"Last Gasp" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British black comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It first aired on 26 February 2014 on BBC Two. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the story revolves around the birthday of the severely ill Tamsin—played by Lucy Hutchinson—whose parents arrange for the singer Frankie J Parsons (David Bedella) to visit their daughter through the charity WishmakerUK. Frankie dies after blowing up a balloon, leading to arguments between Tamsin's father (Pemberton), the WishmakerUK representative Sally (Tamsin Greig, pictured), and Frankie's assistant Si (Adam Deacon) over the now-valuable balloon containing Frankie's last breath. The story was inspired by someone Pemberton had seen on Swap Shop who collected air from different places. The episode is a morality tale that satirizes and critiques celebrity culture. Pemberton subsequently sold a balloon containing his breath on eBay, with proceeds going to a Sport Relief charity.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Gasp_%28Inside_No._9%29
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1914:
RMS Britannic, the third and largest Olympic-class ocean liner of the White Star Line after RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic, was launched at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMHS_Britannic
1979:
The Superliner railcar entered revenue service with Amtrak. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superliner_%28railcar%29
2014:
Former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao Kevin Lau was stabbed, prompting concerns and protests about media freedom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_attack_on_Kevin_Lau
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
latibulum: (obsolete) A concealed hiding place, especially of an animal; a burrow, hole, or lair. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/latibulum
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Poetry will take a great step, a decisive step, a step which, like the upheaval of an earthquake, will change the whole face of the intellectual world. It will set about doing as nature does, mingling in its creations — but without confounding them — darkness and light, the grotesque and the sublime; in other words, the body and the soul, the beast and the intellect; for the starting-point of religion is always the starting-point of poetry. All things are connected. --Victor Hugo https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo