Anna and Ben convene in a fallout shelter under the Houston Astrodome to discuss the fiftieth anniversary of Robert Altman's dark fable. They discuss whether commercial art can be "High Art", whether fairy tales need to make sense, and the great Marshmallow Test of all our lives. https://audioboom.com/posts/7744854 Sources and References: Pauline Kael's New Yorker … Continue reading 5 December 1970: Brewster McCloud
7 November 1970: The Phantom Tollbooth
Anna and Ben receive a mysterious package that sends them on a journey of critical analysis regarding Chuck Jones' animated adaptation of The Phantom Tollbooth. They confer about educational theory, converse about mindless tasks, and chat about wordplay before being subjected to the demon that is the terrible Trivium, um, trivia contest. https://audioboom.com/posts/7730310 Sources and … Continue reading 7 November 1970: The Phantom Tollbooth
Episode 15: The Spanish Inquisition
Nathan and Ben discuss the increasing public ire the six Python Boys are willing to display about the BBC, whether the existing show was the result of last minute edits, and charm of expecting a running gag. But nobody expects a quiz about the 1963 film Charade and a digression about 1992's tech espionage film … Continue reading Episode 15: The Spanish Inquisition
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
Episode 14: Face the Press
Nathan and Ben return with a scheme called "The Other Podcast" where we threaten to analyse episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus if you don't listen. The next podcast scheme might be the turning point. Until then, enjoy their musings on Graham Chapman's depictions of camp and a quiz on Cartesian Dualism. https://audioboom.com/posts/7701543-episode-14-face-the-press Sources and … Continue reading Episode 14: Face the Press
12 September 1970: Five Easy Pieces
Anna and Ben sit down to investigate the rebellious origins of BBS Productions' film Five Easy Pieces. While not actually a comedy, they examine it as a forerunner of Nicholson's manic performances and an extension of Rafelson's work with The Monkees, and then delve into trivia surrounding the classical music featured in the soundtrack. https://audioboom.com/posts/7681573 … Continue reading 12 September 1970: Five Easy Pieces
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
Episode W861: The Apartment Complex
Anna sits in with Ben to once again revisit anniversary cinema and discuss Billy Wilder's The Apartment on the event of its sixtieth anniversary. Does the romance hold up under contemporary power strictures, how has Mad Men influenced our opinions about office culture in the '60s, and who knows anything about that mishegas down at … Continue reading Episode W861: The Apartment Complex
Episode 1975: Rutland Weekend Television
Diverting somewhat from the mainstream of their remit, Nathan and Ben celebrate the 45th anniversary of the original broadcast of Eric Idle's Rutland Weekend Television by watching the first episode, "Gibberish", and weighing it against half a century of Python comparisons. https://audioboom.com/posts/7579644-episode-1975-rutland-weekend-television Sources and References Eric Idle and Neil Innes interviewed by the NME about … Continue reading Episode 1975: Rutland Weekend Television
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
Farced Perspective 