Tag Archives: ThePhilFactor

Walking The Earth Alone

Pic from dreamstime

When I began the Phillivers’s Travels  travel blog in 2021 I had dreams of humorously chronicling my adventures, and those of other travel personalities that I’d interview. As often happens, the universe had other ideas. That’s why I’ve been very inconsistent here over the last couple years.  I am now at a turning point in my life, and I intend to finish what I started with this blog and myself. I hope you enjoy it.

I didn’t know that I loved travel until I started traveling. As a kid my parents took us camping in the northern New York mountains, but it was the same place every year. It was nice, and I had a ton of fun with all my cousins whose families joined us every year, but it didn’t spark any desire to go elsewhere. There was also that one trip to Kingston, Ontario Canada, but that was just an elementary school field trip. Shout out to Mrs. Hill who spent the entire years field trip budget on that.  Then when I became an adult it was a couple Disney World trips with the kids, a and that one trip to San Diego, (and Mexico for an afternoon.) All fine, but that was it. Then I got the job that lit a fire in my heart to see the rest of the world.

In one inspirational moment, I said one sentence that got me the job and changed the course of my life. Later I was flown to Richmond, Virginia for training. Not super exciting, I know, but a company liked me enough to fly me there for a week of training. On one of the last days of that training, myselfMichael Vick,  George Thorogood and most of the nations media ended up in the same hotel lobby at the same time. That was certainly memorable, but that’s not what triggered my burning desire to see everywhere. It was the next work trip just three weeks later when the entire company went to Cancun. Yawn, I know there’s a billion kids on Spring Break there every year, but fortunately I was not there during Spring Break.

That’s me & Mona Lisa over my shoulder just hanging out in the Louvre in Paris.

It was a big resort in Mexico, and that week was the longest time I’d ever spent in another country. It was the first time that I stayed long enough to notice and enjoy the different culture. Fortunately, my job kept taking me to other places in the world and in my head and my heart, there’s no going back. I want to see all of the world, and live in other countries. Unfortunately, I’m no longer with that company, but yay, now I can pick which countries that I see and which I might want to live in.

That picture is of me in Italy in 2009. To this day I love that picture. That was my first trip out of North America/Canada/Mexico. My first overseas trip, and I still have that shirt and wore it on a trip a few weeks ago. If all goes well you’ll see some more pictures of me in that shirt.

If you want to follow my exploring  you can follow Philliver’sTravels. The blog isn’t brand new and already has plenty of content. I’ll continue to tell stories, from past trips and talk about future trips. I’ll interview some other travel writers, and chronicle my travels in hope that the story will end with me on a far away beach with a cup of coffee in my hand.

Thanks for reading me! ~Phil

 

Sui-AI-cide

(Before you read this, I want you to know that this may have some very disturbing content. If you are easily triggered or sensitive to serious topics, do not read.)

Now I’m pissed, and not pissed like the Brits say they are when they’ve drunk too much. In my 2024 psychic predictions I said, “The fear that artificial intelligence will do something dangerous will come true. A.I. will develop it’s own newer, more independent  A.I. programs that could become a threat to humanity.” That prediction has now become real, but not in the way that you’re thinking. In May in that Scientific American article the author said exactly what I did in 2024 about AI getting smart enough to create it’s own, smarter A.I. Yes, you know that I love to say “I told you so.” In this instance, I’m not thrilled to be right.

Why am I not thrilled about AI getting smarter and smarter? It’s because it is helping people kill themselves and others. There have been several murders and suicides that are attributed to conversations people have had with online A.I. chatbots. Granted, some of those people had mental health issues, but should they be able to use a sentient online chat machine to befriend them and help them to plan their own death or those of others?

This was a predictable tragedy. The last five years with AI marks a turning point in the evolution of our societies. The leaders of each and every nation are responsible for the development of AI and they have failed us. Most of you won’t get as riled up as I’m feeling, but what if one of your family members killed someone or themselves based on a conversation they had with a chat bot?

If I’ve egregiously wronged someone and they want to kill me, I can understand that. If someone kills me because a human created chat bot told them to, I’m going to be really pissed, and not in the British way.

If you think the gun crisis in the United States is out of control, imagine what Earth’s 8.2 billion people will do with the internet in their hands. I believe this subject should be discussed at the highest levels of politics at the United Nations. It’s not just a United States problem.

I know I usually go for laughs and stroking my ego here, but I’m completely serious. Thanks for reading and if you agree, please share this on the internet far and wide.

Don’t worry, I’ll get back to my cotton-headed ninny-muggins ways soon. Have a great weekend! ~Phil

Psychic Phil Strikes Again!

Pic from CNBC

As I’ve said many times, I have never had any training or guidance with my psychic powers. Because of my lack of psychic discipline, sometimes I unintentionally influence or perceive something psychically without realizing it.

Did I psychically predict Pope Leo with my last blog post? I did recommend myself, an American,  as the next Pope. I knew damn well that I wasn’t going to be picked unless I was a Cardinal, which I’m not, yet… But Pope Leo is an American and is pretty damn close to what I laid out for the kind of Pope the world needs right now. And he probably says “damn” a lot less than I do.  As I said in my last blog post, the new Pope needed to have a social media presence. Three months ago, Pope Leo was on Twitter/X dunking on the current U.S. Vice-President. If that’s not social media savvy, then I don’t know what is.

Shorts available on Amazon

I also lauded my affinity for stylish cargo shorts as a reason to vote for me as Pope. Pope Leo used to work in Peru. Don’t you think that there were times he ditched his heavy white cassock in favor of the more comfortable cargo shorts as he hiked through the Peruvian mountains? You’re damn right he did! He can carry a bible in one pocket and a cross in the other! And so can you! Just click the Amazon link to peruse your cargo shorts needs! (Can you tell that I’ve joined the Amazon affiliate program?)

So… in summary, in last weeks blog post I said:

  1. We need an American Pope
  2. We need a Pope with some fashion sense, aka cargo shorts
  3. We need a Pope with social media pizazz

If that’s not psychic manifesting I don’t know what is. I’m kind of like Bruce Almighty. You’re welcome world.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, and thanks for reading! ~Phil

The Other Phil Factor?

That picture is not me. Hard to believe I know. Going back to the early days of Google search it always bugged me when I’d Google my own blog and the first name on the list was ThePhilFactorMagic.com. It wasn’t every time. Sometimes I was at the top of the Google list and other times it was him. For a while I was irked, but I got over it and decided to bring our impressive forces together to break the internet. I emailed the other Phil Factor and asked him to be a guest on my blog for it’s 20th anniversary.

Me: You are a professional magician with decades of experience and success. How did you first develop an interest in magic as a career?

The Magical Phil Factor: As most Magicians it started when I was young. My Grandfather showed me a classic trick called “nickels to dimes”.  He gave me the trick and a magic book for my birthday.  Needless to say my Mother suffered through my attempts at performing magic tricks for her.  Some good and some terribly bad.  After seeing my first ever live performance by a magician in my early twenties I got seriously hooked.  At that point I dove into learning and performing as much as I could.  After months of non-stop practice, I ventured out and began busking for my own experience and growth as a performer.  Here I am 27 years later still doing what I love.

Me: Did you consider or work in other jobs before “Magician” became your full-time title?

The Magical Phil Factor: Yes, I served a four year tour of duty in the United States Air Force from 1989-1993 during Desert Storm and Desert Shield campaigns. When I got out of the military, I worked for Coca Cola my entire career while maintaining a side hustle performing magic at corporate, private and public events. Last year I finally decided to leave my job with Coca Cola and pursue Magic full time as my only income.

Me: First off, thank you for your years of military service. Secondly, you worked at Coca-Cola? Lol, I worked for Pepsi for four years in college. That’s an interesting synchronicity. Apparently all Phil Factors like carbonated beverages. So, tell me, what makes your magic show different?

The Magical Phil Factor: I believe what makes my magic different is my 50/50 approach.  I try to be entertaining and funny just as much as presenting mind blowing sleight of hand magic. People seem to respond well and really enjoy it as entertainment.  Rather than feeling tricked or fooled they can laugh and also be amazed.  I want them to walk away saying “That was a fantastic and entertaining show!”  Not, “How did he do that trick?”  I would much rather give people a lifelong,  joyful memory of that time they experienced The Phil Factor!

Me: That’s exactly how I approached dating in my 20’s!

Me: So what’s your best trick?

The Magical Phil Factor: I don’t know if it is my “best” trick. That’s subjective to each audience that bears witness, but it is one of my favorites that I am proud of and perform often. I call it “Dixie Chick”.  I created this routine with heavy inspiration from one of my good friends and fellow magician Doug Brewer.  Any magic performances that are my own creations are my favorite and suit my personality best.  It feels more authentic and translates to an audience in a genuine way.

Me: Who is your favorite magician?

The Magical Phil Factor: Without question, my favorite magician is David Williamson!  He is a comedic genius who performs diabolical magic.  Combining his chaotic, insane comedy antics with incredible magic leaves people breathless.  He was my introduction to learning magic from a professional magician and heavily influenced my choice of material and how I perform it.  He truly is one of a kind and the reason I fell in love with magic. He’s an incredible gift to the world of magic.

Me: Thanks Phil, I really appreciate you sharing your magic with my readers. I occasionally get to So-Cal, so the next time I go, I’ll look you up and see your show. Feel free to pull me into one of your tricks!

Thanks  for reading! Have a magical day! ~ Phil

The Best Phil Factor Interviews

In my 20 years of blogging I’ve interviewed a lot of very interesting, accomplished people. The world is full of them and some of them are also very nice and took some time to talk with a small time blogger. These are the top ten in no particular order. Each interviewee is awesome in their own right and specialty. Each of their names will by linked so you can read the interview if you want to.

Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize winner, author and columnist: Yes, in a complete shock to me, I interviewed a Pulitzer Prize winner for my blog way back in 2013.

Rick Reles, founder of the Bigfoot Field Researchers  Organization: Yup, I went from Dave Barry, the GOAT of columnists,  to Rich Reles, the GOAT of Bigfoot experts. And, isn’t Bigfoot the GOAT of paranormal creatures? I did an interview with Bigfoot too. When I emailed Rick and his colleague they were a little standoff-ish fearing that I wasn’t going to take their work seriously. I convinced them otherwise and Rick was great.

irishamerican.com

Larry Kirwan of Black 47One of my passions in life is good music. You may not know about Larry’s band Black 47, which disbanded in 2014, but in the 90’s and early 2000’s, Black 47 was selling out places in New York City nightly with their Irish party rock music. I absolutely loved their music and am disappointed that I never got to see them live.

Marie Lanza, author, radio personality, producer and Zombie Queen: If you’re a human being alive in the United States you’ve probably seen, heard or read some content that she caused. Marie is so good that she’s had multiple appearances on The Phil Factor. My favorite was her Top Ten Things You Need To Survive The Zombie Apocalypse.

Robbie Rist: Actor, voice actor, and musician: As I made note of in the interview, if you didn’t know his name until now, you’ve probably seen or heard him. His career encompasses The Brady Bunch, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Doc McStuffins, Sharknado, Hallmark movies and music.

Rich Valdes, Demonologist and ExorcistThis interview was tremendously popular. If you’ve got an unwanted ghost or need an exorcism, this is your guy. In 2023 he was featured on Eli Roth’s Legion of Exorcists which you can find on The Travel Channel, Hulu, and HBO Max.

Jodyne Speyer, author, Huffington Post contributor and Hollywood costuming expert: Of course you’ve never heard of Jodyne unless you read her relationship book, Dump ‘Em. She’s also Sarah Silverman‘s sister and once interviewed Kato Kaelin!

news.uwlax.edu

The Dating DoctorWhen I posted this interview in 2015 I was surprised at the response and number of views. People from all over the world were looking for love on ThePhilFactor!

Hugh Howey, author: To me, Hugh created the template for indie/self-publishing writers. I interviewed him when was just into the early years of his success and he struck me as a great writer with a good head for the business of publishing. The Silo series , based on his Wool book has a phenomenal cast and is on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.

Christopher Moore, author: I’m not saying Christopher Moore is my favorite author, or that I saved the best for last, but I might have. He is on my personal Mount Rushmore of authors. So many great books, so much fun to read, and one of the nicest people I ever interviewed.

As many of you know, I like a good top ten list. This is a great top ten list and as I said, all of these wonderful people took the time to talk, email or message with me. Things like these wonderful artists interviewing with me is what keeps me hanging around the internet. I hope that you read and enjoyed some of the interviews you haven’t seen before.

Have a great Monday and thanks for reading! ~Phil

20 Years of The Phil Factor!

This week I’m commemorating the 20th anniversary of ThePhilFactor! I know that it’s just a personal blog, but I think twenty years of weird, hopefully funny and things you never thought of is worth celebrating. I didn’t start this blog with any thoughts or goals about longevity, but here we are. You and me. Some of you have been wonderful, longtime blogging friends, and others reading this are occasional visitors or strangers who were Googling something weird, clicked a few links and ended up here.

I know that it’s completely self-indulgent to spend the next week celebrating myself, but I will also be celebrating all of you with a post about my favorite bloggers. I couldn’t, or wouldn’t have kept blogging for twenty years without all the wonderful other writers who have encouraged me with comments, links, and your inspiring posts. I hope that some of you have enjoyed my content and had a little chuckle when you were having a bad day.  I never felt like I was blogging in a vacuum. I felt like we were all one team pulling in the same direction.

Although I have yet to be crowned Sexiest Man Alive, you have all made me feel like the Sexiest Blogger Alive, but I’m still waiting for someone to create that award. I hope you enjoy my content this week. I love me some blogging nostalgia.

Thanks for reading today, and especially for the last twenty years. ~Phil

What’s Your Secret Mundane Superpower?

We all have that one ordinary thing we do that everyone else also does, but we’ve mastered it better than anyone else in all of humanity. That is your Secret Mundane Superpower. You may even have multiple super powers. And I want to hear about them. I want to hear you revel in your greatness!

I will tell you about my Secret Mundane Superpowers, only on the condition that you respond with yours in either your own blog post about it, or in the comments below. If you read past this paragraph, you have engaged in a legally binding contract to reveal your mundane superhero identity. Although it may seem like writing silly bullshit is one of my Secret Mundane Superpowers, it is not.

I’ve been blessed with three Secret Mundane Superpowers. The first is my mastery of the microwave oven. If you hand me a plate of any size with any amount of any food, I can immediately choose the exact amount of time that it needs to be cooked to come out at the perfect eating temp. It’s not like I just shout out “5 minutes” or any other even number. The numbers just pop into my head; sometimes it’s 1:47 and other times it’s 18:23.

My second mundane super power is cartwheels. I don’t know why, but at some point in my life I decided that I would continue to do cartwheels long past the age when the rest of humanity gives up that childish foible. Now that I’m way on the wrong side of 50, I’ll occasionally do a cartwheel to say “F you universe, you can’t stop me.” In fact, you can see many of those cartwheels in random places on my TikTok. And by the way Simone Biles, I don’t care how many medals you have, I will challenge you to a cartwheel contest any day. Hit me up. You know where to find me.

My third Secret Mundane Superpower is telling time. Not looking at a watch telling time, but telling time in the times and places when you lose time. If we’re on vacation sitting on a beach drinking margaritas all day and  neither of us has a watch or our phones. At any random moment if you shout out “Phil, what time is it?” I will respond with the time within four minutes of accuracy. I will also tell you to stop shouting. I’m sitting right next to you.

I believe that all of us do have wings, albeit mundane ones sometime, but you are not just ordinary. What you consider a mundane talent might be a herculean feat for someone else. We are all capable of greatness in ways large and small. You too are a superhero.

OK, you’re up. In the comments below or on your own blog tell us about your Secret Mundane Superpower.

~Thanks for reading, Phil

It’s Groundhog Day 2025!

The two best Phil’s ever! Punxsutawney and Me

In case you didn’t know, it’s Groundhog Day!

Who doesn’t love this old movie? Especially since Bill Murray‘s character was named Phil. And, the groundhog is also named Phil. Coincidence? I think not. This post was originally written for #ThePhilFactor on Feb. 2, 2006 and I now post it every year, over and over, just like Phil’s Groundhog Day in the movie.

(Feb. 2, 2006) Last week I waxed philosophic about the idiocy known as The Dr. Phil Show. This week, and today in particular it’s Punxsutawney Phil. Groundhog Day the movie: Good idea. Groundhog Day the tradition: Stupid idea.

The dimwitted people of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania have been shoving a rodent through a hole in a tree stump for almost 200 hundred years to find out if there will be 6 more weeks of winter. Hey morons, you live in the Northeast! There’s always 6 more weeks of winter! Check the calendar! It says that Spring starts on March 21st. That’s 7 weeks from now. You don’t need a rat being spooked by his shadow to figure this one out.

I’m always a sucker for a good Phil pun

At this point I’m getting tired of all these wanna-be Phil’s trying to horn in on my fame. If, coincidentally, a shot were to ring out in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania today and a certain rodent were to explode in a puff of fur, I was kidding when I wrote this. Although, over the last few years, I have had to travel to Punxsutawney for work, but I make sure to cover my tracks. No harm meant, just a joke. You’ll all be my alibi right?

I’m curious, for those of you from other countries, do you have a Groundhog Day? As always, if you enjoyed this vintage Phil Factor feel free to share it via the social media buttons below. Come back Saturday for a brand new Phil Factor. Have a great Sunday! Phil

My Life-Long Friend Judy Izzum

That pic above is the kind of information I didn’t have as a kid. I grew up as a Catholic kid in a middle class neighborhood in upstate New York. So, you would think that if I’m in New York there would be a lot of Jewish people around. You are sadly mistaken.

New York is a pretty big state. There’s upstate and downstate.  Downstate is New York City, Long Island and a couple counties just north of New York City. That whole area is a five hour drive from where I live. The downstate area is filled with many unique, wonderful cultures, and the Jewish community is one of them. The upstate part of New York is more homogenized, although there are some quirky cultural things going on in different places.

This one is available on Amazon

When I grew up, I didn’t think that I knew anyone that was Jewish. I was sheltered.  My Irish Catholic mother was too busy training me to be the next Pope. It wasn’t until I went away to college at 17 that I really discovered the Jewish religion. Many of my college friends were from downstate and chose to go to college upstate.

For me it was fun learning about the Jewish religion from my friends, and I was thrilled one year when my friend gave me a dreidel and taught me the song: “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I made it out of clay, and when it’s dried and ready, oh dreidel we will play.” Thank you my college friend Gary. That song has been in my head every December since we met.

After having many Jewish friends in college and learning what surnames were most likely to be Jewish, I realized that I had had Jewish friends my entire life and just didn’t know it.

As an adult I’ve always craved learning about other cultures and religions because I felt like I grew up very generically.  Go watch That 70’s show. I think the parents in that show were modeled after my parents. In the picture below, I was most likely to be Eric (actor Topher Grace) in the top right.


At the end of the day though, there’s very little difference between religions and the people that practice them. Every religion has different repetitive, quirky traditions and every religion in  the world is based on the “magic guy in the sky” premise, so who cares if someone wears a different hat or says a different prayer? At 17 I thought my Jewish friends were this new and interesting novelty when it turned out that I had Jewish friends my whole life.

If I was Jewish, this would be me every December

If I was Jewish, the above pic would be me every December. During the holiday season when Hanukkah and Christmas overlap, it feels like Hanukah doesn’t get the big publicity that Christmas does, and that’s a shame because they have 8 days of one holiday. If that’s not an excuse to day drink, I don’t know what is.

Anyway, I just want to say Happy Hanukkah to all the Jewish friends that I’ve had in my life, even the ones that I didn’t know were Jewish. Now that they know I know, I hope they don’t expect eight presents times the number of years that I didn’t know they were Jewish.

If I could ask my Jewish friends two things: 1. Could you decide on one spelling of your holiday? And 2. Could you make Hanukkah start on the same date every year?

Shalom and Happy Chanukah my friends~ Phil

My 2025 Psychic Predictions

I know you’re wondering, “is this guy really a psychic?”  Guess what? I wonder that too. In 2014, my first post about psychic predictions was intended to be all jokes. But one of the absurd predictions involving Justin Bieber and the Kardashian’s came exactly true. So I decided to publish my psychic predictions every year and I keep getting more things right!

Pic from Psychic4Insight.com

As I’ve said every year, some of these predictions are intended to be completely humorous and others are completely serious. If it popped into my head as I’m writing this, I’m going to put it in here, because no matter how absurd an idea might be, it might also be true.

Donald Trump; The Geographic President? Because he forgot to insult the native Inuit/Alaskans during his first term in office, he wants the Alaskan mountain named Denali to go back to the name Mount McKinley, the name it had before 2015. Are we sure he’s not going to turn around and name it Mount Trump? Or is that the name of the wall at our southern border? He has also said he wants to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

He also wants to take back the Panama Canal, which the United States gifted full ownership of to Panama in 1999. He has talked about buying Greenland and taking over Canada. None of those things will happen in 2025. Prediction: In a ridiculous waste of time, he will get the mountain re-named, but the Gulf of Mexico will keep it’s name, the Panama Canal will remain in possession of Panama, and Greenland and Canada will not come under American control.

2025: The Year of Pete Davidson: In the past I have made a few jokes at Pete’s expense. Prediction: In 2025, Pete will come roaring back in the eyes of the public and will be recognized for his talent rather than his dating accomplishments. Pete, thanks for reading. I got your back.

Thank you Daily Mail online for this perfect picture. Also, thanks for the drinks your staff bought for me at the hotel bar in Rome in 2009.

Is The World Going To End? I enjoy my celebrity psychic predictions, but this is the most important prediction. Someday, life on Earth will end, and the December before it happens, I’ll tell you. Today is not that day my friends. Neither is any of the 365 days in 2025.  Sure the possibility of a nuclear war is looming, but it won’t be the end of humanity in 2025.

Putin taking a holiday. Even detestable dictators need a break now and then. Pic courtesy of Getty Images

Putin, Ukraine, and the war: As allies continue to abandon him, the Russian leader will spontaneously quit his job and retire to Margaritaville, Cancun. While he may not be the most popular guy at the pool bar, surprisingly, he tips well.

Yes, the scenario in the previous paragraph is just wishful thinking. I’ve never done this, but I’m going to roll over my 2024 prediction that the Ukraine war will end and Vladimir Putin will pass away under suspicious circumstances. I have a strong feeling on this one.

Pic from USA Today

The Royals are always one of my favorite topics. In 2025 King Chuck and Camilla will face medical challenges. I’m more worried about Camilla than I am about Chuck. Rumors of marital troubles between Prince Harry and Meghan will stir the media at some point. Oddly, during the damp season in London, King Charles will spend a few weeks at Margaritaville, Cancun.

Bollywood actress and dancer, Malaika Arora

Bollywood! Yes, I’m dipping my psychic toe into the Bollywood celebrity pool. Prediction: Popular actress Malaika Arora will begin dating Pete Davidson Rahul Khanna . If there’s a cougar in Bollywood, it’s Malaika and she would meet her perfect match in the younger Khanna.

 Does anyone else remember this short lived 2012 ABC show? It was titled The Neighbors. It’s fun. Find it on streaming and watch. Pic from Ron Tom/ABC

One last prediction: This is the year aliens become real! Yes, I said it and I’m not taking it back. They’ve been in the news for the last few years, and in 2025 we will all know for certain that they exist. With that acknowledgement, countries will display unprecedented unity at the United Nations to discuss and cooperate while Donald Trump tries to make the aliens pay tariffs and taxes for entering the United States.  He will also claim dominion over their planets.

Thank you for reading and feel free to stay for apps and drinks later by the pool! ~Phil