Rachael Robbins - Behind the Scenes with Mike James

At my request, my friend, esteemed pinup photographer Mike James, once again delved into his photo archives to come up with some candid, behind-the-scenes shots of another one of the lovely ladies who's worked with him over the last several years.

Rachael Robbins, who was included in my first James Girls feature and a subsequent solo interview, has compiled a long and impressive modeling and acting resume that includes Playboy magazine to, more recently, her outstanding performance as the leader of the Van Houten sisters in Ken Del Vecchio's horror Bleeding Hearts. The above 2007 shot of Rachael relaxing while Mike was setting up for a shoot, as well as all of the following photos, are being published here for the first time, anywhere.

Collette England - A Closer Look

Drummer for the Norfolk-based all-female rock trio, the Drendas, Collette England was interviewed alongside her two bandmates, guitarist Holly Womack and bassist Denise Lawrence, here in July of last year. After learning that playing with the Drendas isn't Collette's only artistic outlet (okay, and seeing that she looks like a young Susan Sarandon), I contacted her for a solo interview.

Besides pounding the skins for the Drendas (okay, and looking like a young Susan Sarandon while doing it), Collette also performs with Norfolk's own Absolute Uncertainty Sketch and Improv Comedy. As the solo interviewee here, she talks about that and a few other facts about herself that the casual Drendas' fan probably didn't know, such as her also being a Navy veteran. Of course, Collette gives her Drendas bandmates and her fellow performers in Absolute Uncertainty a shout-out, as well as the The Pushers' Improv Training and a certain someone for being "so onboard with all her shenanigans." Oh, and when asked to supply a photo, Collette is know to go above and beyond the call, as exemplified by the above and particularly by the following photo, both courtesy of Collette, herself.

February 24, 2016 interview with Collette England

What would have been Esther Ku's interview

Esther Ku is a comedienne who relies heavily on joking about Asian stereotypes and blue humor in her act. Since she's cute, the dirty language and jokes get more laughs than they would if she weren't cute or if she were male. I first contacted Esther back in December of 2010 about an interview that was intended for another site I contribute to. She replied, agreed, and asked me to e-mail her my questions, which I did. She never subsequently replied, which sure didn't surprise me. I dug those questions from my sent folder last November while I was retrieving my unreplied-to interview questions for publication. But first, I decided to resend those questions to Esther, with revisions, and let her know the interview would now be intended for this site. Still, no reply and still, no surprise. Above is where a clip of Esther's stand-up act would have been. Instead, enjoy the 5-second test pattern.

2014 Christmas Compilation

With Christmas around the corner, here are a selection of some of the lovely and talented ladies whose interviews and featured articles have graced the pages of this site, decked out in the spirit of the season. Starting it off is actress and talk show hostess Michelle Tomlinson who could have, but did not bake that pie herself. A big thanks to all the ladies here, especially to the ones who took the time and effort to take a photo exclusively for this feature. Happy Holidays!

James Girls

Artist and photographer Mike James has been capturing gorgeous ladies with his camera, pen, and sculptures for nearly 20 years. Every image he publishes are just as much illustrations as they are photographs. Featuring out-of-this-world sexy models in outfits that he often creates himself, the ladies' poses and themes range from the outrageous to the the fairly mundane. Of course, seeing ladies looking like this doing everyday tasks such as cooking breakfast or doing the laundry seems inconceivable, which is all part of Mike's unique style.

Also a pioneer in the resin sculpture field, Mike's figurines are considered the finest of their kind. Not mass produced, the characters are his own original creations that he carefully crafts himself, to maintain quality. As for his work with a brush, some of his pin-up girls can be found on video cover art, speedboats, and even a professional lacrosse goalie's helmet.

I recently contacted Mike and asked him if he would tell me a little about some of his lovely models, whom he's dubbed "James Girls," to which he happily obliged. (I can't say the ladies in this article are his favorite models, because all the models he regularly shoots are his favorites, he tells me.) Of course, wanting to hear from the other side of Mike's camera lens, I also asked several of the James Girls what it's like to do a shoot with Mr. James. After hearing their replies, it's no wonder that most of the ladies who did their first shoot with Mike over a decade ago, still pose for him today. Above is one of those ladies, top Hollywood stuntwoman Jasi Lanier, from one of her most recent shoots with Mike, entitled "Caged Legs."

Vanessa Bayer Moves to "I Don't Want to Know"

Named by the Huffington Post as one of the best Saturday Night Live sketches of 2013, "Divorce Meeting" features Vanessa Bayer (one of SNL's all-time hammers) and Paul Rudd as a bitter couple meeting in a neutral location to hash out their divorce agreement. However, they keep getting diverted away from their hostility toward each other when their favorite song, Fleetwood Mac's "I Don't Want To Know," keeps playing.

Judging from viewer comments, many who enjoyed this skit searched Google and Youtube for "I Don't Want To Know" soon after it aired. SNL fans will now probably associate the song (which was written in 1974 by Stevie Nicks and ended up on Fleetwood Mac's 1977 Rumors album) with this sketch just as much as they do Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" with "More Cowbell." For me, there's just something about Miss Bayer's dance moves that make me want to keep replaying this one. Would have also loved seeing more of the moves from (Vanessa's fellow SNL hammer) Nasim Pedrad, whom we catch groovin' to the song just a bit of at the very end of this sketch.

Rachael Robbins

Actress, model, and comedienne Rachael Robbins has ventured down several avenues of show biz throughout her career, so far. She started modeling for Playboy in 1997 and delved into acting a couple of years later with the 1999 comedy-horror film Terror Firmer. Also among the 40-plus acting credits she currently has, is her role in Ernest G. Sauer's 2001 gem Little Shop of Erotica, alongside two big names of the adult film industry. (It's one that she seems to want to forget, but I made sure to ask her about.)

No stranger to the stage, a few years back, Rachael starred in the all-female cast of Pieces (of Ass) throughout its off-Broadway run, as well as its stint in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Her most notable screenwriting credits to date, are for the 2013 Kenneth Del Vecchio horror films Captured Hearts and the soon-to-be-released (July 1st) Scavenger Killers, both of which she also has starring roles. The former, as one of the five lovely and lethal Van Houten sisters. Most recently, she's in the pre-production stage with Matt Zattell's The Advocate.

As a stand-up comedienne, Rachael has had to overcome the handicap of being outwardly sexy in a business where the objective is to get laughs, not leers. However, despite her looks, she's succeeded in the field and has regularly performed at such venues as New York's Gotham Comedy Club and Times Square Comedy Club.

Rachael is also directing the upcoming Marilyn and Friends, which will be showing at New York's Metropolitan Room, April 16th (next week, as this goes to press) and stars renowned Marilyn Monroe tribute performer, Erika Smith. (Info and tickets here) Above photo of Rachael and the Notorious P.I.G. courtesy of the lovely Miss Robbins, herself.

Cecily Strong - SNL's Hottest Female Cast Member Ever

This is just this author's opinion (which is all that counts here, anyway), but while only in her sophomore year on Saturday Night Live, Chicago-area native Cecily Strong has established herself, not only as one of the foremost funny ladies in any SNL cast, but also as one of the show's all-time absolute hammers.

Above is arguably Cecily's best character, "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party," appearing on SNL's "Weekend Update" last season, which she now co-anchors this season. Speaking of which, now that she's serving as an anchor on Weekend Update (pretty much a straight role), I hope that doesn't mean that we will be seeing no more of this character, as Update was the only segment in which she appeared. If SNL's producers don't see the potential in this character and feature her in a series of sketches, then they obviously haven't been talking to the the right girls at parties.

Teresa Hui - Jingle Bell Rock

To get you into the Christmas spirit, here's comedienne/singer Teresa Hui performing the Yuletide classic "Jingle Bell Rock," accompanying herself on the ukulele. I could do without her vocal embellishments at about 3/4 of the way through the song, but aside from that, she's not bad at all. Check out her Youtube channel and official website to see and hear more of her.

Comedienne Tina Kim

Even though a rare breed, there are several pretty Asian stand-up comediennes ("comedienne," that's the feminine form of "comedian") on the US circuit these days. One of whom is Korean-American funny girl, Tina Kim, who was born in Seoul and immigrated to the United States at the age of four. She's a former TV news anchor who now books and produces most of her own comedy shows.

Tina's humor can be a little on the "blue" side at times (like another popular Korean-American comedienne, that I don't think I'll mention by name), but she seems to appeal to a pretty wide crowd. You can catch more samples of her humor at her Youtube channel, her Myspace, and her Offical Website.