court composer

so, i've been watching my widescreen 'amadeus' all day and all evening with the french subtitles on. and now that i come to the 'midnight keys,' i see that its wayyyy time for me to start a new picture file. so, i'm going to get that going, but in the meantime, i'm going to let f. murray abraham-as-salieri hold my place. man, he rocks! (but i don't remember there being a 'rock me salieri' song topping those early 80's charts.) still, here is salieri, holding his cat mask in place, as he holds MY place here on the planet. i should have some more new groovy stuff posted soon. until then... i love you all.

mucha holds my place

okay, its late... i can't think of anything to post, but i wanted to mark my place and wish everyone a night of sweet dreams. and since this alphonse mucha work is currently on my desktop, i thought it was cool to use it as a bookmark. i love you all. more later.

happy birthday mark hamill

okay, this isn't going to be the longest entry. but i just happened to notice it was luke skywalker's 58th birthday. yeah, i know... he's done 'other things,' career-wise, but... c'mon, right? so then i had to go do a quick dive into the cold waters of the Cyberverse for a picture of 'him-as-luke' that i hadn't seen like, 6 million times already. and i think this one is the coolest and rarest one i was able to find in literally like, 14 seconds. i gotta tip my hat to luke, because he's leia's twin brother, you know? its like, he's the jean-luc to my almadora. and he really is great in that movie. in all seriousness, can you imagine anyone else as luke skywalker? i sure can't. and wow, he's 58! i mean, i realize its not that old, but when you've got 'A New Hope' rolling on your high def bluray deev, and you see his skin, that complexion... those flashing youthful turquoise eyes and white teeth... he looks so alive and real its a little odd to think he's almost 60. so happy birthday Luke. and hey, i almost forgot.... may the Force be with you. (click to enlarge)

cig pants!

hey, if you smoke those vile and deadly cigarettes (which i do, guilty) then you've GOTTA get yourself a pair of of these ultra-dated, groovy looking Cig Pants!.. from the good people at Winston. what better way to let the world know that you 'don't give a damn about' your health OR fashion?! and you've just gotta accent those Cig Pants with some mod shades and a clingy, white, longsleeved top. so, round up your $2.95, clip that coupon, and send away for those pants! nobody will know how diseased your lungs look on the inside, when you look THIS groovy on the outside! i don't smoke Winston's myself. (mmm, as if that matters at all.) hey, it just occurred to me... when Winston ran this promotion all those years ago, they MUST'VE had like, a shitload of these pants already made, and like, ready for the hundreds of redeeming Winston customers. and they must've had them in a variety of sizes and everything. and it would seem almost certain that at least some of those pants still exist today. i wonder who's got them? like, they can't ALL be in a landfill by now, can they? (cut to a shot of a yard sale going up this Sunday. we see a rack old clothes on some lawn cluttered with junk. as the camera pulls in, we see a pair of the Cig Pants hanging next to a faded 'Mork' T-shirt with rainbow sleeves that says, 'Nannoo-Nanoo' : Translation - Is It Friday Yet?' ) (click to enlarge... a lot of the copy should be readable.)

mary, mary

...you're IN the 'strip' vid! man, i love this wild machine! with very little digging i was able to ascertain the identity of the sleek, sultry blonde chick in the adam ant video for the song 'strip.' i'm not traditionally into blondes, (with the exception of georgina hale, sharon stone, and maybe a few others) but i've always thought the babe in this video was sexy-cute. and her name is mary stavin. apparently, she was a minor Bond Girl in two later bond films, 'octopussy,' and 'a view to a kill.' (mmm, who could've predicted she was a Bond Girl...??) yes, she's a doll. and thanks to jean-lucien's video-hungry tricking skills, i have this lush and luminous shot of her, IN the video... doing the whispery spoken-word part: "...at times like this, the great heaven knows... that we wish we had... not SO many clothes..." etc, etc. and hey, she's swedish! (yet another newsflash.) her credits also boast 'girl in bar' from Caddyshack II. so hey, please enjoy and appreciate jean-luc's talent for picture-spearing... because i guarantee you, he got this shot without the benefit of 'frame-dancing.' man, they don't make videos like that anymore.

jaws chicks!

yeah, i'm gonna try to get a whole boatload of 'jaws' screencaps over the next few weeks... but i've just been so 'into' the 'watching' of the film itself that i haven't wanted to pause it long enough to get a screen capture. but i DID manage to snag this little widescreen gem. its the 'bikini' most! i'm pretty sure this is when the shark is in the pond, and the viewer is made to think its gonna eat one of the Brody kids' boat, but it actually eats some nameless local guy. chomps his leg off. and these sunbathing chicks sit up take notice. mmmm, bikini chicks! i love their long legs, tanned skin, and flowing 1970's style hair. and i also dig the little transistor radio. so i hope you dig the Amity cheesecake. there's not enough cheesecake in that movie. (mmm, like that's what it was 'going for.' ...click to enlarge.)

sequin: my groovy new book

yeah, i really wanted to christen a new book tonight, but i didn't really know if i was gonna have the energy to actually conjure it in any kind of groovy way. but, the mood took me, and i have to admit, i'm pleased with the dreamy pinkish result. i don't know if i've ever had the sultry french temptress sylvie vartan on the cover yet. but if not, then she's wayyyy overdue. like, she's a confirmed High Priestess of the Eternal Bisexual Slumber Party. (mmm, i'm so tired and physically wiped out right now, i'm probably gonna read this in the morning and be all like, '...jeez, i hope nobody read that.' but anyway, where was i?) oh yeah, so i decided to depart somewhat from my 'dots across the bottom' formula. i'm pleased with the shapes and splashings of color i ended up with. it seems jussst 'femme' enough for my 'slinky-but-tough' beret-and-cigar miss vartan. i think the picture was taken from one of her several early 70's french tv specials... (which i would KILL to get my hands on a copy of... as long as it would be compatible with my machine... those specials were the 'costume change' most!! ) okay, so who else do we have down there? that pink 'sunset strip' is a scrap i've been holding onto for literally years. then, from left to right, we have a very cool rainbow-glitter steely dan logo, peter tork dressed like a hippy-dippy indian chief, my sweet george harrison, and finally, my darling ian holm, from 'alien,' as the evercool science officer ash.

overall, i'm pleased with it. i don't have any of the inside pages done yet... and nothing stuck on the back... but that'll probably come to me in the morning. until then, dig it! (click to enlarge)

jaws joke!

i may have posted this before, a long time ago... but i've been rolling 'jaws' so much lately, i thought i'd post it again. the artist is, of course, the great Mort Drucker.

...and now for something completely kinky

mmm, what would 'monty python' be without their sexy 'sister chick,' the statuesque and stunning miss carol cleveland? va-vooom! she's got the curves where it counts, and the talent to make us laugh out loud. with qualifications like that, she could be one of the sexiest women of the 70's. or indeed, of any decade. who could fill her shoes in the 'vocational guidance counselor' skit? nobody, that's who! she rocked some frosted white lipstick... she deliciously filled out a corset or bikini... and was so 'game,' no matter what the writing called for, i've never heard of her complaining. we should all be so lucky; to have a Band of Brothers like Idle, Jones, Cleese, Gilliam, Palin, and Chapman. (did i leave one out?) (click to enlarge)

true clews

when people ask me, '...who's your favorite artist?' i have one response: jean-lucien. here's one of his recent pieces i'm proud to say i had a hand in. it's a cool melding of both our interests, influences, techniques, and tastes. wow... its hard to actually write about this stuff. for so long, these pictoral paintings have existed between jean-luc and i...and the language, the telepathic shorthand we invariably use when discussing our work, is surprisingly tricky to translate. so... (deep breath) let me just say that jean-lucien and i both hope that you think our pieces as groovy as WE think they are. it would take me too long to account for all the hundreds of little scissor cuts and thousands of individual artistic decisions that are considered in the making of a collage no bigger than a playing card. um... i could spend a lot of keystrokes documenting where all the clippings came from, and what they 'mean' when assembled... but i think its best i leave THAT office of Art up to the Observer. there will be more 'jean-lucien/almadora' works featured in the very near future. until then, we welcome (and indeed thirst for) any manner of feedback. and thank you for your attention. (and hey, jean-luc... does this one have a title yet?) (click to enlarge)

more georgina

yes, thanks to the quick spearfishing of jean-lucien, i have a brand new silky shot of miss georgina hale to share with you. here she is, as phillipe, in ken russell's masterpiece, 'the devils.' wow. could she BE any more beautiful, i ask you? in this scene, she is gleefully witnessing the 'burning-at-the-stake-style' execution of her ex-lover. left pregnant and alone, she went on to bear her bastard child. she was also witness in the gallery as he was brought up on charges of witchcraft and heresy. she laughed and drank from silvery goblets as his flesh burned and sizzled. what becomes of phillipe and and her child are never expressed in 'the devils.' but her impact on the storyline cannot be understated. she, along with a lovesick, swooning, hunchbacked nun (played by vanessa redgrave) brought father grandier (oliver reed) to the men who would ensure to his destruction. you can never have too much georgina, ladies and gentlemen. she is criminally underrated as an actress. (at least in this country.) but i for one, will never pass up an opportunity to sing her praises. sigh. (click to enlarge)

happy birthday brian de palma

brian de palma... would i say he was one of my favorite directors of all time? well, if i was able to judge him on the power of one film, then i would have to say the answer is 'yes,' ... and that one film would be 'carrie.' released in 1976, and based very tightly upon stephen king's practically perfect novel, 'carrie' is one of the most genuinely terrifying pieces of cinema i have ever seen. there is not one scene that doesn't add to the taught, gory, gorgeous pageant of terror, pain, dolor, and electric cruelty. impeccably cast, the story drifts and jangles along through expert pacing, keen screenwriting, and once-in-a-lifetime performances. i think i read the book in one day. i checked it out from the Griffin Middle School library, and couldn't put it down until i had finished it. sissy spacek is carrie. completely. piper laurie devours every scene she's in with the zeal of a jackal. amy irving is very real and serves as a solid 'everygirl.' the audience anchors a bit of themselves onto her as the carnival of holy tragedy swarms around her. william katt is just as he should be; the dumb blonde. and let us not forget nancy allen, as the poisonously popular christine hargensen. she is venemous and sexy as one of the Earth's most malevolent and plainly meanest creatures ever to walk amongst us; a typical teenage girl. i don't remember exactly where i found this shot of nancy, just about to yank the rope that spills the pig's blood, but i love it. it sort of represents the crossing of a line. sort of a theme in that movie, now that i think about it. do yourself a favor, if you haven't seen 'carrie' in a long time. find a good copy and roll it. it is amazing, and still holds up by any filmmaking standards of today.

this is for life

death.

carroll and eli

...baker and wallach. okay, i realize i already gave kazan and his risque 'babydoll' a legitmate

'shout-out,' but hey, what can i tell you? my fingers still feel like typing, so... here we have a great close silky screen shot from kazan's mid-50's masterpiece 'babydoll.' this is from the infamous 'swing sequence,' one of the sultriest things i've ever seen on celluloid. ummm, i'm not gonna go into the plot or anything like that... but i will say that i read carroll's autobiography once, and she admitted being genuinely turned on by mr. wallach... and it shows. hot stuff.

(click to enlarge)

happy birthday elia kazan

okay, once again, i admit i don't know too much about elia kazan, the Man... but i DO know that he directed what may very well be my favorite black and white movie. and i noticed that today, mr. kazan would've turned 99 years old. he was also responsible for 'on the waterfront,' and some other stuff... forgive me, i don't feel like looking it up right now i've seen 'waterfront,' and i've seen 'babydoll,' and i have to say, i think 'babydoll' is the better picture. now, i can already hear people criticizing that stand... but i stand by it. i think 'babydoll' broke spooky, sexy new ground in cinema. i realize it was probably made with the intention of being sexy, but i'm not sure if the surreal spookiness was accidental, or if some ghosts just assisted with the final cut like, 'ghost in the machine'-wise... but there's certainly something witchy going on in that flick. even the sound is spooky, disjointed, and unexpectedly surreal. i'll never be able to reccommend this movie strongly enough; but at the same time, i DO realize that 'babydoll' is an acquired taste... like collard greens and vinegar; like homemade biscuits and liver pudding... like stove-stewed oatmeal, whole milk, rich butter, and brown sugar, 'babydoll' is a slumming indulgence of the highest order. what more can i say...

ferry frame

okay, i admit i don't really have a whole lot to say about this screen shot... except that i took it from a very groovy roxy music dvd i got from my partner some time ago. i'm just in the mood to post, so i guess anything goes. its weird, when i watch bryan ferry... i mean, he's incredible, and very 'lovely-to-me-in-the-face,' but... jean-lucien knows as well as i do that certain parts of his face bear an uncanny, even scary resemblance to a certain 'man-in-my-past.' i try not to think about that, about him, when i watch mr. ferry do his very fabulous thing. sometimes i'm able to turn it into a bizarro form of revenge. like, i watch bryan ferry, and enjoy his hot looks, knowing i would NEVER now entertain the other guy's looks, despite the similarities. like, the other guy can only wish he was as cool and flash and talented and sexy as bryan ferry. so yeah, i took this shot a long time ago from a 'deev,' and i think the tricking turned out alright. i think he was wailing out the marvelous 'roxy' song, 'do the strand' on some kind of tv program. man, he IS super-cool. (click to enlarge)

happy birthday chrissie hynde

hey, i readily admit, i don't know too much about miss hynde... like, her private life and all that. i DO know she's friends with morrissey, she's active in animal rights, and she is one of THE coolest rock stars of the last 30 years. she never fails to 'kick ass and take names,' rock-wise. i've always dug her minimalist-feminine 'look,' ...like, the black hair and all that mascara. she doesn't need to be a cupcake to command attention. all she has to do is like, sound like that. its hard for me to think of a Pretenders song that i don't like. like, even to this day, despite how many times i've heard it, if 'back on the chain gang' comes on, my very first thoughts are those of 'turn-it-up-edness.' she's hard, she's hot, she's rough... so you can imagine my surprise when i found this shot of her, so much softer, but still recognizeable, in a yearbook photo from the late 1960's. and today, she turns 57 rockin' years young. she's special... so special...

it's a man's life...pearldiving for new pics!

yes, i've got some stuff to trick and some stuff to go looking for... but i hope to back on the planet soon.

i love you all.

hot marlene

okay, i rrreaallly hope i don't get 'flagged' for this; the chick being 'full frontal' and all. i really like this playboy centerfold for a lot of reasons. first of all, i dig it because, upon first glance, she doesn't seem at ALL like my 'type.' like, she's got that wild sorta, late 70's slightly-country-rock biker vibe to her... do you know what i mean? like it looks, at first, like her favorite song might be something like 'khatmandu' by bob seger and the silver bullet band. its something about that headband and that belt that makes me think maybe she'd wear one of those leather-strip hairclips with the beads and the few feathers at the end. like, you'd get into her black pontiac firebird and she'd crank up the allman brother's band doing like, 'jessica' or 'ramblin' man,' you get the idea. but hey, first impressions are often incorrect. perhaps she digs to the sweet mellow sounds of seals and crofts doing 'summer breeze' or like, fleetwood mac doing 'tusk.' (great song, by the way.) i wish i was able to tell you this chick's whole name, but i only noted her first name: marlene. hey, the longer i look at her, the prettier she seems to get. i don't usually prefer blondes, but she's got a bright, fierce face, with bright eyes... she looks happy, and her sweet boobs, although smallish, are practically perfect, and (thank god) all natural. so, again, please nobody flag me for celebrating this lovely lady. we all like looking, don't we? so everybody should be happy. (click to enlarge)

...almaaa....!!

i love this screen capture. jean-lucien nailed it, and sent it to me quite a while ago. it didn't have the pink caption on it IN the movie; i added that myself. but the bloke in the picture IS actually saying it... in the movie, i mean. and which movie would that be? its from ken russell's masterpiece 'Mahler,' starring robert powell as composer gustav mahler, and georgina hale as mahler's wife, alma. the guy in the picture isn't robert powell though... i'm disappointed to admit that right now, as of this 'precise moment,' i can't come up with the actor's name. but, in the movie, he's got a bit of a crush of mahler's wife, and calls out her name, hurling out ivory pages of sheet music, as the train thunders on towards the horizon. and, for those of you out there, wondering if this movie had anything to do with my pen name, then you are dead-on accurate. it had a great deal to do with it. you might even say that georgina's portrayal in this movie "put the 'alma' in 'almadora.'" so dig on this gorgeous shot, and if you can ever get your hands on a copy of the movie, do yourself a favor and roll it. its not the most action-packed movie in the world... like you won't see 'trans-robo-trons' destryoing a major city, or subways blowing up, or like, pixar-talking table lamps making 'gas' jokes or anything like that, but you will see one of the most lovely, lyrical, and wildly inventive movies you've ever seen. (hey, georgina's costumes alone are more or less worth the purchase price.) oh, and god bless ken russell.