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He’s Come a Long Way, Baby

Charles Busch‘s current production of Die Mommy Die! was reviewed in The New York Times today:

Directed by Carl Andress, “Die Mommie Die!,” which runs a peppy 90 minutes, is infused with the good-natured comic brio that has made Mr. Busch a drag artist whom middle America can embrace. Even theatergoers who don’t catch the copious old-movie quotations, verbal and physical, should enjoy Mr. Busch’s hair-trigger comic timing and rubbery mugging, which brings to mind vintage Lucille Ball. (The association is underscored by Mr. Busch’s choice of red wigs, designed by Katherine Carr.)

I’ve seen a bunch of Charles Busch’s shows over the years – including Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, The Lady in Question, Shanghai Moon and Times Square Angel – and always find them smart and fun. I even met Joan Jett in the bathroom at one production! So do go if you get a chance, or rather: make the chance.

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Tim Gunn

Does anyone else want to volunteer to be on Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style? Every time I watch it I think about writing them a letter. But then I think – dresses & skirts are in his required wardrobe. As are heels. & Then I think about what I might have left after they went through my wardrobe. & Then I think… yeah. So I don’t.

I think I need Tim Gunn’s Guide to Dyke Style. But still, I’m watching & learning; my biggest issues is being hung up on size instead of fit, because I’m a woman, & somehow it’s important to me if I can get into a 10 instead of a 12, when really, I should be happy to wear a 14 if the clothes look good / fall right /make me feel confident. Having changed sizes a few times in the last couple of years, both up & down, I can say now that there is nothing that makes me feel less confident than wearing something that’s just a little small. But still, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to give in to wearing the larger size, as if I’m admitting defeat.

Anyone else?

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CI: New Season

The new season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent starts tonight! Tonight! On USA! & On Thursdays! The nights I’m home & have a TV! Oh, I’m pathetic. But I love Goren & Eames.

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Go Go Gowanus!

Betty & I are watching Law & Order SVU – of course that’s what we do when I get home – and we got to see a neighborhood right near us as they chased an ex-IRA hitman around the Gowanus Canal neighborhood. The SVU cops are coming in for him from either side, so he looks at the water, and one of the cops shouts, “Go ahead, jump in! You’ll die in a week.”

Ah. The polluted Gowanus Canal saves the day.

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More Trans on Oprah

As it turns out, Oprah will be recording a new show about trans – in fact, two shows (again!). We did not, unfortunately, make it on this time either, as the shows are focused on families & children. From what I know, the first will be about families in which there are children who are trans, and the second will be focusing on families where a parent (or both) is trans.

Thus, not us. And while I could rant & rave about the legitimacy of our family, because we ARE one, dammit, even though we don’t have children, I won’t, as the producer we’ve spoken to has been quite lovely and the whole experience very pleasant & encouraging.

I don’t know when the shows are airing, but I assume in not too long.

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James Frey, Sure, But Not Chris Rose

From the This is Oddly Familiar Department:

Author & New Orleans Times-Picayune journalist Chris Rose has an anthology of essays out called 1 Dead in Attic, all of them written in the aftermath of Katrina. I read a lot of them online, including the one he wrote about battling depression as a result of the devastating hurricane. It turns out his editor got a call from the producers at Oprah, who in turn told his editor that they didn’t want him to talk about his book at all – they just wanted him to talk about his depression. So much for years of journalism, and for writing some of the best essays to come out of Katrina – stripped as an author, he just gets to be a sad guy talking about his experience going on anti-depressants as a result of the storm.

Silly show, Oprah. It really is. You’d think a woman who made her way to stardom via a movie based on a well-received novel would show a little more respect for writers.

& This is Oddly Familiar to me, of course, because it’s exactly what happened to me on The Dr. Keith Show, & Dr. Keith is also the author of books & knows from publicity. They did at least put up something about Chris Rose’s book on Oprah’s website.

Pity they wasted all that time on James Frey, instead of giving airtime to a guy who wrote about what actually happened to him.