Excellent!
And there was no dragon. Love it! Okay, there wasn’t enough dragon to really be a major spoiler.
And of course, our guy, and be sure to click to enlarge. :D
and some Lee Pace :D
See it on The Hobbit FB page here
Or you can see it here to easily screencap to your heart’s content:
That was too much fun and a real challenge to my need to stay away from spoilers.
edit: aspect ratio has been corrected on the video, i.e., letterbox markings (black bars) are gone.
For those of us who like long hair, this picture is a must, and if that’s not something that would wake you up, then I don’t know what will:
[Click to enlarge, and if you don’t do that, what is wrong with you?!!]
For those of you who don’t like longer hair, surely this has made inroads into that thinking! Okay, so it’s the eyes. I admit it. But the hair makes a wonderful frame, along with the shoulders and the chest. :D
You want your own copy of this? Go to RichardArmitageNet and check out the Wallpaper page. Carry on.
Note: originally from a photoshoot at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2006.
And I’m putting this in housekeeping, since I stumbled on it as I was doing some maintenance work. Thank you, mybeckett for the lovely wallpaper, and to Ali for running such a great site.
note: I’ll be getting to Ascroft.
Last night I was staying at the Hilton and got a complimentary digital copy of USA Today. Very timely since Mother’s Day is almost here!
SO leaned over my shoulder and offered with a grin, “I had something else in mind for Mother’s Day, but this looks good.”
Okay, I was just kidding about dad eating for free.
The real kicker is no woman eats free unless she has a kid in tow. Yes, she can leave dad at home. :D
Can Richard Armitage do anything wrong? Maybe. ;-) But he hasn’t so far, and I love that he’s Mr. Heart Throb yet we can still see his dork. Yeah, it’s dorktastic! (Thank you again, Nat, for turning me onto that word because I really needed it this morning!).
Okay, I’m talking about the Richard on the right in case it’s not clear. He’s a heart throb too! And definitely gets my vote. I think reblogs are how that’s done. Reblogs with lots of commentary. LOL!
Richard,
You’re loveable and Kermit’s loveable although I’ve never thought of Kermit as a heart throb. I guess some people do. It must be his thoughtfulness, which you certainly share, and there is nothing more powerful than a heart throb with a streak of thoughtfulness — no matter what all of those romance novels suggest.
Signed,
One of your crazy fans who thought of W.C. Fields on first watching the Go Pop clip, and yet if anyone can pull it off, you can. :D Think John Standring.
note: you gotta see this large. :D Be sure to click on the photo to expand it.
The Queen is planting petunias in her yard in memory of Anna. What a perfectly lovely idea and especially since Anna was very much a lover of flowers and a gardener. In fact, she was interviewed about Middle-Earth flora for the GardenMaine site.
I perused the site for something from New Zealand that I could grow since some of the areas in Colorado are similar. But I have a black thumb and was skittish about planting anything that an idiot couldn’t maintain. I thought perhaps begonias since that had been one of Anna’s Twitter avatars, and thankfully, Janine, prolific writer and gardener and owner of GardenMaine, says begonias are “actually super easy. They don’t require much care, thrive in indirect light and just need to be watered when soil is slightly dried out.” More about them here.
Janine’s site is a wealth of information, and she is happy to help anyone who is not sure what to plant or how to maintain a plant. Thank you, Janine!
I’m somewhat gutted. I just received news that a friend passed away. She was a sweet, articulate person, and these are some of her last words to me and heavily edited for obvious reasons, but I wanted to share them because she had her life and this Richard Armitage thing in perspective:
Dear Lisa,
Thank you so much for your blog. I’ve got lots I want to say to you, but for now this will do.
(snip)
The Richard Armitage thing was and is the part of me that isn’t the responsible, brave, hard working me. It’s the girlish me that’s still there, that loves silliness and sexiness and lovely men.
(snip)
Love,
XXX
I think she would have been fine with this portion of the letter being posted. She’s at rest now but will be sorely missed. And may all of us retain our inner girl!
I will keep her family in my prayers.
I lied — again. I’m getting to the phantom Diary entry after this post.
I understand Servetus has now coined Armitage Objectification Mode (AOM). Why didn’t we think of this before?! It should have been coined years ago, but I’m glad we have it now. :D I mean c’mon, we’ve all objectified Richard Armitage in one form or another. And even though I’ve said I haven’t fantasized about him, I never said I didn’t want to. LOL! I just said I chose not to do it. I’d be a big fat liar if I said I never had the yen. But as to AOM, I’m sure we’re all going to have a field day defining its various levels.
Of course I have to cover Armitage Protection Mode (APM). Posts about it are found here and here if you’re not familiar. It’s to be avoided unless you want to be a killjoy, and there are certainly various levels of APM which deserve their own modes. Armitage Correction Mode, or what I think of as APM Light. This is when someone continually feels the need to correct other fans about Armitage lore, e.g., making sure everyone knows that Guy’s horse is Richie and not Ritchie when no one else (or few; wish I could say no one else) gives a rat’s ass how the name is spelled. Did the show’s creators ever specify? Or APM Exreme which I fondly think of as Armitage Sanctimonious Syndrome (ASS). That’s when someone not only wants to protect Richard Armitage but is utterly self-righteous about it. Utterly here means the person may end up calling the authorities in an attempt to ensure dear Richard’s safety and most important that they (the person and not the authorities) can never be wrong! LOL! Yes, I laughed. I used to pity these people but have come to find them a great source of humor.
Oh, yeah, they’re funny, Rich. As if you need protecting. LOL!
There is also Armitage Denial Mode (ADM), and its various levels go something like the following. Armitage Denial Mode Extreme — when you’re so far in the closet you won’t even breathe Richard Armitage’s name to another human being and certainly never comment on him in cyber world, yet you may be the first to look at anything posted about our guy. ;-) Armitage Denial Mode (no frills; it just is) — you think Richard Armitage is great and sometimes you deign to express it to another human being with an occasional comment in cyber world. But then you step back and wonder what has come over you?!! Armitage Denial Mode Light — you are very chatty about Richard Armitage and frequently give and take on his abilities and are recognized as a commenter but swear up and down you’re just a casual fan. Of course the remedy to all of these is called Freedom from Armitage Denial Mode — that’s when you finally say to hell with it and get yourself a blog!
note: all of this is predicated on the idea that almost everyone reading this blog is an addict. D
Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.com
As usual, Richard Armitage’s appearances have gone from such a sparsity to so much to gorge on I feel I have an eating disorder. No, I’m not making light of eating disorders. But seriously now, this feast and famine thing is enough to create an unhealthy appetite. :D At one point the dearth of appearances had me thinking like the proverbial buzzard. And now, I fear I may get sick. But of course that’s never stopped me.
Oh, you read my words about refraining from indulging in more info about the Hobbit movies, and you believed them? I might be able to pull it off (if you believe that, we need to talk more as I have a bridge for sale), but the Hobbit info is not synonymous with Richard Armitage. You thought it was?! You have to be new! Oh my, no way is he just about The Hobbit. Great as that is, may I say I’m glad he has many more performances to recommend him than Thorin Oakenshield. And if you have not seen North and South, do it now! Your inner, misunderstood beauty will thank me. :D
But even if he is just about the Hobbit in this last round of interviews, fans have plenty to savor. Richard still seems to be his intensely charming yet down-to-earth self, who keeps pulling some of us back into his world. As one fan put it to me, “Damn! He’s done it again. I thought I was over this Richard Armitage infatuation, but it’s back in full bloom.” For that person, it was very much about his ability to stay humble and sincere in the face of such great admiration. I’m not sure exactly how he maintains his character, but I can speculate, which if you haven’t been on this blog much is what I sometimes do here and many times in a snarky fashion. Occasionally, I’m serious because Richard deserves it. Today, I’m not quite sure what I’m going to be. Whatever the case, I am certainly feeling a great need to lay on some cheap psychoanalysis of what I’m seeing.
There has to be something that made such an impression on Richard Armitage that he can never shake it as part of his identity. Probably done in childhood as it is with most of us and consisting of those unpleasant experiences that occur which make us believe something negative about ourselves, and we seldom get past it no matter how many positive experiences may come behind it. Too often this kind of molding creates a liability in us which we drag around, but occasionally, someone lets the liability work for them in a healthy way. Since Richard has talked quite a bit about balancing his life, I’d like to think that’s what happened to him. That despite adulation, and many times deserved, his experience can never let him fully accept how we all see him — meaning very handsome, very intelligent and welcome at anyone’s table — and therefore he is able to keep arrogance at bay.
He still retains a bit of gawkiness that most likely occurred when he attained his full height at 14, and he may not realize it just makes him more attractive because it makes him personable. Phew! that combination of looks, brains and being accessible as a human being?! That will pull many a woman (and no doubt some men) into his charm — whether he wants to pull them or not. And of course he has some awareness of this, but the real question is how aware? Yep, that’s the question, baby cakes. Does he pull out the charm when it suits him? Or is he really just being himself? I think he has some ice breakers he relies on, but for the most part, I don’t think someone can fake his kind of earnestness this long.
What I find so refreshing is not just that he can maintain this demeanor, but also that so many appreciate it. That makes this last round of interviews in Australia truly glorious. People really do appreciate his character, and that makes me have such a great feeling about my fellow man and woman. :D
Dear Richard,
You have found the most successful way to combat objectification — people taking you seriously as a person and not just relegating you to a dream lover although I must admit that if someone wants a dream lover, you’re a good one. LOL!
No, I’m not saying you’ve been my dream lover, but I’m not blind and can see you would make a good one, and those women who aspire to someone with your character have good sense as well as good taste.
Okay, enough of that. I just want to say that my jaded self really does appreciate your graciousness to the public. May you never lose whatever it is that allows you this ability.
Maybe staying out the public eye between these interview gigs does help? Yeah, I’m cutting you a break on the feast or famine cycle.
Signed,
One of your crazy fans who is definitely sane enough to appreciate a man who is gallant.
Hopefully up next is the post that I’ve had from the beginning of this blog. I have edited that thing so many times, well, it’s embarrassing. So the other day I went back to the original, and I think it’s almost where I want it now.
Candid photos courtesy of Popcorn Taxi.
I’m getting this post out of the way before I start eating the elephant (Richard Armitage’s whirlwind in Australia).
My recent absence certainly obliterated any good intentions for keeping up, and absolutely shot my April A to Z challenge to hell. Nevertheless, I’ll probably take a run at the challenge next year. Until then, I thought seriously of calling this post “I’ve Seen Hell,” but the news provided something better. Although it is true. I have seen hell.
I’ve witnessed SO‘s physical anguish. Certainly it’s been a horrible thing for him. I can’t fully process what he’s been through. But it’s also hell to watch the suffering of someone you love and be able to do little or nothing. For a control freak and scrapper like me, that is surely torture. Thankfully, I’ve been learning a better way by watching him. Despite being in pain topped off by even more pain, the man who has never been fake (and I admire him greatly for this ability) was a diplomat in horrendous circumstances. Graciousness all around — when I wanted to strangle someone. LOL! I’m glad I can laugh about this now that he is doing so much better! More on that later.
And I can even be content with all that’s happened when my mind’s eye sees SO’s sweet grin that charmed his nurses even as his fate was questionable. What made it sweeter was he had no intent to charm. But anyone that earnest and hopeful and clever of tongue is bound to generate some infatuation. Reminds me of someone else I’ve observed, and certainly goes a long way toward explaining my continued existence here.
That, and some insanity. :D
A little something to help me mute my rational self and get back in the flow:
[click to enlarge]
I know I’m not the first to say it, but damn! look at those eyelashes. They ought to be illegal. But great for going insane. LOL! *maniacal laugh in progress*
Too bad Lucas isn’t still alive, or maybe he is.
And now for Richard:
Dear Rich,
I really thought I was going to just leave you alone for good, but you’re too much fun, and so are your fans. I hope you don’t mind that I just can’t quit you. Yes, I admit I’m usually this cheesy, but would you rather I be serious? I didn’t think so. ;-)
Signed,
One of your crazy fans, who honestly doesn’t know how long she can keep her serious self down; just know that I’m trying. I’m really, really trying.
Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.com
note: if you’re thoroughly confused by this post, another post or two might shed some light on what we’ve been going through. Or skip it and come back when I bite into this last round of RA’s interviews.
SPOILERS
[click to enlarge for a sweet screencap :D]
With the advent of Thorin Oakenshield, there are some new Richard Armitage fans. Ohmygosh. I’ve had email and messages aplenty of people looking for his works. They are smitten, and of course I can empathize. After five years of being a fan and three years of blogging about the man, I am still smitten by something about him, and the Why Richard? question is continually near my lips when I encounter new fans. But lately I’ve been asking the question of those fans who have been around awhile, so recently, I asked Heather and love her response:
His face tells a story, and I respect that he applies artistry to achieve this. As someone who makes it a business to convey messages with pictures, I was immediately drawn to that, and it’s such a pleasure to highlight it and in some ways make it richer in a fan video.
If you have not seen Heather’s videos, you need to do yourself a favor and check them out. As for me, I am so glad she chose that medium for expressing her infatuation of Richard Armitage’s talent, since that’s how I even came to know anything about him, and many others have found him the same way. Her videos have become so notable that they have been mentioned a few times in articles about him, but ironically, her most notable fan video is one of her least favorite. It was done as a joke, but she never thought the joke would be on Richard Armitage, who has been teased about it on occasion, most recently in a Glamour UK article, which I had to razz her about. She was mortified too, and said, “Oh God! If I could, I would say to Richard Armitage, ‘I’m so sorry! I was just kidding, but I never meant to embarrass you!'” Oh yeah, right, I know you’re really on his payroll, Heather. ;-)
And I absolutely have to do this whether anyone ever sees it or not ’cause I’m still not going to write a real letter to Richard Armitage LOL!
Dear Richard:
When I read the Glamour article, I wanted to scream what I’m about to say, but I’ve subdued myself. It’s taken me all these months to do so, but I think I’m finally ready to say this to you in a normal tone. Ahem.
You said you weren’t sure what to call those people. They’re called PR people. :D Yep, and the best kind of PR people because they want nothing from you when they express their fan love, if you will.
And I hope you know that Heather has many more videos besides Sexy Back, which is not even close to her best. Maybe you’ll check them all out sometime. In the meantime, a treat:
And if you can’t see this where you are, go here.
Sincerely,
One of your crazy fans who hopes you are glad for the opportunity to blush and be mortified. :D
Since the video is so big, please let the video load completely before playing, or you will probably have it stopping and starting. It also helps if your flash player is up-to-date, and for the one on my site, you should hav Quicktime up-to-date.
note: I’m counting this post as an April A to Z post even though I skipped B through F. So yeah, this is G as well as another post in the Why Richard? series. Man, I love killing two birds. :D
Screencap courtesy of my stash, and making screencaps has never been so sweet with blu ray.
RAFrenzy 
