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)

hey, it's my cat!

yeah, miss joanna strumbelina was up on the wooden post outside my door the other day... so i 'real-quick' grabbed my camera and got a shot of her before she leaped down. i tried to make a litte 'squeak-squeak' noise to get her to turn around and show her pretty face, but she wasn't playing that game. but she's the grooviest. that's my baby. (click to enlarge)

late nite

allen ginsberg, ladies and gentlemen.

the headmasters' new album

yes, everyone was wondering when those mysterious modern semi-glam rockers would do it again. and this week, it blessfully happened. that genius band 'the headmasters' released their third (or fourth?) album. (nobody really knows for sure, due to their clever use of 'snootch-legs'* and secret identities.) but no matter which, this latest 'headmasters' release certainly does not disappoint. from the first look at the incredible cover, it is almost impossible that 'leia's lips' could let us down. (it is also reported that every 72nd pressing is printed with an 'on-purpose' negative image cover photograph... i hope to get my hands on one of those eventually, as it is supposed to contain a secret message from the band members themselves.) i haven't had time to listen to the entire thing yet... but if the first five tracks are any indication, this one's going to find a very snug and secure spot in my cd wallet. the opening song, 'dreams of blue cherry' is a crashing introduction, with hook-heavy, guitar-driven measures and faultless vocals by dustin plum. a couple of tracks later, co-'masters'-founder sam blood takes the microphone and commands almost-military-styled attention with the first of three blood-plum collaborations, the first entitled 'junk and treasure.' man, i can't wait to listen to the rest of it. but i think its safe to say that i recommend it, wholeheartedly. go out and buy it now!! and if you don't see it at your nearest record store... for christ's sake... ASK!! (click to enlarge)

happy birthday jack nicholson

need i say more? he turned 72 on april 22. we know him, we love him, he's crazy... its that wild collaborator with the monkees, mr. jack 'eyebrows' nicholson. (forgive this post for being so short, i've been awake for almost 24 hours.)

alma

i christened a new book tonight, lovers. i was working with limited supplies, all the same, i think i came up with a great-looking cover. the star is none other than mr. alain whyte. he was morrissey's guitarist and close collaborator for a long time. if my recollection is correct, i think this picture was taken backstage, sometime in the mid-90's. that's as close as i can get right now, as a time frame. i love alain whyte. according to the ghostly computer sources, he was born alain gordon whyte on july 3rd, 1967. he was not a performer on morrissey's latest tour, but is apparently still a collaborator. sort of like the 'mccartney' to morrissey's 'lennon.' i don't mean to imply anything, but the two men have been very close. it is even rumored by some that hot alain was 'the one' who broke morrissey out of his spell of long-suffering self-induced celibacy. but that's just a rumor. but hey, morrissey could do a lot worse, don't you think? alain is a brilliant songwriter and instrumentalist. he's a dreamy singer with an exquisite vocal range. and he looks great. he can be seen, prominently featured in the must-have dvd of morrissey's live show 'who put the M in Manchester?' (if you haven't seen it, then you haven't seen 'recent morrissey.') he's done a few rockabilly-flavored solo projects, but to me he'll always be one of morrissey's band. he's just marvelous. oh, and i almost forgot... the book title, 'alma,' comes from my own name, almadora. (mmm, no kidding.) and lets see who else is featured in the little medallions. okay, from left to right, we have: a young miss jane fonda, just starting out in new york, then we've got the one and only mr. neil innes in drag, then the one and only miss georgina hale, then mr. john (duran) taylor, getting his makeup on, in a still-frame from the 'girls on film' video, then just an aqua star, and last but never, never least, we've got a shot of davy jones from the monkees' classic 'fair tale' episode. so that's it. a brand new book with all those clean pages. wish me luck. (and click to enlarge)

happy birthday tim curry

ohhhh yesss! this is definitely a birthday i wouldn't want to go by unnoticed. he was born on april 19th, 1946. if my math is right, that would make him... 63 today? wow... tim curry, ladies and gentlemen. i think its safe to say there's nobody 'in the business' quite like him. he can really do it all. and that voice!! so silky and dark and richly dramatic... but he never quite goes overboard. (vocally.) um, there's so much i could say about tim... he really never flops, does he? i mean, even if he's in a real 'turkey-roo' of a movie, he sometimes manages not to suck in it, personally. i was aware of tim curry before i fell head-first into the fishnet subculture that was the 'rocky horror' scene in greensboro, north carolina... its hard for me to remember not being aware of him, but something happened in the wild year that was 1987. that 'something' was 'the rocky horror picture show,' ...and there wouldn't really have been a 'rocky horror picture show' without tim curry's dazzlingly classic portrayal of the devious and gloriously sexy dr. frank-n-furter. i don't care, as many times as i've seen 'rocky horror,' (and we're talking about well over 100 times just in the theater) ...as many times as i've seen it, frank's entrance can still give me chills. hey, it makes me wanna roll 'sweet transvestite' right now!! it must be weird for other actors to 'take on' that part in the stage production. it must be rather daunting to make the role of frank-n-furter your own creation, with the glittering, saucy, sensual, sexy, electric tim curry peformance always lurking somewhere in the background, representing the standard. so um, hey... i almost forgot to mention... happy birthday tim. i really do love you. and thanks. (this shot is a gleaming image from the 'floorshow' near the end... the bit known by rocky horror fans as 'whatever happened to fay wray?') (click to enlarge, babies...!! )

leaud smokes

i've been 'aware of' jean-pierre leaud for a long time... more or less since the time my brother got a job in a local video chain. but i've really only seen him 'in action' in one film; 'last tango in paris.' he's so french and gorgeous, you know? so um, since he was more or less a stranger to me, i looked up his mini-biography to see if there was any striking information that would make him more to me than just a pretty face... but hey, guess what? i didn't find anything! he seems like just a groovy french actor that led a pretty typical 'french actor' life. i have no idea if he's like, 'boring for real,' but that really doesn't matter here on 'planetcool.' tonight he's only required to smoke a sleek cig and look very gorgeous whilst doing it. so dig him, he's lovely and french!

cool leia

ahhh, classic princess leia. i stumbled upon some great screen shots of the slinky princess a couple of nights ago. i have no idea who took them, but whoever it was, they had a pretty good eye. i've always loved this frame of leia retouching her sweet 'buns' after the ordeal in the trash compactor. but if you watch the film, the shot is almost 'blink and miss it,' so i thank the talented fan who snagged it for me. she looks pretty sweet for a girl who was almost mangled amidst a rancid swamp of 'death star' liquid waste. and hey, don't even get me started on the huge 'snakey thing' that almost drowned luke. so umm, yeah i think this one enlarges pretty well. man, she was beautiful. its on my desktop as we speak.

happy birthday samuel beckett

there are certain birthdays i cannot let go by unnoticed. samuel beckett's is most definitely one of them. i haven't read that much beckett. i have seen precious little of his work performed. but it is sure that the love of my life would not be who he is today without this man and his work... almost literally; for my love even took his name from the dangling florets of beckett's words. in my 'house,' the name beckett is virtually holy. i admit, i don't know very much about the man himself... except what i've learned through some hastened research. he was born 103 years ago today, in Ireland. he was a friend... or perhaps more accurately, and apprentice of james joyce. he was raised in a Dublin suburb with the superb name of Foxrock, in a large house complete with a garden and tennis court. he was involved in the French Resistance near the end of WWII. he was lucky enough to be recognized for his writing in his own time. and wow, the more i read of his biography, the more i realize i really shouldn't be the one writing this. his life was so varied and strange. so i'll stick to what i know. i used to have an audio recording of Lucky's Speech from 'waiting for godot' on a tape... used to play it in my headphones as i blew up balloons from a huge helium tank in the storage room of a restaurant i used to work in. it reminded me that brilliance and depth and meaning, as well as folly and balloons, both existed, and were necessary. and in the end, both unimportant. mmm, what else? oh yes, the photo. it probably goes without saying that there were clearer and more 'professional' -looking pictures of beckett available when i went diving for one, but for some reason, i just kept coming back to this one. perhaps because the hazy nature of it somehow illustrates the imcomplete picture i have of him, mentally... and also because i don't think i've ever seen it before. samuel, thank you... that's all i can say.

last tango

i think i first saw 'last tango in paris' about 20 years ago. and i willingly admit the fact that i think i missed the point. the sex itself was not a shocker to me. i'd seen triple x films long before then. and i don't think i yet had the maturity required to really appreciate the meaning of 'last tango.' so i watched it again a couple of nights ago, and it brought me to tears by the end. like, heaving sobs. i was devastated by it. it might possibly be one of the saddest films i've ever seen... as well as one of the most brilliant. i think it goes without saying that when in was released in 1972 (the year i was born) it caused a scandalous sensation... both in the states, and overseas. directed by bernardo bertolucci, and starring marlon brando and the incredible maria schneider, it is a haunting tale of curiosity, introspection, regression, loss, personal discovery... and perhaps most importantly, control. notice i didn't mention sexuality? that is because i do not think the movie is about sex. sex is brilliantly implicated merely as a vehicle... it is the paint in which the deeper lessons are rendered and presented. so i popped the movie in, just planning to snatch some pretty shots, but it took hold of me and didn't let go. at several different points in the film, i identified with both schneider (jeanne), and brando. (paul.) they are, at different times, either cats or goldfish... entranced with one another in their respective personal habitats... gazing in amazement at one another... wanting lustfully for what the other one has and is... it is a crushing blow for each of them when they realize the truth. a cat and a goldfish can fall in love with eachother... but where are they going to live? if they decide to get close enough to really know eachother, one of them cannot survive. (click to enlarge)

cool paul

hey lovers. i don't have a whole lot to post tonight. i've been up since like, dawn... i mean, my mood is okay, but i just don't have much in the way of pictoral inventory. so i thought i couldn't go wrong with a cool screen capture of sweet paul mccartney from 'a hard day's night.' the shot is from the 'i should've known better' number, when they're in the cargo area of the train, 'adorably' horsing around and playing cards. that is the song they're doing in that scene, isn't it? paul sure looks cute, am i right? sighhh... well i hope to have more for everybody soon. i love you all. peace.

happy birthday bette davis

wow, i couldn't let this birthday go by... but i'm afraid by the time it's posted, it will be one day too late. still, i must give a cheer to the always crucial, always tough, always incredible miss bette davis. i did a little research before i posted this... and i learned something i think is very interesting. she was born in the town of lowell, massachussetts. that's not far from my house. i never knew that. she was born april 5, 1908. she died in france in 1989. if she'd lived, yesterday, she would've been 101 years old. when i went diving for a picture, i specifically wanted to get a shot i'd never seen before. and i also wanted to get a shot of her smoking. i think i lucked out with this ethereal shot of a very young bette, taking a 'film noir'-fied drag on a cig. looking at a shot like this, it seems almost impossible that some studios at the time shyed away from her; thinking she wasn't pretty enough. she was born ruth elizabeth davis. and wow, she was shorter than me! (5' 3") and, as morbid as it may sound to some... i dig what she has on her tombstone: 'she did it the hard way'

brothers

yes, as you might read in the post below, i had a pretty anxious weekend. i just couldn't seem to find my 'center,' as goofy as that sounds. i guess i've just felt discouraged, lazy, and a little bit less than pretty. so, you know what really helps at times like these...? when a girl feels like even playtime has lost its luster? you know who she can depend on to make her laugh, smile, wrestle with, joke with... to feel wanted... and perhaps most importantly... included? a girl can always turn to her brothers and cousins. as it happens, my brothers and cousins come in all guises and forms. like these fellows here... i have always been able to depend on them to be there for me. they always come over when i call them, and they're always in the mood to play. and more than one of them is 'kiss cute.' so yes, its at least one part pure fantasy... i realize that. i'm not that crazy. but the fact is, these lads have always been able to trigger very real chemicals in my brain that impart a sense of joy, peace, jubilance, inclusion, and peace. those chemicals aren't on tv... they're not on a vynil record, cd, or movie screen... these lads, my loyal brothers and cousins, have very often been the best medicine. so cheers to all of them... i love them all. i wouldn't have become ME withouth them. (and i love the rare shot... i've never seen it before... from left to right, we've got terrygilliam, neil innes, eric idle, and sigh... my love, terry jones.)

i gotta get my head together...!

oooh, girlfriend! i've been feeling anxious all day... much like prison-bound queen 'molina' in 'kiss of the spider woman,' i feel like i've got to get my head together, you know? like, honey...its like i woke up in my car, fully dressed in club clothes, (clothes i didn't have any memory of putting on...! ) hey, why did i fall asleep in my car, you might ask? ohhh, honey, don't i wish i knew! yes, life is a lot like that, sometimes. you just wake up, look around yourself, you look at your surroundings; you're thousands of miles from your hometown, and you can't seem to grasp how you got there. i guess i'm making it sound bleaker than it is. actually, my mood is pretty even and cool... its just that (sigh) ...sometimes the enormity of real life just seems to swirl around me like an over-hyped, clunky, garish disney ride, and i can't even remember lining up to get ON...! so, what's a girl to do at times like these? you gotta wash those bad vibes right outta your hair, and wrap up all that moist clarity in a scarlet towel. then, you grab your nearest oriental-themed robe, put on jussst enough eye make-up, and then, when all is quiet, you put on some of your favorite sounds, crack open an ice cream sandwich, and try, try, try to 'get your head together.' you know ...by yourself. so good luck, girls... molina and i know how you feel. (click to enlarge... he enlarges beautifully. its a great shot.)

nite life

yeah, there's some crazy crazy nightlife going on in my cottage tonight. i've gotta go in to my 'job' tomorrow, and i'm just relaxing, having already set my hair, and now i'm 'rockin' an intense bag' of pepperidge farm goldfish crackers. and like, i blindy put my hand in, right? and i feel something that definitely doesn't feel like the standard 'fish,' ... like, its flat, round, and has some kind of 'quilted' texture. so like, puzzled, i take a closer look at the front of the bag, and apparently, they're doing some kind of NBA 'march madness' sports tie-in. like its got a picture of some player i've never heard of on the front, named dwayne wade. then, underneath, it proclaims that its got 'basketball shapes' inside. so that explains the mutant round ones. still, they taste 100% the same... and after all, that's what i paid my 2.19 for. so, umm... i love you all, and hopefully the planet will be 'rockin' as per normal.

happy birthday alec guinness

hey, you know i've been watching all three (original)

'star wars' movies lately, so alec guinness has been in my room a lot lately. and its time to wish him happy birthday. to be totally honest, i don't even know if he's still alive, and i don't feel like checking right now. but if he IS still alive, he's turning a crazy 94 years old today. and weirdly, i tried to find a groovy picture of him as obi wan kenobi on the web, but when i typed in that name, i overwhelmingly got shots of ewan mcgregor from the recent flicks. like, the ratio was sort of like, 92 pics of ewan to like, eight shots of alec. and some of those were actually pictures of an action figure or some other kind of collectible statues. so... realizing i wasn't gonna get an 'obi-shot' that was to my liking, i decided to throw in my copy of 'lawrence of arabia' and get a shot of him as the ornate prince feisal. so i did. and here it is. so dig it. (click to enlarge)

happy birthday ali macgraw

you know, i'm really a little surprised ali macgraw never really made it to the solid position of like, 'sex symbol superstar.' i mean, she was in the media a lot in the late 70's when she was making 'love story,' and the fantastic peckinpah chase flick, 'the getaway.' (with my man steve mcqueen.) i mean, yeah... everybody knew who she was around that time, but she never really got to like, 'jane fonda' level. i think she was definitely good enough to be like, taken more seriously than she apparently was. i love her because she's dark and sexy and tough... she can (cinematically) burn serious rubber in a 'muscle car' and fire off a double-barrell shotgun, all the while looking breezy and cool and beautiful. and today, april 1st, is her birthday. and get ready... are you ready for this? today the 'dark girlfriend' turns... 71 (!) years old. so happy birthday, ali. you know i've always got 'your back,' so to speak. so punch it, baby... take a cool, beautiful deep breath and blow out those candles. you rule.