Today's Apocalypse Sign: Where I Go All Zombie Haiku On Yo Ass! Part Deux

I wanted to finish this A-Z Challenge in an interesting way and introduce some of my new readers to my previously undiscovered brilliance (and there's a lot of THAT!). Therefore I went back in time through my list of posts from current time to find the last post I had with ZERO comments. It happens to have been on May 24th, 2011. Double Z Scrabble points as the post also is about Zombies. And this is it: 

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I found another blog today that has some Apocalyptic overtones to it (actually they found me, I suppose by the name of my site). I enjoyed what I found there and thought I would share. Enter their world if you dare...

Your Daily Sota


And while I was there the haiku bug bit me deep and I rattled off a zombie haiku for their Zombie Haiku contest. It ends May 31st so if you are interested, craft a creepy verse and send it to them They won't bite...hard.

Here is my offering...


Dining Out~

Curse in the brain stem
Craving your grey matter now
Blessed the blood flow

In case you weren't sure I fancied my self quite a Haikuist back in the day.
(and Blessed is pronounced as two syllables in this instance, just to clarify)Ed. Note
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Sadly YourDailySota is no more. They moved on and closed up shop this past January. They had some interesting reading. Alas poor Yorick, I didn't know them well.

It's been another fun A-Z Challenge. For the second year in a row I made the right letters on the right days. And it was a really fast month for some reason. I didn't visit as many blogs as most of you but those I joined in, I was pretty loyal to on a daily basis. I look forward to posting my recap of the whole ordeal and oddly enough, I can't wait til next April...provided December 21, 2012 is much ado about nothing. I will continue to visit new blogs for the near future as time permits. Those new friends I am behind on I will catch up!

Congrats to all who made it the whole way! I can't wait to see what the badge will be for all of us who made the whole trip. I will be proud to sport it prominently.

Thanks Alex and Arlee and all the rest of the hosts for all their efforts to make this Challenge one that will be tough to beat next year (you guys got your work cut out for you:)).

Anyone have a Haiku they want to share? Have you ever written a Haiku?

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Woops! I Know I Have Forgotten The Graphs

Sorry folks, got so into the A-Z I failed to provide the non-Challengers their weekly humor fix here.

Without any delay, here are this weekends graphs...

Enjoy!









My work here is done. And after tomorrow the A-Z is done and you may resume your normal life blogging away with no structure til next April, oh wait...that's just me!

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Y?

As in YMCA. Not the song by the sexually ambivalent Village People. I mean as in summer camp.

You say summer camp to many people and they have terrifying memories of homesick weeks away from mom and dad when they were kids. Or terrifying memories of being bullied or feeling inadequate at some of the activities they had to do.

Not all summer camps were obviously YMCA oriented. Some were actually like they were portrayed in movies such as Meatballs. Torturous affairs leaving kids scarred for life or led down the path of serial killer. I knew kids who had been to some of "those" summer camps and I would like to think I saved them by getting them to come to my Y camp. My friends who would get to come and spend a couple weeks with me had the best times each summer.

Yes I said my Y camp. Camp Tippecanoe. Great name for a camp and it was also the name of the one-light town closest to the camp. I say my Y camp because for 8 youthful formative years, it was my camp for the entire summer. How so you say? Simple.

My dad was the camp director. From the time I was 4 years old until I was 13, every year when school let out in June we packed the family station wagon and headed for camp. Not to return until Labor Day. While other kids had to ride their bikes around the same tired neighborhood all summer (maybe a week or two for a family vacation) I got to experience the outdoors and be on what amounted to a 3 month vacation that my dad was in charge of. It was the greatest time of my life!

If you click on the link above on Camp Tippecanoe (or here) and scroll down to the last paragraph where it mentions the camp director...that's my dad. In 1960 (even though I was only 4) I remember going with my dad to check out this new place he was going to be working at. It seemed to take forever to get there but in fact it was only about an hour and a half. The only thing I really remember at that age once we got there was how muddy it was every where...roads, parking areas, cleared land, everything. I of course found out later that the place was just being built and the combination of half completed construction and lots of rain recently turned into a quagmire. But it was so cool...like the pioneer days.

At a young age I learned a lot of skills and got to go back every summer to get better. Being the director's son was like a free pass to every activity. I learned archery, 22-rifle, horseback riding, swimming, canoeing, arts and crafts, hiking, orienteering, survival skills, and a lot more. While other kids had to pay for their one or two week stay...I got three months of fun and exercise. And snipe hunts. Great fun.

When I was there the camping seasons were divided for all boys and all girls. There was band camp in the early part of August where high school marching bands would come for 2 or 3 weeks before school started to hone their skills. There were two ranch camps further out from the main camp area where each rancher was given their own horse for their 2-week stay. And they were responsible for the care and feeding during the entire stay. At the end of each two week cycle there would be a gathering of all campers on the softball field to watch the two ranches let their riders show off their feats of riding skill learned during their stay.

There was international camp where foreign campers (like exchange students) would come and stay for two weeks. What a great cultural experience for me and my siblings. There were 2 one-week sessions of handicap camp. Buses of handicap campers came to enjoy all the things that normal campers enjoyed. Kids in wheelchairs, mentally handicapped, physically disabled and everything in between had an experience of a lifetime getting to ride horses, play softball, have sing-alongs in front of the bonfire, and any activity they were physically capable of doing. Many of these things could never happen today with all the legal red tape. Could you imagine a wheelchair bound camper being lifted into a row boat and being allowed to be rowed out into the lake?? Never happen now. Those kids were the happiest they probably had ever been. And ya know what I enjoyed them being around and always helped out and made friends even if just for a short time.

My dad was a tireless director. He had 1100 acres under his command. Sometimes that included prowlers to deal with that would come in off the lake. I never felt anything but safe when I was at camp. He gave me my first paying job when I was old enough - dishwasher in the lodge kitchen. You learn the meaning of work and keeping pace when you have to help prepare, serve, and clean up after 200 campers and staff 3 times a day. But I made $200 a month as a 12 year old and that was a million dollars to me. The stories I could tell seem endless.



In 1969 my dad was promoted to the director of a brand new YMCA office not far from where we lived. Camp life was over for me. And not long after taking that new position...life was over for my father. He died suddenly at the age of 44. I was the one that noticed something wasn't right that Father's Day Sunday in June of 1970. Then everybody rushed in as I called out to the back yard full of family, barbecuing. Everything was a blur after that, I don't even remember hearing the ambulance come. I just know a few hours later my mom was telling us four kids that dad was gone.

My younger sister did return to camp many times as a counselor and staff member. I don't know that I have been back since my dad died. There did have a memorial ceremony there...I know there is a huge picture of him hanging above the fireplace in the main lodge. The place where he devoted his life and energy to helping the adults of tomorrow be better people.

The YMCA made me who I am today. I am thankful my dad was who he was and did what he did.

Next...Z end.

Today's Apocalypse Sign: X-Files

I Want To Believe


Trust No One


The Truth Is Out There

Friday night September 10th, 1993  8PM: It all began - The X-Files premiered on Fox. And those three sayings were on posters in a dingy basement, cluttered with files in the FBI building. They would become mainstream over the next few years.

The trailers for the show were intriguing from the first time I saw them. This was the show I had been waiting for a long time to see.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson starred in what would be the longest running science fiction series ever on US television up to that time. Running from 1993 until 2002.

The premise for the show was everything I love. Paranormal phenomena, aliens, conspiracy theories, government cover-ups...the whole ball of wax. Hell, there was even an episode where the Kennedy assassination was shown to be the conspiracy theory so many think it was. And it is pretty believeable the way they played it out...even the real film footage meshed with the shows B&W footage. It was so cool.

Duchovny played the ever skeptical Fox Mulder (tip: when pitching a show to the Fox network use the name of the network as the star character) and Anderson plays Dana Scully the FBI agent "assigned" to Mulder to keep his wild speculations grounded in some scientific logic. And she is THE hottest redheaded FBI agent ever to be on a show. I was in lurv with Scully!

The episode names were as memorable as the episodes themselves. Kitsunegari. Squeeze. Deadalive. Syzygy. Chris Carter and a host of others were genius at coming up with real attention grabbers every week.  Adding William B Davis as the Cigarette Smoking Man and Mitch Pillegi as Asst. Director Skinner along with a host of others from time to time were all casting home runs.

The show was a good time and had many different people writing the episodes and many different directors and rarely had the same writer/director combination in consecutive weeks. Many of the episodes were referred to as "monster of the week" shows. In effect they were stand alone shows not affecting the underlying theme of the entire series. I found it a unique and refreshing way to present a series and its longevity is a testament to how well it worked.

The X-Files became a huge cult classic and the term "Mulder and Scully" weaved its way into many other shows scripts referring to investigative or alien type moments. The series spawned a short-lived spinoff called the Lone Gunmen about a trio of conspiracy theorists. During the X-Files run Mulder often sought assistance from these three modern day stooges that made for some comical moments.

Once I got hooked on this weekly fix I knew it would be a sad day when it ended. Mulder did not make it as a main character beyond season 7 and Anderson was done after season 9. Both were cast in their roles for the two movies that were made and then it was over.

If you have never seen the show and you have any sci-fi bones in your body, I strongly recommend picking up season one on DVD and have an X-Files marathon. Find someone who is a fan and have a good time. It truly was the best show of its kind in the 90's.

But for me....

Extra Credit Points for anyone who can tell me (without Googling) what Kitsunegari means. Pat, no fair asking your wife!


Y not wait til tomorrow...

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Where The Buffalo Roam

This is mostly my all time favorite comedy movie. Has been for 35 years. And if you have never seen it, you must add it to your queue, collection, streaming line up, whatever. Make time to watch it at least twice.

I am talking about the fantastic portrayal of gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson by Bill Murray. Bill may have gained his fame from other movies but for me this is the epitome of Bill Murray. He actually got so into the Thompson character that when he returned to SNL it seemed he had adopted some of the mannerisms and traits as his personna. I absolutely love this flick!!

Here's the movie intro:



I watched this movie until my VHS tape broke. Then my wife finally got it for me on DVD. She is not the biggest fan but the humor in this movie may be an aquired taste for some. For me I was hooked 32 years ago at a midnight movie when I saw WTBR for the first time.

Since then I memorized most of the movie and quote it in a Rocky Horror kind of way when I watch it (we all do that, right?). This may be the main reason my wife is not a fan...she hates when I do that to any movie. Anyway...

This movie only made $6.6 million at the box office but most of those were repeat visits by hard core fans like myself I'm sure. Critically it was less than a success. Leonard Maltin stated: "Even Neil Young's music score can't save this dreadful comedy, which will baffle those who aren't familiar with Hunter S. Thompson's work and insult those who are."  Which I think is a bit harsh. While yes a little background knowledge of Thompson may be helpful I certainly didn't think it to be a requirement for enjoying the film. The snobby critics failed to grasp that the movie was not meant to be a documentary of Thompson's life or a monumental piece of cinema, it was meant to be entertainment delivered by Murray and cast.

Since Wikipedia summarized the plot about as well as I could this is it (courtesy of Wikipedia):

The film opens in the Rocky Mountains on the Colorado ranch of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, a journalist furiously trying to finish a story about his former attorney and friend, Carl Lazlo, Esq. Thompson then flashes back to a series of exploits involving the author and his attorney.

In 1968, Lazlo is fighting to stop a group of San Francisco youngsters from receiving harsh prison sentences for possession of marijuana. He convinces Thompson to write an article about it for Blast Magazine. Thompson's editor, Marty Lewis, reminds Thompson that he has 19 hours to deadline. The judge hands out stiff sentences to everyone, and the last client is a young man who was caught with a pound of marijuana and receives a five-year sentence. Lazlo reacts by attacking the prosecuting attorney and is then jailed for contempt of court.

The magazine story about the trial is a sensation, but Thompson does not hear from Lazlo until four years later, when Thompson is on assignment covering Super Bowl VI in Los Angeles.^[1] Lazlo appears at Thompson's hotel and convinces him to abandon the Super Bowl story and join his band of freedom fighters, which involves smuggling weapons to an unnamed Latin American country. Thompson goes along with Lazlo and the revolutionaries to a remote airstrip where a small airplane is to be loaded with weapons, but when a police helicopter finds them, Lazlo and his henchmen escape on the plane while Thompson refuses to follow.

Thompson's fame and fortune continues. He is a hit on the college lecture circuit and covers the 1972 presidential election campaign. After being thrown off the journalist plane by The Candidate's press secretary, Thompson takes the crew plane and gives straight-laced journalist Harris from the Post a strong hallucinogenic drug and steals his clothes and press credentials. At the next campaign stop, in the airport bathroom, Thompson is able to use his disguise to engage The Candidate in a conversation about the "Screwheads" and the "Doomed". The Candidate tells Thompson "fuck the doomed".

Thompson, still posing as Harris, returns to the journalist plane. Lazlo then appears, striding across the airport tarmac in a white suit. He boards the plane and tries to convince his old friend to join his socialist paradise somewhere in the desert. After causing a disturbance, Thompson and Lazlo are thrown off the plane and Lazlo's papers that describe the community are blown across the airport runway. Lazlo, presumably, is not heard from again.

The action then returns to Thompson's cabin, just as the writer puts the finishing touches on his story, explaining that he didn't go along with Lazlo because "it never got weird enough for me."

Bill Murray of course plays the role of Thompson, Bruno Kirby plays the Blast magazine editor, Peter Boyle plays Lazlo, a young Craig T Nelson plays a cop on the witness stand in a drug trial, Rene Auberjonois plays Harris a reporter from the Washington Post, and after he was Neidermeyer in Animal House, Mark Metcalf played Dooley, Nixon's press secretary.

My two favorite scenes are the courtroom trial hearings for Lazlo's drug clients that Thompson is reporting on... "why, you could cut off their feet, they'll never do it again", and the hotel scene where Thompson is staying for the Super Bowl coverage... "blitzing linebacker Rose, pick him up!"

Courtroom Scene (it's in English)



A really fun movie I have enjoyed in various states of mind over the last 30 years.

It has stood the test of my time because it still hasn't gotten weird enough for me!

Here's the youtube link to the movie: http://youtu.be/fmRHScTEHbY

Have you seen this movie? And if not, when the hell will you!?
X it stage left...............

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Vocal Fry

Have you heard of this? Apparently young women across the country are adopting it as a speech style. Unless they all want to be Janis Joplin, I don't get it. Some doctors actually say this could damage their vocal cords in some permanent way. I can see it now...some day women will be getting "larynx jobs" along with other enhancements. That will probably workout as well as the collagen injections for "Jolie lips" look. You've seen how many celebrities that has ruined (Lara Flynn Boyle). She went from hot to hideous.

Anyway, check out the Wiki description of vocal fry and make sure to click the "listen here" link so you know what we're talking about.

A curious vocal pattern has crept into the speech of young adult women who speak American English: low, creaky vibrations, also called vocal fry. Pop singers, such as Britney Spears, slip vocal fry into their music as a way to reach low notes and add style. Now, a new study of young women in New York state shows that the same guttural vibration—once considered a speech disorder—has become a language fad.


Vocal fry, or glottalization, is a low, staccato vibration during speech, produced by a slow fluttering of the vocal chords (listen here). Since the 1960s, vocal fry has been recognized as the lowest of the three vocal registers, which also include falsetto and modal—the usual speaking register. Speakers creak differently according to their gender, although whether it is more common in males or females varies among languages. In American English, anecdotal reports suggest that the behavior is much more common in women. (In British English, the pattern is the opposite.) Historically, continual use of vocal fry was classified as part of a voice disorder that was believed to lead to vocal chord damage. However, in recent years, researchers have noted occasional use of the creak in speakers with normal voice quality.


In the new study, scientists at Long Island University (LIU) in Brookville, New York, investigated the prevalence of vocal fry in college-age women. The team recorded sentences read by 34 female speakers. Two speech-language pathologists trained to identify voice disorders evaluated the speech samples. They marked the presence or absence of vocal fry by listening to each speaker’s pitch and two qualities called jitter and shimmer—variation in pitch and volume, respectively. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

I told you at the beginning of this Challenge that I would be kind of all over the place with my posts. When I heard about this on the news I felt obligated to pass on my education. You're welcome.

Have you heard about this? Do you know anyone who pratices speaking this way? Feel free to share.

Whisk off to W.....

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Unfulfilled - A Short Story

We are all unfulfilled in many aspects of our lives. Many who participate in the A-Z are writers of some degree. Published, trying to be published, novels, short stories, poetry, sci-fi, young adult...a wide representation of writers. I count myself lucky to have those who follow and comment here regularly. I am one of the black sheep of the A-Z. A non-writer (other than this drivel). And I am okay with that. Mainly because if life dealt a career do-over I would choose either writing or photography. In this respect I enjoy reading all the blogs of you writers out there. They are stimulating and educational. I enjoy the photography blogs I follow as that is a skill I want to be better at as well.

So for today, I give you a short little story I just whipped up on the fly. Other than spelling corrections it is pretty much in its raw state. It's not much but I figured I should have one wholly original post (that I didn't lean on Wikipedia for) in this A-Z Challenge and I saved that for U...

UNFULFILLED

Jack entered the subway car just as he had done for the last several days. And, as all those other days, she was there. Rachel, her name was Rachel. He found that out by overhearing her introduce herself during one of her ever-cheerful conversations. Rachel it seemed could make friends in an instant. This was the source of Jack's frustration. There never seemed to be an opening for him.

Jack took the subway not to any place in particular but to find his missing "piece". That one thing that if he found it - he would be complete. His search had been going on longer than he could remember...or forget. Whenever he thought he had it...it would vanish like smoke from a candle. He felt Rachel was that piece. He was sure she was.

Everyday he arrived at the subway and would spot Rachel chatting away with someone. It always seemed to be someone different. If he arrived early hoping to catch her alone, she would always show up talking and laughing with another subway rider. When she arrived back at the end of the day it would be the same thing...she was always surrounded by and talking to other people. Jack doubted she had ever noticed him but somehow he could not move on. He had to know if she would the one to fulfill him.

That first day he saw Rachel, time seemed to stop. Her flowing blond hair, the glow of her skin, the maddening way her eyes  spoke as much as her mouth. And that laugh. It was carefree and genuine. It made people want to talk to her. Her light touch of an arm or a shoulder added an exclamation point to her sentences. Jack had noticed all her nuances while observing her daily travels. Rachel clearly enjoyed the chore of subway travel. It meant human interaction...but never with Jack.

Maybe it was his fault. Maybe he needed to be more forward. Maybe he needed to let her go and search elsewhere. It had never been this tough before...why did she have to be so, so friendly.

You really couldn't call it an urge. If it had been an urge certainly he could not have been frustrated day after day without letting it out some how some where. The last few attempts had never taken this long and his frustration was the failure of the outcome. What seemed right ended up...not so right.

Their lives always ended up slipping through his hands like ashes from a fire. Their deaths always so final. And then he would begin again to try and find that missing "piece" of his life. Eight times previous he was sure. Not so many that he had lost count but enough that he began to doubt his chance of  success. Then there was Rachel.

Maybe tomorrow would be the day...


V you tomorrow....

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Top Fuel Drag Racing

I want to write about something fun today...drag racing! You may or may not have any experience at a race track but I want to tell you one thing...there is absolutely NOTHING like standing twenty yards away from a race car screaming down the track at 320 miles an hour. NOTHING. You will feel it in every inch of your body and it will take your breath away. This is one of those activities that no matter how it is described you will not be prepared for the experience of power this raw. This you have to DO.

I remember as a teenager going to the Norwalk, Ohio track and watching a few races back in the 70's. Never saw any Nationals there but the urge to get on the track and drive a car as fast as possible for a quarter mile was the definition of being a "guy". It was Ford against Chevy...Mustang vs Corvette...big block engines running open headers...the smell of gasoline, man was it a great way to spend a Friday or Saturday night. And meet cool chicks.

Then life took place and I was away from the track for 20 years or so. Boy did things change.

In the mid-90's my office manager had two sons who raced pro-stock at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Tx just south of Dallas. I attended a Nationals race in the spring of 95. Built out in the middle of lots of vacant real estate it was a nice 45-minute ride to get pumped for racing (see my M post regarding Metallica's Fuel song).

Most of the parking was in a grass field. Getting tickets for pit access and seats at the starting line. The smell of the nitro when they are tuning the engines in the pits. The mechanics looking like space aliens wearing gas masks to avoid breathing the fumes. (I am here to tell you that the first time you stand too close to a car getting ready in the pits and inhale a full blast of that nitro exhaust...you think you will never breathe again. If it happens to you more than once you are an idiot.) Getting to walk right up to the greatest drag racers of all time and talk to them, get pictures taken and pictures signed...that two or three hours before the Sunday finals are the best. And the funnel cakes are pretty damn good too !

The Texas Motorplex 1/4 mile track:

I always got tickets on the pit side of the track. This allowed you to hit the pits and visit the drivers, get good seats in the stands (if you want them), or my favorite spot...along the fence track side!

Every once in a while you see something spectacular happen:

Just this week in Charlotte, NC in four-wide Funny Car qualifying.



I was actually in the stands a few years ago when the entire car body went flying off one of the FC's. Wildest thing I ever saw.

My favorite Top Fuel driver was Kenny Bernstein and, by a long shot, my favorite Funny Car driver is John  Force. Both were big fan favorites and Force was so dominant in Funny Car as to be unbelievable...15 time Champion. His daughter Ashley is now also a Funny Car driver, and in the video below (I know it's pretty long but it is a good one) she defeats her dad for the win in this particular nationals back in 2008...topping out at 320 miles an hour. That and she is stunningly good looking...could there be a totally hotter woman on the planet!!

If you have never been, look for a track near you that runs the Nationals and take in a race. Friday nights they usually do qualifying under the lights so these 8000hp machines breathe fire into the night air. Closest thing in real life there is to seeing and hearing a dragon!  It is spectacular. Sundays are the finals. Go get your blood pumping. I promise you will thank me...make sure to take ear plugs!

Night qualifying

One word: BADASS!


See U tomorrow!

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Surprise!!

During the A-Z Challenge you get the opportunity to visit so many new sites and discover new things. As you go from site to site and look at some of the things the writer has posted, maybe some of the things on their sidebar, you can pick up on new items of interest. My surprise addition is the following:

This was the case on 15-yr old Jessica McKendry's blog. I picked up the Nightwish virus and have been listening to them for a few days now. As much as music is a past time of mine (listening not playing) I been enjoying a lot of European rock bands and Nightwish is a Finnish goth/metal band that really rocks.

The first three videos below show their rock opera style, a more acoustic style with a different lead singer, and a full on power rock song not given away by the title. The last video is just fun for the picture on the keyboard. Maybe you too will add them to your play list! Thanks Jess!
Siren



The Islander



I Wish I Had An Angel



Phantom Of The Opera



For bonus points, who can identify the photo on the front of the keyboardists keyboard? Hint: It's most visible in the last video.

T you on Monday!

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Reflection And Remembrance

This past three months has been a very turbulent start to 2012. In January my mother passed away suddenly which I posted about here. The medical bumbling in her case still disturbs me. The ensuing and ongoing issue of the estate settlement is just a continuing reminder that my mother is gone. And that doesn't look like it will be over until the end of summer at the earliest.

I had set up an account several years ago to remind me of special occasions to send flowers to my mom. Now I get reminder emails telling me Mother's Day is coming soon and to not forget Carol's special day. Thanks ProFlowers...just what I needed. Everyday now is Mother's Day for me...I carry a small glass heart in my pocket everyday...one was given to me and each of my sister's by the hospital clergy on duty the night my Mom passed away. It is my lasting reminder of her goodness.

All this has brought up a flood of childhood memories and conversations with my siblings of the old days. It also has been a reflection for me on how fast life moves. It seems only yesterday I was 32 and being promoted to a high position in my company. I remember my boss constantly relating in meetings that "life is short and to enjoy doing what you love to do" as far as work went. He would always end that speech with how it seemed like just yesterday he was 25 and on top of the world. When you are 32 you don't quite grasp that concept. When you are about to be 56 you understand it all too well.

The bones ache a little more in the morning. Teeth give way to dentures (this past Wednesday for me). Your own mortality becomes a little more in focus. Things you did just 10 years ago without thinking suddenly have the "what if this happens while I'm doing xxxx" feeling. That creeping feeling of what could go wrong instead of enjoying what you are doing. I could see how this constant feeling for some people would actually be debilitating, even paralyzing to their life. Suddenly everything could go wrong. Worry is a strong emotion and our world today gives us plenty of reasons for it, but you can't let it take over your life.

Then there is the desire to live as long as possible. Stop smoking. Lose weight. Eat healthier. Study and digest as much as you can on natural health maintenance. Purchase a water filter. Buy organic -coated frying pans. Use fluoride-free toothpaste. Etc. Etc. It would be easy to say, "the hell with it and just live out your days the best you can". When it's your time, it's your time. Sorry, I'm not one for giving up being alive very easily. I do not know what I really believe regarding the afterlife. I find it a fascinating subject...but one that requires pure faith (optimistic or pessimistic) no matter what side of the argument you are on.

Some days I fantasize about being in my twenties again and knowing what I know now and how great that would be. Would I then be one of those "old souls" you call young people who seem to have wisdom beyond their years? Well I can tell you one thing, you wouldn't want to think like you're my age when you're 25.

Maybe reflection and remembrance at this stage of life is the brains way of exercising your memories. Careful to not let them get so deep as to dim. Firing those neurons to keep the forgetful mind diseases at bay. Sudoku and crossword puzzles may be great mind stretchers but I think I would rather take the time to explore my own mind to keep it young.

Which reminds me, I must google for a sensory deprivation chamber. And maybe some mushrooms. And the Altered States DVD. Then I'll be all set.

Thanks for listening and please share your thoughts on any of these subjects in the comments. I am interested.

See your S tomorrow....

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Quid Pro Quo...

Can anyone say those words anymore without immediately thinking the next word should be, "Clarice".

As a big Silence fan, I cannot.

However one of the most intriguing new community systems out there are time banks. Time banks allow members to deposit and withdraw "time". That is they deposit their time to use someone elses time. Clear? There are roughly 50+ time banks currently operating in the US. Two hundred and fifty time banks in the UK and over 26 countries have time banks. Quid pro quo at it's most useful.

In essence it is an alternate currency system. It may even be in your neighborhood without you even knowing it. It is really trading skills you have for skills you don't have. You deposit time dollars in one hour increments and use at the same rate.

For example:

You maybe an accountant. And you may volunteer at a senior center 3 hours a week. You will have deposited 3 time dollars in the time bank. Someone else in the community may own an auto mechanic shop and does volunteer work 4 hours a week. They would deposit 4 time dollars in the time bank. At this point you and the auto mechanic have skills to trade. You may need some repair done to your car and he may need a service you provide (tax return, accounting system set up, etc.). He would do 3 hours work on your car and you would do equal time on what he needs done. No cash changes hands. No bills sent. But both of you get a needed service performed.

Here is a quip from Wikipedia:
As a philosophy, time banking also known as Time Trade^[11] is founded upon five principles, known as Time Banking's Core Values:^[12]

• Everyone is an asset,
• Some work is beyond a monetary price,
• Reciprocity in helping,
• Social networks are necessary,
• A respect for all human beings.

The concept is quite intriguing and I am not a hundred percent sure what my opinion is a this time. But I think anything that provides a fundamental quid pro quo bears investigating further.

Click Your Time Bank to see what's near you. I have one in Dallas with 120 members. I think I am going to check it out a little more. SoCal seems to be loaded with them. Good Luck!

Have you heard of time banking before? Do you have a time bank anywhere near you? What do you think of the concept? Would something like this work well in impoverished areas of the country?

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Power, The 48 Laws Of

This book was a "read of a whim" type thing. I caught just a breath of it in something I was reading, talking about, watching...I'm not quite sure, but it made me hit the internet in search of more info. Isn't that what we do these days? Author Robert Greene takes information from Machiavelli to Sun Tzu to derive his 48 Laws Of Power.

 I have read and referenced this material for the last three years. I am not planning to invade a country or perform a coup at work but little bits of this advice are helpful and allow you to spot others doing many of these laws without even realizing they are doing it. As the old sayings go "forewarned is forearmed" and "chance favors the prepared mind". It is not light reading but it is an excellent book as knowledge is power.

I picked up a used copy at Amazon on the cheap. Enjoy.

Here are the 48 laws with a brief description of each courtesy of : http://www2.tech.purdue.edu/cg/Courses/cgt411/covey/48_laws_of_power.htm

The 48 Laws of Power

by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers

Law 1

Never Outshine the Master

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

Law 2

Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies

Be wary of friends-they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.

Law 3

Conceal your Intentions

Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.

Law 4

Always Say Less than Necessary

When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

Law 5

So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life

Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once you slip, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

Law 6

Court Attention at all Cost

Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and timid masses.

Law 7

Get others to do the Work for you, but Always Take the Credit

Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.

Law 8

Make other People come to you – use Bait if Necessary

When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains – then attack. You hold the cards.

Law 9

Win through your Actions, Never through Argument

Any momentary triumph you think gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.

Law 10

Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky

You can die from someone else’s misery – emotional states are as infectious as disease. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.

Law 11

Learn to Keep People Dependent on You

To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.

Law 12

Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm your Victim

One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose.

Law 13

When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-Interest,

Never to their Mercy or Gratitude

If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself.

Law 14

Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy

Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.

Law 15

Crush your Enemy Totally

All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.

Law 16

Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor

Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.

Law 17

Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability

Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.

Law 18

Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself – Isolation is Dangerous

The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere – everyone has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from – it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to circulate among people find allies, mingle. You are shielded from your enemies by the crowd.

Law 19

Know Who You’re Dealing with – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person

There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs’ clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then – never offend or deceive the wrong person.

Law 20

Do Not Commit to Anyone

It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others – playing people against one another, making them pursue you.

Law 21

Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark

No one likes feeling stupider than the next persons. The trick, is to make your victims feel smart – and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.

Law 22

Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power

When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you – surrender first. By turning the other check you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of power.

Law 23

Concentrate Your Forces

Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another – intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.

Law 24

Play the Perfect Courtier

The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the mot oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.

Law 25

Re-Create Yourself

Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define if for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.

Law 26

Keep Your Hands Clean

You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement.

Law 27

Play on People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following

People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.

Law 28

Enter Action with Boldness

If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

Law 29

Plan All the Way to the End

The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.

Law 30

Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless

Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work – it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.

Law 31

Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards you Deal

The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.

Law 32

Play to People’s Fantasies

The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes for disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.

Law 33

Discover Each Man’s Thumbscrew

Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usual y an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.

Law 34

Be Royal in your Own Fashion: Act like a King to be treated like one

The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated; In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.

Law 35

Master the Art of Timing

Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.

Law 36

Disdain Things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best Revenge

By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.

Law 37

Create Compelling Spectacles

Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power – everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.

Law 38

Think as you like but Behave like others

If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.

Law 39

Stir up Waters to Catch Fish

Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.

Law 40

Despise the Free Lunch

What is offered for free is dangerous – it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price – there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.

Law 41

Avoid Stepping into a Great Man’s Shoes

What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.

Law 42

Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter

Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual – the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoned of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them – they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.

Law 43

Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others

Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.

Law 44

Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect

The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of Mirror Effect.

Law 45

Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform too much at Once

Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.

Law 46

Never appear too Perfect

Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.

Law 47

Do not go Past the Mark you Aimed for; In Victory, Learn when to Stop

The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.

Law 48

Assume Formlessness

By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Outsmarting Your Cancer - A Primer

I think I have waited a reasonable period of time (and just enough letters) to sequel my F post.

It should be clear I am no fan of the FDA and it's gang of incompetents. I am no fan of the government controlling areas of our lives that we should have a choice in. Both these things come to a full head when it comes to health care treatment.

Nothing is more shocking or discouraging than how cancer treatment is presented and controlled by those who stand to make the most money. The campaign of disinformation, false treatment results, and fudged drug trials on the level the FDA carries on can only be waged by the big money from those MAKING the money.

What is the cost to research and develop a new drug? Roughly $800 MILLION!! But what's a few million when the drug company stands to make BILLIONS from a newly patented drug. With a 17-year patent life the profits are staggering.

What is the cost of any surgical procedure when treating cancer? How about chemo? Radiation? As I mentioned before "It is illegal for any licensed doctor to prescribe any course of treatment for cancer that does not involve surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation." These are the only "cures" recognized by any government agency or medical association.

What is a "cured cancer"? The medical community and FDA consider anyone still living after 5 years to be cured, whether or not they still actually have cancer or cancer cells in their body. When they do studies for percentage success rates, as long as a patient makes it to 5 years they are considered one of the cured...if they die 5 years and 2 months after treatment they are counted as having been cured. Even if they die of the cancer they were treated for!! And if they die before 5 years from a secondary cancer caused by the treatment for the first cancer...they don't count at all!!!

As one who has been touched by family and friends who have died of some form of cancer, I find it appalling that we are being fed Orwellian truths by the very government agency that is supposed to protect us. If you have read 1984 by George Orwell you know what I mean.

Since last year I have been reading and re-reading a very informative book called Outsmart Your Cancer - by Tanya Harter Pierce. She is not a medical doctor but the death of a family member due to cancer caused her to begin her investigation into alternative non-toxic methods for actually curing cancer. This book is 481 well written pages of information every person needs. It comes with an hour and 16 minute CD of testimonials of success from the various treatments in the book.

One subject I was just reading about at the end of the book for the second or third time is the issue of fluoride in our water supplies. Many countries have banned the use of fluoride in their drinking water. Not the US. It is well documented that fluoride is toxic and a carcinogenic substance. Do you know how adding fluoride to the water supply became a great idea?

Oscar Ewing. In 1947 he was the chief legal counsel for the Aluminum Company of America. He devised a plan to not only dispose of the highly toxic fluoride waste from the aluminum industry, he figured out how to make money at it as well. And it was such a good idea that other fluoride-producing industries joined in. It is almost like a plot in a crime movie except it's real.  Here is what happened:

Ewing was named head of the organization that oversaw the Public Health Safety (PHS) Department. He then made it the policy that the PHS was to promote the fluoridation of drinking water under the guise of dental cavity reduction. He lobbied for changes in the federal regulations which established drinking water fluoride levels to be controlled by the PHS Dept. Do you see where this is going?

Ewing's great profit making idea was instead of paying huge costs to dispose of the toxic fluoride waste the aluminum industry and other industries created, they could now sell it at a profit to public water companies to fluoridate the water supply. Now the advertising campaign touting the benefits of fluoridated water was in full swing. Big money interests were behind all of this. Even to the point that scientific researchers found their career dead if they opposed water fluoridation. Guess what happened next?

The toothpaste manufacturers jumped in and started adding this fluoride to toothpastes!! One small problem.

The type of fluoride that was used to study the effects on tooth decay was calcium fluoride which is dietary (found naturally in plants and water). The fluoride being put in the water supply and dental products was sodium fluoride, which is highly toxic!!  Before Ewing's diabolical plan the only place the aluminum industry could sell this waste for profit was to companies that made rat and cockroach poisons! The campaigners for the industries that produced this toxic waste knew that calcium fluoride is not what they were putting in the water supply. There was no mistake made. They were clear on the toxic nature of sodium fluoride.

Several studies have never shown any benefit from drinking water fluoride or fluoride in toothpaste. Clinical toxicology studies show sodium fluoride as more toxic than lead poisoning. Do you know that if a small child ate a full tube all at once it would probably kill them?  There was actually an episode on CSI where a couple committed suicide by ingesting several tubes of toothpaste each.

Go now and look at the brand you are using. If it is not fluoride-free (like the Tom's brand I use) I bet you will see sodium fluoride as one of the ingredients...my wife has two Crest products in her bathroom and both have this ingredient in it.

I know this has been a long post but I believe it is the beginning of  you getting important information that could impact the life of you or a loved one, maybe a friend. I have studied this subject for several years now and this is one of the best books I have read regarding alternative treatments for cancer. Here is the link for you to do your own research. It will be the best $25 you have ever spent.

Outsmart Your Cancer - by Tanya Harter Pierce

You did hear about the young boy in Minnesota (I believe) that refused any more chemo for his cancer. He and his mother took off...left the state. They were tracked down and she was threatened with arrest and her son was forced to resume the chemo therapy. Go here to read about it.

I wish you all the best.

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Now For Something Completely DIfferent

I wish to be a little silly today...

Monty Python's Flying Circus silly.


I loved the Pythons from the first viewing. Cleese, Chapman, Idle, Palin, Jones, and Gilliam represented the finest in British humor. The accents, the jokes (subtle and otherwise) I found addicting. A lot of people I know find MPFC stupid (of course) and unfunny. They are to be pitied. I would say much of my sense of humor can be attributed to long hours watching many of their shows over and over.

The troupe's way of keeping the viewer off guard was masterful. Rolling credits part-way through a skit or immediately running opening and closing credits one after the other, or Chapman coming in and stopping the action saying it had gotten too silly...you never quite knew what you were in for.

The characters portrayed by each member were all so perfect. Cleese as the Ministry Of Silly Walks employee...could you imagine anyone else doing this.

Ministry Of Silly Walks


Cleese and Palin in the riotous Dead Parrot Sketch...brilliant!

Dead Parrot Sketch



There are various stories as to how the name Monty Pythons Flying Circus came about but the brilliance of Gilliam's opening sequence for the show are undisputed. That alone was reason enough to watch.

The abrupt cutting from one scene to another and Cleese (usually dressed in a dinner suit and impersonating a radio announcer) walking into a sketch to announce, "And now for something completely different". Then off you'd go to...something completely different! It was high comedy and brilliant acting.

Their collaboration resulted in the following well-known sketches:

The Dead Parrot
The Lumberjack Song
Nudge Nudge
Spam
The Spanish Inquisition
Upper Class Twit Of The Year
Cheese Shop
Ministry Of Silly Walks

Naturally the jump to the big screen came...and


There were three real movies made by the Pythons:

Monty Python and The Holy Grail - a full lampoon of the times of King Arthur. The Black Knight, the clapping coconut shells for horse's hoof beats, the Knights who say Ni:



Monty Python and The Life Of Brian  -A religious lampoon of the New Testament.



Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life - sort of a birth through death journey. It was the darkest humor and most violent endeavor. The group claimed to want to "offend everyone" with this film.



As with all good things the group went their separate ways. Cleese and Palin did several movies together and Cleese wrote and starred in the film A Fish Called Wanda. Chapman died in 1989. In a 2005 poll of the UK to find the top 50 comedians, Cleese was voted #2, Idle #21 and Palin #30.

If you have never visited the lunacy that is Monty Python please add that to your list of things to do before you die...

This has been something completely different...tomorrow is the Big O!