Father Knows Nothing

Today's the day we pick up our first copies of "Father Knows Nothing". The book will ship out on Monday. (Pre-order your copy today.) The publicity tour starts in earnest next week. I'll be on WLS radio, WGN-TV, and more. The book launch party is December 7th (in the NW suburbs), and I'll be doing a book signing at the Billy Goat on December 12th.

There are no pictures in the book, but this is what the boys looked like the day I took over the full-time caregiver job (that inspired the column and the book). Tommy was 10, Johnny was 8, and Sean was 3. They don't look anything like this anymore. Tommy is taller than me and has 1970s hair. Johnny's voice is deeper than mine and he has facial hair. And Sean is in middle school now. The saga of the nearly ten years between then and now, and what they taught me is what "Father Knows Nothing" is all about. It was the best and most entertaining gig I will ever have. Thanks for joining me on this ride all these years.

I've been blown away by the many pre-orders and well wishes. Thanks so much for your support!

What is your 70s anthem?

According to this quiz, mine is "Hotel California". I don't think I stepped foot in California until the 80s, but I was there in spirit in the 70s for sure.

Lossano & Friends

This Saturday afternoon I'm heading over to the Museum of Broadcasting to tape an interview with Lossano and Friends. If you haven't heard the podcast yet, it's a free for all with five hosts and several guests talking for an hour about the events of the day/week. They won't tell me who the other guests are for this particular show. As long as it's not stockpiled with old girlfriends and Maury Povich-style lie detector tests, I'm up for anything.

It tapes live at 1pm, and then will be on Lossano.com. I'll post a link when it's posted.

Looking forward to it.

The Moment Chicago Radio Hosts Found Out On The Air That They Were Fired

I hadn't seen this video until today.

Holy mackeral.

Brutal.

Have I mentioned lately that I don't miss this business?

Chris Chelios

It has always stung Blackhawks fans that hometown boy Chris Chelios left us and went to the Red Wings.

Today at ESPN.com, they've published an excerpt from his book. In it, he explains exactly how that happened. When you read it, you'll be reminded of just how bad things were here under the "guidance" of Dollar Bill Wirtz.

The Radio Producer's Handbook

A few weeks ago Radio Hall of Famer Scott Shannon posted a picture on Twitter of someone holding the book "The Radio Producer's Handbook". It's kept in their station lobby and green room as reading material. I retweeted that and was sent a bunch of messages from other radio stations around the country that also use that book.

Last night I got my royalty check for the past six months. People are still buying it.

It came out ten years ago this month. All I can say is--thanks so much for your support!

Geraldo Discovers Internet Hate

Did you know that people commenting on the internet can be hateful and say incredibly horrible things?

Geraldo Rivera just figured it out this week when he posted something supportive of the president's immigration order. I'm guessing his response isn't going to stem that tide (he called everyone "little pieces of s**t hiding in their mother's basements").

Again, there's a very good reason why I don't allow any comments here on this blog, and I write absolutely nothing even remotely political on my facebook or twitter pages.

Teal Tuesday

Anyone can do a Black Friday sale.

Eckhartz Press is doing Teal Tuesday. Yes, we are way ahead of our time.

Jon Lester

The Red Sox were thought to be the main competition for the Cubs in the Jon Lester sweepstakes, but they just spent $190 million on Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. Do they really want to drop ANOTHER $100 million on Lester?

The Tribune speculates about where Lester may end up now. He's also talking to St. Louis and Atlanta.

My guess is it won't be Atlanta. That means the Cubs or the Cardinals.

Who usually wins those battles?

Chicago Radio Ratings

From Tom Taylor's NOW column, this is the recap of the latest Chicago radio ratings...

Just before iHeart’s hot AC WLIT – now merrily playing all-Christmas – whooshes by it in the next two books, Hubbard’s hot AC “Mix” WTMX can enjoy a strong rebound to third place, 4.6-4.7-5.2. That’s its best number since October of last year, and ahead of it are the usual players – iHeart’s urban AC “V103” WVAZ (5.9-5.7-5.9) and CBS Radio’s all-news WBBM and its simulcast at 105.9 (5.5-5.6-5.7). Then there’s Mix in third, followed by Univision’s regional Mexican WOJO (4.3-4.8-4.6). Fifth is iHeart’s top 40 “Kiss 103.5” WKSC, 4.7-4.5-4.3. After that comes CBS Radio’s country “US 99.5” WUSN, 4.0-4.4-4.1. And then a modicum of relief for Tribune radio manager Jimmy de Castro. His talk WGN is up 3.6-3.2-4.0 (though PM drive is still unsettled). As for the now-all Christmas WLIT, it was flat doing its normal format, 3.7-3.8-3.7. It’s a soft book for Hubbard’s classic hits “Drive” WDRV (3.9-3.4-3.2), and Cumulus-managed alternative WKQX (3.5-3.3-3.1). Too soon to see the changes at Cumulus talker WLS (1.4-1.5-1.4). In sports, you’ve got CBS Radio’s “Score” WSCR (2.2-2.5-2.3), Disney’s ESPN-run WMVP (1.3-1.6-1.7) – and the last hurrah of Tribune-run “87.7 the Game” WGWG-LP, 0.4-0.5-0.5. Chicago’s cume leader is CHR “Kiss” at 2,265,200.

Eddie Murphy on Bill Cosby

This is definitely NSFW.

In the back of my mind when this Bill Cosby story broke, I remembered there was a comedian who once did a whole bit about Bill Cosby calling him up and chastising him for being dirty. This morning it finally hit me. It was Eddie Murphy in his concert film "Raw". The clip is below. This came out during Cosby's and Murphy's heyday in the 80s.

Again, definitely NSFW. But you can hear the disdain in Eddie's voice about Cosby's moralizing...

Eckhartz Press at the Billy Goat

We've got an Eckhartz Press book signing coming up on Friday December 12th from 5-7pm at the original Billy Goat Tavern. Four authors at once: John Landecker (promoting Records Truly Is My Middle Name), Joel Daly promoting The Daly News, Rich King promoting Back in the Game, and Rick Kaempfer promoting Father Knows Nothing. (One of these things is not like the other.) Looking forward to a fun happy hour with three broadcasting legends. Stop by after work that day, purchase a few X-mas presents, get a book or two signed, meet a legend, and/or say hello to a suburban dad hawking a humor book. If that's not enough...they also have Schlitz.

No thank you

Thanks "JC" for spotting this one...

Supporting Cosby

From Tom Taylor's NOW column...

Rush Limbaugh said that some elements of the media like CNN are trying to “destroy” the grandfatherly comedian. Limbaugh has spoken approvingly of Cosby’s “pull-up-your-baggy-pants” lectures to young African-Americans. On Friday, he said of the allegations of sexual misconduct by multiple women, “It’s not like he did it yesterday."

Take a second to think about that. Why in the world would they be out to destroy Cosby? Because that "baggy pants" comment he made years ago? Does that make any sense at all? Of course not. When facts arise that don't line up with your world view--dismiss them, or ignore them, or change the facts. That's the way Rush Limbaugh rolls.

It's the only way to remain ideologically pure in a world that isn't.

(And here's another reason why I am not tracking with Rush on this. Another woman came out with her story.. And here are the rest of them.)

Rockline

We carried this show back on WPGU when I was there, and we also carried at it the Loop. Sorry to hear Rockline will be no more. From Today's RAMP newsletter...

After an impressive run of 33 1/2 years, Bob Coburn announced through Westwood One that he is ending the syndication of his landmark radio show Rockline, which gave fans the opportunity to engage with their favorite rock stars live on the air. Rockline was available in two versions -- Active Rock and Classic Rock. The final shows will air on Wednesday, Dec. 17 (Rockline Classic) and Monday, Dec. 22 (Rockline Active). The good news is, Rockline will continue to run encores of its absolutely best shows until the broadcasts are over.