the here heres listening trumpets

This is a pretty cool idea.  They are extra large listening trumpets so that you can hear the wondrous natural sounds of nature all around you (and blow your tiny mind maaaaaaaaaan). Ever wanted to hear the fart of a worm or the plop of a pigeon?  Then you my friend, are in luck.
These are at Kedleston Hall, Derby and more information about the project (Here Heres) is here.

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the rich loving santa

How very true.  Santa does indeed, give more to rich kids than the poor.
Signed digital prints are available by the artist here.

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skeleton found in the base of a tree

One of the less known effects of Hurricane Sandy.  It has uprooted a tree in New Haven, and underneath the tree, a skeleton was discovered, attached and entangled in the vines.  There is a belief that it may in fact be two skeletons, but it is being investigated at the moment.  There is more on the story in The New Haven Independent.  An excellent gory tale for Halloween.

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paintings with the people removed

Leonardo da Vinci 'The Last Supper' 1495-1498

Sandro Botticelli 'Annunciation' 1489-1490

Fra Angelico 'The Annunciation' 1450

Ever wondered what a painting would look like if the figures were removed?  Wonder no more, as here are some famous examples by the Hungarian art student Hajdu Bence.
Some more examples are here.

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the left handed gun foreign film posters

I think the Dracula type one just above is the strangest, especially as in the film, (as far as l remember) Paul Newman only has two bullets in his hand in the scene l think they are depicting.

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the left handed gun (1958) - arthur penn

Paul Newman plays a devilishly handsome role (as usual) as William Bonney (AKA William Henry McCartey, jr / Billy The Kid).  He gets caught up in the Lincoln County War, and is portrayed as misunderstood and good natured, until he seeks revenge for the unjust  killing of cattle owner John Tunstall (the Englishman), who had been kind to him.
This was written by Gore Vidal, and, much as l love Newman, he doesn't convince in the role, especially when he portrays becoming mixed up or troubled.  Apart from the scenes when he is dancing, the camera just feasts itself on his eyes, but the menace of a real life outlaw is missing.  His sidekicks were pretty poor as well, but there was a good performance by John Dehner (as Pat Garrett), Billy's friend and later killer.
Liberties were taken with the facts of Billy's life, escape and death, but that is generally expected in these kind of 'shoot it out's', although why they don't stick to the true stories when they have as much going for it as this has, l really don't know. Still, it's an old cowboy film, so it was alright by me, as expectations are low in advance.
Although the film is called 'The Left Handed Gun', he may not have been, as the only photograph of Billy was probably reversed (see below).
He sure didn't look like Paul Newman, that's for sure.

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evil clowns need love

How very true

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war horse (2011) - steven speilberg

If ever there was a film that can be broken down into two halfs, 'War Horse' is it.  I don't just mean for the peacetime / wartime parts, as that has been done on many occasions. What l am referring to is that the first half of the film really got on my nerves and annoyed me, as it was so over the top as far as a predictable story crammed with annoying over emotional characters could be, to the extent that the film was switched off for the day and nearly not restarted the following day.  The 'Devon' accents didn't help, as they made everyone sound stupid, and it was all too jolly, nice and clean, with the locals even coming to watch a field being ploughed ("Come on Joey - I know you can do it").  Throw in an evil landlord, a heroic past for the drunken father / farmer, and a race on the horse with the poshos in their car, and l was looking for a cat to kick to ease my frustrations (but we have non left).
The second half, once the army horse racing was finished with, was by no means perfect, but at least you started to get immersed and empathetic.  The horse was still the best actor, even if a few were used (such expressive eyes!), and the scenes of him running across the front and along the trenches were superbly done.  You felt more for the horse all the way through the film, and maybe it was a deliberate ploy by Steven Spielberg, but the other actors were (on the whole)  stereotypical caricatures, and undeserving of sympathy from the viewers.  The (human) stars for me were the French grandad (Niels Arestrup) and the German private Friedrich (Nicolos Bro) who loved the horses in his care.  Some beautiful scenery, colours and settings were highlighted, but even though the odd tear may have been shed (obviously by the FPO), there was a huge feeling of disappointment about the beginning, which the second half never quite made up for.
I still wouldn't mind seeing the stage play though.

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bruce lee soft picture

Bruce Lee looks kind of wiry, simple, and small in this photograph, and also slightly effeminate.  Then again, there is no way l would have told him that to his face, as he would probably have put his foot in mine.

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batman - the long halloween - jeph loeb and tim sale

This was one of my birthday present from Robbo in September, and pretty good it was too. 'The Long Halloween' was originally released as 13 comics in 1996 and 1997, and has 'Holiday' killing off various people (on each festive occasion), while Batman tries to figure out 'Holiday's' true identity, and how to stop him.  Along the way, Batman tries to worm the killers identity off  'The Calender Man', while simultaneously dealing with other arch enemies as 'The Joker', Scarecrow, and 'The Riddler'.  It's one of those stories that you want to re-read immediately once you have finished, to have another search for the clues.  I still prefer the artwork on the 1960's comics, but the storyline couldn't really be faulted. Top stuff.

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