The thing I notice about Indian food is that it’s a lot like Mexican and Chinese food in the sense that if you add/subtract an ingredient or two, you have a meal with a whole new name. Not mad at that, cause it makes the menu look hella large, but it makes for really tough choices when trying to decide what to eat. I figure to go for the salad first as I’m going to make an effort to have some leafy greens with at LEAST one meal a day. Salad was huge… Def couldn’t eat the whole thing if I wanted to make some room for my Fish Vindaloo which was listed in the menu as: Broiled mahi-mahi cooked with bite sized potatoes and a touch of fresh lemon juice in a hot curry sauce. I’m soooo down for that. I ask for it extra spicy (of course), and proceeded to wait for what I was sure to be a flavor explosion.

The food came and I was amazed at the amount of stuff I had to eat! Bang for my buck was off the charts!  Take a look at this feast fit for a king!

Mmm.... Fish Vindaloo

I smashed what I could (ate most of it), and left super full, but yet not stuffed and bloated like I feel when I eat a huge burger, or steak. So if this is what it is like, I could definitely get used to this feeling. Since I grabbed such a late lunch, dinner was kind of late as well. I had to go catch a poker game and pick up my passport that I had left at my friend’s bar about a month and a half ago. I was looking for something quick (as I was late for the game), so I decided to head to Chipotle. I have been to Chipotle many, MANY times before of course, but I had always wondered why in the hell people would order vegetarian burritos from there because they had so much meat! I found out why last night. The green peppers are not even cooked all the way, so having that quasi-crunchy texture kind of makes me forget that it’s not chicken. I killed that whole thing and again, felt full, but not bloated. Skipped on the guacamole though. I know I know, it’s sooooo good for me and I live in California so I should be eating it with every meal, but I just can’t get over the texture/color situation. Kind of like that whole green ketchup thing. I will say though that I’m getting better. Give me a year and I’ll probably be carrying avocados around in my pockets!

I already did the no drinking thing for a couple of months, I figured lemme try and REALLY give myself a challenge and not eat the things I eat at pretty much every single meal of every day. So here goes…. I’m going to be a vegetarian for 30 days! I had thought about for a couple of weeks, and I told my roommate before I left for the Super Bowl in Dallas (wait till u read THAT post), that when I came back I’d be a veggie. Not a vegan though, cause soy chicken, soyrizo, soy burgers, etc…. fuck that shit. That’s like saying F-that instead of the aforementioned FUCK that. Or lesbians that use strap ons. Or people that drink exclusively diet drinks. Why are you pretending to have the real thing with a substitute? You are living a lie folks.

So let’s talk about day 1 of Marcus’ Journey Through MeatLESS Land. I fly back home to LAX @ 6:30am on no sleep, ride a bus for what seemed like an eternity (hungover), drinking just water. Get home, sleep for a couple of hours, TRY to tell my roommate about my trip, but it seems like I can’t even talk, lol. I finally wind up grabbing a salad at home, then I have to go to work for my first day at Saddle Ranch (come visit if ur in the Sunset Strip area). At work I had some fish tacos (salmon/tuna), and that was about it. Trying to figure this ish out… Let’s see how it works. I do know one thing though… I’m gonna be watching the Epic Meal Time videos w/ much more fervor.

Movember: Day 12

I know it’s been more than a few days since I have put an update in, but it’s been really busy planning for the move and everything. I always try to not accumulate stuff, but I’ve found that it’s super hard to actually have nothing, lol… Believe me, I’ve tried. I have no furniture save my bed, dresser and nightstand (which are staying), so now i’m just trying to make everything fit into some duffel bags and then just ship them cross country (i’m flying)…. much cheaper.

But enough about me, let’s talk about Movember.  Our team is plugging along, everyone diligently seeking people to join the cause, or support us financially (every little bit helps).  Joey is our money leader at this point. This is the second year in a row that he’s been the front runner for us at this point in the Movember season, so kudos to him.

As always you can check out our team, see our progress, and of course donate here:

http://us.movember.com/mospace/201539/

Day: 12

Team Size: 22 (+4)

Money Raised: $1,057 (+$787)

National Rank: 504 (+339)

Hey guys!!  Here’s an essay I wrote a while back after some crazy experiences and an awakening back in 2003 or 2004. I think this got published on some online outlets, and I had that shit on floppy disk and lost it, but I found the only paper copy in existence, lol. Now i’m posting it for u guys… Feel free to comment!

“I love it when you call me Big Poppa…” Don’t we all? Screaming fans, VIP treatment, flashbulbs of the paparazzi; wouldn’t you like to have that?  Well what if I told you this life could be yours for a night, heck maybe even a week if you’re on vacation?  You would probably say that life is reserved, blocked by that velvet rope that discerns the celebrity from the ordinary person.  I say that belief is played out: I can make you a celebrity overnight.  It’s all quite simple really, i mean, what makes someone a celebrity?  It’s all about perception.  We MAKE people celebrities.  Wait, let me re-emphasize: perception, perception, perception.  Got it?  Now follow this… if I told you the guy next to you was a bazillionaire, what clues could you use to see if I was telling the truth?  He could just have that look, maybe his car is an indicator (borrowed), or maybe he wears designer clothes (knock offs).  All of those things can be manipulated by anyone.  What makes him a celebrity is me making you believe that he is.  Altering perception through hype is gold.  Just ask Lil Jon or P. Diddy.  They get you pumped up, and you don’t even know why, but you just follow along.

I saw a movie called ‘Slackers’ recently and in it, one of the main characters narrated a sequence where he tried out his, “Seed of Doubt” theory on two girls at a college party.  “The technique to manipulating people’s perception” was easy he said. First he said what he wanted the other person to believe out loud. Usually he would be met with casual interest.  Then, once he got the person’s full attention, said it again with authority and conviction, making eye contact, and most importantly, believing it.  The response was complete adoration by a newly converted, star-struck fan.  I used to host a party downtown called, “Overnight Celebrity.”  Every person that came through the door was a celebrity.  As the host, I was at the beck and call of every patron there because who wouldn’t want to cater to someone of star caliber?  You are all celebrities as far as I’m concerned.  I hear the new radio ads for Moda’s Sunday night event saying the same thing.  Walk in a civilian, walk out an overnight celebrity, which brings me to my next point.

Aren’t celebrities just normal people like you and me?  Of course they are.  If you’ve seen ‘Matrix: Reloaded,’ remember back to when Neo confronted the Architect.  He went on to explain to Neo that, “his being was the sum of an unbalanced equation” that inherently flawed the matrix.  In essence, Neo was the epitome of the human race.  To some degree, I believe this is true in our world as well.  We as a society have a need to hold people in high regard i.e. movie stars, pro athletes, politicians, company presidents, etc.  Do they have special powers or do the impossible?  In most cases no, they just do things that we think we cannot.  So we put our hopes and dreams in them and place them on pedestals because we are afraid to do what they do.  Celebrities are the Neo’s of the real world.  The sum of what society believes to be the ideal of a person.  We want to be like them, wear their clothes, watch their movies, and look at countless magazine photos of them pumping gas and eating ice cream.  Look around, the fascination with celebs is like a virus.  We have gossip magazines, fan clubs, product endorsements, etc.  Why not get to enjoy a little of that life yourself?

I know some of you could care less, sorry to distract you from reading US magazine while simultaneously watching last week’s ‘The Bachelor/The Bachelorette’ in your J. Lo/Sean John sweatpants, listening to your new Ron Artest cd.  But I know some of you are glued to your screen and can’t wait for me to get on with how you can do it.  Here are some examples of personal, “research” conducted in the field.  Example #1: While on a trip to South Beach for Spring Break my senior year of college, two friends and I ran into a star NFL player.  Instead of asking for an autograph, I asked him what he did to let a club know he was showing up.  He said if knows he’s going somewhere in advance, he’ll have his publicist call in advance, if not, he’ll just show up because he’s very recognizable.  Luckily, I happened to do some research before I left home on movies that were coming out that summer.  I picked a movie with Toby Maguire because, ‘Spiderman’ was hot at the time.  The character in the movie, ‘Seabiscuit’ had a decent role for being a no name actor.  Kingston Decour was my celebrity.  The movie wasn’t coming out until the summer, so there was no way to verify the information. I called up a hot club on the strip and said I was a publicist for said actor.  At the end of the conversation, I had secured back door access, VIP table, bottle service, and security. Suffice it to say, all nine of us in our crew lived like kings that night!  And the best part was that everything was 100% absolutely free.  People were dying to give us all the perks and we were absolute nobodies.  Of course I captured it all on tape if you think I’m lying.

Example #2: In Ft. Lauderdale, I want to a club with a friend, a camera, and a mission.  I wanted in the club for free, free drinks, and film it all for my friends to see what went down that night.  I approached the manager, gave him the schtick about how we worked for a small production company and did a globe trotting party show similar to E! Wild On. We just wanted to film inside to get a feel for the club and put it on our show.  Walked past the line, free drinks all night, and proof that it happened.  Mission Accomplished!

Example #3: I was out downtown one night just after Thanksgiving with a friend of mine.  I had this article in mind when I decided to perform a series of social experiments using my friend as a guinea pig.  A nubile co-ed approached us and struck up a conversation.  WHen my friend leaned over the bar to order a drink, I discreetly told the woman that he had a part on the hit show, ‘Las Vegas,’ but was spending the holidays in his hometown.  I built the story up more a la “Seed of Doubt” technique and she promptly asked my friend to dance.  Some time later, back by the bar, a friend of that girl approaches my friend and starts dancing with him, threw her arms around his neck and started kissing him!  Must be nice to be a t.v. star. Believe it or not, a player for the Browns tried to talk to her afterwards, trying to repeat the results I bet, but she went back to my friend.  Simply amazing!

My last example taked place at the House of Blues Grand Opening.  At an invitation only event, there must be tons of VIP’s right?  But to be backstage you have to be a special person right?  Absolutely wrong.  Who am I?  I’m just a humble promoter/cell phone salesman who just happens to know a bunch of people.  Probably by accident anyways, but there I was chatting with the VP of House of Blues International.  This was sandwiched between face time with Dan Ackroyd and Jim Belushi, and the locals who brought HOB to Cleveland.  Did this come by accident? No, because in my mind, I already know I’m a celebrity, the general public just doesn’t know about it yet. We ALL are!  I’m a gatecrasher to show other people that it can be done.  But the difference between me and the other gatecrashers is that I fit the part.  If you have the attitude and act like you’re supposed to be there, you’re a welcome guest.  Get something back for all those duckets you spend at the club.  Make someone appreciate your presence.  Like that MasterCard commercial where Peyton Manning is cheering on the everyday people.  That’s how it should be.  Let the stars be awe struck by you, not the other way around.  As far as I’m concerned, the person reading this is a celebrity, just like the guy who just passed the Bar exam, and the woman executive at KeyBank who calls the shots.  If you are going out, there, making it, doing your thing and spreading the love… you’re it to me.

Andre 3000 said it best in Outkast’s song, “Elevators:” “I replied that I’ve been going through the same things that he has. True I got more fans than the average man, but not not enough loot to last me, till the end of the week I live by the beat like you live check to check. If you don’t move your feet, then I don’t eat, so we like neck to neck.”  With that said, I want everybody who reads this to get their butts downtown and take the self esteem up a notch.  Hold your head up and party like a rock star.  Don’t be surprised if an average guy like me asks for your autograph.  I love celebrities, and you love it when I call you big poppa, don’t you? Way to go superstars!

Movember: Day 3

My facial hair is not growing fast enough. I was hoping that I could have gone and seen @hotbarber at Top Of The Line Barbershop to start grooming my mustache. Such is not the case.  At this rate, I think I’m going to have to go see him Saturday.  Saturday is also his grand opening, with DJ Flaco Flash spinning… That’s right, a DJ at a BARBERSHOP! Ramon really does know how to do it up right. 4191 Pearl Road in Cleveland.  I’ll be there… eating, and prob sneaking in a flask, lol.

I talked to some people last night that I think are going to jump on the Movember bandwagon (yesss!). People are very enthusiastic about the fact that I shaved and look like an 18 year old boy. All good though… Its all for the MO!  I’ll keep posting these updates, but you have to spread the word. Below is the link to our team. Pass it on to a friend, click to donate, or to sign up and fight with us!

http://us.movember.com/mospace/201539/

Day:

Team Size: 18 (0)

Money Raised: $270 (+$50)

National Rank: 843 (-78)

Movember: Day 2

Pretty lazy day today, lol… I woke up on the west side after a bender at Liquid/Suite Sixx and figured I had to holler at El Jalapeno. Shit was phenomenal. Enchiladas Supremas…. #29. Make sure you check it out if you’re ever around 117th and Detroit, lol. Jesse threw me a ticket to the Cavs game tnite against the Hawks. Cavs played terrible, but you’ll have that with a young team. They will be a 6 or a 7 seed in the playoffs this year. Mark my words.

Today was an interesting day as far as team dynamics go. We actually had a girl sign up with us, so more power to her. So please welcome Kelly Repenning as our first Mo Sista on team Cleveland’s Mo Bros. Now we have to put separate showers and bathrooms in the clubhouse, lol.

Looking forward to what’s in store for us on this team. Make sure to keep us in your thoughts and if you can, contribute to the cause (link below). Funny, I know guys that can pretty much grow a full beard in a day. It’s like 24 hours after my haircut/shave and i’ve got a 5 o’clock shadow, lol… Guess it could be worse hahaha

http://us.movember.com/mospace/201539/

Day: 2

Team Size: 18 (+3)

Money Raised: $220 (+$40)

National Rank: 765 (-107)

Here’s what we started off with.  I made sure to not go to get cut by Ramon, so we would have a nice before and after picture.  Here’s the messy before pic:

Movember: Before/Front

Movember: Before/Side

Here’s a shot midway through:

Movember: During/Front

Then a few snips here and a few snips there and…… VOILA!  Moms would be so proud

Movember: After/Front

Movember: After/Side

How sick is that fade? I’m serious… you have to go see Ramon. He’s a big social media guy, so check him out at @Hotbarber. He’s about to drop a foursquare deal as well… Stay tuned!

Ramon and I are trying to come up with a good mustache for me to rock this year… He said he’s gonna look into it, so I guess i’m off the hook, lol… he’s the barber, i’m just the subject, hahaha!

I’m gonna be posting a new picture around noon everyday and giving you vital stats on our team. Please consider donating to our Movember cause. We’re Cleveland’s Mo Bros and we’re trying to end prostate cancer… Won’t you help us? If you would like to donate:

http://us.movember.com/mospace/201539/

You can donate here (it’s tax deductible), and also join our team. Our newest celebrity recruit is DJ Evil One. He’s from Portland, Oregon (where beards come as thick as the trees), so I thought this might be a hard thing for him to do, but he was all about it. So not only is he our most famous member, but he’s also our farthest… repping Los Angeles.

Day: 1

Team Size: 15

Money Raised: $180

National Rank: 658

Myself and part of team Cleveland's Mo Bros... Join us

In a few days, it will be November 1st. Not a particularly important day (my apologies if you are born on this day, cause I know it’s important to you!), but it does mark the beginning of Movember. That’s the month for prostate cancer awareness.  In it, guys (dubbed Mo Bros) grow Mo’s (mustaches) and get people to pledge money through the month (much like women do for the Susan G Komen Foundation).  Starting November 1st, the men will strip down to being clean shaven, and grow a mustache for the entire month of November. No goatees, no soul patches…. just the ‘stache. Gets as creative as you’d like it to be.

This MOvement got started down under in Australia back in 2003 and has grown and grown!  The proceeds from the money raised goes to support the Movember Foundation, Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation and the Prostrate Cancer Foundation. You can all do your part. Just donate!

My team is called Cleveland’s Mo Bros and I couldn’t be prouder. Between the 12 or so of us who participated in 2009, we raised just shy of $5,000…. good enough for 98th place in the top 100 teams in AMERICA.  So I guess you could say we did ok, lol. This year we’re looking to top that and we need your help. Not only your monetary support, but we also need you spreading the word. This event grows every year and i’m sure this can be be the best one yet….

My Movember Team:

Cleveland’s Mo Bros <—- Click here to check out my team, sign up for the team, or make a donation!  Thanks so much for your support. Even if you can’t donate, just forward this post to your friends!!

About Movember (from movember.com)

The Mo, slang for moustache, and November come together each year for Movember.

Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st  clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month.  The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men.  Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.

The idea for Movember was sparked in 2003 over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia.  The plan was simple – to bring the moustache back as a bit of a joke and do something for men’s health. No money was raised in 2003, but the guys behind the Mo realized the potential a moustache had in generating conversations about men’s health.  Inspired by the women around them and all they had done for breast cancer, the Mo Bros set themselves on a course to create a global men’s health movement.

In 2004 the campaign evolved and focused on raising awareness and funds for the number one cancer affecting men – prostate cancer. 432 Mo Bros joined the movement that year, raising $55,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia – representing the single largest donation they had ever received.

The Movember moustache has continued to grow year after year, expanding to the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and Finland.

In 2009, global participation of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas climbed to 255,755, with over one million donors raising $42 Million US equivalent dollars for Movember’s global beneficiary partners.

I was in a good mood yesterday, so I made a quick mix 4 your listening enjoyment. Warning! ur gonna wanna dance…. a LOT.

Download the mix here:

http://www.tinyurl.com/36eorzt