Kinga Ilyes: soldiers enjoy "smouldering studiousness"

Hooked-up-date (BUMPED TO TOP): For once, it turns out I know the right people in the right places. Thanks to Chris Selley of Megapundit and Tart Cider, and Joey Coleman of Blog Central for making it happen over at Maclean's!

And with that, I give you Kinga Ilyes on the April 2nd, 2007 cover of Maclean's magazine:



Upping-the-Kinga-content-date: Sun Media has jumped on this bandwagon and published an entire gallery devoted to the young lady. I wonder at what point she's going to start finding all the attention more than a little creepy?

(original post follows)

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You've probably never heard of Kinga Ilyes, a 24-year-old UWO grad who emigrated to Canada in the second grade. But she's apparently the most popular pinup for CF troops in Afghanistan right now:

"The amazing thing is that looking at Playboy or some other such magazine just does not excite anymore seeing as how it is all rather superficial and very overdone. The very refreshing image on your cover, given this girl's natural beauty and incredible sexiness, had most of us in agreement that she is the best pin-up in our collection. Who would have thought that our most impressive female photo would come from Maclean's?

"Thanks again for keeping us informed and please thank our lovely cover girl for being who she is. You can add that some of the troops in Afghanistan think she is the hottest thing to look at here. Keep up the awesome work."

The sergeant's letter is a good read. It reminds me once again how wrong those who dismiss our soldiers as nothing more than profane, ignorant, civi-world rejects truly are.

That particular Maclean's sat on a table in my firm's lunch room for a couple of weeks, and I must admit my eye was drawn to the cover every time I sat down.

Ms. Ilyes gracious response shows that our admiration wasn't misplaced, either:

"I'd like to say hello to the troops and thank them for all their efforts," she says respectfully. "We all appreciate your work over there. Your bravery and courage are more than most of us will ever do for our country in a lifetime." And to Sgt. Chris and his platoon she adds: "I wish you safety and hope to see you home soon."

The only thing this post is missing is the cover photo that inspired the soldier's letter in the first place, which seems to be completely unavailable online.

Update: It seems I'm not the only one interested in a photo of the young lady in question. I've suggested to a friend at Maclean's that posting the cover art that generated this interest - the one our soldiers are using as a pin-up poster - would be good for his magazine's website traffic.

In the meantime, here's the photo that appeared in the Sun newspaper chain.