Month: February 2008

Accoutrement Belt Plate: Exposed!

Accoutrement Belt Plates[rating:5/5]
For some unknown reason, I happened to come upon an “advance copy” of the latest book on the Tiffany & Co. fake belt buckle scam. The one involving the bogus brass and bronze buckles that flooded the antiquities market back in the 1970’s and 1980’s. While these buckles have now been thoroughly debunked, that hasn’t stopped others from trying to make outlandish profits from them since then: I just came across a fake of a fake (yes, it was a copy of one of the original fake buckles!) being offered on eBay for a mere $2,500. Thank God no one bid on the thing!

The book I’m referring to is the infamous catalog, Accoutrement Belt Plates, that promoted the fake Tiffany & Co. belt buckles, and touted them as geniune is coming to the collectors market in just a few short weeks. Click on the picture to the left to order your advance copy from Amazon.com. Gosh, can’t imagine why I would review this book. 🙂

Eye Candy

Elizabeth - The Golden Age[rating:5/5]

It’s not often that I review movies (there are some exceptions) but felt compelled to do so here as there seem to be so many that disliked Elizabeth – The Golden Age. I saw this when it first came out in the theaters and was thoroughly impressed. Yes, the costumes were spectacular, the photography superlative, and the scenery breathtaking; in other words, this film is filled with eye candy. Cate Blanchett played the awesomely beautiful queen and I was transfixed by her performance – something that normally doesn’t happen to me when I go to a movie.

Granted, there may be many historical inaccuracies in this film but I didn’t buy a ticket to receive an education – I use other sources (such a books) to accomplish that. (What a concept!) Elizabeth – The Golden Age, effectively transported me out of the here and now into another realm which only the arts can do. It also led to a desire to read more on the life of the “Virgin Queen.” It is for those reasons that I would highly recommend this film.