Rush drummer Neil Peart dead at 67. I always thought he was underrated as a lyricist. I spent many hours in my youth poring over his words. They inspired me to think, and later, to write. RIP Neil. Thank you. https://t.co/NXMJxQb0Uu
— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) January 10, 2020
Musings, observations, and written works from the publisher of Eckhartz Press, the media critic for the Illinois Entertainer, co-host of Minutia Men, Minutia Men Celebrity Interview and Free Kicks, and the author of "The Loop Files", "Back in the D.D.R", "EveryCubEver", "The Living Wills", "$everance," "Father Knows Nothing," "The Radio Producer's Handbook," "Records Truly Is My Middle Name", and "Gruen Weiss Vor".
Friday, January 10, 2020
Neil Peart
Minutia Men Celebrity Interview--John Records Landecker
Listen to it here.
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Pat Colander auction
The event sale is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 at Rivich Auction House and Gallery, 1828 Indianapolis Blvd. in Whiting. Wine will be served at a preview reception at 6 p.m., one hour before the auction, which will include curated selections from Colander’s personal art and literary collections, paintings, books, glassware and personal items. There will also be an online auction for bidding from afar, with many of the lots already posted, by searching “Rivich Auction” at www.liveauctioneers.com. Smaller items will be sold with a silent auction during the event.
A number of autographed books, including some from her late film critic friend Roger Ebert, are included in sale.
In 2017, Pat published her last book that detailed her life in journalism and many great behind-the-scenes newsroom stories. She grew up on the south side of Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois and Purdue University Calumet. Her final book was "Hugh Hefner's First Funeral and Other True Tales of Love and Death in Chicago" (2015, Eckhartz Press, $15.95). The book title is taken from her details of the shocking death of Bobbie Arnstein, the executive secretary to Hugh Hefner and hailed as the woman behind the man who created the men's magazine empire. Other tales in the book range from a tour of the old Cook County morgue and the investigation that led to the capture of the Tylenol tampering killer.
Colander was also fascinated by the death of candy heiress Helen Brach, who was the subject on one of her earlier books, "Thin Air: The Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Helen Brach," published in 1982.
Artist Scott Covert used a stretched canvas and oil and wax-based crayons to create large works which depicts “rubbings” of the façade of tombstones and crypts of notable strange famous deaths, including those of comedians Phil Silvers, Oliver Hardy, Stringbean, Jackie Gleason, Marty Feldman, Lenny Bruce, Andy Kaufman and others. A matching piece by artist Covert does the same final resting place treatment for great writers including John Steinbeck, Louis L’Amour, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, William Faulkner and Bob Kane.
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Mike Murphy
(Check out this fascinating Mediaburn video of Murphy in action back in the 1990s.)
I hope he changes his mind. He had a unique voice on Chicago sports radio.
Old Aches and Pains
75-year-old Luke Appling hits a HR vs. Warren Spahn at the "First Annual Cracker Jack Old Timers Baseball Classic" in Washington, D.C.! (July 1982) #Inspiration #MLB #History pic.twitter.com/tKGDnw4b34
— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) January 7, 2020
Robert Feder
The January edition of Illinois Entertainer features an interview with Brad Edwards, the investigative reporter who moved up to main news anchor at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 last spring. (Here is the link.) “It’s a remarkable thing we’re trying to do at CBS 2. We are actually doing some accountability journalism,” Edwards tells media columnist Rick Kaempfer. “It’s going to take some time to change a generation of viewing habits, in combination with a dwindling market share for local news in general.”
Monday, January 06, 2020
Kyle Long
Some chicagoans are probably happy to hear I’m finally stepping away and getting my body right. Some Chicagoans may be sad to hear this. Either way ufeel about it, I want u to know how lucky I am to have spent time in your city. I became a man while playing in Chicago.Thank you❤️
— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) January 6, 2020