Still no Richard Armitage.
And now for the other show stealer:
Grace Van Cutsem only three years old and probably wondering what all the fuss was really about.
A wider shot:
Pippa the Great?
Did Pippa Middleton steal the show? I think she did. Yesterday, the would be queen’s sister got most of the attention at the Royal Wedding, and I think it was somewhat deserved. She was as spectacular as her sister and all her own. You would have to be dead not to have noticed her. Well, if you’ve got it flaunt it, and she did, but I don’t think she was trying to upstage her sister.
She was placed in a position that potentially could draw notice if you’re in a stunning gown with a great figure, great skin and have excellent carriage, and women who look at you want to be you, and I’m afraid to say what I think the men were thinking, and of course she appeared to be good with children:
But all of that wasn’t what sold me on Pippa. It was the smile:
I knew immediately she had a sense of humor. Perhaps she is a total ass (no pun intended) in person, but my gut says a resounding no! Whatever the case, that infectious smile makes me say, “I would love to meet her!”
And now a picture for the men who read this blog, which I figure is deserved after all of the fangirling of Richard Armitage that you’ve witnessed:
Of course I’m drawn to her hair in this picture. Lovely.
And Now for Tuscaloosa
Almost 300 tornadoes occurred on Wednesday and killed that many people and more. The last count I heard was 318 dead from the Southern U.S. to Canada with Alabama bearing the brunt of it and in particular Tuscaloosa. The devastation is overwhelming:
Chances are good that I know someone who was hurt or killed, and I’m sure I’ll be finding out very soon. I am and will be mourning those who died, praying for those left behind and looking for a way to help. It was helpful to me personally to remember what happened to another town that was devastated a few years ago (2007) — Greensburg, Kansas. Virtually the entire town was wiped out:
Greensburg, KS May 16, 2007 – The center of town resembles a bomb site twelve days after it was hit by an F5 tornado. Cleanup and reconstruction will take years. Photo by Greg Henshall / FEMA
Thankfully, Greensburg made a decision, and they were able to bounce back with help and forward thinking, and now it’s Tuscaloosa’s turn.
Greensburg today:
Some may think it’s a little too soon to say something about Greensburg’s comeback, but obviously, I disagree. Yes, there needs to be mourning for those who lost their lives, but there should always be a specter of hope while it’s occurring.
If you want to help the victims of the tornadoes, I’m putting my plug in for Samaritan’s Purse, which is an organization I’ve been involved with and supported for several years. They have very low overhead; almost everything goes to those in need. The best part of their help is the people who come with it. The ones I’ve known are doing it as an act of love, and it’s obvious. There is also the Red Cross who always needs donations to continue their help, and I’m sure Greensburg will be doing their part to help.
For more information on Greensburg, please visit their site GreensburgGreenTown.org
I Couldn’t Look Away
I was one of those who was not going to watch the Royal Wedding, but I’ve been in on so many public events of William’s life, how could I miss this one.
Kate’s last moments before entering the church. I remember the feelings I had when I entered a wedding ceremony almost 28 years ago. The dress and veil were very, very similar to this one, and I got a little misty-eyed looking at this picture:
Photos from Euronews and Jezebel (click on photos for links and more photos).
No-One Gives a Shit About Your Blog (via graffiti living)
I’m not even sure if this reblogging crap is worth it, but I love this piece, and how timely too.
If you’re on Twitter, be sure to follow this guy.
via graffiti living
the H*** wiv-et
I’ve been feeling kind of funny about posting comments from my “source.” Not that I don’t think they’re completely righteous. I do. But maybe all the emails from some others got to me. Despite the appearance of this blog, I really don’t think I’m all that and a bag of chips. Far from it. Trying to garner attention for myself is not my thing, so when I feel someone might think that about me, I usually run backwards.
Thankfully, I’ve been getting over that crap, and this blog has been wonderful in that respect. I feel like I’m actually stepping back into my childhood, and it’s been fantastic, and I hate words like fantastic, but I’m not even going to count how many times I’ve used it on this blog. Have I gone on long enough with my preface to what’s coming? :D Okay, I won’t leave you hanging much longer. All I’ll say is that these wonderful words from our own Fitzg are a great encouragement:
“Dear Mr. Armitage,
We’ve escaped the hermitage.We’re beyond the mad and the shame –
And it’s you we all have to blame.Our doctors deem us to be cases
Beyond their skills to address,
And throw up their hands at this mess.
And hie themselves off to the races,
To gamble their lives away in despair
At their failure to repair
The poor demented souls in thrall
To the blue of eyes and all –
The long limbs and voice so velvet…
Ah what’s the use, a lost cause are we;
Who wants a cure – the H*** wiv-et!When all is done, some just squee …..(I swore I’d never say that word, so the h*** wiv it)
The rest just melt in pools of rapture
At the thought of this image to capture
And say, let it be, let it be….”A letter from a demented fan, who has no future as a poet…:(
Don’t agree with the last comment, but I love this letter! Just what you would expect from a sassy librarian. Oh, and if anyone else wants to contribute a fake fan letter, knock yourself out! I’ll be happy to publish anything that celebrates the fun and yes, the thoughtfulness that we’re part of in the RA universe.
Comments about RA on ‘The Hobbit’ set coming up soon but not today. :D
Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.Com.
Photo courtesy of my stash.
edit: there is only one place where I have no problem taking center stage — doing business. If it’s business, I shift into another mode, and maybe that’s why I like business so much.
Note: in answer to the questions about the second photo, that is my daughter on the beach in San Diego; taken a couple of weeks ago.
Imagine There’s No Movie Theater
It’s easy if you try. And with the advent of torrents and some other tools for consumers to get their hands on video clips quickly, it’s certainly a possibility. So the media industry is feeling the pinch and trying to get out ahead of the demand. But I’m wondering if moving up the ability to access VOD (Video on Demand) in home is the answer, and some well known names in the business are certainly taking exception to it.
Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Michael Bay and More Write Letter Opposing Premium VOD Service
Peter Jackson and James Cameron write letter opposing Premium VOD Service
This Thursday, DirecTv will launch its new Premium VOD service, which allows viewers to watch new movies from Warner Bros., Sony, Universal, and 20th Century Fox in their homes just 60 days after a title’s initial theatrical release for a fee of $30. Today, 23 of Hollywood’s top directors have published a letter in opposition against this VOD platform.
This letter, which was put together by James Cameron and his producing partner Jon Landau in conjunction with NATO (the National Assn. of Theater Owners ), is set to coincide with Thursday’s launch of the Adam Sandler comedy Just Go with It, which will be the first Home Premiere title available to HD customers for $29.99.
Along with James Cameron and Jon Landau, other letter signers include Michael Bay, Kathryn Bigelow, Guillermo del Toro, Roland Emmerich, Peter Jackson, Shawn Levy, Michael Mann, Todd Phillips, Brett Ratner, Adam Shankman, Gore Verbinski, Robert Zemeckis, Karyn Kusama, Antoine Fuqua, Todd Garner, Lawrence Gordon, Stephen Gyllenhaal, Gale Anne Hurd, Bill Mechanic, Jamie Patricof, and Robert Rodriguez.
Here is the letter in full:
AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY ON PROTECTING THE MOVIE-GOING EXPERIENCE
We are the artists and business professionals who help make the movie business great. We produce and direct movies. We work on the business deals that help get movies made. At the end of the day, we are also simply big movie fans.
Lately, there’s been a lot of talk by leaders at some major studios and cable companies about early-to-the-home “premium video-on-demand.” In this proposed distribution model, new movies can be shown in homes while these same films are still in their theatrical run.
In this scenario, those who own televisions with an HDMI input would be able to order a film through their cable system or an Internet provider as a digital rental. Terms and timing have yet to be made concrete, but there has been talk of windows of 60 days after theatrical release at a price of $30.
Currently, the average theatrical release window is over four months (132 days). The theatrical release window model has worked for years for everyone in the movie business. Current theatrical windows protect the exclusivity of new films showing in state-of-the-art theaters bolstered by the latest in digital projection, digital sound, and stadium seating.
Read the rest here.
I’ve waxed on elsewhere about artificial scarcities being created where none normally exists, and how that irritates me, and keeping people from VOD is strictly creating a scarcity — or trying. Yet I’m wondering what would be sacrificed (even short term) if we inch open the floodgates some more for access to movies. Oh, you say they’re already open? Well, not quite, but it’s not long before they are, so is there a good reason to keep people from quicker in home access? I don’t know. Will there come a day when we look back at movie watching in a theater as a quaint old custom? Oh, I have lots of thoughts about this, but I’m interested in yours.
Lords of the North Audio Book Winner
I thought this would never get here! My very juvenile self has been dying to give these books away to people who really enjoy Richard Armitage. Actually, I’m just announcing one of the winners. The other one I haven’t heard from yet, so who knows? Maybe I’ll draw a second time for that one? ;-) No, I have a feeling I’ll hear from them. :D
But I have to confess this has been so much fun that I want to do it again sometime soon. I have two more copies of LOTN and a little stockpile of Heyer books, so I’ll definitely be doing it! And I have to thank AudioGo again for supplying the books in this giveaway. Thank you so much; the gift helps prolong the fun for next time. Until then:
And of course I had to ask Anakris to respond:
Hi Frenz!
These are wonderful news! Coming to work in a rainy day like this and find out that I won this audio book… just made my day!
You asked me to tell you something about myself, so I have to ask you back: “Me, as a person? (…) I have 45 years to talk about”. (I keep feeling butterflies in my stomach every time I hear that). Although I have all those years to talk about (I wont, that’s a promise) I only came to know about Richard Armitage, early this year, through a dear friend of mine who send me a link to a video of The Vicar of Dibley, warning me on the side effects of the expression “well, there you go”. And there I went! From that day on a hurricane of RA information took over my computer, my TV was flooded with new DVDs, films and TV Series, and my MP3 is almost reaching melting point. Venetia as read by Richard Armitage, kept me company while waiting for my children to get out of school, everyday during 2nd period and now Lords of the North will do the same during the 3rd one! Again, all this I owe it to my friend Sandra (who is also a frequent reader of this blog) so I think I should publicly thank her from the bottom of my heart and obviously, I’ll be sharing this piece of melting chocolate voice with her!
Reading to your blog, Frenz, is now part of my daily routine, and while doing it I find myself many times nodding at your comments and thanking you for being so accurate and objective. Talking about RA being handsome, and hunky, and breathtaking, and (I’ll leave it here) it’s easy but I think all of us here agree that RA is so much more than just a pretty face and you really honour that.
Keep on the good writing and, again, thank you for this opportunity!
Anakris
From Portugal
Anakris so glad to meet you, and thank you so much for the kind words. It’s been my pleasure. Truly.
Be sure to tell us how you like the book!
Original screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.Com
Off the Wagon
I thought this objectification phase might be passing, and then the Russian site comes with this:
I threw the chair in to give your senses a break.
Uh, yeah. That is all. No, wait! What was I saying about being okay with the maternal feelings? Nix that.
As usual, if you click on the pictures, you can see the big format. :D
edit: and now I remember why I made a Facebook page. It would take something like this to prompt me. LOL!
[Note: for those who don’t know, the images were taken by the photographer David Clerihew. This is the same photographer responsible for the viral video which was posted on Vimeo by Sean Pruen, who is a motion designer/video editor and appears to have worked on the video. I wrote some about the video and Sean a while back and wasn’t sure I could stop. Find it here, here, and here. LOL!
However, I haven’t said anything about David Clerihew. I’ll correct that mistake today. When I first saw the viral video, I went over and looked at his entire site. Fantastic. I love the stark quality to much of his work. I can see why he was selected for Strike Back, but I’m still not sure why the images were never used for promotion. I hope our little highlighting of them in some way is a help. But if Mr.Clerihew has a problem with me putting up those images so a few of us can fangirl over them, I’ll certainly taken them down.]
Yeah! Music I Love
Sometimes I want to jump up and fly when I have so much in me that I can’t express it. It’s terrible and wonderful, and while I was sitting here reworking my next piece, I just had to post this for now instead. This has been on my playlist for years and has become an anthem for me. I imbue it with all kinds of spiritual meaning of which I’ll spare you the details today. Do with the song what you will, but do something with it! One of my all-time favorite players:
It’s my understanding Lindsey Buckingham learned to play the banjo before the guitar and that explains his unusual picking style. Whatever happened, I can’t get enough of listening to his playing. But I have to confess I prefer the stripped down version of him for the next song as opposed to his over mixed pop version self of the 80s. Proving that older really can be better:
Okay another from Lindsey, and this one cannot really be captured on video. It’s really best live. I’ve had the privilege of hearing it that way a few times and can’t really describe it! If you don’t like it, we need to talk. :D
There’s so much I could post, but there’s no need for any duets or combos. He’s sufficient on his own. However if you want to reference something, go for it.
RAFrenzy 