Wonderful Style: George Sanders

George Sanders. Image Source, here

For reasons I can only hint at, the late George Sanders is one of my favourite actors. I cannot remember when I last saw a film in which he appeared - you might say that it is simply a sort of cultural memory.

His appearance was part of it, but best of all it was his magnificent voice: I once had a girlfriend who would turn almost to a jelly when she heard him speak (I recall feeling pangs of jealousy as we watched the fim together).

For some reason I decided to research him a little today. I came across a site, salon.com, which included the following story, which to me epitomises my image of Sanders:

In "Memoirs of a Professional Cad," Sanders recalls an early movie called "Lancer Spy" in which, he writes, "I wore a monocle to some effect. As a result of this, when my next role came along, that of a pirate in a thing called 'Slave Ship,' I was again called upon to wear a monocle. It was useless for me to protest that at the time of this particular story monocles had not yet been invented. Such pedantry made little impression on the film's producer, and I duly became history's first monocled pirate."
One can scarcely blame the film's producer for making use of Sanders' capacity to carry off Cyclopean eyewear, however: as Time magazine noted, Sanders was "the only actor since Erich Von Stroheim and Charles Coburn who can wear a monocle without looking as if he is going to drop it into his soup."

The following delightful clip from "Jungle Book" provides an example of Sanders' wonderful voice when playing the character of Shere Khan, the tiger.

Sanders died in 1972, by his own hand. Depressed and with failing health he left the following note:

"Dear World. I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck."

Stylish to the end.

Until the next time

Robotic Progress

Robots or "bots" as they are often irritatingly called, are frequently in the news these days. I have seen a variety myself, especially from Japan, where there are dancing girls and so on.

One of the silliest I have seen is this robotic barman - must do better I think:


Beer pouring robot at TMCO open house from beerorkid on Vimeo.

I suspect it will be some time before it can spin a bottle of orange juice in the air or make a proper Margarita!

However, as is well known there are more serious applications - some of which have been used for years in the manufacture of cars for example. And naturally as with all advanced technologies, the military have an interest.

The following video shows an extraordinary device: a robotic "mule" designed to carry equipment for soldiers in rough terrain. The version shown in the video is admittedly noisy, but incredibly agile I must say - and it can carry 150kg. The military is calling for a more powerful, faster and quieter model; I for one believe they'll get it too.



I have to say I am really impressed!

Until the next time

More HTM 'ell

In the words of Alice: "curiouser and curiouser."

As if by magic the link colours have returned to the orange they have always been. Any bets on how long it will last??

Until the next time

In the Shit? Another one from the USA

Image Source: ABC

Just found a nice little story in one of my favourite publications: The International Herald Tribune.

This time the location is Scranton, Pennsylvania. The city of Scranton has paid a Dawn Herb (and I was still recovering from Ron Dicus!) $19,000 plus costs, following her acquittal of a charge of disorderly conduct.

The "disorderly conduct" charge arose because whilst Miss Herb was - quite reasonably in my view - swearing at her overflowing toilet, she was overheard by her neighbour, unfortunately or perhaps fortunately for Miss Herb, an off-duty police officer (obviously not Officer Dicus - he is in Ohio). An arrest followed; very neighbourly I must say.

The judge in the case found Miss Herb not guilty on the grounds that her swearing was constitutionally protected free speech. Miss Herb was fortunate that the American Civil Liberties Union took up her case as she could have been liable to a substantial fine or even jail!

Funny thing, the idea of "free speech." In a BBC radio programme the other day about political correctness, someone pointed out that in England, one can say "Brit" for "Briton", "Aussie" for "Australian", but say "Paki" for "Pakistani" and the Race Relations Industry will have your guts for garters.


Until the next time.

Moustache News

Toledoblade.com reports that a policeman, one Officer Ron Dicus (sic) based in the town of Sylvania, Ohio, has been suspended without pay for three days. The charge is insubordination. The reason for the charge? It is stated that Officer Dicus refused to trim his moustache.

From the article:

“Because it involved insubordination, this is the way it had to be handled,” Trustee Pam Hanley said after she and fellow trustees took more than an hour in a closed-door executive session to make their decision.
“Insubordination is a very serious charge. This isn’t about a mustache,” she added.

Officer Dicus - After a trim. Source: Toledoblade.com

I would say that actually it IS about a "mustache", but then I do not know how such people's minds work! The regulations concerning moustaches in Sylvania, Ohio (and I daresay elsewhere in the U.S.A.) apparently limit the lowest extent of the facial ornament to "the crease of the mouth." The miscreant's facial hair reportedly extended below this point and further he is said to have refused to restore it to the required dimensions. The moustache was described as being of "George Custer type." Here is a picture of the general who famously perished at the battle of the Little Big Horn...

General George Armstrong Custer

Picture source: here

All this got me wondering if there is an upper limit to the ends of the moustache. Here are two examples:

Kaiser Wilhem II. Picture source: Here

Moustache

A couple of ideas for Officer Dicus that will perhaps protect him from the wrath of his superiors!

Until the next time

Chinese Foreign Policy

"China says kidnappings won't affect Sudan policy"

Thus reads this IHT headline today.

Nine Chinese oil workers have been kidnapped in Sudan. The identity of the kidnappers is unknown, although Sudan's government claims that they were carried out by a rebel group that seeks a greater share of oil revenues for local people.

China says that its "close economic ties" with Sudan will not be affected. Well I suppose that if the murder and displacement of hundreds of thousands in the genocide in Darfur cannot affect these "close economic ties", then I suppose that these kidnappings won't either.

In the usual spin, China also says that it is working hard for "peace and reconciliation in Sudan."

So that's all right then.

Very convincing isn't it? China buys 70% of Sudan's oil production.

Until the next time

Update 26th October.

Human rights groups apparently have charged China with doing nothing to stop the bloodshed and also with violating a United Nations arms embargo. More information on this story here