A Special Anniversary: #LookBack10

Ten years and the admirers are still going strong.

To celebrate, a North & South Watch is planned for 16 Nov 2014. Remember, I'm in the US, so please forgive me if I say "good evening" and you're eating your breakfast on the other side of the world.

Here is the timetable most participants will be following:

Prime Time USA

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSWe
Ep 1    8 PM	5:00 PM	1:00 AM	11:30 AM
Ep 2    9 PM	6:00 PM	2:00 AM	12:30 AM
Ep 3  10 PM	7:00 PM	3:00 AM	1:30 PM
Ep 4  11 PM	8:00 PM	4:00 AM	2:30 PM

If you would rather, please feel free to show up to Twitter and find a friend or two and follow this timetable instead:

Evening UK

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Victoria
Ep 1  2 PM	11:00 AM	7:00 PM	6:00 AM
Ep 2  3 PM	12:00 PM	8:00 PM	7:00 AM
Ep 3  4 PM	1:00 PM	9:00 PM	8:00 AM
Ep 4  5 PM	2:00 PM	10:00 PM	9:00 AM

As I've mentioned before, my timetable skills are sadly lacking. I used the World Meeting Planner but Australia? With some of the time zones having a 1/2 hour "exception" or something? Fuggetaboutit. (Some day I will look up what that is all about because it sounds fascinating to me. Yes, really.) And Daylight Saving Time always throws a wrench in things. Toss in the date line and… the Australian times all seem to be on MONDAY if I'm not mistaken. If you notice a screw-up in my calculations, please let me know.

For this Watch we will be using #LookBack10 as our hashtag. I recently re-investigated TweetChat.com and it seems to be up and running again. At first I had an issue with it not loading tweets for me, but it turns out I had to go to the home page and give it permission to use my Twitter account before clicking through to the hashtag "room" I was looking for.

I'm not sure if the speed on TweetChat is better than on Twitter itself. It used to be a real advantage to use TweetChat simply for the fact that whichever chat room you were in, your tweets would have the appropriate hashtag added automatically. But the main of Twitter has changed a lot since those first Watches, not to mention the apps, so it may be just as quick and easy for you to participate however you normally use Twitter. You make the call. Just remember to tag your tweets if you want other participants to be able to appreciate your wit and insight. Or your pining for Mr Thornton. We all know how it is.

Ah, the good old days…

One hour per episode is pretty dang exact if you are watching on DVD (the Netflix version is edited to be shorter - you'll end up ahead a bit which can't be helped). You will only have a minute to switch DVDs to the next episode. I don't think we'll be able to stay exactly on track, but adding any extra time between episodes didn't make sense logistically. I expect there will also be some lag in our Twitter feed simply due to the nature of the interwebs. And remember, no pausing for bathroom breaks! LOL Yes, take your break, but let the movie play while you're gone or you'll be way out of sync when you get back. I still think we can pull it off and have a great time together.

Happy Anniversary, John and Margaret!

Summer 2014 #GuyWatch #LucasWatch

Just a quick FYI: #GuyWatch and #LucasWatch are now scheduled for every Friday and Saturday respectively, for the rest of the summer. There are two episodes each night. Check the calendar and timetable tabs (above). We are not taking any breaks for holidays.

So far there hasn't been a lot of participation, but I'm hoping that people will drop in when they can. Most of you know the episodes by heart (Don't you? Admit it.) and I'll bet you can follow the hashtag(s) and participate by tweet even if you can't actually sit in front of the video. After all, we've done these Watches before ;)

Please let me know if you find any mistakes in the scheduling. Thank you! The last #GuyWatch will have 3 episodes in a row because of the odd number in the season.

This schedule follows the old pattern of #GuyDayFriday and #SpooksSaturday.

I Can Almost Hear the Collective Sigh Already

This coming Saturday, 31 May 2014, is the date chosen for #LookBackRA.
We will be using the timetable from the last #LookBack:

Prime Time USA

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
Ep 1    8 PM	5:00 PM	1:00 AM	10:00 AM
Ep 2    9 PM	6:00 PM	2:00 AM	11:00 AM
Ep 3  10 PM	7:00 PM	3:00 AM	12:00 PM
Ep 4  11 PM	8:00 PM	4:00 AM	1:00 PM

There were many more votes for US evening times* than any other time zone so that's the "official" schedule, but if you want to find some friends and use the UK evening timetables (or a table for any other timezone - see timetables tab above or click here) feel free to use the #LookBackRA hashtag and get organizing. I only ask that you don't overlap with the US times above so as to avoid confusion.

If you have any questions about how the Armitage Watches work, please see tabs above, look through previous posts, or tweet @ArmitageWatch. I'm not sure how well TweetChat works anymore (they did some re-programming over there when Twitter made API changes and things may be different now) but I'm going to give it a chance. Another option is Twitterfall.com. 

If you don't have North & South on DVD, you can find it on Netflix or Amazon streaming.

Did I forget anything? 

OH YES, what about #GuyWatch and #LucasWatch? (That's Robin Hood and Spooks/MI-5) The consensus seemed to be "Schedule them and we will come." Most people wanted the option to be able to drop in when they have the chance, so I will get them back on the calendar for the summer and we'll get the ball rolling again in a couple of weeks.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*I don't know exactly what the poll numbers were, but I do know that Saturday, 31 May was ahead and I don't think June had more than one or two votes.

The votes were coming in and being counted.
Then Blogger ate them.
The next time I say I am doing a poll, someone please slap me remind me to find another way to do it other than using the widget provided by Blogger. Seriously. The polls were rocking along and the votes were tallying up, and the next time I went to check them - all values had been reset to zero! This happened here at least twice in the past, but I guess I'm just an optimist, with a poor memory. Apologies. 

It's Time Once Again, Or So I've Been Told (#LookBackRA)

After a few positive comments on Twitter, it has been decided the Watches once again need winding, and of course we will start where we always start, with "Look Back, Look Back At Me" which is the gratifying North & South.

Our intrepid @Sinjoor started the clocks ticking again by bringing to my attention a happy misunderstanding.

As for the question one always asks of a Watch, "What time is it?" Well you may ask. Earlier posts on this blog and the various pages (tabs above) will show you to what lengths we went in the past in order to coordinate viewers. We strove to weave together the time zones as only fanatics on Twitter can do. Do we need to do that again? Will your mainspring be sprung if we stick to evening in the Americas? There is already a timetable for UK evening times, and even one for Australian evening times, but what makes Watches fun is the level of participation. A bit of a let down to schedule a Watch for Oz and only have one person show up.
Please chime in! I'll try to get some polls up for you to vote on (check the side bar), or feel free to tweet me @ArmitageWatch or leave a comment. While you're at it, let me know what you think of another round of #GuyWatch and #LucasWatch.

The tentative plan right now is to follow the Prime Time USA table that we used for the first #LookBack (click on this linked page and scroll down).
The date would be either 24 or 31 May, 2014 which is Saturday evening in my time zone (USA Mountain). The hashtag this time is #LookBackRA.

One last thing. RAFrenzy has offered to award a prize to one lucky #LookBackRA participant. This is a definite maybe and will most likely happen, so you don't want to miss out! lol And I ask you: Who doesn't need an extra copy of North & South to give to a friend so yours will stay safe My Precious  so you can help them over the RA cliff so you can introduce them to the best thing the BBC has given us since Darcy went for a swim? Right?

The First #ThorinWatch

     I thought having a poll to decide the date for #ThorinWatch would be helpful. Thank you to those who voted, but would you just look at those results? It's a three-way tie for the first three Saturdays listed. Ha! I prefer to interpret that to mean most of you want to watch The Hobbit "early and often" and I hear you saying, "Quitcher dilly-dallying!" Alrighty, then.

from Stay.See.Make.Do

     Without further ado, the first #ThorinWatch will be April 13th, 2013. (Please see the Timetables page for details.) A second #ThorinWatch for the next Saturday may be scheduled depending on the input I get from you all. If you can't make the first Watch, or you can't bear the idea of not doing the whole thing over as soon as possible, please let me know and I'll see about getting you some professional help what we can work out.

If you don't know how to use Twitter or TweetChat, or are scratching your head to figure out what the heck the point of this blog is, please see the Group Chats via Twitter page and/or leave me a comment.

You Knew It Was Coming! #ThorinWatch!

FanstRAvaganza 4!

When this whole ArmitageWatch thing started, it was North and South, a sigh, and a dream...

Now that we have several Watches under our belts (check out that impressive list of hash tags in the sidebar — Whoa) you had to know #ThorinWatch was next on the list!

This post is to request input about which day will work best. The plan at the moment is to follow the same timetables we used for #HeinzWatch (see timetable tab above and scroll down), but the date is not yet set.

Please take the polls in the sidebar, or leave a comment here. Your replies will help me plan the dates for #ThorinWatch. After all, no one wants to fangirl alone, do they? Thank you so very much for your help!

And don't forget... Black Sky won't be too far behind! Personally, I can't wait for #GaryWatch, even though Gary doesn't have a beard :(D)

Time to Re-Wind the Watches!

Now that we've all had our chance to see The Hobbit, it seems that insatiable being, the Twitter Delegation of the Armitage Army, wants MOAR, more RA that is.

Ahem. Calm yourselves, please.

"@ArmitageWatch, at your service."

Not only has it come to my attention that some of you haven't even seen Robin Hood and/or Spooks/MI-5 yet, I've also heard some of you Watch veterans say you are ready to do it again.

Yes. It is time to re-wind the Watches.

Watches will resume this Friday (#GuyWatch) and Saturday (#LucasWatch). We watch two episodes each night. Right now I've scheduled them on our ArmitageWatch calendar for the next several weeks (see tab above), but some of these will be subject to change since I haven't yet made room for any of the other Watches we might want to have, such as #DibleyWatch or #JohnWatch. (Ha! Just kidding about #JohnWatch, there'd be no way to keep that one straight!) Make that #PorterWatch or another #LookBack... there's a list in the sidebar. The # tags listed there are also links to the TweetChat rooms we use. If you need more explanation about how the Watches work, see the Group Chats via Twitter tab. And don't forget to check the Timetables to figure out when things start in your neck of the woods.

See you on Twitter! (Don't forget to follow @ArmitageWatch to keep in touch.)

p.s. I'm in the US, so when I say Friday and Saturday, I mean in this part of the world. Thanks for understanding.

The Hobbit World Premiere: Wellington - It Starts!

There will be live streaming from Wellington, New Zealand of The Hobbit world premiere!
I know we are all pretty excited to see Richard Armitage on the red carpet. (Understate things much?)

Photo courtesy The Gallery at RichardArmitageNet.com

Here are two links where you can find information about watching the big night on the web:


news.mymiddleearth.com
AND

www.theonering.net (TORn)

Don't forget it will be happening in the late afternoon on Wednesday in NZ, but if you are in the USA you will watch on Tuesday evening. TORn links to a great event clock here to help you figure out the timing.

And check out more ways to help you connect with other RA admirers if you want to chat during the event.

On Twitter:
Check out #RAHobbitNZ to chat with our little circle of RA supporters. Look on Twitter here or simplify things using TweetChat here.

TheOneRing.net (TORn) will be using #HobbitNZ if you want to follow wider tweeting about all of the New Zealand premiere, likely with slightly less emphasis on RA.

Facebook:
Feel free to post on the Armitage Watch Movie Club wall.

Another option:
Judi Grant (@judiang) has a nice chat room here for those of you who prefer not to use Twitter. It gets hopping, so be prepared!

If you have another place online where you'll be meeting with friends for this event, please share a link in the comments, or tweet me and I'll edit this post to add the info.

Here we go, people!

Hang on for the ride!

Is It Time to #LookBack? North and South Watch, Redux

Attention!

Well, it looks like those of you who bothered to have a say have chosen to watch North and South again this Saturday. It wasn't very scientific, what with Blogger's glitch and the polls being reset (twice) but Saturday, 10 November, all 4 episodes in a row definitely had the most votes every time I checked. We'll run through the show twice, once for UK evening times, and once for US evening times. The UK evening times are afternoon in the US, and the US evening times are mid-day Sunday Down Under, so hopefully you will all find a time that works for you.

RichardArmitageNet.com

My real life will be taking priority and I doubt I'll be able to participate in the Watch, but I will set up timetables and pre-program some tweets to help you all stay on the same page. 

The official tag, courtesy of @Sinjoor will be #LookBack. Apropos, wouldn't you say? Love it. Please feel free to use #LookBack to talk amongst yourselves ahead of time and plan with your friends so you know who will be on Twitter and when, so you can Watch together.

RichardArmitageNet.com

"Look back. Look back at me."

Screencaps courtesy of richardarmitagenet.com.

Captain America #HeinzWatch

Sorry for the delay for this post. I've been trying to figure out why the polls in the sidebar stopped working. Turns out it is a problem all across Blogger and who knows when it will be fixed. Apologies to those of you whose votes were lost. I'll let everyone know when things get back to normal and perhaps you will be so good as to come back and vote again then?

Until Blogger gets its stuff in a pile and fixes the poll widget, Captain America: The First Avenger will be our last scheduled Watch. Once the polls are again able to do their magic, I'm hopeful of scheduling an encore for North and South, and then maybe we'll see if there's interest in any of the roles we skipped over from shows like Moving On, Miss Marple, or Miss Marie Lloyd.



Here's the thing about Captain America: Richard's part in the film is too darn short. But the DVD is widely available (check your local public library or Netflix, it's also streaming on Netflix) and Chris Evans is easy on the eyes. Another thing - if your family can't take any more of these multi-hour Watches, you can pop in from about 32 minutes after the hour to 43 minutes after the hour and see our man RA's entire performance, chat with us for just a bit, and pop out again.

The TweetChat room will be #HeinzWatch.

Here's the timetable for the Watch on October 27 (in the USA):

Evening UK

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
3:00 PM	12:00 PM	8:00 PM	5:00 AM

Evening USA

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
9:00 PM	6:00 PM	2:00 AM	11:00 AM

More North and South? Yes, please! (edit)

***This is what I get for writing posts late at night. "Southern Hemisphere" times is not what I meant on that middle poll. Or course I was thinking Oceania or Australasia and that made me think Down Under which led my brain to South Pacific for some reason and pretty soon I was singing "I'm as corny as Kansas in August" and the whole thing just went south from there. Apologies! ***

Helpful Time Zone map is here.

Have you looked at the Armitage Watch calendar lately? We are fast approaching the end of #GuyWatch. If you don't want to click over, I'll just tell you - the last three episodes are next Friday. I know, I know. Guy! Then the Captain America Watch will be Saturday night. Details for #HeinzWatch will be in tomorrow's post.

This post is to ask: What do you think of another North and South Watch? There's been some chatter about it around Twitter, but so far no decisions have been made. After Captain America, we have no more Watches scheduled, which leaves us with more than six weeks open before The Hobbit starts showing to general audiences around the world.


Are these fabrics from Marlborough Mills? Only John Thornton knows for sure...



And so, a poll. Please see the sidebar to answer these questions:

If you are in favor of another tweet-along watching of North and South, which weekend do you prefer?

Which day and what time of day are you most likely to participate?

Do we need to have the Watch over several days/time zones similar to the first Watch?

Feel free to leave a comment if there is something you want addressed that is not part of the poll.

If there isn't much enthusiasm for the idea of a second N&S Watch, we'll revisit the topic in a few months.
Please help spread the word. Thank you.

To Light a Fire You Need a Spark! #SparkWatch

None of you need me to tell you that Richard Armitage has that spark, and it's pretty obvious that a lot of you are afire already. It makes perfect sense that this coming weekend we'll be setting aside our #GuyWatches (#LucasWatch is over) to join together for a viewing of Sparkhouse.

In part because Sunday Watches in the past have been poorly attended, #SparkWatch will only be scheduled for Friday and Saturday. It's a three episode mini-series, each episode being one hour long, and will follow the #GuyWatch/#LucasWatch model for viewing times. Watch all three episodes at once, or watch some of the show on Friday, some on Saturday.

Another reason Sunday Watches have been abandoned is because there's a new activity planned! Sunday Watch times have been given over to our book discussion of The Sunne in Splendour. This Sunday will be the first TweetChat for the #RA4R3 tag. Our first discussion will cover the first five chapters of the book. See my previous post for more information and links to other blogs with explanations, including a link to Servetus in the comments. As of now there's no particular format we'll be following, we'll see where it goes after this weekend.

One other note:  I'm still including the UK Evening timetables, but I haven't seen any participants during these times in recent weeks. Should we give them up or promote them more? If you care, please tweet me @ArmitageWatch or leave a comment here.

Don't have your own copy of Sparkhouse? Check out the playlists here. This link should work until after #SparkWatch on Saturday.

Evening UK

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
3:00 PM	12:00 PM	8:00 PM	5:00 AM
4:00 PM	1:00 PM	9:00 PM	6:00 AM
5:00 PM	2:00 PM	10:00 PM	7:00 AM

Evening USA

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
9:00 PM	6:00 PM	2:00 AM	11:00 AM
10:00 PM	7:00 PM	3:00 AM	12:00 PM
11:00 PM	8:00 PM	4:00 AM	1:00 PM

The Sunne in Splendour: A Splendid New Direction

If you've looked at upcoming dates on the calendar page lately, you may have noticed that we are soon coming to the end of our scheduled #GuyWatch and #LucasWatch times. As a matter of fact, #LucasWatch ends mercifully (oh, John) next week, September 22, after which we have a weekend for #SparkWatch (Sparkhouse) and then we start doubling up on #GuyWatches, with Robin Hood filling the #LucasWatch vacancies on Saturdays. This schedule would have left November completely open, with nothing to keep us busy through that last excruciating month before The Hobbit movie.

But now the calendar has some new entries. @Sinjoor has added chapters and dates for a Twitter read-along of the book The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman.

The plan is to have chapters 1 through 5 read by Sunday, September 30 and be ready for discussion Sunday evening (North American times). Following that model, five or so chapters a week will carry us through February. We will be using the hashtag #RA4R3, and chats will be on Sundays, but follow the #GuyWatch/#LucasWatch times. It's fine to post quotes during the week, but no spoilers until after the Sunday discussions.

Why that book? If you are an online Richard Armitage fan, you can hardly have missed it, but just in case:

Conversation with Richard Armitage (Note: This interview contains many spoilers for other RA shows.)

King Richard Week

Fall into Splendour

I Want to Be a Collective Reader

If you wrote a blog post about it or read another great explanation of what we're up to, please put a link in the comments.

Strike Back! It's time for #PorterWatch

It's no secret that I haven't seen Strike Back, so I'm just going to get that out there up front. I did see the first episode of Season 2/Cinemax/whatever-it-was but as RA is only in that for a very brief appearance, I don't count it. Anyway, since I haven't seen it I'm flying blind trying to schedule the Watch in a way that makes sense. Also, I'm a tad under the weather at the moment, so bear with my muddled brain, will you? And do let me know if I'm off base on something

Here's the plan for #PorterWatch:  Two episodes a night for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Here's the timetable:

SEASON ONE, EPISODES ONE THROUGH SIX

Friday will be Iraq: Parts 1(E1) & 2(E2)

Saturday will be Zimbabwe: Parts 1(E3) & 2(E4)

Sunday will be Afghanistan: Parts 1(E5) & 2(E6)

Evening UK

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
3:00 PM	12:00 PM	8:00 PM	5:00 AM
4:00 PM	1:00 PM	9:00 PM	6:00 AM

Evening USA

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
9:00 PM	6:00 PM	2:00 AM	11:00 AM
10:00 PM	7:00 PM	3:00 AM	12:00 PM

As always, we'll be on TweetChat, this time using the tag #PorterWatch. Don't forget, if you want to participate you have to remove any privacy protections you have on your Twitter account. Otherwise, people using the TweetChat page will not see your tweets, even if they follow you in their timelines on Twitter.

(I've been told you can find Strike Back on that infamous site that starts with Y... but right now I don't have a link for you.)

Join Us For The Impressionists! #MonetWatch

A link to the TweetChat room is over there on the top right. Just click on the Monet hashtag.

As a result of all the input I received (*ahem* that would be TWO lovely people on Twitter) it has been decided that #MonetWatch will go forward on Friday and Saturday. But do feel free to pop into the chat rooms on Sunday (same times as Fri & Sat) if that's the only time you can watch, only keep in mind that whoever is there at that time will have to organize themselves, sorry.

I'm guessing most of the Watch will likely take place on Friday during the US evening times, which is what happened during #DibleyWatch. But because this is three episodes, some of us will have to split our Watching between two days at least.

Evening UK

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
3:00 PM	12:00 PM	8:00 PM	5:00 AM
4:00 PM	1:00 PM	9:00 PM	6:00 AM
5:00 PM	2:00 PM	10:00 PM	7:00 AM

Evening USA

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
9:00 PM	6:00 PM	2:00 AM	11:00 AM
10:00 PM	7:00 PM	3:00 AM	12:00 PM
11:00 PM	8:00 PM	4:00 AM	1:00 PM

IF you don't have access to the show on DVD, *whispers* it's on YT.  Copy/paste this link:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE2723461E969BD2B

When to Watch? The Impressionists (#MonetWatch)

This is just a quick post to solicit some input.

I submit to you the following:

• The Watches are much more fun when a lot of us ArmitageWatch at the same time. 
• Our first Watch (North & South) was very well attended, but the variety of Watch times was overkill.
• DibleyWatch was well-attended, but only once, during the first US evening time. No one used the #DibleyWatch hashtag for the rest of that weekend though Watches were scheduled every day.
• When there are too many times scheduled, the participants get spread too thinly which is (see above) not as much fun.

So, I propose narrowing our time options so that more of us will be together at any given Watch.
The problem is - which times do we keep, and which can go?
For me, because I am in the habit of #GuyWatch and #LucasWatch on US Friday and Saturday evenings, those are the times I am most likely to attend #MonetWatch. Now, because The Impressionists is comprised of three one-hour episodes some of us may want to spread the viewing over more than one day.

Here's my proposal (which is very much open for discussion as long as you keep it simple enough for me to wrap my mind around):

We stick to Friday and Saturday and throw the main Sunday Watches out the window. There will be a UK evening = US afternoon Watch, and a US evening (= UK wee hours next day) Watch. Each Watch you can choose to view 1, 2 or all 3 episodes. I'll make up a chart similar to the North & South timetables.

Is that still too many options? Should we get ruthless and pare down even more? #MonetWatch is scheduled to begin this Friday so we don't have much time to dither.

All right, ballplayers. Let's hear some chatter out in the field! Batter up! Hey, battahbattahbattah, sah-wing battah! (Feel free to tweet @ArmitageWatch if you'd rather not leave a comment here.)

The Sunshine Award

Bccmee nominated me for a Sunshine Award :) It was quite a while back - sorry it has taken me so long to publish and say THANK YOU, bccmee!





One of the requirements for the award is to answer these ten questions, so here goes:

What is a favorite childhood memory? I remember one lovely spring afternoon, lying on a lush, grassy hillside with a few friends just watching the clouds float by, imagining them to be bunnies, castles, and ships. It was an idyllic few hours.


What is a real fear you have? I sometimes fear my children will come to harm and I will not be able to do anything to prevent it.

How would you describe yourself? I'm an introvert and a day-dreamer, but I'm also practical. I don't like it when things don't make sense.

What countries have you lived in? I've only ever lived in the USA, though I've lived in six different states.

What is your style? This question is too general, LOL. For clothing I like things that fit me well and aren't too busy. As for home decorating, a magazine would probably label my style country-eclectic, if they were being nice. It's quite the mix and looks very lived-in. There are books in every room.

What is your favorite breakfast food? It changes with the seasons, but I'm very fond of boxed cereals at all times of day. In cold weather I enjoy steel cut oats.

What are some of your hobbies? I'm game for anything from watercolor painting to origami. I enjoy knitting and crochet, sewing, reading, gardening, arts and crafts. I also love to play my ukulele and sing, though I'm pretty dismal. I used to like to act, but I was only in a few shows and haven't been on a stage for (gasp) 20 yrs now.

If you could tell people anything, what would be the most important thing to say? Use your brains, people. Don't blindly take whatever lines are being handed to you; search for truth.

What is one of your passions? I really like the writings of G.K. Chesterton. I'm even in the American Chesterton Society.

What is the one truth you have learned? Most people are good at heart. Don't be afraid to trust. If you trust someone and they abuse that trust, well, it says more about what kind of a person they are than what kind of a person you are. Of course, see above and use your head.




Now, I would be remiss if I didn't nominate my Richard Armitage Watch partner in crime Fanny,  and Heidi who helped get the ball rolling! These gals have brought a little more sunshine into my world than was there BRA (heehee - Before Richard Armitage).

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

It's been suggested that we change the Watch times to be a bit later. Let's give it a try RIGHT AWAY, shall we? The evening US times for #GuyWatch TONIGHT will be changed to one hour later to hopefully encourage more participants. Especially in these northern summer days when the sun is setting later, it gives us all a little extra time to get the kids to bed, get the garden weeded, or get that homemade ice cream churned. These times will also apply to #LucasWatch.

I updated the Timetables page. Here's a copy of the chart:

Evening USA

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
9:00 PM	6:00 PM	2:00 AM	11:00 AM
10:00 PM	7:00 PM	3:00 AM	12:00 PM

Evening UK

USA East Coast	USA West Coast	United Kingdom	Australia NSW
3:00 PM	12:00 PM	8:00 PM	5:00 AM
4:00 PM	1:00 PM	9:00 PM	6:00 AM

I've been trying to remember to pre-program tweets for the Watches from my Hootsuite account. Since I can't make it to every watch, I'm hoping these help to keep participants synchronized. So if you see what looks like a "canned" tweet you'll know why.

There's Homework to Do (part II)

First order of business:  Please help us spread the word! If you blog or tweet or post on Facebook, will you give the upcoming event just a sentence or two? Maybe a link? Muchas gracias. What other ways can you think of to publicize? I plan to put a note on the bulletin board at our library. Thanks for the reminder to share the fun, bccmee.


Prepare your mind:  More than one of you suggested reading the book North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Not a bad idea at all, and will give you a lot of food for thought when it comes to watching the character development in the film. The book is in the public domain, so if you don't own a copy or can't borrow it, and you don't want to purchase it, you can find it free at Project Gutenberg. There are also free audio versions on Librivox.

If you do decide to purchase a copy, and/or you still need the DVD, please consider using the Amazon associate links on RichardArmitageNet (found under the picture of the day on the home page) and they will send their proceeds to one of Richard's preferred charities. Any time you shop Amazon for anything, you could use their link to do good.

Food:  Hmmm, what do they actually eat on screen in North & South? There's the workers' stew John enjoys, and there's Margaret's noisy, revolutionary toast. I always supposed she was buttering it, but perhaps she's spreading marmalade. And what does Hannah serve at her dinner besides soup? Help me out here. Is there more food mentioned in the book than the film? I can't remember.

For more modern fare, how about Thornton's chocolates? That could represent Richard Armitage's smooth, chocolatey voice. And I saw some tweets about other "theme" food. Who said cupcakes with top hats? There's the old standby, popcorn, which could denote Fanny's popping attitude. Maybe have black licorice for the angry crow. Or try my favorite, Hot Tamales candy, which could represent the fire from the old dragon, or all that other smoldering that's going on. Though none of us need any added heat after waiting for the lovers' passion to finally steam up those train windows.

Drinks:  Tea is of course appropriate. But if you can do it responsibly, I'd recommend a glass (or three) of wine.

Naturally you could go for soft drinks. Grape Crush in honor of Boucher? (Ooh. Can't believe I went there.) What about having a pint with Higgins, or some cognac and a cigar with the masters, Irish whiskey for the strike breakers? I'm thinking I might play a drinking game - every time someone says "tittle" or "tattle"-- drink.  Ha!

Costume:  If putting on a bonnet is your thing, go for it. Be prepared to share pictures. And do tell how long it took to iron your petticoats. Or go for comfort and find your sweatpants and a cozy top. I'm thinking I need a t-shirt that says, "My other shirt is a corset."

Don't forget a cuddly blanket, or a cuddly significant other to keep you warm.

Environment:  I have some small children. I also have a wonderful husband and some older children. I am enlisting their help in planning so that I can have "just for mommy" time and they can also have some fun. We will be preparing their own entertainment with activities, movies, games and snacks. Do I really need to say in another part of the house?

Now how about some added realism? Dig that train set out of your Christmas box and have the little choo-choo make a lap around the living room every once in awhile. Buy yourself some yellow roses, and don't forget to look back. Look back at me.

Links are in the sidebar to Twitter and Facebook, and the tabs above are to pages for Tweetchat and the timetables.


Thanks to everyone who made suggestions. More ideas? Did I leave out something important? Please share in the comments!

There's Homework to Do (part I)

First thing:  You need a way to watch North & South with us. If you're able, I suggest watching on DVD. My first viewings had been of the Netflix version but after watching the DVD I finally saw how many lovely little scenes had been cut out for the American market. Not enough to ruin the story, but enough that seeing those scenes helped me fall in love with the production all over again. The DVD also has extras including a deleted scenes track of scenes that didn't make it into either version (I finally understand why all the fruit baskets) and an interview with Richard Armitage.

Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.com

Second thing:  Prepare for your tweeting. I made a handy page of links HERE if you need help getting started. (It's also one of the tabs near the top of this page.) Make sure your Twitter account is in good standing. Take a gander at our Tweetchat room to make sure you know how it works, maybe trying it out by tweeting a short message like "I can't wait for the first weekend in June!" When I was figuring out Tweetchat, I would sometimes go back and forth to my home Twitter page just to make sure my tweets looked like I wanted them to. Don't forget that if you type from Tweetchat, it will automatically add the # tag you're following.
If you have a protected (locked) Twitter account, I think you'll need to unlock it for the tweet-a-long if you want participants other than your followers to see your contributions.

Thirdly:  And, do I really need to say it? Make sure you have an internet connection from your viewing area. If you'll be at a coffee shop or library (maybe with a group?) figure out how their wifi works. Or make sure you have phone reception. If you're watching your DVD from your laptop, you'll probably want another way to tweet.

What else can you think of? Let me know in the comments. I'll do another Homework post next week.