BW is still bringing home an endless stream of old photos from his parents’ house, so let’s have some fun why don’t we?
Can you name three items in this photo of my bedroom in Dec. 1989 that are the same or similar to three items in my office today?
Answers after the jump!
I did not create this, I found it on the interwebs. Go ahead, don’t believe me, but it’s true. I’m just spreading the Truth around like a crazy Protestant with a handful of Chick Tracts.
EVERYBODY NEEDS SOME FUCKING GINGER IN THEIR FUCKING SPICE RACK.
Oh this is just getting insane now.
I have outlined for you all of the many reasons why Ewan McGregor is my Parallel Universe Husband. Why I could swap him for BW and Ewan’s wife and I would barely notice a difference. 
I don’t need any more data to back up this claim but now comes this…
Apr 6 2011
Ewan ancestor revealed
STAR Wars actor Ewan McGregor may sound as Scottish as they come – but he had a South American great grandad called Juan.
The revelation about the Scots star, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the sci-fi flicks, was uncovered as census records from 100 years ago were released online yesterday.
McGregor’s great grandad, known as John McIndoe, was born in Chile in 1884 to a Scots father and was originally called Juan.
He worked as chancellor of the Chilean consulate in Glasgow in 1911 and his daughter married a grocer called James McGregor.
The couple had a son in 1942 also called James, who is Ewan McGregor’s father.
The archives show the personal records of 4.7million Scots taken on the April 2, 1911.
BW had a GRANDfather named Juan!! BW’s middle name is John, because it’s the Anglicized Juan, after his grandfather!
His photo is below. He was a motorcycle (AGAIN with the motorcycling!) policeman in Laredo, TX right on the Mexican border. I’ve been scanning the family photos from MiL’s house, starting with the oldest first. Feel free to browse the rest of the gallery here.
Yup, it’s Boy Wonder’s birthday again! Join me in wishing him a very happy one!
Incidentally, this year I have been placed in charge of organizing, sorting, and scanning the family photos we have been finding at the In-Laws’ house. A decision which everyone may well soon come to regret. 
Awwwww. Love you, baby.
Are there no Merit Badges for rosy cheeks?
And it would be remiss of me to neglect birthday greetings for Mah Parallel Universe Husband! (Who I could not find a baby photo of, but we’ll survive.) Happy Birthday, Boos!
To many of you this isn’t news, but some of you may not know how long I’ve been in the Obsessive Fangirl business. The answer: A Long-Assed Time.
In 1995 I opened a Jeremy Irons fansite after being frustrated by the lack of J.I. pictures available on the internet. “I have more pictures than this!” I thought, and so the site was created using my own little OCD hoard of magazine clippings as its core. It was hosted at Geocities for most of its existence, and I ran it for 10 years! Until finally I got too lazy to convert the whole thing to Web 2.0, Jeremy wasn’t doing much, and better sites by fans MUCH more obsessed than I had sprung up, so I shut it down.
However, just because I’m lazy doesn’t mean that the world should go without my Jeremy Irons picture collection. I’ve wanted to archive these online for some time, and so here they are. Unsorted, uncaptioned, but the entire contents of my old site’s image galleries.
Click here or on Jeremy above to view.
If you are a J.I. fan, do take some time to go through these; there are some real jaw-droppers. In particular, the Donna Karan ads he did circa 2003/4. Yowsa!
And by the way….for old time’s sake, here’s a little Jeremy news: He’s starring in a new Showtime series about the Borgias called, The Borgias! Sunday nights! I watched the first episode, and while the show itself was a little trite, JI is gonna still be hot when he’s 90 years old! How does he DO that?
More finds from MiL’s house. Click here to see the new additions. Will be wearing Darth Vader and Crue all summer.
Ha-ha! Not what you expected, eh? Still, a hot ginge is a hot ginge and they’re all welcome around here.
In the time since my Mother in Law’s death, the family has been trying to clean out Boy Wonder’s parents’ house. MiL was a hoarder. Not as bad as some that you’d see on “reality tv,” but bad enough that it’s been an arduous process, and I honestly expect it to go on all summer if not all year.
But there are a few perks to the fact that she never threw anything away. Going through the closets that used to belong to BW and his siblings, we’re turning up many 80′s treasures. I’ve put them in the photo album below, and I hope to find more goodies to add.
And yes, I am going to be wearing the HELL out of that Reagan Buster tee!
The best (?) for last? If not the best, then the most-anticipated, most scrutinized, most likely to either be mind-boggling or fail spectacularly.
Beginning April 17 on HBO, an adaptation of A Game of Thrones, first novel in the continuing A Song of Ice & Fire fantasy book series. (Official HBO site.) If you are not a geek, you may not grasp how huge this is. But take it from me; the A Song of Ice & Fire books are hands-down the best fantasy series you are likely to read in this lifetime.
Imagine (DALLAS + the wars of the roses + Dragonlance) – cheesiness = ASOIAF.
With plot points derived from real medieval history, characters in all shades of grey and black, no clear-cut moral center, magic kept to a minimum, murders, incest, and betrayal, ASOIAF is one great, big, sprawling, addictive spider web of books. In which you can trust no one; least of all the author. Outcomes are never certain and no character is ever safe. And there are wolves!
The story is so complex that a many-part tv series is the only way to bring it to film. And cable would be the only place unafraid to run with the deep current of nastiness that runs through the books.
I’ve seen a lot of the previews, and have barely any quibbles. And those can all be overlooked because they cast SEAN BABY as my favorite character.
they cast SEAN BABY as my favorite character.
Having not read them in years, I actually thought I was kinda over these books….but then I watch the trailers and….goosebumps and squeeing. *sigh*
I don’t know if HBO will make it through all of the books, but I’m deeply grateful that they’re willing to try.
Next on the calendar for the couch potato month of April is Starz’s 10-episode take on the King Arthur tale, Camelot. Beginning April 1. (Official site.)
Starz was generous with this one. They had the first episode available for online viewing at the end of Feb., so I watched it.
My verdict: Very pleasantly surprised.
Arthuriana is one of my “things”, since I was maybe 12 or 13. I think I have seen 90% of all Arthurian movies, TV shows, TV movies, and of course the books. Gawd, the books! I’ve read the Welsh source material from 500AD. I’ve read the arguments for an historical Arthur. I’ve read…not all, because after a while one just gets discouraged….so very many modern authors’ “retellings”, “deconstructions”, “reimagineings”, “hack jobs” of this mythos I don’t even remember them all. Except the good ones: The Winter King, Firelord, The Crystal Cave….hell, I’ll even include The Mists of Avalon because it had such an impact on my 15 year-old self. I even bake with King Arthur flour.
So I judge all new Arthur “product” with a very jaded, and very critical eye. But I liked what I saw. The cast is great. IMO, if you screw up Morgan le Fay, you screw up the whole work (at one point, I planned to name my hypothetical daughter Morgan), but Eva Green may be the best Morgan le Fay ever. I really like how they are handling her story. Their take on Merlin seems pretty sound (and J. Fiennnes is not too shabby in the role.) Toss in James Purefoy as King Lot and the very pretty Jamie Campbell Bower as Arthur and how can you lose? Sets are nice and grubby and Dark Ages; no sparkly, soft-focus, shiny Excalibur armour here!
Unless this series takes an alarming turn south in the 2nd episode, I’m gonna enjoy the hell out of Camelot. Thank you Starz, for giving me the medieval soap opera show I’ve always wanted!
I think I’ll just go through these chronologically.
First on my list of spring Must See TV is Mildred Pierce, on HBO. (Official site.)
Mildred will be a 5-part miniseries running Sunday nights beginning March 27th. Words can’t do justice to how excited I am about this one. It’s triggering ALL of my buttons: film history geek, Kate Winslet Fan, Joan Crawford Worshipper, 1930′s noir novel fan, vintage clothes/sets/furniture drooler-at-large, and my Inner Gay Man is just frothing at the mouth with anticipation!
*bounce* Squeeee!
Let me take a breath and explain the snowballing avalanche of awesomeness that this miniseries has the potential to be.
Mildred Pierce was originally a novel by James M. Cain. Cain was a contemporary of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett and wrote in a similar jaundiced, “hard boiled” style and had his works adapted in famous films noir. (Besides Mildred, he also wrote The Postman Always Rings Twice.) I love the novel on its own merits. It alone would have me happy about this show. BUT as we all (I hope) know, Mildred Pierce was first adapted for the screen in a 1945 film starring….JOAN CRAWFORD as Mildred. Joan’s version played fast and loose with the book, but it stands on its own as one of the most iconic Crawford performances. Joan won her Oscar for it…a moment immortalized in Mommie Dearest when Joan feigns illness because she’s too nervous to go to the Oscars, and then welcomes the reporters into her house wearing her glamourous bathrobe, miraculously cured of her “flu”. *sigh* I digress. But you see what I’m saying about the snowball effect?
Anyway, here’s Joan as Mildred
So the HBO adaptation has Kate Winslet, whom I love, tackling a role made famous by my goddess Joan in a great movie based upon a really good novel. But that’s not all! No, no, it gets even better.
It is being adapted and directed by Todd Haynes! Todd Haynes is a genius. He wrote and directed Velvet Goldmine, ffs! But that’s not the best of it. Mr. Haynes also wrote and directed far Far From Heaven, a brilliant, brilliant movie that is an homage to the soapy 1950′s potboilers of Douglas Sirk (Written on the Wind, All That Heaven Allows, etc.) Honestly, Far From Heaven was much more that an homage, it was a recreation…flawless. If someone just showed me random stills from it, I would not be able to tell that it wasn’t made in 1956.
In other words, I trust Todd Haynes to get the 1930′s and 40′s world of Mildred Pierce more than right.
All this, and Guy Pearce, too! Gawd, is it the 27th yet?!
Something very strange is going on…
I want to watch TV.
Not “network” TV, mind you. But there are a bunch of cable series coming up this spring that I cannot WAIT to see! The premium cable networks getting involved in TV and producing short seasons of series along the British telly model has been the best thing to happen to television quality in…I’ve no idea how long.
Maybe the TV gods are trying to make up for the end of Friday Night Lights last month? Nothing will ever fill that void, but I’ll give them credit for trying. I haven’t looked forward to a new season of television with such excitement since I wanted to find out who shot J.R. So later this week, I’ll be highlighting the three amazing-looking new series that I’m marking off the days on my calendar for.
You guys remember way back when I was an extra on the Russell flick Next 3 Days, and I walked across streets all day and stood 3 FEET away from the man himself? Good, cause I don’t wanna rehash all that.
Then I was a Bad Fangirl in November and didn’t get out to see the movie, so I had no idea if I’d appeared on screen.
Well now it’s on DVD so I was able to scrutinize it, and yup, I am plainly visible in the shot below. Can you find me? Click on the image for a bigger version, and then if you give up, click on the Read More tag to get the answer!
I believe this was one of the earlier takes we did, as I am ahead of Rusty. As they kept reshooting, I kept positioning myself a few feet back closer to RC, which is how I eventually ended up a few feet behind him. So, do you give up?
Just checking in to say we’re still alive.
Things are very, very crazy dealing with MiL’s finances and trying to get those things all squared away to make things easier FiL (and everyone else.) Two of my sisters-in-law have been working like crazy getting the most important parts of the house cleaned out, and doing an unbelievable job. We’ve arranged for a visiting nurse friend of the family to stop by and check up on FiL twice a week.
Basically, it has been incredibly stressful. But I think (hope, pray) that the very worst and most crucial parts are done or will be done by the end of this month.
After that will be the staggering task of packing up and clearing out that house. But it can be done slowly. I’m not going to let it consume our lives. To me falls the job of sorting, ordering, and scanning the family photos that have been turned up. Nine photo boxes full and counting.
BW and I both appreciate how kind everyone has been. I hope to return you to your regular lame and half-assed programming next week.
For anyone who didn’t hear it through email, FB, or the grapevine, Boy Wonder’s mom died on Feb.28.
It was completely unexpected and sudden. We are all in shock, but coping thanks to the support of great friends. Thank you all.
She was the anchor of the family, and the conduit for family news, gossip, and help. It’s hard to imagine how, if at all, that void can be filled. It will be a hard struggle ahead.
One thing we shared besides BW was love for our Saviour from Tupelo. Be with E, Cucquita. We love you and will miss you. Let us pray:
Musically, I live in the past and I don’t mind admitting it. I live and breathe 80′s music. But sadly, of course, 80′s music is finite. At some point, you will have heard all there is to hear.
Which is why I get so happy whenever I “discover” 80′s bands that I’d never heard back in the day. It’s like unearthing the Sutton Hoo burial or discovering Viking loot in your back yard; new treasures, nuggets of gold to savor and hoard.
The NEXT best thing after finding “new” authentic 80′s music is to discover a contemporary band that produces 1980′s-sounding music today. I am VERY hard to please in this respect, though. If there is even the slightest HINT of irony, or tongue-in-cheekiness…if the band isn’t truly giving the 80′s sound the honor it deserves…then I am turned off. Like my man Linus says, it’s all in the SINCERITY of the effort.
It’s hard to find a current band that meets those strict criteria, but when I do, it is magical! Like discovering a lost tribe of 80′s musicians, still practicing ancient pop music folkways and in tune with the beautiful spirits that modern man has tragically fallen away from. The thrill that comes with learning that a cherished sound thought lost to the passage of time still exists in a tiny pocket of the world! I feel like Louis Leaky.
So I’m so very, very glad that I took a chance on a recent Amazon recommendation of the album Zonoscope by the band Cut Copy. It was only $5.99 (take note RIAA, people will pay for music when it’s reasonable) and the snippets sounded too good to be true. If you listen to the first two tracks with your eyes closed, I challenge you to tell me you don’t think it’s 1982!
Need proof? Shhh….let’s quietly approach them in their hidden village and listen…
I leave you do discover the rest of the album yourselves. I haven’t stopped listening to it since I bought it last week. Will definitely be investigating other stuff by this band. Give me my pith helmet and shovel, I’m ready!
Let’s have a Sir Ian McKellen lovefest!
Done.
30-something. Childfree. Misanthrope. Geek. Tedious Movie Prick. Foodie. Retro-loving. Cat person. Gamer. Medieval history freak. Socialist, Commie, Pinko Anti-American and Proud. Pro-Abortion.
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