Sometimes the strongest and most powerful voices come from the prettiest packages – and when that happens it often results in the crowning of a new Dazzler of the Day. Introducing the amazing Thoren ‘Thor’ Bradley, who has gained a prominent and substantial social media thanks to his combination of fitness, wood-chopping, intelligent discourse, and inclusive championing for all people. A recent post of his particularly moved me, especially in light of the boorish and barbaric behavior of the US Men’s Hockey Team. When white cis men who look like Bradley speak truth about and against centuries of patriarchy, it’s a huge help. Glad there are noble humans still out there to restore a little faith in humanity. For that reason alone, he earns his first Dazzler of the Day.
“My heart goes out to all the daughters, wives and girlfriends in the United State…who have faced the harsh realization that a man in their life is so spineless in the face of clear injustice… that they can’t even form a fucking opinion in private. I’m not even talking about speaking out in public. I know he’ll never have your respect again and I know that must be a lonely feeling. Rest assured you are not wrong. That isn’t normal.” – Thoren Bradley
Mercury returns to wretched retrograde motion today, where it will wreak its undeniable havoc all the way through March 20 – the ultimate uphill battle until we reach the spring (as if the final stretch of winter wasn’t and enough on its own).
There’s also a treacherous full moon appearing March 3 – one said to be especially challenging for Virgos, so if I seem a bit more psychotic than usual, the best thing to do will be to not fuck with me. Forewarned is fair-warned, and I’m not in the mood – because a double-whammy of full moon madness and Mercury in retrograde can make for a diabolical, combustible bit of destruction – a burn-it-all-down possibility on a good week, an absolute monstrosity at such an astrological crux. The intersection of Mercurial influence and lunacy was never going to be pretty. In the words of ‘Mommie Dearest’, “Don’t fuck with me fellas!”
Godspeed, good luck, and don’t forget me when I’m gone.
Somewhere on this website, if you dig down deeply enough, you may find the rest of this photoshoot which reveals more of what certain eyes want to feast upon. For now, it’s a hazy reminder of past and present colliding, and instead of clarity or certainty, there is only more obscurity – a telltale sign of this Winter Obscura – ever-elusive, ever-cloudy, ever-out-of-focus. For all these Evers, never resolution, never completion, never conclusion. Only more Evers… ever after, ever unknown, ever unending…
Chaos contained – a theme that once saved my ass in a literature class where we had to write a paper on Kant, and I could only understand the idea of a canvass containing both the limits of its space, and the limitless idea of anything being painted on it. Two opposing ideas existing at once, forcing the brain to reconcile itself to paradox. Accepting the impossible – at least the impossibility to understand – is a major component of finding peace in one’s head.
Winter was when this picture was taken. Winter – when the world tries to tell us to slow down, to stop, to listen, but we don’t want to listen. We don’t want to stop. We don’t even want to slow down.
Humans weren’t designed to have this level of constant stress and duress thrust upon us.
Take this moment as a moment to pause.
To rest.
To relax.
To breathe.
Sounds simplistic and silly sometimes, but just stay with me.
Take a deep breath in…
slowly let that breath out….
Take another slowly in…
let that one slowly out…
Feel the pause.
Feel the slightest reset.
Feel the little difference that makes all the difference.
Pour yourself a cup of tea or coffee or water or juice and hold the cup in your hand. Let yourself simply be with that single motion. Let yourself simply exist. It sounds so easy, but when done with genuine mindfulness it is powerful and profound and life-changing. It will allow you to focus on the breathing, shutting out the noise, the anger, the annoyance. It will push out the worries and strains and tensions. In their place there will be stillness and quiet and calm.
Thank you for sharing this cup of tea with me.
Thank you for visiting this space.
Thank you for sharing our time on this beautiful earth together.
I love a hairpin turn in one’s career trajectory, and no one has zigged harder of late than Davey Wavey, who went from his popular YouTube and social media impresario role (and some incendiary adult entertainment work) to owning the Frog Meadow Bed & Breakfast in Vermont. Innkeepers Jeremiah and Zac will run the property, but Davey’s hands are already all over the place. The relaxed drama-free atmosphere that has made Frog Meadow such a beloved destination for many years doesn’t look to end, and Davey promises the heart and soul of what is considered sacred space to many will remain untouched and unchanged.
Maintaining and building on the vision of original founders Scott Heller and Dave King, Davey intends to honor the legacy of what they created: a place for the soul to be nurtured. In looking ahead, he also plans on working on the singular item of most interest and obsession for me: a signature fragrance. To that end, and the future of Frog Meadow, Davey earns this Dazzler of the Day for the very first time.
He supported and rooted for Trump every time he ran, and now his life-partner is slated for deportation. Meet Wayne DeMario, a Miami guitar store owner who proudly voted for Trump, only to see Trump enact the acts he said would enact, including the deportation of immigrants who committed crimes. Enter Wayne’s life-partner Yamile Alcantu, who was here from Cuba via a Visa Lottery (slightly different from how Melania Trump immigrated to America) but who had a “minor run-in” with the law. [Whoopsie daisy!] End result: Alcantu was taken by ICE to a detention center and is currently scheduled to be deported.
Wayne claims he didn’t vote for any of this, he only voted Republican because he was a Republican. (Sure Jan. ) To Wayne and his life-partner, I offer my most heartfelt shrug. Think of this as a kind of ‘both sides’ sort of compassion, offering the same sympathy that the MAGA crowd offers innocent people being deported. If you have a problem with that schadenfreude, talk to the White House and the guy who thinks he’s President.
While the US Men’s Hockey Team squandered their impressive win with embarrassing and shameful locker room behavior (that included laughing at the US Women’s Team while on the phone with felon Trump) the US Women’s Hockey Team proved that they had more grit, sense, and grace in their gold medal win, earning them this Dazzler of the Day crowning. It also merits much fanfare that the US Women’s Hockey Team has won way more medals than the US Men’s Hockey team, and still goes egregiously unheralded in comparison. Here’s to the heroic Women’s Hockey Team, putting the men to shame year after year after year after year…
This year’s Winter Olympics were a badly-needed breath of fresh, inspirational air – a reminder of the best in humanity when basic human decency on a world scale seems precariously in danger of extinction. I’m taking that, along with a visit from friends this past weekend, as a reprieve from the terrible state of the world. On with the weekly recap, Monday-quarterback-style.
Olympic figure skating is like my Super Bowl – perhaps even more-so than the Oscars this year. That said, these Winter Olympics started out rather casually and without the usual pomp and circumstance hat led into previously-hyped games. yet this one turned into one of the most emotionally-tumultuous Olympics, thanks largely in part to all the figure skating drama.
The figure skating dance competition was controversial enough, with the backstory of Guillaume Cizeron (physically naked backstory below for those kind of fans – just keep scrolling down) and his new partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry taking center stage – and that was before the judges robbed Madison Chock and Evan Bates (flawless free skate) of the gold and giving it to Cizeron and Beaudry (flawed free skate).
The media was as awful as the media has become – hyping American athletes to the point where the pressure becomes too much – but the athletes themselves seemed to support each other in the face of all the madness, and the grace and good will of medalists and non-medalists was an affirmation of basic human decency. It was a breath of fresh air in this dark winter.
I’m not sure if it’s the bright lights of the skating arena, or the relatively benign nature of this good-spirited worldly competition compared to the more sinister visions that typically comprise night-time television, but the Winter Olympics always feel like a festive comfort when they roll around every four years.
It’s a time when an athlete’s performance is hopefully heightened, and everything just seems to mean a little more, such as the anticipatory electricity of a dinner party or a visit from distant friends or family. The older I get, the more I find myself seeking out such comfort. Here’s to the next Winter Olympic Games, scheduled for the summer of 2030… (but look for the 2028 Summer Olympics first) and here are this year’s Olympic posts for those who are already feeling nostalgic:
With his record-breaking six gold medal wins at the Winter Olympics, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo earns the culminating Dazzler of the Day to this year’s Olympic Games. He helped Norway climb to the most gold medals of the entire Winter Olympics, an impressive feat to close out the games as we prepare to recap the glorious event in tonight’s upcoming blog post.
We are lucky that this fruitful collab continues to produce stellar results, such as the one seen here. In calendars and photo shoots that span decades, this synergy has provided inspiration for causes as deep as anti-bullying and impressive as stunning beauty.
I had a bad habit of missing lovers past My brother used to call it ‘eating out of the trash’ It’s never gonna last I thought my house was haunted – I used to live with ghosts And all the perfect couples said, “When you know you know.” And, “When you don’t you don’t.” And all of the foes and all of the friends Have seen it before, they’ll see it again Life is a song, it ends when it ends… I was wrong…
And then this song comes on like another bad habit with the best of intentions, not unlike this blog has been for much of the winter. A little obscure, a little forlorn, a little lacking in patience and compassion. A lot like the world right now. What else is there to do but get lost in a pop song? What else can anyone who is not in Congress actually do to change this country right now? We can dance, we can shout, we can let it all out, but in the end all we have to do is protect ourselves and our loved ones. Do what you can – maybe try to do a little more than you usually would given the unprecedented downfall of our country – and fight the good fight. You know what is right and wrong. You know what feels fishy and false. You see photos and videos and facts before you, even when some Orwellian despot is spewing lies about it right to your face, and the party goes along with it, adding to their riches while we all grow poorer. On some level, you know. If you don’t wish to acknowledge the truth of what is happening, that’s on you. If you’re ok with racism, hatred, violence, and pedophilia, that’s on you. If you can turn a blind eye and say you don’t follow politics and you wish people didn’t post about it, that’s on you.
…But my Mama told me It’s all right, you were dancing through the lightning strikes Sleepless in the onyx night, but now the sky is opalite Oh my Lord never made no one like you before You had to make your own sunshine But now the sky is opalite
Wrapping such an upsetting world in a gauzy song of escapism may be its own form of rebellion, albeit it a rather minor and inconsequential one. A four-minute pop song was never going to save the world. Relying on someone else to do it won’t save the world either. And remaining quiet about it because you don’t want to upset anyone, well that actively works to ruin the world at a time when voices matter.
You couldn’t understand it – why you felt alone You were in it for real, she was in her phone, and you were just a pose And don’t we try to love love? We give it all we got You finally left the table, and what a simple thought You’re starving ’til you’re not. And all of the foes and all of the friends Have messed up before, they’ll mess up again Life is a song, it ends when it ends You move on…
How dare I take a harmless Taylor Swift song and turn it into some click-bait diatribe about speaking out about the current state of affairs in this country? Maybe because Taylor isn’t saying much after robbing the world blind with a bazillion different versions of her latest album. Maybe because no one is taking this disastrous administration as seriously as they should because they seem too stupid to be so dangerous. Maybe because I’ve predicted all that’s happened these past few months way back when everyone didn’t feel comfortable enough voting for a woman the first time around. And the second time. Maybe because it’s all too late now and none of this will even matter.
…And that’s when I told you It’s all right, you were dancing through the lightning strikes Sleepless in the onyx night, but now the sky is opalite Oh my Lord never made no one like you before You had to make your own sunshine But now the sky is opalite
Dancing through the lightning strikes like those musicians playing their final song as the Titanic sank beneath them. To die as one lived. Nobility is one fine line away from stupidity, and stupidity is mere moments from lucidity. I’m too tired to even look up ‘cupidity’ so make it all make sense. (Ok, I looked it up – it means greed for money and possessions. Guilty as hell.)
Oh winter, release your stifling hold already. How much more are we expected to take? You have given us nothing this year – not even the briefest of thaws. While a thaw has always wreaked more havoc than peace, I’d gleefully take that over this ridiculous nonsense any time. And the song plays on as we cross the bridge…
This is just a storm inside a teacup But shelter here with me, my love Thunder like a drum – this life will beat you up, up, up, up This is just a temporary speed bump But failure brings you freedom And I can bring you love, love, love, love… Don’t you sweat it baby
There it is – sweet release in a saccharine chorus, if saccharine is even a thing anymore. This winter has me feeling all sorts of outdated and out of sorts – no more sorts to give, I guess. An experiment ending in dismal and total failure. Nothing to salvage, nothing to save, nothing to remotely begin the assembly of something to be learned. Only word games and plays on words – a rope of words if you will, Miss Desmond, and we all know she won’t because it strangled her business of being a star – silent, iconic, shrouded in mystery, the blank space of being whatever you wanted her to be.
It’s all right, you were dancing through the lightning strikes Sleepless in the onyx night, but now the sky is opalite Oh my Lord never made no one like you before You had to make your own sunshine But now the sky is opalite
