Baby it’s cold outside.

Wait, am I still allowed to make that reference? 

Either way, I’m dead serious.  What’s up with the frigid temperatures again lately?  It actually snowed in Maine yesterday! 

Go home Mother Nature, you’re drunk!

Speaking of Mothers, happy belated Mother’s Day to all…especially mine!  Anyone who can put up with me for this many years is clearly a saint so she deserves all the flowers and sappy cards in the world!

My mom is genuinely amazing though.  While most people are doing the opposite, she has every digital photo she receives printed and placed into photo albums.  It’s adorable!

Although I laugh at her old school approach, I have to admit that it’s nice to flip through an actual album and reminisce. 

Somewhere among those albums is a photo of me inside of Oscar the Grouch’s garbage can at Sesame Place! 

I also have an album full of my old Garbage Pail Kids stickers!

I was going to include them here to match the cover photo, but I’ll have to include them next time. 

Unfortunately, I’m in a rush so I don’t have time to look for them tonight.  ☹ 

Speaking of rushing, it’s hard to believe that we’re halfway through May already.  Geez…

Although this year feels like it’s flying by, I was still baffled when this started playing on the radio last week.

What in the? 

Christmas music?  In May?  Whiskey.  Tango.  Foxtrot.

I suppose it matches the weather outside lately though! 

My Christmas-obsessed friend Kim would be proud, I actually listened to the entire song without changing the station.  Which is odd because I get annoyed with Christmas music in November.  Maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder.  Besides, Mariah’s version is a classic!

I was still confused AF when it came on though.  As you can see, it was around 1am and I was tired from work, so I thought perhaps I was hallucinating or something.

My car also smelled disgusting because I loaded a bag of trash into the passenger’s side to throw in the dumpster on the way to work but I forgot, so the bag sat there fermenting in the sun all day. 

Mmmm…

Surprisingly, that wasn’t the trashiest passenger I’ve ever had in my car…

The garbage bag was just a timely coincidence though, because that incident wasn’t the inspiration for the title of this post.

No, I was referring to the iconic multi-platinum 90’s band, Garbage!

I had the pleasure of meeting them last week during my production gig with Live Nation / House of Blues.

Aside from the photos, they were also nice enough to pass along these guitar picks!

One of their most popular songs is “Only Happy When it Rains,” which is ironic because there was a torrential downpour shortly after we wrapped that show. 

Talk about “life imitating art”, eh?  Perhaps I should ask them to write a song about me dating Rihanna or finding a briefcase full of money to see if that also comes true…

Keeping with the female fronted 90’s grunge rock band theme, I worked an Evanescence show the very next night.

Since drums were the first instrument that I learned to play, I always gravitate toward that section of the stage so here’s a little “drum porn” courtesy of R&B superstar Kali Uchis’ drummer Branden Akinyele.

That was an amazing set-up.  It took almost 45 minutes to get that all in place before their show with Jorja Smith at The Roxy Theater in Atlanta!

It was also cool learning just how big of an impact my cousin John Blackwell had on the music industry.  He was an amazing, truly gifted drummer who played for Prince, Justin Timberlake, Patti Labelle and other legends before he tragically passed away a few years ago. 

I mentioned his name in passing and Branden nearly fell off that platform!  His exact words were that I was related to “music royalty”!

John really was one of the best though so it’s nice to know his legacy lives on.  RIP cuz! 

Speaking of legacies, in a hilarious turn of events, a few of the guys from Killswitch Engage were actually huge fans of The ®Fat Darrell Sandwich so they were just as excited to meet me as I was to meet them!

Until they hit the stage, I’d actually forgotten their song “This Fire Burns” was the original theme for former WWE superstar CM Punk. 

If you’re a wrestling nerd (if you’re not, look away for a second), you may remember the song that he used before switching to the equally awesome Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality.”

Yes, I really do listen to every style of music…except for bluegrass.  Now THAT’s garbage.  You can keep that one!  Sorry not sorry… #fightme

Fun Fact:  Killswitch Engage originally recorded the song to be used for Randy Orton but fans preferred his original theme song, so it was passed along to C.M. Punk instead! 

What’s that?  Nobody cares?  Oh, okay. 

Whoops, my bad.  Moving on…

Since the last post, I also worked with the Live Events Production Team at Mercedes Benz Stadium at our Falcons Fan Fest!

And we also had 2 Atlanta United matches recently. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t grab any photos at the first one.  Here’s why…

As for the second match, the only images I have weren’t taken on purpose!  In fact, I almost don’t want to share this but whatever, #yolo.

Still, before I post this, allow me at least provide a little background first!

During some downtime in our employee locker room, I continued to stuff my face in catering as usual. 

“Freelicious is Delicious” am I right?! #greedygang

The girls, however, were playing with this new goofy Snapchat filter that shows how they’d look if they were a guy.

I’ve seen the version for guys to check themselves out as women a few months ago, but I had zero desire to do so. 

Anyway, one of my female coworkers used the filter to see herself as a boy and was laughing so hard that I finally asked to see what she looked like.

When I looked at her screen to check her out, she quickly changed the setting to turn me into a woman…a very husky woman!

Yep, she played me. (thanks for nothing Danni!  lol)

Within seconds, she’d sent this video out to our entire department so you might as well see it for yourself too.  Enjoy:

She called me Darlene for the rest of the day.  Hopefully that nickname doesn’t stick! 

One of the guys I work with said I was a very ugly woman.  That’s actually a good thing though so hey, no offense taken Myke!

Anyway, I also got to reunite The Atlanta Hawks Flight Crew next door at State Farm Arena as we held our Draft Lottery Party! 

Since our NBA season is over, events are few and far between, so it was great to see everyone again!  Hopefully a playoff run is in our future!

I know, that’s a lot to keep up with and yes, I do have a thousand jobs. 

I’m also an actor/host, writer, fitness trainer and your “sandwich sensei” so long story short, I could use a vacation!

That brings us back to why I’m rushing.  I’m heading back to New Jersey for a few days to visit family, friends, handle a few business meetings and finally have a proper slice (or 2…or 3….) of NY style pizza again.  

I have a thousand things I need to get done before I can leave though so I’d better wrap this up.

But first, a fitness tip!

 

 

 

By now, you may have seen 45-year-old Tyra Bank’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover.  If not, here it is!

Wow is all I can say!  (Well, that’s not ALL I can say but my mom reads these so I’ll behave… hi Mom!)   

She looks great!

The same could be said for J.lo, Angela Bassett and many other seemingly timeless wonders. 

Obviously, their budget and lifestyle afford them access to quality beauty products and assistants.  Genes also play a factor but much of their success, is the result of dedicated nutrition and exercise. 

You too can find your own fountain of youth by making these factors a priority as well.  It’s never too late to start!

Do you have a fitness question, goal or accomplishment you’d like to share?  Tell us in the comments below!

Today’s Soundtrack

Rihanna – We Found Love

Stupid Girl – Garbage

This Fire Burns – Killswitch Engage

Boasty – Wiley, Sean Paul and Stefflon Don ft. Idris Elba

Kill Jill – Big Boi ft. Killer Mike and Young Jeezy

Thinkin Bout You – Ciara

Do you have another song that fits today’s themes or that’s just so great we should check it out anyway?  Tell us in the comments below!

Despite my crazy schedule, I finally managed to see The Avengers End Game movie over the weekend.

It’s as great as advertised!

I’m still not sure how I managed to avoid the spoilers for 3 weeks but I pulled it off! 

It was still crazy packed in the theater though so shoutout to the little girl who kicked my chair every 5 minutes and spilled her popcorn in my lap 3 times.

…and yes, if you’re wondering, I did eat it.

Anyway, I won’t wait 3 weeks to see John Wick 3.  That one’s next on my list and it comes out this Friday! 

I should probably start packing for my trip though since I have to leave soon.  But before we go, let’s check out the “foodie holidays” for the next several days, shall we?

Hmm, aside from National BBQ Day, it’s kind of a slow week.

Since our release dates have been all over the place this year though, we’ve missed a few good ones. 

With that said, going forward, we’ll still post the “foodie holidays” each week on our social media pages so make sure to follow me there too by clicking the logos on the side panel. 

The Facebook page in particular is quite hilarious if I do say so myself (I do 😉).

I also have plans to finally roll out a few new features here as well so stay tuned for that!

In the meantime, I should probably “roll out” myself. 

I’m going to have to pack a thousand clothes since the weather is unpredictable now. 

Anyone wanna donate toward my extra baggage fee? 

Don’t you all jump at once…

Anyway, thanks again for dropping by!  Please make sure to leave a comment before you go.  

Let’s make it a great week people! 

Until next time my friends, May the Fork be With You…

-Darrell

“If you think women are the weaker sex, try pulling the blanket back to your side…”