sorry i missed your birthday rudolph

yes, most people who know me know how i feel about rudolph valentino. he's sort of like, a patron saint of raw talent, natural physical gifts, and extraordinary good luck. he was one of the very first international stars of motion pictures, and arguably, was more famous at his peak than even the president of the united states. yes, before there was the beatles, before there was mick jagger or even ricky nelson, there was rudolph valentino. his career in american films was a blur of good pictures and not-so-good ones; of tedious typecasting; of his passive partnership with natacha rambova; ... and ultimately, his mystifying death at the age of 31. (reportedly an infection after a minor surgery.) so umm, i wish i was more like, 'awake,' so i could give rudolph the tribute he deserves... but i've been up for almost 24 hours. so, dig the picture, wish The Sheik a happy 114th, and thank him for like, paving the way for all the future pop idols... all the boy georges, the nick rhodes's and simon le bons. oh, and i purposefully chose a shot of his tom tierney paper doll book because, for better or worse, that was what he was... at least that's what he was to the studios and producers... who seemingly cranked rudy out in every single costume they could think of... no matter how flimsy the script. (kind of like if johnny depp had been around then, and had had bad writers and a less than adept manager.) in closing rudy... tonight you can wear whatever you want. i'll take you as you are, from skins to sequins... devotedly, eveywhere in between. i blow you a kiss. sleep well. and sweet dreams. (click to enlarge)

babies!

yes, i stumbled upon this shot of depeche mode a couple of nights ago. great damn band. seriously, even with all the acclaim they've gotten over the years, i still think they're underrated. i think they are (were) as close to perfect as any synth-based band from that era. always sounding original, cool, fresh, and relevant, depeche mode almost never... and i mean literally never, awaken in me the '...turn it off,' reflex. they were possibly the best of 'that flavor' of music. i can't kiss dave gahan's artistic leather-clad 'bompin'' ass enough... his vocals are brave and faultless. so... with all that said, how hilarious is this shot?? man, hey its like, '...gentlemen, can i see some ID before i sell you these wine coolers?' man, they almost look young enough to babysit. it really makes you realize how long they've been in this game, you know? i mean, dig martin gore, (third from the left) ... he doesn't look like he's even got any 'grass on the south field' yet, if you know what i mean. dave's already a budding cutie. but still looks like he'd have to let a friend sneak him in through the exit door if he wanted to get into an NC-17 rated movie. man... time really is a strange thing, isn't it? strange... and hilarious.

oliver wild

man, i have zero original or amusing ideas tonight... which kind of sucks-for-me, 'cause i'm not that tired. still, i don't like too many days to go by without posting anything, so tonight's post is very '...whatever.' i mean, don't get me wrong, i'm a huge fan of mr. oliver reed over here, but... apart from this picture being quite flattering and groovy, i don't have a hell of a lot to say about it. yeah, it was taken in the 70's, around the time he did 'women in love.' at the height of his looks, i daresay. but he's not looking particularly 'drinky-the-drunk-guy' or anything... like, its not some 'super-candid' shot of him being led away from a pub by the british cops, after getting into a fist fight over a darts dispute, with like, a bloody nose and like, urine-soaked dark areas down the insides of his jean-legs. no, this is just a cool groovy shot of The Man himself. sleep well, oliver. you deserve it. (click to enlarge)