THE BEACH GIRL (#fridayflash)

Press play for some mood music

Being that this is Oscar weekend, I'm once again dusting off an old piece that I feel is appropriate for the event (I know, how lame am I?). Some of my Six Sentence friends may recognize this picture (and this expanded flash for that matter) since it was the subject of a photo challenge many moons ago. In any case, I hope you enjoy.


The night Davina Haven waited her entire life for was over. Thank God.

Somewhere around 5 a.m. her Tequila and wine buzz reached it zenith and all she saw was a dizzy blur of tuxedos and gowns. She wanted to hurl. She decided to ditch that dipshit model and leave the Vanity Fair party.

On the way to Elton's bash something didn't feel quite right. Even with her unsteady buzz. So she ditched that one too and decided to pull a 'Hilary Swank' and told the limo driver to head up the Pacific Coast Highway until he saw Paco's Taco's -- an all-night gourmet stand smack dab in the middle of Malibu.

On the way inside, a biker, one of the weekend wannabees, recognized the actress and said he admired her work, especially "the early stuff." Davina, even with the buzz, thought she heard the undertone of a snicker in his compliment. Still, she politely thanked him and went inside.

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For all the hoopla of winning her first Oscar - which she aptly tossed later into the early morning tide - she knew deep down nothing would change. Not really. The award would only magnify only what was.

Sure, the phone will ring louder and more often and those meatier roles will come. And with them, a better class of men -- both leading and loving. But for all those absolutes, the only thing Davina questioned slumped at 6 a.m. in the sand was:

'When will they stop remembering that god damned sex tape?'

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THE BARE BACKS OF VINTAGE PULP

... Clearly a thing of beauty. A tip of the hat to Bish at Bish's Beat where a plethora of pulp pleasures preside and prevail.

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THE MOST REPRODUCED PIC IN HISTORY

The above rah-rah World War II propaganda tune was "There'll Be A Little Smokio in Tokio" by Don Baker and it can be downloaded HERE.

On this weekend in 1945 at the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines (from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Division) took the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island's highest peak and raised the American flag.

Marine photographer Louis Lowery was with them and recorded the event. Soldiers fighting for control of Suribachi's slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along with a Marine still photographer and a motion-picture cameraman.

Rosenthal took three photographs atop Suribachi. The first, which showed five Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the heavy flag pole, became the most reproduced photograph in history and won him a Pulitzer Prize.

Regarding Rosenthal's other two photos: The second was similar to the first but less affecting and the third was a group picture of 18 soldiers smiling and waving for the camera. Many of these men, including three of the six soldiers seen raising the flag in the famous Rosenthal photo, were killed before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March.

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STARING AT HER STARING AT HIM (#fridayflash)

Please click play for some mood music

He went everyday to the museum to see those dark beaming eyes, that long lustrous hair and her half unsure smile. On or off his meds, this manic routine had by now had become a fixture of his life.

Oh sure, there was always some artsy liberal couple with their backpacks on a first date talking about such nonsense as Warhol and color blocking to ruin his time with her. He wanted the slap the lattes out of their hands.

They were so superficial. They weren't seeing the art he saw.

Someday somehow he knew he'd meet his exotic beauty and take her here -- but not to utter Warhol. Or to drink fucking latte.

Until then, though, he'd be content and diligent just staring at her staring back at him.

Music: "Terror (July 7, 2005)" by Fudgdubnofunk can be downloaded here.

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AN ARGUMENT FOR PIRATING WORKS ONLINE

Neil Gaiman is a prolific British scribe of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, comic books and films. His notable works include the comic book series "The Sandman" and novels "Stardust," "American Gods," "Coraline," and "The Graveyard Book."

Gaiman's writing has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker, as well as the 2009 Newbery Medal and 2010 Carnegie Medal in Literature. He is the first author to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work.

Here's why Gaiman doesn't mind you pirating his work online...



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MAD MEN MOMENT No. 11

Meet Sammy Davis, Jr... Pitchman extraordinaire.

Whiskey production in Japan began around 1870, but the first commercial production was in 1924 upon the opening of the country's first distillery, Yamazaki. Broadly speaking, the style of Japanese whisky is more akin to that of Scotch than Irish whiskey. and thus the spelling typically follows the Scottish convention (omitting the letter "e").

There are several companies producing the stuff in Japan with the most well known being Suntory and Nikka. Both produce blended as well as single malt whiskies.

Enjoy this fab spot of Sammy doing his thing for the Suntory hooch.



Also enjoy these other cool Sammy Davis, Jr. commercials:









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'LIGHTS OUT': THE BEST SHOW YOU'RE PROLLY NOT WATCHING

With good reason, HBO went out of its way to deliver its awesome series "Boardwalk Empire" with an amazing amount of ballyhoo. Obviously, direct comparisons to "The Sopranos" were easy to make. After all, much of the 'Sopranos' creative team were a huge part of 'Empire,' and proverbial New Jersey organized crime connection.

That all being said, the new FX boxing drama "Lights Out" is more 'Soprano-esque' than 'Empire' by far. Spend an episode or two with it's protagonist Patrick 'Lights' Leary and you'll understand why.

It centers on an aging former heavyweight boxing champion Patrick "Lights" Leary (Holt McCallany - the best leading man on network TV since Ken Wahl) as he tries to find his identity after retiring from the sport he loved so much. After years of wear and tear in the ring, he is diagnosed with pugilistic dementia, a neurological disorder that affects fighters who've suffered too many blows to the head. It gradually causes memory loss and constant headaches.

Throughout each episode and on the gritty streets of Bayonne, Lights struggles to support his wife and three daughters -- especially when his dwindling finances have him on shaky ground.

He must decide whether to accept the brutal and intimidating job of a debt collector or return to the ring for a comeback to become the champ once again.

If you have On Demand check it out. You can also watch it on Hulu and at FX.

There's lots vested in this show -- Take a look at a stupendous (and fake) documentary made by the folks at FX about Lights Leary.


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FORTHCOMING E-TITLES...

Like many of my online comrades, I've decided to throw my hat into the Kindle/Nook ring with a few titles. Details to be forthcoming. I also want to apologize for my absence of late in keeping up with my blog reading. I've been keeping busy designing these covers and finding art, etc. I'm a fanatic when it comes to art. If there are 1000 pics of any given subject, I will look at each and every one of them... I hope to be back reading everyone's blogs very soon.


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IF ONLY...

For those that want this on a T-shirt, click HERE.

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PULP PLEASURES: ART IMITATES LIFE

Am I crazy or is the beauty in the beret Lauren Bacall? Gorgeous... More pulpy delights at Bish's Beat.

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