Helium Party Balloons

Image © 20th Century Fox

It’s hard to know how Graham Chapman would have celebrated his 70th birthday today, were he still alive, or how he would have wanted others to celebrate it in his absence. I’m pretty sure rude and/or crude  jokes would have been involved, though. Chapman, who played the lead role in both of the Monty Python troupe’s narrative films — King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Brian in Monty Python’s Life of Brian — lost his battle with cancer in 1989, but it’s a sure thing his brilliantly funny, weird work will live for many years to come.

Were his contributions to the world as a Pythoner all he accomplished in life, that would surely be enough to establish his prominence in the geek world. But he was also a good friend and mentor to geek icon Douglas Adams, helping him to nurture his sense of the absurd, so it’s safe to say the Hitchhiker’s books owe something to Chapman as well.

So raise a glass in toast to Graham Chapman, or bang some coconut halves together, or take five — no, three — seconds to remember your favorites of his many Python moments. To get you in the proper mood, here’s the beginning of the eulogy John Cleese (who was Chapman’s writing partner in their Python years) delivered at Chapman’s funeral:

He has ceased to be, bereft of life, he rests in peace, he has kicked the bucket, hopped the twig, bit the dust, snuffed it, breathed his last, and gone to meet the Great Head of Light Entertainment in the sky, and I guess that we’re all thinking how sad it is that a man of such talent, such capability and kindness, of such intelligence should now be so suddenly spirited away at the age of only forty-eight, before he’d achieved many of the things of which he was capable, and before he’d had enough fun.

Well, I feel that I should say, “Nonsense. Good riddance to him, the freeloading bastard! I hope he fries.”

And the reason I think I should say this is, he would never forgive me if I didn’t, if I threw away this opportunity to shock you all on his behalf. Anything for him but mindless good taste.

And remember: Always look on the bright side of life!

In NBC’s new show The Cape, Vince Faraday is an ex-cop and father who is forced to take the guise of his son’s favorite comic book hero to bring down a corrupt police force. Faraday has his cape, made of Kevlar-like spider silk, which he can snap like a whip to disable foes. What do you have in your GeekDad utility belt?

If your own superhero stockpile is spent and you’re looking to replenish, then look no further. GeekDad and The Cape are bringing you the best of the best in geeky tools, gadgets and entertainment so that you can re-arm yourself for the upcoming year.

One lucky GeekDad or GeekMom will win an entire superhero ensemble, with clothing from 5.11 Tactical, toys and gadgets from Logitech, Maker Shed, ThinkGeek, Wizards of the Coast and some other cool surprises. We’ll post additions to the Utility Belt every day, so be sure to follow GeekDad on Facebook, on Twitter, or via our RSS feed to keep track of what you can win!

Check out the rest of the article to see how to enter.

Photo: Logitech

Being a superhero can be tedious. It’s not all about the big showdowns and press junkets. When you’ve got to scope out the city and do your legwork, it’s nice to catch up with your podcasts or jam out to your favorite superhero soundtrack. You’ve gotta have a nice set of ‘phones.

Pro quality goes undercover with the Ultimate Ears 700 Noise-Isolating Earphones. They deliver pro-quality sound in a sleek, micro design. Fitting flush to your ear, you barely know you’re wearing them—until you hear the detailed, immersive 3D soundstage delivered through the custom-tuned, dual-armature speakers.

They’re compatible with iPod, iPhone, BlackBerry, and pretty much anything with a 3.5 mm audio jack. And they come with a hard case, so if you get into any scuffles, or your toddler gets a hold of your bag, they’ll be safe!

One lucky geekdad or geekmom will get a pair of the Ultimate Ears 700 Noise-Isolating Earphones, along with the rest of the cool stuff in our Ultimate GeekDad Utility Belt. Just fill out the form below (or click here to fill it out in a new window) and be sure to let us know what single item you always include in your utility belt. This contest is limited to US addresses only. Enter once and you’re set for the entire contest, so no need to fill out the form every day.

And be sure to check out The Cape on NBC, with a special two-hour series premiere, this Sunday, January 9th, at 9/8c.

This is a video shot outside Kuroshio Sea, the main tank at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan. The tank is home to an amazing array of sea life, including manta rays and — my favorite — whale sharks, the largest fish in the world. The music, which I think works well with the video, is a song called “Please Don’t Go” by indie rock band Barcelona. The video is embedded below with HD selected, so just switch it to full-screen, sit back and watch.