Eric Idle // Idleized Heaven // DDF Issue #6

Spring is not far away, and here is Issue #6 of the Daily Dirty Fork, the tastiest newsletter on the web, bringing you yet another bushel of Eric goodness before the weather becomes too nice to stay indoors and sit on your arse, reading these silly things. I’m sorry for the delay of this issue, but due to time consumption, this will be both the March/April issue.

Remember, if you have any questions or comments whatsoever, or for replies to the DDF, please email me at webmistress_diane@eric-idle.com!

Also, please refrain from emailing me at snapescauldron@aol.com any more. This, EwicIsMyIdle@aol.com is my new AOL sn. Thanks! :)

Sections:

Happy Birthday Eric!

Brian Vs. Passion

We Eat Ham And Jam And Spamalot!

SPAMJAM

Vanity Fair

Greedy Bastard Book

Ella Enchanted Reminder

Idleized Heaven Site News

Happy Birthday Eric!

Happy birthday, our beloved Eric! Eric’s birthday today, March 29th, and he is 61! (And we still love him all the more.) So in dedication to the celebration of our ‘idol’, March will forevermore be declared Eric Appreciation and Affection Month! So if there’s some Python or Eric movies jammed into a corner or getting dusty on some shelf, why not take them down and watch them? It’s time to show Eric how much we care!

So during this fine day (er... *cough*... night, actually), my challenge to all is to show off your fanism more than ever! Tell your friends, watch Eric at dinner with your family! Be proud to be an Idle fan! :) IH will be celebrating by adding new Eric goodies (as we always do) AND having our second chatroom party of the year! I hope that this time we’ll gather in even more people than the last. Please come, one and all!

Where: The Nudge Nudge Chatroom (located in Half-A-Bee HQ)

When: Friday, April 2nd, from 8:00 to 10:00 EST.

Bring: Every ounce of Eric love and dedication capable of being stored away!

Also, here’s a little bit of interesting Eric/March birthday facts and info:

Birthdate: March 29th, 1943

Stone: Aquamarine

Color: Blue / Blue-Green

Zodiac: Aries (March 21st - April 20th) (The Sign of the Ram)

Aries Traits: Determination, Friendly, Enthusiastic, Frustrated, Argumentative

Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!!!! *throws confetti*

Brian Vs. Passion

Monty Python never dies- its legend is always living, thriving, and weaving its way through each new generation to come. This statement is only proven even more true by the fact that Life of Brian, the third Python film, will be opening in theatres in Los Angeles and New York on April 30th.

But why is this Python film hitting the big screen once more? The answer is the Passion of the Christ. What better to send into theatres than a movie that mocks such a serious film? For those who don’t know (and I think everyone DOES know) Life of Brian, or LoB, is the story of a boy named Brian who was born and lived at the same time as Jesus and was mistaken from him. In this film we also have the very, very famous cross scene where Eric sings "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life."

If LoB is successful in Los Angeles and New York, it will expand and open in other U.S. states. But the last time Brian was released it caused much commotion and rioting of many Christians and heavily religious people. Will it again? Or is that just a part of the joke?

We Eat Ham And Jam And SPAMALOT!

Mr. Idle is as busy as ever! A few issues back I wrote an article announcing Spamalot, Eric Idle and John Du Prez’s new musical play taken from the most successful of the Python films, Holy Grail. The play was said to start running sometime in spring of 2005 on Broadway, but we have new news ladies and gents! Spamalot will be premiering this upcoming December (only about 9 months away! lol) in Chicago at the Chicago Shubert Theatre to kick things off. It will run from December 21st 2004 through January 16th 2005. Eric says the show will be "almost as good as anything else opening in Chicago that week." Now if we cross our fingers, perhaps Mr. Idle will attend the premiere himself. J

Auditions for roles in Spamalot have already begun. Spamalot is being produced by Ostar Boyett Productions, will be directed by Oscar-winner Mike Nichols, and sets designed by Tony award-winner Tim Hatley.

Tickets are currently on sale, but only for groups of 20 or more. Other ticket selling will begin in mid-April. For more information on ticket purchasing, call (312) 977-1710.

Also, some of the songs may be tweaked, along with a set of new songs (a count of 25). (The Brave Sir Robin, Knights of the Round Table, and He’s Going To Tell will be kept from the original film.) For example, here is a set of alternate lyrics to the famous Knights of the Round Table song:

We're Knights of the Round Table,

Of thinking we're capable,

If we get bored with shield and sword

We learn our nine-times table,

It's a cerebral life in Camelot,

We contemplate and plot a lot.

We're Knights of the Round Table,

Although we live a fable,

We're not just bums with Royal Mums

We're men whose brains are able,

We like to je ne sais quoi a lot,

We're a polyglot lot in Camelot.

'Though our loyalty's unstable,

And we fold like a card table,

We're not just boys in tin alloys,

Or a King wrapped up in sable,

We think a lot in Camelot--

(Solo) Therefore, I s'pose, I am a lot.

There is also news of a book of the musical and a CD that will be coming out shortly. Eric Idle says that the book will "follow the movie as closely as possible."

So the question is- who all is planning on going? :)

SPAMJAM

To most people, when you say SPAM, they either reply with "internet junk email" or "something posing as meat." However, this is not true in the Philippines. Last December, in Manila a fellow SPAM lover Philip Abadilla opened the world’s first SPAM restaurant entitled SPAMJAM Café’. For SPAM adorers around the world, this is the place to go. The menu has basically nothing but SPAM dishes (except for hotdogs and curly fries for those who say "I don’t like SPAM!"), and it seems to be just plucked from the famous Python SPAM sketch. The menu includes the following:

·Spam Burger - grilled sliced SPAM between a lightly toasted "Dutch Crunch bun," exclusive to the SPAMJAM Café. Have your burger plain, with cheese, or with cheese and mushrooms

·Spam Hero - a hearty sandwich of Spam, cheese and tomato

·SpamJam Club

·Spam and Egg - grilled SPAM topped with an egg, sunny side up

·Spam Melt

·Spam Spaghetti

·Spam Baked Macaroni

·Spam Poppers - bite-size combinations of mashed potato and chopped SPAM

·Spam Nuggets

·Cream Sticks - cheese sticks with SPAM

·Spam Caesar Salad

·Wranglers Hotdogitty Dawg

·Wranglers Korn Dawg

·Curly Fries

The restaurant is doing well with over 300 visitors a day, and is a popular visiting spot for tourists and locals alike. Hormel backed the restaurant, and because SPAMJAM is becoming increasingly popular, they are considering putting similar restaurants in other countries.

Vanity Fair

During Eric's tour back in November/December, he along with the other five Pythons (and the remains of Graham Chapman) were called to do a photo shoot for the March issue of the magazine Vanity Fair. The picture was another "virtual reunion" as all the Pythons weren't really together at all. The picture shows all of the Pythons in coffins, the titles being "Not Dead Yet", and Eric is decked out in PJ's while holding a guitar. (How very Eric of him!) For those who haven't been able to catch a glimpse of this hilarious Eric pic, here it is!

It has been over three months since Eric’s wonderful Greedy Bastard Tour came to a close. Sadly, it seems that the tour will not be continuing in either the south or Australia or, for that matter, anywhere at all. Pity. L However, I don’t believe that there is an Eric Idle fan alive who has not been able to read the extravagant adventures of his tour through his diary that he kept at his 80 day travels. Now it seems that William Morrow Publishing has just bought the rights to the journal, and will be publishing it sometime within the next year. (My question is- why must we wait so LONG?) A bit interesting.

Ella Enchanted Reminder

Don’t forget! Ella Enchanted comes out into theatres everywhere this upcoming April 9th! That’s just 11 days away! Our lovely Eric is doing the narration, so go and see it just to hear his wondrous voice. Remember, you can view the trailer and look at screencaps and more at the official Ella Enchanted website, located at http://www.miramax.com/ellaenchanted/.

If you go and see it, please send me some reviews of what you thought. I’ll post them on the next issue.

Idleized Heaven Site News

Oh my, where has all the time gone? I apologize for slacking off the past couple of months, but my work has been piling up on me, making it very difficult for me to update as often as I’d like to. Never fear! Summer is growing ever-closer, and then I’ll have so much leisure time I won’t know what to do with myself.

However, on a high note, at long-last the Rutland Isles are done. Yes, I repeat, the Rutland Isles are complete. Whew. They aren’t totally 100%-and-looking-beauiful, but they are done enough for viewing. So if you would like the password to access the wondrous Rutland Isles, email me!

Because I am now at the stage of completion, the next steps are revision and updating. I have my basic outline of the site. I can edit it, add, and change whatever I wish much more easily now. I have been playing with the idea of doing another version, a whole new layout, but I think if that is going to happen, it will be during this upcoming summer. I will, however, in time be changing things such as fonts, banners, pictures, etc. and making it all-around look better. I will commence in an advertising flurry soon as well to start bringing more visitors to the site. Any help on this subject is much appreciated!

Also, because I think the SPAM Club should look more spiffy (you should be proud to say you are a member, no?) that I will be redoing it shortly. It will become much more interactive and will include small profiles and pictures (if given permission) of each member and then some more. ;)

One last thing… My buddy ole pal Marie had a really nice comment that she sent in after reading DDF#5 pertaining to Idleized Heaven, and so I thought I’d share it because it really made me proud:

This issue was wonderful! I really enjoyed it! And I'm proud to say that I did know about you not liking Holy Grail at first! Hehe, I feel so special! And I also feel special because you let me view Pages of IH while you worked on them and I must say that you've come a long way and all your hard work has paid off! The current version looks wonderful! I'm sure Eric has visited, he just didn't sign the guestbook! :-) HAPPY ANIVERSARY DIANE AND IDLEIZED HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!

Well, that's it for Issue #6! Remember, there won't be another issue until sometime around May. ;) Keep spreading Eric love! Visit IH often! (lol)

Sincerely,

Diane