Monty Python

From: william (WILLIAMA)18 Aug 18:47
To: ALL1 of 30
Difficult to overstate how big Monty Python was to me and my contemporaries. I was 13 (just a teenager) when it was first broadcast. Naturally, we all thought it was expressly made for us. OK, you need to understand that there were THREE channels on the telly and NO INTERNET. Everybody watched telly and everybody talked about it the next day (cf other discussions on teh).

It was the shit! We repeated the lines. We ACTED the lines. We LOVED it.

Some of it, I think is fine. Clever stuff that still stands up. Some of it I simply detest. I suppose that's understandable given that it was produced by a bunch of upper-middle Cambridge white male cisnormal ex-students from the late 60s.

So I was pondering about this recently. What do I hate the most? I think the answer is not from the TV series, but from "Life of Brian", and it's the "what have the Roman's ever done for us?" scene.

O.M.G. A resistance movement who oppose a militaristic invader, intent on exploitation and mass murder are satirised? And the funniest parts are their use of language? Look how funny they are. OK there's a slender justification for this. Very slender. True enough, back then there were any number of fashionable protest movements set on righting minor wrongs that styled themselves on organisations such as the PLO, and yes, they were a bit funny (not that my teenage self knew that). But the meat of the scene. What have the Romans done for us? Jesus. There now follows a stock justification for invasion, genocidal occupation and exploitation that must be as old as the hills. Think of India and the British. "Well, there's the railways..." "Well, there's the system of government..." "Well, there's the judiciary..," "Well, does that make up for the the 150 million people kiled by the British invaders while we robbed the sub-continent?"

So, no. Can't stand that any more. Not funny.
 
From: Kenny J (WINGNUTKJ)19 Aug 08:20
To: william (WILLIAMA) 2 of 30
Splitter!
From: Kenny J (WINGNUTKJ)19 Aug 08:25
To: william (WILLIAMA) 3 of 30
Sorry, reflex action. Like a great many people, I have Python quotes deeply wired in and ready to be deployed at a moment's notice. You make a good point there, and I wonder, if I was to revisit the shows* today, what would I make of it all?

*Holy Grail gets a watch every five years or so, Brian less frequently.
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)19 Aug 08:51
To: william (WILLIAMA) 4 of 30
I remember finding Monty Python *very* funny as a kid and young teen watching re-runs. And I shared that enjoyment with my dad who'd watched it first time round of course.

Then in mid-late teens, watching the films with my friends and we'd all enjoy them and say the lines and all that.

They were obviously good. And hugely influential. It says a lot that their comedy remained *actually funny* for a second generation, I don't think that happens often. I remember my dad telling me how funny Morcombe and Wise were (more the former of course) and we'd sit and watch it and I'd be like *is it though?*.

By uni my tastes had moved on. But there'd be a few kids who'd still repeat the lines and I found that very embarassing. There's a particular kind of hatred I have for things which aren't *bad* but do not deserve their acclaim. I don't think it's a healthy thing but it's there. It's snobbery really.

More recently I started to realise that, as you say, they were just a bunch of upper-middle class oxbridge students and, while their stuff was *formally* very 'subversive' it was otherwise quite conservative and even reactionary. No surprise that Cleeves has gone on to become one of these bitter old reactionary twitter misers.

Then I started to notice just how many popular TV comedians have that smug, comfortable, oxbridge things going on. Which doesn't make them *not funny*, of course, but does limit what they're likely to say and what kind of things are likely to be the butt of their humour. It's all very safe.

A couple of weeks ago, Youtube wanted me to watch some Monty Python clip. And I'd not seen anything by them for *years* so I was like yeah, fine, let's have a look, see if I still hate it. It was set in a northern 'working class' household but there was some kinda role-reversal where the mum and dad were actors and their effete son wanted to run away to London to become a miner. And that's a funny idea, and the presentation was funny. But there was this kinda smug, condescending, BBC attitude to the north and the working class that's still very much present and increasingly rubs me up the wrong way.

I don't really have a point with this I realise.
From: Monsoir (PILOTDAN)29 Aug 12:06
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 5 of 30
"I don't really have a point with this I realise."

You know your other thread about missing the internet -this is why. this is what's lacking. There's no room for just pondering and musing now
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)30 Aug 19:25
To: Monsoir (PILOTDAN) 6 of 30
True. One of the great things about this place is when we used to go off, usually very quickly, on *huuuge* tangents.

These days you'd be told to take it to the appropriate channel.
From: william (WILLIAMA)30 Aug 21:02
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 7 of 30
Yeah!!!! That is sooo annoying. You have this really average discussion (as in everybody basically agrees. Not necessarily bad, but...) and somebody raises a tangential point. In leaps a mod, or some forum member who is furious because HE (always) was just about to post an incredibly subtle variation on a boring reply. 'I've moved your post to "impossible-to-find-ends-of-the-earth"' says the mod, or the roused member (nj) complains bitterly, draining all impetus from the tangent.

Whatever happened to Racoon and Jay? And Steve? Is fucksocks still a thing? And Simon and stytchkytty for that matter? There's a couple of names on the tip of my proverbial, that I can't remember. Some pretty smart, articulate posters. I've a feeling that they never posted in this incarnation of teh. Help me out.
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)30 Aug 23:25
To: william (WILLIAMA) 8 of 30
I'd forgotten about (nj)!!!

And yeah, exactly. Even if the conversation moves, that's not how it works. You've just sapped all the energy out of it.

Jay's around. I got a DM from him. He can't post until he's verified his email, but he can't do that, so he's contacting Matt I believe.

I actually happened across Simon on fedi the other month. He seems happy, still doing his furry art successfully.

Patch. Izziwizzi. Sinkywinky. Edd. Kara. Darren. JonCooper. JohnGTI. Sulkpot. Kriv. Mouse. LP (though he posted in the "I miss you guys" thread I think). Boff. Ally. Voltane. Jaowon. Mal. Radio. Ricardo. Evstar. 

I cheated and went and looked at some old threads. I may have repeated some who posted in the "miss you guys" thread and omitted others I mistakenly think did. I'd love to know how they're all doing.

I think I've still got Sinky as a Steam friend. I should message him.
EDITED: 30 Aug 23:29 by X3N0PH0N
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)30 Aug 23:25
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 9 of 30
Also various Chrises.
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)30 Aug 23:34
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 10 of 30
Aww, no, the only ones who've remained my Steam friend for all these years are Linn and PsychoGeezer. Gawd bless 'em.
From: Some call me... (PSYCHO_GEEZER)31 Aug 01:52
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 11 of 30
Voltane, JonCooper and Ricardo posted in "I miss you guys", though only Voltane gave us an update from a quick re-read (I may have missed something from the others).

Ricardo was in fairly regular contact through the WhatsApp that spawned from the google hangout some of us were in (you included, it was supposed to close down as a service so we moved on, but for some reason it's still going even now), but he decided to leave the WhatsApp after a bit.

You didn't ask, but Ken was in WhatsApp with us until he decided it was EVIL and left for Signal.  Most of us are in there too, but we barely speak there.

Mouse is still in the WhatsApp, I don't know what he'd want me to tell you as we're all at the point where we know detailed stuff about each other's lives.  He's happy and doing well in his career.  I'll ask him to come and say hello.

The last time I tried to stalk Boff, he was doing clever things as a Uni lecturer.

I always found the Chrises hard to keep track of mentally, the one called Chrisssssss is in the WhatsApp and I think he's the same one I used to speak with on MSN the most.  Aside from you and Jay that is.

Izziwizzi is one of the people that I merge into other people too, did he come back as truffy, or was that someone else?  If the latter, who was it that changed their name?  Was Izzi called James?
From: Some call me... (PSYCHO_GEEZER)31 Aug 01:54
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 12 of 30
You should buy us both everything from our wishlists.
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)31 Aug 04:56
To: Some call me... (PSYCHO_GEEZER) 13 of 30
Izzi was James, yeah. Truffy is a different person. Did he say hello in the miss you thread?
From: william (WILLIAMA)31 Aug 07:50
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 14 of 30
Truffy was MR BASTARD. Truffy had been his nickname from the PC Pro forum site and later Delphi forums. I quite liked his posts, but I think he began to find me genuinely irritating (eg discussions of U2 Vs Wizzard). Which is OK, because I can be irritating. No idea what he's up to these days.
Message 43052.15 was deleted
From: Some call me... (PSYCHO_GEEZER)31 Aug 10:31
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 16 of 30
I don't think either did, but I'm saying that with only a small amount of confidence.
From: Mouse31 Aug 10:46
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 17 of 30
Alright gangster. ♥️
From: milko 3 Sep 09:50
To: william (WILLIAMA) 18 of 30
"Steve? Is fucksocks still a thing?"

He's called Felix nowadays, I believe! And seems to update Facebook quite a bit. I think he was and probably still is working for github? And making quite dramatic home improvements (and/or commissioning builders to do it)

Izziwizzi/James I'd love to hear from, me and Tina did that tour from SF to Vegas to Grand Canyon to LA to SF with him, then he went around the edge of the USA north-> east -> south from there (in a classic Mustang for at least some of it). Then he ended up crewing sailing boats far afield and I think that was the last I heard and that was aaages ago.

Ricardo I still speak to here and there because his company does a fair bit of work for the company I work for. You can also see him on Instagram/Strava going for runs in teh countryside.

I've got a feeling Truffy got huffy with us when he went a bit right-wing/pre-brexit but could definitely be misremembering. JonCooper didn't go noticeably right-wing particularly but definitely went brexit (as did much of the south-west, I suppose) and I seem to remember that being a bit of a catalyst for ditching here too. Anyway, I hope they're both well. What a stupid mess of a thing brexit is and was no matter how you feel about the EU.

TAK is some sort of university professor living in the countryside.

Edd was doing internet startup things and going to gigs and taking gameboy camera photos last I spoke to him (I bumped into him in central London in the street!) but that was a good few years ago now. I wonder what's up these days, and I would bet on gameboy camera groups as the place to stalk him.

JohnGTI goes for runs too albeit I think more in the vein of city half-marathons than the countryside and still does teaching I think and his kids are all growing up - he's another facebooker so that's where I've seen that.

Andee/Tribal was doing some work at Facebook at some point, not sure if he still is but it seemed of the really-rather-successful variety and I think he got married and had child(ren) too.

Rowan got married to a Romanian lady and I don't think I know anything else beyond that.

I think that's all I got in this current memory dump but I'm sure there's much more in there somewhere! I don't think I'm 'in' on these MSN/Whatsapp/Signal groups and it's probably a good thing as I don't need more procrastination distraction quite frankly. I'm 'on' Facebook, never post but leave it enabled on one device as my family all use it to some extent, and there's quite a few tehpeople on there at least occasionally.
From: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX) 3 Sep 16:30
To: milko 19 of 30
I have to say I miss Mr. Bastard's bromides of bitterness.
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 4 Sep 05:12
To: Mouse 20 of 30
Ahreet! 

How many guitars have you sold since we last spoke? And how many have you bought?