The 64-year-old said: 'I was very, very drunk. It was a very, very long time ago, when only sailors and Hell's Angels were tattooed, honestly, and prisoners.
'And I decided to get a tattoo because it was the most shocking thing I could think of doing.'
'And now I'm utterly disgusted and shocked because it's become completely mainstream, which is unacceptable to me.'
The Mail has decided to frame this in a way that suits them ofcourse practically running around screeching about how those horrible tattoos are disgustingly common & so says Dame Mirren so it must be true!
I haven't seen the actual show but from the quotes above I can't help thinking these comments were tongue in cheek until twisted by the Mail. Mirren got her tattoo to shock, now it's not particularly shocking to have tattoos, in fact it's pretty common so she's having a bit of fun, feigning annoyance because she's no longer considered rebellious for her body art.
It is the film that singles out and celebrates the life of one of France's most creative and original sons.
It was also to have been the platform for Lucy Gordon's rebirth as a serious actress.
But Gainsbourg: Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus, which goes on release this week, will be remembered for neither reason.
Because the Oxford-born Gordon killed herself aged 28 in May last year, weeks after finishing filming on what is already being billed as the French film of the year.
And her death casts a dark shadow over the Serge Gainsbourg biopic.
Seems rather dismissive of her death for having the audacity to overshadow a whole film but happy to use details of her suicide to promote it.
Facilitating, nurturing, making things happen, organising are all at the core of her. The oldest child of seven, she's had a lifetime of doing things for other people. But who facilitates her?
"Not enough people," she says with a dryness that comes right from the back of her throat. "That's the curse of the confident woman. Most people know that if you take care of yourself and open your own doors, they stop opening them for you. It's harder to ask for help because you get in the habit of taking care of yourself, and I think you forget how to ask."
I haven't done an end of year thingymajig before and feel completely inadequate at it as any I've ever read seem to be planned, do other people actually decide what is going to be considered their 'best of...' throughout the year or do they scamper around at the end of the year trying desperately to remember anything that actually happened and worrying about whether or not was actually good or were they just drunk at the time and will they be burned at the stake for claiming to have enjoyed it? I dunno but here are some things I have enjoyed....
My favourite films of the year (although right now I can't really remember what I've actually seen & am resisting the temptation to declare 'Gamer' my film of the year for the Michael C Hall dance sequence alone, yeah I know it's not the greatest film but it was fun & despite my initial reservations it knew exactly what it was & didn't try to be anything else) are 'Up' & 'Moon' the former having me sobbing in the cinema within the first, unexpectedly sad but lovely, 10 minutes and the latter having me sobbing whilst walking home. I don't judge my favourite films on whether or not they make me cry but these two were so gorgeous that not crying is probably a sign that you're an evil robot or something and not a cool one like the Terminator, a shit one from Transformers 2 which I haven't seen because it's shit.
I don't think I have any books of the year, in fact I have no idea if I've even read books that came out this year as I tend to just read whatever takes my fancy and always have far too many books to read that I've picked up along the way (for instance I've only just started reading a book I was given last xmas)but Perdido Street Station has been my favourite book this year. I loved the characters, the creature & the story but most of all I adored New Crobuzon, I've heard the city described as the actual main character of the book and can happily agree with that sentiment.
Here are some webcomics that I've particularly enjoyed;
Girls With Slingshots Two girls, a bar and a talking cactus.....I started this one a few years ago, then fell out of the loop but started again and still love it. Start from the beginning (it will be a quest!) or just jump in the archives and pick a story arch.
Chester 5000 A tale of erotic, robotic romance....definitely NSFW, absolutely gorgeous artwork & a sweet story considering how much sex there is.
DAR A super girly top secret diary - this one will have ended by the new year but I recommend starting at the beginning, definitely worth it.
Nedroid will never not make me happy, jump in anywhere & go for the cute cheer up factor.
Stuff I will do in the future is......oooh, I'm going to be all assertive and stop pretending to myself that I have absolutely no idea what I want to do in the future, so here goes; I want a new job, my job was a spectacular disappointment, it's just crappy accounts work which I'm used to but, whilst I wasn't sure about leaving my actually quite nice temp job, the job sounded a whole lot better on paper when in actual fact it's just data entry with the added 'bonus' of dealing with angry people, it's like a massive leap back to my first office job with a mix of the worst parts of the jobs I've had in the intervening years and a big ole 'going no where' slap in the face and to be honest I really hate it and know I could be doing something but need to pick myself up by the pants and give myself a shake, I'd say metaphorically but it was always fun when I smaller so maybe it could still be fun if not really doing anything to help me make decisions.
I need a holiday, I really do, I haven't had one for so long I think I might freak out slightly and worry I'm doing it all wrong and aren't enjoying it as much as I should be and all the usual angst but I really, really need a holiday. Hopefully there will be good food & cute things wherever we decide to go.
The usual eat better, go to the gym, take up a sport, read more, do a course selection of resolution type things except they're not completely crap ones that I know I'll give up within a few weeks as I already go to the gym (not been for a few weeks but I've been crappy & ill) so that's not hard, I wanted to take up some sort of sport as the gym is pretty boring at time although I'm definitely going to pay more attention to podcasts as gym buddies. Reading, I like so is easy & a course kinda ties in with doing something/figuring out what the fuck I'm going to do with my life so I haven't set myself anything particularly taxing other than deciding that I definitely do need to make some changes as I'm not staying in my job for the next year.
I also want a cat, I love cats, I'm a pet person and have always had dogs & cats but The Tom has never really had pets so seems to have 'The Fear' regarding owning a cat (I said you don't 'own' a cat but that didn't allay his fears :-( so we're going to have to meet some kittehs, introduce him to them slowly, see how that goes & then maybe a kitteh we shall have!
I've been listening to mash ups recently and found a Taylor Swift/Kanye West mash up that I really like, having never heard a Taylor Swift song before the lyrics were a weird surprise.
Here's the mash up (loads in quicktime & starts straight away) from Bootie Blog
Lyrics to You Belong With Me :
You're on the phone with your girlfriend, She's upset She's going off about something that you said She doesnt get your humour like I do
(Maybe he's a total dick, maybe he told a really offensive joke and she got mad, maybe she has every right to be mad Ms Swift, not disagreeing with this guy, or any guy, is not the greatest symbol of love)
I'm in the room, its a typical Tuesday night I'm listening to the kind of music she doesnt like And she'll never know your story like I do
(So you're down to earth and like to listen to music in your bedroom, music that 'she' doesn't like eh? So what would that be then, eh? So you're 'better' than this other girl but you're making assumptions about them based on their musical choices? Really?)
But she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers Dreaming bout the day when you'll wake up and find That what you're lookin for has been here the whole time
(Ooh, we're in Avril Lavigne territory here 'cept without the faux punk pop stylings. I'm still just as confused as when Avril said 'he was a punk, she did ballet, can I make anymore obvious?' Erm, yes, I'm still waiting for you to make it more obvious Avril, I'm guessing you're alluding to cliques & the stereotypes surrounding jocks & nerds and such but Ms Abdul took two steps forward & then two steps back in a bid to convince us that opposites attract and to be honest she had a stronger argument, she even had a rapping cat so she wins. Also waiting around for someone you're convinced will one day love you back is a bit sad and needy)
If you could see that I'm the one who understands you Been here all along so why can't you see? You belong with me You belong with me
(Hmmm....So not disagreeing, 'understanding' and waiting around pining for someone to love you back means that that someone should belong to you? Creepy stalker territory there)
Walkin the streets with you in your worn out jeans I cant help thinking this is how it ought to be Laughing on the park bench thinkin to myself Hey isnt this easy?
(Hanging out with the guy you're in love with & pretending this is how it would be if you were together is just delusional)
And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town I havent seen it in awhile, since she brought you down You say you find I know you better than that Hey, Whatcha doing with a girl like that?
(I thought the lyric was 'you say you're fine, I know you better than that' I might be wrong but anyway, this is just bizarre...compliment him, knock down the other girl, reminder that Ms Swift 'gets' him, then a sneak attack of questioning his decision to be 'with a girl like that' girl like what, eh?)
She wears high heels, I wear sneakers She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers Dreaming bout the day when you'll wake up and find That what you're looking for has been here the whole time
(Oh yeah, a girl that wears high heels and short skirts, obviously she's a no good tramp in comparison to the needy girl in the t-shirt & sneakers - you're not allowed to like a variety of styles, just one o t'other and the latter makes you a better person apparently, or obviously)
If you could see that I'm the one who understands you Been here all along so why can't you see? You belong with me (Again, hanging around, knowing everything about him, not stalking in any way....)
Standin by, waiting at your back door All this time how could you not know that? You belong with me You belong with me
(.....oh, scratch that last one.)
Oh I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're about to cry I know your favorite songs and you tell me about your dreams I think I know where you belong. I think I know it's with me.
(Again with the manipulative 'I know this & that & make you happy really' bullshit, if he genuinely is unhappy then this isn't the way a real friend would/should be behaving, in fact she's just over-complicating things with her own selfish desires with absolutely no regard to what he may or may not actually want)
Can't you see that I'm the one who understand you? Been here all along so why can't you see? You belong with me
(Keep repeating it, if he didn't believe it before he might sooner or later given his apparent state of mind)
Standing by or waiting at your back door All this time how could you not know that You belong with me You belong with me
(Or maybe she means his other 'back door' which is extra creepy really, I mean Ms Swift, you have to ask before you hang around that one, tsk tsk, you will never learn will you Ms Swift if you keep overstepping the boundaries of your friendship)
Have you ever thought just maybe You belong with me You belong with me
(Maybe he hasn't, maybe the friendship is now completely ruined because Taylor, as his best friend, decided to constantly tear shreds of his actual girlfriend, inserting herself into every moment when things aren't going too well to remind him how much awesomer than his girlfriend she actually is and how they'd be so much better together. A true Nice Girl if ever there was one....)
Oh wait, here's the actual video, I don't want to spoil the end or anything but Taylor shows up all lovely & virginal in a white prom dress & wins the boy whilst her slutty rival (she has a dress with cutaway parts, a true sign of slutdom if ever there was one in Swifts world) & his actual girlfriend walks off understandably annoyed by this creepy drama.
