A Great NYE Post From The Bee

I’ve been looking, between chores and getting other stuff done, for some sort of “card” to post to Scottie’s Playtime. I just got this Substack from Nancy Beiman, who is far more concise than I am, and says all I want to say. I appreciate everyone who reads and posts here!

Out with the Old by Nancy Beiman

and in with the new year Read on Substack

Hello everyone,

I wish you all a merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2025. I don’t usually send ‘year end letters’ but this year’s Canada Post strike meant that I could only send digital cards, and I mailed no original cards for the first time in 43 years.

Thees letters customarily describe what happened to the sender during the past year. 2024 was a year of sorrow for me and many of my friends.

Rather than put a damper on your own celebrations, I will instead list what I wish for all of us in 2025.

This wish list doesn’t need a magical being or genie to make them happen. People will have to change their behaviour. That is a wish that can only be granted by humans.

It’s a very tall order but wishes sometimes are granted.

Here goes:

I wish for:

1. Tolerance of people with different views and ways of living.

2. The restoration of civil discourse in private and public life. An end to toxicity.

3. The ending of all current wars and a joining of nations together in common cause to save our planet. Monies currently wasted on war will be used to build housing, repair infrastructure, feed the hungry, restore damaged areas of the natural world and preserve it.

4. Recognition that non human beings share the planet with us and that we are totally dependent on them. They provide air, food, and clean water.

5. The end of money worship. Money may talk, but it doesn’t think. No person or nation may be ‘first’ in everything.

It seems as if we are revisiting many of the negative events from the last century. So my last wish will be that humanity actually learns something from past mistakes.

I can dream, can’t I?

Happy 2025,

Nancy Beiman

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Christmas Eve Cover Snark!

Cover Snark: Best of 2024

These are so funny! Worth the click. I have AdBlock Plus on my puter; the link shows disable ad blocker even though I did because I love SBTB. Just ignore that on this page, and go read-it’s worth it, and the ads interestingly sometimes correlate (they’re all for books)!

Some Poetry for Tuesday

Flannel Sheets and Winter Solstice

I Learned A Thing Last Night

I’ve always wondered if somebody gave such performances, but had never heard of them before I read this. It makes my equality-driven heart happy.

The First Reality Competition Series for Drag Kings Is Officially Seeking Audition Tapes

Comedian and drag king Murray Hill will host King of Drag, the first-of-its-kind series.

By Mathew Rodriguez December 17, 2024

Finally, some news that’s not a drag.

Somebody Somewhere actor and veteran comedian Murray Hill is set to host a drag king reality competition series, The King of Drag, which will air on the LGBTQ+ streaming service Revry this spring, Variety reports. Tucked into Variety’s announcement was the application to be on the show, for which the deadline is January 5.

The King of Drag bills itself as the first drag king competition series. Kings looking to earn a spot on the show’s inaugural cast will have to submit a wealth of material, all of which is outlined on the audition site. Potential cast must submit five photos of their top drag looks, videos of themselves in and out of drag, and a reel of previous drag performances. Finally, auditioning kings are asked to submit a resume of their performance work in drag and film themselves lip-syncing to a song or medley that shows off their “drag essence.”

King of Drag, according to the audition site, “will expansively represent drag while promoting inclusion, authentic self-expression, and diverse gender identities including trans masc, cisgender women, non-binary and more.”

Aside from the audition materials, kings who want to compete on the series must also answer a slate of questions that probe deeper into their drag personae, personal views, and craft, including whether they design their own costumes, how comfortable they would feel being open about themselves on national television, who they count among their entertainer inspirations, and — very practically — how long it takes them to get in drag.

Series host Hill just wrapped up his work on Somebody Somewhere, the acclaimed — and extremely queer — HBO series about friends as family. The six-episode series is looking to cast eight kings.

“I’m so excited to be working with Revry as the host of ‘King of Drag,’” Hill told Variety.” “I started performing in 1995, so it’s long overdue for the kings to take center stage. This vibrant community deserves to be in the spotlight, and I’ll be their biggest hype man.”

According to a press release from Revry, the show will incorporate challenges that are unlike other drag competition shows, including an emphasis on comedy, unconventional performances, and “timely commentary on masculinity. “

Drag kings have long fought for the same kind of cultural recognition that their queen counterparts enjoy; in today’s media landscape that does include time on a reality competition series. While the behemoth of the format — RuPaul’s Drag Race and its spin-offs — has started to incorporate a more diverse set of queens, including trans queens and cis female queens such as Victoria Scone and Maddy Morphosis, the show has always emphasized a feminine drag aesthetic. Other shows, such as The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula have welcomed drag kings, with Landon Cider triumphing in the show’s third season.