Welcome to our FABULOUS World!

Miss Ginger welcomes new GingerSnap "Joy" to the FABULOUS world of the G-Snaps! We're glad to have you, honey, and now that you're part of the family I'm gonna freak you out! You know from time to time Miss G likes to do "look alikes", where she puts two pictures together to show the resemblance. So here ya go:

Now, here's the really freaky part- the lady on the right is the late Momma G! There is another photo of her when she was a bit younger, where she is wearing (get ready) a salmon colored top, and her hair is a bit whiter and straighter, but I can't find it right now! Anyway, in my mind the resemblance is uncanny, but that's not all! Her name was Joy! Joycelyn, really, but everyone called her Joy!

Anway, welcome to the GingerSnaps! We're gald to have ya!

2 New Features!

Miss Ginger has had her peeps add 2 new features to her FABULOUS Blog!!! Check out her lovely "meez" showing off a signature look in her dressing room! And, at the bottom of the gadgets, Miss G has added a link to her old J-land archive for the "newbie" G-Snaps who may want to go back and see the original posts!
Love to all!

What a Beautiful Day!

Our weather for Thanksgiving could have been worse but it wasn't great. The worst weather in Texas for Miss Ginger is when it's about 70 degrees outside and humid. It's too cool to run the air conditioning but certainly not cold enough for the heat, so the humidity just hangs in the house with nothing to remove it. The sheets feel limp and sticky at night and there's not much one can do about it. And you should see what it does to her wigs!
Anyho, today Miss G was thrilled to discover upon awaking that the cool, dry air has returned! It was brisk this morning, and now it's breezy and sunny! Perfect weather! Tonight it will get cooler, and it will be perfect weather for the turkey and sausage gumbo Miss G is making from the leftover turkey! The bones and such are boiling down to make the broth, and later this afternoon Miss G will make the roux and put it all toghether! It's a great way to get every bit of use out of a Thanksgiving turkey, instead of just throwing the carcass away!

Miss Ginger Survives Black Friday

Black Friday has come and gone, and it was a rousing success for Miss G and her stores. If there is an economic downturn, it certainly wasn't apparent Friday!

Miss Ginger scheduled herself sat the Galleria, because a.) it's close to chez Ginger, b.) she has 2 stores there, c.) it's the 4th largest mall in the US, and d.) it's FABULOUS! It was packed, but all the customers seemed to be in great moods, not bitching and whining about the long lines and crowded garages like they sometimes do. They waited patiently to be rung up, and really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Today Miss G went into the office for a few hours to recap the successes, then went off to have her mani and pedi (paws and claws, in kitty speak!)

On another note, check out David Dust's blog for a link to the Hollywood Divas quiz, which determines the Hollywood legend that describes you best. Miss Ginger is a Barbara Stanwick- who will you be?

Miss Ginger Talks Turkey!

Miss Ginger's Thanksgiving Turkey turned out FABULOUS!
She cooked it on the rotisserie outside on the grill, which worked out beautifully. She wanted it to self-baste, so when she trussed it, she tucked a bacon slice under each wing, and stuck a stick of butter in the cavity. YUMMY! I turned out beautiful and moist!

Her pecan pie was yummy, too!
But the best part was that all three of Miss G's surviving bubba's came for the holiday, plus friend Karen from work. We had fun putting the meal together, well, together! Miss G made her fave green bean casserole and some yummy cauliflower, and brother B made the stuffing, gravy, and mashed taters! A good time was had by all, and now we are watching the Texas/Texas A&M game, and the Aggies are getting annhialated.Hook 'em!

Miss Shelby is all ready for her Black Friday Shopping! As you can see, she has a return to make at Saks before she fights the crowds for those Day After Thanksgiving specials!

Holiday Love to All!

Stuff

This post went haywire so it's gonna be kinda random.
Nutwood Beth blogged about cauliflower, and Miss G is making that for Thanksgiving. Then Northwest Dan disclosed his entire TG menu, and Miss G thought she should do so as well.
So, Miss Ginger is going to make the turkey outside on the rotisserie, weather permitting. Brother B is bringing the stuffing, since Miss G doesn't think it's safe to stuff a bird when she's cooking it outside since the oven temp is hard to control.
She's also making cauliflower, which she grills in a foil packet with olives, pimentos, and garlic mixed in. Sounds weird, but it's way yummy. Of course, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. It's a small group this year, just the 3 surviving bubbas, plus friend Karen whose doesn't have time to fly home for TG since she works for the big M and has to be at work at 4 unGodly am!

Is anyone else mourning the loss of "Strobe" on Sirius Sattelite radio? When they merged to form Siruis XM, "Strobe" the disco station, went away. The release from Sirius XM says "if you liked "Strobe" you'll love "70's on 7", but it't not the same. There was a lot of music in the 70's that wasn't disco, and while it was great music it's not what I want to drive to. Thank Goddess that "BPM" and "Chrome" merged beautifully!

Prayers for Mistress Maddie on the loss of her beloved pet. I am so in love with my kitties. They bring me so much joy as I know Miss Starbooty did for Mistress Maddie. I know you'll be sad for a while, sweetie, but here's a little something amusing that hopefully will make you smile!

Full Circle!

Miss Ginger LOVES the blogoshpere!!! Today she saw a comment from one favorite blogger (Nutwood Beth) on another favorite blogger's blog! They are both GingerSnaps, so it's kinda like a SnapLink®!( I'm gonna patent that! ) It's a full circle!
Beth: you'll love Miss A's blog! I think the name Miss Alaineous fits it so well, because other than the obvious, her opinions and insight are so incredibly diverse and, well, miscelleaneous! And she's got a heart of gold and a soul to match.
GingerSnaps: if you haven't checked out these places yet- follow the links and head on over!

Miss Ginger Chimes in on the Automaker Thing!

Miss Ginger read a couple of thought provoking posts by some favorite bloggers to day, and she decided to chime in with her own rather than cannibalising their comments sections!
First of all, Nutwood Beth posted about the effect the shutdown of Studebaker had on the economy of South Bend, IN in 1963. If I am summarizing correctly, she felt strongly that the automakers must prove a viable plan before the government provides any assistance. Her husband Ken, in a separate post, ran some numbers to estimate what he thought the failure of the industry potentially could cost. One of his commenters went so far as to add that she wondered if this "impending doom" of the automakers foretells the fall of Capitalize, if I editorialize just a tad on her words.
Ken quoted a number that blew me away when he used the assumption that the average auto worker makes $60k a year. I'm not sure where Ken got his number, but I am going to assume it is accurate.
Everyone knows that the chief executives are making way too much money, especially in light of the results they are showing. But really, in the whole American auto industry, there are 3 CEO's. 3. That's it. And any business plan for any company is going to allow for a CEO salary that can attract a leader capable of managing an organization of that magnitude. And sure, they surround themselves with a bevy of stuffed shirts and yes-men that are all overpaid as well. But they are part of the budget. And the existence of some of them is inevitable, and a few might even be required. But really, in total they are just a handful of the millions of autoworkers whose jobs are at risk.
If you go into the plants, you find the masses, the "millions" the press likes to call them. They will form the bulk of the corporate payroll, not the execs. The riveters, the painters, the assembly workers, and "all the rest" take home the largest portion of the payroll. These are the "worker bees". The ones who make the honey. The ones who get it done. They may or may not be educated. They may or may not have skills. They may or may not even be very dedicated. But if Ken's salary average of $60k is correct, they are taking home $28/hr for every hour they work. A salary typically negotiated by a labor union, not granted due to superior work, or supreme dedication, or remarkable results. When the raises come along, everyone gets them, whether they are the best in their field or the worst. What happens to them? Where would they go? What would they do if they lost the only job they know how to do?
They could go down to their local mall and apply for a job at, say, a department store. Department stores almost always have job openings, and they require very little experience. And department stores require lots of worker bees. People to fold the clothes, pick up the fitting rooms, wait on the customers, ring them up, smile, be nice, and make the customers want to come back and spend money there again. Worker bees. The lifeblood of any industry.
And do you know what the worker bees make in a department store? $8.50 and hour, usually. Some make more, but even the oldest, most experienced don't make much more than that. If they have been there "all along", since the "good old days", they may make it to a wage of $12 or $13 an hour.
Most of those older worker bees have a drawer full of old nametags, too. Names like "Bullocks", "Burdines", or "Broadway". "May D&F","Meir and Frank", "Filene's", or "Marshall Field's". Miss Ginger has stores in Louisiana that have been named "Goudchaux's> Maison Blanche> McCrae's> Parisian> Foley's since they were built in the 80's.
It's an industry of the survival of the fittest. Fat cats don't make it. Quick fixes don't work. And nothing can be swept under the carpet (which is glued to the floor, by the way, so it won't wrinkle and trip people!) And the big sharks swallow up the little fish every day.
You may have a newly named department store in your town; it may have even replaced one of your venerable old favorites. You may have seen changes in the store, or it may be pretty much the same to you. But if you look at the faces, you'll see the people in the store are many of the same people who have helped you for years. They wear all black to work now. They wear a different nametag. And they had to learn to work a "new-fangled" cash register. But they have a job. With a company that respects them. And makes them feel good about what they do every day. That didn't get bailed out by the government, and never will. Americans would laugh at the thought of bailing out the Department Store industry. But I'm not sure why? It appears to be a hell of a lot better run than the automakers!
So, start your Chevrochrysford and head to the mall!

Happy (Belated!) Bloggiversary to Miss Ginger!

Miss Ginger has been such a busy gal that she totally missed her first "Bloggiversary!" She didn't even realize it until she started gathering groceries for this year's Thanksgiving feast that she remembered blogging about last years Thanksgiving. It made her realize that she had been blogging at least a year so she went back to the first entry to see when she actually missed her "Bloggiversary". It was back in August! It's been a long time since those AOL Journal days, but lots of my old j-land friends migrated over to the blogosphere as well, and we've picked up some new ones along the way! Thanks so much to those of you who have followed me along the way, leaving comments and sticking thoughtful plugs in your own blogs! Your friendships mean the world to me and your comments keep me going! They are the first thing I look at in the morning after I feed the kitties!

So, here's to the one year old (drag queens lie about their age!) TFBOMGG!

A Couple of Photos

Here are a couple of photos Dr. M. sent me from LVI-

The first is a "during" picture of Miss G in the chair, with her cheek retractors and custom made splash goggles on.

The second is Dr. Mitchmore, the disco ball, Ginger, Antonio (Dr. M's asst) and Dr. Dianne Hornberger, the Clinical Instructor who was just as sweet as could be! Ginger's was the only operatory with a disco ball.

More later- off to the French Quarter for some (soft) dinner!

Miss Ginger's Mouth Hurts!

But not enough to shut the bitch up! She has lots to say so she's gonna talk right through it!

I did get a sweet email from Dr. M. this morning letting me know that my mouth might be a little sore and that I should "free-base" on ibuprofen! I little sore!- oye! Thank God I like soup! Although it is feeling better by tonight!

Back in my little Marriott in Metairie- it's like I never left! I did remember to request "down-free" this time!

I snagged this little tag from Chicago Dan's site. A day without gays? What would happen?

1. Department stores across the country would be a mess!

2. Everyone's hair would be a mess!

3. No one's phone would work if the lesbians participated.

4. Many schoolchildren would stare at blank chalkboards all day.

5. Dead air on the networks as Ellen, Suze, and many others behind the scenes called out sick.

6. There would be no crafts on "Martha" because there would be no one to do them for her.

7. Bravo would just broadcast a test pattern all day.

8. Gym equipment across the nation would rust and sit idol.

9. Patrons in restaurants would wait HOURS for their food!

10. People would die and suffer as Drs., Nurses, X-ray techs, and other medical professionals took the day off.

The list goes on and on.

Miss G isn't sure if she will participate- unemployed drag queens are much less effective at moving the agenda than successful professionals, but the concept is thought-provoking. What else would happen if we had to endure "a Day without Gay?"

New Chompers are In!

Teh new chompers are in and they look great! The clinic has 10 operatories in one big room, and Miss Ginger's operatory was the only one that had been outfitted with a disco ball, flashing lights, and chic, trendy glasses to replace the clear safety glasses everyone else had to wear! Our "op" was THE place to be at LVI today.
The procedures were long. Dr. M. started around 9:30and worked straight through till 3:30 pm. Miss G is tired and her mouth and jaw is sore, but the teeth llok great. She's having a bloody at the brand new Continental Presidents Club at McCarren airport in Vegas, and as soon as she finishes this post she's going to rush off to her first class seat, order another bloody, pop an Ativan, and sleep all the way back to Houston. That's the plan!
More tomorrow from Louisiana- maybe even some pictures!

Whirlwind Week!

Miss G is up bright and early before her dental appointment. Good thing, because she's got so much to do this week and she really needs to get some things done! She'll have to pack up here and check out before she goes, cause from the dental appointment she jets back to H-town to check on the kitties and repack her bag. Then, Wednesday am at buttcrack:30 she heads back to the airport for a puddle-jumper flight to lovely Lafayette, La for a store visit. After Lafayette, it's back to New Orleans to check on the two new babies there, and then Friday she has to do Baton Rouge before heading home for the weekend.
This weekend will be a costume making marathon as she tries to get ahead of that challenge.
Meanwhile, she's got some correspondance to take care of before she gets her day started. (Doesn't correspondance sound so much better than "emailing!?"
If there are 2 things in the world that Miss G loves, it's Engrish and bathroom humor! So she is really enjoying the latest string of funnies on Engrish.com! I leave you to ponder the powers of this super hero! Leave a comment and give it your best shot!

Miss Ginger Bites into Vegas!

Say goodbye to Miss Ginger's old,gross teeth!

She arrived in Vegas yesterday to get them all fixed up, and tomorrow the "temporary" new ones go in.

If you saw her old post, you know that Dr. Mitchmore has been working on realigning her bite to keep the gums from moving away from the teeth and to get the proper alignment to stop the bite from collapsing. He even invited Miss Ginger to come with him to the Las Vegas Institute for Cosmetic Dentistry to show off his most FABULOUS patient to his peers, mentors, and teachers. Being the control freak that she is, Miss Ginger is thrilled to be getting a "behind the scenes" look at how the procedures come together, and she's getting to meet the experts in the field as they look into her FABULOUS example of a mouth that can be made prettier! (How's that for a positive spin on things!)

Dr. Mitchmore has been a real doll, and is treating his "customer of the year" like royalty! Last night, he took Miss Ginger to see one of her favorite co-Divas, Bette, at Caesar's Palace, in the room that Celine built, and Rene lost in a game of poker. Her latest shindig, "the Showgirl Must Go On" is, of course, bawdy, spectacular, and thoroughly entertaining!

Then today, while Dr. M. sat in lectures filling his already full brain to overflowing with dental knowledge, Miss G checked in with the staff at LVI to get her photos taken (there were papparazzi everwhere! Everyone wanted photos of Miss G's mouth!) They also hooked her up to some rather unnatractive wiring and took some computer scan of her mouth in action. (Good think she hadn't had any cocktails- then her mouth would've burned up the computer!)

Later, Dr. M. came by to adjust a couple of little things for tomorrow, then sent Miss G back to the hotel for a FABULOUS, relaxing massage by the ever handsome Brad, who almost made Miss G forget she has to spend 5 hours in a dentist chair tomorrow! So after tomorrow, Miss G will have beautiful new plastic teeth, and in one month Miss G will have FABULOUS porcelain ones that will look just like her original teeth, on whiter, straighter, prettier, healthier, and more durable than before!

Wanda Sykes Comes Out!

David Dust just reported that Wanda Sykes announced her "coming out" at a prop 8 rally. I love Wanda Sykes! Does anyone remeber her in Crank Yankers?

Miss Ginger Demonstrates!

Usually when Miss Ginger demonstrates, it's "how to make gumbo" or "how to sew a housecoat", but today Miss Ginger actually participated in a political demonstration at Houston's FABULOUS art deco city hall.

Let me back up- Miss Ginger got all wrapped up in what to wear. An all black, professional suit? We want to look respectable. Something bright? We want to attract attention and get noticed? Pastel? It's after Labor Day! She worked herself into such a frenzy that she decided to send Boy Ginger as her stand in. Boy was thrilled to go, because he had promised the dear, sweet David Dust that he would cover Houston as the Dust Bunny correspondant for the national Join the Impact campaign.

Neither Boy or Ginger are much on demonstration and protest, and their support of causes tends to be more humanitarian than political. But, on a very basic level, there is no more humanitarian need than human rights, and the right to marry whomever one chooses should not be denied to anyone.

And, when you think about stupid prop 8, where along the way did society start "defensive legislation", anyway? I mean, prop 8 is proposing to "ban" something that isn't even legal! How stupid is that?

Anyway, Boy Ginger met fellow Dust Bunnies Str8upwithatwist, Margo, and AlanHou, and we snapped this photo for dear David and the other bunnies:

At first Miss Ginger thought there were about 1,000 people there, and she saw SpecialEd (from our Special Events team at work) and NeighborJane from down the street, plus lots of other peeps.

By the time she worked her way out of the midst to take this crowd shot, she revised her estimate to more like 2,000.

And here's a little movie clip of the crowd chanting:


So that's it from Houston! I'm looking forward to seeing coverage from Dust Bunnies all around the country on David's blog!

Celia Speaks English!

If you've been following TFBOMGG for any length of time, you probably know that Celia, Miss Ginger's housekeeper, speaks very little English. She understands more than she speaks, so with some pointing, posing, and dramatic hand gestures, Miss G can usually communicate well enough to get a garment starched, some silver polished, or a pot scrubbed. Aside from those histrionics, the pleasantries rarely go beyond "hola" and "buenos noches".

But today, she said to Miss Ginger in the best queen's English: "Big kitty pee pee."

Oye! Apparently, Jackson felt like he needed some points in the reality game show that is their life:

In this week's episode, cattestants Jackson and Shelby are left alone with the housekeeper, which always makes for exciting television since they don't speak Spanish and she doesn't speak cat. Their "QuikMess Challenge" today was a group project to see who could kick the most litter out of the box between the time Ginger vaccuumed it up for the 12th time and Celia showed up for work. The winner was Jackson, who used a two-footed technique with 2 feet in the box and 2 feet out, allowing maximum paw surface for flinging the largest amounts of litter in the shortest time.

The Elimination Challenge was to see which cat could eliminate the most waste in the most inconvenient place at the most inconvenient time. Again, Jackson reigned supreme by managing to urinate on an unwashable faux-fur pillow just seconds before it was time for the housekeeper to leave for the night. Shelby thought she had that one in the bag with her wet furball on the bathmat after Ginger's shower, but Jackson one-upped her by the end of the challenge.

Tune in next week to see just how many times our cattestants can run between Miss Ginger's legs on her midnight run to the potty!

from 2 of Miss Ginger's favorites:

If you've ever checked out the blogs on Miss Ginger's sidebar, you know she loves FAILblog.org and Engrish.com .
Here are a couple of reasons why!
First- why white girls shouldn't breakdance, beside the obvious:


And, can you imagine the line at this door?

Thank Gawd!

As Miss Ginger finally got around to unpacking her "haul" from Sam's CLub last Saturday, she noticed the label on the case of toilet tissue she had purchased:

Thank goodness she got the "flushable" kind, because if she had inadvertantly gotten home with the "rinse and reuse" kind she'd have been one pissed off drag queen!

Just sayin'!

If only the first episode of Top Chef had been as entertaining as David Dust's recap!- Miss Ginger may start skipping the TV and just read his recaps!

Check him out- he's hilarious, and doesn't miss a thing!

Miss G does have a few ponderings for her Top Chef fans, though:

What's up with Pocket Gay's read cheeks? He looks like he just downed a bottle of poppers throughout the whole show! I will miss his elfin magic, though not his conceited fag hag!

The asshat challenge is on between Fabio and Stefanie- hate them both! And what's up with Stefan's EuroTrash white rubber flip flops?! How disgusting will those be after a couple of trips up and down Broadway?

Apparently the Indian chick, Radichio, missed last season's "Next Food Network Star" and missed the memo that curry doesn't play well in Peoria, and that no one like a whiny Indian chick who is out to prove she can cook more than just indian food- in a tangine! She's going home soon! Lest you think that I'm hating on people of Indian descent, please let me remind you of my elicit love affair with Raj Bahvsar last summer!

Crazy Carla- I can only channel Suede and say: "whackadoodle"! She'll be going home long before her entertainment value has worn off!

I can't stand the chick from Jersey because she looks and talks just like my ex-sister-in-law's twin sister from Jersey. Bad memories!

And THANK GODDESS that GayDork Ted is off that show- me no likee! Note to straight people- you don't have to be nice to him out of respect for us. He's not a celebrity in our world, either!

If I've lost you- check out the show or DD's blog!

I Want My Babyback,Babyback,Babyback- and more!

Tonight when I got home from work I came through the side garden instead of the garage, because we worked in Beaumont and RM drove, so she dropped me off in front. I smelled this wonderful Lemon Pledge® fragrance, and realized my brugmansia tree was in full bloom. I was coming from work and I had my camera in my bag, so I snapped this lovely photo.

As I began catching up on blogs, all the talk on Northwest Dan's blog about Applebees® and Olive Garden® made me hungry for Chili's® Baby Back Ribs®.

But I didn't want to go by myself, and I remembered I had some baby ribs in the freezer, so I lit the grill and they are smoking as we speak. Unfortunately, I realized I don't have any barbeque sauce until after I put them on, and I didn't want to go to the grocery, so I decided to improvise with an onion, some honey, some vinegar, the correct spices, and jar of Ragu®. It's white trash cooking at it's finest, and it looks and smells just like barbeque sauce now!

It should be done just in time for me to enjoy while I watch the season premiere of Top Chef, with my favorite celebuchef daddy, Tom Collichio.

Cheers! I'll let you know how it turns out!

Who Say's Everyone in Texas is Bigotted?

Check out this article from the Houston Chronicle:

UT-Austin students form campus' first gay fraternity
Associated Press

AUSTIN — The University of Texas now has its first and only gay fraternity.
Delta Lambda Phi, a nationally recognized gay fraternity, was inducted at UT earlier this year.
Russell van Kraayenburg, president of the fraternity, brought up the idea to open a gay fraternity to the UT Greek community six months ago.
"Everyone's been so supportive on campus," he said. "There's not been a single person I've talked to who's been against the idea or even questioned the idea."
Members complained that a lot of fraternities exclude gays at UT.
"I would go through West Campus and see all the other fraternities and I just kind of knew in my mind, I was like, I can't be in that fraternity,'" said UT student Ryan Yezak, who's now one of seven members of the gay fraternity.

I'll bet this frat can build a human pyramid like no other!

Click on the title of the article to check out the comments from the Chronicle readers!

Where's Rosa Parks When We Need Her?

I lifted this image from Towleroad- not sure who else to credit, but for a little drag queen who grew up in the deep south, this says it all. By the time I came along, the signs were taken down, but the water fountains were still there. I remember asking Momma when we would go into public buildings- "Why are there 2 water fountains" and she would say, "I don't know, sweetie." She knew.

One day I asked Daddy, and he said: "that one used to be for the colored folks, but they can use either one now." And I said "why don't they take that old, ugly one away?" And he said "I don't know, sweetie." But he knew, too. My parents were raised in an environment that didn't recognize the races as equal. When laws changed, they tried to teach us the "right" thing. But I don't know that their beliefs ever really changed, because the only black person they knew was Joyce, the lady that cleaned our house twice a week. "My colored girl", Momma used to call her. "I've had her for years, and I don't know what I'd do without her. The kids love her", she would tell her friends.

In the 4th grade, a black girl started in my school. Her name was Jade. I can't imagine what is was like for her and her little sister, the only 2 African American children in a school full of white teachers, students, and principals. The only other African American was Mr. Brooks, the janitor, who ate his lunch every day in the pine-sol scented broom closet just outside the cafeteria. In junior high, there were a lot more African American kids. My best friend was Sherry Fontenot, and she played first chair flute and I was first chair clarinet. Her mother taught 8th grade in our school. She and her sister were both cheerleaders. I loved them all, and they were my friends. We were aware that our skin was different colors, and we knew many in our little southern city would judge our friendship, but we didn't care. And people learned that we hung out together, did stuff together, were great friends, and nothing bad happened! It wasn't the end of the world for white and black kids to be friends! It was a turning point in my life, and I hope others saw the joy our friendship brought each other and realized that it's okay to step outside of what you were "taught" to accept an idea that is different!

Even when prop 8 is repealed, our marriages are reconized, and we win the legal battles we are fighting, there will STILL be 2 water fountains in the oldest public buildings in places like Lake Charles, La. And there will STILL be bigotry, hatred, and distrust.

The best thing we can do is reach out to people who may have voted for prop 8, one at a time, to win them over as human beings. Think about the people with whom you work, who ride your bus or train, or serve you coffee- or you serve them coffee. You see them every day, and interact with them. But have you connected with them? Have you won them over as a person?

I'm not asking you to discuss politics, gay marriage, or prop 8 with them. Just be nice. Real nice. And be yourself. You just may become the only gay person that they know. And that may be all it takes to make a difference.

It's Here!

Winter is officially here in Texas. Lest you think of bundled up children sledding down the hill- it's Texas. Don't think of flannel-decked cowboys warming their hands by the fire, either- it's 2008. Think rain. Lots of rain. That's what winter means in Texas!
Unlike summer rains, which tend to start mid to late afternoon and cool the world for about an hour, then disapper, winter rains come along and camp out for days. It's been raining, drizzling, or pouring all day, and the forecast calls for it to continue until at least Thursday.
Good think Miss Ginger loves rain! She'll snuggle up with the kitties and sleep until it's sunny again!

Papier Mache

Those of you who have seen Miss Gingers banana know that's she's accomplished at the art of papier mache.

Today, she FINALLY got started on this year's Mardi Gras costume, and she decided to start with the papier mache.

Miss Ginger LOVES papier mache! It's kind of odd that such a messy craft is one of her favorites, but she realized today she loves it because it's a chance for all of her OCD and anal retentive tendecies to exercize their right to flourish! She spent the afternoon in the garage, starting with the big strips, criss crossing them, and the moving to ever and ever smaller pieces as she smooths the surface with her hands. She can't tell you what she's making- you can't see that until after the ball- but she is glad to finally have begun! Now that's she's taken the plunge, she should be able to keep moving on it and be finished in plenty of time. The papier mache will form the headpiece, and there's probably another day's work on that. She's going to order fabric tonight to create the actual garment, and the huge backpiece will be the last piece to be created, due to storage implications. You'll never guess what she's going to be, so don't even try!

And to continue her "Drag Queen Martha Stewart" day, she'g going to attempt grilling lobster tails tonight for dinner. That will be a new adventure- I'll let you know how it goes!

Hope everyone has a great week! Love to all! ....G

Welcome to Obamatopia!

Are you still feeling Obamaphoric? Does it feel good to tell Bush "Obamanos, muchacho?" Let's hear a "Obamalujah!" and an amen!
Lest you think Miss Ginger has spent all day creating these clever Obamamisms, she is actually quoting an article she read that the Houston Chronicle picked up from the AP.

Barackisms sweep across Obamatopia
Wags and Web weave words for brave new Bamelot
By WILLIAM J. KOLE
Associated Press
Nov. 7, 2008, 10:42PMShare Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! Buzz. First there was "Obamamania," punctured in places by naysayers crying "Nobama!"

Now, as President-elect Barack Obama prepares for the White House, his message of change, resounding both at home and abroad, seems to have unleashed a barrage of Barackisms. Or maybe they should be called Obamanyms.

Here's a glossary, culled from Web sites, news reports and the blogosphere:

• Obamaphoria: The postelection rapture that swept over Obama's supporters worldwide.
• Obamanation: A twist on "abomination," expressed by evangelicals and other conservatives who oppose Obama's stance on abortion, gay marriage and other issues.
• Obamarama: The celebrations around the Jan. 20, 2009, inauguration.
• Obamanos: A play on "Vamonos," or "Let's go," among Obama fans in Mexico.
• Obamatopia: The political paradise that Obama's staunchest supporters hope he'll usher in.
• Obamalujah: Exultation shouted by his fans.
• Obamatrons: The policy wonks who will occupy the West Wing of his White House.
• Obamascope: Media scrutiny of the new leader. (Example: "One hundred days after Barack Obama took office, newspaper editors put the president's economic plan under the Obamascope.")
• Obamanator: Hollywood-inspired nickname for the new president — even if he's got what California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger contends are "skinny legs" and "scrawny little arms."
• Bamelot: Description of his presidency, from a New York Post headline that played on the youth and freshness of John F. Kennedy's administration that came to be known as "Camelot."
• Barackstar: Description from those who believe Obama is "the Mick Jagger of politics" (from Slate.com).

Don't know about you, but now everyone who wins at everything will be recognized as a "Barackstar" by Miss Ginger!

and we can toss this one "Barack and forth" for days as we come up with more and more words for Baracknophiles to use in their daily lives!

A Chance to Screw the Mormons- Ewe!

I just grossed myself out! I don't know many Mormons, but the few I knew I didn't particularly like, and they certainly didn't like me. (A particular ex-boss comes to mind!) And after that whole Fundamentalist FLDS thing last summer in Texas, I have a really bad taste in my mouth for them. (Ewe! I just grossed myself out AGAIN!)
Anyway, I've read that they just screwed the GLBTQ community by spending HUGE amounts of money to support prop 8 in California. If that's the case, they have violated the stipulations of their tax-exempt status. I don't know if it happened or not, but I DO think the IRS should investigate, and I have signed a petition requesting that they do.
Miss Ginger thinks it would be FABULOUS if you be be a sweetie and go to this website to sign it, as well!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/review-the-501c3-status-of-the-church-of-latter-day-saints-the-mormons
And, thanks to Chicago Dan for the headsup!

The Worlds Eyes are on America!

Miss Ginger is truly fascinated by the world's fascination with American politics!

Last summer in London, Miss G and Sonna were somewhat surprised by the fact that every cabdriver and bartender wanted to talk about "Hilary's chances" or "the Evil Bush". We were amazed that they were so interested, so well informed, and so well connected with American politics. Honesty, Miss G's not 100% sure she could name the prime minister of the UK today. Is it still Tony Blair?

The world's reaction to the Obama election is equally fascinating. Here's a couple of excerpts from the BBC's website, from an article entitled "What the world expects":

UK, IAIN WATSON

"Gordon Brown will be keen to have some "face time" with the president-elect ahead of the international financial summit in Washington on the 15th of this month."

CANADA, LEE CARTER
"Polls show that more than 70% of Canadians would, if they could, have voted for Barack Obama in the US presidential election."

IRAN, JON LEYNE

"And almost all Iranians hold a firm belief that their country is of global importance, at the centre of the world stage, demanding urgent attention from the new US president. But they could be disappointed."

FRANCE, ALASDAIR SANDFORD

"Opinion polls have consistently estimated that more than eight in 10 French people would have backed him, and according to one recent survey only 1% would have voted for John McCain."

At first, Miss Ginger thought "how dare the world have expectations of OUR President!" "He's not theirs! They're not allowed to expect!"

But expectation is human nature, and of course even Miss G can't screw with Mother Nature! (Oh, wait a minute. Screwing with Mother Nature is what Miss G is all about! But that's "a whole 'nother post!"

Anyho, she was amused by the Canadian poll that declared that 70% of Canadians would have voted for Obama if they could. Or the French poll that predicted 8 of 10 Frogs would have elected Obama if they were voting.

I have to ask: Have any GingerSnaps ever been polled to find out how they would vote in a Canadian election? Has any American newspaper ever predicted who would be the Prime Minister of France if Americans were invited to vote?

It poses the ages old question: "Does anybody really care?"

Miss G, who has never been political, finds herself wondering why she is so fascinated by this election! She WAAAAYYY not a politcal follower, and typically avoids any word beginning with "p" just to be sure she doesn't get caught up in a political conversation. And it's not a racial thing- when Miss G's parents passed away, any racist influence in Miss G's life was buried with them. (PS- they are probably spinning in their graves now!) Miss G knew someday an African American would be elected President. She just finds it amazing that the world is so fascinated by it. I guess it just proves that the US is still the most powerful nation in the world, after all!

Moving Forward

I'm glad the election is over so we can all move forward. And I'm glad Barak Obama won. I wasn't necessarily an "early adopter", but I knew Bush and his cronies needed to go, I was afraid McCain would die in office, and I was certain the US could not survive another Republican presidency. If there ever were any doubt in my mind, McCain's selection of the lip-sticked-pig airhead from Alaska made my vote solid. So it's done! Yea!

Everyone who reads my blog knows I'm not a hater- but one thing I do hate is bitterness! All it takes to shut my ears is for someone to start ranting bitterly, and I'll take my "get over it, Mary!" stance and tune them out. So I'm thrilled that the world's bitter queens (there seem to be so many these days!) don't have Bush to blame things on any more! It's time for them to be happy! As Daddy Ginger would say: "s&%t or get off the pot!" Our man won! Our voice was heard! And people rallied behind our causes! If you're ever gonna be happy, now's the time to do it!

And you're not allowed to be bitter about the gay marriage ban unless you live in one of those states where it passed. Angry? Yes. Dissapointed? Sure. Hurt? Maybe. All of those are emotions, and they ebb and flow, and will heal over time. But bitter is not an emotion- it's a state of mind. It's an unwillingness to participate, and often a conduit for blame. In the words of Miss Ginger- "Get over it, Mary!" Don't be bitter, be convicted! Be convicted to do something different than what you did last year to bring the issue forward. But don't be bitter. Miss Ginger don't do bitter!

A lot in this election was made of the economy. President Obama's choice for Secretary of the Treasury will be of utmost importance! Anyone have a crystal ball to predict who he will tap?

America Welcomes President Obama

Upon the call of Florida for Obama, Fox News and the AP just called the election for Barak! While I was pretty sure the red state of Texas wouldn't flip over, I am proud to say that Harris County and the Houston area clearly supported Obama. Maybe someday the cowboys and rednecks will see it our way!

Anachronism?

Do any GingerSnaps out there watch Brothers and Sisters on ABC? Tonight, Robert McAllister (Rob Lowe) had to go to the middle east, leaving wife Kitty Walker McAlister (Calista Flockhart) at home to worry about life, family, adoption, blah blah blah. But the part that I questioned was the phone conversations that Robert and Kitty had while Robert was flying back and forth. He sat in his seat on the airplane and talked on his regular cell phone. Can that really happen? I have to admit that when the stewardess tells Miss Ginger to turn off her Blackberry, she never does, but it doesn't get a signal up that high anyway. Isn't the plane flying way above the level where a cell phone signal is oriented? Just wondering....

Rambling Rants and Randomness

It's been a week now since Miss Ginger got back from NOLA, and as good at is feels to be home, things are a little strange and not as she expected them to be. Dontcha hate when that happens?
First, the kitties are being weird. Normally, they interact with each other a great deal, playing, fighting, grooming, or just snuggling and sleeping together. Since Miss G has come home, it's like each kitty doesn't even know the other exits, even though they are in the same room together. And instead of both sleeping with me like normal, they won't come into the bedroom at the same time. Jackson will wait by the door until Shelby gets up to go to the litter box, and then he will come in. After she finishes her business and comes back, she realizes Jackson is in the room and won't come in. It's like they had some huge fight while I was gone and now they're not speaking! Their both being sweet with me but I want my whole kitty family back together!
Miss Ginger's back went out after she got home, which is not surprising, so instead of getting all the things done that need to get done, we're laying on ice packs and hobbling around like a letter "C". Miss Ginger often gets muscle spasms when she goes from periods of being on her feet a lot to periods of sitting or sleeping a lot. Usually they work themselves out with muscle relaxers and mobic, but this has been almost a week. Looks like it will be back to the physical therapist for Miss G. Not an altogther unpleasant experience, but time and schedule consuming, and expensive.

Str8upwithatwist blogged about All Saints Day, and started Miss G to wondering if there is a patron saint of Drag Queens? Does anybody know? Miss G also needs to pray to St. Anthony, because since she got back she can't find her ipod or her headphones. He always helps her find her lost earrings so I know he can help with consumer electronics as well!

Miss G skipped breakfast bunch this morning because her back hurt and she wasn't feeling sociable. It also gave her a chance to enjoy one of the good things that came out of her past relationship, fried boudin for breakfast. She never ate boudin till exBF came along, but he fried some up for breakfast one morning and Miss G was instantly hooked. She only got a couple of links left in the freezer, so she may have to make a road trip to the Mother State to get some more. Does anybody know where one can buy boudin in Texas?

The time changes always throws Miss G's schedule into a tail-spin, but at least she early voted on Friday so she doesn't have to worry about getting up early Tuesday to go by the polls on her way to work. I guess we'll all be glued to the TV Tuesday night- might be a fun night to go out to the bars to watch the returns, asuming things go our way. Otherwise, not so fun. In either case, cocktails will be appropriate!

Halloween Happenings

Many folks call Halloween "the Gay Holiday" because it's so popular in the GLBT community. In Houston, the clubs and bars on Pacific Street actually get a permit to close the street and make a block party. Parking is a nightmare and the crowds are insane, so Miss Ginger and the gang chose to skip that scene this year and frequent some neighborhood haunts with easier access. We started at N and Out, just down the street from Chez Ginger, and Brian and the boys had decorated the place real cute. After that we headed to Tony's Corner Pocket, where we met up with more of the gang.

From there we went to Decades, aka "the doublewide" because the place looks like 2 trailers shoved together to make one big room. Even more of the gang met up with us there.

By the way- if you're looking for Miss Ginger in the pics, you won't find her! Halloween is for the "amateur" drag queens who only do it once a year. Boy Ginger is much easier to manage on a Friday night after a work day! Can you figure our which one she is?