One of the Perks of Getting Older

Maybe I’m not speaking for everyone, but I think I’m speaking for a significant number of people over the age of 35 — you don’t care about the behavior of people who disrupt award shows with their juvenile behavior, or who wins a Grammy, or who wins an Oscar for that matter. No, I’m not going to even say his name, and if you don’t know, don’t bother googling. It’s not worth it. Please trust me on that. :D

Yes, I’m admitting I’m over 35, which means those of you under that can summarily dismiss what I’m saying. But I take heart in the fact you will one day be over 35, or at least most of you will.

For the record, I haven’t been a fan of the Academy Awards since Shakespeare in Love won best picture. Little did I know at the time a movie like that would be considered something heady. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the top 10 all-time grossing movies, which most have occurred (no, make that all) in the last 15 years. Wait. I’ll give you top 10 adjusted for inflation. It improves, but not by much.

Maybe I shouldn’t say this since we’re still in The Hobbit juggernaut, but hey, it’s hard to ignore that most of the movies on that list (both lists) have little or no depth.

Okay, I do think it’s great that Beck won a Grammy:

beck at grammys

Hell no, I’m not putting up a picture of the guy who digs the chick with the big butt. I’m ashamed I even know who they are. Not sure who I’m talking about? Good on you! But a clue is here (watch the video).

February 9, 2015
Categories: Tangents . Tags: , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 24 Comments

A Rabid Fan?

I didn’t capitalize the A in rabid, but I’m sure some of you already saw it as a capital, or it jarred you that it wasn’t. No, this isn’t a piece about the grammatical odyssey of being a Richard Armitage fan. But I am going to talk about something that hits me from time to time like a little slap in the face.

Being intensely curious about every cussed thing, it was only natural that I started reading the New Zealand newspapers, and I feel certain I will read them long after RA has departed from the Kiwis. In the meantime, I am affected strongly when I read there has been a plane crash near Auckland. My immediate response, “Oh no, I hope it wasn’t Richard, or anyone associated with the movie!” That isn’t me. Normally I would feel for the people involved, probably say an earnest prayer for their loved ones, and then move on. But the visceral response startled me, and the few times it’s happened have bugged me. I make a lot of jokes about being up the CWS, but an almost knee jerk reaction like this bothers me a little.

I guess the point of this post is personal therapy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not super worried about my behavior. If I were, I probably would never admit this. But I am curious enough about it to examine myself and publicly.

It could just be that I’ve been surrounded by so much death the last several years that I’ve become jumpy. And my encounters with it just never seem to stop. A few days ago I found out a good friend of mine has about a month to live. I went to see her yesterday, and thankfully, it was a wonderful visit. She is off of all of her treatments and is only on a little bit of morphine. Her alertness was a bit stunning, and she and I and SO had a great chat. When we stood up to leave her, he did something he never does. He said to her, “Can I give you a kiss?” and then he bent down and hugged her a bit and kissed her temple.

On the way out, I said, “I have never seen you do that before. What prompted you?”

“She’s the kind of person who can receive a kiss like that — a gesture of love from a friend. Besides, you know I’ve always been a big fan of hers.”

Yeah, I knew that. I’ve been a fan too, and I’m going to miss her terribly. I also feel for the loved ones of whomever died in that plane crash. It hurts to lose someone you care about.

April 1, 2012
Categories: SO . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 7 Comments

So Fine He Missed It

Ali over at RichardArmitageNet.Com just put up some screencaps of RA in ‘Doctors’ (c. 2001). Yes, I’ve seen these before, but I’ll bet some of you haven’t:

A few thoughts about these. First, he is drop dead gorgeous by almost anyone’s standards. Second, I know a few childhood experiences can damn near eclipse a profusion of experiences in adulthood, but my gosh! this man has to have some awareness that he’s not ugly. Third, I look at those two pictures and get hacked all over again at that godawful cover of ‘North and South.’ I’ve said it before and I can’t help repeating: whoever did that cover must have been jealous!

edit: Yes, I’m going get back to Lucas North, but I’m still struggling with my blog pieces.

December 9, 2011
Categories: Miscellaneous works, North and South, PHWOAR! . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 9 Comments