Modern Classic Beauty: Charlotte Rampling

Probably one of the better examples of the femme fatale in the movies, Charlotte Rampling evoked the Swinging Sixties — the last few years thereof at any rate — as much as anyone.

It helped that she was, and still is, a brilliant actress — equally fluent in French and English — and so has never had to get by just by showing off her body.

Although she was never shy about that, either:

And in color:

Add to that a glorious, sexy contralto like Lauren Bacall’s…

…which means (like Bacall) pure sex appeal at any age.

And then there’s that “showing off the body” thing:

Read more

Meal Planning

This article got me thinking:

Two-time Masters winner Scottie Scheffler is taking the opportunity to plan a Texas-style menu for this year’s Masters Tournament dinner, according to reports.  Scheffler has the honor of arranging the menu for the “Masters Club” dinner, which was first held in 1952 in honor of golf legend Ben Hogan.

The tradition has carried over to today, when the current Green Jacket winner is given the task of planning next year’s dinner.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to set your menu for such an event. Assume that you’d have excellent chefs (like they have at Augusta National) who could create pretty much anything you specified.  You should have four courses:   a soup and/or starter, antipasto/fish, main course and dessert.

Mine is below the fold, to give you an idea.

Read more

Quote Of The Day

From our old buddy Senator Schmuckie Schumer (Soc-NY), talking about taxes:

“You know what their attitude is?  ‘I made my money all by myself. How dare your government take my money from me?’ “

Couldn’t have put it better myself, asshole.  And it’s not just “greedy business owners” who feel that way, either — something your Party Of Thieves is going to discover soon enough.

It Was 20 Years Ago Today

…that this little event took place:

‘Scissor Sisters’ cut off mum’s boyfriend’s head and penis in ‘most grotesque killing ever’

And yes, I agree that at first glance, it sounds bad.

However, when you read some of the details of the corpus delicti’s  previous behavior, it does kinda sound like he had it coming:

The murder happened around St Patrick’s weekend in March 2005 after a drugs and booze binge involving the sisters. Noor, who was married with two kids and reportedly had a history of violence against women including allegations of rape, was also involved in the partying.

He was living with Linda and Charlotte’s mum Kathleen in Dublin at the time, with the mum reportedly ending up in hospital on multiple occasions, including once with fractured ribs, the Irish Mirror reports. The depraved murder, believed to have taken place on March 20, was sparked by Charlotte and Linda claiming Noor tried to rape one of them.

So they  reported him to the Garda  did they hell:

They reportedly spent the day drinking and taking ecstasy before Charlotte stabbed the man 27 times with a Stanley knife, while Linda struck him with a claw hammer. The dead man’s head and penis were then chopped off and never found. The siblings reportedly spent hours on the bathroom floor cutting up Noor’s body into chunks before placing them in plastic bags.

They then dumped his limbs and torso into the canal before boarding a bus to Tallaght in southwest Dublin, with the victim’s head concealed and reportedly hidden before it was moved again. Kathleen meanwhile helped clean the crime scene. Ten days later, Noor’s leg, with a sock still attached, was seen floating in the canal.

Horrifying?  Yes.  Did The Late Amputee “need killing”?  Also yes.

Anyway, Sister Charlotte seems to have had quite the time of it in prison:

A chilling image of Charlotte smiling while holding a large knife to a male inmate’s throat was leaked in 2008, sparking questions about why male and female prisoners were mixing, and how Charlotte got access to the large blade.

In 2014, she was accused of being in an “inappropriate sexual relationship” with a male staff member, and was reportedly found with alcohol in her cell. Just one year later, it was reported she was put in segregation after using heated hair tongs to burn the back of a fellow inmate, as reported in the Irish Independent.

Charlotte also reportedly teamed up with Linda to run a hair and beauty salon called Head And Shoulders – believed to be a warped reference to how they hacked their victim’s body.

Okay, I need to stop now because I’m starting to giggle.  And that’s just wrong.

#WhenIrishEyesAreDeadpan

Learn It Or Don’t Bother

Oh boo-hoo-hoo.  In his latest oh-so-Hitler initiative, POTUS Trump has caused massive heartache to immigrants:

In keeping with his March 1 order making English the official language of the United States, the president has directed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to cancel a contract with a translation service provider, according to Government Executive magazine.

The translation service was offered to migrants calling the department for information about their status under E-Verify and other government programs.

The administration is also now directing agency call center employees to terminate any call from a caller who can’t make his needs known in English.

Yup:  as in most countries, if you don’t speak the country’s official language, you’re screwed.

Here’s the real deal.  The article linked above talks about audio translation services.  What is not discussed is the paper (and processing) cost of providing documentation to would-be immigrants — in multiple languages.

It’s complete bollocks.  Nothing screams inefficiency like having to do everything twice — or more times — which in essence is what’s being ended here.

As I’ve said countless times before, if you’re going to move to a foreign country, learn to speak its fucking home language before embarking on the journey.  Nothing is more irritating than having to deal with people from another country who insist that you speak their language in dealing with them.  It’s nothing less than a divisive and arrogant attitude, coming from people who have no right to be so in their adopted country.

As an immigrant, you’re here on sufferance, not entitlement.  And the sooner the huddled masses learn that lesson, the easier it will be for them in the long term.  Fit in or fuck off.