The life of being in a fandom

The world of fandoms have seemingly gone nuts.  Again.

Haters to the left. Fandom police to the right.  And somewhere in the middle are the fans who are trying to just enjoy it all.

Recently E! posted an article about Robert Pattinson now living in the 90210 zip code.  They mentioned him enjoying his single status with new digs as well as who he has been spending his time with.  No one romantically mind you, but the mention of him hanging out with Mischa Barton (I don't get it either) send the "difference of opinions" into a tale spin.

One side couldn't understand how he could be spending his time with someone who has had past issues as complicated as Barton has and how this would reflect poorly on him.  How they just want him to be working. Never mind the fact that he just wrapped on David Cronenberg's star studded "Maps to the Stars" and has three more films lined up.

The other side questioned her being mentioned at all, that it appeared a rather random mention.  Even taking it so far as to suggest maybe her publicist got the name drop.  After looking at her iMDb list of films coming up, if I was her publicist, that's what I would have done. Not exactly a cream of the crop list of films.  But hey, she's working right.

Pattinson has recently been seen hanging out with Michelle Rodriquez as well and that doesn't seem to be sitting well with fans either.  Mind you, all this "hanging out" seems to be a lot of them being seen in the same place at the same time.  Neither one arriving or leaving with the other.  

Those who didn't agree were called "Fandom Police".  Really?

"Fandom Police".  Can this phrase please be retired?  Since when does having a difference of opinion involve being a police force of any kind?  Isn't having differing opinions what makes the world of fandom so wonderful?  Apparently not.  I find it ironic that someone dictating what anyone, celebrity or otherwise, should be doing, how they should be spending their time, being told to get to work, etc. are calling others "police" or any other form of authority.

When a tabloid site, and lets face it that is exactly what E! has become, have their interns trolling twitter to talk to people who mentioned seeing certain celebrities, you know there's a good chance that there isn't going to be a lick of truth to what they are going to publish.  And yet people eat it up with a knife and fork.

I don't really care if you seek out tabloid gossip and hold it as gospel.  Go right ahead.  However, I reserve the right to call you out for buying into the bullshit.  Tabloids are in the market to make money and they are going to tell you what they want based on popular trends.  They want your hits.  Hits equals money.

Not that I'm telling anyone what to read or how to interpret it, but let's think about what we're reading when treading into the world of entertainment gossip.

Photography

I've recently gotten back into a passion of mine.  Photography.  I used to shoot 35 mm back in the day, took photography classes in college and always seemed to be the designated picture taker at most family functions.  However, over time, I let this previous passion of mine slip through my fingers.  Not anymore.

I have been shooting with a Nikon Cool pics, not the best camera on the market, but it does what I need it to do and it was affordable, as well as my iPhone, always with me and takes pretty good shots.  

A lot has changed since the days of 35 mm and it's made photography rather fun.  There are tons of websites  that can help you edit your shot to improve on what you've taken.  I like that.  It's amazing what simple cropping can do to a shot.  And don't even get me started on filters. You either love them or hate them, but the bottom line is they can enhance a bad photo into something much better.

With the explosion of the digital and virtual age comes vast amounts of photography apps.  From Instagram to Flicker, people are posting pictures all over the web and everyone is a budding photographer.  There are some really talented eyes out there.  And just like American Idol finds new talent off the streets, who knows who might be scanning Instagram for someone to shoot for them.

Bottom line is I've again found my passion for taking pictures.  One of them most memorable times I've had with doing so was this past August while in New York City.  On our last day there and after having said goodbye to the dear friends we were spending time with, my friend Clarissa and I took a walk on the Upper East side of Manhattan.  Starting at 51st Street, we meandered our way to 5th Ave, took a right and kept on walking.  We just wandered.  While we did, we took pictures from architecture to art, balconies on high rise apartment buildings to fire escapes on seven story walk ups, building details to ornate fixtures.  Anything that caught our eye.  We walked for almost ninety minutes before having to get back to the hotel and make our way home.  It was beyond a pleasurable afternoon and one of my favorite New York memories.

well, look what the cat drug in...

How in the hell do you screw up a red carpet appearance?  You have people to dress you, to do your make up and hair.  When this is not your first time to the rodeo, I ask...HOW DO YOU SCREW IT UP??

She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was.  Even Guiliana Rancic from E! said, "There is a side door right over on Hollywood Blvd that says exit, ya know, and you can get in that way and just call someone and say, 'can you open the door for me'. You do not have to walk the carpet.  Not every star has to walk the carpet." 

Oh if only she had taken your advice Guiliana.  

Further more, what in the hell happened in the span of three year?  

While walking the red carpet, Kristen did not do any interviews.  None.  However, she did have time to interrupt second time nominated Best Actress Jennifer Lawrence while she was being interviewed.  Coincidence?   I think not.  

The only other person she came close to talking to was Josh Horowitz from MTV.

MTV News correspondent Josh Horowitz reported seeing the Snow White and the Huntsman actress and asking why she needed crutches. "Just exchanged a quick hello with Kristen Stewart. I asked her what happened to her and she screamed 'I'm an idiot!'" Horowitz tweeted.  Source

 She never stopped to talk to him, he never asked her more than that.  I can only imagine how sad he must have felt seeing as he seems to feel they are BFF's and all.

Funny how her "injury" wasn't mentioned during the Oscar rehearsals.  Her outfit sure was though

You can clearly see the right foot is bandaged and she does appear to be walking with a limp.  Is it severe enough to need crutches.  Considering she was wearing two different shoes on the red carpet, something fishy sure was up. You can clearly see in the bag, attached to her crutches, two different shoes.  One peep toe heel and one silver flat.  Now why the hell not just wear the flats if you have a foot injury?

And if your injury is so "severe" why the hell not just stay home?  Oh wait.  There's a dvd that goes on sale the following weekend.  While she was not nominated for anything, "Snow White and the Huntsman" was, Best Costume and Visual Effects.  They lost in both categories.



Bottom line is that this appeared to be a stunt to get her noticed on the red carpet and it worked.  Forget the terrible hair, bags under her eyes, thrown together dress from 2009.  Yes, people had plenty to say about that, but it seemed to be her injury that got the most attention.

 Those that can't be nominated, fake their way through it.

ETA:

Two days later and we see this.  No bandaged foot, no crutches, putting weight on the "severely injured" foot even. It must be a dvd miracle.

The Art of the Pin Up Girl

Gil Elvgren, born Gillette Elvgren, was an American painter of pin-up girls, advertising and illustration. Elvgren was one of the most important pin-up and glamour artists of the twentieth century. Wikipedia

Elvgren was a classical American illustrator. He was a master of portraying the all-American ideal feminine^{[citation needed]}, but he wasn't limited to the calendar pin-up industry. He was strongly influenced by the early "pretty girl" illustrators, such as Charles Dana Gibson, Andrew Loomis, and Howard Chandler Christy. Other influences included the Brandywine School founded by Howard Pyle.^[4]

In 1937, Gil began painting calendar pin-ups for Louis F. Dow, one of America's leading publishing companies, during which time he created about 60 works. Around 1944, Gil was approached by Brown and Bigelow, a firm that still dominates the field in producing calendars and advertising specialties. He was associated with Brown and Bigelow from 1945 to 1972.^[5]

Elvgren was a commercial success. Elvgren lived in various locations, and was active from the 1930s to 1970s. His clients ranged from Brown and Bigelow and Coca-Cola to General Electric and Sealy Mattress Company. In addition, during the 1940s and 1950s he illustrated stories for a host of magazines, such as The Saturday Evening Post and Good Housekeeping.^[6]

Source Gil Elvgren

This is how cool Tom Hanks is...

I was catching up on Tumblr one afternoon and this came across my dash. 

This is an actual response from actor Tom Hanks on his Playtone Company stationary to Chris Hardwick, founder of TheNerdist, blog and podcast. You have to love the snark and tone that Hanks set up in this letter.  Needless to say, seducing him with the antique typewriter worked.  Hanks appeared on The Nerdist Podcast #267  Hanks talks with Harwick, as well as co-hosts of the show Matt Mira and Jonah Ray, about subjects from show business, space, his role and others in "Band of Brothers" as well as the now infamous 1934 Corona Silent typewriter.

You can follow Hardwick on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nerdist/

It is what it is.

Ken Baker knows what's up and he's calling it what it is "A PUBLICITY STUNT"  This is E! News Chief  Corresponent and he's going against the tabloid grain, something his network promotes, and is saying what needs to be said.  Rob and Kristen "getting back together" is for publicity.   Nicely played Mr. Baker. Nicely played.  

Stewart getting caught with Rupert Sanders?  No, that was the real deal.  The timing of her affair, however, could not have been more perfect for Summit to play the "break up and get back together for the film"  game though. The fact that Summit is using this to promote their movie proves so many things, one of which is that they don't care about Stewart, or Pattinson for that matter, but Stewart mostly.   When the pics of her and Sanders first showed up, Summit or her team could have stopped them, at least for a little while, but neither one of them did. And now we know why. 

Once can see things clearly w a 600 mil lens...

On 18 September, The Today Show did a demonstration to show just how close one can get from great distances using powerful telephoto lenses.  

They interviewed a former paparazzi who used a 600mil lens with a doubler and a good camera. He was situated in Brooklyn Heights and his "target" was located at the Sea Port in Manhattan, across the East River. Over 6 miles away!  

While some of the super close up shots are not very recognizable, you get the idea.  With a good strong lens and a good camera, you can catch just about anyone doing anything. 

Photography in the age of paparazzi

And here is a demonstration of just how close one can get from a great distance