Men’s Health News
By J. Rentilly

Not since Huey Lewis and the News has America’s working class had such an iconic, affable brother in arms—or elbow grease, or sewage sludge or aviary vomit, as the case may be—as in Mike Rowe. Host of Discovery Channel’s much-watched Dirty Jobs (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.), which casts a loving spotlight and a spitball of mischievous humor on some of the nation’s grungiest gigs, the 49-year-old Rowe has become an unlikely spokesperson for the blue-collar brethren. Read More...

National Geographic Channel Joins Forces With Ridley and Tony Scott To Produce Author Bill O’Reilly’s Best-Selling Book ‘Killing Lincoln’; Just Announced: Mike Rowe Joins Project

PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2012 — National Geographic Channel President Howard T. Owens announced today that the network has partnered with Tony and Ridley Scott to produce the two-hour documentary of Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever, Bill O’Reilly’s New York Times best-selling book with co-author Martin Dugard. Media personality Mike Rowe is also on board to be part of the project. Read More...

Tribute to Fred King
Download (right click and save as)

As most of you here know, mrW was launched three years ago on Labor Day. I’m told by one of my loyal staff members that Labor Day at mrW is a bit like Christmas. With no presents and no decorations on hand, I’m not so sure the comparison holds up, but who am I to argue? So, in the spirit of the season, I’ve tried over the last few years to put up a podcast commemorating our inception – a present of sorts. Something relevant or personal for the occasion. This year is no different.

This story is one that I wrote few years ago. It was in fact a personal eulogy for a man named Fred King, that wound up getting published two years ago in a magazine called The Harmonizer. Fred was my high school music teacher, and a legend in the world of accapela harmony. He died on September 1st, 2008. That year, the first of September just happened to be Labor Day, and as best I can figure, my old friend and mentor died about the same time I was posting the video that first launched this site.

Because the funeral was later that week, and mrW was little more than a single video and a few links, the coincidence of his passing didn’t occur to me until much later. In fact, I didn’t connect the dots until people who read the story began urging me to bring it to life with some of the music Fred created over the course of his remarkable career. I thought that was a good idea, and bringing it to life was nothing short of a headlong sprint down memory lane. Aside from my Dad, no one impacted my life like Fred King. Hopefully, if you give this a listen, it’ll remind you of someone in your past. Someone that made a difference.
Read More...