A Brit a Day [#461]

In my opinion, this was HP's best look ever. Dan Radcliffe in a photo for 'Goblet of Fire.'

A Brit a Day [#460]

I just got "Some Kind of Trouble" by James Blunt. Can this guy write a hook for a pop song or what? I'm going to have to start calling him Captain Hook.

A Brit a Day [#459]

This video is pretty wonderful. Watch it in full screen.

A Brit a Day [#458]

Sounds like the opening lines of a great comic book, huh? These are the opening lines of the epic poem 'Beowulf' from a translation that was published in 1999. Today's Brit is it's translator, Seamus Heaney. Heaney is a Nobel Prize winning poet in his own right, and despite being Irish, he is a technical Brit, coming from Northern Ireland. In the introduction to 'Beowulf,' he explains that the music/language of his translation from Old to Modern English owes its life to the 'big voice' of his father's Ulster relatives. I'm very excited to report that I began reading Heaney's 'Beowulf' today, and unlike my high school acquaintance with it, this time I don't think I'll be consulting the Cliff Notes.

A Brit a Day [#457]

Art Brut's 4th album 'Brilliant! Tragic!' arrived at my house this week, and I've listened to about 3/4 of it. So far it's mostly brilliant and very little tragic.

Above, Eddie Argos, fearless in a T-shirt.

A Brit a Day [#456]

Because my thoughts are with my handsome loved one who is working in Germany at the moment, I present Henry Ian Cusick as Agent Theo [said 'tay-o'] Stoller, an unforgettable character from the fifth season of '24.' Like Agent Stoller, my loved one speaks perfect English....Perfect German? Not so much.

A Brit a Day [#455]

I just learned that Alex Turner wrote the songs for a new movie called 'Submarine.' The resemblance between the movie's star and Alex [front] is uncanny.

A Brit a Day [#455]

Here's Dan Radcliffe hanging out with Jarvis Cocker and a friend at the Southbank Awards in 200[?]6. Jarvis had a spectacular cameo in HP4 as the front man for the band 'The Weird Sisters.'

A Brit a Day [#454]

Here is a nice series of screen caps someone did from James Blunt's video for "Wiseman."

A Brit a Day [#453]

I snagged this photo off the internet recently--it's dated July 2007, which looks about right, but I can't be sure. At any rate, it's my new favorite picture of Alan Rickman in all his arched-eyebrow glory. I should do a week of posts on arched eyebrows sometime. I bet I have multiple examples for every regular member of the cast. Raising one brow independently of the other seems to be a hallmark of fine British actors and musicians.

A Brit a Day [#452]

Alan Rickman signing autographs in London at the premier of whichever Harry Potter film featured the inflatable meany Aunt Marge [see the balloons in the back?]

A Brit a Day [#451]

If the Rapture happens tomorrow, I’m sure I’ll still be in good company.

A Brit a Day [#450]

Next January we will finally get to see Ian Cusick's latest project, the pilot for the new show 'Scandal'. The photo above shows him in the character of Stephen Finch. I'm dying to know what he is thinking in this scene. Many elements of this production picture remind me of Randee St. Nicholas' portraits of Ian, one of which I'm posting [again, probably] below.

A Brit a Day [#449]

Alex Turner with Arctic Monkeys at SOMA, an all ages venue in San Diego, September 2009. My daughter was 14 at the time and we took her with us--her favorite song was 'Fake Tales of San Francisco'--and she spent most of the show sitting on her dad's shoulders. Let me tell you, it wasn't just her line of sight we were trying to protect. All ages clubs are much, much rowdier and moshier than 21 and ups, in my opinion. Babysitting was invented for a reason--to keep underage teens busy while the grown-ups go out.

A Brit a Day [#448]

I've loved watching the HP kids developing their own personal styles over the years. This picture from 2005 is a standout in that respect, especially of Emma.

A Brit a Day [#447]

James Blunt in a photograph [around 2006?] that resembles one of Eric Clapton c. 1968 [below].

A Brit a Day [#446]

I was trying to remember what Alan Rickman was doing in 1982, the year I graduated college. So I Googled, and OF COURSE [hand slaps forehead] he was playing Obediah Slope in 'The Barchester Chronicles.' This picture gets really huge, so if you wanna, click on it.

A Brit a Day [#445]

"I might look like a lawyer, but I didn't play one on TV." Desmond Hume [Henry Ian Cusick] and Charles Widmore [Alan Dale] had the thousand dollar suits, expensive drink, and wood-paneled sanctuary of the world's second oldest profession, but as far as I know neither character ever went to law school. Raise your hand now if you'd like to see Ian Cusick playing a litigator on TV next fall.....

A Brit a Day [#444]

Apropos of nothing, I'm posting 2 of my favorites pictures of the band Art Brut. The candid shot was taken at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle a few years ago, I think.

A Brit a Day [#443]

The official LOST Desmond bobble-heads are in, and the likeness is astonishing, especially in profile view. Thanks, Kathy, for the photo of your own bobble Des.

A Brit a Day [#442]

Alex Turner at the 2009 Points West Music Arts Festival.

A Brit a Day [#441]

When we see Dan Radcliffe in the bleak and beautiful HP 7.1 [I watched it on DVD again this weekend] it's easy to forget that he really did start this endeavor as a little kid in HP 1. Here he is in NYC in 2001.

A Brit a Day [#440]

This picture, though small, brings back cherished childhood memories of scoping out good looking guys while riding public transportation. Nothing ever came of it--who'd date a guy who didn't have a car?

In honor of my 440th post [the number has no significance other than there are 4 humans residing in my home + 4 non-humans + 0 plants....what?!], today I'll start tagging each post with the name of the Brit who is its subject. Duh.

A Brit a Day [#439]

A lovely image for a day in May--Alan Rickman dancing. I first saw this artful photo adaptation on a website called The Rickmanista Review. It was a terrific fansite, but it hasn't been updated since 2005. I think the original picture was from a play called 'Tango at the End of Winter.'

A Brit a Day [#438]

I've discovered a new Brit to join our fun here at the blog, Jamie McKelvie, the artist behind the cover of the much-anticipated album 'Brilliant! Tragic!" I snagged a few more examples of his work from various websites, including the artwork for the single "Lost Weekend."

A Brit a Day [#437]

I'm getting pretty anxious for the next Art Brut album to come out, and it'd due May 23. I love the cover art work by Jamie McKelvie, and it reminds me of one of my favorite [albeit small] pictures of the band.

Plus, the girl character front and center on the cover could have been inspired by Freddy the bass player [left in the photo below].

A Brit a Day [#436]

Couldn't decide on just one picture to post today. Here is a lovely Ian Cusick picspam I nabbed from a friend on LiveJournal. Enjoy the product of her talent!

A Brit a Day [#435]

Alex Turner acting as a non-example to kids everywhere. In his defense, it does look like he tried to go around the corner to have his smoke, but the photographer followed him anyway. Otherwise, it's great to see a full-length picture of him.

A Brit a Day [#434]

A little nostalgia led me to this picture of Dan Radcliffe from years back--my guess is it's from the era between HP3 and HP4.

A Brit a Day [#433]

Half the fun of being a James Blunt fan--and I am a fan, though not a rabid one, I do think he's very talented--is trying to imagine him in a crewcut and uniform. There has hardly been an interview that did not dwell on his earlier life as a British Army officer.

A Brit a Day [#432]

A frosty photo provided in preparation for the opening of 'John Gabriel Borkman' at BAM last winter, Fiona Shaw, Alan Rickman, and Lindsey Duncan are shown not in the period costume of the play.