Chatting Up Antonio Sabato Jr.

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Eric Leech

As I exchanged farewell’s with Antonio Sabato Jr. on this particular Thursday, an epiphany crossed over my grey matter, like a lonely cloud on a windy afternoon. Antonio is your typical guy, grateful for a long-lasting career, proud of his two kids (Jack Antonio, 16, with actress Virginia Madsen, and Mina Bree, 8, with Kristin Rosetti), and crazy about anything on wheels. And when his underwear is located underneath his pants (where most of us guys prefer them), he is the kind of guy you could kick around with for an afternoon, and probably end up with some pretty hot chicks just by association.

Antonio was born in Rome, Italy, and moved to Beverly Hills when he was 12 years old. His father, Antonio Sabato Sr., is a movie star in his own right, having roles in several blockbuster movies, including Grand Prix (1966), starring James Gardner and Yves Montand. Antonio went from there to the billboards as a Calvin Klein model and a popular character on the daytime soaps. He’s made several prime time appearances on television shows, such as Melrose Place, Ally McBeal, Earth 2, Charmed, Ugly Betty, and My Antonio, including some time on the big screen in the film, The Big Hit (1998).

Behind the screen, Antonio is a huge Formula One fan, and has held a professional racing license since 2001. He is also a performance and tuning junkie, having built several of his own modified vehicles, including a 2005 Infinity FX45, which he featured at SEMA Las Vegas in 2006. What else do you need to know about this man of many hats? Let’s ask him…

Eric J. Leech: What’s coming up for 2011?
Antonio Sabato Jr.: I have a movie that I did with Ashley Jones that we shot in Ottawa, which was really really cool. It is a Lifetime movie that is coming out in Spring. It is called A Mother’s Secret. Before that, I have been working on television shows. I did My Antonio, which is a TV show produced by me for VH1 that came out last year. I worked on Bones and CSI New York. Continue reading →

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Playing 20 Questions with Joanna Krupa

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Eric Leech

Featuring Joanna Krupa as the cover model on the front of a popular men’s magazine, is about as surprising as featuring pale lager at a Canadian beer fest. But I’ve got something those other magazines don’t. A once in a lifetime chance to play 20 questions with one of the most beautiful women in the world.

Joanna Krupa has graced over 100 magazine covers, been called the sexiest woman, taken on Terrell Owens (Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver), Paris Hilton, the Catholic Church, and anyone who has ever donned a pair of animal fur booties. She’s been a “Juggy Girl” (The Man Show), a poker champion, a semi-finalist on Dancing with the Stars, and made a very brief cameo appearance with Snoop Dog on a Girls Gone Wild video shoot. Despite Snoop’s persuasive tongue roll to let her “freakness be yo’ weakness,” the intimate details of her body would remain largely under wraps for another couple years, until a much more persuasive man would come along in 2005… a Mr. Hugh Hefner (Playboy).

Following her Playboy debut, Krupa’s stardom shot through the roof, as she enjoyed a series of reality based television shows that would not only display her competitiveness as a performer and athlete, but give us a taste of her sometimes, impatient and feisty nature. A few of the controversies that have surrounded Krupa and her spirited persona, include a verbal tiff with Terrell Owens, whom she told media bungled their chances to make it past the first cut on the television show, The Superstars. But probably her greatest source of controversy as of recently, is a PETA ad featuring Krupa wearing nothing but a crucifix amongst a crowd of K-9 onlookers. This literally blew the top off the Catholic Church, but none-the-less garnished the public attention it set out to do (mission accomplished).

But these past escapades are all under the bridge, as Krupa prepares for her next phase in life. A phase that promises marriage, starring roles in film and television, a budding clothing line, kids, animal activism, and a growing list of spoiled celebrities who’ve earned the right to be honorable mentions on her crap list. I asked Joanna if she was up for a little game of 20 questions, and when I batted my eyes like a lost puppy dog, she just couldn’t say no. Continue reading →

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My Weekends Hanging Out with the D-Listers

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Eric Leech

After getting kicked out of the Victoria’s Secret with Mickey Rourke, Charlie Sheen, and Richard Simmons for impersonating men, I knew I’d better step up my game or risk being labeled a dork for the rest of my life. I threw out Jon Gosselin’s party line, Lindsay Lohan’s ‘pick me up I’m drunk’ help line, and set out to hang with a brand new batch of D-listers.

Afternoon Shopping with Paris Hilton-

Saturday afternoon I got a call from Paris whining about Tinkerbell’s outdated wardrobe. While not the kind of D-Lister I had in mind, I didn’t have anything else to do, so I grabbed my coat, and told her to meet me at the pet store in a half hour. Before she could start whining again, I hung up on her and dialed Mike Tyson’s cell to confirm we were still on for breakfast in the morning.

I got to the store and Paris was waiting outside underneath an oak tree with Tinkerbell. She had her pouty face, and I could tell she was in no mood for jokes. We walked around the store for four hours without saying a word. Just as we were about to leave, she found a perfect commando dog jacket, to go with her commando underwear. With a giggle and twinkle in her eye, she asked if I wanted to come back to her apartment to watch home movies. I had to respectfully decline, however, as I was already late for Margaritas with Snooki.

Margaritas With Snooki-

I had just entered the bar and noticed Snooki was passed out underneath a bar stool where a fat biker was seated. He was resting his heel on her chin and tapping on her forehead to the beat of La Bamba. There was a piece of gum stuck to his boot, and every now and then it would dislodge and stick to her nose for a few taps, before disappearing again.

I asked him kindly if I could borrow his footrest for a bit, as I was supposed to have a couple drinks with it. He looked down at Snooki, hesitated a moment, and then noticed the “I *heart* Snooki” t-shirt I was wearing. He snickered and mumbled something about needing to get the hell out of this town, and pushed her lifeless body to the center isle. I dragged her over to an empty seat, made sure she was breathing, and enjoyed a lovely conversation with myself. As she was coming to, I realized it was getting late, so I dropped her back under the stool and bid them both farewell.

Sunday Breakfast with Mike Tyson-

I got to the IHOP about fifteen minutes early. Mike was sitting on a bench with a group of pigeons circling his head. He was sitting with his legs crossed and hands resting on his knees, meditation style. As I approached closer, I could see a pile of bird droppings on his head that looked as if they’d been collecting there since yesterday. He heard my footsteps and waved me over with a toothsome grin.

“Wife kick you out again,” I said, dodging a couple bird bombs as they splattered on the sidewalk. “Yeah,” he replied as he headed for the front door. We sat down and both had a mountain of pancakes with extra syrup. “Those good,” I asked. “Yeah,” he replied. We finished up, wiped the syrup from our chin, paid the waitress, and started out towards the parking lot. “Same time next week?” I asked. “Yea—,” he squeaked, slipping on a pile of droppings and pancaking three or four pigeons underneath his massive rear end.

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Celebrity Roast: Jaime Pressly

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Eric Leech

How much do you really know about Jaime Pressly? She’s got a great body, sultry blonde hair, great bazooms, nice long legs, a firm butt… What are we forgetting?

“There’s more to me than my long blonde hair and my little dancer body,” Jaime defiantly exclaims. You know, she’s absolutely right. While she may haven gained popularity with her looks, what has held her in the limelight for the past ten years is so much more than that. We are talking about her spirit, strength, confidence, charm, boldness, and most certainly her sense of humor. She would not be who she is today without her life experiences. To understand who Jaime is, we must start from the beginning.

“I don’t want to be the Hollywood girl,” Jaime has told her fans. “I’m Southern and old-fashioned.” Jaime was born as, Jaime Elizabeth Pressly in the hot summer month of July, in 1977. She grew up in the small town of Kinston, located on in the inner banks of North Carolina, USA. This makes Jaime a sweet Southern bell whose Leo influence obviously tarnished the silver lining of her pony tails, leaving only two big brass ovaries, of which she proudly displays whenever asked about her true roots.

Continue reading →

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IPad 3 Rumors: Apples to Apples

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Eric Leech

Rumors are on the rampage about the Apple iPad 2 in production, yet Apple is sitting Cool Hand Luke style, both hands in their pockets, not saying a damn thing. The word on the Tech boards is the second generation model should be shipping out within the next couple months (March-April). From AppleInsider, we already gather it’s going to be faster, lighter, thinner, packing more RAM, a FaceTime-Ready camera, upgraded graphics,and possibly the exclusion of its “home” button (unconfirmed). The only question is, just how bad do you need an upgrade, knowing the third generation could be out in just the next eight months (September-ish, in time to take on the HP TouchPad).

The dude behind the rumor crank is John Gruber, who has slyly predicted the iPad 2 could very well bump up against the iPad 3 if it’s release is dragged out any longer. This gives us two possible scenarios. One, the second generation will be sliding out within the next couple weeks, giving it a few months in the limelight before the third generation hits the stores. Two, the iPad 3 may actually be a 7-inch iPad mini tablet in wolves clothing, ready to devour its punier screened competitors come next holiday season. In this last scenario (and probably most likely), the third generation will not be replacing the second, but rather stepping in as its slightly sexier, younger sister.

A sister that is not only easier (to use), but also better in bed (I’m talking about reading in bed with the bigger screen), and will work seamlessly in conjunction with the desktop operating system, offering a virtual tech-gasm to the Apple aficionado. Either way, it’s a win-win for the consumer who is happy with their current digs, and prepared to wait it out until the finale is announced (hopefully by the end of summer).

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When Acura NSXs Attack…

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Eric Leech

In the mid 80′s, with rednecks and underpowered Mustangs and Camaro’s roaming the drag strips, the Acura name began to receive some well received attention for quality, but no respect for its performance. In those days, the Acura enthusiast living in mid-America would do their best Rodney Dangerfield, “I tell you folks, I get no respect, no respect at all—I roll into a Sears Automotive Service Center with a hole in the muffler, and they pull up in a Craftsman ride on lawn mower and tell me my car’s ready… badum-bum.”

Some twenty years later and in comes Matt Piercey’s Acura NSX-T to give a different take on the performance potential of the Acura with his modified NSX 3.2 liter 6-cylinder. Today, the NSX has the potential to stand up on the average blacktop, wrapped in nothing but Michelin PS2 street rubber, against a supercar such as the Porsche 911, Subaru Sti, and Skyline GTR—and those underpowered Mustangs and Camaro’s… Fagitaboutit!

In complete stock form, the 2002 NSX aluminum, 90-degree DOC, 3.2 liter has 290 hp @ 7100 and 224 lbs ft @ 5400, a 6 speed transmission, a 3100 lb curb weight, and can bang out a 0-60 in around 5.0 seconds. The 3.2 was the largest motor for that year and right out of the box included a (VVIS) Variable Volume Induction System, basically a second air intake plenum. The VVIS is located beneath the intake manifold and opens on demand between 4600 and 4900 rpm, creating a sonic pressure wave that boosts the relatively small displacement engines low-end torque and high-end horsepower.

Now we’re talking about turbo and high performance, so you know Matt couldn’t have left good enough alone. To let loose the potential of the NSX VTEC, he had two obvious choices… a supercharger or turbo. The supercharger presents a whole new attitude to the NSX; improved low end torque, superior launching power, 420+ horsepower, and quarter mile times in the mid 12s. Matt really wanted to take advantage of the NSXs rpm capability, so a high flow Comptech turbo was his weapon of choice. A tightly plumbed turbo can get you in high 11s on the track with 550+ horses at your disposal. Continue reading →

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Not-so Mellow… Yellow Honda Civic

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Eric Leech

“I was 5 when my dad drove the car into the driveway, all I can really remember about it was saying, Cool,” reminisces Ryan about his Honda drag racer back in its days as a daily driver. Keep in mind, this was back in the 80′s when the phrase, ‘There is no replacement for displacement’ was still very truthful. Today, we know that a Garrett turbocharger can change the rules of small displacement engagement with just the turn of a few bolts. But Ryan, who was ahead of his time, knew what a gem he would one day inherit and kept a close eye on Honda engineering for the next couple of years. But Ryan would never realize the actual true potential of the car until a skiing accident left his leg in a cast and eyes buried in the pages of sport compact tuner magazines.

Ryan began to plot the resurrection of the faithful daily driven Honda before he could even drive. As many young tuners, Ryan began his quest with a simple body restoration to rid the Civic of body rot, and has found himself where he is today, with a 568 WHP fire breathing dragon, puffing 34 psi through its renowned GT35R turbo. It was not an easy road to reach the 500 WHP goal he had set for himself. In fact, his first build only produced 260 horses, leaving the remaining 240 ‘combustionally’ challenged ponies suffocating in the Honda’s stock iron block until RLZ Engineering introduced a better ‘head’ onto the Civic’s shoulders. But that’s getting a little ahead of his story. Continue reading →

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Counting the Facebook Billions Until the Next Dot Com Bubble Burst

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Eric Leech

Goldman Sachs and Digital Sky Technologies handed Facebook’s, Mark Zuckerberg, $500 million behind closed doors last week, propelling the social media site to a value of $50 billion, give or take a couple of zeros, depending on which side of the bubble you’re located.

If you’re sitting snug in the middle, you’re probably praying the sock puppet from Bar None (better known for Pets.com) doesn’t make an appearance anytime soon. If you are on the outside, you might be recognizing the so-called value of such a media site is highly dependent on delivering the goods (advertising revenue), and I’m not talking about the virtual stuff found on Farmville.

Social media sites are a great tool, but unless you have a product, you’re just throwing a keg party for the elite. Then after they’re done drinking all the beer, eating all the nachos, and putting out their cigarettes on the lawn furniture, the last ones stuck with the check, will be the neighbors (secondary market traders) who conveniently arrive just as the police were getting there.

We have Twitter valued at a reported $4 billion, LinkedIn at $2.2 billion, and Groupon recently rejected a $6 billion takeover bid from Google, so you know they’re not ready to move back in their parent’s basement just yet. Even so, what should this be saying to us?

It means Hannibal Lecter is giving out free, all-you-can eat passes at the local Golden Corral, and the meatloaf tastes a little funny.

Should we call off the dinner party or wait for desert?

(Photo via Pets.com)

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Celebrity Roast: Tricia Helfer

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Eric Leech

Unless you’ve spent the past ten years with your head planted in the back of a turnip truck, you’ve probably seen this beauty in action at least somewhere. If not on the big screen, then perhaps in the magazines, on advertising billboards, or on the multiple talk shows she has appeared on. She is quickly becoming one of the most “unknown” leading ladies in Hollywood.

We say unknown, as while Tricia has enjoyed supermodel status, movies, and television series roles, her name is still relatively a mystery in many circles. Perhaps it is her down home “girl next door” personality that keys her in below the daily escapades of some other tabloid princesses prancing around. But that is okay with us, as there are still plenty of great things to come from this little girl and she has only just begun her rise to stardom. She is actually quite surprised by her success level and chooses to hold her spotlight with grace and a certain element of mystery.

Of course every girl next door needs just enough bad mixed in with the good to keep the cobwebs off of their hooters and Playboy has made darn sure of that. In fact, we can’t recall much of anything getting in the way of her gorgeous breasts in her February 2007 debut. The photos turned out gorgeous and were actually as tasteful as any other bare butt baby picture you’ve ever seen, except considering this babe is thirty years her own senior, they will probably not be a welcome edition to the family album.

Speaking of the family, they were all brought in on the decision for her to do the Playboy layout. Her Mom, Dad, and husband were 100% behind her and supportive all the way, as were most of her loyal and faithful male fans. Tricia wanted to make sure that her immediate family would be okay with it and that it wouldn’t spoil Christmas every year. You know, the kind of thing where Uncle Dave drags out the Playboy spread every year at the dinner table, while Aunt Betty storms out of the house with her curlers and pumpkin pie.

And yes, you heard me right, she has a husband and he is just a regular guy as you and me. She didn’t meet him during a film, he is not a celebrity hairdresser, race car driver, or prince from England, he is Johnathon Marshal, a lawyer she met while at a mutual friend’s birthday party. While her career keeps them apart much of the time, she publicly praises him and their close and playful relationship. So, just keep dreaming guys, perhaps your chance at a supermodel actress girlfriend is just around the next farmers market or sci-fi convention. Continue reading →

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Holiday Home Office Blues

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Eric Leech


(Image artist: Tim Holt)

Working in a home office environment can be… well, for lack of a better word, self-defeating. I mean, not only do you have to deal with the constant reminder from your postal carrier, clients, and friends that you are not a real business, but you also have to deal with the wife, kids, pets (probably your best employees out of the bunch), and a host of other financial unpleasantries. But before I go off ranting incoherently about my own office blues, there’s a knock at the front door. Perhaps the ghost of home office Christmas past to offer an affordable 900 square foot office rental?

Nope, just my retired next door neighbor dropping by to share some of his fresh made, heavily alcohol endowed egg nog. It may be two in the afternoon, but the home office knows no boundaries when it comes to neighbors, family, friends, telemarketers, cable guys, plumbers, carpet cleaners… and the list goes on. I am, after all, a technically unemployed businessman, absent of the taste and touch of a real business.

One of the biggest challenges on a day to day basis, is not balancing the spending charts, or coordinating schedules with my clients, but yelling “phone!” whenever the telephone rings to make sure all stereos and Playstations get turned down, remembering to put my robe on before I answer the door in my underwear, and finding the beginning and end to my day since it seems like I am always working. I guess if you think about it, I am always at work. I can’t get away from it unless I am either mowing the lawn, washing the car, or shoveling dog bombs off the back porch.

But the true Holiday Home Office Blues doesn’t officially attack until once the bills of Christmas present begin to pile on top of the ones from Christmas past. I am kidding here of course, but for many of us this is an unfortunate reality. If this does sound like your current situation, perhaps it is time to pay a visit with Tiny Tim (a.k.a. The National Association for the Self Employed).

NASE can give you advice on Tax deductions, affordable health insurance, methods of screening and hiring new employers, and keep you informed of the latest trends and developments of small business. On the same note, SOHO (Small Office Home Office) will give you access to discount coupons, calling cards, and articles on marketing, financing, debt, credit cards, and creating a business plan for 2011.

Last night upon logging out of the NASE website I was at last visited by the ghost of home office Christmas past. I was reminded of the nights I did not get home until both the wife and kids were in bed, sitting in a meeting when I should have been cheering the volley ball team to victory, traveling the countryside with my briefcase instead of my family, and suddenly I saw things in a different light. Holiday home office blues no more, I am actually a very lucky man… a very lucky man indeed!

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