Friday, May 30, 2008

Body of War



The Countess is taking a break from her regular schedule of frivolous reporting normally found on this blog. Below this post, you will find a video made by the political organization MoveOn. and I urge you to watch it and see the hypocrisy that the Republican party as represented by McCain and George Bush bring to the table.




The Countess has been searching for a way to make a difference in this world. I have supported, got out in the trenches, and spoken about the need for our nation to make gay marriage legal so that all citizens can be equal under Federal law. I have supported political organizations who have opposed Bush and his administration and have donated money to get the message out about the lies this administration has told to its citizens about 9/11, about the Iraq war, about the Hurricane Katrina disgrace, and have petitioned for Bush to be impeached for his crimes. All of this is like a faucet dripping......constant aggravation and waiting for a plumber to come to fix the problem. Unfortunately for some, the plumber never comes....much like the mythical search for Osama Bin Laden.



There is a documentary out there, Body of War. It is a story about a young man, Thomas Young, who was injured in the Iraq war and his struggle to make a life for himself after returning to the U.S with his devastating injuries. It is the story of every one of our sons who has fought in this war and found out just how much our country does NOT support us when we return from doing our duty. It is another reflection of the ineptitude of the Bush administration. It is another example of how our elected officials of both parties abandoned the American people for political considerations. It is a powerful statement of humanity. This film is having a limited run in theaters. If it is coming to a theater near you, go to see it. It has a powerful impact. See the trailer on YouTube here. This has also been the subject of a PBS Special by Bill Moyers.



The Countess gives kudos to Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro for creating this powerful, yet sensitive, documentary. SEE THIS FILM. YOU WILL BE MOVED, EDUCATED, AND INSPIRED.


Yes, we all sometime feel helpless to make a change in this day and age, but one person can change the world....one person at a time. Perhaps this film will be the catalyst that you need to make a difference.


All we can do is try...........the sin is when we don't try at all.
Countess Bedelia 5/30/2008 09:37:00 PM | 0 comments |

TV ad: Bush-McCain Challenge

You can love Obama
Or you can want Clinton to win
But one thing is for sure
If McCain wins, it's a SIN.

Check out this video made by MoveOn.

Countess Bedelia 5/30/2008 05:27:00 PM | 0 comments |

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend Redux....

Here we are at The Summer Palace enjoying the beautiful New England weather on Memorial Day Weekend. We have lots of things going on; so sit back and enjoy the tour. Mark from Miami was coming for a visit and we wanted to make sure everything was perfect....which means Ketel One and soda....which we had waiting for him when he arrived.



After a refreshing drink (or two!!), Mark paid his respects at the Shrine of the late Countess duBarry...here he is on the exact spot that she met her demise...


Next was a stroll down the castle path to Rumpy's Tavern...


Where he had ANOTHER Ketel One and soda (but The Countess was not counting)...



and met Steve, the Manager of Shakespeare & Co., one of the most fabulous theaters here in the fabulous Berkshires.



And of course, he met Prince Troy, the bartender at Rumpy's Tavern who makes it all happen every week....




Later we took him off to the Berkshire Theatre Festival opening night of Pinter's "The Caretaker" starring Jonathan Epstein, James Barry, and Tommy Schrider.


If you are in the area, please go to see this production. You will be blown away by the acting and just amazed in general by the professional theater you will experience. Mark certainly was and he enjoyed the party after the performance where he met the cast and many of the wonderful people who make the Berkshire Theatre Festival run so smoothly all summer.


The next day was the traditional New England holiday cookout thrown by The Queen of the Bar, Cindy. Cindy had so much delicious food (especially the barbequed pork ribs) but if you didn't like it, her apron said it all....





Here is our hostess Cindy with our Rumpy's Tavern bartender Troy...



The Countess had to go back for one more helping of the pork ribs...OMG..SO GOOD!!



The Countess and Troy exchanging recipes at the BBQ...




In addition to the delicious food, gifts were exchanged. Troy and Mark are looking a little perplexed with this sleeve of urinal cups which were given to Troy. Is he supposed to serve shots in them?






After the cookout at Cindy's we stopped at Rumpy's Tavern for a cocktail before heading off to Shakespeare & Co. to see the French Farce, "The Ladies Man". This was a hysterically funny production. Go and see it if you are in the area. Here is Mark standing by one of the wonderful sculptures on the grounds...






Finally the big day has arrived....The Memorial Day Parade!!!!! Mark is waiting anxiously on the front porch for the parade to pass by....




There was an antique fire engine...




And all the real fire engines in the town (such a relief to know that we actually have fire engines in our little town!!)....




Garth, the wonder dog aka English Mastiff, came by to say hello....




There was the high school band and just about everyone else. Love it!
The Countess loved having Mark visit from Miami. We had so much fun and it was a chance to share the beauty of the Summer Palace and the wonderful Berkshire countryside with a special friend.




Countess Bedelia 5/27/2008 04:47:00 PM | 3 comments |

Saturday, May 24, 2008

RuPaul Drag Race Showcase: PANDORA !!



The Countess is enjoying the beautiful weather here at the Summer Palace. Lots of things going on this weekend including a visit from Black and Tan Mark from Miami. So we are going to have to take a little break from the RuPaul Drag Race and concentrate on having some fun...which you know The Countess likes to do.

But first.....a Showcase on the fabulous Pandora! Here is a little excerpt from her blog on her Drag Race Profile Page:



"....I consider Rochester, NY my home base of Lipstick Operations but I have performed in a number of different cities including Toronto, Ft. Lauderdale, Pittsburgh and Buffalo just to name a few. There's nothing that beats the feeling of getting on stage and entertaining people……

I've also met some amazing people because of drag. Well, let's just start by saying all of my closest friends I have today I'm not sure if I would have met if I hadn't decided to be a Fake Lady dancing in pretty underthings. …….

I've even gotten to meet a few celebrities along the way! I had the most amazing opportunity to interview the fabulous RuPaul for a local magazine here in Rochester! We talked about everything from her latest CD to Rowdy Roddy Piper (of all things)! We had a great little chit-chat.

I've also gotten to interview Julie Brown (not the "Downtown" variety, the REAL one!), the legendary Mink Stole and hottie singer/songwriter Levi Kreis.

I also got to meet the amazing Cyndi Lauper who was so beyond nice and wonderful. She has been an idol of mine since I was a kid; thinking I was a rock star dancing around to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (a song I eventually incorporated into my drag act dressed as Cyndi!).

Oh and I also got to go to a fundraiser dinner with John Waters (love him!) and I sat across from him and ended up quoting lines from his movie "Female Trouble" with him... priceless!"


Pandora as Britney Spears

You can check out some videos of her performances on her MySpace Page. She does Britney, Dolly Parton, and a WILD Janis Joplin!

Pandora has been campaigning like a pro to get enough votes to get on the RuPaul Drag Race when it finally airs on LOGO; so if you are a Registered Voter on the RuPaul Drag Race, please give Pandora a vote every day. And if you haven't registered to vote yet, what are you waiting for?

And don't forget to vote daily for these other Queens that you have read about on The Countess' Blog: Trinity Fantasia, Saffire Trinity, Jade Daniels, NPB, Jolene the Trailer Park Queen, Shiqueeta, and Pork Chop!
Countess Bedelia 5/24/2008 09:09:00 AM | 2 comments |

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Drag Race Showcase: Saffire Trinity

The Countess is having so much fun with all these fabulous, fantastic Queens. One of them suggested that I should start up a new Reality Show to select members of "The Countess' Court". That is kind of a catchy TV show title, don't you agree?



Tonight I am showcasing the beautiful Saffire Trinity Stone. You can check out Saffire's MySpace page and see lots of pictures and videos. Her video in which she does Faye Dunaway doing Joan Crawford as Mommy Dearest is priceless!


No wire hangers !!!!!!!



One Hot Lady Here!!!


Here is some of her bio from her RuPaul Drag Race Profile Page:
"I am a 22 Year Old Floral Designer and Receptionist From Austin, TX. I have been Doing Drag for a Little over 4 Years, and I am A Second Generation Drag Queen. Yes, that means that my Real Dad was Also a Drag Queen Back in the Day.
Most of the Drag that I do is for Charity, I work with many organizations but the one that I work with the Most is the United Court of Austin which is a 501 c 3 Non-Profit Organization that Raises Money for GLBT causes by putting on drag shows and such....I am Crown Princess Royale of The United Court Austin.
As well as the producer of the first drag show in Williamson County history, and I was voted Austin's best Drag Queen by the Austin Chronicle and it's readers. I am a Member of T.G.R.A. (Texas Gay Rodeo Association) as Well as a Community Activist.
......I work in all of the Bars here in Austin. I am a Regular Cast Member at the La Cage Show at Oilcan Harry's Every Sunday night ...(voted one of the Top 50 bars in THE WORLD!) I do Illusions of Cher, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Pink, Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, and many others. I am One of the Co-Host of the S-Club with my Sister and Best friend Simone Riviera.... at Boy Bar, Austin, Part of Rainbow Cattle Company's Friday Nights!"

Go, click on Saffire's Profile Page, and give her a Vote if you are a Registered Voter. Her name in the RuPaul Drag Race is SaffireTrinity.
If you haven't registered yet, what are you waiting for? Click on this link and sign up to be a Voter.
Countess Bedelia 5/21/2008 08:23:00 PM | 3 comments |

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Court Intrigue never stops....

You know that when you get a bunch of Queens in a room together that there will be plenty of court intrigue afoot. And the RuPaul Drag Race is no exception. The Race is on and it's every Queen for herself!

When The Countess first signed up as a Voter the contest was just beginning and there weren't too many people registered as contestants or voters, but some of the Queens had more than a thousand votes. Given that you can only vote for each contestant once every 24 hours and you have to be registered to vote, there was no way that number of votes could have been generated in one day. And now one of the queens has blogged about how her friends bypassed the 24 hour ruling.

JadeDaniels reports:

Posted on 03:01 PM on Sat, May 17 2008


I don't know if you people realize this, but you or your friends can vote for you over and over again all day long. Which is how most of the people in the top probably got there. All you have to do is go to your internet options, erase your history/cookies, close your page, and WHAM! Time stamp erased and you can vote all over again. So how do we really know who is actually in the top? I know my friends figured it out and did it for me about 200 times on my first day. I told them to stop because it looked shady because I had 250 votes, but less than 200 views. I wanted to see how many votes I would actually get. I'm NOT accusing anyone in the top for doing the same, but it's pretty obvious when I watched most of them climb the charts and get 500 votes in 1 hour while no one else got any votes.

So there, I came clean, now everyone knows (=

Good Luck Trannies!
xoxo, Jade


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....The Countess loves the smell of Court Intrigue in the morning!
Good luck to Jade Daniels and her sister NPB. Honesty is the best policy.....unless you can cheat and get away with it!!!!

Jade Daniels is a real beauty queen!


















Stay tuned for more drama as it unfolds.
And if you haven't registered as a voter yet, what are you waiting for? Our SoBe Queen, Tiffany Fantasia needs your votes. Get to it!


Check out Tiffany's MySpace page to see more glamour shots and see her videos. Tiffany in action is a wondrous sight to behold!

Countess Bedelia 5/20/2008 09:37:00 AM | 3 comments |

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Have you registered on the RuPaul Drag Race yet?

The Countess is having lots of fun voting and commenting on the drag queens who hope to win the RuPaul Drag Race.


Our very own Tiffany Fantasia from South Beach is a contestant so all you SoBe residents should be voting for her.





I found a new Queen that I like. Her name on the Drag Race is PorkChop but her real name is Victoria Parker. She is the current Miss Gay DC America and Miss North Carolina at Large. Look her up on YouTube for many performance videos.
Register to Vote and go give Victoria some Love and a VOTE!

Countess Bedelia 5/18/2008 07:04:00 PM | 3 comments |

Friday, May 16, 2008

RuPaul Drag Race Contest on LOGO


Thanks to my dear friend, the undisputed ruler of the Southern Court, The Mrs. Astor, for the heads up on RuPaul's new reality show on LOGO.


I have already signed up as a Voter. My Voting name is TheCountess. If any of my drag queen friends sign up, please let me know and I will vote for you.


I still need to peruse the site more thoroughly but I have already become enamored of two of the contestants.



First up is Jolene Sugarbaker, the Queen of the Trailer Court. Jolene hosts a cooking show featuring ingredients that you will find in the back of your cabinet or refrigerator (the older, the better), handy tips on buying kitchen utensils and spices from the Dollar Store, and delicious recipes such as Saurkraut Custard Pie and Pickle Poppers.




I tried to embed her videos but Blogger did not like the html codes so here is the link to her video page on the RuPaul Drag Race Contest. Take my word for it, you will split a gut laughing AND learn some good ideas about cooking in the "double wide".


Next I found Shiqueeta. She makes her own clothes (Christian Siriano...watch out!) and struts her stuff. Check out her videos....here is the link. Shiqueeta knows how to work it, honey.



I have voted for both these Queens and I will be reviewing the other candidates and letting you know my recommendations.
I do hope we get to see Geraldine and Tiffany Fantasia from SoBe up as contestants.



The beautiful Geraldine




The Fabulous Tiffany Fantasia

Good luck to all the contestants. This is one reality show The Countess will watch.

ETA: Tiffany Fantasia has entered the race. Go here and see her page. Register and vote for her every day.
Countess Bedelia 5/16/2008 03:33:00 PM | 1 comments |

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Congratulations California!



The New York Times reports on the California ruling here.


In Massachusetts, our local gay press, Bay Windows, reports on it here.


"The 4 to 3 opinion, joined by three Republican and one Democratic appointee, declared that the "fundamental nature of the substantive rights embodied in the right to marry -and their central importance to an individual’s opportunity to live a happy, meaningful, and satisfying life as a full member of society" requires the California constitution "be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all individuals and couples, without regard to their sexual orientation.""


CONGRATULATIONS TO CALIFORNIA. NEW YORK IS ALMOST THERE. MASSACHUSETTS LED THE WAY. SEVERAL STATES HAVE CIVIL UNIONS ALREADY.


THE TIME HAS COME FOR EQUALITY FOR ALL.


ETA: Michael Reagon, the adopted son of President Ronald Reagon and Jane Wyman has expressed his negative view on the California court decision; but there is a poll on his website to express your view on whether the California court had the right to make this decision. Log on here and vote. Scroll down on the left hand of the page. So far the poll is running 95% in favor of the ruling; so add your vote and don't let the bigots win. (BTW, the "liberal" judges he is ranting about, 6 out of the 7 judges were appointed by Republicans.)


There was another anti-gay California initiative called The Briggs Initiative that went down to defeat primarily because of opposition from an unlikely corner:


"Back in 1978, a conservative state senator in California named John Briggs began an initiative to prohibit homosexuals from holding jobs as teachers. Now, I grant that this was California, but remember it was also 1978 and early polls showed 2 - 1 support for the Briggs Initiative. But something unexpected happened in August of that year, as the initiative headed toward a vote. The Governor of California wrote a newspaper editorial opposing the Briggs Initiative on the grounds that it singled out a group of people for unequal treatment under the law. The Governor wrote that the initiative had, "the potential of infringing on basic rights of privacy and perhaps even constitutional rights." Who was that 'activist' governor? Was it Governor Jerry 'Moonbeam' Brown? No, that governor was named Ronald Reagan. Governor Reagan's opposition to the Briggs Initiative is credited with turning the tide and when the final votes were cast, the Briggs Initiative was defeated. Writer Jonathan Rauch wrote in The New York Times that 'Mr. Reagan single-handedly turned the tide against the measure."


And while you are lingering on Michael Reagon's site, you can make a real estate deal for his mother, Jane Wyman's home. He is such a classy guy.
Countess Bedelia 5/15/2008 09:14:00 PM | 0 comments |

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

ROXY BLUE MAKES COMEBACK TONIGHT !

That Grande Dame of the Blues, Roxy Blue, will be debuting her new show tonight. It will be Standing Room Only at Rumpy's Tavern when Roxy belts out her new song list. The Countess is sad that she can't be there tonight as she and Roxy go back many years....back to Roxy's days as a Supreme.



Roxy was very successful with her other Supreme Girls but one of them refused to shave and the act was cancelled.





Next she performed at Moulin Rouge where, once again, she received standing ovations after every performance.





Too bad that around that time she met a man who loved her, left her, and done her wrong. He left her with all his gambing debts. Roxy tried to make the best of it and pay those debts honestly.



She took a job as a nurse to a sweet old man but that didn't work out when she kept trying to give him a "happy ending".






Next she hit the skids and became "Senorita Rita, the Puta". Poor Roxy! Trying to make it on the streets. Oh, the shame of it all!




Finally she called her twin sister, Foxy Green. Foxy was married to a Prince at the time and brought Roxy back into High Society. Here they are at the Grand Victor Ball.






Foxy always knew how to make the right choices and marry the right men. Foxy was sure that she could arrange something for Roxy. However Roxy had other ideas and right away started making out with a Naked Cowboy.






Then she performed a citizen's arrest on this obvious felon and hauled him off to her hotel room for a demonstration of exactly what the Department of Erections did.






Poor Foxy. She was ruined in society by Roxy's antics! For shame! But Roxy has a Heart of Gold and was determined to get her reputation back and her career. She started out at Weddings and Bar Mitzvahs and her beautiful voice captured everyone who heard her.





Word got around and soon she was playing nightclubs around the country.



And that is the story of Roxy Blue, Grande Dame of the Blues, and how she got to finally play at Rumpy's Tavern.....the one place every singer aspires too.





The Countess will raise a glass of Glenlivet tonight in your honor......until we can clink glasses together again.





Break a leg, Roxy Blue!
Countess Bedelia 5/14/2008 07:38:00 PM | 0 comments |