#TinyThreads: An Insignificant Series

If a recipe calls for folding whipped cream into some kind of pudding mix at any point, I already love it. 

Your kids will love it too.

#TinyThreads

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A Recap to Begin the Week Spring Returns

Still enraptured by the new twist that Madonna gave to this iconic corset, I’m posting another pic of the ensemble from her Oscar party. That’s about all I have the energy or desire to do right now, so take a look back at the week that came before in this typical Monday morning recap.

As mentioned, Madonna reworked her magical reinvention powers here

A visitor adorned in red.

Duck, duck, no goose.

The Madonna Timeline was back with ‘Joan of Arc’ from the glorious ‘Rebel Heart’ era.

Maluma took some of it off for Playgirl.

Better looks at that Madonna reinvention.

Carnations and stock make for a beautiful pair.

Green and lavender love in a cup.

A crock of a crocus post.

My fake-smiling skills have been honed to steely perfection. That still doesn’t make it right.

A shirtless Lenny Kravitz, John Cena, Zac Efron and more!

Career goals have been supplanted by retirement goals, which is the way life should be.

Dazzlers of the Day included the luminous likes of Eric Andre, Mickey Boardman, Ian Paget, Bobby IlaganGina Yashere, and Nicholas Capolino.

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Dazzler of the Day: Nicholas Capolino

I love a good spiritual trajectory, especially one that echoes the ups and downs most of us will have experienced if we make through any decent run at life. Nicholas Capolino is our Dazzler of the Day because he has gone on such a journey, and continues to follow his own path, through a practice of yoga and meditation and healing, which he now shares with the rest of us. But as they once said on ‘Reading Rainbow’, you don’t have to take my word for it – here’s a better description of his story from his website

Nicholas cultivated his own yoga and meditation practice in 2008 while studying acting and graduating from Cal State University of Fullerton in 2012. Every day in the acting program, he learned in depth embodiment techniques and trained with world renowned teachers such as Fay Simpson , Kennedy Brown Katherine Fitzmaurice, and many more!

He learned how to tune into his own hormone centers (yogis call these “chakras”) with the Lucid Body Technique, various voice techniques including Fitzmaurice Voice work, and physical embodiment practices to bring classical characters from Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Moliere to life on the stage. He truly believed acting would be his career until he was cut from the program in his junior year. It was heart breaking…

He stopped doing yoga and meditating and instead started smoking cigarettes, and partying for the remainder of his college years. This downward spiral of feeling addicted to smoking, partying, and sex taught him the power of learning to live a life of discipline, moderation, and spirituality.  

In 2016, Nicholas rediscovered his roots in yoga and meditation by becoming a certified Hatha yoga instructor at the Huntington Beach Wellness Center. Once he recognized his own healing transformation, Nick expanded his style of teaching by getting certified in Pranic Healing by Master Ko. In addition, he is certified and trained in Hatha, Tantra, Healing Qi Gong , Iyengar Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Restorative Yoga; which allowed him to become a E-RYT 500. (Expert Registered Yoga Teacher 500 hours of training + 200 hour of Healing Qi Gong) He is also certified as a group fitness instructor with expert knowledge in strength training and nutritional programming. 

He has partnered and worked with companies like Nike, Equinox, Lululemon, Fabletics, MLB, Topo Chico, Vuori, Bay Clubs, and much more! Nick continues to teach yoga and meditation for hundreds of people by co facilitating health and wellness festivals and leading private retreats around the world. 

His true purpose is to promote and inspire growth, healing, and transformation for each individual. Nick’s grounded nature, gentle guidance and spiritually-focused approach provides a welcoming and loving atmosphere for all ages and levels of students. 

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#TinyThreads: An Insignificant Series

Career Goals… no, Retirement Goals: luxuriating in bed until a day/afternoon of lounging begins.

Also, making up words that offer new ways of being lazy.

#TinyThreads

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A Shirtless Post Helmed by an Ageless Lenny Kravitz

While most of us are aging in the traditional manner of getting worse-for-wear with each advancing year, Lenny Kravitz seems to be going in the opposite direction, as judged by this feature photo – and many recent photos – showing him as fit and fine as ever. Give me whatever he’s eating. Here are a few more fine gents who are aging, or not aging, accordingly, and in their shirtless splendor.

John Cena made a naked splash (naked in the Hollywood sense of not-quite-entirely-naked) and here’s a little behind the scenes reveal of how not-naked he actually was

One of our favorite on-screen couples of the past few years has got to be Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine, who have been part of previous shirtless spreads like this one

Maluma has been making the Playgirl rounds of late, showing off the physique he also put on display here and here and here

Dominic Albano is currently promoting his insanely-comfy underwear line, but has occasionally been known to slip into a Calvin Klein brief now and then. 

His first name leaves him alphabetically last, but there’s no finer way to bring up the rear of a shirtless post than with Zac Efron. See much more of Efron here, and enjoy the rest of your Sunday. 

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Dazzler of the Day: Gina Yashere

I love a Dazzler who writes their own post, so I’m letting Gina Yashere’s brilliant bio from GinaYashere.com. do most of the explaining here. For those woefully-out-of-the-know, Yashere is a hilarious comedian, producer, writer, vocal artist, television correspondent, and actor. She easily earns this Dazzler of the Day for never allowing her star quality to be dimmed.

Gina was born & raised in London UK, of Nigerian parents, and previously worked as an elevator engineer for Otis. Gina has been a stand up and TV star in the UK for numerous years now, with appearances on iconic TV shows such as Live At The Apollo & Mock The Week, as well as creating & performing the hugely popular comedic characters, Tanya & Mrs. Omokerede on The Lenny Henry Show. She broke onto the American comedy scene with her appearances on Last Comic Standing (NBC), where she made it to the final 10, and then never went home!

Gina went on to be named one of the top 10 rising talents in the Hollywood Reporter.
She is also known in the US for being the only British comedian to ever appear on the iconic Def Comedy Jam, as well as for her hilarious appearances on The Tonight Show (NBC) & Crashing on HBO.

Gina self produced 3 separate 1 hour Stand Up Specials, Skinny B*tch, Laughing To America, & Ticking Boxes, two of which are currently streaming on Netflix.

Gina’s 4th stand up special is also streaming on Netflix, as part of The Stand Ups, season 2, and is  garnering rave reviews on the network. She is also regularly featured on Comedy Central as the British Correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

Gina is also an in demand voice artist. She has voiced characters in various animations, including Keisha in the British cult hit, Bromwell High, & Gravelle in the latest movie from the makers of Wallace & Gromit & Chicken Run, Early Man! She can be currently heard playing a starfish called Gareth, on the Children’s ITV show, The Rubbish World of Dave Spud.

Gina has performed for audiences not just in Europe, the US & Australia, but she is in fact, a highly sought after comedian in Asia, making numerous sold out appearances in Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia & Hong Kong. 
It’s a wonder she found the time to pick up her 4th award in a row for “Best Comedian” at the recent Black Entertainment & Comedy Awards (UK).

Gina has performed numerous times at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and Toronto. Feature films appearances have included Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Mr. in Between, and she has also appeared on the West-End stage in The Vagina Monologues.
Gina currently resides in Los Angeles where she is producing, writing and acting on the new sitcom Bob hearts Abishola, which she co-created with Chuck Lorre, & is currently airing on CBS.

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#TinyThreads: An Insignificant Series

The older I get, the more fake-smiling I seem to be doing.

It really should be going in the opposite direction.

#TinyThreads

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A Crock of Crocus

This is a post in which I have absolutely nothing and everything to say, and I expect it to be largely a mess, the way the end of winter is so often messy. It will also be blessedly brief, for both our sakes. My allergies have come early, mold and mites and a bunch of things that were never quite properly killed off with a righteous blast of the freezing spells that once characterized our winters are in full effect, undimmed by this relatively warm season. Unburied by snow and ice, such tiny monsters are wreaking their havoc, leaving me with the infuriating feeling of being constantly on the edge of a cold, with sinuses that sting and a nose that runs at only the most inconvenient of times. And exhaustion, regular and debilitating exhaustion that is entirely unwelcome when there is so much to be done. 

This little crocus is the first sign of floral life, but I’m not counting on it to bloom. Chipmunks usually eat its head off before it can give us a proper show, and I find life is better spent not expecting anything great, and then being happily surprised if such good events are destined to happen. All we have is the here and now. 

The back patio is a shambles. Our canopy has been disassembled, and we need to rent a dumpster to get rid of two broken-down canopies. I need to paint a bathroom somehow. And the yearly yard clean-up, always one of the most onerous and back-breaking tasks, looms immediately on the horizon provided there is no rain. My spirit is dampened and I’m seeking (and failing to find) the ambition and drive to make much of this happen beyond a few half-hearted minor motions per day. (On the evening of this writing, I moved some turtlenecks from the guest room closet to the attic. That would be it.)

So let this crocus inspire you, and me, and the whole coming onslaught of spring. Godspeed to us all.

Hey, at least we’re not in the royal family. Silver lining. 

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Dazzler of the Day: Bobby Ilagan

The people who dazzle me the most are usually my family and friends, so this Dazzler of the Day honor, going out to my cousin Bobby, is especially fun to write. Today is his birthday, so this is a little gift to him, and he deserves it regardless of birthdate because he’s become our point person for all things going on in the Ilagan world. Whenever anything noteworthy happens in our family, Bobby is usually the one who knows the news and who helps us all stay connected. He’s an integral member of our immediate family as well, who has in many ways become our third brother (because cousin doesn’t fully convey his place in our home). Growing up in our home was an experience, not always the most fun or sunny, but Bobby helped us get through our toughest years, and when Dad got sick he was there when Mom needed him most. He’s raising his own family now, heading up his own table and leading his own way, and he’s still our family point person. Happy birthday, Cuz! 

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Green & Lavender Love

I love lavender.

I love matcha.

Yet I never thought of loving them together, but that is precisely what happened when I tried the new Iced Lavender Cream Oat Milk Matcha – a somewhat-awkwardly-named jewel of a drink that is as delicious as it is beautiful. After that fiasco of a Unicorn Frappuccino, I didn’t have great expectations for this one, and Starbucks and I have had our own ups and downs over the years. Happily, this drink is one glorious combination that probably won’t last for long because people just don’t have good taste anymore. I will enjoy it while it’s here, and hope that the lavender lasts well into the summer. That’s what lavender should do. 

The drink itself begins in the depths of the matcha, with all its earthly delights and even-keeled dose of caffeine (matcha is about the only caffeine I can handle, as it supposedly releases its effects over a longer period of time, rather than hitting all at once in a jolt of heart-palpitating madness). Once the lavender cream seeps into the straw, all wrapped up in the oat milk tying it all together, the effect is enchanting – spring and summer brightening the wintery-murkiness of the matcha. It’s a wonderful concoction, surprising in how well it works, and a lovely segue into the spring season. 

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Don’t Sleep on the Carn-Stock!

Carnations have a bad reputation, and I’ve done my part in contributing to this over the years (despite the fact that I once sent my first girlfriend a huge bouquet of two dozen of them, back when I was also giving heart-shaped crystal broaches to said girlfriend – oopsie!) Don’t fault me for my taste in high school, please. Over the years, I’ve mostly viewed carnations as filler flowers, and many of us have taken their ubiquity as a fault or reason for scorn, when such common and consistent use is proof of their durability and success as a cut flower

Stock also is underutilized, in my opinion, particularly when it has such a fine perfume that is not nearly as oppressive as lilies. Taken together, two filler flowers may not feel like a proper bouquet, but I think it’s absolutely exquisite. A subtle tone-on-tone collection of flowers lends an elegant sophistication to a vase, one that forces a closer examination of the forms and textures, a leaning-in to the quiet perfume that both of these flowers provide. 

I love a bouquet that doesn’t feel the need to shout.

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Dazzler of the Day: Ian Paget

Finding mass fame and exposure from the world of Tik Tok (perhaps the most endangered world of all right now) was not the goal and quest of Ian Paget, but taking that twist of fate and translating it into a vessel for fans to find his work and charm is one of those destined brushstrokes of the universe that shouldn’t be questioned, merely enjoyed. Paget is an actor and performer first and foremost, and that has always shown through all his online, social media endeavors. Check out the bio on his website for further evidence of his brilliance, and it’s clear to see how he is crowned with his first Dazzler of the Day honor here.

Ian was born and raised in London, England. Thanks to his Honduran Mother and French grade school, he speaks three languages. At the age of 12, he, and his soon-to-be-extinguished British accent, moved to Miami, Florida where he got accepted into the New World School of the Arts’ acting program in for High school. From there, he went on to Marymount Manhattan College Acting program in New York City.

Immediately following graduation, he booked the first of his three Broadway Shows, and since then has performed and worked on some amazing projects in both Film and TV; Rock of Ages, Step Up Revolution and Mozart in the Jungle and One Life to Live, respectively. There are also a few episodes of Lip Sync Battle , Dancing with the Stars and SNL sprinkled in there. 

In addition to being an actor, Ian is a foodie who loves to cook, go on long tangents (for which he is known for on TIK TOK), and loves making people laugh. He started Tik Tok in April of 2020 and quickly gained a following making comedic videos with his boyfriend for Tik Tok and Youtube.

He loves music and never stops singing but nothing makes him feel as good as bringing a writer’s words to life. Above all else, acting is his passion. – www.ipaget.com.

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More Madonna Magnificence

Fresh from yesterday’s Madonna Timeline high, these additional photos from her recent Oscar Party, wherein she up-cycled this exquisite corset from 2004’s Re-invention Tour (and another party somewhere in between then and now), are reminders of the beauty Madonna can still conjure. Wave a feathered fan in my face and I’m yours.

It’s almost enough to get me back into the fashionable swing of things

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Maluma for Playgirl

As promised in yesterday’s Dazzler post, here is a closer look into Maluma’s part in resurrecting Playgirl magazine, as helmed by Creative Director Mickey Boardman. The teases thus far have been basically, well, standard. A number of shirtless shots and peeks of underwear – hardly anything you wouldn’t see on Maluma’s Instagram feed (and, quite frankly, nowhere near as racy). 

If you’d like a bit more Maluma, check out this bulging post, or this gratuitous thirst-trap. And then revisit his glorious duet with Madonna here. ‘I felt so naked and alive…’

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Dazzler of the Day: Mickey Boardman

Keen fashion-watchers will remember Mickey Boardman from his cameo in the Iris Apfel documentary by the brothers Maysles (of ‘Grey Gardens‘ fame), and anyone who knows anything about New York will know him from any event worth being talked about. Boardman has been the Editorial Director for Paper Magazine, and most recently was named Creative Director for the online reboot of Playgirl (the newest issue of which features Maluma – come back later for more on that). His social adventures and appearances have branded him as a career socialite, but that discounts all his years of compelling writing, cultural commentary, fashion expertise, and historical lifestyle knowledge – for those reasons Boardman is crowned Dazzler of the Day. 

{See also Michael Musto for further fabulousness.}

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