Hey there Laura, thx for the feedback. Yes, I should've switched to a new browser mos ago, but kept dragging my feet. Today blogger gave me no choice. So I'm now getting used to the new template. Happy you like it:)
We'll see if it looks the same way in the morning. Hope so - I was happily surprised to see the similarity to the former template.
Was concerned the photos might not post as large, but as long as we have the same set-up tomorrow, looks as tho we can continue to drool over humungous pix:)
In fact, I'm going to add your fav to the top of this post to celebrate the new template. Will take awhile to find all the features - there are probably new bells & whistles - not that RA needs much enhancement. *so true*
And if there ever was a man who didn't need much enhancement--it is Richard Armitage!
BTW, technically Porter and Layla were not romantic interests on the show. They were in my fanfic, but not in the show. And they had a lot of respect for each other after a rocky start.
Hi Angie, thx for the correction - it was actually Danni & Porter who certainly acted like a twosome in at least a couple SB scenes - the examination room scene in particular comes to mind. *fan,fan*
As I recall, the only time Porter actually came unto Layla was when she first visited him in prison masquerading as some sort of official. He asked her if it was a conjugal visit.*haha naughty boy*
Difficult to believe, but the medical clinic scene read even hotter in the novel -- Danni made certain a patriotic warrior received a proper send off on the night before his mission:) Besides that steamy chapter, we were constantly admitted inside Porter's mind whenever Danni was in close proximity - which was quite often. Among other things, he admired her pure white blouse - especially the number of undone buttons.
Oh, how I love that picture. It just says so many things.... and NONE of them are printable!!! Thank you for posting it. It's my wallpaper on my PC, but I still enjoy just "happening" across it. Just gorgeous.
Ok, so here's a question... Did you hear about the recent tax hike in England? To something like 50% of income? I wonder if Our Guy will be returning to England, or if he'll just stay in NZ, and return only for visits? (because obviously, he's not going to leave his family)
The 50% tax rate over here in England is only for the very richest tax payers and has been in place for a while now. (There have been calls for it to be reduced!) Obviously I don't know what kind of money Richard is earning but as he is residing in New Zealand for such a long period of time he can always opt to pay tax at the NZ rate instead. Richard seems to have his head pretty much screwed on and I'm sure his accountant will deal with all that for him and give him the best advice. (Just so long as you can trust those looking after your finances!)
This RA drought must be starting to bite if all we can think about is Richard's taxes!
hahaha g'day everyone...luvvv the topic of RA's taxes--turns me on almost as much as imagining whether Thorin wears undies or not;)*that poll wasn't my idea, but instantly ran w/the devoted RA fan's suggestion* (hmmm, wondering how everyone voted on that crucial topic)
Musa, happy you're enjoying the BTS screencap--methinks perhaps we could use an entire post dedicated to more Paul pix.
Laura & Sue---the topic of whether government should be punishing with higher taxes those who create new jobs (as a result of expending the hard work necessary to financially succeed in business) is also a feature in the current US presidential campaigns.
As an example, we all are aware just how hard working & dedicated RA has been in order to succeed in his profession. He undoubtedly, w/the Thorin role, is now one of those actors receiving hefty compensation for his untiring efforts. Does that mean government should be allowed to grab a huge portion of what he worked so hard to achieve, in order to subsidize social welfare programs for those who have not expended nearly as much energy themselves? He's no doubt already paying a huge tax bill - is it fair & just for government to demand more from him? That's basically what happens when populations on both sides of the pond expect those who are the hard-working job creators(how many are employed by RA? office workers, agents, photographers etc?) to financially provide for all those in a society who expect to receive a check of some sort from the productive taxpayers. That's the reality - I'd not be surprised if Richard, after all the years of getting up at the crack of dawn and working extra long days, decides he'd be wise to use NZ as his homebase for tax purposes.
Being somewhat aware of the political climate in NZ, it wouldn't surprise me either if the tax rate is equal to London - if so, it wouldn't make a difference which location he uses for tax purposes - as a successful person in his profession, he'll still be forced to pay more than is just or fair for his efforts. Tragically, we have the same injust situation on both sides of the Atlantic. Liberal politicians in particular buy votes by promising extremely expensive social welfare programs. Those programs keep the liberal politicians in office, while simultaneously overburdening all working taxpayers.
Stepping down from soap box - thx for listening---needed to vent;) Now we'll return to our regularly scheduled RA AdoRAtion Society.
I thought you should know that I have Richard up against Sean Connery in our Battle of the Leading Men this weekend. My American readers don't know Richard as well, so if you want him to win, come and give him a vote!;) I thought those two would be an interesting match-up! Cheers! Courtney
Thanks for giving us a heads-up, Courtney -- if Sean wins that matchup, I'll start to suspect many of those voting are octogenarians. haha tall,dark,handsome at 40 or folically challenged at 80? Difficult one....not! *winks*
I don't think I'll get embroiled in the rights and wrongs of the tax system if you don't mind.
I'll leave you with one thought though. Over here in England there has been a big furore over large bonuses being paid to those in banking, ending in the head of RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) foregoing his bonus for this year. Strange that we object to people who have careers in management etc. and have probably been to university and started at the very bottom of the career ladder from receiving high salaries and bonuses, yet we don't seem to mind top footballers and actors/singers from earning millions of pounds/dollars for travelling around the world and filming/playing in exotic places. A hit series/song can make someone a millionaire overnight, who deserves the highest pay do you think and is it fair?
I'm not certain about NZ tax structure - perhaps they encourage new settlement/investment in the country w/tax credits for those who buy land or start a business. Judging from the way the unions tried to tell Peter Jackson how he'd conduct business (but were forced to do an about face when the director warned he could easily take The Hobbit production elsewhere) I'm assuming there's the usual crippling financial pressure for higher benefits, etc there.
Sue, I totally agree with you that this forum isn't the place for lengthy political discussion. Our presidential campaigns are heating up right now, so it's not easy to forget about all the important issues under the spotlight.
Know exactly what you mean about athletes & celebs receiving exorbitant compensation for their work while the average salaries fade in comparison. Must have said to hubby a thousand times that running down the field carrying a football does not benefit the world nearly as much as those working in labs searching for the cures for life threatening diseases - or those willing to put their lives on the line to face down the ruthless terrorists who are currently striving to rule the world. It just doesn't seem fair for athletes etc to command indecent compensation for their efforts, when so many others contribute more directly to the greater good and receive far less in return. That said however, it seems it's the public in general who are willing to pay the hefty price in order to watch a football or soccer game - if they would refuse to pay the outrageous price, the owners could not offer fortunes to the players.
As for RA, Stephen Fry recently tweeted that he'd just returned after an unbelievably long day filming in Wellington - it was 10pm. Richard must be exhausted with that brutal work schedule. No wonder he took the time for rare R&R while home over the holidays.
14 comments:
Did you change the background? (if not, my computer is acting up.. again) I like it.
Hey there Laura, thx for the feedback. Yes, I should've switched to a new browser mos ago, but kept dragging my feet. Today blogger gave me no choice. So I'm now getting used to the new template. Happy you like it:)
We'll see if it looks the same way in the morning. Hope so - I was happily surprised to see the similarity to the former template.
Was concerned the photos might not post as large, but as long as we have the same set-up tomorrow, looks as tho we can continue to drool over humungous pix:)
In fact, I'm going to add your fav to the top of this post to celebrate the new template. Will take awhile to find all the features - there are probably new bells & whistles - not that RA needs much enhancement. *so true*
I love the big pic. :D
And if there ever was a man who didn't need much enhancement--it is Richard Armitage!
BTW, technically Porter and Layla were not romantic interests on the show. They were in my fanfic, but not in the show. And they had a lot of respect for each other after a rocky start.
Hi Angie, thx for the correction - it was actually Danni & Porter who certainly acted like a twosome in at least a couple SB scenes - the examination room scene in particular comes to mind. *fan,fan*
As I recall, the only time Porter actually came unto Layla was when she first visited him in prison masquerading as some sort of official. He asked her if it was a conjugal visit.*haha naughty boy*
Difficult to believe, but the medical clinic scene read even hotter in the novel -- Danni made certain a patriotic warrior received a proper send off on the night before his mission:) Besides that steamy chapter, we were constantly admitted inside Porter's mind whenever Danni was in close proximity - which was quite often. Among other things, he admired her pure white blouse - especially the number of undone buttons.
Oh, how I love that picture. It just says so many things.... and NONE of them are printable!!! Thank you for posting it. It's my wallpaper on my PC, but I still enjoy just "happening" across it. Just gorgeous.
Ok, so here's a question... Did you hear about the recent tax hike in England? To something like 50% of income? I wonder if Our Guy will be returning to England, or if he'll just stay in NZ, and return only for visits? (because obviously, he's not going to leave his family)
That's interesting Laura - he does seem to love being in NZ. But I also wonder if he would want to be so far away from his family all the time.
As long as he doesn't move to Hollywood!
Ricrar, I love the screencap of RA in BTS :)
Laura/Musa,
The 50% tax rate over here in England is only for the very richest tax payers and has been in place for a while now. (There have been calls for it to be reduced!) Obviously I don't know what kind of money Richard is earning but as he is residing in New Zealand for such a long period of time he can always opt to pay tax at the NZ rate instead. Richard seems to have his head pretty much screwed on and I'm sure his accountant will deal with all that for him and give him the best advice. (Just so long as you can trust those looking after your finances!)
This RA drought must be starting to bite if all we can think about is Richard's taxes!
hahaha g'day everyone...luvvv the topic of RA's taxes--turns me on almost as much as imagining whether Thorin wears undies or not;)*that poll wasn't my idea, but instantly ran w/the devoted RA fan's suggestion* (hmmm, wondering how everyone voted on that crucial topic)
Musa, happy you're enjoying the BTS screencap--methinks perhaps we could use an entire post dedicated to more Paul pix.
Laura & Sue---the topic of whether government should be punishing with higher taxes those who create new jobs (as a result of expending the hard work necessary to financially succeed in business) is also a feature in the current US presidential campaigns.
As an example, we all are aware just how hard working & dedicated RA has been in order to succeed in his profession. He undoubtedly, w/the Thorin role, is now one of those actors receiving hefty compensation for his untiring efforts. Does that mean government should be allowed to grab a huge portion of what he worked so hard to achieve, in order to subsidize social welfare programs for those who have not expended nearly as much energy themselves? He's no doubt already paying a huge tax bill - is it fair & just for government to demand more from him? That's basically what happens when populations on both sides of the pond expect those who are the hard-working job creators(how many are employed by RA? office workers, agents, photographers etc?) to financially provide for all those in a society who expect to receive a check of some sort from the productive taxpayers. That's the reality - I'd not be surprised if Richard, after all the years of getting up at the crack of dawn and working extra long days, decides he'd be wise to use NZ as his homebase for tax purposes.
Being somewhat aware of the political climate in NZ, it wouldn't surprise me either if the tax rate is equal to London - if so, it wouldn't make a difference which location he uses for tax purposes - as a successful person in his profession, he'll still be forced to pay more than is just or fair for his efforts. Tragically, we have the same injust situation on both sides of the Atlantic. Liberal politicians in particular buy votes by promising extremely expensive social welfare programs. Those programs keep the liberal politicians in office, while simultaneously overburdening all working taxpayers.
Stepping down from soap box - thx for listening---needed to vent;) Now we'll return to our regularly scheduled RA AdoRAtion Society.
Lovely photos!
I thought you should know that I have Richard up against Sean Connery in our Battle of the Leading Men this weekend. My American readers don't know Richard as well, so if you want him to win, come and give him a vote!;) I thought those two would be an interesting match-up!
Cheers!
Courtney
Thanks for giving us a heads-up, Courtney -- if Sean wins that matchup, I'll start to suspect many of those voting are octogenarians. haha tall,dark,handsome at 40 or folically challenged at 80? Difficult one....not! *winks*
I didn't know that about NZ's tax rate... but I completely agree with you on the politics of it, RiCrAr. As usual.
Hmmm.... I wonder if he'd consider America's Heartland? Except for one January every four years, nobody pays any attention to us here in Iowa.... ;)
RiCrAr,
I don't think I'll get embroiled in the rights and wrongs of the tax system if you don't mind.
I'll leave you with one thought though. Over here in England there has been a big furore over large bonuses being paid to those in banking, ending in the head of RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) foregoing his bonus for this year. Strange that we object to people who have careers in management etc. and have probably been to university and started at the very bottom of the career ladder from receiving high salaries and bonuses, yet we don't seem to mind top footballers and actors/singers from earning millions of pounds/dollars for travelling around the world and filming/playing in exotic places. A hit series/song can make someone a millionaire overnight, who deserves the highest pay do you think and is it fair?
I'm not certain about NZ tax structure - perhaps they encourage new settlement/investment in the country w/tax credits for those who buy land or start a business. Judging from the way the unions tried to tell Peter Jackson how he'd conduct business (but were forced to do an about face when the director warned he could easily take The Hobbit production elsewhere) I'm assuming there's the usual crippling financial pressure for higher benefits, etc there.
Sue, I totally agree with you that this forum isn't the place for lengthy political discussion. Our presidential campaigns are heating up right now, so it's not easy to forget about all the important issues under the spotlight.
Know exactly what you mean about athletes & celebs receiving exorbitant compensation for their work while the average salaries fade in comparison. Must have said to hubby a thousand times that running down the field carrying a football does not benefit the world nearly as much as those working in labs searching for the cures for life threatening diseases - or those willing to put their lives on the line to face down the ruthless terrorists who are currently striving to rule the world. It just doesn't seem fair for athletes etc to command indecent compensation for their efforts, when so many others contribute more directly to the greater good and receive far less in return. That said however, it seems it's the public in general who are willing to pay the hefty price in order to watch a football or soccer game - if they would refuse to pay the outrageous price, the owners could not offer fortunes to the players.
As for RA, Stephen Fry recently tweeted that he'd just returned after an unbelievably long day filming in Wellington - it was 10pm. Richard must be exhausted with that brutal work schedule. No wonder he took the time for rare R&R while home over the holidays.
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