My big announcement is that I have partnered with Dentyne to bring my gift of gab to the media to talk all about chemistry, the elements of attracton and, of course, fresh breath!

What we’re going to be discussing is the results of a survey that Dentyne commissioned across Canada to determine what are Canadians looking for in a partner, how they describe themselves and what do they do when they feel chemistry. The cliff notes version:

1. Humour is the most important trait in a partner according to 33% of Canadians.
2. Low Maintenance is the most self described trait, with 1/4 Canadians say they are such.
3. When we feel chemistry, according to the survey, acting on that chemistry is for the young and the French. (18-34 and people in Quebec act more than other groups.)

While the term ‘spokesperson’ may apply, the reality is they weren’t just looking for me. No, this agreement was made in large part due to @TalkBackShow, the weekly live radio/podcast show that @ValTorontoGal and I cohost. They listened to our banter, the way we interacted and our own chemistry and decided that we would be a great duo to take our style to the mainstream media to talk about chemistry and elements of attraction – a true honour and quite frankly, a major achievement for both of us. But that’s not all, to bring another expert into the mix, they brought in Chemistry Coach/Relationship Expert @Jen_Kirsch to be the third muskateer – all for one and one for all!

Needless to say, this is so exciting for me. What I really am especially thrilled about is that they don’t want Val and I to walk in and be an automaton, they want us to banter and have fun – basically do what we do on the radio show. So over the next couple weeks, you’ll be able to possibly listen to us ham it up on radio across Canada, in print, on TV and in other places. And make sure you join in with us and have the debate on Facebook.

I’m so thrilled to be part of this campaign with Dentyne and excited to bring what we do on the podcast to the mainstream! Not bad for a show going into a 6th episode! (Oh, and I’ll probably have some gum to hook you guys up with in a bit!)

Press Release

The Love a Heart Auction is a bachelor/bachelorette date auction that raises funds for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. The auction will again be held at The Hideout at 484 Queen St. West, from 8PM on till morning on Thursday, February 9th. The auction will be split in two, with 5 men and 5 women auctioned at 9:30, and the remaining 5 men and 5 women auctioned at 11:30. A total  of twenty people will be up for grabs all for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Cash was the only accepted payment last year, so I imagine the same will occur this year. To find out more details, or to confirm your attendance, you’ll want to click here.

But if you want my insight into the men for sale, let’s have a look shall we?

	Wilder Weir @WilderWeir Wilder hosts a show on Cosmo TV called “Oh So Cosmo“. The guy has the white tshirt look down pat… something I’m working on but still a while away. Also can anyone confirm that his teeth are indeed that white?! Cosmo is no small feat so I assume there’s going to be a solid market for him. Wilder will sell for around $325.
	Brock McLaughlin @BrockMcLaughlin Returning from last year is Brock – the only bachelor you’re sure to get sex from if that’s what you’re after. It’s kind of funny when you look at the lineup this year because Brock isn’t the pretty boy on the list. Expect a shirt with one or two buttons done up. If you’re younger, now is your chance to live out your Twilight fantasy. Brock picks up where he left off in 2011, sells for $425.
	Sheldon Levine @40Deuce I think this shirt says it all. Show him the money ladies! (I don’t believe he’s still mustached, so you can spend a little more now, relax.) He works as a community manager at Sysomos which is probably a cool job. Rumour has it  he’s pretty good in bed too. That’s good for a couple extra bucks ya? Sheldon is likely to be put up in the first round, and for $120.
	Dan Levy (Not Eugene Levy’s Son) @TheDanLevy Dan is a returning auctionee from 2011. Friendly, and very talkative, Dan is a ball of energy. Dan has balls in that he’s in a group of auctionees that many look straight out of a magazine. Which may give him an edge overall. Familiarity will also play to his advantage as he’s a recognizable character. Dan tops what he did last year and secures $120.
	Scott Cavalheiro @ScottCavalheiro When I Googled Scott, this image came up and it only seemed fair to post it. (Bigger image here, no pun intended). He’s an incredibly charismatic guy, so expect to be entertained… but that being said, unless the evening is equal opportunity, I hope all the guys leave their shirts on. Charisma goes a long way, so he sells for $400.
	Jeff Cole @iamjeffcole Jeff Cole is the community manager at Lou Dawgs, a late night food spot routinely frequented by social media folks. I don’t know much about him, other than that and he clearly plays guitar. So in terms of bidding, he’s going to have to be a wild card here. As the wild card, I’ll predict he sells for $100.
	Mike Bradwell Wide Receiver for the Toronto Argonauts As one of two sports figures in the auction, he will clearly come with fans. Granted the two sports are Canadian Football and Lacrosse… so to me, almost not sports… but even pseudo prosports players become drool worthy when you’re female at a bachelor auction. That, and he’s not terrible looking. CFL Fanettes will buy him, so he’ll sell for $1550.
	Kerry Morrison @kmore Kerry is the CEO of EndloopMobile, which makes mobile apps. He was supposed to come on @TalkBackShow, where I would have found out how often app developers get laid… but alas, I have no answers. CEO is always a nice title though, so that’s worth some bucks folks! CEO Life Whattttup? No $.99 app here, he’s selling for $180.
	Matt Roik Toronto Rock Starting Goaltender As mentioned above, he plays lacrosse professionally… and as mentioned further above, that’s kinda a sport. I’m pretty sure @shankell is responsible for this one, so lacrosse fans make sure to thank her. Oh, and by the way he’s the one on the right, not the tool on the left. You’re welcome for clearing that up. Girls here’s your best bet to date a proish athlete, sells for $850.
	Bachelor 10 Is Currently a Nobody Well, there’s supposed to be 10 bachelors, and only 9 have been posted… which means we don’t know anything about him yet. But needless to say, he’s probably going to be a stud… I mean, look at that hairline… Mmm mmm. Bid high folks! Sells for nothing.

The auction will again be held at The Hideout at 484 Queen St. West, from 8PM on till morning. The auction will again be split in two, with 5 men and 5 women auctioned at 9:30, and the remaining 5 men and 5 women auctioned at 11:30. A total  of twenty people will be up for grabs all for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Cash was the only accepted payment last year, so I imagine the same will occur this year.

Now, last year I posted the Buyers Guide for the Bachelorettes and Bachelors that people seemed to really enjoy. So it only makes sense to  do it again! So without further ado, let me give you an introduction and my personal opinion on the characters up for grabs in 2012!

	Kat Stefankiewicz @MatterofKat If last year’s female Auction Coup was @GailGabrielle, than this years top doll is Kat. Former Raptors Dance Pak member, and now highly involved in all things sports in Toronto (Raptors, Leafs), Kat is definitely the lady you’ll want to save your shillings for. (Are shillings still a thing?) Very sexy but without the ‘very sexy’ attitude according to my sources. Based on Gail selling for $2002 last year, I expect Kat to sell for $2250.
	Sofi Pa @sexytypewriter Sofi is a dating writer, which means she knows what’s going on. Well most of the time, unless she’s writing this kind of trash. But I don’t think she is. That being said, she’s probably a good buy just so you can pick her brain and figure out what the hell is wrong with you that you need to buy dates. That, and maybe she cooks? Who knows. If she’s in the 9:30 group, I expect her to sell for $125.
	Meg Button @megbutton Oh the stories I could tell about Meg Button… I won’t because I value our friendship, but they are good! She’s not really the standard hot chick either. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her with a purse… Also, while I suspect she has a great rack, she always seems to use her hair to cover herself. It’s a pretty good tease. She’s another star candidate in this auction! Skip your rent this month to buy her. Meg Button will sell for quite a bit. At the very least she’s worth $800.
	Michelle Beilhartz @MichelleHartz TV Host, Dancer, Actor… and my personal favourite, Yoga Instructor. I’d actually seen her a few times in a few things but never knew who she was. So that counts for something right? I personally think she looks better with straightened hair, so hopefully that’s the look she opts for. But, seems to be another great option in this auction, and well worth serious consideration. I’m expecting Michelle to garner some attention, enough to get her $450.
	Lisa Marie Chen @SciontistLC She’s the editor for Scion Magazine… Scion makes those awful box vansdon’t they? That’s sadly a demerit against Lisa. Fellow Sciontists may get a thrill out of her though and being able to talk about your mutual Scion love. I think she’s got a niche following that may be in the crowd that night, or maybe she ends up being my Charise Garcia pick. Niche buyers on this one, so she fetches a tidy $125.
	Christine Estima @ChristineEstima Everybody knows Christine. Show us your tweets Christine! (If you follow her, you’ll get that.) Christine is great company who always makes me laugh, and I’m like Stalin (or maybe Teller.. whichever one laughs less?) She also can spot graffiti from a mile away and keeps getting recognition for it *cough Toronto Star*. I expect a conglomerate of buyers to pitch in and grab Christine for no less than $170.
	Regina Sy @FragileHeart Total sweetheart and one of the kinder people I’ve met, Regina is a great buy if you’re actually looking to meet someone. Of all the women for auction, I’d say she’s most ideal for a relationship. So maybe you can make that connection with her? At the very least she’ll make a great friend… we still need to have that catch up coffee Regina! Serious bidders only on this one! $160 is what she goes for.
	Danielle Baker @Danny_MB I don’t know anything about Danielle other than she sucks at Twitter, and probably doesn’t like me – just based on what people tell her heh. Googling her doesn’t provide much either… so she’s sadly going to have to be this years Connor Mullane. But, she’s female and blonde so those will work in her favour and the bids will be better. I’m anticipating a sale price of $125.
	Lauren White @RaymiTheMinx Back again from last year is Lauren. She sold for $200 last year.. but I think she was also a couple pounds heavier and not doing Burlesque at that time, which means her stock value has certainly gone up. She’s eccentric and definitely not afraid to be herself, so guys, you better be confident in who you are if you’re going to bid! Maybe we get a little live Burlesque? If so, she’s going to sell for $350.
	Casie Stewart @CasieStewart Back also is Casie. While not entirely sure what she does for a living, it’s apparently some sort of blog entrepreneur thing. I’m actually curious to know how much she makes. Casie is not for everyone, so I expect the buyer to be someone who knows Casie well. Maybe she’ll mention you in a blog though – you too can be a super star. Side: Shout out to her sister. Familiar buyer means that she will sell for $500.

The idea for a talk show has been floating in my mind for over 2 years now. In fact, the original plan I had was to have a debate style show with @tylerconium. However, I realized quickly that it wasn’t going to be the kind of show that would really work for us. One reason, we couldn’t get into the same place at the same time which meant that we’d be forced to conduct it all virtually and as such, we wouldn’t be able to read each others visual cues. I also envisioned problems because we’re both argumentative and a constant argument show wouldn’t be very interesting.

So the idea sat on the sidelines for a bit.

Look how Interested we are in Talking to Each Other

Then I met Val and we instantly had a good connection. We were able to banter easily, our conversation flowed naturally, it was fun and we were able to discuss any topics. As we got more comfortable with each other and became good friends, I read her blog more frequently and she read mine… and so I talked to her about the idea – and she loved it. And thus, Zach and Val as a radio duo was born. But enough history, because frankly who cares… you’ll be able to read all about it when we write our first books. Haha.

So what should you expect?

Well, I imagine the first few episodes will be a little shaky. There’s lots of equipment that we’ll be operating. Talking to an audience is different than talking to each other. So, if the first few episodes are terrible – stick with it. We’ll get better!

We have some interviews in mind. Some games for callers. Talk about any topic that may be of interest to us, recent news, entertainment, rants, social media… sex, oh yes, there will definitely be talk of sex. NSFW language, because it’s the fucking internet and sometimes it helps make a point. Uncensored is the best.  We also have a few surprises in mind.

I hope everyone is interested in tuning into the show tonight and every Tuesday from now on at 8PM on TalkBackRadio.ca. You should also follow us on Twitter and also, like us on Facebook.

Val and I both want to thank Sara Hollander who designed the logo for us… spending hours taking our wacky ideas (or lack thereof) and creating something awesome that is completely perfect for us! If you need graphic design services, we can highly recommend her to you! Check out her profile here.