In Other Words

Learning how to memorize changed Bob Kittell’s life.  With it, this now speaker/ author/teacher was able to ace grad school after promising himself to never return to school because he had so much trouble with it.  When his teachers saw this turn-around in him, they asked him to teach it to their other students.  This in turn boosted his confidence so much that he felt like he was unstoppable, almost fearless.  And that, in turn, freed him to take so many more risks in his life that he travelled further than he would ever have believed possible.  His book,The Memory Maestro, shows how he used memorization to improve his life in so many ways.  With so many books out there on how to memorize, why should you read his?  Because his isn’t just about how to memorize things.  It’s partly a memoire that shows you some ways to use that ability to dramatically improve your own life.  And that’s what this interview is about.    

The title, Sweet Afton, comes from Irish poet Robert Browning’s lyrical poem.  The theme in the book is how calming the poem is, starting with a man reading it to his wife to ease her pain.  This book has nothing but great reviews.  It’s the story of a man born with a silver spoon – but raised without a sense of entitlement – and how he almost loses it all, and his journey to keep his family. If you know Georgia, you’ll recognize Tybee Island, Savannah, and other places.  Clent – yes, not Clint – Moore always wanted to write an adventure novel, so he did.  But it was also therapy for him.  Listen to him talk about it.  

This is our second visit with the ever-entertaining Bob Clendenin, the guy you don't know, but when you see his picture, you go, "Oh, yeah, that guy!"   On his first visit, we did not get a chance to talk about his adventures as a giant nose.  And we talked a lot more about improv and discovered he is a woodworker and makes a mean Adirondack chair!   Enjoy another fun, funny, and oh so interesting 20-ish minutes.  And if you haven't heard the first interview yet, click here.

I talked with the Marvin Pinkert, Executive Director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland.  They're featuring a  Harry Houdini show right now. Marvin and I talk about the prodound impact of Jewish American history on American History.  Did you know The Three Stooges were Jewish?  How about Superman and Stan Lee?  Or Dr. Jonas Salk, inverntor of the polio vaccine.  Or Spartacus himself and one of the first cross-dressing movie characters, Tony Curtis (nee. Bernie Schwartz)  And did you know Marvin himself thought the only job you could have in a museum was guard?  Interesting stories!

Lisa Lindahl created the sports bra because she needed one.  I get it.  I used to run with my arms folded across my chest before her invention.  Along with Title 9, which came along at the same time, the sports bra is considered to have contributed greatly to rise to prominence of women athletes.  The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History said of it: “The introduction of the sports bra did more than improve athletes' performances. It represented a revolution in ready-to-wear clothing, and for many women athletes, past, present, and future, it actually made sports possible.”    And yes, the first one was made from two jock straps.  It looked something like the picture on the left.  For obvious reasons, Lisa wanted to call it the jockbra.  But the word jock had connotations then that it doesn't have now, so she had to change it to — yes, you guessed it: the jogbra. She's got a book out now, called Beauty as Action: The Way of True Beauty and How its Practice Can Change Our World. Click here to listen to the 20-minute edit. Click here for the blog post.

Bob Clendenin is one of those actors who, when you see him, you go, “Hmm… Why does his face look familiar?  He’s the creepy dude.  In his recurring role on the TV show Scrubs, another character tells Bob’s, “You are hands down the most disturbing man I’ve ever met in my life.”  Yep, Bob has made a living by being weird.  Or sad, like Emmett Kelly’s clown. Bob has been featured on 10 Items or Less and an improvised Western series called Quick Draw.  He became a regular on Cougar Town, with Courtney Cox.  And he’s had guest appearances in too many more tv shows to mention here.  Same thing with movies.  And commercials…  Capable of looking downright normal when he chooses to, he does Shakespeare and dramatic roles, too.  He was one of seven actors in 1996 to start Circle X Theater in Los Angeles, a theater that is still winning awards and critical acclaim today. For a 20-minute edit of this show, click here.

Bob Clendenin is one of those actors who, when you see him, you go, “Hmm… Why does his face look familiar?  He’s the creepy dude.  In his recurring role on the TV show Scrubs, another character tells Bob’s, “You are hands down the most disturbing man I’ve ever met in my life.”  Yep, Bob has made a living by being weird.  Or sad, like Emmett Kelly’s clown. Bob has been featured on 10 Items or Less and an improvised Western series called Quick Draw.  He became a regular on Cougar Town, with Courtney Cox.  And he’s had guest appearances in too many more tv shows to mention here.  Same thing with movies.  And commercials…  …Capable of looking downright normal when he chooses to, he does Shakespeare and dramatic roles, too.  He was one of seven actors in 1996 to start Circle X Theater in Los Angeles, a theater that is still winning awards and critical acclaim today. For the full 60–minute interview, click here.

Lisa Lindahl created the sports bra because she needed one.  I get it.  I used to run with my arms folded across my chest before her invention.  Along with Title 9, which came along at the same time, the sports bra is considered to have contributed greatly to rise to prominence of women athletes.  The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History said of it: “The introduction of the sports bra did more than improve athletes' performances. It represented a revolution in ready-to-wear clothing, and for many women athletes, past, present, and future, it actually made sports possible.”    And yes, the first one was made from two jock straps.  It looked something like the picture on the left.  For obvious reasons, Lisa wanted to call it the jockbra.  But the word jock had connotations then that it doesn't have now, so she had to change it to — yes, you guessed it: the jogbra. She's got a book out now, called Beauty as Action: The Way of True Beauty and How its Practice Can Change Our World. Click here for the full 61-minute interview, which includes her work with the Epilepsy Foundation. Click here for the blog post.

This was a fun one for me because Aaron and I went to school together.  And he was always the one behind the scenes.  All of a sudden, he's a successful commercial model (not fashion or runway) and actor.  Aaron has arecurring rold on House of Cards and has appeared in nearly every other TV show that's filmed here in Baltimore, as well as many, many others around the country.  He has done thousands of print ads, written 2 books about the industry, and he teaches seminars around the world. Here he talks with us about the business of acting. Click here for the full 76-minute interview. Facebook Website Website Mentoring Twitter IMDb aaron@howtoactandmodel.com  

She's been singing the national anthem at college and minor league ball games since she was in high school.  And just recently, she got to sing with her idol, Josh Groban, and be on the cast recording of his new show, the Tony award winning Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.  How cool is that!

Dance is the newest fitness trend, but you've never seen one like this!  Kukuwa Fitness with Move Your Boombsie (yes, it's exactly what you think it is) burns 1,000 an hour!  Yes!  And more than that, anyone can do it.  Whatever your age  or your fitness level, If yo move easily or you have troubel moving, if you have tricky knees or back problems, whatever.  You can do this.  And love it!

This is the story of Henry, a being committed to helping the sick, bringing joy to the loney, and engaging those with alzheimer's or other forms of dementia so they can communicate.  Henry is a therapy cat, and we've known for a logn time that therapy animals can work wonders for those with any kind of emotional or mental challenge.  Henry is quite willing to sit comfortably in the patient's lap, letting her stroke him, talk to him.  If you stroke him enough, he'll roll over onto this back os you can rub his belly.  If you stop stroking him, he's likely to meow. The twist here is, Henry's not real!  He's a robot.  From a distance, you could mistake him for real, and he has the weight of a real cat as he sits in your lap. These animals were created to help those who have trouble engaging with the outside world.  In many ways, Henry is as effective as any live therapy pet, but you never have to feed him or clean his litter box.  And no vet bills!  Listen to Henry's story, as told my Heather Kennedy, the Director of Community Life at Glen Meadows Retirement in Glen Arm, MD, a part of the greater Baltimore area.  Listen to his story.

What kid could resist the chance to make their own slime?  Or their fog.  Or laser light show.  Or…  Eric Krupkin, aka Eric Energy, introduces the WOW factor of science for kids.  They get to see how science is a part of their everyday lives.  Like what moves the trees?  Or how to you make a bubbling potion straight out of Hogwarts?  Listen to get a glimpse of how he gets the kids to go, "WOW!"

Most family owned and run businesses don't make it past the 3rd generation, but Otterbein's Cookies is thriving and Generation 5 is getting ready to take over.  These are a holiday tradition in Baltimore.  Otterbeins makes cookies using the original recipes they broughtover from Germany and it's still selling like crazy.  They started out as a full bakery, selling everything your average bakery sells.  But then grocery stores started selling them and the corner bakery just couldn't compete.  So, how did Otterbeins survive?  And how has their business lasted so long?  What are their small business secrets?  And just how good are these cookies, anyway?

If you've ever been in an airport news stand, kitchen store, or anyploace that sells magnets, you've seen Anne's work.  She cut ads out of old women's magazines and attached captions that you can really see those picture postcard perfect women thinking behind the painted-on smiles, shirtwaists, and pearls.  She's more high-tech now, but it's the same idea.  She started at craft fairs with wooden pins and thought magnets were the stupidest idea in the world!  She's an empire now, still poking fun at domestic stereotypes.

The tax benefits of incorporation are much more extensive than you have any idea.  In fact, corporations are one of the secrets of how the rich get richer.  And just about anyone can do it!  And for business owners, incorporation protects the owner by separating her from her business.  But you have to do it exactly right, which is almost impossible to do on your own.  Aaron Young is CEO of Laughlin USA, which forms corporate entities for just about any business – incorporation, sure, but also LLC and other things.  To be 100% compliant – and nothing less will keep the corporate veil in place to protect the owner – is really, really complicated and, as Aaron tells us, almost schizophrenic!  This is a very important show if you are a small business owner.  And it's fun, too.

Brian's the man behind UGGs, the sheepskin footwear phenomenon.  And you have no idea how amazing resource sheepskin really is!  It keeps your feet really warm in the winter, sure, but it also keeps them cool in the summer!  Put 'em on soaking wet feet and they'll be dry in minutes, it's incredibly durable.  It won't even tear.*  Know how to clean them?  Well, Brian takes his in the shower with him. Brian also talks about some of his other businesses and his book, You Can't Give Birth to Adults.  It's about the growth stages of a business.  You're gonna love this podcast! *All this true of genuine sheepskin, the original UGGs.  Knock-offs are not usually real sheepskin.  Not all UGGs are now, either.

Adina Ferguson, Ian Anderson, and Tyler Mendelsohn are recent grads from University of Baltimore's Creative and Publishing MFA program talk about the experience of not just writing, but doing every part of the process except the printing.  Their thesis was a book.  They wrote it, designed both sides of both covers, how the pages would look, what paper or stock to use, even marketed them.  Now they can look at that book and say, "I did this!"  They talk about that process and give us some great marketing tips. 

Happy Holidays!  Every year at this time I play a show of really off-beat holiday music.  I had intended to re-record it this year since I have better audio software now, but my microphone had different ideas.  Still, this show is a lot of fun.  The first one is the a capella group Straight No Chaser's The 12 Days of Christmas.  If you haven't heard it, ya gotta.  There are other songs from that same group, but lots of others as well.  Manheim Steamroller is one, and there's a Hawaiian version.  That one may only be funny to me, though, since I lived there and get all the references, but it's an interesting twist on a song that really needs interesting twists.  Enjoy!

Integrity is not just about keeping your word.  There is integrity within yourself, as well as within your relationships, both personal and community-wide.  Dr. David Gruder is "America's Integrity Expert."  He is a clinical & organizational psychologist who brings the best of psychology to business, the best of entrepreneurship to professionals, and the best of both to social change & governance. An award-winning author and highly sought-after speaker, David coaches corporations and individuals the collaborations skills required to create sustainable productivity, profitability & job satisfaction.  Simply put, if you  want a work environment where everyone - top to bottom - enjoys their work and feels fulfilled personally and professionally, talk to David.  Happy employees ultimately leads to growth.

Bob Baxt is a surgeon who spends most of his time these days out of the country. He works with civilian humanitarian medical services like Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the former hospital ship Hope.  He's spent a lot of time in Africa and has seen what is actually going on there.  Bob states at the outset of the interview that his views are his and do not represent the views of any government or any organization he has worked with.  But he says we're trying so hard in this country to help the people in war-torn countries, but we can never understand what is going on there unless you understand the tribal system that they have used as their form of government for eons.  The concept of a centralized government isn't even in their consciousness, yet that's what we keep trying to get them to use.  Bob also steps back some and gives us a brief history of how things got the way they are in Africa.With the dangers involved, the lack of supplies and sterility, why do Bob and others like him keep going back?  Listen and you'll know.

NOTE: This is an old show, before I was using a good microphone, so I apologize for the sound quality.Vicki Brick recently took over as CEO of Brick Bodies.  Before then, she worked at the clubs, starting in sales and working her way up to a general manager position.  Before that, she played pro ball.  Yup, basketball.  We talked about what it was like growing up in a fitness dynasty and how it was growing in a climate where other clubs are going out of business. 

There's a portion of the deep south known as the Wiregrass, for the particularly nasty kind of grass that grows there.  That's where author Pam Webber and her cousins spent their summers growing up.  And that's where the fictional cousins of The Wiregrass spent their summers.  The summer she writes of is the one where they are starting to realize their childhood is coming to an end and the way things have always been, isn't the way they're going to be anymore. One of the reasons she wrote this book is to bring more awareness to the problem of child abuse. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says that in one year alone, more than a million kids were abused or at risk for being abused.  We need to stop that.

This is part two of this podcast.  There was just too much really important stuff to fit into one.  In Part 1, we introduced Zimbabwean Adrian Suskin. We talked about the former Rhodesia claiming it's independence, and how the Great Liberator became a tyrant who, in five years, took Zimbabwe from tremendous affluence to abject poverty, 90% unemployment, and inflation so high $100 billion could buy a loaf of bread.  In this, Part 2, we talk about what Adrian and others are doing to bring the country back to its former glory.

Adrian is an American citizen, but he was born in what was then Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe.  And he still has very strong ties to his home country, a land so prosperous it was called the Breadbasket of Africa.  They boasted a literacy rate higher than in many Western countries.  In Part 1, we talked about President Robert Mugabe's "nationalizing" the white-owned farms 2000, bringing the country to its knees in only five years.  This was recorded in mid-2012, when inflation was so out of control, the government was printing $100,000,000,000,000.00 bills – that's one hundred trillion dollars – the life expectancy was back up to about 50 (it first dropped to the mid-30s), and unemployment was at about 90%.  In Part 2 of this podcast, he talks about his Zimkids project, that feeds, clothes, educates, and teaches skills to Zimbabwean orphans. 

When Ariana Ayu first approached me about being on my show, I was uninterested. Everything about her is big and bold and, yes, sexy. She is unabashedly voluptuous. I could not imagine her being a good business coach. But being a good talk show host, I did my homework, and then I couldn't book her fast enough! Big and bodacious and sexy is her brand. It works for her. She does not try to make it work for anyone else. She guides clients to find their own brand and she helps them make it as strong for them as hers is for her. And the conversation was such fun! You'll love the way we fed off each others' energy. This will be one of the most valuable branding shows you're heard.

Eric was on the verge of being fired from his sales job because he never met his quota.  Three months later, he was the company's top seller.  Listen to him talk about how that happened.  And then he figured out that what he really wanted to do was teach selling.  At a really affordable price.  So people could actually afford to learn it.  As I listened to listen one again, I got even more value from it. 

NOTE: I don't know why, but the sound quality of this one is not good.  It's still easy to listen to and understand, though.At her heaviest, Angie Johnston weighed over 418 pounds. She doesn't know how much more because she topped out the scale. Then she decided she had to make big changes ... or she would die. She has lost about 200 pounds and is now a certified personal trainer. But what broke my heart was when she talked about what everyday life is like for a morbidly obese person. She was intimidated by everyone, always waiting for the person to start making fun of her. People at the gym looked down their noses at her, as though she shouldn't even be there. I had no idea what an act of courage it was for a morbidly obese person to simply walk out their front door. And talk about courage, it wasn't until a little ways into the interview that she relaxed and realized I wasn't going to attack her or set her up to be laughed at (the original show was live).

John-Leslie Brown is the son of world renown speaker Les Brown. I'm sure he'd rather not be known as Les Brown's son, as he has his own thriving career as a speaker, coach, and hip hop artist. I am also sure he will be, for some time to come.  It's the curse of having a famous parent.When John-Leslie talks, you can hear his heritage.  He's very committed to everything he says.  He is committed to helping people not find their destiny, but create it.  He's also a hip hop artist, going by the name of High Hopes.  It gives him a way to reach kids who wouldn't otherwise get to hear someone telling them how magnificent they are.

Gretchen Wallace began her Global Grassroots foundation to support women and girls in war torn countries. What she found is, the women in these communities know what they need and they know how to do it.  They come up with astoundingly creative solutions none of us would ever think of.  But they don't have the resources to do anything.  Global Grassroots teaches the women business skills, leadership skills, whatever else they need to learn. They give them all the start-up money and other needs. These communities become self-sustaining. They have increased the number of girl graduation high school from 17% to over 80%, they have had an effect on sexual violence, and much more.

This is one of the most fun shows I've done.  And there is some powerful information in here.  Especially for women, but for everyone.

This one's invaluable.  Deanna talks you (well, me) through finding the plug that does what you want it to do, installing and activating it, and setting it to work the way you want it to.

Less than 20% divorce rate.  (This while the country as a whole has a divorce rate of about 53%.)  It's the swing community.  Yeah, really.  They have a stronger commitment to marriage than most of the country.  Everything image you have about swingers will be blasted by this podcast.  To listen to the full broadcast, click here.

Transgender is becoming more understood in our culture.  Or at least, it's more recognized.  But that's the problem, it isn't understood.  I spoke with Erica Burns, a transgender female and Robert Lee, a gender-neutral person.  That was a new one for me.  Erica's story is one you've heard before: She always knew she was born into the wrong body.  About 9 months ago, at 23, she took action ... and hormones.  Robert goes by "he" because he was born into a male body, and he is comfortable with it.  But it doesn't stop there.  He is not a hermaphrodite.  He calls himself "gender fluid." This podcast is the first 20 minutes of the show.  To hear the full hour, click here after July 29.

The longest continuously-running jazz supper club in the country, known around the world, turns 50 the week of this broadcast – July 25, 2015.  The club has hosted pretty much every jazz name you can think of, and many of them are returning to the club in its 50th Anniversary year.  Owner Harry Schnipper is also passionate about jazz education, developing the next generation of jazz performers and jazz listeners.  These are the highlights.

Our oceans provide us with most of the oxygen we breathe.  But the oceans are dying.  Our world is very interconnected.  If the oceans die, we die.  George and Carol Stover of Adventure Videos knew they had to do something to raise awareness of this problem.  So, they created Aqua Kids, a really fun TV show hosted by kids.  In every episode, the kids walk us through a different environment and talk about how we can help save it. 

James Piper Bond (the names Piper and Bond go back to  the origins of Baltimore) runs Living Classrooms, a learning-by-doing school system.  He has taken over failing schools, and now their graduates are going on to college! Their programs for ex-offenders boasts a recidivism rate in the single digits.  The organization is beginning to be used as a model across the country.

I started working with online marketing experts Social Buzz Pros about 2 months ago.  Look at how much they've increased my visibility in that brief time!  And tips on doing this for yourself.

Are vaccines bad for you? We know they prevent diseases such as measles, diphtheria, and of course, small pox. Or do they?  And if they do, is there a risk involved?  Does it outweigh the benefits?  Do childhood vaccines cause autism and other conditions?  If we don't use them, will we have massive outbreaks of diseases we thought we'd seen the last of?   I am not taking a stand on this, that's not my job.  But Claire Dwoskin, the director of Children's Medical Safety Research Institute, makes some very compelling arguments.  Click here to listen to the full hour.

This was my most fun show ever!  Never have I had a guest flirt so outrageously with me (it went both ways, of course). And as a country singer, this guy is good!  If you haven't heard of Woody Bradshaw yet, you will.  You'll love this one.

A child is diagnosed with a fatal disease.  Angela Ware wrote a book about her family's journey through this horrible ordeal and about starting on the road to recovery.

He says women love him, men hate him. Why? He invented the magnetic strip on the back of credit cards. Really. Hear it in Ron Klein's own words. P.S. And he's a Florida Masters Athlete of the Year!