Robert Manners

Hi, How Are You?

I have nothing to say, really. I just didn't want to go on not blogging for too long, especially when my last entry was so, well, dated. And since I am going to be busy tomorrow and the next day (my sister is moving, and I promised to help her with the final clean-up at her old place this weekend), I figured I'd better jot something out while I'm up and unoccupied.



So, what shall we talk about?



Politics? I'm so sick of election advertisement, each ad makes me wish to God I didn't live in a democratic country. Even the people for whom I had planned to vote have irked and irritated me with their smugness, their blatant propaganda, their grotesque truth-twisting. I don't ask for honesty (though that would be nice), all I want is a little style, some good acting, and some worthwhile camera-work. Is that so much? And don't even get me started on the National scene, with the warmongering president and the congress that's actually afraid to stand up to him. Pussies. Okay, let's not talk about politics.



Weather? The weather has turned a trifle chilly. But then, it's autumn, so one rather expects it.



Jewelry? I just got a new bracelet, a gorgeous art-deco style diamonite piece from the Real Collectibles by Adrienne range of HSN. I didn't get it from HSN, mind you, but rather from eBay at about half the price including shipping. It's a beautiful thing, it catches light so nicely with two different kinds of stones, small brilliants in the usual pronged framing around channel-set baguettes on six oblong medallions, connected to each other with six stone-studded circles (very Cartier). Here's what I wonder, though... what, exactly, is diamonite? And what exactly is cubic zirconium? How do they differ? Where can one go to find out? I suppose I could do a Google search, and if that fails I can do a Lycos search, or just Ask Jeeves. But I don't feel like doing it right now. One of the drawbacks of the Information Age is that there is now actually no excuse for ignorance.



Fashions? I went shop-shopping, shopping at Ross today, and bought two gowns and two scarves. Many people think that I wear vintage clothes when I perform, but in fact the lion's share of my wardrobe comes from Ross... the rest come mostly from consignment shops, and then there are the random here-and-there purchases from other places, but most every piece of drag I own is less than ten years old. A lot of my jewelry is from the 50s and 60s, though my favorite pieces are quite new (though some are repro). I guess, though, that my sense of style is rather firmly rooted in the 30s, so the modern things I choose tend to have a vintage look about them.



Television? There's nothing on television. But that's about to change, since November is a Sweeps month, and so everyone is pulling out the heavy guns for the biannual Nielsen suck-up. There will be Special Guest Stars from the ranks of superstardom, there will be Special Episodes where dramatic things happen on comedies and someone's butt will appear in all the dramas; there will be Double Episodes that take an hour or two to get through, and you realize why the show was originally only thirty or sixty minutes. First-run movies will infest every network channel, and all the movie channels will have special series and sitcoms. I think the practice of Sweeps is counterproductive... everyone saves their best shows for November and May, leaving the other ten months rather bereft of interest. Quite silly.



Music? I don't understand music anymore. I just don't. Give me my Ella and my opera and my demographically tailor-made pop-40, and leave me alone.



Movies? I just rewatched Gosford Park on video and really enjoyed it... it's ever so stylish and well-made. I would like to see Bowling for Columbine, many people have recommended it to me, but I am waiting to be struck by the proper mood. I am anxious for the new Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to come out, not to mention The Two Towers (I need another dose of Orlando Bloom as Legolas, such a hot elf!) Other than that, I can't think of anything I'd like to see.



Well, that just about dries me up. Here's a picture... ogle slowly, it may have to last you a few days.

Don't you just love his shoes? But don't ask me what he's doing to that cactus... I just don't want to know.