This didn't find it's way into into the episode about Kaye Ballard, but I thought it was a heartbreaking detail and wanted to give it some sort of attention. The composers Kander and Ebb have come up a couple times on the program, most recently with regard to Ben Vereen performing "Mr. Cellophane", but also … Continue reading Kaye’s Ballad
Author: Benjamin Russell
The Kinesthesiology of Silly Walks
I've been a long-time listener to the QI spin-off podcast No Such Thing As A Fish, where researchers for the long-running BBC comedy panel show — the "QI elves" — riff on some of the most interesting facts that they've encountered in their daily jobs as fact-checkers, fact-searchers, and factoid-dismissers. It's been a good continual … Continue reading The Kinesthesiology of Silly Walks
A Third of Your Monthly Penance
While searching for a blog entry that might reveal the name of the typeset that was used in The Apartment's main title sequence, I stumbled upon a lovely, stream-of-consciousness post by Janielle Kastner, a writer and podcaster out of Texas. She, like me, drilled down into the finances of C.C. "Bud" Baxter, since he is so … Continue reading A Third of Your Monthly Penance
Dyscalculia
Somewhere in the Wikipedia page for M*A*S*H is the minor detail that the lovable scamps of the legendary 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital are based on based on author Richard Hooker's actual experiences in the 8055th. I'm certainly not claiming that the cognitive dissonance of trying to keep all those numbers from falling into a … Continue reading Dyscalculia
Uma Thurman is not a Ninja Turtle
There has been a mild splash in comics news recently as IDW's current publication of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has announced a spin-off title featuring Jennika the new female member of the former males-only quartet. You might be forgiven for not thinking this is "news", per se, on multiple levels: new solo titles in … Continue reading Uma Thurman is not a Ninja Turtle
Lest(er) I Forget…
While The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film did not seem to me to be a direct visual antecedent to Monty Python's Flying Circus, I have found direct evidence to the contrary: Terry Gilliam cites the film as inspiration for his animation storytelling methodology in FilmCraft: Directing (2012). And on Spike Milligan's death on 27 February 2002, he … Continue reading Lest(er) I Forget…
A Breath of Fresh Air
I was well into my high school stint of delving into all things Python in 1993 when my NPR-listening stepfather helpfully taped this interview off the air for me. I had formed the practice of using a dual-tape deck to take the best clips from interviews and pull them out as sound bites. On every … Continue reading A Breath of Fresh Air
You Left Out A Hungadunga In The Title
In the beginning of our discussion of episode 3, "How to Recognize Different Types of Trees From Quite a Long Way Away", I begin talking about how the episode had originally had one of MPFC's rejected names... and then my memory fails me. I begin saying "Bun, Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble, and Boot" but then I … Continue reading You Left Out A Hungadunga In The Title
For Whom the Liberty Bell March Tolls…
Nathan and I spent some time talking about the theme for the show. He was largely content with it being a copyright-free version of Sousa's "Liberty Bell March", because he, quite rightly, felt that the music most associated with Python and, specifically, the Flying Circus should bring people into the show. We also knew, like … Continue reading For Whom the Liberty Bell March Tolls…
Farced Perspective 