29.09.06 :: tying up some (very) loose ends

fact :: beck said that not only was mr. cook very much alive sitting on his porch, but when asked, he denies even being asleep, saying he was awake for his entire meal delivery. now there's some southern pride for you!

fact :: i'm hoping that in taking my car in this morning for its annual oil change (i get the oil changed once a year or after 15,000 miles, whichever is sooner. jealous much?), i will not be faced with the $2,000 repair bill that i paid last october for all those little "incidental" repairs.

fact :: i missed last night's episode of the office due to the fact that i was over at dustie's house helping design the poster for the last of the houston roundup's fundraising events -- the drag auction. i'm pissed about missing the show but damn, did we design a fucking flawless poster or what?

fact :: i don't know quite how to feel about all 4 final designers from season 3's project runway getting to go to fashion week. it seems to me that the judges (or producers) need to grow a pair. each. indifference is such a poorly adorned character trait. i think. but maybe not. i'm not sure.

fact :: i am going to have a relaxing, yet productive weekend if it kills me. how about you?

fact :: i found some more photos of jonathan west (tattoo man) and will post them in this space sometime soon. i think i'm in love. or at least, in some serious lust.

posted by lonestarsteve on fri 29.09.06 7:06 AM

my best friend beck, who lives in atlanta, called me this morning in a panic. what was wrong? you won't believe it.

for extra cash, beck delivers lunch to the elderly through the meals-on-wheels program. his last delivery of the day today was for mr. cook.

beck parks his car and makes his way up to mr. cook's house. he notices that mr. cook is sitting on a chair on his front porch, eyes closed, apparently sleeping.

beck calls out mr. cook's name and then, to get the old man's attention further, nudges his arm with a milk carton. mr. cook didn't stir. not one bit.

beck freaks and after placing mr. cook's lunch on his lap, turns and runs from the house, not even looking back.

i'm yet to find out for sure whether mr. cook had died before his last meal or not. makes you wish you had his job, though, huh?

posted by lonestarsteve on wed 27.09.06 1:53 PM

jesus, how time flies. i haven't posted for a week. i hate when that happens (or doesn't happen, as the case may be). nevertheless ...

ok, so here's what's been going on: first of all, lonestarsteve received word of a scandalous event on the runway from none other than local drag entertainer kaye sedilla (say it together over and over again, and you'll finally get it. clever, eh? only in texas...).

it would seem that project runway producers recently concluded a "very intense and thorough investigation" into accusations that pr finalist designer jeffrey sebelia had cheated on the runway collection he presented at fashion week. scandal! you gotta love it!

reportedly, fellow designer laura bennett told pr producers she believed sebelia "had outsourced his sewing -- which would have disqualified him," according to new york magazine. pr mentor tim gunn told the magazine, "we took the accusation very seriously, and we did a very intense and thorough investigation."

the story goes on to say that laura’s accusation came after gunn "visited sebelia in l.a." and found him with what gunn describes as "a lot of work to do." that news, according to the magazine, "reached bennett, whose mother had met and become friendly with sebelia’s mother."

bennett made her accusation when she saw sebelia's "miraculously finished collection" that was shown under the bryant park tents at fashion week.

so what happened? the magazine reported that bravo apparently would not allow gunn to reveal the resolution. also apparently the incident will "be dealt with" as part of the 2-part finale. gunn did say, however, that sebelia's collection was "very ambitious."

possibly more later tonight, kids. my lunch break, she is over. *sigh*

posted by lonestarsteve on tue 26.09.06 1:56 PM

is it just me, or is this guy's boning visible to you as well? i definitely see visible boning. (i'll never let you live that line down, tim gunn. you come up with some of the cutest things to say. what would we do without you? you're most precious!)

and thanks to alex at thegreatcockhunt for the picture. i actually didn't officially "ask" alex to "borrow" the photo, but i figured it would be ok. am i correct? or not?

so it's thursday. almost friday. and nearly the weekend. this weekend: shopping spree. much needed. much deserved. nothing big, probably just clothes (which she needs like another hole in her head) and maybe bedsheets (hers are filthy). and maybe shoes (again, she doesn't need, but should buy anyway. rent can be late, afterall, but prada and kenneth cole can most definitely not).

make it a good thursday. make it count. show the world some boning, for christ's sake. lighten up.

posted by lonestarsteve on thu 21.09.06 8:07 AM

i wanted to give a quick shout-out to former fellow houston blogger dustie of itsallaboutdustie.com -- whose web address, incidentally, is available and up for sale.

dustie sold me two pieces of framed photography from his collection of the work of photographer steve henry. both photos are of model jonathan west (the other photo isn't shown).

this one, called "jonathan-torso," is awesome. you will always know this model when he's shown in photos because of the tattoo on his abdomen. above his navel it says, "eloi eloi lama sabachthani," which is latin for "my god, my god, why have you forsaken me?" and below his navel is another word, in all-caps, which i can't quite make out. if anyone knows or can figure it out, please enlighten me.

this purchase is the latest in my ever-expanding art collection. i found a place on the wall in my bedroom for this particular picture. it's perfect. beautiful image of one beautiful man. there are more pics of jonathan below.all photos from jesensky.com.

enjoy! and happy hump day!

posted by lonestarsteve on wed 20.09.06 2:12 PM

ok, so here's the drill. i haven't written since last tuesday. and although i'm sorry about it, some things just cannot be helped. and now there's so much to catch up with, i don't know where to begin.

project runway ... i wanted to say that i enjoyed last week's episode of project runway, "black & white." kayne-bow was finally eliminated (as were both vincent and angela ... yet again! ... despite the fact that they were both allowed back to redeem themselves in yet another challenge. this was their reward for winning previous challenges. a lot of good it did either one of them. i'm just sayin').

kayne's dress, shown left and right, front and back, turned out to be too much "black" for the judges' taste (no, kayne, white trim doesn't count!). the photo on the right is from rich at fourfour by way of blogging project runway. it's a funny mock-up of a fabulous dream-catcher back that might have redeemed kayne's look. trust!

anywho, so we're down to the final 4 designers. this wednesday bravo will not show a new episode. instead, starting right after lunchtime, they will air all of last season's episodes, including the 2-part finale, followed by a re-airing of last week's "black & white" episode.

this past friday, of course, season 3's final 4 designers -- michael, uli, laura, and jeffrey -- showed their collections at bryant park at fashion week. photos of their clothing lines (jeffrey, uli, michael, and laura, in that order) are available here, here, here, and here. (i think that other blogs do such a better job at capturing that crap, so i'm not going to go to all the trouble [read: lonestarsteve is a lazy f*ck]).

i don't want to speculate on who will win just yet. especially since we as audiance members will not see the actual fashion show until oct. 18. on sept. 27, we will get to see who the final 3 designers will be, then on oct. 4 we get to see the reunion show (can't wait), then on oct. 11 and 18, we will get to see the 2-part finale.

won't you be glad when all this project runway shit is over? did you like season 3 over seasons 1 and 2? i'm torn. they were all very different from one another.

that's all i have time for right now. more later, kids. have a decent tuesday. people work on tuesday.

posted by lonestarsteve on tue 19.09.06 8:09 AM

summer is nearly over, and i didn't even get to visit a beach of any kind this year. how pathetic is that?

i really missed my biannual jaunt with my family to the outer banks of n.c. this year. but missing the beach won't be the case in 2007. trust.

i'm thinking that the great barrier reef is calling my name. or even somewhere in florida, or california, if i choose to stay stateside.

in fact, it has been so frickin' hot this summer here in the bayou city that i haven't even stayed tan. why sweat any more than you need to? i've stopped playing volleyball on saturdays because of the heat. and since stopping smoking (13 days now), i hang out less and less on my patio (i never smoked inside my place), so as to not expose my skin to the elements.

i'm going to hook up with a great gay travel agent to put together my trip for next march-april. i want to pull out all the stops. and i want to rededicate myself to the gym. this photo was taken last year, and my pot-belly is inexcusible (plus, i'm lying down, for christ's sake!)

that said, i hope that all of you got to do what you wanted to do this summer: traveled where you wanted to travel, accomplished what you set out to accomplish, did who you wanted to do (did i say that out loud?) ...

posted by lonestarsteve on wed 13.09.06 1:52 PM

lonestarsteve's gay doctor :: i'm afraid i have some bad news to break to you. problem is, i don't quite understand it myself.
lonestarsteve :: how bad? i'm not going to die or anything?
doctor :: no, but answer this question. how long's it been since you've had sex?
l.s.s. :: it's been a while. and thanks for reminding me.
doctor :: how long's "a while?"
l.s.s. :: like, with another person?
doctor :: yes.
l.s.s. :: like, a year. why are you asking? you're starting to scare me.
doctor :: the reason i'm asking is because one of your exams came back with some irregularities.
l.s.s. :: what irregularities? please, doctor, just tell me.
doctor :: i don't know how, but it would appear that your munt has sealed over from apparent lack of use.
l.s.s. :: what? [faints]

... and then i woke up. fucking weird dream. but what could it mean?

posted by lonestarsteve on tue 12.09.06 8:12 AM

i am so sick of hearing this question. on this, the day that marks the 5th anniversary of the sept. 9, 2001, attack on the u.s., and on days leading up to today, this is the one question that news outlets have been concentrating on. no originality. and worse yet, it's as if the answer -- if the question can even be answered with any degree of certainty -- means anything to anybody. ask whoever you want to, whether they say 'yes' or 'no' to this question, it doesn't matter. it's all just opinion and speculation. kind of like what makes the stock market go up and down. that's all.

and do we feel any safer? i know i don't. but does that matter? is my feeling unsafe going to keep me earth-bound, only left to drive everywhere i want to go? no, it's not. i flew in october 2001, in fact. and i flew last week. and i flew countless times in-between.

that said, i wish they would stop asking that question. it's just a cop-out anyway because they can't think of anything else to ask. but i don't blame them. what do you ask members of a country that was attacked in such a way anyway? you end up not asking anything.

just sitting still for a moment and quietly remembering.

posted by lonestarsteve on mon 11.09.06 1:31 PM

not much time to post today. i've been oversleeping lately, probably due to wearing the nic patch to bed [8 days and counting]. i think the patch stimulates the creative part of the brain because i've been having some pretty amazingly vivid dreams -- and actually remembering them when i wake up, which is unusual for me, unheard of, even.

i went to see another gay movie last night. it was silly and right up in your face with everything. i guess i enjoyed it, but afterwards i told my gentleman friend that some of the scenes were lost on me since i didn't recognize the movies being spoofed. they included scenes from some classics like mommy dearest and the graduate, but some of the others i know i've never seen.

the boys in it were cute. they all had very white teeth, which is shockingly harder to watch on some people than to see yellowing teeth. it looks odd and unnatural. but all the kids got 'em, so march to that drummer, ya'll.

so, in summation, that's late for work, nic patch, crazy dreams remembered, yet another gay movie, cute boys, white teeth, and marching to a different drummer.

yep. that about sums up my friday morning.

good weekends to you all. play hard. play safe. and don't do anything i wouldn't do, which doesn't leave you much.

posted by lonestarsteve on fri 08.09.06 8:34 AM

and then there were five ...

can i just say that i've really enjoyed this season of project runway so far? and even though i was glad to receive my heaping spoonful of tim, heidi, and the gang well before christmastime this year, i was convinced that i wouldn't enjoy season 3 as much as i enjoyed the show's previous two seasons. but i have. and i can't wait to see 3 of these designers showing at olympus fashion week in october.

so, last week we left the gang of 6 designers (minus angela) in paris. given their surroundings, last night's challenge was, of course, to design a couture evening dress in less than 2 days. oh, is that all?

interestingly, tim gunn in his blog mentions that real couture can only happen in france since the french government has such a dauntingly long list of requirements for a design house to be classified as couture. also according to gunn, there are no true american by-the-book couture designers, although he says south philladelphia-born ralph rucci comes as close as anyone.

the 6 remaining designers are given sketch time, €300, and parisian models to draw the attention of judge catherine malandrino, who judges based on hand-sewing, embroidery, beading, and how well the gowns look walking the deck of the bateau mouche on the seine in the shadow of the eiffel tower. their lives really suck.

fast-forward to new york, where the designers and dresses are flown back for refitting on their american models and walked down the runway at parsons.

congratulations to jeffrey, who won this week's challenge. this is his second win. so far only he and michael have won two challenges, both winning them back-to-back. and jeffrey is the first in pr history to win a challenge while having immunity. way to go, jeffrey. we all once disliked you, but how far you've come.

gunn writes of jeffrey's couture dress: "jeffrey embodied the biggest risk-taking of any of the designers. from his choice of a crazy-quilt of madras and plaids in varying shades of yellow to his seemingly reckless draping, he commanded my full attention. on the one hand, his design paid homage to vivienne westwood. on the other hand, it was non-western in its fabrication; that is, it made absolutely no sense when not on a figure. rather, it just looked like a big pile of disparate fabrics. yet once it was on his model(s), it took on the air of a fabulous tango dress."

i really did like kayne's gown, even though judges thought it lacked taste. gunn didn't like the fact that the black boning showed through on the corset. he writes, "as i hope everyone knows, i can probe the designers with questions, i can furrow my brow to demonstrate my concern and disapproval, but i can’t tell them what to do. i was doing everything short of that in order to get kayne to make the boning disappear."

i thought that laura's design was pretty strange-looking. i mean, it was elegant in an odd way, but it just looked too morticia addams, you know? plus, it really did look better in paris than it did in new york, no thanks to being crushed during the plane trip.

posted by lonestarsteve on thu 07.09.06 1:45 PM

meanwhile, back in houston ...

so i got back to the bayou city labor day evening and basically just chilled out at my place for the remainder of the night. i had scheduled yesterday as a vacation day, and i took full advantage of it. in addition to sleeping in late, i unpacked. then i followed through with a coffee/rollerblading date i had made with a guy i'd been flirting with for what seems like forever now on gay.com.

can i just tell you how mindblowing it was to meet face-to-face with a member of that godforsaken web site who wasn't a total flake? well it was. this guy was the antithesis of a flake: intelligent, talkative, funny, genuine, laid back, and kind of awkward in a sexy way. oh, and he wasn't too hard on the eyes either. i wanted to spend more time with him after our skate, but i didn't want to push my luck. besides, i didn't get a vibe from him that he might want to spend more time with me. my radar hasn't been used in such a long time for that purpose that i think it's defective. welcome to my world. i don't know if he'll read this or not (probably not), but if he does, it's nothing i wouldn't have said to his face. just putting myself out there. (call me!)

in other news, today marks 6 days and counting (painfully, hour by hour) of being smoke-free. the first 72 hrs., i've been told, are the roughest, which they were. trust. but what happens after that? doesn't it get any easier? i mean, i've got a nic patch on my arm the size of connecticut for christ's sake. i swear, cigarettes may as well be filled with crack and heroine combined. it's that bad. things are getting a little easier by the day, i guess. i'm definately going day by day with this challenge. no promises for tomorrow. just what i can manage to accomplish today.

my dad kept telling me about the money i'd save and the good health benefits, but i just told him that quitting smoking -- just like quitting any bad habit -- isn't logical. if it were, anyone could do it, no problem. but since it's based on habit and addiction, logic doesn't play any role whatsoever. and i'm such an addict, through and through.

it made me think of k.d. lang's song constant craving ...

even through the darkest phase
be it thick or thin
always someone marches brave
here beneath my skin

constant craving
has always been

maybe a great magnet pulls
all souls towards truth
or maybe it is life itself
that feeds wisdom
to its youth

craving
ah ha
constant craving
has always been ...

posted by lonestarsteve on wed 06.09.06 1:35 PM

it's really tough blogging while on the road, especially with such limited internet access. for that, gentle reader, i apologize.

i am having a good time in pennsyltucky and i've even quit smoking. today marks my 3rd day. even though i'm in a different environment, and even though i'm on the largest nicotine patch that they sell, i'm having a really difficult time with it. i really am.

what sucks is the fact that these little cancer sticks really have me by the balls. for sure. i think about smoking all the time and if i weren't around my family, which includes my young, impressionable nephews, i think i would light right up. it's that bad. i travel home tomorrow and will get the real test once i'm away from anyone who gives a shit whether i smoke or not. i'm hoping for the best.

one thing i've learned from recovery is that it sucks when you've put a few days together and then blow it on a moment of weakness. it's getting through that moment that matters.

more later. just checking in really.

posted by lonestarsteve on sun 03.09.06 1:27 PM