Messages

1

Having Fun! / Re: Advice/Thoughts on Story I'm Writing

« on: May 03, 2011, 05:04:27 AM »

Like your writing...Detailed. That's my problem:p people say I am great with words, but whenever I start writing I never get to go detailed:p Really a problem...

Ohh, and I do like the twist with the dress, if that can be seen as one... If only clothes had memories:p

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Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: YouTube - Romanovs and Other Royalty

« on: April 29, 2011, 09:21:20 PM »

No Romaov-video... In fact it has been forever since I was able to finish one(I am lucky if I get to finish one every 5 months or something... College, work, not much time:p)....

However, I have watched the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and I could not resist doing a little montage...

So, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEk8NuisKRw

Skip the montage if you want, I need to find a way to set the starting point when the actual vid starts:p Would be much easier. However, hope you like it.

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The Windsors / Re: Wedding of HRH Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton april 29th

« on: April 29, 2011, 07:11:14 PM »

Okay... I woke up way too early this morning, but I simply did not want to miss a thing of this big event. Eventually I sat in front of the television a whole day, without even having breakfast or lunch(how crazy am I...), but I simply did not want to miss a thing of the whole event. I found the Queen charming, I kept thinking she could set an example to the sun, and when Prince Michael of Kent came up... Strange, but my thoughts were "Gosh, Nicholas could have looked like this"... Even at an older age you can see some resemblance. As for the princes, I found it somehow charming that Harry was clearly emotional - either because of the marriage and the fact his brother will be married, or the fact that the funeral service for their mother was held there. Sure it crossed their minds, but good that not too much of the coverage went on to Diana... It would not do. -, and William, I found him charming and regal, but the big moment of course arrived when Kate, or Catherine as I should say, made her entrance. I found her dress a perfect combination of style, beauty and simplicity. Entirely different from Diana's dress(as stated a few times), but perfect for this time and age... A wonderful touch, I found, was the moment when Harry turned around to look at her and he said something to his brother. It got me grinning. And the hymn that was played at Diana's funeral, I am sure it send chills through quite some spines - both inside and out the cathedral... It was just one of those moments you had to think of Diana, but for the rest it was a happy celebration, with the big finale ofcourse being the kisses at the balcony of Buckingham Palace... Now that's what I call regal splendor, carriages, beautiful gowns and uniforms, not to mention the jewelry that was worn... Of course, meaning the tiara Kate was wearing... And oh; before I forget, Kate's sister looked wonderful, beautiful and not too much... Just wonderful, wonderful. Ahh, this is one of those days that will be talked about over and over again, that is to be sure about. And I am pretty sure that this Royal Marriage will be one that works... They are simply so in love, and clearly had their reasons for not marrying too soon... But, that's not to be discussed here. Overall, a really wonderful day it was.

4

The Windsors / Re: Princess Diana - Part 2

« on: April 29, 2011, 06:40:07 PM »

True...

It is good that the Royal Family has taken some lessons from the past, arranged but wrongly matched marriages, and is finally seeing what has been happening in Europe for years.... That Royalty does not need to inter-marry anymore. I think the Windsors tried to hang on to duty, etiquette and all that for too long. Nothing wrong with it, but one should not mess with love... Had Charles been able to marry Camilla ages before he ever met Diana things might have turned out completely different. The Monarchy as institution might not have been as popular as it was, and is, during Diana's lifetime and with her impact on the institution of Monarchy, but the scandals would have been avoided too. As Charles made his mistakes, and Diana made hers, and Camilla certainy has part of the blame too... The Royals might not have been as popular, as Diana really gave them a boost, but things would have gone gradually. However, that all is speculation. I do think that William has taken some lessons out of his parent's marriage and is determined to make his work, which I am sure it will as they have been 'walking' toward their wedding day gradually and now are really sure about what they want from their marriage... That is where Diana and Charles had gone wrong from the start, and Diana at first did not even realize it, their short engagement, or actually the time they'd been 'dating', if you can call it even that, and this should have been a warning, even for the public... But in the end people wanted to believe in the fairytale, which eventually became a tragedy.

5

The Windsors / Re: Princess Diana - Part 2

« on: April 27, 2011, 06:21:33 PM »

Well, I wonder... Did Charles ever love Diana or was it all orchestrated by him, the Royal Family and possibly even Camilla... They wanted a shy young thing, so she would do what they wanted and be out of the way for Charles to go messing with Camilla. The romantic notion would be that Charles and Camilla had grown apart and he really loved Diana but I don't think he ever loved Diana the same way as he loved Camillla. He might have cared about Diana, but he too saw her as a means to get an heir and when Diana sensed it was too late to save her marriage, that Camilla was there from the beginning and would never go she did all she could for her own happiness and freedom...

To quote Charles: "whatever love means"..... That, in my opinion, shows clearly Camilla always was there and that Diana, however charming and beautiful she was, never would win Charles' affection because these were already meant for Camilla. The quote shows, that's what I think, Charles intended on having a wife and a mistress.

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The Windsors / Re: Princess Diana - Part 2

« on: April 27, 2011, 03:19:35 PM »

Yes... That is why I said Diana was not a perfect woman. She was admirable for her charitable work, so is Charles, but Diana simply took on causes that were seen as dangerous and the fact that she was such a beautiful person, inside and out, got her that mythical status even within her lifetime(though I myself remember little, besides the landmines-issue and eventually her death and funeral). She was not the first Royal to engage so openly in public charity, nor will she be the last I am sure.... That is what made Diana so popular, that she went out there to show she cared.

However... Her married life was far from perfect, Charles obviously never loved Diana in the way he loves Camilla and even though he tried to make the marriage work he could not understand his wife, who was jealous the jealous wife of course, and simply went back to the one who understood him. Diana felt alone and scared, so she went looking for love, too, outside the marital bed. Eventually the marriage failed because the two of them were no match from the start and they were unable to understand each other.

7

The Windsors / Re: Princess Diana - Part 2

« on: April 26, 2011, 05:31:37 PM »

Exactly... Not only did she engage in Charity publicly, but she took some extreme causes on... Things that were not openly supported at the time, things that no one dared to 'touch' or even tried to understand. And, I don't even know why one would see "planting a tree" as charity. Yep, all good for the environment and such, but that is not going to make people support your cause. And Diana went out there, did things no one else would have dared to do in the hope that her charitable works would benefit from her patronage or involvement in it.

8

The Windsors / Re: Princess Diana - Part 2

« on: April 26, 2011, 10:31:36 AM »

I'm feeling a tad more sympathy or Diana... She was not perfect - who is? - but she was the one who had to endure the hardships, she was young and naive when she married... She had her doubts, was persuaded to go on with it and in the end she could not deal with the royal enviroment... And the Royal Family did not understand that, let alone her husbad, as they were living by rules set up ages ago... Having a mistress was seen as 'correct', as it used to be in the upper classes up to probably halfway through the last century. Diana was the first to openly stand up to it and that is one of the reasons why she is admired. Ofcourse she was manipulative when it comes to the press, using them for her own goals and she could simply drop out a friend who had made the mistake of spreading a story about her, among others, but does all that matter when she in fact was one of the few Royals who emphasize on the need for help and who do not only see it as duty... I can only name a few, who openly made a plea to change things and not did charity out of duty, to me that is the difference.... Usually charity was done in  private, for the poor and suffering, all Royals did and do that... But look at Alexandra and her sister... They both did charity, but Ella sort of wen 'openly' by starting her convent and doing good works there, Alix trained as a nurse, organized Charity at Yalta and such, but she did not do it publicly - besides Yalta, which sort of was Public Charity. Had she done that she would probably been much more popular, but she never overcame her shyness. That is what Diana did. Also, one must remember that dying young often gives someone more 'following' because of the tragedy and sadness.

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Having Fun! / Re: Famous Habsburgs in movies/plays/cartoons

« on: April 25, 2011, 11:53:46 AM »

I am back here:p

I promise I will get the musicals online as soon as I find the time... But I have another surprise:p

The first spoken movie on Elisabeth, which is quite true to history, is in my hands... I'll first do subtitles on this one and try to post it. It is in fact the one mentioned and discussed ages ago, from the 1930's.
The story is quite simple = We have missed a portion of the story as the movie starts shortly before Rudolf's birth, who is after his birth taken away from her, after that Elisabeth flees from the court and years later, when she hears her son is about to be married she returns and asks Franz to reconsider, who does not want her to meddle with politics, she fears the couple - like them - is not meant to be. When Rudolf is married he runs away in parties and women and Stephanie is left alone. Franz is informed that his son asked for an annulment behind his back and forces him to end things with Mary. Elisabeth has a conversation with a desperate Stephanie and on her behalf talks with Rudolf - impossible in reality - and she too asks Rudolf to end the affair, which he now promises her. At Mayerling Rudolf tells Mary they won't be married and there is only one way for them, so they die and when Elisabeth is told - true to history here - she informs Franz who is heartbroken. Years later Elisabeth has fled from public life, once again, and is still in mourning for her son. In Geneva she is eventually assassinated - this scene is actually recorded where it happened, in Geneva - and her final words are fictive here, as she says she does not want any goodbyes(this is in the hotel, after she is carried in... She wasn't even awake in reality).

Overall a nice film, too short for my liking, which covers most of her personal life but leaves out her one political triumph.

10

The Windsors / Re: Princess Diana - Part 2

« on: April 25, 2011, 11:08:02 AM »

It kinda creeps me out... Don't know why.

11

BeNeLux Royalty / Re: Queen Astrid of Belgium, Princess of Sweden

« on: April 25, 2011, 11:04:46 AM »

Agree on that. I did my share, ages ago... Maybe I should repost everyhting I have. People don't go reading all that is on here(obviously).

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The Habsburgs / Re: Crown Prince Rudolph--controversies, affairs & his death, Part II

« on: April 25, 2011, 11:02:36 AM »

He was handsome as a teen. No wonder, his parents both were great-looking people... It's amazing too, that his own daughter had a striking resemblance to her grandmother.

13

Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: Kon' Belyy(White Horse).

« on: February 19, 2011, 02:43:26 AM »

I'm afraid I may have gotten your hopes up : (
I haven't subtitled the film in English. I was just going to upload the film in its original Russian. I am sorry to disappoint : (

Another thing, are you intending to post the Russian version of 'Last days of the Last Tsar' too? Just curious, I'm trying to subtitle it, with the English version from your site as a guide, because the quality is amazingly good and well, it's one of my favorite depictions of those years - though a bit gloomy, melancholy and spiritualistic(?).... But enough, I'm going totally going off the tracks here

I actually haven't found a good Russian version of Last Days. I will keep an eye out for a good version though, if I find a nice one I will put it on the site.  What language are you trying to subtitle the documentary into?

Well, I'm trying to subtitle it into English, so just using the actual dialogue.... Just hope it is close to the Russian:p Once that will be done, if it gets finished, I might redo it in Dutch or German, but first let's finish the English one:p

I found a decent version on 'rutracker' I believe, much better in quality than the English recording... Though to have it in the English language is great thing too;-)

I'm looking forward to the updates.

14

Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: Kon' Belyy(White Horse).

« on: February 18, 2011, 05:02:58 PM »

Here's all the gootage with the IF in one clip...
http://www.sendspace.com/file/rapscr

The quality isn't amazing, but it's something atleast:-)

If you'd still want screencaps, let me know

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Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: Kon' Belyy(White Horse).

« on: February 18, 2011, 03:33:46 PM »

You are kidding Laura....

You know how amazing that is:p I have been dying to see this, and understanding it at the same time:p

You just made my day:-)

And, I'm curious out the series on Stolypin too.

Another thing, are you intending to post the Russian version of 'Last days of the Last Tsar' too? Just curious, I'm trying to subtitle it, with the english version from your site as a guide, because the quality is amazingly good and well, it's one of my favorite depictions of those years - though a bit gloomy, melancholy and spiritualistic(?).... But enough, I'm going totally going off the tracks here:p

Thanks Laura,

once again... Looking foreward to it.