Monty Python

Speaking of essential, Monty Python just updated one of its songs for the World Cup. LINK  The timeless comedy troupe is doing ten reunion shows in London starting next month.

In addition, a box set of all their albums is also coming out. It will be called Monty Python's Total Rubbish: The Complete Collection. The set contains remastered versions of all nine UK-released albums.


Their final live show next month is to be broadcast into 450 UK cinemas and 1,500 worldwide. It will be on my calendar and always better to watch with a crowd, because laughing obscures the next rapid fire bit of humor and it is difficult for a person to take it all in at one time.

What's in a Name, SPAM

The name SPAM is an acronym of "Shoulder of Pork And Ham." It is unique, both in its computer form and in its canned pink form. The two words have more in common than you might think. The computer spam actually derives its name from a Monty Python sketch set in a café with an entirely Spam-centric menu. In typical Monty Python fashion, the characters (including a chorus of Vikings) break out into a song consisting almost entirely of the word “spam,” thus “spamming” the dialogue.

The sketch was a commentary on the influx of commercially available canned meats during a period of desperate agricultural rebound, the word made its way into the computer world as the annoying and excessive influx of unwanted mail or advertisements.

During the 1980s, online advertising companies attempted to acronym the word as “Sales Promotion And Marketing,” but online spam is worse than any meat or meat byproduct.

Flying Penguins

I forgot to add this one to my April 1 posting. 90 second video hosted by Terry Jones, from Monty Python fame. LINK