Chocolate: The Evil of The Season

Let's face it, American chocolate generally pretty nasty. There are exceptions of course (See's and Godiva spring to mind), but your average bar of Hershey's or box of Russell Stover tastes like waxy ass.

When I first moved to the States some 12+ years ago, I all but gave up chocolate after taste testing most of your basic store bought candy bars (even British brand Cadbury's here is licensed by Hershey's). With quite a sweet tooth, and an innate love of chocolate (my dad is a chocoholic), giving up the sweet was quite an ordeal. But I did it! I transformed from Picture A to B:

OK, so that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it did help me keep the weight off. But most importantly my skin cleared up (chocolate causes zits, no matter what your doctors says)! That is, until now!

See's Candies are the official chocolates of the Spago offices, or so it seemed this holiday season, as we were deluged with box upon box of these truly heavenly chocolate wrapped candies.

And out I broke!

And I mean all over! Some of the nastiest spots ever! Yeah, it's pretty gross. While there may be other contributing factors right now, it's mainly the chocolate I'm sure! How can something that tastes so good, make me break out so terribly? Luckily I'm done again for another year... no more chocolate for me and hopefully the skin will clear up soon!

Boxing Day

December 26th. The day after Christmas. A national holiday in England, Australia, New Zealand and Canada... yet not here in the States!

But what exactly is Boxing Day?

I've always assumed that it was the servants day off, since they would have had to have worked on Christmas. Their employers would give them gift boxes, and so the name "Boxing Day" came about.

Another explanation goes back to medieval times, when alms boxes were placed at the back of churches to collect money for the poor. It was on "Boxing Day" day that the boxes were opened and the contents distributed to the poor.

A third reason dates back to the late 18th century, when Lords of the manor would "box up" leftover food (and the occassional gift) and hand them out to their tenants. This tradition continues today, as it is customary for householders to give tips or gifts to regular trades people (such as the milkman, dustman, coalman, or paper boy) who come by the house.

With the recent bans and waning popular support, fox hunting, another "Boxing Day" tradition is also rapidly falling by the wayside. The days of riders dressed in red and white, following their hounds out after the vermin fox, are surely numbered.

As in the States, the big "After Christmas" holiday sales start, but other than that why do we Brits still celebrate "Boxing Day"? Who the hell knows... just another reason for a paid day off I suppose, and no, it has nothing to do with boxing!!!

'Tis The Season... III

Let It Snow!

The Grove is a "Lifestyle Center," not just another mall, and to prove so throughout the holiday season, twice a night at 7pm and 9pm, it finally snows in LA - well, at The Grove anyway.

Following the show stopping performances, and highkicking excesses of The Top Hats (Caruso's own answer to the Rockettes), to a roushing redition of Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne's 1945 holiday classic, Let it Snow, down comes the ecologically (and koi) friendly white stuff. The crowd Oohs! and Aahs! People dining outside complain about suds in their drinks! And the fountain performs an even more enchating spectacle as a backdrop to all those Kodak moments! People, it's just a bloody fountain!!!!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

As previosuly seen on WeHo Mark (but I think it's worth repeating), the Beverly Center, one of the worst malls arounds, surprisingly manages to give us one of the best Xmas gifts around, the Hunky Santa contest and fsahion show (the winner is pictured here). Not my normal cup of tea (i.e. "the orange, veiny guys that [I normally] lust after" - Tos' words, not mine ), but I suppose I really wouldn't say no to sitting on this chap's lap!

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas!

And finally... What else would this time of year be without a day at the beach. OK, so maybe it's not warm enough to soak up some rays (though it was mid-November, I even got a little burnt), but it's certainly nice enough for a holiday stroll along the Venice shore.

And yes, finally a pic of me - my Christmas gift to all those who like to put a name with a face (OK, so its not the best pic, I'm the one on the right, and to again 'borrow' from WeHo Mark, or is it Bridget Jones: Weight in pic - 192.4 lbs - an all time high!).

'Tis The Season... II

Can you really get into the holiday spirit when it's 75° F out, you're dressed in shorts and a tank, and there's not a cloud in the sky? Isn't is supposed to be cold and snowy, so you can get all bundled up in woolly hats and scarves, and drink hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire?

It's all a little weird!

Anyway, we picked up this year's Christmas Tree (dressed in gym clothes). Got it home. Let is settle. Tried to make Bentley understand that it wasn't a new plaything. And then trimmed the bugger!

My theme is cartoon characters, with purple and silver accent colors... very cutesy, I know!

Having trimmed the tree however, it still feels somewhat incomplete and unfinished. One problem is that most of my (primarily Hallmark) ornaments are small, so it takes an awful lot of them to fill up a 7 foot tree. I've been collecting for years, and it still feels like I don't have enough!

I've just bought a bucket full of "sparkly" silver pinecones and some silver and purple ribbon (which I always swore I'd never buy - but it was part of the K-Mart's Martha Stewart Everyday Collection, so how could I resist?) to add those finishing touches. When finally combined with my homemade tree-topping Miss Piggy fairy I'm hoping for a truly magnificantly decorated tree!!!

"The Apprentice" or "The Prick"

And for once no ones talking about The Donald!

Randal finally shows his true Wharton colors! When given the opportunity to do the decent thing and support long-time teammate Rebecca in a bid to become a second apprentice, Randal turns his back on her:

"I firmly believe it's The Apprentice, that there is one and only one apprentice...it's not The Apprentici."

WHAT A DICK!!!

OK, so it was his minute to shine, but in a second he lost all my respect.

Rebecca deserved a place in the Trump Organization as much as Randal. Although she didn't directly raise any money at her event (shame on you Yahoo!), throughout the entire interview process, broken leg and all, she has proved her loyalty, shown her intelligence and generally kicked business-ass.

Ultimately, not hiring both candidates, and especially the way in which it was handled, was a piss-poor way to end the season! And after the Season 2 debacle of a finale with the unnecessary and horrendously mean way they treated Jen, I'm now done with The Apprentice.

The Donald and NBC, you're both fired!!!

"I Wish I Could Quit You!"

So, Brokeback Mountain... The gay cowboy movie to end all gay cowboy movies? Or just another Ang Lee sleeper that can't live up to our expectations and the hype (à la Hulk)?

WARNING: There may be spoilers ahead!

Brokeback is a slow, methodical, character driven piece... not an awful lot happens over the span of 20-odd years. Don't expect any big set pieces or explosions, nor even a lot of drama, there's angst and pondering, maybe some supposition, and that's about it. Mind you it's all beautifully photographed, and the two stars are, as one would expect, just stunning (though Heath's Godfather impression leaves you wondering just when he's going to take the cotton buds out).

It's definitely Ennis' (Heath's) picture, as it is primarily told from his perspective. However, in the same way Ennis represses his sexuality, so to does the movie shy away from it’s role as a truly groundbreaking mainstream gay-themed movie. The director focuses on the unsatisfying lives these characters have settled for, rather than embracing the beauty of the “fishing trips” they spend together. This being a movie about unrequited gay love, I suppose this is the point, but as a gay man I wanted to see more of the pleasure of this relationship juxtaposed with to their chosen painfully dreary realities.

Ultimately my breaking point was Lee’s artistic choice not to fully show us Jack’s (Jake’s) death, but rather have us momentarily glimpse it in flashback, undermines Jack’s significance for the audience, if not as Ennis’ true love, and takes away from the true horror of his murder.

I left the movie feeling cheated. I wanted to have bawled my eyes out; instead I shed only a few tears!

(And by the way, I love Jake Gyllenhaal more than ever!!!)

CELEBFLASH: The Scooby Gang

Although I've never mentioned it, Sarah Michelle was not the first of the Scoobies I'd run into. Way back last summer, on a trip out here to see what LA had to offer, while perusing Nordstrom at The Grove... there, on the opposite side of a clothes rack, looking back at me with two good eyes was none other than Buffy's bud Xander Harris. So there I am, starring down Nicholas Brendon, pretending to check out the latest Ben Sherman, while he picks out a new pair of jeans.

Cut to a year later, Nick is again at The Grove, this time stopping into The Farm for a coffee. Only now it occurs to me, is this actually Nick? Or is it infact his identical twin brother, Kelly? Was I really stalking Nolita's pastry chef, or was I simply ogling a Replacement?

Back during Outfest, we went to see Race You To The Bottom, a sort of Sideways with a bisexual bent (the movie was actually in production first, but couldn't get a distributer). The flick itself wasn't at all bad, save for the lead actor, who you just wanted to slap.... real hard! Amber Benson, Willow's lesbian love Tara, was the other lead, and it's easy to see why Joss Wheadon loved this actress so much. She was radiant on screen, and just as effervescent at the Q&A afterwards. If only I'd known she was going to be there, I'd have had my Hush figure for her to sign!!!

And I thought Sarah Michelle was little!!! But Jonathan, the guy who awarded Buffy the Class Protector at the prom, became one of Season 6's Big Bads, and then died at the hand's of his best friend to unleash the Uber Vamp... now he's SHORT! And by short I mean TINY! His feet barely even touched the ground when he was sitting. And when he stood up, well, I felt like a giant, and I'm only 5'5" (and a half).

'Tis The Season...

I know that watching the football games on Thanksgiving afternoon is a traditional part of the day's festivities, but after 13 years of being here I still don't get the obsession with this particular sport. I've even spent Thanksgiving Day at Texas Stadium watching the Dallas Cowboys woop the Washington Redskins ass (and yes I had a phenominal time, lots of beer, foam hand et al.).

I've come to the conclusion that the reasons I, and the rest of the world, haven't embraced "American" Football is because: a) it's just way too complicated; b) how possibly can a game scheduled to last an hour, actually take three hours to play out; and c) although there are hunks like the Jets' Wayne Chrebet, the Giant's Jason Sehorn and USC's Brandon Hancock, let's face it we seldom see these boys in the states of undress that we can really appreciate (I had to hunt high and low for the accompanying pics).

Next season "Monday Night Football" moves to cable, and ratings have been steadily slipping for the regular season Sunday afternoon games. Maybe even Americans are getting bored with their national sport. Maybe they should just show more skin!

Three White Hairs!!!

I know I've been really slacking on the posts of late... The new job is taking it's toll!

Now that I can't lift during the 10am-2pm "Actors, Models & Escorts" hour, my workout schedule is all messed up. I've lifted only 5 times in the past week or so: sometimes in the morning (the cutest crowd yet); sometimes in the evening (more of the big hardcore guys). I've got to get on a steady routine and keep it, otherwise I'll be wasting away to nothing, and having finally hit the seemingly illusive 190 lbs (192.4 lbs actually with keys, shoes and gym towel), well, I just can't let that happen!

Bentley's walk schedule has also become rather iffy. Since I don't leave work until after 6pm, it's already pitch black and no one's at the puppy park at that time. We end up going a similar route to our morning walk, which itself is sometimes hampered by to the gym first thing. The boy needs to let off steam playing with other puppies... only then does he can really sleep like a baby!

But the most outrageous outcome so far... I found three white hairs!!! Only three? Isn't three way more than enough at my (still) tender young age of 32? Surely it's three more than I should have? It's certainly three more than I want! Luckily all three were in my goatee, so it was easy to get out my trusty tweezers and pluck out came those damn white (yes, they definitely not blonde) hairs!

... Hello Spago

While Sunday was my last day at The Farm, yesterday was my first day at Spago - Beverly Hills, probably one of the most prestigious and well known restaurants in the country, if not the world. If for no other reason, you may well have heard talk of Spago at Oscar time, since anyone who's anyone attends the Wolfgang Puck-run Governors Ball after the ceremony.

My role will be that of Special Events Manager in the restaurant's Special Events Department (duh!). Spago has one of the largest private dining room facilities in LA (the city is unlike DC which has ample events spaces to hold your bar mitzvah, corporate retreat or holiday party), which combined with the restaurant's reputation should make for a very busy but interesting time, and certainly be a great resume builder!

Mike Ergas Robbed at Nationals!

2005 NATIONALS UPDATE:

"Mike Ergas Robbed at Nationals!" So reads one of the forum posts on the Muscle Mayhem board.

Mike got 2nd in the Heavy Weight class (so does not recieve his pro card), but there seems to be some dissention in the ranks. Having seen the pics (he was as hard as nails) and read the discussion, fans are rightly outraged at the decision. Clearly there was some politicking going on, and as one fans writes, "I'll tell you right now that if he didn't win his sexuality may have been a factor." What was I saying in my previous post? Hmmm!

Anyway, here are some pics of the the clear winner!!!

2005 Bodybuilding Nationals

For the uninitiated, the 2005 NPC National Bodybuilding Championships are being held this weekend in Atlanta. This is the top amateur show in the US, where all the guys who win their weight classes receive their pro cards and go on to "play" with the big boys in the IFBB.

From perusing my blog you may have noticed I'm a little bit fascinated by big guys. On my numerous trips down to The Firehouse with Cary I've spotted a number of these lads, and I've mentioned the gay-for-pay and soft porn aspect of the sport, but when it comes to being simply an Out & Proud gay man, save for the legendary Bob Paris, it just doesn't seem to be an option in bodybuilding.

Now, I have it on good authority that one of this year's top contenders is a big homo (plus I saw him out at the Avalon one very gay night). It would be amazing to see him win his pro card and then officially come out... But it just won't happen! A man with big muscles in a thong, is a man with big muscles in a thong no matter what his sexual preference, but the sport's "straight" fans can't get passed the notion that they could possibly admire a gay man's physique. Professional bodybuilders rely heavily on the sponsorship deals they can secure from leading supplement companies (like Twinlab and MuscleTech); sadly an openly gay pro would be dropped (or just never picked up) like a slippery dumbbell. And yet, how many gay boys do you see working out at your gym? And aren’t they all on something or other?

Anyways, some of my personal favourites going into the weekend are DC's own Rob Kreider, upstart Vlad Kogan, Greg Jones, Jeff Schwartzer and Mike Ergas.

The following vid-link takes you to Graphic Muscle's predications for the show, and towards the end of said clip you'll see Mike Ergas is all his carb-depleted glory!

Good Bye Farm...

After three long and exhausting months I've made the difficult decision to leave The Farm. As I draw to the end of my final week, I know I made the right decision to move on (the job was just not fulfilling enough; most of my staff had more to do than I did; and the catering arm of the venture was never really going to come to anything, mainly because I was not the point person at the Beverly Hills location). But leaving "my guys" is going to be really difficult!

I've mentioned in previous posts how many of the waiters are actually working actors, but they are still some of the best waiters I've ever worked with (and trust me in my day, I was good!). They've explained what it's like to be struggling actors in LA, so I've gotten a totally different, psuedo-insiders perspective of "the industry." It's a whole lot different than the stuff you read in Entertainment Weekly I can tell you!

Working at The Farm has also been incredibly good for my ego. The coffee bar guys have nicknamed me "Buffy" (and not because of my Sarah Michelle incident), and to the kitchen boys I'm "Rambito" or "Little Rambo." For a gay boy with self-image, Adonis complex-esq issues, this consistent positive feedback that I look built and beefy has been revelatory!

On the whole, I don't think I have ever worked with such a good group of people. People who take pride in their work, who seldom bitch, complain or mess up, who are honest and trustworthy and hardworking, and yet, in my opinion, so undervalued and so under appreciated.

If it weren't for Vic, Nat, Kristen, Miguel, Manuel, Paul, Damien, Julio, Jaclyn, Liv, Mia, Mike P., Leah, Martin, Lilas, Shortie (and everyone else) the last few months would have been truly impossible!!!

CELEBFLASH ULTRA II: Swellin!!!

Somewhere in my head I've got this list of people I'd like to see or meet or whatever (James Marsters, Carrie Fisher and Sheryl Lee are all currently at the top)... But then there are those celebs that you've forgotten about, they're not currently hot or in vogue or the like, but then you meet them, and it's like WOW!

So Friday night at The Farm I had one of those WOW! experiences. In walks the original queen of shoulders pads and the gin bottle, the oil baroness herself Sue Ellen Ewing! Although I'm totally bowled over to be standing right next to Dallas royalty, none of my guys know who the hell Linda Gray is. Yes my friends, it's a sad fact that the kids of today cannot appreciate the true genius of the primetime super soaps of the 80's!

Anyways, this is another one of those moments where I have to say something, but unlike the Sarah Michelle incident, this time I'm pretty coherent and composed. I simply tell Linda how many hours of pleasure she gave to my family and I as we sat enthralled by her Dallas going-ons, the way she chewed the scenery and how I loved that particular episode where she emerged drunk-as-a-skunk from the dumpster.

On top of still looking damn hot, Linda was so sweet, accepting my adoration, asking my name and introducing me to her husband. Because she was so gracious, I naturally, comped her brownie sundae (it's my last week after all). Well this lead to hugs and kisses on the cheek, oh and did I forget to say that she thought I was just a kid myself. Anyways, safe to say, we're new best friends!!!

Little Known Fact: On the famous poster for The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman is seen behind Mrs. Robinson's shapely leg. However this leg was not Anne Bancroft's, but instead belonged to the then unknown model, Linda Gray. Linda went on to play Mrs. Robinson herself in the West End, in London, in 2001.

F**K these Wife Swappers

My latest forays into the dark side of LA's creative underbelly has unearthed the new extended version of Justin Tanner's Wife Swappers at the Third Stage theatre in Burbank, and F**K, an as yet undistributed documentary about said title word (whose vowels have been removed to protect the innocent), that had its world premiere at the AFI Fest here in LA on Wednesday evening.

Wife Swappers is about a group of middle aged OC swingers and the fresh meat that comes to one of their parties. Bawdy hilarity ensues entwined with topical socio-political mutterings and chew-the-scenery melodrama. The ensemble cast is truly great and includes a friend of mine, Victoria Prescott (yes CSI's Judy Tremont), the reason I went to see it in the first place. You can tell the cast is thoroughly enjoying themselves, which encourages the audience to let loose and do the same. I left the theatre wishing there was much more and now feel it imperative that I see Tanner's apparently classic Zombie Attack!

F**K is filled with much posturing over the use of this supposedly foulest, yet most recognizable, of English words by both those on the Left and Right (though it's safe to say the film leans a tad more to the left). Crammed with interesting tidbits (Robert Altman's M*A*S*H was the first movie to use the F-word in 1970) and the talking heads of Kevin Smith, Jeanne Garofalo and Pat Boone (who uses his own name as his own sanitized cuss word - B**NE!), the documentary is fundamentally concerned with the Freedom of Speech in the US. It does not however shy away from giving us every possible use of the word in any imaginable context (or so it seems). If this movie ever should come to a theater near you, please do go see it!

Note: In addition, I just saw Jarhead, and may now be totally in love with Jake Gyllenhall - I just wish he had a bit more of an ass!

CELEBFLASH: Hunks & Hotties

I doubt Jesse Metcalf's abscence from this season's Housewives is the reason people have been tuning out, but I sure do miss his oh-so-pleasing-on-the-eye phsique (in person he has a great chest). But like any other schmo even Jesse M. has to wait in line at the Sprint store.

Dan Cortese, you remember him from back in the day on MTV Sports and Melrose Place. Now he's got 2.4 kids in tow, but still looks damn tasty! Didn't we all think Veronica's Closet would have been a good show if Dan had taken his shirt off more!


Admit it, in his day didn't Harry Hamlin clash your titan dressed in that toga? And that bit on LA Law when he and Susan Dey sucked down those helium balloons? Made my heart melt! And aren't Lisa's lips now way overly botoxed?


Mia Sorvino don't you wish you hadn't won that Oscar for woody's 1995 Mighty Aphrodite? OK, so you followed it up with Mimic and Romy & Michelle - both high art films! At least you've got a hot husband to push that stroller!

Not the Rugby I Remember!

UPDATE: As pointed out by Heath, the men will be at The Abbey signing calendars on Saturday evening!

In my exhaustive internet travels I came across this...



The 2006 Rugby Guys calendar (and behind the scenes DVD).

These are not exactly the lads I recall from my days on the rugger field at Wellington School (though there was this one guy... Mark Scriven... all muscle, fantastic calves, probably my very first gay crush).

And all but one of these guys are gay! You gotta love that. Big, strapping, rugby playing, gay jocks!

So Totally LA!

I have a (310) cell number, complete with new phone and texting.

I talk on said phone in the car without an earpiece, while eating, weaving in and out of traffic, intemittently cussing at other bad LA drivers.

I'm on first name terms with Emmett from QAF (yes, we finally chit-chatted just the other day).

And now, just like everyone else, I'm all inked up. I have myself a nice little tattoo! And I'm totally stoked about it! (See Exhbit A below)

"What is it?" you may well ask.

Well, since I am a total Star Wars geek, I decided to have the Clone Wars logo, from the Dark Horse comics, forever painted on my left shoulder. Cool, huh?

So cool in fact here it is again (only less shiny).

An Even Smaller World After All!

Many years ago, soon after arriving in the States, I had my first brush with celebrity (my first CelebFlash if you will). I went up to NYC with Marcy, a good friend at the time from Bertucci's, and we met up with her sister, an actress, Meredith Scott Lynn.

At the time, the only role I knew Meredith for was her portrayal of the young Ellyn on thirtysomething (which isn't even listed on IMDB since Polly Draper, apparently a real bitch, demanded she dub over Meredith's voice believing her own raspy tones to be her signature acting asset).

Meredith went on to play everyone's best friend in Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (with Sean Hayes), Forces of Nature and Legally Blonde, along with some major guest spots on the likes of Lois & Clark and The Practice.

But to the point of this post: I'm at the restuarant the other day, and in walks Meredith. Naturally, she knows one of my waiters, so I really can't pass up this opportunity and go reintroduce myself. And what does she do? She gets Marcy on the phone (who I haven't talked to in at least 10 years). This really is a small world!

But you know the saddest part of the whole thing? There I am, a decade later, and I'm again working in a bloody restuarant.

It really depressed the hell out of me, I can tell you!!!

I Dream of Jeans!

There is almost nothing I hate more than buying jeans.

It becomes this long drawn out ordeal of searching not just for the right size, but the right fit and of course, the right price - do I really want to spend upwards of $150 on denim?

First, size: Finding a pair of 32/30s is nigh on impossible (and what I really need is 31/28s - but that's just never gonna happen)! Why do stores think all short people are fat? Why can I only find 30" inseams with waists of 34" and above? Do all tall people have 28" and 30" waists?

Then comes fit: I don't do boot cut, slim fit, straight leg, mid rise or easy fit. I don't even do relaxed! I can't. They just don't fit over my thighs. Loose, baggy or carpenter, that's about it.

And finally, price: At some point during this 'sode I throw my hands in the air, and announce to anyone within earshot, that if I can just find a pair, any pair that fits I'll pay over $200 if I have to!

So, no Von Dutch, True Religion, Lucky, 7 For All Mankind, Diesel or G Star. They're just not made for us short, thick-thighed boyz! So what do I end up with? Mavi, Mavi Max Wide Full leg & seat to be precise. In other words, "Husky Boy" jeans! Only I fill them out completely, ass, thigh et al.

The one saving grace... they're cheap as all hell!!!

They're Back!

Just when I thought it was safe to go back to the dog park!

Famke's back! And her little dog Liquorice too!

I thought she'd left me and the other park people in peace. But there she was, complete with those over-sized dark glasses, fresh from filming X-Men 3 (and that whole Dark Phoenix debacle that's sure to be a major plot thread this time around).

It looks like this time she's back with a vengeance, and unless she has some extra X3 pickups she's here to stay (there’s nothing else currently listed on her IMDB listing, and, apparantly all her scenes on this season's Nip/Tuck were all cutting-room-floor stuff from last year).

And then there's the ubiquitous Peter Paige who leers at me out of the corner of his beady eyes while doing cable cross-overs (with pretty poor form I might add).

Often dressed in that same damn orange "Save Paul" tee he wears in the movie, the guy is always eerily present whenever and whereever I'm working out. Now admittedly, I should expect to be harrassed by those out-of-work creative types during the "Actor/Model/Escort" hours at the gym, but please let Jackie, Jr. do the leering, not Emmett!

CELEBFLASH: Mo' Muscle

Ok, so I'll admit Kevin Levrone may only be considered a celebrity in some (limited) circles, but the guy was one of the world's preeminent pro bodybuilders throughout the 90s and early 2000s, taking first in two Arnold Classics and many European shows.

Like ol' Arnold, Kevin has decided the the world of entertainment is the place for an ex-bodybuilder, having fronted his own rock band, Fulblown, back in Maryland, he now dabbles in acting, hence my sighting here in Hollywood.

While Kevin once weighed in around 250-260 lbs at only 5'10"...

He's now a simply svelt 215lbs for his upcoming movie Backlash...

The Men of COLT

I know, I know... It's been a bit slow on the old blogging front. I've been busy. It's been raining. Blah, blah blah.

So, while lifting earlier today, this guy I chit chat with occasionally pointed out a couple more local "stars" of the gym. Now I've mentioned the likes of John Kessler, Colton Ford, Blue Blake and Jackie Jr., but the following two, though hot, are way out there on the outskirts of celebdom (hence why I can't even justify this post as a CelebFlash).

And since I know nothing about either... I'll let these (PG-13) pics speak for themselves:

Jason Brahm

Zak Spears

Instant Films 19 - Halloween Scares

7 Writers
7 Directors
24 Actors
48 Hours
7 New Films

Last Sunday I was taken downtown to the LA Center Studios for some Instant Films screenings. The theme of the night for this, the 19th go-round, was naturally, it being October et al., scary movies.

What are Instant Films? Well, writers randomly select 2 words (e.g. gory and werewolf) and then have 12 hours to write a script. Directors then randomly pick a script and their actors and have less than 48 hours to deliver their finished short to the public screening at 8pm on Sunday evening (at the "deadline" only 4 films had been received, the others slowly trickled in during the evening).

Of the 7 films, all of which can be viewed on the Instant Films website, 5 were excellent, 1 was average, and the last was just plain disturbing. The production quality was consistently high, the scripts were intelligent and funny, and there was good gore and "make you jump" scares throughout. The only actor I recognised was Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace), who's actually got quite a hot bod under all the CGI.

It was probably one of the most enjoyable evenings I've ever spent in a movie theatre. The crowd was full of creative industry types, who really got behind (and felt for) all those involved, and this made the viewing experience all the more intense.

If you live in LA and have never been, you really must go! I am seriously looking forward to the next go around!