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Best Actor 1939: James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
James Stewart received his first Oscar nomination for portraying recently selected Junior Senator Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington is a film I enjoy, although it is odd in it has scenes that are a little too hokey such as the scene where he goes around looking at the monuments, but at the same time it has rather dark scenes were the men of the political machines are literally attacking children. Still I do like it anyways, and I find the final scenes of the film are what makes it work.
James Stewart plays Jefferson Smith an old fashioned, well meaning, upright citizen, and a head of a local chapter of a fill in for the boy scouts called the boy rangers. He is chosen as the man to fill in for a senator who suddenly died, because political machinists headed by Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold) believe he will just be too simple to see through their schemes, and will be easy to manipulate. I really like Stewart's enthusiasm in his early scenes as Smith, Stewart really is simply perfect for the part as Jefferson Smith. He is perfectly the man he plays, and truly is an actor who was perfectly cast. I actually also liked Stewart because for me he is one actor who can play down the sometimes corny nature of scenes incredibly well. This is because for me I do not think he ever plays it unnaturally and can help even incredibly forced scenes feel much more natural.
He goes along to Washington and is pressured, bothered by many aspects of the Washington scene, but also intrigued by Democracy in action. I think handles the mix of emotions very well. I like his downright honest enthusiasm to see the monuments, and to be an actual United States Senator. He also when meeting the women of Washington, Stewart has the perfect awkward aw shucks. It is the usual Stewart romantic lead reactions, and actions, I do really enjoy them when they add to part of his overall performance. I think a particularly strong scene showing the usual Stewart charm that only Stewart ever had was when he is writing his Bill for a special camp for his Boy Rangers with his secretary Saunders (Jean Arthur). The way Stewart maneuvers himself in this scene is just perfect in that perfect Stewart way that I enjoy a whole lot.
His strongest scenes though is when he introduces his bill. He first introduces his bill, and Stewart is simply great in his manner of Smith's nervousness. But his bill causes him to see find out about a dark side of Washington involving a political machine. Smith is about to be rejected from the Senate on trumped up charged. Stewart's early enthusiasm is properly drained out in these scenes that really show that Smith can barely comprehend that such people could be so bad, and that his Senior Senator (Claude Raines) really was just a stooge the whole time. To prevent from being kicked out Smith starts a filibuster in an attempt to prove his innocence and to reveal the political machine in control. This final part of his performance is what makes it so memorable. Stewart is simply brilliant in his scenes of moving along and along trying to fight for his right, and slowly becoming more and more tired. Stewart is masterful in my opinion, especially in his brilliant final speech that holds true power, that is needed for the ending to succeed which I believe it does very well. I find this performance has the right amount of power, and charm throughout that supports the idea that 1939 is one of if not the greatest year in film.
James Stewart plays Jefferson Smith an old fashioned, well meaning, upright citizen, and a head of a local chapter of a fill in for the boy scouts called the boy rangers. He is chosen as the man to fill in for a senator who suddenly died, because political machinists headed by Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold) believe he will just be too simple to see through their schemes, and will be easy to manipulate. I really like Stewart's enthusiasm in his early scenes as Smith, Stewart really is simply perfect for the part as Jefferson Smith. He is perfectly the man he plays, and truly is an actor who was perfectly cast. I actually also liked Stewart because for me he is one actor who can play down the sometimes corny nature of scenes incredibly well. This is because for me I do not think he ever plays it unnaturally and can help even incredibly forced scenes feel much more natural.
He goes along to Washington and is pressured, bothered by many aspects of the Washington scene, but also intrigued by Democracy in action. I think handles the mix of emotions very well. I like his downright honest enthusiasm to see the monuments, and to be an actual United States Senator. He also when meeting the women of Washington, Stewart has the perfect awkward aw shucks. It is the usual Stewart romantic lead reactions, and actions, I do really enjoy them when they add to part of his overall performance. I think a particularly strong scene showing the usual Stewart charm that only Stewart ever had was when he is writing his Bill for a special camp for his Boy Rangers with his secretary Saunders (Jean Arthur). The way Stewart maneuvers himself in this scene is just perfect in that perfect Stewart way that I enjoy a whole lot.
His strongest scenes though is when he introduces his bill. He first introduces his bill, and Stewart is simply great in his manner of Smith's nervousness. But his bill causes him to see find out about a dark side of Washington involving a political machine. Smith is about to be rejected from the Senate on trumped up charged. Stewart's early enthusiasm is properly drained out in these scenes that really show that Smith can barely comprehend that such people could be so bad, and that his Senior Senator (Claude Raines) really was just a stooge the whole time. To prevent from being kicked out Smith starts a filibuster in an attempt to prove his innocence and to reveal the political machine in control. This final part of his performance is what makes it so memorable. Stewart is simply brilliant in his scenes of moving along and along trying to fight for his right, and slowly becoming more and more tired. Stewart is masterful in my opinion, especially in his brilliant final speech that holds true power, that is needed for the ending to succeed which I believe it does very well. I find this performance has the right amount of power, and charm throughout that supports the idea that 1939 is one of if not the greatest year in film.
It's a good news, bad news kinda thing
I'll explain this picture in a moment.
First, the bad news: a commitment has emerged that is going to seriously impact my Horrorthonnery this season. Not that my score has been all that jaw-dropping since I moved to LA, had a kid, got married, etc. etc. This new commitment has also been keeping me away from idle computer time during the day, which is why I haven't commented recently on various worthy things (Cat's latest cemetery adventure come to mind). Also I'd been meaning to conjure a new Horrorthon intro and who knows if that will happen. I'm cramming this post in right now during my Maya Character Setup class, because the prof is helping out the people who are lost and I'm fortunately not one of them (this time).
The good news is that the new time commitment is a really cool job for a really good rate. It's for six weeks, and my temp employers have even said they'd take me back at the end of the gig, so there's no income loss and a satisfying profit for that time. But we're in week two now, and you'll probably notice that means its footprint is smack on top of October. Did I mention we're working six-day weeks because we're terribly crunched for time? We are. On top of that I'm taking two more Maya classes this semester and still have a toddler to chase around, etc. etc.
It's the lost Saturdays and not sitting at a computer sneaking blog time that really hurts my thonning. Ah well. I will do my best.
So why am I making you look at this thing? I made this for a gig I got by answering a Craigslist ad back in March. Since I can't slap pictures of what I'm making right now on the internet (or really even talk about it), I'm posting this other thing I made that I really wanted to tell you guys about at the time, but couldn't for the same reasons.
I'm taking the risk now because I don't think the pilot got picked up and I don't even know what it's called (so I hope this post won't come up on a Google search). It was an interesting gig: I threw this monstrosity together in about a week's time, it was the first time I've done straight up anatomical sculpture, the job kicked my ass and brought me very little money, and the client was very happy with it. Also fun was the part where I transported it fully assembled and both of the dude's ankles snapped a few blocks into the trip.
The other bit of good news is about this place. Eddie Brandt's a video store that was recommended to me three years ago. It's close to my house but I've been deterred by their insane hours: 1 to 6 pm. But since the new gig is also nearby, I can hit it during lunch. They have, wait for it... eighty THOUSAND vhs tapes. I have a list of five flicks that Netflix doesn't have and I found ALL five of them on my first trip to their stacks. Stand by for beautiful obscurity!
I also invited Tami (friend of Trevor's) to get crazy with us this year. I'd say welcome aboard but she's not on the masthead yet. Yo, Tami!
Horrorthon, people!
Horrorthon.
Goo.gl - shorten those urls, Poindexter!
Google has opened the public doors to their url shortening weblication* (web+application). Similar to bit.ly and others, this will make a long url such as http://mylivetube.blogspot.com/2010/09/googl-shorten-those-urls-poindexter.html and turn it into http://goo.gl/tPMM.
This is helpful in instant messages, texts, and overall bandwidth, should you be concerned. Also as other url shortening services provide, goo.gl provides detailed statistics, not just the simple hits. If you are marketing a product, promoting a gallery opening, getting the word out about your new music, or just your new Dominatrix Delivery Company, goo.gl will surely help you track where visitors are finding you and may increase your business ;)
See below and give it a whirl.
* I can also be hired to come up with other nifty words similar to weblication.
This is helpful in instant messages, texts, and overall bandwidth, should you be concerned. Also as other url shortening services provide, goo.gl provides detailed statistics, not just the simple hits. If you are marketing a product, promoting a gallery opening, getting the word out about your new music, or just your new Dominatrix Delivery Company, goo.gl will surely help you track where visitors are finding you and may increase your business ;)
See below and give it a whirl.
* I can also be hired to come up with other nifty words similar to weblication.
Whirlygirl's stratégie de film
Last Horrorthon I watched two French films: Martyrs and Inside (I don’t think I wrote a review on either), and I came to the conclusion that the French are sicker than I ever imagined. At the last moments before Horrorthon, I decided not to fly theme less, but instead find out how crazy these bastards really are. I’ve put together what I hope will be an entertaining and disgusting list. For those of you who have seen Martrys, Inside, and Frontiers, you know that there will be blood…lots and lots of blood, but what you may or may not know is that there will also be an abundance of nudity and lesbians, as well as a female vampire that drains the blood of her victims while performing oral sex. I’m anxiously awaiting a viewing of the most walked out of film of 2002, and crossing my fingers that I don’t become violently ill watching a film about a woman obsessed with her own wounds and self-mutilation.
Though, unfortunately, it won’t be all French for me this October. Austin movie theaters show a plethora of Horror films from the famous to the obscure for a buck all month long, so I certainly have to catch a few, and since the local libraries don’t exactly subscribe to French horror, I might have to get what I can from them when Netflix doesn’t send me my French flicks quick enough.
Really cool Japanese Techno-Pop Video
Hopefully not already posted by JPX ten years ago...
Seriously though, you should watch this.
Seriously though, you should watch this.
malleabili
like it? click it!
press 'L' to embiggen in the dark.
view of a structure found at the national technical university of athens' department of architecture. the location is geomapped.
©2010 helen sotiriadis
Best Actor 1939: Robert Donat in Goobye, Mr. Chips
Robert Donat won his Oscar from his second and final Oscar nomination for portraying school teacher Arthur Chipping in Goodbye, Mr. Chips.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a very nice film about a school teacher, and his life with his students, his wife, and the outside world.
Robert Donat's win is never really maligned, but sometimes but it usually not described as the proper winner, probably by many who have not seen his performance. Donat's performance is one of wide scope since it starts at Chip's first day as a school teacher as a young man to his last days of school as a old head master. One big challenge of his performance is the aging of the character, which Donat handles masterfully. I never doubted him for a second, as he aged from younger years to a very old man. A big challenge for any actor since they can either under do the age, or over do it, but Donat nails Chipping at every single age without absolutely no fault. He makes the character's age also make his performance even more effective, he really shows a man as he goes through his life and it is rather amazing.
He also shows how Chips grows a teacher equally well. He is fantastic as him in his first day, when he is the new school master, and has great troubles with the boys. His awkwardness, and inability is truly well shown by Donat. Later though as time goes on he commands the class room with far more power, and Donat shows Chips has grown greater confidence and control over his room and the students. It is truly a fantastic display of how the man grows in his career. As he becomes more and more attuned with the school, Donat perfectly shows how Chips simply becomes more and more naturalistic in his ways as a teacher and later as the head master.
Donat has another task of having Chips slowly grows as a person. He begins as a rather introverted man who tries to keep to himself, and only tries to seek friendship in incredibly small ways.
Donat though shows his growth as a person incredibly well when he meets his future wife Katherine (Greer Garson). I really like Donat's chemistry with Garson it is just right, since he still stays shy, but Donat allows just the right amount of life and love come from him that really works well. After they marry his wife also makes Chips a slightly more outgoing man so much that he actually makes a joke in his class. Donat never makes it so Chip completely becomes no longer shy, but he adds the right amount of new found liveliness that rings true.
Every single part of Donat's performance works incredibly well, and the scenes of him in the most dramatic scenes are no different. Chips must deal with many tragic events during his life, and Donat brilliantly handles these sequences because he never makes any big dramatic gestures. Instead he internalizes Chips anguish and sadness. Donat because he does this he keeps Chips as a consistent man, and also I found the way he handled the sequences to be truly effective since he used his facial expressions and eyes so perfectly. Overall Donat's performance really is simply great work, it is fantastic piece of acting, and when I watched his performance I really felt I saw a man going through his life which I believe shows the strength of his work here.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a very nice film about a school teacher, and his life with his students, his wife, and the outside world.Robert Donat's win is never really maligned, but sometimes but it usually not described as the proper winner, probably by many who have not seen his performance. Donat's performance is one of wide scope since it starts at Chip's first day as a school teacher as a young man to his last days of school as a old head master. One big challenge of his performance is the aging of the character, which Donat handles masterfully. I never doubted him for a second, as he aged from younger years to a very old man. A big challenge for any actor since they can either under do the age, or over do it, but Donat nails Chipping at every single age without absolutely no fault. He makes the character's age also make his performance even more effective, he really shows a man as he goes through his life and it is rather amazing.
He also shows how Chips grows a teacher equally well. He is fantastic as him in his first day, when he is the new school master, and has great troubles with the boys. His awkwardness, and inability is truly well shown by Donat. Later though as time goes on he commands the class room with far more power, and Donat shows Chips has grown greater confidence and control over his room and the students. It is truly a fantastic display of how the man grows in his career. As he becomes more and more attuned with the school, Donat perfectly shows how Chips simply becomes more and more naturalistic in his ways as a teacher and later as the head master.
Donat has another task of having Chips slowly grows as a person. He begins as a rather introverted man who tries to keep to himself, and only tries to seek friendship in incredibly small ways.
Donat though shows his growth as a person incredibly well when he meets his future wife Katherine (Greer Garson). I really like Donat's chemistry with Garson it is just right, since he still stays shy, but Donat allows just the right amount of life and love come from him that really works well. After they marry his wife also makes Chips a slightly more outgoing man so much that he actually makes a joke in his class. Donat never makes it so Chip completely becomes no longer shy, but he adds the right amount of new found liveliness that rings true.
Every single part of Donat's performance works incredibly well, and the scenes of him in the most dramatic scenes are no different. Chips must deal with many tragic events during his life, and Donat brilliantly handles these sequences because he never makes any big dramatic gestures. Instead he internalizes Chips anguish and sadness. Donat because he does this he keeps Chips as a consistent man, and also I found the way he handled the sequences to be truly effective since he used his facial expressions and eyes so perfectly. Overall Donat's performance really is simply great work, it is fantastic piece of acting, and when I watched his performance I really felt I saw a man going through his life which I believe shows the strength of his work here.
My pumpkin plant tried to kill me
This year I thought it would be fun to grow my own pumpkin. I ordered some random pumpkin seeds off of Amazon and completely ignored the directions. I first planted one of these "full moon" pumpkin seeds in June, assuming that I'd be carving up a jack-o-lantern by time Horrorthon rolled around. Boy was I wrong. The directions indicate that I should allow a lot of space to grow one of these things but I just shoved a seed in a random part of my yard because I was lazy.
To my delight it didn't take long for the seed to germinate and soon it started to sprout a healthy vine replete with flowers. I watered the bastard every day because it always seemed thirsty.
My pumpkin plant seemed to grow an inch daily
Before long the vine, which resembled one of the plants from The Ruins, grew rapidly. It was startling how quickly this thing ran out of space.
"Whirlygirl, stop taking pictures and check out the size of this thing!"
When Whirlygirl recently visited she seemed more interested in taking photographs than checking out the monster I was harboring in my backyard.
Aghhhhhhhh!
No thanks to Whirlygirl I managed to get away. I fear going into my backyard and I have walled up my house...
Rudolph R.I.P.
From foreverfunblog, There was a small item in the news recently, the kind of article that many casual readers could have easily overlooked. However, for those of us who are fans of Rudolph, it came as a big bit of very sad news: Billie Mae Richards, the voice of our beloved Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, has died.
For most of us who have worked on the Rudolph line here at Round 2 and also previously at Playing Mantis, developing the Rudolph line was (and is) so much more than just a job. I grew up with Rudolph on television every Christmas, and to actually become a part of that holiday phenomenon, even in such a peripheral manner, is a real privilege and an honor. It is about so much more than just commerce. When we started adding audio to our figures, and the instantly identifiable sounds of the REAL Rudolph started coming out of our product, it was that perfect icing on our holiday cake, the final touch that at last made our product feel truly genuine.
We have Billie Mae Richards to thank for that. The dulcet tones of that shy little reindeer, humble and magnificent at the same time, will continue to be an indelible part of our holiday year after year, for generations to come. Maybe it was just a tiny incandescent bulb that really gave Rudolph his shiny nose, but it was Rudolph’s distinctive voice — full of insecurity, goodness and hope — that gave that little stop-motion puppet its heart.
Thank you, Billie Mae, for truly bringing Rudolph to life.
'Star Wars' movies to be rereleased in 3-D, Lucasfilm announces
From ew, The Star Wars saga is about to get a lot more dimensional. Lucasfilm announced Tuesday that all six Star Wars movies will return to theaters in 3-D, according to Variety. The first film to hit screens will be Episode I: The Phantom Menace — it’ll be released wide sometime in 2012. The movies’ 3-D conversion is being handled by outside vendors and will be overseen by Industrial Light & Magic visual effects supervisor John Knoll. “It’s not going to look like [conversions] we’ve seen in the past,” Knoll told Variety. Stereoscopic conversion has been a sticky subject of late, especially after the much-criticized last-minute conversions of movies like Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender.
Knoll also said that George Lucas isn’t planning to further “enhance” any of the visual effects this time around. When the original trilogy was rereleased in 1997, Lucas altered several scenes and tinkered with many of the effects — much to many fans’ dismay.
anger
click
or embiggen, if you must.
no.. not his. mine.
the greek people are being
no, i don't understand -- and i hope i never do.
this is a statue of archbishop damaskinos papandreou on mitropoleos square in athens, greece, geotagged... and, of course, the image is no reflection on the person.
this is a statue of archbishop damaskinos papandreou on mitropoleos square in athens, greece, geotagged... and, of course, the image is no reflection on the person.
his personality is irrelevant.
somehow, greek public life must extricate itself from its religious institutions.
©2010 helen sotiriadis
©2010 helen sotiriadis
This Ain't Avatar
From Bleeding Cool
This is the trailer to Axel Braun’s pre-Superman XXX porn parody for Hustler, This Ain’t Avatar XXX. Sadly the budget doesn’t seem quite as impressive as previous productions, and there seems little if no CGI, just dodgy prosthetics, but then it will be in 3D. So there’s probably some benefit to that, I guess. Expect lots of ponytails, and other bits and bobs waved in your face.
Now I've heard it all. More info here
Best Actor 1939: Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights
Laurence Olivier received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights.
Wuthering Heights is a rather dramatic film, although it is a bit melodramatic, I did in fact find it interesting anyways. I can't describe precisely why, but I certainly did not mind watching it.
Laurence Olivier I will admit, is an actor I enjoy watching a whole lot, especially when he gets a role completely right. He is an actor though that I enjoy most though when he relaxes a bit. Now this does not mean his character has to be a relaxed fellow, but just a character Olivier plays around a little with, and is not just intense the whole time. Heathcliff is an Archetype of a character. The Archetype of the dramatic romantic man, who does anything to try to gain his true love. This stops Olivier from really relaxing in this role, which stops his performance from being an Olivier performance I really enjoy, but this does not stop his performance from being a good if not great one.
Some have described his performance as over the top, and even hammy, but I disagree. See Heathcliff, is a role written incredibly broadly. His emotions in the film are written to be shown this way, his dialogue, and character prevent the character from being played entirely subtly. Olivier has to deal with the big emotions of the character throughout the film, and does not become hammy despite the nature of the character, which quite an achievement. Olivier conveys his emotions certainly through his superb voice, but he never forgets to internalize Heathcliff's feelings through his face, and eyes which always convey emotions in this performance.
Olivier is just great throughout his performance from his beginning where Heathcliff is a hard working young man being mistreated by the brother of his Adoptive family. Also being mistreated by the rich people in his community being called Gypsy rubbish. Heathcliff though also continues to pursue Kathy (Merle Oberon) his childhood sweetheart who he continues to love, and she continues to love him. She though only shows that secretly at times in order to be intune with the proper way for the community.
Olivier is perfect in these early scenes showing enthusiasm with Oberon when she still shows him love. Oberon and Olivier have an interesting chemistry in this film, since apparently they hated each other during filming. They actually do well together though, even if strangely. They show the mutual love when they need but they really work when Olivier shows love but Oberon stays cold. Olivier is perfect in these scenes especially in his sadness when she talks down to him as a servant and is truly saddened by it. Also when he overhears her talking down to him, his reaction really is made heartbreaking by Olivier.
Later though Olivier is just as effective when Heathcliff comes back to Wuthering Heights after he leaves for a long while in distress. Heathcliff returns though now rich and owning Wuthering Heights by undercutting his cruel adoptive brother. Heathcliff now has become a cold man, and Olivier is simply great at showing the changed Heathcliff. He is effectively chilling in the way he stands and looks, showing how the life has been taken out of him. Olivier is particularly chilling when he tells his adoptive brother to shoot him, and how he cruelly commands over the man who had done the same to him. Heathcliff has not lost all of his heart though and does show it in key scenes showing he still loves Kathy. Olivier really is perfect in these scenes especially in the last scene together. He plays it really well showing how Heathcliff hid the emotions all along, and really making these scenes as natural and powerful as possible. Olivier's entire performance is truly great, never allowing the somewhat simple nature of his character to make his performance simple. Another great performance from Lord Olivier.
Laurence Olivier I will admit, is an actor I enjoy watching a whole lot, especially when he gets a role completely right. He is an actor though that I enjoy most though when he relaxes a bit. Now this does not mean his character has to be a relaxed fellow, but just a character Olivier plays around a little with, and is not just intense the whole time. Heathcliff is an Archetype of a character. The Archetype of the dramatic romantic man, who does anything to try to gain his true love. This stops Olivier from really relaxing in this role, which stops his performance from being an Olivier performance I really enjoy, but this does not stop his performance from being a good if not great one.
Some have described his performance as over the top, and even hammy, but I disagree. See Heathcliff, is a role written incredibly broadly. His emotions in the film are written to be shown this way, his dialogue, and character prevent the character from being played entirely subtly. Olivier has to deal with the big emotions of the character throughout the film, and does not become hammy despite the nature of the character, which quite an achievement. Olivier conveys his emotions certainly through his superb voice, but he never forgets to internalize Heathcliff's feelings through his face, and eyes which always convey emotions in this performance.
Olivier is just great throughout his performance from his beginning where Heathcliff is a hard working young man being mistreated by the brother of his Adoptive family. Also being mistreated by the rich people in his community being called Gypsy rubbish. Heathcliff though also continues to pursue Kathy (Merle Oberon) his childhood sweetheart who he continues to love, and she continues to love him. She though only shows that secretly at times in order to be intune with the proper way for the community.
Olivier is perfect in these early scenes showing enthusiasm with Oberon when she still shows him love. Oberon and Olivier have an interesting chemistry in this film, since apparently they hated each other during filming. They actually do well together though, even if strangely. They show the mutual love when they need but they really work when Olivier shows love but Oberon stays cold. Olivier is perfect in these scenes especially in his sadness when she talks down to him as a servant and is truly saddened by it. Also when he overhears her talking down to him, his reaction really is made heartbreaking by Olivier.
Later though Olivier is just as effective when Heathcliff comes back to Wuthering Heights after he leaves for a long while in distress. Heathcliff returns though now rich and owning Wuthering Heights by undercutting his cruel adoptive brother. Heathcliff now has become a cold man, and Olivier is simply great at showing the changed Heathcliff. He is effectively chilling in the way he stands and looks, showing how the life has been taken out of him. Olivier is particularly chilling when he tells his adoptive brother to shoot him, and how he cruelly commands over the man who had done the same to him. Heathcliff has not lost all of his heart though and does show it in key scenes showing he still loves Kathy. Olivier really is perfect in these scenes especially in the last scene together. He plays it really well showing how Heathcliff hid the emotions all along, and really making these scenes as natural and powerful as possible. Olivier's entire performance is truly great, never allowing the somewhat simple nature of his character to make his performance simple. Another great performance from Lord Olivier.
Please, Don't Let This Be the Future of Air Travel
via POPSCI
On your last flight, did you stare with envy at the people sitting in the exit row? Did you get a charley horse from trying to cross your legs under your tray table? Consider yourself lucky, pal. Your next budget flight might ask you to fly horseback style, squeezed onto a saddle in just 23 inches of space.
This new airplane seat will be officially unveiled at a trade show next week, and the early buzz is that several airlines are interested, including some in the U.S. The thought makes us cringe — which, come to think of it, we will be required to do in order to fit into these seats.
The “SkyRider” is the latest innovation designed to save airlines money and, apparently, make passengers miserable. It is supposed to mimic the experience of riding horseback: “Cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle,” says Dominique Menoud, director general of Aviointeriors Group, which will make the seats. Some cowboys might say otherwise, but there’s a larger point: In the future, do we really want to return to traveling Old West style?modern theology
modern theology is what you get after science has painted religion into a corner, exposing it for the barren wasteland that it is. modern theology is the indignant fury of an idea whose time is over, dissipating under the scrutiny of reason and logic.
©2010 helen sotiriadis
©2010 helen sotiriadis
Gross: Real life Pac-Man
From geekology, DeviantARTist Kalapusa, best known for his Piranha Plant garden sculpture, is back at it, this time with a lifelike Pac-Man sculpture. As you can see, Pac isn't nearly as adorable when rendered in more than 8-bits, which is exactly why you should never make love to Ms. Pac-Man without first feeding her every lamp in the hotel room. Per Dr. Frankenstein himself:
My follow-up to Making a Piranha Plant, this animated depiction of the last days and final destination of a P. rotundus specimen is part of my 8-Bit Labs series of sculptures.
Each piece is based on a classic videogame character as seen through the prism of real-life anatomy. They are rendered in clay, painted with acrylics and sealed in resin to give the appearance of a specimen preserved in formaldehyde. Seen here is a Pakku rotundus, which is based on Pac Man.
Good lookin', Kalapusa. I always wanted to know what Pac would look like in real life, and now that I do I can chalk it up as another one of those things I wish I hadn't. Like watching two giraffes mate, but without having to camp out at the zoo for ten days (Kidding -- totally worth it).
More HEAT than the Police! - LA hits all time RECORD
Temperatures have only been 110 degrees or higher three other times in L.A.
http://bit.ly/cThDeq <- Weather.com's report
What is the hottest you have experienced?
I was in Arizona, working on the Warped Tour in 2001 and it was 110 at NIGHT! July 4th. It was 117 and possibly over 120 in the day!
the fragrant sunset
like it? click it!
embiggen
another image from the archives: bei hai with the white pagoda and the sun setting behind xiang shan gong yuan [video from the fragrant hills]. shot from jing shan gong yuan, the hill directly north of the forbidden city, beijing, china, on may 24th, 2008.
this image was shot just a bit after this one, but processed last night. i wish i'd known more about photography then.
this is geotagged, looking northwest.
©2010 helen sotiriadis
Best Actor 1939: Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind
Clark Gable received his third and final Oscar nomination for portraying Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind.
Gone With The Wind is an incredibly strong epic. It is a long movie, that is actually worth watching the whole. It has a few problems but overall it really is a truly great and grandiose film experience.
Clark Gable performance is certainly is an iconic performance, just about everything about him is a truly iconic performance. Now an iconic performance does not automatically mean a good one or a great one, it can merely be the idea or image of the performance. But there is one thing for sure when speaking of the character there seems that only that person could have ever really be thought as that character.
Clark Gable just is Rhett Butler, and Rhett is Gable. As soon as he appears, he is the character there is no doubt, he just simply is the part. Everything about him only ever insures him as Rhett Butler. I never for a moment in the film questioned him in the part which aided the making his performance as a truly iconic one. His performance as Rhett is one that is essential to the film, and Gable is a character of great impact of the film. This all begins with his initial entrance at the bottom of the stair case looking up at Scarlett (Vivien Leigh). His single look here begins the ease of performance Gable has with this performance. He says nothing but Gable has already suggested more than enough of Butler. Gable look is absolutely perfect there is no question to that look it is as Scarlett describes it, being able to see through her clothes.
For about a third of the film Rhett really does not continuously appear in scenes in comes in and out of the film. Every time though he appears he certainly makes a strong impact, this partially in the way Rhett is written but more fully due to Gable incredibly powerful presence. Gable's presence here is like none other, his natural charisma and strength are never more visible and as strong than as Rhett. Every single moment Gable is on screen his personality is simply magnetic. He always stands out in a scene and always a perfect command in them. Such as his first scene where he questions the abilities of the southern gentlemen to win against the North. He shows Rhett is a man who always has command over his situation. He makes Rhett into a man who knows what he wants and how to get it, and a man who shall not be forgotten, and is not forgotten ever in the film.
Now the most important factor of his performance though that really makes it legendary are his scenes with Vivien Leigh. Vivien Leigh's performance is an astounding performance, one of true brilliance, and Gable being able to stand up along with Leigh performance is a true feat there. Both of the two work wonderfully together. They both are completely in tune with their characters and in each other to make their scenes together scenes of cinematic greatness. I really like Gable way of dealing with Leigh and the way she deals back toward him. They simply could not be better, and both are absolutely brilliantly in showing these two characters who sees things the way they are even if they are of low character at times. They are fantastic in the way they tear at each other down to their true selves. These "romantic" scenes together are fascinating because they really are not tender, but in many ways harsh, yet they still hold tremendous power, because of Leigh and Gable are truly great together.
Gable finally consistently appears in the final fourth of the film, after Rhett marries Scarlett. Gable got along perfectly before that point, excelling as Rhett, while Rhett was always able to stay away partially and never truly become involved with the troublesome Scarlet. Rhett when he does become even more deeply involved with Scarlet including to having a daughter together, Rhett finds great troubles with this relationship, and this really puts Gable performance to the test. Gable is more than up to the task, though and gives truly emotionally honest portrayal as Rhett. He shows Rhett desire to love Scarlet but also his sadness and regret due to her inability to shake her own selfishness. Gable is simply perfect in all of these scenes, and especially the final scene where Scarlet goes to Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) for the last time. His exit and final line delivery are mark of not only an iconic performance, but also of a truly great legendary performance.
Clark Gable performance is certainly is an iconic performance, just about everything about him is a truly iconic performance. Now an iconic performance does not automatically mean a good one or a great one, it can merely be the idea or image of the performance. But there is one thing for sure when speaking of the character there seems that only that person could have ever really be thought as that character.
Clark Gable just is Rhett Butler, and Rhett is Gable. As soon as he appears, he is the character there is no doubt, he just simply is the part. Everything about him only ever insures him as Rhett Butler. I never for a moment in the film questioned him in the part which aided the making his performance as a truly iconic one. His performance as Rhett is one that is essential to the film, and Gable is a character of great impact of the film. This all begins with his initial entrance at the bottom of the stair case looking up at Scarlett (Vivien Leigh). His single look here begins the ease of performance Gable has with this performance. He says nothing but Gable has already suggested more than enough of Butler. Gable look is absolutely perfect there is no question to that look it is as Scarlett describes it, being able to see through her clothes.
For about a third of the film Rhett really does not continuously appear in scenes in comes in and out of the film. Every time though he appears he certainly makes a strong impact, this partially in the way Rhett is written but more fully due to Gable incredibly powerful presence. Gable's presence here is like none other, his natural charisma and strength are never more visible and as strong than as Rhett. Every single moment Gable is on screen his personality is simply magnetic. He always stands out in a scene and always a perfect command in them. Such as his first scene where he questions the abilities of the southern gentlemen to win against the North. He shows Rhett is a man who always has command over his situation. He makes Rhett into a man who knows what he wants and how to get it, and a man who shall not be forgotten, and is not forgotten ever in the film.
Now the most important factor of his performance though that really makes it legendary are his scenes with Vivien Leigh. Vivien Leigh's performance is an astounding performance, one of true brilliance, and Gable being able to stand up along with Leigh performance is a true feat there. Both of the two work wonderfully together. They both are completely in tune with their characters and in each other to make their scenes together scenes of cinematic greatness. I really like Gable way of dealing with Leigh and the way she deals back toward him. They simply could not be better, and both are absolutely brilliantly in showing these two characters who sees things the way they are even if they are of low character at times. They are fantastic in the way they tear at each other down to their true selves. These "romantic" scenes together are fascinating because they really are not tender, but in many ways harsh, yet they still hold tremendous power, because of Leigh and Gable are truly great together.
Gable finally consistently appears in the final fourth of the film, after Rhett marries Scarlett. Gable got along perfectly before that point, excelling as Rhett, while Rhett was always able to stay away partially and never truly become involved with the troublesome Scarlet. Rhett when he does become even more deeply involved with Scarlet including to having a daughter together, Rhett finds great troubles with this relationship, and this really puts Gable performance to the test. Gable is more than up to the task, though and gives truly emotionally honest portrayal as Rhett. He shows Rhett desire to love Scarlet but also his sadness and regret due to her inability to shake her own selfishness. Gable is simply perfect in all of these scenes, and especially the final scene where Scarlet goes to Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) for the last time. His exit and final line delivery are mark of not only an iconic performance, but also of a truly great legendary performance.
SJP Look Alikes
After seeing JPX's post on Sex and the City it prompted me to look up some SJP look alike pics. The results were hilarious.
Greatest movie ever (at least Octo and Stan will think so)!
From toplessrobot, Seriously. Watch this trailer for the aptly named Indian movie Robot -- and tell me this doesn't look far more entertaining than 75% of the shit Hollywood puts out. Sure, there's probably plenty of singing and dancing, but there's also giant robot snakes made of hundreds of robot people and a robot whose arsenal puts most anime to shame. Hell, other than Tron: Legacy, I can't think of a single movie coming up that I want to see more than this.
No More "Sex and the City" Movies
From worstpreviews, Chris Noth, who played Mr Big in the "Sex and the City" TV series and the two movies, told NY Magazine that there will be no more film installments in the franchise.
"It's over. The franchise is dead," he said. "The press killed it. It's like all the critics got together and said, 'This franchise must die.' They all had the exact same review. It's like they didn't see the movie."
Looking at the numbers, it is more than bad reviews that killed the franchise. While the first film grossed $152 million domestically on a $65 million budget, the sequel took in only $95 million on a $100 million budget. And as far as those bad reviews... "Sex and the City 2" has a ridiculously low 15% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.
Box Office
From ew [excerpt], Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps won a weekend that started off with a bang but ended up weaker than predicted. The Oliver Stone-directed sequel to his 1987 classic generated $19 million for the frame, off from the low $20 million it was expected to gross. The Shia LaBeouf, Michael Douglas-starrer is still a big success for Stone, though, as it marks the veteran director’s highest opening weekend. It also far surpassed Warner Bros. animated owl pic, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole. The Zack Snyder-directed film, which was expected to cross the $20 million mark this weekend, only earned $16.3 million for the frame. Despite the dearth of kid’s fare in the marketplace recently, and the extra bells and whistles Guardians offered with 3-D and IMAX, the film failed to bring in the families.
Audiences, however, liked the owl flick far more than Wall Street. According to exit pollster Cinemascore, audiences gave Guardians an A-, while Wall Street only generated a B-.
Some of the most impressive performances for the frame went to last weekend’s holdovers. The Town saw a weekend haul of $16 million, for a total gross of $49 million. The Ben Affleck-directed heist film seems to really be catching on. It will be interesting to see how it fares next weekend when The Social Network bows nationwide. Easy A also scored a nice gross its second weekend in theaters. The Emma Stone-starrer fell only 40 percent for a take of $10.7 million. The $8 million production has now earned $32.8 million in just ten days of release.
danbo squared
like it? click it!
press 'L' to embiggen.
danbo is happy when she's sad, and sad, when happy.
horizontal and vertical reflections with two pieces of tinted glass.
©2010 helen sotiriadis
Best Actor 1939: Mickey Rooney in Babes in Arms
Mickey Rooney received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Mickey Moran in Babes in Arms.
Babes in Arms is an okay musical film, with a pretty standard plot, and with musical numbers that either hit or miss.
Mickey Rooney plays Mickey Moran a young second generation vaudeville performer who is trying to find success as an entertainer by making a show with the second generation performers. Rooney's character here is the type that he played many times in his younger years. The musical performer of the young man who has the dream to be a big success. His character is not exactly that complicated of a person but then again he hardly needs to be.
Rooney just plays Moran in the way that he should be played which is with a whole lot of energy. Rooney really does not stop moving in this performance, and does infuse the right type of energy into the role. He certainly never seems to be bored while playing the part, and that does work well for his character. He is always singing, moving or doing something, with Moran, which seems to say that Rooney certainly is working to making his performance as enjoyable as possible. He certainly tries everything in this performance to be entertaining, whether it is singing, dancing, or even trying for comedy with imitations such as when he imitates Co-Nominee Clark Gable.
Rooney I have to give credit here for always keeping a passion in his performance for every scene. He never slows down in this performance. He is always trying for something, I must say he does not always succeed, but in a film like that I am glad he is trying to put that sort of energy into the mix. He never ever falls completely flat, nor does he become really annoying, which he certainly could have become. His performance certainly does succeed in a functional sort of way, in that the performance is not a truly great performance, as either a musical/comedy performance, or as a dramatic performance after all the most dramatic scene he has is his impassioned speech about wanting to be an entertainer, but for the film, this performance could not really be better. It is a performance for clear entertainment purposes, and succeeds on that level fairly well, and it simply serves its function as it should.
Mickey Rooney plays Mickey Moran a young second generation vaudeville performer who is trying to find success as an entertainer by making a show with the second generation performers. Rooney's character here is the type that he played many times in his younger years. The musical performer of the young man who has the dream to be a big success. His character is not exactly that complicated of a person but then again he hardly needs to be.
Rooney just plays Moran in the way that he should be played which is with a whole lot of energy. Rooney really does not stop moving in this performance, and does infuse the right type of energy into the role. He certainly never seems to be bored while playing the part, and that does work well for his character. He is always singing, moving or doing something, with Moran, which seems to say that Rooney certainly is working to making his performance as enjoyable as possible. He certainly tries everything in this performance to be entertaining, whether it is singing, dancing, or even trying for comedy with imitations such as when he imitates Co-Nominee Clark Gable.
Rooney I have to give credit here for always keeping a passion in his performance for every scene. He never slows down in this performance. He is always trying for something, I must say he does not always succeed, but in a film like that I am glad he is trying to put that sort of energy into the mix. He never ever falls completely flat, nor does he become really annoying, which he certainly could have become. His performance certainly does succeed in a functional sort of way, in that the performance is not a truly great performance, as either a musical/comedy performance, or as a dramatic performance after all the most dramatic scene he has is his impassioned speech about wanting to be an entertainer, but for the film, this performance could not really be better. It is a performance for clear entertainment purposes, and succeeds on that level fairly well, and it simply serves its function as it should.
eye contact
like it? click it!
embiggen
i shot this with the canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM macro plus a marumi close-up +4 filter, using EOS utility's remote live view. you can see the reflection of my eye in the software window on the monitor.
you can also see my contact lens.
i started out trying one of those super-close-ups of the iris, but it really isn't that interesting so i backed off.
©2010 helen sotiriadis
Boo!
Hey gang, didn't mean to scare you like that! I've noticed that everyone seems to be getting fired up about Horrorthon 2010. And why not? It's a freakin' blast.
Before things get too wild and crazy I'd like to take this opportunity to discuss the rules. Though we've tried over the years to come up with a rulebook, the laid back nature of the bloggers always results in "use your own discretion" guidelines. That's Ok as everyone here pretty much gets it - watch as many horror movies as you can from October 1-31 and post reviews of them. However, there's one new rule that I would like to enforce.
Let's have a good clean battle, ok folks?
NEW RULE: No posting more than 2 reviews per day. This will ensure that reviews don't get immediately buried by those who watch obscene amounts of movies (*polite cough* Catfreeek). I hope it'll encourage more people to participate.
If anyone else has ideas about how to improve the competition, please post them in the comments. We can discuss and then let Millvina decide. Toodles!
More Adventures With Dead People
In preparation for this years Horrorthon I have been visiting some local graveyards to set the mood.
No graveyard expedition would be complete without at least one famous dead guy.
I think most native New Englander's just take these wonderful sections of beautifully preserved history for granted.
Raising Hell!
I am having a fantastic time wandering around these amazing stone art galleries with Tony or my friend Tracy.
Tracy is the best graveyard partner!I hope you are enjoying the experience through my eyes as much as I am enjoying it first hand. Happy Horrorthon!
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