Today's Best Tweets

Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...




USA TODAY ‏@USATODAY 2m
U.S. economy adds surprising 204,000 jobs in October despite government #shutdown: http://usat.ly/HMSR0x (AP photo) pic.twitter.com/G2IWnByfPa

Chet Coppock ‏@ChetCoppock 5m
Will #Cubs new field general Rick Renteria be able keep Starlin Castro awake in 2014???

DRUDGE REPORT ‏@DRUDGE_REPORT 7m
Congressional lawmakers break pledge to donate pay from shutdown, keep checks instead... http://drudge.tw/194ZKRw

Matt Yglesias ‏@mattyglesias 9m
Nobody ever lost coverage they liked! RT @MikeGrunwald: I remember before Obamacare when health insurance was awesome.

TIME.com ‏@TIME 14m
Why it's a bad idea to mess with your body clock http://ti.me/1cH9JnV

Jessica Flynn ‏@jessicaflynn01 21m
If you don't spend your downtime looking at pictures of #nachos on the internet, then you're probably a real sicko.

David Haugh ‏@DavidHaugh 23m
Renteria persevered "difficult times" in past but job of Cubs manager might be more daunting than he realizes. Column http://trib.in/193ZJgr

RUTH BUZZI ‏@Ruth_A_Buzzi 38m
When you're dead, you don't realize you're dead; it's only really difficult for the people around you. Kind of like when you're stupid.

Jeff Greenfield ‏@greenfield64 37m
Ambivalence on the Right today: a mainstream media source (CBS) suffers a hit, but the discredited story served an anti-HRC narrative.

Taegan Goddard ‏@politicalwire 51m
Big Papi finishes 3rd in the Boston mayoral race
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/11/08/big_papi_finishes_3rd_in_boston_mayoral_race.html …

60 Minutes Backs Off Benghazi Story

It was an explosive story featuring an "eyewitness" of the Benghazi attack, but it's looking more and more like there are serious questions about his "eyewitness" report. Questions that weren't asked by 60 Minutes. It reminds me very much of the Dan Rather story about George Bush going AWOL in the National Guard.

Read the details here.

Going For It

INFJ

I took the personality test, and I came out an INFJ. You can read the description of an INFJ here, and take the test to see what you are.

I'm a little freaked out by this opening paragraph describing an INFJ...

"The INFJ type is believed to be very rare (less than 1 percent of the population) and it has an unusual set of traits. Even though their presence can be described as very quiet, INFJ personalities usually have many strong opinions, especially when it comes to issues they consider really important in life. If an INFJ is fighting for something, this is because they believe in the idea itself, not because of some selfish reasons."

Other INFJs include...Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, Goethe, Mel Gibson, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela

Look at that list and tell me which name doesn't quite fit in (other than mine).

Book Review: "Half"

When I first heard that Doug Reed's novel "Half" was a vampire book, I groaned. I hate vampire books. I've written several magazine articles about my bewilderment about this subject matter's popularity. But the book's publisher and editor, Olga Gardner Galvin (my editor and publisher for "$everance"), told me that I would appreciate this book, so I gave it a chance.

Olga was right.

This is not your teenage daughter's vampire book.

Doug Reed has taken the burning questions vampire skeptics like me ask every time we encounter vampire world, and explored them with tremendous skill.

*Immortality is a lot of time to fill. Wouldn't you quickly get bored out of your mind?

In "Half" we find a vampire working a mind-numbingly horrible second shift job at an insurance company, and we realize that immortality is a fate worse than death. (That workplace provides the setting for my favorite line in the novel: "No one will underwrite your soul.")

*I can barely remember my kids names. Wouldn't a vampire have a hard time remembering hundreds of years worth of people's names?

The main character of "Half" shows just how much of a detriment that can be.

*How can a vampire have sex if he doesn't have any blood in his body, if you know what I mean?

Doug boldly goes where no teenage vampire book has gone before.

*When a vampire turns into a bat, what happens to his clothes?

This is my favorite revelation in this novel, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

"Half" is groundbreaking. Name me another vampire novel that also features a leprechaun. Can't do it, can you?

It's hilarious. It's touching. It's lyrical.

Doug Reed is a twisted and talented writer. (I'd love to spend a day inside that brain). He's a Chicagoan now too. (The book takes place in his previous hometown of Madison).

Support your fellow Chicagoan, and pick up a copy today.

I really think you'll like it.

New Cubs Manager

The new manager of the Cubs, Rick Renteria, would have been introduced at a press conference today, but he recently had hip surgery.

That is so Cubs. They just hired a guy on the DL.

At Some Point You've Got To Be A Writer

I can't think of a single blog that is more consistently interesting than Ken Levine's blog.

Take this post for example. It's all about writing an episode of "Frasier", but it's really about the arc of a television series, and how different writers take characters in slightly different directions. I think it's fascinating, and even if you're not a writer, I think you'll think so too.

Freddie Mercury and David Bowie A-capella

Absolutely amazing...

Q & A With "Cheeseland" Author Randy Richardson

In May of 2012 Eckhartz Press released a wonderful coming-of-age novel by author Randy Richardson. The title of his novel was "Cheeseland", and it received rave reviews. Author Christine Sneed said it was "a story about masculine friendship you won't soon forget." Diane Rae, author of "Halo of the Damned", described "Cheeseland" as a cross between Frank McCourt’s "Angela’s Ashes" and Dennis Lehane’s "Mystic River."

Randy has been diligently promoting the book since its release, and we thought it would be a good time to check back in with him and see how it has been going.

Randy, what has surprised you the most about the reaction to your book?

Randy: I am always surprised when someone with whom I have no known connection buys my book and reads it. I read an article recently that there are somewhere between 600,000 and 1 million books published every year in the US alone. Think about that. Of all those books this person could have chosen, they picked mine. But I certainly never imagined that my little book, which I thought would have no more than a Midwestern regional interest, would find readers outside the US. But, somehow, it has. Two of the best reviews I received on Goodreads were from UK readers. One of them wrote a line that put me on the floor: “Truly a great read that I would put up there with Catcher in the Rye as a timeless critique of maturation, love and friendship.” I also had an order from the Australian Library System for five copies of my book. How or why that came about I have no idea. All I do know is that we live in a fascinating small world, a place where my words – as if placed in a bottle and dropped into the ocean – are able to reach out and touch someone who is thousands miles away. The pen is indeed a mighty weapon.

Do you have any good anecdotes from your promotional tour?

Randy: I’m not sure this counts as part of my promotional tour, but at my release party I was reunited with the high school friend who served as inspiration for one of the book’s main characters. In a way, it felt like life imitating art. We hadn’t seen each other in about 25 years, and just by chance he moved back to the Chicago area, after living in California for about 20 years, at the same time my book was being released. Much like the characters in the book who are reunited after being separated for three decades, I was reunited with this friend who helped to inspire the story. It was kind of surreal to see him again after so long and to think that it was this book that brought us together again. About a month later, the two of us got together again for a rock concert featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bad Company – and it was almost like going back in time to when the story began.

What have you learned about yourself and your writing since the book was published?

Randy: I suppose that when I embarked on the journey of writing Cheeseland I was, in some way, searching for answers about my past. I guess that the book helped to heal some of those old wounds. Certainly, it brought together that friend from my past that I thought I had long lost, and for that alone it was worth writing.

What is the question you hear the most, and how do you answer it?

Randy: The question I hear the most is, “How much of what happens in it is true?”

My answer is, one page, and that is page 43, the opening of Chapter 7. Even that scene is probably more fiction than reality, since in real life I was only half-conscious and in a haze of alcohol when that scene actually occurred. To the extent that I remember what did happen, I think it fairly depicts what occurred up until the point that there is a woman praying beside me. The rest of the story is all fiction, though there are certainly parts of it that are inspired by things that happened to me as a teen-ager.

Tell me why your book would make the perfect Christmas present.

Randy: I am told that it pairs nicely with a bottle of wine, so wrap them up together and you have the perfect Wine and Cheeseland gift basket.

PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF CHEESELAND RIGHT HERE AT ECKHARTZ PRESS







Eckhartz Press and Randy Richardson will be teaming up again on another book in 2014. Details will be announced after the first of the year.

Wanna Buy MJ's House?

The auction is 11/22/13...

Today's Best Tweets

Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...




TIME.com ‏@TIME 1m
Here are the funniest tweets about Twitter’s IPO $TWTR http://ti.me/192p62k

Kevin Fishbain ‏@kfishbain 6m
Jay Cutler is practicing today. In case anyone was curious.

Harry Connick, Jr. ‏@HarryConnickJR 11m
you know you're high on NyQuil when the most interesting line you say from the stage is "who likes cheese?"...

Gawker ‏@Gawker 31s
Celine Dion is hilarious, according to Celine Dion http://gaw.kr/geFweNj

ChicagoNow ‏@ChicagoNow 6m
34 Egregious Examples of Truly Terrible DVD Cover Art http://www.chicagonow.com/dad-all-day/2013/11/man-sues-wife-over-ugly-kids-and-wins/ …

New York Daily News ‏@NYDailyNews 13m
2, 4, 6, 9!!! http://nydn.us/HJ22js Cheerleading coach accused of having sex with student during school.

msnbc ‏@msnbc 26m
Oops! Joe Biden calls Marty Walsh to congratulate him on his win, but calls the wrong guy: http://onmsnbc.co/TR5uyF

Josh Marshall ‏@joshtpm 27m
'Guns & Ammo' Editor Apologizes To Outraged Readers For Publishing Pro-Gun Control Editorial http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/guns-ammo-editor-apologizes-to-outraged-readers-for-publishing-pro-gun-control-editorial

The Associated Press ‏@AP 28m
Forecasters say fireball seen streaking across Southern California was probably a meteor: http://apne.ws/17PrMEE -SS

Rolling Stone ‏@RollingStone 33m
Couples celebrate as Illinois becomes the 15th state to legalize marriage equality: http://rol.st/1c25le8

Rick Renteria

The new manager of the Cubs will be former Padres bench coach Rick Renteria.

Details are here.

This is the reason they hired him: "The Cubs are counting on him to get the most out of young players such as shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, along with prospects such as Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Albert Almora and Kris Bryant."

If he can do that, it's a good hire. If he can't...well, that makes him just like every other manager the Cubs have hired in my lifetime.

Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell turns 70 years old today. She was one of the first music celebrities I ever met. It was the weekend of Farm Aid, and she actually came to our WPGU pre-show party the night before the concert. Very nice lady.

Happy birthday Joni!

A Big Hit in the Blackhawks Game

I watching the Hawks game last night and saw this hit by Bollig. He knocked the glass right out.

But it's what happened after the glass was knocked out that was amusing.

Potty Talk! 3 year old contemplates the effects of his diet

Hilarious...(over 2 million views on YouTube)

The Aragon Ballroom

I'm going to a concert with my son Tommy on Saturday night at the Aragon Ballroom. I haven't gone to a show there since I saw the Ramones thirty years ago. I was trying to explain to Tommy the rich history of that place, and even I was surprised by what I discovered. You know who has played that hall since the beginning of the rock and roll era? Everyone. I mean EVERYONE.

Take a look at this list, which I found here.

April 6-7, 1968: The Turtles / The Regiment / The Bubble Gum Machine
April 19-21, 1968: Traffic / The Circus / The Loved Ones
May 10-12, 1968: The Ohio Express (10), Dyke & The Blazers (10-12)
August 3, 1968: Herman’s Hermits / Sunshine Sequence
May 17-19, 1968: The Grass Roots / Howlin’ Wolf / The Rush Hour
January 18, 1969: Buckinghams / Operation Soul / Baby Huey & The Babysitters
January 25, 1969: Stevie Wonder / Motown Sound / Soul Machine
March 1, 1969: Marvin Gaye
March 7-8, 1969: Mitch Ryder / The Trends / Chicago Soul Sextet
March 21, 1969: Steppenwolf / Bangor Flying Circus / Three Dog Night
March 22, 1969: Procol Harum / Howlin’ Wolf / Litter / Little John Blues Band
March 28, 1969: Spencer Davis / Howlin’ Wolf / Albert Smith Blues Band
April 11, 1969: Iron Butterfly / Steve Miller Band
June 13, 1969: Ike & Tina Turner / Four Days & A Night / Dee Dee Turner
August 22, 1969: Moody Blues / Mickey, Larry & The Esiters / Conqueror Worm
November 26, 1969: Beach Boys
April 10, 1970: Pink Floyd / Rotary Connection / Mason Proffit
May 1, 1970 Al Kooper / The Byrds / Bangor Flying Circus/ Second City Cast / One Man’s Family
June 5, 1970 Jethro Tull / Sha-Na-Na
August 25, 1972: The Kinks / Foghat / Dr. Hook and His Medicine Show / Flash
September 30, 1972: Chuck Berry
January 19, 1973: Badfinger / Raspberries / Amazing Blondel
October 12, 1973: ZZ Top / Fleetwood Mac / Nazareth
March 22, 1974 Sly & The Family Stone
April 26, 1974 Eagles / Marshall Tucker
May 17, 1974 Blue Oyster Cult / Aerosmith / Sharks
May 24, 1974 Bachman Turner
October 18, 1974 Aerosmith
November 1, 1974 Lou Reed
March 8, 1975 Queen / Kansas / Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush
April 19, 1975 Kraftwerk /Greenslade
June 28, 1975 Spirit
July 13, 1975 Joe Walsh
October 10, 1975 J. Geils Band
December 15. 1975 Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes / Mountain / Heartsfield
April 9, 1976 Joe Cocker
April 21, 1976 Thin Lizzy
April 22, 1976 Santana
February 25, 1977 Journey /Heartsfield /Mr. Big
April 21, 1978 Elvis Costello /Mike De Ville /Nick Lowe
April 26, 1979 Van Halen /Robert Fleishman
July 13, 1979 Devo
August 2, 1979 Cars /Nick Glider
September 14, 1979 Clash /Bo Diddley /Undertones
October 19, 1979 AC/DC //Pat Travers
October 26, 1979 Talking Heads
November 16, 1979 Scorpions /Sammy Hagar
November 23, 1979 Tom Petty /F. Poodles
December 1, 1979 Jefferson Starship
November 22, 1980 Police /XTC
August 22, 1981 Pretenders /Bureau
April 3, 1982 B-52′s Video Dance Party / The Bongos
September 24, 1982 Joe Jackson
October 31, 1982 George Thorogood /Johnny Winter /Big Twist
November 24, 1982 Adam Ant /One Bullet Theory
December 4, 1982 Stray Cats /Marshall Crenshaw
March 18, 1983 English Beat / Thompson Twins
March 26, 1983 Psychedelic Furs /Depeche Mode
May 21, 1983 U2 / Dream Syndicate
July 15, 1983 Foghat /Krokus /Peter Tosh
November 25, 1983 Cheap trick /Aldo Nova /Danny Sparks
December 16, 1983 Eddie Money /Saga
Febraury 18, 1984 Billy Idol/Elvis Brothers
July 7, 1984 R.E.M. /Dream Syndicate
December 27, 1984 Bryan Adams /Honeymoon Suite
June 21, 1985 Howard Jones/ Red 7
June 23, 1985 Tears for Fears /Gowan
November 24, 1985 Inxs /Cruzados
December 6, 1985 Stevie Ray Vaughan /Eddie Clearwater
March 13, 1987 Beastie Boys /Fishbone /Murphy’s Law
October 18, 1988 Midnight Oil /Yothu Yindi
December 10, 1988 Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos
February 9, 1990 Violent Femmes
March 16, 1990 Joe Satriani
November 30, 1990 Jane’s Addiction / Henry Rollins Band
November 29, 1991 Red Hot Chili Peppers /Smashing Pumpkins/ Pearl Jam
October 23, 1993 Nirvana /Mudhoney /Jawbreaker
November 25, 1993 INXS /Catherine Wheel
November 26, 1993 Bodeans /Lowen & Navarro
December 9, 1993 Smashing Pumpkins /Swervedriver Frogs
November 18, 1994 Green Day /Pansy Division
August 8, 1995 Weezer /Teenage Fanclub /That Dog
February 2, 1996 Lenny Kravitz /Triple Fast Action
October 17, 1997 David Bowie/ DJ U-Sheen
October 21, 1997 Foo Fighters /Talk Show /Treble Charge
September 16, 2002: The Rolling Stones.

Hillenmeyer Was Bullied Too

Former Bears Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer admitted on the radio yesterday that he was bullied when he was on the Chicago Bears. The bully on the Bears at the time was center Olin Kreuz.

CBS local has the details.

I'm not exactly surprised by this revelation. Kreuz had a very bad reputation in that regard. Apparently, it was well earned.

Elizabeth Vargas in Alcohol Rehab

ABC 20/20 co-host Elizabeth Vargas (a Heidelberg High School classmate of mine) has entered an alcohol rehab center for treatment of alcohol abuse. TV Newser has the details.

That's a big step to take even when you aren't in the public eye. I give her a lot of credit for realizing she has a problem and doing something about it.

Cubs Broadcasting News

There were a couple of pretty big stories in the Cubs broadcasting world yesterday.

First the Cubs announced that they were exercising their option to end their WGN-TV contract. That's a big deal. The Cubs have been on WGN-TV since 1948.

Then, later in the day, WGN Radio announced that Keith Moreland was stepping down as the radio analyst, so he could spend more time with his family in Texas.

Now, for the second time in the last three years, the Cubs are officially looking for a new sidekick for Pat Hughes.

Oh, and they are also going to announce their new manager tomorrow. But Cubs fans know not to get too emotionally attached to our managers. It's the broadcasters that become a part of our daily lives.

Behind the Scenes with John Records Landecker at WGN Radio (Photos, commentary, and audio)

While you were sleeping last night, I was with John Records Landecker at WGN Radio. He was there to do an interview on the Pete McMurray show. Pete talked to John about the book ("Records Truly Is My Middle Name"), the old days at WLS, and more.

To finish off the interview, John was given music intros sight unseen, and asked to talk up the post. There's never been anyone better at that highly specialized skill, and Mr. Landecker came through as we all knew he would.

Thanks to Pete, his producer Scott Miller, and the rest of the gang over there at WGN. It was a fun hour of radio.

You can listen to it here on the WGN website.

Outside the showcase studio at midnight...


In the green room...


The door leading into the studio...


On the air at WGN Radio...


John Records Landecker & Pete McMurray...