Vindicated!

While catching up with The Hobbit worldwide premiere tours and the gorgeous pictures and exciting videos along with blog posts from fans about it all that  are deluging my email and Facebook accounts, one particular video finally stopped me in my tracks.

The interview in Japan with Peter Jackson, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Martin Freeman and of course Richard Armitage, kindly made available by RACentral, in particular Part 4.

(Any underage readers please skip this next bit...)  Peter Jackson's words of praise for Richard Armitage actually gave me an eargasm!  I don't know how else to describe it.  Have you ever been brought to tears by a particularly strong orgasm?  Well that's kind of what it was like to hear Peter Jackson's praise for Richard Armitage!

It's a good thing that I was alone in my house when I saw it because I immediately burst into uncontrollable sobbing.  How wonderful to finally hear the things we fans have been trumpeting out into cyberspace from a world class Director about a performance which will illustrate to the world what we have known all along!  I feel vindicated!  It was a "See! I told you so," kind of moment, but so much better!  Because that feeling was tied up with so many others.

It has been rather a lonely experience being a Richard Armitage fan.  I have treasured the virtual contact with his fans from all over the world which has been a truly unique and creatively stimulating experience for me.  Still it is disheartening to endure the blank looks I encounter when I mention his name in my real life relationships.  (Except for family members who usually roll their eyes while thinking, "There she goes again, I'll just humour her and pretend to listen!")  I have been longing for the day when I can have a discussion about him in the real world and now I'm realizing that the moment is almost here for me.

But never mind me!  I am also so excited and overjoyed for Richard Armitage himself!  What must it be like for him to see all his dreams finally reaching fruition?  It's just such an overwhelming emotional tsunami!

Here are Mr. Jackson's words which I needed to transcribe because I was so pleased with them:

In many respects I look on the characters Bilbo and Thorin as the heart and soul of the story.  And if Bilbo is the heart, then Thorin is the soul. We auditioned the role, saw many, many actors and Richard really managed to capture for us the very important ... the sense of nobility because essentially he is playing a king. But also the conflict as to whether or not he has the ability to lead these dwarves on this very difficult quest - a small number to fight a dragon to reclaim a homeland.  That's a very noble thing he's trying to do and yet he doesn't really have the resources (if you like) to do this.  And so it's...  And also with the character, there's a sense of honour that Richard - (that sort of quiet honour) that Richard carries which I think is absolutely superb.  And as an actor, Richard is one of those very rare actors which ummm... he uses stillness and he uses quiet to draw your eye.  That there can be a lot of things happening on the screen and many characters on the screen and yet Thorin - in his stillness draws your attention.  It's a very, very rare skill.  He's somebody who, when he's on the screen that your eyes go to that you want to watch.

I couldn't agree more, Mr. Jackson.  Richard Armitage is a very rare actor indeed.  But I counter that even though he does have an innate sense of nobility and honour, he was definitely drawing on that natural ability to the nth degree in this role.  As for using stillness and quiet, that is exactly what he does so admirably!  I have never seen an actor that can speak such volumes with the merest flicker of an eyelid!

He is so like a movie star of old, with his star quality.  I have likened him to Cary Grant, and Gary Cooper! (Thanks to Face in Hole). :) In other posts I have pointed out his similarities to Rudolph Valentino, and Paul Newman. There are many more screen stars of Hollywood's heyday that I haven't gotten around to comparing him to yet, but the fact is he has been star material since he first strode across the cotton mill floor in North and South.  Yes, our eyes gravitate to him.  When he is in a scene he holds our entire attention.  (Who would want to look anywhere else?)

This reminds me of one of my favourite fanvideos which was recently updated for RA's birthday. 

Here is GiztheGunslinger's second fanvideo to the tune of Filmstar by Suede.

And now he really is a Film Star!
Whether fans like it or not, (but hopefully he likes it) - that is how it is going to be.

Source: RichardArmitageNet.com

I Got Mail!

Yes indeed!  A package arrived for me today, the old school kind of mail - in a big blue bag labeled Royal Mail!  Score!  My copies of Empire Magazine have finally arrived! I ordered all five covers. Of course I am especially pleased to have this one.  It was also the first one to be SOLD OUT!

3D photography by Nels Israelson

(Thanks for sharing the link Meredith!)

I am getting very excited about The Hobbit movie.  Christmas will almost be an afterthought once I have experienced this long awaited triumph!  To sit in a darkened theatre seat and finally see my favourite actor in a major role on the big screen in 3D no less!  I can only hope I don't have a heart attack!!

I haven't posted any trailers for this movie yet, but now I've come across a fan-made compilation of all the trailers so far!  Thank you to Diane at C19 for posting the link to this!

I won't be getting into the city to see this when it first premieres but hopefully by the next week I will have seen it.  How will I stand the wait?!

Storm Watch

Seeing the devastation that Hurricane Sandy has wreaked on the east coast of the United States made me a bit embarrassed of my complaints about my own experience with the first winter storm of the season on the days before Thanksgiving Day weekend.  After all, I live in Canada's north.  I am used to snow storms and power outages (although winter ones are much worse).  But what the people in the wake of Hurricane Sandy have had to endure is like nothing I've ever experienced!  And, although I've never had the pleasure of visiting New York City, it was heart breaking to see the images of floods and damage, not to mention the crowds of homeless people in that great city.

I couldn't help thinking about the only person I knew who lived there.  We haven't been hearing from Bccmee much lately since she took an indefinite hiatus from her blog.  I knew she was a very proud New Yorker and I very worried about her.  So I sent her an email a couple of weeks ago to see how she was doing.  I figured the rest of you would want to hear about her too.  Here is her reply to my query about how she had weathered the storm.

Thanks so much for your note! It's really terrible what happened. Iwas very lucky since I live inland. Our power stayed on and there was no flooding. The biggest damage was to our trees and cars and some buildings sustained relatively minor damage. Here are some photos I took yesterday of the aftermath in my neighborhood:

October 30, 2012

 You can see plenty of damage from downed trees

After the tree was hauled away 

Luckily no one was hurt!

 She said that she had thought about posting this on her blog, but she wanted to keep that space "happy".

Well, since today is her birthday, I would like to wish Bccmee a very Happy Birthday, and send her many good wishes.  I am very glad she is doing well and though I miss her amazing blog posts I hope she is enjoying herself out in the real world.

And to those people who were adversely affected by Hurricane Sandy, I hope things get better for you very soon!

Day for Remembrance

Today, I remember my father.  He was born 100 years ago yesterday.  He is not alive today, having been grateful to pass away in his 90th year, long after life ceased to be of interest to him.  Although he was lucky not to suffer any real physical ailments, he was a proud man and he was tired from the gradual loss of his independence and his sense of dignity.

He was a hard man to know -- incomprehensible to his children.  His frequent bouts of bombastic temper are family legend now.  But despite his failings as a parent, we knew he cared about us.  He was there for us, to support us in every way that a father can.

What I remember most about him was his sense of humour.  He loved wordplay and our family had quite a few invented words (almost our own language) which we all contributed to, and he enjoyed very much. As he was in his late 40s when I was born, I don't remember him as a very active father, our shared pursuits were more sedentary - reading, watching television, and playing board games like checkers, crockinole and chess.

His old friends remembered his sense of humour. When I was in my late teens and we moved to southern Ontario I had the privilege of meeting one of Dad's friends from his RCAF squandron in WWII.  I could tell from his manner that he still held a lot of respect for my father and my Dad was equally thrilled to meet with him again.

Here is a picture of the squandron taken in 1945 at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, UK.

Thanks to my sister for providing the picture!

For more about my Dad, here is my post from last year:

Bombs Away

And last, but not ever least, here is Rick Mercer ranting about the Canadian federal government's latest injustice to our Veterans.

Scarecrow

by karichristensen

Do you find scarecrows frightening? They are supposed to scare the crows away from farmers' fields, but they manage to frighten more than just the birds!  At this time of year when darkness falls ever sooner, and the air turns to chill, an encounter with a demonically smiling effigy mounted on a stake and dancing in the wind is bound to send anyone running for cover!

I love this song by Canadian singer/songwriter Brock Zeman.  This vidder obvious agrees.

Scarecrow Blues / Brock Zeman

Occasionally in my research, I stumble upon little gems, but this one really amazed me!  

I have always been a HUGE fan of Elton John, and especially of his songs with Bernie Taupin as the lyricist.  Well, here is the first song that Elton John ever composed from Bernie Taupin's lyrics which is entitled... Scarecrow!

To learn more about this song, please click on the video which will open on the Youtube page and read the notes which accompany this video. 

This scarecrow is definitely terrifying! 

In the movie Batman Begins, Cillian Murphy played Batman's arch enemy The Scarecrow.

Path - Scarecrow Tribute / by Allure75

I almost forgot about this television show from the 1980s starring Kate Jackson  and Bruce Boxleitner.


Scarecrow and Mrs. King

It wasn't really about a 'scarecrow' though.  That was the code name for Bruce Boxleitner's character.  He played secret agent Lee Stetson.  Kate Jackson was a divorced mother with 2 sons who gets caught up in one of his adventures.  She eventually becomes a spy herself!




Everyone's favourite scarecrow has got to be from The Wizard of Oz!

The famous movie version starring Judy Garland, had Ray Bolger in the character of the Scarecrow.

Do you think they would ever make an updated version of that movie?
Of course you can guess who I would suggest to play the part of the Scarecrow!

Thankful

Listen to: When the Snow is on the Roses

On Sunday I hosted Thanksgiving supper for my family. My son was home for the first time for this holiday since he started University four years ago.  My husband's parents were there - his father having recently been released from hospital for a mysterious fainting spell for which the test results have not been received yet.  My sister and brother-in-law were also there.  Usually I get to skip out on making the turkey dinner as my sister with her well appointed dining room, does the honours.  She and her husband were still recovering from a nasty cold bug so she was quite happy to share our meal in my tiny eat-in kitchen.

Quite prominent in the thanksgiving toasts, besides the happiness of good health and being together, was the fact that we were able to eat a hot meal in the light and warmth of modern electricity.  We had just endured a 24+ hour power outtage due to an unexpected early snowstorm.  Both my mother-in-law and myself had been stuck on the highway due to an accident ahead of us (separate incidents).  I ended up being towed off the highway and had to wait for someone with 4-wheel drive to take me home.  People with wood stoves were able to keep warm and heat their food, but my home didn't have that luxury.  At least I had phone service, as I still have a land line.  People with cordless phones were suddenly incommunicado.  My iPhone with 3G still worked for several hours but eventually there was no cell service either.  I had never felt so isolated in my life!

The view from my dashboard as I was being towed

After an idyllic summer and the late arrival of Fall, Winter sprang upon us with no warning. 

Here was the view from my cottage last weekend, when the temperature was around 24 degrees Celsius.

Luckily my husband decided to pull the boat out

Here is the same scene exactly one week later

Note the snow covered boat and squashed willow tree from the heavy snow.

This weather has brought me to mind of the first historical incidences of Thanksgiving in North America.  It seems that survival from the harsh elements is quite a Canadian theme.  Martin Frobisher, (1539-1594) was an English explorer and privateer who was looking for the Northwest Passage to by pass North America on the way to the riches of the East Indies. Of course, he was not successful, but he was so grateful to survive his third journey across the Atlantic that he celebrated a service of Thanksgiving in 1578 on Baffin Island in Canada's eastern Arctic at the bay which now bears his name.

I couldn't resist this.  Can you see the resemblance?  

Sir Martin Frobisher by Cornelis Ketel, c. 1577

RA as Martin Frobisher

Then in 1605 Samuel de Champlain (fondly known as the Father of New France) founded the Order of Good Cheer. It was basically a weekly feast and kitchen party that lasted all winter long. The idea was to keep everyone's spirits up and share food during the long, harsh winter at their settlement at Port-Royal in the Annapolis Valley of present day Nova Scotia.

According to Wikipedia, "no authentic portrait of Champlain is known to exist".  But his likeness is usually shown as similar to the drawing on the left.  I used a Face-in-Hole portrait of Rene Descartes (who is dressed in a similar fashion) for my purposes. Doesn't he seem to be in Good Cheer?

Samuel de Champlain by Albert Descaris

RA as Samuel de Champlain

In Champlain's own words (translated from French), here is how he describes it in his diary:
We spent this winter very pleasantly, and had good food because of the Order of Good Cheer which I established. Everyone found it beneficial to his health, and better than any medicine we might have used. A chain was placed around the neck of one of our men every day. It was his job that day to go hunting. The next day the chain was given to someone else, and so on in order. Everyone competed to see who could do the best, and bring back the finest game. We did not come off badly, nor did the Indians who were with us.

The Order of Good Cheer by C.W. Jeffreys

Here is my wish for all of us:

May we all be warm, well fed and happily entertained 
in the company of good friends and family.


And now, if you have read this far, I do thank you.
For your entertainment, here is a treat from Servetus, at Me + Richard Armitage blog.

A Collection of clips of RA saying "Thanks"  by refgeek