Every Bite Counts.

Hi Bloggy Friends!

Hungry?

It's that time of year again, when several cities across the nation participate in "Dining Out For Life." On a designated night, a number of restaurants in your area have pledged to donate at least 33% of the price of each meal ticket to the fight against HIV/AIDS. So get out there, have a meal and maybe even a little dessert. It's for a good cause!

Check the link HERE for dates in your city.

Love, Josh

Rand's Visit: A Quickie, but a Goodie.

Hey, Bloggy Friends.

Here is a little video I put together of Rand's visit. As you can see I didn't get a lot of footage. I guess we got a little carried away in conversation. I hope you enjoy and I hope you have a marvelous Monday!

Love, Josh

Sunday Somethings.

Good, Sunday evening, Bloggy Friends!

Did you have a nice weekend? I hope so. Ours was busy, but nice nonetheless. I didn't get in the R&R I've come to expect out of my weekends, but a nice visit from a good friend made it all worth while.

Rand (formerly known as Randy), a friend from my days in Los Angeles, flew in on a red-eye Friday morning. After my radio show, I picked him up and we spent the short time he had here running around the city. We allotted most of the day Friday to touring around Center City. We both love to walk, so I took him from our apartment on 13th and South, to Rittenhouse Square and then to Old City. We ducked into a few stores, and stopped for a few pictures, but the majority of the time was spent talking. We caught each other up on everything that has been going on in our lives lately. We keep in touch through email, but there's only so much you can relate there. It was really great to spend some one on one time with a person that I have shared so many memorable experiences with in the past.

When Alan finished work, we met him back at home in Manayunk. After a little refreshing at home, we walked to Main Street, to have some mediocre sushi, at a restaurant called Hikaru. We have yet to find great sushi in Philadelphia, but we still go because we love it so much. At Hikaru we had a few glasses of wine, and reminisced on old times. Rand's birthday was last Thursday, so after dinner we went to Manayunk Diner for a piece of cake (or two). I persuaded the waiters to sing "Happy Birthday" to Randy before the three of us shared a piece of carrot and german chocolate cake. It was a nice night.

Saturday Rand planned to take a bus to NYC, so we awoke early and headed downtown. I had to meet two friends at the Reading Terminal to finish a project for school, so I took that opportunity to show him that integral part of the city. We hung around there for a few hours, before he had to leave to catch his Chinatown bus. I had to spend the rest of the afternoon at the Tech Center on campus, finishing our project. It was a long and tedious affair, but we wrapped it up before the tech center closed. Alan met me downtown for dinner, then we headed home to CRASH.

Today we did our chores, and I spent a lot of time studying for a History mid-term I have tomorrow. You should have seen the delicious dinner Alan prepared for Salmon Sunday. This week he flavored the fish with rosemary and lemon. It was complimented with steamed beets, spinach salad and Israeli couscous. Yum! It literally melted in my mouth. I mourned when I was finished, because I wanted more!

So, as you can see, there wasn't a lot of downtime this weekend. If my feet weren't
scurrying around the city with Rand, my brain was moving around six chapters in my History textbook. I can't complain, though. I had a chance to spend time with a good friend, and learn valuable information that will keep me afloat in an intense historical conversation one day. Next weekend promises to be another busy one. The movers are coming bright and early Saturday morning to move our things into our new apartment. We will spend the week packing the small things in boxes, and trying to remember all the places we need to change our address. I can't wait to get settled in on 13th and South!

I hope you've all had a great weekend. I plan on getting together a short video of Rand's visit soon. Look out for that! I'll chat with you guys next week!

Love and Colin Powell,

Josh

Dad & Dawn's Trip to Philly

Hello.Hey, Bloggy Friends!

I hope you all had a great weekend. Ours was jam-packed and fabulous. My Dad and Dawn came to Philadelphia on Friday and stayed with us until Monday. We had such a great time. This was their first time in Philadelphia, and they were really impressed with what it had to offer.

We started the weekend off right, when they arrived Friday, by going to see our current show at The Philadelphia Theatre Company, The Happiness Lecture. They both loved it so much. My Dad said he hasn't laughed that much in a long time. I was so happy they enjoyed it. Afterwards we walked West on Lombard to an awesomely authentic Italian restaurant called Bistro La Baia. I can honestly say this was the best Italian meal I have had in the U.S., ever! It was a small, quaint place and they treated us like we were a guest in their home. It was fantastic. Let's go there when you come and visit, Bloggy Friends.

On Saturday we kicked off the afternoon with brunch at Le Bus on Main Street in Manayunk. Later we went to the Philadelphia Art Museum to check out the Modern/Contemporary Art section, and the Europen Art from 1100 to 1850. I am so impressed with this museum, you guys. It is definitely a world class, state of the art venue. I attached a few pics of some of my favorite pieces in my photo gallery HERE. I am so happy to have it so near. Let's go there when you come visit, too.

Saturday night, after tooling around the Historical District, we ate at what is now one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia, Farmicia. Farmicia is a fabulous restaurant in Old City that serves local, organic foods. It was so delicious. We had such a great time that we sat there for two hours at least, eating, chatting and sipping wine. Bloggy Friends, can we go there.... Oh, you know the rest..

We designated Sunday as a shopping day. Dawn wanted to check out Ikea, because there isn't one near her in Kentucky. We spent hours there, and each of us ended up with a cartload of goodies to take home with us. Shopping at Ikea is always an exhausting experience - but well worth the time spent. That evening we took Dad and Dawn to get a Philly Cheese Steak (they had to have one). We found out about a great place just around the corner from where we live, and they loved it. After dinner we walked along Kelly Drive, and looked at the city all lit up before returning home to bed.

I enjoyed myself so much. It was so good to have my dad here over Father's Day weekend. I believe this is the first Father's Day we have spent together in like 8 years at least. I'm not big on made up holidays, but it was still a nice thought. My Dad is so great, and Dawn is a ton of fun. I hope they decide to come back and visit us again soon! I love you both so much.

Enjoy my slideshow below. You can also click HERE for my Flickr album. You will find more pictures there, and they're in color! I'll also put a video together of our trip soon.

Have a great day. I love you all and hope you have a fantastic day. Welcome home Mimi!!

Love, Joshie

Visiting the Frida Kahlo Exhibit!

"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best."

Hello.Hey, Bloggy Friends!

Last weekend I took a break from my studies to go see the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Philadelphia Art Museum. We tried to go once before, but it was so busy that we turned around and left. This time around it was a beautiful day, and the crowds were immensely less pervasive. We spent the afternoon tinkering around the Fairmount District. We loved it there, with all the coffee shops and beautiful streets. It is definitely a potential neighborhood for us when we start looking to move in the fall.

The Art Museum is monstrous. There are so many exhibits galleries that we only scratched the surface. We had time to check out the American Art wing and Alan's favorite - the Arms and Armor exhibit. My favorite part was the Pop Art section in the American Art gallery. They had some amazing Warhol and Lichenstein prints. It was exciting and funky!

When our turn finally came to see the Frida exhibit, they made sure I didn't take any pictures - so unfortunately I don't have a lot of that to share with you today. I did manage to get one snapshot, and you can see it in the video. It was a beautiful display. There were paintings I had seen before, ones I hadn't and an impressive collection of photographs from her personal collection. I had a great time learning more about her very interesting life. If you have a chance to check out a Frida Kahlo exhibit, I highly recommend you take the chance. Have you seen the movie Frida? You should definitely see that too, if you haven't already. It's one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.

I am also proud to say that I became an official museum member this weekend. I guess that takes my diva meter up a few extra notches! I think it's set to explode pretty soon!! Actually, though, they had an awesome deal for students that I couldn't afford to pass. I know I will be coming back to check out everything else it has to offer - and this way I get free admission for the whole year! Some come to Philadelphia and tour the museum with me!

Have a great nigh, Bloggy Friends. I made a short video of our afternoon at the museum and HERE is a collection of pictures I took myself. I hope you enjoy!

Love you all!

Josh

A S'puss'cial Visitor!

Hey Bloggy Friends!

It's been a while since I blogged last. I am still reeling from Hillary's big win last Tuesday. I'm so excited about the coming month here in PA. We're in the spotlight now, Baby!

I've been having a really fun time lately. One of my best friends (and Bloggy Friend), Rick, is visiting from Louisville. He has been here since Thursday. He will be here a whole week, so we have plenty of time to leisurely see the city and have some fun together. We've been spending our time exploring different parts of the city, like Center City, the Gayborhood, Manayunk and Ardmore. We've also dined, thrifted and chatted over coffee - some of our favorite things to do together. It's been great having him here. I'm sure some of you recognize his name from the comments he leaves from time to time, so say hello next time you see him!

Here is a quick video of our afternoon and a little about what we have been up to lately. Expect a few more posts in the coming days - we have some exciting plans up our sleeves!

I hope your week is off to a great start. Did I mention I am on Spring Break? It's a little early for me, but I'll take it!

Talk to ya soon, trannies.

Love, 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

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