Love and Hate and the Whole YT Thing

Sir Guy is ready to run TPTB at YouTube through with his big, pointy sword for blocking yet another one of fedoralady's fanvids.

(screencap courtesy of RANet)

I have a sort of love-hate relationship with YouTube. Everyone goes to YouTube to look for vids, it is (pardon the pun) embedded in our pop culture. Yet it feels as capricious at times as the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland. You never know when its going to say off with your head, or no to that video.

Case in point: Recently, I posted an RA fanvid to Elizaveta’s Dreamer at YT. No problem at all. Since it is licensed to UMG, I expected it to be blocked in Germany as is usually the case. Then today I uploaded a second video to an Elizaveta song–same artist/writer, same album–only to discover later it has been blocked in 243 countries (ah, but you CAN see it on YouTube if you happen to visit St. Martin. Which is quite lovely, BTW. I recommend it).

I make my little slideshow videos for my enjoyment and as theRApy and for the pleasure of others. None of us make any money from it; in fact, I know of a number of viewers who have ended up buying mp3s/CDs of artists after discovering them through a fanvid. I honestly don’t think we are taking anything away from the artists; quite the contrary. I think we are bringing them new fans and helping sell more of their music.

A while back, I got so frustrated with YT I opened an account at Vimeo as recommended by some friends in the fandom. Now I have 117 videos at Vimeo and about 90 at YT. The difference between the numbers indicates how many of my vids were blocked in many countries, if not world-wide.

Vimeo seems to have better picture quality; downloads are very easy (although if you have RealPlayer, downloads at any site are easy) and I have never had any issue with a video being blocked. There are more and more RA fanvidders who are establishing accounts at Vimeo. If you have never checked them out, make a visit to http://www.vimeo.com.
Now, as a shameless plug, here is the link to my latest video, Odi Et Amo: I Hate and I Love Unless you live in St. Martin, it’s the only place you’ll be able to see it. 😉

You can watch it here:
http://vimeo.com/36259475

Welcome To Sherwood! Robin Hood of 1938

Errol Flynn as an old-fashioned Robin of Locksley

Claude Rains as PJ with bangs and a colorful Basil Rathbone as Sir Guy.

The 1938 version of Robin Hood demonstrates they did know how to swash their buckles back in the day.
One of the things I appreciate about this version is the fact Gisborne, played by a very suave and attractive Basil Rathbone, is actually shown as a good swordsman. I love the fights between Rathbone and Errol Flynn as Robin and it is clearly them doing the brunt of it, not stunt doubles.

In the BBC RH they always seemed to make Guy look like a numpty with his sword, which seemed rather unlikely given he worked for the sheriff. I can’t see Sherry making him his master-at-arms if he was incompetent, no matter how much the Treacherous Troll enjoyed ogling Guy in his leathers. The numpty in this film is the Sheriff, who comes off as a complete buffoon. Prince John, as played by the ever-dependable Claude Rains, is deliciously nasty.

I admit seeing Errol Flynn in tights made me rather long to see Mr. Armitage in a similar costume–but ditch the little hat with the feather, please. Not that I would want Guy to give up all that buttery soft black leather. But the tights would look fetching.

The 1938 version was shot in glorious technicolor and they pulled out all the stops in the costume department in terms of colors–royal purple, emerald green, bright gold, cherry red, turquoise. You almost feel the need to put your sunglasses on. It is a rousing adventure with lots of action and derring-do, and a vein of humor running throughout. Robin is in a truly heroic mold here. I know the BBC version was supposed to be Robin for a new generation, that each generation has their own interpretation of the legend. Obviously I am hopelessly old-fashioned.
This chick prefers a Robin who isn’t a petulant, smug braggart sporting a boy band haircut and a hoodie. I’m just sayin’ . . . (photos courtesy of Google Images)

Richard and Neoterism: TAE Word for the Day

The crinkles RA displays are another example of a neoterism.

Chesticles is a neoterism referring to Richard's extremely attractive pectoral muscles.

TAE Word for the Day: Neoterism

In our continued effort to increase the word power of blog readers and share more Armitage goodness, we present The Armitage Effect Word of the Day—Neoterism.

Neoterism (noun): an innovation of language, as a new word, term or expression; the use of new words, terms and expressions.

Richard Armitage has certainly sparked neoterism among “our little community.” Here are a few examples . . .

There’s The Tongue of Concentration, TOC, referring to RA’s delightful tendency to play peek-a-boo with said body part, frequently denoting he is in deep thought or perhaps feels a tad stressed or nervous.

We all love our TDHBEW, which, depending on the fan you talk to, stands for Tall Dark Handsome Blue-Eyed Wonder, Tall Dark Hot Blue-Eyed Wonder, Tall Dark Hunky Blue-Eyed Wonder,

There is also TDHMO (Tall Dark Handsome Mill Owner) in honor of Thornton.

Crinkles The trademark scrunching of the face Mr. A provides us.

Peaches We don’t mean the ones that grow on trees. Enough said.

Chesticles Guy, Porter and Lucas, among other characters, have all shared their chesticles with us. Oh, what a treasure chest it is!

Then there’s Glove Love. Guy, a black leather glove and his gleaming white teeth. Me likee. Repeated by Lucas North as a black leather-clad courier in Spooks.

Team Leather Who needs Arrow Boy when you’ve got Guy? Give us Team Leather every time.

Guyliner The Sultan of Smoulder rocks the kohl that rims those baby blues. Yumm.

Here is a new neoterism that Judit kindly provided in a comment to me.
Richarding The act of perusing RA DVDs, visiting blogs, looking at photos, listening to audio books and in general putting in lots of time pursuing all things Richard Armitage (possibly to the detriment of stuff you are supposed to be doing which isn’t nearly as much fun).

What are some other RA neoterisms? Spill!

My Own Personal Harry Kennedy

My husband and our great-niece playing pretend together. Four generations of women in my family have adored him.

My husband and I will be celebrating our 27th anniversary this June. We have now spent more than half our lives together, and I can honestly say our years together have been the better half.

We’ve known each other since the first grade. We didn’t start dating until the latter part of our senior year in high school. We started out as friends; the romance came later. I am glad to say we are still the best of friends.

Hubby has a wonderful sense of humor. He can make me smile and laugh when nothing and no one else can. The man is absolutely a natural with computers (actually better than some people with computer science degrees, and he’s not snarky about it. Unlike some fellow geeks, he can not only do, he can teach when needed). He majored in math and minored in physics. Math and physical science were two of my weaker subjects, so we balance out each other nicely.

He’s also a great cook, as my expanded waistline can sadly attest, and when I couldn’t manage it because I busted my tailbone, he painted my toenails a cheerful red for the holidays. When I could do virtually nothing for myself the first few days after the car accident that caused my injury, he took time off to look after me, and even after he went back to work, he made sure I had my breakfast and prepared my lunch for me.

He’s shy, but approachable, smart but never condescending. A man comfortable in his own skin, he has a quiet confidence. And his shoulders are broad and quite waterproof.

He believes in nourishment and nurturing. He’s also tall, dark-haired and blue-eyed with a rather prominent nose.

Is it any wonder, really, that I adore Richard Armitage and the sweet, sunny Harry Kennedy? I feel as if I have one of my own at home.