Every time I turn around, it seems, people are always asking me, "Do you know Dan Smith?" Or, they'll assume I already know him — what with his being black, working in the media and living in Japan for, like, forever and all. Sometimes I nod that I do, sometimes I even front like I know him ("Oh yeah, Dan's the man, no doubt!"). But the truth is, I didn't know the man — nor even of the man — and after the fifth or sixth time I was hit over the head with his name, I figured it was time I did.

Do an online search for Dan Smith — not the British singer or the poker player, I guess it is kind of a common name — and you're likely to stumble across a number of eye-catching photos. One of him all snuggly with pop star Rihanna grabbed my attention immediately, as did one with him arm-and-arm with action star Tom Cruise like they were college classmates.

Being from New York, though, you're just as likely to see celebrities in the park picking up their puppy's dung with plastic gloves as you are to see them on the big screen. So, as a New Yorker, I take pride in not getting all autography and Instagrammy over the rich and famous. New Yorkers leave that to the tourists. However, my Google search served up two images that had me feeling vicariously star-struck.