Who Are You?

October 7, 2012

I was sitting here thinking I’m not quite sure where to put this post. Sometimes it seems this place is so full of snark that I’ve boxed myself into something and can’t get out of it. But that’s a lie. I’m not in a box and never have been. I’ve just believed at times I was. And I love snark. I love teasing. It’s stock and trade at my house, and I’m the least of the teasers there. But I can hold my own, and I’m glad. It’s made life so much more fun. Being able to laugh is a God send.

And if I had not been able to laugh for the last several years, I think I would have gone mad. Life can be rough and never turns out like we expect. I don’t know one person, not one, whose life has gone the way they planned. That sounds like a downer, but really, it’s not always a bad thing although it’s often an unnerving thing, and I’ve been unnerved plenty. Thankfully, I got early training in the unexpected, in being blindsided by what life can throw at us. Some of what I’ve been learning to write about has to do with all of the unexpected events that occurred to me as I was growing up. Trying to make sense of them and how they affected me.

One thing I’ve realized is how weird my childhood was by comparison to most others’. When I tell anyone even a little of what it was like, I can see their shock and sometimes pity at what they believe I endured, but I never really think of it that way. It’s taken me a long time to believe I endured anything, and I have never pitied myself and don’t relish anyone else’s pity. I just know I am what some people think of as damaged goods. But really we’re all damaged goods. My damage just seems more dramatic to some, and in a way, it’s a gift because it’s freed me. I’m not confined by nearly as much conventional wisdom as most people. My upbringing cut me loose almost from the beginning. The only real obstacle I had was in not realizing it. It used to really bother me that I wasn’t conventional and didn’t fit anywhere or with any group. I didn’t realize what a gift that is. To not fit in with a particular group leaves you free to fit in anywhere. But first you have to learn to live with being considered a weirdo. You have to embrace it. You have to embrace that gift. So anyone reading this who feels like you’re just out of step with the world, be glad. The world is often full of absurdity. You want to be in step with that?

And what brought this on? A video among other things. LOL! I can so relate to this:

What a little gem.

Should I bother with the proverbial Richard Armitage tie in or leave him alone for the evening? I think I’ll leave him be.

October 7, 2012
Categories: Uncategorized . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 17 Comments

Captured by a Sense of Wonder

Continuing with my foray into the FanstRAvaganza posts for this year.

Several fans have talked about Richard Armitage paper dolls. An attempt to recapture our childhoods? I know that’s what it is for me, but Agzy has taken it a step further and created some, which I doubt most kids would possess. LOL! And she’s also now running a contest for “Paper Richard.”

Ana Cris explains the significance of the Powhiri, and Richard Armitage and ‘The Hobbit” cast’s part in it, but first read her two excellent pieces on the significance of mountains in a culture’s identity and as it relates to Tolkien. These posts had a special significance for me since I live in the mountains and relish their power and effect on who I’ve become. Here is a place not far from my house, and oddly enough it’s named after one of SO’s relatives:

This is near 11,500 feet where the treeline ends.

JasRangoon thinks Richard Armitage should have kids, and she tries to answer the question of what they could look like. She also gifts us with a modern story of John and Margaret. Which John and Margaret? You must have only seen Spooks or Robin Hood. LOL! This John and Margaret. I started reading and immediately backed up to the beginning. Wow! This is her first fanfic. So far so good!!

Melanie of Melanie’s Musings believes Harry Kennedy is the near perfect man. Well, yeah! :D I found myself nodding — a lot — and then I got to the poll and thought my vote would still be in the minority. Oh, how wrong I was.

More tomorrow.

March 24, 2012
Categories: Fandom, SO . Tags: , , , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 3 Comments

Are You a Fangirl?

February 25, 2012

Stand up and be counted!

We are in cyber world where you can have this kind of fun without repercussion, i.e., family and friends taking the Mickey out of you. So don’t let your inflated opinion of who you’re supposed to be keep you from having fun with this. As for me, I’m having a blast. My only qualm is that I may get so free that I say something to offend the uh, object of my affection.

Oh, you don’t know him? Well, neither do I, but I like to pretend I do. It makes for all sorts of fun. I write him fake fan letters and post pictures of him when no way I would really write him a letter from my real self or put up a picture outside this blog. I must maintain my cool image. ;-) It would be blown to hell if I actually had a picture. Listen, the DVD collection is already pushing it. And I suspect there are many of you like me but you’re too afraid to admit it — even here. But you’re wrong to be fearful. Go ahead and try it! Nothing is going to fall on you. Not sure about that? Well, I’ve been blogging for almost two years and commenting in cyber world more than twice as long, and I’m still here.

And guess what? I’m sane and married to a sane person, and I have four sane kids, who have excellent character and make excellent grades in school (I had to get that in about the kids since that is what I’m most proud of). I also have a job that requires me to be very responsible. But most important for you to know is that I do sometimes step away from my laptop and go outside and smell the fresh air and people come to my house and I go to theirs and we visit and eat dinner together, and oh, I do all sorts of things that are so ridiculously normal it would bore you to hear all of them.

So why this outlet? I asked myself that question for a long time, and sometimes I still have a moment of circumspection that could generate fear. But I no longer ask it because I think I have the answer, and I’m writing about my journey to it in my Diary, which sometimes gets a little depressing, but I promise the end of the story turns out well! Yes, there is an endpoint. I had it as a target when I first started the blog and really thought I would reach it by my first anniversary. You see how that turned out. I make no promises about my second anniversary, but I’m determined to finish and hope that you or someone will benefit. I know I am.

So my object:

Isn’t he cute?


Has a good sense of humor too.


And a good listener.


I mean he really listens.


And sometimes it hits him what’s happened.


“Yeah, man, there’s these women, fangirls they’re called…”


“…and one sent me this thing… well, it was…”


“…maybe I shouldn’t describe it. All I know is it was good for me. So yeah, I have some fantasies.”


“That’s right. I have some fantasies too even though I would never date any of you.”


“Oh yeah, man, I’m careful.”

I love that interview, and for those who have never seen the real thing, go here.

Screencaps courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.com

edit: and a slideshow of this group of photos on RichardArmitageNet.

February 25, 2012
Categories: Fandom, Interviews . Tags: , , , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 44 Comments

Richard Armitage “Paper” Dolls?

This one’s for you, Angie.

November Bride and I were talking about how much fun it was to play with paper dolls. My favorite was Betsy McCall, and not being satisfied with the monthly outfits, I made my own out of whatever fabric or paper or magazine photos I could find. Endless hours were spent doing this, and even though I’m a gadget freak, I’m hard pressed to think I had more fun with a set of Walkie Talkies as I had with those scraps of paper. There are still some creations in a keepsake box in the basement, but about a week ago, I had a little regression therapy on the ASOS Fashion Finder site.

These aren’t exactly paper dolls but so much fun!

Click on the image to see more:

I’ve been a fan of ASOS since Beth of Richard Armitage checked me out fame turned me onto it. Thank you, Beth! ASOS has some great looks and some great prices especially their sales, and they have free shipping. Yea! Just note that the Fashion Finder site is actually an off-shoot of ASOS and some items are not sold by them.

edit: If you click on the outfits at the Fashion Finder site, it will generate a list of the items and where they can be purchased.

Also, Beth no longer has her blog, but I’ve updated the linked post with a link to her picture. She’s a pretty woman, and I could see RA actually checking her out. :)

February 19, 2012
Categories: Uncategorized . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 5 Comments

I Think I Found My Missing Brother

I don’t actually have a missing brother, but if I did (or maybe I do and just don’t know about him!), this has to be his handiwork:

By Chris Bucholz
February 12, 2012

Dear Car Owner,

You may have noticed the dent on the left side of your car. If not, allow me to draw your attention to it now. As you can see, it is there, and so is this note, and now two and two are getting put together in your head. Allow me to confirm your suspicions: The dent and note are connected. I have dented your car and wish to apologize for it.


Got it pretty good there, didn’t I? You get that kind of denting action from your core muscles; that’s where the power is.

Read the rest here

In my family we never did anything like everyone else. Everything was fraught with drama and sometimes comedy. Mom’s favorite phrase, “Comedy is next to tragedy” was a litany. Countless horrors fill my head as I type this. Mom wielding a pair of scissors to give me a little trim before a classmate’s birthday party. My hair had been at my shoulder blades when I sat down. I had a pixie when I stood up. I always felt bad about missing that party, and to this day I struggle with the name Felicia. She was the most popular girl in school, and how dare I snub her invitation?! She never let me forget it — right through our senior year.

Mom’s propensity to convolute the mundane touched every part of our lives. Use vanilla extract from the grocery store? You’ve got to be kidding?! We made our own! And it had to be vanilla beans from a certain part of South America and I forget what kind of alcohol, but I’m sure it was a particular brand. Yeah, Martha Stewart’s got nothing on Momma.

Then there were the stray dogs. At one point in my childhood, I honestly could not tell you how many dogs we owned. I think it dawned on me Mom’s passion for strays might have been a little much when over the course of a couple of weeks three irritated neighbors each brought us a new dog and swore they were ours. Despite the neighbors’ exasperation, the local vet adored Mom. When he died, his wife invited us to the funeral — never mind Mom hadn’t used that vet’s services in 20 years. What else could they do for the person who helped pay for a couple of their luxury vacations.

So this morning I was reading Chris Bucholz, and it all came back to me, and I could almost see my mother leaving that note on the dented car. But then I know where she is right now, so it must be her lost child.

And Richard Armitage’s part in this? I’m getting to it. :D

Note to Chris Bucholz:

Thank you. I read your columns regularly, and they never fail to make me laugh and think and not just about Momma.

Sincerely,
Frenz

February 13, 2012
Categories: Tangents . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 2 Comments

Do I Dare?

I said I was recapturing my childhood, and now November Bride has come with a post about Barbies, and the recent talk of Lord of the Rings Lego set has me in a dither. Purchasing Little Guy action figures should have been enough, and it’s true the Thorin Lego isn’t out yet, but…. look at those eyes:

I’m really thinking about ordering a set. I could skip this and wait until “The Hobbit” version is out, but my OCD tendencies demand I have LOTR as well. And how can I pass up being conned into availing myself of this fun?

Just please someone stop me if I start talking about buying the Pez set.

In the meantime, there are some sets by Lego fans. Like this one (three guesses which is Thorin):


This is a set by a kid named Michael Kringe. Michael has been busy, and the kid in me who had an erector set could very easily be sucked down into this. In fact, I do have a set of K’NEX in my possession. My son left them when he went to college, and my 11 year old and I have been playing with them. Maybe we can make a home for Thorin. I’ll keep you posted on my progress unless I decide blogging is too grown up and never return. Off to spend time with my sweet girl.

February 10, 2012
Categories: The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 18 Comments

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.

April 21, 2011
Categories: Fandom, Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 26 Comments