Father Knows Nothing

I just posted a new Father Knows Nothing column. This one is called "Someone's Knocking on the Door" and it involves a few areas of etiquette that I apparently had failed to discuss with my boys.

You can read it here.

Brushes with Oscar

I'll be watching the show tonight, as I do every year. Looking forward to it.

In my previous life, I even had the chance to meet a few Oscar nominees. If you're interested, here are a few of those stories....

Julie Andrews

Mary Tyler Moore

Dennis Hopper

John Travolta

And the rest
(including Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Karl Malden, Tony Curtis, Charlton Heston, George Kennedy, Mel Brooks & Albert Brooks)

I'm sure there are more, but these are all I could find this morning.

Chicago Radio Spotlight: Dan Sorkin

I just posted another Chicago Radio Spotlight interview. This week I go way back, and talk to the former WCFL morning man Dan Sorkin (late 50s, early 60s). Among his claims to fame: discovering Bob Newhart.

Read the interview here.

CBS surgery scandal

This is a very strange story. This first paragraph pretty much says it all...

"A patient claims the producers of CBS TV show "The Doctors" tricked him into appearing before a live studio audience to undergo laser surgery for "pearly penile papules," then broadcast his penis operation without his consent."

And I was embarrassed when my vasectomy was viewed by a dozen or so medical students.  I feel better now.

Greg Solk

My old boss (multiple times) Greg Solk is featured in Robert Feder's column this morning.

You can read that here.

He just got a big promotion. He's now senior vice president of programming for Bonneville International.

Greg always stuck up for me during the Steve & Garry days because he knew what it was like to be their producer (that's how he got his start in the business). I remember three different times when he came out to the elevators and convinced me not to quit during the show. He also gave me my big break to be a music jock on the Loop FM, although he used to scare the bejesus out of me when he called me on the hotline at like 3 AM just to let me know that he was always listening. Always.

Congrats to Greg on the promotion.

Michael Copps

He's an FCC Commissioner, and he's been an outspoken advocate against consolidation since the very beginning. I'm a fan of his, and not just because he sent me a personal note after reading "$everance," (although...let's face it, that's definitely one of the reasons.)

He spoke at the FCC's Future of Media workshop yesterday and gave an almost perfect postmortem on the last fifteen years. It good to see that somebody in Washington understands what went wrong.

"Some say there are more outlets now than ever, but in terms of the real localism and diversity that more outlets should have produced, we ended up with a "wasted vastland" as someone once called it. A lot of broadcasters, I think, weren't thrilled and many wanted to keep their emphasis on serving their local communities, but it became harder and harder -- almost impossible -- for them to do so. 'Play the game or get voted off the island' became the mantra of this dangerous game of Media Survival.; So it's no great wonder that things went sour. The market kept saying 'more profit, more profit.' So if you're making 15% this year, you have to do 20% next year. If you make 20% next year, you'll need 25% or 35% the following year -- or you're bought off your island and put onto Big Media's consolidated mainland. The result: Newsrooms were decimated (those more than 30% ABC News jobs cut last week being only the most recent example)."

More Belushi

This is one of Belushi's last interviews. Kind of eerie last few seconds...

Ouch

Jon Gosselin's Playgirl offer (to pose nude) is very small.

Just like a certain body part.

And yes, that is mentioned in the offer.

All I can say is: Ouch.

John Belushi

He died on this day in 1982. This is the Nightline report from that day...

Sights & Sounds

Video of 1920s baseball and audio of the Homer in the Gloamin are featured in this week's Sights and Sounds at Just One Bad Century.

50 years ago today...

 Elvis leaves the United States Army...

Another great mustache

This great Cubs mustache is 60 years old today.

Read all about Doug Bird here.

They don't make ads like they used to

A little late, but still funny...

"DM" sent me this last night. It's a Christmas bit, but it's still funny...

Dingell is Radio's Kris Kringle

John Dingell is a very influential congressman. If he's against this additional radio royalty bill, it likely won't pass. From this morning's Radio Online...

"In a speech delivered Tuesday night at the NAB State Leadership Dinner in Washington, DC, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Emeritus John Dingell (D-MI) said he opposed legislation which aims to levy royalties for local music airplay. "Recording artists and record labels have profited handsomely for years from the free publicity they get from broadcasters," said Dingell, "a mutually beneficial relationship that a performance tax will destroy."

That's a good thing for radio. You know me. I'm rarely on the side of the big radio companies, but what Dingell says here is totally correct.

The Presidents Unite

A well done bit by Funny or Die...

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

Poor Steve Garvey

This week we ponder...

If only Steve Garvey went on a cruise in 1912.

Stern calls Leno a thief

Howard Stern is accusing Tonight Show host Jay Leno of stealing material.

Read the accusations here.

Hmmm. Seems to me I've heard that claim somewhere before...

Spring Training 1955

Listen to how young and green Ernie Banks is in this interview.

It was conducted during spring training in 1955. The interviewer is Cubs radio announcer Bert Wilson. Ernie is about to enter his second full season in the big leagues.

Baseball writing workshop

 Attention aspiring baseball writers!

My friend Don Evans (editor of the book "Cubbie Blues") is teaching a baseball writing workshop at Loyola's Continuum. They need at least three more students to sign up. Don't miss out on this opportunity. Don is a great writer and editor. I highly recommend this class.

Baseball Literature

The Bird Cage, the Book Shelf, and Everything in Between

Donald G. Evans, MFA • Six Thursdays, March 18-April 29

(no class April 1) • 6:30 pm–8:30 pm • Water Tower Campus

Tuition: $275

In this course, students will critique a range of sports writing, including works by Ring Lardner, James T. Farrell, August Wilson, and Nancy Willard. Students will also examine technique and process to create their own pieces.

 Register today.  Visit www.LUC.edu/continuum

Blago at Northwestern

They weren't laughing with him...they were laughing at him. And he's an alum!

The full story is here.

Sarah Palin does stand up comedy

Do yourself a favor, and fast forward to about the 3 minute mark. Everything before that is the usual generic talking points.

Harry hangs up on the President

It's a true story, and it's today's Tale from a Bad Century.

The day that Harry Caray hung up on President Reagan.

25 years ago today

I loved this show. Moonlighting debuted on this day in 1985. Bruce Willis has never looked back...

Shorter Days?

This is wild. Thanks to "BP" for sending me this link.

Chile quake may have shifted Earth's axis.

According to the scientists quoted in the article, our days may be shorter now. Look for employers to immediately dock paychecks.

Spring Training 1939

The Cubs are in Mesa Arizona right now, conducting Spring Training, but from the 1920s until the 1940s they had spring training at the island owned by Cubs owner William (and then his son P.K.) Wrigley.

Watch this video to see the defending NL champion Cubs in the spring of 1939.

(Photo: The Cubbies arrive on the steamer! From left to right: Hall of Fame Catcher Gabby Hartnett, W.L. White (mayor of Avalon), E.R. Pollok (city manager), and Dizzy Dean)

Sam Kinison with Steve & Garry

I've told the story of this interview before, but I just found the audio of it on YouTube. This is just the beginning...(it's broken up into nine parts on YouTube if you're interested).

Too much media can hurt kids

That's what this CBC News article claims.

According to this, kids spend as much time consuming media as they do sleeping. To which I reply: I must have some gifted sleepers in my house.

Bruce Wolf

I've worked with Bruce Wolf a few times, first in the 80s and early 90s with Steve and Garry, and then again in the mid-00s at the Loop again. He's a complex guy; talented, opinionated, often brilliant, occasionally insufferable, and his own worst enemy. (I think he would agree with that assessment, by the way).

The Sun-Times had a great piece about him on Sunday. I missed this when it first came out, but Robert Feder mentioned it in his column this morning (which by the way, also mentions the one-day return of Eddie and Jobo). The article about Bruce was written by Mike Thomas. It explores the many sides of Bruce about as well as anything I've ever seen written about him, including my own Chicago Radio Spotlight interview a few years ago.

Reviews for Jay

Jay's first show back was last night. I thought the "it was only a dream" bit was a clever way to start it.

The Washington Post gave his return a great review.
(Although, the reviewer sort of took it all back in the last paragraph when he wrote: "In the end, Leno is talented in the most mediocre of ways, and this gives viewers great comfort. His big win here is a win for the middle of the road.")

The New York Daily News gave him a more mixed review.
( "Leno did the show last night exactly the same way he does every show. He knows how to tell jokes and he can make his way through an interview, especially with a guy like Jamie Foxx who essentially comes out and interviews himself. What was interesting Monday night was how indistinguishable this was from every other Leno gig. If he were emceeing an "Avatar" dinner, he would have looked the same, only bluer.")

The Chicago Tribune was less kind.
(Steve Johnson: "His new effort had neither pop, nor sizzle, nor surprise, and no amount of cheerleading from unconvincingly hyper first guest Jamie Foxx could make it seem otherwise.")

I only watched the first twenty minutes or so. To me, it felt like he was back where he belonged. I eventually tuned away for the same reason I always tuned away in the past. It's really not my cup of tea.

Three Finger

It is simply the greatest nickname in baseball history.

Read all about Cubs legend Three Finger Brown.

He's this week's Great Nickname at Just One Bad Century.

The Hills are Alive

I've previously confessed my love of "The Sound of Music." You might remember my glee in meeting Julie Andrews and Charmian Carr; two of the most embarrassing yet exhilarating moments of my radio career.

Well the movie came out on this day in 1965, and you had to know I wouldn't let this anniversary go by without noting it.

A birthday mustache

This great Cubs mustache is celebrating his 60th birthday today.

Read all about Pete Broberg here.

Marcia and Jan: Still slugging it out

There was supposed to be a Brady Bunch reunion this week.

It was canceled when Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb found out that they would both be on the same stage. Apparently, they aren't speaking to each other.

The story is here.

A few debuts

Dave Fogel (photo) is making his debut this morning at WLS-FM. I interviewed Dave a few weeks ago for Chicago Radio Spotlight if you'd like a Fogel-primer.

Also, tonight, Jay Leno is back in the saddle hosting The Tonight Show. I think he'll reclaim his audience eventually.  The former Conan viewers are probably with Letterman now, but the people that used to prefer Jay will come back. I'm not sure how long it will take, but I predict he will be #1 again.

Playboy

50 years ago Playboy was a phenomenon. They opened their first Playboy Club in Chicago--a place to see and be seen. At the time, Hef lived on State Parkway and the magazine was thriving.

It's still breathing, but it's on life support. I suspect when Hef dies, the magazine will die with him. It's been a good run.

Read all the details of their latest cost cutting efforts here.

The cost of publishing

I found this article fascinating.

It's a breakdown of exactly how much it costs a publisher to produce a hardcover, paperback, and e-book. It was an eye-opener for me because publishers are notoriously stingy about releasing this sort of information to their authors (as you might imagine).

Not that knowing this will give me any bargaining power for my next few books (one of which is being pitched as you read this),  but it's nice to know anyway.

What happens when Rupert is gone?

He turns 79 next week, and though he has had several plans in place for the day he is no longer with us, all of his plans seem likely to result in chaos within the News Corp organization.

New York Magazine looks at this subject in depth.

Whenever I see something like this I think about what it must be like to open a newspaper or magazine and read an article speculating what will happen after you die. I'm guessing Rupert must not be too excited to see this in print.

This week in 1945

Princess Elizabeth, FDR's last address to congress, a baseball war fatality, the Allies take Cologne (video), The Cubs arrive for spring training in French Lick, Dillinger: the movie (video), David Niven, Harry Caray, and Cubs pitcher Hank Wyse are all featured in Just One Bad Century's This week in 1945.

Curious George goes to Rehab

This is not a made up story.

A drinking, smoking Russian chimp was sent to rehab.

Maybe George is a little too curious.

Roger's Voice

Technology is an amazing thing.

Roger Ebert is getting his voice back...sort of.

Read all about it here.

Harry's birthday

Sometimes it seems like he's still around, but if he were, he would be 96 years old today.

How about a little audio of Harry Caray singing Happy Birthday to himself?

It's only fitting.