Being a fan of something is great but sometimes people take it a little too far, stalkers for instance. Then there are the fans that spend all of their time and money attending fan fests and collecting memorablia but Emma Louise Hodges may have take her love for 007 to the nth degree. Ms. Hodges a bartender in Birmingham England loves 007 so much she has legally changed her name. As a tribute to her love for the series created by Ian Fleming ms hodges has changed her name to Pussy Galore Honey Rider Solitaire Plenty O'Toole May Day Xenia Onatopp Holly Goodhead Tiffany Case Kissy Suzuki Mary Goodnight Jinx Johnson Octopussy Domino Moneypenny. That's a mouth full isn't it. Miss Moneypenny (nee Hodges) says she always wanted to be a Bond Girl and now she is one legally, not only is she a bond girl she is all of them. Well she didn't put all of the girls into her new name but many of them. She claims that her favorite Bond Girl of all was Britt Ekland in "Her Majesty's Secret Service".
There is no more mystifying bit of plumbing to an American than a bidet. What is it and how does one use one? Ask most Americans and you will get a blank stare or a hearty laugh. The bidet is an enigma.
The word bidet naturally is French and it's literal translation is a word for pony. The idea is one uses (rides) a bidet like one rides a pony. Charming image isn't it? Another equally quaint expression for bidet is the garden hose. Oh, it just keeps getting better dosen't it.
The actual purpose of a bidet is the cleaning of ones genitalia and shall we say; anus. This happens after the use of its kissin' cousin the toilet. The bidet is NOT a toilet it is more of a itty bitty tub or a big low wash basin for ones unmentionables and perhaps feet if they need seeing to.
It is rumored that the bidet was invented by French furniture maker Marc Andre Jacoud for the fastidious French royal family in the early 1700's.
It was very common in French palaces for there to be a bidet and when bathrooms were inverted they moved there. The original bidet was a much cruder version than it is today.
The modern bidet is a plumbing marvel. They have become rather high tech in actuality.
Not only are bidets a mystery for Americans they are also a lot of fun. When in Europe nothing tickles shall we say, an American more than using a bidet. The little towel used for drying up can be a little off putting...
It was 86 years ago that Rudolph Valentino left this mortal coil. The Sheik was a mere 31 sexy years old when he died in New York of pleurisy. What is pleurisy you ask yourself, well it is a disease that really doesn't exist anymore thanks to anti-biotics. It is the kind of disease that many a heroine in a romance novel falls prey to.
Rudolph Valentino the Latin lover and biggest grossing star of the 1920's was more than a just dashing figure he was a heart throb. He was the original matinee idol. The announcement of his death made women literally swoon. His funeral in New York was a mad house. 100,000 mourners stood in line to view the body. Polish actress Pola Negri collapsed upon seeing the casket. Valentino's body was then sent via train to Los Angeles where another equally elaborate funeral was arranged. As Valentino was a young man and had been in good health he had no final resting spot and one had to quickly arranged. His friend and mentor June Mathis offered her crypt in what is now Hollywood Forever Cemetery. This was meant to be a temporary resting spot but here it is 86 years later and there he lies.
One of the oddest of all results of the icon's death is the Lady in Black. The Lady or as it must be assumed Ladies in Black appear at Valentino's crypt dressed in widows weeds leaving roses. As he died 86 years ago and the Lady in Black still appears one must assume that the mantle has been passed down through at least two generations. This is just a myth I hear you saying but I am here to tell you the Lady in black is real! I have seen her with my own slightly disbelieving eyes. She puts on a show too! The weeping is world class. The Lady in Black I have seen also added a bit of low singing in a vaguely foreign language that was indecipherable. It was an over all mind boggling effect.
