Continuing what seems to be a Hollywood theme to this week's posts -- perhaps tied to the fact that Riss is headed to LA today, or perhaps it's serving as a reminder for B-a-B about our Beard Ball LA promise -- whatever the reason, the everything is fake in LA perspective is further reinforced when looking at celebrity beards, in movies that is...
John C. Reilly's version of the eccentric Gershon in the upcoming "The Extra Man" is a fantastic example of a (fake) beard. It's pretty awesome; bushy, curly, colorful and natural... just like we like it, only fake.
We love you, we always loved you, we love you even more now that you're embracing facial hair (even if in part, Go Beard or Go Home!)... but Jon... as we've noted, by way (THE) Jack Passion's bearding philosophy... Beardos need not explain their beards, nor reasoning for wearing a beard... a beard chooses you Jon, not the other way around.
That said, Jon's explanation as to why he went bearded is pretty funny:
"The truth is I'm a Japanese snow monkey. I've been hiding that from people and I can't live that lie anymore."
But... to his credit, Jon did indeed take "beard rubbing" to the next level this week, when he and Wyatt Cenac engaged in the act on 7/26... I consider this my Birthday present, thanks Jon.
As everyone and their mother, girlfriend, sister (and so on and so forth) knows, Brad Pitt (of Brangelina fame) had been growing his much-discussed beard for about a year... and when he so clearly and significantly trimmed it down last month, we all knew he was preparing to get rid of it.
Well, earlier this month, the day finally came... I say finally because even though B-a-B is categorically against shaving, there is only one other thing that cuts us deeper... and that's black eyes to the facial hair aficionados everywhere.
Brad's beard drew so much criticism that we were afraid it would derail all the work our community has done in building up the profile of beards... we do not want to go back into the dark ages of beard hatred and pogonophobia, so if that means supporting Brad's shave... so be it.
That said, it was a pretty cool beard... RIP Brad Pitt's Goat, we hardly knew yee... you were infamous, which is like really really famous.
As if you needed another reason to love the seminal actor of such cinematographic behemoths like The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and Apocalypse Now... well, here are 5 more reasons we dig Robert Duvall, whom is promoting an independent drama “Get Low,” which opens in limited release on Friday.
1) He looks pretty bitchin with a beard (as if there was any doubt)!
2) He makes the bushy beard look natural... he accomplished this with the help of great makeup artists... the big beard above is actually fake (taking 45 minutes to an hour a day to apply), but attached to his own beard which was used later in the movie.
3) He has a "guy from Italy" who makes him his beards... freaking awesome... the lap of luxury, or should we say chin.
You can check out a nice Q&A with the man himself in the Wall Street Journal, here:
Oh, the wonders of our online communities! Every day it's something new, hairy (and at times blue) that we borrow from our legion of hairy fans. Today, it's an inside look at how the next generation of beardos is learning about facial hair. As always, Sesame Street is quite enlightening...
We stumbled on this awesome piece by way of our good friend Eric Harvey Brown (shown in his full BTUSU glory) none other than the 2nd place winner of the Partial Beard category at the first ever National Beard and Moustache Championships... and, he even makes a cameo in this stache filled segment (check him out at around the 4:50 mark).
It has come to my attention that El Beardo has done something crazy. I don't know how to break it to our loyal readers and supporters, but he shaved. There, I said it. Best to rip the band aid off quickly. But that said, to add more salt into our gaping wound, he shaved for a corporate work event.
I remember when Alex did something like this two years ago - same corporate event - that resulted in the following look:
But it seems that today, July 7th, 2010, will be a date which will live in infamy as our beloved beard has taken a blade to his face and magically changed into El 'Stache:
Alex will write an update to this post once the corporate event concludes. In the meantime, please feel free to leave your condolences in the comment section.
The National "Got Milk" Mustache Mobile Tour has been crossing the country since March (and will do so until September) to help celebrate special moments that families share around the dinner table... blah blah blah.... most importantly, it offers families a chance to sport 'staches. (BAB hopes that once they see how cool they look with milk 'staches - an epidemic of upper lip hair will result shortly after).
From July 9 – July 13, the 2010 Milk Mustache Mobile “Milk the Moment” Tour will be cruising through New York City hosting free local events that feature a variety of fun and educational activities for the entire family. In addition, the tour also offers moms a chance to share how they “milk the moment” at dinnertime for a chance to win an unforgettable family dinner with Milk Mustache celebrity and chef Tyler Florence.
Tour Stops: Friday, July 9 New York Aquarium Surf Avenue & West 8th Street Brooklyn, New York 11224 10am-2pm
Saturday, July 10 NIKETOWN New York 6 East 57th Street New York, NY 10022 9am-11am
Sunday, July 11 Brooklyn Children's Museum 145 Brooklyn Ave New York, NY 11213 11am-1pm
Monday, July 12 New York Aquarium Surf Avenue & West 8th Street Brooklyn, New York 11224 11am-1pm Tuesday, July 13 Bronx Zoo 2300 Southern Blvd Bronx, NY 10460 10am-3pm
Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed victory this past Friday while driving the No. 3 in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Dale Jr. said the only acceptable outcome to the race was winning - that "if he was going to drive his father’s old No. 3 there was no point in coming in fifth." Dale Jr. then took a moment to thank his beard and beer for the win - noting that he started the year with it, shaved it off to do a commercial, then grew it back.
“I grew the beard back because I've been running better, y'all. Have y'all not matched it up? We had those first 10 races where we hauled ass, then I shaved, we ain't running worth a darn. Then I grew the beard back. Also I started drinking beer on Monday. I don't know. The beard ain't got its own personality. The beard does have a Facebook page, but it's not a real person, it's just a beard on my face.”
He concluded by stating -- “I drink beer every Monday and I grew a beard back. Those two things seem to be helping me. So really those two things deserve the most credit.”
All of those with facial hair are welcome to compete and the fee to enter is $40. To watch the championship, The Whisker Club is asking that spectators pay $20, BUT this fee includes a buffet lunch with proceeds going to The Washington Veterans Home, which recently added a homeless shelter.
You betcha. It has been confirmed that the Mexican male molly fish can grow a type of mustache to lure their mates - and size DOES matter. According to a recent article on PhysOrg.com, zoologist and professor, Ingo Schlupp at The University of Oklahoma, conducted the study where researchers caught and observed the mating behaviors of over 100 male and female Mexican mollies. This included measuring the length of the mustaches on those male fish which grew them.
The results -- on experiments involving those 100+ fish -- females consistently preferred males with mustaches. What's more interesting, the same study* was conducted in Greenpoint, Brooklyn with hipsters, resulting in the same exact findings.
Male molly 'stache: Greenpoint hipster 'stache:
(*unofficial study based solely on my friends dating habits)
We're a little late on a review of Paris Men's Fashion Week (and not completely qualified to comment or critique), but imagine our delight when we saw that last week Jean Paul Gaultier and Yohji Yamamoto featured a runway full of facial hair! From the shaggy to the superb, the retro to the modern - beards, 'staches, and light scruff were all the rage under the Parisian lights.
These were not the too-groomed goatees and soul patches of 22-year-old boys, or the befuddling upper-lip caterpillars of politicians and financiers. These were quite old-fashioned, quite serious, and not a product of adolescent self-discovery or a wanting more hair somewhere amid midlife balding. Beards were thick and unkempt at Gaultier....
Perhaps these designers are saying that if you want a beard or a 'stache, don't be wimpy and grow it in thin patches, carefully trimmed so that it projects the right amount of lazy to go with your rumpled plaid shirt. Go all out, and let people know that when you enter the room, you do so beard first.
Peter Ha is bad ass - a tatted out, beer drinker who rocks a beard, surfs the cool waters of New York, and just so happens to be the technology editor for Time and editor of TECHLAND. As a regular attendee of CES, I have always been under the impression that most geeks (said with love, of course) could never grow a full beard, but Peter is destroying this held notion. So we've been politely Twitter stalking him, but it wasn't until he posted his Apple iPhone 4 review that we made an open plea for a Q&A with this bearded tech warrior.
Just don't ask him if you can touch it...
BAB: In your recent iPhone 4 article, you're sporting a beard... how long did that take you to grow? Peter: That’s a tough first question. Jeez. I thought we were, you know, Twitter buddies. In its current state, I’d say this one took about seven days. It’s a little long to be honest.
(BAB side comment: It's not long enough)
What are your thoughts on mustaches?I really wish I could pull one off without look like a total sleaze ball. It all depends on the type and thickness. I like a good old-fashioned handlebar. I’d really like it if mustaches came back into style.
Goatees?I’ve only been able to grow a full beard in the last four or five years and before that I had a goatee. I’d rather cut off my pinky then go back to having a goatee, though.
Who is your bearded hero (fiction, musician, artist, author, etc.)?Chewbacca. Duh.
You grew up on the West Coast.... how is the beard scene there? How does it compare to NYC?Yeah, I was born and raised in Portland, but spent some time in the Bay Area, as well. There are enclaves within cities like Seattle and Portland that are full of beards. NYC beards got nothing on us lumberbacks from the PNW.
You work for Time... what is the corporate reaction to your beard?No one really seems to care about the beard. I’m fairly clean cut and present myself in a manner that my mother would approve of.
Reaction to your tattoos? I don’t know if this is true but a co-worker told me that the former managing editor had sent a memo around the day before I started to inform everyone that a tattooed greaser would be joining the company as the technology editor. I have yet to see said e-mail. The elevator rides in the morning are a trip.
How many other bearded tatted-out tech reporters are rocking Time? I’m the only one.
We're calling 2010 the "Year of the Beard" - any predictions for 2011?Year of the Moustache?
How long have you rocked facial hair?I first started showing signs of being man around 1999.
What's the most annoying thing about having a beard in NYC?The upkeep.
Anything else we should know.... ?Cheez-its with Frank's hot sauce is the shit.
Last month, Wired reported what a space shuttle needs to do before the launch gets approved. The best part of the article is not the massive checklist before a shuttle can breach the atmosphere, but rather that the approval process rests in the hands of The Greybeards. Yes, it seems that NASA has a staff of their very own Gandalfs.
From Steven Leckart's article: The Kennedy Space Center chief processing engineer’s team of senior staff members (called greybeards) signals that they’re standing by to help if needed. Should any issues arise, they work in conjunction with various officers, including the chief shuttle project engineer, to perform any troubleshooting.
So rest easy America, the beards are protecting space!!
An American construction worker detained in Pakistan while on a solo mission to kill Osama bin Laden claimed on Wednesday that he was obeying an order from God to avenge the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, said Pakistani security officials.
Gary Brooks Faulkner said God revealed the order in one of his dreams, prompting him to travel to Pakistan in search of al-Qaida's leader... read more...
This is not the first time we've heard of the blending of God and Beards... it is now a full blown trend... so, way to really really go out of your way to #proveit Gary...
Not only are you from all the way in California, but you come to our attention via Pakistan... and while we're not very heavy into politics here at B-a-B, we want to take a stand and say we support you, your beard, your beliefs, and the fact that you are perhaps the first ninja with a beard.
For all that (and much more) we salute you... you are our inaugural Beardo of The Month... when (and if) you get out of jail, give us a call or shoot us a note, we would LOVE to interview you.
Well, if I may say so myself... this interview is Jack at his absolute finest. Vintage Passion. And it's exactly why he is who he is; an inspiration to us all, bearded or not.
I want each and every one of you to heed his words and advice day in day out... Not because he's the beardliest man in the world, not just because he's a published author of the bible of facial hair, and not because he was the MC at the first ever National Beard and Moustache Championships... but rather because he's 100% right, 1000% just, and 5000% inspiring.
Jack has undoubtedly transcended his prize-winning beard... which is no small feat, since it keeps growing and growing. As such Jack keeps proving it and proving it... and that's why we here at Build-a-Beard.com love him so. I miss you already Jack, this weekend came and went too soon, too fast. Until next time my bearded friend... and it better be under a year.
Man, the gloriously hairy weekend in Bend seems further and further away... I'm saddened by the fact that I have to wait another year to see all the awesome people that i met and mingled with at the first ever National Beard and Moustache Championships... at least putting out these posts in piecemeal is making me relive the experience, over and over this whole week.
As such, I wanted to do a post on the judges that were the shot makers on June 5th, the people with the hardest job in the room... the ones that had to look through hundreds of competitors in 4 categories and narrow them down meticulously into the top 3 winners of each set. I would not want to have their job, but if Phil Olsen is reading this, I am available for judging next year!
Either way, they deserve their own recognition and thus this post... of course, I somehow managed to miss interviewing Captain Harry Lewis (aka Capt Big Dad of the FV Incentive crab boat, made famous on Deadliest Catch) though you can clearly see me walking and talking with him, here, via LA Times). As well as my new best friend Burke Kenny (former world champion in the full beard styled moustache category, and a member of As the Devil Dances), plus the local essay winner Laura Beverungen... if y'all are reading, drop us a line for a well deserved Q&A!
First off, Miss Oregon 2009 CC Barber -- Who's a small town girl with big city dreams. She graduated from Scappoose High School as a varsity athlete with an Honors Diploma in 2005. As a native Oregonian and a nursing student in her final semester at Samuel Merritt University, CC Barber, is a caring and driven young woman with a heart of gold... I asked her abuot beards and world peace.
Then comes Sirwan Singh -- he's the Guinness World Record holder for the world's longest beard... he really needs no other introduction... I had some fun with him and his translator talking about the god given gift of facial hair.
What would a bearding event be without a ton of beer? And what would beer be without a brewer... in comes Jason Buehler -- a brewer from the Shamrock Brewery in Pueblo, Colorado. In his plea to be a judge, Jason demonstrated proper beer drinking technique (3 gulps), and a nice set of chops. I asked him about, what else, beer and bearding.
Finally, perhaps our favorite judge (and one of only two to tell me I did a good job, thanks CC for the other nod), Seth Klein -- Seth's plea was perhaps the most significant... you see, Seth is a scholar on Joe Palmer and a his video was a treatise on bearded rights. Here's my quick interview with Seth on that very topic.
And since I did bring up Phil Olsen, the self appointed captain of Beard Team USA... here's a follow up with the man behind the whole shindig, while not a judge his hands were full (perhaps fuller) than anyone else last weekend. I talked to him about America's role in the world of bearding...
I promised that I would dive into HD vlogging, so... here's one of the videos that were made this weekend by yours truly at the first ever National Beard and Moustache Championships in Bend, Oregon... Please forgive the unsteady hand (one of the many reasons I don't shave) and the up-close and personal style...
I've been a fan of Michael Buchino, and his blog Beard Revue, at least since meeting him at the B3 (B-a-B founders, Mr. Buchino, and Bearduary founders) conference in February... Not that it's an excuse of the shaking/zoom issues but continuing the swagger of our first meeting in NYC, the beer was also flowing at Les Schwab Amphitheater pretty heavily by this point in the competition (Freestyle, my, category was last)... so be glad I got something coherent.
I guess, given the above set up it's clear Michael is a man that definitely needs an introduction... but in reality... if you are reading our blog, you really should know who he is and read his as well... we walk in his footsteps.
Seriously though, this experience of mine today has been nothing short of amazing. There was a Guinness record broken, some great beer, B-a-B fans left and right... and so so much more.
I'm on my way to the after-party but wanted to make sure to write up this quick post and show you all the winners of all the categories in today's inaugural National Beard and Mustache Championships. So that you too can join B-a-B in congratulating them for their hairy feat… this is something to look up to, admire, envy, and perhaps upchuck from (some guys can really do use some manscaping).
Either way, join me in congratulating the top 3 of each category… more about my weekend in Bend later...
So, I’m here and my envy is at about a 12 on a scale of 1-10... sure i've seen some massive beards and beardos in my tenure at B-a-B but the effect of seeing them in person delivers a knockout punch to my already fragile psyche.
That being said, everyone has been the nicest people ever, and welcoming at that. The town is great, the people are better, the beards are longer, and the mustaches are curlier.
To kick off the June 5th festivities, I joined a bunch of hairy folks for a much needed Beard styling seminar by the one and only partial beard champ himself, Toot Joslin at the Bond Street Barber Shop in downtown Bend.
Below are three videos that resulted from this enlightening session (apologies that it's indeed HD quality, so it'll take a while to load...). The first is a brief look at Toot, his personal and facial hair history… plus some focus on the products he uses. That is followed by a full styling video and finally a brief Q&A.
I gotta tell you all… one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever observed… now to just grow out my burns to match Toot’s awesomeness.
Recently, it was brought to our attention that Blitzen Trapper has a new record out - Destroyer of the Void. Now, we're not going to bore you about how the new album sounds or even compares to 2008's Furr or 2006's Wild Mountain Nation. We will resist talking about how stylistically different it is or how some instrument thrown into the mix seems superfluous or how some lyrics are the marriage of the familiar with the fantastic or how we know what is better for the band than even the band members (that's why sites such as Brooklyn Vegan and others exist....).
Rather, let's examine how amazing Blitzen Trapper's beards are and throw in a rad 'stach too while you're at it. No surprise the band is based in Portland and we're confident that by the middle of 2010 the two remaining members will be sporting enough scruff to be full fledge beardos. Why? Because hairy follicle madness is awesome - period.
Jul 29, 2010 at 3:08PM | By 
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