Category Archives: Dazzler of the Day

Anyone who knows their way around chocolate and plants as well as Oliver Holecek demands consideration and crowning as Dazzler of the Day. When further backed by the recommendation of an admired and respected friend with exquisite taste, it was a no-brainer. Oliver founded Primo Botanica, which currently offers various jewels of culinary conjurings culled completely from ethically-sourced entities, and available online here as Primo Chocolates. A brief perusal of the offerings reveals such fascinating gems as Ceremonial Drinking Chocolate, Lemon Poppyseed Fudge Eggs, Spicy Mayan Drinking Chocolate, Pistachio Marzipan M!lk Bars, and Mountain Cardamom chocolate bars. It’s the sort of stuff that tastes as good as you can feel about how it is sourced and produced. (Also check out this recent write-up of the “Heaps of Trash” art performance, which sounds like a fascinating amalgamation of art, food, and social commentary.)

The current phenomenon known as ‘Heartstopper’ originates with Dazzler of the Day Alice Oseman, who wrote the webcomic on which everything was based, and who has helmed the Netflix series as creator, writer, and executive producer. She has crafted a world of fascinating characters and stories in the young adult novels ‘Solitaire’, ‘Radio Silence’, ‘I Was Born for This’, and ‘Loveless’. She’s been nominated for the YA Book Prize, the Inky Awards, the Carnegie Medal, and the Goodreads Choice Awards. Check out Oseman’s charming website here for further brilliance. 

We need way more hilarity in this wretched period of American history, and no one is better to provide that than Jessica Kirson. With a take-no-prisoners style of hilarious attack comedy, Kirson doesn’t let her audience relax from laughing for one minute. She’s recently made a splash in TikTok and social media, and is touring the country providing some much-needed laughs at a time when most of us don’t know how badly we need it. Her acerbic brand of humor is caustically effective, finding the most vulnerable spot in our armor, piercing it with one deft jab, then ripping out the beating heart of the human experience, and giddily wringing out every last drop of hilarious blood. Maybe it just speaks more personally to me and what I find funny, but she more than deserves this Dazzler of the Day. 

With indelible performance in projects as varied as ‘Everything, Everywhere, All At Once’, ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel‘, ‘SpongeBob: The Musical’ and ‘Be More Chill’, Stephanie Hsu has conquered film, television, and stage, turning each role into a firestorm of pathos, rage, humor, tenderness, and heartache – sometimes within the span of a half-hour. That kind of talent has been earning all kinds of awards and accolades of late, including this Dazzler of the Day.

Known best for her riveting performances in ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘Black Panther and ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, Danai Gurira is also a prolific playwright who wrote several award-winning plays, including ‘Eclipsed’ and ‘Familiar’. She earns this Dazzler of the Day thanks to such multi-faceted talent and on-screen charisma. 

A double-decade of indelible performances has made Taraji Penda Henson into Hollywood royalty, and her upcoming turn as Shug Avery in the upcoming movie version of ‘The Color Purple’ musical (a movie that became a musical that is now becoming a movie again) will surely be one of the more dazzling star-turns of the year. She’s been nominated for just about every acting award that exists, and for such a rich body of work she earns this Dazzler of the Day. 

Fresh off her multi-award-nominated performance in ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ (an absolutely devious jewel of a film, and one of my favorites from last year), Kerry Condon lights up whatever screen or stage she is on, and for such talent she earns her first Dazzler of the Day crowning. Her turn in ‘Banshees’ provides the beating heart in a tense world of darkness and strange beauty.

Going make-up free as a woman today is a bold and revolutionary act unto itself, given the patriarchal nonsense and pressure society exerts on women. Going make-up free in a beauty pageant is one giant leap beyond that, but it’s exactly what Melisa Raouf did during the Miss England pageant, and such boldness has secured her a spot as Dazzler of the Day. 

I’ve known Elizabeth Brown-Shook since were were both in a summer Bible school, and after sharing that kind of trauma one can’t help but bond with someone. She accompanied me on many a ride to and from Empire State Youth Orchestra and Choir rehearsals, and I still remember her singing back-up to ‘The Immaculate Collection‘ back when Madonna dominated my airwaves. During high school, she was an indefatigable defender of positivity and school spirit, which was directly at odds with my persnickety and stubborn defiance of both, and she’s carried the same smile with her through adulthood. She’s seen more than her fair share of tragedy and hardship, so whenever I find myself complaining about some ridiculous thing, I think of her and her grace and perseverance, and am instantly reminded to return to a position of gratitude and thankfulness. For those reasons alone, she is crowned Dazzler of the Day – and for a whole lot more of how she dazzles, check out her linktree here for more of her eclectic endeavors. 

He first came to unassuming light with his understated but anchoring performance in ‘The History Boys’, and since then Russell Tovey has been turning in one surprising performance after another, in work that varies from ‘Looking’ to ‘American Horror Story: NYC’. He and his body have been featured here previously in this gratuitous post, but this marks his first crowning as Dazzler of the Day.