Category Archives: Dazzler of the Day

“I’ve been singing and kissing mirrors since I was six.” ~ Auli’i Cravalho

Same! For that relatable reason alone, Auli’i Cravalho has my heart – she also earns this Dazzler of the Day thanks to star-making turns in ‘Moana’, ‘Mean Girls’, and ‘Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club’. Check out her Insta here.

The current concerning corner of our fairy’s tale finds us located within fields queasily tinted of green – not verdant, fresh, summery green, but a decidedly sickly green, hinting at an acid green – a poisonous tone that comes soaked in forewarning and danger – something ominous, something disturbing, something that portends an irrevocable shift.

Something deadly.

There are faint echoes of a Weimar element at work here, and it makes me wonder: how far are we from that now? How far were we from it twenty years ago? And has this always been who we are? What a dismal, horrifying notion – and yet it’s something I have long suspected. When you’re been called faggot, when you’ve been ridiculed and attacked for how you look, what you wear, or the way you talk, then you tend to be a little suspicious of how intrinsically good people actually might be. 

Horror is already at hand, and it’s not some silly flight of dress-up fancy.

Back in 2005, it seemed safer to play with such images. It felt like we’d never slide into that sort of world.

Now that feels quaint, and somehow both innocent and overly-trusting of our fellow citizens. 

~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~

1. Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
2. Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
3. A Purple-Hued Interlude
4. Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
5. Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
6. A Blue-Hued Interlude
7. Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
8. Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
9. Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
10. Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
11. A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
12. A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
13. Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
14. A Milky Interlude 
15. Rock Out, Cock Out/ Hang Out, Wang Out: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
16. Cocktail Cocktale: Part One and Part Two.
17. A Fairy’s Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
18. Willy Wonkers: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
19. A Peacock In Everything But Beauty: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
20. Swan Lake Fantasia: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
21. Black & White in Briefs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
22. Weave of Basket, Weave of Rope: Part One.

Joining co-star Pedro Pascal in this honor a couple years later, Bella Ramsey earns her first Dazzler of the Day thanks to her ongoing quest on ‘The Last of Us‘. While I’m still not over the dirty they did us in this season’s second episode, Ramsey continues to enthrall and fascinate with her tender and tortured travails, giving her character the kind of nuanced, volatile, and heartachingly visceral ferocity of an atypically typical teenager on an impossible journey. 

Some people were born to be Dazzlers of the Day, while others beg, bother and bemoan to the point that I just give them the title to shut them up. Both cases are partly true today, as Jeff Urbanczyk – a fellow Amsterdam High School alum – finally and blessedly earns his first Dazzler of the Day crowning, fulfilling a years-long quest, with a life-long body of first-responder work as a firefighter to justify it. He recently retired as Battalion Chief of the Amsterdam Fire Department, where he had the distinction of being the longest serving executive (union) board member in Local 2825 history. As someone who honors and appreciates those who risk their lives to help others, this is a small bit of gratitude for everything he’s done for my hometown. Congrats Jeff!

PS – You can stop sending pictures now.

Having charmed and entertained audiences for decades, Jean Smart is currently riding on a career high, having recently earned her sixth Emmy Award for her celebrated turn in ‘Hacks’. I still remember her fondly from ‘Designing Women’, and in addition to enthrallingly-varied appearances in ‘Frasier’, ‘The District’, ‘Mare of Easttown’ and ‘Watchmen’, she’s tread the boards of Broadway in ‘Piaf’ and ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’. This marks her well-earned debut as Dazzler of the Day.