ReadingLipps

In the 80s white people were in charge of music, and it eventually sucked so hard we rebelled by giving music back to black people.  African Americans grabbed the reigns and quickly gave the world Hip-Hop.  And we danced.  We danced with rhythm, soul and a spirit that Devo and Flock of Seaguls never even knew about.  Big hip-hop stars pulled me from high school into college where 40-ounce Mickey's bottles on Friday nights were mandated by Notorious B.I.G., SnoopDogg and Too-Short.

As a student studying abroad in 1998 I had serendipitously stumbled into the heart of Europe during the World Cup, held in France.  I knew of the World Cup but I didn’t KNOW about it.  The hype was building around me but I was just a normal American, raised on baseball, football and all things American.  The first real moment I knew the World Cup was something different was when I was in a small coastal town in Italy.  I had stepped off a train into the center of a tiny village.  I thought the train and town had seemed rather empty.  Italy was playing a World Cup match.  No decent Italian would be anywhere other than in front of his TV at that moment and here I was wondering around lost.  Just as I reached for my map a man ran out from a nearby café and fell to his knees. 

Coffee Creek, CA is a small town in the mountains of Trinity County. The nearest city is Weaverville and the nearest actual city is Redding. This April I visited some good friends of mine, who run some cabins in Trinity. Trinity is beautiful with towering snow-capped mountains and flowing rivers that still yield gold for those willing to pan for it. We were invited to the local volunteer fire department chili feed and benefit auction. The Coffee Creek Volunteer Fire District operates entirely without state funding and depends on the generosity of the community and grants, when they can get them.  I’ve heard they are a responsive bunch. Every available volunteer arrives at every available incident, the benefits of an automated phone system.

I am proud to announce that I have been hired as the Social Media Coordinator for ResponseLogix. This company has taken the bold step of moving into the Social Media space and have selected me to partner with their Marketing Director, Catherine Edwards to advance into the cyber-marketing world of Social Media. ResponseLogix has created software that bridges the gap between internet car buyers and the physical car sales lots. This is a great product for Dealerships that want to make sure to cover all internet inquiries and for those who want to pro-actively reach out to internet shoppers.

Jarrett Robinson is a guy to keep an eye on. His burgeoning acting and modeling career is getting hot. You may have seen him in ads for McDonald's Snack Wraps, or in a Sprite ad with LeBron James or even acting as Beyonce's own personal man-servant in her concerts. I've shared a few late night booze sessions with Jarrett and he was kind enough to take a few moments out of his busy-ass schedule to answer 5 Questions:

The Baja Peninsula offers some of the wildest and most inspiring terrain on Earth, this is my quick guide. I have driven the Baja Peninsula from the San Francisco Bay Area to Cabo, twice, a third time I crossed at La Paz to the mainland. I have also partially navigated Northern Baja and Mexico on other occasions. If you are here looking for advice on driving the peninsula I will say it is dangerous and long. You are looking at a long three-day drive as a straight shot. But that would negate the purpose of driving the peninsula anyway, so take your time. On the next few pages are guides to key towns along the way.

NORTHERN BAJA GUIDE - - SOUTHERN BAJA GUIDE

In college I waited on many tables for cash, here is the story of Table #155 in San Jose, ca. 2000.

A young well-dressed businessman came in to eat with three out-of-country business colleagues.  His young guests were in from India.  This is a common sight in San Jose where Indian technicians often come to work. These three Indian gentlemen had arrived before their American host and politely declined service until he arrived. 

This winter I tried out for Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I randomly put my name in by email and was selected. After much deliberation, mostly based on the comment made before I sent the email: "What if I get picked?" To which my wife replied, "I guess you have to go."

So I booked airfare to New York for the audition, emailed my buddy Raul in Brooklyn for couch rights and it was done.

There is a story out there right now about a gay dating site's ad being rejected by CBS for obvious reasons I needn't cover. But I've already seen the gayest Super Bowl ever: in England...

He was so grumpy they asked for him to leave.

Ever so slowly he looked up in a manner you wouldn't believe.

"Your look so dour, and your face so sour, other customers have begun to grieve."

"And have asked for you to leave"

The Grumpy fellow stared at the manager and moaned, as if deceived.