I confess to being a big Monty Python fan. Besides enjoying their original series, I also loved their finest film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, John Cleese’s hilarious series Fawlty Towers and even the movie A Fish Called Wanda which starred (in my opinion) John Cleese and Michael Palin.

I even enjoy reading Michael Palin’s travel books in spite of the fact that he manages to be in every single picture in every exotic country he visits.

This summer I have been making a minor effort to catch up on some of the videos I purchased or received as gifts in the past year. I’ve watched one episode from the first season of Babylon 5 (with another 21 episodes to go!), and yesterday I watched Monty Python's Life of Brian. This is a very funny movie, but I must warn you that it is not suitable for anybody who is easily offended. The movie is a mock biblical epic about Brian of Nazareth, who was born in the manger adjacent to that of Jesus Christ and who becomes a reluctant messiah to many Jews during the Roman occupation. Its last scene is absolutely classic, but again I must warn you that some viewers will be offended by it. Nations have gone to war for less reasons than that scene!

Currently listening: The Flower Kings' brilliant progressive rock album Alive on Planet Earth. This is what rock and roll is all about, folks!

Currently reading: Jack McDevitt’s The Engines of God, the first novel in his far-future Academy series. His Alex Benedict series is all about history and research and this series is about archaeology, two of my favorite fields of study. No wonder he’s one of my very favorite writers.