Friday, July 17, 2020

Roleplaying?

Unless I'm playing the part of the doughy middle aged guy, I'm not role playing...

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview--Bill Kurtis

Rick and Dave interview CBS Newsman Bill Kurtis about his journalism career, his days in Top-40 Radio, and of course, his role in the movie “Anchorman”.

Listen to it here.

Free Kicks--Battle for the Top 4

Adam and Rick discuss the battle for the Top 4 Champions League spots in the Premier League. With the lifting of Man City’s ban, the race has suddenly gotten very interesting. [Ep76]

Listen to it here.

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

No need for further comment



AND...

George Will perfectly sums up the state of the union.

Chip Off The Block

Meet my oldest son, Tommy. He's a music critic. EDM is his passion. His YouTube channel has about 10,000 followers...

For a Good Cause

Tame those flames of summer today, July 15th at the Chase Bank parking lot in Mt. Prospect (111 E. Busse Ave.) from 4-6 pm. Kona Ice - frosty, funky fun to cool you down and cheer you up.

A portion of the proceeds goes to the BTB Foundation - Beat Tom and Bill Beat Cancer! Helping local Chicagoland families in their battle against cancer. (One of the recipients this year is the wife of my Free Kicks podcast co-host Adam, Laura Howarth)

Stop by -- have a treat and do some good :)

Flat Out Looney Tunes

WBBM Cuts

From Robert Feder's column this morning. More radio cuts...

Even the No. 1 radio station in town isn’t exempt from cutbacks sweeping the media industry. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM, the top-rated and top-billing Entercom all-news powerhouse, just laid off two station stalwarts known for their dedication and consistently excellent work — longtime sports anchor George Ofman and “Mobile 780” radio traffic and spot news helicopter reporter Kris Habermehl.

It's a tough time for every business, and radio is no exception, but one wonders how much this really helps the bottom line at the top rated radio station in town.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Piano Legs


#Cubs through history: July 14, 1881. Billy the Kid is shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico. The first place Cubs (known then as the White Stockings) are en route from Worcester to Buffalo to play the second place Bisons. Piano Legs Gore (photo) is their starting CF.

The World's Laughing Stock



The Unplanned Life on the radio

Check out this interview with Eckhartz Press author Roger Badesch...

Of Course!

2020 is a massive Candid Camera bit...

The Write City Review, Volume 3

The 3rd volume of The Write City Review is available now. It features this excellent cover shot by Eckhartz Press author Randy Richardson. He's thrilled to be the cover boy. Here's what he posted today on Facebook...

So this is pretty cool...I've never really thought of myself as a photographer, I just enjoy looking for beautiful things and capturing them on my iPhone camera. Well, one of those many sunrise-by-the-lake pictures that I've been taking is on the cover of the Write City Review, Vol. 3, available for preorder now through the Chicago Writers Association (link below). Many thanks to Kristin Oakley and her team of editors at the WCR, and to Eckhartz Press publishers Rick Kaempfer and David Stern, for putting together this beautiful collection of writing and art.
https://www.chicagowrites.org/write_city_review?fbclid=IwAR3wVx_TzeqiDdXzB6J__teAgN-F5kfEe0XXYGlnaoPVdDdcm5kGNlR9S8k

Get your copy now. One of my photographs (Wrigley at Sunset) is also included in the book, as is a painting done by my cousin Derek Roth. Oh, and there are some great stories in there too, written by members of the Chicago Writers Association.

Monday, July 13, 2020

It should be true

This one made me laugh out loud

From the mouths of babes...the youngsters will save us.

Happy Anniversary Deutschland!

Cubs Through History

July 13, 1985. Live Aid, the biggest concert event since Woodstock, takes place simultaneously in Philadelphia and London. Meanwhile at Wrigley Field, Dodgers infielder Dave Anderson leads off the game with a homer off Larry Gura (in his second stint with the Cubs) and Fernando Valenzuela throws a 5-hitter in a Dodgers rout of the Cubs. Davey Lopes homers in the 4th to provide the only run in 9-1 rout.

Tucker Carlson's Writer

If you watch Tucker Carlson for even a few minutes, you will hear racist comments. If you don't live inside the Fox bubble, the comments are jarring. But it turns out his head writer is even worse. He was fired over the weekend for posting racist comments on-line under a pseudonym.

Folks, this isn't cancel culture at work here. A man has the right to be as racist as he wants to be. His company also has the right to fire him for holding those racist views. Even Fox News recognizes that some things are just beyond the pale.

Minutia Men--Catholics, Coronavirus & Kurtis

Second season begins with Rick and Dave discussing ironic PPP, Catholics and Balds during COVID, Rick’s brush with a recently departed comedy legend, and a Minutia Men Minute with legendary newsman Bill Kurtis. [Ep186]

Listen to it here.

James Finn Garner

My pal James Finn Garner, the brainiac behind the Inside for Indies fundraiser, was on WGN Radio last night with Rick Kogan discussing it.

You can listen to it here.

RIP Seth Mason

Charlie Meyerson sent me this e-mail this morning. Charlie worked with Seth many years at WXRT...

Hi, Rick. Thought you'd want to know about this sad news.

Seth Mason, who was one of the visionary founders of two iconic Chicago radio stations—WXRT and WSCR The Score—and who launched the careers of dozens of Chicago’s most acclaimed broadcasters (and me) has died at 71—losing an 11-month battle against pancreatic cancer early Saturday evening.

Seth was one of Chicago broadcasting’s mostly-unsung giants.

Seth’s wife, Susan Mason, says the family will eventually hold a celebration of his life at Glencoe Union Church—date to be determined later. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts be made in his honor to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) online at PanCan.org/donate, or through the mail at 1500 Rosecrans Ave., Suite 200, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266.

For more information, contact Seth’s longtime colleague and friend, Vance Harrison, at harrison@oabok.org.

Footnotes:

Radio&Records in 1978.
The Tribune in 1997.
In his post-broadcasting years, Seth also served as an assistant women’s soccer coach with Dominican University. (Here’s a link to a cached page on the Dominican website.)


RIP Kelly Preston

This is sad news. I didn't even realize she was sick. Way too young...my age. She was 57.