matouenpeluche

QEII: Diamond Jubilee

It's the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this month. Diamond Jubilee! What a terrific anniversary that is. I hope to have a Diamond Jubilee something someday just so I can say "Diamond Jubilee" non-stop for a few months.  In celebration of this great sounding anniversary, The National Portrait Gallery in London is holding an exhibition of...ahem...portraits that have been commissioned for her over the years. Behold a selection of a few of these...Which is your favourite?

Images from a postcard book I have from The National Portrait Gallery.

Bon weekend!

...and it's the weekend! How lovely is that? For your browsing pleasure I have five links to sweet things and curiosities:

1) A very romantic romance!

2) A 2 minute video featuring an icon of fashion.

3) An endlessly entertaining pussy cat from Japan. 

4) An end of summer sale for tote bag lovers.

5) A comprehensive fall (or spring depending on your hemisphere!) movie preview.

Here's to a lovely weekend! :0)

The Day of the Jackal

The other day whilst standing in a queue at the post office I started aimlessly browsing a box full to the brim of discount DVDs. The box had been strategically placed so as to encourage people to rummage through it whilst standing patiently in the especially long queues that the post office specialises in. Anyway, I did not expect to find anything even remotely interesting. Imagine my utter surprise and delight when I found one of my all time favourite movies ever in that humble box!! And it was only $10.00. My day was made and The Day of the Jackal was shortly mine.

So, why do I adore this 1973 espionage/ thriller/ action/ suspense tour de force? Why did I many moons ago happen to watch it on DVD and immediately watch it again and then, as soon as my boyfriend got back from an interstate trip did I sit down and watch it yet again with him? These are my reasons:

a) The superbly tight plot. Based on the novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth it has a snappy story line that will take your breath away.

b) The wonderful cast. For starters there's Edward Fox doing a superb job of being a couth assassin with the cunning of...well, a jackal. There's also a fine supporting cast which includes the fabulous French actor Michael Lonsdale as the Commissioner and his side kick Caron is played by that awesome veteran Brit actor Derek Jacobi.

c) The glamorous locations. Paris, rural France, The Swiss Alps, London...

d) The semi-historical aspect. Yes, there really was an underground terrorist organisation called the OAS that tried to assassinate de Gaulle on 22 August 1962. Unhappy with his decision to liberate Algeria, they believed that by killing de Gaulle they would restore the great France of old. The film then goes on from there. I feel this basis in fact gives it a very real authenticity and makes it all the more compelling to watch.

All these fab images are from here.

I understand there was a re-make of the film recently but I shall never in a million years watch it!

 

I hope everyone's week is going swimmingly!

The Year in Review: 2010

These photos are from top: The northern lights as seen through the ash that exploded into the atmosphere at the beginning of the year from that volcano in Iceland, hay bales along a beach in the Gulf of Mexico absorbing the oil from the BP oil spill, twin girls in Ireland after their first communion, champions Spain at the end of The World Cup.

With only a few days left of the year 2010 most newspapers and websites are doing round ups for the year that was. I've seen a few, and for my money you can't go past The Guardian.

The Art of War.

 

Yesterday, as you can imagine, the papers were full of essays, commentaries and reflections on ANZAC Day and what it means in 2009. There was a very interesting article in The Weekend Australian newspaper about the art of war. It was specifically about how Australian artists have never depicted soldiers in battle heroically but rather as ordinary people stoically perservering through "the stuff of nightmares". To illustrate this article they chose two paintings by female artists which I thought were rather lovely despite the melancholy subject matter.

The one above is by Australian artist Stella Bowen. It is called "Bomber Crew" and was painted in 1944. All the subjects were lost in action.  Below is Nora Heyson's "Transport Driver" painted in 1945. Both of them hang in Canberra in the War Memorial.

You can read the article from The Australian here.