Monday, May 13, 2013

Favorite Pic of the Day for May 14th

Above:
Rob Eco by Richard Rothstein
-See More Below-

Happy Birthday today May 14th

Above image from Caitiff photography

See who's blowing out candles today HERE:

Resurrection


Battlestar Galactica and to a lesser degree, Dallas and Hawaii 5-0 are rare examples of successful television shows that have been Resurrected. There are literally hundreds of others (Dragnet, Knight Rider, The Bionic Woman, Charlies Angels, V & The Love Boat) fail every year. TV Sites, like TV shows often go away, but very few make such welcomed returns.


Last month I reported on the end of one of my favorite television news sites, TVTattle run by Norman Weiss. Thankfully, Norman's site was not down for long! TVTattle was quickly brought back to life by HitFix which promises the same site, with the same editor with just a slight different address. HitFlix is letting Norman do what he does best, choosing the stories we all want to know more about! The timing was especially great given all the renewals and cancellations that have been flying around the past few days. Check them all out at TV Tattles new home HERE:


Regular: Rob Eco by Richard Rothstein

The word regular, usually doesn't bring exciting and thrilling adjectives to mind. The words associated with regular are usually less exciting, boring even. Words like normal, usual and even ordinary are not exactly winning ways to describe something. Regular however, remains one of my all time favorite words.


When someone decides something is going to become a regular part of their lives, it is usually because it brings on a sensation of pleasure. Whether it be a favorite shirt, a favorite food, or a favorite place you like to visit, something about it, especially when you first experienced it, makes you want to repeat that sensation, over and over again. To me, being a regular part of my life means to be extraordinary and special.


When it comes to FH, regulars are the key reason for it's success and continuation. Blog readers who drop by on a regular basis are one of the main reasons I am stimulated to continue. I look forward to the blog viewers who regularly comment, or e-mail me their thoughts on what I post. Most importantly, the artists that regularly contribute are the artists whose work inspires me the most. I have neither the time, nor the inclination, to spend what precious spare time I have, writing and creating pieces on anything, or anyone that doesn't stimulate me in someway. Whether it be visually or emotionally, the artist who appear regularly have the ability to touch and excite with each project or shoot they take on.


Richard Rothstein is a regular. For the past two years, I have been delighted to be able to feature Richard's work on a regular basis. Every time I view his work, I am continually amazed at his ability to create such visual and colorful masterpieces with such ease. From his spectacular New York cityscape's through his work with balloons, bodies or the Lord of the Jungle. Lucky for us, one of Richard's regular subjects has been model and personal trainer Rob Eco. Richard and Rob have created an amazing artistic partnership and I have been fortunate enough to be able to share the results of their work together. In or out of his loin cloth, Rob creates a stir whenever he and Richard are out on the streets shooting. As you can tell by the images, people love to join him and get in on the action.


What I hope will be a regular stop for many of you, is a stop at Rob's new blog, ProjectEco. Rob says his site is not another fitness blog. fitness is merely his lifestyle. it just happens to directly contribute to every bit of success that he has earned. 'This is my project. this is my life. this is the inspiration behind it.'


Richard on Rob

'Over the years, I've been with many men--as a photographer and otherwise; but very few have ever inspired me the way Rob Eco does. There something in his spirit that sets my creative energy on fire. Sure, he's one gorgeous man and has a remarkable talent for playing many roles in front of the camera, a gift and a genius found in very few models. But it's so much more than that.'


'To a great extent, the inspiration comes from the fact that Rob is the first straight man I've come to call a true friend who is completely and utterly without judgement. In fact, Rob's natural acceptance of who I am in every way gives me a feeling of normalcy and calm that is not easy for a gay man of my generation (born in 1948.) So when Rob decided to start his own blog to promote his emerging career as a model, actor and trainer it seemed only natural to me that his theme would be "inspiration". Rob's new blog covers the people, moments, music, art and magic that inspires him as he inspires me.'


'Our latest shoot was very much about inspiration. Rob and I are both the grandchildren and great grandchildren of immigrants. In his case, Italians. In my case, English, Austrian, Russian, Spanish and Polish. That's the America made great by immigration and inspiration. So we returned to our American roots: New York City's Lower East Side, once a global lodestone for men and women seeking freedom and opportunity. Today, that famous neighborhood is alive with hip bars, edgy clubs, avant garde art galleries and a vibrant nightlife that most certainly inspires--perhaps not in expected ways--but when is inspiration found in the expected. I hope you enjoy some of the images we captured as we sought out the inspiration of our immigrant roots and, as you can see, inspired many others along the way.'

Blast From The Past: Mike Ribble in Trapeze


If you had asked me a few weeks ago about actor Burt Lancaster, I wouldn't have had much to say. I think I may have known he was in From Here To Eternity (below), but I have not actually seen that film, or until this weekend, any other of Lancaster's films.


Since discovering TMC with this year, with their 31 Days of Oscar, I have been recording and watching as many old movies as I can watch. This past weekend, I finally got around to watching Trapeze, a film from 1956 starring Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida. Some of you might remember my long standing fascination with the Circus, so this film set under a Paris big top, was right up my alley.


Thanks to TMC's Robert Osborne, I learned Burt Lancaster himself was once an acrobat, part of the duo Lang and Cravat in the 1930s and what point traveled with the Kay Brothers circus. In 1939, much like his character in Trapeze, an injury forced Lancaster to give up the profession. Since Trapeze is the first, and currently, the only film of Lancaster's I have seen, I cannot yet say he joins the rank of Favorite Hunk, but... I did love this film, and found myself lusting over his character Mike Ribble.


Trapeze is beautifully filmed, colorful, dramatic and suspenseful. The story is an interesting one to me. It involves a triangle, both professional and personal, between Mike, an eager young flyer Tino Orsini (Curtis) and the ambitious Lola (Lollobrigida). The cinematic ménage à trois certainly has less than subtle homoerotic undertones as Mike's jealousy of Lola, and her interference in his relationship with Tino, dominate the films second half, leading up to a climatic finale high in the air.


Lancaster's Ribble is incredibly sexy. First off, for most of the film he wears nothing by white tights, sadly he also seems to be wearing a diaper under it. Diaper aside, there are still some great shots of Lancaster's body, still in great shape in his forties. Given his circus experience, Lancaster does most of his own stunts, lessening the cut aways to stunt doubles. I, and I would guess most of the audience were rooting for Mike to wins Tino's loyalty over Lola, even with her obvious assets.




A bit more Burt