Tim Minchin vs. Harry Potter and the Blog of Destiny

Sorry about that silly title. Okay, no I'm not. You know I loves me some nonsense. As proof, below is an actual line of dialog I wrote for a custom murder mystery (something I did briefly in the 90's to try and make an extra buck and fund my regular theatre company). The character was a diabetic who had been poisoned with sugar and became incoherent just before her death.

Her final words -- I'm almost ashamed to admit (but not ashamed enough to not post them) -- were:



"There's a great mammal on the gramophone this dictatorship! Let's all go to Venezuela and smell it!"



Those of my friends who read this (and my sister)* who took part in those custom shows, are either the most wonderful and amazing and trusting and insane friends or members of a mind-control cult led by yours truly. In this same production, which was a Hollywood spoof called "Whatever Happened to Mr. Ed?" I had two sisters named Hedy Lamour and Dorothy Lamarr. Dorothy was a paraplegic and Hedy her sadistic care-giver. We actually convinced the kitchen staff to serve a rubber rat under a tray -- which they promptly and hilariously trumped by pouring gravy over it!). It was also the first of only two times I've done drag - my character died and then his "Identical Twin Sister" showed up. So scary... And so much for my early writing career...



*Who will laugh and not be offended by that link - she knows I don't actually think of her in that way (and she is still the only person who always gets me).



Anyway... I visit about a dozen or more websites and blogs daily, and maybe another 8 or 10 that I visit weekly. Most of the sites I visit offer links to all kinds of weird, wild, wacky and wonderful things (and who doesn't love a healthy dose of comedic alliteration? W's and K's are always funny) and I often get ideas for Caliban's Revenge from them. Anyway, when I'm really desperate, I visit YouTube, FunnyorDie and Hulu. Occasionally, they provide with little gems that can inspire some ramblings.



Tonight, because I had posted a few of clips previously, YouTube suggested that I view another one. So I did. And here it is (language NSFW):

I love the abso-friggin-lutely off his rocker mad look in Tim's eyes in that video. It sort of reminds me Terry Jones at the organ on Python.

Then, linked to that video was this clip which almost made me wet myself laughing:

Personally, I don't get the Harry Potter thing. I read the first book on a flight from Philadelphia** to Tampa and still had time to take a nap. I thought Rowling was an "Okay" writer who liked having fun with words, but I'd much rather read King, Straub, McCammon, Barker or Gaiman for my doses of Fantasy. Though more than one of my dear friends are avid Potter fans, my reaction is "meh." My interest was only piqued when Rowling made this shocking announcement:

While not enough to warrant it's own "The Gayest Thing" post (if only because it's old news), it's gay enough to be included on this blog.

So, what does any of that have to do with each other? No farging clue, my dears. Stream of Consciousness is often a very scary (or at least, moderately disturbing) thing. Damn you, James Joyce!

And my motto, of course: "A little nonsense now and then / Is cherished by the wisest men." I hope the rest of your holiday weekend is is silly, safe and satisfying (there goes that damned alliteration again!).

**That link is especially for D.

More nonsense, anon.

Prospero

Read More......

Why Have I Not Seen Him Before?

Warning - this post would probably be rated "R" by MPAA for language.

This is British comic musician Tim Minchin. Raunchy, clever and downright hysterical, Tim writes and performs hilarious songs that many would consider risque. Obviously classically trained, he is a clever lyricist and brilliant pianist.

I just discovered him after Jonco over at Bits&Pieces posted a video clip from an appearance on the Graham Norton Show. Norton is an hilarious, openly gay and rather naughty Irishman with his own chat show on the BBC. He's not above placing speakers and cameras in public toilets as pranks and often manages to have major celebs like Dustin Hoffman and Cher take part in his impish shenanigans. If you've never seen it, I suggest you check his show out on BBC America.

The first clip below is the first one I saw of Minchin in performance, and it made me laugh so hard, I had to seek out others.

Not for the prudish or easily offended, Minchin's songs make fun of everything from weird sex to racism and movies. In fact, while searching for clips of his work, I realized that his excellent cover of Tears for Fears' "Mad World" was used in one of my favorite modern films, Donnie Darko, the film in which I first fell in love with Jake Gyllenhaal.

Enjoy these clips of Minchin in performance (some of which may be NSFW).

First, "Inflatable You," the clip that made me love Minchin:

And then "If You Really Loved Me," a song about... well... golden showers:

Next, a parody synopsis of Donnie Darko:

And the music video for Minchin's beautiful and haunting Donnie Darko cover of "Mad World:"

And finally, a favorite silly song, from which Minchin must have taken inspiration:

You can be assured that I will be on the lookout for more from this talented and hilarious performer.

More, anon.

Prospero

Read More......