Rávo's World

The Irish O'Bama Song

My new ambition is to choreograph a dance piece to accompany There's No One As Irish As Barack O'Bama. How amazing would that be? Really?

Why, yes, I am pro-Obama. My only reservation is that he's perhaps not raving liberal enough. But enough politics. Regardless of your political leanings, it's a marvellous song.

And in case anyone cares, I think he should get a mutt, of mostly poodle origin for the sake of his daughter. Don't underrate mutts!

I think my website needs updating. One of the links is dead, another I think is out of date. I need to actually write some of those essays I promised. And I think some of you would probably appreciate it if I wrote a short biography. Not that it's likely to contain more than this blog does, but perhaps not everyone is familiar with my family, my work or my early life.

Hugs and kisses,
Rávo

Liverpool

It never would even have occurred to me to go to Liverpool before now.

Except that the most lovely Francisco Bosch has been cast in a lead role in the ENB's performance of The Sleeping Beauty on the afternoon of 27th November!

Funny what urges crushes can give you. Like the urge to be in Liverpool on the afternoon of 27th November.

Can I go? Please please please please please can I go?

No?

Pretty please?

*sulk* Fine, then. We'll just have to hope that he wows the audience so spectacularly that he's cast into a performance in London that I can go to then, won't we?

Until casting information is published, I am sulking. Yes, even though I am still the happiest boi in the world. I can be the happiest sulking boi in the world.

Hugs and kisses (as long as you get me tickets to see Fran),
Rávo

Moving

Owing to the acquisition of a new computer, I had to do some fiddling in order to make this blog continue to work. See, Thingamablog is designed to work from one computer, and stores the database locally, which is all very well and good but means when you move to a new computer there is no record of anything that came before. So when you try to add a new entry, it overwrites the whole web record with nothing but that one entry. Fortunately I had backups!! So I didn't dare to post anything here until I was sure I could transfer the database across, something which I finally completed this evening.

So now I'm up and running once again, and normal service will be resumed.

First thing's first - I recently went to a dance show! Morphoses is a Transatlantic kind of cross between ballet and modern (though more ballet than modern). Three acts, about four pieces, which I think got steadily better throughout the show. I really enjoyed it!

However... Some of the postures they ended up in were so suggestive. Bearing in mind I am both queer and kinky, my mind tends to drop to the gutter rather fast, especially when a female dancer is bending over forward with a male dance standing up behind her, wriggling. What else could I think, really? So there I was tittering silently and being glared at from the seat next to me.

Note to self: gloves are REALLY sexy in dance. Black is not so great when the stage is black, as people in the upper circles looking down on the dancers tend to see hands as black-on-black, which means they miss some, but in a colour that stands out from the black...fantastic.

Also, I don't care if it's "traditional" - men in those crotch-outlining tights will always look ridiculous. It seems such a waste to let your gaze wander down over their broad shoulders and rippling back muscles, wiry biceps and slender hips...and then fix on that. Not that I'm objecting to crotches. I just think there's a time, a place and style.

Overall it was very well done, nice music, talented dancers, and some lovely costumes. I did enjoy myself. Would anyone like to come and see Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo with me sometime?

Anyway, I hope you are all well, my lovelies.

Hugs and kisses,
Rávo

Eurovision

Now, I love Eurovision.

What's not to love? It's cute, cheesy, corny, with bad music and worse costumes, dodgy dancing and generally camper than the metaphorical row of tents.

The British entry was cute and catchy - not earth-shattering, but certainly likeable and enjoyable. Being a self-confessed lover of Eurocheese, I of course loved Latvia, Azerbaijan and Spain with a passion. They were properly silly, not taking the contest remotely seriously, which I think is the way to go!

So, overall, I loved the contest. But pu-lease, the voting is just getting silly! Yes, I understand that if you have a Russian-derived culture then you are more likely to appreciate the crooning of a Russian pop star on stage, especially if he takes off his shirt in the warm-ups. But the "shared language and culture" influence seriously cannot be that strong! I mean, 90% of those songs, you could relabel as just about any country you wanted and if you translated the lyrics they'd be perfectly interchangeable. As I was reading the subtitles the whole time, I honestly couldn't even tell you with any accuracy which of the songs were English and which were in any other language, so I don't believe language makes that much difference to anyone who can read and press the subtitles button on their TV. So no, anyone who argues it has nothing to do with politics, gas pipelines and general sucking up doesn't convince me for a moment.

I don't particularly think the UK should have won - it might have been nice, but there were several other entries that perfectly well deserved more recognition than the current voting strategies will afford. It's not even the UK coming bottom that disappoints me. It's the fact that unless you're in a little political vote-trading-relationship these days, you could enter the best, spunkiest, cutest and most adored song in the world and you still wouldn't win. Which...is not the point of Eurovision. It's meant to be about fun, corny acts and a good laugh. A bit of politics is to be expected, but I can totally understand why our darling Terry is grumbling. It's not funny any more.

This will be my one rant on the subject - after all, it's Eurovision, you can't take it that seriously. But I think if it's to continue with its previous success, things will have to change.

On a brighter note, Boogaloo Stu is adorable and I love him and I want him to come home with me and sit on my dressing table. Can I take him home now please?

Hugs and kisses (especially to you, Stu!),
Rávo

I think I should be ashamed of myself

I think I may just have crossed into the category normally reserved for Trekkies and stamp collectors. I'm not normally the type to be regarded as a "sad geek" - after all, I do not, thankfully, live with my mother, and my grooming routine typically takes an hour in the morning and at least another hour each night. Not stereotypically geeky, I am told.

However...I have recently done something that marks me out as a true geek. Or perhaps just a true fanboi...

I spent £12 on a DVD, purely because it contained around 1 second of footage of Francisco Bosch.

And then I played back the relevant clips at one-sixteenth speed to make sure I did not miss a single frame with him in.

Am I sad, or am I sad?

Incidentally, Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute is a very cute DVD. The CGI is a bit...flaky...but the overall product is sweet. For various reasons I find most opera lyrics completely incomprehensible (especially sopranos), so Wikipedia came in handy, but as long as I knew what was going on, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hugs and kisses and Francisco-related squeeing,
Rávo

Dark Passion Play

Nightwish's new album, Dark Passion Play, has a distinctively different feel to all their previous stuff, and this is almost entirely due to their new singer. In general I would say that it was inferior...but ohhhhhh, it is SO good to dance to! If someone gave me a room the size of an average Gothic cathedral, and put that on full volume with a nice heavy bass, I could dance all night. I mean it.

And it would look absolutely breathtaking...especially if I had about thirty other dancers to lead...

Hugs and breathless kisses,
Rávo

Test post

Test post.

This blog has been developing a bad attitude recently. I am hoping that either it will fix itself, or else I will work out what is wrong. Bah.

Hugs and kisses,
Rávo

Feet of Flames

So, last weekend my copy of Michael Flatley's Feet of Flames arrived, and I watched.

In many ways it was almost exactly what I had expected of it - basically Lord of the Dance with more glitz and sparkly bits, and some extra numbers in. Overall, I would say it made for good watching for a couple of hours, and some nice entertainment.

I do, however, wonder how on earth Helen Egan has not yet lost her sanity. After playing those same few bars of the LotD song on that little penny-whistle about six times a show in every single performance, I know I would be a convulsing, gibbering wreck on the floor. On the plus side, her character, The Evil Fairy MunchkinThe Little Sprite (who I consider to be the most annoying character in the whole piece) does now get some real dancing to do now and again, which is probably a good thing, as makes the character look less parasitic on the show.

Lots of Michael Flatley playing the flute. I actually don't much care for the sound his flute makes. It sort of reminds me of when people get drunk and blow into empty wine bottles. But each to his own...

Bernadette Flynn and Gillian Norris are as gorgeous as ever. Make-up seemed to be brighter and sparklier in FoF compared to LotD - I don't know whether that was for the enormous audience, or to jazz things up. Made Bernadette Flynn look less virginally innocent, in any case. I actually thought Gillian Norris' dance routines looked less seductive than the ones in LotD, not sure why. What do I know? - I'm gay.

Michael Flatley's costumes seemed to get progressively sillier over the course of the performance, right up to the somewhat iconic red sequinned monstrosity that has become almost iconic of the show.

However, in spite of my whinging and whining, I enjoyed it. As much as I enjoy any of Flatley's stuff, at least. They tend to have the budget, the glamour and, with the exception of the cringeworthy Celtic Tiger, nice costumes. And the dancing comes out looking polished. So I will be rewatching that DVD, definitely.

Ordering process for The Curse of King Tut's Tomb went horribly wrong and DVD got lost somewhere between the USA and here, so re-ordered via Amazon.com. Finger crossed, this one will arrive... It has been suggested that perhaps the postman is making off with goodies. This makes me laugh, as in that case the postman has landed himself with a Region 1 movie that I knew was dreadful when I ordered it. I think the joke is on him!

Hugs and kisses,
Rávo

Nina's Heavenly Delights

Best movie of 2006. Without a doubt.

What more could I want? Food, dancing, pretty boys, adorable lesbians, cute boys in drag (and/or pink trousers)... Mmmm!

Bobbi, how I love thee.

Fran, I loved you even before this. Now, I love you more.

I want the DVD.
And Bobbi's underpants.

Hugs and kisses,
Rávo

PS I am making a new category for "movies". Will amend earlier entries accordingly.

Washing machine

Doing laundry should not make me want to dance!

Yet there I was, with the two dryers going round, setting this hypnotic, dynamic rhythm. And all I wanted to do was put on dancing shoes and start dancing, right there in the laundry room! I had the dance choreographed, each step all preordained...I just looked like a nelly dancing in a well-lit room when it's dark outside. Maybe next time I'm drunk...

Hugs and kisses,
Rávo

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Lookie here!!!!!

The upshot of this is that I will be seeing Nina's Heavenly Delights this coming Friday, just down the road. Hooray!!

I am a very happy boy!

Hugs and kisses,
Rávo

Meme?

I would like to know who really believes in gay rights. There is no bribe of a miracle or anything like that. If you truly believe in gay rights, then send me your panties, a large box of Thornton's and Queer as Folk on DVD, along with a signed photo of Breandán de Gallaí, thereby supporting my right, as a gay, to expensive merchandise. If you don't believe in gay rights, then just ignore this. Thanks.

Kitten bells are so damned cute.

I am absolutely bursting to see Nina's Heavenly Delights, but apparently I have to wait till 13th October when it's showing in Cambridge. I am twitching with excitement, it's not fair!

Hugs and kisses,
Rávo

I love London!

This city seriously was designed for me! We walked from Stepney Green to Aldgate, and I think I found heaven. They have shops and shops full of pretty salwars and sarees. Colours, sparkly bits, floaty fabrics...beautiful. Girls, run in fear, or I will attempt to dress you up. Seriously, if I had money and time, those shops would be totally cleaned out.

Onwards, there was a cute goth/mosher shop, where there was a gorgeous red and black basque - that sort of vampire movie style, very pretty indeed. The shop was one of those strange ones where everything is still mostly packed in bags; a treasure trove, I say. I am going back!

Also, new flatmate is a goddess! Her room is full from top to bottom of pictures of magnificent ballet dancers, and she is a dancer...and she likes going to ballets...and she is lovely, and...she is a dancer!!!! If I was not gay, and 100% taken, I would be down on one knee asking for her hand in marriage.

Today, I am happy!

Hugs and kisses,
Rávo

A confession

I need to make a confession.

I think some people may be under the impression that, like many of the fancy, handsome dancers who star in these DVDs I rave about, I can do perfect, flawless somersalts across the stage. Probably using one hand only.

I realised I owed it to the universe to admit that this is not, in fact, the case.

No matter how hard I try, practice and read manuals that explain how it works, I appear to be physically incapable of doing somersalts.

Do not get me wrong: I would love to be able to do them. But I just...cannot. It is a source of continuing frustration to me, and naturally imparts something of a sense of failure. How will my audience-wooing, stage-possessing, breathtaking powers reach their pinnacle when other dancers can impress the audience with dramatic somersalts and I cannot?

*sigh* I am going to go off and eat chocolate now.

Hugs and kisses,
Rávo

To-do list!

Things I need to get around to doing on here:

• Reviews of: Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Dancing on Dangerous Ground and Gael Force Dance DVDs.
• Essay #1 on dancing.
• More links.
• Make blog prettier.
• Sulk because I cannot have my own favicon.
• Throw things because I cannot have my own favicon.
• A guestbook?

Hey, can people comment on this blog? *runs to look*