If You Lost Your Groove, He Can Help

That title might give away my age, but so be it. Taye Diggs has been consistently attractive for over a decade. He doesn't have scraggly facial hair and there's no paunch in sight. He's the only reason I can stand Private Practice. Behold:

Seeing Taye (Mr. Diggs if you're nasty) in glasses is kind of like the cherry on top of the sundae. And while I do appreciate how great he looks in them, I think they'd look even better on the nightstand.

I'm just saying...

Ode to Ryan Reynolds

Yes, I'll admit, I hated Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza. It is probably in the same category as Two and a Half Men for me (as in it saddens me that this is the most popular show in Brazil). But, oh, Ryan, you have bloomed. It began with a ritual Sunday movie-going event while I was "stuck" in Waikiki for four months on a flood recovery job back in 2005. The theaters in Ward Center had chocolate-covered bananas (not the frozen kind), and so I didn't really care what movie I went and saw, I just wanted the banana. I was going a bit crazy by this time, as Sunday was my only day off during the 16-hour work days of me and Freddy Kruger flooded basements.

I actually think I missed the movie I had planned to see, and the next thing playing without me waiting around for too long was Blade:Trinity. Some history--my father dragged me to every Star Trek or comic book movie when I was a kid, and Blade reminded him of his own childhood.

Low and behold, out of the one-sided mirror crashes a BEARDED, shoulders-carved-of-marble, Hannibal King to save Blade. This not only began my crush on Reynolds, but also my fascination of bearded men. In addition, Reynold's awesome dialogue while half naked after being captured by the vamps (oh, Parker Posie, you rocked as a vamp, but I digress), won my heart. You gotta see where his tat is...

Danica Talos: Okay, King. Where's this little "tracking node" of yours?

Hannibal King: It's in my left ass cheek. [Danica slaps him] Fine. It's in my right ass cheek. [Danica slaps him] Okay, seriously, now: it's in the meat of my butt, just below the Hello Kitty tattoo. [Danica kicks him in the groin] Seriously, just pull down my tightie-whities and see for yourself …

(my hello kitty fanaticism will be discussed in future blog)

So, Louisa, the road (air?) warrior that she is, tells me she is standing behind a Reynolds doppleganger while in line to buy her plane fodder mags. There was a bit of uncertainty whether said Reynolds was actually in line, so Louisa's "pick-up" line was to ask. He answered in a slow Southern drawl.

Therefore, in conclusion, the hotness scale of Ryan is

Regular Reynolds  <  Bearded Reynolds < Spec-ed Out and Bearded < Spec-ed Out, Bearded with a Southern Accent Reynolds

Reynolds as Hannibal King in Blade:Trinity

Reynolds in Specs (sans Beard, sadly, but some shawdowing)

Sexy Specs: Cult Following

"Cash Rules Everything Around Me/CREAM/Get the Money/Dollar Dollar Bills 'Ya'll" [Wu-Tang]

Louisa and I had the rare opportunity to be in the same city/state/bar this past weekend while I was out in DC for a nerd summit. Other than the usual chit-chat about cupcakes, woman road warrior war stories, and the Ryan Reynolds doppelganger with a Southern accent--our convo always turns to ways to maximize cupcake baking time and reduce cubicle/airplane time for employers through brainst

orming WAY out there entrepreneurial enterprises ideas.

It is every bloggers dream that someday the cash will start flowing in through advertisers or a book deal. If said otherwise, they are definitely delusional.

So, I digress from presenting a male case study this month to take credit for recent activities in the world of Specs. Just as those ugly people take credit for designing the new Windows 7 commercials.

First, on my trip to the post office today, the cover of the Chicago RedEye "newspaper" was about sexy specs:

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/redeye/2010/03/glasses-to-match-your-style-and-shape.html

Second, while perusing one of my favorite on-line catalogues, Uncommon Goods, I came across these kick ass "Eye Glasses"

http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=18753

I wish I had a third, because that is just good journalism skills. However, I should be looking for a job instead of blogging at the moment.

So, obviously, there is scientifically statistical information that momentum is gaining for the Better in Spec cult following.

Not Only For Celebrities

Since I am on "sabbatical," and Louisa has a real job, she kindly passed the torch back to me to keep up the momentum of the blog. I was forced to watch Julia/Julia the other day, and now am inspired that maybe America's Best or Vision Works would like to advertise on our blog, and us two ladies can stay home baking goodies all day like we both fantasize about.

Anyways, instead of having only celebrities cited as looking better in glasses, I wanted to make sure we get a good mix of the real men out there, as well.

I've always been a sucker for men that can pull off slightly girly things with confidence. My first sk8 boarder crush was on a boy that wore pink ralph loren polos on the regular. Therefore, today's nomination is for Johnny "Jingles" McCann, the flautist of the local Chicago band Cooler by the Lake. This man can play the flute like nobody's business. Although CBTL rocked before Jingles' arrival, he certainly added a whole new dimension to the band. Plus, I am a bit indebted to them for playing my favorite song, "Amalgamated," at their last concert especially for me.

However, my only problem is that Jingles is always wearing sunglasses. So, my "pre" picture is not at all how this post was suppose to flow. But, seriously, he looks better in specs. I know that most of you are going to make a judgement call that it is really the beard and not the glasses, but I swear its the specs.

1) Presenting Jingles in his natural CBTL getup

2) His recent appearance in regular glasses at the Mat Arluck Memorial Concert

Better in Glasses: A Nerd's Perspective

As I find free time in my newly deemed state of sabbatical, I decided to go against all previous comments regarding my distaste for blogs as "people who like to hear themselves talk, talk some more on the internet."

However, in a moment of cross-country creative synergy, Louisa and I decided to pull together the highlights of men that just look better in glasses.

For a bit of background, I am a self-proclaimed nerd. I consistently walk the realm between Clark Kent and Superman. Nine out of ten times a person I meet with my glasses on will not recognize me when I am in contacts. I really don't see much of a difference.

But, this all got started when Chris Pine (you may know him as the new Captain Kirk), made it into both Louisa and my "top 5" list. We are both happily married women, and happily keep our top 5 list up-to-date. I will toot my own horn to the fact that I've had a crush on Pine since Smoking Aces (he was one of the neo-nazi hooligan assassins).

Therefore, I present Mr. Chris Pine, as the first of nominee into the "Better in Glasses" Blog-o-Sphere.

1) looking fine at the MTV awards in his 5 o'clock shadow

and 2) looking even finer in glasses while adjusting the package