muhammed ali and joe frazier - sports illustrated and mark kram

After posting the Ali Life covers the other day (here), l re-read an article by Mark Kram for Sports Illustrated about the 'Thrilla In Manila', which included this quote by 'Smokin Joe' Frazier.

"Man, I hit him with punches that'd bring down the walls of a city,". "Lawdy, Lawdy, he's a great champion.".

The article itself is one of the best ever and is here.

This was a time when it meant something to be heavyweight champion of the world, and there were a few people who were (more or less) evenly matched who could all have taken on that role (although Ali was still a God, even if he was often written off at the time).

Then it all became mismanaged and crap.

toodle pip

polish poster for close encounters of the third kind

This Close Encounters Of The Third Kind poster looks kind of crazy (but l like it).

Reminds me of the FPO.

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the crimson rivers (2000) - mathieu kassovitz

There is now a squeal to The Crimson Rivers (Crimson Rivers 2 - Angels Of The Apocalypse), but yesterday was the first time l had seen the original, and it was pretty good, to say the least (even if it did not make a lot of sense).

There are some murders in a pretty little village/town (filmed around Grenoble) with an outstanding place of learning (in real life - this place).

Two policemen end up getting involved in the investigation (and behave in a classic buddy movie style of having to tolerate each other, then getting along and assisting each other in the end).

The film was gory in places, the scenery was excellent, and the lead roles were both played superbly (by Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel as the investigators).

It should have involved clones, not swopsies though.

French subtitled films - they're great!

toodle pip

life magazine beatles covers

I still have not crumbled and started collecting Life Magazines (see earlier post), but here are some more that l would want stashed away once l do eventually crumble.

What can l say? I'm from Liverpool, l love The Beatles and l love collecting comics and magazines, especially ones l consider historic.

Methinks l will have to crack on and do some overtime to fund my addiction.

toodle pip

judge william adams and the beating of his daughter

Although this story happened a while ago, l have only just seen the video of the beating and thought l would highlight it some more.

There is more to the story (and some developments), but it is amazing that Judge William Adams is even considered fit to preside over cases, especially those involving children, if this is how he behaves at home.

This incident was caught on film, but there would have been many more over the years, and for him to say he 'lost his temper' is pathetic.

His wife, even though l have no doubt she must have suffered the same kind of abuse from her husband, should also shoulder some responsibility, as she has a duty of care to her children. She did not just stand aside meekly and watch the beating, she joined in. It was to a much lesser degree, but she still did so. She, as an adult, should have protected her family from the bastard of a husband, and if that meant leaving and exposing him as a bully and aggressor, that is what she should have done. Even if her daughter was going off the rails and behaving badly, this kind of punishment is out of order (unless you have paid good money for it in a specialist club).

As a non violent kind of guy (most times), and also liberal in my views (as a concept, not supporting the current political party), l would normally defend the aggressor because of his upbringing/having a bad day/it was a one off/he regrets it/there is a reason for it, but this was obviously a case whereby it (the beatings) must have happened on numerous occasions. Beat him (the Judge) severely l'd say, then defend yourself because he had done wrong and you were angry (and if there is a video of the beating, say it is not as bad as it looks).

Notice how l never mentioned the daughter has axatic cerebral palsy, as that does not even matter. The Judge should be prosecuted and punished (severely).

toodle pip.

attack the block (2011) - joe cornish

I had been looking forward to 'Attack The Block' for a while, as l loved Joe Cornish on the (now sadly no longer with us apart from in cyberspace) 'Adam And Joe Show' on the radio (even if they are posh boys - they are still funny).

A group of youths mug a nurse, get involved with an alien invasion (as you do), but turn out not to be such bad lads after all, as they try to defend 'their block'.

Joe Cornish obviously loves his monster and horror movies, but l got a bit bored of all the chases with the aliens/monsters, and you always thought that the kids would redeem themselves and turn out to be OK in the end, but it was still a decent film that l was not disheartened by (and that is saying a lot).

Now if only they would crack on with some more radio shows.....

Nearly forgot. Nick Frost is getting bigger. I thought my brother lived in Leeds.

toodle pip

new jersey beaches in 1904 and 1910

These photos were taken a long time ago in New Jersey, but things have not changed that much since then, which is the reason why l like to have a private villa with a swimming pool when l go on holiday nowadays.

Plus it keeps me well away from the scumbags (apart from my friends and wife).

toodle pip

dodgy men and a hideous dog missus

What is it with people taking pictures of their hideous mutts? I posted one the other day, but here's an old time photo of a poor hooch that may well have been taken away afterwards to live (as man and wife) with his master (who obviously has a fetish for dressing up dogs as women). Each to their own and all that, but l would not like to have been in that dogs shoes when he got home (and was ordered to the bedroom). The owner (let's face it, he is a man) will be dead by now, so l can make any aspersions l want about his sex life/bestiality sessions. Poor hound (but still hideous).

toodle pip

let me in (2010) - matt reeves

Let Me In is a remake of the Swedish film 'Let The Right One In', and although the new film (as far as l remember) was much bloodier, l preferred the Swedish version. Don't ask me why, l just did, as it somehow appealed to me more, and from the tiny bits of my brain where l can still retrieve some slight information about it, it seemed darker. A young boy who is an outsider and being bullied at school meets a young girl on the playground outside their block of flats. She turns out to be a vampire (girls - eh!), but comes to his rescue later on in the film. A good idea, it's also well done, but nothing special (and watch 'Let The Right One In' rather than this).

toodle pip

the purple rose of cairo (1985) - woody allen

I must have been one of the few people in the western hemisphere who had not seen The Purple Rose Of Cairo until l had nothing to do the other day. I had caught a few minutes of it here and there over the years, but as the FPO is still slaving away and hogging the computer, l watched it for the first time all the way through, and was glad l did. l won't go into great detail as the story must be common knowledge by now, suffice to say an actor (Tom Baxter played by Jeff Daniels) steps from the screen to fall in love with Cecilia, a disillusioned housewife (Mia Farrow). Mix ups and questions of loyalty ensure, and l was surprised at the ending, as l expected it to be pretty sloppy (and it obviously wasn't, otherwise l wouldn't have mentioned it). One of Woody Allen's better films (if you like him that is, it's a kind of love/hate relationship with most people). I'm firmly on the side of the lovers (with the early stuff anyway).

toodle pip

my uncle ray - l love the man

While l was prating about on the internet today, l came across a picture of my uncle Ray and his wife (Maria) with one of their sons (they have three), Gary, (and his own family). It was really good to stumble upon this, as Ray was a star when l was younger, taking me to see Manchester United as soon as l showed any kind of interest in football (he supported them already, even though he had lived in Liverpool all his life). This was back in the mid 1960's, so it was before the glorious night of Wembley 1968 and all that went afterwards, and he was also like a surrogate father to me, as my own one was often a insensitive bastard when l was a kid. He still lives in Liverpool, we both still follow Manchester United, and l can't thank him enough for what he did for me. Even though l had to suffer the 1970's and 1980's with Liverpool winning everything, it was still worth it (especially in the last decade or so). Ray - you were (and still are) a star.

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