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

[Steven D. Majewski]

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. 

 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
 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!)

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

-- Steve