The "Brit a Day" series

What does a months-long parade of attractive British men have to do with fiction, you might well ask? These gentlemen have inspired some lovely scenes, part of the life I live in my head. Over time, some of these scenes reach out to one another and begin to form a story. For the present, each one of these pictures provides a writing prompt for me, a way to keep me writing with a sense of passion and narrative, even when the stories are not yet fully formed.



Friday, September 30, 2011

A Brit a Day [#563]

The Miramar Air Show is in town this weekend. Hope nothing unexpected falls out of the sky. Eddie does an excellent imitation of an airplane taking off/landing when Art Brut performs 'I'm Considering a Move to LA' live.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

A Brit a Day [#562]

A man hunting for boar meat that will be shared communally. That is so sexy.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

A Brit a Day [#561]

Matt Smith appeared on a show hosted by 'Nerdist' podcaster Chris Hardwick on BBC America this weekend. Oh, how I wish my cable provider would include BBC America in an affordable cable package!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

A Brit a Day [#560]

Dan Radcliffe with the cast of 'December Boys' before filming started in 2005?06?

Monday, September 26, 2011

A Brit a Day [#559]


Tennant in the cupboard is reminiscent of Bale on the cook top.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

A Brit a Day [#558]

I've never used a picture of Alan Rickman fully decked out as Dr. Lazarus/Sir Alexander Dane in a 'Brit a Day' post before. But last night we went to a Blue Man Group performance [third time], and it dawned on me, really, who needs hair to be wickedly funny? And much of the time, wickedly funny = dead sexy.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

A Brit a Day [#557]

Sean Connery waits for the cameras to roll during the filming of 'Diamonds Are Forever.'

Calgon, take me....um, here is fine.

Friday, September 23, 2011

A Brit a Day [#556]

Eddie Argos and friends were in Hawaii when this picture was taken, but this picture sums up this day in San Diego: Early Fall, nice temp, 50/50 clouds and sun, and it was Friday all day.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

A Brit a Day [#555]

Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond on LOST. In uniform. Soaking wet. Yeah.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A Brit a Day [#554]

It appears that some stylist didn't think lovely Matt Smith's lips were luscious enough for this photo shoot--I detect a bit of cosmetic artistry with the upper lip line. Or perhaps he was just drinking cherry pop.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A Brit a Day [#553]

Oopsy, I got my days mixed up. DT should be on Monday, DR on Tuesday. But really, who cares. Here's Giacomo Casanova, the original sensualist, the ultimate sybarite [see here: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sybarite], a mind-numbingly complicated man [and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casanova#The_art_of_seduction ].

David Tennant shared the role with Peter O'Toole in 2005.

Monday, September 19, 2011

A Brit a Day [#552]

Dan Radcliffe, with the best haircut ever.
I'm not a huge fan of Youtube videos over a few minutes in length, but this one is really charming--and it caught my eye that Alan Rickman and Jarvis Cocker appear in the teaser frame.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

A Brit a Day [#551]

But I don't want it to end....and it hasn't. My 10-year-old just discovered 'Potter Puppet Pals' on Youtube, and I get to see all those wonderful parodies of Snape's angst through his fresh eyes.

This is a dynamite movie card--click on it and it gets really big. [Editor's note: OK, they've done something to the photo host so that pics don't post full size anymore when you click on them. Sorry.]

Saturday, September 17, 2011

A Brit a Day [#550]

Don't be scared, it's not a dispatch from Fashion Week. It's just that Amy Grant decided to be super Scottish for the event 'Dressed to Kilt' during last year's Tartan Week in NYC. She's our honorary Brit, and to be honest, she's probably just as Scotch-Irish as I am, having her roots in Georgia and Tennessee.

Friday, September 16, 2011

A Brit a Day [#549]


Eddie Argos singing on British radio with the English Traveling Wilburys during the station's fall Harvest Festival of 2007. Celebrities were encouraged to bring in canned food for charity. A rambling aside to "Glam Casual" went something like this:

"I brought in a tin of peas for the Harvest Festival. I was going to spray paint it silver, make it all glam. Then I just removed the label. Somethings are simpler than they seem."

Thursday, September 15, 2011

A Brit a Day [#548]

Perhaps the most fetching obstruction of a game of footie ever--Henry Ian Cusick.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

A Brit a Day [#547]

Is this Matt Smith between takes or the Doctor reflecting on a life of time travel? I love the ambiguity of photos like this--is he in character or not?

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

A Brit a Day [#546]

I love this showdown scene from HP7.2, but my sympathies aren't 100% with the Boy [as played by Dan Radcliffe]. Snape is the headmaster of my dreams...er...sometimes.

Monday, September 12, 2011

A Brit a Day [#545]

Before he became the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant starred in a British series called "Viva Blackpool." This show featured characters constantly breaking into song and dance back before "Glee" was even a candy bar in its father's back pocket. And all the action centered around....a murder investigation!

I'm determined to someday watch this series, even if I have to do it in 9 minute increments on Youtube. Speaking of which, here's a clip below.


Sunday, September 11, 2011

A Brit a Day [#544]

Today is a day for remembering heroes, and at the literary end of the hero scale, I salute the hero of the Harry Potter saga, Severus Snape. Here is a nice video that gives us some insight into Alan Rickman's utter possession of that role. [I watched it in 780p; you have to fiddle with it at the Youtube page to get it to load at high definition, then just wait for it to fully load at high def...]



I've also employed another member of our Brit a Day cast to help me with my remembrance of this ominous anniversary--you can see my slideshow tribute if you go here:

http://s750.photobucket.com/albums/xx149/janellla/hope/?albumview=slideshow

Saturday, September 10, 2011

A Brit a Day [#543]



Benedict Cumberbatch plays Sherlock Holmes in the highly esteemed BBC series 'Sherlock.' This isn't a video but a snippet from a radio program on which he was the guest. The rest speaks for itself.

Friday, September 9, 2011

A Brit a Day [#542]

The loss of electric power to 5 million of us who live in southern California, et cetera, meant we were happy that we were cooking with gas last night. Here’s Eddie in an early band photo with Art Brut’s original lead guitarist, Chris.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

A Brit a Day [#541]

An often overlooked character that Henry Ian Cusick has played is Miles Longmuir, the caustic publisher who appeared in Season 2 of 'The Book Group'. The show is a British comedy that aired in 2002 and 2003. You can access full episodes at the IMDB here, and I highly recommend that you watch the whole hysterical [and sometimes pornographic] dozen even though HIC is only in the second season--


In 2003, Cusick was 36, and as Miles he was cast as father to a girl who was at least 18--a bit of a stretch. By 2006, he was in LOST, and this photo is from about that time--

Do the math--if I was 21 and that was my dad running down the road, I'd have to rethink my Electra complex.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

A Brit a Day [#540]

Topless models doing semaphores
wave their flags as she walks by and get ignored
Illuminations on a rainy day
When she walks her footsteps sing a reckless serenade

I've been trying to figure out exactly what it is I mean
Called up to listen to the voice of reason
And got the answering machine

The type of kisses where teeth collide
When she laughs her heaven's horn
A stun gun lullaby
Those twinkling vixens
With a shine spiralize
Their hypnosis goes unnoticed when she's walking by
--Alex Turner

Alas, it is much easier to find memorable lyrics by Alex Turner than truly great photos of him. Such is the case with a couple of our musician guests, and I will be sending them on a well-earned holiday. Next week, look for David Tennant making his first regular appearance on Mondays as we thank James Blunt for all he has done for us; on Wednesdays, welcome Matt Smith!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

A Brit a Day [#539]

I definitely want to see "The Woman in Black" when it comes out, but I'm worried about it scaring the crap out of me. It looks like a Victorian "The Shining." I'll just have to trust Dan to protect me from the ghoulies.

Monday, September 5, 2011

A Brit a Day [#538]

Here is a photograph that was either taken with a mirror or it is a photograph of people taking a picture of a mirror. Either way, Captain Blunt looks quite angelic or wasted.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

A Brit a Day [#537]

Another massive honor, and yet a foregone conclusion--Of course, a poll at BBC America's blog 'Anglophenia' has named Alan Rickman the very first Anglo Fan Favorites tournament men’s champ.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

A Brit a Day [#536]

Hello, Matt Smith! We are very excited about the return of new episodes of Dr. Who season six to our TV.

Friday, September 2, 2011

A Brit a Day [#535]


One oddly placed earthquake, one hurricane, and one successful family reunion later, I'm home. I've asked Henry Ian Cusick to stand in for me above, speaking to a lovely white-haired matriarch of the family. Just kidding. And I never saw anything looking this fine [below] in an airport until my very own Mister came to pick us up. That was superfine.