I’ve always liked ferris wheels, especially after watching the pivotal scene in The Third Man. So if you like what you see above, why not check out this shot from the same event last year, this photo from Leicester Square or the famous Prater Wheel in Vienna.
Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul to waste
Taken from the song Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones, from their acclaimed studio album Beggar’s Banquet (1968). I just had to add in another post for the English rock band as I saw them live earlier this year, to add to the songs of Gimme Shelter, Paint it Black and Ruby Tuesday
“Just a piece of advice. Find a different spot, or use a different bait. Otherwise you’re not going to catch anything, Lieutenant.”
Major General Martin J. Hollister (Eddie Albert) in the Columbo episode Dead Weight (1971). I’m a huge fan of the dishevelled detective, it’s clever format and the cat and mouse style interactions between the resilient sleuth and the different murderers (just like above). Indeed, I wrote a review of the show here. Without spoilers, feel free to share your favourite episodes. Mine is Try and Catch Me, starring Ruth Gordon as an Agatha Christie style writer, followed by The Most Dangerous Match, with Laurence Harvey as a tortured chess maestro.
Veronica Rawlings: We got to start thinking like professionals. We’re in business together. There’s not going to be some cosy reunion. After this job, we’re done. We have three days to look and move like a team of men. The best thing we have going for us is being who we are.
Alice Gunner: Why?
Veronica Rawlings: Because no one thinks we have the balls to pull this off.
Viola Davis and Elizabeth Debicki in the super impressive heist film Widows (2018). Helmed by Steve McQueen, it features a tour-de-force ensemble cast and a sharp script based on a 1983 TV series by Lynda La Plante.
I asked my son to pass me the phone book, and he handed me his mobile phone, saying: “Dad, you’re so old!” Anyway, to cut a long story short, spider dead, phone smashed, son distraught.
Just saw this on the internet and it made me laugh so much I had to share it with you all. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
After my last post on the EPSON International Pano Awards I wasn’t planning on doing another photography post. But it proved so popular I thought I should do another. But rather than just choose ones that hadn’t made the cut, I thought I’d choose my favourites from the previous years of the competition. They were so striking I cheekily added an extra one. Which one jumps out most at you?
I really do love photography. It’s such a wonderful form of creative expression and a way of highlighting the beauty around us. So not too long after my last post, Gr8at: Landscape Photographer of the Year 2018, it’s great to be able to showcase some other spectcular images. The EPSON International Pano Awards has been running for nine years and is the largest worldwide competition for panoramic images. Indeed, in its latest competion, over 1,251 photographers from over 74 countries were represented. Do you have a favourite?
Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing.
A sense of the adventurous possibilities within nature, as wonderfully described in The Wind in the Willows (1908) by Kenneth Grahame. Still enchanting readers of all ages over a century after its initial publication, the much-loved children’s novel tells of the friendship of Mole, Water Rat, Toad and Badger, four anthropomorphised animals who live near the river.
Frank Barone: Why the hell did I let you drive?
Marie Barone: Because you can’t see anymore.
Frank Barone: I can see a house!
Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts in the fondly remembered sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. Though never considered edgy or trendy, the Long Island-set show was hugely popular and won 15 Primetime Emmy Awards from 69 nominations. Though the show finshed 13 years ago, it is still regularly shown. You can find more of Frank’s acerbic wit here
“I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realise: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing.”
“Another definition of a hero is someone who is concerned about other people’s well-being, and will go out of his or her way to help them – even if there is no chance of a reward. That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real superhero.”
I wouldn’t normally use two quotes for a post, but it was impossible to choose between these two. Thanks to his many dynamic and modern Marvel creations like Spiderman, Thor, Hulk, Black Panther and the X-Men, the 95-year-old Lee helped launch the comic books revolution that has led to the incredible popularity of blockbuster superhero films. Thank you Stan Lee (1922 – 2018).
