Friday, July 31, 2020

RIP Alan Parker

He directed some classic films, including "Bugsy Malone", "Midnight Express", "Evita", "Mississippi Burning", "The Commitments", "Fame", "Pink Floyd The Wall" and more. Alan Parker has died at age 76. He was nominated for the Academy Award for this one. I had nightmares for years.
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What if you had been in a coma the last 3 1/2 years and you just woke up?

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Get well soon Nicholas Tremulis

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Last Night's Sunset

I know, I know. I get your mocking notes. But I'm still going to post my sunset pictures. It's my blog.




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Jared

This piece in Vanity Fair is shocking. For those who feel that maybe Trump should be given a pass for the complete failure of this country's virus response, you might want to check it out. This paragraph is going to stick with me...

Most troubling of all, perhaps, was a sentiment the expert said a member of Kushner’s team expressed: that because the virus had hit blue states hardest, a national plan was unnecessary and would not make sense politically. “The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy,” said the expert.
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Perfect Coverage of Yesterday's John Lewis Funeral


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Ellen's Letter to Her Staff

Variety printed the entire e-mail that Ellen sent to her staff after hearing that she runs a toxic workplace. You'll note she pretends like she had no idea this was happening. From my experience, that's rather difficult to believe. Here's the e-mail...

Hey everybody – it’s Ellen. On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness – no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show.

I could not have the success I’ve had without all of your contributions. My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that. Alongside Warner Bros, we immediately began an internal investigation and we are taking steps, together, to correct the issues. As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.

I’m also learning that people who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am and that has to stop. As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or – worse – disregarded. To think that any one of you felt that way is awful to me.

It’s been way too long, but we’re finally having conversations about fairness and justice. We all have to be more mindful about the way our words and actions affect others, and I’m glad the issues at our show were brought to my attention. I promise to do my part in continuing to push myself and everyone around me to learn and grow. It’s important to me and to Warner Bros. that everyone who has something to say can speak up and feels safe doing so.

I am so proud of the work we do and the fun and joy we all help put out in the world. I want everyone at home to love our show and I want everyone who makes it to love working on it. Again, I’m so sorry to anyone who didn’t have that experience. If not for COVID, I’d have done this in person, and I can’t wait to be back on our stage and see you all then.

Stay safe and healthy.

Love,

Ellen

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Coronavirus hits Chicago Radio

From today's Robert Feder column...

Studios and offices of iHeartMedia Chicago at 233 North Michigan Avenue have been locked down this week after an unidentified employee tested positive for COVID-19, according to insiders. Only three engineers, an engineering vice president and housekeeping personnel are being allowed in, sources said. Matt Scarano, president of iHeartMedia Chicago, declined to comment. The iHeartMedia group here includes hip-hop WGCI 107.5-FM, R&B WVAZ 102.7-FM, Top 40 WKSC 103.5-FM, adult contemporary WLIT 93.9-FM, country WEBG 95.5-FM, and gospel WGRB 1390-AM.

As a sidebar note--because of consolidation there are six stations in the same hallway. One case may have just taken down a fifth of Chicago's radio stations.
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Thursday, July 30, 2020

Now *that's* living


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Free Kicks--Premier League Wrap Up

This week's episode looks back at a truly memorable Premier League 2019-2020 season.

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Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Rick at 57

Spent my birthday evening (yesterday) with my family at mom's house. I have a great mom. She calls me every year at exactly 12:57pm on my birthday, the exact moment I was born. And she puts out a heck of a food spread...


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Worst President Ever

Watch this video and tell me that you're more worried about Joe Biden losing it. Dear God. This man is the president. We are so f'ed.
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What I secretly think happens every time I shank a golf ball

Pretty darn funny.
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RIP Lou Henson

He was the Illini coach for more than 20 years, during a time when Illinois basketball was a powerhouse. Lou was known for his orange sport coats and his ridiculous swirled-combover. RIP Lou. RIP the Lou Doo. 

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Reconcile the Aisle


After Dave and I appeared on her podcast Reconcile the Aisle, we recommended her to the Radio Misfits Network, and they agreed she was a good addition. Congrats to Eckhartz Press author Lauren LoGiudice (Inside Melania)!
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Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Cubs through history

#Cubs through history: July 28, 1929. Future first lady Jaqueline Bouvier (Kennedy) is born in New York. The Cubs are in the midst of a pennant winning season, and beat the Phillies 7-2 at Wrigley Field. Riggs Stephenson hits a three run homer for the Cubs, and Guy Bush gets W.



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Animal House

It came out on my 15th birthday. I convinced my mom to take me to see it (I was a huge National Lampoon fan) by telling her it was a movie about animals...which was technically true. Luckily for me, the theater was packed and we had to sit apart. After the Bluto scene at the sorority I saw her walking up and down the aisles looking for me. She couldn't find me. :)
My favorite scene...
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Ellen Show Investigated

If you've been around showbiz people, it's only a matter of time before you hear legendary stories about the workplace conditions on the Ellen Show. She comes off on the air as the nicest person around (Be Kind), but people who work on the show are allegedly treated terribly.

Well, the folks at corporate have apparently finally heard this news as well.

According to Variety, the workplace conditions are officially being investigated.
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Monday, July 27, 2020

Cubs Through History

#Cubs through history: July 27, 1974. President Richard Nixon is charged with first of three articles of impeachment. The Cubs are at home against the Cardinals. The Cards win the game on an error during an attempted Lou Brock steal. Cubs 2B Grabarkewitz makes 3 errors in game.
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Happy Birthday Bugs!

80 years old today.
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Not a Wallflower

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English Coaches

I had no idea that good English coaches were this rare...


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Minutia Men--In Love with Alexa

After reading a news story saying that men are falling in love with their Alexa devices during the pandemic, Dave has his Alexa and Siri try to woo him with phrases that will turn him on at this stage of his life.

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Kass Loses Page 2

John Kass, long-time page 2 columnist for the Chicago Tribune, has lost his coveted spot in the paper after a controversial column blaming George Soros for the protesting in America.

The paper is moving all of their opinion columns to the same section. 

As you might expect, conservatives are in an uproar over this. I have a different view. I think having all the opinion pieces together is a good idea. People are having a more and more difficult time distinguishing between real news and opinion.

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Sunday, July 26, 2020

Bad weekend for celebs

Lost a few greats this weekend.  



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