President Obama To Appear on Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

It's scheduled for Thursday night. This is sort of news that used to make conservative commentators apoplectic. "That's not presidential!" they would say. Kind of hard to make comments like that when your party is about to nominate Donald Trump.

Obama will probably make news during this interview. He's expected to endorse Hillary.

Buzzfeed Drops Ad Agreement Because of Trump

Buzzfeed had a $1.3 million ad agreement with the RNC, but dropped it yesterday because..."The Trump campaign is directly opposed to the freedoms of our employees in the United States and around the world and in some cases, such as his proposed ban on international travel for Muslims, would make it impossible for our employees to do their jobs.”

Details are here.

It's starting to happen. I think Trump crossed some sort of a rubicon when he started going after a judge presiding over his Trump University civil case because he was "Mexican," and then told his supporters to start calling reporters who give him a hard time about it "racists". So many layers of ick there.

A Tribute to a Great Career

What do you give to someone who has achieved all that Rich King has achieved in his incredible broadcasting career? Well, we gave him a framed cover of his Eckhartz Press book "Back in the Game" as a retirement present.

Best wishes to a great guy who we hope has a wonderful and fulfilling retirement. Thanks Rich for all you've done for us here at Eckhartz Press!

Dan McNeil

Robert Feder has a great piece today about Dan McNeil. According to this article, it sounds like the folks at the Drive are "pulling a Zagorski". That's what I call it, anyway.

In my novel "$everance" the lead character is a morning DJ in Chicago named Zagorski. Zagorski's boss was doing everything he could to get Zagorski to quit, so that he would give up his severance. On the flipside, Zagorski was doing whatever he could to irritate the bosses into firing him, so that he would collect his severance.

Not sure if Danny is Zagorski-ing his bosses, but his bosses are definitely Zagorski-ing him. Read about it at the link.

A Joke The Youngsters Might Not Get

Thanks to "RH" for sending this...

Congrats to Johnny

Another Kaempfer boy has graduated high school. Congrats to my middle son Johnny for his big day yesterday...

RIP Muhammad Ali

How big was Ali in his hey day? He had a hit song written about him. Johnny Wakeland recorded this in 1975...

tronc?

The Tribune Publishing Company made an announcement yesterday. They are changing their name. The new name is tronc. (with a small t). It's a sort of acronym for tribune content online. Not making that up. Here's the press release.

Also, they aren't a publishing company anymore. They are a "a content curation and monetization company focused on creating and distributing premium, verified content across all channels." Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

tronc sounds like the noise you hear when someone farts. It sounds like the sound-effect they use in newscasts to cover up someone swearing. It's the sound you hear when someone blows their nose.

Let me use it in a sentence...

"Hey junior, pull my finger. (tronc). He he."

"Asked for a comment, the suspect screamed...'mind your own business you mother (tronc)'. Charles and Cynthia, back to you."

"Ah choo. Oh dear. Do you have a tissue? Thanks. (tronc)."

Minutia Men: Episode 5

This week's episode of Minutia Men: Midgets, Old Dads, Sgt. Pepper, and Rick's brush with Bill Maher.

Listen to it here.

As the Sumner Turns

This soap opera just keeps getting weirder. Sumner's granddaughter is now involved. From Tom Taylor's NOW column...

“I know my grandfather” – Sumner Redstone – “has been incompetent since last October.” Can things get any more bizarre around the family that controls CBS and Viacom? Keryn Redstone broke with the family when she supported Sumner’s former live-in girlfriend and health-care decision-maker Manuela Herzer. Now Bloomberg says Keryn’s hired the same lawyer who reps Herzer, and “said she plans to work with Viacom’s directors in their legal battle for control of the company.” Keryn says “My experience is the same as the Viacom directors. Shari [Keryn’s aunt] will not let us see Sumner.” But Keryn says “because I was in the house, I know my grandfather has been incompetent” since last Fall. She says when she saw him for 15 minutes on Valentine’s Day, he was sitting “lifeless and flanked by his nurse and caretakers. He seemed unaware of his surroundings.” So when it comes to Sumner’s mental competence, what’s the truth? The Viacom independent directors fear he’ll kick them off the board. He’s already asked Viacom Executive Chair/CEO Philippe Dauman and George Abrams to leave the trust that will take over his 80% controlling interest in CBS and Viacom when he’s no longer able to make decisions. Dauman is suing to regain his position, and now here’s Keryn Redstone, agreeing with him that Sumner’s not competent. So now it’s the granddaughter, Philippe Dauman, and the independent directors essentially lining up against Shari. And last night, CNBC says Herzer “notifies the court of possible grounds for a new competency trial, based on evidence in Viacom CEO/Director suit.” More to come, no doubt.

Vice News

HBO is converting their excellent Vice series into a nightly show in the fall. In order to do that, they had to hire quite a few people. Real journalists scoring exciting new gigs. From Adweek, here's the list so far...

Madeleine Haeringer, Executive Producer
Neil Breakwell, London Bureau Chief
Ryan McCarthy, Editor in Chief, VICENews.com
Justin Dial, Supervising Producer
Christina Vallice, Supervising Producer
Jessica Weisberg, Supervising Producer
Ruben Davis, Senior Producer, Climate
Javier Guzman, Senior Producer, U.S.
Melissa Maerz, Senior Producer, Culture
Craig Thomson, Senior Planning Producer
Roberto Ferdman, Economics Correspondent
Nellie Bowles, Tech Correspondent/Head of San Francisco Bureau
Ravi Somaiya, Tech Correspondent
Scott Conroy, Producer, Politics and Policy
Ben Craw, Video Producer
Jamal Jordon, Digital Video Producer
Jon Strauss, Shooter/Producer
Kenton Powell, Director of Graphics
Michael Deal, Lead, Interactive Graphics
Lucy Paynter, Real Time Graphics Art Director
Kris Cave, Graphics Producer
Dan Fletcher, Head of Social
Maia Lepine, VICE News Coordinator

4 All-Star Infielders?

If the voting for the All-Star game were to end today, the Cubs would have the entire starting infield...Anthony Rizzo (1B), Ben Zobrist (2B), Addison Russell (SS), and Kris Bryant (3B).

The closest they've ever come to pulling that off was in 1969. That year Don Kessinger (SS) and Ron Santo (3B) were both all-star starters, and Ernie Banks (1B) and Glenn Beckert (2B) were all-star reserves. Willie McCovey started at 1B, and Felix Millan started at 2B.

10-step guide to being a hockey fan

This is a hilarious primer for non-hockey fans watching the Stanley Cup finals.

Congrats to Sean McIndoe at the Guardian for writing it.

Golfer video

The headline is "Golfer falls into pond", which accurately describes what you're about to see. Even though you know what's coming, it's still funny. The best part is the reaction of his friends.

Watch it here.

10 Years of Blogging: Middle Aged Road Trips

This year marks my tenth year as a blogger, and I've been going through the 30,000+ posts to highlight a few of my favorites over the years. In 2011 I went on a road trip with a few of my middle-aged buddies, and wrote about it for Shore Magazine. This is that article...





Regular readers may remember a column I wrote a few years ago, about a middle aged road trip to Memphis with my college buddies. We enjoyed that experience so much, we decided to do another middle aged road trip last weekend.

The excuse: Our buddy Dane's 50th birthday. Destination: Milwaukee. Number of intrepid middle-aged road trippers: 6. Cast of characters: Dane, Rick, Mike, Scott, Jeff and Dave.

It went a little something like this...

*When Dave sent out the itinerary for the weekend, he estimated pick up time for Rick at 4:42 PM. The car arrived four minutes early, but only because it left four minutes early.

*When we checked into our hotel in Milwaukee, the clerk surveyed the giddy expressions on our faces and asked: "Weekend with the guys?"

*We gathered in the lobby after freshening up, and noticed that Dave was wearing a sweater that Bill Cosby wouldn't have worn. Imagine that "The Grimace" had his chest cut out and shaped into a sweater.

*Rick was hoping to hear some authentic Milwaukee German accents. Sure enough, the waiter and waitress at the two German restaurants we visited both had authentic accents. Unfortunately, the accent at Mader's was Australian, and the one at the Hofbrauhaus was Russian.

*Dane had his heart set on an authentic Wisconsin fish fry, and we went to a great one. But he probably wasn't thrilled when his "friends" had the German oompah band sing "Happy Birthday" to him, and wish him a happy 60th. He wasn't exactly thrilled when nobody said "Wait a minute, you can't possibly be 60."

*We knew we were really in Wisconsin at the fish fry when we heard our first "Cripes!" of the weekend.

*Dave was so offended that the rest of us were giving him such a hard time about his sweater, he asked a woman at Mader's what she thought. Her response: "Did someone make that for you?"

*Every pig in Wisconsin was on alert all weekend. Scott ordered a sausage platter at every stop. The rest of us helped him eat it, but only out of concern for his health.

*At one neighborhood tavern we decided it would be fun to scrounge up birthday kisses for Dane. The plan was immediately scrapped when the first two women we saw had mustaches.

*One of our final stops of the first night was Lucille's piano bar not too far from our hotel. Rick and Mike couldn't stop watching the guy in the front row that looked like Kid Rock. This flannel-wearing long-haired trucker was fighting back tears during a Billy Joel medley.

*The pianists also serenaded Dane for his *ahem* 60th birthday. Of course, since it was a piano bar, they made Dane get up on stage as they sang to him. They rewrote the lyrics to "The Sounds of Silence." The first words were; "Hello Penis, my old friend..."

*Back at the hotel bar, Rick and Jeff ordered a scotch for what they thought would be a nightcap. Instead, what they were served was more like a nightsombrero; filled with enough scotch to kill Braveheart. Of course, even Braveheart would have been smart enough not to drink all of it.

*Dave and Scott started making small talk with the people sitting at the bar, and discovered we were hanging out with the entire crew from the Monster Truck show. They were very friendly. Before long they had offered to run over Dave's sweater with a Monster Truck--free of charge.

*It wasn't until someone mentioned it was 2 am, that the intrepid road trippers finally hit the sack. Of course, at 10 am breakfast, we were no longer intrepid--we were decrepit. If Snow White was there, she would have called us "foggy", "slurry", "pukey", "gassy", "chunky" and "maybe I really am 60."

*Breakfast was eaten in almost complete silence. A few were not feeling well enough to eat. Scott ordered sausage. Dave broke the silence with a monologue featuring vivid descriptions of his bowel movements.

*At the end of breakfast, Dane asked what everybody wanted to do. The consensus was clear: Naptime.

*Dave and Scott really wanted to go to the casino after our naps, so we agreed to go for two hours maximum. While Dave and Scott sat at the poker table,  Dane found a $10 slot machine, inserted his twenty, pressed the button twice, won $100, and called it a day. (Happy 60th birthday!)

*Interesting loophole in Wisconsin law: it's illegal to smoke inside a bar or restaurant, but it's legal to smoke inside a Native American casino. We were all outraged (outraged!) at the politically incorrect joke about the reason for this loophole ("So the casino owners could send smoke signals").

*On Saturday night we went to a Packers bar to watch the Packers playoff game against the Falcons. Jeff ordered brat shots. You read that right. Brat shots. Shot glasses filled with sliced bratwurst.

*Dave made the mistake of telling one of the drunks at the next table that we were from Chicago. The drunk (then drunker, then drunkest) Packer fan spent the rest of the night coming over to our table, putting his arm around one of us, and saying "I tell you what, that Packers-Bears game is gonna be somethin'"

*On the opening kickoff, one of the Packers fans actually screamed: "SPEAR HIM!"

*The drunks at the table next to us knocked over their entire table, not once, but twice; providing a refreshing beer bath to the tables around them.

*The bar owner was feeling generous. He said there would be free shots to everyone in the house for every Packers touchdown. The Packers scored SIX touchdowns. The unidentified green and/or yellow shots may have provided a helping hand in the table knockdowns.

*After the sixth free Packer shot was passed out, we left the bar before our Packer friend passed out on us. The intrepid road trippers were back at the hotel by 10:30.

*There was a wedding in our hotel that night and one of the wedding guests rode up the elevator with us. He said: "How about that football game, huh?" Dave said, "Actually we're from Chicago." The guest said: "So am I. F*** the Packers."

*The last morning we met for breakfast again. This time, after a good night's sleep, we were almost back to normal. Jeff looked at the menu and said: "I don't think I've had a vegetable since Friday."

*The Packer hype was already reaching a fever pitch. The Milwaukee Sentinel sports headline screamed: "You want a piece of this?" The name of the writer that wrote that column? I kid you not: Mike Hunt. Look it up.

*We stopped at the Brat Stop in Kenosha on the way back to Chicago to watch the Bears-Seahawks game. How does one describe the Brat Stop? Maybe this will help paint a picture. Someone had already "lost their lunch" in a urinal, and it was noon. Mind you, this urinal was two feet away from a sink, and five feet away from an actual toilet, and someone was so loaded they lost it in the urinal. That, my friends, is the Brat Stop.

*Scott ordered the sausage sampler platter, then upon discovering how tasty one of the sausages was, ordered more sausage. One for the (burp) road.

*When we got back to Chicago we all immediately checked into rehab. We should be out in time for the Bears-Packers game on Sunday. "I tell you what, that Bears-Packers game is gonna be somethin'"

Rich King

This month's Illinois Entertainer column has been posted. I interviewed Rich King about his incredible career.

You can read it here.

A Trump Endorsement

This is a good one too. North Korea has endorsed him.

DPRK Today published the article Tuesday, reports NK News. The author of the editorial, Han Yong-mook, introduced himself as a Chinese North Korean scholar.

"In my personal opinion, there are many positive aspects to the Trump’s ‘inflammatory policies,’ " the article states, according to NK News. "Trump said ‘he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North,’ isn’t this fortunate from North Koreans’ perspective?"

Great. Another Korean War...this time with nuclear weapons. What could go wrong?

I actually think this guy isn't completely crazy

Sounds plausible to me...

@Cubs RT if U are confident, INK EMBEDDED IN ARM CONFIDENT!!, Cubs can win at least 1 World Series between 2016-2019 pic.twitter.com/hPxNeSpw2o

— Cubs_AMARE_FIDEM (@CDS_625) March 24, 2016

Glenn Beck Suspended

When I first heard this news yesterday I was confused. I thought that Beck was now exclusively in the domain of the Blaze and it's affiliates. Since he owns that network, there is no way he could be suspended.

I didn't realize his show also aired on Sirius/XM. That's who suspended him. The suspension was brought about by a guest's suggestion that Donald Trump wouldn't be removable as president...unless a patriot removed him. The clear implication was that it would take an assassin.

Not cool.

This kind of loose talk about our current president is common place, of course, on these right wing shows. It's not right no matter who they are talking about. You have the right to free speech. You don't have the right to scream "FIRE" in a crowded movie theater.

As the Sumner Turns

I know a few of you think I'm a little uncharitable in calling Sumner Redstone's life a soap opera. Oh yeah? Well, you know who agrees with me? The makers of actual soap operas. From this morning's Tom Taylor column...

Sumner Redstone’s ex- may appear on a “Real Housewives” show. How low can this saga of a media mogul laid low by physical (and perhaps other) disability go? The Wall Street Journal says Sumner’s ex-girlfriend Sydney Holland “may join the cast of “Real Housewives” – the one set in Beverly Hills. She’s got the money to play in that realm, even though she’s no longer welcome at Sumner’s Beverly Park mansion. Vanity Fair says the controlling shareholder of CBS and Viacom cast her out when he learned of her relationship with an actor named George Pilgrim. That and the years when Holland was the recipient of large amounts of cash and many gifts from Sumner should equip her for “Real Housewives,” all right.

I rest my case.

Eddie V

From Robert Feder's column, news of Eddie Volkman's return to the Chicago airwaves...

Chicago radio veteran Eddie Volkman is returning to the airwaves. Starting June 6, he’ll host from 4 to 7 p.m. weekdays on WCKG AM 1530, the west suburban talk station. Volkman, who most recently has been podcasting for the Radio Misfits Podcast Network and teaching at Illinois Media School, is one-half of the iconic duo of Eddie & Jobo (with Joe Colborn). “It’s a great chance for me to show my own personality and establish an individual identity,” Volkman says of his new gig. “My show will tend to be folksy and fun . . . I’m not into scandal and celebrity gossip.” (Photo: Eddie and Me)

Ron Wood Becomes a Dad...at 68 years old

The New York Daily News has the story about Wood's 38-year-old wife giving birth to twins.

The article also notes that Wood has four adult children from previous marriages, but doesn't mention their ages. How much would you like to bet that at least one of them is older than his current wife?

Good Use of Hacking Skills

Texas construction signs apparently hacked to deliver a message about Donald Trump. https://t.co/a00g4JEhHC pic.twitter.com/0d3UllewLg

— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) May 31, 2016

How Low Can He Go?

Over the weekend Trump was railing against the judge in his Trump University case. At one point, he noted that the judge is "we believe, a Mexican."

Seriously?

There are so many levels of bad here. Ripping a judge while your case is in progress? Calling him "a Mexican" as if that has anything to do with anything?

And the scariest part of it all? The crowd cheered.

Crazy Weekend

From Thursday through Sunday I worked non-stop at the Green White fields at the National Donauschwaben Tournament. We made 300 pounds of sausage on Thursday night, and then I served as a bartender on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (among other duties including food service, field marshall, etc).

And then finally, yesterday, I took the wife to the Cubs game for a little recuperative fun.

Back to work today.

Around the Publishing World (May 27)

At Chicago Author Solutions (a division of Eckhartz Press), we stay on top of happenings/trends in the publishing world to help out busy writers who are spending their time doing what they should be doing: writing.


1. How to Format An Ebook for Kindle or Smashwords
Of course you can hire someone to do it for you (like us), but if you are pretty tech-savvy and have some time on your hands, it's totally possible to learn how to do it yourself.

2. You learn by finishing things
This sounds like simple "duh" advice, but it's so true. Millions of writers around the world have a half-finished novel somewhere that they just can't finish. The act of finishing it, will teach you so much.

You have to finish things — that’s what you learn from, you learn by finishing things.
NEIL GAIMAN#amwriting pic.twitter.com/5anY9uN7Zl

— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 22, 2016

3. Tips on Writing from Famous Writers
Hemingway, Fitzgerald, King, and more.

4. What's With the Hieroglyphics, 'Merica? 5 Tips For Writing With Real Words
There are some excellent points in this piece, and not just for professional writers. These are useful tips for anyone writing anything at all in the age of social media and texting.

Woman Accused of Smuggling Drugs Across Border Inside a Burrito

The drug in question in meth.

What happens when you eat a meth-filled burrito?

The fastest BM on record.

The Five Tribes of Men's Fashion

Slate Magazine has a piece today about the various different "types" of men, based on their fashion sense...

There are, at this particular point in time, only five tribes from which to pick: the Perverse Prepster, the Arty Ninja, the Dedicated Follower of Satin, the Statham, and the Schlub.

I didn't even need to read about them to figure out which one was me. Care to guess? Hint: It rhymes with Cub.

Inside Radio's Q&A With Garry Meier

You can read the whole thing here.

Garry talks about his new podcast, Howard Stern, and the changing radio landscape.

Minitua Men, Episode 4

Our latest episode has been posted...

This week on Minutia Men with Rick and Dave…A man with $100,000 boobs, Batman Shakespeare Bust, A camel chews off a face, Cubs games on historical days, And Rick’s brush with Cindy Crawford.

You can listen to it here.

Free Excerpt from Records Truly Is My Middle Name: Radio Star Wars

On this date in 1977 the original Star Wars movie was released. John Landecker was on WLS Radio at the time, and had incredible access to the stars. This story comes from the book "Records Truly Is My Middle Name"

RADIO STAR WARS

When Star Wars came out, it was an ever bigger phenomenon. In fact, it was on the cover of Time Magazine the day we got a few of the movie’s stars to appear on our station.

The WLS morning man was on vacation, so Bob Sirott was filling in for him that day. Bob had a phone interview scheduled with Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia). I was filling in for Bob on the afternoon show, and had Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) scheduled as an in-studio guest. Since we had access to two of the biggest stars from the movie, I came up with an idea for a bit, and wrote a script featuring all of us. Everyone agreed to participate.

I showed up at the station early in the morning and recorded Bob and Carrie Fisher reading their lines. Then I spent all day with the production guy, adding R2D2 sound effects, a Darth Vader voice (mine), music from the movie, and timing everything out. All of the pre-recorded segments were ready to go when I got on the air that day. The plan was to do the last part of the script, my interaction with Mark Hamill, live on the air. I really thought it would be easy to do. I don’t know how many times I told the engineer the cue. All he had to do was hit a button at the right time, but when the time came, he messed it up.

We tried it again. He messed it up again.

It was messed up so many times I had to beg Mark Hamill to stay for an extra twenty minutes. We finally got it right and did a perfect take of the bit, and afterwards I edited it down even further, and it came out great. It was played on the air many times, and became a well-known bit. It really does feature the real actors from the movie, but if you hear the perfectly edited version, keep in mind that while we were actually doing the bit live on the air, it was a complete train wreck.


This is the full transcript of Radio Star Wars from 1977. The newsman in the bit was Jack Swanson, who was later named the best program director in America at KGO-San Francisco. I played the part of Darth Vader. The remastered version of this, which we redid twenty years later for the rerelease of Star Wars, can be found on CD.

John: Mark Hamill is our guest this afternoon.

Newsman: John, John, I hate interrupt...

John: What are you doing here, I’m trying to interview Mark Hamill

Newsman: Look, I’m sorry to interrupt, but this is important.

(Star Wars music in and under)

John: Judging by the music, it’s very important.

Newsman: Yes, listen. There’s a guy on the phone here. He’s says he’s Darth Vader.

Mark Hamill: Hey! Wait a minute. He’s the villain from Star Wars. Stay away! He’s evil.

Newsman: Oh God, it’s terrible.

John: Relax, relax. What line is he on?

Newsman: Pick up Line 2.

John: Think it’s alright if I talk to him, Mark?

Mark Hamill: Well, I don’t know. He is the most evil force in the universe, but he is deathly afraid of ducks. John, please be careful.

John: OK. Hello?

(Sfx: Helicopter sound effects, heavy breathing)

Darth Vader: Hello, this is Darth Vader. Is this John Landecker on WLS?

John: Yes it is. Yes.

Darth Vader: Are you there with Luke Skywalker?

Mark Hamill: Oh yeah, I’m here, Darth.

Darth Vader: Listen to my demands. I have kidnapped Bob Sirott and the Princess Leia.

Bob Sirott: Help, John, Help!

Carrie Fisher: Luke, save us!

Darth Vader: I have stolen the WGN Traffic helicopter. Bob and the Princess are inside. We are flying over the Dan Ryan. If I am not given full control of WLS, Bob and the Princess will be dropped into the rush hour traffic below me. They will die!

John: Great googly moogly, what to do?

Mark Hamill: John, I think my experience as Luke Skywalker can really be of some help here.

John: How’s that?

Mark Hamill: Well, I’ve got the Millennium Falcon, the starship from the movie. It’s parked right outside the station. I’ve got my droid R2D2. I’d be willing to give it a shot.

John: You don’t mean?

Mark Hamill: That’s right, John. RESCUE!

(Star Wars music swells)

Darth Vader: Rescue is futile! Turn over the station to me now or Bob and the Princess are dead meat.

Bob: John, don’t do it.

Carrie Fisher: Oh Luke, be careful.

John: Wow, this starship is bigger than it looked in the movie.

Mark Hamill: Well, strap in, and be careful now while I program R2D2 for our flight. R2, set a course for the WGN traffic helicopter over the Dan Ryan and take off.

(R2D2 sound effects)
(Dramatic music kicks in, the battle is underway)

Darth Vader: You have thirty seconds.


John: Luke, shoot him down!

Mark Hamill: I can’t, John. My ray guns are too powerful. They’re designed for other galaxies. If I fire, all of Chicago will be destroyed.

John: Wait. Didn’t you say that Darth Vader had a deathly fear of ducks?

Mark Hamill: Yeah.

John: Well, I think I’ve got the answer. We’ve got an open radio channel directly into the copter.

Mark Hamill: Right.

John: I’ve got a cassette of the song “Disco Duck” right here.

Mark Hamill: And you want to blast that song right into the copter? Great! Give the song to R2D2 and he’ll program the song directly into the copter’s communication system.

John: OK. R2D2, take it!

(R2D2 sound effects)

John: Fire!

(The song “Disco Ducks” begins)

Darth Vader: Oh no, not that duck record! NOOOOO!

(Explosion)

Bob Sirott: John, John, can you hear me? Darth Vader’s body exploded. I’ve got control of the copter. We’re all right.

Carrie Fisher: Oh John, THANK YOU!

(Star Wars theme kicks in)

Man in Hong Kong Drinks His Own Face

Great headline. The story isn't quite as interesting as it sounds, but I suspect this technology will be coming to a Starbucks near you soon.

Doubt and Losing

Paraphrasing a famous JOBC t-shirt...

pic.twitter.com/tVimjL36sQ

— Robert Loerzel (@robertloerzel) May 25, 2016

Remember this classic?

As the Sumner Turns

Today's twist in the Sumner Redstone soap opera involves Sumner choosing new board members who are loyal to him to replace the people who were removed the day before. Did the 93-year-old wheelchair-bound cutthroat-vulture executive make these appointments himself (as this article claims), despite having difficulty speaking? I sure hope that his daughter Shari is finding some way to "chronicle" the moment Sumner made these decisions, or Philippe Lauman's lawsuit will end this.

The quotes from the three new board members (who are all loyal to Shari Redstone) are hilarious because they seem to be pre-justifying their positions, knowing that people have a hard time believing Sumner did this himself...

“I am honored that Sumner has chosen me as a trustee and am convinced that he did so knowing that I would be loyal to him and would work to accomplish the objectives of the trust,” Jankowski said.

“I met Sumner in 1994 when I was an equity analyst covering the large-cap entertainment companies for Salomon Smith Barney,” Krutick said in a statement. “We had a close working relationship over a 10-year period as Sumner exuberantly shared his views on Viacom with investors from around the globe, and I have continued my long-time relationship with the Redstone family.”

“I am honored to be named as a fourth generation director and look forward to contributing to the continued success of the company my family has built over the last 80 years,” Ostheimer said.

The third one is Sumner's granddaughter.

It's hard for me to pick a good guy/bad guy in this story. Dauman's role has always seemed a little fishy to me, as I've written many times. But Sumner had many chances to put Shari in charge when he was still lucid, and clearly decided not to do it. This does look like a power grab by her. On the other hand, Sumner is one of the most unlikable humans to ever walk the earth...so maybe this is justice?

Like I said, no good guys.

But definitely a daily soap opera.

Billionaire Bankrolling Hulk Hogan's Gawker Lawsuits

Why is it a story that a billionaire is secretly bankrolling Hulk Hogan's lawsuits against Gawker?

It's because this billionaire isn't doing it for the traditional legal reasons (he so strongly believes in the wronged person) or for the money (that's what the lawyers are doing). He's doing it, allegedly, to punish Gawker--to get revenge for articles they have written about him.

That has to be a little chilling for anyone in the press. Try writing about these billionaires accurately and fairly with the threat of legal destruction hanging over your head.

Ron Magers' Last Night

Robert Feder does a fitting farewell to Ron in his column this morning.

Hard to believe he's really signing off. Tonight is his last newscast.

I've met Ron many times over the years. The first time I met him was on the night of Steve & Garry's 10th anniversary show at the Chicago Theater in 1989. He had the honor of introducing them on stage. It was a crazy night. The backstage area was hard to describe (and I probably shouldn't describe it), and for a second I thought I saw a flicker of "Am I killing my journalistic credibility by being a part of this?" in his eyes.

But he was always a good sport, and that night was no exception.

Another time we had him on the Landecker show and the two men talked about their favorite records from the 50s and 60s. That was a fun interview because it exposed another side of Ron.

I don't need to mention his work on Chicago television (or radio--with Roe Conn in particular), because that speaks for itself. He was a pro's pro. One of the very best at thinking on his feet and staying in the moment. That's a great trait for a broadcaster.

I heard him on Steve Cochran's show not too long ago, discussing his plans for retirement. He mentioned he might consider writing a book. If so, Ron, I know a publisher!

A history of the Chicago-style dog

This is a long article in Thrillist, but it's interesting if you like a good Chicago dog like I do.

To this day Vienna uses the original natural-casing, all-beef recipe developed by Jewish immigrants that gives the Chicago dog its distinctive flavor profile, snap, and texture.

The Chicago dog is basically a Frankfurter made out of beef, because kosher dietary restrictions wouldn't allow pork.

Wisdom

I know a few wealthy miserable ppl!!! You've seen them. Face all tight. Attitudinal never happy and never with anything positive to say but rich AF!!! 🤔💋💋💋 #Repost @wizkidayo ・・・ Real happiness forever!! 🙏🏿💨🎼🎼🌟

A photo posted by taraji p henson (@tarajiphenson) on May 24, 2016 at 6:48am PDT

Exactly How I Would Throw Out Ceremonial First Pitch

That's a promise, Cubs. Just give me a call...

Obama & Bourdain

Imagine listening to President Obama and Anthony Bourdain chatting in a restaurant in Vietnam.

It happened yesterday.

Betting that was a pretty interesting conversation. Also betting it would have been even more interesting if CNN cameras weren't filming it.

A stolen gun, a bunch of pot, and a box of squirrels

From the website Outdoor hub...

A man from Kimball, Michigan, was arrested earlier this month after a police search of his vehicle turned up a stolen firearm, drugs, and strangely enough, a box of live baby squirrels.

Sounds like the set up to a joke. A man walks into a bar with a gun, a joint, and a box of baby squirrels. I'm not sure how the rest of it goes, but I'm pretty sure the punchline includes the word "Nuts".

WGN drops CW network

This news came out the other day, so I'm a little tardy in reporting it, but it is a big deal when a station like WGN drops a network affiliation to become an independent station.

I only wish they had done it when they had the Cubs more often.

As the Sumner Turns

From this morning's Tom Taylor column...

Sumner Redstone turns 93 on Friday…And The Hollywood Reporter says the party has “a very different guest list” from a year ago. That one – with the theme “Passion to Party” – was arranged by two former girlfriends, both of whom were later booted from Redstone’s mansion. Manuela Herzer was also written out of Sumner’s will. Last year’s birthday party was held at the Vibrato Grill Jazz restaurant owned by Herb Alpert. This one will be at Sumner’s estate in Beverly Park, and some – definitely not all – of his family will be there. His ex-wife Phyllis is expected. Also their daughter and increasingly-prominent corporate force Shari Redstone. So will her sons Tyler Korff and Brandon Korff, plus her daughter Kimberlee, and Kimberlee’s own two kids. As the Hollywood Reporter says, “none was invited to last year’s event.” Not expected is Shari’s brother Brent, who previously sued Sumner and reached a settlement. Brent’s daughter Keryn sided with Manuela Herzer in Herzer’s recent court fight to have herself restored as Sumner’s health-care guardian. Keryn’s not on the guest list. Last year’s guests heard Tony Bennett entertain, but Bennett’s not appearing this year. Neither is Philippe Dauman (as you’d expect after the lawsuits). And neither is CBS Executive Chair/CEO Les Moonves. After all, this year’s birthday seems mostly about family, or at least some of it. And as close as Moonves has been to Sumner and now Shari – he’s not family.

Radio Hall of Fame Nominees

The list came out yesterday, and there are a few with Chicago connections (Eric & Kathy, Tom Kent). I think Eric and Kathy have a real chance this year in their category.

Here is the whole list...



Longstanding Local/Regional (20 years or more)
Jeff & Jer (Jeff Detrow & Jerry Cesak), San Diego
Charles Laquidara, Boston
Bobby O'Jay, Memphis
Garland Robinette, New Orleans

Active Local/Regional (10 years or more)
Tom Barnard, Minneapolis
BJ & Migs (BJ Shea & Steve Migs), Seattle
Eric & Kathy (Eric Ferguson & Kathy Hart), Chicago
Preston and Steve (Preston Elliot & Steve Morrison), Philadelphia

Networks/Syndication (10 years or more)
American Top 40 & On-Air With Ryan Seacrest, Ryan Seacrest
The Fabulous Sports Babe, Nanci Donnellan
The Steve Harvey Morning Show, Steve Harvey
Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!, Peter Sagal

Longstanding Network/Syndication (20 years or more)
Delilah, Delilah
Gospel Traxx with Walt "Baby" Love, Walt "Baby" Love
The Jim Rome Show, Jim Rome
The Kim Komando Show, Kim Komando

Music Format Air Personality
Sean "Hollywood" Hamilton
Tom Kent
The Kevin & Bean Show (Kevin Ryder & Gene Baxter)
Bob Kingsley

Spoken Word Air Personality
Diane Rehm
Mike Francesa and Chris Russo
Michael Savage
Sean Hannity

Green White

My blogging will be sporadic this week because Green White Soccer Club is ridiculously busy this week, and I'm on the board of directors for both the youth and men's programs

The youth program is doing tryouts today, tomorrow and Wednesday. Hundreds of kids will be processed and evaluated, then placed on teams. Tons of work.

The adult program is staging a nationwide tournament--teams from all over the country are arriving on Friday. We'll be making over 300 pounds of sausage on Thursday night, and then my whole family will be out working at the tournament on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

I'm taking the wife to the Cubs game next Monday to celebrate surviving the week.

The BTB Foundation

We raised $120,000 for families struggling with cancer at last weekend's BTB golf outing!

One of the families benefitting this year is my cousin Derek's family. His son Caleb is suffering through Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, and on behalf of the family, we greatly appreciate the help Tom & Bill are offering.

I'd also like to personally thank everyone who contributed prizes to the raffle like KP Lynne, Randy Richardson, Tricia Furnett Mladic, Linda Hertl Witzke, Harry Witzke, Bruce Malter, Rowena Felix Salas, David Stern, Eva-Maria Rill, and my buddies who agreed to golf with me Jim Wiser and Scott Redman (photo), not to mention those of you who came to the dinner (three tables full), the dozen or so who donated funds, and the group of dedicated folks who volunteered to help at the golf outing. We can't thank you enough for your help. Seriously. Deep, deep thanks.

1972 News

Floyd Kalber, Johnny Morris, Harry Volkman...a blast from the past.

As the Sumner Turns

One of the weirdest parts of the Sumner Redstone saga was the decision Redstone made to put his CEO Phillippe Dauman in charge of his medical decisions. Who does that? (Someone who has a family that hates him). Dauman was also given control of the trust that would take over the company after Sumner dies (which will be soon--he's in his 90s and ailing) ahead of Redstone's own daughter, who is a high-ranking executive with the company

Well, over the weekend that changed. The Hollywood Reporter headline says it all: It's War: Sumner Redstone Ousts Philippe Dauman From Trust That Will Control Viacom and CBS.

Looks like Shari Redstone (Sumner's daughter) is a chip off the old block, unless of course you believe that the 90-something Sumner is making this power play from his wheelchair using sign language and grunts. (I wouldn't put it past the old coot--but it does seem unlikely). I just think it's funny that's she's more concerned about getting control of the company than she is in getting control over her own father's medical decisions.

After the ruthless and cut-throat life Sumner lived, that's what they call Kismet.

Farewell Mr. Bunting

Did not see this coming. Pretty darn funny...