Feb 25, 2011

Excuses, requests and a break.


Sorry for the slacking of duties, dearest blog readers!
"Real life" has been VERY busy as I mentioned in the last post's update.
I rarely have time to do much online besides check my email these days!
If something big in RA news has happened this week, I have no idea.
Somebody keep me posted if another beard sighting occurs. :)
Not SFR... the real RA!

I have a second request for FanstRAvaganza participation~  pretty, pretty please.
Pretty and pleasing!

If you could write a fan letter to 
an RA character, what would you say?
*Oh, the possibilities!*

Please send your Armitage character fan letters to:
armitageblog@yahoo.com
(I'd prefer an email to comments so it can be a surprise for other blog readers.)
They can be as short and sweet as you'd like.

Example...

Dear Mr. Thornton
Where can I get one of those
sexy top hats for my husband?
Love, Natalie

I would greatly appreciate any contributions for
RA character fan letters and/or fantastic fan stories. :)

Due to my crazy, busy life at the moment,
I plan to take a blogging break until the FanstRAvagana on March 14th.
Thanks for your support and patience!

Feb 21, 2011

Fantastic Fan Stories Requested! *UPDATED*


Have you had a funny or embarrassing RA-related moment?
(Perhaps you were caught swooning, or accidentally called your significant other "Richard," for example.)
If you don't mind sharing, please tell me all about it! Nat's email: armitageblog@yahoo.com 
I will feature these stories in a few weeks during the upcoming FanstRAvaganza.
Ha ha ho ho hee hee!

Update- 2/23/11: 
I put the wrong email address above, but have corrected it.  (Seriously... you'd think I'd know my own email address, right!?)  If you tried to email me earlier, please resend it.  And if you didn't... don't be shy.  I could use a good laugh! :)  I blame my fried brain on the fact that we are in the middle of getting ready to build a new house (loads of paperwork!) in addition to taking care of 4 children under the age of 5!!!! (An exclamation point for each kid.)  I started babysitting my sister's 2 year-old girl while she works full-time. It's like I have twin toddlers.  The other day, I caught "the twins" in our DVD cupboard. One was holding my Gaskell Collection case. (Which includes our beloved "North & South.")  I nearly panicked at the sight, but quickly retrieved it and put it somewhere safe and sound.  I could end up in a nut house for reasons other than my love of RA, stick figures and weird sense of humor.  Blogging may be hit-and-miss for a bit.

Giz & Vaze

Liked this vid.  Wanted to share.
*Pause the blog's background music (bottom of the screen) before viewing.*
Season 3 Gisborne is my favorite Gizzy. :)


Feb 14, 2011

XOXO


Valentine's Day.

A day of chocolate, flowers,
and ugly stuffed animals.

A day of dining out.

A day of huggin' and lovin'.

A day of cheestastic sappy stuff.
 *Pause the blog's background music (bottom of screen) before viewing.*

A day your kid brings home a bag
filled with candy attached to cartoon-covered
cards with barely readable names written upon them.
Freddy the Valentine Frog

Some don't like this holiday.

It is called "Singles Awareness Day" by many.

There are those who have romantially challenged
significant others who struggle when it comes to gift-giving 
or remembering such a day exists.  *ahem.*

If you fit into one of these categories...
don't feel blue! 
I can't help it... that's the tint they used when filming!

Just remember this~

You don't need a man to receive flowers...
although it would be nice if the delivery boy looked like this:

The train scene from
"North & South" can warm any heart.
*Pause the blog's background music (bottom of screen) before viewing.*

And as our RA buddy Phylly said in this recent post,
"There are so many kinds of love -- romantic love is only
a small part of the picture. (Although it gets all the attention.)
What about the love of a parent for a child, (and vice versa) or the
love of a friend, or the love of mankind? We all share those kinds
of love, even if we have never experienced romantic love."
Amen, sistah!

I feel very blessed to have
experienced the kinds of love Phylly mentioned.
And it's okay if my hubs struggles in the V-day department.
The best gifts he could give me are our 3 children.
Sticky kisses and big bear hugs every day!

Nat and Stick-Figure Richard wish you
lots of love in many of its forms. :)
Happy Valentine's Day!

Feb 11, 2011

Stick-Figure Richard Prepares for Dwarfdom


and then see how SFR is preparing for his role:

*Pause the blog's background music (bottom of screen) before viewing.*


Beard Love


The upcoming RA film I'm VERY excited to see is "The Hobbit." 
(Big Tolkien fan and love The Lord of the Rings trilogy.)

There was a Hobbit press conference held early Friday morning in New Zealand
(Thursday night in my part of the world) with many of the cast present, including our favorite future dwarf.
I normally don't like beards too much... but I'm diggin' Richard's shagginess!  (Aidan Turner's too.)

Here are the "Richard bits" of the press conference.
Thanks to bccmee for uploading it to YouTube!
*Pause the blog's background music (bottom of screen) before viewing*

Visit bccmee's YouTube channel to see more clips of the press conference.

Here are a few more pics from the event:

Some of The Hobbit cast-
Whose bright idea was it to stick Richard in the back!?  You're fired.
(They must have heard about him stealing all the scenes in Robin Hood...
or don't want his scraggly beauty to distract unsuspecting viewers.)

Scoot over, Bilbo.
We need a better view of the furrow-browed, bearded one.

Check out more press conference pics HERE.
(Including one of beard + crinkles!)

I wish this film was ready already.

Thanks to Richard Armitage Net for the links to great pictures!

Feb 7, 2011

Hello, Heinz.


Until now, I haven't published a single post about
Richard's upcoming role as Heinz Kruger in "Captain America,"
which is set to hit theaters this summer.
Thanks to Richard Armitage Net for this!

I'm not exactly sure why...
perhaps because I'm not crazy about superhero movies.
Look at my tough muscley muscles.

Maybe it's because every time I read
or hear the name Heinz Kruger, I think of ketchup
with a side of horror.

It could be due to the fact
that I don't like Richard's hairstyle in this movie.
Floppy in front, short in back?
And where are the sideburns, dang it!?

Now looking at the bright side...

I don't despise superhero movies by any means.
My husband enjoys them, so I can look forward to a date night
with perks for both of us:
Not really us.

I like ketchup.  If dinner is cooked too long,
just throw some of it on top and the fam will never know the difference!
 (I should totally start the "How to Cut Corners for Housewives Blog.")
I'm not a fan of  the freakish guy from nightmares, though...
so from hence forth, I shall refer to RA's
Captain America character as simply
Heinz.

Although I'm not big on the Heinz hair,
thanks to the fact that it's technically the opposite of a mullet,
I do realize not every hairdo can be a Thornton.
Hello, gorgeous.

Plus, it's not the worst hairstyle Richard could be sporting, right?
Don't ever do this, Richard.

The bright side, people.
The bright side.

Just in case you were traumatized by anything above,
let's cleanse our viewing pallet with this:

What are your thoughts on
the upcoming film, Captain America?
Excited?  So-so?  Meh?
Do share.

Feb 4, 2011

Best photoshoot ever!


The Russian Richard Armitage Site
recently uploaded a beautiful photoshoot session by Justin Cunningham
in 2008.  I've viewed these before, but mosty with watermarks, so
I was really excited to see the entire collection stamp-free!

Here are some of my faves:


I know the red sweater isn't the most popular
amongst RA fans... but I like it.  I love his Gizzy smirk. I do have
to keep myself from humming THIS song, though.

Go HERE to look at the entire photoshoot.
It's fabulous!

Feb 1, 2011

"Homage to Armitage" Highlight


An Armitage musical revolution is at hand!
No, Richard hasn't taken up conducting symphonies.
(Although you never know...)

It is music about our dear Richard I speak of.
There have been whispers of a Grammy nomination
and a sold-out world tour is inevitable.

What a few critics have said about
the song and video "Homage to Armitage"~

"This song will get stuck in your head for days and you won't mind one bit." ~ragirlforevah

"Homage to Armitage is musical genius! Genius, I tell you!!!" ~giddy4gizzy

"WHERE can I buy the MP3!?" ~maggiethornton

"I want that girl's cleavage." ~flattypatty

If you don't know what these people are talking about, 
you must view Allison Cossitt's "Homage to Armitage" video:

*Pause the blog's background music (bottom of screen) before viewing.*

I first saw this vid posted on RA Frenzy's site and
The Spooks Fan Blog and laughed out loud as I watched it. 
I especially like that Allison is enjoying herself while singing,
which is obvious by that big grin on her face and inability to keep
from laughing at times. I thought, "A kindred spirit!"
since Allison clearly doesn't take herself
or her  admiRAtion too seriously.   

Shortly after seeing this video, I added the
song to my "Armitage Tunes" mixpod list (bottom of screen)
which automatically plays RA-related music when this blog is
opened.  After receiving many comments about how wonderful and
life-changing this song is ;) I had to question the mastermind
behind it so we could all know a little bit more.
Plus, I'm always curious. :)

Nat: Please tell us a bit about yourself~ What part of the world do you call home? What are your interests and hobbies? Do you have a significant other?
Allison: Home is a very grey area for me. I was born in Toledo, Ohio (USA) and moved to East Amherst, New York (near Buffalo) when I was about 14. I fled Buffalo after getting my degree in theater and headed west, to Portland, Oregon. I spent three years in Portland until heading up North to finally end up in Seattle, Washington. I also did a study abroad program where I lived in Australia for 5 months, I absconded to Ireland for three months in 2008, and last Fall I spent 2 1/2 months living in the Dominican Republic. So, at this very moment, my apartment is in Seattle, but lately I've been feeling the need to move on again, so who knows where I'll end up next!  Obviously one of my big interests in travel. I've been extremely lucky to have a father who is also a world traveler, and can therefor facilitate my adventures with generous donations of frequent flier miles!
One of my great passions in life is my pet rats. I've kept rats for almost 20 years now, and they are the lights of my life. Right now I only have two, H.T. Vanderrat and Umlaut, but I'm sure there will be many more in years to come... and no, I've never named any of them after any RA characters, even though that would be rather appropriate! I love to cook and bake, play guitar (clearly), I make necklaces out of vintage postcards and stamps, I work as a barista (like a bartender for coffee beverages) in Seattle, but I'm actually an avid tea-drinker, I used to write poetry, but I've found it's a lot easier to get people to listen to a song than to get them to listen to a poem - so now I write a lot of songs! I have no significant other, unless you count the rats!

Check out her etsy site HERE, where you can
view and/or purchase one of her awesome vintage postcard/stamp necklaces.

Nat: When and how did you first discover The Armitage?
Allison: The swooning first started almost three years ago when I rented disk 1 of Robin Hood. I actually didn't care much for the first episode and wasn't going to watch the rest but luckily my roommate at the time convinced me to watch the rest - she was right, I loved it! And with each passing episode grew more and more smitten. My roommate was appalled that I was all gooey over the bad guy. We would watch RH together and she would be disgusted with Guy of Gisborne and I would be all dreamy-eyed and smiling.

Nat: Do you belong to any RA forums?
Allison: Ages ago I remember signing up for something but never kept up with it. I'm not particularly tech savvy and don't spend a lot of time computering, so I'm not a member of any of the forums or anything.

Nat: What is your favorite RA character/production?
Allison: Gosh I would have to say that my favorite role was Harry Kennedy in the Vicar of Dibley. While I do love it when he's playing bad, he's got such a sweet smile and the fans rarely got to see that! Plus I think it let us all believe that someone THAT dreamy just might show up out of the blue one day and sweep us off our feet!

Nat: What do your family/friends think of your admiRAtion?
Allison: My friends think it's adorably annoying. They don't understand how I can be ogling the tv screen while an angry, sour-looking man yells at people and cuts out tongues. My family just thinks it's cool that I have a You Tube video, they all live pretty far away so they didn't even know who RA was!

Nat: When did you learn to play the guitar? Do you play any other instruments?
Allison: I actually just started playing guitar last July. I never thought I'd be any good at it, and honestly, I don't think I would have been, but it came into my life at the precise point I needed it. Let's just say it was very therapeutic and helped me get through some hard times. I once sat in with my friend's band practice and I shook me some mean tambourine, but other than that I don't play any other instruments.

Nat: When did you write "Homage to Armitage" and how long did it take you to write it?
Allison: I wrote HtoA after having just finished watching the last few episodes of the most recent series of Spooks, so around the middle of last November. I had just finished yelling at the screen something along the lines of, "NO! How could you make him the bad guy - AGAIN!?!" And I just started thinking how funny it would be to write a cute song about how he always plays bad guys but I still think he's dreamy. I think I took all of 30 minutes to hash it out. I figured that no one would really care to hear it so I really just wrote it as a joke for myself. But then I played it for a few friends who know about my RA crush and they, much to my surprise, really liked it and encouraged me to make a video.

Nat:  Please fill us in on the video process. How many takes before it was completed? Did anyone help you?
Allison: This video would not have been possible at all without the help of my awesome friend, Jumana, who is the techmind behind all this. I'm rubbish with most technical things, and never would have managed to pull everything together on my own. With the help of several stiff shots of whiskey and her guidance, we managed to get something usable in about 5 takes, I think. It was actually much harder performing it for video then playing it on my own or even before people. Not only did I have to try to remember the chords and lyrics, but I also had to remember to play to the camera. Nobody wants to watch someone playing with their head down all deadpan - you gotta be lively! It was more of a challenge than I'd anticipated.

Nat: How do you think you'd react if you ever met Richard in person? (Become shy and hide? Chat his ear off? Burst into song like Julie Andrews?)
Allison: Well, one thing I can be sure is that I'd have a giant goofy grin plastered to my face (kind of like the one I have in the video!) and for the first minute of two it would probably be a bit hard to breathe. Other than that I really don't know. I'd certainly love to have a conversation with him, it would be great to know what he's like in real life when there aren't cameras and microphones pointed in his face.

Nat: Stick- Figure Richard wants to know if "Homage to Armitage" was actually directed towards him.
Allison: Well, before doing this interview I wasn't actually aware of the existence of SFR, but if he's the jealous type, I can always change the first few lines of my song to...

"Skinny limbs and an inky smile
Stick-Figure Richard I've been crushing on you for a while"

Nat: I'm sure SFR would be very pleased.


In conclusion, I'd like to present Allison with
the following award for having the courage to publicly declare
her "crush" on Richard with her performance. 


For a more in-depth look at Allison,
the genius behind the music, please check out
RA Frenzy's blogAfter finding out we both interviewed her,
we thought it would be fun to publish our posts on the same day. 
I love Frenz's "Allison post."  I especially enjoyed reading about
her traveling adventures and poem about the dryer. :)