Cyrsti's Condo Christmas "Horrorscope"

What a way to wrap up a busy Christmas Eve and get ready to head to my families house than to pass along yet another "scope" from theFrisky!


Libra : (September 23-October 22): Now is the time to make bigger changes as you declare 2014 to be your breakout year. Not that you need to see your name in lights, but shifting where you lay down roots will be on your mind, as will making things work on your terms. Stop thinking and get to doing, because hesitating is so 2013.

How dynamic is that? Wow! and all this time I thought I continued to make quite a few big changes in 2013. Just between you and me though, I know what this script is saying and I will mention some of them as we actually approach the New Year.

Go here for your scope!

I Just Can't Imagine

Can't imagine the skill which went into this video on the Cyrsti's Condo big screen. Another Merry Christmas moment! Thanks Lynne for sharing!

We Have Duck Boy Mail

As you have probably noticed, I haven't given the bearded duck call boy much play here in Cyrsti's Condo.  Like I said, what did anyone suspect? All of them are in it for the money anyhow. I've heard them described as "yuppies in beards".  On top of that, there are the believers that any publicity, good or bad, is good publicity. Truthfully, the show never had much of a draw to me anyhow.  As happens so much around here in "the Condo", Pat had a thoughtful comment to pass along:

As for Phil Robertson (Duck Boy) I just started watching Duck Dynasty this week after the controversy blew up. I know that A&E has had the text of the GQ article ever since the original interview some time back and they have had plenty of prior knowledge about Phil's views on religion. Phil refers to himself as a genuine Bible Thumper. All week A&E have been running Duck Dynasty marathons. My theory is that this was a planned publicity stunt. A&E knew that wide scale publication of his views on the Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians would stir up a hornet's nest. If you read his actual words you will find them to be somewhat less than the spin that has appeared in the media. 

I have bought the NY Daily News every day for over 40 years. Last month I was reminded that it had been a real newspaper back in the days when they republished their entire paper from the day after JFK was killed. The headline this week on the front page was "Go Duck Yourself". It has sadly become more of a propaganda rag than a newspaper.

As a side note, recently I had a person who showed up on Facebook with a comment on the show. She   was evidently part of the New York Media elitists and was standing up for good old "Phil".  I agreed with her, he has the right to say what he believes.  Who cares? Don't watch the show, don't buy their products. My warm and fuzzies stopped when she went into a mini side discussion of how "all of them" work so hard to entertain all of us. Really?  "Me thinks" they need to work harder to entertain the faceless minions out here in nowhere land.

I guess my two years in NYC taught me, to many peeps there, the country is a vast wasteland until you get to California.  Many New Yorkers I came in contact with in the restaurant I worked were only barely aware of Texas and tied me into it because of my southern Ohio accent. So I'm with you Pat, it was a planned stunt.  I do know now though that at least in one house where it was watched, it is now banned.

My girlfriend's son was a fan. He may still be but better not get caught watching it.  It's the only recourse we as a transgender culture have, force the media bigots to build their ratings on someone else's back. While I'm on my soap box, I have warned cross dressers in the past to not ignore transgressions such as Phil.  Someday you may change and decide to identify as trans or even gay and life may be easier if you aren't getting smashed in the media.

There, I feel better now!  I'm back in my Christmas eve glow.  Now where are my green elf tights?

What's in a Picture?

Pictures or "selfies" in the modern world could mean anything. With the advent of photo shop programs, certainly we can all put our best foot (or face) forward and we don't even have to be a celebrity to do it. If you can afford to do it, professional "photo" businesses can do wonders for us if they know what they are doing.


I'm sure by now you have seen the new blog "banner pix" and it was taken primarily at the request of Katie Glover, the editor of Frock Magazine.  Katie and I have literally for years tried to get together on an article I could write for her magazine.  Proud to say, I finally did it and I will have more info later here in Crysti's Condo. Note!!! I am NOT the cover girl you see on the left.

So, the new picture you see above is simply me. No filters of any kind. What you see is what you get on a sunny winter day in Cincinnati, Ohio.   I have to tell you the process was and is agony for me.  Not looking for support or sympathy here, but I know my 64 year old, been through a bunch of wear and tear male body does not present feminine well often...BUT I do just fine in the world.

My point to all of you is, appearance is not the be all, end all to the transgender transition process.  The other "A" word attitude is right up there too. Pat, around the Condo writes about it too.  When you know yourself and feel secure with yourself, all sorts of fun happenings are possible.

It's a bit early for New Year's resolutions I know.  This year though, make sure you add in a liberal share of thought and ideas for those resolutions for your girl self.  If you are looking to venture out of the closet in 2014 make sure you take her attitude with you!

The Amazing "Brini Maxwell"

Cyrsti's Condo regular Liz just loves Brini Maxwell so here is a video for you Liz on the Condo's big screen:

Dragging in a Hippo?

I wonder if this guy sent a holiday video out to all his friends of this Christmas Classic? Guess what I learned at college Mom?  Check it out on the Cyrsti's Condo big screen!

Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

Such a week kids!

In our entertainment section, I took a ride on the "A-Train" yesterday.  As some of you know, I'm a huge train buff and yesterday in Cincinnati, my girlfriend and I took in two major holiday model train exhibits.  One was at the beautiful restored "art-deco" masterpiece Union Terminal and the other was in a conservatory.  Needless to say, we had a great time!

Food Review:  Following our long walks around the train exhibits, we built up an honest hunger and decided to try out a place we had not eaten called the "Swampwater Grill".  Both of us have a taste for Cajun cooking way up here in Ohio and didn't know it but we landed up in the right place. (We seriously have a knack for that!)  The "Swampwater" has a nice selection of Cajun dishes and a chef/co-owner from Western Louisiana for all you "purists"! We enjoyed a very unlady like dinner and loved it!

Holiday:  My daughter's family is Jewish so they don't celebrate Christmas and I don't celebrate the Jewish holiday's by mutual consent, so I'm going to break bread with her clan tomorrow before they head out on a mini vacation over Christmas to the nether lands of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  A chip off the old block, I used to love cold weather before HRT ruined my thermostat.  Christmas Eve and Christmas I spend with my brother's family and then New Year's back in Cincinnati with Liz.

Comment:  You are welcome Alice for your holiday video, I was happy I could find it and thought about you! Thanks for being a regular here in "the Condo" and Happy Holidays!  By the way, I think there are fewer womanless beauty pageants on the web these days because participants know their "talent" will be spread far and wide and perhaps more than a couple don't like it-particularly at the middle school level.

Well, that's it for another "Sunday Edition"! Hard to believe Christmas will have come and gone by the next edition is posted!  In the meantime, we have a couple more neat video's to pass along!

Merry Christmas Alice!

Alice is one of our regular visitors here in Crysti's Condo and I know follows all the womanless beauty pageants with great interest.
This unfortunately is not one of those Alice but yet I thought would be of interest to all of us if this happened in our apartment building and we were not asked to participate!

Are You "Fracking" Kidding Me?

For a change, one of Paula's fave "news rags" from the UK (just kidding) has come up with an article which hits close to home. "The Telegraph" announced U.S. scientists have found "gender bending" chemicals at fracking sites.

"Frack!!!"  Fracking is becoming a big business here in Ohio, just not close to where I live. So, I guess right now I don't have to worry about going off my HRT meds and just drink more water. Seriously, I'm not making fun of any more chemicals in our water and I have had my own conspiracy theory about those extra chemicals in our food and water.  Not only have they made cancer a huge growth industry, I think there is a distinct possibility chemicals have also expedited the merging of the genders.

I did get a kick out of  the Telegraph telling me  "fracking" wasn't the environmentally friendly process big oil has claimed it would be. Turns out it was my second big epiphany of the week. The first was when I learned "duck call boy" came out as anti-gay. Really?  A ZZ Top lookin bearded redneck from the Louisiana swamp not liking gay folk? What's this world coming to? Then again, I haven't seen many gay or transgender peeps on "Swamp People". Frack! Would an alligator say we tasted like chicken?

I was surprised though that it took the Telegraph to fill me in on the problems.  Must have been a "fracking" slow news day in the UK!