I like writing the[se] columns for much the same reason that I like doing improvised material as a Pepperpot: you can say unbelievably stupid and awful things (like, oh, that Mother Teresa was a big fan of poor semen) that you wouldn’t dream of saying out of character. You can reference art and culture and philosophy, without having to pretend like you understand them. The only question is, is it funny?

In an interview yesterday with Salon, Eddie Izzard (quite possibly the funniest man alive, in my opinion), got to the heart of what I think I was trying to say. He said:

I’ve always been fascinated by history. It’s a family thing, really. My brother and my father are both history buffs. It could be that we have a history genetic thing going on. [Laughs] Also, I realized that nobody was using it in stand-up, and there was just tons of stuff lying around. It makes you look really intellectual, even though I’m just talking crap.

There’s a lot of name-dropping going on, and the ideas of art, literature, philosophy and history get introduced, but there doesn’t have to be any real comprehension. It’s a little like the Monty Python sketch where the Pepperpot competes for a blow to the head:

Michael Miles: Jolly good. Well your first question for the blow on the head this evening is: what great opponent of Cartesian dualism resists the reduction of psychological phenomena to physical states?
Woman: I don’t know that!
Michael Miles: Well, have a guess.
Woman: Henri Bergson.
Michael Miles: Is the correct answer!
Woman: Ooh, that was lucky. I never even heard of him.