And Now for Something Completely Different! (was: Monty Python (was: Freeware Python editor))

[Duncan Smith]

"Steven D. Majewski" <sdm7g at Virginia.EDU> wrote in message
news:mailman.1004728088.20694.python-list at python.org...
>
>
> On Thu, 1 Nov 2001, Tim Hammerquist wrote:
>
> > You mean "the humour is lost on _some of_ us Americans," right?
> >
> > Of course, I had a non-standard American growth in which I was exposed
> > to many things British, including but not
> > limited to:
> >     Dr. Who (mainly Tom Baker) (recorded).
> >     Red Dward (1st season, carrier did not renew) (recorded).
> >     Monty Python's Flying Circus and any of the movies I could find.
> >     How to Irritate People (John Cleese et al.; not "officially" Monty
> >         Python). (purchased)
> >     ...et cetera.
> >     Peter Cushing horror movies.  ;)
> >     Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising sequence including dialects from
> >         Cornwall and Wales.
> >     A great many movies and series taking place in Yorkshire, probably
> >         responsible for my ability to understand more dialects than
> >         usual.  :)
> >     Neil Gaiman novels.  :)
> >     Far too many others to count.
>
> You're missing one important link that is well represented in the
> python-list archives: The Goon Show -- with Spike Milligan and
> Peter Sellars. The Goon Show was a BBC radio show that was the
> inspiration for Monty Python.

And Peter Cook!!!!  John Cleese once said something along the lines of, "It
takes me a week to write a 30 minute script; it takes Peter 30 minutes".

>
>  Spike Milligan beat out John Cleese for 1st place in the BBC's
> millenium poll of the top 10 funniest people:
> <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/millennium/aug/winner.stm>
>
> He has written a lot of books, many of which are out of print -- my
> favorite (besides his children's poems) is "Hitler: My Part in his
> Downfall", which is the first of his series of WWII memoirs.
> ( Which continues with several volumes, including "Mussolini: His Part
> in My Downfall" )
>
> [ List and description of his books on the "Cardboard and String Spike
>   Milligan Home Page" : <http://www.fireflycafe.org/spike/books.html> ]
>
>
> A google search will find you lot's of Goon Show pages (including
> the easiest to remember: <http://www.goon.org/> ). And just in time
> for the invasion of Afghanistan, you can download an MP3 of "The Red
> Fort" from Robert Dickson's Goon Show Page:
>   <http://www.alphalink.com.au/~robertd/GoonShow.html>
> ( It's the "show of the week", so hurry! )
>
>
> > Many foreigners call America's culture (or lack thereof) bland.  Well,
> > from this American's perspective, they tend to be correct.
>
> Bland American Culture ???  -- how about (while we're on the subject of
> humor):
>  the Firesigh Theatre
>  Mad Magazine (the good old years)
>  The Onion
>  The Marx Brothers

Excellent.

>  Abbott and Costello   ( "Who's on First":
>      <http://www.crosswinds.net/~thedeadballera/AbbotAndCostello.mp3> )
>  Harry Shearer  ( "Who's on First" -- (a tradition in American Humor!):
>      <http://www.harryshearer.com/clips/who.ram>
>     [Don't blame me if you're not old enough to get this one!])
>  the Simpson's
>  Robert Crumb
>  the Coen Brothers
>  George Bush  (What other country has such a dedication to Humor!)

Don't forget Ronnie and Dan Quayle.  (I couldn't remember Dan's name, but a
search for 'potatoe' soon revealed it.)

Duncan Smith

>
>  .... <just-for-a-start>
>
> -- Steve
>
>
>
>