Have You Seen It?

Hey Bloggy Friends!

We watched a movie last night called "Sordid Lives." If you haven't seen it, be sure to make it a must on this weekend's rental list! Put it on your Netflix queue - whatever you have to do. It's hilarious! and Delta Burke's in it!

It's kind of like Steel Magnolias, but Shelby and the girls have moved to the trailer park! It's definitely a laugh out loud kind of movie - so if you had a day like I did yesterday - you'll definitely appreciate it!

Love you all!

Josh

One of Those Days!

Hi Bloggy Friends! I hope that you are having a great week. I find myself adjusting quite nicely as the second week of school comes to a close. I'm starting to get used to the busier schedule and am finding ways to juggle my numersous, conflicting assignments. My courses are actually quite interesting and I'm having an awesome time reading things like Plato's "Republic" and various poems by Phyllis Wheatley. These are things I have always wanted to learn about, but never took the time. Now I am!

I hope everyone has an awesome rest of the week. Can you believe January is already coming to a close? Valentines is coming up, have you all thought about your sexy Valentines plans yet? Sex it up!

Enjoy today's quickie video!

Love, Josh

The Weekender: A New Appreciation!

Good Sunday, Monday or whenever you get around to reading this, Bloggy Friends!

Well, let me tell you something - I was so glad when Friday finally rolled around this week! I am super excited to be back in school, but I am nowhere near used to the grueling schedule yet. By the end of the week I was one tired Mo' Fo' - and that ain't no lie!

We made the most of our weekend together by being lazy, taking care of chores and seeing a show in Bristol called "Welcome Home, Marian Anderson." It was a show that told the story of a crucial time in the life of great opera/spiritual singer, Marian Anderson. Marian Anderson was the first black singer to give a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. I really liked the play and was especially impressed by the lead actress, Vanessa Shaw, who both wrote the script and played the title role. You go, Girl!

There really isn't much more to say about me. I am ready to buckle down for another week at school. I have a lot of reading to do and have to figure out how to juggle everything so that I can finish it all in time. I'll do it!

I hope you guys have an awesome start to the week. With every passing day the first of spring inches closer and closer! Are you guys as ready for it as I am??

Love you all!

Josh

Back To School!

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

Sorry it's been a minute since I updated my blog. I started school Tuesday and am taking a full load. The first week is always crazy, so it has kept me pretty busy. I've been running back and forth to the bookstore and exploring the campus — all the while working four hours every night. I have a great feeling about my first semester at Temple. My teachers are awesome and I'm taking a whole slew of classes that I look forward to progressing in — such as African-American literature, sociolgy, journalism for society, world religion, etc ...

So wish me luck as I begin a new semester in a new school — I'm on the road to victory, ya'll!

One more little note before I close. Today my sociology teacher left us with three bits of information that he swears are guaranteed tips for success. I found them interesting and thought I would share them with you. They are as follows:

1. Study abroad, or if you aren't in school spend time in a foreign country that doesn't speak English!

2. Read the New York Times, or an equivalent, on a regular basis. Stay informed!

3. Have someone take a picture of you in the buff. He says we will never look as good as we do when we're young, so we'll want to look back and remember it.

I thought they were funny little tidbits. I hope you enjoy them, too!

Today's video is a quick one I shot as I was running out the door on my first day of school on Tuesday. It's random, but hopefully you'll get some enjoyment out of it!

I love you, Bloggy Friends!

Josh

Road Trip Sunday!!

Hey Bloggy Friends! I hope you are having a fantastic Sunday. I know it's snowing on MONICA in Cleveland - but I hope the rest of you are having nice weather and sunshine like it is here in Philly!

I am excited because I am taking an overnight trip to NYC tonight!! My friend TREY is visiting with his boyfriend, Chris, from Ft. Myers, FL. They flew in yesterday and are staying for a few days. They invited me up to stay the evening with them and I jumped at the chance. One of my favorite things about Philly is the close proximity to NYC. I have never had a huge desire to live there - but I have always wanted to be familiar with it. So, this is part of my process in making that desire come true! I'm taking the Greyhound around 5 this evening. I'm not sure what we'll end up doing but I'm sure it will include a few friendly cocktails and a stroll around some neighborhood in the city. I'm sure I'll report back - hopefully with a little video!

We had a fun weekend. Alan and I decided to take another little road trip yesterday to Lancaster County, PA. We spent the afternoon in Reading antique shopping, wine tasting and browsing in a cute village called Stoudtburg. It is a village that is modeled after a town in Germany. It is super cute and I kind of felt like I escaped to Europe for the day. We finished the evening with a nice Mediterranean dinner on Penn Ave in Reading and headed home to watch some TV.

Unfortunately Alan doesn't get MLK day off tomorrow, since he works for a European corporation - so he will not be able to join me in New York. Looks like it's a girls night out! Ouch!

Enjoy my little video that sort of pertains to todays post. The last bit of video that I have of my brother and sisters visit is our drive back to Kentucky after their stay was complete. Needless to say, I was a little skeptical about packing all four of us into our small car for the 700 mile journey home. Besides a few little minor "claws coming out" moments, the trip was rather enjoyable and pain free.

See it for yourself below!

Have a great day and I will talk to you next week. It is a big week for me because I am starting school at Temple on Tuesday! My trip today will be a nice little last hoorah before I hit the books!

Love you all!

Josh

Touch Me In The Morning!

Hey, Bloggy Divas! I hope you are having the best Thursday you've ever had in your entire life. Period.

Here it is, the week is almost over and I am STILL reeling from my experience with, the one and only, Miss Diana Ross on Sunday!

Let me tell you Bloggy Friends, I have stood in the presence of a true diva! I know what you're thinking - "but Josh you stand in front of the mirror everyday." Yes, this is true Bloggy Friends - but Diana Ross was different!

Why? She captivated that Diana-hungry audience with more power than I have ever seen from a stage. She was everything I could have hoped for. There was the big hair, the graceful diva-like gestures, numerous sequined gowns, chiffon boas that she tossed about the stage like rags, and she sang all the classics!

I wasn't sure what to expect out of her - after years of terrible headlines that reported things such as "Diana Gets Another D.U.I." and Poor Diana Down and Out and Drunk in Beverly Hills." I just went with my fingers crossed, knowing that I was going to witness a true legend - and that's exactly what I received. She looked stunning in her tight, form-fitted gowns, and her voice was so on point. She sounded fantastic and looked flawless, people!

I have seen a lot of my most favorite artists on stage, but there is no doubt that Diana is something special. She is a force of nature that is incomparable to anyone else in music history. My life changed a little when I left the Borgata Hotel that evening when I witnessed with my own two eyes one of the greatest divas to ever walk on this earth - present company excluded!

Enjoy my video of our afternoon romp around Atlantic City on into the life-changing performance by Miss Diana Ross.

Love, Josh

Concert Reviews: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Tribute

Last Friday night Alan and I went to the KESWICK THEATRE in Glenside, PA to see a benefit concert held for the Memorial of SISTER ROSETTA THARPE. The list of fabulous, legendary entertainers is what initially drew me to the list. I knew that this is one that I could not miss! and boy was I right! On that evening I saw true legends take the stage to sing many, very familiar, gospel tunes that have been sung throughout the history of modern music. Maybe many of you haven't heard of a lot of the performers that were there that night, but for a true fan of old school, Black Gospel music I was floored by the whole experience. The concert was held to provide funds for the memorial of Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Would you believe that she is buried here in Philadelphia, beneath and unmarked grave!?! Hopefully this will be the resolution to that most unfortunate circumstance.

I hope you enjoy the video I made of the evening's festivities. It is pretty heavily edited, so if you see a performer that you are particularly interested in you can click on their name below to view other, more complete performances by them. I recommend watching Odetta's performance, time literally stood still when she was on stage. You may appreciate her as a one who Bob Dylan cites as one of his greatest inspirations.

We had a truly awesome time, clapping, shouting, stomping our feet and singing along. I hope you can feel a little bit of the spirit that moved us through the night!

Love, Josh



Here is the list of more complete performances!

Odetta
The Huff Singers
The Johnny Thompson Singers
The Dixie Hummingbirds
Wila Ward
Marie Knight

Do I Hear A Diva in the House?

Hi, Bloggy Friends! I'm so glad that it's Friday and the weekend is nearly upon us.

I have such an exciting/diva-filled weekend ahead! Tonight I am going to the Keswick Theater to see a benefit concert to honor legendary Gospel diva, Sister Rosetta Tharpe! This concert is a Gospel inspired evening featuring the legendary quartet The Dixie Hummingbirds, Willa Ward (of the Famous Ward Sisters), Marie Knight and The Queen of American Folk Music herself - Odetta! I am a huge fan of Black Gospel music, so I am super excited to go tonight. I'll try to get some footage to share with all of you next week!

..and if that isn't enough diva in one sitting - on Sunday I am going to the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City to see none other than Miss Diana Ross!!!! Now, I'm sure you'll all agree, Diana is one of THE divas - and I can't believe I'm actually going to see her!! Once again, I'll try to get some footage of her in all her glory! I have a feeling security may be pretty tight when she's in the building, though.

I am very proud of myself today because I actually sat down and finished reading "Roots" by Alex Haley. Some of you may know that I have been reading this bad boy for a long time now. I am a pretty fast reader, but I don't allow myself to sit down and read very consistently. So over the months I have been reading a chapter here, a chapter there, until today I finally wrapped it up. I feel it is quite an accomplishment. Now I am all set to receive the DVD's of the television mini-series from Netflix any day now. Can't wait!

Another eventful occurrence transpired this afternoon. I reached my 3000 viewer to my blog!! It was very exciting for me and I just want to thank everyone for reading. I hope you know that you all bring a little more sunshine into my life!

I hope you have an awesome weekend as well. Enjoy today's video!

I love you all,

Josh

The Hump!

Hi, Bloggy Friends! Thank you all so much for the nice birthday wishes you sent to my mother. I'm not sure she's seen the post yet, but I know she will appreciate it immensely when she does get around to reading it. She had a great day. She is the oldest of four sisters - and you better believe that they went all out to let the whole town know that she turned 50! She sent me pictures of signs they put up around town, pictures they hung up and even an announcement on the marque where she works. I told her that she may be an old fart, but at least she's popular! 50 is SO the new 30! Ask Oprah.




I hope you are having a great week. I have had a great time since getting back to work. We have been super busy, because a new show is opening up soon that everyone is excited about - M. BUTTERFLY. It is a non-opera, dramatic version of Madam Butterfly. I'm really excited to see it. If you're going to be in town let me know and I'll try to hook you up with some tickets. Hurry though, because they are selling out fast!

Being back to work is hogging a lot of my Bloggy Video time, I'll get around to more of those as time allows. I still have so much footage from Christmas that I am trying to decide what to do with it all! Stay tuned.

One more thing I wanted to add before I leave is that Alan and I watched the final episode of the final season of ROME last night. For those of you who don't know, Rome was a series that aired on HBO in the past few years. It is truly one of the most fascinating series on television I have ever seen. The sets and the costumes are so elaborate - they spare no expense. Another thing that impressed me was that they took a lot of time to make sure that the events of history that they portrayed are as historically accurate as possible. It is a beautiful show that I enjoyed so much. I definitely recommend renting it if you are a fan of history, drama and even a few hundred, steamy sex scenes! Over the course of two seasons the story line covers the succession of Julius Caesar - to his bludgeoned death by Brutus, all the way up until the tragic demise of Antony & Cleopatra. It's magnificent, it's superb and I'm really sad that it's over :(

Have an awesome day/night, Bloggy Friends.

Love, Josh

Birthday Shout-Out: My Momma!

Hi, Bloggy Friends! I hope your Tuesday is going terrificly, or tainty like my friend Monica.

Today is one of my most favorite days of the year - my Mother's birthday! It's not just any birthday, though, it's her 50th! I think she's a little bothered by the fact that she's turning 50, but in my eyes that is still very young and impressive. She currently lives and works in my hometown of Lancaster, KY. She is very involved in church activities, has a ton of friends she spends time with regularly and always has a new arts and craft project she's working on. Lately, she has taken up knitting. On Christmas she made nearly everyone in the family a nice knitted scarf, mine is black and I love it to pieces. The past year has brought me a particularly large amount of joy when it comes to my Mom, because she victoriously defeated one of the most difficult habits to quit - smoking!!!!! I can't tell you how happy it makes me to be home now and hear her tell my brother to "take that cigarette outside!"

It was awesome to be home recently to spend some time with her. She always makes Christmas seem so special, just like when we were kids. She does such an awesome job of decorating and always has a warm bowl of pinto beans (my favorite) waiting for me! I am so happy to live closer to Kentucky now, so I can plan more visits throughout the year. I'm hoping she comes to Philly for a visit, I think she will love it here. She's a big fan of history and Philly certainly has a lot of that!

So, everyone please join me in wishing my Mom a very special birthday. She's a wonderful woman and deserves the very best out of the coming year! I love you, Mom!

and I love you, Bloggy Friends. Have a good one!

Josh

I thought I would post a re-run video that I have of my Mom. It's one of my favorites and I hope you enjoy it again - or for the first time for my new Bloggy Friends - like George (send Franky my love!)

It's a Manhattan Monday!

Hi, Bloggy Friends! I hope you have a fantabulous Monday! Today is my first, official day back from Christmas vacation and I'm looking forward to it. I am especially excited to start school on the 22nd of this month!!

We have another bloggy friend who has recently started his own blog - it is my good friend Eddie from high school. You may remember me mentioning him previously when I showed the pictures he posted of us as teenagers. Eddie is a high school English teacher in Cincinnati - so you can be sure to read blogs with excellent punctuation. He is a super intelligent, always witty guy who has a lot of interesting things to say. So far, he has added a lot of reviews on movies and television shows, which I find to be particularly useful. Check it out HERE and stop by his comment section to say hola!

Enjoy today's Bloggy Video. It was filmed while Derek and Alexandra were in town.

Love you all!



Josh

I Think We Need A Song Today!

Hi, Bloggy Friends!

I hope you've had a terrific Thursday! I am posting this rather late, but I guess that's ok.

I've had a very lazy day today, it is good to catch up on some rest after all the recent excitement that has been going on. I don't actually start back to work until next week, and I'm very thankful for that!

Enjoy the video clip of a night out when my brother & sister were in town! and have a great night!

Love, Josh

HAPPY 2008

Dear Bloggy Friends,

May this be our very best year yet!!

I love you all!

Josh



For more pictures click HERE.