Uncle

I’ve tried to make my presence here as free of my personal trials and tribulations as I can make it (some of my diary entries notwithstanding). But sometimes I just can’t forget what’s going on around me and have fun here. For almost two weeks now I have been grappling with some things that make me glad there is a God; otherwise, I think I really would have gone insane. When I got home from Comic-Con, a family member was suffering from some serious health issues. I wasn’t home a day until I found out there was a murder/suicide of a couple we knew. This is a small community which means things like this always affect our household whether we know the people personally or not. We happened to have known these people, and the wife was our family doctor’s nurse for years and years, so we not only knew her personally but as someone we saw anytime we went to the doctor.

About the time I got used to the shock of this, there was a death of one of our kids’ close friends. A day later we got word on the shooting in Aurora, and yes, we know someone whose relative was injured, and the person we know had kids at Columbine High School when that shooting happened! A couple of days ago we got word that the daughter of some very close friends of ours almost died by going off into a canyon and ending upside down in the river a few miles from our house. It is a miracle she is alive and not permanently injured although she does have some serious injuries. And there is more, but I think you get the idea that I just haven’t been in the mood to talk about Comic-Con.

For all of you who have sent me email or a personal message, thank you. They are all very sweet and mean a great deal to me.

Give me some time and I’ll get back in snark mode, but I just can’t today.

Take care,
Frenz

July 29, 2012
Categories: Timeout . Tags: , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 35 Comments

A Preface to My Comic-Con Experience

Before I tell you what happened at Comic-Con, I just want it clear that I was not planning on going. It was never a thought in my head. And when I’ve said I had no desire or plan to meet Richard Armitage, I have been serious. I love to make jokes about it certainly, and some of the pieces I’ve written, candidly, I’ve gone back to and laughed. Is it okay to admit I’ve laughed at some of my own stuff? I must sound arrogant, but oh well, I’m sure no matter what I do, someone is going to think poorly of me. The truth is that this blog started as a lark about an obscure English actor whom I never really thought would make it big, and therefore none but a very small number of fans would read it. (Sorry, Richard, I figured you were over the hill by Hollywood’s standards, but I was wrong, and I’m glad.)

My presence here was to have some laughs about this fangirl thing by casting myself as a nut, and to get out some thoughts about creativity and life. That more than a handful of people have read it was completely shocking to me, and my longtime readers know this is far from the first time I’ve said that. As for SO, he has given me good-natured hell about this place, and at first thought I was wasting my time when I “really should be writing! and not losing your story!” I understood that, but he didn’t understand that I had to get out of my comfort zone to reignite my creative thinking. And it’s been a blast. But never was it a real thought to communicate with Richard Armitage (the fake fan letters are a gag if some of you still don’t quite get it), send him gifts (never have) and certainly never to track him down (more on that later :D). Never going to stand at the stage door. Not happening, not part of who I am.

But I got invited to Comic-Con, and I really did want to go to help TORn and had no real expectation of meeting Richard Armitage at that madhouse let alone speaking to him. However, I am a person who likes to be prepared, so I figured if I went, I needed to be ready to talk to him or whomever if I got the chance. My friend, Heidi, who was a longtime AP reporter and now a freelance writer, explained how the process works with getting stories and asking interview questions. I loved listening to her, and thankfully, employed the techniques on the floor of the exhibit hall at Comic-Con with great success. The result of that will be coming up on TORn. And this was a labor of love. If I could do this sort of thing for a living, I would jump at the chance!

The only thing I will tell you today about my experience is I’ve learned a thing or two about being a Richard Armitage fangirl in public. I’m not sure when I’m going to post the experience, but it won’t be today as I’m traveling, and I doubt it’s going to be tomorrow since I’m whipped and need to do nothing for at least a day when I get back home. That won’t happen since I have a lot I normally do back home, but I’m going to try. Maybe I’ll get something up by Wednesday; just know I’ll try to get something up this week.

edit: I totally wimped out on this account. Not sure I’m ever going to tell it. Maybe a few years from now when it will be funnier to me.

July 16, 2012
Categories: SO, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 34 Comments

An Appeal to Richard Armitage Fans

Today, I discovered this poignant post by someone who says he is an acquaintance of Richard Armitage (to read it go here). This highlights the concerns I outlined awhile back.

It behooves all of us to adhere to the poster’s suggested standard, especially because this issue affects a real person.

Comments closed for this post.

Edit: the post on IMDb has been removed, so in the interest of not belaboring this issue, I’m removing the link to my previous post.

July 12, 2012
Categories: Uncategorized . Tags: . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: Leave a comment

I Finally Had a Richard Armitage Dream

Yep, I finally had a dream about Richard Armitage. Oh yeah, of course I did. ;-)

Last night I was dreaming I went to Comic-Con with hopes of seeing Richard there. In the dream, I envisioned myself interviewing people with an eye toward maybe seeing our guy. Heather, laden with camera equipment, was also with me and we were there trying to do our job — bringing reports and pictures to the fans. Then I woke up a couple of hours ago, and I really was there. :D

Seriously, awhile back I was invited by TheOneRingnet to come to Comic-Con, and thankfully, really was able to bring Heather with me. I want to take this opportunity to thank Larry Curtis for the invitation, and we will do our best to report as much as possible. Heather and I are also doing work for some other sites, and I can’t tell you how good it feels to do something you love as a job!

For those who read this blog, I will be over at TORn, so check there for reporting, and I may get over here some when I can. We’ll see. Right now the whole experience is surreal, and I’m trying to process exactly what is happening! But I adore a challenge, so stay tuned! :D

Note: I ask that you all understand I am not RAFrenzy this week, or should I say RAFrenzied. LOL! Tolkien and the creativity he inspires has put my imagination in overdrive. I told you all awhile back that I was going to do something else in the future, and I am. Creativity is a big part of that. But no worries. I will get pictures of Richard Armitage if I can get into Hall H and anything I get will be posted as part of TORn’s coverage.

July 12, 2012
Categories: The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 31 Comments

Wow! at New Artwork from ‘The Hobbit’

Seriously. That scroll display on Entertainment Weekly is awesome, and you all know how I hate to use the word awesome. This deserves the description.


[click for more]

bccmee has the panorama for download here.

July 9, 2012
Categories: Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 40 Comments

UK Release Date for ‘The Hobbit’

TheOneRingNet (TORn) has confirmed the Brits don’t have to wait until the day after Christmas to see ‘The Hobbit.’ It had been erroneously reported by a news site and a blog in the UK that the release would not occur until Boxing Day, which was of course upsetting, and how patently unfair it would have been since most of the cast is British.

Some of you know that I have thrown in with the TORn staff to help report and write stories. I thank you for your support of me and hope you give support to TORn as well if you’re not already doing it. I also want to take this opportunity to confirm they are an extremely nice bunch with a great sense of humor and hard working as well. They are working feverishly on this Comic-Con event and will keep you posted in great detail as they will with all the news that’s coming in regard to ‘The Hobbit,’ and yes, Richard Armitage. :D

[click to enlarge]

Okay, so I published that picture again. Do you mind?

Scan courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.com

July 9, 2012
Categories: PHWOAR!, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 16 Comments

Tangent: It’s Always Something — Damn DNS Changer

Have you heard about the possible Internet outage for a chunk of folks come Monday morning? You haven’t? Well, it seems the FBI busted some hackers for creating rogue DNS servers, and they have been allowing the servers to run so that a large number of people who are affected could clean up their systems. For the uninitiated, DNS servers are the machines that allow you to access the Internet, and your system may be pointing to a rogue server instead of your ISP’s server, which means on Monday when the rogue servers are gone, your access to the Internet could be gone. Hopefully that’s as technical as I’m going to get since I want you awake for the rest of the post.

So you’re thinking, “I don’t want to be without Internet service on Monday. What do I do? What do I do? What DO I do?!” I’m so glad you asked because I’m going to tell you, and maybe this will get a wee bit more technical. But first, relax. The problem doesn’t affect as many people as the news bulletins imply. There now you can read the rest of this without panic.

The group working with the FBI to provide technical assistance has created help pages. Instructions for checking your system are here. Please note the dns-ok.us page is not always reliable. It’s better to check your server addresses manually. Scroll down on the link to find instructions for your particular operating system. And as far as fixing the problem if you have it? The same group has provided some resources. My advice? Use Kaspersky. I’ve used all the other software companies for general coverage and specific fixes, and they’re not nearly as good. I’m being kind here. If I were really going to tell you what I think, I would say, “DON’T ever use Norton or McAfee for anything ’cause they suck, and if you already use them, uh, you’re not that protected. Do you know how many systems I’ve worked on that were messed up by a false sense of security about those softwares?!! And also be leery of MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) simply because Microsoft shouldn’t have that much power.” But I’m being nice, so I won’t say that. I’ll only say that I’ve tried all of the others and found Kaspersky to be the most consistent in protection. And if you’ve ever had a system infected, you know what a pain in the ass it is, and you usually have to come to someone like me who messes with it and hopefully puts it back to normal for a fee more than the Kaspersky software costs. Note: back up your files before you start any of this. I shouldn’t have to say this, but it’s surprising how many people don’t do it as a matter of routine.

And frankly, I just like Eugene Kaspersky. It’s my infernal gut dictating this. Yes, I admit it. I like the guy, and Euguene, you should keep the long hair!
[click for his Twitter profile]

July 6, 2012
Categories: Geek, Tangents . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 7 Comments

Where To Now For Richard Armitage?

It’s a wrap for ‘The Hobbit’ filming! Other than heading to Comic-Con, I wonder if Richard Armitage will get in some skiing. Oh maybe free styling somewhere around Ruapehu:

Wait!

Dear Rich,

Forget I said that. We can’t have you breaking a leg before Comic-Con. We’re all beside ourselves to see you up there where you belong — onstage before a bunch of screaming fans. Be sure to take some Tylenol.

Signed,
One of your crazy fans, who knows what it’s like to break a leg and wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Ugh.

July 5, 2012
Categories: Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 14 Comments

Um Yeah, It’s Thorin

What was I saying about getting bored staring at the same picture? I lied. Richard Armitage is Thorin so deliciously in this picture, and you know I’m strongly affected when I use language like that. When have I ever used words like deliciously? Yep, I thought so. Never. And this might be the only time. ;-)

[click to enlarge]

But then I guess this isn’t exactly the same picture is it. Daria has done some magic on it! And for more of her magic, check out her DeviantArt profile or her tumblr.

The highlights on his face and hair make me think I could find him on a beach somewhere but obviously without all the leather. :D

Original scan provided from Ali’s wonderful iPad. :D And can be seen in a larger format at RichardArmitageNet.Com

July 4, 2012
Categories: Fandom, PHWOAR!, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 30 Comments

Fandwarfing, A Reality

Fandwarfing* hasn’t made sense to me until today. The photos of Richard Armitage as a dwarf, frankly, didn’t look like a dwarf. He has always looked like himself in stature — rather large. But ‘Entertainment Weekly’ has a new raft of photos from ‘The Hobbit,’ and one of RA actually gives the appearance of a dwarf. And I find, I quite like it. I guess “dwarves” really can be sexy:


[click to enlarge]

You can see the rest of the photos including couple of more with RA on the EW site here.

* a term coined by Calexora to express the hysteria which goes on when seeing the little people and more especially one little people. :D

Photoshop excellence by Heather

July 2, 2012
Categories: Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 16 Comments

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