Ms I 1999
By Jabber
Miscellaneous other stuffs

Okay, if that wasn't opinionated enough for you, I've got a couple more
things about the weekend I care to share with you.  It was really difficult
paring this down to just a couple comments, but here goes...

Of note and interest in the finals was one feature performer, an 11-year-old
karate girl.  She just basically did a display and weapons display.  But it
was quite visually interesting to say the least.  The mind wanders imagining
that most of us could get our ass kicked by an 11-year-old girl!  Plus she
sounded and looked cute to boot.  I've got a couple pics, sorry I didn't
catch her name though.

Since I'd never been to the evening show of the Ms. International before,
I'd found it "somewhat" similar to the Jan Tana, complete with the deep
voice-over (if you've seen the Jan Tana, you know what I'm talking about).
After I realized my tickets sucked and I traded with another kind gentleman
sitting up further, I was pleasantly surprised that the acoustics were
pretty good there.  To me, one thing I like about the fitness routines and
bodybuilding routines is the loud music.  Although I don't remember
particular songs from particular routines, since I also attend rock concerts
with some regularity, hey, the louder the better.  And Veteran's Memorial
wasn't bad for that at all.

One of the more interesting events at the Expo, IMO (although I didn't get a
chance to see the finals for various reasons) was the armwrestling
competition.  First they came out with the men's competition.  Most of the
men first slipped, then the straps needed to be brought out.  Most of these
matches (although sometimes the outcomes were surprising) were short in
duration.  Although there wasn't a real clear view for the competitors and
most wore short-sleeve shirts that hid their upper arms, most of the women's
matches were delightfully long in duration.  

Perhaps the biggest surprise, to me, was that Margie Wharton, the big-armed
blonde who was on Regis and Kathy Lee two weeks previous, lost each match!
There were a couple women with notable musculature up there (one woman's
chest was totally ripped when I saw her up close the next day), but a couple
really weren't that muscular.  Yeah, yeah, I know it's all about technique
(well not really ALL) but...  

My mind wandered as to how these women would fare against the biggest male
bodybuilders that would hit the stage the next day... no less the big-armed
Lesa Lewis', Laura Binetti's and Vickie Gates'.  

Two things I found quite ironic I'll mention here.  The official name of the
show was the "Arnold Expo Fitness Weekend".  Note how there is no mention of
the word bodybuilding.  I'm wondering who they're trying to kid here.
Granted, it's not just for breakfast (I mean bodybuilding) anymore, but...
Sure, we've got martial arts, armwrestling, cycling, exercise equipment,
nutritional supplements, and athletic clothes distributors out the
Ying-yang, but...  I just found it interesting.  We even had, in addition to
Arnold Schwarzeneggar (who when he makes an appearance seems like a
celebrity complete with an entourage), Lou Ferrigno (first time I'd seen him
in person) who, in comparison, was simply standing in a booth, much more
accessible.  Interesting career decisions and popularity disparity, no?  

As the -jabber walked by Mr. Ferrigno, I simply gave him a knowing "nod" as
I noticed that his 6'5" frame didn't really look taller than my 6'4" frame.
:-)  Anyway...  

The other interesting thing that we noticed was that, other than Denise
Masino's Muscle Elegance, there was nothing resembling "entertainment"
there.  I'd spoken at length with Steve Scibelli from Awefilms (husband of
Rowena Scibelli).  Now that's not to say that the demeanor at the Expo was
somber and/or morose, far from it.  There were plenty of chipper (and quite
attractive to say the least) fitness girls at nearly every booth, handing
out samples, and just looking cute.  But we wonder if "entertainment" is a
dirty word here.

Certainly, Denise Masino's Muscle Elegance was quite an attraction in and of
itself (not just because she had Christi Wolf (winner of the NPC Nationals
heavyweight and new pro about to debut at the Jan Tana) and Gayle Moher),
but we (Steve and myself) were wondering why there wasn't more entertainment
there.  I'd see nothing wrong with a WPW and Ray Martin booth there, but
hey, that's just me.  What's wrong with a little more diversity?  At a
couple booths (that were usually lines of clothing), some fbb's were selling
pictures, but...

Anyway, fun can be controversial at times, but I seriously doubt the Expo
would've been nearly as crowded if folks didn't find the event fun.  

About Christi Wolf, it was kinda cute the way I only talked to her when her
husband made himself scarce, me joking about her not entering this show to
embarrass the competition and so forth.  Although I didn't understand what
was up with Christi's Sunday attire (some headwear that looked like a crown
of thorns or some such), you "may" recall me not being too flattering to
Christi at the NPC Nationals when she won the heavyweight class.  

Well, the -jabber is NOT eating crow, as I didn't find her that impressive
in person at that show.  I will admit, however, she is quite photogenic and
appeared better in pics of that show than in person.  However, with a bit
more meat on her, as at her Arnold Expo appearance, she's quite impressive.
If she can retain that amount of mass and regain the definition she had at
the Nationals, then she indeed will be a force to be reckoned with.

And talking to the non-English speaking folks?  Hmm... It's a bit difficult
to communicate a compliment.  When I came up to Jitka I tried to tell her
that I thought she should've been in the top 6.  She kept matter-of-factly
replying she was 10th.  Finally she realized what I was saying and I got a
grin out of her.  Ah, the trials and tribulations the -jabber has to go
through. :-)

A bit easier (possibly because she understands English better) was for me to
talk to Timea Majorova.  At the same booth was Susie Curry, who won the
fitness competition.  I said to Timea, gesturing over at Susie, don't let
her hear us, but you should've won!  She immediately understood, and gave a
playful and priceless look.  Ah, I can't say enough good things about her
look.  A female you wouldn't be ashamed of bringing home to mother (so you
don't get too much of that "What, you like all those gross muscle?" :-) )
yet enough muscles to satisfy the mass hound among us. :-)  Ah, sorry for
being NON-objective here... 

I cannot describe the Fitness Expo weekend without mentioning Jasmin
Johnson.  Just CAN'T be done.  Priceless stuff that Blu (Nicole Bass'
husband) and I witnessed (but did not get on tape or camera :-( ).  Jasmin
was walking around with a short-sleeve tight white blouse, which contrasted
lusciously with her dark skin; all you saw is these huge pumped up limbs.
At one booth there was a commotion as a bodybuilder type guy got down on the
floor and a fitness type girl (cute muscles, fake breasts) got on his back.
He belted out 15 push-ups.  

Jasmin, not to be outdone, muscled her way to the front of the group, and
got down on the ground.  But, they plopped a guy who weighed between 180
lbs. and 200 lbs. on her back.  She also belted out 15 push-ups - whoa!  I
talked to her right after that spectacle.  She didn't even sound winded, but
did say she expected a 100-lb. fitness girl.  But once she started, she
wasn't going to stop.  Possibly the most impressive feat of the weekend?
Hmm...

A couple humorous things: Blu, as usual, was his hilarious self.  Truly a
funny cut-up to be around.  Among other things, he and Maria Calo were
hanging out around Hearts of Iron, a jewelry booth, where Nicole Bass was.
As you know, many men and women walk around, and take pictures of themselves
with the fbb or mbb in that booth.  Of course, Maria Calo, off-season, was
quite the spectacle, and in between joking with us, was asked to pose with a
couple folks during the afternoon.  

Each time she was posing with a female, I'd commented that the female also
needs to flex for the camera.  Remember, most of these were non-fbb's.
Believe it or not some accepted the challenge and flexed along with Maria!
Very interesting and cute to see, indeed.

Other than Kim Chizevsky, who was at a booth (and in a long-sleeved and long
pants black outfit), there were noticeably very few fbb's mingling at this
event.  As far as competitors, briefly we saw Melissa Coates, but at least
Tazzie was somewhat visible there.  Notable non-competitors that day (that I
haven't mentioned) were Bethany Howlett and Ericca Kern.  Not too many
others I can think of...  Oh yeah, Debi Laszewski, who was a living doll,
indeed.  In fact I broke the -jabber rule with her.  I, in general, do NOT
take pics of females at the Expo, just of the specific event.  There are
plenty of others who take crowd shots and ask women to individually pose.
That's generally not my style.  Uh, with Debi, I made that exception, said
some smooth but forgettable -jabber witticism, and hopefully, that pic will
come out good. -)
 
Let me turn up the opinionated nature of this just a notch.  As I said there
were plenty of fitness competitors at all the booths.  Quite an attractive
lot, the number and variety was mindnumbing, indeed.  What I saw was by and
large many extraordinarily attractive females, with impeccable grooming,
delightful hair, skin tone (incredible), muscles, very cute faces, etc.  Now
that's the positive.  What I also saw was what seemed to be a walking
advertisement for breast augmentation.  There was more silicone and saline
present amongst these females than at a strip club (trust me, I know - LOL).

Although I'm used to seeing that (doesn't mean I like it), I've talked to a
few "outsiders" who were a bit shocked and surprised, and commented how
ridiculous some of these women looked.  Sorry for being negative here, but
this is just what I saw.  These are women who have plenty to offer in terms
of looks, and many had charming personalities and demeanors, too, if you
engaged them in conversation.  But for some reason, they all saw fit to
augment their breasts.  I won't mention names here (as I'm trying not to
tread on others reports), but one gentleman, who was getting many photos of
these cute fitness girls at the Expo had asked an attractive blonde to pose
for him.  When she finally did, she put her hands on the table in front of
her, to squeeze her breast together and accentuate her deep cleavage.

I told the gentleman, I would've told the girl, forget it, I'm not
interested in the pic.  She was quite attractive, had decent cute
musculature, attractive hair, etc., but evidently she was most proud of her
store-bought chest...  And that is sad, indeed...

On a more positive note, on Saturday evening, Tre' and I made a brief stop
at The Red Zone, seemingly the only nightspot in downtown Columbus.
Although I found the music quite lame for a dance club and a bit too crowded
for my tastes (but hey, the Expo was quite crowded, too), it was quite
interesting bumping into many fitness and fbb's that evening.  Among others,
Toni Norman (strength competitor at WSE from Oklahoma), Linda McLaughlin
again (who was sporting her normal curlier hair looking cute as ever),
Yolanda Hughes, and Kelly Ryan, who did a pretty cute dance on stage with I
think her boyfriend.  I got the distinct impression Kelly had a somewhat shy
personality for what that's worth.  

For a spell, Tre' and I hung out with Signa York and Maria Calo.  Sadly I
can't report on Maria's dance prowess, although I've heard her South
American heritage makes her interesting to watch, replete with 29" thighs...
Very interesting to watch were some unnamed blonde fitness girls on a raised
stage.  For quite some time, these blonde fitness girls danced, showing off
their abs and other assets to the crowd.  

Until next time, I remain...

-jabber