Wednesday's Question Of The Day: Current Obsessions

Wednesday's Question Of The Day: 

Current Obsessions

Hump day? Well, I'll give you something to ponder.

Yes, it's time for Wednesday's Question Of The Day.

Each Wednesday, a new question to give you the opportunity to do a bit of self-examination.  Think of it as a way of getting to know all about you and a chance to learn a little more about me. 

That's right. You know me; spill that tea! For I am the king of over-sharing!

Oh, and please leave your responses in the comments section. 

Why, think of this as a little blogging kiki!

Okay! Ready, set... 

Here's today's question:

What is your current obsession?

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Watching old black and white movies on Youtube for free.

I never knew there were so many available.

I adore those air channels which show the old movies, but I never pay attention to what airs when, so I was constantly coming in during the middle of a movie... one that I was interested in watching. The other downside? Commercials. So many. And so long... some play like mini-informercials. It eats up a lot of time and I find I no longer have the patience for all that noise.

I used to have Netflix, but the price more than doubled in the time I had it and I hate feeding corporate greed. Plus... they didn't carry any classic films. So, I canceled. The BF has Prime - but very few of the black and white movies on there which I want to watch are free. 

While researching Wonderland Burlesque's regular Thursday feature Let's All Go To The Movies, I started to notice all these free films on Youtube. There are whole channels devoted to them, with a number of old films now in the public domain due to the copyright holders failing to renew them. Well... their loss, our gain.

So, I asked the BF for an HDMI to HDMI cable and it was simple as one, two, three. Surprisingly, the films look wonderful on my big screen television. 

You see...

I adore the old stars: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Paulette Goddard, Garbo, Gene Tierney, Gloria Swanson, Hedy Lamarr, Claudette Colbert, Agnes Moorehead, etc. I grew up admiring them, collecting photos and reading their life stories. There are so many of them. And so many films I want to see. 

Yes, the stories are frequently quite melodramatic, the acting hammy and the writing rather mundane or silly, but I adore them all the same. I like that they tell a story concisely in just over an hour (and rarely more than and hour and a half). I appreciate the fact that there are no commercials. Granted, the film quality varies greatly - many are copies of copies of copies of the original print, but all those squiggly lines and breaks in the film merely add to the charm. 

The lighting, and the sets, and the costumes... economical and elaborate at the same time. I adore monochromatic sets, impossibly tailored costumes, the posing, the eyebrows, the close-ups, the air of film noir. I think they did more with less in those days and it's all real... real sets, real actors, real props - no CGI. I adore reading the credits - and they don't go on for a fifteen minutes after the movie is over like they do with today's films. 

So, yes... I am becoming a bit like Norma Desmond, squirreled away in my basement, huddled beneath a blanket, eating peanut butter on saltines while sipping hot chocolate and  living in the past, but then...

They know me there (and they like me).

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As If We Never Said Goodbye - Elaine Paige

from the musical Sunset Blvd

Weekend Onesie: Robert Mapplethorpe's Portraiture

Weekend Onesie:

Robert Mapplethorpe's

Portraiture

Last week, when putting together my Sunday Diva post on Annie Lennox, I came upon a most striking photo of her, early in her career. 

The photo was arresting, to say the least. Such depth. Such clarity. And it managed to capture the very essence of its subject. 

It was, of course, one of Robert Mapplethorpe's celebrity portraits. I immediately began seeking others from that series and I wanted to share them with you today.

Mapplethorpe was an instigator, a radical element. He loved pushing boundaries and exploring fringe elements. These portraits represent his work in a more traditional framework, placing the emphasis on his skills as a photographer. Yes, the subjects are indeed evocative, but not in the sense typically attributed to Mapplethorpe. It is his mastery of the art form on full display in these photographs. 

I adore them for their simplicity. Their honesty. And how they sear the mind. 

These images, once seen? 

One cannot forget. 

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Have a lovely weekend.

Wishing you all the very best.

Enjoy.

-uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel

Eyes - Donna Summer 

(Jellybean Benitez 12" Mix)

Friday Fun: Black and White

Friday Fun: Black and White

When he said:

“I want concise answers, clear pathways, defined execution.”

I thought…

Dude, you must be joking. Life is filled with grey areas and you best get used to it.

Why insist on such simplicity? 

Just what are you afraid of?

Besides...

Sometimes it’s in those areas of grey that one finds something unexpected and intriguing. 

Nothing wrong with a bit of mystery.

So, relax.  Explore the grey.

Not everything need be viewed in terms of black and white.

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Wishing you all a great weekend!

from uptonking at Wonderland Burlesque