2013 Writer’s Guild Award: And The Nominees Are…

This year, a couple newcomers made their way into the nomination list, while a few seasoned favorites regained top dog status. Breaking Bad garnered the highest number of nominations from the Writer’s Guild earlier today – a total of five. Modern Family comes a close second with four. Girls, Veep, The Newsroom, Nashville, and The Mindy Project are among the newbies to join the ranks.

The awards will be handed out at simultaneous awards in both LA and New York on February 17, 2013. Check out a list of the major category nominees below. A full list can be seen at WGA.org.

DRAMA SERIES
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Mad Men

DRAMA, EPISODIC
Breaking Bad, “Buyout”
Breaking Bad, “Dead Freight”
Breaking Bad, “Fifty-One”
Homeland, “New Car Smell”
Mad Men, “The Other Woman”
Breaking Bad, “Say My Name”

COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock
Girls
Louie
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation

COMEDY, EPISODIC
Parks and Recreation, “The Debate”
Episodes, “Episode 9″
30 Rock, “Leap Day”
Modern Family, “Little Bo Bleep”
Modern Family, “Mistery Date”
Modern Family, “Virgin Territory”

NEW SERIES
Girls, HBO
The Mindy Project, Fox
Nashville, ABC
The Newsroom, HBO
Veep, HBO

COMEDY/VARIETY
The Colbert Report
Conan
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Key & Peele
Portlandia
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live

LONG FORM (ORIGINAL)
Hatfields & McCoys
Hemingway & Gelhorn
Political Animals

DAYTIME DRAMA
Days of Our Lives
One Life to Live
The Young and the Restless

2013 Grammys: And The Nominees Are…

Tonight is the latest and greatest Nominations LIVE concert where LL Cool J (and Taylor Swift, this year) takes the stage to introduce a variety of artists to sing their hearts out for your entertainment while celebrity personalities take the stage to announce the nominees for some of the biggest categories for the upcoming Grammys.

As we previously announced, the Grammys Nominations Concert LIVE will take place outside of LA for the first time this year – at the Bridgestone Arena in Music City! This is in an obvious effort to appeal to the growing country music fan base. Performing on stage tonight – CMA New Artist of the Year Hunter Hayes, Maroon 5, The Who, fun., Ne-Yo, and Luke Bryan. The Band Perry and Dierks Bentley will be performing a special tribute to Johnny Cash, as well. The magic happens tonight at 10pm ET/9 CT live from Nashville.

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards airs Feb 10 at 8/7c on CBS! You can check the full list of nominees at Grammys.com.

Check back here for a full list of Grammy nominees after they’re announced tonight!

Announced on the telecast:

Pop/Vocal Album:
“Stronger,” Kelly Clarkson
“Ceremonials,” Florence + The Machine
“Some Nights,” fun.
“Overexposed,” Maroon 5
“The Truth About Love,” P!nk

Record of the Year:
“Lonely Boys,” The Black Keys
“Stronger,” Kelly Clarkson
“We Are Young,” fun. ft Janelle Monae
“Somebody That I Used To Know,” Gotye
“Thinkin’ Bout You,” Frank Ocean
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor Swift

Best New Artist:
Alabama Shakes
fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean

Country Solo Performance:
“Home,” Dierks Bentley
“Springsteen,” Eric Church
“Cost Of Livin’,” Ronnie Dunn
“Wanted,” Hunter Hayes
“Over,” Blake Shelton
“Blown Away,” Carrie Underwood

Album of the Year
“El Camino,” The Black Keys
“Some Nights,” fun.
“Babel,” Mumford & Sons
“Channel Orange,” Frank Ocean
“Blunderbuss,” Jack White

Other major categories:

Song Of The Year
“The A Team,” Ed Sheeran
“Adorn,” Miguel
“Call Me Maybe,” Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen)
Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You), Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly
Clarkson)
“We Are Young,” fun.

Best Pop Solo Performance
“Set Fire To The Rain” [Live], Adele
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” Kelly Clarkson
“Call Me Maybe,” Carly Rae Jepsen
“Wide Awake,” Katy Perry
“Where Have You Been,” Rihanna

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Shake It Out,” Florence & The Machine
“We Are Young,” Fun. Featuring Janelle Monáe
“Somebody That I Used To Know,” Gotye Featuring Kimbra
“Sexy And I Know It,” LMFAO
“Payphone,” Maroon 5 & Wiz Khalifa

Best Dance/Electronica Album
“Wonderland,” Steve Aoki
“Don’t Think,” The Chemical Brothers
“> Album Title Goes Here <," Deadmau5 "Fire & Ice," Kaskade "Bangarang," Skrillex Best Rock Performance
“Hold On,” Alabama Shakes
“Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys
“Charlie Brown,” Coldplay
“I Will Wait,” Mumford & Sons
“We Take Care Of Our Own,” Bruce Springsteen

Best Rock Song
“Freedom At 21,” Jack White, songwriter (Jack White)
“I Will Wait,” Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall & Marcus Mumford, songwriters (Mumford &
Sons)
“Lonely Boy,” Dan Auerbach, Brian Burton & Patrick Carney, songwriters (The Black Keys)
“Madness,” Matthew Bellamy, songwriter (Muse)
“We Take Care Of Our Own,” Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)

Best Rock Album
“El Camino,” The Black Keys
“Mylo Xyloto,” Coldplay
“The 2nd Law,” Muse
“Wrecking Ball,” Bruce Springsteen
“Blunderbuss,” Jack White

Best Alternative Music Album
“The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do,” Fiona Apple
“Biophilia,” Björk
“Making Mirrors,” Gotye
“Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.,” M83
“Bad As Me,” Tom Waits

Best R&B Performance
“Thank You,” Estelle
“Gonna Be Alright (F.T.B.),” Robert Glasper Experiment Featuring Ledisi
“I Want You,” Luke James
“Adorn,” Miguel
“Climax,” Usher

Best R&B Song
“Adorn,” Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)
“Beautiful Surprise,” Tamia Hill, Claude Kelly & Salaam Remi, songwriters (Tamia)
“Heart Attack,” Benjamin Levin, Rico Love & Tremaine Neverson, songwriters (Trey Songz)
“Pray For Me,” Antonio Dixon, Kenny Edmonds, Anthony Hamilton & Patrick “jQue” Smith,
songwriters (Anthony Hamilton)
“Refill,” Darhyl “DJ” Camper, Elle Varner & Andrew “Pop” Wansel, songwriters (Elle Varner)

Best R&B Album
“Black Radio, Robert Glasper Experiment
“Back To Love,” Anthony Hamilton
“Write Me Back,” R. Kelly
“Beautiful Surprise,” Tamia
“Open Invitation,” Tyrese

Best Rap Performance
“HYFR (Hell Ya F***ing Right),” Drake Featuring Lil’ Wayne
“N****s In Paris,” Jay-Z & Kanye West
“Daughters,” Nas
“Mercy,” Kanye West Featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
“I Do,” Young Jeezy Featuring Jay-Z & André 3000

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Wild Ones,” Flo Rida Featuring Sia
“No Church In The Wild,” Jay-Z & Kanye West Featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream
“Tonight (Best You Ever Had),” John Legend Featuring Ludacris
“Cherry Wine,” Nas Featuring Amy Winehouse
“Talk That Talk,” Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z

Best Rap Song
“Daughters,” Nasir Jones & Ernest Wilson, songwriters (Patrick Adams, Gary DeCarlo, Dale
Frashuer & Paul Leka, songwriters) (Nas)
“Lotus Flower Bomb,” Olubowale Akintimehin, S. Joseph Dew, Jerrin Howard, Walker Johnson & Miguel
Jontel Pimentel, songwriters (Wale Featuring Miguel)
“Mercy,” Sean Anderson, Tauheed Epps, Stephan Taft, James Thomas, Terrence Thornton &
Kanye West, songwriters (Denzie Beagle, Winston Riley & Reggie Williams, songwriters) (Kanye West Featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz)
“The Motto,” Dwayne Carter, Aubrey Graham & Tyler Williams, songwriters (Drake Featuring Lil’
Wayne)
“N****s In Paris,” Shawn Carter, Mike Dean, Chauncey Hollis & Kanye West, songwriters (W.A.
Donaldson, songwriter) (Jay-Z & Kanye West)
“Young, Wild & Free,” Calvin Broadus, Chris Brody Brown, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Peter Hernandez
& Cameron Thomaz, songwriters (T. Bluechel, M. Borrow, T. Griffin, K. Jackson, N. Lee & M. Newman, songwriters) (Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Featuring Bruno Mars)

Best Rap Album
“Take Care,” Drake
“Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1,” Lupe Fiasco
“Life Is Good,” Nas
“Undun,” The Roots
“God Forgives, I Don’t,” Rick Ross
“Based On A T.R.U. Story,” 2 Chainz

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” Eli Young Band
“Pontoon,” Little Big Town
“Safe & Sound,” Taylor Swift & The Civil Wars
“On The Outskirts Of Town,” The Time Jumpers
“I Just Come Here For The Music,” Don Williams Featuring Alison Krauss

Best Country Song
“Blown Away,” Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)
“Cost Of Livin’,” Phillip Coleman & Ronnie Dunn, songwriters (Ronnie Dunn)
“Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” Will Hoge & Eric Paslay, songwriters (Eli Young Band)
“So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore,” Jay Knowles & Adam Wright, songwriters (Alan Jackson)
“Springsteen, Eric Church,” Jeff Hyde & Ryan Tyndell, songwriters (Eric Church)

Best Country Album
“Uncaged,” Zac Brown Band
“Hunter Hayes,” Hunter Hayes
“Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran,” Jamey Johnson
“Four The Record,” Miranda Lambert
“The Time Jumpers,” The Time Jumpers

The Amazing Race Coming to Canada, Eh?!

Big Brother isn’t the only reality show migrating north for the winter. Before tonight’s telecast of The Amazing Race 21 on Canada’s CTV, host Phil Keoghan, made a special announcement that was sure to make Canadians happy. The Emmy-award winning reality show is headed north of the border!

CTV Programming and Sports President Phil King noted

THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is a big show for a big network … Canadians deserve their own summer version, distinct from what is seen in fall and winter. With the incredible diversity, scope, beauty, and sheer land mass that Canada has to offer, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA will explore the world within Canada. It’s a perfect extension to an incredible brand, and a huge opportunity for racers, viewers, and advertisers.”

Right now, there is no word as to when casting for the show takes place, but it seems as if the first season, at least, will focus on just Canada – and not the world. Big Brother Canada is currently casting and we’re sure TAR: Canada isn’t too far from that milestone!

Survivor: The Yak’s Interview with Jonathan Penner

Jonathan Penner the 50 year old, actor, producer and writer from Los Angeles, California became the 5th member of the jury on Survivor Philippines this week. Penner is a three time veteran on Survivor. On previous seasons he was the 6th jury member on Survivor Cook Islands and was medically evacuated from Survivor Micronesia due to a knee infection.

Jonathan’s ability to tell a story, his emotional intelligence, wit and ability to read people make him a Survivor fan favorite. We had the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan to get his thoughts on his experience in the Philippines.

Q: Going into the food auction do you think everyone dropped their guard with Abi? How do you see it now?

Penner: I guess we did, obviously we did. I thought I was in a better position than I was and everyone else knew they were in the position they were in because we had all agreed to vote out Abi. Quite honestly I didn’t think about there being some kind of specific advantage that Abi might afford herself. The last food auction I’d been in, there was a disadvantage that you could buy. So drop our guard, yeah I guess we did, we all assumed she’d be going home which is a dangerous thing to do.

Q: What is your take on the bias that other Survivors have with returning players?

Penner: I think it’s a little simplistic and I think that people are going to the game with an assumption which can be very dangerous. Certainly you can go very far with hitching your wagon to a returning player. We know a lot. We have a lot of experience and can go far and because there are targets on our backs we need to have strong allies. Going into a final four, five or six situation with a returning player and then trying to cut them loose can really catapult you into a final situation. Cutting us off just because we are returning players is a lot of energy that could be spent in a positive way instead of a negative way and certainly led to Jeff Kent’s demise.

Yak: Did you think that Jeff Kent’s obsession with getting you out is the reason he left so quickly?

Penner: No. I think it’s an easy story to tell, I don’t doubt that it’s true. That he walked into the ‘not being the idiot that let a returning player last longer than him’. I think that we were in a terrible position going into the merge. The Kalabaw players, Denise was more tightly aligned with Malcolm and his idol than she was with us and mine. He found himself in a very very tough spot and that’s why he went home.

Yak: From what we saw you and Skupin were the only ones that knew Lisa’s secret and who she was. Did you ever consider using that or giving her away in an attempt to save yourself?

Penner: Hmmm. We weren’t the only ones that knew. Denise also knew. In fact Denise told me. I didn’t know. I certainly let Lisa believe that I did know. By the time I met her I did know but when we first got to the beach I didn’t recognize her. I had never seen an episode of the Facts of Life. Just like I didn’t know Jeff Kent was a baseball player. No, I honestly didn’t consider using that against her, nor did I consider betraying some of the other stuff she told me in confidence. You know it’s one of those funny things, well, I guess if I thought that I needed to do that, (pauses) um… I’m not allowed to talk about what happens further on in the game, such a look. (referring to the look he got from the CBS publicity person who is monitoring the interview.) That’s all I’ll say about that.

Yak: What has surprised you the most watching so far this season?

Penner: Yeah, It surprised me that Jeff Kent had poisoned the well against me so early and so effectively. I could not figure out why I was getting no traction with any of the Kalabaw players, to align with me. He and I got along very, very well. Unfortunately that is not shown. I do believe that we would have gone far. Before I won that immunity challenge and thought I was going home that night, I told him that I thought he would go all the way and I certainly believed he had a great shot at winning and that I would probably vote for him, you know? So that was surprising. I can’t say disappointing, just surprising. Surprising that last night Skupin was so clearly ready to vote me off. I never quite figured out why they were so determined to vote for me instead of Carter. Immediately when Abi did not lose, they determined that I was too big a threat or something. Or too big an asshole, (laughs) I don’t know. They wanted to get me out of there. I was very, very angry about that. I knew the family visit was coming up you know and asked them “My wife is on a plane right now to the Philippines, boy I’ll be pissed if I don’t get to see her and she’s gonna be pissed too.” Maybe they were afraid that she’d kick all their asses, which she probably could have done!

Yak: I want to thank you for not hugging Abi when you left.

Penner: (Laughs) yeah, that would have been just too much!

Q: Referring to the conversation with Lisa about crafting her own story. How much of that conversation from your standpoint was genuine? Was that a game play move, or was it just Lisa connecting with someone because she basically couldn’t seem to connect with anyone else out there?

Penner: It was all those things. Survivor is complicated, life is complicated. Just like I’m talking to you honestly and openly. She and I really had a wonderful connection, have a wonderful connection and we’re talking openly and honestly and I needed to sway her. We talked about a lot of things. I was actually surprised very pleasantly surprised that they left that in. That’s what reality TV is about . Taking three days of life and editing it into a story. I was just hoping that she could understand and I know that she did, she’s a very smart woman. If she made this flip the audience was gonna be cheering and if she didn’t the audience was going to be disappointed. Was that manipulative? Of course. Was it true? Of course.

Q: How did this exit from the game compare to your previous exit at having been medically evacuated?

Penner: (Laughs) Being medically evacuated was much tougher and unbelievably frustrating. It was excruciatingly painful I must say and actually rather frightening. It lead to a whole adventure in and of itself of surgery in Palau and rehab and lots of back channel bullshit we don’t have to go into. It was quite mortifying and a terrible way to leave the game. This was much less mortifying. I basically played the game I wanted to play. Clearly I made a mistake in not lying to Lisa when she needed me to shake her hand and say I would make a commitment to her. Should have done that, could have done that. How it would have shaken out differently I’m not sure. Clearly Malcolm and Denise saw me as a big threat and were prepared to take me out. I think Skupin did too really.

Q: You mentioned in your day after interview that you’ve played Survivor for 80 days and that the show has squeezed everything it can out of you. Now having some time past, do you feel the same way, or would you play again if asked?

Penner: I would certainly consider it if I was available and physically able. I would never say never at this point. Survivor is an extraordinary thing. It’s a peak experience you might call it. It’s a highly adrenalized almost addictive kind of thing like vacation or sex or reading good books, whatever turns you on. You get to do something that really puts you in a heightened state takes you out of your day to day life and is a whole experience of it from soup to nuts. From training to doing it to watching it with my friends and family even to now getting to talk to you is kind of fascinating and fabulous.

So, if they made that call again; I can barely conceive of getting a fourth chance to play the game. I would of course consider it very very seriously.

Thanks Jonathan Penner for taking the time to talk to us at the Yak!

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Were you unhappy to see Penner leave? What do you think of what he had to say? Let us know below!

Carrie Underwood Nabs Role of Maria Von Trapp In NBC’s LIVE “The Sound of Music”

Carrie Underwood

Big news coming out of NBC today, as the coveted and iconic role of Maria Von Trapp for NBC’s Live broadcast of “The Sound of Music” has been cast. Carrie Underwood, who has won her fair share of Grammys, CMA, ACM, and other lettered awards, has been cast in NBC’s ambitious project. The LIVE broadcast of the famed story will air sometime near the holidays in 2013.

When we previously announced NBC’s plans, details about the project were still being ironed out. We did know that SMASH duo Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will be behind the production. The duo is also currently producing the upcoming Academy Awards, set to air in February 2013.

Bob Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, made the announcement early Thursday morning. “Speaking for everyone at NBC, we couldn’t be happier to have the gifted Carrie Underwood take up the mantle of the great Maria von Trapp,” said Greenblatt. “She was an iconic woman who will now be played by an iconic artist.”

Zadan and Meron are also more than pleased with the news.

“We’re thrilled to be presenting the Broadway version of ‘The Sound of Music’ live and having Carrie Underwood as the star brings it to a new generation who will fall in love with it for the first time as many millions of people already have. It’s a particular joy to us as producers to see this amazing artist stretch into new territory with this classic musical.”

This is not the first time Underwood has tackled the beloved catalog. During a CBS special in 2007, Movies Rock, Carrie performed “The Sound of Music.”

The award winning country star is currently headlining her Blown Away Tour in the United States and recently announced a second leg of the tour to kick off early 2013. The tour has been entertaining sell-out crowds in arenas all over the country and she has been setting records with album sales on her fourth album, Blown Away. Underwood’s next single, “Two Black Cadillacs,” just hit radio airplay and has already been climbing the charts.

For more, check the rest of the NBC press release below.

“The Sound of Music,” set in pre-WWII Austria, is based on the romantic true story of Maria von Trapp, an aspiring nun who leaves the abbey to become a governess for the widower Captain von Trapp’s seven children and finds herself falling in love with her employer and questioning her religious calling. It premiered on Broadway in 1959, where it broke box-office records and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The 1965 film version won the Best Picture Oscar. Today it is an evergreen classic — as popular in opera houses and outdoor amphitheaters as it is in high school auditoriums. “The Sound of Music” features a libretto by Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse and a score by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) that includes “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Edelweiss,” and “So Long, Farewell.”

With more than 15 million albums sold worldwide, 16 #1 singles (seven of which were co-written by
Underwood) and five Grammys, Underwood is fueled by a restless creative spirit as she released her most ambitious project yet in her current platinum-selling album “Blown Away.”

She’s won a vast array of awards, including three female vocalist awards from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). In 2010, when Underwood garnered her second win as ACM Entertainer of the Year, she became the first female artist in history to win the award twice. Underwood also received the ACM Triple Crown Award, thanks to her past wins for the categories of Entertainer of the Year, Top Female Vocalist and Top New Female Vocalist. Underwood also has won seven American Music Awards, six People’s Choice Awards, nine CMT Music Awards, nine American Country Awards, and is a member of the Grand Ole Opry. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song for “There’s a Place for Us” from “Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” which she both recorded and co-wrote. She became America’s sweetheart in 2005 when she won the fourth season of “American Idol,” a vehicle that transformed her from a shy Oklahoma girl with a great voice to a budding superstar.

Underwood’s 2005 debut, “Some Hearts,” topped Billboard’s Country Albums chart for 27 weeks, has
sold over seven million copies, and was voted #1 Country Album of the Decade by Billboard. Her 2007 sophomore album, “Carnival Ride,” 2009’s “Play On,” and her current album, “Blown Away,” debuted atop the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. Over the course of four albums, she’s saturated country radio with such #1 hits as “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “Before He Cheats,” “So Small,” “Last Name,” “Cowboy Casanova,” “Good Girl” and “Blown Away.” Underwood is currently headlining “The Blown Away Tour,” performing internationally and in arenas across the U.S. and Canada well into 2013. She was the top-selling country female touring artist of 2008 and 2010, as her headline arena tours have played over 100 shows and to over one million fans each year.

Underwood expanded her resume making her film-acting debut in the 2011 feature “Soul Surfer,” following a guest TV role on “How I Met Your Mother.” She starred in her own holiday variety TV special in 2009, and has co-hosted the CMA Awards for the past five years.

Underwood is managed by XIX Entertainment and repped by CAA.

Romney/Ryan Tattoo Guy Getting Tattoo Removed

Normally, we here at the Yak try to stay away from anything politics… WAY away. Aside from a forum thread or two, we choose to remain impartial on the topic since it can get pretty heated.

The reason I preface this article with our political stance is because, well, this article is slightly political, kinda. It has a spin however that makes it relevant here… read on and you will see why. I have to say when I found this article late last night, reading innocently, until I got toward the end and literally laughed out loud, I just had to share.

If you haven’t run into the article about the Romney/Ryan tattoo dude yet, here is a little background. So this guy in Michigan City Indiana, Eric Hartsburg, put his face up on Ebay apparently before the election and for $5000, agreed to have the Romney/Ryan “R” logo tattooed to his face (as you can see in the picture.) He was very proud of his tattoo I guess and it was covered by a lot of online media at the time. He had said that he will keep it on his face forever. After the election and the Romney loss, he still remained adamant that he was “a man of his word” and would not have it removed, even though an offer rolled in from a “Dr. TATTOFF” in Los Angeles to remove it for free.

Well, Eric has now changed his mind. He cites the reason he wants it removed now (according to Politico) is because of Romney’s post election comments, mainly the one about how Romney believes Obama won re-election because of “gifts” given out to his constituency. Eric told Politico that “It stands not only for a losing campaign but for a sore loser,” Hartsburg said. “He’s pretty shameful as far as I’m concerned, man. There’s no dignity in blaming somebody else for buying votes and paying off people. I can’t get behind that or stay behind that.”

So alas, Mr. Hartsburg has changed his mind, wants the ink removed from his face and has accepted the offer from “Dr. TATTOFF” in Los Angeles.

This is where Yak relevance comes in. Next week, tattoo face dude will be flying out to Los Angeles to start the first round of his tattoo removal, led by none other than Dr. Will Kirby. Yeah, Evil Dr. Will is heading the charge to get this tattoo off the dudes face.

“You can’t walk around with a big ‘R’ on your face!” Kirby told politico of the tattoo. I guess fortunately for the guy, it’s on the face… Apparently tattoos below the heart are harder to remove. Unfortunately for Eric though, there is a lot of blue ink which is harder to remove than other pigments. Dr. Will also said that each session is quick, “maybe 60 to 90 seconds” and then requires eight weeks between sessions for the skin to heal. He estimated it will take about 7-10 sessions to get the tattoo completely removed, which could take up to a year, and it hurts, however Kirby said “my understanding is that he has a good threshold for pain.”

So there you have it. Big Brother Alum Will Kirby doing a good deed for tattoo dude and removing the logo from Eric’s face. He may turn out to be a repeat costumer however, since according to Politico, dude might put his face up for sale on ebay once again when this is all over.

I guess some people will never learn.

Survivor: The Yak’s Interview with Pete Yurkowski

Pete Yurkowski the 24 year old engineering graduate from New Jersey became the 4th member of the jury on Survivor Philippines in last weeks episode. No question was more important to viewers than to find out why Pete aligned with Abi and why he kept true to the alliance when Abi was busy making them a target.

___________________________________

Q: Why did you keep your alliance with Abi until the end?
Pete: I kept it a little too long. I guess I was blinded by the fact that I knew nobody was gonna vote for her and that really was attractive to me. I should have cut her loose probably around when we cut Jeff Kent loose.

Q: If you weren’t connected so closely with Abi, do you think you would still be portrayed as a villain?
Pete: Probably in a different way. Me and Abi look pretty close out there, but I was really closer to Artis. I would tell him everything I was doing. He was kind of like a confidante.

Unlike Artis who said that Abi’s villainous edit was the true Abi, Pete said that Abi’s not really like that. She just became very volatile out there and every time she opened her mouth she dug a deeper hole for them.

Q: Why did you always seem so annoyed with Skupin and RC?
Pete: RC just talked strategy the whole time. She wanted to be top dog and to have everyone be her little puppets. With Skupin I just couldn’t handle having to vote on everything we decided in the tribe like we had to vote on should we cook the rice now or in 45 minutes! It was annoying. I had to make a choice between RC and Skupin or Artis and Abi. Artis couldn’t stand Skupin and he was vocal about it. Artis was my closest ally in the game so I chose Artis and Abi.

Pete’s moment he is most proud of is when he tossed the immunity idol on the shelter floor making it look like it fell out of RC’s bag. This created chaos between Abi and RC and basically shattered their alliance. Pete thinks his best move is voting out RC.

Pete indicated that he wanted to play with Malcolm because everyone else just did what Pete told them to do and Malcolm was playing really hard and he was intelligent. After finding out that Malcolm had the idol Pete still wanted to leave the door open and work with Malcolm. After watching the episodes Pete was surprised at Denise’s game play. Denise kept a low profile and didn’t indicate she was as strategic as she was.

At Ponderosa Pete had to confront RC who asked him if he regretted voting her out. Pete has no regrets about that and told her that Carter had already told them RC was turning. Pete and Artis considered RC a bitch.

Pete said that this experience was amazing and it gave him the kick in the pants he needed to go out and kick his life into gear after graduating college.

The Yak: Would you do it again?

Pete: Absolutely, in a heartbeat!!

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Were you unhappy to see Pete voted off? Let us know below, then come on in and join us in the forum HERE where we discuss Survivor and all your favorite Reality TV shows!

The Amazing Race: The Yak Chats with Abbie and Ryan

Abbie Ginsberg and Ryan Danz

After an emotional leg that saw the elimination of James and Abba, The Amazing Race continued the water works in Amsterdam, where the remaining 5 teams had to grind, vault and eat their way to the Final Four. The double U-Turn became an obstacle for Abbie Ginsberg (@abbieginsberg) and Ryan Danz (@ryandanz) that proved to be the topper to their Cake of Misfortune. The latest eliminated team sat down with Yakkity Yaks to discuss their string of bad luck, the friendships they made on the race, and if they thought the $2 million prize placed a bigger target on their chances of winning.

~~~~~~~

The Yak: First off, I have to send my deep, deep love from our members who were touched by your decision to wait for Josh and Brent during the last leg. You’ve endeared yourself to a lot of viewers by doing that.
Abbie: Awe! That’s very nice to hear!
Ryan: I think in hindsight, honestly, getting first place and winning two million dollars would have been a dream come true on a lot of levels, but we never, ever thought that getting a relationship that we got not only with each other, but with the Beekmans that I know will be life long – It’s really hard to say that it’s not more important. What you see on TV is very authentic – the way that we treat them, the way that we wait with them – and even when they decided to move on from the U-Turn and let us go do the side of the U-Turn, there was no hard feelings. We hugged, and we were sort of preparing for that, days earlier, to happen. So, it’s very real. We’ll see them in a week or so in New York, and we’ll spend time with them, so we’re very blessed to have had that silver lining in what, otherwise, could have been a black cloud for us that day in Amsterdam.

The Yak: So, do you regret teaming up with them at all?
Abbie: Not at all.
Ryan: No, not at all. This experience for us was about so much more than just the race, whether winning the money or the travel component. We didn’t know what to expect. We were hoping to gain clarity with ourselves and our relationship, so that in and of itself was a major blessing. We got to do something that so few people ever will experience, and we developed a much deeper relationship with each other through it. Then, an off-label reward, was this relationship that we got out of it with Josh and Brent that will pay off dividends well beyond any prize money we would have won, so there’s absolutely no regrets whatsoever.

The Yak: Taking a look at the U-Turn on this leg, how do you now feel about the Chippendales and their choice to use the U-Turn on the two of you?
Abbie: You know, we look at it as two separate things. We knew there was a great likelihood we’d be U-Turned, so to be bitter about a U-Turn in general, we’re not at all. It’s part of the game. Our strategy was not to use the U-Turn early in the game because we didn’t need to. Had we been racing for last place, there’s a potential we would have used it on another team. We were shocked that it was them out of the people that were left. We knew that Twinnies [Natalie and Nadiya] and Texans [Trey and Lexi] would do it in a heartbeat, but for it to come from them, we were shocked. What you didn’t see was the relationship that we had built with Jaymes and James, pretty much from day one, when we were talking back at LAX. We had said we wanted to align with a dominate male-male team, and they had come up to us and said, “You guys are strong, so what do you say about helping each other to the Final Three? Then, all bets are off and may the best person win.” So, we did a lot of helping each other out along the way.
Ryan: Yeah, we got pretty far behind leaving Turkey. There were some flight issues that you saw, and some flight issues that you didn’t see, so we didn’t see them for a couple of days. They didn’t know what had happened. So, we finally run into each other at some point, and Blonde James comes up to us and literally says, “Oh, my god! Thank god! You’re here! I can breathe again!” I’m only bringing this up to show that either he was the best actor of all time or he genuinely cared about us and vice versa. We had some conversation, and we told them there was some concern because we were so far behind and that there’s a U-Turn coming up, and he said, “Don’t worry about it. I know that Texas and the Twinnies are plotting, but we have your back. We’re gonna make sure that everything is okay. We’ll take care of it. We all want to race together. We want to race with the strongest teams, and really take pride with beating them fair and square.” So, had he not said that, it would have been cool. It’s definitely a mechanism in the game. Go for it. Use it. We talked in Indonesia, during the first U-Turn, that we just don’t believe in them as race fans, but these guys were recruited for the show, whereas Abbie and I applied as fans, so they had other interests. One of the first things that Jaymes told us was this was an opportunity for him to get his own TV show. So, that’s fine if that’s what it is, but we just kind of felt betrayed and here we were sticking to our words with everyone that we were talking to and holding our end of the bargin up.

The Yak: Looking back, how would you have played it with Josh and Brent if you hadn’t been U-Turned?
Ryan: If the U-Turn didn’t happen, we basically would have gone to the ditch together. I think it was caught on TV that they were sort of resigned to the fact that they went as far as they could go and got as much out of the experience as they wanted to at that point, so we were under the impression that if you step on the mat at the same time, there are some rules that we were aware of that indicated which team would prevail. We were fine in knowing that if we were tied, we would have been moving on.

Abbie and Ryan get U-Turned in Amsterdam

The Yak: What about your relationship with the Twinnies?
Abbie and Ryan: [imitating Natalie and Nadiya] “Twinnie! Twinnie!” [laughs]
Abbie: What would you like to know?
The Yak: Where did that relationship break down? It never seemed like you had a real strong connection with them from the beginning, but where did it really start to turn?
Abbie: It’s funny because looking back, a lot of people like our friends and families said, “What the heck did you guys do to have this hatred for one another?” and I think if you back up, they’re competitive and we’re competitive and sometimes you just don’t like people you compete against. I think with a lot of these shows, there were little snippets. There weren’t many times when we were arguing and being horrible to each other, and I think a lot of of Twinnie stuff is humor driven.
Ryan: I would just add that the few things you saw each of us saying was probably the only things that were actually said, but since the show only gives you 40 minutes of air time, you tend to get a lot of weight on something when it comes up. So, while it looked like we said things all day long, there was really only a few comments. We were really only concerned with one thing and that was how we performed on the race course. Aside from the U-Turns, there’s really nothing that another team can do to you to slow you down and impact your race, and I think when you did see us interacting, it was sort of in a sibling-rilvary sort of place.
Abbie: It was playful!
Ryan: Yeah, I genuinely happy with the way that they talked, and I was blown away by the things that they said. I thought it was funny. I have a similar sense of humor, so for the most part, I just found them to be entertaining. I didn’t have this issues, like, “Oh, my god! I can’t run this race with them still here!”
Abbie: Like little pests. There was the one task where I asked them if they had built a scale in their backyard, it was like, “No shit!” It was sarcasm. It wasn’t as if I was actually asking them if they built scales in their backyards for fun. So, come on, really? It was all for fun, and people might be surprised by this, but we’ve actually developed a good relationship with them after the show. Between them and the Beekmans, we talk to them via text nearly every day. I think, they’re young and we both didn’t know each other that well during the show. You don’t have a lot of time to really get to know people. You’re racing on your own quite a bit, but they’re funny.

The Yak: Obviously, everyone’s curious about the U-Turns, the Chippendales, and the Twinnies, but aside from all of that, what do you think was the hardest part of the race for each of you?
Abbie: Booking flights. [laughs] The most stressful part, honestly, was booking flights. The whole thing was a welcome challenge, though, for Ryan and I. Being very competitive people, we liked being put to the test and we like those moments of struggle. Personally, nothing stands out more than Dhaka. The heat and the culture change and the tasks that day – that was probably one of the toughest physical parts of the race. Also, the demise of Abbie and Ryan was emotionally tough to deal with. Amsterdam was brutal on our spirits. It would have been one thing if we had been sucking at the course itself and making dumb mistakes, but this plane trouble stuff – for that to be an incessant problem – it just drained us by the time we got to Amsterdam.
Ryan: Abbie’s right. Along the way, we really were getting stronger as a couple. The race itself was becoming more manageable physically. The hardest part, though, was coming to grips with the notion that we were the strongest team, just based on the average finish – especially before we left for Russia, we averaged a second place on every leg, even though we had two firsts. So, we were just crushing the course in every leg, we were getting stronger as a team, stronger as a couple, and then, all of a sudden, all this bad luck happened with the flight situations and we just couldn’t get over it. That was a very hard thing to comprehend when you’re doing so well that the “race behind the race” with all this logistical stuff leaves you feeling very helpless. If we had failed on the race course, we could say, “Look, we did our best, but we’re just not the best team,” but we don’t think either of us felt that way.
Abbie: Yet, for the same reason, we love this race! We’re fans of it because the luck part is part of it. It gives anybody a shot, not just the most physical and smartest team. It really can go any way.
Ryan: The Blondes [Caitlin and Brittany] with the taxi that caused a problem. Then, Amy and Daniel with the taxi in Indonesia. Plus, us with the flights. If you said, “Would you do it all over again and take that stuff out of the equation?” I would say, “Absolutely not!” I think traveling and racing around the world was as much a part of the race as the Detours and the Road Blocks, and it’s a fun part of the race. The first day we left China, we got to the airport first and Abbie didn’t see anybody, so she was concerned we had to book our own flights and we were going to screw it up. She got sort of emotionally freaked out.
Abbie: I got freaked out!
Ryan: When, looking back, that was exciting! That was really cool. We were able to get around the world and figure it out on our own, having never really traveled together before.

The Yak: It seems to be a theme with a lot of the racers this season: everyone was really excited about the race, but they’ve all got their own personal issues behind the race itself, whether it be the taxis or the flights. It’s definitely something to consider when discussing the race that most racers never think about before hand.
Ryan: Yeah, when we were traveling between Detours and Route Markers and Pit Stops, we were doing things to get better each leg when it came to those kinds of travel, especially when it was travel by taxi. We were always trying to pay our drivers ahead of time, so that we wouldn’t have to haggle at the end, and we always had backup measures in place to make sure our driver knew where he was going. So, we were not just getting better at performing the tasks, but actually how to move around in each country. It’s too bad that we didn’t get a chance to go to the end and see how it would have shaken out. If you looked at our record up until after Turkey and before the flight troubles all started, when we were all racing on the same even playing field, we beat the Chippendales 5 out of 6 times, and we beat the Twinnies [Natalie and Nadiya] 5 out of 6 times, and we beat Lexi and Trey 4 out of 6 times, so it’s not a guarantee that we would have won, but I certainly liked our odds better than anyone else’s.

Abbie and Ryan trek through Bangladesh

The Yak: After that first leg, what was it like knowing that you were racing for two million dollars? Did it seem to be a big deal to the other teams?
Ryan: Ultimately, the game decision to U-Turn us and everything else that came along with it had nothing to do with the two million dollar prize. It had everything to do with how we were winning each leg or coming in the top until we had our flight issues. Until that point, every decision that was made against us was made just because we were a strong team. We could have been racing for one dollar and the teams would have made the same decision because we were going to impact their ability to win their own one million dollar prize.

The Yak: Did you do anything special after you found out you had been selected to be on the race?
Abbie: Oh, gosh! That day was so exciting. I remember that day: it was pouring down rain, and we immediately went to get our backpacks and started shopping for all of our items. We didn’t even celebrate that night. We were on a very strict, healthy regimin before we left. We had just spent the day together, prepping, and then we started mentally and physically prepping a little bit before, just in case, since we didn’t want to wait 3 or 4 weeks before the race to do all that, so we upped our prep time. We pretty much lived and breathed prepping for the race before we took off.
Ryan: The one thing that I think was the biggest preparation tool for us was teaching Abbie how to drive a stick shift. It didn’t happen over night, and it didn’t happen over two or three nights – it took about three weeks, and it was the bain of our existence in that time. Then, in the meantime, we were doing pilates together and doing brain games and going to different workouts and rock climbing and kayaking, but that stick shift driving really got us over the hump of communications that we didn’t have before. We had never really been in a position like that before where we were relying on each other in a different sense of the relationship. Unlike the Twinnies, who had a lifetime of being sisters, we’ve only been dating for a year and a half, so the benefit of that time together learning the stick shift was the best preparation on how to communicate during the race because it was so contentious. For a while, she was getting frustrated, and I was getting frustrated, but it really was the best thing we could have done.

The Yak: It definitely showed in the way you ran the race. You seemed to have a good chemistry together, and you didn’t appear to fight like we’ve seen so many teams do in past seasons.
Abbie: Yeah, we’re happy that we were portrayed that way. There really wasn’t much they could have used to make us venomous towards one another, and that was really important going into the race because Ryan and I are both Type-A and competitive, we both had a goal, which was to win and do our best, but you have to put the relationship and the cattiness and the nit-picking aside. We had the same goal, and that’s why I think we meshed really well when it came to the task at hand. Yes, there were moments in the hotel room when we had to work out some stuff and maybe there was a little bit of bickering and quarreling then, but the majority of our success was because we were able to just contain that side of the relationship. Ironically, with that, we were working on our relationship, but we weren’t putting focus directly on it.
Ryan: We were even being told by Phil at each Pit Stop, “Gosh, I can’t believe you guys are getting stronger as a couple. Certainly as a team, but also as a couple. That’s never really happened.” Some teams, even Ralph and Vanessa from last season, broke up on their flight out of Hawaii. The relationship takes such a toll, especially as a dating couple. You’re not really invested in the relationship the same way you are as a parent-child or sibling or some other familial relationship, so we sort of had the deck stacked against us, but the thing that I’m most proud about is not how well we did and not that we’re one of the strongest teams of all time, but it’s really how we treated each other. We watched this back with our families and our friends, but at the end of the day, we made each other feel good and respected and accomplished. Plus, I’m just so proud of Abbie with how she treated herself. She has 800 students at her dance school that are between the ages of 5 and 18, so every Monday, they’d come in and say, “Oh, Miss Abbie! We saw you on the race!” It was their world, so in keeping that in the back of her mind, these kids are so proud of her and, hopefully, me through the way I treated her, it’s a really special part of the experience for us that we’ve never had that breakdown between us.

The Yak: So, what’s next for Abbie and Ryan?
Abbie: Well, work today. [laughs] No, you know, I think we’re open to whatever comes our way. We’re excited for new things. Maybe the race again? I’ll have to twist Ryan’s arm on that one, if it was ever an option. [laughs]
Ryan: We’re blessed that we’ve gotten some opportunities that have come, just because of this race. There’s been an endorsement deal that we’ve been able to line up, and I’ve been approached about doing a book, plus, there was a proposal that was accepted – just from being on the race and having unique backgrounds, whether jujitsu or law or entrepreneurialism. We just got back from a lakeside cabin in Tahoe, where we spent a week there with our dogs and hiked and got to be alone. We’ll just keep doing things like that and sort of living our own Amazing Race every day.

The Yak: Thank you so much for your time, and we were sorry to see you go, but we wish you all the best!
Ryan: Thank you! Go Yakkity Yaks!!!
Abbie: Yeah, Yakkity Yaks!!!

The Amazing Race: The Yak Chats with James and Mark

James LoMenzo and Mark “Abba” Abbattista

Leg Seven of The Amazing Race brought many surprises to not only the viewers, but to the racers, as well. We saw the six remaining teams make their way through Moscow, Russia, while learning that you don’t leave your personal belongings unattended in strange men’s vehicles. Unfortunately for James LoMenzo and Mark “Abba” Abbattista, they found out this lesson this hard way, when they were ultimately forced out of the race for not having passports to continue their journey. The Yak recently sat down with the two rockers to discuss their thoughts about traveling around the world, losing their personal items, and, of course, Team Twinnie.

~~~~~~

The Yak: What’s tougher – the music industry or The Amazing Race?
Abba: It depends on your point of view because you get robbed in both of them. [laughs]
James: Well, you deal with a bunch of rats in both of them. [laughs]

The Yak: So, I have to know. Did you ever get to recover your bags and how long did it take you to get a replacement passport?
Abba: We’re still in Russia. [laughs]
James: They have a great TiVo system, so we get to watch the show only in small increments.
Abba: No, we never got the bags back. The taxi driver took off with them – stole them – and despite our efforts to try and track this person down in a city of 10-12 million people, we never did get them back. We exhausted all the remedies that we could. As far as the passport situation, this happened on a Friday and a Saturday, then Tuesday was the Independence Day for Russia, so all the government offices were closed down for the whole week. That made the whole matter even worse for us, but it didn’t stop us from trying. We were able to get a passport through the US Embassy, but then you also need a Russian Visa and that one was much more difficult to get because the culture of the Russian bureaucracy is not very flexible. We wound up getting stranded there for 6 more days after this happened.

The Yak: Well, you had a little down time to do some sightseeing then, right?
Abba: Well, yeah, if you consider seeing the inside of the embassies sightseeing, then, hey, yeah, we had a great trip! [laughs] We did the best that we could under the circumstances we had, and I had said to James at one point, “If we’d have won the leg, we would have won a trip, so let’s look at this as our six day, all-expense-paid trip to Russia together!” You gotta laugh to some extent. You can’t cry all day long, and we had a nice time and met some wonderful local people that were there with us. You know, you want to cry, but let’s go out and make the most of it.

The Yak: How do you feel now about the situation regarding the Sri Lankan twins taking your money and splitting it with Trey and Lexi?
James: I think it was an unfortunate thing. Personally, it’s disappointing to think that this is what happened. We had had nice relationships with [Natalie and Nadiya] all throughout the race, as well as Trey and Lexi, which were a little bit more shocking for me. You know, you kind of hope for the best and when you see something that isn’t that, especially after the fact, since we didn’t learn about it until it was on TV. At that point, you don’t move forward by looking in the rear-view mirror.
Abba: It was a great experience for us anyway, since we had to overcome the adversity of having no money and meeting all those really wonderful people in Bangladesh, who were more than willing to help us out by feeding us. We had a great experience because of it, so it was a negative turned into a super positive and one of the most memorable days of my life.

The Yak: Since you weren’t aware of Natalie and Nadiya and Trey and Lexi sharing your lost money, have you talked to them at all since the episode aired?
James: Oh, they’re dead. [laughs]
Abba: You won’t be hearing anything out of them anymore. [laughs] I’m just kidding!
James: I had a brief communication with Lexi and Natalie. They sort of explained their side of it, and I listened. It doesn’t change what happened, at least in my mind. I don’t condone it. I think they made a poor decision, and I expressed that to them. So, onward we move.
Abba: Well, we were convinced that we had dropped it in the van we were taking, so that was what we were trying to figure out. It’s kind of a weird relief to know we didn’t lose the money, but that someone had stolen it. [laughs]

The Yak: I think a lot of fans feel the same way you do about the two teams involved with the missing money.
Abba: You know, look, if you take the high road, there’s a lot less traffic. Also, the public outcry that has happened to them because of this is punishment enough. Those are their actions, and the result of their actions. The result of our actions was that we got an opportunity to meet a whole lot of unbelievable people in Bangladesh, and the generosity of those strangers that saved us that day is one of the golden moments of the whole race for both of us. I’m not just trying to blow sunshine up my own butt here, but it’s one of those things where it was something positive. It didn’t really affect anything anyway since we ended up beating the twins that day, so if there was some sort of “Ha-ha!” kind of justice internally with us, it was that we ended up beating them anyway. It had no impact on us because we chose not to let this impact us. Not that we knew that it happened, but we had a problem, we maintained our level-headedness about it, and ended up showing our grace and dignity throughout the whole race.

James and Abba search through the streets of Moscow, Russia

The Yak: After you were given some time to rectify the passport situation, were you hopeful that your time on the race might not be over?
Abba: We were holding on to hope the whole way. We kind of realized that it was the longest shot on Earth, but it’s kind of like when someone gives you a lottery ticket for your birthday. They’re really giving you nothing, but at the same time, you hope that you might win the lottery, so that was kind of where we were at. We were a little bolstered by the other adversity that we had overcome throughout the race, including getting through losing the money, so we thought, “It’s a long shot from hell, but we’ll take it, as usual!” What else could you do? It was an interesting experience. We got to see things that we probably never would have seen in Russia, and we’d already been there three or four times prior – mostly in jail. [laughs]
James: We were inside Russian jails. I got to spend several hours inside Interpol. I don’t know anybody else that’s ever done that. At that point, we knew it was pretty dim, but at the same time, it wasn’t over yet. We weren’t dead, so while we still had some breath, we were going to keep kicking with it and take everything in at the same time.

The Yak: Abba, given how bad your knee was, do you still think you could have continued the entire race?
Abba: Well, here’s what happened with my knee; I’m going to give you an exclusive. Are you ready for it?
The Yak: Sure!
Abba: Turns out, it wasn’t my knee. We thought that it was potentially the meniscus, and when I came home, I ended up having MRI’s and it turned out that I had fractured both tibias. So, I ran the race with two broken legs. Could I have done that Russian dancing thing? You know, I probably should not have been running or anything, and even now, I’m sitting while I’m speaking to you with these magnetic bone probe stimulators on. I’m still in a doctor’s care, and I’m still healing from this several months later. So, could I have done the Russian dancing? I wasn’t going to quit. I wasn’t there to quit, so it might not have been pretty, but I would have powered through it like I powered through everything else. I’d like to think that toughness isn’t the question that’s on everyone’s mind when it comes to me, but it wouldn’t have stopped me at all. We were running on cobblestones and on broken streets. It was awful from a pain point of view, but at the same time, Amy was there with no legs, so until they cut mine off, I thought that her story was more important than mine.

The Yak: Beyond the missing money, the stolen passports and your knees giving you trouble, what do you think was the hardest part of whole race was for you?
Abba: We haven’t been asked that one yet.
James: Yeah, that’s an interesting question. For me, going into this, my biggest fear was that I’d have to do some kind of orchestrated dance. I didn’t realize it would involve trying not to drown at the same time. [both laugh] So, that was probably the hardest moment for me.
Abba: I think answering this question might have been the hardest part of the whole thing. [laughs] No, I think it was dealing with the non-elimination from a personal point of view. I know it’s not kind of a sexy answer, but it’s sort of facing the humbling reality in front of 10 million people. I think being in a speedo in front of 10 million people with that silly cap on our heads – not that it was physically hard, but it kind of puts your life into a little weird perspective when you’re forced to surrender to something. It’s like you’re thinking, “I know I look ridiculous!” I know this probably looks somewhat foolish to people, but when you move ahead in life despite that fear or the fear that you’re going to look silly, that’s probably the hardest thing. Also, I think it was great being on camera. I think everybody should live a couple of days of their life on camera. Just to see what you really look like, and what you really sound like and how you behave. Plus, the facial expressions that you make. You’d be surprised. It may not be what you think you look like. I don’t think I really had a bad experience, you know, outside of the not winning, but I also learned, too, that not winning doesn’t mean losing. The first episode in Shanghai where Phil kind of gave us a bit of heat on the mat, it really changed me a bit along the way. That’s probably the competitive nature that I kind of had going into this, and realizing, we didn’t lose a million dollars that we didn’t have. We gained a trip around the world, which validated everything that we already felt towards each other, towards the world, and having a bunch of wonderful experiences added to the book of our life.

The Yak: Did you two do anything special to prepare for the race after you found out you had been selected?
James: We got right on training and watching the show. That’s pretty much what I would recommend everybody does.
Abba: Don’t suggest that!
James: Well, we want good competitors!
Abba: What if we ever come back, dude? Then, everybody will know what they’re doing!
James: Here’s what you need to do: get a box of Twinkies before they all go away because you’re going to miss those.
Abba: You never know – there could be a Twinkie-eating challenge.
James: That’s right, it could happen! [both laugh] I mean, we did the normal stuff: we got our cardio up, made sure that we were strong enough to carry your own weight around, maybe hanging from something or standing on something. I think it’s kind of obvious. It really is a grueling trek. Most important, though, is you’ve got to get your attitude adjusted perfectly because there’s a lot of exhaustion involved. The biggest part is making sure you have a mental reserve. That’s not something everybody can do.
Abba: I think a lot of preparation was involved because we both have families. We had to leave our children and wives at home. There was a lot of preparation that involved talking with my kids and my family, who were used to us being away because we tour a lot, but there’s no contact with them [while you’re on the race], so this whole time after they dropped us off at the airport, nobody knew where we were or what we were doing. For me, it was important that my family kind of had that. I missed my daughter’s eighth grade graduation. James missed his daughter’s high school graduation. You know, how do you prepare for that? We have well-balanced families that went through a lot, so that we could go forward and do this. That’s something that’s really special, and I think that they’ve come out of this just as balanced now that they see Dad on TV. Even last night, my son was crying because he didn’t want to know anything that happened, and he was sort of disappointed. You know, if I had something bad about the race, maybe it was that. Seeing my kid crying over this game. I didn’t really want that to happen. It really affects a lot of people beyond just the two people that you see on the show.

The Yak: Did you get a chance to get close to the other teams, and have you kept in touch with them since the race ended?
James: Yeah, I think we got close to pretty much all of them, with the exception of one that we made a choice about. The thing is that you’re not really with each other. When we won the two challenges in a row, we didn’t see anybody for three or four days because we won and we’re back in the hotel before some of the other teams even started. I think there was probably only two challenges that we actually did with anybody else in the room with us, which was the balloons and the ping pong. So, we had a tendency not to be with people. We didn’t have that sort of social element. I don’t think we had a social need, where it was kind of a sorority party where everybody got together and huddled around and braided each other’s hair. I’ve kept in touch with pretty much everybody. We’re part of this strange, little fraternity here. We went through a very life-altering experience and we only have each other to kind of relate that to. There was definitely camaraderie that’s out of that and some nice friendships with some of the people. Some of the people I went through my whole life not knowing them in the first place, and I’ll go through the rest of it not caring that I don’t know them in the second place.
Abba: I keep waiting for one of them to call me up, but they keep getting the time zones wrong.
[James and Abba both laugh]

The Yak: What’s next for the two of you?
Abba: I’m probably going to have a sandwich. [laughs]
James: I’m working on an album of music right now and a couple of other projects. I have my production company, where we do videos for music manufacturing, so I’ve got my hands pretty much full.
Abba: My business will continue to go on. I’m not quite sure. Every morning, I wake up and I’m not sure what’s coming. Then, every night I go to bed and I’m not sure what just happened, so this kind of situation isn’t much different for me.
James: You gotta get a job one of these days! You can’t keep living like this, man!
Abba: We’ll keep traveling around. I’ve got some tours set up for the beginning of next year, so I do a lot of traveling. This next week, I’ll be spending with my family because now that I’m not on the show, it’s quiet time. I’ll have a nice Thanksgiving and spend it with my whole family. I’ll just continue to decompress from this whole crazy experience we just went through. Who knows? There’s opportunity around every corner, so we’ll see what happens.

The Yak: We definitely appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. Best of luck to the both of you, and a very happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!
James: Thank you so much! You, too!
Abba: Thanks!

FIRST LOOK! Big Brother Canada House Tour

 

With Big Brother Canada set to premiere in February 2013, the production crew is hard at work on the cage that will house the first crop of Canadian hamsters. ET Canada takes BB fans (American and Canadian alike!) inside the walls of the Ontario studio for the very first glimpse at the BB Canada house. While the house is still very much under construction, it’s looking pretty righteous, eh? The house will feature an indoor backyard, similar to the one featured on the Glass House. The shows producer promises that a “soft box” will be installed that will change the lighting throughout the day, casting shadows and bringing the outdoors indoors. Also noted in the video is the fact that just like its American sibling, BB Canada will feature a studio audience during its live eviction shows. So, Canadian super fans, be on the lookout for tickets soon!

 

Thanks to YouTube, we can now bring those of you here in the USA the clip. Enjoy, and be sure to share your thoughts with us.