Minutia Men--Back in the Saddle

In this week's episode we catch up with our old pal Spike Manton--who calls in from his new mountain home.

Listen to it here.

St. Nick's

Happy St. Nick's Day! Would you believe only two out of the more than 2200 players who have played for the Cubs were named Nick? Nicholas Dumovich (1923) and Nicholas Castellanos (2019). Both, of course, are featured in everycubever (Buy it here!)

Da Bears?

I'm not sure what team I was watching last night, but they sure looked good.

Mitchell Trubisky made NFL history tonight 👀 pic.twitter.com/ql3sZ6prbw

— Bears Talk (@NBCSBears) December 6, 2019

Here We Go

The President is a continuing threat to our democracy and leaves us no choice but to act. I am asking our Chairmen to proceed with articles of impeachment. #DefendOurDemocracy

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) December 5, 2019

It's Officially a Conspiracy Theory

We live in a world where up is down and black is white. I read the Mueller report. In no way does it exonerate Trump, despite what the president and his supporters constantly say.

The counter to Mueller was the "investigation of the investigators". Remember that? It was supposed to be the *real* scandal. Trump's hand-picked AG hand-picked another US Attorney to look into it. The Inspector General looked into it too. There's nothing there. Nothing. Here's the headline in the Washington Post today: Barr’s handpicked prosecutor tells inspector general he can’t back right-wing theory that Russia case was U.S. intelligence setup.

Of course it's not true. It was always a ridiculous theory.

I feel my wallet tingling

From this morning's RAMP Newsletter...

Apple Corps, Ltd. and The Thread Shop, the merchandising division of Sony Music Entertainment, announced a broad partnership to develop new merchandise, licensing, retail and ecommerce opportunities for The Beatles in North America. The Thread Shop will work closely with Apple Corps "to expand The Beatles' brand presence in the U.S. and throughout the region by creating unique apparel, products and collaborations that celebrate the band's indelible cultural and musical legacy and further the reach and impact of its iconography with fans." New Beatles merchandise will be made available across The Thread Shop's network of major retail chains and leading independent retailers. The Thread Shop will also operate The Beatles North America direct-to-consumer commerce site, usastore.thebeatles.com.

The Thread Shop will introduce its first wave of The Beatles merchandise collection with a Beatles holiday pop-up store in New York City from December 11 through December 22 -- perfectly timed for holiday shopping. The pop-up will showcase new apparel designs as well an assortment of licensed Beatles clothing, toys, and other branded products including turntables, a pinball machine, and other cool stuff.
In connection with the agreement between Apple Corps and Sony Music, Joe Marziotto has joined the Thread Shop Team as VP, Licensing & Marketing to continue active Beatles licensing relationships and develop new opportunities for the band in partnership with Apple Corps.

Good Biden Ad

I'm not even a Biden guy, but I tip my hat on this ad. Very well done.

EveryCubEver

The new edition of EveryCubEver has a few big surprises. For instance, did you know that John Glenn played for the Cubs?



OK, maybe not that John Glenn. But there was a John Glenn who played for the Cubs in 1876-1877. He was not a nice man. Glenn was killed by police at the age of 38 during an attempted lynching. He looked like this...

Chet & Pat

The December issue of Illinois Entertainer is out, and features my year-end column paying tribute to the Chicago media figures we lost this year. I concentrated on two friends I still miss; Chet Coppock and Pat Colander. https://illinoisentertainer.com/2019/12/media-december-2019-in-memorium/

The Whole World is Laughing at Us

.@JustinTrudeau, @EmmanuelMacron, @BorisJohnson and other VIPs shared a few words at a Buckingham Palace reception Tuesday. No one mentions @realDonaldTrump by name, but they seem to be discussing his lengthy impromptu press conferences from earlier in the day. (Video: Host Pool) pic.twitter.com/dVgj48rpOP

— Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) December 3, 2019

An Off-White Christmas

Eckhartz Press author Donald G. Evans's short story collection, An Off-White Christmas, is now available in audio and e-book formats. Two chances, both in Oak Park, to get your signed book before the holidays.

Wednesdays Are for Writers
Wednesdays Are For Writers
7-9 p.m.
Eastgate Cafe
102 Harrison Street
Oak Park, IL 60304

Don and Hannah Jennings will talk about the story collection at this monthly reading series. Admission is free, but everybody who comes is encouraged to spend $10, on food, drink, or some combination.



Nineteenth Century Club’s Enrichment Series
Monday, Dec. 16, 2019
11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
19th Century Club
178 Forest Ave.
Oak Park, IL 60301

The Nineteenth Century Club hosts a staged reading of the story "Bah!", An Off-White Christmas. Some actors who did the exceptional, just-released audio recording of the story collection, including Kevin Theis, Savanna Rae, and Bryan Wakefield, will perform

Reservations are required for the lunch, which precedes the performance. Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, as a co-sponsoring nonprofit organization, is able to offer our audience the member rate of $20 (as compared to the non-member rate of $25) that includes social time (starting at 11:30 a.m.), lunch (noon), program (1 p.m.) and tea (2:15 p.m.). Reservations should be made before Dec. 10. Two options for making making reservations: 1. call the 19th Century Club directly (708.386.2729) and let them know you are taking advantage of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame's $20 membership rate, 2. email CLHOF or call (773.414.2603) and we'll add you to our list of attendees. For those who can't make the luncheon, there is a suggested program donation of $15. Books will be available for sale.

EveryCubEver

On December 3, remember EveryCubEver who wore the number 3 is in the book "EveryCubEver". It is the perfect Christmas gift for the Cub fan in your family. (https://eckhartzpress.com/shop/everycubever-new-2019-updated-edition/) Here are a few examples of famous Cub #3s...Kiki Cuyler (HOF), Rip Collins, Phil Cavarretta, Frankie Frisch (HOF), Jim Bolger, Gene Clines, and David Ross

Exploring London

While we were in London, of course, we had a chance to explore the sights. Here are a few of them...

Inside Chelsea

A tremendous trip over the holiday weekend took me to Chelsea headquarters in England. We got inside access to their training facility, and went to see a game at Stamford Bridge. What an opportunity. Thanks so much to Chelsea for inviting us. Fun group, including my brother Peter. Adam and I will be talking about this in our podcast next week...