You have a long history of coming to johnnygoodtimes.com to learn more about love from the “Love Maestro”. I have given you beauty tips, dating tips, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you are learning from a man with a long history of success in the Game of Love. Well, I want to share one of my latest secrets to help your love life: pick up this book, written by my totally awesome editor Dorothy Robinson and some guy. Dorothy is an extremely funny writer, and this isn’t some crappy melange of cliched dating tips. It’s silly and fun and spot on. You can trust me, I’m the Love Maestro!

I would highly encourage anybody who is looking for an authentic Philadelphia experience to go to the Blue Horizon this Friday night for boxing. Yeah, it was an awesome spot for Quizzo Bowl and it is undoubtedly an awesome spot for boxing. But even more than that, it is the best place to people watch in Philadelphia, bar none. Guys dressed like extras in 70s Blaxploitation flicks sit side by side with doctors in pleated khakis, North Philly teens in hoodies and oversized white tees wait in line for hot dogs next to meathead frat boys in Abercrombie shirts. I have never been anywhere in Philadelphia that hosts such a crosscurrent of our population. I am definitely planning on going. Lemme know if you are. Here’s the info on friday’s bouts.

RELATED: Column I did in the Metro on boxing at the Blue Horizon.

90210 and the New Kids on the Block both make their comeback on the same day? I feel young again! Reviews for the New Kids album are…ok. Newsday says: Not only does the Boston quintet’s first new album in 14 years surpass the usual cobbled-together-so-we-can-tour reunion record, it is actually the best album of their multiplatinum career. Woo-hoo! I knew it! I knew it would be great! But wait, Radar isn’t so sure: It’s mature, we suppose, and it continues throughout the album, but it only succeeds in making things uneasily skeezy…In fact, it’s almost all voyeurism and sad attempts at acting horny! Truth be told, I kind of like the Summertime song (above). No seriously, it’s not that bad. Oh, and get this: they recently slammed the Backstreet Boys! “Backstreet’s records sound the same as before – their music didn’t evolve like ours has,” said Danny. Oh boy, I hope this doesn’t turn into a Biggie Smallz-2Pac situation, but I’m afraid that’s just where this is heading.

Heading down to the Eastern Shore for a long weekend of sitting on the couch and watching college football with my homeboys. A few interesting quizzo notes before I depart: New record set last night for lowest winning score ever, as Bad Parenting won with a 59 at the Good Dog. In all fairness though, last night’s quiz was one of my toughest ever. The Jams have now won 7 in a row, and the Bounty is up to $30 on Wednesday night. Another Bounty offered: The Sofa Kingdom won their 5th in a row last night, so there will be a $20 Bounty on their heads on Tuesday. In other news, I could be broke by the end of next week. Anyways, been an interesting week on the website. Here are a few highlights:

• Polls for best looking members of 90210, male and female.
• Weather or Not unveils their new Myspace page and their latest video.
• How good will the Eagles be this year?
• An introduction to my favorite teacher.

The 50/50 round last night was Beethoven or Mozart, and one of the questions was “Which one was rumored to be black?” The answer is Beethoven. This from africawithin.com: Frau Fisher, a close friend of Beethoven, described him with “blackish-brown complexion.” Frederick Hertz, German anthropologist, used these terms to describe him: “Negroid traits, dark skin, flat, thick nose.”

Emil Ludwig, in his book “Beethoven,” says: “His face reveals no trace of the German. He was so dark that people dubbed him Spagnol [dark-skinned].” Fanny Giannatasio del Rio, in her book “An Unrequited Love: An Episode in the Life of Beethoven,” wrote “His somewhat flat broad nose and rather wide mouth, his small piercing eyes and swarthy [dark] complexion, pockmarked into the bargain, gave him a strong resemblance to a mulatto.”

So was he black? The Straight Dope says that the evidence is extremely thin.

Our boy Brandon Walsh turns 39 today, but while reading about him I came across this depressing note on wikipedia: Priestley is a big fan of the band Barenaked Ladies and went to many of their California concerts in the early to mid-1990s. He eventually met the band and in his desire to help them succeed, suggested that he direct the music video for “The Old Apartment”, and used his fame to persuade American stations to air it. He did just that, and also invited the band to play at the “Peach Pit After Dark” on an episode of 90210. Lead singer, Ed Robertson, continues to cite him as being instrumental in their American success.

I HATE the Barenaked Ladies and will never forgive Jason Priestley for making them popular. I hope your birthday sucks.
RELATED: Vote for hottest male character in 90210.
RELATED: Vote for hottest female character in 90210.

Anybody that votes for Donna is an idiot.

As some of you know, I helped out with a summer school program at the Marian Anderson Center for the past 6 weeks. We took 10 teenagers from our basketball program and had them do schoolwork for two hours in the morning and then they would do civic stuff in the afternoon (getting people registered to vote and doing a leadership program with Kenyatta Johnson, the recently elected State Rep. from South Philly.) There were also several field trips, which included a trips to Harrisburg, City Hall, Constitution Center, and even the Fox Studios. We had our share of challenges, but all in all it was a pretty big success, as all ten of the kids who started the program finished it.

I recruited the teachers from the quizzo ranks, and they were AWESOME. I want to give a special shout out to Laura (Satan’s Minions), Bret (Western Omelette), Erin, and Garbo (Sofa Kingdom), who were fantastic and who all put a tremendous amount of time and effort to this program.

We had our graduation on Monday. In English, the kids had read Friday Night Lights, and I decided, “What the heck, why not try to get Buzz Bissinger come and speak to the class?” I figured it was a long shot, but it was worth a try. So I tracked him down, and sure enough, he agreed to do it.

After the teens gave their closing speeches, Bissinger walked to the front of the crowd of about 35 people and launched into an emotional spiel about sports and education. He railed against how seriously we take sports in this culture (“They’re putting in instant replay at the Little League World Series! Little League!”) and then drove home his point: without an education, these kids don’t stand a chance. “I don’t want to crush any dreams here, but the odds of you making it to the NBA are infinitesimal. But your odds of being a doctor, or a lawyer, or an accountant are not.” He railed on about Boobie Miles, the most tragic figure in Friday Night Lights, whose career came to an end with a knee injury, and who now, 20 years later, spends time bouncing from menial job to menial job and going in and out of jail for petty crimes. “I wish Boobie was here tonight, so that he could tell you how much he wished he had taken his education seriously.”

All in all, it was an awesome speech, and when it was done, the kids all went over to Bissinger to thank him and ask for his autograph. Buzz signed the books, told the guys that he would be back to see them play when they start back this October, and headed out. Pretty sweet way for us to wrap up the summer. And keep in mind, I’m probably going to be looking for volunteers to help us out this fall.

Another discussion from last night at Cherry Street Tavern (which is a great bar by the way). I’ll do a poll about the ladies on the show soon, but we’ll start with this one.