Monday, August 27, 2012

Ballad of Richard III

Is it just me, or can you see the resemblance?
The best way to remember anything is to put it to song!  So here are the lyrics to a song about the true story of Richard III that I've just found in my web travels.

Please visit the King Richard Armitage website for more articles about the King Richard III and the long struggle to clear his name.  We hope that we may hear soon about Richard Armitage's involvement in a new film production about the monarch.



From The Mudcat Cafe
BALLAD OF RICHARD III
(Gwydion)

When good King Richard, that's Richard of Gloucester
Ascended the throne did he
He made good his promise to lower the taxes
And set all the debtors free

Now kindly King Richard was called Dicky Crookback
By Henry of Richmond, did he
Till all of his subjects had heard the foul rumor
From Dover to Anglesey

cho: Henry of Richmond, he wanted the crown
To wear on his bonny Welsh head
But Henry the Seventh he'd never be
Till Richard the Third was dead

You've heard of the princes who died in the tower
The Tower of London, you've heard
T'was Henry of Richmond who blamed his foul murders
On goodly King Richard the Third

With plotting and pledges an army was raised
To force our fair Richard to yield
And the Wars of the Roses than came to an ending
At the Battle of Bosworth Field

(Chorus here and after every two verses)
The Bishop of Ely, he blessed our King Richard
And promised to help in the fights
But even before Richard came to the battle
John Morton gave him last rites

The proud Rhys ap Thomas and handsome Will Stanley
They promised their swords to their liege
But shortly these bastards went over to Henry
And even helped plan his siege

The list of the traitors is too long to mention
And the names of the faithful are few
For Henry of Richmond vowed gold to the rebels
And death to the loyal and true

Now Henry of Richmond was crowned King of England
Some say he was Arthur returned
But Arthur Pendragon, ne'er once had he murdered
Nor looted, nor plundered, nor burned

Now you may be thinking my story's told falsely
Because you have read the bard's play
About Dicky Crookback, who murdered his brother
All on St. Bartholemew's Day

But the truth is elusive (t'was true then as now)
And falsehoods are easily spread
For some men became saints while some became monsters
Because of what Will Shakespeare said

Please click here to hear the tune and see the sheet music.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

August 22 biRthdAy

August 22 is a special day in the RA fan community.  Bloggers and vidders are posting tributes, forum members are hosting virtual get togethers, as the Armitage Army comes together for a birthday bash the likes of which haven't been seen since -- last year! (But it's bigger and even better this year!)  This is the third year I have had the honour of sharing this special day with other Armitagemaniacs.  If you are interested, here are the links to my previous posts: 2011 and 2010.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Armitage Day. Don't forget to participate in the Scavenger Hunt which has been cleverly organized by the KRA blog (see banner in the column on the right). There are prizes available too!  And speaking of prizes... I hope you had a chance to take part in the contest on I Want to be a Pin Up's blog.  Each day last week up until today she gave away a new cloth bag which was decorated with an Armitage cartoon character created by a talented new blogger named Gisbornesboy.


It's not that I'm not excited about you-know-who's birthday.. but I wondered who elses' birthday it might be today?  So here is my list of some other of my favourite famous people who share the same birthday as Richard Armitage.

Phylly's Faves Top Ten August 22 Celebrity Birthday list:

10. Richard III of England, 1452-1485

(Oops! August 22 is actually not his birth date but the date of his death on the battlefield at Bosworth Field!)
*Let us now bow our heads for a moment of silence*....

Okay... carry on!

  Since we are such fans we all know that RA is very interested in making a film with a more historically accurate portrayal of this much maligned English monarch.  Many RA fans, as well as historians and monarchists (known as Ricardians) are hopeful that such a project might be possible soon.  If you are interested in this project, please sign the petition here. There will be more information about this all week on the KRA (King Richard Armitage) website as well as some other blogs which Gratiana has cleverly listed in verse at her blog Something About Love.

Phylly's Faves Top Ten Nine August 22 Celebrity Birthday list:


9. Dorothy Parker, 1893-1967
Famous for her ascerbic wit, this writer of short stories, Hollywood screenplays, scathing reviews and pithy poetry is one of the most quotable people of the 20th century.  Does this sound familiar?: "Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses".

Her left-wing political interests got her blacklisted during the McCarthyism of the 1950s. Hollywood lost a very talented screenwriter, as she was one of the main writers of "A Star is Born".

I don't know about you, but if this movie was remade again, I could see Richard Armitage playing the main role!


8. Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1908-2004
"To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life."
This world famous french photographer started his career as a painter.  He definitely saw the world with an artist's eye even if his tool was not a  brush and paint but a camera with black and white film.  His passion was to find the "definitive moment" in every day life and preserve it for all to see.  His compositions were not carefully arranged but waited patiently for and then captured with his own personal style and meticulous skill.


7. John Lee Hooker, 1917-2001
If you click on his name, the link will take you to a website with a wonderful retrospective of his music.

Next is a video of legendary Bluesman and guitarist, John Lee Hooker singing about a case of the Travellin' Blues.

I wouldn't be surprised if Richard Armitage had a case of travelling blues after flying around the world from England to South Africa to New Zealand and now the United States in such a short space of time!






6. Honor Blackman, 1925
This British actress is known for playing James Bond's sexy secretary Pussy Galore in the movie Goldfinger. She is noted for being the oldest Bond girl, even older than her male lead.  She also starred in the original version of The Avengers as Mrs. Gale, before Emma Peel (played by Diana Rigg) joined the show.

Just look at her smirk in this picture.  She can almost smirk as well as a certain actor I know.  A certain actor who would make a wonderful James Bond.




5. Valerie Harper, 1939
She may not look familiar to modern audiences, but back in the 1970s when The Mary Tyler Moore Show was must-see TV, Valerie Harper played Mary's wisecracking neighbour, Rhoda Morgenstern.  She was so popular that she rated a spin-off series simply called Rhoda which lasted a respectable amount of time. (This was back in the day when spin-offs were not very common, and especially not successful ones!)
Rhoda was sassy and tough, a real women's libber back when they were just inventing the term.  But she was also endearing and funny and always entertaining.
Apparently she has a very successful stage career now.  But I miss her face on my TV.


4. Ray Bradbury, 1920-2012

This prolific American writer is known most famously for his science fiction novel Farenheit 451 and short story collection The Martian Chronicles.  Many of his stories were adapted into television screenplays for The Twilight Zone and his own television show Ray Bradbury Theatre.  The story which he credits with making him a true author is called The Lake.  It takes place in his home state of Michigan.

Oh! And speaking of Michigan... isn't that where Richard Armitage is now?  He is starring in as a teacher (yay!) in a Tornado disaster flick, which was tentatively called Category 6, but I believe is now titled Black Sky.

3. Claude Debussy, 1862-1918
This french composer created beautiful works for piano and orchestra.  The Britannica online encyclopedia states that:
He developed a highly original system of harmony and musical structure that expressed in many respects the ideals to which the Impressionist and Symbolist painters and writers of his time aspired.
Isn't it nice that thanks to 19bt80 we have a fanvid of Richard Armitage as the Impressionist  painter Claude Monet set to the music of Claude Debussy?





2. Tori Amos, 1963
A gifted singer / songwriter Tori Amos has been recording and performing her music (classified as Alternative Rock) since the 1980s.  Performing with her piano, she became a solo act in the 1990s has been  nominated for Grammy Awards since 1995.

I found it interesting to note that she wrote the soundtrack music for the 1996 movie Twister that tornado chasing movie starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.

Doesn't it remind you of another tornado movie?  Hmmm?  I've been delighted to read about several fan encounters with RA on the set of this new tornado movie in Michigan.  First there was ItsJSforMe's account on her blog Do I Have a Blog?. Then just tonight I found this account on a Tumblr blog: In Praise of Wickedness. All I can say is - You lucky, lucky ladies!

Now here is Tori Amos singing a song called Birthday. (If I had time I would have made it into an RA fanvid.)


Birthday / by Tori Amos



And the numero uno is...

(you guessed it!)


1. Richard Armitage, 1971

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Puzzle me this...



I am not usually a fan of jigsaw puzzles.  There are so many things I should be doing but this is what interests me right now.  Why?  If I could answer that, I probably wouldn't need this blog!  It is a puzzle, I do admit.  But, I'm still smiling!





This collage was done at Pizap.com, a fun, free online photo editing site.



Then I decided I wanted to make a photo into a puzzle.  Well here is a website jigsawsite.com where you can upload a photo and actually do the puzzle online!  It's a terrific time waster heap of fun, let me tell you!

I don't have Adobe Photoshop, which I am sure makes much better puzzle photos.  Are there any other free online photo editors you like to use?

Have a super weekend!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

If RA was in the Olympics...

Are you enjoying watching the London Olympic games?  I've been too busy having fun away from my television to see many events.  But here is something I would be glued to the TV to watch.


Here are some events Richard Armitage could compete in...



Archery
GoG in Robin Hood (series 2 Lardner's Ring episode) from RA Central
He's right on target for me!

Boxing
As John Porter in Strike Back from RA Net
Watching him makes me punch-drunk!

Equestrian
Series 2 Robin Hood from RA Central
Don't we all love how he sits a horse!


Fencing
series 3 Robin Hood from RA Central
Well, he could use some help at this sport, unfortunately.
But I'm more than willing to let him practice on me!


Rugby Sevens (to be introduced in 2016)
as Ian Macalwain in Ultimate Force courtesy of RAnet gallery
Ladies do enjoy him in shorts.


Shooting
As John Porter in Strike Back courtesy of RA Net

He's not just "shooting the breeze", but he could "shoot the moon"!

Swimming

as Lee Preston in Cold Feet courtesy of RA Net
He doesn't really have to swim or dive.  
We'd just be grateful to see him walk around in his Speedo.


Water Polo
As Lee Preston in Cold Feet screencap from RA Central
Just what exactly are they fishing around for here?

Weight lifting
Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood courtesy of RA Central gallery

I'm not sure if this should be considered weight lifting or shot put.  
If only he could trust Robin Hood as far as he could throw him!



Never mind all the hoopla about The Hobbit. -- To me RA is really
the Lord of the Rings



What are some events that you think should be added to the RA Olympics?

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Happy pills!

Well I just noticed that my next post was going to be my 222nd so I thought that deserved a bit of notice.  When I first thought of that number it made me think of the headache tablets called 222's that we used to take back in the day, if an Aspirin wasn't strong enough.  According to Wikipedia's article on Codeine: The Canadian "Frosst 222"[contains 8 mg codeine.  But I would hate to think that I am a pill!

Then I wondered if there was any music about 222s.

Well, lo and behold! Little did I know that there was once a Canadian punk rock band called the 222's! And guess what? I think I like them! This song for sure! Here they are singing Fun, Fun, Fun from 1979!

Fun, Fun, Fun / 222's

I find it interesting that I am just discovering them now... ?   Way back in '79 I was just developing a taste for New Wave music but Punk was a bit too much for me.  I had moved to a city the year before after living all my life in a very small backwoods town.  When I first saw punkers in the flesh I was both fascinated and horrified.  Why would anyone want to look that way? The wild hair was one thing but the piercings!!  Back then, safety pins were the piercing of choice.  Yikes!

Yes, I was a shallow, sheltered creature.  Still am, I'm afraid.  But I wonder...

Would I become a sudden fan of Punk Rock if Richard Armitage were to play a Punker ... like one  of The Sex Pistols?
Sid Vicious 



or Perhaps another character named John?

 Johnny Rotten




Here is a punk band I've always liked.  I guess I should take their advice!

I Wanna Be Sedated / The Ramones 

Better give them some of those 222's!