We’re Pirates of the Sea

A little mischief engulfed me when I read this story. Apparently, pirates have seized a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan coast and are steering it towards Somalia. Although I am certain this is no laughing matter for the people on board, I couldn't resist...

Eurovision 2008 - Latvia - We're Pirates of the Sea

Pirates of the Caribbean vs The Gay Pirate - I want to sing and dance

Complex?

Here's a convoluted example of the way my mind works. All over the press, radio and the web there's loads of reviews of the new film about terrorism in 70s Germany The Baader Meinhof Complex.

Thinking back I remembered a TV series from about 20 years ago that featured the gang - its graphic opening titles featured a notorious scene of a woman pushing a pram, forcing a car to stop. [A portrayal of the kidnap (and later the murder) of one of Germany's top businessmen Hanns-Martin Schleyer.]



I knew the series featured as its star the lovely Miranda Richardson, and after a bit of digging around I found it - the six-part BBC series called Die Kinder combined Miranda played an ex-Red Brigade member whose past catches up with her when her own children are kidnapped and held for ransom.

Unfortunately this excellent series has never made it to DVD so despite a lot of searching on the web, there are no clips available. If anyone has a copy, I'd be very keen to see it again!

But it gives me an excuse (as if any were needed) to feature some of the lovely Ms Richardson's memorable screen moments...

Queen Mab and the Lady of the Lake - Merlin (1998)

Dance With a Stranger

Blackadder - "Where's my pressie?"

Justin Timberlake’s dick

As the world yawns at the news of a new collaboration between spoilt brat Rihanna and the ever edible Justin Timberlake, I thought I'd post a little something that he recorded that is much more interesting...



Rihanna and Justin on A Socialite Life

The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice

Coco Hernandez: [the girls are fighting over Leroy]
"You know what they say? The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice."
Hilary van Doren: "Yes, but who wants diabetes?"

Amazingly it is five years to the day since the death of Gene Anthony Ray, most famously known as Leroy in both Fame the movie and the TV series.

Always the "naughty boy", on screen and off, Leroy was THE dancer amongst the Kids. With his ultra tight shorts and cheeky smile, I had a massive crush on him in what I continually refer to as my "wilderness years" before I came out!

Unfortunately the adage "Fame Hurts" proved to be all too true for Gene. Drink and drugs played a huge part in his life, and after he was sacked from the TV show for continually turning up late for recordings he never attained that level of success again, struggling to get parts in music videos and commercials.

Never out nor "outed", he sadly died very young (he was only 41) of a stroke. It was implied, but never proved, that his early death was as a result of complications of being HIV+. And in his obituaries, it was observed "he never married".



A sad end for a beautiful man.

Fame - "Think Big"

Fame (TV series)

Gene Anthony Ray obituary in The Times

Bona to varda your fab cartzo

Another fab time was had by all at the first anniversary of Polari last night. And with a flair befitting such an august institution, the literary bent chosen for the occasion was every boy and girl's favourite subject - PORN!

Hosted by the porn-bedecked Paul Burston (he sews the cock-pics on himself you know), our evening's readings were kicked off in great style by the larger-than-life Jacqui Applebee, who describes herself as "a black bisexual woman, who breaks down barriers with smut".

And she certainly lived up to her description, with a smattering of one of her lesbian fantasy stories and a great poem about orgasm - which got the audience (of both sexes) twitching, and no mistake!

Jacqueline ApplebeeWriting in Shadows

Our shining star, however, was the lovely Rupert Smith, appearing last night as his pornographic author alter ego James Lear ("James - my middle name. Lear - because I was Amanda Lear's first husband.").



Not only did he read his first smutty passage (from The Secret Tunnel) entirely in Polari, but, after a rather wonderfully graphic extract (from The Back Passage) about cottaging we were treated to a lascivious flash of his impressive golden winged phallus. This of course was the recent trophy he received as James Lear at the Erotic Awards 2008.

Rupert Smith on porn, as featured in The Independent

Celine cooled the throbbing groins with her own particular brand of smut, singing a couple of numbers from her Music Hall repertoire, to the delight of the well-fed audience (thanks to the Trash Palace for feeding us!)



And, sated with lust of the ear, superb writing and superb company, we trolled downstairs to sample the disco-licious delights of Paul's DJ set (having already whooped with joy at DJ Dom Agius's Baccara'n'Grace Jones extravaganza at the beginning of the evening).

Unfortunately, the dance floor appeared to be lit by the kind of fluorescent bulbs that wouldn't look out of place in a dentist's surgery, and every seat in the house had been dragged to the centre of the floor by what seemed to be the entire population of Fiorenza, complete with shopping bags and animated non-stop talking over every track. Realising that this was not going to descend into a sticky-floored disco dream as on previous occasions, we ended up sadly finishing off our gins far too early and heading for the Tube...

However, the night was fantabulosa - and I look forward to the next one (Bloggers' Night!!) in December starring Dirty White Boy author Clayton Littlewood.

I love Clay's writing, and I am almost finished reading the book - I hope there will be a second one soon so I can learn more about his early sexual encounters on Weston-Super-Mare pier...

Polari

["Bona to varda your fab cartzo" - Polari slang = "lovely to see your great cock"]

Boyband meets boy

As much as I dislike their smarmy cynical brand of music, full kudos goes today to Boyzone who have become the first boy band to feature a gay couple in their video.

The very lovely pocket-sized Stephen Gately, who appears in the video for Better in a love scene with a man, says "I just think it's just a beautiful video and I think it works superbly for the song. I'm hoping this video will have a good, positive, all-round reaction."

Not ground-breaking or particularly shocking (although I hate to think what Mein Kampf - sorry - The Daily Mail will make of it), as artists as diverse as Pet Shop Boys and Christina Aguilera have been there before, boy bands appear to be considered differently it seems by music PR men.

So as a statement against intolerance to that strange adulatory girly audience, it is officially a good thing. Shame is is a shit song.

Boyzone - Better

Old Oil

Shock! Horror! Can it really be thirty years since Dallas first arrived on our screens?!

Apparently so as they're celebrating the fact over in the US - and actually, looking at these photos suddenly I believe it. More silicone than Everest Windows...

Dallas Reunion

PS I always preferred Dynasty anyway...