So that's what it takes - they should have threatened to put his image on your currency years ago then...

I didn't think I'd get so emotional when the Queen died. I suppose it's because she's been Queen the entire time I've been alive. Feels like a massive chunk of history has left us. 

That is one of many things I respect her for, though I have little use for the celebrity side of monarchy, especially after dealing with the feeding frenzy when Princess Diana died and we were inundated with people wanting to buy up every piece of junk with her image on it.

Elizabeth accepted and carried out her duties with grace and dignity, and did a lot to restore her public's respect of the monarchy, much as Queen Victoria did in her reign.

I always liked this story, from Elton John, about playing at Prince Andrew's 21st birthday party....




Lest we forget, she started carrying out duties at a very young age, including this 1940 radio broadcast, during the BBC's Children's Hour, as a morale booster.

Also passing away was French director Just Jaeckin.



Jaeckin was a photographer and sculptor and became a film director, noted for his erotic works, including Emmanuelle, starring Sylvia Kristel, based on the novel by Emmanuelle Arsan. He would follow with an adaptation of The Story of O, by Pauline Reage. Then came Madame Claude, about an actual French brothel madam, Fernande Grudet, aka Madame Claude. From the comic world, he directed Tawny Kitaen in The Perils of Gwendoline (In the land of Yik-Yak), based extremely loosely (as in mostly just using names) on the bondage-themed comic The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline, by John Willie (John Alexander Scott-Coutts).

Apart from Emmanuelle, his films were often poorly reviewed and were not major hits and were often outright banned or heavily censored. Emmannuelle was a mainstay of Cinemax, when I was in high school, and I saw Perils of Gwendoline on vhs, later. I only saw a few minutes of Emmanuelle, as a teenager. For the most part, Jaeckin was a great visualist, but not the greatest storyteller and his films aren't noted for their acting performances. Gwendoline actually tries to be a bit of an adventure film, which has moments, but the actors are not very good. The early part of the film is somewhat reminiscent of Terry and the Pirates-style adventure and it gets visually stunning, when they reach the hidden city, but it also gets pretty weird, as Gwendoline has to masquerade as a warrior and take part in a gladiatorial match, as part of an armored team, pulling a chariot. Dave Stevens did an homage to it on the cover of the first issue of Dark Horse Comics' Cheval Noir, which reprinted Franco-Belgian comics. Ironically, that first issue also starts a serialization of Francois Schuiten's A Fever in Urbicand and Schuiten was a conceptual designer on Gwendoline.

Sad, but not unexpected news about the Queen. Hard to imagine Britain without her really. People over here seem to be in a mild state of shock this morning. It's hard to wrap your head around the fact that she's not Queen anymore.

I mean, I'm certainly no fan of the monarchy-- I firmly believe the whole institution should be removed. But even I feel some affection and respect for the Queen. I have always considered her to be the best of the lot. She was never supposed to be Queen, after all, and yet she selflessly and stoically dedicated her life to her duty for 70 years, with little in the way of any controversy. I, for one, respect her for that.

I won't grieve for her -- she lived a long and very comfortable life -- but I do feel sorry for her family and friends. I also feel sad for the passing of a public figure who has been a cornerstone of British life for as long as I -- and most other people -- can remember. She generally seemed like a good egg to me, who carried herself with self-discipline and grace. She will be missed.