val-entine's day

hey, i'm just gonna say right off that i'm real tired tonight, so i'm probably only going to post one thing. so, as my valentine's card to you all, i'm presenting this silky, sexy shot of john malkovich-as-valmont, kissing your hand. (mmm, we can all dream, right?) and it seems appropriate too, when you consider the center of his powdered wig 'do' comes to a heartshape in the middle. he wants to spread his love to all the lovely ladies out there. because what he has for you is pure, true love. hey, its 'beyond his control' to love many girls at one time. so... he asks with a knowing kiss, will you be his valentine? hey, who wouldn't be, am i right ladies?

room service

mmm, yes. i hope i can keep from swooning long enough to introduce the lovely and curvy miss rosemarie hillcrest. i do know she was a playboy playmate, sometime in the real early 1970's. (...forgive me, miss hillcrest, for not remembering the exact month and year.) but honestly, i have no idea if this shot was part of her pictorial... like, i'm sad to say i never owned her issue. but hey, she's here now, and she's ready to invite us in to frolic with her in her dated hotel room... with the thick bedspreads, chunky wooden-style lamps, and the tv that only gets four channels. (mmm, for some weird reason i wanna say she's gonna slither between the sheets and watch 'kojack,' complete with 70's commercials of karl malden hawking 'american express.') man, that acutally sounds kind of cozy, no? yes, me and rosemarie would eat some junk food, stay up to cuddle during 'carson,' then have a pillow fight... and what happens next is anybody's guess. wherever you are tonight, miss hillcrest, please know that i think you have one the loveliest faces i've ever seen in 'playboy,' or any other magazine, and you can invite me up to your room anytime. hey, even if we just stay up and talk. (click to enlarge) and pleeeeze don't flag me... as i've said before, they're only human boobs, and therefore, not only gorgeous, but harmless.

two hearts

since its valentine's day on saturday, i thought i'd pay tribute to one of the most loving, enduring, passionate, and achingly romantic couples of all time. not since romeo and juliet have two souls been so perfectly joined in the great waltz that IS 'true love.' they couldn't stand to be apart from eachother, not for one minute. they ate and drank and worked and breathed eachother... they were, hand in hand, drifting into the sunset of ardent lust and admiration. we should all be so lucky. sigh...

valentines

since its valentine's day on saturday, i thought i'd pay tribute to one of the most loving, enduring, passionate, and achingly romantic couples of all time. not since romeo and juliet have two souls been so perfectly joined in the great waltz that IS 'true love.' they couldn't stand to be apart from eachother, not for one minute. they ate and drank and worked and breathed eachother... they were, hand in hand, drifting into the sunset of ardent lust and admiration. we should all be so lucky. sigh...

happy birthday judy blume

yes, i just checked my birthday source, and it seems that judy blume was born 71 years ago today. (yeah, its hard for me to imagine her being that much older than me, too.) like, where do i start? i mean, seeing as how i turned 12 in 1984, it almost goes without saying that her books, almost all of them, we among my favorites. the ones i liked, i could read over and over again, almost indefinitely. i can't really remember the first one i connected with... now that i think about it, it was probably 'tales of a fourth-grade nothing,' about peter hatcher and his little brother fudge. and after that, they all seemed to fall at the same time. of course, there was 'are you there god, its me margaret?' ... then i know i read 'blubber,' 'otherwise known as sheila the great,' and the one i have pictured here, 'then again, maybe i won't.' i loved that one. well, i loved most of them. and we'd be here all night if i were to 'go down the list' and indicate which lessons each book taught me. but its safe to say i saw myself in every one of them... i had the same questions, doubts, fears, concerns, and secrets of the protagonists, whether they be margaret ann simon, tracy wu, or tony miglione. now, i must confess, i didn't go picture-diving specifically for a picture of the '...then again,' cover, its just that googling for the book covers, the versions i grew up with, is an act in virtual futility. all i see out there are cartoonish modern illustrations, with none of the deft stained-glassiness of the original j. scribner cover for 'freckle juice,' or that dreamlike purple cover for 'margaret' with the almost-woodcut feel to it... or that marvelous realist portrait of sally j. freidman, at her dressing table, pinning the flower behind her ear. no, those covers are very hard to find. but this one, although simple, is entirely charming and, like the novel, somewhat melancholy and lonely. also, it was the cover i grew up with. (see what i mean by '...i could go on and on?') so, happy birthday judy blume. and thank you for...well, you know.

loverly grover

so tonight i decided to throw in one of my dvd guilty pleasures; namely the 1968 musical 'half a sixpence,' directed by george sidney. now, ever since the first time i saw this movie... i think sometime in the early to mid 90's, there was one thing that drew me to it like a crazy-strong magnet, and that was mr. grover dale. here he is, playing the sly and cheeky 'pearce' in the screenplay adapted from the HG wells novel, 'kipps.' tommy steele plays arthur kipps, with all his cockney-wonky-toothed hyperactive inexhaustible enthusiasm. and the lush grover dale plays his randy high-steppin' flat mate. i'm not gonna bore you with the story line... kipps and pearce and the lads all work in an english department store, and they try to like, woo women, then kipps strikes it rich, and like, tries not to let it 'change' him, i dunno. honestly, the only parts i've watched more than twice are the parts with grover dale in it. not only is grover dreamy and gorgeous, physically, but he's also a fantastic coreographer and accomplished dancer and advocate for young, struggling dancers everywhere. and he was also married to the super-curvaceous anita morris... you will probably remember anita as the redheaded sexy firecracker in the rolling stones' 'she was hot' video. i can't praise grover enough. to see him dance is to fall in love with him. keep dancing, grover. there has never been anyone better. kisses.

true duran fan

okay, let me start right off by saying this chick is NOT me... as a matter of fact i have no idea who she is... but i do know she has true love for the fab five in her crazy 80's heart. and hey, please understand i'm not mocking this girl at all... there was a time where my bedroom walls looked more or less just like that. i can see some of the picksh she has back there... i know some of them were on my walls, too. that being said, lets take a look at that outfit. nick rhodes fedora-hat? check. 'played' collar on a lemon-colored men's shirt? check. made-in-japan fan 'tunic-thing?' check. ugh, it makes me kind of nauze to know that there were probably a lot of male teenage duran fans at that time, 'rockin'' that tunic with nothing on underneath, thus letting their skinny-shanks ribs and fragrant boy-pits breathe free. and hey, you gotta love the fake jive-ass string of pearls... and the 'thin black belt holding-up-nothing' around her waist. i can't believe she's not sporting a couple dozen black rubber bracelets, you know. maybe those came along a little bit later; like closer to 'arcadia' and 'power station' times. the eye makeup is great too. so, wherever you are, miss duran-fan chick, we salute you and your undying loyalty to the 'ragged rio' five. (click to enlarge)

sweet charlotte

okay, i hope i don't get flagged for this... technically, the chick's not even naked. i figured it was time i featured some prime feminine hotness here on the planet, so i dug up this cool and sexy shot of playboy playmate miss charlotte kemp. here we see her, and her totally natural and incredible sudsy boobs thinly veiled in black sheer fabric. facially, she's more than pretty enough. but let's be honest, how many people are actually focusing in on her face? hey, she's 100% real, and 100% ready to be hot and sultry for the camera lens. hey, i wonder where she is today? (mmm, like i really care.) but, seriously, i want to extend a heartfelt 'thank you' to all those scrumptious young ladies that 'took it off ' for the 80's playboy camera lens, so that i would grow up knowing what a real woman is supposed to look like. it blows my mind to know that there are some weirdos around now that would say she was fat. hey, i wish i had her 'weight problem,' you know what i mean? so, miss charlotte kemp, wherever you are now, i humbly thank you for 'letting it show,' your gorgeous silky girl-flesh. i, for one, will always remember your name. (click to sexily enlarge... and please, nobody flag me... its only beautiful human clevage we're talking about here.)

atari baby

i'm not really sure why i'm posting this. well, first of all, i think its pretty. like i dig the illustration, like, the style of it. hey, i can still remember how it felt to handle those cartridges. i remember feeling the thin card of circuts inside those things. i had a 2600, but i don't think i ever owned 'night rider.' first of all, you had to have those weirdo 'paddles' in order to play the damn thing. and jean-lucien and i got our 2600 from a yard sale or something, and it only came with joysticks, so it more or less ended right there; we only bought and used joystick games. but i do remember playing that game somewhere... maybe our dear cousin eric had it. and looking back on it now, as a potentially thrilling 'driving game,' it kind of sucked. like, the 'poll position' at the arcade was always much cooler. in the small town we grew up in, in the early 80's, about the only places you could find video games in public was at the local 'putt-putt golf and games;' at the 'roll-a-rink' skating rink, and at the 'godfather's pizza.' i seem to remember at the pizza place there was a 'centipede,' a 'ms. pac man,' a 'donkey kong,' and maybe one or two others, i don't remember. (... 'galaga?' ) i think they had a jukebox, too. hey, i kind of miss those 'pizza nights.' i wonder if lucynell and jean-lucien and i were ever at those places at the same time, and never even knew it? and hey, my darling 'atarieyes!' i wonder if you were ever there, too.

ragged fireworks

hey, i'm very glad to say i got some help today from jean-lucien. he sent me a few great duran shots that are very 'horserace-worthy,' if i do say so myself. now, i'm pretty sure i remember having this shot in a pin-up, back when my walls were papered with the blokes. now, there's quite a few things i find remarkable about this shot, so lets just dive in and evaluate, shall we? okay, who's 'bright idea' was it for the lads to pose with 'in-motion' sparklers in the first place? like, did some bonehead photographer just happen to have some hanging around the studio? or did he come up with the concept like, at an earlier time, and thought it was such a groovy idea he went out and bought a bunch of 'em like, just for the photo shoot? i can just hear the guy now, like shouting out, '...okay lads, move those things around! yeah, faster! look alive there, lads! really like, move 'em around!' seems like, lame, when you think of it that way. and hey, i think this might be the only shot of i've ever seen of simon with a cigarette in his hand. i mean, when he knew his picture was being taken. well, i may have seen one other, but i know its like, rare. but i digress... who wins? like, 'looks-and-sexiness'-wise? ummm, roger and andy couldn't be more out, out of the running. john looks like 'hating life' is job #1 at the moment. nick looks like he's just on the brink of falling over backwards, plus, he dorkily has one hand in his pocket... not exactly committing to the whole 'frolicksome pop star' vibe. so, the winner? simon le bon it is. he's got a cute smile going, and i'm a sucker for those 80's black and white horizontal striped shirts. hey, where can i get one?

marlon and karl...gay or rehearsing?

slashfickers, start your engines! okay, i'm more than willing to acknowledge there's probably no actual hot gay movie star dealings going on here. (although, the 'gay' explanation IS a heckuva lot more interesting.) yes, this is an on-set still of marlon brando, sitting in karl malden's lap, tickling a little 'koochie-koo' on his chin. it was taken during the filiming of the 1961 western 'one eyed jacks,' directed by brando himself... which supports the theory that he was just giving karl some direction. i've seen this movie. in fact, i technically own it, on vhs, back at my mother's place. its pretty good...if you like looking at karl and marlon in the prime of their looks... which i very much did at the time i shelled out the 19 bucks for the tape. i don't remember much of the plot. like, they're both outlaws, then karl double-crosses marlon, then years later, after suffering in a mexican prison, marlon gets out, and goes on the standard 'revenge' warpath. he finds his old partner in crime, karl, is now the local sherriff with a pretty young teenage daughter. the rest virtually writes itself. the only other thing remarkable about this flick is the character names. karl plays the very 'porno-actor'-sounding 'dad longworth,' and marlon plays the very duran-duran-album-sounding 'rio.' oh, and as if more unspoken homosexuality was needed, there IS a scene where marlon ties 'rio' to a hitching post in the center of town, in broad daylight, and sado-bullwhips his back until his shirt falls apart. kinky... kinky-town USA.

nick rhodes...scared or cold?

okay, this is a shot clearly from the late 1984 publicity phase of the duran duran history. it was around the same time they released the 'wild boys' video, as is evidenced by the weirdo angular graphics and stone-resembling background all their stuff had in common around that time. i don't know for a fact, but i would almost bet money this picture was part of some 'wild-boys'-related promotional picture-sleeve something or other. i mean, i'm pretty sure i didn't own it, because i'm not real familiar with this photo. but i would bet each duran had their own 'shot' in whatever imported product it was. but hey, this shot is all about nick. and i'm trying to decide... is he scared of soemthing? or is he just very cold? judging by the fact that he's on some roof with his bulky girls' coat wrapped tightly around him, i'm guessing he's probably just cold. he looks so much like a chick from an american high school at that time. like, even molly ringwald in 'sixteen candles' looked slightly more like she could kick your ass. hey, don't get me wrong, i love nick, and totally respect his artistic ways. but this particular photo is 'very hilarious.'

ann, unintentionally hilarious

man, i wanna start off by saying i'm one of the biggest ann-margret fans i know. in fact, as far as i know, only jean-lucien digs her as much as i do. that being said, this shot really cracks me up. its not that she looks bad, because she doesn't, she looks incredible, with her hot boots and groovy black sweater-dress thingy. she could've stopped there, and just looked very groovy, but for some reason, she decided to 'goof around' with a belt or something, holding it up to her head like its some kind of 'crown,' and pooching up her lips, 'i'm hot'-style. hey, ann... you don't need to try so hard to get our love. we love you like, 'normal.' i don't really have that much more to say about this one... like, i think it speaks for itself.

d2 three-way

hey, it sounds a bit sexier than it looks. i realize we haven't had a duran-related horserace in a little while, so here's a shot i found a few days ago. and man, just one word about the clothing... namely, nothing says 'late 1980's' like quilted, shimmery, oversized blazer-jackets, complete with insane shoulder pads. and hey, like, let us not forget, that all-important staple of high style, the 'useless fancy brooch!' yes, back in 1986-to-88, nothing said 'i'm in style and i know it,' like a cheap-ass, non-genre-specific, mall-bought, glitzty brooch! man, i can't even begin to estimate how many jean-lucien and i had over just those few years. hey, going out to meet some friends in early 1987? well then, time to don your 'taiwanese' synthetic satin oversized shirt with the lonnng untucked tails... and, the cherry on the top of your fashion 'don't?' ...well, everyone in 'the know' knew it was a 3-and-a-half-dollar 'distressed' metal fantasy brooch, with a swirly or vaguely military-fied design, complete with some hot pink or golden amber plastic cabochons stuck in. yes, pin it just beneath the chin of your 'all the way up' buttoned shirt, and you were ready to create 'fashion jealousy' with every step!

oh wait, i'm supposed to be talking about duran duran. well, to make a long story short, john wins. again. and it looks like he knows it, too.

strumbie dreams of 'mice cream'

or something similarly deelish. yes, if my strumbelina was human and therefore capable of logging on to planetcool, she just might gig me real hard in the arm for posting this potentially embarassing shot of her, asleep on a cardboard box in my kitchen area, with her very adorable little pink tongue sticking out! like, a few days ago, i walked over to the sink to rinse out a glass or something, and i looked down, and there she was, snoozing, that tongue very visible-and-cute-to-human-eyes! so i tiptoed over to get my camera, hoping she wouldn't like, yawn and reel that baby back in. but, as you can see, she stayed asleep, and i got her. how cute is that? hey, i think she knows i'm posting about her... she just jumped down from her perch and trotted over to me like, 'whatcha doin'?'-style. hey, until she grows thumbs and the power of human speech, i think i'm in the clear. (click to very adorably enlarge)

misfits

this is one of my favorite publicity shots of marilyn, like... ever. i'm not even sure why, i just love it. first of all, this shot was taken during the production of the 1961 john huston film 'the misfits.' it was the last movie marilyn would ever complete. monty only made a few more. a long time ago, i used this shot of marilyn to make a gorgeous collage. (i think it was me that made that one... its been so long, sometimes i forget.) well, i'm pretty tired, otherwise i'd be more eloquent. ummm, what else? both R.E.M. and the Clash wrote songs to montgomery clift. and have you ever seen monty in the george stevens classic 'a place in the sun' with elizabeth taylor? a devastating but frighteningly human performance. you can't talk me out of monty. and i do love norma jean. and i love the way she looks in 'the misfits.' so healthy and sexy... i think its mentioned in the script that she's a size 16. and hey, we also get a sweet indulgent helping of eli wallach and thelma ritter. 'the misfits.' a must.

glam homework

yeah, i find it almost physically and psychologically impossible to keep any kind of notebook for any considerable length of time and NOT decorating it. so, here's an example of some more of the wild and ink-consuming hand-drawn borders i can't help but flourish over the top of every slice of notebook paper that passes through my hands. i just can't help it. i clip tiny dazzling pop culture picksh and whip out that non-toxic glue stik, and all those plasticoated prismatic stickers and metallic rainbow rollerball pens, and voila! we end up with a thoroughly illuminated volume of darling humor and keen observations... and other stuff. so just for the hell of it, here's a hastily-done heading back in the year of 2005. lets see... we have georgina hale from the movie 'mahler,' then john-rhys myers and ewan mcgregor frolicking from 'velvet goldmine;' then, appropriately, at the end, we have the southern glam bisexual patron saint himself, mr. michael stipe. dig it. (click to enlarge)