Kylie Minogue

'KYLIE'

Every man's guilty pleasure

Five-foot-nothing of pure Antipodean perkiness, Kylie Minogue has been the girl of our dreams (and the woman of our dreams) for as long as any of us can remember. She’s had her ups and her downs, but she’s never thrown the towel in on being pop’s sexiest pixie, and we've never thrown in the towel on her.

Of course, she’s not solely about electropop and glittery hotpants – Kylie is also, lest we forget, an actual actress. From humble beginnings as dungaree-clad mechanic Charlene in Neighbours, she went on to appear in Street Fighter, Doctor Who and, more recently, the critically acclaimed and completely bat-shit-crazy fantasy film Holy Motors.

Forty-something and fitter than ever, we’re pretty sure that Kylie could survive a global nuclear apocalypse and you can bet she’d go on with the show like a total pro.

These photos are from the 2002 book, "Kylie: La La La", a photo/art book released by Hodder & Stoughton. This is not a traditional biography but rather a pictorial biography that is a photographic look at the stylization of Kylie's career. The book features many photos, mostly outtakes from previous shoots. William Baker wrote the majority of the text in the book, however many sections include hand-written paragraphs by Kylie. Many of the included photos reveal a side to Kylie that is only ever seen by her friends and family.

They are also a bit more revealing too, which is why I thought they might be appreciated here.

The INXS song Suicide Blonde was written about her and it's not hard to see why. Michael Hutchence once claimed that his favourite hobby was “corrupting Kylie”. Lucky fellow.

Over 200 pictures of Minogue had been published in the book, from her childhood days to her adult days. In the book, she stated that the photos are a "direct line from me to you". She said: 

"I've been involved in good, bad and ugly pictures and they all have their place. Some will stand the test of time. Others just satisfy a superficial and passing space in a newspaper or magazine but they are all powerful."

Originally, the book was intended to be a picture book, featuring pictures of Minogue in her "photographs and various pictorial images", mostly relating to fashion and style. However, she decided that it would have been better to add text to the book, saying...

"I decided that the pictures would benefit from some text to give them another aspect, shed some light on how they came to be or purely historical aside."

The reason why she didn't want to reveal everything in the book was because she wanted to keep most of the things in her life private. 'La La La' is currently the only biography book Kylie has written. She stated that every picture in the book shows an emotion and a story.

Amen to that Brothers!

Sting In The Tale

"During the fifties and sixties Chevrolet had used their special engineering laboratory to produce 'dream cars' and high performance one-off cars, one of which (a Corvette) set a record of over 150 mph at Daytona in 1965. So, Chevy's were equipped to enter the red·hot world of international sports car competition. But, also in 1965, all the major American makers took another look at the costs of their racing programmes and shuddered. They decided in consort with each other to pull out of factory involvement in NASCAR leaving the field to the private teams. Of course, there wasn't a complete cut-off of support and money. Help to the successful teams continued and continues today, but the direct link with the factories was cut. This redirection of factory resources meant that the GM Grand Sport project was killed before it could show what it could do. 

Horsepower continued to be increased and offered to the public. In 1967 the famous L-88 engine developed 550 hp. although the following year it was down to a measly 500 hp. In 1969 the ZL·1 427  cubic inch engine realised the staggering 585 hp, and production was up to 38.762 units. In 1970 this engine was again enlarged to 454 cubic inches but there was a cloud on the horizon. Washington, in the form of the Department of Transportation directed Detroit to cut their cars' horse power outputs and GM brought the ZL-1 engine down to a 350 cubic inches, however, by using 2½ inch exhausts, an 11-1 compression ratio and an 850 cfm Holley carb, it still pushed out 370 hp!! 

But the signs were becoming clear that Washington would be clamping down on high performance cars. Chevrolet set about improving (and it was urgently needed) the rest of the 'Vette in terms of steering, road holding, ride and brakes, all items more difficult to improve than sheer horse power increases and less 'presentable' to the buying public. But GM persevered and between 1971 and 1977 produced their best-balanced Corvette in terms of engine and chassis performance. 

As a vehicle to own and use, the Corvette in the American context, and if only insurance rates were on a par in the rest of the world, has no rival. It is less refined than a Porsche or Ferrari, but for very little money can be brought up to the dynamic levels of these machines. is very cheap to service and maintain, lasts a very long time by virtue of its rust-free plastic body, its massive chassis and the enormously strong and reliable engine and transmission. Between 6,000 mile services all that needs to be budgeted for is an oil change and replacement oil filter. plus a check on hoses and belts. There is no expensive OHC valve gear to require adjustment, as the 'Vette uses hydraulic tappets (as do Porsche on the 928 models!), a solid state maintenance-free ignition system and the superb Hydamatic auto transmission is 'bullet-proof’. a Corvette expert in California slated that the engine and transmission of a properly serviced 'Vette will last at least 150.000 miles! 

Having driven many miles in a Corvette I can only say that it is definitely one of the most enjoyable and fun cars available with no major faults to blot its copybook Maybe the best summing up of the car are the words of actor Robert Carradine. 

“It looks and performs great. If you want more performance it costs half the price of the other best cars in the world …"

What does the future hold for the Corvette'? 

Well. production has never been able to meet the demand, and still doesn't. GM has made annual improvements in the whole car. having taken it through four major new body style changes. both coupé and convertible versions. many engine and transmissions leading up to the new 1981 car which will feature a V-6 engine with turbocharger. neater and much lighter body, and much better brakes and suspension. 

So long as there are cars on America' s roads the Corvette will be in production as America's only sports car.  

A car with a real Sting In The Tail."

An item of interest for Dan Marsh, I know it's lonely 'out in the boondocks' mate. Originally published by Paul Raymond publishing 1981.

Good News

Signs of life in the front garden. This makes me feel optimistic. :-)

For Sale

4 x Mercedes E Class alloy wheels.

I wiped this one over with a damp cloth. They are stamped on the rear.
8J 16 H2

ET 34

They've been in my garage gathering dust and cobwebs for a few years now.

Top right is the wheel in the worst condition.

I'm told they sell for silly money per wheel and can be restored £50 a wheel.

Jeff Beck Master Built

Denmark Street, check the tag on the neck.

Limited run 2006 signature edition.
£ASK

Scouse Flit

Sophie does the offski, flitting off to Liverpool to spend the week with her Dad.

Joy chased her up the platform before bursting into tears after which, we spent a few hours walking the streets of London.

Pussy

What's yours taste like?

Birthday Girl

DJ celebrates her 18th birthday and makes a happy man feel somewhat old!

Marcos in Rayleigh is a great place for a night out and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys Spanish Tapas. 

A follow up next day at TGI's. 

Dragon's Den

The dragonfly's are back but this year they are blue striped.

CInders

Karen's Fairey Godmother went to work on the pumpkin.

The mice also got the treatment and the local cats started to worry about revenge.

Black & Gold

"They grew legs and they started walking" The frogpoles are leaving the water, still sporting tails this little fellow sits on the rock with my camera inches away. Looks like he'll soon be leaving the gene pool too?

Flower Power

Marie Fortie Rhododendron in full bloom. It's now on the way out. :-(

Passed Present

Jean has a glorious day, finally getting her well earned pass certificate. B-)

Flower Power

Signs of life in the front garden.

Mr. Blue Sky

What a glorious day! B-)

Exclusive!

New water feature unveiled in Gloucester Park.

Silent Night

-2 in May... What's that about?

You Got A Friend

Bold as brass or just plain daft, this young fox let his curiousity get the better of him.


Got him with the water pistol. ;-)

Look Who's Back!

乱世出真理

An on-line translation does not do it justice but I'm happy to find that it doesn't actually read 'Kick Me, I'm Stupid'

Something Fishy

The goldfish made it through the iceage so the Mrs decided to spring clean their gaff and give it a refurb! :-)