I've been threatening to do this for a few years...

[alexpgp]

Herewith, the abstract of my proposed session at the ATA Conference in Seattle in November:

Max Otto von Shtirlitz, hero of the 1973 classic Soviet serial "Seventeen Moments of Spring," lives on in the curious phenomenon of the "Shtirlitz joke." This no-words-barred session intends to show how a study of such humor can give native English-speakers an edge, enjoyably acquired, in understanding the kind of language – slang, jargon, and cant – that one won't find in textbooks or newspapers, allowing one to better hold one's own in conversations with native speakers and to develop an enhanced feel for what is considered funny in Russian culture.

Will TPTB let this one fly? Qui sait?

Cheers...