Mike Ergas - New IFBB Pro!

Pro at last!!!

Congratulations to Mike for not only taking 1st in the Heavyweight class at the USA's this past weekend, but for finally receiving his pro card, one of only two awarded that evening (the other going to Super Heavy, and Overall, winner Omar Deckard).

Reportedly close to retiring after being passed over at the 2005 Nationals, Mike was persuaded by friends and industry types to give it another go. Good thing he did since now he can add IFBB Pro Bodybuilder to his impressive resume (which includes his starring turn in A&E’s See Arnold Run).

Mike’s new found pro status does pose a few questions: Will Mike’s somewhat open gaiety harm his chances at profitable sponsorship deals with the big supplement companies? Will he take a year or so off to put on some serious pro-sized mass? Or will he just give up the competitive side of the sport now that he has earned the respect he deserves?

Let’s see what happens next!

Road to the USA

This weekend the 2006 NPC USA Bodybuilding Championship is being held in Las Vegas, NV. Like the NPC Nationals, this is another of amateur bodybuilding’s top contests with two of the guys qualifying for their IFBB pro status.

In the run up to the contest, Graphic Muscle has been interviewing some of the frontrunners, including my Perfect Tan guy, Curtis McGovert, and, as longtime readers should know, my particular fav, big Mike Ergas (who many believe was robbed of a win at last years Nationals, quite possibly because of his sexual orientation).

The following link is to Lonnie Teper's interview with Mike. At the beginning of July Mike weighed in at 225lbs, but he reckons his contest weight will be around 215/216 (5 to 6 pounds heavier than at the Nationals), and at only 5'6" that's one big man!

Mike Ergas: Never Say Die!

During the precontest period, with their continued heavy lifting, increased cardio, strict dieting, muscle depletion and carb-loading, bodybuilders are pretty mentally and physically exhausted (no matter how good they may look).

During my own USA “precontest training” I just concentrated on the carb-loading phase. After 6 months of solid lifting, my body badly needed a rest. So for the past 3 weeks I've been off from the gym (though I’m now jonesing to get back), and have instead focused on Dr. Bob's Ice Cream, a newfound fav, and Chips Ahoy (preferring the Chunky, rather than the Reduced Fat, varieties).

But even with all the cookies and ice cream, I'm still wasting away!!!

Six Fingered Again?

To be backdoored once is unfortunate, but to be backdoored twice, well that's just plain sad.

And no, we're not talking about freaky sex acts.

But it looks like it’s happening again to poor Jase, the broad shouldered, Brad Pitt loving, former Four Horseman with the perfectly coiffed dirty blond locks from Big Brother’s 5th Season. Maybe his hissyfit wasn’t the best response, but I can sympathize. You want to play the game, not be played by the game! And certainly not the second time around!

But James, I ask you this: Is Chicken George really that big a threat (and yes I dislike him as much as you do)? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you should stick ‘em where it hurts! Take out the Big Bad’s (Dr. Will) stooge (Boogie), and then the good doctor is really gonna hate being in the house!

And finally you CBS All-Star producers, here’s one for you: Why not mix up this whole veto thing? Sporadically bring back the old Silver Veto (the winner of which can’t use it on themselves, even if they’re on the block), and better yet, introduce a new Platinum Veto™ (instead of the HOH choosing a new nominee, let the veto winner have that honor). And don't let the houseguests know hat type of veto it is until the game has been played. Now wouldn't that make the game more interesting?

Prada Wearing Pirates?

If only!

While I now badly want NECA's exclusive Cap't Jack Sparrow action figure, with Cannibal face paint, at this weekend's San Diego Comic-Con, the recent sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean left me somewhat wanting.

Don’t get me wrong, Dead Man’s Chest was a fun flick, but it had that Back to the Future 2 (minus the hover boards and multiple Michael J’s) feel, suffering awfully from “middle movie syndrome.” With too many plot contrivances leading to too many unresolved questions, the movie asked nothing more of it’s audience than to suspend belief and get ready to buy a ticket for the third (and final?) movie of the series (when it’s finally released next summer, some 6 months late). However, all that said, the one thing that really bugged me was that other than the hammer-headed chap, I couldn’t tell one of Davy Jones’ seabound goons from another.

My other weekend flick, The Devil Wears Prada, was, on the other hand, probably the best movie I've seen all year. And if Meryl doesn't get an Oscar nod for this one, there's something very wrong in Hollywood. The film not only made me laugh quite heartily, but got me thinking about things like the time I almost moved to New York; my lack of career direction; why isn't my accent as pretentiously English as first assisant Emily; and just why don't I find Adrian Grenier at all attractive (Entourage taped again at Spago this week by the way)?

The other question posed by my movie going experiences was thus: Did I prefer the reserved seating environment of the Arclight theaters, or the normal queuing and seat grabbing efforts one must put forth at The Grove? As great as it is to show up only minutes before showtime and to be then shown to your seats, I've never once been to a sold out screening at Arclight. I've queued many times on opening nights at The Grove (the busiest theater in the US), rushed into the auditorium, fought for seats, and then basked in the people watching while someone else goes for (automated) popcorn and diet coke.

Ultimately for me the enthusiasm of a sold out crowd at The Grove wins out everytime (whether I have to stand in line for an hour or not)!!!

I Can't Stand It!

They’re all idiots!

And Kaysar in particular! Truly, what was he thinking? Trying to get rid of “the floaters” thereby letting “Chilltown” slide for another week. OK, so Nakomis was the mastermind behind the 6-Finger Plan – which ousted Jase in Season 5 – but come on, with Erika winning the veto, this was the perfect opportunity to kick the Evil Dr. Will where it hurts, taking out of play snotty sidekick Mike Boogie, thus breaking up the one truly strong alliance in the house (yes “S6” ain’t so invincible, trust me). Instead Kaysar took the lily-livered pansy-boy way out by trying to save his own skin for a week or two longer.

At this point I’m rooting for Marcellas, the one voice of reason so far this season.

Will I be this delusional once I get in the Big Brother house?

Especially for Tos: Reality Round Up

Better late than never!

"How do you choose between gonorrhea or the clap?"

How deluded are these people in the Big Brother house? They've played the game once already, and still don't get it! Danielle lost first time around because people got sick of hearing that she needed to "bring home the money for the family." Alison worked it in Season 4, compromising both her morals and integrity... i.e. she was one conniving bitch! It may be true that "blonde girls hate blonde girls" (the producers must have been dieing for a Janelle-Alison catfight), but it wasn't a huge surprise when Alison was evicted. Seriously girls, don't play so hard, certainly not at the beginning, and certainly not when everyone already knows how you play the game!

Michael Kors and that bitchy chick from Elle are back for Project Runway 3, with a crop of designers who seem a tad older this go around. This group is already somewhat well established in the fashion world, albeit maybe Barbie's world. And while Mattel designer, and friend of a friend, Robert is pretty buff-looking as Project Runwayers go, I won't be staying tuned for glimpses of shirtless men (like I do The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency), but I am totally intrigued by the "shocker" that will "rock the runway" in a future episode!

Speaking of Janice, she was just one of many queens at this years Palm Springs' White Party, and probably not the only one in feathery couture. Meanwhile half of everything Chef Gordon Ramsay uttered was bleeped out again on FOX's Hell's Kitchen, and even I stood up Last Comic Standing this week, I mean with mediocre comics and no Jay Mohr what’s the point?

Back on Bravo, it's at last painfully obvious that Kathy Griffin really is a D-Lister after all. Her performance for those corporate folks, who didn’t have a clue who she was, and her anxiety about what her set should consist of was truly torturous. And then there was that rat suit! She may have an A-List house, but...

Next week’s episode, the season finale, has come around way too quickly again! The season has been marred however by the Kathy and Matt "are they" or "aren’t they" question (the answer: they aren’t, having officially divorced on May 15th). Matt's looked miserable this year. Wouldn’t you look happier if you’d borrowed if $72,000 from your wife’s checking account?

Up next, more Reality coming to a TV near you:

Who Wants to be a Superhero? begins July 27th on Sci-Fi (which Jason’s Room remined me about), and begs the questions: What super powers would you have? And aren't super heroes supposed to have muscles?

Workout, with lesbian gym owner Jackie, and former Amazing Racer Rebecca, which Bravo reminds us about every commercial break, and then as I drive to work there's that billboard that bares down on me at the corner of La Cienega and Santa Monica.

What did Wendy do?

With the advent of Project Runway 3 this Wednesday at 10pm, Bravo has been re-running the first season of the show, the final three episodes of which I caught while flipping the channels on Sunday afternoon. I missed Season 1 (I’m no fashionista, though I got surprisingly hooked on Season 2) so I was quite perplexed by the intense hatred and animosity between Middleburg, VA’s own Wendy Pepper, eventual winner Jay and the stately, but shoe-fiddling, Kara Saun. What made Wendy such a bitch? Just how “strategic” had she been? Or was she really just a c**t? I may never know!

The guest judge for the finale was Parker Posey, all big hair and glasses, though lacking the quips that have made her the darling of many an independent movie (and the savior of Superman Returns, stealing every scene from a lackluster Kevin Spacey).

Ms. Posey also happened to star in the last of the Scream movies, all three of which we watched over the weekend. As actress Jennifer Jolie, playing news-bitch Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox Arquette), Parker is again the highlight of the movie. Joe hadn’t seen any of the Screams, and I’d forgotten just how classic these films (the first two anyway) are. Without scrib Kevin Williamson, a bunch of unknowns (Matt Keeslar? Emily Mortimer?), and an ever-dwindling Cox (comely and busty in 2; skinny as a rail in 3), the final movie just doesn't quite make the "classic" grade.

In other news, the Pursuit of the Perfect Tan was steadily realised by another trip to Venice (no sunblock, no burning, and still uneven), and the Civil War has begun (and I missed the beginning). The Marvel Civil War that is, another one of those multi-comic story arcs that promises to change the Marvel Universe as we know it. Heroes will die. Heroes will be born. And some will be unmasked. Whose side are you on? (all sounds a little like Big Brother doesn't it?)

The Best Thing About July 4th...

Is that it marks the return of that summer classic Big Brother! And after 6 years CBS is giving us an All-Star season.

If you think about it, it's really quite amazing that the series has stood it's ground, especially after the god almighty awful Year 1 that pitted the embarrassing "Chicken" George against... Hum? (yes, no one remembers that year), and Year 2, which introduced the evil Dr. Will, but was then marred by the tragedy of September 11th.

Julie Chen is again our hostess with the mostest. Remember the days when critics scorned her for deviating from her hard-news roots to host a "light entertainment" program. Katie Couric did stints in Will & Grace and Austin Powers, and now she's CBS' nightly anchor - OK, so maybe that's not the best comparison. At least Julie's choice in outfits has vastly improved over the years (we still like to snigger occasionally however).

With this being the All-Stars, the first question of the evening was how the hell did Erika get America's choice vote over Dana? Or even Ivette for that matter? And then for the producers to pick George... Well, that was just plain disgusting! But let's think back to our original choices, why no:

Toothbrush-dunking Shannon, or super-hot hunky Hardy - you should really click on thru here (from Year 2)
Lush Amy, fireman Eric or devilish Roddy (from Year 3)
Alison's little ex Justin or the one cool gay Will (from Year 4)

Maybe they just didn't want to denigrate themselves again for another summer. Or maybe they just have fulfilled and happy lives out of the reality show spotlight.

And it looks like Danielle will soon be joining them back on the sidelines! Why must some people play too damn hard from the get go? If she's such a great player, why couldn't she see that she was just getting herself in deeper and deeper?

With the Blonde Bombshell duo of Jase and Janey in the HOH driving seats, aliances already forming (and fraying), and Dr. Will seething at not being nominated, Year 7 has started off with aplomb!

July 4th 2006: The Pursuit of the Perfect Tan!

Another Fourth of July, another year without citizenship, and yet I still celebrate the day you claimed your independence from my people (all the while driving around in my Union Jack topped Mini, avoiding the couple of dirty looks I did get).

For the life of me I can't remember what I did last year, but this year was spent pursuing that perfect tan! But after two days out on the beautiful sandy beaches of Venice, Joe gets burnt, while I've barely any colour at all (according to Ed at work). Great!

My quest began a few weeks ago at the gym. This guy working out next to us had the most spell binding colour (I couldn't stop staring). So even. So complete (even his pits). So spectacular that we had to wonder if it were in fact Mystic! But in truth, he is not alone. Many an Angelino has that same, truly perfect tan! And I want to be counted amoungst those proud tanned souls! Plus, it does help to clear up my skin!

But what is a "hard-tanner" to do? I only used SPF 15. I turned accordingly. I lay in the appropriate direction. And after many hours in the sun, I'm still as pink as a lab rat!

Will I have to make that treacherous 1/2 hour journey west every weekend? Spending hour upon hour reading trashy novels while laying on the sands? Peering at the hard-bodies running along the water's edge? Having to deal with free-parking (thanks Cary) and homeward-bound trips to Target or Toy "R" Us?

Yes, I could well be in for a rough summer!