Was Madame Tussaud a Real Person?

I’ve been tormented by mentionings of the over-played and over-photographed Katy Perry the last couple of days. She’s been popping up in all my favourite places, and all because a new wax statue of her was placed on exhibition in the Las Vegas branch of Madam Tussauds  Museum.

The plague of Perry aside, I find the wax museum an interesting enough concept. My bestie and I visited there when we were in Vegas a few years ago – it was a fun excursion, and kept us out of the desert heat for a couple of hours. Some of the figures were obviously more similar to their living counterparts than others, and D and I were both too cowardly to enter the “scary” section, but it was worth whatever we paid as an entry fee to pose for bizarre photos with our favourite celebrities.  Speaking of favourite celebrities, I bet this particular figure has been kissed a lot.

I was curious, though: was Madam Tussaud an actual living person at one time? Or is the name just that – a name? So, I did an online search and yes, indeed she was real. Her name was Anna Maria Grosholtz (the Tussaud name came later via marriage) and she was from Strasbourg, which sounds like it should be in Germany or Austria or somewhere similar but is actually in France . Her mom cleaned house for a doctor who made wax figures (as part of his medical studies? no idea), and he was the one that taught her how to do it.

I kind of like that idea of an older physician taking interest in the intelligent daughter of his housekeeper, spending his spare time patiently teaching the young girl his craft. I’m preferring to ignore the vague possibility that he was just a creepy pedophile with unsavory intentions and instead am thinking of him as kindly and freethinking – after all, this was in the late 1700s and not many educated men were interested in teaching a woman. That is, anything above the blanket.

Anyways, Anna Maria started out by creating a model of Voltaire when she was just 16, and from there went on to take a macabre interest making masks from the decapitated heads of people executed during the French revolution. Yuck. Eventually she set up her first real shop on Baker Street – famous for another one of its (although fictional) residents, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

Another thing I really like is that Madame Tussaud got to die in her sleep at the ripe old age of 80-something. Not too shabby. 

How Many Countries ARE There!?

Last night Cole and I were watching wrestling, as we like to do, and something they always like to say in their promotional spots is that their show is viewed in so-and-so-many countries -- I think, like, 105. It made me wonder - how big of a deal is that? How many countries ARE there in the world who could possibly view Monday Night Raw or Friday Night Smackdown? Of course, I turned to ask Cole as for some reason unbeknownst to him I keep thinking he has all the answers, but he didn't know either. So, I decided to look into the matter. 

I had NO idea how tricky of a question this would turn out to be! Apparently, according to www.worldatlas.com, the number of countries varies depending on who you ask! About.com states that their official response to the question is 196, though there are only 193 member countries in the United Nations. Did you know that the Vatican City is considered its own country? And that its not a member of the UN? I thought that was intriguing. And Kosovo is not a member of the UN either! 

Interestingly, there are also several places I always thought were countries that actually aren't! It makes sense about Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England actually all being members of the United Kingdom - although I don't approve. They should all be sovereign entities! Its the zero-zeros people! But I had NO idea that Greenland isn't an official country! And I even did a project on Greenland in Grade 7! Another kid slips through the cracks of the education system.

In case you're curious, Greenland is actually a constituent country of Denmark! Did anyone in Greenland notice that they're country is a billion times bigger? Yeah, yeah, I know, Denmark has more people and less land mass to protect in case of war. But still.

And Taiwan is not considered its own country either! If Taiwan was a person and you asked it, hey, are you a country? Taiwan would answer yes. But for some reason, China insists that Taiwan is just one of their provinces! Apparently Taiwan was even its own member of the UN until China REPLACED it in 1971. How does something like that happen!? Poor little itty bitty Taiwan! *sad face*

And, I'm using a lot of exclamation marks because this is just all so interesting, I may explode. 

Does Whatever a Spider Can

As a follow-up to my window washing post the other day...

a pair of window washers working at the London Children's Hospital. It's a much-circulated photo but I think that this is just so cool. Too bad costumes weren't mandatory for ALL individuals in that industry! Any suggestions on what you'd like to see your friendly neighbourhood window washers wearing?

Is Old Man Luedecke Actually Old?

The one great thing about iTunes, at least for me, is the excitement of stumbling across a new artist that I otherwise would never have known about. One such artist calls himself Old Man Luedecke. The first song I ever heard of his was called I Quit My Job and I loved it. It's super simple, all voice and banjo singing and is about throwing off the shackles of working for the man. Sample lyric "don't let them take the joy that you make on your own." At the time that I first heard it one of my best friends was going through a tough time at her job and I played the song for her to inspire her. Unfortunately, because it was Old Man Luedecke and not Justin Bieber, the message didn't really get across. Still, I was lucky enough to have found a new Canadian musician to enjoy.

OML's newest album was released on October 2nd and I instantly fell in love with his new song I'm Fine (I Am, I Am). It's pure aural pleasure and makes my heart happy to hear it. It's also a little inspiring for me as I struggle through some tough times. You can listen to the song and watch the super charming video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIEEDYowZhA.

Anyways, it occurred to me (before watching any of his videos), how OLD is Old Man Luedecke? And after some serious rooting around online - and I mean serious (Wikipedia didn't do shit for me this time!) - I found that Luedecke (real name Chris) is only about 36. He was 35 at the printing of an article that was published last June, which you can find here: http://www.thetelegram.com/Arts---Life/Entertainment/2011-06-09/article-2570595/Old-Man-Luedecke%26rsquo%3Bs-search-for-honesty/1 

So, all in all not exactly what you would call old. Or, at least, not what I would call old. Anymore. *cough* Perhaps an 18 year old would disagree?  

Who is Misha Collins?

This upcoming weekend, our fair city is hosting the Edmonton Expo, something I like to think of a safe haven for the geek monster within all of us. What caught my attention about the Expo initially was their street poster advertising the attendance of special guest Adam West, the most classic of classic Batmans. My boyfriend Cole is a Batman enthusiast, and there is no corner of our apartment that does not hold some tribute to the comic book hero. Cole's substantial caped-crusader collection, naturally, includes the entire original Batman series downloaded for our viewing pleasure, and I thought he would get a kick out of getting to see its star. 

Unfortunately, the Expo's Facebook page just posted an announcement that West experienced a serious back injury last week and is now unable to attend the event. Good thing we didn't already buy our tickets! As they did the last time a featured guest cancelled, the Expo immediately posted the addition of three new celebrities to the roster in an effort to lessen the blow. One of the new names is that of Misha Collins, who, unlike Julie Newmar and Lee Majors, is someone I have never heard of before. So, I looked him up online!

    image courtesy of Fanpop.com

What a dish! According to IMDB.com, Misha is best known for his role as an angel named Castiel on Supernatural, a show I've never watched but for so many reasons probably should have! Hunky guys, paranormal stuff, action, romance? Why have I never tuned in!? Unfortunately, Mr. Collins is ALSO known for playing real-life murderer Paul Bernardo, which is a role I wouldn't like as MY claim to fame. Ick. 

The Edmonton Expo does still have a pretty cool cast of characters, and since Friday is payday I might have a few dollars to spend on random merchandise. We'll see if Lando Calrissian is enough incentive for me to scrub away the tearstains from my mother's memorial on Saturday and put my geek-rags on! For more info on the Expo, running October 20th and 21st in Hall E of the Northlands Expo Facility, visit http://edmontonexpo.com.