A BIG Congratulations go out to the Dallas Mavericks for winning the NBA Finals, by closing out last night during Game 6 in Miami. I must admit, I’m feeling an extra Miami withdrawal after seeing the celebratory photos from last night at LIV…. I’m gonna have to LIV it up myself next time I’m in the area. At any rate, the twitter photos this morning are GREAT, and it’s such a well-deserved win for them, the team’s first-ever!! Even Dirk let his hair down, him and Mark Cuban partying it up with YMCMB – Ace of Spades flowing!! I hear the MAVS spent half a milli…yes, that’s $500k, in the club last night!! WOW!! See the pics below…and P.S. Let’s not be so hard on LeBron, people are getting vicious and it’s not that serious..let them man be!!
Alright, so the title of my blog post may be a little deceiving, but in essence that’s what it is. I did a story yesterday about the Thiel Fellowship. Basically, Paypal founder Peter Thiel has given “scholarships” to a small group of kids under the age of 20, to skip college (for now) and develop their own start up, based on a big idea they submitted to him. I met Andrew Hsu who is beyond smart…he graduated at college at age 16, and has left his Master’s program at Stanford to pursue his big idea! He was a fun interview and great guy…I hope to see his BIG IDEA come to light!
My thoughts and prayers are with Sean Kingston and his family, as he remains hospitalized after a weekend jet ski accident in Miami. He’s a sweetheart and I wish him a speedy recovery.
I interviewed him in the summer of ‘08, on set while he was shooting a music video… I remember this day because it was a totally last minute assignment, and I wasn’t really “done up” or ready to go, but he was nonetheless so complimentary and sweet while talking to me, just a cute teddy bear!
I’m 1 week in… and have survived my first 2 days on air at KRON! So far, so good and I’m thankful for everyone that has been helpful and supportive in this transition from my Miami Life! hehe Overall, it seems like fam, friends and fans are super excited about my new gig and really into it, with my twitter follower @Only1Garrett snapping this screen shot when he tuned in yesterday…
…and my sister clipped this screen shot today while watching the LIVE online stream at http://kron4.com
Here’s my “Gas Prices” story that aired this evening.
Make sure to tune into Ch. 4 or online…ALL THE TIME!!
The time has come for me to make my next move… it’s been nearly 5 years now that I’ve called the Magic City home, and while I do love Miami life, I’m taking my talents from South Beach, home to the Bay.
As a TV broadcaster, there’s nothing more flattering than being able to “go home” and tell stories on the same streets you grew up on… and now I have that opportunity at KRON 4 in San Francisco. I can’t say I was always looking to make the move back to the left coast, but over the last year, I have been praying on what to do, and being closer to the majority of my family and friends, just seems like the right thing to do. So, this opportunity came along and I am so excited to be able to be back on the screens in the Bay (I previously had on-air stints on KNTV and KTVU in 2002 & 2003), inject some of the Miami style and bring my brand of TV to the Bay Area!
I am really looking forward to being around all the sights, sounds and people I grew up with..the whole Bay Area vibe that is so unique! It’ll be nice to eat sushi and teriyaki plates from actual Japanese restaurants, Chinese food that’s not P.F. Changs and Hawaiian BBQ joints, not the Thai, Sushi, Chinese fusions that they throw together in Florida – like it’s all “the same.” Ah and the authentic Mexican food…can I have a flauta and chimichanga please!?!? I pretty much just always wait til my west coast visits to indulge in those…
The great thing is, Miami isn’t going anywhere…and it’s just a plane ride away… But I will miss living on the 31st floor in a luxury building that sits on Biscayne Bay, with an awesome view of Miami, a state of the art gym, huge swimming pool, steam room and sauna on the 10th Floor (that I didn’t use nearly enough); and being able to walk in my neighborhood at any time of day or night, because people here just never seem to sleep (or work)! And I can’t leave out the 3 mile drive across 395 to South Beach and the abundance of yummy Cuban food. Most importantly, I have gained a fabulous network of friends and contacts in South Florida, and I will miss them dearly, especially my (Miami) girls Dara, Cherisse, Kimi, Rene, Dana and my Deco Drive fam… Now I’m trading in the “Hola Mami” for the “hella this and hella that!”
Hey guys! I have a new music blog to start off this Monday… and it’s all for a good cause. My talented friends The Trackrunners, produced the track “Better Day” and put together the following song/video project. It’s a FREE DOWNLOAD!! Please support and check it out! http://rebuildjapantoday.com
“Better Day” was written as a tribute to the victims of the recent earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan. It’s simple…we love to make music and we wanted to put that passionate energy towards a positive cause. They say that music is a universal language, which is why we are using our music to connect to the world. We spent countless hours in the studio and put a lot of heartfelt, positive energy into this project in hopes that our music will not only raise awareness around the tragic events, but will motivate people to take action. Each donation, whether big or small, makes a difference. Help to rebuild Japan today. Spread the word. Take action.
Last weekend I had the distinct honor of being the emcee for the first ever Sustainatopia Honors 2011, held in Miami Beach at the brand new, state of the art, extremely gorgeous Frank Gehry/New World Symphony Building! Here’s a brief description of what the event was celebrating…
SUSTAINATOPIA HONORS 2011, presented by PLUM TV is the world’s premier awards ceremony honoring those doing GOOD through impact investing, philanthropy, and sustainable business practice. Hundreds of global leaders in investment, social entrepreneurship and philanthropy will gather to celebrate those committed to doing GOOD and changing our world forever.
My friend Amaris, who is a director at PLUM, introduced me to the founder of Sustainatopia (John Rosser), and they asked me to play hostess for the fabulous evening! I had the pleasure of presenting the awards to a wonderful group of honorees that included designer Donna Karan, model Selita Ebanks, artist Romero Britto, actress Maria Bello, Michael Capponi and so many other wonderful do-gooders! Others in the star-studded crowd included Venus Williams, DJ Irie and Lea Black.
Pictured Above – DJ Irie with Selita Ebanks; Below – Donna Karan and Maria Bello
Last week (On The Flipside) I had a chance to sit down with Minnesota Viking Bryant McKinnie who just returned from a trip to Rwanda and Uganda. His journey was as part of a missionary trip with Pros for Africa, where he teamed up with other NFL players to bring aid to Africa. He had some great insight and invited me and the crew into his home for the interview.
We were also able to get some video clips and photos from his trip to build into the edit…so, you can watch it below. Usually I wait until I have all my segments to edit into one show, but for now I think I’ll just post them individually and also edit the full shows when I have all my content, so be on the lookout for that On The Flipside!!
So far, so good and I’m thankful for everyone that has been helpful and supportive in this transition from my Miami Life! hehe Overall, it seems like fam, friends and fans are super excited about my new gig and really into it, with my twitter follower 
