Manolo’s Shoe Blog

Manolo says, the Manolo must apologize to his internet friends for the paucity of the posting this weekend, as the Manolo was travelling. Normally this would not be the event worth the mentioning, but from the start this trip was beset by delays, discomforts, hair-breadth escapes from death, and other troubles, culminating finally in the mechanical failure of the luxury automobile in the which the Manolo was riding.

This mechanical failure occurred in the Mojave desert, on the road from Los Vegas to Los Angeles, and necessitated the 90 minute wait by the side of the freeway. Happily, the Manolo did get to ride up-front in the tow-truck with the driver and his dog, he and did get to see the World’s Tallest Thermometer while he awaited the arrival of the Posse Manolo, so all was not lost.

And now the Manolo is safely in his summer home, staring out at the ocean, enjoying the iced tea and the company of the good friends, able to recount this tale with nothing but the laughs.

Manolo says, it is rare for the Manolo to seek assistance, as he prides himself on his self-sufficiency, but now there is something he desires so desperately that he comes before his internet friends and asks them for the favor.

What the Manolo ardently desires is to be named the #1 Hoffster by the peoples at the St. Martins Press.

The #1 Hoffster is the official #1 internet fan of the magnificent multi-talented genius David Hasselhoff, and if the Manolo does not qualify for that, who does?

To that end, the Manolo now asks you, his close internet friends, to email the peoples at the St. Martins Press politely stating the case for the Manolo’s primacy in the matter of Hasselhoff admiration.

Here is the email address: SMPBooks@stmartins.com

Be polite but firm. The Manolo the Shoeblogger should be the #1 Hoffster!

Please, in the spirit of the season, help the brother out.

Manolo says, the Manolo reminds his internet friends that the latest iteration of the Build the Outfit contest is taking place in the Manolo’s Super Fantastic Forums. This is the difficult challange to build the budget outfit to go with the luxurious shoes. Of the course, the prize, the $100 gift certificate from the Zappos is not inconsiderable.

Go now and participate. It is fun!

Manolo says, apparently not all of the problems caused by the Manolo’s weekend change of the servers have gone away.

If have you tried to access the Manolo’s website, but have received the message that said you were “Forbidden”, do not despair.

You are perhaps using the Firefox or the Mozilla web browser. You must open the “Preferences” page and clear the cache, quit your browser and restart it and the Manolo’s blog should thereafter appear.

Yes, it may seem silly that the Manolo is giving the instructions on how to access his apparently hidden webpage from the text on his webpage, but this information is directed at the Manolo’s internet friends who may only be able to see his blog via the feeds, such as the Bloglines.

Manolo says, please forgive the recent unreliable nature of the Manolo’s websites. The posts and the comments have been appearing and disappearing for the past two days. This is because the Manolo switched the webhosts over the weekend, and the “propagation” to the new host has been slow to come to completion. With luck, all should be well by this time tomorrow. (Or so the Manolo has been told.)

Manolo says, here is another review of The Consolation of the Shoes, this one from the Manolo’s internet friend, the Shoesense writing at the ShoeBlog.

What follows is a tour de force like no other–for although it is solidly grounded in that best and most elegant of philosophical tradition of the Socratic inquiry, Manolo’s opus is at the same time breezy, funny, unpretentious, and eminently readable. The Manolo is trying to both grasp the meaning of Lady Fashion’s words and to find that elusive perfect pair of shoes. His quest is peppered with the occasional accounts of Manolo’s pitiable childhood, the description of the boisterous, mustachioed senor Mercurio, Manolo’s first employer, and others of the sort, but also the metaphysical musings on that very serious topic that we all love dearly, the Shoes. Revelations spring out of Manolo’s variegated and amusing prose like rare resplendent orchid flowers from the luxuriant tropical vegetation…

Ayyyyy! How can the Manolo express his gratitude for such the marvelous words?

Manolo says, here is the very first review of the Consolation of the Shoes, from the Utne Reader “From the Stacks” column.

The Consolation of The Shoes –the sixth and newest release from the New Pamphleteer press — is a personal account by the elusive “shoeblogger” Manolo of his philosophical journey to find the perfect pair of shoes. After a fleeting visit, “as in a dream,” by the Lady of Fashion, Manolo is left with only a glimpse of the world’s most beautiful shoes and her cryptic message: “We shall always have the shoes.” Riffing on Christian philosopher Boethius’ 6th-century work, the Consolation of Philosophy, Manolo’s writing integrates medieval-style text about longing for inner happiness with a fashionisto’s 21st century crisis of faith to create a social statement of footwear equality. Manolo’s erudition leads the reader on a humor-filled treasure hunt through oblique pop-culture references, quotes from Paradise Lost, the annals of European art history, and world culture. (For more on the New Pamphleteer press, check out “Attack of the Pamphleteers” by Utne Reader librarian Danielle Maestretti in our May/June issue.)– Eric Kelsey

Ayyyyy! This is very exciting!

Manolo says, Twistie the Guest Bride Blogger provides the comprehensive list of the wedding superstitions.

Manolo says, ayyyyyyy!

The Manolo’s blogs crashed!

Ah, but it is all better now, temporarily.

Apparently the Manolo’s blogs are growing so quickly that they have outgrown the Manolo’s hosting company, and now the Manolo needs to look for the new “VPS hosting”.

If you know of the good company please let the Manolo know as soon as possible so that he can make his decision, as he must complete the move by the end of the month.

P.S. Please forgive the Manolo for having to speak of such mundane matters. This sudden development has unnerved him greatly.