The highest I’ve ever likely jumped has been over one of those parking lot dividers. A far cry from the stunning heights that pole vaulters achieve, such as Olympic medalist Chris Nilson, who earns his first Dazzler of the Day thanks to his high-jumping prowess. (As for me, these days making it over a curb is the extent of my high-jumping.)
Category Archives: Dazzler of the Day
August
2021
August
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Noah Lyles
With a winning smile, and a winning track record, and double-entendres abounding, Noah Lyles swiftly earns another honor as Dazzler of the Day. He’s racing again tonight at the Olympics, where he currently reigns as the World Champion. Speed, agility, and affability, Lyles and his many attributes make for the ultimate Renaissance man.
August
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Jasmine Camacho-Quinn
Hurdles. Life sometimes seems to only be about the hurdles. We have enough of them on our personal journeys, so I’ve never felt the need to put unnecessary ones in my way. Earning the gold medal in the Women’s 100 meter hurdle event, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn adds some gold to Puerto Rico’s medal map, and gets this Dazzler of the Day honor in the process.
August
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Karsten Warholm
If I was still crowning Hunks of the Day, Karsten Warholm would likely be a top contender. For now, he and his Track & Field prowess will have to make do with the Dazzler of the Day, as he speeds over hurdles in search of a gold medal for his home country of Norway.
August
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Trayvon Bromell
Widely billed as the world’s fastest man, Trayvon Bromell is, as of this writing, set to burn his way across the tracks of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He specializes in the sprint, so keep an eye on him, if your eyes are that fast. For this post he gets crowned Dazzler of the Day, which is the very least I can give to anyone – but also the very most.
July
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Elaine Thompson-Herah
Officially the world’s fastest woman at the moment, Elaine Thompson-Herah is taking the Olympics by storm, bolting to a medal-winning start and setting the track on fire. Representing Jamaica, she has also broken the previous Olympic record in the 100-meter dash. I can’t imagine running 100 meters at a snail’s pace, so this is obviously impressive to me, and should be to everyone. Congrats to Thompson-Herah on adding to her collection of Olympic medals and glory, as well as being crowned Dazzler of the Day.
July
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Simu Liu
Having already been christened a Hunk of the Day, Simu Liu advances to Dazzler of the Day in eager anticipation of his taking the lead in the next Marvel installment, ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’. Born in China and raised in Canada from the age of five, Liu has also appeared in ‘Nikita’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
July
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Kate McKinnon
Maybe it’s all the commercials she’s been appearing in of late, or maybe I’m simply watching more television this week, but Kate McKinnon popped up on my radar, and we needed a comical break from the serious Olympic focus in which this site has been immersed. Hence this Dazzler of the Day crowning of McKinnon, thanks to her hilarious turns on ‘Saturday Night Live’, and in movies such as ‘Office Christmas Party’, ‘Ghostbusters’, and ‘Bombshell’ – an eclectic collection of films which I’ve somehow managed to watch thanks to her presence alone.
July
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Hidilyn Diaz
The Philippines hasn’t won a single gold medal in any Olympic Games… until now. Busting through that streak is Hidilyn Diaz who won the country its first gold medal, and in weightlifting no less. Through such sheer determination, grit, and literal strength, Diaz also earns her first Dazzler of the Day for putting my Dad’s home country on the Olympic gold medal map at last.
July
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Oksana Chusovitina
Making it to the Olympics is an amazing feat on its own, regardless of whether one wins a medal or not. Making it there twice is even more amazing, when you think about the years and time-frames involved. But to make it to eight Olympic Games is downright superhuman, and so Oksana Chusovitina easily earns this Dazzler of the Day honor for her outstanding achievement of participating in eight Olympic Games. If you do the math and consider the sacrifices that must involve, this woman deserves more than a few medals. She’s a true inspiration, and is still one of my favorite people at the Olympics.
July
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Tommy Dorfman
Being your most authentic and genuine self is not always easy even for the most confident and secure among us. Whenever I see someone stepping into a more honest representation of themselves, I’m inspired and often awestruck. The courage it takes to be different should never go unnoticed or underestimated, and sometimes just being you in a world that wants to make everyone the same takes an enormous amount of energy and effort. Tommy Dorfman recently exhibited such courage when she revealed she was a trans woman. The star of ’13 Reasons Why’ earns her first Dazzler of the Day honor thanks to such bravery:
“It’s funny to think about coming out, because I haven’t gone anywhere. I view today as a reintroduction to me as a woman, having made a transition medically. Coming out is always viewed as this grand reveal, but I was never not out. Today is about clarity: I am a trans woman. My pronouns are she/her. My name is Tommy.”
July
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Victoria Beckham
It should come as no surprise that my favorite Spice Girl is Posh. More than that, the woman who brought Posh to life, Victoria Beckham, has long been an inspirational force in my world, and because of that she earns her first Dazzler of the Day honor. Over the years she’s been the butt of many jokes, and through it all she has held her head high, retaining her own sharp sense of humor (often underestimated) as well as a keen sense of fashion that has served her own line quite well. For some reason, it’s not her performances as Posh or her domination of the designer scene, or even her husband David and all his underwear poses, that has moved me most about Ms. Beckham – it came, oddly enough, in her appearance with the original band that brought her such glory in their reunion at the London Olympics. They arrived by Mini Cooper and each ended up riding around the arena alone, hair and dresses trailing in the wind. It reminded me of their original, indisputable sense of girl power, coupled with the years of hard-won experience, and watching them all ride solo but part of their own singular tribe touched me in a surprising way, all to the pulsing drama of ‘Spice Up Your Life’.
July
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Ben Percival
Fellow Brandeis alum Ben Percival is representing his home country of Samoa in Judo for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which officially kicked off last night. Anyone who makes it anywhere near Olympic competition is a hero in my book. Congrats to Percival on being named the Dazzler of the Day.
July
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Nam Vo
A descendant of MTV’s original reality-television show ‘The Real World’ and its spin-off ‘Road Rules’, ‘The Challenge’ pits participants of both against each other for a series of competitive challenges that makes for double the explosive television. Taking part of that is Nam Vo, who is also an international fashion, cover & fitness model, actor, coach and instructor. He can now add Dazzler of the Day to the impressive curriculum vitae.
July
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Sarah Paulson
Actor and director Sarah Paulson, who most recently guided the current ‘American Horror Stories’ series on FX via Hulu, earns a long-overdue Dazzler of the Day honor for her impressive body of work, and the willingness to dive head-first into any Ryan Murphy project and lift it into something exquisite and profound. She’s won a Golden Globe and an Emmy and seems to be just hitting her stride.