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The Mammoth Book Of Hollywood Scandals

Today I received the Mammoth book of Hollywood Scandals by Michelle Morgan, and I am hooked.

I love Michelle's writing, she has thoroughly researched each and every chapter/scandal in the book and I am really hoping that she will fix some of the damage that the horrible book Hollywood Babylon caused when it was first published

Anyway so here I am enjoying my copy of the book, the only problem is, I need to get up early for work in the morning, I only hope I can put the book down!!!

I will write more about the book when I have finished it, but if you can't wait go order a copy

click HERE to order from Amazon UK

click HERE to order from Amazon.com

Huey Lewis and The News

This post is really late due to being on holiday for a week, however went to see Huey Lewis and the News in London on 1st October.

This is the second time I have seen them in concert and they were fabulous once again.

Here's hoping they come back to the UK again soon

Finding Valentino

As you all know I am a huge movie fan - but until recently the only silent movies I had seen were Laurel and Hardy shorts on a Saturday morning and the Louise Brooks film Pandora's Box (I'm not counting the modern silent 'The Artist' in this)

But just recently I found myself drawn to Rudolph Valentino, obviously I knew who he was, and that there was a terrible outpouring of grief when he died at the age of only 31, in 1926 but I had never seen one of films, and had never really paid any attention to him.

But, movie lover that I am, I thought it was time to broaden my horizons so I purchased The Sheik. I mentioned this to my Mother as the DVD was sent to her address and she admitted that she didn't think much of him judging by what she had seen, too much, white make up and heavy eyeliner - that was until she saw the DVD cover pictured below: 

She took one look at the photo and exclaimed - 'Now I can see what all the fuss was about!'

And it still comes across in these films today, some 87 years after his death. The first close up of him in The Sheik was so powerful, his charisma and sexuality still so very evident across the years.

Enraptured by his image in The Sheik, I next purchased - Blood and Sand, another really good film, in which Valentino moves the viewer and makes the heart flip of the hardest modern woman. It is so strange that he can still have this affect on people. And so my fascination with the man has grown over the last 2 weeks, and yesterday I received my 3rd Valentino film - The Eagle.

Yet again his appeal is so evident in the movie, and at the end the viewer is moved to tears when the Czarina signs the death warrant for his character.

I have never felt such a pull towards and actor, other than to Marilyn Monroe, I was drawn to her because of her beauty, vulnerability, talent and humanity. Valentino has all that and the added attraction of being an incredibly gorgeous, sexy man!

The films themselves are not of the best quality and I would love to see a digitally restored pristine print, but maybe that would detract from the original charm.

These films had to have good but simple stories, and they really were, and Valentino was the greatest silent male star there was, he could really make you feel what the character was feeling with just a look. In those days the acting really was done with one look.

And as Norma Desmond put it in Sunset Boulevard - 'We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!'

And oh how true it was. Now I have found Valentino, I intend to keep learning about him, the man, the life. He is one of the more fascinating of the stars, because of what he was, what he still is, and I hope that anyone out there reading this will give a Valentino movie a chance, and other classic movies as well. There was a time before colour pictures, there was a time before sound pictures and that time was Valentino's.

For more information please visit the Rudolph Valentino Society by clicking HERE

 and 

Falcon Lair - The Rudolph Valentino Homepage by clicking HERE

I like staying up all night..........

Watching old movies til the morning light...

So says Huey Lewis and the News on the 1980's album Fore!.

And I do love staying up to watch old movies. Currently I am working my way through this

Yep the Jean Harlow box set, and all I can say is about time. Although some of her films have still not been released, this is a good start. So far I've watched:

The Girl from Missouri

Reckless

Saratoga

I have had these a while and I must admit it is taking me a while for several reasons:

Work always gets in the way

The other half does not like old Black and White movies (strange I know)

I was given some TV box sets for my birthday and I also bought a load of films from CEX and I still haven't watched all of those!

Still to go are:

Bombshell

Suzy

Riff Raff

Personal Property

The only other Harlow film I have on DVD currently is Hell's Angels

The rest of my Harlow material is on old VHS cassettes, some still play fine others are very dodgy but I will keep them until I get the rest of the films on DVD.

There are very few extras on these DVDs, mainly because the out takes would have been destroyed by the studio which was common practice back in those days, and also because these films were made in the 1930s, there are few surviving people who took part in the filming of these films.

However some of the discs do contain the original theatrical trailer and one Reckless contains some audio outtakes of Harlow recording the title track.

If you are fan of old Hollywood I would recommend that you buy this set of movies starring the Original Platinum Blonde.

Although on Amazon UK it says the discs are Region 1, they are in fact Region Free, so there really are no excuses not to buy this set.

Click HERE to order the set in the UK

Congratulations

So the Duchess of Cambridge has had her baby, and she and William looked extremely happy as they left the hospital with him this evening.

Congratulations to the both of them and we now look forward to learning the baby's name. This is usually announced at the Christening. I wonder if they will give us a Bank Holiday for it????

The Who in Cardiff

So Tuesday night went to see The Who at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff - Fantastic night - where they get their energy from I just don't know.

It was amazing to see and hear the whole of the Quadrophenia album live and of course some of their most famous songs.

Baba O'Riley was amazing live and the audience went mental

Music is always great live and I can't wait for the next concert I have tickets from which is for Huey Lewis and the News - Sports 30th anniversary tour in October in London

Love it

In loving memory of Judy Garland - June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969

Today marks the 44th anniversary of the death of 'The World's Greatest Entertainer' of an overdose in London.

After listening to songs she recorded from the last year of her life - a time when everyone else said her voice was gone, all I can say is I would happy to sound like that now. Even at her worst she was better  than everyone else!

Here's to you Frances Ethel Gumm

Work, concerts and CSI

Well once again there has been a big gap in between posts - we have been exceptionally busy at work lately and I have really been to shattered to do very much  - I haven't even been to the cinema for a while but that will change shortly as a rainy spell seems to be on the cards this weekend.

And last week I headed off with Paul to Cardiff City Stadium to see Bon Jovi in concert - Now I don't like driving around Cardiff or any where I don't know very well so getting to the other side of Cardiff was not fun, especially as I had to go to Cardiff Bay first to pick up Paul - but when the concert started all was forgotten and they were brilliant.

Got a bit tearful at the end when they did the first line of Never Say Goodbye - this was my favourite song of theirs when I was in school - needless to say it made me feel a bit old as well.

But again a fantastic convert - and next week - OMG - The Who at the Motorpoint Arena - I CAN'T WAIT. Here's hoping they do my favourite - Baba O'Riley (not just because its the theme to CSI NY)

And that's the other thing I have been watching a lot of TV lately all the CSI franchise,  The Finder, In Plain Sight, Cold Case (seen them all but worth another view) and NCIS

Too much TV not enough time, all this and reading too!!

Still things are happening and I am sure I will be posting again soon

In Loving Memory of Jean Harlow March 11, 1911 - June 7 1937

Today marks the 76th Anniversary of the death of Hollwood's original Platinum Blonde Jean Harlow, who died of Kidney Failure at the age of 26.

Still remembered by fans all over the world, she was Marilyn Monroe's idol, beautiful, funny, talented she will never be forgotten, today I have been watching some of her movies that I bought years ago on VHS - few of her films are available on DVD in the UK, but  I  have just ordered a few and will post about them when they arrive in the meantime if you want to see her in action yourself why not pop along to youtube and play a few videos!

Happy birthday Marilyn

Although this is a bit late as I have been all over today

Happy Birthday to my idol Marilyn Monroe who was born today June 1st 1926

Holding a good thought for you - Norma Jeane

xxx

A sunny day in Arnos Vale

Today we went to Arnos Vale to visit the family graves- now I really love walking around cemeteries and taking photos of the graves, and  can walk around reading the graves without any problem or heavy emotion creeping in. Arnos Vale is different. I felt very sad leaving the family today. Arnos Vale is still very overgrown and the team there do a great job with the limited resources they have - but I felt so sad leaving the graves looking so bare, surrounded by all the trees and brambles growing around them, almost as if we were abandoning them again.

This time we located my great grandparents grave, this one sadly is very overgrown, but we will visit again.

I know I am a bad blogger

Because I am too easily distracted by other things, which means I don't post as often as I should, currently I am obsessed with CSI - all of 'em so catching up on 700 episodes of the 3 franchises is taking a little while. Also we have been so busy at work, that by the time I have finished and get home I am so tired all I do is eat, watch aforementioned CSI and go to sleep.
I haven't even been to the cinema that much lately.

But this has to change - got 2 weeks off now so hope to get out and take lots of photos for the other
blog, and get to the cinema to see the new Star Trek movie.

Also trying to finish my novel - though I think calling it a novel is a bit extreme, currently it is 20 pages that are linked together in a plot - I would describe it to you but you might need to go and lie down afterwards as it seems complicated - it's really not, but I have no real idea as to what will happen next in the story until I write it - yes I just start typing and hope for the best. - Yes I am that kind of writer.

Also trying to come up with 101 things to do before I die - so far I have about 20 - thing is at my age, I have already done some of the things that most people would have on the list. Which is good, at least I have done something in my life.

Still trying to lose weight as well - but it is so hard when you have a sweet tooth like I do, but I am not going to give up - as some of the things on the list are things I need to be lighter for - maybe one day I will publish my bucket list on here - you never know.

Movie Madness Marches On

I have been going to the cinema a lot lately, this is mainly due to the fact that I have signed up for the Cineworld Unlimited Card - I pay a fixed amount and can go see as many films as I want and it doesn't cost me anything (Unless I want to see a 3D film then it's a £1.50 uplift or buy popcorn)

The last two films I saw were Stolen - the new Nicholas Cage film - now all my friends know that I love Nicholas Cage, however over the years his choice of roles has been, well to put it politely - Dodgy - but Stolen is is best of the more recent films he has made, good plot, good acting and a believable heist scene, in fact the way he and his accomplice steal the gold from the vault is genius - and that's all I'm going to say about it - if you want to know how he does it you will have to go see the film.

Also saw Hansel and Gretel - Witch Hunters this week - have wanted to see it since I saw the trailer, but have been avoiding the 3D showings as I am not keen on putting a pair of glasses over my normal glasses for nearly 2 hours. So finally got to see a 2D showing and loved it - great action and eye candy for both male and female viewers - all I'm going to say about Jeremy Renner is - YUMMM!!!!! - Phew sorry think I need to go and lie down now.

Loved the weapons, loved the action and even the gore wasn't too gory.

These are 2 films I will be adding to my DVD collection at some point 

I'm sure I will be off to the cinema again this week and I will be sure to let you know what I see and what I think about it. But of course that is going to be just my opinion - Why not go see for yourself oh and why not sign up for an Unlimited Card (UK only) You can find out all about it by clicking HERE

Comic Relief 2013

Last night I, like many other contact centre workers in the UK gave up my Friday evening to man the phones and take calls for Comic Relief.

What a brilliant evening. Gareth David Lloyd who is best known for playing Ianto Jones in Torchwood came in to keep us company, sign autographs and pose for photos.
The evening was an absolute blast and I enjoyed every minute.

Thanks Gareth, for being a great sport and thanks to everyone who called in an donated!!!

P.S. It's not too late to make a donation - you can donate by clicking HERE

The wonderful trilogy of Oz

It's taken 73 years, 5 directors, 2 Dorothy's, Wizard's, Glinda's and Witches of the East and West and countless others, but finally we know how the Wizard became the Wizard in Oz.

Have just got back from watching Sam Raimi's interpretation of Oz and I loved it - I have read some of the not so good reviews and frankly I don't care what they say.

Is it as magical as MGM's 1939 musical classic? No you would need Judy for that.

Is it is dark as Disney's 1985 Return to Oz? No but that is not a bad thing

But it is a wonderful prequel to them both - not only explaining how the wizard became the wizard, but how the Wicked Witch of the West became Wicked.

And there are some wonderful nods to the 1939 film. I'm not going to list them here because half of the fun, I think is spotting them.

With great special effects (okay it's all CGI but who cares) it certainly is spectacular.

I will bee adding this to my DVD collection when it is released along with Return to Oz - that way I can have an Ozathon whenever I feel like it

It took a lot of Courage, Brains and Heart to bring this new film to the big screen. And thank you for this and while it's not perfect - remember nothing ever is...

Even the wizard said, 

'I'm a very good man, just a very bad wizard.'

The death of the High Street...

...is upon us, the 2 photos below show a row of empty shops in Newport City Centre, Newport hasn't been a city for that long (City status was granted by the Queen in 2002) and already it is dying, I can remember when all the shops below were filled with great items and the centre filled with people, and it's getting worse, with Cwmbran shopping centre only 5 miles - and the added bonus that Cwmbran town centre has free car parking, many of the shops have closed completely or moved to one of the out of town retail parks.

 The shop with the white out windows used to be Dorothy Perkins (they now have an outlet within BHS) and next door was Burtons

Starbucks is always busy even though it is next to the boarded up  Westgate Hotel, the now closed clothing store Internationale and the soon to close HMV.

This row of shops is directly opposite the other photograph.

And this is just a small area of the town, there is work under way by Newport Indoor Market to improve the  facilities there, but the rest of Newport's regeneration appears to have grounded to a halt.

I hope the situation changes soon, but Newport has lost so many high street chains lately it is hard to image in changing any time soon.

While Cardiff grows Newport shrinks and it is a very sad time - as I have very fond memories of shopping in Newport as a teenager - it's where I bought my first Marilyn Book (in Blackwells - now closed) my first Marilyn videos (Woolworths - Gone) and many other things.

Good memories - and I hope that Newport recovers otherwise there will be no more good memories to be made - only the faded ones of times past.

Well so much has happened

Since the last time I posted - Adele one an Oscar for Best Song (Skyfall - great song and loved the movie), Daniel Day Lewis became the first actor in history to win 3 Best Actor Oscars and the Pope has resigned.

And me - well I  have been ill - so no photos or news, but am feeling much better now and hopefully I will be able to keep up the posting

Finding Richard

Just finished watching the Channel 4 documentary - Richard II The King in the Car Park. Fascinating story of the search for the remains of the King and how they found him in a Leicester car park.
Improbable though it may seem, sometimes some things are meant to happen.
Maybe now the history books will be re-written minus all of the Tudor propaganda - There is no, and never wan any evidence that Richard was a tyrant, or that he murdered his nephews. These stories were created by a family who had no legitimate cl\aim to the throne, and became 'fact' thanks to Shakespeare.

I have always maintained there are 3 sides to every story. The Tudor side, Richard's side and the truth which most likely will fall somewhere in between.

It's one of those things I will always remember - the day they announced they had found the last Plantaganent.

For everything you need to know about Richard III visit the Richard III Society's page by clicking HERE

And remember if you still believe he was an evil villain - History is written by the victors - Richard's reputation never stood a chance against the world's greatest playwright

Here we 'snow' again!!

Yep just when we thought the heavy snow had left the area another front moves in and once again we are sitting under a Met Office warning - this time it is a Amber one instead of a Red one - so that's something but then again you never know.

The photos below were taken shortly before 7pm tonight it's now 9.50pm and guess what it's still snowing. Well I haven't finished working on the last lot of 'snotos' so don't plan on taking anymore.

I really hope it goes away soon as all this white stuff makes getting about so difficult. But if it's still going tomorrow I will certainly bore you all with more Snow posts

Snow!!!!!

Well we had a bit of snow on Friday, I'm saying a bit because it's nothing compared to places like Finland, who always get it. But here in the UK everything grinds to a halt as soon as the first flakes fall. Now for the UK Friday's snowfall was heavy and I didn't get into work (they closed the office anyway) and nor did the other half, but what gets me is as soon as we get a little snow people go berserk. It's true people over react and rush to the shops and buy up all the bread and milk they can. Why??? I don't get it. It's one day of snow people not a week or a month. |It's not 1963 you know, but still they do it. And you know something today I went into the shop and guess what - they had bread and milk delivered today - so all that panic buying was just a little bit stupid - bet you feel foolish now eh???

But guess what - they are the same people who will panic buy bread and milk next time there's a threat of snow, and they are probably the same people who buy all the petrol when the tanker drivers threaten to strike, well you know what -YOU are the idiots that cause shortages and you really need to GET A LIFE!!!!

Anyway below are some photos of the street and my car yesterday morning - Oh and me I didn't panic buy anything but I did go for a 5 mile walk to take photos - so maybe I'm a little bit crazy myself!

By the way if you live in a remote area or up in the hills this rant does not apply to you. Totally understand you guys have to stock up in case you get snowed in.

New compact camera

Well this is the first post of the year and it's very late I know but hey you know me - lot's to do - anyway my lovely younger brother Chris got me a new compact camera for Christmas - see below

And very nice too it has already had an outing to London - will show some of those in another post - but for now I'm off as we have had heavy snow today and I really must go and take some photos of it