Podcasts about party authority

Today's Guest: Bill Schelly, author, Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert Order 'Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert' by Bill Schelly from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Bill Schelly, biographer of comic book artist Joe Kubert Artist Joe Kubert’s lines are among the most distinctive in the comic book profession, not in the least because there are so many of them! Kubert’s work is intensely detailed and stylized, whether he’s drawing "Sgt. Rock" from World War II or "Tor" from One Million Years B.C. Fans can spot his product from ten paces the same way that Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Jim Lee or Frank Miller stand out like quality beacons from the newsstand shelves. In his new, richly researched book, Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert, author Bill Schelly takes a long overdue look at the life and career of one of the comic book industry’s most enduring, successful and beloved icons. Bill Schelly Wikipedia • Facebook Order 'The Art of Joe Kubert (The Joe Kubert Archives),' edited by Bill Schelly, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Tanna Frederick, actress, Hollywood Dreams Actress Tanna Frederick If you’re a woman in search of someone else’s emotional train wreck to make you feel better about your own life, film director Henry Jaglom has got a movie or two for you. Maybe it’s his latest, Irene in Time, about a young singer with severe daddy abandonment issues. Or maybe you’d like his previous film, 2008’s Hollywood Dreams, about a would-be actress who oozes charisma but gets so nervous in every social situation she makes you nervous. Order from Amazon.com by clicking the DVD above TANNA FREDERICK podcast excerpt: "With Henry Jaglom, people either love his films or they hate his films. There isn't really an in between. Henry demands the actors take all of their subtext of what's going on and use it as their through-line, their dialogue. You walk away after watching Henry's films feeling better about yourself—'So I guess I'm not the only one who can be neurotic at times.' What drives him is making people not feel alone. It's human emotion."  Tanna Frederick is the common thread between these films. She’s the star of both, a big presence on screen. It could be that huge mane of cascading red hair, but I think it’s actually the emotions that pour out from her. The story of how she got to this point is pure Hollywood and I hope to entice her to tell it, but suffice to say that Jaglom already has plans for her to star in a sequel to Hollywood Dreams. And she’s currently appearing live in a Jaglom play, “Just 45 Minutes from Broadway,” at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica, California. You can order tickets online at Edgemar.org. Tanna Frederick Website • Twitter • Facebook • Order Irene in Time from Amazon.com • Order Queen of the Lot • Order Hollywood Dreams The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Mike Edison, author, I Have Fun Everywhere I Go   ] Have Fun Everywhere I Go by Mike Edison. Click on the book cover above to order your copy now! In his new book, I Have Fun Everywhere I Go, Mike Edison does for sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll what Hulk Hogan did for wrestling! No, scratch that. Edison hates Hogan. Saying that will just piss him off. How about: Mike Edison, author, I Have Fun Everywhere I Go Mike Edison does for sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll what Lennon & McCartney did for elevator music! Damn, that won’t work either. Edison hates the Beatles, too. Here’s a thought: Let me just read the subtitle of Edison’s book. It’s so long, people will think it’s an introduction and not notice that I left out all the stuff about him being a former editor of High Times, Cheri, and Main Event, a contributor to Screw and Hustler magazines, and drummer in bands such as Raunch Hands, Pleasure F*ckers, and Rocket Train Delta Science Arkestra. Please welcome my guest today, Mike Edison, author of I Have Fun Everywhere I Go: Savage Tales of Pot, Porn, Punk Rock, Pro Wrestling, Talking Apes, Evil Bosses, Dirty Blues, American Heroes, and the Most Notorious Magazines in the World. Mike Edison Website • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • Mike Edison’s first Mr. Media interview • Book Excerpt • Order Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!   "Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great" by Albert J. Dunlap with Bob Andelman, available in print, e-book or digital audio. Order your copy now by clicking on the book cover above!   The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Mike Edison, author, Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!: Of Playboys, Pigs, and Penthouse Paupers-An American Tale of Sex and Wonder Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Lenny Bruce, Bob Guccione Sr. and Al Goldstein fans – you see where this is going, yet?… in the NEW new media capital of the world, St. Petersburg, Florida!   Hugh Hefner and Playboy. Bob Guccione and Penthouse. Al Goldstein and Screw. Larry Flynt and Hustler. Order Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!: Of Playboys, Pigs, and Penthouse Paupers-An American Tale of Sex and Wonder by clicking the book cover above! Those are just a few of the topics I’ll be discussing today with my guest, Mike Edison, author of a glorious romp through the modern history of sex magazine publishing, Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! Of Playboys, Pigs, and Penthouse Paupers. MIKE EDISON podcast excerpt: "People who try to claim the moral high ground, why is it they're the first ones wearing silver cufflinks and being hauled off to the hoosegow? Why is it that the guys that scream loudest about morality... Look at Newt Gingrich! Hypocrisy is the default position of the Republican Party." Order 'I Have Fun Everywhere I Go: Savage Tales of Pot, Porn, Punk Rock, Pro Wrestling, Talking Apes, Evil Bosses, Dirty Blues, American Heroes, and the Most Notorious Magazines in the World' by clicking on the book cover above! I’m telling you this up front so that those of you with sensitive moral constitutions – or if you’re simply under the age of 18 – will have plenty of time to watch and/or listen to something else. You might even hear a word or two about Lenny Bruce or George Carlin, Linda Lovelace or Harry Reems. For those who remain, I think you’ll find this conversation at times provocation, maybe a little shocking and rarely dull. This is Mike Edison’s second visit to Mr. Media – the first was to discuss I Have Fun Everywhere I Go: Savage Tales of Pot, Porn, Punk Rock, Pro Wrestling, Talking Apes, Evil Bosses, Dirty Blues, America -- and he talks the way he writes: rat-a-tat-tat, take-no-prisoners, waste no words, leave the reader no choice but to keep turning the pages and the listener no choice but to stay tuned. Edison is a long-time magazine writer, formerly the grand inhaler at High Times magazine, editor at Screw and a prolific staff letter writer at Penthouse. (You know, the kind that begin: “Dear Penthouse, I never thought it would ever happen to me, but…”). Personally, I think much of his style comes from his other obsession: he’s a rock ‘n’ roll drummer and there’s always a rhythm to his presentation, whether he’s talking with his lips or his hands. Mike Edison Website • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • Mike Edison's first Mr. Media interview • Book Excerpt • Order Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! "Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great" by Albert J. Dunlap with Bob Andelman, available in print, e-book or digital audio. Order your copy now by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Lisa Ann Walter, actress, comedian, judge, "Dance Your Ass Off" Lisa Ann Walter, center, with Dance Your Ass Off judges   Order 'The Best Thing About My Ass Is That It's Behind Me' by Lisa Ann Walter, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Here’s the difference between you and Lisa Ann Walter: When you’ve been sitting around having a little too much to drink, complaining about how nobody looks like those stringbeans on “So You Think You Can Dance,” or how “The Biggest Loser” would be more fun if the contestants were dancers, nobody cares what you think. And if you, dear listener, suggested a major cable channel produce a TV series called “Dance Your Ass Off,” you would have been laughed out the door. That is the difference between you and Lisa Ann Walter, a successful actress for years who is not only the creator of the Oxygen Network’s new hit “Dance Your Ass Off,” she’s also one of its on-camera judges. Lisa Ann Walter Facebook • Twitter • IMDB • Wikipedia • Order The Best Thing About My Ass Is That It's Behind Me from Amazon.com   The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Jonathan Alter, The Promise: President Obama, Year One Order The Promise: President Obama, Year One by Jonathan Alter, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!   Jonathan Alter Here’s the opening of a conversation that would get me divorced: “Honey, I’m going to spend the next 17 months researching and reporting about President Obama’s first year in office. Oh, and I’m going to keep my full-time job at the magazine and keep showing up as a talking head on TV, too.” Of course, I’m not Jonathan Alter, national affairs columnist at Newsweek, frequent political analyst on MSNBC and author of a fascinating, new, behind the scenes book, The Promise, President Obama, Year One. If your only previous exposure to Alter has been in small doses via his appearances on MSNBC and “Meet the Press,” you’ll be impressed at how well his approach to politics and journalism holds up over the course of an entire book. There is straight reporting, of course, but also the occasional zinger or observation that captures the point in a sharp-edged arrow—I mean sentence. Order 'The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies' by Jonathan Alter, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! JONATHAN ALTER podcast excerpt: "My wife has a really busy job, too. She is a supervising producer for 'The Colbert Report.' Her job is to book the guests on that show. Stephen Colbert--and rightly so--has high standards for the guests they get... We do a lot of shop talk (in bed). A lot of it revolves around, who should she get for the show and who should I interview for the book?"  And it isn’t a mere bow to Barack Obama as “The Promised One.” Alter identifies mistakes in strategy, errors in judgment and more than a few of the new president’s character flaws. As a teen, I found Joe McGinness’s The Selling of the Presidency 1968 oddly compelling. It, in turn, propelled me to read histories of most 20th century presidents. So, for me, The Promise is like a Charleston Chew. Its flavor lasts all day and leaves you wanting more. Alter is joining us on Mr. Media today to promote his appearance on Tuesday, May 25 at Forum Truth in Sarasota, Florida. His talk starts at 7:30 p.m. and the cost of admission includes a copy of his book, The Promise. Jonathan Alter Website • Twitter • Facebook • Wikipedia • BloombergView • IMDB Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great by Albert J. Dunlap with Bob Andelman. Order your copy now by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Peter Shankman, public relations guru 1 of 3   There are a handful of people that social media aficionados and professionals follow religiously for their insight and direction, people such as Chris Brogan, Seth Godin and Robert Scoble, for example. If you know who those guys are, you should probably also get to know social media guru Peter Shankman. Shankman is an industry unto himself, a networker of the first degree who has taken the practice of public relations and marketing to new heights via his mastery of social media. He is best known in journalism circles as the founder of Help A Reporter Out—a.k.a., HARO—a repository of expert sources intended to help out last minute reporting assignments. Journalists send information requests in to HARO—more than 1,200 requests come in a week—and Shankman hooks them up. Shankman also is the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, a Manhattan-based marketing and PR strategy firm. Over the years, his clients have included Snapple, NASA, Walt Disney World and many more. Peter Shankman Website • Help A Reporter Out • Geek Factory • Twitter • Facebook 2 of 3   3 of 3 Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!   The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Josh Neufeld, illustrator, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge Detail from Josh Neufeld's graphic novel A.D.: New Orleans After Deluge   Graphic novelist Josh Neufeld There are all kinds of journalistic storytelling styles, starting with your basic who/what/when/where and why. There is also “if it bleeds, it leads.” And let’s not forget the “New Journalism” class of the 1960s and ‘70s, exemplified by everyone from Tom Wolfe to Truman Capote it used dramatic literary techniques to add depth to the reader’s involvement. These days, some bloggers and tweeters have taken short-form journalism to new highs—and lows. Order A.D.: New Orleans After Deluge by Josh Neufeld, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! But how many people think of comic book and graphic novel creators as part of journalism? I see a few hands raised, but not nearly enough. I would suggest to you that a wave of artist and writers who once would have been relegated to the comic book ghetto are creating compelling journalism in hand-drawn pictures these days. A recent guest on this show, Brendan Burford (Syncopated), publishes a series of what he calls “nonfiction picto-essays”—essentially journalism in sequential art. The latest example I can recommend to you is Josh Neufeld’s new book, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge. It’s the story of a handful of very different residents of the Crescent City in the days leading up to and the months following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Reading it, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll come away with an informed perspective about the lives of average Americans dealing with extraordinary challenges. Josh Neufeld Website • Comix & Stories • Blog • Twitter • Wikipedia • Facebook Detail from Josh Neufeld's graphic novel A.D.: New Orleans After Deluge Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Anna Gunn, actress, "Breaking Bad," "Deadwood" Anna Gunn, star of AMC's Breaking Bad (Photo Credit: Ben Leuner/AMC) Anna Gunn’s arrival in the city of Deadwood on the HBO series of the same name set off one of the craziest love triangles in history. The widow of Sheriff Bullock’s brother changed that crazy, foul-mouthed, Wild West town forever. Now, it’s early in the run of the new critically-acclaimed AMC series “Breaking Bad,” but I suspect that as Bryan Cranston’s wife, Skyler, the lovely Anna Gunn will be anything but shy and retiring. ANNA GUNN audio excerpt: "In 'Deadwood,' it was a huge population that they were filming, and it was a really large cast, and so when we did have moments and scenes, yes, you did really have to figure out how to mine those experiences. And on 'Breaking Bad,' the wonderful thing about both of these writers is that they understand in subtle ways and even with the most seemingly minute or everyday kind of scenarios, there is something being revealed about their relationships, about the people, and about where they are in their life just by the way they respond, by the looks they give, all of that."  Order from Amazon.com by clicking the DVD cover above The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!   The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!  

Today's Guest: Yvette Nicole Brown, actress, "Community" Not a scene from 'Pulp Fiction': Yvette Nicole Brown, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie of NBC's "Community" (Photo: Lewis Jacobs/NBC)   Order 'Community: The Complete First Season,' available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD above! Yvette Nicole Brown has been on TV shows opposite Hugh Laurie, William Shatner and Larry David, and in movies opposite Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Gerald Butler. Heck, she started her career by signing a contract as a Motown recording artist. YVETTE NICOLE BROWN podcast excerpt: "I knew that Joel McHale was very, very smart and very funny. And I read the script. When your body has an involuntary reaction to something on a written page--it was like a no-brainer. Then you find out Chevy Chase is involved, the Russo Brothers directed it--okay, I'm in. It was an easy decision to make." But when my daughter saw her in the cast of Community alongside Chevy Chase—who she loved in Christmas Vacation—all that mattered was—she was on Drake & Josh! So Yvette Nicole Brown—star of Drake & Josh AND the new NBC Thursday night sitcom Community, airing Thursday nights at 8 p.m.—welcome to Mr. Media. Yvette Nicole Brown Website • Twitter • Facebook • MySpace • Order "Community" Season One on DVD Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown and Gillian Jacobs co-star in NBC's hit sitcom, "Community." The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Actress Tanna Frederick, star of Queen of the Lot and Irene in Time. Order from Amazon.com by clicking the DVD above Scorsese and DeNiro have this kind of relationship. So do Spielberg and Hanks. And Scorsese has it with DiCaprio, too, now that I think of it. Every so often, a director finds his match with an actor who “gets” their material, their vibe, their je ne sais qua. That’s what’s happening between writer/director Henry Jaglom and actress Tanna Frederick. HENRY JAGLOM audio excerpt: "The chemistry between Noah Wyle and Tanna Frederick takes this film to a whole other level. Every review is talking about it. They have this strange, funny, romantic chemistry; you can't take your eyes off of them." Order 'Irene in Time' starring Tanna Frederick and Henry Jaglom, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD cover above! Queen of the Lot — a sequel to Hollywood Dreams — opens at selected theaters in Los Angeles on Friday, November 19. It is the third movie that Jaglom has written and directed in which Frederick has starred; they also worked together on Irene in Time. Queen is actually their fourth collaboration, I believe, if you count her starring in his play, “Just 45 Minutes From Broadway,” which ran for several months this summer at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica, California and which they’ve already filmed for a movie. In her three Jaglom starring roles, Frederick typically plays some version of an emotional train wreck. Different characters in Irene in Time and Hollywood Dreams/Queen of the Lot, but – like DeNiro working under Scorsese’s direction — a recognizable, consistent presence. Jaglom is a writer and director with whom many in Hollywood — particularly women — would love to work, not because his films are big blockbusters but because of the detail and sensitivity he gives to women’s roles. His career goes back to his days as an editor on Easy Rider with Dennis Hopper, although this Lee Strasburg-trained Method actor also appeared in TV shows such as "Gidget" and "The Flying Nun." (As a boy, I loved "The Flying Nun." Talk about a concept ripe for a remake!) An interesting note about Jaglom’s career: he wrote and co-starred in Orson Welles’ final film, 1987’s Someone to Love, which also introduced the world to David Duchovny. In recent years, Jaglom has worked with a regular ensemble of actors, led by Tanna Frederick (Listen) and including Karen Black (Listen) and David Proval (Listen), all of whom have previously been guests on Mr. Media. Queen of the Lot Website Tanna Frederick Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Pinterest • YouTube The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Roger Chiocchi, branding expert, author, Baby Boomer Bust? Order Baby Boomer Bust? by Roger Chiocchi from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! The post-war baby boom is becoming something else, more than half a century later. But is that something else a bust? In his new book, Baby Boomer Bust?—and the title ends in a question mark—Roger Chiocchi (pronounced KEY-o-key) says it may be a problem that the average baby boomer nearing retirement only has $68,000 in a 401k. And no, if you’re looking at the totality of retirement, and not just the first year, that is not much. ROGER CHIOCCHI podcast excerpt: "What we find is that people in the lower and middle end of the spectrum are much more resilient than those at the high end. They're used to living hand-to-mouth, so it becomes not a big deal to them when things get even tougher." Tomorrow, April 15, 2010, I’ll be attending the second day of the Florida Boomer Lifestyle Conference, which will be held in Clearwater at Ruth Eckerd Hall. (By the way, the Florida Boomer Lifestyle Conference is open to the public. You can register online at www.floridaboomerlifestyle.com) It is designed to help us understand how the recession has impacted boomers. I expect to learn what they’re spending money on right now, which messages resonate most with them, and what they want from businesses today. Apparently “deeper senior discounts at Denny’s” is not the correct answer. Joining me today, in advance of his appearance as a guest speaker at the Florida Boomer Lifestyle Conference, is Roger Chiocchi, a principal in the Connecticut-based marketing firm Brandloft and author of Baby Boomer Bust? Roger Chiocchi BrandLoft Website • Facebook • Twitter • Order Baby Boomer Bust? from Amazon.com "Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great" by Albert J. Dunlap with Bob Andelman, available in print, e-book or digital audio. Order your copy now by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Raymond Schlogel, indie filmmaker, For Love & Stacie For Love & Stacie, a film by Raymond Schlogel All the air escaped my lungs at the end of Ray Schlogel’s independent film, For Love & Stacie. I was angry, petulant… and then the credits rolled and I was reminded that it was a drama, not a documentary. Poor, dumb ol’ Mr. Media was so sucked into this tale of heartbreak and obsession that I completely lost sight of what I was watching. And that’s when I realized what a fine job the independent Austin-based filmmaker—who wrote, starred, directed and produced Stacie—had done. RAY SCHLOGEL podcast excerpt: "(Chris Brogan) took up the cause. I can't thank him enough. He's got 90,000 followers. For him to take a risk outside the box of what he usually does and mention this little indie film was more than flattering. I have had a lot of people tweeting about it, posting about it, who have heard about it directly from Chris." Raymond Schlogel, director, 'For Love & Stacie' Schlogel came to my attention in an unusual way: I read about him in one of uber-networker Chris Brogan’s voluminous posts. Brogan wondered why Schlogel’s indie filmmaking gem hadn’t received more attention and asked his readers to help the man out. I read Brogan daily and get a lot of value and insight from his blog so I decided to pay it forward by inviting Schlogel on Mr. Media. You can watch For Love & Stacie for free at Schlogel’s website, ForLoveandStacey.com. He accepts donations there and you can also order a DVD copy of the film. Raymond Schlogel Website • Facebook • Twitter • MySpace • Vimeo • YouTube The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Kit Boss, writer, producer, "King of the Hill," "Bob's Burgers," "Carpoolers," "iZombie" Order 'Bob's Burgers: The Complete First Season' from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD cover above! (2012 UPDATE: Congratulations to Kit Boss, who shared an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Animated Program" as consulting producer of "Bob's Burgers" on Fox!) The confounding thing about seeing your friends become successful is that while you’re obviously happy for the good things that come their way, a tinge of jealousy and envy is not unusual, and that certainly captures my feelings about today’s guest. Most of you won’t know this man by name, but when you hear his credits, I think you’ll agree with me that he’s accomplished an awful lot, and you will probably understand why I greet him with a touch of envy, at the very least. Kit Boss was a gangly young kid when I met him more than twenty years ago in the Clearwater Bureau of the St. Petersburg Times. He arrived as this year’s intern, joining the staff for a time in search of real-life newspaper experience. Kit was an instant hit with the staff, funny, self-effacing, and extremely talented at capturing life’s special moments in a way that the best journalists do. When he later joined the Seattle Times as a TV beat writer, Kit participated in a few critics’ press tours in Los Angeles. He met several men and women who wrote for TV and started thinking, “Hey, maybe I could do that.” And eventually, he did. We want voices that are filled with the kind of character that an animator can listen to them and just kind of imagine what a creature might be doing, because we never see, none of us ever sees the people doing the interview. Everything that comes after that is sort of invented. We invent what animal they are, we invent the situation that they are in, we invent their body language. So where, you’re wondering, have you seen Kit’s work? Well, his first job was writing a season for “Bill Nye, the Science Guy,” and he won a couple of Emmys for it. His next noteworthy gig was a big one, getting a story credit on the final season of “Seinfeld.” That led to a staff writing job on “King of the Hill,” which was then in its third season. Over the next seven years, he rose to executive producer on that show. Order 'iZombie: Season 1,' available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD cover above! When “King” was briefly cancelled, Kit moved on, eventually landing a job on HBO’s sitcom “Lucky Louie,” starring comedian Louis C. K. When it ended after just after one season, he was asked to adapt the British series, “Creature Comforts,” for CBS. And “Creature Comforts” begins a limited run on CBS on Monday, June 4th, at 8:00 PM, which is why Kit – the show’s executive producer – is here today. Kit Boss Facebook • LinkedIn • Order Bob's Burgers: The Complete First Season from Amazon.com • Order King of the Hill: Season Three • Order Creature Comforts America: The Complete Series • Order Lucky Louie: The Complete Series Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Renee Rosen, novelist, Windy City Blues   Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Renèe Rosen by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters fans who will never agree on who was the greatest Chess guitarist of all time… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Windy City Blues by Renèe Rosen. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above! Sometimes a great novel gets lost in lousy packaging. That’s the case of Renee Rosen’s fifth book, Windy City Blues. It is one of those magnificent, emotional reads that you can’t put down, capturing the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, race records, racism, and illicit relationships in one terrific bundle that you won’t put down until the final page. In fact, the only problem with the book is the way the publisher chose to market it. The cover features an attractive, white, WASP-y woman in 1960s clothes when the lead character, Leeba Groski, is portrayed as not pretty and extremely ethnic Jewish. The primary action takes place in the 1950s and early ‘60s. RENÈE ROSEN podcast excerpt: "Terry Chess, who is Phil's son, knew Chuck Berry very well. Chuck used to stay over in Terry's room when he was a kid growing up... He'd wake up in the morning and Chuck Berry was there having breakfast with Phil. Terry and his sister Pam would sing songs for Chuck Berry. Wonderful memories; I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it." Oh, and the majority of the musicians featured are guitarists, primarily Leeba’s boyfriend, Red Dupree, but also real life icons such as Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. But there is a saxophone player on the cover. And a keyboard. But no guitar or guitar player. Well, that’s my opinion. We’ll see what the author has to say next. Renèe Rosen Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Ilene Kristen, actress One Life to Live   Actress Ilene Kristen If you’re on an airplane in the coming weeks and see Ilene Kristen engrossed in a bright and shiny new iPad, blame me. Kristen, who has starred on ABC’s "One Life to Live" as “Roxanne Balsom” since 2001, already has an iPhone. Last night, when we did a late night Skype video chat to test the connection and increase her comfort level with the program, she told me about all the things that she would use the iPad for. But she couldn’t make up her mind whether she actually needed one. ILENE KRISTEN podcast excerpt: "I'm going to work next week and it's rather odd; I have no idea where Roxy has been, except maybe in a motel room with this young dentist. It's a little disconcerting that I'm not there and haven't been told why I'm not there. I had a major storyline and the next thing I knew, it disappeared." Actress Ilene Kristen I told her that it sounded to me like she had already pictured herself with one, the real question was why she was delaying the trip to the Apple Store to pick hers up. Anyway, I discovered last night what a delightful woman Ilene is and I’m excited to share the experience with you. But before I bring our guest on, let me tell you that in addition to watching Ilene Kristen every afternoon on "One Life to Live," you can experience a very different side of her as a sexy, sultry singer by going to either the Triad nightclub in Manhattan @ 158 West 72nd Street on August 18 to see her as a celebrity guest for “Erotic Broadway” or, if you’re in Los Angeles, find her at the Room 5 Lounge @ 143 N. La Brea Avenue on August 28 @ 9 PM. Room 5 is located just above Adam Carolla's Amalfi Ristorante & Bar. If you go, tell Adam “Hello” from Mr. Media! A little later in the show, we’ll have a clip of Ilene singing at the Triad. If you haven’t seen her in action and only know her as Roxanne, be prepared to be blown away. Ilene Kristen Website • Twitter •  Facebook The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Summer Glau, star, "The Cape," "Firefly," "The Sarah Connors Chronicles" Summer Glau, as Orwell, stretching on NBCs 'The Cape' (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)   Summer Glau as seen in Esquire magazine Summer Glau gets some of the most enviable genre roles on television. Her first was on "Angel," where "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon liked her so much he cast in the wonderful, yet short-lived sci-fi adventure "Firefly" and the film that followed it, Serenity. SUMMER GLAU audio excerpt: "I'm havin' a blast on The Cape. I'm fighting crime. I'm throwin' down -- it's a blast." Summer Glau in 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles She was on the cult series “The 4400,” then made it big return to network TV as the hottest Terminator ever in the Fox series, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” Now she’s an investigative blogger named “Orwell” who partners with the lead character in NBC’s “The Cape” to fight crime and corruption in Palm City. It’s the perfect accompaniment for fans of “Chuck,” who get to the end of that show and want more, more and more. Did I mentioned Summer Glau is also quite beautiful? Or that you can see more of her in Esquire? Summer Glau IMDB • Wikipedia • Fansite • Reddit • Order The Cape: The Complete Series from Amazon.com Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Eugene Mirman, comedian, author, The Will to Whatevs, actor, "Flight of the Conchords," "Bob's Burgers" Order "The Will to Whatevs" by comedian Eugene Mirman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Eugene Mirman is one of the driest comedians I’ve ever encountered. He’s so droll, so subtle, that at first it’s difficult to detect if he’s on or really believes what he’s saying. Here’s a hint: he’s on. Mirman, who you may know from his guest appearances on the HBO show “Flight of the Concords” or his appearances on the comedy web site, 23/6, is promoting his first book, The Will to Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life. Eugene Mirman Website • Facebook • Twitter • IMDB • Order The Will to Whatevs from Amazon.com Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Howard Finberg, director, NewsU, The Poynter Institute   Howard Finberg, NewsU, Poynter Institute You may not know my guest today by name, but it’s safe to say that if you read an English-language newspaper anywhere in the world, Howard Finberg is having at least an indirect effect on its content. Finberg is Director of Interactive Learning for NewsU, the online training and education arm of The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. That’s where I am today, in fact. NewsU has enjoyed explosive growth since opening its virtual doors on April 11, 2005. Starting with just a few courses and little more than word of mouth advertising, the mostly free training for journalists now has thirty-five courses and 35,000 registered users. In the interest of complete disclosure, I have often worked on assignment for The Poynter Institute and even wrote two white papers and the script for an animated video for NewsU. In fact, I wrote the following Dr. Seuss-inspired rhyme, which Howard himself recorded for NewsU: You can do it wearing a hat. You can do it with your cat. You can do it at night, And you can do it when you look afright. You can do it when things are slow, Or when you can’t get the creative juices to flow. You can do it when mother’s not there, And you can do it in your underwear. Poynter Institute Website • Facebook • Twitter • Podcasts NewsU Website • Facebook • Twitter Howard Finberg Poynter Institute • Facebook • Twitter Order 'Values Craft American Journalism' by Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Cheryl Crane, daughter of Lana Turner, author, Lana: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies   Order 'Lana: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies' by Cheryl Crane with Cindy De La Hoz, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Nothing twinkles quite as bright as a classic Hollywood star and few were ever bigger in their day than Lana Turner. Of course, there is Lana Turner the legend… and Lana Turner the wife and mother. In her over-size collection of family photos and personal anecdotes, Lana: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies, Turner’s daughter Cheryl Crane pulls back the curtain and offers a fascinating peek at a life well lived. This is Cheryl’s second turn at telling us about life in the Turner household; in her first book, Detour: A Hollywood Story, she wrote about her own life, from the controversial death of Johnny Stompanato to coming out as gay and how it changed her relationship with her mom. Cheryl Crane Wikipedia • National Enquirer • Order 'Double Feature: Portrait in Black/Madame X' starring Lana Turner, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD cover above! The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Ray Billingsley, syndicated cartoonist, "Curtis" Order A Boy Named Curtis: The Curtis Chronicles by Ray Billingsley by clicking on the book cover above! There are a number of daily newspaper comic strips that we tend to take for granted. “Cathy,” by Cathy Guisewite, is one. Mort Walker’s “Beetle Bailey” and “Hi & Lois” are two more. And then there is my friend Ray Billingsley’s strip, “Curtis.” Ray Billingsley, cartoonist, Curtis “Curtis” shares the adventures of a young African-American boy whose age I’d put at about 10 or 11, dealing with life in his community. He’s chasing—unsuccessfully—girls, being chased—successfully—by bullies, struggling with his dad’s cheapness and smoking… in other words, all the stuff boys his age do. RAY BILLINGSLEY Audio Excerpt: "The strip is a lighthearted tale about a boy. That's all it is. It's just that one little factor that turns publishers off. I still go through, 'Well, blacks don't really read this stuff and whites don't get it." Dagwood Bumstead meets A Boy Named Curtis But because the character is black, it sometimes seems like his creator, Billingsley, doesn’t always get the opportunities or recognition that other men and women in his field do. One example: publication of his collected works. The last time Billingsley was a guest on my show, back in April 2007, he revealed his frustration with the cartoonists establishment and book publishing. Today, there is a new development on that front: publication of the first “Curtis” collection: A Boy Named Curtis. Ray Billingsley Website • Facebook • Wikipedia • Comics Kingdom • Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Ray Billingsley, syndicated daily cartoonist, creator, "Curtis" 'Curtis' by cartoonist Ray Billingsley When I was researching my biography, Will Eisner, A Spirited Life, one of the biggest surprises for me was learning that two extremely successful daily cartoonists, Ray Billingsley of “Curtis," and Patrick McDonnell of “Mutts,” were once students of Eisner’s at the New York School of Visual Arts. Eisner spoke highly of both men, and he developed an ongoing mentor-style relationship with Billingsley, who was a very young man, just about 16, when he first took Eisner’s class. Billingsley’s strip, “Curtis,” brings a black perspective to the daily comics pages of more than 250 newspapers. It’s a steady performer recognized by the American Cancer Society for Curtis’ efforts to get his father to stop smoking. And Billingsley takes the detour from the usual story lines every December for an original Kwanzaa tale. Ray Billingsley Website • Facebook UPDATE: May 23, 2007 Curtis by Ray Billingsley The most talked about "Mr. Media Interview" to date - by far - was the one above with "Curtis" cartoonist Ray Billingsley. He hit a nerve by taking issue with book publishers who have been unwilling to produce a collection of his strip in nearly two decades. The interview led to not one but two stories on EditorandPublisher.com - including a condemnation of his remarks by the current president of the National Cartoonists Society, Rick Stromoski ("Soup to Nutz") - and a lengthy discussion on the popular web site, The Comics Curmudgeon. Billingsley isn't letting the issue die down, either, with the NCS' annual Reuben Awards just around the corner. A recent Sunday strip has generated even more controversy, this time on The Comics Journal Message Board. Read the strip and what's been written here. Or feel free to click on "Comments" below and add your thoughts here. ] Cartoonist Ray Billingsley What I find interesting is that Billingsley hasn't directly mention the name of the publisher of the vast majority of comic strip compilations - even though it's pretty obvious with whom he's so frustrated. I also wonder why no Black-oriented book publisher has stepped forward - yet. If you'd like to hear more from Billingsley on this subject - live and in person, he'll be one of the guest speakers at the Festival of Cartoon Art, Oct. 25-27, 2007, sponsored by Ohio State University's Cartoon Research Library. Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Monica Raymund, actress, "Lie To Me," "The Good Wife," "Chicago Fire"   Monica Raymund St. Petersburg, Florida is pretty good at turning out dramatic talent. There is Angela Bassett, of course, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in What’s Love Got to Do with It” and is currently starring on the NBC series “ER.” And then there is Patrick Wilson, who has been nominated for Tony awards, Golden Globes and Emmys and stars in the upcoming film, Watchmen. MONICA RAYMUND podcast excerpt: "I don't know HOW I got this job! I hadnt graduated from Julliard yet; I was just the right person at the right time. I tested for the 'Lie To Me' pilot; a month later, I got the call that I got the job. I had to move my life to LA in a week! I don't even have my diploma yet; I haven't had time to go by the school and get my degree!" Monica Raymund is the latest to emerge from this sunny city on Tampa Bay. A graduate of Shorecrest Preparatory School—like Wilson—and the daughter of two of the community’s best known and most philanthropic residents, Steve and Sonia Raymund, Monica exploded on the national scene a few weeks ago on the new Fox TV series, “Lie To Me.” For once, it might be fair to say that Monica is an overnight sensation: before “Lie To Me,” her best known credit was an episode of “Law & Order: SVU.” In fact, her IMDB listing only has one other credit! MONICA RAYMUND podcast excerpt: "I went to Shorecrest Prep in St. Petersburg, Florida. I had a very strong academic background; I enjoyed being a student, I loved going to school. I wanted to go into science -- biochemistry, maybe doing forensics. I didn't expect to get into Juilliard, so when I did, I decided to go for the dream." “Lie To Me” stars Tim Roth — best known for the opening and closing scenes of Pulp Fiction — and Kelli Williams, a star of "The Practice." In “Lie To Me,” Raymund is a gifted natural interpreter of non-verbal cues. Her character, Ria Torres, is the newest member of the agency, and one of the few "naturals" in the field of deception detection. She has a raw, untrained ability to read people that makes her a force to be reckoned with. Key interview moments: • 8:00 Making the unexpected jump from Juilliard student to co-star on "Lie To Me" opposite Tim Roth, Kelli Williams, and Mekhi Phifer; • 20:00 Play 'Lie To Me' at home with the kids; • 31:00 Former Tampa Tribune movie critic Bob Ross calls in; • 38:45 If I didn't get into The Juilliard School, I planned to go into... Monica Raymund Facebook • Twitter • Perez Hilton • Wikipedia • IMDB • Fansite • Pinterest Order 'Lie to Me' starring Tim Roth and Kelli Williams, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD cover above!   Tampa Bay Times calls Stadium For Rent (Second Edition) "Notable" for 2015 baseball season! Order 'Stadium For Rent: Tampa Bay's Quest for Major League Baseball' by Bob Andelman, now available in an expanded, updated and illustrated 456-page special edition, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Bill Engvall, comedian   Bill Engvall, image via Wikipedia Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of TV stars who haven’t updated their blogs since September 29, 2008… in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Don’t tell my wife, but I’ve watched those Blue Collar Comedy standup specials on Comedy Central starring Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Ron White about a hundred times. I usually catch them on the little TV in the kitchen while I eat lunch. It doesn’t matter that I already know the jokes and the punchlines – and you know that Larry is always going to be the punchline when they’re together. BILL ENGVALL audio excerpt: "Unfortunately, no, I'm not the love interest (for Jada Pinkett's Smith's character on 'Hawthorne')... If I had my pick, it would be Michael Vartan. But I had a great time with Marc Anthony." These four guys are like a 21st century version of the Three Stooges to my way of thinking. Not in terms of looks or slapping each other around, but because there’s no way a guy can justify to his wife or girlfriend how hard they make you laugh. And like his Blue Collar comedian compadres, Bill Engvall has made a real industry of this Blue Collar business. He sells out comedy tours, has published a book, done movies, and starred in a sitcom under his own name on the Tyler Perry channel – I mean TBS. Now he’s stretching the brand even further in a most unlikely way – guest starring on three episodes of Jada Pinkett Smith’s TNT drama series, “Hawthorne.” Engvall’s second appearance as Det. Jimmy Dupree airs Tuesday, June 28 at 10 p.m. Bill Engvall Website • Blog • iPhone app • Facebook • Twitter • MySpace • Hawthorne on TNT • Lingo on GSN Order 'Here's Your Sign' by Blue Collar comedian Bill Engvall, available on DVD from Amazon.com by clicking on the box cover above! Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Tania Gunadi, actress, "Aaron Stone"     Tania Gunadi As a co-star of the Disney XD channel’s “Aaron Stone” series, Tania Gunadi has a dual life—she’s the girl next door to Charlie Landers, a.k.a. Aaron Stone, played by Kelly Blatz, and she is also a player in the online game that drives the show’s plot. TANIA GUNADI podcast excerpt: "Working on Star Trek with J.J. Abrams was so amazing. My alien makeup took five hours in the morning to put on; we did 11 days of fitting to make it work. My ears would move as I walked and I had a really long tail. J.J. would ask every couple of minutes, 'Are you okay? Can you breathe?'... Chris Pine is so cute. After our scene we walked outside. He said, 'Are you okay? Do you need a jacket?' And I said, 'No, I just need a hug.'"  And while this might be child’s play to some—Tania is older than she may look. Despite playing a teen on the show, this native of Bandung, Indonesia is actually 26! Tania might be a familiar face to fans of everything from Even Stevens to Boston Public; she also had a role on an episode of one of my favorite comedies, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” on FX. Tania Gunadi Website • Facebook • Twitter Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!   The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Sarah Szalavitz, entrepreneur, 7Robot, Zaproot, AwkwardSexStories.com Sarah Szalaitz, 7Robot, Taproot.com I don’t care if you never before heard of my guest, social media guru Sarah Szalavitz. A week ago, frankly, neither had I. But I suspect that at the end of this hour, we’ll all want to hear more from Sarah. Or maybe we’ll just want to be her. Sarah is the co-founder of 7 Robot, a new company involved in digital storytelling and social design. (Some examples: ZapRoot, AwkwardSexStories.com.) More about that, later, because that’s just her latest career. A Harvard-trained lawyer, that credential is almost incidental in a resume that includes two years as assistant to then-Speaker of the California State Assembly, Willie Brown Jr. More recently, she was director of content development for Veoh Networks. Sarah Szalavitz Twitter • LinkedIn • Facebook • YouTube • 7-Robot • "Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great" by Albert J. Dunlap with Bob Andelman, available in print, e-book or digital audio. Order your copy now by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Steve Rosenbaum, author, Curation Nation: How to Win in a World Where Consumers are Creators Curation Nation by Steve Rosenbaum. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above! We’re going to do something a little different on Mr. Media today – instead of being a half-wit know-it-all, I’m going to try to learn something practical from my guest. Joining me is Steve Rosenbaum, who developed, created and produced the groundbreaking “MTV Unfiltered” program in 1993. Shot entirely by viewers, UNfiltered marked the first fully user-created program in television history and was the model used by Al Gore for CURRENT.TV. Along the way networks such as CBS, A&E, and HBO all counted on Rosenbaum to help them explore and deploy user-generated video in programming. Today, Rosenbaum is behind a new venture, Magnify.net, which uses video in still new ways. If you’re a blogger, podcaster or web site producer, I think you’ll find this program particularly interesting – and practical, as Steve walks me through posting video content on an actual web site. Steve Rosenbaum Magnify.net • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • Blog • Curation Nation website "Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great" by Albert J. Dunlap with Bob Andelman, available in print, e-book or digital audio. Order your copy now by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Margo Martindale, actress, "Justified," Scalene Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of tough broads who you don’t want as next-door neighbors… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Order Scalene from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVD above! Imagine stretching a rubber band between the index finger on one hand and the thumb on the other. Now visualize pulling your fingers as far apart as possible. That’s it… …keep pulling… … and pulling… OUCH! Somebody will always get hurt when you do that. Emmy Award winning actress Margo Martindale (Justified, A Gifted Man) stars in the indie psychological thriller Scalene. MARGO MARTINDALE audio excerpt: "I like intense. In a movie, you can let go at the end of the day. On stage, you kind of have to live it until the run is over. But I love acting. It's like playing in my backyard."  That’s what I pictured happening upstairs to Margo Martindale’s character, Janice Trimble, in her new movie, Scalene. And that’s just in the opening minutes. Martindale plays the mother of a brain-damaged teenage boy whose needs are making her life miserable and diminishing her in every possible way. She snaps like a rubber band as the movie begins and it’s all exposition from there. Besides Martindale, this indie film features a strong performance by Hanna Hall, who looks from certain angles like a young Drew Barrymore. Watching Scalene, I couldn’t help but wish a nice romantic comedy on this talented actress. Or maybe a buddy comedy with Kathy Bates! Joining me today is Margo Martindale, who won the 2010 Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her role on FX’s “Justified.” You may have also seen her last season as a regular on the short-lived CBS series “A Gifted Man” or more recently in the USA series “Suits.” Scalene, which co-stars Hanna Hall (she played a young "Jenny" in Forrest Gump) will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 31 Margo Martindale Order Scalene on DVD from Amazon.com The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Erin Cummings, actress, Bitch Slap, "Detroit 1-8-7" ABC had me at “redhead” when the opportunity to interview “Detroit 1-8-7” co-star Erin Cummings appeared. Learning she had a recurring role on AMC’s “Mad Men” earlier this season didn’t hurt either. Erin Cummings And neither did her experience as a co-star of the film Bitch Slap, in which she played “The Sex Bomb” alongside America Olivo, a recent guest on Mr. Media. (Julia Voth, you know you’re next!) ERIN CUMMINGS audio excerpt: "(Mad Men star) Jon Hamm is even more sexy, more enjoyable, and more intelligent in person than anything he has ever portrayed on television. I hope every actress has a chance to work with him."  Seeing that she looks like the Playboy magazine idea of a librarian was certainly a plus. And how about the timing? Cummings’ freshman police procedural series, “Detroit 1-8-7,” which stars Michael Imperioli of “The Sopranos” somewhat reprising his role from the short-lived “Life On Mars,” as well as James McDaniel of “NYPD Blue,” just got a vote of confidence from the alphabet network: an order for five more new episodes this season. Erin Cummings Website • Twitter • Facebook • IMDB • AUSXIP • Instagram • Wikipedia Bitch Slap starring Erin Cummings, America Olivo and Julie Voth. Order your copy today by clicking on the DVD cover above! The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Marti Rulli, author, Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, Dennis Davern, captain, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner yacht Order 'Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour' by Marti Rulli and Dennis Davern by clicking the book cover above! What happened to Natalie Wood on the night of November 29, 1981? The next morning, as we all know, she was discovered floating in the waters off Catalina Island. But what happened during the night before she died? That night, Natalie was aboard the Splendour, the boat she and her husband, actor Robert Wagner, owned. Also on board was actor Christopher Walken and the ship's captain, Dennis Davern. Wagner and Davern were drunk. None of the three men has talked in detail about the events of that evening. Until now. DENNIS DAVERN podcast excerpt: "As soon as we departed Marina Del Rey, Robert Wagner had jealousy written all over him. Tension was building and it was just terrible... All of a sudden Robert picks up a wine bottle and smashed it in the middle of a coffee table. Glass shattered all over everyone. Christopher Walken exited to his stateroom. Natalie went up to her stateroom. I went to the bridge. You could hear the arguing, the screaming. It was torture." It's not Wagner or Walken that's talking, however. The ship's captain, Davern, has broken his silence in a new book written with his long time friend, Marti Rulli. Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour is his story, his recollection of that horrible night and the 28 years of silence and guilt that have engulfed his life ever since. In the interest of full disclosure, before we start, I need to tell you that I first heard about this book through my sister, who lives in the same small South Jersey community as Marti Rulli and has done business with her. But that doesn’t mean every friend of Lori’s gets a shot on this show. You still have to accomplish something, okay? Marti Rulli Blog • Twitter • Order Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Jeffrey J. Fox, author, How to Be a Fierce Competitor: What Winning Companies and Great Managers Do in Tough Times Order from Amazon.com by clicking the book cover above I can honestly and modestly say that I know a thing or two about fierce competitors in business. If you know anything about my background as a journalist, you probably think I'm referring to the CEOs with whom I've worked on books-"Chainsaw" Al Dunlap from Scott Paper and Sunbeam, Home Depot founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, or Commerce Bank founder Vernon Hill. But I'm actually thinking of one of my first bosses, George Tenenbaum. Jeffrey J. Fox, author, The Transformative CEO George was a huge S.O.B., a world-class sonuvabitch. And I think he'd take pride in that description. And it's not that I didn't like and respect him, either. JEFFREY J. FOX audio excerpt: "Fierce is not an animalistic beast growling in the jungle. Fierce is a relentless, tireless competitor who wants every customer he can get."  I worked for him when I was 15, buying and selling comic books at a flea market in East Brunswick, N.J. and at conventions everywhere from Manhattan to Philadelphia. George treated me well- paying me fairly and feeding me decently, too. But he was a tough guy with whom to do business, especially considering the nature of his weekend business. Every transaction was a negotiation, a deal, a haggle. Buy a little, he'd try to sell you money. Come in to sell him your old comics, he'd talk you into taking a pittance for that prized Fantastic Four #1. He'd chase people down the aisles to get them to reconsider. No one walked away from George! But my favorite story about George Tenenbaum was when he explained how life worked in his world. It came about when he made a mistake that cost him more than a few bucks. It was just he and I that day and in talking to a customer, he He blamed the mistake on his wife, Rona. Order 'The Transformative CEO' by Jeffrey J. Fox, available in print or ebook from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! When the customer left, I said, "George, why did you blame Rona? It was your mistake." He said, "Bob, let me explain life to you. When I screw up, if you're here, I blame my wife. But if she's here and you're not, I blame you. And I guarantee you that if she's here and I'm not, she'll blame everything on me. "And when neither of us is here and you screw up, I fully expect you to blame me." The Harvard Business School, this was not. And this isn't one of the 60 lessons in Jeffrey J. Fox's latest book, How to Be A Fierce Competitor: What Winning Companies and Great Managers Do in Tough Times, but it certainly could be. Fox is the author of a growing series of business management books, including How to Become a CEO and How to Become a Rainmaker. He has a smart approach, producing compact how-tos that the average businessperson can read, absorb and apply in the course of a plane or train ride. Jeffrey J. Fox Website • Twitter • Order How to Be a Fierce Competitor from Amazon.com Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great by Albert J. Dunlap with Bob Andelman. Order your copy now by clicking on the book cover above!   The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Jeffrey J. Fox, author, The Transformative CEO: Impact Lessons From Game Changers Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience who will make one-hundred times as much money in the next 30 minutes as you will in the next 30 days… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!   Order from Amazon.com by clicking on the book above! What do the founders of The Home Depot, 1-800-Flowers.com and Paul Mitchell Systems and the CEOs of Black Entertainment Television, Marvel Entertainment and Campbell Soup have in common? According to consultant Jeff Fox, author of The Transformative CEO, they all have the key traits and characteristics of great and successful business leaders. JEFFREY J. FOX audio excerpt: "When Douglas Conant went to Campbell Soup, they had lost 50 percent of their market share value, morale was plummeting, sales were down, profits were going away. The current management was taking chicken out of chicken soup to save money!"  Fox, who previously appeared here to discuss his last book, How to Be a Fierce Competitor, has created a cottage industry in identifying great management tips and dispensing them in short books that even a CEO can stay focused on from cover to cover. The Transformative CEO is no different. I have to admit Fox had me at “Bernie Marcus”–as the guy who wrote Built From Scratch with the founders of The Home Depot—I had to know what Fox made of their remarkable success. He promises to help you transform yourself. Jeffrey J. Fox Website • Twitter • Order The Transformative CEO from Amazon.com Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great by Albert J. Dunlap with Bob Andelman. Order your copy now by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Brian Walker, daily comics writer, "Beetle Bailey," "Hi & Lois," comics historian, The Comics   Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of small-bodied talking animals with giant heads and more wisecracks than Don Rickles… in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! The Comics by Brian Walker. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!   Comics are Brian Walker’s life. It’s the family business, after all: his dad, Mort, created or co-created "Beetle Bailey," "Hi & Lois," and the legendary but short-lived strip and strips, "Sam’s Strip." Brian and his brother Greg have written and inked "Beetle Bailey" and "Hi & Lois" alongside their dad now for years. (Another second generation comics creator, Chance Browne – son of "Hi & Lois" co-creator and "Hagar the Horrible" creator Dik Browne – draws "Hi & Lois.") But starting back in college in the early 1970s, Brian carved out a corner of the industry for himself. It started when he profiled fledgling “Doonesbury” cartoonist Garry Trudeau in 1973 for Greg’s alt-weekly newspaper, The Silver Lining. BRIAN WALKER audio excerpt: "The New Traditionalists: 'Zits,' 'Baby Blues' and 'Mutts' were not revolutionary in any particular way, but they took all the best qualities of all the great strips." Order from Amazon.com by clicking the book cover above In the years that followed, Greg followed a dual path, writing gags for his father’s strips but also helping Mort Walker and his fellow comic strip masters see their dream come true: He is a founder and former director of the International Museum of Cartoon Art, where he worked from 1974 to 1992. More recently, Brian has turned his attention to preserving and sharing comic strip history. His latest book, The Comics, puts together in one massive, exquisite volume what had previously been two pieces. It is an awesome collection of wonderful strips to the beginning of the medium and all the way to the present day, a must-have collectible for any comics fan. And a few months ago he published another marvelous book, Doonesbury and The Art of G.B. Trudeau. Reading through it, I fell in love with the work of Jane Pauley’s husband all over again. Brian Walker Hi and Lois website Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!   The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Lillian Glass, author, Toxic Men Order 'Toxic Men: 10 Ways to Identify, Deal with, and Heal from the Men Who Make Your Life Miserable by Lillian Glass,' available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! All through this interview, I will quietly repeat the following mantra: She’s not talking about me… She’s not talking about me… And in my imagination, I will have a finger in each ear, singing La-la-la-la-la-la… DR. LILLIAN GLASS audio excerpt: "Charlie Sheen is the biggest success in the world in show business but in his personal life, he's not... A woman who falls for him doesn't have a lot of self-esteem." I don’t what I was thinking when I booked Dr. Lillian Glass, author of Toxic Men, as a guest. Isn’t she likely to come on the show and reveal what a jerk and a fraud I am as a husband and lead my wife to leave me? Hmm, maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea, after all. Welcome to 30 minutes of female empowerment, ladies! Lillian Glass Website •  Twitter • Facebook • Order Toxic Men from Amazon.com The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Brandi Chastain, Kerri Strug, Olympic athletes Kerri Strug, U.S. Olympics gold medal winner, gymnastics This is a very special Mr. Media podcast. As a member of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, Brandi Chastain participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and helped the Americans win the gold medal by playing every minute of every U.S. game. She is best known for her game-winning penalty kick against China in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final – perhaps the greatest goal in U.S women’s soccer history. Kerri Strug was a member of the “Magnificent Seven,” the gymnastics team that also represented the U.S. at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Despite a serious ankle injury, she overcame adversity and performed a stunning vault to help clinch a gold medal for the women’s team competition – one of the most memorable moments in Olympic history. Between these two athletes, they have won five Olympic medals -- three gold, one silver and one bronze-- and two World Cup championships. Brandi Chastain Facebook • Twitter • Merck Pharmaceuticals Active Family Project website • US Youth Soccer • Order It’s Not About the Bra from Amazon.com Kerri Strug Website • Twitter • Wikipedia Order 'Why Men Watch Football' by Bob Andelman, available as an e-book from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Actor Colin Ferguson, star of Syfy's "Eureka" and "Haven" EUREKA -- Season:4 -- Pictured: (l-r) Salli Richardson-Whitfield as Allison Blake, Niall Matter as Zane Donovan, Joe Morton as Henry Deacon, Erica Cerra as Jo Lupo, Neil Grayston as Douglas Fargo, Colin Ferguson as Jack Carter, James Callis as Dr. Grant -- (Photo: Art Streiber/Syfy) As Sheriff Carter on the Syfy series “Eureka,” now in its fourth season, Colin Ferguson is the kind of guy I’d like to be: a manly man but a technological doofus who the ladies nonetheless find endearing and sexy. Seriously, Carter is the kind of doofus you wouldn’t mind owning up to if real life came with the charm and earnestness with which Ferguson embues the role. COLIN FERGUSON podcast excerpt: "Carter and Allison still have problems. It's not a done deal: 'They're dating, so the show is over.' Everybody was saying if you hook them up, it's the death of the show. But critically, and by the numbers, it was our best season ever." Order 'Eureka: The Complete Series' (Amazon Exclusive), available from Amazon.com by clicking on the DVDs above! “Eureka” is one of the great hidden gems of all cable television. I caught a few minutes of it early in season three for the first time while switching channels in the kitchen one night and was hooked by a contentious discussion between Sheriff Carter and his kickass deputy, Jo. Shortly thereafter, my wife ordered the show on Netflix and we watched every episode with my daughter until we caught up. It is one of our favorite all-time shows and one of the few TV programs around which we will all rearrange our schedules. Until you see an episode, this may sound crazy, but “Eureka” is kind of an earthbound “Star Trek: The Next Generation” with streaks of “Moonlighting” and “The Big Bang Theory” thrown in. When it crossed over with another SyFy network favorite, “Warehouse 13” a few months ago, we were in heaven; I keep hoping NBC can figure out a way to let it eventually cross paths with the tech nerds of “Chuck.” “Eureka” is back for an all-new Christmas episode on Tuesday, December 7th at 9 p.m. We can’t wait! Colin Ferguson Twitter • Eureka website on SyFy Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Parvesh Cheena, actor, "Outsourced" Anisha Nagarajan and Parvesh Cheena, stars of NBC's 'Outsourced' Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of people who may think they can top my Whack-a-Gupta score of 725… in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! A few things I learned about “Gupta,” perhaps the nuttiest sitcom character on network TV in years: • He can’t drive. Not a bike, not a car. • He likes to watch. His boss. In bed. Sleeping. Not sleeping. • He loves the break room cookies. Sorry, Madhuri. Order from Amazon.com by clicking the DVD cover above! • He looks a lot like his glasses-wearing cousin. • He knows how to wear a giant ear and spy on his bosses. • And he can break into Bollywood-style song and dance at a moment’s notice. When “Outsourced” debuted on NBC last September, I have no doubt that Gupta – played to perfection by actor Parvesh Cheena – was one of the characters that set the tongues of TV critics wagging. He was a stereotype and not a good one at that they thought! But given some space to become a three-dimensional figure, Gupta was discovered to be the essence of sweetness, with a few necessary quirks. He could just as easily have been Kenneth the Page on “30 Rock” or even Creed on “The Office.” PARVESH CHEENA podcast excerpt: "I secretly always thought Gupta would one day be with Madhuri in a spinoff: 'Madhuri Tolerates Gupta.' As opposed to 'Joanie Loves Chachi.'" And as the actor playing Gupta, Cheena – like his goofy, guileless counterparts on other NBC Thursday night shows – had to let go of all inhibitions. He succeeded magnificently. Parvesh Cheena Website • Twitter • Order Outsourced: The Complete Season from Amazon.com  Parvesh Cheena, star of NBC's 'Outsourced'   Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Larry Manetti, actor, "Magnum, P.I.," "Black Sheep Squadron"     Order 'Aloha Magnum: Larry Manetti's Magnum, P.I. Memories,' available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Larry Manetti brought a tremendous amount of natural charisma and boundless cockiness to his role as a restaurateur named Rick—Tom Selleck’s Vietnam War buddy and sidekick—on the long-running CBS adventure series, “Magnum, P.I.” He brought that same strong sense of self-awareness to his role as author in his 1999 autobiography, Aloha Magnum. It’s action packed with… well, action, as Manetti recalls a life that never knew the meaning of the word dull. LARRY MANETTI podcast excerpt: "Tom Selleck was born gorgeous.When you're born ike that, you kinda know inside of you that you're special. He does have little idiosyncrasies. He's a dear friend; he's there if you need him. He's a great guy. And I don't lie. If he were a big jerk, I'd say he was a jerk."  Besides out of school tales of his friends Selleck and co-stars Roger Moseley and John Hillerman, Manetti regales readers with his encounters with: the Chairman of the Board—Frank Sinatra; the King—Elvis Presley; Tony Curtis; and his pal and mentor Robert Conrad. Best of all, this isn’t one of those self-told stories of how wonderful Larry is. It’s a warts-and-all portrayal of a regular guy who has led a pretty friggin’ great life. Larry Manetti Website • Facebook • Twitter • IMDB • Wikipedia • PM Show with Larry Manetti on CRN Talk • Order Aloha Magnum from Amazon.com Order 'Magnum P.I.: The Complete Series,' The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Red Peters, comedian, singer, Red Peters Presents The Summer Song Sizzler, Howard Stern Show regular Order Red Peters Presents The Summer Song Sizzler, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the CD cover above!   Red Peters’ dulcet tones have undoubted lulled you into listening to music that your mother would likely not approve of. The singer-songwriter takes standard, common melodies and gives them a hysterically filthy twist that makes you go, “What the f---?” And if you’ve never heard Peters’ work, let me be the first to introduce you to a few samples, including “You Promised Me the Moon (But I Prefer Uranus)." RED PETERS audio excerpt: "I did a phoner with Howard. I was on for 40 minutes. He played a little snatch—so to speak--of each song. When he played 'The Ballad of a Dog Named Stains,' Howard just loved it. He flipped out. Within several months, I was in his studio singing it live. We became friends from that point on. He injected quite a bit of life into the Red Peters Project, that's for sure." Red Peters came to the attention of America’s preeminent radio personality, Howard Stern, not long before Stern made the move from CBS to Sirius Satellite Radio five years ago. Stern created a place for him on his Howard 101 channel, where you can often hear Peters playing his own tunes and dirty music from a variety of other composers and performers. His latest CD, “Red Peters Presents: Summer Song Sizzler,” is available on iTunes and is full of charming ditties such as “Vagina” by Pig Vomit and “There’s a Homo in the Bunkhouse” by Bob Garrett’s “Banned.” A little later, I’ll play “The Sex Song” by TastiSkank. Red Peters Website • Twitter • Facebook • MySpace • Song Snatch • Order It's A Red Peters Christmas from Amazon.com Order Ol' Blue Balls Is Back by Red Peters, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the CD cover above! More Howard Stern related interviews on Mr. Media Radio: Red Peters (June 2010) Stuttering John Melendez (April 2009) Stuttering John Melendez (March 2014; video) Mr. Skin (March 2011) Mr. Skin (March 2010) Mr. Skin (December 2009) Mr. Skin (October 2007) Robert Schimmel (June 2008) Robert Schimmel (April 2008) Lisa Lampanelli (June 2009) Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!   The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Red Peters, comedian, singer, "It's A Red Peters Christmas! Volume 1," Howard Stern Show regular Order It's A Red Peters Christmas! Volume 1 [Explicit], available from Amazon.com by clicking on the CD cover above! Red Peters is back on Mr. Media today to celebrate Christmas his way -- which means putting in your earbuds and getting ready to laugh your ass off. We had such a good time playing Red’s salacious sounds over the summer that when he offered to spend an X-rated Christmas with Mr. Media, how could I refuse? RED PETERS audio excerpt: "I was home from college one year, up in my room wrapping Christmas presents. My mother came walking into my old room. I was smoking a joint and she said, 'Red, aren't you crazy enough without smokin' that sh!t?" In today’s show, we’ll play Red’s latest contributions to the grand canon of holiday tunes. So step aside, Little Drummer Boy. Cover your ears, Silent Night. And don’t come to town yet, Santa Claus. Here come his new instant classics “Have a Wonderful Hawaiian Christmas” and Red’s duet with comedian Margaret Cho, “The Christmas Gift.” We’ll also dip into the vault for a Red favorite from Christmases past, “Holy Sh!t! It’s Christmas.” If you don’t know who Red Peters is, here’s a quick recap: First of all, Red Peters is not his real name. He does, however, live and work in the Boston area. His great joy in writing snappy X-rated songs was recommended to the masses when radio legend Howard Stern first heard and featured him on his terrestrial show. At Sirius XM satellite radio, Howard gave Red his own show. Red Peters Website • Twitter • Facebook • MySpace • Song Snatch • Order It's A Red Peters Christmas from Amazon.com Order Ol' Blue Balls Is Back by Red Peters, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the CD cover above! More Howard Stern related interviews on Mr. Media Radio: Red Peters (June 2010) Stuttering John Melendez (April 2009) Stuttering John Melendez (March 2014; video) Mr. Skin (March 2011) Mr. Skin (March 2010) Mr. Skin (December 2009) Mr. Skin (October 2007) Robert Schimmel (June 2008) Robert Schimmel (April 2008) Lisa Lampanelli (June 2009) Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Chandler Baker, novelist, This Is Not The End   This Is Not The End by Chandler Baker. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above! Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Chandler Baker by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of Shirley Maclaine fans who want to know more about Chandler Baker’s ideas on resurrection… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! It’s hard for novelists to come up with a twist we haven’t read in some way, previously. J.R.R. Tolkien managed it with Lord of the Rings; so did J.R. Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter series. Otherwise, we’ll read something “new” and say, “Oh, it’s just like XYZ.” CHANDLER BAKER podcast excerpt: "I originally thought I was going to be a bioethicist. My debut novel was about heart transplants and dealt with some of the ethics around that. These bioethical issues keep coming up in my (legal) work so I didn't have to do a ton of research, except to come up with a way the resurrection technology could really work." Or, “Did you ever read Sinclair Lewis? This new title is like Babbitt, only it takes place in Des Moines with rodeo clowns.” I just read This Is Not The End by Chandler Baker and, honestly, it’s not like anything else I can ever remember reading before. Who knew resurrection politics and ethics could be so complicated – and entertaining? Chandler Baker Website • Twitter • YouTube • Goodreads The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Louise Mandrell, country singer   (This interview with country singer Louise Mandrell was originally published in the St. Petersburg Times on November 16, 1984. -- Bob Andelman) Louise Mandrell Louise Mandrell bubbles as she talks. It comes across in her stage and television appearances, and it was even apparent in a long distance interview with her from the phone in her bus, parked somewhere in San Antonio, Texas. The middle Mandrell sister is not as well-known as Barbara, but it's not for lack of trying. Louise averages over 200 dates on the concert road each year. "I don't know how many, and I don't wanna know," she said, laughing. "Last year I got off the road for three months, but it was not by choice. The doctors took me off. This time I planned a vacation." Why does she tour so much? "I like it. It's my favorite part of the music business. I just feel like I work like everybody else. Everyone else works every day ... " NOT EVERYONE else watched by thousands of people when they work or has to look fabulous every day; even a star can get tired of that. Almost. "There are mornings that I'm absolutely exhausted and can't get out of bed because I dread getting in front of the mirror and putting on makeup. But as soon as I walk out of my hotel room or my bus and one person says, 'gee, you look nice,' or 'I "- liked your show,' it's worth it. I don't know any woman - or any man who doesn't appreciate a good pat on the back. Luckily, in my business, I get that," she said. Mandrell first blossomed on NBC-TV's 1980-82 show Barbara Mandrell and-die Mandrell Sisters, which also featured younger sister Irlene, now a regular on Hee Haw. Television was an even tougher grind than touring, she said. "What I'm doing now is time demanding, but it's not as much pressure. When we did a TV show for each week, we had to learn the dialogue, dances we had never danced before, all the instrumentals to that week's song. Then on Friday you finished taping, and they handed you a script and said, 'Okay, here's next week's.' It was a wonderful time, and it was an exhausting time. "I really believe what made our show a hit wasn't necessarily the music," she added. "I'm not saying it didn't help, but I feel that what made that show work was that we were honest. If we made a mistake, we laughed, we went on. People could tell we all loved each other. We could say anything to each other because we were sisters. We could pour water on the head or throw a pie ... For the first year, I got so tired of hearing, 'Do y'all really do that stuff all the time?' Well, of course I don't go around throwing pies at my sister. I mean, that would not be a popular thing to do." Not every day, perhaps, but for Barbara's 30th birthday, Mandrell decided to throw a surprise party attended by 100 friends. "The surprise was I had an exploding cake. The whole evening was just a riot. I thought, we have fun on TV, let's just go for it. What's she going to do (to me) with all these people around?" HER WINTER vacation plans include Christmas in Aspen with Barbara, who is still recovering from a painful auto accident. "She's doing better each day," Mandrell said. "Right now, it's just a matter of time. I feel lost because people say, 'How much time?' We don't know. She's got a serious broken leg, and her ankle's broke, and her knee is banged up - all of it on her right leg. So it's hard for us to say Barbara will be well next month, January or next March." Before she became a solo singer, Mandrell went through many musical stages, beginning as an electric bassist. "My mother used to play it in the Mandrell Family Band. She wanted to retire, and they wouldn't let her so she taught me." She eventually became an original member of Barbara's "Do-Rites" band, later backing up Grand Ole Opry star Stu Philips and spending a year with Merle Haggard. LOUISE MANDRELL interview excerpt: "I really believe what made our show a hit wasn't necessarily the music," she added. "I'm not saying it didn't help, but I feel that what made that show work was that we were honest. If we made a mistake, we laughed, we went on. People could tell we all loved each other. We could say anything to each other because we were sisters. We could pour water on the head or throw a pie ... For the first year, I got so tired of hearing, 'Do y'all really do that stuff all the time?' Well, of course I don't go around throwing pies at my sister. I mean, that would not be a popular thing to do." Too Hot to Sleep by Louise Mandrell. Order your copy today by clicking on the album cover above! In 1977, Mandrell signed a recording _contract and a year later met her husband, songwriter R.C. Bannon. For the three years preceding the TV show, she performed with Bannon, releasing songs like "Reunited," "Me and My R.C." and "You're My Super Woman, You're My Incredible Man." On her own, she has released three albums since 1982: Close-Up, Too Hot to Sleep and the latest, I'm Not Through Loving You Yet. The title reached number seven on Billboard's country charts, and "This Bed Is Not Big Enough" has just been released. MANDRELL HAS a reputation for mounting lively, energetic and colorful stage productions. This year, the word patriotic can be added to that description. "I feel people aren't just coming to my concert to say, 'Okay, sing your records,” she said. "Hopefully, they like Louise Mandrell and want to know more about her." In preparing for the current tour, "I said I want to do an American tribute and I don't want to sing the same stuff everybody else sings. R.C. said 'Okay, I can take care of that, I'll write you some special material.' I said, 'That isn't enough. Think for a minute. Pretend we're at a parade. Just think America, apple pie, banners. What makes a statement that says: Hey, I believe in. our country?' " The answer was a combination of military songs, the Pledge of Allegiance, special songs and a precision rifle drill. "I'd never even twirled a baton," she remarked, but the number has become the hit of her shows. "I feel awkward after I do my number," she said. "When they start clapping and yelling and going wild, I know It's not for me. Or it shouldn't be for me. It's for what I believe in and what they believe in. That’s why, at the end of my number, I always have the veterans stand up. I don't walk off to that applause. I sing a closer afterwards. That applause was not for me, and I can't walk off and ignore what they just did. So I don't leave the stage. I'm real funny about it. I don't want people to start thinking that I took for granted what they did. They're standing for America ... I am probably one of the hammiest people you'll meet in your life. I will take applause when I feel I deserve it." Louise Mandrell Website • Facebook • Instagram • Wikipedia • IMDB The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Michael Eury, author, Hero-A-Go-Go: Campy Comic Books, Crimefighters, & Culture of the Swinging Sixties, editor, Back Issue magazine   Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Michael Eury by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of comic books fans who may deny the existence of Captain Nice, Frankenstein Jr. or Ropeman, but we know better … in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Hero-A-Go-Go: Campy Comic Books, Crimefighters & Culture of the Swinging Sixties by Michael Eury. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above! Some of my favorite comic book memories of growing up in the 1960s are of characters I long thought I imagined because most traces of them have been erased from existence: • Diaper Man • Secret Squirrel • Forbush Man • Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse • And that guy who shouted “SPLIT” just before various body parts of his broke apart to punch out the bad guys! MICHAEL EURY podcast excerpt: "I'm just fascinated with the past. As our culture keeps moving forward, it's easy to forget, and I didn't want this goofy period of the 1960s to be forgotten. A few people who have read the book said, 'Oh, so there WAS a Diaper Man!'" Michael Eury, a former editor at DC Comics and long-time editor of Back Issue! magazine, apparently saw what I saw. What a relief! In his new book, Hero-A-Go-Go: Campy Comic Books, Crimefighters, & Culture of the Swinging Sixties, Eury brings all these wacky characters and many, many more in a celebration of a simpler time, when Ralph Bakshi was better known for Cuckoo Man than Fritz the Cat. Michael Eury Facebook • ComicBook DB • Wikipedia • ComicVine • Goodreads Back Issue! Magazine Wikipedia • Facebook Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!   The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Peter Golenbock, In The Country of Brooklyn, American Prince: A Memoir Order from Amazon.com by clicking the book above   Order from Amazon.com by clicking the book above You Midwesterners may disagree, but I don’t think there is any single place in this country more representative of the soul of America than Brooklyn and New Jersey. And the fact that I was born in the former and raised in the latter doesn’t color my thinking at all. Both are cultural, ethnic and racial melting pots dating back to the earliest days of the original 13 colonies. But only one is featured as a world onto itself in a new book by my guest, Peter Golenbock. In The Country of Brooklyn is a remarkable trip through the history of one of the United States’ most vital geographic regions, one that has contribute to our nation in the fields of politics, culture, society and pretty much everything else that counts. But that’s not the only new book he has hitting bookstores today. Peter also helped actor Tony Curtis produce his autobiography, titled American Prince: A Memoir, and that is also available today. Two books published on the same day. Not bad, not bad at all! This is Peter’s second visit to Mr. Media; he was my guest in early 2007 when he published the controversial book, 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel. He is also someone I consider a friend. Peter Golenbock Website • Facebook • Twitter • Wikipedia • LinkedIn • Order They Called Me God from Amazon.com Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Sportswriter Peter Golenbock, author, George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankee Empire, Growing Up NASCAR: Racing's Most Outrageous Promoter Tells All Order 'Growing Up NASCAR: Racing's Most Outrageous Promoter Tells All' by Peter Golenbock, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Sportswriter Peter Golenbock is one of my heroes, a guy I want to be like in many ways when I grow up. For now, however, I’ll settle for just being to call him a friend. The major characteristic I admire about Peter is his ability to be working constantly. He’s always writing a new book, always engaged in an envious research project. Actually, more than one. As a guy who also makes his living writing books, it drives me nuts. Let me give you an example. PETER GOLENBOCK podcast excerpt: "It looks to me like the Rays are going to win 90 games this year. The question is whether the Yankees and Red Sox are going to win more than 90 games. And, come August and September, are some of those older players going to break down? Is John Lackey going to have more arm trouble?" Order 'George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankee Empire' by Peter Golenbock, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! The first time Peter was on my show, he was promoting his hotly controversial first stab at Yankees history (officially, fiction), 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel. But while he was setting the New York media community on fire with wild tales of the Mick getting up to bat with Joe D’s gal, Marilyn Monroe, he was already hot at work with actor Tony Curtis on his autobiography and on a history of Brooklyn. When I had him back to talk about those books, he was chomping at the bit to talk about his George Steinbrenner biography. Today, I thought I’d have him on to talk about prospects for the 2010 baseball season, but it happens he has another new book out, Growing Up NASCAR, which he wrote with Humpy Wheeler, the long-time president of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the inventor of both the All Star race, and night racing. Oh, and I should probably mention the just-released paperback editions of George, Dynasty and Balls. Peter Golenbock: Website • Twitter • Facebook • Blog Order '7: The Mickey Mantle Novel' by Peter Golenbock, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Order 'Stadium For Rent: Tampa Bay's Quest for Major League Baseball' by Bob Andelman, now available in an expanded, updated and illustrated 456-page special edition, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Peter Golenbock, sportswriter, George: The Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankees Empire, Idiot , Balls, The Bronx Zoo, Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Wild, High and Tight: The Life and Death of Billy Martin Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience – HEY! WAIT A MINUTE! I’ve always said that as a joke! Where did you people come from?… Oh, that’s right, we're on location for the first time at the fabulous Globe Coffee Lounge in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Mr. Media host Bob Andelman (L) and Peter Golenbock, live at the Globe Coffee Lounge, St. Petersburg, Florida Peter Golenbock is one of the most prolific writers I know or have ever heard of. His books could fill an entire shelf in your library – and maybe they already do. That’s the Golenbock name alongside Johnny Damon on Idiot, next to Sparky Lyle on The Bronx Zoo and with Graig Nettles on Balls. He went solo for Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and Wild, High and Tight: The Life and Death of Billy Martin. More recently, he published George: The Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankees Empire – about the late George Steinbrenner. You might also have heard about his only shot at “fiction” to date, 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel, in which we read tantalizing stories of The Mick’s trysts with women – including Marilyn Monroe. PETER GOLENBOCK audio excerpt: "7 was Mickey Mantle's life. If people didn't want to agree that was Mickey Mantle's life, they should have kept their mouths shut... Mickey would have loved this book. Mickey was who he was and he didn't make apologies for it." Ordered Presumed Guilty from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Just when people had him pegged as a guy who only wrote baseball books, Peter turned out an equally dazzling series of books about other sports, including Landry’s Boys and Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes, about the Dallas Cowboys; NASCAR Encyclopedia, NASCAR Confidential and American Zoom; Personal Fouls about Coach Jim Valvano’s days at North Carolina State; and there was Go Gators! an oral history of Mr. Media’s alma mater. Peter Golenbock (Illustration: Charlie Andelman) There have even been two books with ties to St. Petersburg, his current city of residence: Forever Boys, about baseball’s short-lived senior league, and Thunder and Lightning, a memoir he wrote with Tampa Bay Lightning founder Phil Esposito. Did I mention he also found time to write In the Country of Brooklyn and helped the late actor Tony Curtis write his memoir, American Prince? Gosh, next time, I gotta get a guest who’s less accomplished. We’re almost out of time! Peter Golenbock Website • Facebook • Read 'Casey Anthony: She Didn't Do It' in Creative Loafing Tampa by Peter Golenbock • Order Presumed Guilty: Casey Anthony: The Inside Story by Jose Baez and Peter Golenbock from Amazon.com Order 'Stadium For Rent: Tampa Bay's Quest for Major League Baseball' by Bob Andelman, now available in an expanded, updated and illustrated 456-page special edition, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Peter Golenbock, sportswriter, 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel Order '7: The Mickey Mantle Novel' by Peter Golenbock, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Today, I am sitting in the St. Petersburg, Florida, dining room of popular sports writer, Peter Golenbock. Peter, who’s written many books about and with members of the New York Yankees, including: Dynasty; The Bronx Zoo, which he wrote with Sparky Lyle; Balls, written with Craig Nettles; Guidry, with Ron Guidry; Number One, written with Billy Martin; and Wild, High, and Tight, written about Billy Martin. He also co-wrote Idiot with then-Boston Red Sox player Johnny Damon; Bats, with former Mets manager Davey Johnson; Thunder and Lightning, with hockey all-star Phil Esposito; and several racing books, including NASCAR Confidential and American Zoom. You can see an entire list of Golenbock’s books at his Web site, www.GolenbockBooks.com. He has also started writing a blog at http://petergolenbock.blogspot.com/. Despite his impeccable credentials, Golenbock recently found himself in the news on the heels of a book he did not write, O. J. Simpson’s quasi-confessional, If I Did It. By coincidence. Golenbock’s latest book, 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel, a story that takes liberties with the real life of his old friend and former Bronx bomber/slugger, Mickey Mantle, was also due to be put out by Simpson’s publisher, Judith Regan. Here’s an excerpt from the book that appeared in Publisher’s Weekly - it describes a fictional encounter between Mantle and actress Marilyn Monroe: “Mickey enters her, going in nice and easy. The look on his face changes from excitement and pleasure to surprise and then disappointment. He waits for the yelling and screaming, waits for her to tell him how good it was, waits for an ‘ooh’ or an ‘ahh,’ any reaction at all, but no. While he works away at it, Marilyn just lies there staring at him with cold, accusing eyes.” In the storm that followed cancellation of Simpson’s book and Regan’s firing, Golenbock’s book was cancelled, too. But Golenbock’s book didn’t stay cancelled for long. It will be published on April 3, 2007, by Lions Press. I have asked Peter, who has been an acquaintance for many years, to join us today and talk about his controversial new book and his long career. Peter Golenbock Website • Wikipedia • Twitter • Facebook • Order George from Amazon.com Tampa Bay Times calls Stadium For Rent (Second Edition) "Notable" for 2015 baseball season! Introduction by Peter Golenbock! Order 'Stadium For Rent: Tampa Bay's Quest for Major League Baseball' by Bob Andelman, now available in an expanded, updated and illustrated 456-page special edition, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Ryan McPartlin, actor, "Chuck," "Game Time" Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Chuck fans who would probably watch Ryan McPartlin -- "Captain Awesome" -- eat a bowl of cereal every morning (and some already have, but don’t let on you know)… in the NEW new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! ] Ryan McPartlin steps aside from his role as "Awesome" on "Chuck" to star in the TV movie "Game Time: Tackling The Past" on NBC, Sat. Sept. 3 @ 8 p.m. As the cast of NBC’s “Chuck” prepares for its fifth and final season victory lap, it is more than fair that two of its stars are getting outside shots at the big time. Yvonne Strahovski, who plays “Sarah” on “Chuck,” has her biggest film role to date when Killer Elite opens on September 23. She’s plays opposite Jason Statham, Clive Owen and, oh yeah, Robert DeNiro, in that one. And this Saturday, September 3 at 8 p.m. on NBC, it’s Ryan McPartlin’s turn. He’s playing the lead character, pro football star Jake Walker, in the TV movie, “Game Time: Tackling the Past.” This is Ryan’s second visit to Mr. Media and it’s a pleasure to welcome him back. Order 'Chuck: The Complete Series" on Blu-Ray DVD starring Ryan McPartlin and Zachary Levi, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the Blu-Ray DVD boxed set above! The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Loren Weisman, author, The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business: The 'Who, What, When, Where, Why & How of the Steps That Musicians & Bands Have to Take to Succeed in Music   Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of everyone from “American Idol” finalist Michael Lynche to rockers Johnny Zoom Cheerlead Squad and death metal pioneers Deicide… in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Order Loren Weisman's book, The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Early in my career, I was the pop music critic for, respectfully, the St. Petersburg Times and the Tampa Tribune. In that role, I had frequent contact with up-and-coming local bands that always believed in their heart of hearts that they would be The Next Big Thing. A few of them, such as Savatage, the Johnny G. Lyon Band, The Headlights and the Bobby Friss Band even achieved a modicum of commercial and regional success. LOREN WEISMAN AUDIO EXCERPT: "Prince allowed all of his contracts to expire and created his own digital kingdom."  But the thing that drove me crazy about almost all of them was one in the same: they knew and understood bupkis about the business they were in. They made horrendous deals with managers, nightclubs, promoters and record labels. They put no effort into self-promotion, assuming that if they played great in their garages and warehouses, the world would know about them and beat a path to their door. Music producer Loren Weisman, author of 'The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business' I’d hear about this because many would complain when their appearances at local clubs or in concert weren’t publicized in the paper. I’d ask, “Did you send in a press release or announcement?” “No,” came the standard reply. “Everybody knows all about us!” If “everybody” included Mom, Dad and the stoner chicks down the block, maybe so. But the rest of us didn’t know squat about them. So when Loren Weisman’s new book, The Artist’s Guide to Success in The Music Business, recently crossed my desk, it was an easy “Yes” to having Loren on the show. Loren Weisman Website • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • MySpace • YouTube • Pinterest • Google+ • ReverbNation • SoundCloud • Order The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business from Amazon.com Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Karen Dunlap, president, The Poynter Institute President Obama Election 2008: A Collection of Newspaper Front Pages Selected by the Poynter Institute. Order your copy now by clicking on the book cover above! What a crazy, crazy world. When I invited today’s guest, Karen Dunlap, president of the Poynter Institute, to be a guest on the show today, it was ostensibly to discuss Poynter’s upcoming collection of newspaper front pages titled President Obama: Election 2009. And we’re still going to do that. But then everything got turned upside-down. Sunday night rumors of Tribune Company—owner of everything from the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel and even the Chaicago Cubs—declaring bankruptcy became reality on Monday morning. Then the august New York Times revealed it was exploring mortgaging its new headquarters tower in Manhattan to sustain itself through one of the worst newspaper advertising slumps in history. Oh, and then this morning, Alaska residents discovered they no long had the most ridiculed governor in the nation as Americans learned how allegedly and nakedly corrupt was the governor of Illinois. Why is Gov. Rod Blagojevich relevant to a discussion of journalism topics? In all the other headlines, you might have missed reading the Blagojevich allegation of pressuring the owner of the Chicago Tribune “to fire a critical editorial writer.” And it’s only Wednesday, folks! Anyway, Karen Dunlap is a delightful woman who I’ve known for many years, back to the days when she was a college journalism professor. She is a trailblazer in journalism education circles and just a smart, savvy person to know. Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, I have done freelance writing and editing assignment over the last several years, most of which you can find online at poynter.org. The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!