Two pints please!

It's been quite a while now since I wanted to write something on British humour - that dry, wry and witty thing which charmingly reveals the warmer features of the otherwise phlegmatic and pragmatic folk of Great Britain. As you are aware, the United Kingdom is quite foggy. It is an island grey, dank, and cold. Yet or perhaps because of this, I've always been pleasantly surprised by the cosy feel that permeates the carpeted indoors of British households. Unmistakably so, every time I curl up with a funny British book or watch British comedy, this familiar feel gets conjured up much in the manner of a overly friendly blob monster oozing out of nowhere.

As the winter spell still huffs and puffs outside, grab a cup o' tea and cuddle up as I decant some of the finest gems of British humour. One blogpost to crack you up with the best of Britannia in a nutshell!

What's on the telly?

Yes Minister

I clearly recall the trumpeting opening theme of this programme which would gather family members around the telly. If you were living in a Commonwealth country in the eighties, you must have heard about Yes Minister and its sequel Yes Prime Minister. If not, well this is your opportunity to discover what to this day still stands as an ageless monument of exquisitely intelligent humour.

The plot satirically depicts power plays between the cynical public service and calculating politicians. It is about government – or the lack of it. And shows how the country manages to run itself while everybody is selfishly running after the ball under the guise of national interest.

Sir Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humpfrey
in Yes Minister was no yesman

The outstanding character of the show, Sir Humphrey, excellently played by late Sir Nigel Hawthorne, stands unrivalled to this day for his sarcasm, wit and... excessively lengthy and über-coherent sentences. Salut l'artiste indeed!

Yes Minister is one of the most brilliant pieces of humour ever made. And it hasn't taken a wrinkle. Relish it!

The Black Adder

Rowan Atkinson is famous all over the world for his iconic character, Mr. Bean. A show which has its merits of conveying humour beyond the barriers of language and culture, and honours the legacy of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy.

However, there is so much more to this formidable artist that it is profoundly ironic that one of the most eloquent and witty comedian ever to grace national television be world-renowned for a dumbo character who almost never utters a word!!! So let me introduce you to my personal favourite of Rowan's fictional characters - The Black Adder. An infamous, vicious and calculating mind that you are bound to like!

The Black Adder spans over the history of England. The first season is set in the Dark Ages, where we find Black Adder as a medieval prince lurking and plotting in the obscure nooks of a Norman keep. In season two, we follow the turpitudes of his descendant Lord Black Adder as he manoeuvres in an elizabethan court for power and survival, under the erratic rule of a mad queen. Season three is a delicious excuse for an aristocratic Black Adder to hatch nasty schemes while he butlers for the brainless Regent (played by a young Hugh Laurier, yes that's Dr. House for ya!). In the last season, we find captain Blackadder knee-deep in the trenches. Throughout the series, Black Adder is accompanied by his servile sidekick Baldrick, “an oppressed mass” of humble origins.

'Allo 'Allo

“Listen carefully, I will say this only once.”

'Allo 'Allo is one big feast of laughter. The show is set in occupied France where we find René, the owner of a small Café. René is your average French bourgeois of the times - striving to earn a decent living while the world is going berserk. René doesn't like trouble and has managed to keep his business afloat by catering to the German officers. His main concern is to conceal his ongoing affair with Yvette, the seductive lead waitress (Awwwww René!). While also hiding his affair with the lovely junior waitress from both his wife and Yvette. 

This is the tranquil life René aspires to. Then a twist of fate wreaks havoc in the plans when the French resistance decides to hide two British airmen in René's private apartments above the Café, which suddenly becomes the hotbed of intringue. Things get more complicated when the Gestapo dispatches steely and cunning Herr Otto Flick to investigate...

Private Helga Geerhart (Kim Hartman)

Our reluctant Résistant and héros malgré lui is supported by a whole bunch of notable characters who wonderfully pepper this series to give it its warmth and flagrance.

Now that I think about it, it is probably 'Allo 'Allo which gave me my first insights in European accents and in the wealth of marked cultural differences in Europe. The little boy inside still clearly recalls the sultry French waitresses, Yvette and Maria, the feline Fraulein Helga, Michelle from the Résistance,... Thank you René!

Fawlty Towers

At its peak, Fawlty Towers towered over national television like no other. The show stars Monty Python's John Gleese, and though not in my personal top three – I'm the first to admit that it is the British classic par excellence. Fawlty Towers is less elitist than Yes Minister, less offensive than Black Adder and less “politically incorrect” than 'Allo 'Allo. The genius of it, however, is that it is brilliant humour whilst appealing to the broader audience.

Remember the cosiness I was talking about in the intro. Well, I'd definitely spend a weekend in Fawlty's hotel just to relish that feel. John Gleese, in the role of the Basil Fawlty, magnificently plays the part of the cynical hotel owner who is so despicable that you can't help but like him.

Basil The Rat is renowned as being the funniest episode of the lot. I dare you watch this without laughing out loud or “lolling” as it goes nowadays.

Two Pints of Lager and Pack of Crisps

After the classics, a breeze of the contemporary lifestyle. Two Pints of Lager is about the daily tribulations of a small group of friends in their mid-twenties. Set in the industrial town of Runcorn, the storyline sticks to the décor and is about the simple lives of ordinary blokes. What is unexpected though is how easily one gets attached to the characters – Donna, Gaz, Janet, Johnny, and Louise. Effective acting and quick humour makes this show quite addictive. Must be the reason it ran for ten years, which is quite a survival feat in today's TV jungle.

The Misfits

Now what would happen if a random group of young people doing community service suddenly gets struck by lightning and develop superpowers?

Well, in the US, they'd become superheroes.

But in England, they remain a bunch of simple lads suddenly endowed with superpowers. And all sorts of silly things ensue. Basically that's the plot in Misfits. A plot which won the show a BAFTA award and many nominations. The acting in Misfits has to be highlighted. Watch out for Nathan (Robert Sheehan), he'll come across as an irritating prick and he is definitely the star of the show, even though there are no lead characters as such in the gang. Kelly (Lauren Socha) is also wonderfully refreshing in her role as a chav.

Alan Partridge

I'm Alan Partridge.

The ordinary bloke thing seems to be a recurrent aspect in contemporary Brit humour. But allow Alan Partridge to make it sub-ordinary and lower all your expectations... as to humanity itself. If there ever were words to describe Alan, amoebic would most likely come closest. Alan works in a local radio - Radio Norwich - where he runs a live show airing at around 4 a.m. This is just how exciting Alan can be. You'll hate him. But somehow, inexplicably, you'll absolutely love to hate him. Alan Partridge is played by British comedian and writer Stephen Coogan.

Well off you go. Indulge in that porridge of funniness. Aha!

Minor criticism. More distance between the eggs and the beans. 

I may want to mix them, but I want it to be my decision.

My personal favourite. 

p.s. The movie Alpha Papa based on Alan Partridge series was released in August 2013. Haven't watched it yet though, so you'll have to tackle this one on your own!

UPDATE: Alpha Papa watched and my advice: Watch it!

Men behaving badly

To finish with the ordinary bloke string of shows, here's the classic in the genre. Men behaving badly is about two roommates and how badly these everyday joes go about with their lives. The show is probably the trend-setter which inspired those aforementioned, and encapsulates life in the 1990's.

Absolutely fabulous

Ab Fab is about cougars and milfs before the terms were coined. A feminine take on humour, the show is very entertaining. The show delves mostly into family relationships from a surprisingly sarcastic and hilarious perspective.

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That's it for the shows I'd recommend to cheer you up on an icy day. Hope you'll enjoy each and every one of them. The list is certainly not exhaustive and there are also a number of other shows like Little Britain (trash humour), Red Dwarf (sci-fi comedy), Only Fools and Horses, The Office and the like, that might also be your cup of tea.

Cheers!

Of Epic proportions - The Meme phenomenon

The Meme is here. It lurks everywhere, crawling all over the Web. You've seen it, read it and probably thought that it was some sort of obscure gibberish. But the Meme is not to be taken lightly. It is not merely some nonsensical secret language or code; it is an invisible bond that today unites entire Web communities. It has shaped an underground network that connects individuals in climes remote, shrinking the world to yet newer proportions.

This blog post explores the Meme. As you delve into secrets untold and learn to decipher a whole new worldwide web of creativity unleashed and humour gone wild, you will notice that my tone will ping-pong between that of the stoical lecturer and that of the dreamy back-bench student. But, I'm only sticking to the dichotomic paradigm of this blog. On one hand, the Meme is a very elaborate abstract concept fertile in philosophical intricacies, and on the other hand the Meme is a very contemporary humour phenomenon in Web culture. So please bear with me!

The Meme as an abstract concept 

What is the Meme, you will ask. Well, Merriam-Webster will tell you that a Meme is an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. The Meme can be broken down to a unit bearing a cultural significance,transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, visuals, gestures, mimics or other repeatable phenomena. The Meme is, by definition, an interesting thought to dwell upon. One fertile with philosophical considerations and musings.

The term 'meme' is derived from the Ancient Greek word 'mīmēma', meaning 'to imitate'. Both the word and the concept are relatively new and sprung from the mind of British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976). Dawkins coined the abstract notion to encompass the set of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. Thus, Dawkins makes an analogy between the spread of ideas and biological evolution through the process of natural selection. Meme ideas or memes spread through the behaviours that they induce in their hosts and undergo variations along the way. Some become extinct while others proliferate.

Food for thought, aye? Ideas have always spread like wildfire, bringing forth changes, good or bad, as they trigger irremediable chain reactions in the brain and in society. Once an idea is out of Pandora's box, there is no stopping the Domino effect. This is why some will have it that you do not think outside the box, that you don't bite into the apple of knowledge or that you don't google the word freedom. They can shoot the messenger, but they can't shoot the message. Interesting thing, this Meme. In today's world where an idea can be shared to hundreds of millions across the globe in a matter of seconds, what are the implications?

Humans have evolved to produce ideas, what now if rapidly evolving ideas are driving humans to evolve even faster? Far-fetched? Not really. Look at the world around you and see how it has changed. Remember the rotary dial telephone, the walkman, the VHS, USSR, the Berlin wall, Apartheid, life before Internet? You don't have to be a venerable sage or an old-timer to remember all that, being in your late twenties would suffice. Ideas are rushing by, carving out within our lifetime and in front of our bedazzled eyes, not one but several brave new worlds. 

Memes - ideas diffusing rapidly and evolving through behavioural changes induced in their hosts - is one theory that you are bound to encounter again as it gathers momentum, shedding light and delivering critical insight on today's age information and technology. 

The Meme as Web phenomenon

The second part of this abstract is way less academic and much more...fun! If you're a well-rounded consumer of entertainment and pop art, into geek culture, an Internet addict, or simply a curious fella, then you've probably already heard of the Meme Theory through The Big Bang Theory. TV shows and movies are major generators of Internet Meme. "Hope you're hungry", "Still a better love story than Twilight", "How you doin'?", "This is Sparta!" are but a few examples. Get it? Well, this is what the Meme is about - getting it. 

If you don't, you're not in the loop. But fear not, you'll be shouting out loud "I see what you did there" soon enough given that you've knocked at the right door for insider information. I'm handing out red pills to the other side for free. Memes have always existed wherever you have a decent or indecent community within which the members share common cultural codes which intentionally or unintentionally sounds like plain gabble and vain goobledygook to outsiders. Internet Memes however, have the particularity of benefiting from visual support and instant worldwide propagation capacity. An epidemic of epic proportions, it is Sir.

Web-based Memes have steadily risen in popularity with the advent of a generation born in and raised on the Internet Culture. A community to be reckoned with, as Nescafé found out only a few weeks ago when a member of the 9GAG community expressed his despair online after the unfair disqualification of his handicapped brother from a competition organized by Nescafé Hungary. The 9GAG army literally gagged Nescafé's Facebook page, forcing the company into some action to save its public image. Nescafé found itself donating 5 million Hungarian forints to charity for disabled persons, out of sheer Internet pressure. 

And I must say, having witnessed this moment live on the Web, there was something comforting in seeing youngsters from all over the world, united by a shared sense of humour and an odd sense of community,  gang up on a multinational to seek justice for their brethren. A new, budding community at play, one that knows no frontier - physical, racial or of creed, and one which is already shaping its own future world.

Share the joke

I recently overheard this joke and felt like sharing it with my audience. It's not Art-related, but what the heck, a good laugh is never one too many. By the way, this joke is brilliant because you don't actually have to say the punchline...

Hint: try reading it aloud.

What is the difference between a nun praying and a nun bathing?

***********************

One's got hope filling her soul, 

while the other...

Basilisk: The Kōga Ninja Scrolls

Basilisk Kōga Ninpō Chō or Basilisk: The Kōga Ninja Scrolls is a Japanese anime based on the manga bearing the same name. For neophytes, a manga is a printed cartoon, i.e. the Japanese version of Western comics. Contrarily to North American comics, the manga genre is more rooted in arts and has a higher cultural standing in Japan much like the bande dessinée is valued in France. The anime is simply the animated version for TV. Japanese anime is often coined as Japanime. Most Otaku, i.e. aficionados of Japanese manga and anime, tend to prefer the manga, probably out of some degree of pedantry. I, for one, really enjoy and recommend the anime, be it just for the beautifully crafted and truly immersive music that accompanies the animated version.

Basilisk, the manga was written by Masaki Segawa and published in 2003. The manga itself is based on the novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls by Futaro Yamada in 1958. The anime, produced in 2005, is relatively recent considering the three to four years' delay for Japanese artworks to impact the rest of the world.

Now that I've given you some background, let's indulge in this rare delicacy that is Basilisk!

Basilisk stands out as a particularly violent anime, depicting a cruel time and world. It is overtly gore, sensual, and delicate at the same time. Ruthlessness sublimed to an art form. Not that I'm taking an easy ride on the Japanese stereotype for cruelty and war. Far from that, I'm talking about the finer details. The fall of sakura (cherry) leaves in the opening scene for instance gives you a perfect insight of the Japanese eye for beauty. The images, whether dark or enlivening, and the symbolic turn of sequences marvellously illustrate Japanese Aesthetics. The anime is also greatly enriched with constant references to Japanese history and culture.

The story is set in 17th century mystical Japan. In a nutshell, it is about two Ninja Clans pitted against each other in a bitter blood feud as a result of schemes for power being played out from afar by an indifferent and calculating ruling class. The aim of the game for each Clan is to eliminate ten ninjas belonging to the opposite faction, listed on a scroll. The first Clan to eliminate its ten targets secures the Shogun's favour. For the Shogun, this exercise serves to decide which of his two grandsons will be heir to the throne, without spilling royal blood or risking civil war. The Ninjas are outcasts gifted with extraordinary powers. By having the two Clans serve death to each other, the Shogun also reduces their threat potential. Intertwined with the plot is a powerful, romantic love story of the likes you'll rarely come across. A twisted tale of ill-fated lovers told in tears of blood.


The way Basilisk's plot unfolds is rather unique to say the least. This fast-paced anime lasts only 24 episodes, lavishly dealing out death to its characters. Herein lies the beauty and uniqueness. As soon as you get attached to a protagonist, the latter gets killed and the story goes on. Bearing in mind the historical background against which the plot is set, it's a powerful metaphor for the unrelenting course of History - stopping for no one.


Without any further ado, here is the first episode for your viewing pleasure:
(IMPORTANT: Don't miss the little bit after the closing credits, that's where the real story starts!)

*Basilisk Episode 1 - English subs*

Below are some historical events related to Basilisk's plot.

Both Iga-ryū ("the Iga School") and Kōga-ryū were historical schools of ninjutsu, i.e. dealing with the stealth Ninja arts of warfare and espionage.

• 1579: Oda Nobukatsu (son of Oda Nobunaga) attacked Iga Province and was beaten.
• 1581: Oda Nobunaga attacked and destroyed Iga Province
• 1582: Incident at Honnōji - Oda Nobunaga died.
• 1603: Edo period started. Tokugawa Ieyasu re-established the shogunate (third and last in Japan's history) and became the first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
• 1605: Tokugawa Hidetada became the second shogun.
• 1614: Winter Campaign of the Siege of Osaka - Tokugawa attacked Toyotomi Hideyori.
• 1615: Summer Campaign of the Siege of Osaka - Toyotomi clan perished.
• 1616: Tokugawa Ieyasu died.
• 1623: Tokugawa Iemitsu became the third shogun.

It is also worth mentioning that the powerful opening theme Kouga Ninpou Chou is the work of Onmyouza.

When Metal was Heavy

I am the Messiah, rising from the black depths of a forgotten past buried under the dirt of a prolonged decadence called civilisation. As The Angel of Death towers above your puny corrupted being, tendrils of divine darkness emanate from shadowy wings and viciously penetrate your lurid eyes to rip away at your dormant soul. This is your redemption. Wake up motherfucker! Rise from this sleepwalking army of lifeless zombies and awaken the Kraken within. Hear the Ancient Call of rampaging Wilderness, heed the impulse of primal instincts! Listen up as I flood your dead ears with burning torrents of the heavy metal of days gone by.

In the grave of yesterday,you will find your roots again. Remember what manhood sounded like in the 90's:

Sepultura is the probably the best heavy metal band that the Southern Hemisphere ever gave birth to.

Plunge into the jungles of  sound gone wild.

Still down South, this time in Texas, Pantera was far beyond driven when it came to making an old-fashioned stand, a vulgar display of power.

Afterall, it is War.

Who the fuck are We? Just a bunch of freaks on a leash. Children of the Korn of some sort. So, watch your back.

We are here to remind you what music is. What it is meant to be.

Before it is too late. Before you give us no choice but to unleash our Dark side on your sorry ass. Before the Apocalypse.

Repent or perish