Should you ever find yourself in a legal quandary, do not do what former Trump aide Sam Nunberg did yesterday. Nunberg, a one-time legal adviser (irony alert) to then-candidate Donald Trump was served with a subpoena from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, requesting documents and an appearance before a federal grand jury. An intimidating and stress-inducing situation to be sure, but Nunberg compounded his issues—and presumably had his legal team tearing their hair out—by responding in the absolute worst way possible: he went on television.

A lot of television, actually.

Nunberg’s ill-advised media tour began with a call into MSNBC Live with Katy Tur, where he spent quite some time threatening to ignore the legal document, and throwing as many people under the bus as possible. He sounded paranoid, panicked, terrified, and defiant.

He continued on this calamitous crusade by calling into Jake Tapper’s CNN show, appearing live in MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber, and topped the evening off with CNN’s Erin Burnett where she questioned if he had been drinking. At times he seemed ready to rip up the subpoena live on air, other times questioning legal analysts if he’d actually go to jail if he ignored it.

Rule of thumb: should you find yourself in a precarious legal position, it’s generally not wise to then go on national television and essentially thumb your nose at the government.

Nunberg seemed to change his tune later in the evening, conceding that he would “likely” cooperate with Mueller and his team, but the damage had already been done. You’ll likely see and hear clips of these interviews routinely for the foreseeable future. With his whirlwind media blitz that torpedoed his legal strategy, Sam Nunberg is officially entered into the PR Blunders Hall of Fame.

The final, final, Lady & The Champs conference begins next week! As one of the highlights on our annual calendar, we’re admittedly a bit saddened that this is the last hurrah of sorts, but also extremely excited about heading out to Vegas for what promises to be a phenomenal event.

Lady & The Champs 2018 kicks off next Friday, March 9^th and culminates with its big finish on Saturday, March 10^th. Patricia Fripp, Darren LaCroix, and Ed Tate will be joined by Ford Saeks, Mark Brown, and Kevin Burke to deliver entertaining, informative and insightful expertise. At L&TC 2018 you’ll receive steadfast keys to find your story, hone its unique message, and ultimately boost your profitability.

Early Bird pricing is only available until tomorrow, so take advantage of the discounted rate and register early! For those who cannot make it to Las Vegas, virtual attendance is also available. You can register here.

We can’t wait to see all of you in Vegas!

Yes, the hype is real. Black Panther, the long-awaited Marvel film directed by Ryan Coogler dominated the box office this past weekend.

Headlined by a remarkable cast including Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, and Forest Whitaker, Black Panther shattered estimates to secure $201.7 million in North America, making it the fifth-largest opening of all time.

And it’s not just initial audience hype inflating the numbers, either. Black Panther has received glowing reviews across the board, evidenced by its 97% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

There’s been an ongoing conversation in Hollywood about diversity in filmmaking. Recent social media campaigns have lamented the lack of people of color in Oscar-worthy films, leading to some high-profile abstentions from awards shows. Black Panther’s success over the weekend is an extremely positive moment for those who appreciate fantastic films and would like to see greater diversity in casting.

Comic books have long been a medium for inclusivity, and now that appears to be translating into major motion pictures.

Michael B. Jordan has long been one of my favorite “up-and-coming” actors. From his younger days as Wallace in The Wire to his gut-wrenching portrayal of Oscar Grant in Fruitvale Station—also directed by Coogler—so seeing the global recognition he’s receiving for his performance is personally satisfying.

So if you’ve got some free time this week—go see Black Panther. You won’t be disappointed.

Ah, Maryland. Home of crab cakes, the Baltimore Ravens, and The Wire.

But more importantly, it is home to the 2018 NSA Winter Conference. This year’s conference is taking place next week, February 16-18, at the beautiful Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, and of course Russell will be in attendance.

The NSA Winter Conference always presents an excellent opportunity to network, learn, and have fun, so it’s written in ink on our calendars every year. Registration is still open for first-time membership applicants, so please don’t miss out on one of the marquee events of 2018.

Will you be joining us? If so, come say hello!

So with all of the insanity that dominates the news cycle, every once in a while a truly nutty story breaks that just doesn’t seem to receive enough attention. Overshadowed by the daily politics du jour, these stories register on the radar for a day or so, and then seem to vanish from the world’s collective conscious.

This week’s story? Strava.

Haven’t heard of Strava? Neither had I, until this story began making the rounds. Strava is a fitness app that compiles data from users who utilize fitness trackers such as FitBit and Jawbone. A social media site of sorts, Strava uses this data to highlight running and jogging routes around the globe and displays them on a Google Earth-style satellite map.

Sounds intriguing, right? Of course it is! You can connect with others who work out in similar areas, possibly meet a jogging buddy, discover unique routes for your morning run.

But you can also identify undisclosed U.S. military bases around the world.

Yep. That’s the issue with Strava.

Users online began to notice high areas of fitness activity in places like Syria, Djibouti, and Iraq, and immediately deduced that it was the result of military personnel using their fitness trackers and connecting to Strava. Essentially, working out on secret military bases broadcast their location to others users around the world.

Yet another unforeseen, unintended consequence of geo-tagging and social media. Strava and the government have referred to it as a “security oversight” that will be rectified, but it’s not hyperbole to say immense damage has already been done.

Let this social media debacle serve a lesson: be careful with geo-tagging!