happy birthday, you unimaginable bastard

yes, i was just browsing the celebrity birthdays, and i noticed that my devious man billy zane is turning a dark and arrogant 43 years old. yes, i first remember seeing zane in that classic ...cult? suspense film 'deep calm,' with the not-so-famous-yet nicole kidman and the used-to-be-sexy-to-me-before-'jurassic' mr. sam neill. yes, billy zane played the wicked sadistic villain in that one, and his acting chops impressed me then, and i guess i've been a fan ever since. in some roles, like caledon hockley in 'titanic,' he even manages to be darkly humorous, even when playing a rat. he's got some great lines in 'titanic,' too... like, his ironic revelation, '...i put the diamond, in the coat...' (2-3-4) '...and i put the coat on her!!!' okay, so i'm sure that might not be the exact line, but i don't have a copy of the flick right now, so that'll have to do. and like, also that line when rose says like, '...half the people on this boat are going to die,' and cal shoots back with the tycoon-cold, '...not the better half.' of course, he loses his haught a bit when he realizes rose is right, and he tries to sneak his coldhearted ass into one of the lifeboats by snagging a stray urchin, and convinces the boat guy by saying, '...she's all i have in the world.' mmm, he's a slime, but a sublime slime, yes? my ice-cold screen shot is from that line. so happy birthday, you unimaginable bastard, you're turning 43!

happy birthday mischa

okay, can you tell i'm still 'light' on stuff to post? so hey, i'm falling back on another celebrity birthday. yes, today the ballet legend and acting lightweight mr. mikhail baryshnikov turns a graceful yet powerful 61 years old. hey, i've always thought he was a good-looking guy... and i do dig that cat fight from 'turning point,' the one where anne bancroft and shirley maclaine kick eachother's asses in a windy parking lot wearing evening gowns. (i've you've never seen that bit, yes, its every bit as fantastic as it sounds like it would be.) but i'm also using this opportunity to post a very groovy time magazine cover from the 1970's. i loved the style of illustration like the style used here. i know i should know the name of the artist, but i can't think of it right now. i also really like that lettering. i don't know if that 'font' has a name or whatever, but i love it... its the 70's 'modern' most. (click to enlarge)

eyesight to the blind : eric clapton and friends - video

its ken russell's birthday. its a rather holy day for me. so i thought i'd let ken take us to church. god bless the freedom of expression, and god bless ken russell. (imogen claire alert at 2:57)

happy birthday nick

yes, its june 8th, the birthday of the one and only mr. nick rhodes. as many of you may know, he was one of the founding members of Duran Duran, and has always been my unofficial favorite. i mean, of course, there were times when i found Simon sexier, and there have been some times where John has been better looking, but ever since 1983 or so, Nick Rhodes has been my fave. it was a picture of him in a fan magazine that struck me with such teenage 'love at first sight' that i was inclined to 'get into' Duran Duran. they have always been on the list of my all-time favorite bands, and their music and videos have almost 100% stood the test of time. nick is a wild genius, so curious about all aspects of music and art. and he seems like a guy who's doing what he loves, and still loves it. and i still love him. this is a picture from quite a few years ago... 2000, maybe? anyway, he's gorgeous, bright, talented, funny, and serious about turning out high quality work. if my math is right, he's 46 today. so here's to you, nick rhodes. happy birthday. i love you.

happy birthday lady dylan

i feel sort of slight and a little bit discon

-nected tonight. but i wanted to at least mark my place here. i noticed today was the 67th birthday of miss robert zimmerman; also known as bob dylan. i admit, i am not an expert on the dylan catalogue, but the stuff i like, i really like. my favorites include the early 'the lonesome death of hattie carol,' and the later 'isis.' i've always liked 'lay, lady lay.' needless to say, his influence over popular music is almost impossible to measure. i wanted to post a picture i've never seen before, so i landed on this one after some quick pearldiving. i think that's donovan in the background, and i'm not sure who the chick is. nico? could it be nico? i really don't know. i have to admit, i'm not exactly a 'nico' expert. but all the same, here's to you, lady dylan. happy birthday.

forgotten birthday

yes, i admit it. i was so engulfed in my own life yesterday that i totally and utterly forgot the birthday of the one and only legendary steven patrick morrissey. anyone that knows me knows i would never have willingly forgotten. i could lie and say i really remembered, but just didn't acknowledge it, but i admit it, i flatly forgot. morrissey turned a gorgeous 49 years old on may 22nd. i send him ardent kisses and tremendous thanks. his contribution to my life is probably impossible to measure. i remember one christmas when my brother and i were about 12 years old, the main thing we wanted was a copy of the smith's 'meat is murder.' we got it, on cassette, along with a stereo. we opened it on christmas eve and played 'how soon is now?' to our mother's slight dismay. it was the christmas where boys and poetic ideas had at last (almost) eclipsed barbie dolls and bath beads. (actually, i'd love a barbie and some bath beads even now.) still, i apologize to morrissey for having forgotten. i wish him health, happiness, prosperity, inspiration, and all the earthly delights he can stand. i love you steven, i always have. (below, please allow morrissey to thrill you with a live television performance of one his best recent songs.)

willing

yes, its william shakespeare's birthday, but really its tim curry that seems to be benefitting from that here on planetcool. since there are no photographs of 'the real' great william shakespeare, i went with the obvious next choice; tim curry playing will shakespeare! he made a british tv thing in the late 70's? early 80's? where he starred as the man himself. and i'm a little tired tonight, otherwise i'm sure i'd give william a more worthy verbal tribute or whatever, but man, i dost feel drained from sleeping in the middle of the day. so tim curry lucked out here... he had a birthday several days ago, so he got double the wild exposure here. hey, take away the little beard, and he's basically got frank's makeup on. well, more or less. happy birthday william. there are several guys i would never have gone to bed with had it not been for what you wrote. and come to think of it, thanks for nothing when it comes to a couple of those guys.

ali cat

today's celebrity birthday wish goes to the lovely sleek ali mcgraw. i wish she'd been in more stuff. she did a good amount of tv in the 80's, but apart from 70's classics like 'the getaway' and the weepy but still very well-done 'love story,' there's not too much in her history that's all that remarkable. i'm not trying to bag on her, i mean, there's not too much in my history that's all that memorable either. i guess i was just a little surprised because at least as far as i'm concerned, she has always been a household name, yet she worked relatively rarely. i do think she's truly beautiful, though. and talented. she pulls off her 'look' better than anyone who has since tried to imitate her. i like her voice too. so, here's a heartfelt happy 70th, (yes, 70th!... i double-checked and did the math and everything) ...a happy 70th birthday to the kid who reminded us that, (say it with me, folks,) '...love means never having to say you're sorry.' (which i have to admit, doesn't really bear out in 'real life,' but what the hell.) happy birthday, ali.

presumed hot

i want to say a heartfelt happy birthday to the lovely miss bonnie bedelia. you all know her. she played bruce willis's wife in 'die hard' and harrison ford's devious wife in the courtroom drama 'presumed innocent.' i've had a crush on her since i saw glimpses of her in the early 80's film 'heart like a wheel,' where she portrayed female car racer shirley muldowney. (i hope i spelled that right.) so, happy birthday bonnie... you are more than welcome to The Sleepover.

epic birthday

today would have been director david lean's 100th birthday. he, of course, gave us such stunning films as 'dr. zhivago,' 'bridge on the river kwai,' and of course, 'lawrence of arabia.' i'm so exhausted from moving all day, so i'm afraid i don't have the energy to give mr. lean as fine a verbal tribute as he deserves, but i felt the need to mark it somehow. i know i already have one 'lawrence' picture on 'the planet,' but hey, what am i gonna post? a 'zhivago' poster...? hey, now that i think about it, that's not such a bad idea. tom courtenay and julie christie are both pretty foxy in that one. and omar sharif isn't exactly like, a dud on the 'mystery date' board game. so, thanks for tuning in, dear planetarians, despite my no doubt evident fatigue.

happy birthday steve

yes, its the birthday of the late, great steve mcqueen. he's my james dean. he first really struck me about eleven years ago when i saw him alongside ali mcgraw in the fast-paced 1972 film 'the getaway,' directed by sam peckinpah. i was struck by how he could be tough, but human. even though the movie was 100% action, steve managed to portray joy, confusion, frustration, anger, fear, and even jubilation. he and ali mcgraw worked so well together. it was a complicated part for her (ali) at that crucial time for women's liberation in america. she sacraficed for him, obeyed him, but yet, was very much in control of her choices, and handled a gun and a muscle car every bit as adeptly as mcqueen. in fact, i think her character Carol McCoy was the one behind the wheel like, 90% of the time, hence steve's oft-uttered refrain, '...punch it, baby!' as he sat in the passenger seat with a shotgun. do yourself a great favor, if you're keen on seeing 'the getaway,' make damn sure you don't pick up the alec baldwin-kim basinger version by mistake. (ecchh) the original is a hell of a movie, i highly recommend it.

goin' down

i realized today that three days ago (i think) was micky dolenz's birthday. i can't remember how old it said he was, but i didn't want to let an event like that slip by unmarked. i must admit, i have enjoyed endless hours of safe, groovy, carefree fun thanks to the Monkees. micky, (or 'the micker' as i call him almost exclusively) always cracks me up, and reminds me that life shouldn't be taken too seriously. but he can be serious, too. his agile mysterious vocals on such tracks as the nesmith-penned 'daily nightly' are unique and strident. his soaring starring role in the classic 'pleasant valley sunday' is bright vocal pop gold. so here's to 'the micker,' ...always cool.