the BIG Debate

Heather and I had been conferring the past 1 or 2 months on the Today Show wedding, discussing the options for dress, rings, cakes,etc. and voting faithfully. Well, those big nuptials transpired on Oct 5 and Heather and I had this noticeable votable issues void ever since Friday. Quite serendipitously I happened to catch the tail end of Entertainment Tonight (or was it Extra?) and they were yakkin' about the 2007 Cosmo Hottest Bachelor Search. Where a presumably "hot" single fellah is submitted from every state--1per state--and the public **votes** on which fellah gets the illustrious "Bachelor of the Year " title. Oh, and $10,000. Really, Cosmo? $10,000? I mean, 10k is nothing to sneeze at (I'd sure as hell take it) but you guys can't do any better? Circulation down??

Anyways, early this a.m. I alerted Robin and Heather to this competition and urged them to check out candidates along with me HERE. It looks like (from my quick peek at the archives) that previous years' crops were better but even so, I cannot make up my mind. The following is my preliminary list of faves-- it's a fairly giant list, and I obviously need to weed out some bachelors. I mean, I've not yet read the voting rules, but I assume you can only vote once. Anyways, as I IMed to Robin :" this is like grocery shopping when you're hungry!!! And I happen to be STAAAAARVIN'!!" Further substantiating my metaphor, cute newlywed Heather has proven to be superhumanly finicky, only giving her stamp of approval to ONE contender!! Nuts! Oh, anyways, without further ado, MY picks ---

Arizona (an artist!!! Niiiiice)
Colorado (ok, so, a ski instructor is not the profession I had picked out for my dreamguy, but still, the guy 'fesses up to liking chick flicks...that's big. Also, I am fond of his pointy chin)
Connecticut (Not a STUNNER; but DJ is a cool job -especially with the overabundance of fitness trainers on this list. Also he describes himself is goofy. Goofy is good.)
Idaho (he definitely is cute, but this is a lousy picture...it looks as if some photog totally ambushed him unawares when he stopped mid-hike to take some agua at a lovely brook. I had to put a graphic designer, a self-proclaimed "art nerd" on my frontrunners list. Oh, and I dig his notion of an ideal date-- sweet.)
Illinois ( I initially excluded Mr IL from my list, because I was turned off by his being a mathy guy. I know Winnie Cooper would scorn me for saying so, but MATH MAKES MY BRAIN HURT. But then Heather, who **amazingly** thinks IL is the only worthwhile bachelor, convinced me that I wasn't being fair. I do like his answer on "Girl Get-up He Adores")
Louisiana (Same thing as I said w/ Mr Idaho... cute potential but bad pic. He's sporting a really dumbass smile here but I was touched by the nominators' appraisal of him: "James truly cares about the people around him and is very respectful of women.” I am also a fan of the champagne...as I'm sure you've been told)
Michigan (Not sure why this guy stays on my list. He is way cute, but I found nothing appealing in his profile at all.)
New Mexico (Same comment as I had for ID & LA. This guy shoulda sported a shirt. He is mucho pasty hued and seems to be kinda indiscriminate in his ink. But he had several commendable answers-- his appreciation of mystery, manners-- I like that. On the "con" side...another fitness trainer. Blecccch)
Ohio (Cons: a biotechnology & business admin student. Yes, smart is good --VERY good-- but I like a dude with a more creative bent /Pros: HELLO?? Look at dude. Also he claims to appreciate brainy chicks. Bonus!)
Oregon (see commentary for Michigan. Ditto that)
Rhode Island (CON: He's fairly cute, but I don't like that dweeby smiley face he's making here/ PRO: appreciates sense of humor--even better he appreciates CHEESY humor)
South Dakota (PRO: likes a sarcastic sense of humor? Hello!! Also I'm amused that he lists watching Grey's Anatomy as one of his hobbies. Is he into that show on account of how it mirrors his own med student life with such eerie accuracy?? Funny, I never considered Grey's as any paragon of realism/ CON: big fan of a woman's toned, athletic tummy. Yeeeeeah. Maybe if he's still single at 25 or 26, I'll be up to snuff by then. . . .)
Tennessee (CONS: I can't come up w/ any cons with this dude...except maybe that "stop & smell the roses" is pretty trite & cliche. But that's nitpicking. Also I tend to think of pro footballers (not soccer type footballers) and neanderthals & thugs. But that's just speculation, unfair bias on my part. I'll bet he nets a nice salary ,eh? PROS: "looking for a woman who will be there for me no matter what and who will be my crutch when I need help" and then he says " I love you’ is such an incredibly powerful phrase. It’s the best gift a woman can give to a man.” Awwww. A *sensitive* , non-thug NFL player? Such an anomaly!!)
Virginia (another one Heather coaxed me into adding to the list. She thought his being a fighter pilot was mad impressive. He's cute enough, but I'm unsure that he belongs on my list with the creme de la creme)
Washingon (CONS: I think he's very foxy, but, strangely it really bothers me the way this photo is cropped...NO, not at the bottom. But there's one small chunk of his head out of the picture and it makes me irrationally suspect that there's be something hideous going on with his hairline in that area. Also his sexy overalls fantasy is DUMB /PROS: calls himself astute & sarcastic. "Sarcastic" has somewhat of a negative connotation, really, so I like it when dudes are honest enough to describe themselves thusly. And I like guys who use the word "astute". Hot. Also he probably is very foxy and probably there is nothing up with that mysterious cropped-out portion of his noggin.)

Now, I do enjoy a slice of "beefcake", but just the same, I noticed I feel slightly favored toward all the guys with their shirts on. I felt like they exude more dignity or something. Like, I imagine this photog wanted *everybody* to go topless, but some of these guys were all "No, ma'am I'm sorry. I am MORE than just awe-inspiring pecs and rock hard six pack. I have a SOUL" Ha haahaa haha

Okay this list of frontrunners is *very* preliminary. Very subject to change. Especially since we realized we couldn't access Mr Oklahoma's profile. I told Heather to figure out a way and I was going to take a break and do some actual work. Her findings were that there was no way to Mr OKs profile, but you could only check him out by watching his Cosmo.com video. To which I was like, WHAT?? There be VIDEOS?? Ohh, man this could change everything! I know what I'm doing with my lunch hour!

In fact, I am going to commence video watching NOW. Probably my next post will be a total rewrite of the preceding list....