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Frequently described as "Britain's nicest man", Michael Palin really has done it all. From playing a singing, cross-dressing lumberjack to travelling Around the World in 80 Days, the star has no plans to stop yet. He's even about to venture further than ever before, as he joins the Clangers' little moon planet as their new narrator.

Palin is a household name in the UK and around the world, thanks to his globetrotting adventures and most prominently his Monty Python fame. But here are some facts you may not know about the comedian...

1. Michael Edward Palin was born in Broomhill, Sheffield on May 5, 1943. He attended Birkdale Preparatory School and had his first acting - and possibly cross-dressing - experience at the age of 5 in a performance of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, in which he played Martha Cratchit... and fell off the stage.

Undeterred by this unfortunate turn of events and despite his extreme stage fright,...

Lovecraft's Monsters, edited by Ellen Datlow and published by Tachyon Publications, is a reprint anthology of some carefully chosen and mighty fine Lovecraftian short stories, novellas and poems. A small selection of some of my favorites from this well-rounded collection include “Only the End of the World Again,” by Neil Gaiman; “Red Goat Black Goat,” by Nadia Bulkin; “The Same Deep Waters as You,” by Brian Hodge; “Love is Forbidden, We Croak and Howl,” by Caitlín R. Kieran; and “The Sect of the Idiot,” by Thomas Ligotti.

Neil Gaiman's “Only the End of the World Again” is the story of a unique “man” very much out of place in a strange town. Everyone seems to know who and what he is, and they all have an opinion on how he can get rid of or be relieved of his “ailment.” But there's more in store for him than he suspects.

Kate Edwards, partner of brand-funded content company Quail Content reports from Mipcom 2010.

For the first time ever, Mipcom put together a program about the rise of brand-funded content. This day’s program coincided with the announcement that @Radical Media was being bought (60 percent) by Fremantle worldwide – this only further proves the relevance of such a convergence model both in today’s clutter interruption advertising market and the TV production space.

The branded-content seminars were full and the panels put together were representative of some of the sector’s Big players – again only proving the merit of this form of content creation and moving further toward legitimising it. The panel included Peter Tortorici – GroupM Entertainment UK, Doug Scott Ogilvy Entertainment Us, Robert Friedman @Radical Media Us, Domonique Delport – Haavas Intl France, Cameron Death NBC Digital Studios, Marcus Vinton – Publicis Entertainment UK.

The key out-take of their mission in the brand-funded revolution...

When I was growing up in the UK I had a love-hate relationship with Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin. Anyone who has seen his travel shows (Around the World in Eighty Days, Pole to Pole, Full Circle and later series) will know what a great presenter he is. I watched Palin’s adventures avidly when they first aired and was jealous of him for having the good fortune to see so many great places and get paid for doing it.

Twenty years later I have a new target for my jealous streak: Josh Gates. Gates presents Syfy's mystery investigation show Destination Truth. In the series Gates and his team investigate some fascinating and enduring myths and legends that have cultural significance in some pretty cool places across the globe. Gates' team goes to sites on almost every continent and experiences exotic food, good beer and vehicles that are one pothole...