Tangent — Jacking with Meta

June 30, 2011

And for you techies, this may not be what you think. The video below addresses something everyone on the World Wide Web needs to know is happening so is well worth the nine minute’s investment to watch.

I chuckled a bit when Eli Pariser mentioned his political bent. He has been an integral part of Moveon.org, a very politically biased site. I do not agree with everything said there. I’m not sure I agree with everything said anywhere, but this never keeps me from listening to someone’s viewpoint, and I’m almost always wiser for having listened. And how sad if their visibility were diminished in my little world thereby making my world that much smaller. Oh, I’m all for personalization, but when it becomes a stumbling block to my ability to consider a bigger picture, it’s gone too far. And for what? Mostly to take advantage of niche marketing, i.e., the ability to sell me something whether it be a product, a service or an idea by appealing to my seeming interests keyed into a search engine. Oh, I’m not completely opposed to niche marketing, but I HATE when someone seeks to think for me in a way that limits my thinking, and it’s really insulting when it’s a machine. Hopefully, you watched the video, so all of this makes sense and my next words in particular will be in perspective.

Today, the only major information site that doesn’t personalize to the degree of Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. is Twitter. I would include Digg and Reddit, but they are being eclipsed by Twitter. So this makes Twitter a really important tool for the little guys — us. The beauty of the web has been this power to connect people who would not otherwise be able to find each other, and gatekeeper media sites have been fairly circumvented in this process, but now Google, et al are seeking to control where we go even more. Frankly, the mere mention of a gatekeeper hacks me off. Thankfully, Twitter is still powerful enough to overcome that kind of control because it’s mostly unfiltered, and therefore wild and unpredictable and beautiful in its ability to give us average people who have little or no professional connection with major media the power to potentially have impact. This is the main reason I like Twitter and would hate to see it go the way of the others. Hopefully, this makes it evident Twitter should not be dismissed as mere fluff.

It’s amazing to me how true is this adage: it’s not what you see or hear but what you don’t. I’ve told my kids this countless times in the hope they will learn to think outside the box by knowing that the box is invisible.

On a personal note, if I told you some of the influential people whom I’ve been able to converse with as a result of Twitter, you wouldn’t believe me. I could care less about name dropping, but I say this here to make the point that your voice can be heard on Twitter in ways you could have only dreamed about before.

edit: I’m putting the Richard Armitage and public service tags on this since this is “important” stuff in the fine art of Richard Armitage watching. :D

June 30, 2011
Categories: Geek, Tangents . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 5 Comments

I Have a Plan

edit: Richard Armitage did trend on Twitter

Dangerous words, but well, I have a plan of sorts. It’s about Richard Armitage. I know that’s a shocker, but I thought I would tell you that upfront. His 40th birthday is coming up, and Calexora has a birthday book planned for him. The messages I’ve read so far are lovely, and I love the possible covers (hope it’s the French poplars). If you want to be in on that, get her a message by July 8th. But before Armitage Day, wouldn’t it be cool if he were trending on Twitter? He never has trended that I’m aware of. I asked Ali at RichardArmitageNet.Com (aka @RAnetdotcom) and she doesn’t remember him ever trending.

Oh, you don’t do Twitter and have no clue about trending? Well, maybe you need to open an account, and trending means whatever is the hot topic (see right sidebar on my Twitter home page). If you don’t have time to take on Twitter, just do it for this and then you can bail — no one will think anything of it. You know how many widow accounts are on Twitter?! Believe me it’s no biggie.

I’m contacting all the RA websites — the ones I know are on Twitter — and asking them to be in on this too, and of course I’m contacting all of the RA bloggers I know. We’ll just need to set a date and have a theme of sorts so that this doesn’t come off as lame. I’m thinking the date should be sometime after Captain America but before August 22nd, and Strike Back promotion will also be in the mix. That timing surely can’t hurt, but the truth is so many things that trend on Twitter are planned trends. Take Captain America for example. That will trend (if it hasn’t already), and it’s surely due to all of the hype by pr machines at a certain time. Why can’t RA have some hype? He’s definitely worth it, and this could be fun. And so much better if fans do it than a publicist. Hey, are we the Armitage Army or not? :D Oh you don’t consider yourself part of the Army? Too bad ’cause it’s fun and not even close to violent.

None of this will work unless we coordinate it as any good Army would do. Everyone going their own directions won’t work. The tweets must be within a certain window so that Twitter’s trending app is triggered, and the theme must be something that piques the interest of non fans. Yep, they have to talk about him too if we’re going to pull this off. In that interest, I hope the principals will participate, and that we can all brainstorm about what would be an appropriate theme. My rough idea is to have something along the lines of “Who is Richard Armitage?” but something much less prosaic. So put on your thinking caps and let’s come up with something good. After I have some caffeine, I might be a little more productive in this discussion. In the meantime, if you have an idea bring it! :D

A picture to inspire you:

Yeah, we’re thinking about it, Rich.

Still courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.Com

June 30, 2011
Categories: Fandom . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 42 Comments

Guy With Us — Spoilers

Spoilers for Robin Hood Series 3

I didn’t think it was possible, but there are people who read my blog who have seen little or no ‘Robin Hood’ hence the spoiler tag. If you do not know the full story of Guy of Gisborne, please don’t read this piece. Just watch the show.

Last chance to bail. :D

Two years ago today I was waiting anxiously for the resolution of Guy. I had been waiting well over a year to find out his ultimate fate after his killing Marian, and it was so much more than wanting to know the resolution of that situation. It had transcended the absurdity that was the show and had moved from Gisborne’s love and desperation for Marian to become about finding resolution for a damaged man and specifically about finding redemption of his life. Even writing this now, it sounds a bit melodramatic, and well, it was melodramatic, but oh, the way the media treated the show made it abundantly clear Guy’s story was THE story albeit the producers could not acknowledge that overtly. It was still done in ways too obvious to miss.

Just one example was Digital Spy doing interviews with the principals in the cast, and Richard Armitage was the last one interviewed — oh yeah, saving the best for last. Some of the questions asked are a bit hackneyed. As always Richard doesn’t give hackneyed answers. He does seem tired but is still able to reveal what it is we love so much about Guy and about him as an actor:

Revelation of the inner core. Even if he had not been redeemed in the last series, he captured something that most can relate to — the need to be loved and the hunger for redemption at times as part of fulfilling that need. This is the secret of Guy’s appeal and why two years later I can still get choked about his passing.

And if Richard Armitage can pull off this kind of examination of a character most would marginalize, what is he really capable of doing? It’s potentially mind boggling to contemplate, and sorry, my friends, but romantic comedies rarely enter my thinking about potential roles for Richard. I have nothing against them and like quite a few, but I hope someone, somewhere who has the means to supply him with damn fine writing will step up, and I doubt it’s going to be a romantic comedy.

However, on a completely shallow note and completely understanding the need to see him in a romance, phew! he is fine in that clip! Blindingly handsome, and to hear from some who have seen him in person, that is nothing by comparison. If that’s nothing, I’m not sure I could handle seeing him in the flesh.

By the way, I was absolutely sure Guy was history once I saw this interview, but then I had thought for a good while Guy was going to meet his end if for no other reason than Richard Armitage had long since outgrown the show. Please note when he touches his head. A long time ago it became abundantly clear this is an obfuscating gesture and interesting to examine in light of one of Servetus’ recent posts. I guess this comment proves I can still devolve into playing the idiot chick from the O’Reilly Factor :D, and now I feel compelled to ask a pardon:

Dear Rich,

I hope you don’t mind going under the magnifying glass so much, and frankly, that is the chief reason I hope you never read my blog. It would make me feel a little self-conscious to know you see the examination of your every move. By the way, I’m contemplating the movement of your eyelashes at some point in the future, and I can’t indulge my anal tendencies quite so much if well, you’re looking at me. So glad you don’t, but I’m sure my SO is glad I’m doing this blog since my need to examine every cussed thing is not so focused on him at present. :D

Sincerely,
One of your crazy fans, who feels a bit self-conscious right now even if you don’t read my blog.

note: I debated doing this post since I still need to do my follow-up to TDHCMO, but frankly, I don’t want to be on a schedule. I’m on a schedule or at someone’s beck and call so much of the time. That’s not really a complaint despite how it sounds, but I need a place I am not so worried about meeting deadlines or others’ expectations. I guess this is it, and tomorrow, I have to continue on with Guy. Too much to talk about to hit and run with one post.

June 27, 2011
Categories: Interviews, PHWOAR!, Robin Hood, SO, Spoilers . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 26 Comments

Hungover

Yesterday was quite a day of fangirling of Richard Armitage, and it’s taken its toll on me this morning. All that rippling yesterday made me drunk, and I got up feeling a bit woozy. I was thinking I needed a little hair of the dog, and lo and behold I got it:

This is a teaser picture from Recognise Magazine, who, if you don’t know it already, did a photo shoot of RA which will be in their August issue. In the meantime, you can see it on their Facebook page and like their page and read their magazine and buy some copies of their magazine and maybe subscribe to it. Damn! It’s amazing what some teasing will make me do.

In the meantime, I’m glad the picture is a bit indistinct, ’cause that beard looks like a mind-blowing experience, and I’d like to be sober today.

edit:

Recognise Magazine has promised to provide another behind the scenes picture of the photoshoot if they get 3,000 FB likes. Well, they just did, so stay tuned for more.

New pic:

June 24, 2011
Categories: Captain America, Interviews . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 11 Comments

This Makes Me Think I’m Insane

The new Captain America trailer is out, and no, there is nothing really new in it except Steve Rogers is in a taxi, and there’s a better picture of Heinz Kruger on the ground. Wooot! Did I just say woot? Someone please slap me. Oh never mind, I’m posting the picture ’cause it’s too good not to post, and I figure since we’re fangirling today, I need to really indulge myself in it, so I can be more sensible the rest of the time. Pardon my insanity. How many posts does this make today? No, don’t tell me, and yes, I know you’re not even reading this but looking at this wonderful picture:

Here’s another one (bccmee made into an avatar earlier) but I guess I haven’t seen one this clear:

If you don’t already know what’s in his hand, and you’re dying to know, here it is:

And if you’re so anal, you don’t want to miss any milliseconds, you can watch the trailer and make your own screencaps :D

Screencaps are mine and as always you can click on the picture for a larger version, which you can save.

edit: I think bccmee and I were screencapping our little hearts out, and it is a lot of fun. :D

June 23, 2011
Categories: Captain America, Movies . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 18 Comments

Dear Mr. Jackson — Part 2

[edit: yes, yes, dear god, people, I know he’s a sir and not a mister. Do you need a job?]

The recent peek at Thorin’s look has many of us believing Peter Jackson “is onto us.” Yep, he knows. :D And I’ve always thought he was smart — well, at least in the last 12 years, and now I know he is. He has not created Thorin’s costume in a way that obliterates Richard Armitage, which frankly, compels a thank you note:

Dear Mr. Jackson,

You are one clever guy. Even though the picture is blurry, we can tell that Richard is still going to be Richard enough to smolder sufficiently for our fangirl hearts to be content. Of course if he had been under prosthetics and gray hair, I would have been fine with it. Yes, I’m serious. I trust your judgment completely — at least when it comes to making big budget movies of Tolkien’s works. You’re the bomb when it comes to that, and your latest revelation even outdid what I was anticipating, which was already greatness. No, I do not make a habit of this much fawning, but well, I’m tickled at what I saw and had to thank someone, and obviously, you’re the one.

I think there is also a crowd with me who wishes to thank you as well.

Sincerely,

One of Richard’s fans who is starting to have a great fondness for a certain Kiwi. :D

P.S. Why do I think you’re a Robin Hood BBC watcher? ;-)

If Peter Jackson keeps this up, my letters to him may become quite a series. First letter here.

edit:

Oh, my reminiscing heart can’t help but post this:

June 23, 2011
Categories: Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 43 Comments

Thorin’s Face

So Entertainment Weekly has posted three new pictures from the set of ‘The Hobbit’ but certainly the one we’re most interested in is this one:

and here it is close up if a little blurry:


Entertainment Weekly article is here.

Me thinks Thorin was channeling a little Guy. And talk about rippling?! Yeah, I think we’re all rippling really well today. That was like a boulder. :D

June 23, 2011
Categories: Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 52 Comments

The Vidding Empire

This post gets the public service tag. :D

If you’ve read this blog for more than a few pieces, you know how rabid I am about fan videos, which I’m defining as videos set to music and starring the object of a fan’s attention — someone or something. They got me started on Richard Armitage, and my love for them has become so intense that I’m wondering when these things will gain much more notoriety than they currently enjoy. For now they are not really acknowledged much by the mainstream media, and a good part of the reason is the history of their illicit nature. In my search on the web, I found one piece from a mainstream media source discussing the significance of fan videos, and that was from 2007. Maybe there are a few more, but the key word would be few. However, at some point soon I think fan videos will have more formal recognition. So far for most people who don’t peruse videos sites and are over the age of 25, there has been no awareness these things exist, but that’s changing as more and more people (even your grandmother) are starting to surf YouTube.

Heck, SO’s almost 80 year old parents get on YouTube regularly, and my mother, who by the way, is considerably younger :D, also gets on YouTube. So if you’re 60 and you don’t ever get on YouTube? What planet are you on? ;-)

Actually, I’m assuming most reading this are the choir. So why did I even say that? Maybe there is one out there among you who has not ventured onto a video site for fear it’s just stuff like this:

and you got your fill of this kind of thing on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” Oh, you’ve never seen that show? LUCKY YOU. Really wrestling here with the temptation to go on a rant about why I hated that show when it was on, but one rant a week is enough. The show is still on?! God help us.

Of course this is a cute video, and it’s understandable why it’s in the top ten all-time watched videos on YouTube, but c’mon, after you’ve watched it 300 times, you would think it would get old. FYI: a few weeks ago this video passed its four year anniversary, and I can see its lasting effect with the eventual publication of How to Pay For College: The Advantages of Being a Mischievous Teether in the Digital Age by Charles Davies-Carr. ;-)

Okay, where was I? Oh, yeah, fan videos. Well, if you’re new to them, and I’m assuming you’re a Richard Armitage fan since you’re reading this blog, there is only one place to go, and my friends, it’s not YouTube. No, it’s a little place on the web hosted by one of the most intriguing fans, Elvira Sweeney. Here are some things I know about Elvira. She is artistic, prolific, a bit perfectionistic, and definitely industrious. Oh, and she likes RA. :D He was the inspiration for what I now think of as the RA Fan Video Empire, or just The Empire. So what is this place? It’s called RAfanvids, and if you have never been there, oh my are you in for a treat. Now the only proviso I will give you is that you must prep the storage on your computer so you can download to your heart’s content when you get there. You’re not sure about this downloading? No, you’ve got to change that notion. You can’t really enjoy some of these videos without watching a download. YouTube, Vimeo, et al will not give you the quality of a 1080 vid. You can only get the real impact of it by downloading and watching on your system or possibly your tv monitor.

Take this video for example:

You can watch it and love the music and the clips, but you can’t get the full effect of this unless you download and watch. It’s the eyes. You almost fall into them. Can’t get that from watching on YouTube — even in full screen mode. Oh, it’s better than the little window, but not nearly as good as watching your own copy.

Or consider this one:

Want to really feel like that leather is within arm’s reach, download! And of course the eyes are also compelling. By the way this video was done as part of Elvira’s “Vidding on the Cheap” series for all those people who think making videos with an old Mac isn’t possible. Guess again.

This is one of my favorite montage videos, and for good reason. I really feel I’m in the room with RA and he’s looking at me when I watch the download:

This was the video that convinced me I needed to watch everything I could from a download copy. Once I got this one on my computer and started watching, I realized that I had missed so much on YouTube, and if a video is not in a large format, putting the player in full screen doesn’t really cut it either. So I downloaded this one and was blown away. I also realized something about Elvira. She can read people. Anyone who puts as much emphasis on people’s eyes and expressions is focused on reading them. I would love to know what she really thinks of RA other than just liking him so damn much. LOL!

And the next two you haven’t really seen unless you’ve watched a download and especially in 1080. You watch these like that, and you will never be satisified with them on YouTube again.

If you still don’t want to download, you can just watch the videos on that site, and there are quite a few that are not on YouTube. So check it out.

One more thing. If you go over to RAfanvids, you may notice something is absent. But no worries, ’cause Elvira’s got it covered over here. :D (note: the link is an archive page and not all pages linked within it are available).

Candid shot from, uh, I’m not sayin’.

June 23, 2011
Categories: Fandom, Fanvids, Vidders to Watch . Tags: , , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 6 Comments

I Have A Question for the German Fans

For those who may not know it, I was born and reared in the U.S., and for most of my life the Nazis have been a source of ridicule. The lion’s share of the ridicule has been serious with an occasional straying into the humorous ala “The Producers.”

I’ve gone right along with all of it, but now that I interact more regularly with German fans and especially now that Richard Armitage will be playing Heinz Kruger, a Nazi, I find myself being much more sensitive to what you all may find offensive. I was trying to figure this out on my own, but I know that many of you have no problem sharing, so I’m asking you to share your thoughts about this. How do you feel about the Nazis being continually held up as the bad guys? Do you dissociate yourself from them, or do you ever take any of the negative comments personally?

Another reason I ask is because I’m originally from the Southern part of the United States — the area formerly known as the Confederacy (aka Rebels) during our Civil War in the mid 1800s. Many derogatory comments are still made about the rebels and too often all Southerners are swabbed with the same brush that would lead others to believe we’re all racists and stupid. So I was wondering if sometimes you feel that all Germans are swabbed with having been Nazis. Oh, and just so you know, SO has a very strong German heritage. Momma and Papa are both of German descent and his grandparents spoke with a German accent.

Thanks for any input, and if this has already been adequately covered elsewhere, please let me know. I’m really interested in understanding your viewpoint.

Please feel free to send me an email if you would rather not comment. See “CONTACT ME” on the left sidebar.

June 22, 2011
Categories: Captain America, Fandom, Movies . Tags: , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 27 Comments

Going For It

Many times I’ve wondered how long this blog’s life would be, and no, I’m not going anywhere. I’m still here and will be here for a while longer. How long I don’t know. As long as I get some fulfillment and fun from it I suppose. But candidly sometimes that fun is hard work. Of course life is full of obstacles, and usually the obstacles involve people or money. Come to think of it they all involve people or money. Now I’m not here to talk about money, and I doubt anyone has ever read my blog expecting me to talk about money. Although truth be told, I could talk about money for quite a while. But I’ll spare you. Today. So people it is.

People are infinitely fascinating even when they’re being a pain in the ass. At least that’s how I choose to see it, and if I didn’t choose to see it that way, I would not have done this blog past a few weeks. I also knew choosing the subject of Richard Armitage for my blog would bring with it an element that is absurd (no offense to Richard), and in case it’s not obvious to some, I’ve used that absurdity to spring myself forward. But sometimes I can’t find the humor in some of these people who are mean. I try never to cave to thoughts like this here (diary entries excepted), but I’ve slipped up a couple of times and day before yesterday was one of those times. I immediately regretted making that post, but after I had a little time to ruminate on it, I decided that it really was something that should have been broached.

On to the point of this piece. Yep, that was all a preface. I’m partial to prefaces lately. :D

If you’re going to blog, you cannot let people get to you — especially if they’re trying to get to you. If they get to you, then they have defeated you. They’ve stopped you. I was reading one well-intentioned commenter’s suggestion about Servetus’ handling of those who object to her blog. It was suggested to use password protection so that only those who really want to read the blog can do so. The commenter did not intend it to be censorship and said as much as a preface to the comment, but really, that’s what it is, and I mean absolutely no aspersion on the one who made the suggestion. It’s just that it’s hard to see it as anything else, and ironically, it would still not serve the purpose of making those who are offended happy as some would probably still read the blog. LOL!

So what’s the answer to all of this — at least in my opinion? It’s two-fold. First, go ahead fearlessly. Go for it, and don’t let someone inhibit you, and believe me, there will be those who will try. It’s a given. Second (and really this should be first), use some wisdom in lieu of locking things down. If you believe you shouldn’t post something, ask yourself why you don’t want to post it, and if someone is manipulating you into not posting, that’s almost never a good reason. Of course if it’s something that you have concluded is not appropriate, don’t post, but know that sometimes you might make a mistake. Scratch that. You will make a mistake, and if you don’t want to ever make a mistake, then don’t blog. In fact, don’t write anything, anywhere or say anything to anyone because at some point you’re going to make a mistake. [note: Mulubinba is excluded from this comment ’cause her decision is not about being manipulated, and I certainly respect it.]

In the meantime, I’m enjoying this song below, and I don’t care that it’s Katy Perry singing. If I was all caught up in who she supposedly is, I would dismiss this song. Her name alone would have the power to preclude me from ever listening to her or considering her music whenever I happen to hear it. Thankfully, I don’t think that way about music, so when I heard this, I liked it. :D

June 22, 2011
Categories: Fandom, Musicilove, Tangents . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 18 Comments

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