Magnus Hastings, Why Drag?
The popularity of RuPaul’s Drag Race has changed the drag-queen game, and now there’s actually money in strapping on a pair of heels and a lace front beyond pulling handfuls of sweaty $1 bills out of your pantyhose at the end of the night. One reflection of this changing landscape is Why Drag?, a gorgeous coffee-table book featuring portraits of and personal statements from 200 prominent drag queens in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Drag Race fans will recognize many of their favorites, including season eight’s top three Kim Chi, Naomi Smalls, and Bob the Drag Queen, as well as past winners like Sharon Needles, Raja, Jinkx Monsoon, and Bianca Del Rio. But there are also lots of queens featured who aren’t on TV (yet), and each writes a personal essay—some long and heartfelt, sone short and quippy—on why they invest so much time, energy, and money into their chosen craft. Plus it’s big, shiny, and full of pretty pictures, all of which should appeal to anyone interested in the art of artifice. Display it prominently, then whisper to yourself “you own everything” as you walk by it on your way to your walk-in wig closet. [Katie Rife]
Doogie Horner, A Delicate Man
Doogie Horner had a memorable run on America’s Got Talent, though he probably wasn’t seen there by what ought to be his core constituency: comedy nerds. Horner has spent the time since working on books of clever drawings (and even doing some Wes Anderson- and Fargo- inspired bits for The A.V. Club), and honing his act into what just became a debut comedy album, A Delicate Man. He’s dry and a little deadpan, with just enough salt and weirdness sprinkled in. A lot of the jokes are aimed right at himself, but they’re never too withering. Example: “I get a lot of compliments on my glasses, compliments like, ‘Do you know the wi-fi password?’” [Josh Modell]
Carrie On Tour
@BradshawOnTour is a relatively new Twitter account that takes Sex And The City protagonist Carrie Bradshaw and puts her on the road. That is, it pretends that Carrie and her gal pals, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha, are a touring rock band. Each tweet captures the cadence of Carrie’s famous quips and questions, including gems like these:
Bradshaw’s signature self-involved tone translates quite well to her rock-star persona, deftly delivered by a currently anonymous Twitter user. Whether the writer will stay behind the curtain matters not, as long as they keep booking gigs for the girls and documenting them with much hilarity. [Becca James]