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Andrew.

Bisexuality

So I've just been sat on my bed chatting away to my flatmate and the conversation rolled around to bisexuals, and the strange "Bromance Syndrome" that appears to be sweeping through today's straight demographic. She argued that bisexuality is, "like flats and heels. You can't wear both at the same time. And you secretly only like one, really. Heels will make you feel good and sexy for one night, but in the morning you'll need to go back to your flats."

Wise words!

かわいいですね!

[kawaii desu ne!]

^_____^

No, I've not turned into a pantie-wetting otaku (although I might be on my way soon!), just trying to speed my way through the last four volumes of Absolute Boyfriend for my extended study.

I've got soo much crit. to read! T___T``

Renaissance

Again, just another quickie. Vogue Hommes Japan #4: "Rebirth of Nature". Loving quite a bit!

Model - Julius Gerhardt, photographed by Josh Olins.

• Givenchy
• Tom Ford
• Chanel
• Calvin Klein
• Armani

Feeling something very GaGa about these pieces too!

Vogue Hommes Japan

I do enjoy!!

Nicolas Ripoll by Karim Saldi; styling - Shun Watanabe.

What's that coming over the hill?

Oh, it's new gossip, dear blogger chums!

Gah! It feels like I've not posted in ever so long, which is true, but this is mainly due to laziness and nothing more than pure, "Cba to post." I shan't lie. BUT! A lot has happened, and there's a lot which deserves some attention here for you to feast your eyes. I just wish my nose hadn't decided to turn into a massive mucus factory tonight - and out of nowhere too!! So quick, quick, quick!! for I have vodka that needs to find entry into my system sharpish before I head out: Semester 1 results were a win, drinks and dinner with our legendary senior lecturer, 3 days till GaGa, 6 days till we enter the Asylum, eye sequins, up-and-coming rat's tails, costumed Alice in Wonderland cinema trip + drunken debauchery. There's a million other things. Bah! I'll regale you some more tomorrow. Hopefully not too hungover! But that'll never happen. Monday nights = POWERHOUSE! (Y)

And what.

Once upon a dream

Also, I'm so incredibly excited to see The Birmingham Royal Ballet's The Sleeping Beauty in March at the Sunderland Empire!! :) I was soo sad last year when they brought Beauty & the Beast and I missed it. So, I thought I'd just quickly post a couple of exciting photos of Princess Aurora and Prince Florimund, Carabosse, The Blurbird and Princess Florine, Cinderella and Prince Fortune :)

I'm almost there.

The past two and a half weeks have been pretty eventful and with so much excitement already behind me, I can barely contain myself for what's still to come!

So, two Fridays ago I went to see Ashley Page's beautiful Scottish Ballet Production of The Nutcracker which I absolutely adored! Definitely a lot different from what I was expecting, but glorious nonetheless. Sticking closely to ETA Hoffman's original story, Page sets this work in 1920s Germany, with sleek, silk gowns and smart dinner jackets. Fantastic! It was so exciting seeing the front of the Stahlbaums' house opening up just like a doll's house. Magical. And just as magical, was the dance of the snowflakes at the end of Act 1 (one of my favourites from this ballet), drifting in through a fractured window after the house's transformation. Another dance I thought was excellent, the Arabian dance in Act 2's divertissement; very sexy and so incredibly powerful -- took my breath away. Dances that I felt let down by, however, where the Russian dance and the Waltz of the Flowers. I don't know, I just expected more from these two. Maybe my expectations where too high (or too traditional, perhaps). But, redeeming features in the Waltz definitely came through in the costumes and also Page's brilliant vision to introduce two male Orchid roles amongst the Courgette flowers and Poppies. And can I just say, the costumes on those two guys were absolutely beautiful! Green tailcoats made to look like long petals (doesn't sound like there's much to them, but they really were amazing!!).

Scottish Ballet The Nutcracker --

(lord knows why Blogger has decided to put an almighty gap before this clip!?)

The very next night, we rallied together our Literature gang for an 'all you can eat' buffet meal in Newcastle's Chinatown before heading to a late screening of Disney's newly-released The Princess and the Frog, both of which were fantastic! Scrumptious lemon chicken and crispy noodles, ribs, duck, sweet and sour pork, plus lots of yummy steamed veg, spring rolls, prawn toast and wan tons. Jesus, I'm salivating just remembering it! So we stacked our plates high for at least three servings, and that was before we'd even spotted the dessert counter! The film went down perfectly afterwards and was exactly the kind of thing I'd needed to lift my spirits, having been confoundingly unhappy for reasons unknown the previous week. If you haven't yet been to see this film, make sure you get to it while it's till on! I assure you, it won't be something you'll regret!! :) I had a beaming smile on my face from the minute the opening music struck up and it lasted right the way through the entire film. There was, of course, the obligatory Disney 'aww' moment of sadness, but the ending certainly was a happy one. One thing that did surprise me, was the amount of mature nuances I found myself laughing at, and I don't just mean the sexual innuendo subtext (but that was funny too!).

Ensue: a very indie gig last Monday night, an attempt to get my friend into bed with the "cute" guitarist, drunken conversations with my lecturer about her past "bad handjob" experiences and an eventual trip to a gay club where the same friend ended up pulling a fit Rah boy in a fur coat. Can you imagine. And having had barely two and a half hour's sleep we somehow managed to gather our courage and face our 9 o'clock lectures together, each one propping the other up alternately as our heads jerked in and out of dozes at the back of lecture theatres for the following seven hours.

On Friday, I finally managed to man up somewhat and drag myself along to the pool with a friend in an attempt to get my rake-like figure more toned (if only marginally). Quite shamefully, I barely managed to do seven lengths before admitting defeat. And so on Saturday, I sat with numb legs in the dizzying heights of the Gallery seats for an excellent performance of Chicago which starred Marti Pellow as Billy Flynn, Easternder's Emma Barton as Roxie Hart and Twinnie-Lee Moore as Velma Kelly. This was the first time I've seen the stage production of Chicago live and it absolutely blew me away! Not only was the singing fantastic, but the dancing was hot, sassy and sinuous. Snaps for Fosse.

Forthcoming excitement:

• PowerPuff Girls dress-up
• Lady GaGa
• Emelie Autumn
• Alice in Wonderland (inc. dress-up!)
• HIM(?)
• The Sleeping Beauty Ballet
• Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
• Paloma Faith(?)
• Madina Lake(?)
• AFI
• Jeffree Star
• Wayne McGregor's Random Dance
• Kill Hannah

And that takes us up until about mid-May :) I'll be back again soon; things are becoming a lot more animated these days in all sectors so watch this space! As for tonight, it looks like it's a cup of tea and a large amount of HobNobs for me. Possibly watch The Hours, but I'm still undecided on viewing material.

Dear Tchaikovsky;

I adore you.

Ahh! So many things I want to blog about right now! But first (and quickly) I just wanted to share this little snippet of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. Can I just say, that I don't think I've ever been so excited to see a piece of theatre in all my life as I am for this ballet in March. First reason: geniusly interperted by Bourne, this work of ballet-inspired contemporary dance boasts to, 'change the way you see ballet for ever' (What's On), with its all-male ballet corps of magestic but, moreover, powerful swans. Second reason: Swan Lake bears some of the most haunting and sensational pieces of music that I hold dear; Tchaikovsky, you truly are a master. I love this little clip also because of its music. The torment is so clear from the start in the introductory Moderato assai, Allegro non troppo (full piece below because I love it!!) and when the strings mirror the oboe's opening melody, ahh!! -- chills! As it heightens and gains animation up to that awesome (and I mean literally, awe!) brass crescendo, what can I say? Just hear it for yourselves. There are few pieces of music that can make every single hair on my body stand on end for so long, and do so repeatedly. That little breath in the drumroll kills me!

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake Trailer
(for some reason blogger won't let me embed this one, so enjoy a link)
http://www.sadlerswells.com/standalonevideo.php?video=/assets/videos/1847321795,22325755001&show=2428&dp=1&show=2428&more=1

Tchaikovsky -- Prologue: Moderato assai, Allegro non troppo

I'm counting down the days to go

Gerard Way! -- you delicious piece of man-snaff!! Back to his glorious, long-haired self again on the cover of this week's NME. We are highly pleased :) A new album on the way, a new baby girl (Bandit Lee) and a wholly new, "more real" sound; The Black Parade is truly a thing of the past. Not that it wasn't enjoyable. Far from it. Black-haired G is just soo much more enjoyable :) Bah! My mind is in such a happy spin I don't have the attention capacity to regale you with snippets of the interview. Just buy it, and read it. Purely for this article. And smouldering snaps of G. Way.

In other news, I journeyed back to Hartlepool (can't keep away these days!) after word reached me that my buccaneer boots had arrived. And they are FANTASTIC! Looking forward to the start of lectures again on Monday; film screening at 2pm should be fun! My new boots may even get their first trip round the Toon on Monday night. Ahh!! But for now, there's nothing else to do except watch more Gossip Girl with my sister. Ciao!

Not unknot plus not unknot equals unknots?

No, it's (k)not. (J'aime les paroles! -- et aussi les cravates!) :]

http://www.tie-rack.co.uk/

Ahh! I love being back in Newcastle! Not only am I reunited with my fabulous sushi pals, but my eyes are suddenly opened to an amazing little Tie Rack stall that I must have walked past like a million times before! They have the most gorgeous ties you could imagine, not forgetting those paisley silk neckercheifs! And since there happened to be a sale as a friend and I strolled past (Universe, I'm taking you're hint), I treated myself to two ties. £3.74 each - reduced from about £14!! This makes Andrew very happy, as do trips anew to Blackwells, Yo!Sushi, Waterstones and Starbucks all in one afternoon. And boy, has that gossip mill been working hard over Christmas! Not only are there tales of horrendously cringeworthy sexual escapades making the rounds (which shall be discussed no further here!), we also stand faced with an horizon of prospective gentlemen, an intricate web of double barrell stealing marriage schemes and relocation, relocation. Exciting stuff!

Finally! after what seems like an age, I have purchased a book to read purely for pleasure, with no obligations to my degree. That last part may be slightly questionable due to newly-sprung ponderings on a topic for my dissertation next year, which for the minute looks like it might be taking root in the Tudor/Renaissance era. Anyway! The book in question is Ken Follett's The Pillars Of The Earth: which has recieved high praise from the BBC, Sunday Times, Sunday Express and Cosmo, no less.

So I shall update on this as it progresses at another date, but for now I'll be settling down to plough through a couple more chapters of Eliot's Middlemarch in preperation for upcoming lectures. I think that's all. Oh, and Nine was a fail. Or, more specifically, I should say that the website of the cinema in question is a fail. Unimpressive times.