Chicago Radio Spotlight: Max Armstrong

I just posted my latest Chicago Radio Spotlight interview. This week I talked to former WGN business reporter Max Armstrong. We discussed his 30 plus years at WGN and what he is up to now.

Read the interview here.

Diana Ross

Diana Ross is 66 years old today.

This is a fascinating look back into the 1960s. She appeared with the Supremes on What's My Line...

Woodstock

Woodstock (the movie) came out on this day in 1970. I've seen the movie, and you probably have too, but have you ever seen this home video from Woodstock. I thought this was fascinating from a historical perspective...

And the cradle will rock

Thirty years ago today....

Have you seen Junior's grades?



Footnote: I had the same fur leg warmers as David Lee Roth. But then again, who didn't?

Derrek Lee

He hurt his back when a chair he was sitting on collapsed.

I kid you not.

The gory details are here.

Oh, the joys of being a Cubs fan.

The Arkansas Hummingbird

That was the nickname of Cubs great Lon Warneke.

He pitched for the pennant winning Cubs of 1935 and 1945, and would have been part of the 1938 team too...if the Cubs didn't trade him during the peak of his career.

Nevertheless, the Arkansas Hummingbird was one of the best Cubs pitchers of the first half of last century.

Read all about him here.

He was born this week in 1909.

Pet Peeves

I just got the latest issue of NWI Parent Magazine in the mail.

As usual, I contributed the back page "Family Room" essay. This one is called "Pet Peeves" and it explains our (lack of) pet situation.

You can read it here.

Amadeus

25 years ago today, it was named "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards. I still think it's one of the best films ever, and not just because my father shoved Mozart down my throat from a very early age. ("You know, when Mozart was your age, he was composing concertos!"). It's a great character study of Salieri.

F. Murray Abraham deserved his best actor award...

Dutch

It was probably one of the most common baseball nicknames. Every ML team that existed in the first half of the 20th century had at least a couple of guys named Dutch.

Dutch Leonard was probably the best known Cub with the moniker. He was born on this day in 1909.

Read all about him here.

Brent

My college buddy Brent Petersen runs a farmer's market in Rhode Island. He now has a video promoting it.

Brent has previously appeared on this blog as a guest writer. He wrote a very funny piece explaining why he became a vegetarian. You can read that here.

NPR on Stay at Home Dads

A friend sent me this article about stay at home dads. 

According to this piece, there are now two million dads that are the primary caregivers of their kids.

Solidarity, brothers. Solidarity.

Joke for a Wednesday morning

Contributed by "BP"


 A Blonde's Year in Review




January
Took new scarf back to store because it was too tight.

February
Fired from pharmacy job for failing to print labels...Helllloooo!!!...bottles won't fit in printer!!!

March
Got really excited...finished jigsaw puzzle in 6 months...Box said ' 2-4 years!'

April
Trapped on escalator for hours ... Power went out!!!

May
Tried to make Kool-Aid...wrong instructions...8 cups of water won't fit into those little packets!!!

June
Tried to go water skiing...Couldn't find a lake with a slope.

July
Lost breast stroke swimming competition...Learned later, the other swimmers cheated, they used their arms!!!

August
Got locked out of my car in rain storm...Darn car filled up with water because convertible top was open.

September
The capital of California is 'C'...isn't it???

October
Hate M & M's.....They are so hard to peel.

November
Baked Thanksgiving turkey for 4 1/2 days ... Instructions said bake 1 hour per pound and I weigh 108!!

December
Couldn't call 911. 'Duh'.....there's no 'eleven' button on the stupid phone!!!

1910/1935

One hundred years ago this week, the Cubs are preparing for yet another NL Pennant winning season. Meanwhile, two unsuspecting parents were excited about their birth of their baby boy Clyde. His last name was Barrow...as in Bonnie & Clyde.

(Photo: Cubs great Orval Overall--left, and Clyde Barrow right.)



Seventy five years ago this week, the Cubs are preparing for yet another NL Pennant winning season. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, a country that had been known as Persia for thousands of years changed it's name to Iran.

Pretty Woman

Can you believe it was 20 years ago today that Pretty Woman was released? Here's the money shot... (Spoiler Alert: It's a happy ending)

The Wrigley Marquee

We all know that iconic Wrigley Field Marquee, but did you know it wasn't always red? It's true...it wasn't painted red until exactly fifty years ago today.

Before that, it looked like this.

Michelle Obama on the Simpsons

While many were watching the NCAA or the Health Care bill finally being passed by the House, the First Lady of our country was appearing in cartoon form on The Simpsons. Did you miss it? Here it is...

Strong like Bull

We all know about one former Cub nicknamed Bull--Leon Durham--but there was another. His name was Al Schroll, and he was born on this day in 1932.

The good news is that he didn't let a ground ball go through his legs at one of the most crucial moments in franchise history.

The bad news is that he was a terrible pitcher.

Read all about Bull here.

Al Schroll passed away in 1999.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent magazine. This one is called "Panic Attack" and it's about the day I found out I needed to teach a group of 20 first grade Cub Scouts how to make a craft.

You can read it here.