Supportive Shirtlessness

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The Vice President of IMS and I have returned from Italy, and after battling some severe separation anxiety from the land of cheese and pizza which we both classified as jetlag, we seem to back on track and ready to promote the cause.  As a returning officer to a cause, I thought it seemed only right to watch "Madam Secretary" last night.  Honestly, I thought I would be supporting the crazy idea that you could have an entire night of programming on network television led by women, but happily within the first few minutes of the show, I was also treated to some male shirtlessness to go with that female power.  In the opening sequence, we see our smart and powerful leading lady, Tea Leoni, awakened by a phone call with her husband, Tim Daly, lying shirtless beside her.  As she takes the call, he remains shirtless and appears supportive of his wife's incredibly stressful job.  I can't even say how happy it made me.  Perhaps "Shirtless Supportive Guy" is a new archetype that we should be touting on the blog.  I like Ms. Leoni and Mr. Daly on the show, and despite some obvious tear-jerking pandering, I like the show.  I can only hope that the cast becomes more diverse as it proceeds through the season, and that of course, Mr. Daly continues to take his shirt off to support his wife's career.  Until next week, I continue to be...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Arrivederci Shirtlessness!

Gentle readers, I am off to Italy for a two week vacation with the Vice President of IMS in tow.  In honor of our sojourn, I give you the Italian National Football Team in Dolce & Gabbana.  I understand it's still quite hot in Rome, and I'm hoping that shirtlessness will be part of our tour along with gelato, cheese, pork products, and wine.  So please know, that even as we frolic along the Amalfi Coast, we will continue to be working for the cause.  Until I return, I remain...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Shirtlessness for Good

Gentle readers, I am happy to report that I have found some shirtlessness for good to post as an antidote to all the bad news in the world.  The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has taken the internet by storm, and I'm happy to see that some participants decided to take it shirtless.  It restores some hope that shirtlessness can be a force for good in the world even in the face of darkness.  You all know my love for the Old Spice Guy, and here he is, doing his part to battle the disease.  One IMS member also alerted me to this list of shirtless ice bucket challenges, perhaps not as eloquent as the one above, but certainly worth checking out.  Enjoy, gentle readers!  And please remember that our cause can spread not only joy but healing in the world.  I continue to be...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

No Shirtlessness Today

I'll admit that I did not post last week because I understood that my blog seemed to be driving some traffic toward my friend Isaiah's photography website.  (If you haven't checked it out, yet, please do!)  But since last Monday, the news in the world has been so sad, it seems inappropriate to post shirtless pictures of men.  I realize that one needs levity in order to get through the tough spots, and I promise to bring some next week.  But for today, I think it's best to take a dark night in honor of all the tragedies that have happened and continue to happen to people caught in the midst of politics larger than themselves.  I leave you respectfully...

Simply yours,
Nandita
President
Indians for Male Shirtlessness

Theater Retreat = Shirtlessness

The past two weeks I have been in writing hell, trying desperately to finish a play that I was commissioned to write.  Unfortunately, I seem to find it harder to write plays that people actually pay me to write than writing plays for free.  This does not bode well for my playwriting career.  Luckily, I have some theater friends who boost me up when I am feeling low, two of whom are pictured above and one of whom is shirtless.  Happiness is shirtless theater.  Now I realize that my difficulty with my own play was probably largely due to the fact that there was no shirtlessness in it.  Hmmm...

So it's generally unusual for any play of mine to not at least make mention of male shirtlessness, but in those rare occasions that I write a shirt-ful play, I am grateful to know that there are other playwrights out there who keep working for the cause, like Adam Szymkowicz whose play, "Violent Bones," is pictured above.  I was lucky enough to be invited to the Flux Theater retreat a few weeks ago where a fantastic group of theater artists got together in the Pennsylvania countryside to workshop plays.  Not only did I get to work on two of my own plays, but I also got to participate in workshops of other plays including Adam's.  Just before this scene, the cast had some discussion of the shirtlessness and decided collectively that it was necessary to do for Adam to get the full experience of his own play, and actor Ryan Andes very kindly removed his shirt.  After that rehearsal, I explained the blog to Adam who assured me that he had several plays which featured male shirtlessness.  So brava to Adam, Ryan, and the lovely Anna Rahn who did some amazing stage sewing as well as concocting a whiskey-looking brew from iced tea and coffee that she and Ryan both drank on stage.  Thank you all for creating a space for male shirtlessness on retreat, something that I think all theater retreats should include.  And thank you to Isaiah Tanenbaum for catching this excellent shirtlessness with his wonderful theatrical photography.  If you'd like to catch more from Flux, check out their upcoming "Have Another" event this weekend which will feature excerpts of plays by me, Adam, and Nat Cassidy.  I can't promise shirtlessness there, but I can hope.  Until then, I continue to be...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Asian Supermodel Shirtlessness

Recently an IMS member posted a wonderful list of Asian Supermodels on my Facebook wall.  She knows my penchant for diversity in my shirtlessness and thought to send me this list as a resource for the blog.  Consider the resource an excellent one.  Here we have Alex Manning, a model that I had never heard of before, taking off his shirt and looking hot.  I'm glad to know of him now and look forward to seeing more of him.  I applaud this list especially for how it promotes Asian sexiness.  Asian males are often portrayed as less than sexy in the American cultural mainstream (Long Duck Dong, anyone?), but this list offers a variety of reasons, 15 to be exact, to think of Asian men as some of the sexiest you have ever seen.  I also like that most of the guys on this list are shirtless.  So thank you, ER, for this awesome list.  Enjoy until the next time, as I continue to be...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Sympathetic Shirtlessness

This photo made its way to my Facebook Wall over the holiday weekend.  Although the US loss last week was disappointing, I am happy to know that the shirtlessness continues on throughout the tournament.  Above please enjoy a Brazilian player, David Luiz, comforting a Colombian player, James Rodriguez after defeating him.  I like that they are both shirtless - they just seem so vulnerable.  James Rodriguez was one of the players in Elle's list of hot players sent to me earlier by another dedicated IMS member.  Overall, I am very pleased with the effect that the World Cup has had in terms of shirtlessness and the world.  Carry on!

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS