One of the first places I visited in Vincent D'Onofrio Blogland was Molly's forum. It's where I first "met" Diane and JoJo, heard about DNY and The Velocity Of Vincent, discovered his many films, and generally came across lots of interesting ladies worldwide who had a massive crush on our man. When the site got very slow, Molly put it in mothballs and started a new one. That's been slowing down a lot lately, and when we wondered about speeding it up, someone discovered that Molly had been ill.
A couple of days ago the page disappeared. Those of us who continued to post there have lost a vital contact. Many have JoJo's and my blog addresses, but not all like to post.
Molly has not answered the message I left on her main blog, and I know JoJo emailed her. I don't know if she got a reply. To all the lovely ladies who feel you have nowhere to go, please let us know you are there. You are always welcome at Life and Vincent, and I know JoJo would say the same about Beads and Vincent.
And if Molly is out there - please give us our VDO forum back!
By the way, is anyone getting Vincent Google Alerts at the moment? I haven't had any for ages.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Mack The Strife
There's an amphitheatre at London Zoo, covered by a large open-ended marquee, where they put on "Animals in Action" shows. They bring in creatures to perform natural behaviours which they have used positive reinforcement to persuade them to do in front of audiences. The stage in the amphitheatre has been rebuilt as part of the recent refurbishment in the zoo, and the staff warned us that the animals were still practising their routines in the slightly strange surroundings. Therefore things may not go as they hoped.
First (and almost last) out was the Harris Hawk, Mack. He flew from keeper to keeper low above our heads, taking tidbits and following signals. He left the stage on cue, but then reappeared on the top of the back wall of the stage. Unfortunately the pigeons outside the tent chose that moment to flutter around a bit, and Mack did what came naturally - he flew outside to try and go hunting. He disappeared into the trees, going higher and higher. He swooped on to the roof of the marquee, and came off with something in his claws that he proceeded to eat. It looked like a leaf - very difficult to hunt! No chance of tempting him down for food now, everybody thought. The keepers would have to stay all night to catch him before he flew at first light. The show was cancelled. Then he flew down and on to a keeper's (gloved) arm. The keeper took hold of the jessies, and he struggled a bit against them. You could really see how strong he was. Luckily for the pigeons and starlings, he didn't manage to get away again.
The rats, skunk and even the macaws seemed a bit tame after that.
First (and almost last) out was the Harris Hawk, Mack. He flew from keeper to keeper low above our heads, taking tidbits and following signals. He left the stage on cue, but then reappeared on the top of the back wall of the stage. Unfortunately the pigeons outside the tent chose that moment to flutter around a bit, and Mack did what came naturally - he flew outside to try and go hunting. He disappeared into the trees, going higher and higher. He swooped on to the roof of the marquee, and came off with something in his claws that he proceeded to eat. It looked like a leaf - very difficult to hunt! No chance of tempting him down for food now, everybody thought. The keepers would have to stay all night to catch him before he flew at first light. The show was cancelled. Then he flew down and on to a keeper's (gloved) arm. The keeper took hold of the jessies, and he struggled a bit against them. You could really see how strong he was. Luckily for the pigeons and starlings, he didn't manage to get away again.
The rats, skunk and even the macaws seemed a bit tame after that.
The photos are not mine, but came via Google.
Some Choice Morsels
Just a few favourites from Yesterday that I haven't managed to use so far. Enjoy!
Friday, March 30, 2007
All Our Yesterdays
Just the act of Bobby sitting down rivets my attention.
Then there he is, his shirt unbuttoned at the neck, nailing the perp.
Wish he'd nail me.
Then there he is, his shirt unbuttoned at the neck, nailing the perp.
Wish he'd nail me.
Good Catch, Holly
Holly mentioned where Bobby's hand is when Morrissey's lawyer comes in and tells hime to scoot, and she wanted to be that hand. Actually either hand would be a good choice, I think...
Gorilla Love Island -
- Rained off!
Yesterday Prince Philip opened the new gorilla enclosure at London Zoo. The Zoo's existing gorillas - 33-year-old Zaire, now beyond her breeding years, and Bobby, the 24-year-old silverback, have returned from their extended vacation at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park to their new state-of-the-art enclosure. They are being joined by a 14-year-old female from Germany, who is still only on nodding terms with the others through the wire. It is hoped that she will mate with Bobby and do her bit for the endangered species breeding programme.
Unfortunately, the cold, wet weather meant that no gorilla ventured outside today, though they kept checking to see if the weather might have changed.
Bobby (official name is I think Bongo Junior) does not look amused by the fact that his new outside quarters are unenticing today. He was a circus animal, kept in too small a cage, and his legs have not grown to match the size of his head and body.
Zaire has a belly that shows how obsessed she is with food. She is the daughter of a male silverback at Jersey Zoo who gently kept watch over an unconscious small child who was injured when he fell into the gorilla enclosure.
Yesterday Prince Philip opened the new gorilla enclosure at London Zoo. The Zoo's existing gorillas - 33-year-old Zaire, now beyond her breeding years, and Bobby, the 24-year-old silverback, have returned from their extended vacation at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park to their new state-of-the-art enclosure. They are being joined by a 14-year-old female from Germany, who is still only on nodding terms with the others through the wire. It is hoped that she will mate with Bobby and do her bit for the endangered species breeding programme.
Unfortunately, the cold, wet weather meant that no gorilla ventured outside today, though they kept checking to see if the weather might have changed.
Bobby (official name is I think Bongo Junior) does not look amused by the fact that his new outside quarters are unenticing today. He was a circus animal, kept in too small a cage, and his legs have not grown to match the size of his head and body.
Zaire has a belly that shows how obsessed she is with food. She is the daughter of a male silverback at Jersey Zoo who gently kept watch over an unconscious small child who was injured when he fell into the gorilla enclosure.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Here Today, Here's Yesterday
Bobby reads Morrissey's sister's letter.
Bobby tricks Morrissey into nearly admitting his guilt.
Bobby tricks Morrissey into nearly admitting his guilt.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Birthday trip and film review
Thank you all for your birthday wishes. One wish of mine was answered pretty early on when my home tutoring student wouldn't get up for his lesson (well he'd only been in bed 2 1/2 hours - don't ask what the parents were doing) so I got to go to the School House and chat with a couple of other tutors, then went home early and watched/capped My Good Name. Sadly that's on this new computer, so I don't have a way to get it on to Photobucket at present.
Then off to meet my friend for a spot of lunch and a visit to the cinema to see The Good German. I read the book when it first came out, and seem to recall it was pretty densely written. I couldn't imagine how they would fit it all into a film of less than 2 hours.
Like Good Night And Good Luck, the film was made in black-and-white, enabling them to use archive footage of the ruins of Berlin, the scene of the Potsdam Conference (and film of Churchill, Truman and Stalin), not to mention mass troop movements. It had the feel of a real old movie. Steven Soderberg should be commended for the atmosphere he produced, right down to the way the film was spliced to look a bit amateurish and poor in the continuity department. Though there were chunks of the original storyline missing, the essence of Joseph Kanon's novel was caught.
George Clooney was his usual solid self. There is a lot of sex in the novel, but no bed scenes in the movie. He manages to give the impression he is partaking of the smoking that was so commonplace in wartime Europe, but you never actually saw a cigarette in his mouth - obviously that's one thing he won't do. Good for him. He doesn't mind swearing, though, and I felt there was a bit too much of that in the movie. Cate Blanchett's German accent is surprisingly good. She has a convincing period appearance.
If period drama is your cup of tea, with murder mystery thrown in, give this one a whirl.
Then off to meet my friend for a spot of lunch and a visit to the cinema to see The Good German. I read the book when it first came out, and seem to recall it was pretty densely written. I couldn't imagine how they would fit it all into a film of less than 2 hours.
Like Good Night And Good Luck, the film was made in black-and-white, enabling them to use archive footage of the ruins of Berlin, the scene of the Potsdam Conference (and film of Churchill, Truman and Stalin), not to mention mass troop movements. It had the feel of a real old movie. Steven Soderberg should be commended for the atmosphere he produced, right down to the way the film was spliced to look a bit amateurish and poor in the continuity department. Though there were chunks of the original storyline missing, the essence of Joseph Kanon's novel was caught.
George Clooney was his usual solid self. There is a lot of sex in the novel, but no bed scenes in the movie. He manages to give the impression he is partaking of the smoking that was so commonplace in wartime Europe, but you never actually saw a cigarette in his mouth - obviously that's one thing he won't do. Good for him. He doesn't mind swearing, though, and I felt there was a bit too much of that in the movie. Cate Blanchett's German accent is surprisingly good. She has a convincing period appearance.
If period drama is your cup of tea, with murder mystery thrown in, give this one a whirl.
Today's Yesterday
First Bobby corners Morrissey's sister.
Then he trips up the ex-wife.
It never ceases to amaze me that the wearing of dead animals is apparently still regarded as desirable and normal by so many in the US, at least as portrayed in the media. Over here you're likely to get red paint poured over your sable.
Then he trips up the ex-wife.
It never ceases to amaze me that the wearing of dead animals is apparently still regarded as desirable and normal by so many in the US, at least as portrayed in the media. Over here you're likely to get red paint poured over your sable.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Yesterday
I was going to post Yesterday - er - yesterday, but had so much faffing around with my computer and Photobucket that I ran out of time. Today I still can't seem to get up the pictures for a slideshow, so I'm afraid you'll have to put up with single pictures again.
Firstly Bobby in shades.
Bobby persuading Deakins to let them keep the case.
Bobby boots in the Morrissey house door.
Firstly Bobby in shades.
Bobby persuading Deakins to let them keep the case.
Bobby boots in the Morrissey house door.