10 Resolutions

I have always shied away from New Year's Resolutions.  In fact, you might say my only resolution was to not make any resolutions!  But this year I feel differently.  I have come to the important decision that my status quo is not working to my advantage.  I need to treat myself differently.

It should be no surprise as to what has inspired this radical thought.  Fans of Richard Armitage have no doubt already read this quote in an interview with DaMan magazine.

Simple words, which at once resonated with me as a clear path that was eminently doable with immediate positive results guaranteed.

1. Read More.
This one may seem surprising as I am reading all the time.  But I am not reading what I should be reading.  I have piles of books and magazines which I ignore in favour of the long line up of emails and Facebook posts which grab most of my attention.  I am reading some articles online but it is more of a free for all, than a desired choice.  I feel like I need to get some control over the chaos that is my online experience so that I have more time to delve into my backlog of reading material.
Really, I should admit that I am mostly distracted by my online games.  I have been addicted to The Sims for a couple of years now, and just lately a fashion game called Covet.  I do enjoy playing Song Pop, that one is not an addiction but a real joy and learning experience.
Then there is the old stand by Solitaire, and even BeJewelled.  Must. Stop. Playing. Games.!  Big waste of time! (Except for Song Pop!)

2. Dream More.
Yes. Of course.  Just time to sit and think. Plan for the future. See what could be - then make it happen.
But also, literally - dream more.  Just go to bed and sleep, perchance to dream!
I have a nasty habit of staying up too late and depriving myself of sleep which is getting harder to deal with the older I get.  I have blogged about this problem before in this post: It's Half-past Phylly's Bedtime. (Jan.2011)

3. Smile More.
Here's one I don't think I have a problem with.  I do smile a lot.  And I do like to smile at people for no particular reason.  Most people do smile back too.  That always makes it worthwhile.
But I learned a couple of ocasions when smiling works when people can't even see your smile.

I've been at my new school for a whole year now, and I was getting ribbed for not changing the phone message from the previous librarian's voice mail message. The phone was giving me issues and I couldn't figure it out, and then I was just too busy to think about it.  But finally I decided it had to be changed, and I got the secretary's help to figure it out.  So there I was trying to record my message, and of course, I hated the sound of my voice.  Then I remembered that someone had suggested to smile while saying your message.  And what a difference it made!  Truly amazing!

Here is my other instance:
Awhile ago I was posing for a new driving licence photo.  You are not supposed to smile. That usually means a disappointing photo.  But the very kind lady at the Ministry of Transportation office luckily had some time on her hands, and a critical eye.  She said, that wasn't so good, let's try again.  When the next try just looked sad, she told me that even though I couldn't smile, I should think happy thoughts and try smiling in my head.  Thinking her a bit silly, I did as directed and when presented with the photographic evidence I was astounded!  A huge difference!

So even thinking about smiling is a very good thing.  (Plus it makes us better looking!) Win win!

4. Eat Less.
This should go without saying but it is definitely a big one for me.  I have always had a very healthy appetite.  In my family wasting food was a huge sin.  But my mother also controlled our portions meticulously so the only time we were allowed to over-indulge were holiday times and vacation trips.
I was not an overweight child, but as soon as I got away from "the nest" it was open season on all kinds of previously unavailable goodies.  Needless to say, I packed on the pounds steadily until today even I cannot deny that my weight has had adverse effects on my health.
This holiday season began with my husband and son coming down with a nasty stomach flu.  I didn't get it right away but when it did strike it was a doozy.  I thought I was getting better, but then it struck again!  I only started feeling human the other day.  So what did I do?  Let's just say it seemed like I was trying to consume all the yummy goodness I had been unable to stomach for a week, but all in one day!  So tonight I missed going out for a New Year's Eve party because of more nasty stomach issues (the opposite of before).  As I tried to describe it to my husband, it felt like I was trying to pass a reindeer - antlers first!

5. Complain Less.
Another toughie.  Complaining is kind of fun actually.  And useful sometimes too.  But nobody wants to hear it.  So I will just try to remain positive about it.  Hmmm... just complain for positive reasons?  How about entertainment purposes?  That should be allowable!

6. Frown Less.
Yes!  Because who wants frown lines? Really!  That is something I could complain about!  But I will not....

And I must add my own to this list:

7.  Sing more!  (Try and stop me!)
8.  Write more.  (Not making any promises...)
9.  Move more. (And now I must get up from this computer chair and do something more     productive...)
10. Appreciate more. (Thank you dear readers.  I hope you have a fabulous new year!)

Happy New Year 2015!

Herding cats!

Why is it that I find the background of this picture so fascinating?

Final ADR for@TheHobbitMovie @WBPicturesID @wetafx @wetaworkshop can't believe what I've just seen utterly gobsmacked pic.twitter.com/x2VMtikBmM
— Richard Armitage (@RCArmitage) September 18, 2014

Well, of course I love the main part of the picture!  It's a SELFIE by none other than Richard-freaking-Armitage!!

But those cats on the wall in the background?  I can't help thinking....  Is it a hidden message?
Is he playing cat and mouse with us?  That ginger cat folk art painting looks very familiar to me.  Does it have any other significance?  Could it be sort of a visual apologia to all us cat-loving RA fans for his infamous dog preferential statement? Does he even look remorseful?

Let's look at those background items more closely...

#1 is very familiar, in fact I thought I once had this same picture as a ceramic tile that I used as a trivet until it broke.  But after searching google images for quite some time I have not been able to find out anything about it.  But I did find a picture of my old trivet (and it wasn't the same at all!).  If anyone has any information about this cat painting - I would be very interested!

I did however, find plenty of other very interesting pictures of orange tabby cats. My favourites were the ones inserted into famous paintings over at Fatcatart blog -- especially (because of my fondness for Monet paintings) this one:

#2 appears to be a Felix the Cat clock.

Here is a still from the animated film Felix the Cat in Hollywood (1923)

#3 (The Hidden picture) is the real problem.

Luckily, I was able to find this picture of the same room where the picture is visible.

Note the Felix the Cat clock has moved.  In this picture it is just over the girl's shoulder. 

The little figurine between the cat painting and the now visible blue matted photo looks like a cat playing a musical instrument.

From Soundtrack's' Facebook Page

The photo of the figurine is very blurry but it does appear to be a cat playing a bass violin, or could it be -- a cello?  Hmmm... Curious and curiouser...RA fans know that Richard has been known to play the cello.

The above photo on the right is more of a mystery. It appears to be a handsome man playing an instrument which I have come to believe is called a Vibraphone.  My first impression of the blurry picture was that it was of Elvis (the King) but since my research didn't turn up any evidence that Elvis ever played a vibraphone, I had to look for other options. The best looking vibraphone player I could find was this man Tito Puente, otherwise known as the Mambo King.

Even though RA is also known by his Hobbit film character's nickname of the King Under the Mountain, I knew I was grasping at straws here...  I really didn't think his hairline looked correct, and besides where was the cat reference?!!  I was going to go with the fact that Jazz musicians are also known as Hepcats... but I wasn't fooling myself.  So I kept looking for another good looking vibraphone player.

Finally I came up with this man, Terry Gibbs.

His hairline looked spot on, and when I researched his music 

this album fairly sprang up and dug its claws into me!

There's that orange cat again!

Even more strange... this album was released the year I was born (1961). 

I have no idea what all this means but it seems that somebody around here must be some crazy cat!

Before you give up on me have a listen to the cool vibes of
 Terry Gibbs and Buddy DeFranco playing 

Please Send Me Someone to Love

That orange kitty has found someone to love!

Manip from Richard Armitage with Cats Tumblr

I really couldn't resist this!

I've been meaning to post something for ages...  There is nothing like a good belly laugh to finally get me motivated!

Voice-over Switch: The Hobbit / North & South / by Buchjj

Thanks to fellow RA well-wisher Teresa Armitage, 

who posted this on The RA Friends Network Facebook page.

You can Bank on it!

The idea of Banking has certainly changed over the years.  The Banks used to be regarded as a venerable institution.  But now, Banks and bankers are seen as a greedy, gouging scourge on society.  It's not like they don't deserve that reputation either!

From the recent world-wide financial crisis, precipitated by deregulation and the institutions' own inability to police itself, to here in Canada where our Banking system remained relatively intact -- we have recently been disgusted with the Royal Banks' treatment of their employees who were expected to train their own replacements before being let go.
http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2013/04/08/hamilton-rbc-facebook.html

Back when I was little, banks seemed like very respectable places. When I was in Grade One, our teacher sent a letter home to our parents stating that each child would need one dollar to open a savings account at our local bank.  When the day came and we all had our dollar bills, we marched en masse from our school down the street to the Bank of Nova Scotia.  Each one of us opened our first savings account.  What a perfect first lesson in civics and early economics.  I had the joy of watching my small deposits accumulate interest at quite a significant rate.

I used that account to save for buying Christmas presents for my family, and later to deposit my revenues from babysitting and other jobs.  My favourite teller had a head for numbers and knew my account number better than I did. She still remembered it, after I moved away and only came back for summer holidays! That branch (now known as Scotiabank) is closed now "in order to serve us better" so they said. (?)

This was all I knew about banking as a child.  You put money in the bank and as it acquired interest, the amount kept growing. If only it were still that simple!  That was also in the days before bank fees gobbled up more than the pittance of interest they are giving for savings accounts nowadays.

Ahhh!  If only things were like the good old days! 

British Bank Singalong from Disney's Mary Poppins

Two Scenes from Mary Poppins

Fidelity Fiduciary Bank Song

I guess some bankers were greedy back then too!


This commercial is a great portrayal of how the banking community is viewed today.

Capital One commercial "You've Got Bankers!"

And I can't resist sharing Rick Mercer's take on Canada's Banks. 
Of course it's a few years old now, but still good for a laugh!

 Rick Mercer (2009)



 Here's an Australian spoof which attempts to explain 
The Reserve Bank:

Newstopia Explains the Reserve Bank (2008)



  Is it any wonder that with what has been going on in the world that someone would want to murder a banker? 
Here is an episode from the first season of the BBC's Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch which is about the murder of a banker.  But there is another reason I am showing you this clip. (Hint: it is in the last few seconds of the video)

Sherlock BBC: The Blind Banker / by GriddlePop


If you were watching closely, you would see a character in this episode is the same actress who starred with Richard Armitage in The Golden Hour.  In this program Zoe Telford plays Watson's girlfriend.

 Zoe Telford in The Golden Hour (top) and Sherlock (bottom)

In Spooks (MI-5) series 7 episode 5, Richard Armitage plays the role of a banker while the Grid is spying on a millionaire high roller who is toying with Britain's banking system so he can make more millions on the resulting mayhem.  RichardArmitageOnline.com has a great pictorial summary of this episode here.  Also on this website is a video clip of one of my favourite scenes. Ros and Lucas are posing as an engaged couple.  They certainly look lovely together!

The following is a fan made video of the same episode meant to be a spoof of an actual bank's commercial.  Their real life motto is "which bank?"

Which Bank [spooks] style / by DeltaTango45



Fans of Richard Armitage are familiar with his voice overs for Santander.  But this vidder has gone one further and turned another Spooks episode into a Santander commercial.
(Thanks to NotEvenanOuch for reuploading this video just the other day!)

Richard Armitage reads ''Santander" advert / by NotEvenAnOuch



And that's not all!
Fellow blogger CDoart wrote a fan fic about RA 
which begins in a bank.

My money is on Richard Armitage.  
I have certainly invested a lot of time admiring him! ;)

Here kitty!

I do love cats...even though I cannot have one of my own as I am very allergic. :(
So I have to love them in theory, rather than in practice.

The Tale of Tom Kitten / by Beatrix Potter

As I am a Beatrix Potter fan - I had to include this one.

My personal favourite cartoon kitty was Warner Brothers' Sylvester the cat
voiced by the inimitable Mel Blanc.

Warner Bros. Sylvester the Cat

Since this blog is inclined to be fairly musically oriented, here is Sylvester attempting his musical debut:

Unfortunately he didn't get a warm reception.


 There are many other fabulous cartoon cats, if you are interested in seeing some more,
here is a link to a great article: Famous cartoon cats

The AristoCats was a Disney cartoon feature film which I enjoyed very much when it hit theatres in 1970.  I probably had to wait awhile to see it though. Even though we still had a theatre in our town then, it usually took about a year before it found its way to my neck of the woods.
The music was very memorable.
I was delighted to find this clip from a television special which reunites
two of the best voices in all of moviedom!

Everybody Wants to be a Cat / The Aristocats

 I also remember being inspired to sketch some of these cats,
probably from a comic or possibly colouring book.

This movie, An American Tale : Fievel Goes West came out when my kids were little and I am sure my husband and I enjoyed it as much (or more) than they did.  I particularly liked Dom Deluise's tubby cat named Tiger who was a friend to Fievel Mousekowicz, unlike the bad guy cat who was voiced by John Cleese.  This clip has Tiger rushing to catch a train (while being hindered by countless dogs)!

Dom Deluise as Tiger in Fievel Goes West: An American Tale (pt.2)

Do you remember The Stray Cats?  I loved their retro Rockabilly sound back in the '80s.
This next video includes cute pictures of real kitties.

Stray Cat Strut / The Stray Cats
video by Dayniac4324

Love this next song, and although it is not about cats,
the video cleverly features claymation cats.

Nina Simone _ My Baby Just Cares for me
video by pluisje666

Do you think that Tomcat is a bit of a stalker? Hmmm.....


You may be wondering.... 
What has all this cat stuff got to do 
with Richard Armitage?




Well ... some of us cats know that Richard Armitage 
appeared in the 1994-95 production of the musical Cats 
in London's West End.

Lots of gReAt bloggers have already written about it, but I believe Jonia (Jonia's Cut Blog) was the first to get the scoop on all the best information.  Here is her post about it. (Click Here).
Apparently Richard played the dual roles of Admetus and Macavity.

Jonia has some great videos on her blog but more recently Crystal Chandlyre saved us all some time but compiling several videos to highlight just the parts that Richard Armitage appeared in.

Richard Armitage as Admetus in CATS - Pas De Deux

/ compiled by Crystal Chandlyre

As quoted from the Wikipedia article on Macavity:

Macavity is typically depicted as a cat with a chaotic array of red, orange, white, and sharp black stripes. He is often portrayed with very long claws and wild dark hair. The role of Macavity is usually played by the same actor as Admetus...  His costume is ginger and white, and specifically includes a simple make-up design that the actor transforms into the elaborate Macavity make-up, and then re-applies after the featured scene. Admetus/Plato is also often recognizable as one of the tallest cast members, as the fight scene between Macavity and Munkustrap requires him to be able to lift other male dancers. 

Richard Armitage in the 1994 cast of Cats, on London's West End (photos from Jonia's Cut Blog).

I was rather thrilled to hear he had played the Macavity role because I was very familiar with the poem (from  Old Possum's Book of Cats by T.S. Eliot).

Way back in my elementary school days I performed that poem on stage in our local Festival of the Arts. As it is a fairly long poem I was given kudos by the adjudicator for my (I believe she said) "prodigious" memory (if only it were so good today). But I was also criticized for not putting more feeling into it.  I remember being a bit shocked, because no one else had suggested that I should do that.  My mentors, who were family and friends only helped with my lines, but never did it occur to me that I should do more than get up on stage and recite it!  It made me wonder how differently I could have done it had I actually tried to perform it rather than just recite it. This was long before Andrew Lloyd Webber's  musical CATS was inspired by the poems. If I ever wanted to try the poem again, I think I would rather sing it!


Then, there is the Tumblr blog entitled: 
Richard Armitage with Cats!

When I saw these pictures for the first time, 
it was a very happy day. :)

Here are two of my faves!

This next video is very cleverly done by Ana Cris 
who hosts the blog La Loba.
She has combined clips from the documentary narrated by Richard Armitage
with clips of him in Spooks / MI-5.

Richard Armitage_Eye of the Tiger / by acrl2

Imagine if all the characters in The Hobbit movie were portrayed by... you guessed it -- Cats!

Trailer Cats version of The Hobbit trailer

More Hobbit Cats!
The longer I wait to post this, the more great stuff I find!  This is the newest one. From the fantastically creative graphic artist Tannni  - where she compares the cast of The Hobbit to various cats.

Oh course I had to show you a couple.

She has several options for Thorin.

You simply must click on this to see the whole page!

I know! That was amazing!


You think that's something?  Look at this..
Another great graphic from Tannni!
Watch Richard Armitage transmogrify into the King of the Beasts!

How are you "feline" about cats?  
What is your favourite cat from literature, 
stage or screen?

Cold as Canada

This song came up on my YouTube feed from someone I subscribe to.  It fit with my mood perfectly as I have been very lethargic because of the cold temperatures.

It is by the Australian folksinger Paul Kelly, whom I wasn't familiar with, but can certainly appreciate, so I am grateful to be introduced to him. The video (I had originally posted included many iconic images of Canadian winter to fit with the title "Cold as Canada". It was made by a vidder called paganmaestro with quite a wide collection of great music and photographs that have been shared through YouTube.)  Unfortunately that channel has been discontinued - so I had to find a replacement video.

Canadians who are lucky enough to afford winter vacations love to travel to warmer destinations to escape the cold.  This blog post by Australian author Pru Batten made me very envious as it sounds like paradise! It is summer where she is in Tasmania. She describes a day at the beach near her home.  I can almost feel the sun and water on my skin as I read it.  Aaaahhh!


This is so not what I was picturing.

by Sebastien Lefebvre on 05 Oct 2012 in Ottawa
Runner up in Stormy Scenes from Canadian Geographic
magazine's Whatever the Weather photo contest

Yep. We are knee-deep in winter here in Canada and although Canadians pride ourselves in our ability to withstand and even thrive in cold temperatures, it doesn't mean we don't enjoy whining about it occasionally. For instance, last month was comparatively warm around here, so of course the cold had to start sooner or later.  I think we're getting spoiled actually. Environment Canada has reported that in the last 65 years temperatures in Canada have warmed over 3 degrees!  That may not sound like much to you, but it is a pretty big deal.  So when the temperatures start to dip to 30 below zero celsius (which is pretty normal for January in my part of Canada) we don't seem quite as able to adapt because the week before it was barely minus 10!  The variation in temperature is pretty crazy lately.  In the past decade I have seen pouring rain in February, and then a few years later in January even!  Believe me, that was unheard of here when I was a child.

All I want to do is stay warm.  My automatic car starter isn't working now for some reason.  Maybe it has something to do with when I bashed into a snowbank on a slippery corner on the way to work last week.  At least I avoided hitting the school bus!  You might think a snowbank would be full of soft, fluffy snow.  Oh no!  Not here!  The crunch sounded more like hitting a brick wall.  I damaged the front right corner of my Honda van, curiously in the same area as my husband bashed the truck the previous week.  Did I mention the roads were slippery?  Let's see, above normal winter temperatures followed by a huge dump of snow for two solid days, so that the town could barely keep up with snow removal on the roads. (Luckily for me it was on the weekend); followed immediately by bone chilling temperatures!  That is what's been going on for the past two weeks here.

I am going into hibernation mode.  But before I do, I am going to try and thaw myself out by gazing on some cozy photos of my favourite actor, (you know who).

You'd better bundle up a bit more than that Richard!

That's better!  But is that coat warm enough?  Nice watch!

(Speaking of watches - The Armitage Watch Movie Club is at it again.  Check out this blog for the times to tune into Robin Hood Fridays and Spooks Saturdays)

This coat looks quite cozy, but not good enough for a Canadian winter!

Now this guy knows how to dress for the cold!

screencap by Linda van Pelt

But this is the scene that really warms my heart!

SNL spoofs The Hobbit!

Thanks to Servetus for her post here:"More Hobbit" on SNL or Mr. Armitage, when they spoof you there, everyone in the U.S. will know who you are...
She thanks her Twitter friends for the alert.  I am very grateful too! But I couldn't play the link she posted (not available in Canada).  So I found this on YouTube and I couldn't resist posting it!

I wouldn't be surprised if this video disappears soon so enjoy it while you can!

First Impressions - More RA comix

Happy pills!

Well I just noticed that my next post was going to be my 222nd so I thought that deserved a bit of notice.  When I first thought of that number it made me think of the headache tablets called 222's that we used to take back in the day, if an Aspirin wasn't strong enough.  According to Wikipedia's article on Codeine: The Canadian "Frosst 222"^[contains 8 mg codeine.  But I would hate to think that I am a pill!

Then I wondered if there was any music about 222s.

Well, lo and behold! Little did I know that there was once a Canadian punk rock band called the 222's! And guess what? I think I like them! This song for sure! Here they are singing Fun, Fun, Fun from 1979!

Fun, Fun, Fun / 222's

I find it interesting that I am just discovering them now... ?   Way back in '79 I was just developing a taste for New Wave music but Punk was a bit too much for me.  I had moved to a city the year before after living all my life in a very small backwoods town.  When I first saw punkers in the flesh I was both fascinated and horrified.  Why would anyone want to look that way? The wild hair was one thing but the piercings!!  Back then, safety pins were the piercing of choice.  Yikes!

Yes, I was a shallow, sheltered creature.  Still am, I'm afraid.  But I wonder...

Would I become a sudden fan of Punk Rock if Richard Armitage were to play a Punker ... like one  of The Sex Pistols?

Sid Vicious 

or Perhaps another character named John?

 Johnny Rotten

Here is a punk band I've always liked.  I guess I should take their advice!

I Wanna Be Sedated / The Ramones 

Better give them some of those 222's!

Spooks comic

It's Alternate Reality time again folks!  This time I'm trying to rewrite a bit of Spooks.  Hey! It couldn't hurt!

Guy and Marian A/U comic

I am sure all of us Richard Armitage fans have fantasized what might have happened if Guy and Marian had had a true romantic relationship.  Well, I haven't gotten around to writing fanfic yet, but here's my first attempt (in cartoon format!).

Have a gReAt weekend everyone!

Richard Strikes Back!

I've been experimenting with a comic strip program called Comic Life.  

Here is my first attempt. 

I can see this might become addicting. :)

Rummage for Richard!

There's been another of those rare sightings of Richard Armitage thanks to Peter Jackson's video blogs via Facebook. Here is his 7th installment.  If you are not a fan of The Hobbit or are too impatient to watch 14 minutes of video for those rare seconds of Armitage spotting then you will be very grateful to Ali at Richard Armitage Net for her speedy screen caps. Click here to see them. Why not leave her a little comment in the Guest Book?

Here are some of my favourites:

Richard being HOT

 

Richard being COOL

Richard lighting up a room

There has been much discussion in the RA fandom about Richard Armitage's lack of availability since he began work in New Zealand.  The only work project he has been in since his ignoble demise in Spooks series 9 was in the sequel to Strike Back where his character was reintroduced only in order to assassinate him!  There were a couple of photo shoots and some voice work and commercials since then but most fans have been complaining of the drought. Still other fans have been losing interest or jumping ship altogether!

I appreciate the effort that the fan known as ArmitageWatch and her friends have done recently to keep us all engaged.  The Global Watch of North and South last weekend was well planned and went off without any trouble.  There are plans to continue this weekend with Robin Hood and Spooks. See the calendar here.

We can't be blamed for thinking Richard might be hiding from us a bit.  In fact, it's been noticed from the beginning.  If I hadn't circled him, finding RA in this Hobbit group photo can be almost as hard as finding Waldo.

In fact this next video, in which someone impersonating Werner Herzog does an amazing job of narrating the Where's Waldo? picture book, reminds me very much of the whole "where is Armitage?"controversy.

If you are the competitive type and want another challenge,
you should really try the game Tanni Tani created for his birthday.
You click on him every time he pops up and he gets a kiss!  Click here to play!

What do you think?  Is RA purposely playing hard to get?  Does he need his time to stay "in character" as Thorin and find it hard to be himself?  Is he just being his shy self?

Watch him pRAnce!

Bccmee's Graphic a Day in May has been a wonderful daily treat.  There were so many brilliant graphics to admire but here are a couple that fit nicely with my latest video.

This was her offering for Day 24.

The photo inspiration for bccmee's graphic was supplied by Holliday.

I really must thank bccmee for the idea of calling his dance moves pRAncing! :)

I have been wanting to make a video from this photo shoot ever since I saw the gif posted on Enchanted Serenity of Period Films.  If you click on that link, you can see that I made a comment there in November 2009!  I really wanted to set it to music, but at the time I didn't know how to use any video software (I'm still trying to figure it out), plus I had no idea of what song to use.  So the idea just lay fallow until my daughter was home for Christmas and she showed me this silly website called http://gobarbra.com/ where you can add any name to the Duck Sauce song.  I am sure you can guess whose name I was thinking of using!

I also enjoyed the caption to the following graphic.  It is always very annoying to hear an interviewer pronounce Richard's last name wrong!

Day 25 inspired by smitkit

So here is what I came up with, 

since I finally decided to get working on it.