Friday, April 13, 2018

One of the great albums


Friday the 13th

Some explanations from alltimelists.com...

*some contributing factors to the avoidance of the 13th which are both historical as well as biblical. For example, the number 12 is considered as a whole in numerology - the twelve tribes of Israel, the 12 apostles of Jesus and then the 12 successors of Muhammad in Shia Islam. Anything that is over is considered unwhole by numerologists.

*Another theory is mentioned by the author Dan Brown in his book about the crusaders and the Knights Templar. On Friday the 13th, 1307 hundreds of Knights Templar were arrested in Paris and throughout Europe. On October 13, 1307, France’s King Philip IV ordered the arrest of the Knight Templar for speculative reasons and many were murdered throughout Europe. Another reason, bound in blood, to avoid and fear Friday the 13th.

*Much paranoia for this day actually started in the 18th century. Henry Sutherland Edwards wrote in the 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini, that: “He was surrounded with friends to his last day. He considered (the number) 13 to be unlucky until his last day and he also passed away on Friday the 13th.”

*Later, a novel published in 1907 titled Friday, the Thirteen by Thomas W., popularized the idea of this day. It used the superstition to wreak havoc throughout American culture.

In other words, it's a bunch of hooey. Fear not!

The Cohen Tapes

Need ANOTHER comparison between this current Trump scandal and the Watergate scandal that took down President Nixon?

There are tapes.

And the prosecutors have them.

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Minutia Men, Episode 91


EP91 – Rick and Dave discuss a story that will make you cringe, the worst excuses ever, a really inappropriate t-shirt, bad luck hooky at Wrigley Field, and Rick’s brush with the Dixie Chicks.

Listen to it here.

Schneider Farewell

Had dinner at the Edelweiss restaurant last night with my co-author of "Gruen Weiss Vor!" Todd "Fritz" Schneider. He and his family are moving to California. It's a big loss for the soccer club, but it's also a big loss for my family. We'll really miss them.

Beth Jacobellis on WGN Radio


If you missed Beth's appearance on Steve Cochran's show, we now have the audio.

Click here to see some pictures and listen to the audio.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Seth Meyers says wife gave birth to their baby 'in a pair of sweatpants'

This was my worst nightmare when Bridget was pregnant.

Seth Meyers wife couldn't make it to the hospital. In fact, she couldn't make it out of their building.

All of the details are here.

Big Changes at Big 95.5

From this morning's Robert Feder column...

The long-anticipated shakeup of iHeartMedia Chicago’s country music station Tuesday didn’t end with the exit of Steve Stewart as program director and midday host. Also out after three years at WEBG 95.5 FM is the morning team of Mason Schreader and Zach “Remy” Hoesly. The lone holdover is Amber “Alabama” Cole, who’ll now host mornings solo. The native of Pinson, Alabama, who joined Big 95.5 as afternoon personality in 2015, had been co-hosting mornings with Mason & Remy since 2016. Incoming as program director and midday host is Lance Houston via iHeartMedia in Boston. From Chicago, Houston will continue to program WBWL in Boston as well. Underperforming ratings were cited for the shakeup. In the latest Nielsen Audio survey, Big 95.5 ranked 25th with a 1.7 percent audience share. It fared no better in the 25-to-54 revenue-generating demo.

Peabody Nominees

The Peabody Award is one of the most prestigious awards in the entertainment world, and the list of nominees was released yesterday.The full list is here.

John Oliver, SNL, Star Trek, and Bryant Gumbel are among the nominees.

Rupert Gets Raided Too

It didn't happen here in America, but Rupert Murdoch's empire was raided by law enforcement in England on the same day Michael Cohen got it here.

From the Daily Telegraph...

The British offices of the Murdoch entertainment empire 21st Century Fox have been raided by investigators from the European Commission, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

It is understood that competition watchdogs gained access to the company’s offices in Hammersmith, west London, early on Tuesday to seize documents and computer records.

The full details of the confidential investigation, which is believed to be in its early stages, have yet to be revealed. The building is home to Fox Networks, the company’s channels business.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Loop special

I spent the afternoon in Naperville being interviewed by this fine lad Brandon Herman on WONC Radio. He is doing a whole special on the history of the Loop, and he asked me to be a part of it. It's going to be a star studded special with the likes of Kevin Matthews, Chet Coppock, Mitch Michaels, Larry Wert, and more.

I was impressed that he knew so much about an era that happened before he was born. He asked good questions and had obviously done his homework. I'll post a link when the podcast is done.



From Robert Feder's column today, a few more details...

The Loop may be gone from Chicago’s airwaves, but its legacy is hardly forgotten. The latest tribute comes from WONC 89.1 FM, the radio station of North Central College in Naperville. Starting at 4 p.m. Saturday, host Brandon Herman will welcome veterans of The Loop to reminisce. Herman’s guests will include Chet Coppock, Terry Gibson, Rick Kaempfer, John “Byrd” Kempf, John Records Landecker, Kevin Matthews, Jimmy McInerney, Mitch Michaels and Wendy Snyder.

Investigating Google

Child advocacy groups are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate YouTube (which is owned by Google). There's a law that says it's illegal to target children with ads (without parental permission), and anyone who knows a kid, knows they spend all of their time on YouTube. Those YouTube users have their data mined, and ads are clearly being targeted to them. I know it's not Google's intent, but I think this is a case that may just have a point.

Cat got your tongue?

Another example of why we can never be friends with the Russians. (Although this group was popular with the Russian ladies for some reason.)

Credit Where Credit is Due

This video that I posted last week has gone viral. It was retweeted and shared on twitter and facebook a gazillion times, and even aired on television here. It's not hard to understand why it is spellbinding people.

Once I start watching it, I can't stop. I find myself wondering what the participants were thinking at the time. Was anyone saying..."Um, this is a little weird fellas"...or were they high-fiving each other because they were so...damn...cool.



Well, I'd like to thank Suzanne Plunkett Photographs (on Cullom) for turning me on to this. I don't know Suzanne (she's friends with my friend Lynee), but that's how the video came to me.

Full plug alert: Suzanne does head shots. I looked at her website. If you're in Chicago and you're looking for a photographer, you might want to give her a jingle. She's clearly got an eye for unique visuals.

Fleetwood Mac Fires Buckingham

From this morning's RAMP newsletter...

Big news for the fans of Fleetwood Mac -- yesterday it was announced that longtime lead guitarist and musical collaborator Lindsey Buckingham was leaving the band; that news was quickly followed by the announcement that Mike Campbell, longtime lead guitarist for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Neil Finn, frontman for Crowded House would join the band for a fall tour.

"Fleetwood Mac has always been about an amazing collection of songs that are performed with a unique blend of talents," Mick Fleetwood said. "We jammed with Mike and Neil and the chemistry really worked and let the band realize that this is the right combination to go forward with in Fleetwood Mac style. We know we have something new, yet it’s got the unmistakable Mac sound."

Lindsey is not a small part of the band. He wrote "Go Your Own Way", "The Chain", "Monday Morning", "Second Hand News" and "Tusk" (to name a few). I'm guessing he's a bit of a pain in the ass, or there is no way Fleetwood Mac would do this. (Note that it does take two people to replace him)


Monday, April 09, 2018

Dane Placko

My buddy Dane Placko got the following mention in today's Robert Feder column...

Dane Placko, the veteran investigative reporter for Fox 32, has a harrowing vacation story to tell. While in London with his daughters over spring break he suffered a detached retina and lost vision in his left eye. After undergoing emergency surgery, he was warned not to fly home for at least four weeks or the gas jelly holding his retina in place could explode. “I went to London and became a middle-aged pirate,” Placko told Facebook friends. “How to describe the experience? I felt like the astronaut rushing through the tunnel of psychedelic lights in the movie ‘2001.’”

Ed Lover

A new morning man in Chicago. From this morning's RAMP Newsletter...

Hip-Hop Hall of Famer Ed Lover just arrived in Chicago, hired by Entercom to host the debut morning show on Classic Hip Hop WBMX (104.3 JAMS). The Ed Lover Morning Show, co-hosted by market vet Jennifer "Jen BT" Farina, premieres Thursday, April 12 at 6am CT.

"Ed Lover is as smooth as his name and we're looking forward to having him take the helm of mornings on Chicago's No. 1 station for Throwbacks," said Jimmy de Castro, SVP/Market Manager, Entercom Chicago. "His deep connection and knowledge of Classic Hip-Hop and R&B, along with his energy and drive will help Chicagoans start their mornings on the right note."

Cubsessions Launch



Huge crowd came out yesterday for our launch party of Cubsessions (by Randy Richardson & Becky Sarwate), and it was a star-studded affair. Ex-Cubs Steve Trout, Rich Nye, Gene Hiser and even Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins stopped by. Also, broadcasters like Jennifer Roberts, Chet Coppock and Bobby Skafish, and nearly the entire board of directors from the Chicago Writers Association. A great time was had by one and all!

Here are a few pictures from the event...





JRL and Dan O'Day

The Hannity-Kimmel Feud Appears to Be Over

I suspect it's more like a temporary truce, but Jimmy Kimmel did apologize this weekend.

What was he apologizing for? After Hannity ripped Kimmel for making a joke about Melania's accent, Jimmy tweeted the following...

“Don’t worry—just keep tweeting—you’ll get back on top! (or does Trump prefer you on bottom?) Either way, keep your chin up big fella..XO. When your clown makeup rubs off on Trump’s ass, does it make his butt look like a Creamsicle?”

I'm sorry, but that's just funny.

JRL Reviews Hall of Fame Program

Happy Birthday Dear Mitchie, Happy Birthday to You

Look who turned 70! Eckhartz Press author Mitch Michaels. He was thrown a surprise party over the weekend, and it's obvious he enjoyed the attention...