It’s Monday morning where I am, and I can’t think of a better time to do a little housekeeping. Sorry this post isn’t more interesting. I’m actually testing something, so as Elvira might say, “Nothing here to see; move along.” :D
Oh, never mind! I have to relent and post something you might find interesting since you did come over here to look.
A behind the scenes shot in Russia seems perfect for this entry. Unless you own the Spooks 7* DVDs, you may have only seen this in stills. Producer Katie Swinden is narrating/interviewing:
The twinkle in RA’s eyes is evident in that clip. The little boy quality just fairly jumps out and grabs you, uh, me, whomever. And speaking of Katie Swinden ;-), I think she is beautiful. Seriously. My apologies if she hates this picture. I love it! How many people look this good without a stitch of make up? I shudder to think what some celebrities look like. Katie has nothing to be ashamed of – sunburn be damned.
If my read on her is correct, she would probably say, “About right I would be in a post on housekeeping.” But this is no longer merely a housekeeping post since I’m now on a tangent. But I can’t call it a tangent. Too much RA in the post. I’ll have to come up with another category that isn’t quite a tangent. Dang! I just thought I was going to get out of housekeeping.
*In the UK, MI-5 is called Spooks. This is for all of you who did a search on the show MI-5 and are wondering how you wound up here.
Do I ever watch just one video? Oh, hell no, and why should I have to stop? There are too many that are great, and since you’ve read the title of this blog, it must be obvious I’m going to say something about Sean’s videos being great. Yes, they’re great.
I really like the shot of the ocean (or whatever large body of water that’s supposed to be) in ‘Where’s the Donka?’ LOL! Oh, sorry I wasn’t laughing at the video. I was laughing with it, and it really is great, but the name is hilarious. That might just become the name at my house. I hate the remote, and Donka sounds like the perfect name.
I also love the jellyfish, or whatever those things are, in ‘The Mast.’ This is really saying something since I cringe at the sight of jelly fish; might be due to an up close and very personal encounter with one. The music to that video is perfect. It sounds kind of laid back but edgy, slightly energetic but menacing. Yep, that describes a jellyfish.
But the video that really has me fired up (and keeps this post from being labeled a tangent) is the ‘London Film Premiere’ for Spiderman 3. Man, those guys can throw parties. But I think it’s an excuse for pole dancers to be invited and not look tacky (or whoever those women are supposed to be; Spiderman’s “helpers” I guess). How perfect that they had to use “string.” Okay, seriously, wouldn’t it be cool (yes, this is my first use of cool, so it’s not uncool yet) if RA ended up in Captain America as Union Jack or some equally cool (two’s the limit) looking character from The Invaders, and Sean got to work on the project?
Can you imagine what Sean could do with this:
These guys are in need of a serious makeover and Sean seems like just the guy to help. If RA isn’t in this movie, I hope Sean gets something out of it. I would love to see his work on this. Yes, I know he didn’t redraw the Spiderman character, but he helped make a neat looking effect.
I’m not really that keen on RA being in something like this, but the guy does talk about working a lot. I’ll bet he can’t sit still, and I’ll bet (this is my gut talking) that he hangs onto a penny — not stingy but frugal. For all of you gals who are looking for someone responsible, he might be your guy. ;-) Where was I? Oh, yeah, the guy talks about working a lot, so if he gets this, I’m glad for him. But really, it’s not my style, but hey, a few other things RA has done weren’t my style (North and South comes to mind), and I liked them anyway. Even if he doesn’t end up being part of this project, I hope the rumors go on long enough for me to get a few laughs on this blog. This is just too easy to laugh about (damned sentences that end in prepositions, but what am I going to do? Make a sentence like this: This is just too easy about which to laugh.)
By the way, I loved a lot of other things about Sean’s videos (yes, I watched all of them and some more than once, and I’m reflecting — seriously), but I won’t bore you with my thoughts. You can go watch them for yourself.
I need a picture of RA don’t I? Not sure which one would fit here.
Until now I’ve just been teasing. But that Sean Pruen video has me messed up in the head. LOL! Yes, I’m laughing, but it’s a kind of hysterical laugh that would creep you out if you heard it. LOL!
I don’t even want to analyze the video. Yes, I’ve analyzed others in minute detail, but I dare not tell you what I’m really thinking about some of the things I’ve looked at. Better to make it a joke. I’m having a hard time making something funny out of this:
And if that one doesn’t do it for you, then how ’bout one of these?
If you’re unmoved, then you are dead.
If Sean ever reads this entry, I hope he knows this is what happens when “viral” is a label. ;-)
Screencaps courtesy of my stash by way of Sean Pruen’s lovely video to be found here.
So I just created a Facebook page for RAFrenzy. I had sworn off FB and still can barely stand being on it. But I know it’s a necessary component for really making something viral, and I wanted to do my part with the video that a Motion Designer/Video Editor named Sean Pruen recently uploaded to Vimeo. I would have simply embedded it here, but WordPress doesn’t love Vimeo, hence the FB page. For some reason WordPress wouldn’t let me embed it yesterday, so I made the damned FB page. Then I come here this afternoon and realize it was pointless to make that page. I think Facebook is behind this. ;-) But without further berating of FB, here it is:
Now I can go on and on about this on my blog. :D
I love the computer graphic look to this. His head doesn’t quite move like a normal head. Wouldn’t it be something if he were playing a CGI. LOL!! Well, it’s probably altered, but I can see RA playing something like that. He’s that good. Whatever the case, he still looks fine, and if Richard Armitage ever deigns to read all of the crap I’m writing on this blog, I hope he does get that amid all of the bs, I really do admire him as an actor. Making a Facebook page is absolute proof. Sorry, I can’t let it go that I was dumb enough to make up that page.
As if that’s not enough, I’ve been researching comic book heroes. At this point, I’m almost intimately acquainted with the Invaders of Captain America fame and yes, some comic book fanboys on a few sites. I hope SO never finds out. Never mind being jealous; he would never let me live this down.
But I can’t think about all of that now. What I really want to know is if our lovely Richard will be wearing this get up:
It seems a significant number of people in the fandom think that he will. See here and here.
See Diary Part 10 here, or to access all entries, hit “The Diary” tab above.
Entry — almost two years ago:
Robin Hood Season 2 DVDs arrived today! Can’t wait to watch them. In the interim, I watched all of Season 1 again, and I cried again. What is my affinity for this character? Oh, yes, he’s sexy. Those faces he pulls and the way he stands and holds his head when he looks at Marian, and of course there’s his jawline. I did not know a jawline could be that sexy. But I’ve seen so many shows where an actor was sexy and wasn’t moved like this. No, this is something else because I don’t remember sexy ever making me cry.
A week later:
I still haven’t watched Season 2 yet. Season 1 keeps beckoning, and I keep running back to it. I’m having to watch it on the sly since the family has already seen it and thought it was okay, but nothing to rewatch. They would think I was an idiot for watching this lame show over and over. I’ll admit to watching a tv show more than once or twice, but this is getting ridiculous. Still haven’t topped my North and South viewings. Thank God! This might be because Robin Hood is a ridiculous show that doesn’t know what it wants to be when it grows up.
But there in the middle of it is Guy like a lost little boy begging for attention. Yes, the killing is unconscionable. How could it not be? It is by any definition, but anything that horrible always has me asking why. I can’t help seeking to understand why people do the things they do, and especially if there is a glimpse of humanity. Guy delivers from the beginning. From the first show, he begins to let us in just little bit on the boy who wants to be affirmed.
It begins when Robin presents himself as Lord of the Manor and Guy takes him to task for not respecting him in front of the “populace.” The scene isn’t much, but it’s the beginning of the puzzle that is Guy. Like a corner piece that gives just enough sense of the finished picture to prompt someone to put the entire thing together.
The vulnerable little boy really emerges when he comes to visit Marian and invites her to Locksley, his new Gisborne, his mojo. It’s painful to watch this scene.
But then in two sentences about a woman changing her name, the man reasserts himself. PHWOAR! There’s the real mojo! That is one sexy scene and no one is even close to removing their clothes. Okay, where was I?
The little boy alternating with the seriously sexy man makes my head spin. No wonder women are swooning over this character, and I guess I’m right there with them. Damn that Richard Armitage is something else!
WARNING: Spoilers in this post especially including the video!
I would have said thoughts, but I have to use words like cogitation occasionally. Then I don’t feel guilty about how I’m using that expensive education my parents paid for (oops, another sentence ending in a preposition; good thing this blog’s anonymous).
So I’m watching Strike Back, and it gets to this scene (SPOILERS AHEAD!):
and I remember what I like about most action flicks. They have Alpha males! Oh, I know what you’re thinking. Alpha is the guy who smashes beer cans on his head and has little or no respect for women. No, no. You’re wrong. Alpha is not just the guy who needs a shag and likes to handle guns and is good at handling guns, and wants to do damage to someone with the guns. He’s also the guy who kicks the door in and saves the damsel, and the damsel loves him for it and thinks about following him to the ends of the earth. When John Porter says trust me, I do.
I’m so glad RA is getting to play an Alpha again. My first introduction to him was as an Alpha male — John Thornton. The character I’m most fond of is an Alpha male — Guy of Gisborne (when he’s not kissing the Sheriff’s ass). But Alpha isn’t enough, and those characters are not successful just being Alphas. What women want and most men have not figured out is that we want Beta too. John Thornton and Guy proved they had some Beta, and it only made them more attractive. Conversely, of RA’s characters who are primarily Betas, they are even more attractive when Alpha emerges: Harry Kennedy when he wants Geraldine to pay up on her “debt,” John Standring when he runs off Andrew, Paul Andrews when he’s manifesting Alpha in the most elemental way, Lucas North when he’s taking the rich guy down in the pool. Imagine how dull these Betas would be without Alpha.
I’m not so sure we’ve really seen John Porter’s Beta. Maybe just a little peek in the beginning when he’s interacting with his 10 year old daughter, and of course when he spares the Iraqi boy. But that’s not enough for an RA character. RA likes to balance these enough to make things really interesting. We don’t have enough of Porter’s Beta yet. We need a little more, but oh, don’t slack on the Alpha while you’re at it.
I stumbled on a blog that gets the importance of the Alpha/Beta mix. The blogger gets it so well that I had a fleeting thought it’s really a woman writing the blog. His name even sounds like a woman’s when you say it really fast (ducking in case he reads any of the links to his blog). He is so dead on that it’s scary. Oh, I don’t think he’s dead on about everything, but he’s got women figured out fairly well — at least what turns most of them on. Yes, it’s just my opinion. Feel free to disagree, and I know some women do. LOL!
Here’s what he says about Alpha/Beta mix:
I generally disagree with the entire Alpha = good, Beta = bad mindset. You really need to have both Alpha Traits and Beta Traits in a marriage to really hit the sweet spot of happiness and sex. The blog is still new, but believe me I’m going to sound like a broken record on this point as the years play out.
If you’re a decent Beta, the solution is to add Alpha traits, not reduce Beta Traits and add Alpha. It’s not a zero-sum game where you can be either Alpha or Beta, but not both. You can and must be both. You still hold a job down, play with the kids, listen to how your wife spent her day, do housework etc. That’s all vital comfort building goodness. She likes and needs that to feel comfortable, like you’re invested in the relationship and family. These things are not “turn ons”, but lacking them makes them “turn offs”.
I sometimes hear that Alpha females do not want Alpha males:
The alpha girl doesn’t need Mr Alpha to sweep her off her feet and buy her a condo in town; she has enough money to do that herself. She is successful, confident and she wants a caring man who can pick up some of the domestic slack.
Oh, a caring Beta is great, and I may not need an Alpha to sweep me off my feet, but I WANT ONE! and SO delivers. He flexes his Alpha enough that I know it’s not eclipsed by his wonderful Beta. I have several little SOs running around to prove that.
Speaking of SO, I think he’s going to love this show. Especially if it doesn’t make Alphas look like morons. Actually, to SO there is no such thing as Alpha/Beta. He thinks all of that is crap. To him it just means being a man who has the usual wants and needs of a man and of course the usual responsibilities. Okay, maybe there is no Alpha, but it’s fun to think about it, and certainly fun to watch it!
P.S. If Porter and Layla are not going to have some Alpha fun at some point, then I wasn’t watching the right show. Can’t wait to see how that plays out.
RAFrenzy 