Last Post Here...Please Check Out my Mike's Daily Page...

for all of my friends and followers at this blog, i have not been posting here of late...but you would already know that, given that this is only my second post this year...yikes, egad, my oh my...

that all said...

i have not abandoned posts and blogs and reaching out to my followers, etc...

i have over 250 posts at my daily blog...

something less formal and in lower case (as you can see)...

yet embracing all of those tenets and attitudes that i have always shared and loved here...

• health
• self help
• fun
• humor
• music
• how to
• food
• cooking
• nutrition
• inspiration
• motivation
• entertainment
• killer recipes
• how to eat videos
• life
• positive energy
• fitness
• exercise
• balance
• vegetarian 
• all of the above and more...

bottom line...

if you dug and still dig this blog...

then continue to follow me here:

http://mikesdaily.livelife365.com/

and keep up with and enjoy videos like these...

peace

mike

livelife365

my newest video explains all that my websites are about...

please enjoy and...

Discover livelife365 

peace,

 mike

 

livelife365

 

Mike's Daily Thoughts

First off, many of you are probably thinking: "Mike actually has daily thoughts?"

Ahem...funny.

But believe it or not, I tend to have a lot on my mind, a lot of which seems destined to be shared via blogs, pics, vids, and Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or one of my many websites.

The wonderful thing is that we have all of this technology at our fingertips, the ability to transmit those thoughts across cyberspace, literally reaching billions of folks.  Okay, that's only if your SEO is strong.  Otherwise, said thoughts and pics and vids, etc., may only reach a handful of interested people.  No matter, I got things to share and if you are reading this, I am very pleased to share them with you.

I created this blog several years ago, as a way to promote my video website, livelife365.  I have been overwhelmed and thrilled at the response and feedback I have gotten from both this blog and my website, so much so that I wrote a book to expand my base, so to speak.

I have further expanded my ability to share the healthy, inspirational, motivational, and entertaining word of livelife365 with the creation of another blog, called:

Mike's Daily Thoughts, Pics, Videos, and More...

This blog is a less formal way to communicate and share many of my videos and photos, insights and just whatever is on my mind that day.  The intent is to write a post everyday, but sometimes life gets in the way of all those plans...you know what I mean.  I would be pleased to at least get five to six posts out each week...any more than that and we will all be sick of me (if you aren't already)...

So, when you have a few spare minutes in your hectic and busy day, please take a stroll over to my new blog and check it out, leave a comment, and enjoy.

Here is my latest video, by the way, about a very sweet and tasty fruit I recently discovered while vacationing on Maui, called Chico Fruit, or Sapodilla:

What is Chico Fruit (Sapodilla)?

 

Until next time...

peace,

Mike

Mike's Daily...
Buy the book
livelife365

Maui Avocado! WOW!

Aloha from Ireland...huh?

Okay, so maybe just greetings from the Emerald Island, where this post is being transmitted.  Besides my lingering jetlag, my confusuion stems from my desire to be back on Maui...and the size of this amazing avocado. 

I could have called this post:

THE ATTACK OF THE KILLER AVOCADO!!

And these babies were killer - killer tasting, that is.  I love Maui avocados even more than the California-grown Hass variety, which before encountering the above monster, were once my favorite.

I don't think you really can see from the above pic what I am talking about.  Maybe this photo will help demonstrate the size of this beast.  And while size is good, the taste is even better.

Is that a Maui avocado, or are you just happy to see me?

All of these fun and delicious recollections have moved me to reprint one of my favorite posts.  Please enjoy:

VIVA AVOCADO!

As much as I love eating avocados today, it's hard to imagine that I didn't taste my first one until I was well into my twenties. I grew up in a small town in a small New England state. Our foods of choice leaned more toward clam cakes and chowder than tacos and enchiladas. Avocado? I hadn't a clue what one was.
And don't even get me going about guacomole. Guaca...huh?


I understand that the avocado existed when I was growing up Back East, and they may even have been available at the local grocery store where my mother shopped. But mom never purchased one, never brought one of those green-skinned babies home. Believe it or not, I did not know WHAT an avocado WAS until I relocated to sunny California in the mid-80's. And even then, I wasn't sure what to do with one or how to eat it.

Today, avocados seem more popular and prevalent in everyday cuisine. In most restaurants you can find them chopped atop salads, sliced in between sandwiches, and, in its most popular form, as guacamole, that amazing green nacho-chip-dipping-taste-sensation.

While your mouth is watering, consider these interesting facts about the avocado:

• a member of the berry family, avocado is a fruit, not vegetable
• the Aztecs named it after the word, ahuacatl, which meant "testicle," because of its shape
• they have been around since 900 A.D.
•  they have been grown in North America since 1856
•  also known as the alligator pear, Jamaicans call them pears

(for more fascinating information about the avocado, visit this site)

Most of you by now have tasted avocados, but if you still are like I was, back in the day, you should give them a try. You don't know what you are missing. But do you know the best way to cut one open? Here's a video that will help:



Hey, next time you have that chip loaded with guac, happily remind yourself that besides enjoying a delicious snack, you are also getting:

• 10 grams of dietary fiber
•  more potassium than one banana
• vitamins E and B
• 10 grams of the good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated)

RED FLAG!

While very healthy for you, avocados are also high in calories and fats. The good news: these are the good fats--monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. These are heart-healthy fats and help lower LDL (bad cholesterol).

The bad news, for those counting calories or watching their weight, is that an average size avocado has around 300 calories--so tread carefully. I know that I can eat one all by myself, diced, with a sprinkle of sea salt.
Try it! In moderation.

It's hard to imagine that I spent half my life deprived of the succulent taste of avocado. Maybe that's why I've spent the last twenty-five years eating more than my share, trying to make up for lost time.

You should too!

Always remember that you can watch hundreds of self-help videos about health and nutrition, and any number of other topics, at livelife365.com.

Until next time...

peace,

Mike

Mo' Better (Social Networking) Blues

With apologies to Denzel Washington and Spike Lee ("Mo' Better Blues"), I begin this post. Has anyone noticed that my recent music video, "Social Networking Blues," has climbed the charts on my video site and now resides at the very top of the Most Popular list?
No? Well, here’s proof:


It has also done well on Metacafe and YouTube. What, some of you may be asking, am I talking about? Well, this, of course:



While these few thousand views are considered a bad hour for some viral Internet videos, they show me that my creative efforts are appreciated and, hopefully, enjoyed by a wide variety of viewers. In fact, I am so excited by the feedback I’ve received on this video I want to do something special in return.

HOW ABOUT A CONTEST?

This blog and my video site, ( livelife365.com) have been around for over a year now and I have not yet had a contest, thought about having a contest, felt the need or desire to have a contest, or had the energy to think up a contest worth doing. Until now, that is. In celebration of “Social Networking Blues” hitting number one on my vid site, and as a reward to all you loyal followers of both of my sites, here it is:

THE SOCIAL NETWORKING BLUES/LIVELIFE365 CONTEST



1. Tell me your most bizarre social networking story. Or…
2. Watch my social networking video and describe what it means to you. Or…
3. Make up a social networking story, combing both the bizarre and my video.

* Extra points will be awarded to those who leave comments on both this post and at my video site.
* Entries will be judged on originality, creativity, humor, and whoever sucks up to me the most.
* The deadline for all entries will be May 8, 2009.

What’s a contest without prizes, right?

I am offering several prizes and, depending on how many entries I receive, will award them to one or several contestants.

Prizes:

* 5,000 Entrecard credits (not everyone’s cup of tea, but cool if you’re an Entrecarder)
* Autographed and inscribed livelife365 CD, featuring Mike Foster and the Hungry & Poor Band (You’ve tapped your toes to the tunes, now own the CD!)
* Autographed and inscribed copy of my young adult novel, "Mikey and the Mysterious Kite" (fun read for all ages!)
* Personalized video about you or your blog or website, filmed by me, added to my video site, and blogged about on this blog (the best prize, as far as I’m concerned)

Few things in life bring me more joy than writing and performing my own music, and then adding that finished musical tune to video. Also on that list of joys is making people smile, laugh, or just happy watching one of my creations. Social networking is one of the best ways for me to marry both of these passions: sharing my creative endeavors with as many people as possible. From my hectic/active participation in this madness otherwise known as social networking this song and video were born, and, in turn, this contest created.

I hope you enjoy watching and commenting on my passion as much as I love doing it. In life, what more can one ask for?

Until next time…


peace,

Mike

Social Networking Blues

We all do it, even without realizing we do it. Some of us do it more than others, while others do it a lot more than some. We do it in the morning, sipping our caffeinated beverage of choice (you know what mine is), midday, while munching our lunch, sometimes while preparing meatless meatloaf (or any other healthy fare) for dinner, and often deep into the wee hours. In fact, most of us, or dare I say, all of us, do it throughout the day and night, as often as we can, whenever we can steal a minute here or a half-second there. Admit it, you’re doing it now! Heck, so am I! Yikes! I can’t stop doing it!

What are we all doing? You guessed it, social networking. Or more to the point: electronic, online, surfing-the-net, cyber-social networking. It’s the new sitting-around-the-coffee-shop-chatting-with-your-pals interaction, replacing face-to-face meet-and-greets with “tweets,” “shouts,” “subscribers,” and “Facebook friends.” (go ahead, add me as your friend, I dare ya!). It’s the phenomenon that is and has been sweeping the world for years, only now it appears to be multiplying faster than the national deficit.

You want to know what the ironic, funny thing of all this is? I never in a million years ever thought that I would be heavily involved in social networking, let alone writing a blog post about it. LET ALONE CREATING A MUSIC VIDEO ABOUT IT! But I am and have. More on the vid in a minute.

How did I get involved in all this electronic-interaction of the cyber kind? You’re looking at it, or, more to the point, reading it. Yup, blogging. It all started with my video website, livelife365.com. I created that site as a venue to help people improve their lives and to share that information with as many people as possible, probably one of the many reasons you created your site, right? One of the first things I did was create this blog. Blogging, I discovered, was an excellent way to reach hundreds of people, with the ultimate goal: hoping as many interested people as possible would eventually visit my vid site. Blogging is, after all, a form of social networking, as I soon found out, with commenting being a major electronic interaction between like-minded souls.

And it just kind of snowballed from there. As I visited and read more blogs, I discovered more social networking sites like Digg, Stumbleupon, and Entrecard. And tremendous sites for bloggers like MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. As a videographer, I naturally migrated to video-sharing sites like YouTube and FunnyorDie. I went social networking crazy, and if it weren’t for healthy sites like Iowa Avenue, I might have gone nuts, or at least more nutty than I already am.

What eventually evolved from all this social networking, which so often does for me, was a seed of creativity. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I have kind of a love/hate thing going with social networking. I love visiting cool and interesting blogs and websites, learning new things and meeting a diverse group of bloggers and SoNets (my new word, just invented, for “social networkers”). But, quite frankly, it can get exhausting, overwhelming, tedious (at times), and time-consuming. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy visiting dozens of blogs and sites every day, but there are times when I wish I could hop aboard a time machine and travel back to a place where there were no computers, or even televisions, for that matter. And then I stumble upon a new site that catches my eye and I thank god that I live in this amazing technological time period. Sleep? Who needs sleep?

So, one night, I was doing my social networking thing, and my brain, while fighting fatigue and getting punchy, came up with the following song. I then got out my trusty video camera and began shooting. As always, I had help. Mostly, my good buddy and the other half of the Hungry and Poor Band, Dale from Electric Canyon Studios. Dale is the guy who makes my voice sound better than average, while adding so much to my mediocre guitar playing it is beyond words. He is also a master video editor. His magical touch and relentless patience makes our collaborative efforts effortless. You may recognize him from my I Miss My Hair video; he’s the one with hair! Thanks, Dale.

Please take a few minutes and enjoy my latest music video:

SOCIAL NETWORKING BLUES




Sure, social networking can seem like an endless chore, at times, but more often than not it is an effort of joy, a linking between souls connected, perhaps tens of thousands of miles away, through the touch of a mouse, the flicker of a finger across a keyboard, or the click of a link, like this one, which will take you to Mike‘s Lyrics, if you would like to read along while you watch:

SOCIAL NETWORKING BLUES.

And remember, please drop me a comment at my video site letting me know what you think about my latest, or any other, video.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike

Tags, Awards, and Hit Songs

For the past few weeks, I’ve been busy with family matters, cross-country travel, and the excitement and arduous efforts associated with promoting my funny music video, I Miss My Hair…more on that later.

While I was away, I was tagged twice and nominated for a couple of nice blogging awards. One of the many benefits I get from writing this blog is the wonderful interaction from other bloggers—like getting to know Patricia over at Communication Exchange and Lea at Oceans of Perspectives. I have been double tagged by these two fine bloggers. Here is the list of rules from both tags:

1. List these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules
3. Tell six unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag six bloggers by linking.
5. Leave a comment for each blogger.

Okay, I’ve listed the rules and linked both sites. Now for the hard/fun part—facts about myself. Since I am a playful, funny guy, I will combine the two tags, as well as accurate facts salted with some fun fiction, and let you sort out what’s real or not.

I collect turtles.

I have driven across this great country of ours over a dozen times—from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Many times by myself.

I have not tasted alcohol since Father’s Day, 1992.

I once met Stevie Wonder in a men’s room at LAX.

Through proper nutrition, exercise, a high-fiber diet, and supplements I was able to lower my total cholesterol from 276 down to 183—in eighteen months.

I am a huge Boston Red Sox fan.

Livelife365 originally began as a vlog—a video-driven website with over 200 videos featuring the same Health, Personal Development, and Entertainment topics I talk about in this blog.

I once appeared on the game show Let’s Make A Deal and won the Big Deal of the Day.

I used to suffer so badly from stage fright and a fear of public speaking that while attending college I dropped out of a speech class three times before finally sticking with it and passing it.

I have been married three times.

I once performed the Heimlich Maneuver on my mother, successfully freeing up a chunk of partially masticated beef from her choking throat.

Back in the day, I was one of the best baseball players in my high school.

I have a 26-year-old son.

The only thing deterring me from becoming a full-fledged vegan is the fact that I still consume (in small quantities) some cheeses.

While the combination of the two lists should equal thirteen, I listed fourteen for good luck.

I have tagged the following blogs and I am leaving comments alerting them of their great fortune (being tagged by me) as we speak. These are some of the blogs that I visit regularly and enjoy reading:

Steven Video
EZ Great Life
A Junk Foodaholic’s Journey
The Good Life
Creating Wealth and Health
Grow Your Own Vegetables
Wisdom Hypnosis
Ramblings of a Writer
Creative Cafe
The Matthias Chronicles

That’s an even ten excellent blogs—please give them a visit!

Next up: Another Brillante Weblog Premio Award.

Skye at Ramblings of a Writer nominated me—thanks, Skye! And thanks for your patience! Here are the rules for this wonderful award:

(1) Put the logo on your blog
(2) Add a link to the person who awarded you
(3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
(4) Add links to those blogs on yours
(5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

Here, in no particular order, are five great blogs that I enjoy reading just about every day:

Healthnut Wannabee Mom
Paul’s Health Blog
Amy Oops
Crotchety Old Man
Orange Derange

Comments coming up!

Lastly, Polly at Random Ramblings has given me The Smile Award.


If you would like me to consider you for this award (I need to pass it on, and I will, but I am linked/blogged-out right now), please leave a comment. Thanks again Polly!

Whew! While I am deeply flattered and most appreciative for being recognized by these highly respected fellow bloggers, I can’t wait to get back to writing some regular content. Over the next several weeks, I will be featuring the content you have come to expect from livelife365—Health and Fitness tips, Nutritional and Diet articles, Inspirational and Motivational posts, all written with a touch of humor and tongue-in-cheek. And fun stuff, like I Miss My Hair.

Just a few last words about my Hair video. I would like to thank all of you who have watched, laughed, and commented on this vid. The feedback has been more than any artist could hope for. In only a few weeks, the video is pushing 1500 hits on YouTube, surpassing all of my other videos except my green tea vid (Drink Green Tea Every Day). That tea video, by the way, averages close to 100 hits a day, and comes up number one out of over 3700 other tea vids on the YouTube search engine. I can’t explain its popularity, just as I am often flummoxed by why some of my other videos do not do better.

If you have not seen this video, please take a look and let me know what you think. If you have already seen it, why not watch it again—heck, I’ve seen it 100’s of times and still enjoy it.



As always, you can enjoy all of my other videos at my video site, livelife365.com.

peace,
Mike

Mike recommends…Social Networking!

If you are a serious blogger, or just a sociable sort who loves the Internet, then you probably know all about the large number of social networking sites out there. I am a member of dozens of them, and while some are better than others, depending on what it is you're looking for, I would like to show you a few that I visit often. Below is a list of only a handful of sites that I use regularly and highly recommend—there are lots more, and I will eventually make videos about some of them as well. Yes, videos. On my video site, I have a section called Mike Recommends…, which I use to endorse products, blogs, and websites. In this post, I would like to call attention to that section of my site, along with my favorite blogs and networking sites.

You see, I am a man torn between two worlds, that of the blogger and vlogger. I love my vid site and enjoy the process of creating videos to share with the masses. But, being a writer for years, I have discovered that writing a blog is also an incredibly satisfying experience. The solution: do both! Which I am attempting to do. But it's like being a parent with more than one child, trying to allot equal time to each—you must be careful to make sure one does not get more attention than the other. Or worse, one is not being treated better than the other. It's a juggling act of my time and creative energies, but one I thoroughly enjoy.

So, I hope while you enjoy this post, you also learn a bit more about what makes me and livelife365 tick. Just as I hope you take the time to click on the links below and enjoy a mere handful from the hundreds of videos available at livelife365.com. Also, please check out the new What's Happening box at the top of the site page.

These are some (and by no means all) of the social networking sites I use and highly recommend:

Iowa Avenue

I'm a member of this community, a wonderful site that shares lots of my ideals about health, fitness, and exercise. If you like livelife365, you will enjoy Iowa Avenue.

Healthy Lifestyle Bloggers

One site loaded with dozens of health and fitness bloggers? Yup, this is the place . I am a member and visit daily--you should too.

Good Reads

I love to read and talk about the books I have read, am reading, and want to read. You can do all that, and more, at this site.

Blog Catalog

A great site it you love blogs and blogging. As the site itself notes, "whether you are looking to search blogs, connect with bloggers, learn more about blogging, or promote your own blog, BlogCatalog is for you."

Digg

Check out this great news and entertainment sharing site. I use it just about every day. Digg it!

StumbleUpon

Another great social networking site that I visit all the time. If you enjoy websurfing and interacting with people, this is the place.

YouTube and Metacafe

Both are video sharing sites that I use extensively. One you've probably heard about, the other one is pretty good too.


Here are some websites and blogs that I recommend:

Health Nut Wannabee Mom

One of the many excellent blogs out there that focuses on healthy lifestyle and fitness. This one is one of the better ones.

Ecolive.tv

If you're looking for a great video site that is all about environmental issues, this is the place to visit.

WebXpertz

For web hosting, website development, and a great forum to answer all your coding, styling, scripting, and programming needs, this is the city to visit. Their specialty is JavaScript.

Multi Media Information

For Web design, digital Imagery, Research, Editing, Database management, and all other web-related services at reasonable rates, I rely on my good friend Eric at MMI. He can help you establish an online identity from the ground up, thoroughly copyedit an existing site with his exacting eye and strong language skills, add user-friendly and profit-generating functionality, or even completely overhaul your window on the world with a basic redesign.

Look, Up in the Sky! It's a Bird, a Plane, a Blog, a...Vlog?

I am one of those rare birds lucky enough to have both a blog and a vlog. Most everyone knows what a blog is: a shortened version of "web log." This is a site where people can post just about anything that interests them, and, hopefully, the masses. There are blogs about everything one can possibly imagine. Most are very entertaining. I enjoy visiting them, checking them out, seeing what's new and interesting. And though, originally, they were mostly just in the form of the written word, now quite a few blogs have branched off into other areas of communication. Like videos. Technology has made it a breeze to add vids right onto most blogs with simple cutting and pasting. Heck, even I can do it.

The other side of the coin is something close to my heart: vlogs. The name derives from Video Log, and just like blogs these sites can be about any topic that interests you. The major difference between blogs and vlogs is the amount of video. Take my site, livelife365.com, for example. My goal when I created this site was to offer a venue to share my information using a video format. And, save for a few bits of text here or there, I have been true to my vision. A visit to my site offers you tips on diet and nutrition, exercise and motivation, self-help and overcoming adversity. As well as entertaining and funny songs, videos, and rants. And all of them are in video form. You will not find a written piece, like this one, anywhere on the site. And that to me is a true vlog.

But a funny thing happened while I was promoting my site, visiting other sites, mostly blogs, networking with all of the wonderful people who make up the blogging community. I wanted to be one of them, join them. And not just as the new kid on the block with the vlog. I wanted to be part of their blogging community with my very own blog. An interesting self realization, coming from a guy who thought that video-driven sites were going to be the next big thing.

The fact is, I have come to understand that while video is here to stay and will eventually be everywhere, on every site, mark my words. The blog will never die. Just like newspapers. Books. Magazines. Because there were many who thought that any paper-based from of media would eventually dry up and blow away, never being able to compete with the convenience of an electronic media. Not the case. True, sales and subscriptions may be down, but I honestly believe that newspapers will never die. And neither will the blog. There is room in this here town for the both of us.

I want to take a moment to thank all of the great people with whom I have networked and met online while promoting livelife365.com. I feel lucky and blessed to be part of such a kind and giving community...even if I do have a vlog. But, now, also a blog.

So, read or watch, as long as you are doing all that you can to make each day count, living your life every day and every way. Until next time...

peace,
Mike