Remember Mike?

No, not Bentley's Mike, who's new cell phone connected blog can be read here, but rather local bodybuilder "Mighty" Mike Ergas, a particular favourite of mine for pretty much ever (hell I've even given him his own blogger label), who finally earned his IFBB pro status at last year's NPC USA's (the somewhat lackluster 2007 edition of which took place just a couple of weekends ago).

Well, Mike is finally making his pro debut at the Europa Super Show this weekend in Dallas, TX. Up against such luminaries as Silvio Samuel and Quincy Taylor, Mike simply hopes to crack the top three (and therefore receive an invitation to this year's Mr. Olympia). Asked by Bodybuilding.com's Kris Gethin in a recent interview if he'll be "playing the size game" for his debut Mike's response was thus:

"My plan is to do what got me here in the first place and that is to come in as conditioned as I possibly can. Of course I want to be bigger than in the past but size without cuts will do nothing in regards of a decent placing anyway."

At 5'6" and about 220lbs, he's already a pretty damn big boy anyway. Let's just hope mass, with class, ultimately rules the day!

SeaWorld San Diego: Stroller Hell!!!

After two long days at Comic Con, it was time for a change of pace.

San Diego is of course known as the home of two major tourist traps, I mean attractions, the Zoo and SeaWorld, both of which are world reknown. It being the middle of summer, we figured the zoo wouldn't be the most active place on a scorching July afternoon, so we chose to believe and go visit Shamu instead.

We didn't stop to think however what a kiddie nightmare it would be (though I am sure the zoo would have been worst). Disney at least has the tweens and teens to balance out those little munchkins. I truly have never seen as many strollers, or assigned stroller parking areas, in my entire life. And if you think the merchanising at Disney is bad, I don't think it compares with this place - cute, adorable and overpriced plush penguins, seals, dolphins and orca jump out at you at every possible opportunity.

That's not to say the place wasn't fun (though I think I got more out of it than Joe), how can you not get a thrill out of petting a bat ray, ducking through the shark tunnel, and believing with Shamu, even the food was pretty damn good (the Calypso Bay Smokehouse being the standout).

Bratty kids aside, by the end of the afternoon we'd "flown" to the remote Wild Arctic research station, stepped on the scales to see if we weighed as much as a manatee, picked up the requisite fridge magnet, and burned in the sun.

The one thing I can say with certain (which I am sure Joe is quite pleased by), now that I've done SeaWorld, I never have to go back!

National Underwear Day!

Did you know there was such a day? A day to celebrate your boxers, briefs and pantalettes!



Let's give thanks to those nice people at Freshpair for parading such scantily clad men (and women) around Manhatten. (Maybe one day Freshpair will bring these strapping young men to LA!)

But in the meantime, to celebrate, I bring you these fine images:






















And of course let's finish with that classic Calvin Klein ad with Marky...

Vote Nick!

Don't let it be another hottieless year on CBS' summer reality staple, Big Brother. Have eyebrow happy America's Player Eric, vote out Kail on this Thursday's live eviction show (sadly voting will be closed by the time most of you read this).

We've already lost Mike, the painting contractor from Wisconsin (or more correctly the model from LA!). We can't possibly loose Nick, the former pro football player (and by that we mean European Federation of American Football player for the Seinäjoki Crocodiles, a team from Finland), and the lone surviving member of the Magnus/Kragnus dynamic strongman duo.


Let's face it any straight boy who can admit on national television that he has a Top Five guys that he'd sleep with, well that's a novelty in itself really isn't it. And to recap those guys are:

#1. Matthew McConaughey (naturally)
#2. Hugh Jackman
#3. Brad Pitt
#4. Unknown
#5. Ryan Reynolds

Come on America, and BB8 houseguests, let's please keep Nick in the house just a few weeks longer! I need some eye candy to deal with the increasingly sanctimonious ramblings of Dustin, Evil and co., which is beginning to sound a lot like squawking of Maggie, April and co. from Big Brother 6. And that's a truly scary proposition!

Comic Con 2007: Not All Geeks...

Look like this:









But the few who did made Friday afternoon at Comic Con a simply delightful place to be (and almost made up for the hour and a half spent looking for parking in the one-way construction zone that is the Gaslamp District of downtown San Diego).

Of course most looked like this:




























And then there was this one chick, who the comic nerds were drooling over, but I found her whole outfit somewhat disturbing:











Of course there were celebs: that guy from Stargate Atlantis, the shorter one from Supernatural; ST: TNG's Geordie and Deanna (too much Botox my dear); BSG's Chief/Cylon; and the ever present (at these type of things) Green Cross Code Man, aka the man who first played Vader, amongst others.

No official Joss meeting this year either (not even a post bathroom meeting like last year), but Joe did get a bunch of signatures from the 30 Days of Night boys, as well as some from the Aspen Comics hotties (and yes they were). But at least I got a couple more pieces from Robert Kraus of RAK Graphics (which he did on the spot for me), an artist I'd met previously at Wizard World LA and whose comic-styling images I love.

Two days of merchandising exclusives, crazy crowds, packed panels, and never-ending "what is this line for" queques, and Joe and I are already planning on spending three days down there next year!!!

Wot No Tigger???

Pride Parade 2007

The 2007 LA Gay Pride parade and festival, produced by those good Christopher Street West folks, was almost two weeks ago and I'm only now just getting round to blogging it - how busy I can I really be?

With just one day off work that weekend, I passed on the fesitval (to spend time with my boys and run some errands - though Mikey said it was a blast), but did go down to the parade (which pretty much runs at the bottom of the street anyway) taking Bentley along for an extended walk.

There's really no better way to show how proud one is than by watching scantily clad boys wiggle there stuff on top of fire engines, cheering for drag queens flaunting their fake tits on mutli-coloured floats, and grasping for an array of stickers, leaflets and deely-boppers from passing muscle boys and fag hags.

But I ask you where were the floats from Gold's, 24 Hour Fitness, Starbucks, Pavillions, the cast of Wicked, the majority of the bars, and all those other business and places that we gays frequent. Where was the support for the community that supports them?

Those kids from Disney were out bopping like there was no tomorrow (and it's where I'm going tomorrow); I actually tuned in to 98.7 the next morning for the first time since it dropped the Jamie, Jack & Stench morning show just because they had a float; and those wonderful Chipotle people handed out free burrito coupons, "homo estas?"

And as for muscle boys? Well, Micky's engine had some hotties; Svedka was well promoted; The Abbey, maybe sorta cute, but NO energy; none of the bears really did it for me, but at least the Midtowne Spa train blazed through with some decent performers (the best of which was on the opposite side there of the car, and can just be glimpsed in the pix). Oh, well!