Trick Wire Journal

In a video clip from Iraq, Ryan Conklin decided to sport a new sexy mustache as he talked about his upcoming special Return To Duty on MTV. It was only a slight bit of fur on his upper lip, but it looked very manly in conjunction with his Army uniform and stylish sunglasses. It probably wouldn't look as good if Ryan were decked out in civilian garb, but in the ACU, it was definitely hot. Ryan referred to it as being "a disgusting mustache" but it actually made his fine features even more handsome, if that were possible.

It's unusual for Ryan to have a real mustache on his lip. His favored way to carpet his face is to tape on a fake mustache.

He has been known to wear two different styles of an ersatz mystacal* accessory. One is large and long and curled up on the end. The other is more like a Charlie Chaplin version.

It is not known specifically why Ryan enjoys the usage of a fake mustache, but it certainly has become one of his best known traits.

Ryan is known to have grown a real beard during the time between the end of The Real World Brooklyn and his re-entry into active duty in the Army, but unfortunately, the result was not aesthetically pleasing and happily he had to remove it.

The good looking mustache from the current video clip, alas, is also destined to be washed from his blade and down the drain. He said at the end of the clip that he was proceeding at that moment to strip it off. The gentle bristles would not literally be tickling anyone's fancy for the time being.

*Of or pertaining to the upper lip, or mustache.

Yesterday, I was pondering comments that Ryan Conklin had made during and about his experience on The Real World Brooklyn, that his roommates hadn't shown much interest in knowing about his time in the Army. I thought to myself, boy if I had been there I would be asking him about that and other things all the time. I'm interested in knowing what Ryan's life was like in Iraq, what he did there, what he thought about, everything. I got frustrated knowing I would never have the opportunity that his roommates had.

The only information available to fans about who Ryan is as a person comes from what was seen on the show and what he has stated in interviews. Well, there's a lot more than that that I am curious about. What's his positions on various issues - things like that. The kind of things you could find out if you went on week retreat with someone.

So, knowing that ain't going to happen, I decided to make light of not knowing even silly little things about him. On Twitter I said "There's so much we don't know about @RyanAConklin. What's his favorite color? Food? Sport? Book? Broadway musical? Co-host on The View? IDK"

I figured he might have a favorite in the first four categories, and the fifth was at least a possibility, but the thought of him even watching The View made me laugh - just imagining the expressions of disgust he would make.

Then in the morning I saw he had not taken the bait of The View but rather countered with "I'm a man. I love manly things such as football, guns, beer, meat, and LeAnn Rimes." I pictured him saying it while channeling his inner Adam Carolla, and maybe even beating his chest Tarzan style. I love this guy. He has used the generic "meat" line before ("Ryan Loves Meat"), but LeAnn Rimes is new. I don't know if he picked her from seeing her on the gossip sites because of her cheating with Eddie Cibrian or from her being in the news because Jason Mraz recently broke her record for longest time for a song in the Billboard Top 100. Either way, funny. Also, you have to be a real Ryan aficionado to remember this one, but in his RW audition tape, Ryan stated a liking not for beer but for appletinis. As he put it, "I love them, they are a very manly drink."

Ryan Conklin, you are THE man. Don't ever change.

On August 13th, Ryan Conklin tweeted that he was getting close to having 5000 followers on Twitter, being less than a hundred away. As the day wore on, the number inched closer to the milestone. By the evening, Ryan tweeted that with only 57 more to go, the 5000th would be "the lucky winner". This of course started a contest among the several levels of fans, from the occasionals to the die-hards.

I knew it was just silliness, but it seemed like something where the odds weren't too bad, such that I could possibly "win". Also, being hopefully in at least the top ten of Ryan fans (not counting his family and friends) I sort of felt like I was expected to participate to prove my bona fides.

I was too tired to keep watching the numbers all the way to the end, so I went to sleep and sent my alarm for 1:30am, figuring the rate of addition would make the total pretty close by that time. I woke up at that time and saw it was about 15 away. Slowly it crept higher until it was only a few away. Then the number started going both down and up, as people tried to game the system by unfollowing in anticipation of re-following at the last second. I won't reveal my own strategy, but all that needs to be said is that I was unsuccessful. Someone who did not appear to be one of the long-term super-fans hit the mark a little before 2am.

I guess it would have been cool to have won, but I really didn't care. The "prize" I am most looking forward to, the one that keeps me going sometimes, is the interview that Ryan told me via email he would do for me at some point. It's been a little while, but I trust his word. I had sent questions before, but I think I would want to update them to take into account newer information.

Ryan Conklin twitter

Brett Novek appeared in a television commercial with Tiffany Diaz to advertise the Colgate Wisp teeth cleaning tool. In the ad, Tiffany gets in the back seat of a taxi. At first she practices making suggestive facial expressions and then she takes a Colgate Wisp out of her purse and practices holding it suggestively. The voice-over states euphemistically that "Your next 'kiss' may be closer than you think." It goes on to explain the purpose of the product, to clean your teeth without water. Tiffany is not shown using it on her teeth. Perhaps she used it to clean the foul smelling seat of the taxi.

Brett enters the car, joining Tiffany in the back seat. They bare their supernaturally white teeth at each other, laugh at someone they see outside, and then get down to lip-locking. End of commercial.

There has finally been some comments from Ryan Conklin about the airing of the episode where he receives notification of being called back to Iraq. On MTV's website, he blogged that he was grateful for the responses he has seen from people about the episode. He indicated that he was glad that many of them are words of encouragement and not just of pity. It inspires him.

He also stated that he is hoping to do a website where he can post updates about his time in Iraq.

I was happy to see any update from him at all just to know how he was feeling.

I don't often leave any comment over there because I don't like to over due it, but under the circumstances I felt like the time was appropriate. Here is what I wrote there:

The Real World Brooklyn's Ryan Conklin is going back to Iraq. There had been a number of clues about this, like the comments on MySpace and then the statement by the friend who works at The Pike restaurant in Gettysburg.

At first I was deeply distressed. It's such a horrible and cruel twist of fate. To pluck Ryan out of the literal real world just when he was on the verge of capitalizing on his television notoriety and being able to productively pursue any of the several career paths he is capable of; it's just unbelievable.

I admit I have been sucked into the fandom of Ryan Conklin, and in the process have foregone any consideration of him as a "character" and see him as the real and vulnerable flesh-and-blood person that I and others have grown to care about. Though he be a stranger, the one-way glass of the television screen has given me some sort of affection for the man and when he faces an uncertain and grievous circumstance, it hurts.

But now I have faith. I am confident in James 5:16: "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." I believe Ryan Conklinwill return to us and we will enjoy his wit and talent far into the future.

As a mobilized IRR soldier, Ryan would first receive refresher training in the United States. Then he will be redeployed to Iraq, leaving on April 15th. That's just two weeks after his 24th birthday on April 1st.

I took the plunge into creating a blog specifically about Ryan Conklin, star of MTV's Real World Brooklyn. It's a Blogger blog, appropriately called "Ryan Conklin".

I've previously done specific web pages about some reality TV stars I've been interested in, but never a whole site focused on one individual. Usually there wouldn't be enough material to warrant having a blog specializing in one reality star. There might be if you want to just reuse the same public info everyone else does, or if you want to try to steal other people's work, but if you have read any of my stuff, you know I use almost exclusively my own commentary. Since that's a lot of work to write sufficient material, at least for a non-writer like me, creating a new blog is a big deal.

Fortunately, MTV has been generous in providing fans a lot of content to comment on. Their Real World "dailies" videos are a big source of information. There are so many of them, and so many that have Ryan as a central figure, it will take awhile to remark on all of the relevant ones.

There is also my other Ryan Conklin page.

I finally have a reason to watch The Real World again. Ryan of Real World Brooklyn (at right) has made the show something to look forward to each week. He's an interesting character that has more than a few facets to him. He's a small town military boy that has a creative side that is wanting to be heard. Besides a momentary stint at learning how to pole dance, Real World Ryan spends time analyzing his roommates and singing songs that he has written.

He would probably be better off not being his own lyricist, but his melodies and singing are heartfelt.

Ryan is complex enough to need a number of episodes to be aired before he can be figured out. It's refreshing to find a person on reality television that takes awhile to understand. Too many people on reality TV are like cardboard cutouts. On some shows that doesn't matter and I don't mind watching some fluff, but with a personality driven show like The Real World, I expect to see some personality. Ryan Conklin has brought it.

Did I mention that he's hot also? (again, see photo)

It's all over for our Hoosier 10m platform divers at the Beijing Olympics. A combination of disappointing performances in the final by the two, David Boudia and Thomas Finchum, and fantastic dives by the rest of the roster, pushed the pair down to end in 10th and 12th place. They are both still teenagers so hopefully we will see them in London in 2012 where they can grab a medal to bring back to Indiana.

I will miss seeing the timidity and waif-look of Thomas Finchum when he is shown off the platform. I will miss seeing David Boudia compulsively rubbing his backside while on the platform and pulling down the end of his swimsuit over his left buttock after he dives. I may not miss as much Boudia spitting in the shower or seeing Finchum do his strange form of two finger whistle. In general, I really liked the camera that moved downward with the divers. It showed the velocity of the dives and how incredible it is that anyone could do twists and turns in that short a time at 30 mph.

Perhaps the thing I will miss most is the magic hair of the divers, which went from soaking wet to fashionably styled in between each dive. A half hour and a blow dryer doesn't get me anywhere near as good a result.

See also: David Boudia and Tom Finchum want to be on top

The men in the 3m springboard diving competition at the Beijing games may be small in stature but what is more important is that they are Olympic sized pouch packers. Their powerful legs put a lot of pressure on the board when they jump, but the pressure on the stretch fabric of the front of their Speedos really shows off their physicality.

Two of the most well sprung divers are America's Troy Dumais and Canada's Alex Despatie. They both get high marks for their degree of enormity and set the standard for the meet.

Under the circumstances, there's no way for the divers to present themselves modestly so I assume Troy pointing himself downward and fellow American Chris Colwill going side to side is only for their own comfort. I'm just glad it hasn't bothered the television network enough for them to start using massive pixelation in this case to protect its viewers from over-stimulation.

Interestingly, water is suppose to cause noticeable shrinkage of the male anatomy, so it is hard to imagine how much bigger are the boys before they jump in the pool. I'd be fine with them either way as this is one situation where I wouldn't mind being rode hard and put away wet (literally).

The American 10 meter synchronized Olympic pair of Thomas Finchum and David Boudia finished in 5th place in the final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It looks like the medal drought in diving is going to continue a little longer. They were less than five points away from the bronze medal score, which was earned by the Russians. The Chinese and Germans came in first and second.

Boudia and Finchum are residents of Indiana, where the U.S. national diving training center is located as is the USA Diving headquarters.

Both Boudia and Finchum have another opportunity to bring a medal back to the Hoosier state when they compete individually in the 10 meter platform event on 8/23.

Also on Trick Wire: Some Gay Sensibilities: Finchum and Boudia in Sync

Brett Novek has done some modeling for Creative Recreation, a fashion footwear company. The result is his image on some billboards that show a lot of Brett (and some females) but only a little of the shoes.

The image on the right came with some controversy as it was supposedly banned at first from being displayed in L.A. because it was "dirty". The full photo has Brett doing a champagne money shot over the body of a supplicant female. It's quite a gusher, but the fact that it is Brett should erase any notion of the scene being anything more than Brett opening a bottle for a stranger and his being surprised by the excessive effervescence.

The idea of Brett doing anything dirty is silly.

Brett Novek, the epitome of tightened and toned, appeared in the infomercial for Tony Horton's 10 Minute Trainer. Brett's on-screen time is short and intermittent, but the visuals are quite good for showing off his muscular development and fine lines. The coloration and cinematography are also excellent, and aid the sale of the product and of Brett. His facial expression used throughout is placid, and perhaps not consistent with a vigorous work out, but people probably have enough visions of Brett hot and sweaty stored in their imagination already.

In Touch Weekly magazine reported that Brett Novek is dating Stephanie Pratt from The Hills, but the response from Brett is that it is not true. According to the author of the Brett Novek fan page on MySpace, he asked Brett directly if the rumor were true and the reply was "No, we're just friends."

The In Touch article stated that Brett “was spotted whispering in her ear and making her laugh at the Target Converse One Star party in LA on June 1.” Who hasn't talked in someone's ear at a loud party or told a joke at one?

Stephanie is quoted as saying "He's really sweet and cute." No news there to anyone who has been following Brett Novek's career.

Start the conversations in the Brett Novek Fans group on MySpace: http://groups.myspace.com/BrettNovekFans

I have been aware of Brett Novek's appearance on an Optimum television commercial, but since I don't live in an area where it would be aired, I didn't see it right away. The commercial is for Optimum's triple play plan (television, internet, and voice). Brett appears briefly, wearing a wifebeater, at the moment that the jingle extols Optimum Voice and suggests "call the boys." He portrays a gardener, using hedge clippers on a topiary shaped as a "29.95" (the monthly price of the plan component). Most importantly, he winks at the camera while his smile literally sparkles.

A gardener like this would make local housewives a lot more desperate.

Who is the actor in th State Farm television commercial playing the groom with the stinky futon? It's the 31 year old actor Robert W. Sudduth.  He looks so familiar but his IMDb information indicates that he has made only single appearances in a few shows that I know I didn't watch. I wish I could remember on what I may have seen him before. 

I could see that several other people have been wanting to find out who he was also. He's cute and I wonder why he hasn't been more visible. I hope we see more of him in the future.


 

When I first heard that Brett Novek's Taco Bell television commercial had finally started to air, I began looking for it on YouTube, but it wasn't there yet. I had a bunch of shows recently recorded on Tivo so I fast forwarded through most of them looking for a Taco Bell commercial. Usually it is the commercials that are ff'd so that was different. I finally found it on an MTV program. It was the 15 second spot so Brett's screen time was brief.

I knew there was a 30 second spot to be found so I started thinking about what shows might run it in the future so that I could record them and capture it. I tried different shows but didn't find it. Then I watched Big Brother, which I watch anyway, and lo and behold there it was.

It's kind of fun to follow the career of someone you admire.

BTW, is VJ Logan playing a Pizza Hut delivery person in a commercial? I can't tell but it looks like him under the cap that the person is wearing.

The Irene Marie video of Brett Novek shows versatile Brett doing some dance moves. One wonders how many hours he spent practicing it in front of a mirror. Haha.

The video contains all the essential Brett characteristics: warm smile, white teeth, good hair, chiseled abs, and low-rise jeans.

What I would really like to see is Brett photographed by Adam Bouska. He is one of my favorite photographers and his work is unique and exceptional.

I posted the Brian Kehoe Interview on TvTrick.com. It's funny to me that when I first saw him on television during season 2 of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency (which is before I even thought of blogging),  I couldn't have dreamed I would have this kind of opportunity. I had some other kinds of dreams, but they are too personal to state here.

It was so exciting this evening to listen to the Brett Novek interview on BlogTalkRadio. It's the first chance to hear Brett Novek speak since the end of America's Most Smartest Model. Unfortunately, it was way too short for me. I could have filled an hour at least talking to him about anything and everything. I just hope there will be other opportunities for Brett to speak to his fans in the future and that he won't go too Hollywood.

I had to get psyched up for two days in a row, because it was originally scheduled for Saturday, but due to a glitch it had to be rescheduled for the next day. I had to wait out another 24 hours, staying prepared for it. All in all, good fun.

I want to see him next in his movie role in Penthouse.

Previous Brett Novek interview on TV Trick.