Weekend Round-Up

Hey y'all.  You all know how I love a Saturday at home with nothing to do but laze about, watch stuff, putter around, and drink coffee.  Fortunately for me, I've had that opportunity today.  I've been spending most weekends in Toronto since I moved to Waterloo and so there's something really relaxing and therapeutic about having the freedom to be in my own space on a weekend.  I miss my GF, but this is a happy alternative.  I mean, at this moment I'm blogging and listening to Beyonce in my underwear.  Heaven.

I don't have anything specific to discuss, so here's another round-up of what's tantalizing my five senses.

Beyonce
Obviously.  She really deserves her own post, and very likely will get one, but right now I just want to acknowledge how fully and completely I love her self-titled album.  Yes, I was a little tardy to the party by my bestie W's standards, but I got there and I'm partying hard with our girl B.  My singular favourite song changes by the day to some degree, but the top 5 (out of 14) audio tracks are: ***Flawless, Drunk In Love, Jealous, Partition, and XO.  It's just so damn good.  Beyonce consistently raises the bar.  She's in a category all her own.  I love her, she's so talented, she's so beautiful, she inspires me..... I... there are no more words.

Adore Delano

You may or may not know that the 6th season of "RuPaul's Drag Race" is currently on and I've really been enjoying it.  I joined in on watching RPDR during 4th season and having now seen all seasons, 4th is probably my favourite.  I liked some of the 5th season queens, but it wasn't as good a season overall.  6th on the other hand has really been delivering.  Queens are one minute your favourite and the next minute not serving it.  For example, I found Adore Delano really obnoxious and weird the first couple of episodes and then just as suddenly she's my favourite and I want her to win.  Don't get me wrong, she's not as polished a queen as others, but she is so entertaining and charming and funny and has charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.  I can't wait to see what she does tomorrow night.

"Not A Bad Thing"
I always love what Justin Timberlake puts out and the two parts of "The 20/20 Experience" have been no exception.  However, I haven't listened to them the way I listened to "Justified" or certainly not "Beyonce".  That said, I love love LOVE the song "Not A Bad Thing" from Part 2.  I posted the video in my last blog post and I have been listening to the song on loop for a couple of weeks now.  I'm obsessed.  So good.

What else...

Let's leave it at that.

RuPaul's Drag Race: Reviewed & Analyzed

I don't need to tell you that I love "RuPaul's Drag Race".  I've written about it before.  For a while I've been wanting to write a post, reviewing and analyzing all the queens who have been on the show, seasons 1-4.  We're now in a new season (the fifth), so I want to finish this up before another season passes and I have new queens to review.

Without further ado...

Most-Loved (By Me) Queens: 

These are the queens who I've enjoyed the most.

Ongina & Nina Flowers (s1), Pandora Boxx, Jujubee, Raven (s2), Yara Sofia, Alexis Mateo, Manila Luzon, Raja (s3), Jiggly Caliente, Chad Michaels, Sharon Needles, Latrice Royale (s4)

“Moment” Queens:
These are queens who had their moment on their respective seasons.  I liked them well enough, but they had one particular moment where their light really shone brightest.

Jessica Wild - Jessica was a great queen, but her best moment had to be her appearance as the chicken in the episode where they had to do a commercial.  Unlike Raven (who really sucked in this episode), Jessica went all out and her chicken character was hilarious!

Stacey Layne (Bryant) Matthews - Stacey never really impressed me, except when she was Monique on the Snatch Game.  The character couldn't have been a better fit, and thank God she ended up doing Monique instead of Anna Nicole Smith.  She stayed in character perfectly.

Dida Ritz - I thought Dida was an overall pretty sickening (good thing) queen, but her best moment was when she had to lip synch for her life and turned it out to "This Will Be" by Natalie Cole.  She worked it out and showed her true fierceness.  It was a great moment.

“BLAH” Queens

These are the queens who I neither hated, nor loved, nor loved to hate.  They were just blah and never left much of an impression.

Alisa Summers, The Princess, Victoria “Porkchop” Parker, Akashia, Jade, Nicole Paige Brooks, Mystique Summers Madison, Sonique, Venus D-Lite, Phoenix, India Ferrah

Less “BLAH” Queens
These are the queens who made an impression, and were fierce, but still don't fall into the "Most Loved (By Me)" category.

Morgan McMichaels, Sahara Davenport, Mariah, Delta Work, Carmen Carrera, Willam, Milan

Bitchy/Whatever Queens: 

These are the queens who made a lot of noise, threw a lot of shade, had huge personalities, but never made themselves all that likeable... at least not by me.

Shangela Laquifa Wadley - I know Shangela made a lot of noise on her season (especially with her dramatic return to the show after being the first eliminated on season 2), but she just didn’t really excite me on season 3.  She had her catchphrases and some decent moments, sure, but having heard so much about her (from friends who'd watched this season before me)olujhyi, I definitely expected more.  And for the record, I don’t consider her a Bitchy Queen as much as I think of her as a Whatever Queen.

Tatianna - Ugh, Tatianna.  She had a few decent moments, too (case in point: her Britney Spears impression on Snatch Game was pretty good), but she really bugged me throughout most of season 2.  She was bitchy, not always that fierce, and just relied on her fishyness.  Oh, and her dumb segment on All-Stars, “T with Tati”, was extremely stupid, too.  Whatever!  I’m so glad she didn’t make it into the top 3 like Rebecca Glasscock did before her.

Speaking of which…

Rebecca Glasscock - Rebecca Glasscock… just plain bitchy, and made it far but just never got me especially excited.  Whatever.

Phi Phi O’Hara - Phi Phi WAS bitchy, though I found I was more sympathetic to her than to Tatianna and Rebecca.  She was young, clearly putting up a front, and had some tender moments (for example, giving Chad her phone call so he could call his partner).  And then, as a queen, I saw her have some amazing – never mind fishy – moments on the runway.  However, she overall gave me a "whatever" feeling.  She deserved to be in the top 3, but I was just kinda bored by her at that point.

“AAAGGHHH” Queens

These are the queens who you just wanted to slap across the face and say "Snap out of it!"

Tammie Brown - Occasionally I found Tammie Brown inexplicably magnetic, but the same moment I would realize she's bat s**t crazy.  She has got some kind of bizarre drag, and I was happy to see her go (both times... how she made it on All Stars is beyond me).
Mimi Imfurst - She is just plain annoying!  A weird queen, a bad actress, a cry baby, and a general annoyance.
(Kinda but not really) Madame LaQueer - Reminded me of Mimi Imfurst in some ways.  Her acting skills were also brutal (remember when she tried a British accent... hers was almost as bad as Yara Sofia's, but 10 times less funny).

Queens who didn’t deliver on “All Stars” like I wish they had: 

Self-explanatory.

Latrice Royale & Nina Flowers

It was really a shame; considering how much I lived for these queens while they were on their respective seasons, I really expected more from them on AS.  In Nina’s case she had a brutal partner (Tammie), but Latrice had no excuse.  Oh well!  That's what separates fierce queens from All Stars.

Queens I wish were on All Stars:

Ongina

Queens I wish were NOT on All Stars: 

Shannel (even more so than Tammie & Mimi, because at least they were eliminated quickly... only Chad could carry Shannel that far).

Winning Queens I didn’t get too excited about:
BeBe Zahara Benet & Tyra SanchezDon't get me wrong - both of them are fierce queens, and I'm not saying they didn't deserve to win, because I think they probably were.  Both of them were fierce, funny, and delivered consistently.  However, they just didn’t excite me in the way someone like Latrice or Jujubee did.

Most-Deserving Crowned Queen

Sharon Needles – I wasn’t always a Sharon Needles fan during season 4.  First I didn’t know what to make of her, and then even when she was consistently amazing, I was still more excited by Latrice (mostly personality-wise).  But as it became clear that Latrice wouldn’t – and didn’t deserve to – win, I was rooting for Sharon.

Runner-up: Raja – Raja was just so incredibly fierce.

FAVOURITE QUEEN OF ALL

If it wasn't slready clear...

Miss Latrice Mothaf**kin Royale – Latrice hands-down gave me the most joy, happiness, laughter, and emotion of all the queens to grace the runway.  I realized – especially during “All Stars” – that she wasn’t the fiercest queen of all.  She had her rough moments, bad wardrobe choices, etc., but she was the realest queen on the show, and I loved her.

FIN.

I Don't Care / I Love It

I have an upcoming post on my cat (!!!), but in the meantime, here's a track that I've been playing on repeat today. It was featured in the latest episode of "Girls" (have I written about "Girls"?) and my sister sent me the link to the video last night and I can't stop pumping the jam.



Bringing media content back to S & G.  What is this, a blog of essays?!

Upcoming posts... Spoon, Girls, RuPaul

Happy New Year | rc-4: Concluded

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Bring it on, 2013!


I am back to work today, in ways both professional and personal, so it felt timely to update good ol' Sugar & Gravy.

How was your holiday?  Mine was great!  It was the perfect balance of seeing family and friends, eating food, sleeping, resting, socializing, and more.  I had a great New Year's Eve, too; very low-key with some loved ones.  The holiday felt long, too, which is a surprise... not to say that it was easy getting back to work today, but still, it feels nice to be back to routine.

I owe everyone a salute to John Lennon, but it just doesn't feel right anymore, being nearly a month since the anniversary of his death.  Moreover, there's not necessarily a significance to the 32nd anniversary of his death, so perhaps I'll save it for 2015... here's hoping I keep S&G up until then.

I also owe y'all an overview of all contestants (seasons 1-4) on "RuPaul's Drag Race".  This post I will absolutely do, as it's partially written and I think will be a lot of fun to write and get feedback on.  I hope to get this written in January, but I won't make any promises yet.


rc-4 Year-End Update
What I will do right now is give my rc-4 update.  Another year has ended, and so therefore has another one of my reading challenges.  Reading Challenge #4, more commonly referred to as rc-4, was to read 20 books in 2012.  Once again (17/20 in 2011), I have not completed my challenge.  In fact, I only completed 60% of it, but.....

WHO CARES?!  The challenge is arbitrary to some degree.  It's a great regular segment to blog about, a chance to discuss the books I'm reading and what I plan on reading next.  And, the whole point was always to keep me reading after I was done my English degree, and I have been.  12 books in 2012 is fine.  A book a month is likely above average, and plus - I'm not competing with anyone.  rc-4 was for me, but hopefully any regular readers got some enjoyment out of it, too.  I know I did!!!

All that said, here's what I did read:

1. What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
2. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
3. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
4. Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
6. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
7. If You Have to Cry, Go Outside by Kelly Cutrone
8. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
9. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom **re-read
10. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb *favourite author **re-read
11. In One Person by John Irving *favourite author
12. Lennon Revealed by Larry Kane **re-read

In Sum: 12 books read, 9 new books and 3 books re-read, 10 different authors, 1 series, 6 non-fiction, 6 fiction

As for what I'm going to do in 2013 or rc-5... I'm not sure yet.  I think I'm just going to re-commit myself to reading lots, blog about it here, but not make it a challenge.  I may change my mind, but I'm a bit over the challenge: not the intent of it, but the whole being a challenge part.  I'll read, I'll write about it, but that'll be all.

All my best for a great 2013, all!  Until next time.....

Currently reading... Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington, Quiet by Susan Cain
Posts to come... An overview of all contestants to date on "RuPaul's Drag Race"

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.