"Thomas Snot": 1951 - 2008

I hate for this blog to grow on this theme, but another death to report: Joe "Snot" Kudla (on the right) died Monday, Aug. 10. Kudla was half of the comedic duo of Puke n' Snot which performed together for more than 30 years across the country, most notably and recently at the Colorado Renaissance Festival.
Now, I've never been the kind to be absolutely ga-ga for Ren Faires in general; they're mostly a proving ground for terrible anachronisms, and even then I often find the Renaissance to be the middle child of history (I'll admit, I'm a Roman and modern American history geek). What the hell is that guy doing dressed as Capt. Jack Sparrow from "Pirates of the Caribbean"? Why are there so many skinny guys trying to dress up like Henry VIII? Why do all these women feel the need to show more of their cleavage than ever before seen under the sun?
That bit of begrudgery behind us, Puke n' Snot were a marvelous comedic team -- some of the best ribald ribbing I've seen this side of the Mississippi. Between them and the copious amounts of grilled and smoked meats you can get on a stick, I had few other reasons to like the Renaissance Festival -- OK, the location at Larkspur is quite idyllic, too.