Quickie: A Gem

Once, while living in Chicago, I went to audition for a band that was looking for a new singer. When I arrived I was told that the bass player was actually the brother of the late, great Minnie Riperton! I didn't get the gig, but what an honor it is to say that I'm two degrees from Minnie!

Treasure Island: A Look to the Past

Here is a picture that was taken in 1989. My family and I went to Treasure Island, FL with another family that we were close to growing up. This is a picture of Derek, Alex and I with our cousin Brandy Grubbs. We on vacation with the Grubbs' family for several years either to Myrtle Beach, SC or somewhere in Florida. We would always have so much fun. For months leading up the actual day of departure my brother, Derek and I would sit up at night making lists of all the things we wanted to do, what we would take with us and anything else we could think of to keep talking about it until we left. We counted down the days until we hopped in that car and took off. The thing I remember most about this particular trip is that there was an oil spill in Florida that kept us from being able to swim in the ocean toward the end of our stay. The interesting part about it was that there were tons of sea creatures that had died and washed up on the sand. We saw sharks and swordfish, blowfish and star fish. I found a sea horse that was so well in tact that we picked it up and brought it back with us in a zip-loc bag. I still have it till this very day. Though it sounds like a gloomy experience, I look back on it with fondness. My Dad and I walked for miles down the beach marveling at the amount of sea life that made it to the shore. Memories...

Oscar De La Booooring!

Hi Bloggy Friends!

Did you guys catch the Oscars last night? What a yawn, huh? I watched the whole thing, but thank goodness for tivo, I was able to fast forward through much of it. I'm not sure what the problem was - perhaps with the writer's strike there wasn't as much time to plan for it as they have had in previous years. Jon Stewart was great, but there were way too many video montages from years past.

My favorite moments of the evening were when Diablo Cody won as a screen writer for "Juno." It was neat to see a person just like you and me hit it "big." I could tell how thrilled and appreciative she was. That's always nice.

I was also thrilled to see Marion Cotillard win for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose". I was shocked to see how young and pretty she was outside of the movie. They really did a job of making her up for the role. If you haven't seen this movie, Bloggy Friends, make it a must-see on your Netflix queues!

My own personaly style award goes to Heidi Klum. I thought she looked radiant in her red dress, though I'm not sure what she was there? She doesn't have anything to do with the movies, and neither does Seal?

I have been watching the Oscars since I was a young child. I used to get all dressed up and set up a whole viewing area for my brother and I when they used to come on. We would clap for the winners and cry during emotional acceptance speeches. I wasn't too thrilled by them this year, but I guess I will cut them some slack because of the whole strike thing. It just seemed a little hurriedly put together.

I thought the Grammys were MUCH better.

Have a great night, Bloggy Friends!

Love, Josh

In honor of Black History Month I would like to dedicate this blog to the fabulous Ms. Hattie McDaniel. Ms. McDaniel was the first African-American to win an Oscar for her portrayal of "Mammy," in "Gone With The Wind". Hattie McDaniel took a lot of heat for constantly portraying "stereotypical" black characters, but I believe she deserves mad props. She is one of my favorite big screen personalities ever! Check out the footage below of her big, history-making night!

Poor Butterfly.....

Hi, Bloggy Friends! I hope you have had a fantastic weekend. It's Sunday now and time to start thinking about getting into the groove for another week. Is anyone watching the Oscar's tonight? I can't wait! Doesn't it seem like there is a lot less hype over it compared to other years, though? Maybe I've been too busy to notice.


We had a great weekend, especially on Saturday. We went downtown to meet Alan's Aunt Judy at my new favorite tea lounge called T-BAR. After sipping on a delicious cup of Matcha we headed over to The Philadelphia Theatre Company to check out M. Butterfly. Oh, Bloggy Friends, it was amazing! I have seen some entertaining shows in Philadelphia, but I must say that none of them stack up to this one. It was so beautifully stage, masterfully acted and just plum thrilling! It was a long show, but my eyes were glued to the stage the whole time. Due to my connections to the theatre (wink), we had the best seats in the house - fourth row, dead center. I was so happy to be able to take Judy (Alan's aunt), who also really loved it. I am officially recommending it if you ever see that it comes to your area - you must check it out!

After the show we thought we would follow it up with a nice dinner in Chinatown. I can't remember the name of it, but it was delicious. It was nice to sit and chat about the show over good food and a nice bottle of wine. I love spending time with Judy. We had some heated political discussions, which has become my new obsession. She's a great lady, and I hope we continue to see her from time to time.

When dinner was over, and the waiters were shoving us out the door to open the table up, we went to another Philadelphia treasure called NAKED CHOCOLATE. Oh, Bloggy Friends, when you come to visit me we are going straight to this place. They have a ton of chocolate delicacies on the menu, from truffles, to cakes, to chocolate drinks. I had a drink made up entirely of melted dark chocolate. Can I just tell you I had about 13 orgasms while sitting there drinking it! It was fantastic and I can't wait to take you there!

Did you guys watch the return of Saturday Night Live last night? As you may know it has been in re-runs since the writer's strike began. For the most part it wasn't much to talk about - but there was one moment that I really enjoyed. Luckily, I found it on YouTube, so I am able to share it with you today.

I hope you guys have a great Sunday. I have my first exam tomorrow in my Sociology class. I think I am pretty well prepared for it, but I am going to spend the day studying. I am a little peeved, because I just looked at the class website and saw that the professor decided to change it from a completely multiple choice test to a short answer/essay type test. So now I am going to have to be sure that I know everything back and forth, sideways, underneath and upside down. I'm not happy about it!

Anyways...

Have a great day and I'll talk to you guys soon!

Love you all!

Josh

Nicole's Visit, Side A

Happy Wednesday, Bloggy Friends! I hope you're having a good one. This week seems to be rolling by pretty quickly. I guess that could be a good or bad thing!

As I told you before, we had a visitor this weekend. My friend Nicole flew in from San Francisco to stay with us over the long weekend. It was really fun for me to show her around the city, since I was in a way showing myself around too. There are a lot of things in Philly that are still really new to me, so exploring Center City on Saturday kind of helped me to fall even more in love with Philadelphia. It is so beautiful down there, with so much to see and do. I was shocked at the amount of restaurants, bars, coffee shops and stores that lined the streets. It was so lively and exciting. I didn't know there was so much life here. I guess living in Manayunk in the dead of winter has put somewhat of a hindrance on my exploration time. All in good time my dearies, all in good time!

Enjoy today's bloggy video which features the first part of Nicole's visit. In it we spend our day in Center City checking out some of the historical buildings (which were closed), having some dinner - and of course shaking a leg!

Have a great day!

Love, Josh

Short & Sweet: Catching Up

Hey Bloggy Friends! I hope everyone is ready to hit this new week with momentous speed and excitement! I've made a decision that in order to successfully accomplish everything I need to in school I need to start buckling myself down harder and getting into gear. This means that I'm going to have to start weeding out a few extra-curricular activities that I currently enjoy - such as television and weekends.

There is just too much for me to focus on to allow myself to continuously be distracted by television shows like Big Brother, and I especially need to motivate myself to do more school work on the weekends. Oh, Bloggy Friends, it's a difficult process but one that I find to be imperative if I want to finish up my first semester at Temple with a good GPA.

Sorry I've been harping on and on about school lately, it's just the biggest thing happening in my life right now. I haven't found my transition quite as easy as I thought it would be. After taking a semester off and traveling about like a nomad, I figured I would be all ready to get back into the school groove - but it just ain't that easy. I've spoiled myself to a certain degree, but I'm breaking myself down now!

This was quite an eventful weekend for us. My friend Nicole flew into town from San Francisco on Thursday, so we have been busy showing her around and having a great time ever since. Nicole is seriously one of the most genuinely sweet people I have ever met in my life. She doesn't have a bad bone in her body - for reals. It was like a breath of fresh air to have her stay with us over the weekend. She flew out this morning around 6:30. It was sad to wake up and not have her there this morning - but I guess life moves on and I know she'll be back to visit one day very soon. Stay tuned for a video of all the weekends events!

Well, I'll keep this short and sign off for now. I hope you guys are having a great day. I am chilling at school right now waiting for my next class. Speaking of school - why am I sitting in this library typing? It's President's Day, we should be off! It would have been so awesome to have had the day off after hosting my friend Nicole all weekend. A nice relaxing day to catch up would have been pretty. Oh well, though. I hope whatever institution you are working for has allowed you to have the day off today. I guess Temple just doesn't care about the Presidents! I'm more partial to the First Ladies, myself.

Have a good one, Bloggy Friends.

Love ya much!

Josh

Birthday Shout-Out: Hal, III

Hey, Bloggy Friends! It's a double bloggy day today, because I just found out my good friend Hal is celebrating his birthday today!

For those of you who don't know, Hal is the boyfriend of one of my best friends CASEY. I've known them both for almost 10 years now and consider them to be among my closest of friends, even though we live hundreds of miles apart.

I met him when I was living in Nashville, and that is where he and Casey reside today. He's a big fan of hockey and has even been known to throw down some mad acting skills in the theatre from time to time! Hal's sense of humor is one of my favorite in the world. He is witty, smart and quite a charmer. I hope he has the best birthday ever! Believe me, he deserves it after putting up with that Diva Mimi all year long!

Happy birthday Hal!

Love you all,

Josh

The Wanderer: Discovering the Wissahickon Valley!

Good afternoon, Bloggy Friends! I hope you're having a nice Tuesday so far. It looks like it's another cold one in Philadelphia. I'm going to be more prepared today. I'm deckin' myself out in long johns, leg warmers, a hat and the whole nine yards! Ain't no cold gonna hold me down!

Today's Bloggy Video is a new segment I want to start doing called "The Wanderer!" When I have time I like to get out in my neighborhood and discover new things, to familiarize myself with my new place of residence. Alan told me about this trail near our home that he found while out jogging one day. He said it was really nice, so I wanted to check it out for my own self! It is part of the Wissahickon Valley, which supposedly stretches for many, many miles across Philadelphia. As you'll see in the Bloggy Video today, it sure didn't disappoint. It's so nice to know that there is something like this so close to my front door.

I actually filmed this on my birthday a few months back, I just haven't had a chance to put it together with so many other things going on. So this is also kind of a Time-Warp Tuesday! I can't wait to see what the Valley looks like when the springtime comes. I am looking forward to that warm weather!

Have a great day, Bloggy Friends. Catch ya later!

Love, Josh

Make A Difference Monday!

Hey, Bloggy Friends. I hope your new week is off to a great start. It is FREEZING cold in Philadelphia today. I haven't heard for sure, but I'm almost positive that it's the coldest day of winter so far. Please let it only be this one day!

Despite the horrendously cold weather, I went downtown to campaign for Hillary! I had a three hour break between classes, so I thought I would join a campaign group at Rittenhouse Square that I heard about through an email. Our purpose today was to get enough signatures on a petition to send our Mayor, Michael Nutter, to the Democratic National Convention as a super delegate. He is supporting Hillary so we want to make sure he is there to get her elected!

This was the first experience for me of this kind. I have never been into politics as much as I am this season, but I just feel really inspired by Hillary. I braved that cold weather and approached as many people as I could for signatures. I did really well, filling up the whole page I was given! There seemed to be a lot of enthusiastic support behind her. The most ecstatic supporters were women and older people. I did, however, have some people give me a thumbs down, and even a few raspberries. You can't win 'em all!

All in all it felt good to get out there and take part in something I feel passionate about. I met a few people and hopefully I will have a chance to get involved down the road with possible rallies and such. Who knows, I may even have a chance to make some fun Bloggy Videos out of it!

Have a great day, Bloggy Friends. Stay warm!

Love, Josh

Sunday Sidenote..

This is a funny picture Derek, Alexandra and I dressed up for Easter in 1991! You can click on it to make it bigger.

I just scanned it and thought I would share - too funny!

Bloggy Friends: The Golden Sunday

Hey, Bloggy Friends! I hope you guys have had an awesome weekend. Ours was really low key for a change. We decided to make it a "save money" weekend by laying low.

Things are going great at school, as the weeks are slowly moving by. I don't really have a lot of homework, just a lot of reading as I told you before.

My friend NICOLE is coming out to visit us on Thursday, from San Francisco. She has been in a few of my videos, I'm sure you guys remember her. So, next weekend promises to be eventful as we show her around Philly and the surrounding areas. I'm excited for her to get here - I love having guests.

Last night Alan and I watched "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." This is the second movie starring Cate Blanchett that is about the extraordinary life of one of the greatest women in history, Queen Elizabeth I. She is one of my favorite characters of the past, so I enjoyed the movie immensely. If you are a fan of history you should totally check these movies out. The first one covered her coronation and growth as a young queen, while this one moved on into the "Golden Years" of her reign depicting her gallant victory in the Spanish Armada! I was floored by the vibrance of the cinematography and the costumes in this movie and of course Cate Blanchett's portrayal was flawless. She is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress at this years Oscar Ceremony! I'm really hoping they do another movie that chronicles the later years of Elizabeth's life - to make it a fabulously complete series!

I guess some of you know that Obama swept through the Saturday primaries and caucuses. It may seem like a huge blow to Hillary, but they were anticipating him to do well throughout the month of February. On Tuesday there will be primaries in D.C., Virginia and Maine. Do any of you living there care to share your thoughts on what you think may happen in your voting state? Bloggy Friend Bill??? :)


Tonight Alan and I are going to make a few new recipes we found over the past few weeks. One is a Zesty Mexican Soup with black beans, peppers, collard greens, onions, vegetable broth and a few of the spiciest of spices. I love spicy foods, so I can't wait. We are also going to make a Spirulina Guacamole dip that we found on Oprah.com! If you lived closer we'd invite all of you over to try some!

Have a great Sunday, Bloggy Friends. Let's get geared for a new week!

Love, Josh

Did You Eat Your Spinach?

Hi, Bloggy Friends! I hope everyone is having an awesome day. I am having a recovery day after my wisdom tooth removal yesterday. To be honest, the whole experience was completely a non-issue. The worst part to the whole thing was having to sit in the waiting room for an hour before they called my name. When he finally did take me back he strapped on the Nitrous gas, sent me off to outer space and before I knew it, it was all over! He said it came out so easily that I didn't even need pain medicine - which I was a little disappointed about. I mean, hey, I have to go through all that and I can't even get high!?! Just joking!

It really hasn't been a big deal though. I bled very little and I feel like I am healing up rather quickly. Amen!

Being off today did prove to be very beneficial for me. I had a chance to catch up on the no-end-in-sight reading assignments I have for school, and I watched Oprah!

The show was particularly interesting to me, so I thought I would share some of the tips she and Dr. Oz gave out on today's show. The topic was anti-aging checklists. Dr. Oz basically preached on what we should all have in our refrigerators, and what we should be doing daily/weekly to remain at our very best and add years onto our lives. I am hugely interested in nutrition and trying to live my best life possible - so these shows are always my favorites.

Here is the list of what we should be doing to keep healthy and fit!

Eating:
- 5 SERVINGS OF ANTIOXIDANTS DAILY - (blueberries, cooked tomatoes, broccoli, sweet potatoes, etc..)
- 4 CUPS OF GREEN OR WHITE TEA EVERYDAY
- 1 GLASS OF WINE A DAY
- 25 GRAMS OF FIBER A DAY (100% Whole Grain Breads, Steel Cut Oatmeal, and etc..)
- 1-2 TBSP OF OLIVE OIL DAILY
- 600 OMEGA FATTY ACIDS EVERYDAY! (Flax seeds, Spirulina, Walnuts, etc..)
- MULTI VITAMINS (Half in the morning and half at night!)
- 2 BABY ASPIRIN EVERYDAY (Good for your heart)

Exercise:
- GET YOUR HEART RATE UP 3X PER WEEK
- STRENGTH TRAINING ONLY 30 MIN. PER WEEK
- STRETCH EVERYDAY
- MEDITATE FOR AT LEAST 5 MIN. A DAY
- HAVE SEX 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK

That's about all I can remember for now. If you are interested you can check out OPRAH'S WEBSITE. There will be more information there on everything I talked about.

Have an awesome night, Bloggy Friends. It's been good to be off, but I am definitely ready to get back to school/work tomorrow!

I love you all!

Josh

P.S. Who voted today?? I am anxious to see the results tonight - is anyone pulling for Hillary like I am?

Media Monday!

Good morning/afternoon/evening, Bloggy Friends,

A new week is upon us. I hope it's off to a good start for all of you. I am a little nervous today because, in a few hours, I am going to get wisdom teeth pulled. Wish me luck.


We had a really fun weekend. As I said before, on Saturday we went to Media, Pa to see a show about Ethel Waters called His Eye Is On The Sparrow. The Hedgerow Theater was a spectacle in itself. It was a uniquely designed venue that really helped to further the mood of the whole experience.

I really enjoyed myself in Media. We spent some hours before the show strolling down State Street, which is the main street in the city. It was full of cafés, fair-trade shops and restaurants. I really love these little towns that are all within a stones throw of our front door.

Well, I hope you all have an awesome day and blessed week. Enjoy my little video of our trip to Media.

Love, Josh

Sing-Song Saturday!

Hey Bloggy Friends! Boy am I glad it's the weekend! I must say, though, that I finished my week this week off a lot better than I did last week. I guess I'm starting to get into the Groove!

So today's post is all about the music. Most of you know how much I love music, so I wanted to share a few things with you today.

The first is a website called PANDORA. Pandora is this awesome website that allows you to create your own web radio station that you can listen to throughout your day. The way it works is - you log on and enter a favorite artist or song into the search box and pandora will search through it's archives to create a station of songs that share similar qualities to the search criteria you entered. So if you enter Whitney Houston it will not only play a variety of Whitney songs, but other similar artists like Mariah, Toni Braxton, Deborah Cox and etc... You are also able to rate the selections they play for you, so you can guide them in your own direction. For instance, if you are more interested in Old School Whitney you can "thumbs down" her newer stuff, while rating her old stuff higher and it will eventually figure out what you mean. They have a huge database, so check it out! It's a great way to find out about new artists, based on ones that you already love.

The other website I want to share with you is called MUSICOVERY. This site is rather similar to Pandora, except you choose the music you want to listen to by your mood. If you are getting ready for an exciting night on the town, and want to hear upbeat music, you just point the cursor to energetic and it will pick a playlist for you that fits. You can also tell it what genres to play - like Electo, Disco, Soul or a combination of all three! It's really cool, Bloggy Friends, so check it out if you are interested!

Lastly, I want to post a new video from one of my favorite artists, ERYKAH BADU. She has a new album coming out soon, and has recently released her first single entitled HONEY. It's a really fun video that pays tribute to some old school artists of the late 70's and 80's by remaking famous album covers of the decade. Can you recognize any of the ones she is showing?? I think you'll have a lot of fun figuring them out! Thanks for the heads up, Puss! If you haven't heard of Erykah Badu, I would definitely check her out. She is unlike any other artist out today with her eclectic mix of jazz, neo-soul, funk and hip-hop. Some even compare her unique voice to the legendary Billie Holiday, herself! Badu, however, cites Chaka Khan as the artist who influences her most.

Have an awesome weekend, Bloggy Friends. Tonight we are going to see a show called "His Eye Is On The Sparrow," in Media, PA. This is a show about the life of soul singer Ethel Waters. I'm excited to see it, I'm sure I'll let you know how it goes!

Have a good one, Bloggy Friends!

Love,
Josh