Grammy-award winning musical artist Bad Bunny earns his first Dazzler of the Day crowning, as I admire anyone with such an uncanny sense of fashion, one which extends to his carefully manicured fingernails, which can often be found painted and polished in all sorts of fine designs. This past year, he may best be known in these parts for boldly and brilliantly kissing a male band member in an awards show performance, but he was also named top touring artist for 2022 by Billboard, so it’s all working. That sort of confidence in one’s own self and sexuality is ever-dazzling.
This year’s Holiday Stroll had a very special guest, as Kira was unable to join. Come back here tomorrow to see who it is, and how we strolled the merry streets of Boston to celebrate the Christmas season. It was a welcome return to a happy tradition, and one of my favorite people in the world was there to join me.
Another holiday semi-tradition – the Boston Children’s Holiday Hour – will be taking place this weekend, as I haul my niece and nephew to that fine city by the sea for a gathering of some of my oldest and dearest friends. Having not seen most of these wonderful folks since before COVID, this will prove an interesting affair. Our lives have changed irrevocably during the past few years, and that has affected everything, and everyone. Most of their kids aren’t even kids anymore, soaring into their mid-to-upper teens, and skyrocketing beyond my height, so it will be quite a sight to see how we all fit into the small condo. If it can handle a party of fifty, as it once did in holiday times long ago, it can handle this crowd.
As for the holiday stroll about to be recapped tomorrow, it was a lovely, if slightly subdued, excursion – fitting for these delicate times. See you then, I hope… in the meantime, some Christmas music to set off a Friday right proper.
Billy Baldwin was one of those 90’s hunks who formed my early understanding and appreciation of handsomeness and beauty, and who grew to impress with his consistent talent and refusal to be defined or limited by his good looks. Instead, he made quirky turns in theater and indie films like ‘Three of Hearts’. Today I’m most impressed by his voice for truth and justice on what remains of the Twitter site, fighting off the horrid MAGA siege with wit and aplomb. For that alone he earns this Dazzler of the Day.
My love of snowstorms was likely inherited from my mother, even if never voiced it until we were both adults. In our childhood, my brother and I loved snowstorms as much as any other kid, especially the way they gave the opportunity for a missed day of school. Back then, Mom and Dad were more concerned with shoveling and getting to and from work to enjoy them much, but in recent years Mom has explained how she loved being inside during a snowstorm, especially in the Boston condo.
I think she always felt that way, as a snowstorm provided a pause in the hectic pace in our daily life. It suspended and arrested the non-stop velocity of a working mother’s many jobs, the way it stopped and stilled the world. Nature wins out in the end, and if the lesson is to slow down and inhabit the moment, the lesson will be learned, from one Mother to another.
On a recent late-afternoon where one of the first snowstorms of the season arrived, my Mom and I were texting to see how the other was doing. It was almost evening, but the snowfall lent the night more light in that way of solace that makes up for winter being winter. The snow nestled into the outreached arms of the pine trees and dogwoods, which would hold until the winds arrived the next day. For all night and morning, the snow stayed this way – a beautiful way for winter to announce its impending arrival.
One of the most hilarious comedy specials I’ve seen in a while, ‘The Intruder’ introduces Atsuko Okatsuka to a whole new audience, including myself, so I’m very glad I caught it. Okatsuka will also be on tour next year, with shows scheduled through spring of 2023, so check out her website for shows that might be near you, and act accordingly. This marks her first Dazzler of the Day crowning.
No, this isn’t a post about 3M Scotch tape, which many of us are struggling to find now that it’s present-wrapping season. I always buy some ridiculous 96-pack of the stuff and still somehow never have a roll on hand when I really need it. Also, did Scotch tape originate in Scotland? Just another seasonal question to ponder while you’re wrapping a pair of fitted sheets and wondering how they came to be so perfectly-folded in their package, never to be again. So many digressions, I’ve almost forgotten the point of this post.
Ahh, yes: 3M. As in three ‘M’ words that form the memory core of this post. The first being Madonna. As illustrated in the accompanying pics, she is the main thrust of what we have here, and the last one below is from her ‘Sex’ book anniversary in Miami. Her hairstyle echoes the one she wore to the premiere party of that book way back in that heady autumn of 1992. We’ve all come a long way, baby. Another digression.
The second ‘M’ is her song ‘Masterpiece’, a shuffling little ballad from the days leading into the ‘MDNA’ period – Holiday 2011 or thereabouts. Aside from a questionable ‘Santa Baby’ cover in the mid-80’s, Madonna hasn’t really done a Christmas-themed song (and the decidedly-non-Christmas ‘Holiday’ is NOT a fucking Christmas song) but for me, ‘Masterpiece’ will always come the closest thanks to my incessant playing of it on a holiday weekend in New York.
The third and final ‘M’ for the moment is Messiah – a majestic ballad from her under-rated and under-appreciated ‘Rebel Heart’ album. That too came along in a winter, post-holiday, but Christmas is supposedly all about the big M himself, Jesus Christ, and so ‘Messiah’ took on a Christmas slant, and its dramatic and slightly-forlorn feel mirrored some similarly depressing holiday moments. It ain’t all angels and holly.
Both of these songs have come to embody the holidays for me, as incongruous as Prince’s ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ perhaps, but no less lovely in my twisted heart. It always seemed that Madonna just wanted Christmas to be over so she could go back to focusing on herself and her career, but who knows – maybe she secretly loves the holiday, and has since way before Mariah made it her own. I kind of doubt it though – Madonna has never been one for sentimentality – one of the reasons I loved her in the first place.
When an actor finds himself inhabiting a shell of handsome and hard-won fitness-honed beauty, they are sometimes saddled with the image of not having any other talent. It’s not a very fair conundrum, and it’s always gratifying to see some pretty face defy that and consistently deliver wildly-varied and complex performances, stocking their career with indelible moments on-screen. Such is the case with Milo Ventimiglia, who offers an impressive list of roles that seem as disparate from one another as they are distinctly crafted and brought to life with chameleonic grace. Milo earns his first Dazzler of the Day here (after several runs as Hunk of the Day when we used to have that feature) and this gratuitous butt post because if you’ve got it, you should flaunt it.
This is the week when the holiday gatherings and celebrations begin in earnest, with office lunches and get-togethers on tap, and all of the social anxiety and distress that comes along with them. If history is any indication, this is when people tend to bring the drama, and understandably so – we are all taxed with extra burdens and told we should be having fun and enjoying the moment and the time together and bullshit, bullshit, bullshit…
After several years of therapy and working on my own anxiety issues, I’m happily at the point where I can genuinely say (and mean) ‘Fuck it’ when things get to be too much, and I’ll step out of anything at any point in time as needed. People will simply need to be ok with that. Thus far, my close friends and family have always been fine with it, mostly because I haven’t made a huge deal out of anything.
That said, there will be inescapable episodes where we don’t have the time or preparation to be ready for uncomfortable situations, and rather than stress or worry about it, I’ve adopted a better outlook and attitude when they rear their discomforting heads, one which embraces the imperfection of life, finding fun and laughter in the follies of what we as humans find ourselves doing at any given moment. When you consider what really matters, the friends and family we love, the rest of it doesn’t matter as much. Holding onto that levity and being flexible and open to new experiences are ways in which I’m staying calm amid the frenzy of holiday mayhem. It’s just the slightest tweak in how I’ve handled these couple of weeks leading up to Christmas, but it makes a world of difference.
At the time of this writing, I have no idea what might become of Jennifer Coolidge’s character on ‘The White Lotus‘ but I do know that her whimsical, irritating, and impossible-to-ignore performance for the past two seasons has been one of the highlights on any television show. It is just another feather in her cap of impressive performances, which run the gamut from hilarious to heartbreaking. I’m thinking of her work in ‘Best in Show’, ‘Legally Blonde’ and ‘Promising Young Woman‘, as well as her recent turn on ‘The White Lotus’. She seems to finally be getting her just due, with celebratory awards coming at last from a lifetime of indelible work. This is her first Dazzler of the Day, also overdue, so let’s rectify that immediately.
When I abruptly turned off my online world last week, it came before we ever got around to a proper recap of the week, and then being off for a bit there was nothing to recap anyway, so here’s what may have been missed, along with what hasn’t been missed at all. Careful readers who follow along in these posts may note the arc of feeling down and dealing with the resulting issues during the holidays, something that has happened to me for many years but only now do I feel ok writing about it. There’s some progress there. More, hopefully, to come. Happy Mondaying to all who are taking part, as if we had a choice…
Fresh off his fabulous Christmas special ‘Have You Heard of Christmas?’, Matt Rogers joins fellow ‘Las Culturistas’ podcast partner Bowen Yang in the pantheon of those who have been named Dazzler of the Day. His new special is a refreshing tonic for those of us already bored by the usual holiday trappings, putting forth his unique brand of artistry (and a killer wardrobe). Matt’s comical prowess cannot completely hide his vocal talent, and when working in tandem those two strengths become a powerhouse of hilarity and musical wonder – the very stuff Christmas dreams are made of. Check it out streaming on Showtime now.
Perspective is one of those things we don’t think about enough, which is too bad since it informs so much of our world. Take this scene here: is this a regular-sized spoon and a super-sized cup? Is it a tiny spoon and regular-sized cup? Is it a big spoon and an extra-big cup and saucer? Maybe you don’t even notice it – I noticed it in person but it’s not quite translating as easily in these photos. I have to force myself to shift the perspective to see it as it truly was.
That makes me question what the hell anyone gets out of this site and these ramblings. I try to take in all perspectives as I write posts, but I realize I have as many blind spots and missed possibilities as anyone else. We are largely imperfect that way. What I write in a somber and genuine tone may be read as sarcasm and snarkiness. What I put forth as silly and comical may be read with the utmost seriousness and drama. That makes communication difficult.
There are ways to overcome this. Repeated exposure to my written style may give hints. Questioning intent and meaning adds understanding. And coming back with a deliberately-altered desire to read things in a different way helps change any pre-conceived perspectives or notions. I’ll keep those ideas in mind when writing things out too; assumption has made an ass of me many, many times.
“He had long ago learned that society imposes insults that must be borne, comforted by the knowledge that in this world there comes a time when the most humble of men, if he keeps his eyes open, can take his revenge on the most powerful. It was this knowledge that prevented the Don from losing the humility all his friends admired in him.” ~ Mario Puzo, ‘The Godfather’
This post has a few outtakes from this year’s Godfather-themed holiday card, some not-quite-behind-the-scenes images that didn’t make the final cut but are perfect for updating my social media profile pics and annoying everyone who gets annoyed with a mustache. (Why all the ‘stache hate?)
It turns out if you lower your jaw and stick your chin out, you naturally slip into Brando’s signature drawl, and while I contemplated shooting a video of me doing it, I’ll spare you that indignity.
I will not spare you a glimpse of the tighty-whities I donned for the unseen below-the-waist action. Going for something as authentic as possible for a card imitating a movie imitating a lifestyle, I’m not sure how authentic anything can be, and sadly I have no idea what the real monsters may have worn for their underwear-of-choice. These were chosen because I always thought the real Dons would be no-nonsense when it came to undergarments, and though Tony Soprano may have favored baggy boxers, I wanted the classic Don to be more streamlined and elegant, less rumpled and bunchy. These are the kind of painstakingly-detailed decisions one must make when producing the holiday card.
Little pockets of nature can be found in the unlikeliest places, such as on this lunch-time walk which brought me past these landscaping shrubs, decked out in their seasonal garb and making the most of these sustained mild temperatures and damp weather. I like that they have decided to burn brightly in spite of the rain and December date. Defy it all. Resist. Persist. Exist.
A wise woman once said that beauty’s where you find it. That leaves it partially up to the viewer as to whether or not beauty is to be found, and in a strange way whether or not beauty even exists. To know that we hold that in the palm of our hands is to know glory. What we make of it will be up to us. I choose to find it as abundantly as possible, even if that’s on a brief stroll through downtown Albany.
Anchoring this season’s tres-gay water-cooler show ‘The White Lotus‘, Aubrey Plaza earns her first Dazzler of the Day crowning for her portrayal of one of the more likable protagonists on this Sicily-backed romp. Her trademark dead-pan delivery works wonders for her character, while her off-screen antics (she’s known for pranking co-stars) make her a true trickster. We love tricksters in these parts – the people who bump against customary social mores, the ones who push the boundaries of what is acceptable, forcing us to question why and how. (Also, check out the sneak-cheek-peak of a possible upcoming Dazzler…)
