Phil Taylor's Blog: The Phil Factor, page 172

The Phil Factor Interview with Dave Barry! (yes, that Dave Barry)

Hello Dave and welcome to #ThePhilFactor. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for my readers. For those of you not familiar with Dave’s work, he is an American humorist and Pulizter Prize winning columnist that the New York Times has referred to as “the funniest man in America.” For those of you wondering about the picture above, yes, Dave is also a guitarist. Dave’s syndicated humor column has run in the Miami Herald since 1983. Then in 1999 he branched out into humorous n...

The Phil Factor: Sexiest Man Alive? Maybe.

It’s time. If you’ve been following The Phil Factor for a while you’re well aware of my past campaigns to be elected President or Sexiest Man Alive, whichever comes first. When I say “my past campaigns” what I mean ismy annual postexpressing surprise that I wasn’t selected as Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine.

I’ve decided that it’s time to be proactive rather than reactive. This year instead of just sitting back and hoping that I’ll be noticed, I’ve decided to actively campaign for Sexiest...

Throwback Thursdays! The Phil Factor: Brought to You by the Makers of Viagra! (7/24/2006)

I published this in 2006 and sadly, it doesn’t seem dated at all.

I’m a sports fan. It used to be that sporting events were just sporting events that took place in ordinary stadiums named after a dead guy or the city they’re in. Thanks to the advent of corporate sponsorship, the names of sporting events or venues that are decades old have suddenly turned into events or places we no longer recognize.

As annoying as it is to those of us who enjoy the history and tradition of the sports we love, s...

It’s the Great Pumpkin Spice Latte Charlie Brown!

I was also going to name this “A Pumpkin Flavored Phil Factor”. It’s that time of year, again. Sigh. It has begun. Pumpkin flavored everything is back in stores! WTH? Seriously, are pumpkins such a wonderful delicacy that we have to flavor EVERYTHING with them? Why pumpkin? Is there any other time of year where a flavor takes over the country for a couple months? Around the winter holidays why isn’t there nog flavored everything? Around St. Patrick’s Day we’ve got our Shamrock Shakes, but tha...

Throwback Thursdays! It’s a Bird, it’s a Plane, it’s Captain Retrospect! (7/31/2006)

I’m sorry I didn’t get this out this morning. In retrospect I should have set it up days ago and scheduled it to auto-post in my absence.

We all know Captain Retrospect. Captain Retrospect is that super-hero in everyone’s life who has the uncanny ability to point out your mistakes and then tell you what they would have done had they been in your shoes.

Sometimes we work with Captain Retrospect, sometimes we’re married to him or her and sometimes we’re just friends with Captain Retrospect. Regar...

It Doesn’t Take a Rocket Scientist to Give a Great Speech, or Does It?

With about 2 million views this past week, you just have to watch the video below before reading the rest of the interview.

Over the centuries there have been many impressive inspirational speeches and quotes by men and women who have shaped history. “I have a dream today!” by Martin Luther King Jr. “All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”~ Walt Disney. Last weeks Georgia Tech freshman convocation speech has people wondering if “If you want to play theme music d...

Body By Phil

According to the results of a study published by Dr. Tracy L. Tyka of Ohio State University, “Men are affected by those pressures in the media … or the pressures that others put on them to look more muscular,” she said.

For years women have decried the unrealistic images of feminine beauty portrayed in the media. “That’s unrealistic,” we heard. “No real woman looks like that.” ”She’s airbrushed.” “Those are fake.” Well guess what ladies, it’s our turn.

That’s right. You just need to back off an...

Throwback Thursdays! The Office Gods Part 1: Some Like it Hot 8/2/2006

What is an Office God you ask? The Office Gods are those people who for a variety of reasons hold certain powers within the politics of an office or workplace setting. The Office Gods aren’t necessarily a boss or supervisor, though they can be. Sometimes it’s the person with the right set of keys, connections, or acquaintances. We all know that often the most important person in an office is one of the clerical or reception staff who knows everything and thanklessly keeps the place running. T...

If There’s a Problem Yo I’ll Solve It… with frozen yogurt? The 11 Best Frozen Yogurt Shop Names

I don’t know about you, but where I live you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a frozen yogurt shop anymore. Apparently somewhere someone published a study indicating there was a frozen yogurt shortage. I have nothing against frozen yogurt or the shop owners, but sadly, no matter how creative they are with their shop names there are just too many and at least half will be out of business in two years. That will be a loss to society if only because we will miss out on the creative genius...

Throwback Thursdays! 10/7/2005 You Can’t Spell Funeral without F-U-N!

This post was first featured on #ThePhilFactor in October of 2005. If I had to re-write it today I don’t think I’d change a thing. The picture below is of the Am I Gone Funeral Home in Buffalo, NY. I applaud their sense of humor, or I apologize if it’s just an Italian family name.

In the past 18 months I’ve gone to too many funerals and honestly they were not nearly as fun as they should have been. I think funerals should be conducted as wedding receptions are. Really, what’s the difference? P...