Check-In #4

Whoa. We've come a very, very long way, although some would say that the toughest week is yet to come. For me, it's all gravy from here on out. How you feel about the last week is up to you and your significant others.

William H. Taft:

Joe Bailey


Paul Hill


Jim McVay


Stacz Sadowski


Steve Reding


Jance Rubinchik


Jess Vickery


Scott Liedtka

Ryan Hood

The Colonel:

Alex Stockwell


Eric Baker


Will Groebe


Blair Clark


Robert Alves


David Schnee


Sanjay Das


Brian Mendenhall


Lee Hahn


Kirk Larkins


Austin Eddy

Chester A. Arthur:

Jim Brown


Jacob Telleen


Jesse Jensen


Kip Larsen


Todd Elliott


Brian Smith


Geoff Wheeler


Robert Dorris


Mike Brunet


Baron von Halstead

Van Fucking Buren:

Jonny Tal, Jonny Tal


Rally Chimp


David Gibson


Hans Brekke


Patrick Danaher


Ken Voss

Freestyle Presidential Manscaping:

Daniel Basse


Nate Fredenburg


Neal Hoover


Morgan Loomis


Adam Gerardin


Nick Overstreet


Page Frakes


Howard Campbell


Mantasm


Kevin Cureton


Kane Brassington


Jordan Schilling


Devin Breese


Dave Kujawski

Cheadle For President:

Joe Engelke


Tony Lobay


Tom Schelesny


Russell Darling


Blaise Panfalone


David Behrens


Allan Gersten


Nathan Abbot


Steve Moros


Matt Jacobs

M Stevens


Andrew Gardner


Ryan Todd

There are a few stragglers who haven't taken their photos yet this week. I'll replace the Freshface with their legit picture when it gets taken care of.

Congratulations on another fine week of thatch.

Ch-Ching!

Tell 'em what they've won, Don Pardo!

Our Chicken Fees went through the roof this year. Tons and tons of loot, mostly in fives, with a few ones mixed in for variety. The grand total? $300.

Whoa.

As Andrew "Stonewall" Jackson once said, "To the victor go the spoils." That statement rings true for Presidential elections and Mantastic 2008 contest winners.

Here's how it's going to work out:

1. Voters will be voting in for a winner in each category. Once those winners are determined, an overall winner will be elected from a pool consisting of the winners of each category.
2. Woo hoo!
3. The category winners will each win a cash prize totaling $30. Not bad for a month of doing not much.
4. The overall winner, the Grand Champion, will win $120 in addition to the $30 he won for his category.
5. Whoa. Even better for not doing much.

It's an embarrassment of riches, but it's really not embarrassing enough. Last time we ran this thing, we had prizes flowing in from all over the globe. King Tut tissue boxes, salami, Man O War CDs, squeeze mayonnaise, Mantastic mirrors, Fusion razors, etc. It was a prize avalanche. So far, we've had one prize donation, and while that's very nice, wouldn't it be cooler if the prize packages swelled to ridiculous proportions? I think so.

Adam Gerardin is out at lunch today canvassing for prizes. I'm hitting my neighborhood, knocking on doors. Do you know a generous soul who loves facial hair?

I Do Declare!

I love fan art! This doozy of our own Electoral College member Mantasm was submitted by Mantastic 2008's very own Nate Fredenburg, he of the Freestyle Presidential Manscaping.

Bully!

Fan Art!

Mantastic 2008 fan Yasmin Khudari has created this genius-level high-school-style piece of fan art based on a previous piece of fan art! You can look at this thing on a variety of levels, all of them tasty pudding.

Thanks, Yasmin.

Editorial Comment

From Chester A. Arthur candidate Brian Smith:

Now I'm not a member of the Mantastic committee but I am a Chester A. Asskicker, so just to refresh your memory, the Chester A. Arthur is described as follows:

...a moustache that keeps on going, all the way to them ears. The thing to keep in mind here is that the line must hug the uppermost reaches of your growable hair. No dipping down to the jawline! Keep that thing up high!

Did you catch that last part? "No dipping down to the jawline! Keep that thing up high!" And with two exclamation points so you know it must be important. And yet when I walk the halls and browse the check-in photos, I see a number or wanna-be Chester A. Arthurs that aren't being the man they're supposed to be; that are failing to live up to the example of our 21st and Greatest President. For shame, for shame. And I'm not the only one who has noticed, says former Mantastic Lemmy wearer David "Muffintop" Gibson:

"I have a bone to pick with the Chester's. I only see a few true Chesters and as a former Lemmy I feel that not shaving into the appropriate style is the same as letting it grow and shaving the last day. This is Mantastic 2008 - you can't "play it safe" until you see how it grows in! Grow a pair!"

Sounds like a pretty big statement for a guy named after a breakfast pastry, but there you go. Those of you not sticking to the High and Tight guidelines have been called out. Will you in fact "grow a pair"?

Remember:

Overheard At The Plant

"Everyone is looking very 'Old West.' We should bring back that Revolutionary War look."

- an unnamed, Oscar-winning, visual effects titan

Thank goodness he's on board. Whew!

Note To Josh Spencer