This mural rises on the building directly across the street from my office building, and it’s been a happy sight since it went up a few months ago. Downtown Albany has several of these larger murals, adding visual appeal and interest to otherwise unremarkable spaces, and finding a new one is a simple act of joy in a world needing more of such whimsy.
Author Archives: Alan Ilagan
06
April
2021
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April
2021
06
April
2021
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April
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Nicolle Wallace
She is living proof that not all Republicans have a distaste for the truth. Nicolle Wallace worked magic for the most recent Bush administration, but has been finding less and less in common with the current GOP, moving away from their racist rhetoric and oppressive policies, and right onto MSNBC, where she has developed a sizable fan-base, including a friend who specifically requested Wallace as the Dazzler of the Day. Her erudite, razor-sharp dicing of the latest political news is a thing to behold, as is her own personal journey, a journey that continues as her original party moves further and further from the sane, sensible, and fair. She also has a wicked sense of humor, so if you have a chance to catch one of her appearances on late-night television, do tune in.
06
April
2021
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April
2021
For Those Who Love A Happy Ending
This recent post contained just the smallest bit of hope in a vase, and I’m thrilled to report a happy ending here. I wasn’t sure if these few felled narcissus blooms would survive a late-season snowstorm, but survive they did, opening in time for a proper Easter morning celebration. I’m hoping for similar spring miracles in the garden after a wicked winter of trials and tribulations.
Hope is something that’s been on the distant horizon of late, and while I’ve been hesitant to reach out to it so soon (I learned the dangers of that in 2020), I am indulging in some brief bits of relief, as Andy just got his second dose of the COVID vaccine, and I’m due for my second in two weeks.
Almost all of the people who are important in my life have gotten or are in the process of getting their vaccines, so this spring and summer looks to be a time of reunions and small gatherings with the ones who mean the most to us. That is certainly a happy circumstance – as happy as these colorful blossoms, leading the flower power brigade.
05
April
2021
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April
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Eric Alán
Kudos to Matthew Rettenmund and his Boy Culture blog which continually inspires and amazes, for this post on Rico Starr and the fabulous Eric Alán. It’s about time the Dazzler of the Day returned to its sexy hunk roots, and no one better exemplifies that than Renaissance man Eric Alán. Check out his Rico Starr products and prepare to be dazzled.
05
April
2021
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April
2021
Post-Bunny Recap
Spring returned, went away, came back, then went away again, and if I needed this kind of roller-coaster… well, I will never need that kind of roller coaster, so hopefully Mother Nature knocks it off and gets her shit together. There are pools that need to be opened before another pair of ducks settles in. On with a Holy Week recap…
Amid rain, spring begins again.
Zac Efron’s full-frontal nudity moment.
Knocked down, and picked back up.
No Easter would be complete without this terrible, yet beloved, bunny shot.
Dazzlers of the Day included Sean Evans, Tina Turner, Billy Porter, La Verne Ford Wimberly, and Taylor Swift.
04
April
2021
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April
2021
That Bunny Shot
No Easter season would be complete without revisiting this classic bunny shot, also known as my Easter Bunny Demon. Having tamed the trauma a number of years ago, it’s now barely a blip in my memory bank, but people seem to enjoy any opportunity to terrorize me. Who am I to deny some traumatic masochism?
04
April
2021
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April
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Taylor Swift
This Dazzler of the Day is dedicated to the owner of dp: An American Brasserie, whose adoration of Taylor Swift got me re-thinking my lackadaisical lack of enthusiasm for her early years. A performance with Madonna and two of the best albums of the decade, released just months apart, turned me into a die-hard fan. She’s now officially the Dazzler of the Day, an honor Taylor-made for someone with such multi-layered talents. For evidence of her musical dazzle, do yourself a favor and check out ‘folklore‘ and ‘evermore‘ – they’re the greatest hours of musical atmosphere we’ve had in a long time – and perfect for these trying days. Swift conjures a sonic land of enchantment while exploring ever-mounting emotional complexities that love and loss and the inevitable creep of time render into poetic form. It puts her previous musical efforts into clearer focus, making a revisiting of past work something you should put on your to-do list. (And then grab a bite at dp: An American Brasserie where you might find a cocktail named ‘Tis the Damn Season‘, ‘The Archer‘, ‘Bad Blood’ or ‘Lover‘ if you’re lucky.)
04
April
2021
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April
2021
Easter Relief
After the drama and darkness of a full Catholic Holy Week, the arrival of Easter is more of a relief and release more than anything else. When you’re raised in a Catholic household, you quickly understand that Easter is a much bigger deal than Christmas, and as such it carried a sense of seriousness. The main lesson I got in all those years – a lesson I’m only now truly seeing – was that a resurrection is more powerful and important than a birth. Coming back from the dead – and conquering torturous terrors and persecution – was more of a story than simply entering the world.
There was power in that lesson, and in the realization that no one is born strong. We build strength throughout our lives, if we choose to do so – and the marks we make in this world and our all-too-brief lives here depend on how many times we resurrect ourselves after we fall. Most of us will experience far more failures and fumbles than unmitigated successes – and the most successful people will tell you that the falls were the key to their triumphs. We learn best from the mistakes we make and the tumbles we take, but only if we deign to get back up and try to get better.
That’s the closest I’m going to get to emulating Easter, because I’m not quite ready for the cross.
03
April
2021
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April
2021
Sun Burn
The more I read about the notes and impressions people are getting from the newest Private Blend by Tom Ford, the more I feel it’s going to be my requisite fragrance for summer. While I don’t believe in a blind-buy for this one (I enjoy ‘Soleil Blanc’ but ‘Soleil Neige’ didn’t do much for me, and the rest of the Soleil offerings were nice but nothing special.) ‘Soleil Brûlant’ sounds like it may bring me back into the sunny Ford fold.
Most appealing are the elements of citrus that are said to open the scene; more problematic are the notes of vanilla and cream that some wearers mentioned. My favored scents for summer lean toward crisp and dry rather than sweet and cloying. That said, I’m very excited to try this on – if it embodies a citrus sun as the literature claims, I’ll be bathing in it by June.
03
April
2021
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April
2021
Dazzler of the Day: La Verne Ford Wimberly
My FaceBook pal Sue made the brilliant suggestion that La Verne Ford Wimberly be named Dazzler of the Day, and I always honor brilliant suggestions. Wimberly more than deserves this little honor, thanks to her celebrated dedication to cheering up her fellow church-goers with a selfie each and every Sunday for the past year. When all of us have been stuck at home and unable to safely attend church services, Wimberly offered a glimpse back into the fabulous normality of donning your best Sunday clothes and sharing that with the world. Such a simple gesture, such a powerful effect, and such a dazzling collection of outfits!
03
April
2021
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April
2021
Knocked Down And Picked Back Up
Having been eagerly awaiting and watching for the first daffodils to bloom, my heart fell when I surveyed the aftermath of our April Fool’s snow-squall and found all the blooms lying flat on the ground, victims of a killing night of frigid wind and snow. I hurriedly gathered the fallen stems and brought them indoors, hoping it wasn’t too late for them to eke out a bloom. That’s when I captured these pictures, and they look a little worse for wear, still huddled tightly in bloom except for the one lone flower that was on the brink of opening up but held back in this hooded form, as if afraid to let down its guard.
Spring flowers that start this early run the risk of having their blooms felled by such storms. This was less devastating than the May snowstorm that takes out tree peony buds or stuns tulips in full bloom. That doesn’t make it any less sad, especially after a winter of such barren hope. There are a few more patches of narcissus that I planted last fall just poking through the ground. The first spring after planting is always their latest, and I’ve always appreciated that. No sense in rushing the goodness and risking the danger of a lingering snow squall. Cautious optimism is the gardener’s safest stance.
02
April
2021
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April
2021
Dazzler of the Day: Billy Porter
The iconic audacity.
The irrefutable ferocity.
The gorgeous fabulosity.
This whole Dazzler of the Day feature was tailor-made for the likes of Billy Porter, who has been dazzling audiences for decades, and only seems to get better with age. It’s not just about his red-carpet envelope-busting appearances, or his impressively inspirational refusal to be anyone other than his authentic self, it’s about that superlative talent – the voice, the moves, the sheer star quality he brings to every project that’s fortunate enough to enjoy his involvement. Larger-than-life, he also manages to find that universal thread of humanity in his work, that essence of a genuine, compassionate soul which transforms every performance into a piece of art and a way of connecting us to each other. Witness previous posts here and here and especially here, when I got to see him onstage for the first time, check out his lengthy link tree of admirable causes, and embrace his ongoing reign as Dazzler of All the Days.
02
April
2021
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April
2021
April (Snow) Showers
Yesterday’s joke was on Albany, NY, as Mother Nature laughed in our hopeful spring faces and dumped an afternoon sheet of snow upon the land. Such spring storms are to be expected. Dreadful, yes, but expected. They’re just so trying and taxing on the countenance at this late stage of the weather season. As I was texting with my Mom about it, however, she reminded me that it was a good comfort food and hygge day, so I did my best to embrace that outlook and make the most of the snowy scene outside the window.
The beauty of such snow is that it rarely lasts. Even when we’ve been walloped with six or seven inches of it, the temperatures have shifted so far that it doesn’t usually have a chance at longevity. Not that I want to test it out. We’re good. I honor the spring snow, take in its beauty, and pray for its quick dismissal.
01
April
2021
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April
2021
Duck, Duck… Boo!
A pair of ducks has appeared in our pool for the second year in a row, and that’s no April Fool’s joke, despite the date. Last year it was more quaint. Until it really wasn’t, at which point I made this futile plan. And now we greeted their return with a weary laugh, because running out and scaring them three times on a rainy day is not how I want to spend my time. Such is our work, however, if we don’t want them to nest poolside. This isn’t ‘The Sopranos’, so we simply don’t have the space.
01
April
2021
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April
2021
Zac Efron: Full-Frontal Nudity, Finally
Primed by this workout photo, might this finally be the day it happens for real? After all the years of wishing, waiting and hoping, might this be the morning it all slips out?
To prime the pump, check out this Zac Efron shirtless post,
this Zac Efron underwear post,
this Zac Efron naked ass post,
this Zac Efron Speedo post,
this Zac Efron sexy work-out post,
and this Zac Efron cock-tease post.
Oh wait, look at the date…
Nevermind!
