Guys Week: Tribute to Bruce Willis

And now on the exciting conclusion of Guys Week on the NaturalBlog, brought to you by Your Mom: We shout it out for the most underrated actor of our time.

Maybe you love him because you love those big budget blockbusters, the Die Hards or maybe Armegeddon, where he made the magnanimous but debatable move of sacrificing himself so Liv Tyler could be with Ben Affleck.

Or maybe you love him for when he tries to be funny, like in Look Who's Talking or Death Becomes Her, or when he's funny not because he's trying like in Striking Distance.

Maybe you're a comic book guy and you love him for his work in Unbreakable, or maybe you love him for his best roles, in Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, and the Sixth Sense.

Or maybe you're old and like him from Moonlighting.

But the point is, there's a reason to love him.

The NaturalBlog chooses to cap off Guys Week with this tribute because Bruce Willis knows that with great awesomeness comes great responsibility: He knows he could kill Ashton Kutcher and no one would say peep, but he chooses not to. What a guy.

Guys Week: Manly men can still be cleanly men

Today on Guys Week on the NaturalBlog, brought to you by Levitra (Vardenafil HCI): Cleanliness.

Take it from me, a guy who washes his hands a lot: The marketing cabal that runs this nation has decided it's time for men to start using body wash instead of soap, so we've started seeing advertising to that effect.

We've got a new set of Dial ads, where a dude is serenaded in his house by an oompa-type band that tells him how men are taking back the bathroom with this body wash. Selling point: The bottle is kind of shaped like an oil can.

There's also a spot for Old Spice, where the guy is in the shower and his wife or girlfriend or sleepover buddy is asking him "If you weren't with me, which one of my friends would you want to be with. You can tell me. I won't get mad." The tagline on the ad is something like: Old Spice Body Wash -- don't you wish everything could be this easy?

Not bad, not bad at all.

I'm the target market for these ads, and I have to say I'm enjoying them. But the thing is, I'm still not going to buy body wash. What's an advertiser to do?

Tomrorow, NaturalBlog's Guys Week, brouht to you by Levitra (Vardenafil HCI) mercifully concludes with a tribute to Bruce Willis.

Guys Week: The cultural importance of playing pool

NaturalBlog Guys Week, brought to you by Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino, continues today with a look at the cultural importance of playing pool.

"Cultural importance?" you ask. "Indeed," says NaturalBlog. Why, let's just look at all the ways pool has wormed its way into the every day lexicon:

Bad Break. An unlucky turn of events, or when you screw up your first shot. That might be because you had a miscue -- when you don't chalk or when you try to over-do your spin. In the broader sense, it's any screw up, over-English or not.

You can run the table in pool, or in a game or business setting, though probably not if you have a long shot or if you find yourself behind the eight-ball.

Now if I were just half the pool player that I am linquist, I might not have had that 0-8 streak against a former coworker, or that embarassing evening when I bragged at dinner that I was a good player because I watched games on TV, then proceeded to miss every single shot.

Tomorrow on Guys Week, brought to you by Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino: Manly men can still be cleanly men.

Guys Week: A cigar is a smoke

Today on Guys Week on the NaturalBlog, brought to you by Axe Body Spray: Cigars.

The first time I had a cigar I felt like I was joining a secret society. I was about 19, and my boss at the evil conglomerate (His name was Earl) bought two H. Upmanns for us to have one day after the work. A side bonus of the experience was my first trip to a liquor store, where we picked up a half bottle of brandy, to supplement the smokes.

Earl showed me how to cut, light up, ash, and dip properly into a brandy snifter. It was fantastic.

The smoke itself I could take or leave, as well as the the taste that lingers the next 36 hours or so. But the experience is unparalleled. There's something about a cigar that makes you contemplative, willing to discuss the weighty issues of our time, like a salary cap in baseball or an idea for a novel.

And if you're planning to buy ol' Natty B. a gift, you should know my tastes have migrated from Upmanns to The Griffins. I have a box of robustos I got for my birthday, but they are quickly running out due to the nice weather.

Tomorrow on Guys Week, brought to you by Axe Body Spray: The importance of playing pool.

Guys Week: The best hand I ever played

Inspired by 37 hours of NFL draft coverage on ESPN, ESPN-2, and ESPNews this weekend, I decided to usher in the first-ever Guys Week on the NaturalBlog. Here on Day One of Guys Week, brought to you buy Milwaukee's Best Light, I present The best hand I ever played.

I took this idea from a segment on ESPN's World Series of Poker coverage, where they talk with poker pros and amateurs about, not coincidentally, the best poker hand they ever played.

Mine came about two years ago in a friendly No Limit Hold 'Em game with about 10 people, during a ski trip in Maine. I was in the big blind holding 10-7. The game was about two hours old, and the field had thinned to five or so people.

The novice player to my left called the big blind, it folded around to me and I checked it.

The flop came 10-10-3, giving me three of a kind, a big hand heads-up. Aginst my usual instinct I checked it to the novice, who made what appeared to be a feeler bet, though because she was a novice I thought maybe she'd paired the three. I raised something more substantial, living up to my table image as someone who likes to push other players off of draws and weak hands.

She called, indicating maybe she had a 10 as well, in which case I was probably outkicked and therefore beat.

The turn card was the third 10, meaning I had four of a kind and was bullet proof. I checked it again. She made another small bet and I just called, hoping to let her catch up in the hand. I think this gave the people at the table the impression I was on a draw.

The river was another rag, maybe a jack. I wanted to extract maximum value, so I made a small bet in case she was going to check it on the river. She made a substantial raise, and I came way over the top, going all in.

There was a lot of hemming and hawing at the table, and the consensus was that I was trying to bluff her out of the pot. So I got a call, she turned pocket 6s, and I took home a substantial pot.

Thing is, had she raised before the flop with the 6s, I would've folded and she would have won a small pot instead of losing a big one.

Tomorrow on Guys Week brought to you by Milwaukee's Best Light: A cigar is a smoke.