Erik Fankhouser, North American Pro!

There's a new IFBB Pro in the house, specifically Erik "The House" Fankhouser, the 5'9" 215 or so pounder who passed on July's USA championships to concentrate on this past weekend's 2007 IFBB North American Bodybuilding contest held at the Renaissance Hotel in Cleveland, OH.

Erik brought his A-game, a fantastic taper, and those freaking fraking legs of his. Though a pre-contest favourite to win the whole shebang, he had a fight on his hand in a packed heavyweight class, though ultimately bested both Darrell Terrell and Michael Liberatore, the 2007 MD Cyber Classic champ and Dave Palumbo's actual pick for the top spot, a man who "brought a symmetrical, freaky-ripped, package to the stage and was rewarded with a deserving 3rd place."

Erik then rocked the house in his quest for overall domination taking down super-heavy Grigori Atoyan, middleweight Mexican Angel Rangel, and light-heavy Mark Perry (who's been competing at the national level since 1996).

With Erik's win I'm seriously tempted to support the guy and get one of his House Wear (as opposed to Thug Wear™ by Yanchulis) designed shirts (especially since Joe has one of Flex's tees).

Hold on a sec though... You may have noticed Erik's inability to crack a decent smile in the pix I've posted (or from clicking on through the links above), well that's another reason to go out and support this West Virginian native.












Yes, as you can see bad, bad teeth for this otherwise handsome man! Maybe he's got some British ancestry?

Suit Yourself. No More Off the Peg.

I've been needing to buy a new suit for a while now (especially since I had that little incident at work when I was showing someone how to squat), so I'd determined that this Labor Day Weekend, along with all the concurrent Labor Day Sales, would be the perfect time to search one out.

I figured Macy's would be my first stop with it's decent selection and well publicized sales, choosing to venture down Pico to the Westside Pavilion, and the store where I'd picked out my first Spago suit (formerly a Hecht's/Robinson-May branded store). After trying on a couple I figured a 42 short might work (so my movement was a tad restricted), but since I'm a comparison shopper and need much friendly affirmation I chose to continue the quest anyway. At Nordstrom the sales chap tried to put me in a couple of Hugo Boss jackets (which, given the $795.00 price tag, were thankfully too tight anyway). I left despondent and bought a Hagrid action figure and latte instead.

Joe came with me Saturday to search the Beverly Center Macy's, where he decided a 42 was too small anyway, and I really needed a 44. Now 42s come with 36 inch pants, and 44s with 38, and since I'm like a 33, that really isn't gone work is it (since the most a pair of pants can be altered in maybe 3 inches). Loehmann's followed (Ed, what were you thinking?), then Banana Republic (they don't carry jackets 42 and above in short lengths).

Today, Sunday, Joe was determined we try Men's Warehouse, so off we popped to Burbank. Greeted almost instantly by a salesman armed with his trusty tape measure, he took my measurements, lead us over to a rack and started handing me jackets. Quickly realising I'm actually a 46 short, separates were determined to be the only way to go.

The jacket still needs some major alterations to taper it, but with an instore tailor Men's Warehouse has made this simple one-stop shopping, and without being over bearing or at all pushy, the salesman told me what I'd pretty much discovered over the last couple of days, that manufactures just don't design suits for people with my "atheltic" (5'5" and 202 lbs) build.

But now it's done, I look as wide as hell, and to celebrate rather than pick up some Krispy Kremes, I got some canned snow instead (roll on Christmas)!

Kitchen Nightmares

Dotty ex-antiques shop owner Sandy, sulky Laura and horse-faced Helen run Morgans, an intimate restaurant in Woolton, an upscale suburb of Liverpool, with British super-soap Hollyoaks taped just around the corner.

I'd been suffering from some Gordon Ramsay withdrawal since Hell's Kitchen finished up it's tepid third season just a few weeks ago, but flipping through the what's on list on Tivo there I found him on BBC America in Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. And that's where I met the gals of Morgans as Ramsay bleeps his way through another hour of reality television, this time hoping to turn around struggling and underperforming British restaurants with all the finesse of a bull in a china shop.

No matter what your opinion of Ramsay he certainly knows what he's doing, demanding responsibility and profitability from his new found charges, which, at least in this episode, results in a terrific upswing in business and success for sous-turned-head chef Emma. All the while however Ramsay simply delights in stirring up the emotions and egos involved in running a restaurant. This of course makes for good TV, has earned the show a couple of BAFTAs (the British Emmy), and come September 19th we'll see Kitchen Nightmares, the US copycat version on FOX.

I wonder if "bollocks" will be among the words bleeped out!

Buffy Cancelled for a Third Time!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the (best) TV show (ever) ended in May 2003 after Sarah Michelle Geller decided not to renew her contract. Just months later then license holder Moore Action Collectibles cancelled their line of action figures, claiming lack of retailer support. Fan support however was rabid, ultimately resulting in Diamond Select Toys' decision to take over the line and produce a 100 or so figures (as well as some superb plush and prop replicas) over the next four years.

Last week, on August 22nd 2007 to be precise, Chuck Terceira, Director of Diamond Select Toys, announced the cancellation of all upcoming Buffy figure releases, most notably the "build-a-figure" Judge wave which was due in stores at the end of the month, a wave which was first announced as far back as last November.

The fans have again rallied to take action. In hopes of securing a release for said figures, Philip M, administrator of SlayAlive and BtVSFigs, has organized the Save BUFFY Figures campaign. On August 29th, 2007 supporters will purchase at least one figure directly from DST. Polls on both sites will determine which currently available figure should be purchased, the goal being to buy up all of Diamond's stock in that item and show consumer interest in the line. I'm sure everyone reading this will do their part!

As much as I wanted a 6" vampire Dru, I suppose this sad news allows me to focus my collecting attentions on the Harry Potter and Doctor Who lines. Hmmmm!

Big Brother: The Stuff We Don't See!

"I saw a vision. I won the POV, and I feel like that was God's way... of prepping me for this week... If everything pans out as God's told me its going to, you know, I'm going to win POV tomorrow and Jameka and me will be in the final two. That's what I really believe."

Oh, poor, dear, vocabulary challenged Amber, your vision didn't come to pass, but God may actually be on your side after all. It looks like we'll be saying "Bye Bye" to dear busty Jen this week. Backdoored by Danielle, Jen threw a wobbly once the prime-time cameras shut down for the night on Tuesday, ranting and raving, destroying Dick's fags and breaking from her season-long slop sentence, finally tucking in to some real food.

This earned her the first ever Big Brother penalty nomination:


Which was later changed to a single penalty vote. Seeing as she's sure to be gone this week, I suppose this will seem more dramatic on tonight's live Thursday show.

By the way a big “thank you” to Reality Blurred for keeping me updated on these real cumings and goings in the house (and by that I'm also referring to Eric's on-screen masturbation, a video of which has since been removed from YouTube), since I don’t subscribe to the live feed nor do I have Showtime Too. Oh well, much as I love BB8, three primetime hours and some online gossip is more than enough.

But back to Jen, who, truth be told, has been one of my favourite houseguests this season. Though truly self absorbed, her don’t care attitude and competitive edge have gotten her pretty far (although she’s been on the block numerous times). She's proved she’s there to play the game (and not just in it for the cash, having relinquished half her possible winnings during a veto competition), making her untelevised outbursts true to character. Let's face it, who really wants to play to lose? And this is effectively what she’s now doing. She may as well go out with a bang and have some fun (and some real food) while she finishes up her time in the BB house. Good on her, I'm sure I'd play it a similar way.

And yes Matt, I think (and am hoping) that Danielle will take it all, with Jess, Eric and sadly at this point I'm thinking Amber (maybe God's poisoning my mind) may actuallly round out the final four.

Big Brother Update: Week Whatever-It-Is

A hottieless house is not necessary a boring house, as the last couple of weeks of BB8 is proving. If anything Nick's ousting has helped the season, lighting the fire in Danielle and encouraging Dick to reluctantly make peace with Jen and (now gone) Kail.

Let's first talk Evil Dick, the voice of reason this season? Love him or hate (and I love him), he says what he thinks, is not afraid to confront people, point out their hypocrisies and tell it like it is. Maybe not the best way to play the game, but Dick is doing what he needs to to get Danielle to the end. Pissing off the other houseguests seems his way of making up for lost time and trying to be a good dad. A prime example being this outburst towards Amber (and Jameka) before the veto competition:

"You are one ugly bitch. On the life of your daughter I am going to make you so miserable every f***ing day that you regret ever seeing me. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Let's pray! You save her Jameka, even though you don't know how to save yourself. Help me Jesus! Help me Lord! Give me that magic ping-pong ball this morning!"

Oh Dustin, how I grow to hate reality TV homos! I begin each show hoping beyond hope that I am going to be able to identify with, and support to the end, the resident homo. This season ex-boyfriend Joe was flamingly obnoxious (so dispatched quickly), then Dustin became comfortable, started solidifying his role as leader of the LNC, and became as sanctimonious, annoying and preachingly precious as the God-fearing rest of them.

Dustin I ask you, which is a more "professional" career, a shoe salesman vs. bartender? Oh Princess!

In other news the blogs and forums are bubbling about rumours that producers of the show manipulate those Diary Room confessions (come on wasn't that obvious, last season Mike Boogie's explanations of each veto or HOH game were just so damn scripted), as well as the cast's incessant bigotry, which has supposedly reached an all time high. This has lead one very clever MySpacer to create the following very cool BB8 Prejudice map:

Stardust vs. Flash

After catching Stardust this weekend at The Grove, I understand why Joe was so upset at not meeting Neil Gaiman at this year's Comic Con. The movie is a wonderful, joyful fantasy romp, and certainly the best movie I've seen this summer. Please go see it, you'll thank me!

Having seen the trailer earlier this year, I went in knowing nothing more about the story except that Claire Danes plays a fallen star sought by a wicked witch played by Michelle Pfeiffer. With the likes of the LOTR trilogy, Legend and The Neverending Story being some of my all-time favourite flicks, Stardust seemed right up my alley (and hey, with Catwoman as a witch, surely you can't go wrong)! It seems however that I was one of the few who responded positively to the marketing, as with The Princess Bride 20 years ago, the studio just didn't know how to sell the movie (hence it sadly only pulled in just over $9 million this weekend).

Danes, with her spot on English accent, truly glows in her role. De Niro's effete, cross dressing Captain Shakespeare is a stud. Relative newcomers Kate Magowan radiates as the tethered princess while Charlie Cox' hero Tristan warms the cockles of your heart. There's even Harry Potter's Mr. Weasley who shows up as a human goat. Oh, and of course the wondrously vile nad deliriously decadent Ms. Pfeiffer, who, at almost 50 still has that twinkle in her eye under, or out of, all those prosthetics. The movies crackles to ever more exuberant life whenever she is on screen.

Still not convinced, read these reviews for yourself:

LA Times

IGN.com

Premiere

Ain't It Cool News

Hollywood.com

From the Balcony

The Sc-Fi Channel's reimagining of Flash Gordon on the other hand was a much a huge disappointment as Stardust was a joy to behold.

Let's face it, we all knew it was going to be bad when Sci-Fi announced that Queen's classic theme created for the camp yet cult 1980 Sam Jones movie would not be used in the show, but rather only for promotional purposes. Because of BSG I still held out some hope however, but just a few minutes into the show today, having discovered that Flash is now a runner (not a football star) and still lives with his mum, well I sadly tuned out.

For a round up of the critics rumblings check them out here on Ain't It Cool News.

It seems like we all want our Flash fun, fast and camp-filled... Max Von Sydow, Brian Blessed et al. you spoiled us!