Reviews Category
We don’t just report off-beat news, breaking news and digest the best and worst of the news media analysis and commentary. We give an original take on what happened and why. We add lols, satire, news photos and original content.
Jealous Parents Rage At Headteacher Taking Time Off To Get Married In Term Time
VINA Pankhania is the acting headteacher at Little Hill Primary, in Wigston, Leics. She’s off on a four-week, unpaid trip to arrange her wedding. Vina will not be at school between April 28 and May 23.
The school was judged outstanding by Ofsted at its last inspection. So. She’s been doing a very good job.
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Hilary Benn Spent Enough For 720,479 Packets of Jammie Dodgers from Waitrose
THERE’S an interesting little tactic that Labour MPs are trying to use in the House of Commons these days. To ask questions about how much a department is spending on this or that and then when they get the answer they can chunter along about how poor widows are being thrown out of their homes over the bedroom tax so that Tory Ministers can spend £x on whatever it is they just asked about.
You know, Yah! Boo! The Tories and only Labour looks out for the working stiff.
This is a tactic that has just received some blowback as the answer given to the question, well, how much has Eric Pickles been spending on catering (given his size this would add another level of joy to the chuntering) was, well, a whole hell of a lot less than Labouir did when they were in power.
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Posted: 11th, April 2014 | In: Money, Politicians, Reviews | Comment
Aaaaand the Bitcoin Bubble Is Deflating
Robocoin CEO Jordan Kelly, places the company’s decal on the Robocoin machine, the world’s first bitcoin kiosk (ATM) for buying and selling popular and controversial digital currency, before a demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 8, 2014.
I’VE been saying for some time now that Bitcoin is a bubble. And we’re seeing the usual and classic bubble behaviour in its price too. It’s down to just under $400 today:
Bitcoin reached another milestone today, with the cryptocurrency falling below the $400 per-coin mark. Bitcoin sold for over $1,100 inside of the last 52 weeks.
What goes up like a rocket does usually come tumbling back down to Earth.
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Andrew Bush Killing: Mayka Kukucova Is Always The ‘Stunning Swimsuit Model’
HOW do you report on Mayka Kukucova, the woman accused of murdering Andrew Bush at his home in Estepona, Spain? The Times begins its reports on the story:
The Slovakian swimwear model accused of killing the British millionaire Andrew Bush told a court in her homeland yesterday that she had fled Spain in fear of her life.
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Keira Knightley Confesses An Addiction To Food
GARY Neville fan Keira Knightley was discussing her favourite places to eat in Hello! magazine. Knightley likes all sorts of food, stating: “I’m a real food addict.”
Can you be addicted to food?
The NHS describes addiction thus:
Addiction is a strong, uncontrollable need to take drugs, drink alcohol or carry out a particular activity such as gambling. It becomes the most important thing in your life and leads to problems at home, work and school.
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Posted: 11th, April 2014 | In: Reviews | Comment (1)
Chloe Campbell Is Australia’s Madeleine McCann
MADELEINE McCann: The Star has news of another Maddie:
The Star’s sister paper, the Express, also had the story of the “Maddie lookalike taken from her bed”:
What news, then? The Star reports:
Maddie lookalike taken from family home in copycat snatch
POLICE were last night searching for a three-year-old girl snatched from her family home in a remote outback town.
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Posted: 11th, April 2014 | In: Madeleine McCann, Reviews | Comment
Paleotechnology: A Curious Glimpse Into An 80s Computer Book
THERE”S always a good time to be had touring through old computer books, especially if there’s lots to point at and laugh condescendingly. Technology has advanced so exponentially that a 1980s computer textbook may as well be ancient Sanskrit written on palm leaves. Suffice it to say, things have come a long way in just a short amount of time, and it’s a lot of fun to look back. So, let’s jump into Living With Computers by Patrick G. McKeown (1986).
“A complete computer system – user, software, CPU, internal memory, secondary storage, keyboard, monitor, and printer – is shown here.”
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Posted: 10th, April 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Technology | Comments (5)
1955: Ruth Ellis Shoots Her Lover David Blakely Outside the Magdala Pub in Hampstead
ON this day in 1955 Ruth Ellis shot her lover David Blakely outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead.
Platinum Blonde Model Ruth Ellis is shown in 1955 photo. It was announced at London’s Old Bailey Court June 21, 1955 to sentenced to death Ellis for the murder of racing driver David Blakely, 25. The prosecution alleged that she fired six shots at Blakely, killing him outside a public house at Hampstead, North London, on Easter in evening on Sunday evening. Mrs. Ellis twice-married and mother of two children is not to appeal against the verdict. Friends are considering collecting signatures for an petition for reprieve. Blakely was said in court to have been having an affair with Mrs. Ellis and to have wanted to bring it to an end. (AP Photo)
The victim:
Murdered racing driver and motor engineer David Blakely. Model Ruth Ellis, of Egerton Gardens, Kensington, in London, has been charged with the killing. 16/09/03: The tempestuous and violent nature of Ruth Ellis’s relationship with David Blakely which led to her gunning him down were revealed in documents from the time of her trial. Friend Jacqueline Dyer, who worked at the same Knightsbridge club as Ellis, revealed that Blakely ‘beat her unmercifully’. In a letter to the then Home Secretary Gwilym Lloyd-George, she said the most surprising thing about the shooting was that it was Ellis who pulled the trigger, not Blakely.
David Blakely (left) the racing driver who was killed by Ruth Ellis (right). 1955
The gun:
Ruth Ellis’s Gun
The Magdala Tavern, Hampstead, North London, where Ruth Ellis shot her lover David Blakely at point blank range on Easter Sunday 1955. Ruth Ellis pleaded guilty to the murder and became the last woman in Britain to be hanged on July 13th 1955. * Bullet holes can still be seen in the walls of the pub.
Bullet holes can still be seen in the wall of the Magdala Tavern, Hampstead, London, where Ruth Ellis shot her lover David Blakely at point blank range on Easter Sunday 1955. Ruth Ellis pleaded guilty and became the last woman in Britain to be hanged. * on July 13th 1955.
The notices of Sheriff and Surgeon, announcing the execution of Mrs Ruth Ellis, are posted on the gates of Holloway Prison.
Alone, a somewhat tragic figure, Mrs Violet Van Der Elst, for years an active campaigner against capital punishment, stands apart from police officers outside Holloway Priosn in North London, on the day Ruth Ellis was hanged for the murder of David Blakely. Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hung in Britain. Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hung in Britain. Her death gave impetus to the anti-capital punishment lobby to continue to protest against executions. But it was to be nearly ten years before the last hangings in Great Britain, and the final abolition of the death penalty.
Mrs J Dyer, Mrs Ruth Ellis’s closest friend called at the prison this morning, before the hanging took place. Earlier Mrs Ellis’s brother Mr Juliean Neilson had called with flowers. Mrs Ellis was due to hang this morning at 9am for the murder of her lover David Blakeley on Easter Sunday. Throughout the night crowds chanted for the reprieve of Mrs Ellis until police were called in to disperse the crowd. People again gathered outside the Prison at dawn. Photo Shows : Mrs Jacqueline Dyer, the closest friend of Mrs Ruth Ellis who is due to hang this morning, arrives at the prison with flowers for her friend. Date: 13/07/1955
Abolition of capital punishment agitator Violet van Der Elst argues with a police officer outside Holloway Prison, London, July 13, 1955, after she had protested against the execution of Ruth Ellis for murder.
A line of police keeps the crowd from approaching the gates of Holloway Prison in London as Ruth Ellis is executed for the murder of her lover, racing car driver David Blakely. She was the last woman to be hanged in Britain.
Date: 13/07/1955
Kurt Cobain Conspiracy Theorist Sues Seattle Police Department
In this photo taken Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, a phrase reportedly written by Kurt Cobain, the late frontman of Nirvana, remains on the wall of his room at his childhood home in Aberdeen, Wash.
WHEN a pop star dies, some people get a bit more mental in the way they approach the band. Instead of liking the band for what they are and weighing up whether or not to feel sad about the plight of the singer or, indeed, the fact there’ll be no more records from them, they get bug-eyed and start acting like evangelical Apple fanboys.
One man, called Richard Lee, is a Kurt Cobain death conspiracy theorist and he’s suing the Seattle Police Department. He used to have a public access TV show called ‘Kurt Cobain Was Murdered’. It’s no ‘Everybody Loves Ray’.
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Watch Jean-Pierre Léaud’s Fantastic Audition for The 400 Blows In 1958
FRENCH cinema’s intense The 400 Blows (Les Quatre cents coups – the French title comes from the idiom, faire les quatre cents coups—“to raise hell”) features a fantastic performance from Jean-Pierre Léaud as the delinquent adolescent Antoine Doinel. For anyone who has not seen this spellbinding 1959 film, here’s an outline of the story from Criterion:
François Truffaut’s first feature is also his most personal. Told through the eyes of Truffaut’s cinematic counterpart, Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), The 400 Blows sensitively re-creates the trials of Truffaut’s own childhood, unsentimentally portraying aloof parents, oppressive teachers, and petty crime. The film marked Truffaut’s passage from leading critic to trailblazing auteur of the French New Wave.
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Red Hot Chili Peppers Used As Guantanamo Bay Torture T(rack)
OF all the dreadful, heart-wrenching stories to come from Guantanamo Bay, the news that the CIA are using the Red Hot Chili Peppers music as a torture device is surely the worst.
Prisoners in Guantánamo Bay have been subject to all manner of woeful behaviour, but surely they’d all prefer to be water boarded than have to listen to Anthony Kiedis & Co. Just imagine being couped up, chains around your ankles, while someone plays their brand of rock-funk dreck at you.
It’s enough to make your brain shut down just so the ears and body die.
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1937: John Barrymore and Elaine Barrie Stage The World’s Most Awkward Kiss
FLASHBACK to June 28, 1937 at a Los Angeles station – file under awkward kisses:
John Barrymore and Elaine Barrie have settled all their martial differences. Elaine said that the first thing she would do would be to set aside the interlocutory divorce which she obtained, after which they would go house-hunting. John Barrymore and Elaine Barrie making up their differences with a kiss at the station at Los Angeles, on June 28, 1937.
Given the look on their faces, you would be not surprised to learn that the Barrymores who married in 1936 divorced divorced 1940.
Posted: 10th, April 2014 | In: Celebrities, Flashback | Comment
Were KISS Anti-Semitic?
LIFE as a member of KISS must be more mental than living in a hedge filled with laughing spiders. And depressing too. More depressing than Gene Simmons blood-chilling sex tape. No, we’re not providing a link. Look for it yourself. You’ll never listen to Foreigner in the same way again.
Anyway, former KISS honcho Paul Stanley (the one with the star on his eye when done up) has released a new new memoir, ‘Face the Music: A Life Exposed,’ written with journalist Tim Mohr. Naturally, it is anecdote-central and is filled with a myriad of bold claims.
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Posted: 10th, April 2014 | In: Music, Reviews | Comment (1)
The Times Thinks It’s OK To Call Male Golfers Fat: Is It Different For Girls?
COMPARE and contrast these articles in the Times:
Nov 11, 2013:
Anorexia: not just a ‘women’s illness’
Jan 25, 2014:
How to boost your daughter’s self-esteem
…Parents can help offset the toxic environment too, says Dr Sharpe. Discuss the portrayal of women’s bodies with their daughters and maintain a commentary when looking at images in magazine, on TV or online. “It’s also vital to model good body confidence and self-esteem yourself,” she says. “It’s interesting that during our trips to schools telling children not to engage in fat-talking we would go into the staff room and hear lots of it. We all do it — even I find myself doing it sometimes.”
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The Top 10 Sappiest Songs Ever Recorded
NOT so long ago we covered the most depressing songs ever recorded, but there’s a big difference between depressing and sappy. A depressing song can actually be quite good; the artist intends to elicit sadness and it works. “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan is a fine example, as is Harry Chapin’s “Cats in the Cradle”. Things turn sappy when it becomes excessively sentimental. Maybe the lyrics are transparently gooey, or the notes are sung to exaggerate the emotion. Take, for instance, the Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt song “I Don’t Know Much”:
I don’t know much
But I know I love you
That may be
All I need…. to know, whoaohohohah
You all know this misty-eyed classic. You half expect Linda to break down into convulsive sobs at song’s end. Yet, it still doesn’t rise to the level of sap needed for a spot on this list. The reason: We can’t go calling every romantic ballad “sappy”. Just as depressing songs have their place, so do overtly romantic songs. Perhaps, the best way to illustrate sap at its worst is by example. So, here we go…
10. “All Out Of Love” by Air Supply (1980)
They may be all out of love, but there’s still plenty of cheese to go around. Indeed, Air Supply made quite a successful career smothering the early eighties in saccharine sincerity. Their tracks were perfect for couples skating at the roller rink, but that’s where their usefulness ended. To listen to an Air Supply album the whole way through is like passing through a cloud of schmaltz.
9. “Hello” by Lionel Ritchie (1984)
Lionel Ritchie (or as I like to call him, Sappy McSapperstein) left his funk roots behind when he departed from the Commodores in favor of a solo career drenched in sentimental slush. No doubt, Ritchie could craft a beautiful melody, but they are dripping with sap. It’s a shame he couldn’t add even a little unvarnished edge to his 80s schmaltzfests.
8. “Clair” by Gilbert O’Sullivan (1972)
This song is just so precious it’s impossible to criticize. It’s like a warm buttery blanket of sentimental lovey-dovey-ness. Gilbert wrote the song for his manager’s daughter, whom he babysat. How can I complain about such an innocent lullaby…. yet, it’s saccharine levels are so high, listeners are in danger of developing Type II Diabetes. You have been duly warned.
7. “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro (1968)
There’s nothing wrong with sad songs. “At Seventeen” by Janis Ian and “Ode to Billy Joe” by Bobbie Gentry are perfect examples of songs that had sad stories to tell, but they were also meaningful and even profound on some level. In stark contrast, “Honey” has nothing to say except just how sh***y it was that his wife died.
And speaking of songs about dead wives…
6. “Wildfire” by Michael Martin Murphy (1975)
My apologies to those who hold this song dear, but this is just dreadful. “Wildfire” is 4 minutes and 47 seconds of weepy drivel. Michael Martin Murphy makes Barry Manilow seem edgy and cynical.
And if you just can’t get enough of dead spouse music, I recommend “Daisy a Day” by Judd Strunk (1973).
5. “Heartlight” by Neil Diamond (1982)
There’s been just so many sappy songs over the years, it’s difficult to cherry pick; I could have made this a Top 100 list and still not scratch the surface. “You Light Up My Life” by Debbie Boone, “Careless Whisper” by Wham, and “Send in the Clowns” by Judy Collins would all qualify. Then I remembered the saptastic “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” by Streisand and Neil Diamond, which led me to the frighteningly cheesy “Heartlight” – a song literally inspired by the movie E.T. It simply doesn’t get much sappier than this, folks.
4. “Don’t Give Up On Us” by David Soul (1976)
When Soul wasn’t starring in gritty TV crime dramas (Starsky & Hutch) or gritty cinematic crime dramas (Magnum Force), David Soul was dishing up one of the sappiest tracks ever recorded. Scientific studies have demonstrated that bees are actually attracted to the saccharine tones of this song. Indeed, chemical analysis of the 12” vinyl single of “Don’t Give Up On Us” was found to contain trace quantities of fructose. Sounds crazy, but it’s all true.
3. “There Will Be Sad Songs” by Billy Ocean (1986)
This one gets bonus points for being a sappy song about sappy songs. But, now I’m faced with a question: which decade excelled in sappiness the most? I would say the 1980s were the Golden Age of Sap. In the 1970s, soft rock flourished, but it only rarely had the sugary outer-coating that 80s artists dripped on their songs so lovingly. In other words, 70s soft rock was about getting high and introspective and taking it down a notch; whereas, 80s pop was a damn schmaltzapalooza.
2. Every Power Ballad Ever Recorded by Hair Metal Bands
I use “I Hate Kissing You Goodbye” by Tuff to illustrate, but this could just as well be any hair metal power ballad. “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison, “When the Children Cry” by White Lion, “Don’t Know What You’ve Got (Till It’s Gone)” by Cinderella, “I Remember You” by Skid Row… the list could go on forever. There was something very un-metal about these hair metal bands. Not only did they look like androgynous hookers, their music was more akin to Streisand than it was Maiden.
1. “Feelings” by Morris Albert (1975)
Is it any surprise that the Grand Poobah of sappy love songs makes an appearance on this list? “Feelings” combined the traditional cheeseball ballad with the corny flakiness of the lounge act and created a monster. Children of the Seventies well remember the horror of hearing this come on the car radio. Despite urgent pleas to turn it off, our parents would sing along instead. Oh, the humanity!
And on that note, I think the perfect ending for this list has to be “Feelings” as sung by The Bionic Woman. Enjoy.
Posted: 10th, April 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
The Five Most Shocking Death Scenes Of The ALIEN Franchise
FOUR movies strong, and spanning three decades (the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s), the cinematic Alien saga — consisting of Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997) — is renowned for its titular creature, one of the most terrifying silver screen boogeymen of all time.
Given the nature of this franchise’s hostile (and perfect?) monster, it’s no surprise that the death scenes featured throughout the saga are frequently terrifying, bloody, and brilliantly-orchestrated.
Yet the truly memorable death scenes possess another quality as well. They’re shocking. These scenes strike with a combination of terror, disgust, sorrow, and surprise, leaving a permanent imprint on the viewer’s mind.
For a death scene to be considered shocking, it must be one that the audience can’t see coming. In other words, we expect that Colonial Marines fighting aliens by the pack are going to die, or that confused convicts running from a monster in a dark corridor will come to a bad end.
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Posted: 10th, April 2014 | In: Film, Flashback, Key Posts | Comments (2)
Peaches Geldof And The Shameless Double Standards Of The Tabloid-Bashing Guardian
WRITING on Peaches Geldof in the Guardian, Hadley Freeman says ‘The Geldofs were Britain’s first celebrity family”. The article is called:
‘Beyond pain’: Peaches Geldof, Paula Yates and one family’s epic suffering”
Epic suffering? We don’t know the family any more than Freeman does, but we imagine their suffering at untimely deaths of loved ones – Peaches’ mother Paula Yates, her partner Michael Hutchence (whose orphaned daughter has been raised by Bob Geldof) and now the second oldest daughter of three – though terrible for the nearest and dearest are no more epic than what many families have endured. But it’s this family’s fame that attracts the hyperbole and acres of news coverage, not the individuals.
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Posted: 9th, April 2014 | In: Celebrities, Key Posts, Reviews | Comment
If Your Looks Got You The Job Don’t Complain When The Job Goes When Your Looks Fade
BBC TV newsreaders past and present at the BBC TV Centre in London. From Left to Right Peter Woods, John Snagge, Corbet Woodall, Bob Langley, Colin Doran, Kenneth Kendal John Timpson and Robert Dougall. Seated Anglea Rippon, Richard Whitmore and Richard Baker. Date: 26/06/1979
LIFE is indeed unfair and it is entirely true that some of us lose our jobs after our looks start to fade. The latest little scare story being that we don’t have enough middle aged and older women on the tellie, telling us all how the world is in the news and the like.
To which there’s a pretty robust response. If you originally get your job because you’re pretty, somewhat toothsome on the eye, then it’s a bit odd to complain about losing said job when you’re less easy on said eyes. As Michael Buerk has been pointing out:
BBC veteran Michael Buerk says TV presenters who got their jobs through their beauty have no right to complain if they’re axed when their looks fade.
While the anchorman has expressed his satisfaction that broadcasters are now featuring more and more experienced talent, such as Great British Bake-Off presenter Mary Berry, he says many of those that complain about ageism should not have been given their roles in the first place.
He said: ‘”Presenter” in any case is a very recent job description dreamt up to provide somebody who fronts a programme without any special reason for being on it.
‘And if you got the job in the first place mainly because you look nice, I can’t see why you should keep it when you don’t.’
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Posted: 9th, April 2014 | In: Money, Reviews, TV & Radio | Comment
Son Sues Nursing Home For Allowing 85-Year-Old Mother To Hire A Stripper
WHEN Franklin Youngblood saw the picture of his 85-year-old mother Bernice stuffing cash in the knickers of a young male stripper at Long Island’s East Neck Nursing home he was upset.
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Posted: 9th, April 2014 | In: Money, Reviews, Strange But True | Comment
Dial M for Music: 4 Records And Their Tales of Murder
HERE are four albums which serve as starting points to murder stories. They range from factual to dodgy at best, but they are all interesting. The four stories include: (1) A Sonny Bono wannabe turned nurse killer, (2) an ex-stripper ventriloquist who witnesses the JFK assassination, (3) a fairy tale turned horror story, and (4) an urban legend of a screaming nude cover model that just won’t go away. Enjoy!
THE JON & ROBIN ELASTIC EVENT (1967)
Jon & Robin were your standard pop duo of the late Sixties, specializing in groovy bubblegum psychedelia. Jon’s dad owned the record label, Abnak Records; so, naturally, his son was first in line to a recording contract (big mistake). I suppose dear-old-dad wanted them to be the next Sonny & Cher, but, alas, it was not meant to be. “Do it Again a Little Bit Slower” (1967) reached #18 in the US, but proved to be their only whiff of success.
The duo split up shortly thereafter, and poor Jon tried to continue his music career resulting in one failure after another. This ultimately contributed to his mental breakdown and he was checked into Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas. This is where fact and fiction intermingle, but the story goes that Jon starting getting it on with a psychiatric nurse. After he was released, they moved in together and started a new chapter in Jon’s life. Unfortunately, that new chapter is entitled “The Prison Years” because Jon murdered her.
.. so, there’s that information. Onward to the next murder.
ERICK & BEVERLY MASSEGEE – AMEN! (1974)
This Beverly Massegee LP has become something of an all-star in the world of bad album covers, but the biggest oddity surrounding this album is not the strangeness of the record, but Beverly herself. Many believe she is actually the Babushka Lady – the woman who filmed JFK up close at the very moment he was assassinated!
Beverly Oliver (maiden name) was once a friend of Jack Ruby, the man who shot Lee Harvey Oswald. Beverly was a singer (and possibly a stripper) at Ruby’s Carousel Club and the adjacent Colony Club. According to her own account, Beverly claims she accompanied Jack Ruby to New Orleans where she met Mafia bosses and was introduced to Lee Harvey Oswald, a friend of Ruby’s (!).
Beverly states that she was the infamous and mysterious Babushka Lady, the closest witnesses to the fatal shot that killed President Kennedy. Further, she claims that she filmed the event, but three days later two men who identified themselves as government agents confiscated her film and never returned it. Here’s an old video of Beverly breaking it down for us…
Unfortunately, much of this is considered nonsense by JFK assassination “experts”. However, it should be noted that Beverly married a pastor and found Jesus, which means all of this must be true, right?
CLAUDINE LONGET – THE LOOK OF LOVE (1967)
Claudine’s early years read like a fairy tale. She was a Vegas showgirl working for Barbara Walters’ father. One day, her car breaks down and she’s picked up by none other than Andy Williams. Marriage, wealth, a family, a recording contract, and an acting career soon followed. It would seem. Claudine Longet had everything a woman could ever want.
The couple were even good friends with Bobby Kennedy. In fact, they were supposed to go to a disco with him the night he was killed. Senator Kennedy told Andy and Claudine that he would make a “little hand gesture” at the end of his televised primary victory speech to let them know he could make it to the disco. The couple watched Kennedy’s speech from their Bel Air home, and when the gesture was made the two hopped out of bed to get ready to head to the disco…. then they heard the shots ring out. Three days later, Andy was singing at his friend’s funeral. The couple would name their 3rd child “Bobby”.
That was 1968…. by 1970 they were legally separated. Claudine and the three kids moved in with the famous Olympic skier, “Spider” Sabich. He was handsome, talented, and had become quite a popular figure. Robert Redford even played him in a movie (Downhill Racer). But this is where the fairy tale ends. The relationship became tumultuous and in 1975, Spider was fatally shot in the abdomen by Claudine.
Claudine claimed the gun discharged accidentally, and was charged with only negligent homicide. The fact that she was high on cocaine never made it into the trial, nor was the fact that their relationship had become hostile. Subsequently, Claudine spent only 30 days in jail.
THE OHIO PLAYERS – HONEY (1975)
The 70s funk band, The Ohio Players, weren’t exactly known for their family-friendly album covers. Their most notorious is the Honey album which featured a completely naked model (visible when you fold open the cover) shown from the side on the outside cover, and in a much more explicit position in the interior. Legend goes that this girl was brutally murdered and her screams can be heard in their song “Love Rollercoaster”.
Of course, urban legend debunkers have proved this to be complete bullshit. However, it’s a lot more fun to speculate, and you never really know, do you? As to exactly how she was killed and how the screams ever got recorded depends on who’s telling the story. One thing is for certain, the scream sounds completely out of place. It’s blood curdling – not something you’d expect to hear in the background of a lively funk song. The cherry-on-top to this urban legend is that the photography for the album cover was conducted by Richard Fegley, who had also photographed Sharon Tate (insert dramatic music)
One variation of the story goes like this:
The Ohio Players spot a runaway on the street corner and use her for on their album Honey. The album cover depicts the model nude and kneeling in glass while drizzling honey all over herself. The glass was actually fiberglass, and when it mixed with the honey caused the fiberglass to be bonded to the girl’s legs. She tried tearing it off of her legs, but only succeeded in tearing the skin off. She runs into the studio where the band was recording “Love Rollercoaster”. She was screaming at them, claiming she would sue them for everything they were worth. The band’s manager then dragged her outside the studio, and murdered her. Her screaming was audible, even outside the studio, and the band left the sound there as “a sick tribute”.
Sure, this is obviously bologna, but it’s a lot more interesting the much more probable claim that the screams are by the band’s bassist and the model is Ester Cordet. Cordet was a stewardess at the time and the October 1974 Playmate of the Month. Today, she is happily married to a smarmy motivational speaker and self-help author, Robert Ringer. Yuck. Sometimes reality is such a bummer.
Posted: 9th, April 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
Legal Highs: Smoking Bed Bugs To Get Stoned
THE war on drugs has been lost. The Government’s fight to control so-called legal highs is a sop.
The youth who want to get off their faces are always looking for new and imaginative ways to get a cheap thrill – like smoking bed bugs. ABC 15 Arizona has news:
Posted: 9th, April 2014 | In: Reviews | Comment (1)
