Why I Blog

"Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms." 

~ Conan Doyle, by way of Robert Downey Jr. at the Golden Globes

Helen Mirren IS Jocasta

Took this picture of Helen Mirren looking fabulous - as always -  on the Golden Globes tonight. She is SO my Jocasta. Truly.

Verra Cool Scotland-Themed Websites

When you run a website, you do a lot of research googling... and you run into some tremendous websites.

I HAVE to mention a beautiful site I found recently, Scotland for the Senses. If you are a fan of the most beautiful country on earth, you'll love this site.

Another neat Scottish-themed site is A Wee Bit of Cooking that has tons and tons of Scottish recipes.

And if you are a fan of Scottish actors, you MUST check out Weirdly Obsessive Gerard Butler Fans. (Great job, Diane!) And might I say that I just saw him on the Golden Globes and they did NOT give that man enough dialogue or on-air time. I could pass up everyone else on the show (except Stephen Moyer, of course) and watch him all night. Seriously.

Two Words: Stephen Bonnet

*Thanks to socialitelife for this lovely shot of Colin Farrell.

Blog Changes

OK so I'm messing with the blog today. Feel free to make suggestions. Keep in mind I'm limited to whatever Blogger.com offers in the way of design.  In my next life I'm coming back as a (talented) graphic artist. Really.

Another Jamie Fraser Possibility

So I was searching for old-fashioned fonts and stumbled upon the Everything Anna blog. She gives a suggestion for a good Jamie Fraser: Max Martini. Wow, I'm impressed. I've never even heard of this guy! Verra red and a long, straight nose. And red stubble! I think I dig him. I'm still on board with Philip Winchester (until they find the right Scot lurking at a casting call in Edinburgh or Glasgow...) but this guy is not too shabby!

Just a wee picture of Philip Winchester

Spoiler Alert: Dinna read unless you have read VOYAGER. I thought it was high time I posted another pic of Philip Winchester - aka a great Jamie possibility. According to IMDB, he'll be 29 in March. Do you know what that means, Sassenachs? It means he could play Young Jamie - and Older Jamie. Mmm hmmm. Chew on THAT for a while - and let me know what you think!

The Pillars of the Earth MOVIE!

SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you've read VOYAGER.

This morning I remembered that exactly one year ago, I was reading The Pillars of the Earth. Fast forward to a little while ago when I sat down to watch a bit of RocknRolla with my hubby so I could pick through the mostly British cast for Outlander possibilities. After hanging on Gerard Butler's every word for a while... and realizing I might actually be down with the folks who think he's a good candidate for "Older Jamie"... I googled some dude from the movie; can't even remember his name now, as it is SO not important. What IS important is that I just came to the realization that they have filmed a "The Pillars of the Earth" MOVIE!!! 8 HOURS WORTH! Can we say "miniseries"?? You could have heard me "squeeee!" from across the country. I loved that book. I'll admit that - while it has lots of traipsing through the woods - it wasn't exactly as exciting as Outlander. And OK so I may have skimmed through some of the details of the cathedral architecture. But my god - the drama - the angst - the Jobian feel of poor Tom Builder! I canna tell you how much I loved that book -  and that character - for some of the same reasons I love Outlander and Jamie Fraser. Read it! (When you're finished Outlander, that is!)

PS - I can honestly say I am more than happy to see this on the big screen because I wasn't attached to it like I am to the Outlander series. See my Randall Wallace post and comments for further explanation!

C'mon Randall! Back the RIGHT Horse!

Ugh. He's been directing a movie about a horse instead of Outlander. The only horse I want to see in the movies will have Jamie's Scottish ass majestically splayed upon it.

Secretariat -- October 8
Sports movies tend to have a lot of biblical parallels. Perhaps that is why the Apostle Paul uses sports as metaphors for the spiritual life. Secretariat was the name of the horse that won the Triple Crown in 1973. With director Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay for Braveheart and who was the screenwriter for We Were Soldiers and The Man in the Iron Mask, I expect to see those metaphors fully explored.

The Outlander Reading Challenge!

Tracey just sent me a link to The Outlander Reading Challenge website. I love it! I'm hoping they'll let me take the challenge. It started in November and I started reading Outlander in October. But you have until November 17th, 2010 to finish.  Enjoying every second of reading, Sassenachs!