2009-01-10

reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2009-01-10 11:03 am

In memory of Alexandra Ripley

Alexandra Ripley, née Braid (January 8, 1934, Charleston, S.C. - January 10, 2004), the only child of Alexander and Elizabeth Braid, was an American writer best known as the author of Scarlett (1991), the sequel to Gone with the Wind. Her first novel was Who's the Lady in the President's Bed? (1972). Charleston (1981), her first historical novel, was a bestseller, as were her next books On Leaving Charleston (1984), The Time Returns (1985), and New Orleans Legacy (1987). Scarlett received some damning reviews, but was very successful nonetheless.

She attended the elite Ashley Hall, in Charleston, South Carolina, and graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1955 with a major in Russian. In 1958 she married Leonard Ripley, and divorced in 1963 after having two sons. She re-married with John Graham and she had other two sons. In the early 1990 the estate of Margaret Mitchell selected her to pick up the stories of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler where Mitchell left them in 1936, the year her saga of the Civil War was published. Mitchell died in 1949.

Ms. Ripley made no bones about why she wanted the assignment. ''There are two reasons why I'm doing this book,'' she said in an interview in the reference work Contemporary Authors. ''I can't resist it, and as soon as this is done I will be able to write anything I want to. I really don't know why Scarlett has such appeal. When I began writing the sequel, I had a lot of trouble because Scarlett is not my kind of person. She's virtually illiterate, has no taste, never learns from her mistakes.''

She died on Jan. 10 at her home in Richmond, Va. She was 70. Her daughter, Elizabeth Lyon Ripley, told The Associated Press that death resulted from unspecified natural causes. Her widower, retired University of Virginia faculty member John Graham, died three and half years later on July 16, 2007.

To read more:

http://rosaromance.splinder.com/post/19540669/
reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2009-01-10 11:03 am

In memory of Alexandra Ripley

Alexandra Ripley, née Braid (January 8, 1934, Charleston, S.C. - January 10, 2004), the only child of Alexander and Elizabeth Braid, was an American writer best known as the author of Scarlett (1991), the sequel to Gone with the Wind. Her first novel was Who's the Lady in the President's Bed? (1972). Charleston (1981), her first historical novel, was a bestseller, as were her next books On Leaving Charleston (1984), The Time Returns (1985), and New Orleans Legacy (1987). Scarlett received some damning reviews, but was very successful nonetheless.

She attended the elite Ashley Hall, in Charleston, South Carolina, and graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1955 with a major in Russian. In 1958 she married Leonard Ripley, and divorced in 1963 after having two sons. She re-married with John Graham and she had other two sons. In the early 1990 the estate of Margaret Mitchell selected her to pick up the stories of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler where Mitchell left them in 1936, the year her saga of the Civil War was published. Mitchell died in 1949.

Ms. Ripley made no bones about why she wanted the assignment. ''There are two reasons why I'm doing this book,'' she said in an interview in the reference work Contemporary Authors. ''I can't resist it, and as soon as this is done I will be able to write anything I want to. I really don't know why Scarlett has such appeal. When I began writing the sequel, I had a lot of trouble because Scarlett is not my kind of person. She's virtually illiterate, has no taste, never learns from her mistakes.''

She died on Jan. 10 at her home in Richmond, Va. She was 70. Her daughter, Elizabeth Lyon Ripley, told The Associated Press that death resulted from unspecified natural causes. Her widower, retired University of Virginia faculty member John Graham, died three and half years later on July 16, 2007.

To read more:

http://rosaromance.splinder.com/post/19540669/
reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2009-01-10 12:00 pm

Gay Commercial: Guinness

A hunky, young guy gets ready for work, making a mess all along the way. After his bath, magazines and other articles float in the water. Selecting his clothes, he sniffs then rejects the shirt by tossing it onto the floor.

Meanwhile, a rubber-gloved hand picks up after him. As he runs out the front door, coffee cup in hand, he passes his boyfriend, whom we see for the first time, and the Tammy Wynette tune "Stand by Your Man" swells. He puts the mug atop his car and gets in as his boyfriend wearily waves goodbye, the mug clunks to the ground, and the ad closes with a glass of Guinness beer.



Artfully shot with the help of maverick California-based British producer Tony Kaye, the UK tabloid press widely reported the planned ad before it aired, to much scandal. Pubs and consumers were shocked that the traditional brand would air a gay ad.

Fearing greater backlash by straight consumers, the TV spot was ultimately dropped by Guinness. Later, the company tried to deny that this spot even existed.

"There was a desire by the agency and Guinness to have a certain ambiguity about it," Kaye told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. in 1997 about the ad he created. "So that when you watch the spot, you said, 'Well are these guys gay or not?' These guys are gay -- the storytelling, to me, needed him to give the other guy a little peck on the cheek."

When asked why the company would deny the existence of the ad he shot, Kaye offered, "Most of them have the vision of a dead rat. I think it was charming and it was very funny and would sell a hell of a lot of beer."

It is deeply unfortunate that the spot never aired, as it regularly gets standing ovations at live Commercial Closet screenings to gay audiences.

Ironically, Guinness also markets Bass Ale in the U.S., a brand which is advertised in the gay press. Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Co. have the distinction of being among the few companies that advertise in gay media and also has a mainstream media commercial with a gay theme.

Beer companies are well represented in The Commercial Closet, largely due to an effort in the mid-1990s to pull away from the industry's longterm sexist advertising themes that objectified women. Such commercials were summed up by the Swedish Bikini Team. Looking for new material to mine, brewers began extensively playing with gay and transgender themes in their advertising. However, because beer drinkers are stereotypically macho, the tone of many of the ads were more often negative.

Commercial Closet Association

Company: Diageo
Brand: Guinness
Ad Title: Mess
Business Category: Alcoholic Beverages
Media Outlets: Television (unaired)
Country: United Kingdom
Region: Europe
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
Year: 1995
Target: Mainstream
Ad Spotter: Anthony Vagnoni
reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2009-01-10 12:00 pm

Gay Commercial: Guinness

A hunky, young guy gets ready for work, making a mess all along the way. After his bath, magazines and other articles float in the water. Selecting his clothes, he sniffs then rejects the shirt by tossing it onto the floor.

Meanwhile, a rubber-gloved hand picks up after him. As he runs out the front door, coffee cup in hand, he passes his boyfriend, whom we see for the first time, and the Tammy Wynette tune "Stand by Your Man" swells. He puts the mug atop his car and gets in as his boyfriend wearily waves goodbye, the mug clunks to the ground, and the ad closes with a glass of Guinness beer.



Artfully shot with the help of maverick California-based British producer Tony Kaye, the UK tabloid press widely reported the planned ad before it aired, to much scandal. Pubs and consumers were shocked that the traditional brand would air a gay ad.

Fearing greater backlash by straight consumers, the TV spot was ultimately dropped by Guinness. Later, the company tried to deny that this spot even existed.

"There was a desire by the agency and Guinness to have a certain ambiguity about it," Kaye told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. in 1997 about the ad he created. "So that when you watch the spot, you said, 'Well are these guys gay or not?' These guys are gay -- the storytelling, to me, needed him to give the other guy a little peck on the cheek."

When asked why the company would deny the existence of the ad he shot, Kaye offered, "Most of them have the vision of a dead rat. I think it was charming and it was very funny and would sell a hell of a lot of beer."

It is deeply unfortunate that the spot never aired, as it regularly gets standing ovations at live Commercial Closet screenings to gay audiences.

Ironically, Guinness also markets Bass Ale in the U.S., a brand which is advertised in the gay press. Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Co. have the distinction of being among the few companies that advertise in gay media and also has a mainstream media commercial with a gay theme.

Beer companies are well represented in The Commercial Closet, largely due to an effort in the mid-1990s to pull away from the industry's longterm sexist advertising themes that objectified women. Such commercials were summed up by the Swedish Bikini Team. Looking for new material to mine, brewers began extensively playing with gay and transgender themes in their advertising. However, because beer drinkers are stereotypically macho, the tone of many of the ads were more often negative.

Commercial Closet Association

Company: Diageo
Brand: Guinness
Ad Title: Mess
Business Category: Alcoholic Beverages
Media Outlets: Television (unaired)
Country: United Kingdom
Region: Europe
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
Year: 1995
Target: Mainstream
Ad Spotter: Anthony Vagnoni
reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2009-01-10 12:58 pm

Crimson Star by Elizabeth Jewell

Trev is a 400 years old vampire that in a futuristic setting is now a respected member of society. A space engineer he is on a mission with a small crew; he is hardly a favorite of society, but he is accepted inside the community. And this day could be also a nice one since Ash, one of the pilots, made him clearly understand that he is interested in an enjoyable fling during their mission. So Trev is happily taking on his offer and they playfully spend a night together... to wake up to the not so nice discovery that they are the only members alive in all the spacecraft. During the night there was a lack of oxygen, and since Ash has lung problems, he slept with an oxygen mask and survived, and Trev doesn't need to breath to live.

Now Trev and Ash are forced to suddenly shift from almost buddy friends without strings attached, to partners for life. They not only have to find a way to repair the spaceship, they also have to navigate it in a place where they could find help. It's a fight against time, since Ash has only few hour of oxygen and he is not considering to accept Trev's offer for another solution.

The story is not very long, 53 pages, but it surprised me: it's very well plotted, both characters are interesting and involving. Trev is not the usual dark and brooding vampire, he is a man who had the time to arrive to pact with life, and found his path; his vampire nature is no more something to hide, but it makes him still someone different, but maybe, for some men, also more interesting. Ash is an easy to go guy, he likes to play, he is probably not ready to settle down, but he is forced to accelerate his journey in his life to commit to a man, that yes, probably would be his choice, but maybe not right now.

I like this book, since it has a strange atmosphere, like an old classic sci-fic movie, once made more by the characters than by the setting, since, not having enough budget for the setting (read book lenght), the author prefers to concentrate on the characters' development instead.

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle
reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
2009-01-10 12:58 pm

Crimson Star by Elizabeth Jewell

Trev is a 400 years old vampire that in a futuristic setting is now a respected member of society. A space engineer he is on a mission with a small crew; he is hardly a favorite of society, but he is accepted inside the community. And this day could be also a nice one since Ash, one of the pilots, made him clearly understand that he is interested in an enjoyable fling during their mission. So Trev is happily taking on his offer and they playfully spend a night together... to wake up to the not so nice discovery that they are the only members alive in all the spacecraft. During the night there was a lack of oxygen, and since Ash has lung problems, he slept with an oxygen mask and survived, and Trev doesn't need to breath to live.

Now Trev and Ash are forced to suddenly shift from almost buddy friends without strings attached, to partners for life. They not only have to find a way to repair the spaceship, they also have to navigate it in a place where they could find help. It's a fight against time, since Ash has only few hour of oxygen and he is not considering to accept Trev's offer for another solution.

The story is not very long, 53 pages, but it surprised me: it's very well plotted, both characters are interesting and involving. Trev is not the usual dark and brooding vampire, he is a man who had the time to arrive to pact with life, and found his path; his vampire nature is no more something to hide, but it makes him still someone different, but maybe, for some men, also more interesting. Ash is an easy to go guy, he likes to play, he is probably not ready to settle down, but he is forced to accelerate his journey in his life to commit to a man, that yes, probably would be his choice, but maybe not right now.

I like this book, since it has a strange atmosphere, like an old classic sci-fic movie, once made more by the characters than by the setting, since, not having enough budget for the setting (read book lenght), the author prefers to concentrate on the characters' development instead.

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle