Ferris Bueller

John Hughes loved Chicago, and most of films took place here.

Of all his movies, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" was probably his biggest homage to our city. This scene took place during a parade I was always forced to attend...the Von Steuben Parade (German-American parade). Now, I must say, I don't remember them ever playing the Beatles at that parade, but I still enjoy this scene...

Why I hate CBS

From Tom Taylor's column this morning...

"CBS Corporate were talking with obvious satisfaction yesterday about their better-than-expected cost savings - “north of $75 million” - at CBS Radio...The followup question from UBS analyst Michael Morris was if Wall Street should expect some costs to be added back in, as the topline starts to improve at CBS Radio. Answer – no. The only higher costs ahead would be sales commissions."

It's like my book "$everance" is actually happening right now. It's not so easy to write satire about the media business. It's impossible to exaggerate enough to outpace reality.

Oprah being sued $1.2 trillion

Word of caution: the source is the National Enquirer.

I'm sure the suit will be dismissed because it sounds completely crazy. It was filed by a poet who claimed Oprah sold 650 million copies of one of his unfinished poems for $20 a pop.

Dude, all poems ever written haven't sold that many copies, and nobody would buy a poem for $20. Not even an Oprah fan.

More on the Olbermann-O'Reilly feud

This is from today's Washington Post. Media writer Howard Kurtz takes a look at the Olbermann-O'Reilly feud.

Fascinating, really. Quotes from the actual participants trying to end the feud.

John Hughes

RIP John Hughes. He passed away yesterday at the much too young age of 59.

I was probably most influenced by his writing in the National Lampoon in the 1970s. Some of that stuff was the funniest satire I've ever read. It inspired me to write satire myself.



I always liked this movie too...

Sights & Sounds

Friday is Sights & Sounds day at Just One Bad Century, and this week we have actual film footage of Cubs legend Rogers Hornsby in action. We also the audio from a fun little song about the Cubs by the Mountain Goats. It's called "Cubs in 5."

See and hear these sights and sounds here.

Don Larsen

Former Chicago Cub pitcher Don Larsen was born on this date in 1929.

That's right, I said former Cub pitcher.

Sure, he pitched a perfect game in the World Series for the Yankees, but he was also a member of the Chicago Cubs.

Read about his Cubs career here.

Time to come clean

I was also born in Kenya. Here's my birth certificate. Click on it to see the full size version. (There go my presidential aspirations)

Radio Hall of Fame

The Radio Hall of Fame Announced it's inductees this week.



1) Neal Boortz. Atlanta-based right wing gas bag.
2) Dr. Demento. The Doctor is finally in.
3) Ed Walker. Legendary Washington-based jock.
4) Wendy Williams. The one that just left radio for TV.
5) Jose Miguel Agrelot. The Puerto-Rican Bob Hope. (Deceased)
6) Harry Kalas. The voice of Philadelphia Phillies and NFL Films. (Deceased)
7) Studs Terkel. Studs wasn't in there yet? It's about time. (Sadly, he's also not around to appreciate it).

I won't argue with any of those nominees. Boortz is a gas bag, but he's a successful one. After all, it's the Radio Hall of Fame, and radio is completely controlled by the right. Williams is the only one that seems a little premature to me, but she has been quite successful for twenty years or so.

My favorite one is Dr. Demento. Several of my songs have been played on his show. Now I can say that I've appeared on (another) Hall of Fame radio program.

The truth about radio

Tom Taylor nails it in his column today at Radio-info.com...

"Radio’s still the industry of impressive margins. It’s the envy of other businesses, with Regent reporting a 37.3% operating margin for second quarter and Cumulus actually improving its operating income margin from 36.7% last year to 40.5%. Yes, radio generally took on too much debt in the last few years and yes, advertisers are spending less across the board (and automotive’s acting like the hand-brake is stuck). But radio continues to throw off cash flow like few other American industries. In this economy, that’s partly due to relentless and sometimes draconian cost cutting. Where’s the cash flow going? To pay down debt."

This is what angers me about radio. Read those figures again. Radio stations make 40% profit. 40%!!!! And they are bitching that the industry is falling apart. It's only falling apart because these morons bought the stations for WAAAAAAAAAAY more than they were worth. They were stupid. And everyone else has to pay for their stupidity. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Summer Classes for Women

Contributed by "RS"

Summer Classes for Women at
THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER

NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM.


Class 1
Up in Winter, Down in Summer - How to Adjust a Thermostat
Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 wks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hrs beginning at 7:00 PM..

Class 2
Which Takes More Energy - Putting the Toilet Seat Down, or Crabbing About It for 3 Hours?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3
Is It Possible To Drive Past a Wal-Mart Without Stopping?--Group Debate.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between a Purse and a Suitcase--Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5
How to Ask Questions During Commercials and Be Quiet During the Program.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Class 6
Can a Bath Be Taken Without 14 Different Kinds of Soaps and Shampoos?
Open Forum.
Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 7
I Was Wrong and He Was Right!--Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.

Class 8
How to Parallel Park In Less Than 20 Minutes Without an Insurance Claim.
Driving Simulations.
4 weeks, Saturday's noon, 2 hours.

Class 9
Learning to Live--How to Apply Brakes Without Throwing Passengers Through the Windshield.
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined

Class 10
How to Shop by Yourself.
Meets 4 wks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 11
How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy--Remembering To Take a List To The Store, Avoiding Separate Trips for Each Item Needed.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2=2 0hours..

Class 12
The Stove/Oven--What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.


Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

Ronald Reagan

Sure he was the President, but he was also something much more than that.

A Cubs fan.

Read about Ronald Reagan's Cubs love here. He is this week's Celebrity Cub Fan.

Jack Brickhouse

We lost Jack Brickhouse on this date in 1998. His widow Pat championed the cause of getting Jack a statue. Listen to her tell the story of how that statue came to be...

No explanation necessary

47 years ago today...

And neither one signs autographs anymore

SCTV Reunion

Second City is celebrating their 50th anniversary in December, and as part of their anniversary show, they are reuniting the cast of the television show SCTV.

Yowza.

Also appearing at this show will be: Jim Belushi, Jeff Garlin, Alan Arkin, Dan Castellaneta, Tim Meadows, Jack McBrayer, Tim Kazurinsky, Richard Kind, Fred Willard, Dick Schaal, Scott Adsit, David Rasche, David Steinberg, Robert Klein and many others. Invitations have also been sent to other powerful Second City alumni, including Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Rachel Dratch, Steve Carell, Mike Myers, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.

I have to see this. Somebody with connections, please get your humble blogger/author/guy in his basement a ticket.

Gunsmoke, the Movie

CBS is making a movie based on the Gunsmoke TV series.

Same characters, different actors (obviously).

I have a suggestion for who should play Marshall Matt Dillon. How about Matt Dillon?

Jon & Kate

The ratings dropped like a rock after they returned from their hiatus this week.

Down 61%.

Quick, TV executives. Make them pretend to reunite.

Paula Abdul resigns

And she does it via Twitter announcement.

I hate to say it, but there's only one irreplaceable person on American Idol. It's not Seacrest. It's not Randy. It's not that new chick. And sadly for Paula, it's not her.

It's Simon. That's why he makes $36 million or so.

Rogers Hornsby

One of the greatest hitters of all time.

One of the worst gamblers of all time.

Sound familiar, Pete Rose?

Rogers Hornsby's story is here. It's this week's Tale from a Bad Century.

MLK in Chicago

On this date in 1966, Martin Luther King led a march through Gage Park in Chicago.

It didn't go so well.

Click on the link above and see a video from that day, and find out what was going on with the Cubs during that same era.

Obama's birthday card

Today is the President's birthday. I thought this was a funny...

NWI Parent

The "Back to School" issue of NWI Parent just came out, and I once again contributed the back page essay.

This one is called "I've got your back" and it's about the dangers of entering Junior High School.

So much for the end to the feud

This past weekend, the New York Times reported an end to the Olbermann-O'Reilly feud.

I thought it sounded a little shady at the time. Looks like nobody bothered asking Keith Olbermann if his feud was Bill O'Reilly was over or not.

It's not.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Best homework excuse ever

A few weeks ago I posted something about the creepy deleting of the book "1984" from all Kindles. Amazon did it from their headquarters (for supposed copyright reasons).

Suppose you were a student, and you were supposed to read "1984" for a class, and you used the Kindle feature that allowed you to keep your notes on the actual Kindle...

I smell a really smart kid with absolutely no way of proving him wrong, and I'm calling it: THE BEST HOMEWORK EXCUSE EVER!

I'm jealous. I was once the king of this, but I fear I must soon abdicate my throne.

Health Care

Against reform, huh? Then what are you for?

One of my favorite writers, cancer-survivor Jonathan Alter, absolutely nails the alternate plan.

He does it with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Garry Meier

I went to the Cubs game on my birthday (July 28th) with my buddies Dave & Dane. Imagine our surprise when it was time for the 7th inning stretch, and they announced the singer of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." It was my old boss and colleague--Garry Meier.

Here's the video of Garry...

The Riot

This week's Great Nickname at Just One Bad Century may have been caused by one of the all-time greatest flukes in spelling history. It created the nickname: "The Riot."

Read about him here.

Kurt Busch

He's 31 years old today.

And still a big Cubs fan.

Batting Stance Guy

I love this guy.

Great catch by a fan

Are jerk drivers good for traffic?

A new study seems to say so.

I suppose I owe my leadfoot wife an apology. Apparently it does matter if we get there three seconds earlier.

NY Post ban ended by ESPN

ESPN has lifted the ban of NY Post reporters after the big Erin Andrews controversy last week (they printed a photo from that peephole video). Here are the details. Good decision. This always seemed like an overreaction to me.

An end to the O'Reilly-Olbermann feud?

I suspect that fans of both (or I should say either since no one could be a fan of both) will be disappointed by this story.

It appears a cease-fire has been ordered by their bosses.

Risky Business

The movie opened this week in 1983.

This week's Cubs through History at Just One Bad Century takes you back to that week, and includes a mini-interview with one of the actors from the film.

Read all about it here.

Rod Beck

He was born on this date in 1968.

Sadly Rod Beck is not around to celebrate his 41st birthday.

But no-one can ever take this moment away from him. His 50th save for the 1998 Cubs.

Kevin Gregg

Sucks.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. It's called "If it quacks like a duck."

You can read it here.