A Host of Issues

Not every job in front of the camera is acting…just ask anyone who’s seen a movie starring Kristen Stewart! I kid….I kid!

Besides actors, your screens are also graced with hosts delivering various content to you, on every screen that you own.  As much as I’m known as a “funny guy”, my most-seen work in the biz, is as a host on America’s Minority Health Network (www.amhntv.com).  AMHN plays in doctors’ waiting rooms across the country.

I know, I know…”hosting” sounds glamorous, right?  Well, read on my friends.  Oh…there’s video too.

It’s Not You…I Don’t Wanna Brag

With the passing of Dick Clark we lost a monumental force in the music world.  One of the gifts that he left us was his quotable saying that “Music is the soundtrack of your life”.   I’ve always liked that quote and I think I’m going to make that way of thinking a regular part of this blog.

What I’ll do is pick a couple of songs and then give a little commentary on it and how it applies as the soundtrack of my life.  That commentary could be funny or poignant.   Let’s get started with the first DalyDose of…The Soundtrack Of Your Life.

DalyDose of…Total Package

I started the “Insanity” workout today and let me start this posting on a tangent: Even the fit test kicked my butt!

OK, back to our originally scheduled blog.  I started the Insanity workout today because my internal fitness level did not match my external appearance.  I have a supercharged engine in a jalopy frame and it was time to get to the body shop.  When I finished the workout this morning, I thought about some things that I had been talking about with women that I know.  They all have various reasons for justifying why they don’t think a guy will work out.  Some of them claim intuition, some resort to blaming it on “timing” and some just say that they aren’t willing to “settle”, but are uncomfortable discussing what is an unsettling…uh…settling situation.

DalyDose of…Quirky Gratitude

On Facebook, I started a post asking people to declare the little things in life that they are thankful for.  You can see the action HERE.   This got me thinking even more about gratitude.  I wanted to quickly think of a few things that I could be thankful for that don’t appear to be objects worthy of thanks.  Here is said list:

• I am thankful for the collective economic distress by my peers in Los Angeles.
  I don’t say this because I want everyone in the same leaky boat with me.  I say this for a couple of good reasons.  First off, I believe that lots of great accomplishments come after disappointment.  I’m also glad to be in an environment where we aren’t always “keeping up with the Joneses” and can focus on our creative pursuits.

• I am thankful for being single.
  The “inner-jerk” in me would say that I’m thankful to enjoy different selections from the menu vs. only getting to enjoy my favorite entrée day after day.  In fact, I would say that the ability to roam in social situations has allowed me to expand my network.  Of course, I’ll be thankful when “she” makes “herself” known to me so I can have a teammate in this game of life.  I’ll also be glad to stop typing about “her” in quotation marks.

• I’m thankful for bills and collections.
  Seriously, these people expect me to pay them and believe that I will.  I appreciate their optimistic attitude regarding my economic prospects.  There are times that I’m not sure and then I’ll get a piece of mail or a phone call demanding that I fulfill my potential and pay them.  That’s true support.

• I’m thankful for the death trap that I’m currently driving.
  No, I don’t have a passive plan to leave this life anytime soon.  I appreciate living in an area where I can walk for entertainment, shopping, dining, etc.  It’s good for my health and I get to know the area in ways that you can’t from locked inside of a vehicle.  To be honest, I’m even grateful for the vehicle as it allows me to travel beyond walking range.
•  I’m thankful for not being the obvious ideal in the dating pool.
  Let’s be real. People aren’t dating me for my money, power, prestige or underwear model contract.  I truly know that I’m being loved for being myself.

Well, that’s my quirky, unexpected list of thanks to go along with health, friends, family and all the other “big stuff” that everyone always gives thanks for.  I’d also like to give thanks to anyone who read this often neglected blog.   Hmmmm…maybe I should consider the blog for my 2012 list of resolutions.  Last year’s 10 Single Resolutions was all about living the single life and I think Mr. Inner-Jerk took over that list. Hmmmm….

Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you all find reasons to be thankful for anything and everything you have in your lives.

I’m off to San Clemente to meet the #StumbleBaby.

Mango-nificent Love

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” -Mother Teresa

Could both hungers be satiated with a little mango?

I love my Samsung Focus as much as one can love an electronic device, but that is not what this blog entry is about.  I have a developer unlocked device and thus, I have Microsoft’s test version of the latest iteration of Windows Phone, codenamed “Mango”.

This writing is not 100% mango centric.  Many of the apps are available for any major smartphone platform.  There are some features that are built-in to Windows Phone Mango and I’ll point those out.

2011 Mid Year Resolution Check In

We’ve gone past June and rounded into July and that means that the year is now half over.  It was just 6 short months ago that many of us made big promises to ourselves about how we were going to make changes and improve our lives.  How have those resolutions been working out for you?  Have you stayed true to your promises or has the journey towards summer made you forget?

Well, here’s my scorecard:

DalyDose of…Ladies Baggage

I have been single long enough now, since early 2007, that it is starting to seem commonplace. In that time, I have dated quite a bit. There have been many variables that could describe these women in terms of physical traits, emotional stability, intellect, personality, etc. For the purpose of this entry we will look only at age.

Women fitting into a wide range of ages, find their way into my life. I have dated some young women and others that are…(be careful here, JD)…uh…more, age appropriate. I have heard some men complain that younger women are full of drama and old—, ah…age appropriate women are bogged down with their own unique set of issues. My extensive, case-by-case research has lead me to my own conclusion:

DalyDose of…Valentine’s Daly

Valentine’s Day gets a bad rap as a corporate holiday, but in reality it is…well, it’s so much worse.  It’s so bad that it doesn’t even warrant a day off for our valiant postal workers.  In fact, it would seem to me that they have to work extra hard on this day.  You can take that to bank.  I mean, literally, you can take it to the bank because the banks are open on this “holiday”.

To make matters worse, this is the most exclusionary holiday on the calendar.  Another saint’s day, Patrick to be exact doesn’t require one to be Irish; anyone can get filthy drunk on this holiday.  That’s inclusion.  President’s Day is coming up next and we’ve all voted for somebody that won.  If you didn’t vote, then you have probably at least been screwed by presidential policies at some point.  We all get to enjoy the holiday.   As I rack my brain, every single holiday other than Valentine’s Day is for us all.

What about this day devoted to St. Valentines?   

DalyDose of…10 Single Resolutions

2011 is upon us.  Last year was supposed to be two thousand PERFECT ten, but we’ll make 2011 one better than perfect!

Ladies and gentlemen I present to you the following list of resolutions.  These resolutions are intended for those of us burdened…I mean blessed…with being single men in Los Angeles.  I am certain, however that anyone will be able to take a gem or two and add them to the treasure that is their life.

Yes, I view this list as immeasurably important and those who find their way to it, will possess a wisdom not often found outside of my apartment.  Please note that that I am approximately 10% joking.

DalyDose of…Inner Jerk

“Ladies: you all SAY that you don’t like jerks, but you REWARD jerkish behavior” –JD

Mean JD - "Going Bananas"

I know, this doesn’t seem like news to most men with phrases like “nice guys finish last” and all that.  I intellectually knew that this perception existed, but I didn’t think it could be based on widespread truth.  It couldn’t be, could it???

A few months ago I was bored and frustrated with dating in Los Angeles and decided to put on a little experiment.  I would go down to my local watering hole…yeah, I threw in an outdated term like “watering hole” because let’s face it, I’m doing an dating experiment, so the nerd factor is already off the charts!  I was to go to Barney’s Beanery on two consecutive nights and take on a different persona for each.  Here’s how it went…