Home At Last!

Queen Ginger is finally home from her Mardi Gras jaunt to the motherland, and wouldn't you know, she came home sick as a dog! Now she remembers why she stopped going to NOLA for Mardi Gras- this always happens!  Spring allergies + crowds of germy people = sinus infection!

SO last night she curled up with the kitties front of the TV and caught up on all the shows she'd DVR'd.  She finally got to watch the episode of RuPaul's Drag Race where Delta was sent home, and I think it was time for her to go.

Now, I know there are some Delta lovin' queens out there reading this blog, and I love her too, but based on the contest of this challenge, she just did not bring it.  As much as she criticized others for "going for the obvious" when they teased her about being fat, that's exactly what she did in the comedy challenge, but without enough confidence and panache to make it funny. It was just kind of pathetic and painful! As a big girl drag queen, Miss Ginger feels qualified to say that Delta needs to move beyond her desire to be seen as "more than just the big girl"!  Face it, sweetcheeks- you're a big man in a dress, and that's funny!  People expect a big drag queen to be funny, so we have to give them that first.  If we can layer on beauty and talent, that's great, but you gotta bake the cake before you can ice it!

Manila was also in the bottom 2, and she deserved to be there as well.  I love Manila's look,  and her Asian deprecation shtick is pretty funny most of the time.  Why she went for that tired Sesame Street routine is beyond me, when she could have given us Margaret Cho meets Connie Chung or something personal and funny!  She totally deserved to win the Lipsync, where she clearly outshined Delta.

A lot came to to light for Miss Ginger during this episode when it was revealed that Shangela has experience doing comedy on stage.  Now Miss G understands why Ru seems to have her back so much!  

If you look at the queens who are getting national exposure lately, they are all, first and foremost, comediennes.  Coco Peru, Lady Bunny, and Hedda Lettuce have all brought drag comediennes to the limelight with cable specials and comedy tours.  Miss Ginger is proof positive that just about any old queen can put on a dress and heels and make a name for herself, but to get national exposure, you've got to move beyond the lipsync-at-a-bar, dollar-at-a-time bookings that most of us get.  RuPaul rose to fame because she can, in fact, sing and dance, but even she has followed that with talk shows and comedic charm that makes the world love her. I think Ru sees potential in Shangela's ability to market herself as star with talent, and she may be the most marketable queen on that stage today.  True, Shangela's makeup is amateurish, and she can't sew, but we can pay makeup artists and seamstresses to fix that.  She has that flair for comedy and the spot-on timing that money can't buy, and that's going to bring her a long, long way.

A lot of people are favoring Raja, and I love her too, but I don't see her as the Next Drag Superstar.  First off, to paraphrase Fabio: "eetsa Top Drag Queen, notta Top Androgeny". Her look, while entertaining and edgy, is not particularly pretty,  and Miss Ginger sees her more as a "club kid" than a true drag queen.  I think she'll go far- and I think she'll be successful- but Miss Ginger does not see her as "America's Next Drag Superstar".  Raja also seem REALLY smart- way smarter than your average drag queen!  I think with her talent and brains, plus the fact that she's a very handsome boy as well, will take her a long way in the entertainment industry.

The 2 Latinas are fluff.  Love them both, but can't understand a word they say. Charo can only take you so far!

So Miss G is predicting Shangela for the win.  Who are you 'snaps pulling for?

Start Your Engines!!

Last night was the premiere of the 3rd season of RuPaul's Drag Race, and since my dear friend David Dust doesn't catch Logo in his new abode, Miss Ginger thought she would do the sisterly thing and catch him up on the highlights!  Mind you, Miss G doesn't have the attention span for a full recap, so consider this highlight reel more like "Cream of RuPaul" soup!!


Our season begins, as all do, with the requisite tranny parade as the girls arrive, one by one, into the trannyshack. 

First in, Delta Work, a plus size girl with a sense of style and a strong presence.  Miss G liked her instantly.

Next, Carmen Carrera, the polar opposite of Delta. She is skinny, tragic, and Miss G took an instant dislike. Then, when that Joisey accent came out, it got even worse.  She's not as pretty as she thinks she is.




A few more queens trickle in, with no particularly notable characteristics.  Miss G's trusty sharpie scribbled their names, but the notes about them are pretty nondescript. 

Then enters Stacy Love Matthews, a big Southern Momma from Back Swamp, North Carolina.  Yes, you read that right... Back Swamp! You know it... it's just up the dirt road from Front Swamp... right next to Left Swamp!   Anyho,  Stacy channels a bit Mo'nique, a bit Nell Carter, and a whole lotta soul!  Miss G likes her!

After a few more queens, in walks Mariah. At first, Miss G thought she carried herself like an African American Shannel, but later in the episode she redeemed herself by helping a big queen out of a jam, so Miss G decided she must be good people!

Miss G racked her brain trying to think of who Alexis Mateo reminded her of, and then it hit her:  Georgia Engel, Georgette on the Mary Tyler Moore Show!  Not in appearance- Alexis is much darker; and not in sound- Alexis has a Puerto Rican accent!  It's just the way she hold her mouth and tongue.  Alexis is also the cutest boy of the group!!

The last queen in was Raja, who entered wearing this bizarre cyclops hat, not boobs, and tattoos on her arms.  Miss G was instantly turned off by her, but interestingly enough she won both challenges, so there must be something there.  Raja is one of the rare trannys who is actually much prettier as a boy than a girl, and she also found him to speak extremely well,  as though he has been well-educated and brought up in a very proper family.  Miss G wasn't so much intrigued by Raja, but she thinks Boy Raja would be interesting to get to know.


So, that the rundown of Miss Ginger's faves.  Who did you like?  Any prediction for a winner yet?

A Scary Halloween Scene!

 It's a SCARY Halloween at Chez Ginger!!  Miss G decided to stay home and rinse out her wigs instead of running around with the amateur draggers on Halloween, and it looks like cannibals have been in her bathroom taking scalps!! Synthetic hair has to drip dry, so there's nothing to do but wait!

Now that the garage is cleaned out, she's digging into the drag closet to get things all in order there!   It's about time to start this years Mardi Gras costume, so it's a good thing this burst of energy came to our gurl when it did!

Happy Halloween, everybody! Whatever you're gonna be:  be a good one!

"The Last Rose for your Valentine"-

When I was just starting my own gardening, I had the hardest time remembering the best time to prune. Momma Ginger told me one time "cut the last rose for your Valentine, then prune it back hard for the new season." She said she didn't know if it worked everywhere, but it's the rule I've followed for years on the Gulf Coast. It makes sense, because by Valentine's Day the chance of us getting a hard freeze is pretty slim. It's more likely that we will have a warm, wet snap that will sprout new growth, and you want to prune before that.

Miss G has been looking forward to pruning day, because she's had some things looking pretty scraggly since the hurricane. Those poor hibiscus (hibisci?) needed it badly, and there's this umbrella palm that get's totally out of bounds (it needs to go completly!)

As Miss G hedged and trimmed and cleared, it occurred to her how much the rules of Texas Gardening are pretty much the same as the rules of Texas Drag!

Rule #1- "Cover up what ain't pretty"! For gardening, it's "cut off what ain't pretty". And for you drag queen gardners, please don't get these 2 mixed up. That would truly be a hot tranny mess!

Rule #2- "Bigger is better". Boobs, hair, blooms,- it's Texas, for Gawd's sake!

Rule #3- "It'll grow back". (with limited exceptions. see rule #1) For drag queens, shave it, trim it or tan it. In gardening, prune the hell out of it- it'll grow back!

Rule #4- "It gets uglier before it gets prettier". If you've seen my transformation video you know what that means for a drag queen. In gardening, when you first prune, it kinda looks a fright util things start to fluff back up a bit.

I could go on and on, but I won't!

When do you prune in your neck of the woods?