On this day in 1967, Graham Nash announced the formation of a new band, Crosby, Stills & Nash. A year and a half later they performed together at Woodstock...
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
The latest on Howard
Which TV channels can't you live without?
1. CBS
2. ABC
3. Fox
4. NBC
5. ESPN
6. Discovery
7. History
8. HBO
9. Comedy Central
10. The Food Network
Notice the complete absence of news channels. Only CNN made it in the top twenty, and just barely.
Comcast-NBC merger
Wikileaks guy arrested
I have a feeling the international manhunt, however, was not undertaken because of those charges (which had been dropped, but were suddenly reinstated). I suspect arresting him for anything at all is considered a bonus, sort of like when O.J. decided to steal his stuff back at gunpoint.
Mancow tweaks his show
From Tom Taylor's Radio-Info.com column this morning...
"The new-look “Mancow Experience” will be “re-born with new on-air talent and entertainment features”, says Mancow’s TRN-FM mentor, Mark Masters. Chicago-based Mancow will presumably focus less on politics and issues, and more on popular culture – music, movie, TV shows, comedy, etc. He possesses a large Rolodex of acquaintances from those worlds (the guests at his wedding included William Shatner). TRN says the guests on the new Experience will include “musicians, actors, comedians, and entertainment personalities appealing to a broader audience." They’ve been evolving that way, anyhow, with guests like Smokey Robinson, Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan and Robert Duvall."
I hope this is the beginning of a trend away from political talk on the radio, but I fear it's not.
I hope this is the beginning of a trend away from political talk on the radio, but I fear it's not.
Monday, December 06, 2010
The Windy City
I'm not sure what city this is, but it's not a good city to live in if you're a duck...
Meet Chicago's version of Mark Zuckerberg
Rubber Soul
One of my all-time favorite Beatles albums came out on this day (in America), exactly 45 years ago. This was the first single released...(Day Tripper was the flipside/and was also a hit)
Santo Tributes
It seems like every show on WGN was about Ron, which might have been a bit much for non-Cub fans, but for me it was appropriate for someone as beloved as he was. The outpouring of emotion was similar to the tributes they paid to Harry Caray and Bob Collins--and surely Santo was in their category. They even asked me to be on the air discussing Ron. (And by the way, thanks to the thousands of Cub fans that clicked onto my tribute to Ron too).
My friend Kim Strickland also did a tribute on her City Mom blog.
The Mongolian Cosmo
Hear that girls of Mongolia? For a measly 7000 Mongolian tugriks, you can find out how to drive your man wild in bed. (Spoiler alert: It involves losing the hat)
Science on the Radio
Right now it's on in New York, LA, and Washington, but if you've got HD Radio (there must be one person out there--although I haven't met one yet), you can also hear him in Boston, Seattle, Detroit and Pittsburgh. For the time being he's not on in Chicago.
I'm curious to see if this works. I've seen his television shows and he really does a great job making science interesting. I'm just not sure it will translate well for the radio.
But I'm rooting for it to do well.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Father Knows Nothing
You can read it here.
Friday, December 03, 2010
RIP Ron Santo
He never got to see the Cubs win the World Series. He never made it into the Hall of Fame. And there haven't been many people in the world that more desperately wanted both. That's the first thing I thought of when I heard he died this morning. I'm sure most Cub fans thought the same thing. That, and it's not going to be the same listening to the Cubs on the radio without him.
I met Ron once about ten years ago and he was very nice to me, but I don't claim to know him at all. I did, however, talk to a few people the past few years that were among his closest friends.
*****
We discussed Ron...
Rick: Your chemistry with Ron Santo is really amazing—it’s like yin and yang. He is pure emotion—and you are the voice of reason. I’m sure that’s part of the secret to your chemistry, but there’s obviously more to it than that. It seems like you also have real affection for each other. Would that be fair to say?
Pat: Yes it would. We have amazing harmony, very few bad vibes. Forget baseball, he’s just an extraordinary human being. I’ve never met anyone like him. Beyond baseball, he’s an icon for diabetics everywhere. What he’s been through! What he’s accomplished! Ron’s an inspiration.
Rick: Have the two of you ever had a fight?
Pat: (laughs) Hell no. Anytime you work together as long as we have, you have a few minor little disagreements, but nothing bad. Never.
Rick: I used to love when you did the attendance game with him and you beat him every day. Even for something like that—his emotions were on his sleeve—he would get so upset. I know that’s what Cub fans love about him. As much as it hurts us to lose, we can hear in his voice that it hurts him even more. Do you ever worry that the strain of that is having a detrimental effect on his health?
Pat: I used to, but not anymore. The man is 70 years old. He’s had diabetes, and cancer. He’s lost his bladder and his legs. He’s gone through everything you can imagine. Why would you worry anymore? He’s like a superman, a man of steel. Plus, I think it’s better for him to get it out of his system, than to let it build up inside him.
*****
Todd Manley was the WGN production director for years, and he beautifully captured the spirit of the Pat & Ron broadcasts in his promos...
PAT AND RON PROMO--A Steamy Fan
PAT AND RON PROMO--The Marrying Type
PAT AND RON PROMO--Snot
PAT & RON PROMO--I Dream of Jeannie
******
Rick: The years you were at WGN were a roller coaster ride for Ron Santo; from the lows of his health problems and the Hall of Fame snubs, to the highs of the day his number was retired, and the Cubs 2003 playoff run. Was that time an emotional time for the rest of you in the booth too?
Andy: First off, I must say, that Ron Santo is one of my heroes. Not for his play on the field, but for his work and passion off the field. He was a great player, no doubt, but he’s an even better person. Ron is one of the toughest human beings I have ever met. With all the physical problems he’s encountered over the past 8 or so years, I never once heard the man utter the words “why me?” Never. That’s a quality few people have. I think about Ron every day.
As far as 2003 goes, I’m just now finding that I’m able to talk about the year and how it started and finished. Ron’s Hall of Fame snub in February of that year was devastating to all of us in the booth. He really felt that it was his year. It didn’t happen. The Cubs played remarkable baseball that season, and I’ll never forget after they clinched the division with the double header sweep of the Pirates, how many of the players I interviewed in the clubhouse, were saying “this is for Ron”.
I remember the next day, when Ron’s number was retired, looking at the sign on the fence behind the bleachers in left field “Ron Santo a perfect 10” and thinking, this has to make him feel 100 feet tall. It did. An honor well deserved.
The shame of it all though, was Ron didn’t get to enjoy the playoffs in the booth. Another health scare kept him out, and all of us in the booth, from Pat to Matt Boltz, were devastated that Ron wouldn’t be with us. I’ll never forget Pat’s call at the end of the Braves series, “Ron Santo this one’s for you!”, I still seriously get choked up just thinking about it.
So to answer your original question, yes, it was a great year, but a very emotional year for all of us.
******
A few years ago the Associated Press did a story about Ron, and they interviewed me as part of the piece, to get a fan's perspective. Here's a portion of that article...
People around Santo have gone to him and suggested he "detach himself a little bit," said Bob Brenly, a former broadcast partner who is now an analyst for the team's television broadcasts. "But it's not in him," he said.
Even fans have taken notice.
"When he's not on the broadcast I'm actually worried about his health," said Rick Kaempfer, a lifelong fan who has a website (www.justonebadcentury.com) devoted to the Cubs.
Santo also has something that fans like Kaempfer value above everything else. Hope. No matter what happens, no matter how many years and how many ways the Cubs fail, Santo does not give up hope.
"I heard him talking about how the Rockies won 21 in a row a few years ago (at one stretch they won 21 of 22 games), hanging his hat on that, saying it could be us," Kaempfer said.
It is Santo's devotion to his team and his optimism that he will see the Cubs win a World Series title that helps explain the attachment that fans like Kaempfer have to Santo.
"It unifies Cub Fans," Kaempfer said.
******
What kind of a man was he to Cub fans? This story about meeting Ron in the summer of 1963 captures it about as well as any story I've ever heard...
******
As for me, I remember watching this game from the summer of 1970. The game he hit three home runs. Lou Boudreau and Vince Lloyd had the call.
That's the way I'm going to remember him.
Rest in Peace, Ron Santo. Cub nation already misses you. To be honest, I'm getting a little choked up just thinking about it.
Twitter Value
Does that sound right to you? I don't tweet, so maybe I'm just not understanding how awesome it is.
I've already resigned myself to the possibility that I will tweet someday, although just thinking about it now makes my head hurt.
Michael Copps
The details are here.
*The fact that he read and enjoyed "$everance" has nothing to do with my praise, although I'll admit it's not exactly a strike against him either.
Will Jim Morrison be pardoned?
He did talk about having sex with a lamb, but decided not to because the lamb was too young.
Great stuff in the file, by the way.
Joke for a Friday Morning
Contributed by "MM"...
Texas Bank Robbery
A hooded robber burst into a Texas bank and forced the tellers to load a sack full of cash. On his way out the door, a brave Texas customer grabbed the hood and pulled it off revealing the robber's face. The robber shot the customer without a moment's hesitation.
He then looked around the bank and noticed one of the tellers looking straight at him. The robber instantly shot him also. Everyone else, by now very scared, looked intently down at the floor in silence.
The robber yelled, 'Well, did anyone else see my face?' There are a few moments of utter silence in which everyone was plainly afraid to speak.
Then, one old cowboy tentatively raised his hand, and while keeping his head down said, 'My wife got a pretty good look at you.'
Thursday, December 02, 2010
When is a warranty worth it?
They are: desktop PCs, laptop PCs, riding lawnmowers, self-propelled lawnmowers, and side-by-side refrigerators.
Everything else has a less than 25% chance of breaking during the warranty years.
I guess this means that I'm just the unluckiest purchaser of digital cameras ever. I've gone through five of them.
"You're So Vain"
It was released on this day in 1972. Who is this song about? Carly Simon has told only one person (who paid $50,000 for the right to find out). I can't listen to it without thinking of Warren Beatty. That's my guess.
I bought the 45 when it came out. Granted, I was 9 at the time, but I still like it. It's on my iPod.
I bought the 45 when it came out. Granted, I was 9 at the time, but I still like it. It's on my iPod.
FTC on side of consumers too?
First the F.C.C. makes a ruling in favor of consumers (see below), then the F.T.C. does the same? Wow. Maybe a memo was put out urging all agencies to actually read their charters to see who they are supposed to be fighting for in the first place.
Hint: It's not the big money donors.
Disappearing High Paying Jobs
Guess what's on the list? That's right, broadcast announcer. So is newspaper reporter.
But I was surprised to see chemist, economist, and judge make the list.
Joke for a Tuesday morning
A Little Christmas Story
When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Christmas pressure. Then Mrs. Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more.
When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where. Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.
Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drunk all the cider and hidden the liquor.. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.
Just then the doorbell rang, and an irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.
The angel said very cheerfully, 'Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?'
And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.
Not a lot of people know this.
The F.C.C. and Net Neutrality
I'm surprised by this announcement considering the court ruling last year that said the F.C.C. overstepped their bounds by intervening in the internet, but I'm delighted that they didn't back down. The F.C.C. is fighting for consumers here. The only people opposed to them are the internet providers hoping to gouge the consumers (that's not hyperbole--they've already announced what they're trying to do--look it up).
Oh, and of course, the Republican F.C.C. commissioners who are calling this another government takeover plot.
Sigh.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Hi Hi Hi
From Bob Dearborn's The Olde Disc Jockey's Almanac this morning...
"December 1, 1972…Wings released "Hi, Hi, Hi." The BBC banned the song for its supposedly suggestive lyrics and because of their assumption that the title phrase, "We're gonna get hi, hi, hi," was a drug reference. The sexual line the Beeb objected to is the one they heard as "get you ready for my body gun." McCartney has said the correct lyrics are "get you ready for my polygon," an abstract image."
As for the word "polygon," give me a break, Paul. Listen to it in context. There's no way that is supposed to be an abstract image. Of course, all these years later, it seems pretty tame anyway. It would never be banned today. Here's the song...
"December 1, 1972…Wings released "Hi, Hi, Hi." The BBC banned the song for its supposedly suggestive lyrics and because of their assumption that the title phrase, "We're gonna get hi, hi, hi," was a drug reference. The sexual line the Beeb objected to is the one they heard as "get you ready for my body gun." McCartney has said the correct lyrics are "get you ready for my polygon," an abstract image."
As for the word "polygon," give me a break, Paul. Listen to it in context. There's no way that is supposed to be an abstract image. Of course, all these years later, it seems pretty tame anyway. It would never be banned today. Here's the song...
Howard's Plan for the Future
I don't know Howard, but I know several people that do know him, and I've been hearing this for several months now. Look for a few very high profile Chicago radio personalities to follow him.
Remember Felix Pie?
The Cubs one-time hope for the future, and the Orioles current average outfielder, went completely nuts during a winter league game. You don't need to understand Spanish to figure out what's happening here...
Always understated
"Whoever leaked all those State Department documents to the WikiLeaks website is a traitor and should be executed or put in prison for life."
Always understated.
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