RIP

Terry Jones, Monty Python founder and Life of Brian director, dies aged 77

Well, one nice thing

I have reached my 60 minutes of daily activity goal, and surpassed it by 24 minutes, and it's not quite 5:30 pm. I have also recovered, and made it through a fairly large grocery run without feeling run down, tired, or short of breath. I rested a lot between exercising and say, 2 pm, then went over to my friends' house, went through the grocery list, took A to the store, got a fair amount of groceries for me (yesterday's run was a small one; now I have enough for several days), put everything away, and then left them to a walk now that the rain has stopped (at least for now), and came home and put my groceries away. I think I finally feel caffeinated and ready to do stuff around here. The rain's really made me sleepy all day. I've put on some peppy music, and now I'm going to make a battle plan of what I want to get accomplished today. Tomorrow we decided to cancel the game, although Brenda could have played, so we can go through some things and get them ready for Monday. YKWIA and I are also going to watch a movie I have out from Netflix, The Wicker Tree, which is done by the same folks who came up with the original The Wicker Man, which I love. It will be interesting to see what they've done with this. It'll be a good thing to watch for Beltane/May Day. :)

When we were coming from the store, I saw across the road in a grassy place a crow trying to attack a bunny rabbit, the latter of which channelled the rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and basically it jumped at the crow and told it to f*ck off. I'm thinking it was a mother rabbit protecting her babies. I do love the bunny with the big gnashy teeth from the movie. YKWIA has a stuffed animal version of it.

I did get ant bait, so we'll see if it'll work. It's the stuff made by Hot Shot. I hate using poison, but hey, I'm tired of the little bugs crawling all over the place (and me).

Okay, time to create a battle plan.

I do love Monty Python

I'm not five minutes into Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which I've seen many times but which never gets old, and I am very happy. We're at the diatribe over worker exploitation. 'Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.' I don't own it on DVD; I have this out from the library. While I do have it on VHS, I have no VCR, sadly.



I was sorry to hear of the death of Alan Rickman, better known as Snape from the Harry Potter movies. I also loved him in Galaxy Quest. Seems we're losing a generation. Both he and David Bowie, who died last week, were 69, both having had cancer. 'Tis a shame.

I've been a busy bee

I went into work a little early this morning because I thought I'd have to go across town to the pharmacy today to get my insulin, but it turns out the person I know there was able to bring it by this evening, along with everything else, which is really good, because I have uncharacteristically lost one of my meds, maybe a day or two ago, and didn't realise it, and it's the one that if you go off it and then back, your skin could possibly slough off. So I was glad to see that, and my Lantus, too.

Because I was looking for a misplaced roll of quarters and said medicine, I spent a couple of hours working on the house. Along with straightening things up and managing to throw away a bag of stuff, I sorted all the laundry. At least I found the quarters in the recesses of my bag. No such luck with the medicine, but I have more now. The plan is to get up at 5 am and do said laundry, because there are several loads and I think it's going to take up quite a few of the washers, and hopefully no one else will be doing it then. If not, then I'll reduce the loads I do and at least get a couple in. But I'd rather do it all at once. That's the good thing about having a laundry room at your disposal rather than just a washer and dryer. While I'm at it I'll take out the recyclables, etc. Among other the things I think I'll need the hamper.

I also watched Monty Python's Life of Brian, which I have out from the library. It was fun to see again. I really miss Graham Chapman; he was always my favourite of the troupe.

Well, now I have my meds. I'm going to read for awhile so my insulin can get to room temperature before I take it, then head on to bed. I'm still working my way through Turn Coat and only have two more days on the loan. Good night.

Ah. I have defeated the dreaded weapon of the Spanish Inquisition--the comfy chair

I have achieved success with clearing off the bed, which is good, because I think the comfy chair is on its last legs. The bottom of the recliner hasn't gone back down in awhile. Now it pitches upside down when I try to get out of it. :( 'Course, considering I found it by a dumpster 7 years ago, it's doing pretty well. But it is time for new living room furniture, that's for sure. Something to save for, anyway. But then, I have the whole car fund that is one cent at the moment, too. :)

Anyway, having re-conquered my bed, I think it's time for insulin and then to go on to sleep. I didn't sleep Saturday night, spent Sunday night in the recliner and Monday night on the loveseat, so I haven't stretched out and properly slept in days. On the other hand, I didn't fall asleep more than about 30 minutes tonight, so maybe it 'reset' my sleep mode. :)

It's not easy living in an anarcho-syndicalist commune when you're a lowly peasant, with wandering kings repressing you

Help! Help! I'm being repressed!

Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you. I mean, if I went 'round, saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away.

I do believe I will dust off my VHS version of Holy Grail and watch sometime during the holiday weekend. Oh, I do so love coconuts....hard to believe I was only 8 years old when this came out.

Now for some silliness

I've seen this before, but I love what Jeremy Yoder wrote on his blog:

'The Internet has now achieved its purpose -- I mean, once you've mashed-up Star Trek and Monty Python, what is there left to do? Nothing. There is nothing left to do.'



Enjoy.

A bit of silliness before bed...

I love this bit

Every now and then 'Every Sperm is Sacred' creeps into my brain. Now that I have VCR again I can watch Meaning of Life, Holy Grail, and Life of Brian, again, as I don't have them on DVD yet. :)



and then there's this, which I think is doubly funny because, well, Graham Chapman (my favourite of the six) was the member of the troupe who was gay, and he always seems to play the straight guy.

And while we are at it, did you expect....

the Spanish Inquisition?

Good lord

Okay, I'm not a huge tennis fan (all that rotating your head back and forth watching the ball gets tiring), but this is truly amazing:

Wimbledon match lasts record 10 hours and counting

On and on and on, and on some more, they played— longer than anyone ever had before. And still there was no winner.
John Isner of the US shows his frustration, during his men's singles match against Nicolas Mahut of France, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, Wednesday, June 23, 2010.
AP Photo/Alastair Grant

John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and Nicolas Mahut of France were tied at 59-59 in the fifth set at Wimbledon after exactly 10 hours of action when play was suspended because of darkness Wednesday night. It is by far the longest match in terms of games or time in the century-plus history of tennis.

“Nothing like this will ever happen again. Ever,” Isner said.

This is what Bill Hart, who linked the story on Facebook, had to say:

So these blancmanges, blancmange-shaped creatures come from the planet Skyron in the Galaxy of Andromeda. They order 48,000,000 kilts from a Scottish menswear shop ... turn the population of England into Scotsmen (well known as the worst tennis-playing nation on Earth) thus leaving England empty during Wimbledon fortnight! Empty during Wimbledon fortnight ... what's more the papers are full of reports of blancmanges appearing on tennis courts up and down the country - practising. This can only mean one thing!

I dearly love that sketch, so here's the first bit...feel free to watch the others, too:

Ah, great movements sometimes hit snags

Life of Brian by Monty Python is, in the humble opinion of this Classics geek, one of the funniest movies ever (although Monty Python and the Holy Grail is up there, too, I prefer Life of Brian, and not just for the full frontal nudity.)

It makes all those years of studying ancient history and languages worth it just to get all the jokes. I've embedded the link to the 'Romans Go Home' segment before. This one is of the zealots' planning session. Several YouTubers have likened it to a Tea Party meeting. :)

Since it's the middle of the night and I still have Latin on the brain

Enjoy...

We need some levity this morning, or at least I do

Fortunately Monty Python allows you to embed killer videos...



I want the Rabbit with Big Pointy Teet Bunny Slippers made by Toy Vault.

So maybe only a classics major can truly appreciate this...

but it's my favourite part of Monty Python's Life of Brian

'Romanus Eunt Domus'


(Thanks YKWIA for showing this to me tonight.)

I didn't get much sleep last night

so I'll go on to bed soon. I've been watching 'Sapphire and Steel' (which terribly misunderstood the concept of 'element', but is rather interesting, despite a very tiny special effects budget) and 'The Tomorrow People' (original series) with a friend today. I loved British TV as a child, things like 'The Prisoner', 'The Omega Factor', 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' (although I didn't get all the humour back then), 'All Creatures Great and Small', and 'Doctor Who' (the latter two shared a principal actor--Peter Davison). So I decided to give you a couple of bits of British fun from Doctor Who, this time outakes/bloopers, first from the Tom Baker years, second from the current Doctor's.



My favourite? 'How long, K-9?' 'Insufficient data.' 'Yeah, you never f***ing know the answer when it's important.'



My favourite? Cybermen playing football with K-9.

Today's radioplay: 'The Tankerville Club'

Making public information more public--to the embarassment of some Wikipedia editors

Wikipedia and the art of censorship: "It was hailed as a breakthrough in the democratisation of knowledge. But the online encyclopedia has since been hijacked by forces who decided that certain things were best left unknown."

Fortunately the folks at Wikipedia and watchdogs among those who routinely edit tend to catch insults, conflicts of interest, and questionable deletions. But a new program links edits with the organisation with which the computer used is affiliated, and that's caused some embarrassment for companies, political parties, government agencies, religious groups, all sorts of people. It can't get specifically down to who made the edits, but it's picking up the conflicts of interest and tinkering being done in the interest of public relations and cover-ups.

Okay, I really am going to bed now. Oh, and here's the website for WikiScanner

Incidentally, I put in my own company and I went from a page that an unknown coworker apparently edited on Monty Python and the Holy Grail to this:

Estimating the Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow

and incidentally, no it wasn't me....I have never edited a Wikipedia article, yet.

Too great not to pass along

Star Trek meets Monty Python...

Two Python videos

First, Graham Chapman's memorial service, with John Cleese in fine form:



Second, a somewhat painful book-related skit:

I loved the game today

although it went until 11:30 (we usually get out about 9, that's two weeks in a row that it ran later). We didn't get much further into the investigation, but three of the characters got blown up with dynamite (and barely survived), met a whole gaggle of ghouls (and barely survived) and uncovered an evil plot by our secretary (of which they'll probably barely survive). Meanwhile there are two cases going on at once, and being blown to smithereens definitely puts a cramp on your ability to investigate, even with magical healing.

Also my character, the one with the multiple personality toddler, is dealing with becoming pregnant through a charm that basically meant having great, wonderful sex with a mobster--against her will. She's struggling with date rape, basically, and has shut down emotionally while throwing herself into her work, but because of her pregnancy, she can't go on any missions, so she's left trying to keep the home fires burning and sending much less experienced investigators on cases. Needless to say, she has a lot of guilt. But at least she isn't being blown to smithereens or being the fleshy meat that ghouls dream of.

Ah, Cthulhu...

And now, on a totally random note, I give you...the Gorilla Librarian...