Reading, writing, reading my own writing, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, languages and etymology, porn, domestic architecture, beef, jewelry, old movies, art, fashion, costume, laughing, dollhouse miniatures, history, music, collecting elephants and eggs.
Music
Ella Fitzgerald, Big Band standards, Lena Horne, Broadway musicals, Maria Callas, bel canto opera, baroque opera, Ute Lemper, Marc Almond, Panic at the Disco, Scissor Sisters, Lil' Kim, Pink, MIKA, Anita O'Day, Ruth Wallis, Keely Smith.
Movies
Auntie Mame, Harry Potter, Die Mommie Die, The Hunger, Cold Comfort Farm, Fellini Satyricon, The Lord of the Rings, All About Eve, Wilde, My Man Godfrey, Joy Luck Club, Desire, The Thin Man, Charlie's Angels, The Women, Girls Will Be Girls.
Television
Masterpiece Theatre (esp., Brideshead Revisited, Jeeves and Wooster, Aristocrats), Mystery!, Ugly Betty, Reba, CSI, The Closer, The Simpsons.
Books
The Persian Boy by Mary Renault, The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries (especially Gaudy Night) by Dorothy L. Sayers, The Buddies Cycle by Ethan Mordden, The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, Making History by Stephen Fry, The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, The Jane Austen Mysteries by Stephanie Barron, The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody by Will Cuppy.
Heroes
Quentin Crisp, Marlene Dietrich, Oscar Wilde, Greta Garbo, Alexander the Great.
About me: I was born on the Fort Ord Army Base outside of Monterey, CA; I grew up in Oakland, Alameda, Hayward, Twain Harte, Concord, and Pleasant Hill, CA. I've lived with my Grandmother in the Crocker Highlands district of Oakland since I was fifteen, and though I "moved out" for about five years after gaining adulthood, I never got more than two miles away, and still did my laundry here.
I've worked a lot of different jobs over the years: baby-sitter, cater-waiter, espresso-puller, sandwich-maker, cocktail-waiter... I was even a security guard for a few weeks! But then I decided to quit screwing around and went to college; since then I've been a teaching assistant, an office manager for a union, and an office temp performing a variety of jobs for a variety of companies and institutions. Now I work as an Administrative Assistant (subtitled "Paper Herder") at a nonprofit agency that assists unemployed and homeless people get back on their feet.
I'm a recovering alcoholic with thirteen years of sobriety under my belt; I'm a celibate with twelve years of abstinence under my belt. And though I intend to stay in recovery for the rest of my life, I will gladly give up my celibacy... I'm just waiting for the right offer. I've been in love, but I've never been in a relationship: all of my many infatuations over the years being unanimously unrequited (I'm consistent, if nothing else).
I have Type II Bipolar Disorder, for which I am now taking medication and trying to rearrange my life to accommodate; among the chief accommodations has been thirty extra pounds and a distinct distaste for being in a group of people.
I'm a drag queen (though I haven't been performing much lately), an aspiring novelist (wanna read my current effort-in-progress? Here it is), and a desperate seeker after knowledge and understanding (which I've had lots of time for since I do so little of the other two).
I love fine art, movies, music, magazines, books, fashion, and naked men; I dislike travel, children, cats, and loud noises. I'll try anything once, unless the thought of it makes me gag.
Can't think of anything else. If you want to know more about me, check out my .. diary, Mannersism.net, and read through the archives. Or you could just ask me... or is that too old-fashioned?
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Who I'd like to meet: Whom I'd like to meet. WHOM goddamn it! Am I the only one left on the planet who knows the difference? And if so, why has God chosen this particular torture for me? What did I ever do to Him?
So anyway, whom would I like to meet? I'd like to meet all different kinds of people. I'm especially interested in meeting people different from myself who are nonetheless capable of communicating... I want to understand people other than myself, their motives and their feelings and their perspectives.
Of course, I'm also interested in meeting people like myself. I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like me.
As a winter present for everyone, I'm offering a free novella on my website.
A Happily Ever After of Her Own
Melinda Lightfoot, a preschool teacher with an unusual ability to flit in and out of fairy tales, never thought she would get into trouble...
...until the Fairy Tale Police arrest her while she is in Beauty and the Beast. They offer her a deal: Find Beauty, who left the story when Melinda trespassed into it, or be charged with the ultimate crime -- Fairy Tale Killer. If that's not bad enough the Beast tags along in search of his true love, and Melinda starts falling for the fairy tale prince. She must choose between doing the right thing and having her own happily ever after.
Hi Robert~Marlénè! Wishing you an abundant and joyful holiday season. :) Liz PS I'm celebrating my deal with St. Martin's for Death Will Help You Leave Him, the follow-up to Death Will Get You Sober.
I'm finished with A Demon Awaits , just waiting for cover art now.
In the meantime, I'm researching for my new book. I took a guided walk yesterday to explore wild plants you can eat in New England. It was very interesting.
P.S. You were in my dream last night. We were performing in drag together on a big outdoor stage. You arrived on time and in full face. I had to borrow your make up and get ready when you arrived. Trippy, eh?!?!
Thanks for being our friend and welcome to Friends of Common Tables on MySpace!!
Common Tables exists to offer the world an alternative to bias, bigotry, racism and religious intolerance. We use education and small group interactions as tools to increase global harmony, lower perceived barriers and to promote respect and understanding between traditionally disconnected communities.
Your appearance as a Friend of Common Tables on MySpace is an important step towards our goal of demonstrating that there are in fact hundreds of millions of people on this planet who sincerely care about global harmony.
The weather here is great. Everything is blooming and we're going to be close to 80 degrees tomorrow. I'm line-editing right now and the allergies are about the only thing that could keep me inside and working. A blessing? maybe.
Hopefully, everything will explode into bloom, fade and I can get back to feeling normal.
