RuPaul's Drag Race: Start Your Engines

I'm kind of shocked that I've only referred to "RuPaul's Drag Race" once so far on this blog.  Then again, I suppose it's a somewhat recent obsession.  My best friends J & W have been into it for a while and I tuned in to an episode with them here and there, but it was season four where I really caught my RPDR stride.

You can click the link to the wiki page above to learn about the show, so I won't waste your time with that.  I'd like to discuss this show beyond the details...

What is it about RPDR that appeals to me so much???

The campiness.  I realize that I love camp.  There, I said it.  And I ain't talkin' 'bout summer camp (though I loved it, too), I'm talkin' about what dictionary.com defines as "something that provides sophisticated, knowing amusement, as by virtue of its being artlessly manner-consciously artificial and extravagant, or teasingly ingenuous and sentimental".  It may seem over-the-top to some, but that's what I love about it.  Extravagance, hyperbole, silly, cheesy to the point of almost hating it, but then loving it anyway.

Let me tell you, RPDR is dripping with camp.  I mean, it's a drag queen competition after all, but it's so campy you find yourself giggling against your own will.

The humour.  Campiness is humour on its own, but the drag queens' individual senses of humour are pristine.  Whether it's poking fun of each other, which it usually is (and by the way, it's not called "poking fun", it's called "reading" or "throwing shade"), commenting on pop culture, or just being themselves, I'm laughing for the better part of the show.  And they're full of brilliant slang and one-liners: "sickening", "the shade of it all!", "loca", "halleloo", "werrrkkk", "eat it", the list goes on.

RuPaul.  It's unfair that RuPaul be stuck in the middle of these reasons, but they're not in any particular order, really.  RuPaul Charles is perfection.  In and out of drag she is funny, witty, stunning, fashionable, sweet, cute, honest, real, silly, and everything in between.  She is a true queen.  Her own classic lines on the show are amazing, too: "Hello hello hello!", "Gentlemen, start your engines, and may the best woman... win!", "If you can't love yourself, how in the heellll are you gonna love somebody else?  Can I get an amen up in here?"  I love RuPaul.

The homage it pays to "Paris is Burning".  You already know that I've been deeply moved by the documentary "Paris is Burning", and I love how much respect is paid to this film and the culture it documents on RPDR.  Occasionally episodes have ball-like competitions, categories ("Executive Realness"), vogue-offs, etc., but more than that there are subtle PiB lines regularly inserted into the show... "Cheesecake", "overgrown orangutangs" (misspelled on purpose), "touch this, touch all of this", "you own everything, everything is yours", etc.  Ru is cleary committed to honouring the queens who came before (and not just those from PiB but also queens like Marsha P. Johnson) and it shows, and I love spotting the references.

The anthropological side of it.  I realized that it's not just the humour, the entertainment, the competition, Ru and the queens, etc., or rather those things become even more interesting by way of looking at the show anthropologically.  I'm a gay woman.  I'm part of the gay community so in that way I feel that gay men's worlds intersect with mine, but drag culture is a whole other chestnut.  I don't feel totally separate from it, per se, but I clearly am not and could not be a true part of it, as much as other drag queens or other gay men can be.  I don't consider this a bad or sad thing, nor does it make me feel excluded.  However, it does make the experience of looking in at this world very fascinating. 

And that brings me to...
The gender play.  I spent some time in university thinking a lot about gender and the performance of gender and the illusion of it, but I haven't dedicated much thought to it since.  However, RPDR brings those thoughts back to the forefront of my mind.  I mentioned to my friend W. that sometimes the queens do things or say things that seem more feminine than anything I could ever do or say.  That led to an engaging conversation between the two of us about what femininity is, and how real or important it could possibly be based on the fact that some make-up and a dress on a biological male makes me perceive him as more feminine than me.  Very interesting...

The joy.  When I talk to people about the show, the word that always comes to mind is "joy".  I feel joyful when I watch RuPaul's Drag Race.  It's about fun and wittiness, camp and performance, music and fashion, queerness, creativity, comraderie, and more!  The queens are fun and good-spirited (most of the them/most of the time), and it's a happy show!  That's really what I love about RPDR.

Give it a try!  Let me know what you think!!


Posts to come... the disappearance of the physical book and what it means in terms of first impressions.
Currently reading... Lennon Revealed by Larry Kane & High Fidelity by Nicholas Hornby

May Long

HAPPY VICTORIA DAY, Canadian friends!!!  I'm still reeling from a fabulous long weekend in Victoria's name, and would like to share the details.


Before I get to the main event, I want to start by sharing that I spent the first chunk of the weekend (Friday afternoon - Monday morning) at my best friend's place in Mississauga.  His condo is known to be the place of ultimate relaxation - a weekend there means food, television, movies, sleep, and so much down time you could stockpile it up for months.  This weekend was no exception and here are some highlights:

1. Our first order of business upon arriving in Mississauga on Friday was heading to our favourite (Asian) grocer, T & T Supermarket for some provisions.  I warn you: this place is overwhelming.  It's hard to walk around and not want to buy everything.  I settled for a huge bottle of sriracha sauce personally, but we also got tonnes of dumplings, some pork buns, snacks, and other items.  Always a good way to start the weekend.
2. After a solid 18 hours of lounging, a fourth friend arrived and we figured we ought to get out and enjoy some of the amazing weather the day was offering, so we took a drive to Port Credit where we found Roc'n Doc's, a random little pub on the Lakeshore that had a great rooftop patio.  It was hot, sunny, and we enjoyed a few beers and some appetizers.  Great way to get out and enjoy the day while still keeping it low-key.
3. Another highlight of the weekend for me was spending time with a straight man who joined us in watching countless hours of both RuPaul's Drag Race as well as the documentary, Paris is Burning.  That's a lot of men dressing as women for one afternoon for anyone, but he was engaged, intrigued, and loved it!
4. Sunday was more of the same, but once again the weather was so beautiful we figured we had to get out there and enjoy it!  Our first stop was a grocery store / butcher / Indian food take-out.  We were there for one thing: biryani.  Unfortunately that one thing wasn't ready yet so we took some side trips to kill time - first we went to Canadian Tire to buy a kite!  Then we went to Tim Horton's for Iced Capps (so Canadian).  Finally the biryani was ready, so we took all our goods with us to the Brueckner Rhododendron Garden on the Lakeshore.  At the garden we lay out a blanket and enjoyed our biryani in the sun.  Once we'd had enough of that, we went down to the lake (at least I think it was Lake Ontario) to be very wholesome - flying a kite and skipping stones in the water.  It was a great way to pass the time!
5. Finally, on Sunday night we went to Udupi Madras Cafe for a late dinner where I enjoyed a delicious dosa - the second I've ever had, and absolutely incredible (though I can't pretend it's better than the GTA'S best dosas at Guru Lukshmi, also in Mississauga).  It was a delicious meal with the best company a girl could ask for.

Overall -- the perfect weekend, but that's not all...

The biggest adventure of the weekend was going to Niagara Falls with my girlfriend, which was a perfect 24 hour mini-break.  We arrived there Monday around noon after a quick trip on the QEW from Mississauga, and checked into our room at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel.  This trip was planned thanks to a great Groupon - 1 night's stay at the Marriott, $20 off dinner at T.G.I. Friday's, free breakfast for 2 at the hotel, and shuttle passes for 2 from the hotel to all the major sights around town.  Approximately $115 or so in total, so a great deal!!!


After dropping off our bags, we searched for somewhere nearby that wasn't a chain to have some lunch.  We found Yukiguni off the beaten path as we were both craving some sushi.  For a random Niagara Falls joint, it was a really great meal of soup, salad, tempura, and some cucumber/avocado rolls.  Pretty reasonable, too, but not a place I would recommend you going out of your way for.


After another quick stop at the hotel, we took the shuttle bus down to "The Falls" where we strolled along the rail (navigating through the huge crowds of people), taking photos at random intervals along the way.  The last time I was at the falls it was pouring freezing rain and not pleasant at all.  This time it was hot and sunny, made bearable by the occasional mist flying at our faces.


I took a few moments to really take in the falls and think about how large, powerful, natural, and amazing they are.  My mom commented tonight about how she always thinks about what it would be like to be the first humans in Canada coming across these falls.  It's true... imagine hearing the roaring and then just seeing this massive rush of water coming over the edge... incredible.


From the falls we headed to Casino Niagara where my GF wanted to have her first casino experience.  I've had mine before (brought in $40 and lost it all), so I came in for support.  She brought in $20 and left with $5, so I consider that a real accomplishment.


After the casino we walked up Clifton Hill where all the silly sights are - Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, fun houses, and the like.  We popped our heads in different places, but didn't really go in anywhere.  We did, however, go up in the Niagara SkyWheel where we got a stunning view of the falls.  I'll be honest with you - I was terrified to go, but I powered through it (despite some tears), and it was worth it for the fun of being up there and seeing the incredible view.


From there we walked back to our hotel to relax for a bit before dinner.  T.G.I. Friday's wouldn't be our usual choice for dinner, but with the $20 voucher of course we had to go.  It was totally fine for a chain restaurant/sports bar.  I had a great chicken salad and she had a veggie burger.  The food was good enough and our server was really great and friendly!  It was a nice dinner.


After a good night's sleep at the hotel, we woke up early to take advantage of our free breakfast - it was in The Keg, which was attached to the hotel, but it was the Marriott's breakfast, not The Keg's.  As a result, it was a typical hotel breakfast buffet... except not a very good one.  The fruit was gross, the pastries still frozen, the bacon too burnt, and... yeah, not good.  Oh well!  At least we didn't pay for it.  After breakfast, we checked out, packed the car, and then took the shuttle again down to the falls, except this time...


...to ride The Maid of the Mist!!!  My girlfriend had been on the Maid of the Mist before, but I never have and have always wanted to, so off we went!  Thanks to our brilliant plan of waiting until the day after the holiday Monday, we sailed through the line to get on the world-famous boat, donned our classic blue rain ponchos, and rode past the American falls to see the real deal Canadian Horseshoe Falls.  It was incredible sitting surrounded by the falls, with the mist pouring all over us to the point where I thought it was raining.  It was so so so cool!  I'm really glad we did it.


Back to the hotel from there to hop in the car and head back home.  Rather than take the QEW the whole way, we took the Niagara Parkway part-way which travels through the scenic area where all the vineyards and beautiful houses are on the way to Niagara-on-the-Lake.  It was a beautiful route to take with so much to look at along the way.  We ended up stopping in Niagara-on-the-Lake for lunch at an absolutely PERFECT restaurant -  The Pie Plate Bakery & Cafe.  It was full of mismatched cutlery and mismatched chairs -- exactly what we were looking for.  We enjoyed delicious thin-crust pizzas that tasted so fresh and delicious, followed by a nice little lemon square to share.  My GF also bought a strawberry-rhubarb pie to take home that looked delicious.  It was a great way to finish off the trip.


Back on the QEW and back to Toronto and back to the grind... it's tough to dive back into work after such a wonderful holiday, but it's great to know that you took some time away from the glow of the computer to enjoy the great outdoors and the loves of your life.

REALNESS.

Paris Is Burning...

I've known of this film for a long time. My best friends quote it and have taken on some of the lingo from it. I've seen it, but never all at once and never the whole thing. I'm on a bit of a documentary kick right now and I've had it on my comp for a while, so I finally sat down and watched the whole thing.

It was so good.

The individuals profiled in it are all so beautiful and wise and... real. The documentarian does a perfect job of capturing a very specific sub-culture, and by the end of the film you really feel you understand what the balls were and why people got involved in them. I mean, as much as you can understand without having participated yourself. It's really interesting, and a lot of the themes within are still very relevant. I would say that some of those themes are the American dream, luxury, the impact of models and celebrities... At the end of the day though, these are (or were) real people, with real lives and real dreams, and the only differences between us are where we live and how we spend our free time.