Favorite Pic of the Day for October 13th

Above:
The dapper and oh so hot Darius by Marlen Boro
-See More Below-

Happy Birthday today October 13th

Happy Birthday today October 13th to:

Actor Branden Williams who turns 37 today.



I post this video every year, but love this outake from 2005's 'Adam and Eve' with Branden needing help keeping covered during a scene. He doesn't seem to care.





Check out more of today's birthday's HERE:

A Favorite Part of Bridesmaids: Chris O'Dowd

So when I finally got around to seeing Bridesmaids I had already heard how hilarious it was and hurt bits about the some of it's most famous scenes. I have to say, although I certainly had a more than a few laugh out louds it was not nearly as HILARIOUS as many spouted. Melissa McCarthy was great, although I cracked up more at the one liners from Wendi McLendon-Covey. Kristin Wig is a comic genius but...as a regular viewer of of SNL I tire of that 'one note' sort of tone she seems to not be able t stop putting in every character she portrays.



I did enjoy the flick though, stand outs for me besides Melissa and Wendi were Rose Byrne and Chris O'Dowd. I know Rose as an incredible dramatic actress, but she really hit the right note in her portrayal of Helen. Especially hilarious to me were the few short scenes of Helen and her step children, priceless! I also, like many of you fell for the adorable Irish cop Officer Nathan Rhodes played by Chris O'Dowd. I had never heard of O'Dowd before so it was interesting searching out some prior performances, especially from the British comedy The IT Crowd. Check out Chris in the 2011 mini-series The Crimson Petal and the White below.

The Crimson Petal and the White (2011)

Too Darn Hot! Darius by Marlen Boro

I'd like to fool with my baby tonight

Break every rule with my baby tonight

But pillow you'll be my baby tonight

Cause it's too darn hot

Back in the summer of 1994 I was firmly planted in the closet. I was so comfortable in that closet I had it furnished and wallpapered. I Had a girl friend, played baseball and worked for a great guy building patios and decks for the couples in middle class subdivisions who liked to pretend they had more money than they actually did.

There were a few cracks starting in that armour of straightness, they were small but getting larger. I kept myself as busy as possible as not to have too much alone time with my girlfriend. Ihad big poofy wavy feathered hair that I spent far too much time on, and most of my free time was spent working on the muscial theatre's summer festival (duh).

The production that summer was Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate. We spent most evenings Monday through Thursday and all day Saturday and Sunday's working in a small, musty, air conditioner free, playhouse. If the building, which at one time had been church, had more than 100 seats it might have gotten to call itself a theatre, Given it's size, and location in the middle of nowhere, playhouse it was. Actually, it just felt like nowhere as it was about a 3 minute walk down a path in the woods from the parking lot to the building. This walk proved problematic with the elderly and anytime we had anyone who struggled with walking. Wheelchairs were a nightmare! It meant that the cast, in full dress, met guests as they arrived to help them to their seats. Thankfully we only averaged about 40 or 50 people a night.

Why, you may ask, am I boring you with this early acting job,(it was a job actually, the cast got to split half the ticket sales) when there are all these incredible images of Darius to enjoy. Well...first off, I am aware that whenever I feature Marlen Boro's work, most people ignore everything I write anyway and just enjoy the pictures. Secondly, when I first saw this shoot I got hit with an intense déjà vu moment. More than a moment actually, it brought back a really important moment of change.

My part in Kiss Me Kate was the rarely remembered minor character Paul. Paul was Fred (the leads) dresser and our Fred was insanely hot. Although Paul only had about 10 or 12 lines, he did get to kick off the second act by singing one of the shows most famous songs, Too Darn Hot. My costume for the number was pretty much exactly what Darius is sporting in this feature (the first half of it anyway...). I had tight black pants and sleeveless shirt and striped suspenders. What I remember most is the director wanting the back up dancers to rip off my shirt at the end of the song so I was shirtless with just the suspenders on. Initially I balked at this. I had no issue being shirtless or with my bodies appearance. But...being so firmly planted in the closet I did resist acting overtly sexual. It made me feel more exposed than usual. The director of course wanted whistles and cat calls as the shirt ripped off (and pinning that ripped shirt just right to rip off properly was no easy task!).

After my initial resistance, I ended up getting thoroughly into the moment. So much so that that director ended up asking me to tone it down. Even though the whistles and cat calls were stage directions, I still ended up enjoying my minor strip moment. Although I did not expose as much skin as Darius does here, I emotionally, ended up exposing quite a bit more.

Thanks to Marlen Boro and Darius for not only sharing their work, and kick starting a important memory. I will try my best when I doing my follow-up with their second shoot to try to stay more on topic, but no promises...

Male Boudior Photography by Marlen Boro

Gentlemen Photography by Marlen Boro on facebook

Some of my Favorite TV Supporters:

Since television began, women in supporting roles have stolen the show. Think Karen Walker, Marie Barone, Sue Ellen Ewing, Dr. Lilith Sternin & Jen Lindley, Florence Johnston, can't imagine their respective shows without them. Today, characters like Kalinda Sharma on The Good Wife is one of televisions most interesting women to watch.

The queen of all supporting ladies, Valerie Harper (Rhoda Morgenstern on MTV) showed the power of her role more than any other. I am not a huge fan of Mary Tyler Moore (except in Ordinary People)but recently began watching old episodes of her classic show. When Rhonda left the show, so did the spark. Although the show continued on for several more years (and yes a few outstanding episodes) the quality may have remained but the magic sure did not.

The key to a great supporting character is magic, qualities you could not have in your lead. The ability to walk in for a few short moments and leave their mark. Here are three of my favorite current magic makers.

Jessica Capshaw
Arizona Robbins, Grey's Anatomy

The character of Arizona is a breath of fresh air every time she shows up on screen. Finally a character worthy of the talent of the incredible Sara Ramirez. I am not really a Mark fan so which these characters would find a storyline not so linked to him, but I enjoy any storyline Arizona is involved. (especially love her interactions with Alex)



Katy Mixon
Victoria Flynn, Mike & Molly

Wind drinking, weed smoking, man huntin bombshell. A character like no other. Would not want to run into her (especially if she is driving) in real life, but on television, priceless.



Melissa Rauch
Bernadette Rostenkowski, The Big Bang Theory

Too good for Howard yes, but also too good a character to lose. Bernadette provides the perfect addition to a trio of Penny and Amy Farrah Fowler. The show is getting top heavy with great characters and Bernadette might be the most likely to be first let go but instead, I suggest the creators spin the three females off. Their ladies nights are like no other.