Monty Python's Flying Circus on Netflix

Netflix has dumped a ton of Monty Python related material recently - best of shows, clip reels, live performances, remembrances, biographies.

I've decided to go back to the source material: 4 series, 45 episodes, aired in Britain from 1969-1974. Python has been kind of ubiquitous in my life (although the Marx Brothers were much earlier and more formative), but I'm not sure I've ever done a canonical viewing of the show. The ensemble became known for stand-alone sketch / bit comedy that fans have come to know by heart, but many of the belly laughs of viewing the original shows come from the way sketches bleed over into each other, or show up again later in the show.

My most recent watch (Series 2, Episode 1) features the "New Cooker" sketch, and the long line of service techs patiently waiting to enter the sketch pop up several times later in the show; the classic "Ministry of Silly Walks" (Cleese silly walks through the following sketch at least once), and "Ethel the Frog / Piranha Brothers" which I remembered mostly from a record album compilation, so there is a soundless bit in the middle I did not recall, as well as an addendum tacked on for the recording "...sorry squire, I've scratched the record....sorry squire, I've scratched the record....sorry squire, I've scratched the record....". And Spiny Norman's animated appearance during the credits is sort of the icing on the cake. "Dinsdale...."

My earliest Python memories were of my dad watching and laughing in our family room in PA, over the air via the local public station, quite possibly in black & white. I think we were both a little embarrassed about the occasional nudity (most often in Terry Gilliam's animated pastiches). I was a little too young for it to be appropriate (but was curious) and he seemed a little embarrassed for enjoying it as much as he did. I think he was looking for someone to share it with and I was not quite there yet.

Later on in high school, where the sketches bounced around pretty wildly in lunchroom banter and classroom cut-ups. I probably picked up a lot of it second hand, or through records - in those pre-internet, pre-DVD, pre-VCR, even pre-cable days (we were late acquirers) it was catch as catch can in terms of actually seeing the shows. And when I was able to watch a show, it was difficult to put some of the humor in context the way a serial viewing of the series provides, both in terms of repetitive themes as well as the evolution of the humor and the acting / comedy skills.

Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979) neatly bookended my high school career - I'm sure I saw both in the theaters. But again, a different experience when one needs to pay and screen multiple times, rather than watching the film over and over the way a VCR, DVD or stream permits.

So...a nice little break from reality that I am savoring (rather than binge watching) and a chance to revisit a more innocent era, personally and culturally.

Social Media

Social Media has been on the table the last few days.

At Thanksgiving, my sister's use of Facebook to keep tabs on her eldest (1/2 a country away as a college freshman) was bantered about - her son refuses to friend her, although has let in an uncle. So she keeps in touch via text message and skype. We were teasing her as a "stalker" although my niece used the perhaps trendier word creeper. She's not really that much of a helicopter mom, but a mom cannot help herself. We were laughing at what our mom would have done had she had access to such technology when we were in school - no cell phones even back then, and no land lines in the dorm, so we had to rely on the catch as catch can payphone in the dorm hallway.

Then at the reunion, a clear line of demarcation between those who have embraced social media (a handful) and those who have not. Interesting. I'm on the cutting edge, I suppose, at least for my age group (surely not in general) - part of my work involves staying abreast of such things for tourism and small business concerns, I've been blogging in one for or another since 2002, and have had an online presence (personal essays, business) long before that. And my social network skews younger and hipper - folks without land lines, who text first rather than call, who have less concern about privacy.

Being self employed helps - my clients come and go, but I am not wholly dependent on one entity for financial survival. So a lot less concern about propriety and discretion. And in some ways, all of my online presence is a marketing campaign for my brand - my self. My music, my balloon chasing, my yoga teaching, my writing - all of these little bits of renaissance me stirred into one gumbo.

In some ways perhaps I am a bridge figure, between we oldsters coming to terms with the new media, and the young guns who do not know anything different. Not fully embracing the technology but exploring it's capabilities and seeding the potential within my generation.

Into the Woods

Spent the day up in MA, visiting my brother's workplace. Can't say too much but it was interesting, thought-provoking and more than a little sad. He was excited for my sister and I to see the place though, and it was nice to see where he works, etc.

Got back in time for some power yoga - but Elo the dog was so whiny and needy, and truthfully has bene neglected (due to yesterdays rain) so I opted out of yoga and we hit the farm for a hike. Felt good in my body and Elo needed the chance to run.

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I am happy to report that the much anticipated (and endangered) Bobolinks have arrived - their plumage is quite distinctive (kind of a backwards tuxedo) as is their call (a particularly tuneful trill, almost carnival like). They keep the field uncut to permit nesting, so I expect they will be a frequent site in teh coming months.

Also, saw two rabbits on the mown lawn. I wondered how Elo would react (he ignores the birds, robins poking around all over the place) - and true to his beagle heritage, he took off after the rabbit who quickly shook him (must have been Hazel-rah, smart bunny). So it was an exciting day.

In other news, I got a package from Amazon.com today - "Teaching Yoga: Exploring the Teacher-Student Relationship" by Donna Farhi. There have been some issues bouncing around the studio of late (not directly involving me, but I am caught in some of the fallout) that warrant a closer look at teacher ethics - one of my friends had a copy of this amazing book, so I picked up my own copy.

Dad

Mom sent an email last night. "APRIL 19 IS DAD'S ANNIVERSARY. PLEASE SAY A PRAYER! LOVE, MOM" - I so often forget, although I often hit a bit of a sad spot this time of year.

April 19, 1979, my father, William Joseph Russell, passed away. He was at (then named) Framingham Union Hospital, in the midst of an angioplasty attempting to repair a heart damaged by a series of heart attacks. He was not yet 45; missing his birthday by a few days - I'm older now than he ever was; if one were to believe in a corporal afterlife where one retained ones age at death, my dad would be my junior when next we met....

It is perhaps indicative of where we were at the time that none of us were at the hospital - Dad had been in and out of the hospital repeatedly over the past year or so; my sister and I had grown used to stopping by to see him after high school (right now the block from the hospital) and later finding him puttering around the house as he recovered. On some level, his infirmity had become an annoyance; we wanted to ignore it and hope it would clear up, and let us get back to our lives. So on some level, this procedure and his passing were just one more thing in a slow but seemingly inevitable slide that we had grown accustomed to.

I remember driving the family in his 1973 AMC Hornet to the hospital to see him - as the eldest child who had just turned 18 myself, I suddenly assumed a heavy mantle of family responsibility; Mom seemed in no condition to drive. At the hospital, I went in to see him; not sure if they kept him alive via machines until we got there or not, but it was clear that he was gone. I had learned well his lessons regarding torquing down on my emotions, and I did not cry even as I stood over my father's lifeless body.

I don't remember a whole lot about the next few days. I remember a little black humor with my family at the funeral home regarding caskets (Dad wouldn't want something too ostentatious, dad won't care, that sort of thing); I remember tucking a guitar pick into Dad's suit pocket; thanking him for my music. I remember a reception following the funeral at the house; not quite an irish wake but with some lightness and spirit. At my graduation a month or so later, mom presented me with a typewriter that she and dad had picked out together.

Not too long afterwards, I left for college, beginning the slow pulling away from family. My brother took over my bedroom soon thereafter and I slept on the couch or an empty bunk bed when I came home for vacations and summer. I kind of missed the mourning and getting used to a house with one less person in it. My family got a dog soon thereafter - Kyla was a mix of Coyote, Labrador, and Samoyed, she was a companion, protector, and friend - and came to live with me in CT in her dotage. I was with her when she died....

Dad has been in my mind to a greater and lesser extent over the years. I think we miss him most at those times of ceremony and ritual - holidays, graduations, weddings, births. Mom has watched over us kids in the years since - at this point she has lived as a single mother and widow much longer than she lived with her husband.

I certainly I have danced with his ghost in my therapy, on the mat, at various retreats, workshops, and ceremonies. I have moved from numbness to anger to grief; from resentment to pity. For many years I assumed I might follow his lead and expected an early death; my various transformations and personal growth has effaced that surety; I feel like I have a lot of life ahead of me. Death has not touched me much in the years since; having taken Dad, the reaper has been mostly silent these many years save for grandparents and an aunt.

Rest in peace, Dad. Miss you and love you. Not sure I have a prayer today, but you remain in memory; tears have been shed.

How Judy Got Her Groove Back

It has been, so far, a pretty great weekend.

Friday saw me doing a bit of work, and then teaching my 12:15 gentle class. A bit more work, then back to the studio for some training. Back home to feed and water Elo. And then off to Hartford to pick up Zippy and trek over to Univ of Hartford for Meg Hutchinson & Cheryl Wheeler, in town for the Music for a Change series.

Cheryl was Cheryl. Which is to say her opening number (Quarter Moon) had me sniffling and then sobbing, with its poignant and brave face towards aging and mortality. And she was at the same time hilarious and irreverent, confessing at one point that she had the ashes of three cats and one dog "on the shelf" and that when she came to the "...buried their own dog in their backyard..." part she pretty much always starts thinking how she ought to bury the pets one of these days.

Zippy and I both agree we'd love to hear a bit more of her serious ballads but when you have the chance to laugh your ass off listening to a wonderful artist, no real complaints.

Meg Hutchinson opened - heard her on Bob Edwards Weekend last weekend and she was wonderful (and oh so young, sigh) there as well as last night. Bought her newest CD and listened a bit last evening though I really want to give it a good listen before it goes into the regular rotation.

Afterwards, I stopped by the yoga studio to facilitate the switchover of front desk computers - today was the official launch of the studio going 100% to a new online software system, and the old desktop (kept running on life support because the old software would only run on the old O/S) needed to be retired. Turned into a two hour project - the receipt printer needed to be reinstalled and I ended up downloading (2) 475M divers before it took, and there were a lot of peripherals that needed to be tested (credit card swipe, bar code reader, cash drawer, several printers) as well as the typical new computer automatic upgrades (windows / java / flash / virus protection) - so I was there until past midnight. But....mission accomplished.

After my yoga hiatus, I made it to one of NP's patented Saturday morning celebrations of the spirit - in a room nearly packed I found space for my mat in my favorite corner. And though there were many things coming up today, and an awareness of one serious shoulder issue that drove me to bring my knees down for chaturanga and avoid up dog, I had a quite delicious and bright practice.

After practice, I hung out to help set up for the Open Studio event. Which involved Starbucks run, setting up the snacks, and assisting with two classes. I was not on tap to assist, but scheduling assistants slipped off the back burner as the studio prepared for the changeover to the new software (and class card system) so I stepped in. Completely wonderful to work with two of my fave teachers, and challenging to move through a very full room (60-70) of diverse students (from studio veterans, to new to the studio yogis, to newcomers). Very nurturing to my spirit in a lot of ways.

Snuck home around 4:30, and after a shower and a dog feeding, piled Elo in the car to head back to the studio (I left a fleece, with $$$ in the pocket) and then we wandered in search of a place for a walk (between the rain and my schedule, he's been somewhat neglected of late). Found the Deming Young Farm in Newington (very close to my place) which I have been meaning to check out - turns out to be a lovely loop around the fields - a little muddy today but I suspect it will become a regular stop. Some "leash your dog" warnings regarding the nest of the endangered Bobolink, but these seem to not nest until mid-May at the earliest, so a good spot to let Elo run during non-prime hours.

Happily, Elo was well behaved, and a good chance for a little bit of training - with a dozen or so rewarded rounds of fetch (he brought the tennis ball right back and dropped it at my feet once he figured out the treat angle), some come and sit practice, and even a sit / stay (with a bit of control) as another dog walked by. My furry little friend is totally sacked out right now, so let's call this one a win. And the field was filled with foraging robins - a wonderful springtime sight.

Tomorrow, up to MA to see my niece in the chorus of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Nashoba Regional High School.

While I am not foolish enough to write off the malaise and concerns of the past few weeks following one good weekend, nevertheless it seems that winds have shifted, and life is much brighter. Several of my yoga friends commented on my absense the past few weeks, so I guess I was missed. It's nice to be back....

Making Lists

I spent some time this morning putting together a list of things to take care of in preparation for a family visit. It was pretty mundane - ranging from the routine (making the bed, doing the dishes, doing a load of laundry) through the occasional (cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming) and a handful of exceptional (a pile of cables that morphed in the office, clearing a path to the heretofor unused basement door). And one by one I banged 'em out - the place got cleaned up and organized. A highly effective morning.

Clearly, I like to work from lists. A good lesson that I can perhaps implement as I try to clean out the odds and ends of projects that have been hanging around for a while.

Friends of Alex Wilson

I wrote back in June about my second cousin, who was seriously wounded in Iraq.

Just a quick update. He's still in TX, recovering - it's a long process, and his family (his mom is my first cousin) has been back and forth to be with him. Another cousin has set up a website for him here: Friends of Alex Wilson - Alex posts periodic updates which are nice to read.

He's just one of the ten's of thousands seriously injured in the war, all deserving of our respect, support, and prayers.

Home Again

Mom and I made good time back from NJ / Philly - leaving at 9:00 a.m. and arriving home around 1:30, and that included a potty break, a gas break, and lunch at a diner in New Haven. We ended up missing NJ Turnpike Exit 11 (for the Garden State and the Tappen Zee Bridge) so braved the much feard (by Mom) GWB. Not too much traffic (even sans EZ-Pass) and then we took the Hutch and the Merritt (which Mom thought was pretty, and was actually a nice drive around noon with little traffic)

So, a safe trip back. Stopped by the house to say hello to Zippy, then to the train station to fetch my car, and then saw mom to I-84 East. Mission accomplished.

A little work this afternoon, and then home for dinner. We watched Mysterious Skin tonight (dark, triggering, excellent) - I'm slowly rolling independent films into our Netflix buffet. We need to use closed captions, I think, because the movie is punctuated by Zippy saing "What?" to an unheard line and me either repeating the line (with increasing emphasis as the movie goes on) or saying "I dunno....."

Pirated WiFi from Southampton NJ

Work done in Philly, visiting my mom's friend June. We're doing dinner tonight, sleeping, then heading back home (I'm driving mom as far as CT). June's got a neighbor with an open Wifi hub so internets here I come :)

The work went well today. Add Electro-Physiology to the list of medical equipment and procedures I'm glad to not have dealt with so far. Pretty impressive watching the team work on a patient as we watched to see the symptoms of the equipment problems.

Dinosaur Kid

Colin McEnroe has been spending some time in NYC with his son, making memories. Pretty cool. It has got me thinking about my own times in NYC. (also, he links here from his blog, and people have been visiting, so I better write something less mundane than my usual pap)

My father hailed from Long Island. We lived in south central PA (think a bit west of Amish) and so my dad and his family seemed urban and sophisticated. Dad was a NY kind of guy, in my eyes. In hindsite, I think Dad feared and hated the city - our visits to his family always involved the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, as if he were circling as far around Manhattan as he could. For years I assumed that bridge was the gateway to New York. So we would head out to the Island - Rockville Center, Massapequa Park, Wantaugh, Amityville. It was urban and exotic enough for this kid. Mostly, my grandma took us to play bingo, show us off to her friends, and smother us with pride and love.

When my dad died, we became estranged from his family - who conspired to hide from my grandmother that her youngest son had been having heart problems. Don't want to worry mom. Instead, she got to say goodbye to her baby in a funeral home. Mom was furious about that, and the rift never healed - I became the conduit between the families. When grandma fell ill, I was the one to drive out to the island to see her in the nursing home - shrunken, with one leg amputated. Her funeral was a debacle for my family - as we drove in a blinding rainstorm from MA down to Long Island. That may be the last time I saw many of my father's family - 20+ years ago.

I remember my dad taking us into the city to visit Museum of Natural History. I was a Dinosaur Kid. That's not particularly odd or problematic these days; kids are weaned on Barney, parking your kid in front of cable TV dinosaur shows is pretty commonplace, and animated dinosaurs have stuffed the coffers of children's museums everywhere. But back in my day - the 60's - being a Dinosaur Kid was different. One had to be cut from a different cloth to find the handful of books dedicated to the subject, there were few toys or models or peers. Dinosaur kids were the hardcore nerds. One of the instances of childhood bullying drilled into my brain was a chant the kids made up "Russell is a fossil of a dinosaur's d*ck"

So my family (my dad, surely, mom was never much for the urban experience) dragged his young family into the city he feared or hated, so his eldest could see some dinosaurs. In hindite, pretty cool. For years, when NYC was discussed, that was my one cultural touchstone.

As the years tumbled past, I've become more NYC savvy. My first major relationship was to a person who had lived in the city - so there were trips to MoMA, to the Met, to visit old friends, to see some shows. I've worked in the medical field for years, and have been to many of the hospitals strung out along the east side. Later, doing freelance production work during the dot.com era, I've found myself in and out of the city for work - schlepping powerpoint at Joe's Pub, the Rainbow Room, at 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, at the Harvard Club, at Chelsea Piers, or in the banquet rooms of the old stately hotels. Even back at the Museum of Natural History; at a New School awards dinner, under the whale.

NYC is kind of old hat to me now - I take Metronorth into Grand Central, I jump on the subway. I hum Sondheim's Song and Dance as I wander around Manhattan. "And that drive in the eyes of New York girls; I'd like to be one of them....." I'm perhaps a bit jaded - avoiding the obvious tourist things, not looking up too often, not letting on the delight and surprise to find myself in front of some iconic structure or famous intersection.

But to this day, mention NYC to me, and a small part of my memory flashes back to the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton (long since remounted in line with current theories of the beast). New York is that dinosaur skeleton to me - ancient, held together with wire and bracing, improbable, fearsome.

Off My Game

Just a quick hi-de-ho. I'm not dead, really. Just out of sync with life. I've been off kilter for a while; I think I trace it back to the Tias Little workshop weekend - three days of yoga got me off balance (ironic. eh?) - then I plowed into two frantic days of work and prep before heading to Falcon Ridge. Wed - Sun at the fest, and then back home for another frantic day of catch-up and unpacking.

Then Tues and Thurs off to Rhode Island for family reunion stuff with the Zipster. Puncutated by work and unpacking. I did sneak in one yoga class last Friday. I chased a balloon on Sunday.

Symptoms of being off-stride - I fell down the steps outside work on Friday - had a cup of coffee which went splat and scraped up my knee. Where did THAT come from? Tonight, I headed off to power yoga but I thought it started at 6:30 (it starts at 6:00, I got there around 6:10), and I just hate to walk into class late (note, I also hate when people walk into my class late) so I bagged it. Just as well, Barb was not teaching tonight.....I was half-way present anyway, tomorrow I'll hit one of my normal morning classes.....

Oh, and Zippy and I have been doing couples counseling, and dealing with some major stuff. So.....life is complicated. Not a lot of time or energy for recreational blogging.

Be back soon, though - I promise!

Back to Business

I think, finally, my summer vacation is coming to an end. Today is going to be my first real work day in a week and a half. Kind of looking forward to it, not the least because of the fine air conditioning over at the office. Goodness its powerful hot out there (and in here).

We spent two days in Rhode Island at a charming estate - Zippy's mother and sister conspired to gather the smallish family for a reunion. I had a lovely time; Zippy's niece is a delight and I was entertaining with pool frolics (she loved standing on my shoulders, and kept saying "let's pretend we're friends") and also a game I thought up called "mystery box" - a shoe box became the repository for things lying around and she had to guess what I put in there. Sort of like 20 questions except she was a bit too young to really guess. So she'd work in tandem with Nana (Zippy's mom) to figure it out. We must have gone through 20 objects before I tired of the game. She could have gone on forever.

We also met the newest member of the family, Zippy's nephew Chaz (aka Little Man aka Mister Mister) who was also beautiful and amusing.

All in all a nice reunion. I, lacking a lifetime of history, got along fine with Zippy's family, although there were some old tensions. The food was delicious (Zippy's sister is a Martha Stewart wanna-be, so we feasted on lamb chops and steak on the two nights there) as well as cocktails. I got my swimming in (being 25% dolphin, I love the water)

Today - a morning hot yoga class, and long overdue work - I am cranking out two reports this morning to get a jump on things and then the rest of the day - more reports, overdue August 1st invoicing, and other reports and projects to finish up.