Bet You Weren't Expecting This

I always observe many traditions on this, the first day of the New Year.

I run up and down my block like a madman just after midnight (although I really could do that this year due to the icy street) to usher in the New Year. I also put out my three day-by-day calendars for the year (don't know how I settled on three of them), and this year's calendars are from Monty Python, The Baseball Hall of Fame and a Trivia one. (And I'm sure I'll be using a few of them in my future Trivia nights.)

I also watch The Twilight Zone and Honeymooners marathons on TV while also checking in on the college football bowl games. (Notre Dame played yesterday so I have no serious rooting interest today.) BTW, terrible job by WPIX Channel 11 today, interrupting the Honeymooners at 7 AM for six hours of cartoons. Hey, the cartoons can wait guys! But the marathon will resume at 1 PM with the famous "Hello Ball" episode (see previous post).

I was also pleasantly surprised to see a Marx Brothers movie marathon last night on TCM. That would be a nice yearly New Year's thing for them to do.

I also watch the first Monty Python episode of the year on New Year's morning, and it is always the one with my favorite all-time sketch, "The Spanish Inquisition." (I think that started because the sketch begins with the caption: "NEW YEAR'S EVE--1911.") Never ceases to put me in stitches. And in honor of this New Year of 2011 (and the Ones running wild today: 1/1/11), here are the Python boys as Cardinals Ximinez, Biggles and Fang at their very best: