Furry from Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy, a launch game for the Atari Jaguar game console.
• Repeat appearance by Randam Hajile.

Mailbag 45

• Mike Hawke: Dick joke commonly used in prank calls.
• Another appearance from Mike Jackson, whose life is rapidly deteriorating.
• Manfred Eicher: German record producer.
• Gil Gerard: Actor, most famously known for playing Buck Rogers.
• Adam Savage: Co-host of Mythbusters. Chris likely noticed, as the e-mail made a big deal out of him being from Mythbusters, and then sent him a picture of a man's asshole.

Mailbag 46

• Kevin Peter Hall: Actor, the man in the alien suit in the first two Predator films.
• Tom Green: Either a terrible comedian or an avant-garde genius, depending on whom you ask.

Mailbag 47

• While not a direct reference, one e-mail address referenced "Teenage Lobotomy" a song by The Ramones.
• Valentina Tereshkova: Russian astronaut and the first woman in space.
• Tom Vilsack: Current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

Mailbag 48

• Jeff Gerstmann: Video game journalist, notorious for his firing from GameSpot.
• Mike Jackson returns, all bummed out that Chris broke his promise.
• Morris Stanley: Ray Winstone's character in the Aussie Western film The Proposition. Unlike in the film, the proposition made in the email revolved around Chris's petty rivalry with Asperchu, since Chris would have little interest in saving his brother from being hanged.
• Billy Herrington: Bisexual porn star, the inspiration for many strange memes among Japanese nerds. His e-mail handle, "Bro Aniki," is a reference to the Cho Aniki video game series, which is rife with homosexual innuendo.

Mailbag 49

• One letter combined the names of Bart Simpson of The Simpsons and Brock Samson of the Venture Brothers. Probably the second time Chris failed to recognize Brock.
• Kenshiro Kasumi: Main character of the manga series Fist of the Blue Sky.

Mailbag 50

• Nothing. No actual e-mails either, because Chris copypasta'd a bunch of sarcastic forum posts that pretended to kiss his ass and took them all at face value.

Mailbag 51

• Repeat appearance by Gil Gerard.
• The Notorious B.I.G.: Deceased rapper, written under his nickname "Biggie".
• Scott Bernard: Character from the cartoon series Robotech.
• While it did not refer to any single character, one name and e-mail address was a direct reference to mahvel baybee.

Mailbag 52

• Lisa Marie Presley: As "Marie Jackson" revealing the tragic ending of the Mike Jackson saga. In a bizarre inversion, Chris assumes the letter is about the real Michael Jackson, and ignores it.

Mailbag 53

• Chris Doyle: Award-winning Australian cinematographer.
• Jack Marsh: Renowned Australian cricketer.
• Dr. Tran: Star of an old YouTube meme.
• Robert Fisher: Possibly referring to the FBI most-wanted fugitive who murdered his family in 2001.
• Frank Burns: A character from the movie and TV series M*A*S*H.

Mailbag 54

• David Wright: New York Mets All-Star third baseman.
• Robert Neville: Hero of the novel and film I Am Legend. Has been played by Charlton Heston, Vincent Price, and Will Smith.
• Michael Steele: Chairman of the Republican National Committee (openly identified as such).
• Repeat appearance by Gendo Ikari, now using the e-mail handle "It's Gendo" (in reference to a fan-parody video).

Mailbag 55

• Anna Malle: Deceased pornographic film actress.
• Rusty Shackleford: Alias used by the character Dale Gribble from the TV cartoon King of the Hill.
• Charles Aznavour: French singer and songwriter, namesake of the anime character Char Aznable.
• Harry Partridge: Beloved internet animator. The thing is, it's probably the real Harry.
• John Shaft: Hero of several 1970s blaxploitation movies.
• Repeat appearances by Robert Neville and Dr. Tran.

Mailbag 56

• Crow Servo: Amalgam of the characters Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo from the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000.
• Another e-mail in the Mike Jackson saga, this time allegedly from his son.
• Repeat appearances by Robert Neville and Dr. Tran.

Mailbag 57

• Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Russian novelist.
• Ma-Ti: Character from '90s TV cartoon Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

Mailbag 58

• Reimu Hakurei: One of the main characters from the Touhou series of games. The e-mail handle 'diochromatic.butterfly' is a reference to one of her theme songs.
• Takato Matsuda: One of the main characters from Digimon Tamers, known in America as Digimon Season 3.
• Kaiser Wilhelm: Leader of Germany until its defeat in World War I.
• Sam Eagle: A recurring character from The Muppet Show.
• Frank Miller: American comic artist, creator of Sin City.
• Hal Emmerich: Hacker/researcher from the Metal Gear Solid series of videogames. The e-mail address refers to "Konota" [sic] from Lucky Star.
• David Hubbard: Long-deceased senator from Alabama.

Mailbag 59

• Paul Hogan: Australian actor, star of the Crocodile Dundee films.

Mailbag 60

• Terry Bogard: Hero of the Fatal Fury video games, who writes using his full name Terrence Bogard. Perhaps coincidentally, another correspondent the the same mailbag uses the nickname "Big Bear," which was also the name of a minor character from Fatal Fury 2.