Book Review: Furious Love

I recently finished one of the best non-fiction books I have read in a very, very long time. The book is called Furious Love and it chronicles the rocky romance of Hollywood royalty, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.



Diving into the book, I only knew the bare minimum about the famous mega-couple. Growing up, I had often heard references from the media and my parents about "Liz & Dick." I knew their romance and two marriages were considered shockingly scandalous. I knew they fought a lot and drank a lot.



But this book really opened my eyes. I truly had no idea how much their romance rocked the world.



Elizabeth and Richard met and fell in love while filming the epic, financially disastrous Cleopatra in 1960. Both were married to other people at the time.



The scandal created a frenzy that puts Brangelina to shame. The two were bombarded in private and in public by hungry paparazzi and journalists, who were desperate to capture risque photos of the two lovers.



Elizabeth and Richard didn't care about the havoc they caused or the people they hurt. They were completely and utterly in love. They were obsessed with each other. They eventually wed in 1964.



The Vatican condemned the home-wrecking couple, the U.S. Senate tried to pass a law revoking Elizabeth's citizenship, and the Mexican government even tried to prevent the couple from vacationing there because it didn't want the "American trash" to corrupt their beautiful landscape.



But the two remained devoted to each other, despite the bad press. Elizabeth and Richard rearranged their filming schedules so they were never apart. They even filmed numerous movies together, including my personal favorite, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.



The luxurious lifestyle these two movie stars shared was absolutely mind-blowing. They jet-setted around the world in private planes and million-dollar yachts. They partied with European royalty and drank champagne like water.

Plus, Richard wouldn't hesitate to spend millions of dollars on sparkling diamonds for his raven-haired bride.



During their decade of marriage, they were the most famous people in the entire world.



Unfortunately, it was a romance between two people who had too much in common. Their alcohol dependency ruined their marriage and almost ruined their lives. Their dramatic, violent fights were also wearing them down.



Although their two marriages didn't last, it was an eternal romance. Furious Love illustrates how underneath the media obsession, Elizabeth and Richard had one of the greatest love stories ever told.

Elizabeth Taylor contributed to this book, before her death, by giving exclusive interviews and also allowing dozens of Richard's love letters to be published. This intimate portrait of two soul mates took my breath away.

Their love was heartbreaking. It was magical. It was real.

I highly recommend Furious Love. In fact, I insist that you pick it up from your local library or bookstore immediately.

You may just fall in love with love.

Five Things You Probably Didn't Know...

First, I want to thank everyone for the sweet comments yesterday.

When I'm not busy being depressed, I spend most of my time reading the news and catching up on my favorite history magazines.

In other words, my mind is filled with a lot of random shit.

I've decided to put my acquired knowledge to good use and educate you about random things. Sometimes I feel like this blog is not a blog, but instead a very prestigious university of fabulousness. And you are all my sweet, darling pupils, anxious to learn.

So, my children, here are five random things you might not have known.

Enjoy!


The Soapman



Soapman is a corpse who has turned into soap.

This man lived in Philadelphia and was buried there around 1800. His body was discovered in 1875 during the digging of a train depot foundation.

His body was unusually preserved from water seeping into his casket, bringing alkaline soil with it, turning the fats in his body to soap through a type of hydrolysis known as saponification.

I don't know about you, but I am stunned this premise has not been turned into a horror film yet. "Better take a bath kiddies, otherwise the Soapman will get youuuu!"


Allergic to Art?



There is an actual illness called the Stendhal Syndrome, which causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when a person is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful.

Do you suffer from this condition?


Alice Keppel



Long before Camilla Parker Bowles wrecked the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana, her promiscuous great-grandmother caused scandals everywhere she went during the late 1800s.

The very married Alice Keppel slept her way up to the top of the social ladder amongst British aristocracy. She eventually became the mistress to King Edward VII. Her daughter, Violet, would go on to be one of the most scandalous lesbians in British history, hooking up publicly with Virginia Woolf's girlfriend and eventually shacking up with sewing machine heiress, Winnaretta Singer.

Strangely enough, Alice did not disapprove of her daughter's blatant homosexuality during the early 1900s. She was actually quite pleased when her daughter settled down with the filthy rich Winnaretta, because it brought their family a lot of wealth and power.


US Weekly's grandfather



The very first gossip magazine, Broadway Brevities, arrived in the United States in 1916. It covered the shocking escapades of stage actors and millionaires. It focused on sex, drugs, and crime.

Despite its popularity, New York City eventually banned the racy tabloid from new stands in the 1930s.


And finally...shitdamnfuckhell.



Those words weren't that shocking back in the 1800s, believe it or not. But mouths would drop open if you let one of these horrific cuss words slip from your lips.

Here were the most common cuss words in the United States during the 19th century:

adventuress: slut
blazes: hell
boat-licker: ass-kisser
cherry: vulgar term for a young woman
Nancy-boy: an effeminate man
scalawag: mean, rotten or worthless person
Strumpet: whore
tarnation: damn

If some of you are still living in the 19th century, I apologize profusely for my profanity.


So, did you learn anything new? Did you like this post? Would you like to see more posts like it in the future?

Why do you come here?

I had planned to do an entire post about my adventures in Portland.

Crazy shit happened. It was depressingly hilarious.

But I'm back in the life of the living dead.

I crashed into my pool of unhappiness last night. I'm simply not in the mood to entertain you with my wit. And I'm not going to bore you with my problems, because I don't want to be an emotional slut.

Besides, most of you know the challenges I'm facing right now, anyway.

So I'm going to spend today gathering my thoughts and I'll try to capture my negative emotions into a bottle. Perhaps like lightning bugs they will eventually die overnight. (They won't, but it was a nice sentiment, right?).

In the meantime, please allow my future husband, Morrissey, to feed your mind with love.

Beautiful Misfit

You can have Audrey.

You can keep Grace.

My heart belongs to Marilyn.



"No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they're pretty, even if they aren't."


"I don't want to make money, I just want to be wonderful."


"I used to think as I looked out on the Hollywood night — there must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me, dreaming of becoming a movie star. But I'm not going to worry about them. I'm dreaming the hardest."


"Everyone's a star and deserves the right to twinkle."



"I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am pretty, but not beautiful. I have friends, but I am not the peacemaker. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love."


"Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world."



"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."


"The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up."



"It's all make believe, isn't it?"



"It's often just enough to be with someone. I don't need to touch them. Not even talk. A feeling passes between you both. You're not alone."


"Dogs never bite me. Just humans."



"I want to grow old without face lifts...I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I've made. Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then you'd never complete your life, would you? You'd never wholly know you."



"Fame has a special burden."



I am going to Oregon for five days. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I will see you lovelies on Wednesday. xoxo

Jonny's Pick: Humoresque

"Here's to love...and here's to the time when we were little girls, and no one asked us to marry."



I recently saw another film my darling Jonathan picked out for me. It is the 1946 movie, Humoresque, starring Joan Crawford and John Garfield.



Humoresque follows the tale of Paul Boray, a struggling violinist, desperate to be part of the classical music scene.



He is discovered by a wealthy married socialite, Helen Wright. She is enchanted by his talent and sets out to make him a star.



The two embark on a playful affair.



But sex quickly turns to love.



Their romance in doomed from the very start. After all, Helen is married and has been married twice before. Paul's close knit family does not approve of his romance with the ball-busting alcoholic heiress.



Helen also quickly learns that loving a musician is an incredibly difficult task. She will always play second fiddle to his first love, the violin. Plus, the more successful Paul gets, the more obsessed with his career he becomes. She feels completely neglected and devastatingly depressed.



It is the perfect role for Hollywood diva, Joan Crawford. She portrays the emotionally battered and bruised vamp with an incredibly vulnerable performance. All without losing her snap, of course.



After all, it is Joan Crawford.



I was also pleased with the realistic chemistry between Joan and her co-star, John Garfield. The two really seemed to mesh together. Which isn't surprising, given their obvious playfulness in the behind-the-scenes photo above. The two were actually close friends.

I highly recommend Humoresque. The screenplay was beautifully written and contains some of the best one-liners in Hollywood history. The acting by both stars was superb. Plus, the breathtaking classical music doesn't only narrate this film, it practically steals the show...and your heart.

Thanks to my bestie, Jonny, for introducing me to this magical film!

Les Chiennes

When I was a little girl, I poured through my mother's Vogue and Elle magazines, memorizing every detail of every fashion editorial. I would make up stories for each editorial, complete with names and personalities for the models. It was like playing with Barbies.

That shit would keep me entertained for hours.

Well, I haven't grown up much.

Here is a fashion fairytale. Enjoy.

Once upon a time...



There were two best friends. The brunette was named Hope and the blonde was named Sunny.



They did everything together, especially shopping!



Sunny always brought her little doggy!



Hope took photos! Yay!



Aren't they having so much fun?




Sunny enjoyed learning new things and being sociable. She wanted to have a million friends!



She also enjoyed looking in the mirror a lot and admiring her looks.



Hope was a waitress in a really cool diner. She loved her job!



She didn't care much about her looks or her social life anymore, because she was so wrapped up in her steady boyfriend.

But people are never who they seem.



Insecure about her looks, Sunny sought the attention of every guy who was nice to her. There was not a douchebag or sleazeball in sight who didn't have her phone number. She texted them all!



Hope was a judgemental bitch who thought she was always right. She was a spoiled princess from a wealthy family and expected everyone to bow down to her. And she totally didn't approve of Sunny's outlandish behavior.

That made Sunny mad.



So she snapped her fingers and had one of her henchmen strangle Hope! Oh no!



After the deed was done, Sunny panicked. She didn't want to go to jail. She was too pretty for jail! So, in order to dispose of the body, she chopped Hope up into tiny little pieces. She put her into a food processor and added milk, chocolate, and ice. She turned Hope into a milkshake!



Sunny drank Hope when she thought no one was watching.

But what she didn't know is that Hope always got the last word.

Hope had suspected Sunny was going to kill her. So, she had actually sipped poison before Sunny's henchman had found her!

By eating Hope, Sunny had ingested the poison as well!



Sunny's lifeless body was found by her henchman. He had always been in love with her, despite her wild ways. He was devastated.


Well, I hope you're having a better week than Hope and Sunny!