Look Ma, I won….

So after 5 years of fearless & relentless blogging, I finally won an award for the efforts.

One of the funniest and most astute among the denizens of desi-blogosphere, and a rare person who even manages to consistently remain funny on Twitter has announced his own awards. And I get a prize in the …..”Blog most likely to make you an alcoholic” category.

Yohoooo….

So take that, y’all byaaatches who are crowing about winning the Indiebloggies. This award is so much better because:

I did not have to be nominated by some uber-elite jury.

I did not have to obtain the post-nomination eminent-blogger endorsement.

I did not have to send out e-mails, post  messages on my Twitter and Facebook accounts extorting random people to vote for me.

I do not have to be gracious and and say that everyone’s a winner in my book.

I do not have to send out e-mails, post messaged on Twitter and Facebook thanking people for voting for me through multiple e-mail IDs.

etc.

Now  that I have won the award, I promise to live up to it’s meaningless much exalted status. As a result of this, I will drink more (but of course) and blog more (yeah! dream on….) – preferably at the same time.

In terms of award winning achievements, this one ranks up there with the best of them:

Monty Python: Almost the Truth

I have been in a Monty Python-induced state of silliness nirvana over  the last few days. IFC is showing a 6-part documentary, Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer’s Cut), on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the six guys getting together to create some of the funniest, most  irreverent and of course, the most parroted comedy sketches of all time.

There is always a danger of such documentaries to turn into a fluff idolating piece. However, this series (so far) has not shied away from some of the controversies  among the group members. Part three had interview footage of Chapman where he talks openly about his coming out and his troubles with alcohol and how that affected his relationship with the other members.

But on the whole, the documentary offers some delightful insights; tracing the evolution of the group, from the social background of each member, through their Oxbridge revue experiences (or comic-book writing at Occidental College in the case of Terry Gilliam), early work on the Frost Report and how Monty Python’s Flying Circus came into being, quite by chance.  The best bits are when they talk about how some of the most iconic sketches came about, e.g  the Lumberjack Song, which was apparently thought up in just 20 minutes at the end of a day only so that they could segue from the Barber Sketch.

Later episodes cover the tumultuous  making  of the Holy Grail, and the famous interview of Cleese and Palin with Malcolm Muggeridge in response to the religious backlash against their supposed blasphemous depiction of Christ in Life of Brian. There are also tributes by current British comedians, actors and writers and other who have been influenced by the Pythons (including some interesting snippets with Sanjeev Bhaskar – of The Kumar’s at No 42 fame – who talks about how his desi parents really disapproved of him watching a show where men dressed up as women, till they learn that all these actors went to Oxford and Cambridge).

In short, a must watch for any Python fan.

And of course, the post cannot be complete without linking- so here goes the Philosopher’s song, well suited to singing at the top of your voice after downing a few pints.

Speaking of a few pints, before they sang it during their Hollywood Bowl show, Eric Idle quipped:

We find your American beer like making love in a canoe. It’s f$%king close to water.

My faith in humanity….

….and its future is currently at an all-time low. As the Dictator pointed out, such faith should be pretty much non-existent in a world which consists of Twitters and Rediff message boards. But this article in The Telegraph that tries to create equal arguments for evolution and creationism, plunges moi into epic despair.

However, there is some comic value in this. Just read the comments section, especially a long, ‘reasoned’ post by one “Matt Klemp September 10, 2009 at 01:32 PM”. Just to wet your appetite:

Thirdly, whilst i am a part of the most devout christian movement in history, i fully accept that no mere human being can or ever will know for certainty whether there is a god or not until he (God) taps one on the shoulder and says well done. Do you understand? both religion/god and scientific/evolution is pure theory!!! Never has it been fact. Like the majority of court cases one must digest the available data and and make the most probable conclusion.

The whole comment reproduced below the fold, it’s just too awesome and deserves a wider read.

The Cheese Shop

Apropos of nothing in particular, but a dose of humor on a dreary Tuesday morning (which is actually like a Monday morning this week due to the long-weekend), presenting the cheese skit:

Apparently, 42 cheeses were mentioned in the original skit – coincidence ?

Today’s WTF statement (1)

…is proud to contain WTF within itself:

What the f…k was that? Does Danny Boyle know what Bachchan saab means to us Indians? Who would dare approach him like that? (link)

He seems more upset that someone would dare to approach Bacchan-saab covered in shit, rather than the being covered in shit part !

And dude, if someone calls you a ‘slumdog’ as a gaali – take it on the chin, and move on, or better: call him back with gaalis like ‘nixon’, ‘milk’, ‘wrestler’ etc.

(1) Today is a day for WTF-ery, will post more if I get a chance.

Barberian idiocy

This:

After courting controversy days ahead of its release, Shah Rukh Khan’s latest film ‘Billu Barber’ will see the term ‘barber’ dropped from its hoardings and posters across the country following objections from an association of hairdressers, terming it “derogatory”.

The actor-producer, who spoke to representatives of the Salon and Beauty Parlors’ Association over the issue, on Sunday said his production house Red Chillies Entertainment will ensure that the term ‘barber’ is removed from all hoardings.

“We will put a piece of paper on the word barber wherever it can be done in India. We will send teams,” Khan said.

Once again, I am compelled to point out – this is not an Onion-like satire piece, but a sad, sad truth.

Sigh !

Henceforth I demand that ‘post-docs‘ be considered a demeaning term, and our underclass be referred to by the more descriptively appropriate FUUGSS (f$%#ing unbelievably underpaid glorified sweat-shop scientists). Thank You.

(link via a comment by the GreatBong on Facebook)

A Quiz

A relatively obscure question, but if you know and share my literary taste, the answer jumps out:

What is the link between the following words:  “phthisis, psychic, and ptarmigan” (apart from obvious) ?

Sensible Party versus Silly Party

I can’t believe I forgot this bit of sketch during the recent election hoopla. Not quite their best, but still quite funny:

Hannah and Her Sisters

You see the whole culture. Nazis, deodorant salesmen, wrestlers, beauty contests, a talk show. Can you imagine the level of a mind that watches wrestling? But the worst are the fundamentalist preachers. Third grade con men telling the poor suckers that watch them that they speak with Jesus, and to please send in money. Money, money, money! If Jesus came back and saw what’s going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.

From one of my favorite films. Am watching it again for the n-th time. This bit of dialogue stuck out for the contemporary relevance of it (hopefully not much longer). Here is the clip:

The film is full of great one-liners and memorable exchanges. Here is another sequence full of them:

Vote for Palin !!

Yes, I suppport Palin ! Palin for President:

(via)

WQOTD

Occasional re-readings of good old Plum’s extensive output can work wonders in perking up the depressed soul (second only to the restorative effects of a w. and soda brought to your favorite armchair by a trusted, brainy butler) .

Should be a mandatory prescription, or something.

No matter how many times you have read it, lines such as this never fail to shovel out a loud chuckle:

He had the look of an ostrich that had swallowed a door knob.

(All’s Well with Bingo)

Possibly useful trivia….

Offered in response to this story, which seemed to have caught the fancy of several on the desi blogosphere and specifically for those more familiar with the US lingo: in the land down-under, thongs does not refer to the undergarment but to a pair of flip-flops/chappals/sandals.

So if you ever hear an Australian girl say she is planning to wear her thongs – don’t get any ideas.

Similarly, if a guy happens to mention it, don’t judge too quickly.

(as aside, for the few regular visitors (?), I am alive and well: shifted my base – in fact, from one coast to another – so settling in etc. Regular rantingprogramming to resume shortly).