fun | RAFrenzy

While I’m Being So Blunt, Some Further Thoughts or Oh the Places You’ll Go II

Are you in need of some mirth? No, make that belly laughs to the point of almost being sick (yes, I’m being serious about this — when I’m not laughing so hard I literally — yes, I mean actually — can’t type), then visit a certain gay gossip site.

Over the course of this blog’s life and especially in the last couple of weeks, I’ve had people send me notes in regard to that site, and they go something like this, “Unreal what they say over there,” or “I can’t believe what I read,” or “They’re nuts.” And aren’t we glad? I know I am.

Whenever I’ve gone to that site, I’ve laughed my ass off. Actually, I wish it could make me laugh my ass off and then I would happily pay them a fortune. All I know is I’m laughing so hard that it ought to do something earth shaking. But usually it just makes my family wonder what drug I’ve taken. The other night I was laughing hysterically, and SO, who was on the other side of the house, finally yelled, “What’s so funny?!” I was literally (damn there’s that word again) almost busting a gut, and there were tears in my eyes, and I was just rolling around with every nerve ending on my body being tickled. When I heard that question, I began to compose myself, and it did feel like coming off of a high. Once I was calmed down enough to think straight, I thought, “I need to go to that site more often ’cause it’s way better than any nitrous oxide.”

And the thread which put me over the top?

Stars no one thinks are gay but you

When I started reading, I was thinking, yeah, that person seems gay. Uh huh, yeah that person too. Oh yeah, definitely that person. But then I see this:

Vince Vaughn

Nah, I’m not feelin’ that one.

Then further down:

Jimmy Stewart

No, I don’t think so.

Then a gimme:

George Bush

Moving on from the wiseass, I read:

Harrison Ford

No way! UNLESS Harrison Ford really can act!

I start to giggle on that one.

I read on:

Jerry Seinfeld

Yeah, this I can see. Not because Jerry is gay but because he doesn’t seem like a guy who wants to be crossways with anyone, so he may even love being on the list. I can hear Jerry now, “When I’m gay, these are things I do……, but I’m not gay — at least not today. Catch me tomorrow.”

I started to have a deeper throated chuckle at this point, and then it started to get serious:

Jim Henson

The poster thought he really died of aids.

Another poster agreed.

Someone took exception:

It was pneumonia, bitches.

(No, I’m not making this up.)

Anyway, I’m trying not to belly laugh at this point — no offense to Jim Henson’s memory.

Then someone really got into the spirit of the topic and posted this:

Julie Andrews

Martha Stewart

Ronald Reagan

Carol Burnett

Troy Aikman

Christopher Reeves

That’s when I fell off the bed laughing. SO was concerned and wanted to see what I was reading. Then he started laughing too and we ended up comprising our own list of those who no one thinks are gay “but you.” So glad for the “but you.” There’s some sort of comfort in it.

Okay, so maybe there is a question mark about Christopher Reeves.

If you decide to make your own list, there is a proviso. It must include someone worth being on the list. Let me put a fine point on that, if a person is good looking or extremely charismatic or highly successful, they are gay. If someone is ugly or a loser, they are straight mother f*ckers. ;-) Yeah, I’m puttin’ that wink there for the people who have no humor.

I gotta go back to that site. May have to make another visit today. I need something to take away the bad taste of that hellaciously long meeting from yesterday (yes, it’s still with me and impacting my schedule today), and a bunch of mouthy queens might do the trick.

For those guys at the gossip site, love ya, and hope you don’t mind this “frau” having a chuckle or two at your expense. Hey, we’re all anonymous, so it shouldn’t matter. :D

note: new tag – Oh the places you’ll go. I should have done that tag a long time ago! Need to go back and tag some old posts with that one.

January 24, 2014
Categories: Fandom . Tags: bullshit, Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeves, crazy people, fun, gay gossip, George Bush, if you take this seriously then I'm worried about you, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Henson, Jimmy Stewart, Julie Andrews, Martha Stewart, Oh the places you'll go, RichardArmitage, Ronald Reagan, Troy Aikman, Vince Vaughn . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 7 Comments

A Little More About the Pinter/Proust Reading

I’ve been talking to Armitage Besotted about the Pinter/Proust reading (which I will henceforth call “the reading”). But first a little background. I’ve gotten to know Armitage Besotted well enough over the last several months that I think we can damn near finish each other’s sentences. But mostly we laugh a lot. I love that! I hope we can keep it up for a long, long time.

So about “the reading,” I was talking to Armitage Besotted about what went down and knowing what I now know of her chutzpah and humor, I believe this account, which I’ve sprinkled with my commentary:

Me: Did you at least get to meet Richard Armitage and talk to him?

Besotted: Hell, yes — I’m the one who got him to come out and greet us! Well, I’m not sure I’m solely responsible, but I’m taking full credit.

Me: ROFLOL!! What?!

Besotted: We were waiting in the lobby afterwards, because someone saw on Twitter (apparently, the source of all authoritative info now) that there was going to be a “reception.” Not quite. The “reception” was an invitation-only thing in a closed-off room for people who put up the money for the play.

Many of the fangirls were ready to give up and go home at that point. Geez, people, you need me to show you how to grow New York balls. I accept this self-appointed role for the fandom going forward, by the way.

Me: Teach me! Teach me! LOL!

Besotted: Let me finish! So I craned my neck to look in the reception room and saw a cocktail-party-like setup. Knowing Armitage hates that kind of crap, I thought to myself, I bet he would rather come out in the lobby and talk to fans if he knew we were here.

So I went back into the theater to see if there was anyone who might have backstage access. I chatted up a woman who was hanging around. I asked her if she would deliver a message to Richard Armitage, and she smiled and said “Yes,” so I said “Would you tell him that there are some fans out front who would love to meet him? 5 minutes. That’s all it will take, and we will not behave like assholes.” She laughed, and I said, “Please repeat that verbatim.”

10 minutes later, he came out!

I had positioned myself right at the door to the party room, so I had first shot at him. He had a bit of an I’m-ready-to-be-assaulted-now flustered look on his face, so I figured “he wants someone to take charge” (everyone does, this is the first lesson in assigning yourself the I’m-in-charge job), so I called out “Mr. Armitage, we would like to meet you over here.” He came over to me and my group.

I shook his hand and said, “Thank you for everything,” and I can’t even tell you what he said. He was in “rope line” mode — eyes darting around, murmuring niceties on auto pilot (“Awww, thank you,” “Oh this is nice,” or whatever), right hand hovering with pen. I wasn’t shoving a camera at him or following the formula, and I swear he was thinking, “Where’s your poster? Where’s your book?” Ha ha ha!

He stayed for 30 or 40 minutes, talked to everyone there and posed for pictures. He was very gracious. (And gorgeous. So gorgeous to look at for 30 minutes. Sigh.)

Notallwhowanderarelost2 reminded me of the best part in her post — there were no paid autograph seekers pushing posters over other peoples’ heads, no professional photographers, no people yelling “Richard! Richard! Look over here!”

Have you seen that 3-minute clip from the LA premiere where he just stands there posing, cycling through his various smiles, while photographers shout, SHOUT directions at him? It makes me cringe. I don’t know how performers resist rolling their eyes at that nonsense, but they have to or there would be pictures out there of them rolling their eyes. (Now that’s a performance.)

There was excited hubub, naturally, but it wasn’t overly loud and everyone behaved nicely. The fans helped each other with moving to the front of the line, taking photos, etc.

I’m proud of us New Yorkers. As promised, we did not behave like assholes, and a good time was had by all.

I wonder how quickly Richard Armitage will become a New Yawker? :D

January 19, 2014
Categories: Fandom, Stage Productions . Tags: Armitage Besotted, crazy people, creativity, fun, Harold Pinter, high brow, New York, NY moxy, Proust, Richard Armitage . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 23 Comments

Playing Catch Up!

I missed some #RAflash posts and thankfully people have sent me notes to ensure I get them posted. If I have not acknowledged your note, please know that I have not seen it or somehow it didn’t get to me. But if you want, send me another one. If you haven’t sent a note, doing so will help me!

In the meantime, I will be looking on tumblr more diligently and in my email on both RAFrenzy and RAflash. If you do decide to send a note about having a post placed on RAflash, it’s better if you send it to that site’s email: raflasheventATgmailDOTcom.

Maybe sometime in all of this I will get my own post done for the event. For now, it’s just a joy to read yours!

Take care, and I look forward to your notes.

January 19, 2014
Categories: Fandom . Tags: crazy people, creativity, fun, RAflash, Richard Armitage . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: Leave a comment

The Flash Fan Event

I see that some bloggers are already starting to post for the Flash Fan Event: I See Something Fine. Hopefully, most of you reading this will be aware of those posts because you are a regular reader. You may also find the posts via the #RAflash hashtag on Twitter, Facebook, tumblr, and wherever else someone wants to use the tag.

But never fear if you missed something. I will be putting up the website RAflash.com at 10:00am my time (UTC+7 or 12:00pm EST) which will aggregate the posts, or attempt to aggregate the posts. LOL!

Yes, I’m doing all of this by the seat of my pants as usual, but do you care? I didn’t think so. The point is for all of us to have fun and bask in what it is we find so ethralling, and my part in it is to provide an easy way for you to do that! This first day might be a little rocky, but trust me things will get easier as we go along.

Business end of this thing coming next, so if you’re just a reader and don’t care how we’re going to get these posts to you, stop reading now! :D

If you want to put a post on the wall of the raflash site, send me a link to your post via rafrenzyATgmailDOTcom and put FINE POST in the subject line. I get a lot of mail, so please put that in the subject line, so I can easily query and do not miss any requests. If your post includes an image, I will use the first one shown as a thumbnail for the wall of posts I’m preparing. If you’ve seen the site, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, you’ll quickly understand after you see it.

If you do not have an image in your post, then you can send an image along with your post link, or send a link to an image you like, or I’ll decide for you. It would help me a lot if I didn’t have to decide for you, so pick an image you love and send it to me! For the most part, it doesn’t matter what size. Just don’t send anything that’s less than 250 x 250, and no, it does not have to be square!

For now I’m manually putting up links to your posts and committing to do that at least once per day from the 13th through the 20th. I will try to put up links I receive more than once per day, but once is all I can commit to doing. If I can get my plug-in to work, I’ll get this thing going dynamically. Okay, I promise not to throw any more tech jargon on you if I can help it. Just send me your link!

If you have any questions, please send an email to that same address with the same subject line as above.

Thank you for your participation!
Frenz

January 13, 2014
Categories: Fandom . Tags: crazy people, creativity, Flash Fan Event, fun, Richard Armitage . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 8 Comments

I Saw Something Fine — Flash Fan Event

Beginning Monday, several bloggers (and maybe some guest bloggers) are participating in a Flash Fan Event (running January 13 to 19) in which they will highlight in a post (or maybe two) what they see in Richard Armitage that is so compelling. The point of this exercise is to exhibit our enthusiasm as fans by refocusing our attention on what is fine. Obviously, it cannot be covered comprehensively for some of us. Again, it should just be covering an aspect or two. Also, if you want to highlight a previously published piece which covers the topic, do it.

Please note if this becomes something that drags you down to prepare, you’re missing the point. It’s not about having the perfect words. It’s about exhibiting your enthusiasm as a fan.

Badges with the tagline: I Saw Something Fine will be provided, or you can make your own, but in a show of solidarity as a fandom, it would be helpful to include those words in any banner or badge you make. Also, I’ll assist anyone who needs help with positioning badges on your site and making them clickable if you desire, i.e., making them link to another page.

Unless someone comes up with something better, I’m floating the hashtag #RAflash. Also, please note Facebook, Tumbler and Pinterest use hashtags. It’s not just a Twitter thing.

I will try to aggregate the posts somewhere. Perhaps on the Fanstra.com site. I’ll figure that out as I go, and just so you know, yes, this is spontaneous, so all aspects are not nailed down other than time, subject and there will be graphics.

If you want to read more about the thinking on all of this, you can see my original post with edits as well as my follow-on post, and this includes the comments on both posts.

Hope to see your thoughts about what is fine!

January 11, 2014
Categories: Fandom . Tags: crazy people, creativity, fan event, flash mobs, fun, inspiration, Richard Armitage . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 11 Comments

Further Thoughts on FanstRAvaganza 2014

[edit: we are not calling this FanstRAvaganza but rather a Flash Fan event. Details here, and no worries, it’s simple.]

This is a follow-on to my last post with a proposal for a spontaneous FanstRAvaganza to begin on Monday with a theme of “I Saw Something Fine.” My thinking was to have a literal tide of posts that are conveying in cyber world what it is that made so many of us ardent fans. I’m going to further suggest we make this really easy, and that there are no rules other than to focus on something you think is fine in relation to Richard Armitage.

Here’s what I’m going to do and hopefully can get some others to help:

1) Aggregate (aka curate) the posts by categories on Fanstra.com. Hopefully, it will be a magazine style. I’m working on that now. As to tags, I or someone(s) can come up with the tag names. I hope someone will take this up, but I’ll do it if no one wants to. If you want your site included in the aggregation, then let me know via email if possible. That way I won’t miss a request. If you would, put Fanstra in the subject line.

2) Provide badges for people to place on their sites. They can be housed on a page on the Fanstra site for a blogger to save and load to their site. Given this, I’m making a call to all of the wonderful artists out there to provide both badges and/or banners (whatever you want to do) for people to use. The badges should be square or a vertical strip. Banners should be large enough that they can go across the entire top of a page without being blurry. If you want to submit for placement on the Fanstra site, send it to me. If you don’t, no biggie. Just do one and pass it around. Whatever is done, it would be great to have badges and banners of some sort, but we do not have to have the same graphic on every site. However, to show solidarity, it would be helpful if we had the same verbiage. Hopefully they would all have FanstRAvaganza 2014 or Fanstra 2014 and perhaps a tagline about “Something Fine,” “I Saw Something Fine.” I leave that to your discretion.

3) If you don’t have all of this together by Monday, don’t sweat it. This is supposed to be fun and a celebration of Richard Armitage, his artistry and what that inspires. So just do a post and/or a badge or whatever sometime in the next several days if possible. Which brings me to a point I meant to make in the first post. Can we run this thing longer than a week? I think we could, ’cause I think it can gain some legs. Should it go on and on? I’m not thinking it’s perpetual, but it depends on who gets on board and then pushes it. If some of you feel strongly that it should have a definite end, then say so. Say whatever about it ’cause I’m really hard to offend.

cbeebies2_018

All I ask is that you speak up about what you want to see, and I’m thinking about the Fanstra site when I say that. Other than that, everyone is free to do what they want!

That’s all I’ve got for now. Off to get with Traxy to figure out about the FanstRA site.

Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.com

January 10, 2014
Categories: Fandom . Tags: creativity, Fanstra, FanstRAvaganza, fun, Richard Armitage . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 19 Comments

I Saw Something Fine

[Please see updates below which reflect input to this suggestion]

I’ve asked myself many times why I entered Richard Armitage Fandom, Armitage World, or RA Universe as I think of it. And the answer is always the same. I saw a man convey thoughts and feelings in a manner that captured my attention so well that it resonated with me for almost a year before I actually began to put my foot in the waters of fandom.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot for the last year, and I was thinking about FanstRAvaganza yesterday and the essence of it — a celebration of Richard Armitage, and I’m going to propose something.

a) That we spontaneously hold a ~~FanstRAvaganza~~ Flash Fan Event starting Monday. This gives us a chance to pull thoughts together but not so long that it won’t stay organic and fresh.

b) That we use this as a way to show our solidarity as a group. Does that mean we all have to be in lock step? No, that would be dull. But to have some basis for unity, I’m suggesting we rally around this theme: I Saw Something Fine.

c) In keeping with the subject, that we answer at least two questions: 1) What did I see? 2) How did it move me? Of course people can go on as long as they like. Some of us have even devoted an entire blog to answering those questions. But I think we can boil it down to a post or two. Also, if anyone wants to start a blog (doesn’t have to be devoted to Richard Armitage) to participate, I’ll help you, or I can find someone to help you. If you don’t want to start a blog and want to just post your thoughts in the blogosphere, I’m willing to run guest posts, and I’m sure other bloggers will be as well.

d) That we aggregate the posts on the Fanstra site. And let me say this about the process, CDoart has done a wonderful job with that in the past. We all owe her a great thank you for keeping track of everything. Thank you! Thank you! CDoart! But to keep her from pulling her hair out on such short notice, I’m suggesting we do it on the Fanstra site. Several of us are very conversant in the fine points of the technical aspects of WordPress, and I believe we can hit the ground running. This could be a campaign to promote participation in FanstRAvaganza in March.

So if you’re interested, let me know! Comment, catch me on Twitter or Facebook, or email: rafrenzyATgmailDOTcom.

edit:

Based on comments, messages and email, I understand there is a healthy interest in doing FanstRAvaganza in March, and a significant number believe doing something now will kill that. I hear that, so we’re making this something different. A Flash Fan Event seems to be the favorite, and I think a post that strictly covers the topic, I Saw Something Fine with the two questions being answered, would be enough to refocus us on why we’re here and encourage us as well. Since my initial thought was to encourage, I think that’s all this should be. Given that this is a refocus, I think it’s entirely appropriate to highlight previously published posts as well.

With regard to the badges, people have contacted me about making them, so they’re coming, and they will include the words I Saw Something Fine. I’ll post them as soon as I get them. As for how I’m using them on my blog, I’ll be placing at least one at a time with an embed to the post or posts which I’ve written or hosted that are especially good at reminding me what I saw that is so enthralling. This is what some others were thinking in making this something more than a week, but the initial posts should be during one week in order to make it a flash event. If anyone needs some help with manipulating the sidebars of their blog (whether on WordPress or Blogger), I’ll be glad to help you.

So bottom line: strike the word FanstRAvaganza from this and make it a Flash Fan Event which refocuses on the topic and using badges to direct people to posts if they do not read it at the time it’s first published.

January 10, 2014
Categories: Fandom . Tags: creativity, Fanstra, FanstRAvaganza, fun, mobile blogging is still a bitch, Richard Armitage . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 18 Comments

I Gave Myself a Christmas Present

I’m sorry I’ve been a downer to some of you lately. It is a problem from time to time when my sane self wants to have a go at a blog piece. But I’m happy to report I am sufficiently demented today such that my tongue is so far in my cheek, I’m not sure it will ever come out. It being lodged in there has facilitated this post.

But before I begin, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are still having a wonderful time. May that be the case all year round and without having to spend inordinate amounts of money. Since I’ve already waxed on about spending money at Christmas (also written as my sane self), I’ll refrain this time around. So yeah, this post is hopefully about something other than spending money on myself, which I did last week when I spent $118 at an Aveda salon.

Shame on me for admitting that. It’s crass to talk money like that, but I did spend $118 to get my hair done and get some product. For those of you who have been to an Aveda salon, had the treatment and bought some product, you know I got off cheap. And it’s really astounding I had the privilege when I consider I just did a walk-in on them. They don’t take walk-ins, but I walked in and announced I was getting my hair cut somewhere that day, and if they could work me in, great, and if not, that was fine too. They were cutting my hair 20 minutes later, and it felt good, ’cause they usually massage your head while they’re at it, and they’re into aromatherapy, so the massage not only feels good but smells good. It always makes me want to go to sleep and dream. In fact, I had a hard time staying awake, and afterward, in my groggy state, as I stumbled to the cashier, I felt they were doing me a favor to take my $118.

But that’s not what I want to talk about.

When I was first reading this year’s Christmas message from Richard Armitage, I was reading as I usually do, meaning my sane and somewhat cynical self reads those messages. That’s not to say I read them with an eye toward criticizing our object, but rather that I always read them with the understanding they are goodwill gestures from Richard Armitage, who is polite enough to still give a nod, if not a dance, to the ones he sees as partially bringing him. I appreciate that, but I never take those things personally. Until this year when for half a second, I felt he was actually talking to me.

See I told you my insane self was back. That I’m admitting this has to be about the most crazy thing I’ve done on this blog. (Can you say tin hat? Sure you can. :D) My sane self immediately admonished me, and the self-flagellation continued as I got notes from some of you telling me the same thing — that Richard was talking to me! Me!

Sane self continued to hold out and Christmas came, and yes, it was good; no media or barely any for over a day. The family and I had a wonderful time together. But yesterday morning, I asked myself what it would be like to believe after the rough year I’ve had and SO too, mainly SO, that Richard Armitage would encourage me specifically. That’s when I decided to let myself think it for a day. So yesterday morning I received the encouragement as a personal gift. May I say it felt good. The ultimate in a head massage, and yes the smell of it was wonderful.

It gave me the chance to relive something that I think was intended as sweet and is sweet, and well written too, since I think half the fandom felt like I did and thought he was talking to them personally. LOL!

Dear Richard,

Thanks again for your comforting words. They were a bit of a balm — when I let myself fully receive them without any qualms that it’s insane to see it as personal. I accepted your encouragement as from another human being. Maybe not someone I know, but someone who seems to be sweethearted, and I really do appreciate that about you. Does it mean you can never be harsh or irritated about something? No, I’d say that makes you human. And that’s okay.

And even though I’ve couched this message in some fun, and I’m putting the fake fan letter tag on this post, I mean this sincerely. Thank you.

Signed,
~~Stuart Smalley~~ A crazy fan who hopefully will have a better 2014 than 2013, and I fully expect to see heaven.

P.S. Oh, and if I ever do make it back to a fan event, I want you to know you will be able to spot me easily as I’ll be wearing this:

Catch you later.

Will someone please, please buy me that hat?! Found here.

December 27, 2013
Categories: Fandom . Tags: Being a ripple, Celebrity Worship Syndrome, crazy people, CWS, fake fan letters, fantasies, fun, Harry Kennedy, RA's messages, Richard Armitage, Rippling for all it's worth, tin hat . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: Comments Off on I Gave Myself a Christmas Present

Richard’s Wish

I was watching this the other day, and I literally (yes, I mean literally in that I really) laughed out loud. :D

I understand Richard would like for the Army to get drunk. If he happens to be researching, I have some news about this desire. A cocktail won’t do it, but I have just the thing to make us get completely blitzed, and I started to second guess this idea until I saw this:

No second guessing now. I know there’s a way to make us all get drunk.

Dear Rich,

If you want to ensure we get blasted, I have a tip. Merely shave your head. You do that, and I guarantee you will drive most of the fans to drink.

I’m trying to imagine this picture with you sans hair. Phew. Even the thought of that makes me want to reach for some alcohol.

Signed,
A crazy fan, who adores your hair! :D

P.S. It would be a total hoot if you really did shave your head. I expect it one day if you’re a serious actor and especially if you want to make good on going ugly and damaged. ;-)

P.P.S. Leaving the snark for a moment. As much as I love your hair, I would love to see you in the ugly and damaged roles. Something real. Bring it on.

December 23, 2013
Categories: Fandom, PHWOAR! . Tags: Armitage Army, candid shots, crazy people, fake fan letters, fun, Leslie Hassler, Richard Armitage, teaser . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 12 Comments

I’ve Got It! And In Time for the Holidays!

Have you felt like Ralphie lately:

trying to figure out what the hell this means:

Have you been wondering if that was RA’s Three Stooges impression, or was he trying to tell us something? And if he was trying to tell us something, what was it?! What?!

Wonder no more. The other night I was ~~drunk~~ so tired my mind relaxed enough that it came to me, and now I bring you this translation as a public service:

1. Two parts Grey Goose — it’s smooth but has a kick.

2. One part Licor Bellota, which is made from acorns. No, I’m not kidding; trust me.

3. Two more parts Grey Goose. Yeah, I know, it sounds nuts, er, crazy, but hey, the Bellota is non-alcoholic.

4. One part heavy cream on top, and while I’m thinking about it, perhaps a dash of Ovaltine. Oh hell, you decide.

Maybe I should have said this first, but an old fashioned glass is perfect, so crawl up to the top shelf where you keep them. Damn, why do you keep them so far out of reach?

And you’ll love me when you end up with a nice cocktail:

It’s called the Thorin Grin:

Damn right even that grump Thorin would be grinning after drinking this, and when you drink it, not only will you grin, but you can do this without riding in a barrel or even leaving your seat.