Thursday 11 December 2014

Superheroathonic: Margaret Rutherford (Miss Marple No.1)

 Margaret Rutherford's life is one of those that you immediately exclaim 'oh WOW'.  It's unbelievable  that she survived to become a force of nature in her own right.

Margaret Rutherford (1892 - 1972) is probably best know for her film role as the very first Miss Marple.  Here's a great bunch of trailers of the Miss Marple films.  Margaret in a nutshell.  Agatha Christie actually dedicated one of her books to Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple!!!




Margaret Rutherford (1892 - 1972) is probably best know for her film role as the very first Miss Marple.

As Miss Marple she insisted on wearing her own clothes and refused to be in the films unless her very shy husband, Stringer Davis, performed too.  She married Davis when she was 53yo (waiting 15 years for his mother to die as she disapproved of Margaret), and played Miss Marple in her 70's.  What really gets me, and makes me admire her even more, is her sprightly and forthright manner in the films, and would you believe, canters along on a horse side saddle!  What a bloody trojan.  70 years old!

Before we get on to Margaret's incredible life, here's a little about her very close marriage:

Davis adored Rutherford, with one friend noting: "For him she was not only a great talent but, above all, a beauty."  (Quote from Wikipedia)

In 1963 Margaret Rutherford won an Academy award, a Golden Globe "The VIPs" also starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.  Disappointingly, Peter Ustinov collects the award for Margaret, I've actually got no idea why...




Anyway, here's her stunning personal life.  What a lady that embodies the old British saying 'stiff upper lip' and 'carry on'.

Her father was, at that time, from a renowned family and a well known journalist. One month after getting married, he had a nervous breakdown (now more generally understood to be post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD), and admitted into the 'nuthouse'.  At this time in London it was the Bethnal House Lunatic Asylum.  Yep, they really called it a 'lunatic asylum'.  Just the name is enough to send you running very, very fast in a diametrically opposed direction.  You feel like a bout of impending lunacy just from the very title.

Released from the care of the asylum to his family in 1883 he than proceeded to murder his father, the Reverend Julius Benn. By bashing his head in with a chamber pot no less.  Then he proceeded to slash his own throat. with a pocket knife at a Inn in Derbyshire.  Guess the maid got a bit of a shock that morning.   Apparently the knife slashing wasn't too successful and he was once again commited to an asylum, this time the Broadmore Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Bet that wasn't too nice.  After a seven year sojourn at the asylum he was actually, believe it or not, released and reunited with his wife.  Bet that made her day.

To become somewhat incognito, her father William and his wife, moved to India.  When Margaret was three she was returned to live with her aunt in Wimbledon, London, after her pregnant mother hung herself from a tree.

She'd been told her father was dead, so imagine her (elated?) surprise that he wasn't in fact dead, when she was 12yo. He later died in Broadmore Hospital.

Not surprisingly enough, as an adult Margaret had bouts of anxiety and depression, fearing that her parent's mental illness might be hereditary.


All of this material has been Sourced from Wikipedia.
Here's another good source on Margaret:  British Film Institute screenonline

Collective Nounsathonic

I have a passion for saving collective nouns.  They're so curious and often pretty fabulous.

Please feel free to help me out.

I need more more more!!

 

Threat of courtiers (from the court of Henry VIII)
Murder of crows
Parliament of owls
Pod of dolphins
Flock of birds
Herd of cattle
Surfeit of skunks
A faire of fairies
A lick of lesbians (a friend came up with this one - fit for Oscar Wilde in wit value!) 
a congress of gorillas 
gaggle of geese 
swarm of bees
an army of caterpillars
pack of dogs
convocation of eagles
a mob of emus
a pride of lions
a bouquet of flowers
flock of sheep
a clowder of cats
a kindle of kittens



 

Sunday 7 December 2014

Drollathonic: The Master of Droll

For pure quirkyness as the epitome of droll, is my favourite black & white actor, George Sanders (with Oscar Levant a close second).  In my opinion the best example of perfecting the droll is George Sanders' part in as Jack Favell in Daphne Du Maurier's 'Rebecca' with Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier in 1940. George is perhaps best known for his award winning role as Supporting Actor for his part in 'All About Eve' with Bette Davis in 1950.

If your keen as mustard, the full movie is on YouTube

 Below is my absolutely favourite parts encapsulated already put up on YouTube by someone with impeccable taste:

 

He remained a master of the droll until his death in 1972 with this farewell note:

Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck. 




Tuesday 7 October 2014

Brushtail-athonic

REPORT A RESCUE 13 000 WIRES - 13 00 094 737

The other night we found a gorgeous little baby Brushtail possum, which are native to Australia.  Although this particular species is not endangered, all of these beasts are territorial and due to loss of habitat have a hard time.

They are known to love nesting in roofs, love to dig up some bulbs, eat your fruit and, run all over your roof at night, and if tamed enough, will go through your garbage and wander into your home at night for any good ripened fruit.

Between the parrots that take a yummy nip out of every fruit.  Between the possums and parrots, we're often lucky to get a single apple off the tree.

Ultimately, some people trap them and move them away.  Being territorial, they often try to find their way back with disastrous results.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we called WIRES (Wildlife Information Rescue & Education Service). The little beast slept in the duvet envelope with the duvet.  He was freezing cold when we found him, so I warmed him up down my top/shirt then left him to the duvet.

WIRES are staffed by local helpers who are volunteers, and kindly picked him up in the morning. Apparently he'll be in good company, the WIRES lady mentioned she had three more little ones at home! He will be reared under their tender care until able to be released into the wild.  At this stage, he is 100 - 120 days old.

WIRES BRUSHTAIL FACT SHEET




ORPHANED BRUSHTAIL BELOW



Monday 6 October 2014

Evermore-athonic: Science is forever.

Can't go past such class as this.  I know it's Facebook, but what the hell.






Lobster-athonic or should I say Decathonicpod

This is a great quirky site that is fun to add to when something about lobsters gets your goat.  Really though, you need a pic to add.


It's blurb is:

A place to share our frustrations about anatomically-incorrect lobster art, toys, apparel, accessories, and knick-knacks

(Ten legs = Eight walking legs and two claws.) 


 And here is the final in our series of vintage matchbook covers.  It seems right to end with a clown riding a lobster.

Grave-athonic

Ya!  Diana Graves latest on the Raina Kirkland series has finally hit the scene.
Love this series, one I have on my spreadsheet for books coming out (& yes, I really do have one...).

The Raina Kirkland series is officially named Paranormal Washington.

Give it a go if you like the paranormal/urban fantasy stuff.

This is the Goodreads' blurb from the first novel, Fatal Retribution:

Raina Kirkland is a witch without magic and an elf without grace. She lives in a wondrous world that parallels our own in every way, save for one fantastic detail. Every story ever told, every monster, every god, every demon is spectacularly real!
Even so, Raina seems to live an unremarkable life up until the day her family falls victim to a spree of unauthorized vampire infections. Without government oversight humans are becoming terrorizing blood thirsty murderers all over the Pacific Northwest.
Raina is just coming into her own as a woman when she realizes the police can no longer be trusted to stop this unbelievably violent trend, and she engages in an amazing journey that brings her to her breaking point and beyond.

“Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged.”
~Samuel Johnson

Warning: This book contains sex and violence. Suitable for mature readers only.
F



Friday 18 April 2014

Authorthonic - Amelia Hutchins: The Fae Chronicles

I'm finding this series really engrossing, and if you like sexy bad boys, heroes and a bit of graphic slap and tickle then you should enjoy this series.  Obviously it falls in the paranormal category, but it's not your normal fairy stuff and most definitely an 18+ audience.

You can find Amelia's books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc, with ebooks, so an immediate download without having to do painful shopping is definitely a big plus.

More about Amelia:  FacebookTwitter, Goodreads, Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Booktopia.  Goodreads has loads of reader reviews, so you check that out if you want more info.

Amelia's website:  http://amelia-hutchins.com/

Book blurb source from Amelia's site:

Picture

Have you ever heard of the old Celtic legends of the Fae - beautiful, magical, deadly and a love of messing with humans just for kicks and giggles?
Welcome to my world.
What started out as a strange assignment, leads to one of the most gruesome murder mysteries of our times and my friends and I are set and determined to find out who is killing off Fae and Witches alike. 
Couple of problems in the way – I hate the Fae and the Prince of the Dark Fae is bound and determined that I work for him.
 He’s a rude, overbearing egotistical ass with a compulsive need to possess, dominate and control me.
Oh – did I mention that he is absolutely sex-on-a-stick gorgeous and he makes me feel things that I never ever wanted to feel for a Fae…every time he touches me or looks at me with those golden eyes seems to pull me further in under his spell, despite my better judgment.
My friends and I can’t trust anyone and nothing is as it seems on the surface – not even me.




Monday 14 April 2014

Crapathonic - yeh, waiting for the next book in a series to arrive is completely counter productive


Don't you hate it?  How do publishing houses and authors possibly think this is a good idea?  Lose the respect of your readers, the respect for the series, and the adulation of an iconic author:

Here's an article that blathers on about it...  source:  Huffington Post, 27 Feburary 2014.

 Book series are a wonderful thing, but the wait time between installments can be agonizing. Some authors and publishers have wised up to how impatient we've collectively become, and have applied the binge-watching mentality to books by rolling titles out more quickly. Still, we're lucky if authors like George R.R. Martin get around to penning their books within years of each other, and regardless, the times between release dates has to be filled with something. We recommend supplementing your wallowing with reading related titles, but ultimately, the choice is yours.
Here are the 9 painful stages of waiting for the next book in a series to come out:



Friday 11 April 2014

Greenpeace-athonic Australia Pacific

Another giant step for mankind.

Greenpeace have made some remarkable achievements:  here are just a few Australian based wins.
Join the mailing list for Greenpeace and see regular updates.  You can add Greenpeace to your Facebook interest groups and offer your regular support with their share posts.
Join your interest with the Greenpeace updates:  http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/


Look at these amazing things we’ve achieved together. Let’s celebrate! | Greenpeace Australia Pacific


Help save our beasts


We did it! The giant company behind brands like Head & Shoulders and Gillette - Procter & Gamble - has agreed to stop trashing the rainforest for dirty palm oil. After nearly 400,000 of us around the world emailed P&G’s boss and thousands more campaigned in supermarkets, on the streets and on social media - they listened at last.

This week P&G published a jaw-dropping update on their website: “P&G’s new goals call for ensuring no deforestation in its entire palm supply chain.”

This is huge news. And it’s down to you.


 This month, two more companies, Lend Lease and Anglo Coal, have followed BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto and withdrawn their plans to develop coal terminals at Abbot Point that would threaten the Great Barrier Reef. With the number of proposed terminals now greatly reduced, we can focus on preventing the other mines and coal ports that threaten this World Heritage Area and its precious marine life.


 The European Parliament has backed Greenpeace’s vision for an Arctic Sanctuary. It would create the biggest ever conservation zone on the planet, protecting our oceans from dangerous overfishing and saving other species that thrive in this delicate and pristine environment. There’s a long way to go until it becomes a reality, but this is the clearest sign yet that governments are listening to our calls.

Friday 4 April 2014

Gitathonic - Mars One

Well, I'm gobsmacked, once again.  I can't believe this guy, the CEO of the company MarsOne, organising a permanent abode on Mars.  He's labelled this as "the single most important event in the history of mankind".  Maybe he forgot the wheel and, most importantly for women, that invention:  the tampon?

Surely he's joking, thinking he is so special, although I must point out he may lack a genetic locus for humour?  What?  He thinks he's more important than say, Dr Ehrlic? Louis Pasteur?  The Curie's (Madame Curie)?  What outrageous arrogance.  I personally don't see Mars as either the saviour of mankind from itself perhaps, or the solution that will save the planet and the environment from gradually eroding away.

Let's face the truth, of course planet Earth won't last forever.

In the immortal words of St Saens, "music is the redemption of mankind" (at least I think it was St Saens, although Wagner did similar themes).

Single most important event in history my foot.  Eat your hat mate, and wash your treacherous mouth out with soap.

Here's some info on the planet Mars.  If you need some help a planetarium is always a good way of getting a grasp of the sky and planets, and also to provide a unique way of observing and understanding planets and their mapping. 

If you prefer not to move from the comfy company of your mobile, there's a great phone app you can get that provides absolutely fantastic opportunities to star gaze.  I use the free app Meteor Shower Calendar - if you do a search for that on Google Play, heaps of apps come up.  The one I use picks out your own GPS co-ordinates, you then point your phone in whatever direction you want, and it will show you graphics of the stars that you're looking at.  Once you've installed the app and set your co-ordinates, the phone doesn't need to be online to do its thing.  Really simple.  As indicated by the name, it also let's you know what meteors and comets are upcoming, and their strengths.

I'm also going to try the free app Night Sky Tools - Astronomy - that's also a point and look app.

Interview with Alix Steel of Bloomberg West with Bas Lansdorp, CEO of MarsOne, 3 April 2014: Bloomberg West TV, 3 April 2014 


 And here's a short doco from Time offered on YouTube:

A One Way Ticket to Mars: Behind the Mars One Project 

Published on Jun 3, 2013
A private space venture plans to beat NASA in getting people to the red planet by at least a decade. The catch? It's a one-way trip. Mars One will now take your application.







Tuesday 18 February 2014

Dead Girl's with Style are... Deathathonic...

Rose Pressey, an author that I like has a couple of series happening.  My favourite is her Veronica Mason series, but Rose has just started another series for her main character Hadley Wilds.  The covers for these books are always fabulous, so I thought I'd give you a showdown.

Rose has a blog here, which usually has some good giveaways:
Rose Pressey - Mystery and Romance... Southern Style


A Facebook page (of course):  Rose Pressey - Facebook

And a new page featuring her new series:  Dead Girl's are Guide to Style

All her books are on Amazon, with really affordable prices with the new novel at $3.99


Wednesday 1 January 2014

Quirkexcellence: The Rude & The Beautiful

There are so many moments when I have had someone be rude and obnoxious to me.

For example, years ago when I was too young to give anyone a really good verbal tongulashing, I was doing a commute on the train.  It was always a dead rush to score a seat at peak hour fighting the way from the platform to the train doors at Wynyard in the Sydney CBD.

I rushed on, scored one of those elusive seats.  I had just sat down, quite comfortable, when this lady grabbed my arm, ripped me out of the seat, and planted her self in my spot.  Not an ounce of shame on her face.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I noted smug satisfaction.  By the time I had recovered my senses and scooped my chin off the floor, that allusive moment when abuse was the order of the day, had passed me by.  I noted I was not the only one with my chin on the floor, my lips forming a surprised "Oh!"

So here is a suitable ode, instituted by those good with an abusive tongue,  that would be the French.  They have applied an additional charge to those on their premises who just happen to be obnoxious.
Make my day!!!

"introduced a tiered payment system that leaves impolite customers paying more for their coffee than those who treat staff with respect" (Source: springwise.com 'CafĂ© charges customers more if they're rude'  27th December 2013 in Food & Beverage'  http://www.springwise.com/cafe-charges-customers-rude/?fb_action_ids=10151912166011374&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582