IMS Alert! The Tudors

Another quick post before auditions this morning. This time I'm going in for two musicals called "Angels" and "Dirty Dancing." I do recall shirtlessness in "Dirty Dancing" the movie from my early years, and so I hope the audition goes well. But in the meantime, I'm happy to report that "The Tudors" on Showtime can be relied upon to provide some good male shirtlessness for us. Don't get too excited; it's not as good as last season. But both Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Henry Cavill give us some glimpses and promise of more to come. Actually Henry Cavill's character has suddenly found the strength of character to remain faithful which does not bode well for the rest of the season. I think I'm bitter because he found this ability after marrying a 17 year old instead of discovering it with his excellent and mature first wife, Margaret, played by Gabrielle Anwar. We'll see how long it lasts. I'll be yelling our mantra "Take your shirt off!" at the screen for some weeks to come.

Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Post from Austin

Howdy from Austin, Texas! Unfortunately for me, it is overcast and rather cool here which means no shirtless cowboys. I have encountered one stagehand in a really tight t-shirt, but that is it. In lieu of real shirtless cowboys, I give you one of my favorite fictional ones - Brad Pitt in "Thelma & Louise." I found this picture on a site called lostinthepast.net where you can find all kinds of pictures of teen heartthrobs from the past. ( I'm learning so much as a blogger!) I remember this scene making quite an impression on me back in 1991, and I like to think of it as one of the early seeds of this blog.

The weather is disappointing not only for its affect on male shirtlessness, but also because I can't go swimming which means that I got a bikini wax for nothing. This hurts me - literally and figuratively. At least I'll have some good barbecue tonight.

Hope there is some shirtlessness in your weekend!

Nandita
President
IMS

The Tudors Are Coming!

I found this semi-shirtless picture of Henry Cavill on a site called iBaller which is a bit embarassing, but had to be done. I offer it to you as a preview to "The Tudors" which starts this Sunday. I'm very excited to see a new episode of almost anything at this point, and to know that this show guarantees excellent male shirtlessness makes it all the better. There is something vaguely 80's about this picture which makes it appealing to me since I remember the 80's vividly but also a little disturbing since Mr. Cavill was born in the 80's.

Also, I had to drum up some enthusiasm for a dramatization of the court of Henry the VIIIth after seeing "The Other Boleyn Girl" tonight. It was a bitter disappointment. I have a bit of a penchant for costume dramas and historical fiction, and this movie was not satisfying on either level. Having read the book, I felt the adaptation was dreadful and missed all the drama and intrigue of the Royal Court. But if you are not going to be historically accurate or true to the novel, then at least give me some pretty costumes and good shirtlessness. No one looked good in their costumes, nor was anyone ever out of them. The one exception was the solitary sex scene between Eric Bana and Scarlett Johansson which was shot through some sort of filter that made me feel as if I was watching a lava lamp move to cheesy music. Not good. Thank goodness for Showtime!

I'm off to Austin to check up on a touring show that I restaged and am not sure whether I will be able to post on Friday. So just in case, I offer you another example of good shirtlessness and wish you well this weekend. I'm hoping to run into a shirtless cowboy myself during my travels!

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Quickie but Goodie

In order to stick to my posting schedule, I need to make this one short but sweet. I'm off this morning to audition for an "Untitled Gershwin Project" coming to Broadway. I look forward to the day when I get to audition for "Untitled Shirtlessness Project;" I would book it!

But let me take this opportunity to ask you, gentle readers, what makes shirtlessness good? For me, it is the proper combination of fitness and time spent with the sun. I know I'm Indian and often look like I've seen the sun when I haven't, but I think that after a long cold winter, everyone can use a few rays to replenish their vitamin D supply. Even I look pasty after a month with no sun. I grew up in Buffalo, NY, and so I know what I'm talking about. But I welcome comments on this topic. It's always best to be really specific when rallying around a cause.

Also, a quick clarification about the IMS member mentioned in the last post as having squeezed my hand during "Step Up." Lest anyone think that this person squeezed my hand throughout the movie due to either extreme involvement in the plot or a desperate love for me, let me be clear that the hand squeezing happened during a scene in which Channing Tatum ate cereal while laying on his stomach in a pair of clingy sweatpants. Although pantslessness is not our cause, may I suggest that Channing Tatum might be a candidate for the poster boy of that club at some point?

Off to kick my legs up!

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Daniel Craig - IMS Offical Poster Boy 2007

So here's my first picture, and I think it speaks for itself. If anyone is confused about the cause, let me introduce you to our Official Poster Boy of 2007, James Bond himself, Mr. Daniel Craig. This picture is everywhere (thank god!), but I pasted this one from a site called Brit Films which reported that dear Daniel was trying to get less nudity in the next Bond film. What?! Here's the article: http://www.britfilms.tv/index.php?id=2023. I find this assertion preposterous. Daniel - not less shirtlessness - more! I feel an action item coming on. While I can sympathize with him wanting to be appreciated for his acting talent which is considerable, I think he should take a moment to think about positioning himself as a thespian who happens to look great shirtless. After all for women in the industry, it's sort of the goal to be a good actor who also happens to look amazing both in couture and a bikini. And if you want to win an Oscar, usually it is also important to be beautiful in real life but be able to "play" ugly. Daniel, consider this nudity issue in the Bond films to be a study in being a woman.

But let's take a few minutes to discuss how in the world that we are about to create, we might be able to see this on every beach vacation we take or maybe just strolling down the street in the summer or in line at the coffee shop. The possibilities are endless. Ahhh!

Finally, IMS alert for "Lipstick Jungle" which I watched last night for lack of anything else to do. Although I can't say that this Robert Buckley is exactly my type, he did exhibit some good shirtlessness last night, especially surprisingly in the shower scene that was shot from above. Who knew that deltoids could be so intriguing from above? Thanks NBC for giving me some shirtlessness on my scheduled night for it, Thursdays. Sorry that I won't be sticking around for more once Grey's Anatomy comes back. Fingers crossed for McShirtlessness, and soon!

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

One more small guideline

I just received some great advice from fellow blogger James Yang about making a schedule to post. His blog Yangblog World (http://yangblogworld.blogspot.com/) is hilarious, btw. But he told me that I had to develop a schedule and stick to it in order to develop a rhythm between blogger and reader. So here is my schedule:

Mondays
and
Fridays

I'll post on other days when I get the inspiration, but I thought that these two days were good since they follow the shows I promise to track. So there!

Other news is that some serious male shirtlessness is being shown in the "Stop-Loss" commercial of both Ryan Phillipe and Channing Tatum. They look good although I don't know if it's good enough to make me spend $11.25 on it. I just feel a little bit dirty drooling over the shirtlessness in this film when it possibly led to the dissolution of a lovely Hollywood couple. I didn't watch "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" either. I do know one IMS member who will hightail it over there (the one who squeezed my hand really hard during "Step Up"), but I won't name names!

One person I will name is my friend Michael Lluberes who deserves a shout out here for his excellent use of the IMS mantra "Take your shirt off!" in his award winning musical "The Boy in the Bathroom." I participated in a reading of it in New Jersey yesterday and am off to read stage directions for its ASCAP presentation tonight. While I love the whole show, I have to say that the line was especially resonant for me. Well done Michael!

That's it for now. Until Friday, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Some Basic Groundrules

Good news everyone! My computer is fixed. The flipside to this happy news is the fact that my genius at the Apple Store was not a hot shirtless tech guy but actually a very nice woman in a navy blue Genius t-shirt named Janelle. While I am encouraged to see so many women at the Apple Store both buying and selling, I have to say that as single woman in New York City who thought she had finally answered the eternal question "Where are the straight single men?" I was a bit disheartened. But she did help me get my email working again which now allows me to focus on posting without feeling the stress of being on the verge of a program crash. Ahhhh!

Last night I was at a special party for a dear friend and member of IMS and found out that people actually read my blog. I am re-energized towards posting on a regular basis and getting the movement really going. Not only are people interested in the cause, but some people are being affected by it. The boyfriend of another IMS member explained to me how he felt he could only be shirtless in July and August and that he needed to gear up for it. But self-awareness is the first step towards good shirtlessness, and I'd like to say to C (let's call him C for now), "You go, C! Take your shirt off in July and August! Make your girlfriend and fellow IMS member happy!"

All the buzz about IMS made me think that I should probably lay down a couple of guidelines about what happens here on this blog. I also thought I should let you know what shows I cover in case some of you want to track other shows. So here goes -
1) I cover "Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, and Brothers & Sisters." Between these four shows, I can usually find at least one good shirtless shot, although pickings have been slim this season. I sometimes tape on Thursdays, but I always watch on Sundays since that is the slot I refer to as "Me Time" when no one can call or talk to me.
2) No mean comments about George Clooney will be tolerated on this blog.
3) IMS stands for shirtlessness only. Please do not post any pants-less pictures because this is really going too far.
4) Matthew McConnaughey does not count. I feel that he is to male shirtlessness what Pamela Andersen is to female cleavage - overkill. It's almost worth reporting when he is actually wearing a shirt. Nice abs but leave us wanting more, Matthew!

I think that's it for today. One of my gay BFF's commented on the lack of photos on my blog, and I would like to say my legal team is working on it. Blogger and my conscience do not want me to use images illegally. But I have some good ones in mind soon!

Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Technical difficulties

To the two people who are still checking my blog, I've been having some technical difficulties with my computer that started just shortly after I started the online chapter of IMS. Good news, though, I do have an appointment at the Genius Bar tomorrow which should hopefully solve the problem. I wish the revolution was further along because then perhaps my tech support guy would be buff and shirtless. But alas, it is not so. And before anyone suggests that I am being sexist by assuming that tech support will be a man, I am merely suggesting that I would like a buff shirtless man to be my tech support. And if he went to my church, all the better. I am happy to report, however, that after battling millions of people inside the Apple Store including a very angry Italian man who paid $600 for an iPod and didn't understand why live tech support wasn't being provided immediately, I was happy to find a very pleasant female tech support person who seemed much less flustered by the anger being expressed in the Genius Bar than her male counterparts. I'm just happy to have an appointment.

Meanwhile, how happy am I that The Tudors starts in a few weeks? All I can say is "Henry Cavill, take your shirt off!"

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

On Being a Gay Icon

Don't you know it's hard out here for a Gay Icon?

What does this have to do with IMS, you ask? Well, I'll tell you that it is the cause that led me to realize my potential to become a gay icon. As I write, I am slowly making my way to that hallowed ground occupied by other one named fabulous women, and I feel that this blog and this club are but steps along my way. I want to make it clear that IMS is a cause for everyone, not just straight women. I know plenty of gay men willing to take up the cause as well. Some of them are charter members of the club. Some of them have sent me pictures of good male shirtlessness in the past. One of them helped me find my calling.

I won't name names, but one night when I was trolling the internet with one of my gay BFF's for shirtless pictures of Daniel Craig (IMS Official Poster Boy 2007), I realized that I was in fact turning into a gay man. When you make statements like "I'm not really a size queen" you have to wonder what is happening. And of course, where do you find pictures of good shirtlessness but on gay blogs? After looking at blog after blog, I realized that I had a choice - to become a gay man or a gay icon. I chose the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference. So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

I share this story with you to tell you what a life changing force IMS has been in my life. I hope it can have a similar effect on everyone who joins the cause. I hope IMS can help you find your calling as it helped me find mine.

And all are welcome here. My anecdotes may be skewed towards straight women and gay men because that is who I mostly discuss the cause with, but we are not an exclusive group here. "Take your shirt off!" is our mantra that can be used by anyone in almost any situation. Please, feel that you are among friends with us.

Okay, so no wthat we all feel welcome and happy, I do have one item of business. I do have is that I have been enjoying some excellent shirtlessness on "The Tudors." I've been renting it on Netflix, and let me say that there is a very high male shirtlessness to femal shirtlessness ratio. It's really rather refreshing. And while I know that everyone is all gaga over Jonathan Rhys Meyers, it's actually Henry Cavill whose torso makes me happy. I looked him up on IMDB and realized that he was born in 1983 which makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable, but he is paired off to excellent effect with Gabrielle Anwar who is more mature, shall we say, than I am. So I feel that he is allowed. Check it out - lots of shirtlessness to get you through until new episodes of television come on. I will say that the costumes are amazing, making the moments when they do have their shirts on a little bit more bearable. I welcome comments if anyone has seen this fantastic show.

Don't forget to post any other sightings. Our work is never done.

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

The pressure to post

Okay, members, recent and not so recent - I have learned that having a blog means that you have to keep posting things to keep people enlisted in your cause. I feel so passionately about male shirtlessness that it is imperative that I continue the conversation for the benefit of all. It's been some tough times for the cause recently due to the Writers' Strike, but let's face it, this season has been weak on the shirtlessness front, even pre-strike. Not to pick on Eric Dane too much, but why was he wearing a leather jacket all zipped up for two episodes of Grey's Anatomy? This defies any kind of sense. It might be early to have an action item for our members, but know that I am sincerely considering it for the future. I hold off only because I want to give everyone the time to get back in shape. Although it is not in the title of the club, we are promoting good shirtlessness with our work. According to People magazine, everyone has been eating like crazy during the strike which frankly does not sound like the makings of good shirtlessness to me. Neil Patrick Harris was quoted on his dread of finding out that he was in a hot tub in the first episode back. So in the spirit of compassion, let's hold off on flooding the writers of GA with letters.

Thanks to my two commentators. Those of you who actually know me know my techno-phobia, and so this is a big step for me. I am so happy to find people that I don't know at all on my blog. Shirtlessness is after all a universal pursuit. But welcome, Kirsten, person I don't know, and thank you Nina, person I do know, for alerting us about Eric Dane's shirtless appearance on Ellen. I missed this probably because I am under a pile of spackle as I renovate my bedroom. As I undergo this home improvement project, know that I am longing for good male shirtlessness in my very own home. But alas, I am on my own for this one. Nina, please tell us what episode this alleged shirtlessness was on, and whether it was good. If McSteamy is good to go, we could start writing letters next week.

Also, thanks to those of you who have emailed me personally about good shirtlessness in your lives. One IMS member sent me a listing of all Daniel Craig films that feature him shirtless. I think this is actually a listing of all Daniel Craig films. But I am not complaining. When I figure out how to transfer these, I will do so.

Anyway, carry on with the cause, brave members. One day, we will live in shirtless world, and we will be happy!

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to my blog! You may ask yourself, "Why Indians for Male Shirtlessness?" Well, I'll tell you. This is actually the official blog for the club I started of the same name. Why a club? For beginners, I'm Indian, and I believe in male shirtlessness. For years, decades even, women have had to take off their shirts in the name of art or commerce or what have you in order to sell tickets to movies or commercials on tv show. Why was this? Because the camera was always positioned as the straight male gaze (and probably straight white male but that is a topic for later). Recently, however, I noticed that men seem to be taking their shirts off in popular movies and hit tv shows, and last season, when I watched the sneaky pilot for "Private Practice" ( I say sneaky because it masqueraded as an episode of "Grey's Anatomy") I realized why. Finally, the camera gets a chance to be positioned as the female gaze. There was a scene of all three female doctors hanging around in the waiting room to see the male receptionist walk down the hall with his shirt off as he goes to surf during his lunch break. While the plot point of having someone surf for lunch is preposterous, I thoroughly enjoyed having the camera mimic my point of view. So in the name of encouraging this trend, I started "Indians for Male Shirtlessness." It's the feminist cause, really. Women like to look at hot bods just as much as men do, and so let's keep the shirtlessness coming. We are not limiting our club to women, however, because we know that there are plenty of men out there, gay and straight (though perhaps tilted to the gay end of the spectrum?), who also appreciate a nice muscle-y torso on the big or small screen. We are equal opportunity. Our club is devoted to encouraging and publicizing instances of good male shirtlessness. When I learn how to post pictures, I'll do that too. At the moment, I will stick to posting sightings. The club already has 10 members who receive newsletters which will now be replaced by blog entries. Now that we are on the internet, who knows how big we could grow or powerful we could become! I'm hoping that our club will inspire the writers at "Grey's Anatomy" to make Eric Dane take his shirt off again because I'm not sure what the point of calling someone McSteamy if he doesn't take his shirt off. But for now, let's keep it simple.

So welcome to the club! You don't have to be Indian to join, just true to the cause. Let's go out there and find some good male shirtlessness!

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS