And now for something completely different

Greg Shaw

Greg Shaw Jul 3, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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          <article>
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                <h1>And now for something completely different</h1>
                <h2><p>Monty Python star Eric Idle gave this weekend’s commencement speech at Whitman College in Walla Walla. Turns out his daughter was among the 375 graduates. We can all learn something from his message to students: “Life has a very simple plot. First you’re here, and then you’re</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/grshaw-microsoft-com/">Greg Shaw</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Monty Python star <a href="http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/may/20/eric-idle-gives-commencement-whitman-graduates/?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">Eric Idle gave this weekend’s commencement speech</a> at Whitman College in Walla Walla. Turns out his daughter was among the 375 graduates. We can all learn something from his message to students: “Life has a very simple plot. First you’re here, and then you’re not. So remember, life is very short, and life can be very pleasant, so do enjoy it. There’s no time like the pleasant.”</p>
          </article>

Monty Python star Eric Idle gave this weekend’s commencement speech at Whitman College in Walla Walla. Turns out his daughter was among the 375 graduates. We can all learn something from his message to students: “Life has a very simple plot. First you’re here, and then you’re not. So remember, life is very short, and life can be very pleasant, so do enjoy it. There’s no time like the pleasant.”

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By Greg Shaw

Greg Shaw is a senior director in Microsoft’s strategy group. He served as publisher of Crosscut and prior to that was a director for the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation. He writes for Crosscu