January 7th, 2009 by coolclot

rejeanamorrise has published a new blog post: Men Versus Women.

January 7th, 2009 by coolclot

Manolo says, many of the Manolo’s internet friends have been asking the Manolo, “Manolo where are you?”

To which the Manolo responds, Uruguay!

For the past ten days, the Manolo has been renting the beach cabaña in the tiny, and as yet unspoiled fishing village of Punta del Diablo, far up on Atlantic coast of Uruguay, very near the Brazilian border.

Mira! Here is view from the Manolo’s front porch! The mere fifty meters to the water’s edge!

And here, below, is the picture of the cabaña next to the Manolo’s, which as you may see is located right in the dunes on the almost undeveloped beach.

This little beach house was almost identical to the one occupied by the Manolo, on the Playa de la Viuda in Punta del Diablo. It is tiny, rustic, in the sand, and yet not at all uncomfortable.

When the Manolo first told his Argentine friends of his plans to go to the Punta del Diablo, they had much to say.

“Manolo,” they said, “this place it is muy salvaje, very wild and undeveloped and full of nothing but hippies and Uruguayos. Why do you not wish to come to the Punta del Este this year with the rest of us?”

“Because,” the Manolo answered, “this Punta del Este is too crowded and overdeveloped, and too full of the strutting, bare-chested popinjays and their be-thonged hoochie mamas, not unlike the worst parts of Miami Beach on the bad day.”

And so the Manolo betook himself to the far northern edge of Uruguay, where it was beautiful and tranquil (if occasionally windy), and where the hippies and Uruguayos roamed freely. And while the Manolo could do without the mob of international fake hippies, with their carefully tended dreadlocks and designer beads, the Uruguayos, themselves, are among the most politest, kindest, and sweetest peoples the Manolo has ever met. Indeed, they are one of the reasons this trip has been so pleasurable

In all, it has been the beautiful Christmas vacation of sandy beaches, fresh air, and comparative solitude for the Manolo.

And now, the Manolo is off to Patagonia and Chile.

January 7th, 2009 by coolclot

Manolo shouts,

Merry Christmas!!

May all of the Manolo’s internet friends have the most joyful and super fantastic of holidays!

January 7th, 2009 by coolclot

Manolo asked, whose shoes?

Manolo answers, it is the Mrs. Santa Claus!!

To judge from the various pictures available on the internets Mrs. Claus has the serious problem with the yo-yo dieting. Also it seems likely that some nefarious person has stolen images from the Claus’s private collection of homemade boudoir photography (a la Pamela and Tommy Lee) and posted them for the world to see. How else to explain all of the many, many, many pictures of Mrs. Claus in her underwear?

Ayyyy! Congratulations to the Manolo’s internet friend Sarah who was the first to correctly identify this personage of note.

January 7th, 2009 by coolclot

Manolo asks, whose shoes?

January 7th, 2009 by coolclot

Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post.

Dear Manolo,

Not only is it the most wonderful time of the year, but I’m also in love with a great guy. He’s a bit of a downtown hipster, even though he’s not obnoxious about it. Anyway, I want to get him some cool gifts for Xmas, and I thought some shoes would be good. Any suggestions?

Darcy

Manolo says, Ayyy. It is difficult to be the Downtown Hipster during the Christmas season.

On the one of the hands, like the rest of us, the tiny child inside of the hipster wishes to celebrate the season with all of the robust jollity it deserves. And yet, on the other of the hands, to do so sincerely is to betray the carefully studied pose of ironic detachment which distinguishes the hipster from his fellow man.

The Manolo says, give it up, Mr. Hipster. Christmas is not about the conspicuous display of urban coolness.

It is the time to open one’s heart to the innocent wonder of Santy Claus, up on the roof-top with the tiny clattering hooves and the Ho-Ho-Ho’ing. It is the time of happiness and honest affection for one’s fellow humans, even those who live in the suburbs and who have not heard of your latest favorite obscure band.

Look! Here is the Braga from Ben Sherman, the brown ankle boot with enough cool to satisfy any Brooklyn-based poseur.

January 7th, 2009 by coolclot

Manolo asked, whose shoes,

Manolo answers, it is the Oprah!

Congratulations to the Manolo’s internet friend Gwen who was the first to correctly identify this august personage of note.

Also, Ayyyy! As many of the Manolo’s sharp-eyed readers (Jennifer L, Tuxer, Mo and others) noted, the Manolo has inadvertently (and for the first time!) repeated himself. The Oprah has already been the subject of the Whose Shoes Wednesday, in April of this very year.

It is remarkable that after 86 weeks worth of Whose Shoes Wednesday, the Manolo’s dear readers can still remember who has appeared and who has not, especially as the Manolo himself clearly cannot remember

January 7th, 2009 by coolclot

Manolo says, the Manolo here is something to make your evenings merry, the Geo from Kate Spade, the holiday red strappy sandals with the exact correct amount of golden glee.

January 7th, 2009 by coolclot

Manolo asks, whose shoes?

January 7th, 2009 by coolclot

Manolo says, the Manolo reminds you that if you are looking for the last minute reasonably priced Christmas gift, our dear friend Twistie has been finding many such items at the Manolo’s Basement of the Bargains.