Minutia Men, Episode 16

EP16 – Rick and Dave discuss Catgirls, what you should NEVER send to All Contacts, a real bonus with your coffee, and Rick’s brush with Eric Burdon from the Animals.

Listen to it here.

Wrigley Again

Yesterday I went to Wrigley Field once again. This time I decided to have a bit more of a dramatic entrance.



OK, you got me. That wasn't me. But I did take the picture. And I did witness another Cubs victory.

Paul is Back at Capitol Records

From the RAMP Newsletter...

Paul McCartney has come home to Capitol Records, signing a worldwide recording agreement that encompasses his entire body of post-Beatles work, from his 1970 McCartney album, through his decade with Wings, to his other solo and collaborative works. "This is genuinely exciting for me," said McCartney, whose stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (both solo and with The Beatles) are enshrined in the sidewalk outside the Capitol Tower in Hollywood. "Not only was Capitol my first U.S. record label, but the first record I ever bought was Gene Vincent's 'Be-Bop-A-Lula' on the Capitol label."

One last tribute to McLaughlin

Funny bit from 1990's SNL...

Hillary & Paul

The company you keep says a lot about a person. You may not like Hillary, but she knows good music when she hears it.

She's with me. pic.twitter.com/vHPMHMjFvV

— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) August 17, 2016

NPR Gives Up Comments Section

NPR.com has decided to no longer allow comments on their stories.

Long time readers of this blog know that I approve. (Notice my lack of a comments section) It's a cesspool out there, and only the loudest and most depressing voices get heard in the comments section. Everyone else gets turned off and never returns.

Trump Voters

Can he say something so far over the line that he'll lose his voters? According this focus group...no.

A Good Metaphor the World

True Olympic Spirit

I haven't watched a lot of the Olympics, but to me this is the kind of story that makes the Olympic Games so compelling.

It's the story of two female runners who crashed into each other during the 5000 meters race. What happened after that crash is what the true Olympic spirit is all about.

Read about it here.

Guess Where I Was Yesterday?

I seem to be taking up permanent residence there. Yesterday my companion was this kid, my youngest son Sean. It's pretty obvious he enjoys the experience more than his brothers. We had a great time. Thanks to my old pal Al Katz for these incredible seats...

WOLD

From this morning's Tom Taylor column. He jogged my memory about an old Harry Chapin song...

“W-O-L-D” was Harry Chapin’s 1974 song about a journeyman DJ, and these days those calls belong in the southwestern Virginia town of Marion. Now classic rock WOLD/102.5 and “Thunder Country 103.5” WZVA are selling, in a deal that makes Marion one of the most active small towns in the country for deals.

I don't care about West Virginia radio, but I did enjoy listening to this old tune again...

DreX

Remember DreX, the former morning personality at 103.5FM in Chicago? He had been hosting evenings in SF, but that stint has just ended. From the RAMP Newsletter this morning...

Yesterday we learned that DreX is stepping down from the night show at Cumulus News-Talk KGO-AM/San Francisco after an 18-month run, citing "personal family issues." DreX, whose real name is Kevin Buchar, is best known for his multiple stints at KTFM/San Antonio and a successful decade-long run in mornings on iHeartRadio Top 40 WKSC (103.5 Kiss FM)/Chicago, along with a stop at the late KSJO/San Jose.

NBC Boss Tell Real Views About Donald Trump

He was his Trump's boss at NBC, and this is how NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt described Trump on his facebook page..

“The sad state of affairs thanks to a pompous businessman turned reality TV star (whose show consistently ran LAST in its time period, by the way) who thinks speaking his mind is refreshing. It’s actually corrosive and toxic because his ‘mind’ is so demented; and his effect will unfortunately linger long after he’s been told to get off the stage.”

Yes, Greenblatt later deleted that comment because he was getting heat for it, but you know that's what he really believes. The problem, of course, is that Greenblatt was partially responsible for creating this reality television Frankenstein. He just never believed that viewers would ever take it seriously.

The Return of Brian Williams

He's still a punchline on the right, but Brian Williams has quietly been making a comeback on MSNBC. Over the past few months he has anchored more than 200 hours of mostly "breaking news" programming on the network.

Between Labor Day and Election Day, he will have his own nightly show on MSNBC. It will air at 10pm Central, right after the Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell.

RIP John McLaughin

McLaughlin hosted one of the first combative political TV talkshows in the nation--and his was on PBS. Over the years, entire cable-news networks have copied his approach.

Among the regular panelists on the show over the years; Pat Buchanan and Chris Matthews.

The show lasted on PBS for 34 years and spawned countless parodies, send-ups, and tributes.

My in-laws (may they rest in peace) never missed a show. McLaughlin may have been a cranky old bugger, but he knew how to do television, and he produced one of the rare shows that represents an era. He was 89 years old.

Elvis

On this day in 1977, the King passed away at the age of 42.

Kurt Melcher

My cousin Kurt made the news again.

After 22 years as the head women's soccer coach at Robert Morris University, and the head of their pioneering E-sports program, he has left the school to pursue the E-sports world full time.

Details are here.

Always wear a jock, fellas

Otherwise a floppage at the precisely wrong time could cost you a successful pole vault.

Pow! Right in the penis

Comedy Central Cancels The Nightly Show

The show was hosted by Larry Wilmore. He did a pretty good job of covering the news in a humorous way, but he never really caught on with the general public. His numbers were way down from Stephen Colbert's (in the same time slot), but even worse than that, he lost a huge portion of the lead-in audience from the Daily Show every night.

NBC.com has the details.

What a View

Last night at Wrigley. Just spectacular...

Whoa. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/FoIZOXBJfM

— MLB (@MLB) August 15, 2016

Trump Threatens NY Times

You see, he's not just running against Crooked Hillary now. He's running against the Crooked Media. You know, the guys who have given him billions of dollars of free publicity. Those guys. The guys he craves attention from like it's the only oxygen he can breathe.

His latest target: The New York Times. He's threatening to revoke their press credentials because of a story he disagrees with. You know, like presidents do. He's also saying that the only way he could lose is if Hillary cheats, even though she now has double-digit leads in polls in most of the swing states. Obviously those polls are rigged. Look at his crowds! Bigly.

And yet, this weekend I spoke with two more people who seem completely reasonable in every other way, who are thinking of voting for Trump because they think Hillary is worse. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a Hillary fan, but this is not a difficult decision. Just listen to this man speak for more than thirty seconds, and then imagine him representing the United States around the world for the next four years.

What am I missing?

Now we know why

Thank God Jon Snow was brought back to life so that he could do those car commercials.