Ringo visits the Octopus' Garden

[tonmo]

Ringo Starr, the punchline of every Beatles joke, appeared at the Chelsea Flower Show to review the Octopus' Garden, inspired the song he wrote and sang for Abbey Road. But we all like Ringo, right?

Ringo Starr adds the final touch to Octopus's Garden



Pete Best

 

[tonmo]

Oh, and if you're not a Ringo fan, this actual quote might change your mind:

Ringo: I wrote "Octopus's Garden" in Sardinia. Peter Sellers had lent us his yacht and we went out for the day. We told the captain we wanted fish and chips for lunch. And so when lunch time came around we had the french fries, but then there was this other stuff on the plate - "Well, whats this?" - "It's a squid..." Anyway, we ate it and it was okay, a bit rubbery... I stayed out on deck with the captain and we talked about octupuses. He told me that they hang out in their caves and go about the seabed finding shiny stones and tin cans and bottles to put in front of their caves like a garden. I thought this was fabulous...

Sounds like quite the littered seabed...

 

[nanoteuthis]

Tony, this is so cool, not only because of Ringo (whom I always thought was cute in a sort of sad-puppy-dog way).

For starters, I'm delighted that someone finally mentioned Peter Sellers, who was my main crush -- next to the Beatles -- throughout my adolescence. I believe that the tie-in with Ringo is that they both starred in a weird, funny film called THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN, somewhat confusing but basically about the lengths to which people will go for money. Sadly acknowledging the fact that in real life Sellers was an insufferable, abusive husband and father (which I and lots of others didn't find out until after his death) -- like him or not as a person, he was IMHO one of the most talented, versatile British actors who ever lived, over and above the Inspector Clouseau character which was just one of several dozen remarkable roles he brought to life.

Secondly, I love the Pete Best reference! I've always wondered what happened to that guy.... talk about "it might have been"! (Hoo boy, have I ever dated myself!)

Thirdly, one of the things I liked (and still do) about Ringo is that he never seemed to be "full of himself" the way some celebrities are. I recall him in the role of Mister Conductor in the PBS kids' series SHINING TIME STATION. He was absolutely delightful, and even George Carlin -- more of an adult-oriented comic -- who later replaced him couldn't reproduce Ringo's gentle, amiable interpretation of the character (nor his charming Liverpool accent).

Fourth, I couldn't believe anyone remembered Cilla Black either! As I recall, she was a one-hit wonder of the British Invasion era, with a very beautiful rendition of "You're My World". Later eclipsed as a pop icon by the more popular (and justifiably so) Dusty Springfield, Cilla nevertheless did justice to a very lovely song.

Finally -- who the heck cares if Richard E. Grant, Princess Michael of Kent, and Jerry Hall were there anyway? The important thing is.... so was ALAN RICKMAN!

PS: Why on earth did that reporter pan YELLOW SUBMARINE? For its time, YS was artistically innovative, loads of fun, and for cryin' out loud, it was Beatles music!

Tani
ARISTA (Alan Rickman Is Sexier Than Anybody)

Obligatory Minimum Squiddage

 

[WhiteKiboko]

three thoughts: it took starr and harrison's normalcy to counterbalance lennon......i guess youre a fan of dr. strangelove.......even sexier than me?

 

[tonmo]

WK -- I did a couple of photoshops of your face on Alan Rickman's body, but I deleted my posts... Was just too easy. Thanks for the softball though!

Yeah, Peter Sellers is an interesting character to me. I don't know a lot about him beyond his Clouseau roles but it seems he was much more than that. And he seemed to hang out with the Rock n Roll crowd of the late 60's / early 70's... also didn't know he was so.. "difficult".

 

[Phil]

I couldn't believe anyone remembered Cilla Black either! As I recall, she was a one-hit wonder of the British Invasion era, with a very beautiful rendition of "You're My World".

One Hit Wonder? I wish. That irritating woman is never off the telly on Saturday nights here. With an insincere and plasticised face she presents 'Blind Date', a 'lorra, lorra laughs'. It's another good reason to go to the pub early.

I'm a fan.

Apologies for lack of cephs!

 

[Clem]

Yeah, Peter Sellers is an interesting character to me. I don't know a lot about him beyond his Clouseau roles but it seems he was much more than that.

"Dr. Strangelove" and "Being There" are well worth your time. Sellers also contributed a great cameo to the Michael Caine/Dudley Moore comedy "The Wrong Box," in which he uses a kitten as an ink-blotter.

...also didn't know he was so.. "difficult".

Hoo-boy, was he ever.

Cheers,

Stu Sutcliffe

 

[nanoteuthis]

Hmmm.... maybe we oughta re-name this thread "Group Therapy for Veterans (and Veterans-at-Heart) of the Sixties".

Kiboko: One of the things I liked best about John (my all-time favorite Beatle) was his lack of "normalcy". I used to have copies of IN HIS OWN WRITE and A SPANIARD IN THE WORKS, and unfortunately had to discard both due to mildew damage, but they were excellent examples of Lennon's bizarre brilliance in writing and art (as well as music). When he was murdered, I felt as though I had lost an old friend -- as did many others of our era. On the other hand, it was pretty depressing a couple of years ago to see a photo of Paul on the cover of AARP's "Modern Maturity" magazine -- not that Paul didn't look good, but just the shock of seeing the one-time teen heartthrob as the main subject of a magazine for us retired folks over 50! (Talk about feeling Over the Hill....)

Yeah, DR. STRANGELOVE was fantastic! I don't remember what came first, the film or Henry Kissinger, but I'm convinced that one of them was mimicking the other (just not sure which was which).

Regarding your question re who is sexier: IMHO it is sexy to be smart. So given that all cephalofans are smart, and given that all TONMOers are cephalofans, ergo it follows that all TONMOers -- regardless of age, nationality, or gender -- are major hotties. Q.E.D., S.P.Q.R., and all that....

Tony: Sorry you didn't post the Kiboko/Rickman collage for us! Betcha WK would've looked kinda cute in long black Prof. Snape robes.

Phil: I had no idea Cilla was still among the living, let alone hosting a cheesy "reality show" in her homeland! It's too bad she was reduced to an annoying telly hostess, because after "You're My World" she could've had a reasonable singing career if she'd wanted to. Then again, better her as a host than Ann Robinson -- irritating is one thing, terrifying is quite another.

"Stu": Nice of you to come back from Rock & Roll Heaven just to post on our Message Board....

Ditto to your recommendations of BEING THERE and DR. STRANGELOVE. Other Sellers films of note include THE MOUSE THAT ROARED, ONLY TWO CAN PLAY, THE PARTY, and HEAVENS ABOVE, to name just a few. Would you believe, I actually saw THE WRONG BOX in a first-run theater? (Once again, I have dated myself in the extreme.) Peter did smaller roles in several other films, one of the strangest being Clare Quilty in LOLITA (the original 1962 version with James Mason and Sue Lyon). If I'm not mistaken, the Quilty character didn't even appear in the Nabokov novel, but was tailored for Peter as a "foil" for Mason's Humbert Humbert.

Oh, and by the way: SQUID!

8)

 

[Melissa]

Hello Tani and other Sellers fans

Quilty was definitely in Nabokov's book. Both films were surprisingly true to the text. Nabokov is probably my favorite writer. TONMO has referred only to writers I like, particularly Melville and Nabokov.

My favorite Sellers film, although I haven't seen nearly half of them, is The Party, but I love silliness. So anything from his early years with Spike Milligan makes me happy as a clam. I knew there was a way to bring this to invertebrates, if not octopuses.

Melissa

 

[nanoteuthis]

Hello Tani and other Sellers fans

Quilty was definitely in Nabokov's book. Both films were surprisingly true to the text. Nabokov is probably my favorite writer. TONMO has referred only to writers I like, particularly Melville and Nabokov.

My favorite Sellers film, although I haven't seen nearly half of them, is The Party, but I love silliness. So anything from his early years with Spike Milligan makes me happy as a clam. I knew there was a way to bring this to invertebrates, if not octopuses.

Melissa

Hiya, Melissa!

Oops -- thanks for the correction re Clare Quilty. Good to know somebody who's actually read LOLITA, because from what I've heard it is very worthwhile from a literary standpoint, over and above the shock value (for its time, anyway). I haven't read it, but I remember a magazine article, when the '62 film was released, mentioning something unusual about the Quilty character vis-à-vis the book versus the film. Maybe it was that CQ wasn't as major a character in the book as he was in the film? I'd be curious to find out what it was, regardless.

Remembering Peter is impressive enough, but remembering Spike Milligan is positively awesome! A long time ago, WBAI or another of the "alternative" radio stations here played a couple of GOON SHOW recordings, and they were hysterical (e.g., one was supposedly about the first men to climb Mt. Everest from the inside....) Listening to them, it's easy to see where the MONTY PYTHON crew derived their inspiration.

And now, I am Happy as a Clam (thanks, Melissa!) to bring this thread back to cephs -- through the magic of Six Degrees of Separation. Thusly:

• 1. One of the Goon Comedians was Jonathan Miller, who was also a medical doctor.
  
  2. Jonathan Miller also hosted a PBS series on the nature of illness.
  
  3. PBS also broadcasts excellent nature shows.
  
  4. Like PBS, the Discovery Channel is known for its nature shows.
  
  5. The Discovery Channel recently aired an encore of THE FUTURE IS WILD, in which some of the "future species" have evolved from cephs.
  
  6. POLL for FUTURE IS WILD Viewers: Which bizarre, outrageous creature do you think is most likely to repopulate the planet millions of years from now?
  
  (a) Swampus
  (b) Rainbow Squid
  (c) Squibbon
  (d) Mega-Squid
  (e) Cher

 

[Phil]

The Pythons, The Goons (Milligan, Sellers, Bentine and Secombe), Ivor Cutler (anyone remember him?), and the Bonzo-Dog Do-Dah Band all shared a common Oxford/Cambridge heritage in the early sixties. Ivor appeared in 'A Hard Days Night' in the audience as the Bonzos played 'Death Cab for Cutie' in front of The Beatles who shouted "Get off!"

Indeed, George Harrison had a brief appearance in the hilarious Beatles spoof 'The Rutles' as commentator and the chairman of Apple Corps. 'The Rutles was, of course, a product of Neil Innes (Bonzos and Python's Brave Sir Robin's minstrel) and Eric Idle. It's well worth searching out as the film is hilarious, especially if you have a bizarre sense of humour.

Poor old Vivian Stanshall, the potty lead singer of the Bonzos and good friend of Keith Moon. Shortly before he burned to death in a vodka induced house fire in London in 1995 he recorded a fantastic twenty minute set on BBC2 in which he performed half a dozen semi-autobiographical songs. It's a very sad swan-song to the last of England's true eccentric geniuses. Especially the bit where he complains that a reporter once asked him 'Do you do it any more?' Poor Viv complained, quite rightly, that his eccentricity was not an act and "Would you rather I was a Giant Squid for the day?"

You'll probably know The Bonzo's from 'I'm The Urban Spaceman', probably the least amusing song they ever recorded but, weirdly, the most well known. That single was also produced by Paul McCartney back in 1968!

Now then dare I mention Peter Cook? Or...........The Goodies?

By the way, my favourite Sellers film is 'The Party' too, closely followed by 'The Mouse That Roared' which featured William Hartnell, the first Dr. Who. Hilarious!

(This is all getting very circular, me thinks!)

 

[nanoteuthis]

Yo, Philster (et al)!

The only Goon I don't recall is Bentine, though the name sounds familiar. I remember Harry Secombe as a jolly, rotund chap with a lovely tenor voice, who played the title role in a telly production of PICKWICK (a musical based on the Dickens novel THE PICKWICK PAPERS). PICKWICK the musical was basically undistinguished, with the exception of one memorable song, "If I Ruled the World", with a fine solo rendition thereof by Secombe.

I don't remember Ivor Cutler either. However, your reference to Peter Cook reminded me that I was wrong about Jonathan Miller -- he was not a Goon, but rather a cast member of BEYOND THE FRINGE, which I actually saw during its first Broadway run (need I mention that I am dating myself again?). As I recall BTF was a Goon-inspired, Python-inspiring comic review with a cast of only four: Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, Alan Bennett (sp?), and -- in his first American appearance -- Dudley Moore. Cook and Moore were reunited in the hilarious original film version of BEDAZZLED, which was more recently re-made with Elizabeth Hurley (as a very attractive Devil) and Brendan Fraser.

The Goodies also strikes a familiar chord. Was that a telly show or a stage review like BTF?

Oh wow, don't you get me started on DOCTOR WHO! As far as I'm concerned, there was only one Doctor, and his name was Tom Baker. And just in case you're not a mind reader, yes, I think he was sexy. So sue me! (And don't you dare accuse me of being weird, 'cause there had to be some reason why there were so many female DW viewers during the Tom Baker "era"!)

Never heard of Vivian Stanshall, though anyone who made that statement about Giant Squid had to have something going for him! THE PARTY might be considered non-p.c. nowadays, with westerner Sellers playing the role of an (Asian) Indian. However, PS portrayed the character as very gentle and sympathetic. and it remains a delightful film for any era.

One of my personal Sellers favorites is HEAVENS ABOVE, which had great moral depth behind the humor. If you haven't seen it, it is essentially a "tragicomedy" about a simple, compassionate vicar who is erroneously placed in an affluent parish, and subsequently rocks the boat by putting the message of the Sermon on the Mount into action. The film manages to be inspiring and moving without being heavy-handed or "preachy".

OK Phil, the ball is in your court -- I dare you to find a tie-in between Britcoms and cephs before Tony gives us all a "time out"....

The Tanster
"Half-British Since 1950!"

 

[Phil]

Yo Tani,

As ever, you are right about 'Beyond The Fringe'; The extreme intellects of Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, Alan Bennett, and Dudley Moore must have been absolutely hilarious. I think Jonathan Miller went on to produce and present an actual autopsy on British TV in the early eighties called 'The Body in Question' years before this Prof. Haagen Daas with his self-publicising plasticised touring exhibition of corpses appeared on the scene. I very jealous you actually saw BTF, I would have been too young to appreciate it at the time but would love to see it now.

Poor old Dudley Moore died last year (I think) of some awful nervous disorder and Peter Cook died about seven or eight years ago. (Derek & Clive, anyone?) The original version of Bedazzled featuring Cook & Moore was a classic too...I always remember the 'Leaping Nuns of St. Beryl', a great moment. Simpler times, methinks!

The Goodies was a TV programme made over ten years or so from the early seventies about three blokes living in a flat who do 'anything anytime'. They were Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie and all played themselves. Tim was a flag-waving patriot, Graeme a scientist and Bill the short bloke whom the others took the mick out of and was forced to wear large hats. It was very surreal; the episode everyone remembers is where a cute kitten gets injected with a growth hormone and goes on the rampage in London demolishing the Post Office Tower. Most bizarre.

As for the good Doctor, I actually met Tom Baker a couple of years ago at a book signing. He only lives about fifteen miles from me. When I asked him to sign his autobiography he remarked "You have a woman's hand, you know!". I was rather hoping he was alluding to his Blackadder appearance as that insane pirate captain in that episode with Sir Francis Drake, but you never know.....He's completely barking and an ex-trappist monk, but a great man.

As for Viv Stanshall and Ivor Cutler, I'm not really surprised you have not heard of them. They are obscure in the UK, let alone anywhere else. But Viv once wrote a song with the immortal lyric "Do you know anything about breeding axthlotls? They are on the knife-edge of evolution, you know!" so has to be a bit of a demi-god. He kept a turtle in his hotel bedroom and a zebra's bottom mounted on the wall of his flat in Finchley in London to appear as if it was running through the wall. Any man who keeps his own fathers false teeth nailed to his bread board deserves respect. Seek out The Bonzo Dog Band and all will become clear......

I am really trying to figure a way of linking this ramble to cephs, but I just give up. It cannot be done! Sorry Tony!

 

[tonmo]

Tani said:

OK Phil, the ball is in your court -- I dare you to find a tie-in between Britcoms and cephs before Tony gives us all a "time out"....

Then Phil said:

I am really trying to figure a way of linking this ramble to cephs, but I just give up. It cannot be done! Sorry Tony!

Tony says:
Right! Wot's all this then?

This is entirely appropriate discussion for this board! It started out re: Ringo and Octopus' Garden, and naturally progressed into a discussion about... um, somethingorother. So it's all good! Generally speaking, I'd say as long as a conversation begins with something ceph-related, we can all continue the discussion however we see fit... Sure, the Science and Ceph Care forum categories should probably try to stay as focused as possible, but the Culture and General categories are a bit more open-ended, says I. So no apologies needed, and none accepted!

PS: Phil, the correct tie-in between your discussion and cephs is as follows: "Speaking of nailing your father's false teeth to your breadboard, did you see Dr. O'Shea's Rhaeboceras radula teeth photos on the Fossils forum? I'll see you there!"

 

[nanoteuthis]

Yo Tani,

....years before this Prof. Haagen Daas with his self-publicising plasticised touring exhibition of corpses appeared on the scene.

:? I have no idea what you're talking about here -- a Brit show perhaps? But anything related to Haagen-Dazs is OK with me.

I very jealous you actually saw BTF, I would have been too young to appreciate it at the time but would love to see it now.

Ahem.... well now, just to put things in perspective, I saw it with my parents, so I couldn't have been that old. I think.

Poor old Dudley Moore died last year (I think) of some awful nervous disorder and Peter Cook died about seven or eight years ago. (Derek & Clive, anyone?) The original version of Bedazzled featuring Cook & Moore was a classic too...I always remember the 'Leaping Nuns of St. Beryl', a great moment. Simpler times, methinks!

I am sorry to hear about Peter's and Dudley's passing. I know that Dudley had always had health problems -- he was born with a clubfoot and had to undergo multiple surgeries as a young child. I also know that he had a rare disease of some sort, but I didn't know that he eventually succumbed to it. Very sad.

Oh, yeah, I think the nuns were called the "Leaping Bertildas" or something like that. Great film! I was fully prepared to hate the remake before seeing it, but actually it worked pretty well because -- while the premise was the same -- the "wish" scenarios were entirely different and well suited to Brendan Fraser's versatility. Elizabeth Hurley made a delightfully evil "Satan", and I have no doubt that her presence was a pleasant bonus for male filmgoers.

The Goodies was a TV programme made over ten years or so from the early seventies about three blokes living in a flat who do 'anything anytime'..... the episode everyone remembers is where a cute kitten gets injected with a growth hormone and goes on the rampage in London demolishing the Post Office Tower. Most bizarre.

Sounds like a direct inspiration for Terry Gilliam's wonderfully silly "Dinsdale the Hedgehog" cartoons in Monty Python. Or maybe even the Blancmange from Outer Space!

As for the good Doctor, I actually met Tom Baker a couple of years ago at a book signing..... He's completely barking and an ex-trappist monk, but a great man.

What was his book about? (Or was it some sort of DR. WHO tie-in?) I got the impression he was quite brilliant, and like many of his fellow UK actors, perhaps a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company. An ex-Trappist, eh? I can just picture him in a monk's habit with that silly scarf around his neck....

I'm not surprised to hear that he's out of his mind. Cool! Most of the other people I like are, too.

As for Viv Stanshall and Ivor Cutler, I'm not really surprised you have not heard of them. They are obscure in the UK, let alone anywhere else. But Viv once wrote a song with the immortal lyric "Do you know anything about breeding axthlotls? They are on the knife-edge of evolution, you know!" so has to be a bit of a demi-god.....

Indeed. I have always been of the opinion that axolotls know a lot more than they are letting on. And I am not alone in my convictions:

http://www.cis.vt.edu/modernworld/d/axolotl.html

He kept a turtle in his hotel bedroom and a zebra's bottom mounted on the wall of his flat in Finchley in London to appear as if it was running through the wall. Any man who keeps his own fathers false teeth nailed to his bread board deserves respect. Seek out The Bonzo Dog Band and all will become clear......

I can't see anything unusual about keeping one's father's dentures nailed to a bread board, or having a zebra's derrière mounted on one's wall. Doesn't everybody? But keeping a turtle in a hotel bedroom? Now that's a bit over-the-top.

I am really trying to figure a way of linking this ramble to cephs, but I just give up. It cannot be done! Sorry Tony!

Speaking of Phil trying to link this ramble to cephs and then giving up, have I mentioned that this week on Animal Planet's CROC HUNTER DIARIES, the Wiggles will be making an appearance? And that little Bindi Irwin (Daughter of Croc Hunter) really loves them?

Well, I just did!

Tani Banani