Manolo the Shoeblogger prefers that the prosaic details of his existence remain occluded, as much as it pains him to maintain such an artificial distance from his many internet friends. He will, however, say this about himself, that he is the man who enjoys reading, and writing, and conversation, in equal measure. He appreciates beauty in unexpected places, and cannot but respect and honour those who are engaged in the production of beautiful objects and ideas. The Manolo he blogs at Manolo's Shoe Blog.
Why do you blog? > To celebrate the beauty and the glamour of the shoes!
What has been your best blogging experience? > The Manolo cannot tell you how happy he has been to find so many wonderful people who are interested in the shoes and the fashion, and even, oddly, in the mundane world of the Shoeblogger. And the Manolo he now has many, many internet friends, and this it has made him extremely happy.
What has been your worst blogging experience? > It is to learn that the Manolo he does not have enough of the time and the energy to keep up with all of the blogging projects he has begun, or would like to begin. Many do not realize that the schedule of the flaneur, it can be very demanding, what with the strolling of the boulevards, and the sipping of the Camparis and the cappuccinos, and the reading of the gossip rags. Often, there are not as many hours in the day as are needed.
What would be your main blogging advice to a novice blogger? > The advice of the Manolo to the novice bloggers it is to not be afraid to be different, to be yourself. The blogosphere it is filled with fifty-hundred-thousand blogs that have the identical voices, the identical points of view, and so being different it is a good thing. Other than that, the Manolo would tell the young blogger to blog every day, and to be generous with the links and the readers. If one does these things the readers they will eventually find you.
What are your favourite blogs? > Give me spirit fingers dammit!!, and until the end of the television series, The Blogging the Project Runway.
Who are your intellectual heroes? > Marcel Proust, Epicurus, Michel de Montaigne, John Locke and Adam Smith.
What are you reading at the moment? > Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, and the collection of the plays by Congreve.
Who are your cultural heroes? > Roger Vivier and Manolo Blahnik, for the most obvious reasons. Also, Molière, Ziryab, Petronius Arbiter and Dwight Yoakam.
What is the best novel you've ever read? > These questions that ask one to name the single favourite work, they are for the Manolo most difficult. However, if one it is to be named, at the moment it is the Handful of Dust by the Evelyn Waugh. Yesterday it was The Sound and the Fury. Tomorrow it may be the Infinite Jest.
What is your favourite poem? > 'Ode on the Grecian Urn'.
What is your favourite movie? > The General.
Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind? > Previously, the Manolo, as the man of tradition, he was opposed to the wearing of the white shoes after the Labor Day. But now, he has decided that this tradition it is outmoded and not suited to the present. In the stead, the best rule it is, if the shoe looks good, the shoe it must be worn.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to disseminate? > Everyone has the right to be super fantastic!
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to combat? > That beauty is the subjective, artificial construct. Indeed, it is not. Beauty and the appreciation of beauty they are part of the very essence of the human soul, and are indeed eternal verities.
Who are your political heroes? > Charles II of England, Henry IV of France, and Solon.
Do you think the world (human civilization) has already passed its best point, or is that yet to come? > The Manolo he is the panglossian optimist, and thus he believes that we live in the best of all possible worlds now, as sad as that sounds.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life? > To enjoy it. To not be consumed with the worries or the regrets. Such things they are the waste of the time.
What do you consider the most important personal quality? > Self-confidence.
What personal fault do you most dislike? > The lack of self-confidence.
In what circumstances would you be willing to lie? > To protect the feelings of another.
Do you have any prejudices you're willing to acknowledge? > The Manolo has many prejudices. For the example, it is the steadfast belief of the Manolo that there are no good ponchos. And there is no conceivable evidence that can sway him from this.
What is your favourite proverb? > Proverbs 15:15.
What commonly enjoyed activities do you regard as a waste of time? > Worrying.
What, if anything, do you worry about? > Very little, except perhaps the health of the friends and the family of the Manolo
What would you call your autobiography? > The Manolo he is actually working on his autobiography this very day, and it is called Super Fantastic! The Life and Times of Manolo the Shoeblogger.
Who would play you in the movie about your life? > Now that the Maurice Chevalier is dead, it would have to be the Daniel Day Lewis, because, like the Manolo he loves the shoes.
What is your most treasured possession? > Several pairs of the custom made John Lobb shoes, with the most luxurious shoe trees known to humankind.
If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to? > Manolete, like the bull fighter.
What talent would you most like to have? > The ability to use the silver tongue to charm birds from the very trees.
Who is your favourite comedian or humorist? > Martial, although the Manolo's own humour it is more Horatian.
If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner who would they be? > Only three? Ayyyyyy! At this moment, the list it is The Venerable Bede, Samuel Pepys and Elsa Schiaparelli. But yesterday it was the Franz Boaz, Cole Porter and Al-Jahiz. Tomorrow it will undoubtedly be someone else.
[The normblog profile is a weekly Friday morning feature. A list of all the profiles to date, and the links to them, can be found here.]