Thank you for the awards!

Traxy from The Squeee awarded me my first award quite awhile ago, and to be honest, I didn't really know what to do about it. But I think I have it figured out now. Thank you Traxy!!
This is the Honest Scrap award. It is for those bloggers who write from the heart. The rules are to pass it along to seven bloggers and then list ten honest things about myself.
I think everyone I want to give this award to already has received it at least once already, so just disregard this if so.

1. Richard Armitage Fan Blog
2.  FLY HIGH!
3.  The Squeee
4. Me + Richard Armitage
   
5. An RA Viewer's Perspective
6. Avalon's Blog
7. Reviewerama
 

And then there's the ten honest things...

1. If there was an award for procrastination -- I would win it...but I would probably never get around to picking it up!
2. Although I have always been somewhat geeky, one of the most depressing days of my life was when my glasses broke in half and I literally had to wear them taped together at the nosepiece. Nooooooo! Very sad indeed!
3. I am polite and friendly but when provoked above and beyond my capacity for cr*p, I get so upset it makes me want to cry which makes me angry and then WATCH OUT! (Very scary!) -- So I guess you could extrapolate from that, that I am very emotional! :) However, not moody or hormonal, by any means. (Okay, 'nuff said!)
4. Whew! Honesty is the best policy, but how much do you really need to know?
5. I am very allergic to cats and dogs and many other cute furry things which is not fair because I would really love to have a pet...especially a cat!
6. Being a mother was always my life's goal and my children have given my life so much joy!
7. My husband is my best friend (but so much more than that too!) ;)
8. I read somewhere once that a good belly laugh is good exercise for the abdominal muscles. Well, if that were really true, I would have washboard abs!
9. My laugh is so loud that our amateur theatrical group always knows when I am in the audience. I have made people in theatres turn around to see who is laughing so loud, and I have even (to my shame) startled babies into crying!
10. Because of #9 I believe I would be good on a laugh-track for a sitcom. Anybody want to recommend me to somebody in Hollywood?

 Maria Grazia from FLY HIGH! awarded me this while I was away. It is so nice to be appreciated by my peers! Thank you MG!
(Can anyone just make up an award? Because I think I'd like to do so.)
For The Versatile Blogger award, you are supposed to list 7 things You Don't Know about Me. [I'm going to cheat and say I just listed 10 things, (see above) and if that's not enough, please check out Maria Grazia's blog for her interview of me.] I do hate to BORE people! (There, that's one new thing, anyway.)
I am also supposed to list 15 (or 7 depending on whose rules you use) new blogs I've discovered recently.  As I have only been reading such blogs for less than a year, I would say they are all fairly new to me! I don't know if I even frequent that many blogs so I will just stop when I'm done, okay? (The pressure!!) Seriously, I am flattered to win any appreciation award but at some point, it shouldn't feel like a chain letter you have to pass on or get 7 years bad luck or whatever. (There, that's something else about me -- I absolutely HATE chain letters!) :)
Here are the lovely blogs that I frequent (besides the 7 aforementioned ones)! :

1. Enchanted Serenity of Period Films
2.  RAFrenzy
   
3.  Y I, Mum?
   
4. Booktalk & More
   
5. HOLLYWOOD SPY
   
6. Reading, Writing, Working, Playing
   
7. Spooks Fan Blog
8. All-en-A-Day's-Work
9. My Jane Austen Book Club
10. My Ink is Made of Bits
11. Trude's Place

If you have already received this award, please feel free to ignore it, but know that you are appreciated!

Keep on blogging, dear blogging friends!

A Man Needs a Maid

I started this video before I went away on vacation, and now I've finally finished it. I hope all you Guy of Gisborne fans like it. For some reason I am stuck on a Neil Young kick, but this song has haunted me since I first heard it back in the '70s. At the time, although I loved the song, I had issues with the subject matter. It just didn't seem right to refer to a modern woman as a "Maid", and what woman wanted to be an actual "maid" to a man anyway?! So to put this song in a medieval context is, I think -- just right! (I did have to edit out the last verse as it had some modern references).

In case there are any readers out there who are not aware of my current obsession, this video features Richard Armitage in the BBC's Robin Hood series.

And the winner is...

The BAFTAs have been over for awhile now, giving fans of Richard Armitage an abundance of new  pictures to fawn over. I couldn't help but think how good Richard looks holding this award. Too bad it's not his own!

Oh well...I am sure his time will come. After all, many accomplished performers wait in vain to hear their names called to collect their trophies. While wondering about this, I came upon this Top Ten List of Ten of the Best in Hollywood who Never Won an Oscar. The biggest surprises for me -- Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole!
Sometimes it just comes down to bad timing.  Lawrence of Arabia, O'Toole's tour de force came up against To Kill a Mockingbird brought to film starring none other than Gregory Peck! Now as much as I always enjoy Gregory Peck's performances, (particularly in Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn!) I would never have thought him a better actor than Peter O'Toole!

Another actor who was well-deserving of an Oscar and never got one (until the very end of his career) was Paul Newman.  When I started perusing pictures of Mr. Newman, it struck me that these two actors really have quite a bit in common. Let me explain...

Paul Newman is famous for his startlingly blue eyes. 

Richard Armitage's eyes
(as I have been raving about for several posts)
are a mesmerizing shade of grey (depending on the light can look blue or green).

They both look great in nothing but a towel!

Paul Newman in The Prize (1963)

Richard Armitage in Ulitmate Force (2003)


They even look good after a mean ol' prison fight!

 Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Strike Back (2010)


Mr. Newman was well-known for his charitable donations.

Paul's company "Newman's Own" makes salad dressings and other sauces
from which Mr. Newman donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity.

Mr. Armitage has inspired his fans to donate to various charities
(rather than sending him so many presents!)

This picture is from a commercial to raise funds for the BBC's Children in Need.




My favourite fact about Paul Newman was his long-standing happy marriage to actress Joanne Woodward.

R.I.P. Paul Newman 1925-2008


I wish for Richard Armitage the same happiness in his own real life.

 Sorry to do this to Orla Brady, Richard's Strike Back co-star,
but we all need to dream, don't we?


Paul Newman finally received his Academy Award (Oscar) for the movie The Color of Money (1986). We hope it does not take the world as long to recognize the prodigious talent of Richard Armitage, so that he is given roles deserving of his expertise and that he is honored for his work as he so richly deserves!

O Canada!

The Fathers of Confederation

Our home and native land,

True patriot love in all thy sons command,

With glowing hearts,

We see thee rise,

The True North strong and free.

From far and wide,

O Canada,

We stand on guard for thee!

God keep our land,

Glorious and free,

O Canada we stand on guard for thee,

O Canada we stand on guard for thee!

July 1st 1867, with the signing of the British North America Act (now called the Constitution Act), Canada became a sovereign nation. Without too much fuss, an assortment of political leaders from places like Ontario (called Canada West), Quebec (called Canada East), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and later, Prince Edward Island, agreed to join together in a dominion of provinces under the The Commonwealth of Great Britain (apparently they forgot to invite Newfoundland until it was too late to change the plans!) Newfoundland went on as it's own entity until finally joining Canada in 1949, amid some local dissent. As the plans for a transcontinental railway were brought to fruition thanks to the forcefulness of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, other provinces joined Canada along the way, Manitoba in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905.

Why did the British colonies in North America decide to join together instead of just maintaining the status quo? Well, talks had begun of a union of Maritime provinces as early as 1864 at the Charlottetown Conference. Britain had actually suggested this first union as a sort of insurance policy for the tiny, far-flung colonies who were basically abandoned for 6 months of the year by their mother country due to inclement weather. The two halves of the province of Canada (English and French) had thought this union a capital idea, and joined on for the ride. Basically, they were looking for safety in numbers, as they were tired of being invaded by marauding Fenians and feeling threatened by American politicians with their dreams of Manifest Destiny.

Canada's dream was much simpler, "peace, order and good government". The union of provinces has always been a precarious one, but Canadians are very practised at compromise -- the various differences in each province's cultural identity has been enshrined within our Constitution.

Elijah Harper

The Native peoples of Canada have always played a vital role in its history--from Native Leaders like Tecumseh who defended Canada against the U.S. in the War of 1812 to the revolutionary Métis leader Louis Riel who is recognized as the Father of Manitoba.

In modern Canadian history, Elijah Harper made his point by quietly saying, "No" in the Manitoba legislature to the Meech Lake Accord which would have recognized Quebec as a "distinct society" but completely ignored any mention of the First Nations peoples.


One hundred years after Confederation, Canada played host to the world at Expo '67 in Montreal. It was a watershed moment for Canadians to take pride in their country. There were countless projects in communities across the nation that were opened during Canada's centennial year, new libraries, parks, highways, town halls, bridges, etc. It was a very happy time for Canadians and there were good repercussions for many years afterwards.
Here is the song by Bobby Gimby that was used to promote Expo '67 to Canadians.

Well, since I missed posting on Victoria Day, I think my Canada Day post will do for both! This is about as Canadian as it gets...Scott Thompson from The Kids in the Hall (circa 1990) spoofing the Queen.

Here's an old clip of Jim Carrey's stand up routine about Canada. I love his voice impression of Chief Dan George.

And now...for the pièce de résistance....
Here is Stick Figure Richard to help celebrate Canada Day!



My dear friend Natalie (an American) has made this cartoon for me (a Canadian) which is about an actor whom we both admire and hold in high esteem (who just happens to be British)!





Yay! Happy Canada Day to all you Canadians, or wannabe Canadians,
or those who just wanna visit Canadians.
Youtube video: Canadian, Please!


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From Georgia to Ontario

I was so excited to see a package waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday. Avalon sent me my prize! I won Charlotte Hawkins' "The Tempest" on Avalon's blog a couple of weeks ago.  I see she mailed it on June 9th and it arrived on June 23rd. That's 2 weeks to go from a small place in the state of Georgia, U.S.A. to an even smaller place in the province of Ontario, Canada. Snail mail indeed!

Dear Avalon,

It was so neat to see your address and imagine what it might be like where you live.  So I got to thinking about Georgia -- which immediately brought to mind the song  Georgia on My Mind.

I love when Willie Nelson sings the Blues. You have to wait a bit until Ray Charles comes in, but he's worth waiting for. What I like most about this video is it shows how much fun they seem to be having as well as their mutual respect for each other.
As far as biopics go, one of my very faves has to be Ray with Jamie Foxx deservedly winning an Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles. If you would rather hear just Charles's version of this song, please follow this link. It's worth clicking on just to read the introductory blurb below the video!


One of my favourite songs to sing at Karaoke Night down at our local Royal Canadian Legion Hall is Gladys Knight and the Pips' Midnight Train to Georgia. I am always looking for a few good Pips!

How romantic is that? "I'd rather live in his world, than live without him in mine."

Then I remembered my all-time favourite song about Georgia! Brook Benton's 

version of Rainy Night in Georgia.

This is the live version, which is very nice but I still  prefer the original radio hit as it had a more bluesy feel to it. Brook Benton has such a deep and emotional voice, I can't enjoy anyone else's version of it.
The lyrics are wonderful too: "A distant moaning of a train, seems to play a sad refrain to the night..."


Aren't there a lot of wonderful songs about Georgia? Those are my faves, but some of you Country music fans may prefer "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", or how about the theme music for the Harlem Globetrotter's basketball team, "Sweet Georgia Brown". The Globetrotters actually visited my High School way back in the day! There were only a few of them, not the whole team, but they were very impressive and entertaining indeed. ...But I digress...

So now my train of thought has arrived with the book to the hinterland of Ontario. Unfortunately there are not as many songs about Ontario as there are about Georgia. And even less about my neck of the woods -- Northern Ontario, which is as different to Southern Ontario as the proverbial North and South miniseries I keep blathering about!

But luckily, two of my favourite songs by Neil Young are about places in Northern Ontario (or it is at least mentioned).

The first is Helpless from the Crosby Stills Nash & Young album Deja Vu (1970). **UPDATE: I had to replace that video with a LIVE performance from The Last Waltz (with The Band.) I hope this video doesn't disappear too, from the video police! :p

This might well be my very favourite Neil Young song, probably because it does have special meaning for me. But k. d. Lang does a fabulous job of her cover version of this song, performed when Neil was recovering from surgery. Listen to her version here.

 The second offering I have from Neil is Long May You Run

Yeah, I know it's only about his car...(you know how goofy guys are about their cars)! But did you catch the lyrics "Well, it was back in Blind River in 1962..."  That's Blind River ONTARIO, near Elliot Lake where Neil came from before he moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba and his music career took root.  Blind River could arguably be the halfway point between Northern and Southern Ontario (on the TransCanada Highway).  It's still part of the North, but it's within a looong day's drive to Toronto. Ontario takes about 3 days to traverse, if you are not a crazy driver. I've known some people to do it in a 24 hour driving stint without stopping. (That's 2 drivers with one sleeping while the other drives.) Which makes me think that Neil Young's paean to his car is not really so silly. A reliable car that won't break down (literally) in the middle of nowhere is a very good thing indeed!

So now, I get to settle down and read Charlotte Hawkins' lovely alternate ending for the Guy of Gisborne story. If you would like to win a copy, you can visit her blog here and leave your email address.
What a treat! Gisborne...here I come!

I can't help it! This picture makes me melt!
Or you could say, it leaves me helpless, helpless, helpless, helpless...

(Source: Richard Armitage Central)

It's not easy being green...

Having to spend each day the colour of the leaves...

(Richard Armitage in Strike Back)

Although doesn't the camo paint make Richard's eyes look green? I thought they were blue, but after some discussion over on the Me + Richard Armitage blog, an anonymous commenter pointed out that they were really grey!  Nothing wrong with green though! It's my favourite colour actually. And green is the colour of frogs!

Frogs! Yes, frogs. I love them.
Why do I love frogs (you may ask)? Let's see, like a frog, I am happiest near water (or in it). Frogs look like they are smiling, which makes me happy! They eat bugs, (which I hate) so they are helping to make my environment bug-free. They are also known for their springtime serenades!

Kermit is my favourite frog!

The things I learn by blogging! Apparently dear Kermit is a world traveller! Here is his World Tour website:

Kermit on Tour

Here he is in London, England!

Exactly where I will be travelling to soon. I wonder if he has any pointers for me?

Favourite Literary frogs:

Mr. Jeremy Fisher

by Beatrix Potter  

(one of my previous faves)

Read the story HERE

Frog and Toad series

by Arnold Lobel

 

This series of children`s books was written as easy readers in the 1970s. In 2008 the author`s daughter discovered some unpublished stories, which she decided to illustrate herself. 

Grandfather Frog 

by Thornton W. Burgess

Now here is something old, but new to me. I can`t resist including it, as it is a children`s song and cartoon written by none other than Paul McCartney!

Wouldn`t it be great if kissing a frog really worked

 

 Presto -- Changeo!

 

A Prince among men if I ever saw one!