The Squeee

The people we bought the house off had left behind an empty photo frame. Possibly because it was a bit wonky. I finally found a use for it, the other day! :) When the Squeeze and I went to London in mid-March, we popped in to the National Portrait Gallery (I insisted, because I really wanted to see the Brontë portraits in real life). You weren't allowed to take pictures there (boo!), so I had to settle for getting some postcards instead, and the frame came in really useful now - so, from the top: Charlotte Brontë (by George Richmond), Emily Brontë (by Branwell Brontë), the Brontë sisters (also by Branwell), and a self-portrait of Jane Austen. All except the Richmond one were on display at the museum. Maybe that one was as well but we didn't see it. So there you have it, my collection of inspirational female authors! :) Now I just have to figure out where to put it... haha.

What a brilliant day! First of all, the sun's shining and it's spring and that's great. Secondly, it started out well on the train: didn't have time to collect my ticket from the machine, but the conductor didn't force me to pay for a new one - instead I could pick it up from the train station where I got off. Thirdly, and more importantly: Walking from the train station to work, I came across this big billboard on the side of the road, so I just had to stop and take a picture. :D Strike Back is everywhere and it's only eight days to go! (And this is the second attempt at trying to submit blog posts by email.)

Behold! :D First picture* from the forthcoming Jane Eyre adaptation, starring Mia Wasikowska. Now I just want to see a picture of Rochester '11... and preferably one with both of them. Nice bonnet, good "quakerish governess" dress, brooding landscape... So far so good! * Picture by Laurie Sparham, from article in The Times , found through BrontëBlog and re-posted, so to speak.

Last updated: 10 June 2010 Here's an observation. It's all about the hair! Sometimes, you see someone who's gorgeous and then they do something with their hair and all of a sudden they aren't. Or they have such great hair that they're just a bit "oooh". Is it the hair or is it the characters that are being played? It's the hair. Before I had joined the ranks of the Armitage Army, I saw a bit of Spooks 7 with Richard Armitage and thought "meh, prefer him as Gisborne". All in the hair, because I wasn't looking at more than his physical appearance at the time (the re-watch after the fan turning made me look more closely and appreciate the actual character, beyond the looks). Gisborne has decidedly more hair, and I prefer RA with more hair. Like this: Cute. But too short. Makes him look like Daniel Radcliffe! Yes, yes, yes, YES!! *fans herself with the laptop* So let's have a look at some others that spring to mind... Toby Step...

On the train back from work, I saw a guy who seriously looked like Sam Neill. He had glasses and reminded me a lot of this piccy here (from Sirens ). Put a smile on my face, that did. Think he got off in Hucknall, so if you look like a '93 Sam Neill in glasses reading this and live in Hucknall - you rock! Pixar/Disney have announced a Monsters Inc. sequel, apparently. Don't really remember the first one, but it was cute...? The One Show 's resident grumpy Brummie Adrian Chiles is defecting to ITV , gasp! How very dares he! Top Gear will be getting a US spin-off. Well done! Top Gear is a brilliant show. I know it's about cars, but why watch it for the motors when the guys are hilarious? Not many people would try to make a rocking chair and a blender from a V8 engine... ;) One American remake that apparently isn't going ahead at the moment is Torchwood , the Doctor Who spin-off. They were making an American version? What on earth for? I mean, the original ...

Might just make a habit of commenting on the news on Fridays. Kinda fun! ...Even though it's Saturday by the time I write this, as I was catching up on Lost earlier tonight. Speaking of Lost , is Jack growing boobs? Looks like he's starting to compete against Locke in the man-boob arena... This season is a bit confusing still but it's getting there, slowly. Regardless of anything else, how squeeable is Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick)?! I like the character, even though he over-uses "brother". There's something with that accent - shame it's not his natural one. First off is the fab Emma Thompson in the Daily Mail , talking about being a mum, having the same driver as Kate Moss - causing the paparazzi to be very disappointed when the actress appears instead of the supermodel! If I had been a paparazzi, it would be the other way around. What's Kate Moss? Really? Famous for being a junkie and for being too skinny. Meh, I say. How can that compare with the P...

Some time ago, I ordered two books by Emma Tennant. The first one came pretty much straight away, the second only arrived yesterday, as it had to come all the way from across the pond. And now what? IT'S THE SAME BLOODY BOOK! It just has two different titles! Okay, so a couple of books at £0.01 (+ £2.75 p&p) each isn't a lot, but it still annoys me. I was looking forward to reading two different books, and instead, I have one book with two different titles and two different covers. Only wanted the one. :( For reference, these are the culprits: The French Dancer's Bastard and Thornfield Hall . The latter has even been published under a third title, Adèle . FFS, pick a title and stick with it!

And I pretend to be good at the whole Internets thing and I can't even do a proper search... duh. Here's that long and lush Strike Back promo I mentioned recently . Lookit the angst! :D Seen it twice today on TV. Woohoo! And for some reason it makes me want to hum the Village People's Macho Man . Here's someone who's already done a fanvid to Status Quo's You're In The Army Now : :D

The Squeee does Heat magazine or something but without stalker-y paparazzi photos. Erm, maybe with the exception of the one below, which I borrowed from the Mirror . Geraldine Granger and Harry Kennedy would of course live happily ever after, but in real life, news recently broke that Dawn French and her squeeze, comedian Lenny Henry, have split up after 25 years of marriage. Amicable split, apparently, which is nice. None of that mud-slinging à la Katie Price and Peter Andre in the tabloids then, one hopes. Read more: Comedians Lenny Henry and Dawn French separate (BBC) Speaking of Peter Andre, he seems like a pretty decent bloke, actually. The little I've seen him actually say something on TV. He has come across as a friendly, caring sort of person. His ex wife... ugh. Less said on that subject the better. Geriatric Geordie cat attacks three postmen and gets owner's mail suspended because of it. Aww, bless him. Tiger makes an appearance on BBC's morning show, and...

Oh SNAP! Just saw a Strike Back promo on Sky1. A proper, long trailer, probably about a couple of minutes long. Didn't realise it was that to begin with, until I saw Richard Armitage. Then all of a sudden, the telly had my full attention! Gee, I wonder why? Holy squee! Could it be that he looked angsty and just... amazing? The Commander in Chief in uniform. Leading us poor, defenceless and most of all exceedingly hormonal ladies into estrogene-infused fits of gleeful delight and awe. It mainly featured Richard and Andrew Lincoln, but it looks to be really good. Shame the trailer didn't feature Toby Stephens. I can see what attracted Richard to the part. It just seems like the character has issues coming out the wazoo. Oh, it's going to be awesome! Can't wait! :D It's said to be shown starting 1 May, six parts or so. That's at least 280 minutes of joy. Here's a short promo, only because I can't see a longer one on YouTube and kinda "take what...

Okay, IMDb-ing the upcoming Jane Eyre adaptation, there are some more roles which have been cast: Mrs. Fairfax - Dame Judy Dench I would think she has a bit too much of a commanding presence for the mild Mrs. Fairfax, but on the other hand, she's also a damned fine actress, so she should be able to pull it off. Mrs. Reed - Sally Hawkins Anne Elliot of Persuasion '07. I can see her as similar to Tara Fitzgerald in the Mrs. Reed role, because in a way, they remind of each other. Still, I thought Fitzgerald was an odd choice for Mrs. Reed - a bit too young, and Hawkins isn't exactly old enough either.

Isn't this a great picture, btw? It's so like the original! Another Brontë-based blogging event/theme! This time, it's not a challenge or anything, just a collection of bloggers who like posting on the subject of the Brontës and their works and have a collective squee, which sounds like a good plan. The bloggers behind it are Beth and Melissa at Eggplantia and they say you can participate even if you're not a blogger. Posting about the Brontës is something I'm likely to continue doing after Laura's Brontë Challenge is through, even if  it will most likely not be as often. Or, it might be that I'll post more over at E•F•R rather than here. We shall see. Either way, I intend to keep reading, keep watching, keep listening, keep writing and keep blogging about these remarkable sisters and their wonderful works. :) P.S. If anyone would prefer an Austen-Along, Beth & Melissa assures us there will be one of those as well, just keep your eyes open.