Manolo’s Shoe Blog

Manolo says, ayyyyyy! The destruction of the Spanish cultural patrimony is now complete.

Manolo says, in December the Manolo posted the infamous That Guy or the Diamonds commercial, which elicited over one hundred comments from the Manolo’s internet friends.

And now, here are two more, of the that guy commercials.

So, dear readers of the Manolo, these guys or the diamonds?

For the Manolo, the dog grooming and the pedicure giving fall under the category of “best handled by professionals”, so the diamonds win. But there is also nothing as romantic, as personal, or as welcome as receiving the handwritten letter of love from one who adores you, certainly not diamonds and pedicures and clean dogs.

Manolo says, 1981, it was the simpler time, when hot chicks wore “mom jeans” and monkeys danced in exultation because of it.

P.S. Many thanks to Mr. Isidore Gallant for finding the old jeans commercials.

Manolo says, the Manolo’s shoe-obsessed friend Wayne poses the qustion.

Since you happen to have a well-read blog by American women, I have a question I’d like to put to your readers:

If you’ve looked at TV the past few weeks, there’s a commercial running for a jewelry store (yes, it’s THAT time of the season) where a man is painting his wife’s/girlfriend’s/fiancee’s toenails, and asks (I can’t quote the ad verbatim), “How do they look?”…His woman replies, “They look fine”, to which he answers, “I think they need another coat.” A voiceover says, “Because you’re not THAT GUY, there’s Helzberg Diamonds.”

QUESTION: Would a woman rather have THAT GUY, or the diamonds?

And here, through the magic of YouTube is the commercial in question…

So, dear readers, satisfy the Wayne’s (and the Manolo’s) curiosity: That guy or the diamonds?

Manolo says, it is Christmas time, and you have already bought your man the tasteful, Manolo-approved tie, and the slippers, and the power drill, but you also wish to entertain and please him with the gift of reading.

Allow the Manolo to be your guide by suggesting for you three books your man would enjoy.

The Perfect Book for the Man Who Would Be Well Dressed

This book, Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion is the Bible of fashion for the man. If your husband, or boyfriend, or your man of other significance does not have this book on his dressing table, you must buy it for him. It gives clear, practical advice, from which any man who wishes to know about clothes will benefit.

The Funniest Historical Novels Ever Written

Politically incorrect, sexist, cavalier, ribald, but also historically accurate (sort of) and absolutely hilarious, these are The Flashman Papers. Start your man with the first book and he will buy the rest of the series himself, thanking you profusely for introducing him to this brilliant series.

The Rippingest of Yarns

Here is the challenge: grab the dog and the back pack, put on some tribal costumery, and hike across the length of war-torn, Taliban-ridden Afghanistan…in the middle of winter. Later produce the smart and beautifully written account of your unlikely survival. This is The Places In Between.

Manolo says, many of the Manolo’s internet friends have been saying to the Manolo, “Manolo, you are the man of great taste, culture, and wit, please to recommend for us the suitable gifts for the holiday season.”

And so the Manolo has heard the cries and will now give you his five favorite DVDs for gift giving purposes.

The Funniest Television Show Ever

Finding the Flight of the Conchords is like finding the perfect little absurdist world, where everything, every detail, every musical note, every facial expression is not only hilarious, but hilariously true. You know that this is how the world is for some peoples, principally, naive Kiwi sort-of-hipsters trying to make the go of it in New York. Yes, the interactions between the characters is funny, but it is the dead-perfect song parodies that make this something you will watch repeatedly.

The Best Movie of 2007

Ratatouille is not merely wonderfully funny, it also has profound things to say about art, artists, and critics, but does so lightly, in the best way possible. The writing is perfect, the comic timing is deft, and the animation amuses. The Manolo cannot recommend this movie highly enough.

The Most Uncompromisingly Funny Television Show Ever

Undoubtedly, Absolutely Fabulous is the most uncomfortably, hilariously funny television show ever made about the topics of aging, boozing, unpleasant sex, bad plastic surgery, and the uncompromising demands of fashion. Also, undoubtedly, this series could not be made today, as the neopuritan impulses of the new millennium have decreed that such things are no longer supposed to be funny. But they are. Get it before it is outlawed.

(more…)

The Bret and Jemaine say, It’s real good for making two things one
But just like that roll of tape
Love sometimes breaks off before you were done.

Manolo says, perhaps in the future, humans will not even have to worry about clothing.

Bret says, We’ll get hot by the refrigerator.