WTF: Weekly Trivia File

• Tim Key on his short films: ‘The most expensive was £150, and that was only because we had to buy and slaughter two eels.’

• Tim Minchin has been sharing his insecurities about performing, which are so strong he can’t bear to watch himself back on DVD. In a this week, the Australian musical comedy maestro said: ‘It’s awful... When I’m on stage, I feel likeable enough but looking back I just want to punch me in the face. I hate my voice, I hate my fat chin, I hate my jokes. I can’t watch me do the jokes I still love performing. I can’t play piano. I’m not a good pianist and I’ll never be a good pianist, but I know I’m so far from a proper good pianist that it’s not even worth talking about. So when people go “You’re a perfectionist, you’re your own worst critic”. I go, “Of course I am, because I’m not very good at that. “ But I don’t have a big hangup about it. I just don’t think me is for me. I don’t think I’m my own audience.’ Minchin also said he ‘blamed’ Noel Fielding for his distinctive look, saying he was inspired by David Bowie in The Labyrinth and Robert Smith – but mainly the Buzzcocks regular. ‘I wanted to try to look cool and I was watching a lot of Boosh,’ he said. ‘They were just about the only English comic act I knew of before coming over here. ‘

• Aung San Sui Kyi is a fan of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, and asked International Development Secretary Andrew Mtchell to bring along some DVDs when he met her in Burma recently.

• Here’s a way for comedians to find out how popular they are. Shelter is auctioning off signed portraits on eBay as a Christmas fundraiser. Currently top of the pile is Jimmy Carr, who’s received 13 bids taking the price of his photo to £124. But there are still plenty stuck at their opening price of £25. Bid here.

• This is weird. A comedian ripping off Neil Hamburger’s act... but dressed as a bear.
  

• Musician Kirsty Newton has lost the diamond-studded engagement ring comedian Nick Doody gave her – and is offering an invitation to her wedding as a reward to anyone who finds it. Kirsty, who’s provided musical accompaniment to the likes of Mitch Benn and Phil Nichol, says she could have lost it near her home in Crouch End, North London, in Sheffield Memorial Hall or Watford Gap service station. ‘ I just feel sick every time I think about it. It’s my most treasured possession,’ she told her local paper... which only slightly ruined the story by calling Nick Doody ‘Mr Broody’ throughout the story.

• You might have noticed that capitalism isn’t particularly popular in some quarters. You might think it’s the growing gulf between the top 1% of earners and the rest of us, or the banking crisis. But no, the real reason you are biased against capital is Kermit The Frog and his brainwashing ways... at least according to Fox News, which slammed the new movie for featuring an oil baron as a villain:
  

• ‘Comedy is a bit like malaria – you think you’ve got rid of it, then it comes back’ Stephen Merchant on why he had to return to stand-uup..

• Musical comedy double-act Horse & Louis have been quizzed by police... after being spotted on a speedboat on the Thames dressed as elves. They were making a video for thier festive song Fuck You Christmas when they were pulled over near the Houses of Parliament by river police officers thought they were campaigners for Fathers 4 Justice. The duo were eventually sent on their way after explaining that they were just ‘some dickheads making a music video’.
  

• The Only Way Is Essex star Lauren Pope, a 28-year-old glamour model and DJ, says: ‘I fancy Ricky Gervais like mad, he's so sexy. I have weird taste!’

• Tweets of the week:
  Twop Twips (@TwopTwips ): FIND your 'victim name' by taking your postcode, house number, mother's maiden name and sending them to me. (via @mattleys )
  Brandyn MacDonald: (@ BrandynMac ):: The words synonym and antonym are antonyms. Well played, antonym.
  Rob Delaney (@robdelaney): You know how croutons can jazz up a boring salad? I wish I could put croutons on my marriage.

SOURCES: Time Out, Radio One, Mail on Sunday, YouTube, Hornsey, Crouch End and Muswell Hill Journal, YouTube, Cambridge news, Chortle, Now magazine, Twitter

Published: 9 Dec 2011