Channel Surfing

Two thousand years ago, a simple man walked this planet with a simple message. They called him Jesus. His was a message of radical exclusion in a world he called the Kingdom of God. He spoke in parables grounded in common, everyday experiences, parables about yeast and leavened bread, weeds and mustard seeds, fishing nets and pearls. In the Kingdom of God, everyone was equal and differences made no difference. But the world couldnt handle such an outrageous message. Whoever heard of a world where differences make no difference? Of course, they make a difference. So they dangled him from a cross for all the world to take note. After his death, they honored him with a title, the Christ, and began a whole new religion in his name. But for two thousand years far too many have been dishonoring him by misrepresenting his message. His message of radical inclusion has been twisted and contorted into a message that far too many of his followers use to sanction that which he came to overcome. Instead of eliminating distinctions between insiders and outsiders, pure and impure, clean and unclean, his message has been used to perpetuate sexism, racism, age-ism, homophobism, imperialism, and all the other -isms that stand in the way of radical inclusion. All this has happened so gradually, literally over centuries if not millennia through crusty old doctrines, dogma, and creeds that very few have even noticed. Christianity has become fat and happy, just like the frog in the Parable of the Boiling Frog. You stick a frog in a vat of boiling water, and it will struggle with all its might to escape an otherwise certain death. But if you stick a frog in a vat of lukewarm water and ever so gradually keep warming it one degree at a time, the frog will grow comfortable in the increasing warmth of its environment until, before he realizes it, he has been boiled. Two thousand years later, it is time to set the record straight; time to return to Jesus simple message through the common, ordinary experiences of today. In the biblical witness, Moses wandered in the wilderness for forty years; Jesus, for forty days. So, too, shall we wander by channel surfing through forty chapters of scripture. From Adam and Eve to Ricky Nelsons Garden Party at Madison Square Garden; from the Book of Jobs Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar to The Three Stooges; from Matthews and Lukes nativity scenes to Larry, Darryl, and Darryl of The Bob Newhart Show; from the temptation stories and Jesus wandering in the wilderness to American Bandstand, the Temptations, and Dion & the Belmonts The Wanderer; from Pilate and Herod cross-examining Jesus to Judge Wapner and Judge Judy; from atonement theology to Lets Make a Deal, it is time to paint our antiquated parables with a more contemporary brush; in so doing, it is time to turn Jesus simple message into a profound reality. Onward, radical inclusion! On to the Kingdom of God. In the immortal words of Bart Simpson, Surfs up, dude.

Channel Surfing: Betty White updated version of Mike Pingel's well praised book "Betty White Rules The World" which was originally published in 2013. This version has 40+ new pages looking at this Hollywood Icon! FALL IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN WITH THE IRRESISTIBLE BETTY WHITE A humorous and heartfelt tribute to America's Sweetheart, Betty White The book is packed with anecdotes, interviews, photographs, trivia tidbits, priceless quotes and zany "what-ifs" about the hardest working woman in showbiz. From her countless game show appearances to "The Golden Girls" and "Saturday Night Live," all the priceless moments of Betty's storied seventy-year career are brought to life with wit and reverence for our sweet TV legend. Betty was as sweet and charming off-screen as she is on. Hollywood insider and TV fanboy Mike Pingel takes you behind the scenes to learn about her invaluable work with vulnerable and endangered animals, her romantic life and everything else you ever wanted to know about the cultural phenomenon that is Betty White. Channel Surfing: Betty White is the must-have book for fans of television's grand dame. Praise for THE ORIGINAL Version Book: "Betty White Rules the World" "This book is a moving and funny tribute..." Andrew Davis, Windy City Times"..pop culture historian Mike Pingel is out with another tidbit-crammed page turner." Terri Schlichenmeyer, Washington Blade

Channel Surfing in the Sea of Happiness is an iconoclastic romp through the end of the twentieth century. The misfit characters in this funny and poignant collection of stories find themselves adrift in an increasingly absurdist world — a world they must reinvent for themselves in order to find hope. How much of our identity is forged by direct experience, and how much is shaped by our constant exposure to a barrage of images and ideas imposed on us from elsewhere? From a story about a precocious teenage boy coming out in high school in the 1970s, to a series of tales about two queer con artists and their ridiculous get-rich-quick schemes, to a yarn about a famous transgender sex worker’s efforts to rally her community against redneck homophobes, to an account of a lesbian puppeteer’s AIDS activism in the 1980s, to a story about a sister coming to terms with her brother’s death from AIDS, the collection explores how the human heart stays afloat in a society entertaining, informing, and networking itself to death.

Kate Moss wears a sexual pout in a Calvin Klein ad. Kurt Cobain's suicide is held aloft as the archetypal example of teen alienation. What truth, if any, is contained in these depictions of today's youth? What message about our children is being transmitted? In Channel Surfing, Henry Giroux turns his gaze to this barrage of media images and sees a message that sells our children short by damning them to the preconceived role of alienated outcast. Surfing from one channel of communication to the next, Giroux builds up a complex web of associations between characters in films, tarnished real-life teen idols, and sexualized presentations of nubile young clothing models to show us the dark vision of our children that rides the airwaves and inhabits the print media. Channel Surfing, Henry Giroux's most fascinating and intriguing book yet, is sure to create controversy and debate at the same time that it calls for a more ethical attitude towards the prospect of our children's future.

Channel Surfing: Charlie's Angles (originally The Q Guide: Charlie's Angels) contains over 70 new pages including a Q&A with Kate Jackson, Shelley Hack memories; Toy Guide; Quickie Episode Guide; new co-star interviews (Judy & Audrey Landers, Brian Cutler (Deputy Dan); Alan Feinstein; Harvey Jason (Alvin); Lee Delano; Cissy Wellmen, PLUS a rare interview with Cis Rundle, Cheryl Ladd's series stuntwoman! Once upon a time, there were six little Angels who worked for a detective agency, reporting to a mysterious man named Charlie! Charlie's Angels made over-night stars of Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack and Tanya Roberts. Because of the bikinis and plunging necklines, "Jiggle TV" became a new vernacular expression. At the same time, Charlie's Angels expanded the boundaries of the role women played on television proving that women could do anything that a man could. Author Mike Pingel goes undercover to explore the hit TV detective show Charlie's Angels and what made it such an iconic sensation. "Channel Surfing: Charlie's Angels" includes interviews with Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd,Tanya Roberts and Executive Producer, Leonard Goldberg. It goes behind-the-scenes, highlighting angelic cases and filming locations. It's packed with interviews of exciting guest stars. It has an in-depth look at merchandising from bubble gum cards to magazines to posters to heavenly toys. Not a single cloud is left unturned in this must-have Charlie's Angels book. Foreword by Tanya Roberts, who played Julie Rogers on the final season of the series.

Author Mike Pingel wraps himself with the lasso of truth to uncover everything about TV's Wonder Woman! Take a "spin" back to the seventies with the hit TV show and superhero Wonder Woman which starred the beautiful Lynda Carter. Learn everything you ever wanted to know about the show's history and costume design. Channel Surfing: Wonder Woman includes the very first-ever complete TV series Wonder Woman episode guide. It looks at all sixty episodes of the series. The guide uncovers little known episode tips, celebrity guest stars and Wonder Woman's super toys! Includes a all-new interview with Lynda Carter. Plus interviews with: Show producer Douglas S. Cramer and actors S. Pearl Sharp, Stella Stevens, Joan Van Ark, and Clark Brandon.

Explores the inception, development, and current status of the public service television network, and examines C-SPAN's impact on public figures and the station's role in the development of cable TV