The Nutcracker - English National Ballet

The ticket fairy flew by and dropped an invitation in my lap, so I got to see the English National Ballet's 'The Nutcracker' last night and it was worth it for the last six minutes alone. Helicopter view first. When the opening curtains parted the set was dripping in richness, luxury and elegance, and this continued with every set change throughout the performance. The art of set designing has improved beyond description since my theatre days in London. If like me for quite some, you haven't been to the theatre, I urge you to try again. It's so much more immersive.

The first act caught me by surprise, there were about 25 ballet dancing children as the mice or skating soldiers, and they were really good, I didn't see a single mistake. How do they get all those children off school and performing around the country? All of them transformed into real mice at one point with collective fingers waggling like the whiskers and paws twitching as mice eat. However I was anticipating the grown ups to take over and to be candid, I didn't see the kind of performance I was expecting. Now, it might have been the view I had or the excessively hot theatre, or even the version being watched, but the only performance worth noting was the lead female dancer. I believe her name is Fernanda Oliveira from Brazil. Where Yijing Zhang of Birmingham Royal Ballet was magnetically tall, Fernanda's Sugar Plum fairy was diminutively hypnotic. Precision, levitation and elegant symmetry all rolled into one. Superb stuff.

The second act was closer to my expectations. More Corp de Ballet, more Batterie and an astonishing Coda. I think it says more about me than anything but I don't understand why Swan Lake, not The Nutcracker is most popular in the United States. I've also come to the conclusion that if there's no orchestra I'm not going to attend. The richness of sound, in this case the ENB Philharmonic, is something no sound system can come close to. When I went to see Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty earlier this year I didn't write it up as I thought it was crap for various reasons but more expensive tickets and no Philharmonic Orchestra will suffice. Anyway, the wrap up Coda of ENB's The Nutcracker was a dazzlingly baroque, twisting Rubik's Cube of light, shadow and writhing bodies, internally-externalising with the mechanism and precision of a watch. I'll add close examples to the post below. It was worth every penny just for that and I left delighted.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

In the original Chrimbo Carol below, Perry Como is in his element. He knows everyone on the set and they all know him. 44 years at RCA Victor after signing on, in '43 and his hand in the stagecraft is light but revealing. As is his hand when he playfully spanks a worker. The set construction is viewed as a simulacrum of a stage upon a stage. It's a really good song. I hope you enjoy it and never think about the first one again 😎

Shoo Shoo

When the queen's declining health was broadcast, I yelled at the radio, 'oh shut up she's been dead for ages'. How do I know that? It is a little bit of guesswork, but the revelation of the method was in play after her death and the numbers behind Philips delayed death-announcement were statistically stratospheric, so that was a home run just by applying common sense. I'm glad I didn't write that post. It can get tricky when the state starts weirding out and these are after all just opinions. Just because we leak the future in our language doesn't mean it's a conspiracy against anyone in particular.

I did draft this tweet two days before she died but never sent it. 

At the funeral, the Pallbearers (From Salisbury, home of Operation Conifer which forced Wiltshire Chief Constable Mike Veale to resign rather than accept both the truth and reality about Ted Heath) and the coffin were somewhat like We Don't Say His Name's funeral. The flag wasn't ironed properly, positioned correctly and the pallbearers from time to time were all over the show. They are facing in different directions. This is categorically not what is demanded by the military for a once in a lifetime Royal occasion. You can see for yourself.

Bearer Party, to the pub - quick march. Bearer Party, lift tankard. Bearer party, down beer. You’ve earned it.

— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) September 19, 2022

I know the media and celebrities say the opposite of what's really going on these days, but I spotted the mistakes before Stephen Fry told the British Sheeple what to praise and what to ignore. It's a sore point with me of late, as I've noticed the double vaxxed and boosted just repeat what they are told irrespective of what their own eyes and ears are telling them. 

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” ― George Orwell, 1984

Update: On reflection Stephen's choice of words indicate to me he was tweeting under duress. This post might add light to the topic.

Later on, we caught our first video images of the new King, and he was being uncharacteristically snippy in public. Sausage fingers to my mind was dealing with mildly uncooperative staff. Bear with me because it's subtle. The first clip is frustrated get this off the desk. I need space to sign papers. 

All information fits the schema I've outlined many times here. It's not boring but it is predictable, because most people can't tell the difference between reality, a script and a movie set. My eyes are peeled for that as default.

I have no choice.

For the double vaxxed and boosted who barely notice anything subtle and granular in anomalous details, it's a case of believe what celebrities tell them, which is ironic as another rapper prematurely died yesterday.

These people are self-selecting Darwinian awards AND think they're smart.

Look I'm not saying Beckham uses a stunt-double, but if he did, would you make him wait in the queue for 10 hours to see an empty box or would you personally wait in line?

Enjoy the show.

Pop Science?

It's an interesting contrast isn't it.

I'm definitely not saying Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is connected to anything fake. Equally I make no connection with his girlfriend Hailey Bieber's April blood clot.

No. Those are not my responses. 

I have a different question.

Surely, it's not mainstream?

Ole Dammegard - Staged Terror: Manchester, London, Charlottesville

To the uneducated mind the notion of staging terror to socially engineer populations seems impossible, and to be quite honest I've not paid much attention to this type of news since the tediously synthetic Boston bombing. 

However, Ole Dammegard is quite an authority on this subject, and as ever, he's just asking questions that ordinary journalists should be asking, but they can never digest the concrete fact that NATO has a long history of documented 'Strategy of Tension'.

Anthony Scaramucci

I have no expectation that Trump will deliver on his promises of arresting Hillary, drawing down NATO and reducing conflict in the world through arresting U.S. aggression. However I take great satisfaction in watching the fake left convulse spasmodically with every action Trump takes. They have sided with the Neocons, CIA, FBI, Pentagon, Wall Street and the hated and toxic mainstream media just to be in opposition to his admittedly deceptive persona, and I think that's all that needs to be said about the superficiality and danger of contemporary left's psychology.

When Anthony Scaramucci was appointed Communications Director and Sean Spicer subsequently resigned I watched his first performance closely. Once again I have no faith in a Goldman Sachs parasite, but I was impressed with his energy and ability to bullshit convincingly with a fresh use of body language which seemed to leave the NLP automatons in contemporary politics looking extremely fake. 

Later on The Daily Show which has largely descended into the worst kind of political commentary came up with the second video of The Mooch copying Trump's gesticulations and I had to smile because it pretty much says they're both using a new type of visual language which separates them from the fingers interlinked emphasis of say Cameron and Blair. 

In this respect, the USA is well ahead of the game though I'm unsure if the point I'm making is understood. Maybe I don't have the best words.

Pure Theatre

Via Dead Insect