A Brit a Day [#1206]

One James May, one very strokable jumper, and one restored classic Honda 400 four.  I enjoyed reading about how Mr. May came to own this bike in a clipping posted by the bike restorer, David Silver, here:

http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/stock/Classicbike_April_2012_web.pdf

A Brit a Day [#1204]

I know way too much about James May's personal garage--it has become sort of a fetish with me to find pictures of him in it on the internet.  I haven't resorted to Google Street View yet, though.  I'm not that bad.

A Brit a Day [#1200]

Today is ABAD's 1200th post, and more importantly, my elder child's first day of college.  A couple of years ago, she cosplayed as Idris, the 'Doctor's Wife', for Comic-con--she was the best Idris anyone had ever seen.  To commemorate, here's some Doctor Who 50th anniversary art from this year's Comic-con program.

A Brit a Day [#1198]

Hiya.  This post is for the one I missed on Sunday.

I now know that these two were cast as the Reagans for the movie "The Butler".  Will I see it?  Haven't decided yet--it could cause my brain my to explode.

A Brit a Day [#1162]

OOPS!  I forgot to post yesterday because I was busy at Comic-con doing things like, oh, meeting Henry Ian Cusick!!--I'll give that amazing experience its own separate post later....

Anyhoo, this post is for Friday, and the internet is all aflutter because some people are 100% certain that they believe this fella ^ will be at Comic-con today.  People have been in line since 6 o'clock last night for a panel that that starts at 6 o'clock tonight that he will probably be involved in.  I haven't seen a single picture of him in San Diego on Tumblr yet, so I'm a tad skeptical, but it doesn't matter either way, because I'm not getting in that line.  My only hope is to see him just walking around the convention center like a normal person. Right. And if he happens to be in the Nintendo Lounge or the XBox lounge while my son is playing video game demos and he sits down next to me while I'm on a comfy couch reading my Batman novel, all the better.

A Brit a Day [#1141]

Today's choices were inspired by this picture I recently found by Edward Steichen of dancer Isadora Duncan.

We consider Ms. Duncan an honorary Brit because she had children with legendary set designer Gordon Craig.

He looks very tame here, but Gordon Craig was a visionary who was way before his time, working in a medium that was far from being able to realize his designs. My god, the things these people did before we had modern lighting and contemporary theatre technology.

A Brit a Day [#1080]

So, may I elaborate on what bright idea had me googling AR yesterday when my senses were assaulted by the sight of his otherwise gorgeous face looking out from Ronald Reagan's plaster-like head?  I think I had googled something like 'alan rickman rock star'.  Yes, there's irony in this story.

It was because these four rock stars made a road trip from Lands End to John O'Groats on Thursday in a custom pink Rolls Royce to raise awareness and donations for Breast Cancer Care, a charity in the UK.  They are, from left to right, Professor Brian Cox, who was briefly a rock star in the 1980s and apparently took his rock-star proceeds to go back to school and get a Ph.D. in particle physics; James May, who simply is the essence of 'rock star';  Gary Barlow, who actually is a rock star, well, pop star; and Chris Evans, a popular and wealthy radio DJ, television presenter, radio and television producer, yada yada yada. And we all know that DJs are just frustrated rock stars, so there you go. [Don't listen to me, I'm just jealous that he has owned a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder that cost eleventeen million pounds and I have not.]

The pictures of the four of them together reminded me of a photo montage I saw years ago that included 'Robin Hood' era Rickman and some other shaggy actors photoshopped in as various members of The Who.  I'm not describing it very well, in fact I may not even be remembering it very well, but in any event, I couldn't find it and if you know what I'm talking about please contact me.  I would so love to see that picture again!

A Brit a Day [#1072]

And as the microphone squeaks 
A young girl's telephone beeps 
Yeah she's dashing for the exit she's running to the streets outside 
"Oh you've saved me," she screams down the line 
"The band weren’t very good 
And I'm not having a nice time” 

Yeah but his bird thinks it's amazing, though 
So all that's left 
Is the proof that love's not only blind but deaf 

He talks of San Francisco, he's from Hunter's Bar 
I don't quite know the distance 
But I'm sure that's far I'm sure that's pretty far 

I'd love to tell you all my problem 
You're not from New York City, you're from Rotherham

Men from Yorkshire seem to have a way with words.  I've always said that Sheffield boy Alex Turner [who wrote the song 'Fake Tales of San Francisco' for his band Arctic Monkeys when he was about five or something] could make the English language lay down at his feet, rhyming.

And then, of these three idiots who make me laugh until the tears come, two have a connection to Rotherham.  James May grew up there.  And Jeremy Clarkson trained to be a journalist at the Rotherham Advertiser.

And then there was Albert Gardner, a displaced Yorkshireman who, along with his wife May, made us feel like family when we visited Kilwinning, Scotland, in 2000.  The Gardners became like adopted grandparents to me, and while Al may have been able to keep the neighbors in stitches, I'll never really know how witty his jokes were.  His Yorkshire accent was so heavy that I understood naught of what he said.

A Brit a Day [#1001]

In case you've been under a rock and missed it, Tom Hiddleston has been blogging his entire trip to Guinea to see the work that UNICEF, his favorite charity, is doing to increase sanitation, education and children's overall health.  In the field diary that he has published online, he has shown himself over and over to be the man of intelligence and compassion that we all gave him credit for being.  What a sweetheart.  And don't think for a minute that he hasn't raised awareness [and donations] with his words and deeds--I've seen several kids on Tumblr talking about how his inspiration has nudged them into a life of volunteering and service.  Let's hope they follow through.  Enjoy Tom's UNICEF blog here.

A Brit a Day [#994]

For those of us who have the need to know what Tom Hiddleston is doing on a daily basis, his blog following his travels with UNICEF in Guinea has been a real blessing.  But it was through a tweet from one of his companions that I came across a word that I just had to know the meaning of:  Plumpy'nut. Plumpy'nut is a peanut-based paste in a plastic wrapper for treatment of severe acute malnutrition manufactured by a French company, Nutriset.  Plumpy'nut is doing some serious work in third world countries, and its invention was inspired by Nutella, which makes it all good by me.

You can read about it in the Wikipedia here.  You can link to Tom's diary entries through UNICEF's Authentic Voices blog here.

A Brit a Day [#991]

This is for Tuesday.

This is tomorrow's post, but I'm just gonna leave it here now.  In honor of TWHiddleston's first charity field trip/secret destination adventure with UNICEF, the brilliant Hashtag_Genius has giving us this darling work of art.  By this time tomorrow, Tom's destination shouldn't be a secret any more as he will be tweeting the whole way through his experience.  Let's hope this is the first of many journeys, and that Hashtag_Genius will document each one in this precious way.

A Brit a Day [#967]

Mr. Rickman doesn't mind standing down today as long as it is for a very happy Brit.  This lovely young lady, who I am guessing was a volunteer or participant of some kind at the opening of The Dragon School Christmas sale, was clearly happy to have her picture taken with Tom Hiddleston.  I can tell because her friend in the background is looking on with an expression that says she knows this just made this girls life.

A Brit a Day [#943]

I'm all touchy-feely for some reason this week.  I actually downloaded pictures of  3 or 4 cute babies I don't even know from the internet the other day.  I had to restrain myself from asking to hold a stranger's precious little bundle of joy at my doctor's office yesterday. So here is Tom Hiddleston with someone's adorable family.  I don't usually post pictures of children--the kids didn't ask to be on my blog, you know?--but these guys look pretty safe within the large circle of Mr. H's arms.  And it seems to me that kids are the most genuine and gentlest of fans.

A Brit a Day [#915]

OK, I got all kindsa things to say about this picture.  1] Spoiler Alert!  Henry V dies!  But an even bolder choice on the part of the BBC production was to open the play with a sequence from King Henry's funeral, thus making the whole of the action a flashback--brilliant.  2] Seeing Tom Hiddleston playing the dead king is one of the most beautiful and disturbing things I've ever seen--he's my New Favorite Corpse [NFC]; and finally, 3] What is going on with the two crowns here?  Was there a special lying-down crown made for not poking the back of his head?  I guess it would be difficult to play dead if you are wincing from the pain of your crown.  "Uneasy lies the head..."  In any event, it seems to be a serious matter for the two costumers on set.  And Hiddleston hasn't even broken character as he lifts his head.  How DO you get in character to play a dead monarch?

A Brit a Day [#902]

My gir'friend Donna's birthday is this Thursday, October 4th.  With her in mind, I now put together this super little feast of new-to-me photos of Sir Ken directing the cast and crew of 'Thor.'  He looks as dishy in these pics as I have ever seen him.  He must have been having a blast!

Have a blast on your birthday, Donna!

A Brit a Day [#895]

Even though I would not call myself a Christian, I find the images of Ian Cusick playing Jesus in 'The Gospel of John' quite soothing.  Soothing images for troubled times.  And what is troubling me is the discrepancy between how different American subcultures understand the word 'sorry.'

I am not a Christian, but the culture in which I was raised is Judeo-Christianity.  Based on the values I was given, if someone says to me, for example, "My house was stuck by lightning, and the whole second floor was burned up,"  the first words out of my mouth are likely to be, "I'm so sorry!"  Half the people I would say this to would respond "Why are you sorry?  You didn't strike my house with lightning?"  To which I would stutter through an explanation:  "I guess what I mean to say is 'I'm sorry to hear that your house was struck by lightning,' all the while thinking to myself, 'Jeeeez, isn't it obvious that I know I didn't strike your house with lightning??'

Maybe that example is absurd, but I swear these are basically true stories.  I had a therapist once tell me that I needed to stop apologizing for everything, apparently because I would often say 'I'm sorry' if I didn't understand something she said.  I found that a little offensive, coming from her, actually.  I was just being polite after all.

Try another example.  Friend:  "The hairdresser totally fucked up the color of my hair this time.  I'll probably cut it really short even though I don't want to."
Me:  "I'm sorry."
Friend:  "Why, it isn't your fault, it's the stupid hairdresser's fault."

The point I'm making is that there is a group of people who always see "I'm sorry" as an apology/admission of a personal transgression.  And then there is the other group [me included] who see "I'm sorry" as a statement of empathy.  This is kind of a big deal because this schism is playing out right now on a global scale.  A lot of Americans are sorry that Muslims were offended by a stupid video that went viral recently.  As far as I know, none of those Americans who feel that way are claiming to have done the offending.   It's a sad day when people can't tell someone they are sorry for their predicament without appearing weak or at fault, you know?

I'm not a Christian, but the guy called Jesus that has been illustrated to me through stuff like the movie 'The Gospel of John' actually seems like a superior human being in all his dealings with people.  I'm quite fond of the expression "What Would Jesus Do?"  I'm no expert, but I think Jesus would want to speak to the people of Libya, Egypt, etc. and he would want to say "I'm so sorry that you are going through this amount of rage.  You must feel so much pain."  And I don't think that he would have to explain that he didn't make the video.

A Brit a Day [#893]

Henry Ian Cusick's 5-minutes-on-screen character Udre in the movie "Hitman" fueled reams of some of the best fan fiction I have ever read.  Reading fan fiction has almost taken over my life like a crack addiction. I used to write the stuff, but back in the day, it was fashionable to change the names to protect the innocent--including oneself, from plagerism claims.  Now that original creators have become more forgiving of fans borrowing their characters to assemble their own universes, am I tempted to write more?......Not.....really.

A Brit a Day [#888]

Meet Lauren Fox, author of at least 2 novels and this brilliant short story that I stumbled upon on Salon.com the other day:

http://www.salon.com/2012/09/08/fiction_ongry_by_lauren_fox/

Now here's a huuuuuge stretch--Lauren gets to be Brit of the Day by virtue of being married to a guy from Dublin.  I know that's beyond suspect as Britishness goes, but I just had to get her onto this blog.  After all, this blog started off as a platform for my own short stories a million years ago, and you see how far that got.  People like Lauren remind me that there are enough awesome writers out there, writing about the things that needle at me, that I don't have to add my warbling voice to the many others who are singing the song in tune.

Here is how Lauren describes herself on her website:

I was born in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, into a family full of love, support, and very little grist for the dramatic mill. I knew from an early age that I wanted to be a writer, and decided that my best bet was to make stuff up. My first attempts at fiction included a tragic story about a blind Mexican orphan, and a tragic tale about a horse who dies, tragically, in a barn fire. 

 By the time I got to college and enrolled in a few creative writing classes, I learned the adage, “write what you know,” and began churning out stories about the unhappy love lives of young, thin-skinned, near-sighted, sarcastic, curly haired girls. My first published short story, which appeared in a nationally distributed college magazine, used the structure of the game show Jeopardy! to trace the demise of a relationship. (I’ll take ‘the slow erosion of my self-esteem’ for $200, Alex.) I was pleased that I had finally created fiction out of my two favorite pastimes: tv-watching and borderline obsessive pining over unavailable men. 

 After college I moved around a bit, living in Washington, DC and then for a while back in Madison, Wisconsin, bravely conducting field research for my stories about lonely women in their twenties who can’t find a date. In graduate school in Minneapolis, I took a brief detour from fiction and began writing about my family’s history and the Holocaust, which was fun. 

 When I was twenty-six, I met a nice boy from Dublin who put an end to my anthropological studies of loneliness and heartbreak. Luckily, I had gathered enough material to last for a while.

In other words, sisters, she opens her heart and our story spills out.

A Brit a Day [#887]

I dedicate today's Brit, Bill Hazeldine, to my physical therapist, who assures me that whether she's working on a pelvic floor muscle or a bicep, it's all just anatomy.

A Brit a Day [#880]

My favorite passage from President Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC last night?  When he quoted Abraham Lincoln:

"I have been driven to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no other place to go."

[Tom Hiddleston as King Henry V, above.]