When in Rome

Oh, kittens, it's been a long, emotionally draining week for a variety of reasons – both personal and political. I'll tell you right now – just so you won't be surprised and can mentally prepare yourself for the anguish, ahem – that I'm going on vacation the first 10 days of September. I'll be recharging and posting very sporadically during that time. I hope to come back full of spark and many, many good nights sleep. Still, as tired (and apparently whiny, listen to me go on – boo hoo) as I am now, one thing never fails to light a delightful spark under me. That one thing, naturally, is Helen Mirren. God, I love that dame. So, it only follows that the news of an uncut, uncensored DVD edition of her 1979 Roman orgy “Caligula” got me excited in all the right places. No, it's not a great film by any leap of the imagination, but that's hardly the point. Heck, that cheeky monkey Helen herself called the film an “irresistible mix of art and genitals.” That has to be the best tagline in the history of cinema. So, how did Helen look in her “Caligula” days? Gosh, do you even have to ask? But, since you did, what follows should sufficiently whet your appetite for this greatest of dames circa 1979. What follows is also (tastefully) NSFW. So make sure your boss is at lunch and then hit the scroll button.

[Click to enlarge, you know you want to.]