Other Inaugural Balls

I contributed to this piece in the Beachwood Reporter.

It's a list of the lesser-known Inaugural Balls you might have missed.

Wolfman Jack

If he were alive today, he would be celebrating his 70th birthday.

A few years ago John Records Landecker wrote a piece about Wolfman Jack for my blog. He told a great story about his personal encounter with the Wolfman.

Read it here.

The President Talks to Real Chicagoans

I don't know if you caught this moment at the Illinois Inaugural Ball tonight. President Obama was talking to a group of Chicagoans (soldiers) stationed in Afghanistan live via satellite hookup. I believe there were six of them, and he asked each of them if they rooted for the Cubs or the Sox. 4 of them said the Cubs.

I'm looking for the video. If you see it anywhere, please let me know so I can post it. Love ya, Mr. President, but let's remember who is the #1 team in Chicago, shall we?

A six-year-old's review...

I watched the whole Presidential Inauguration with my youngest son, six-year-old Sean. He noticed people were crying in the crowd and said, "Dad, people really hate this speech."

Guide to Blue-State Living

Some of my Republican friends are still in shock over the way the country has been wrestled from their hands. With them in mind, I contributed the following piece to the Beachwood Reporter. It's a Guide to Blue-State living to help them adjust to the new sheriff in town.

Celebrities love Obama

MySpace Celebrity and Katalyst present The Presidential Pledge

Suburban Man

For those of you checking out the blog today looking for "Suburban Man," this is just a reminder that the column is now called "Father Knows Nothing" and I post it on Sundays at NWI Parent. This week's column is called "A serious talk," and it's about a father/son chat between my youngest son Sean and me. I think it's safe to say that it doesn't end the way you would expect it to end.

Joke for a Monday morning

Contributed by "K"


THE SENILITY PRAYER:

Grant me the senility to forget the people

I never liked anyway,

The good fortune to run into the ones I do, and

The eyesight to tell the difference.

Rosa Sat

How cold was it?

A good perspective from "M," now that it's warming up a little bit...

"It was so cold

...that the Blue Man Group didn't need body paint this week.

...that Britney Spears put her underwear back on.

...that a puppy huddled up against Hillary Clinton for warmth.

...that a Chicago alderman was seen with his hands in his own pocket."

Kerry Wood, Class Act

I was touched by Kerry Wood's ad in the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune.

It says...

"It has been an honor to have been a Chicago Cub for the last 13 years and to have played in the greatest ballpark, Wrigley Field. My deepest thanks go to my teammates and the Cubs organization for taking a chance on a kid from Texas and welcoming me into the Cubs family. Thank you Cubs fans, the greatest fans in all of baseball, for believing in me and supporting me over the years. I will always be proud to have been a Chicago Cub. Although I'm a member of a new 'Tribe,' I will forever be a Chicagoan."

White Sox fans have always been mystified about why Cubs fans were so loyal to Kerry Wood. This is why. Kerry Wood was, and always will be, a class act.

Martin Luther King Day

This video is very powerful. It's a song by Tom Clay, a disc jockey from Detroit. He released it in the early 70s. I seek it out every MLK day, and display it, because it really sums up everything King stood for...

A serious talk

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at the NWI Parent blog. It's called "A serious talk," and it's about a father/son chat between my youngest son Sean and me. I think it's safe to say that it doesn't end the way you would expect it to end.

Reed Pence

Reed Pence has worked in radio newsrooms in Chicago with personalities like Steve and Garry, Jonathon Brandmeier, and Eddie and JoBo, while also producing public affairs shows at The Loop and B96. Since 1987, the wee hours of Sunday morning have received his undivided attention. Eventually he co-founded MediaTracks Communications, which produces public affairs programming now heard on about 750 stations nationally.

He and his wife Madonna live in Chicago's western suburbs, where home improvement is a way of life. A few years ago I asked him to write about home improvement for this blog. I thought today, his birthday, would be a good day to re-run that well-written piece.

Don Zimmer & Pete LaCock

Two Cubs birthdays of note today...

One was a Cubs second baseman and a Cubs manager. He turns 78 today.

The other one was the son of Hollywood Squares host Peter Marshall. He is 58 years old today.

Happy birthday Don Zimmer and Pete LaCock.

Chicago Radio Spotlight: Eric Ferguson

In this week's Chicago Radio Spotlight, I talk to WTMX's Eric Ferguson about the success of his show (Eric & Kathy), the secrets to their success, and predictions for the show's future.

Programming Note

Coming this weekend on Chicago Radio Spotlight: WTMX's Eric Ferguson.

Next weekend: The Loop's Kent Voss.

Dizzy Dean

If he were alive today, Dizzy Dean would be celebrating his 99th birthday. I was reading Irv Kupcinet's book, "Kup's Chicago," (from 1962) and he has a great story in there about his run-in with Dizzy Dean...

When Dean was with the Cardinals training in Tampa (before he came to the Cubs in ’38), Dizzy and his wife ran into Jack Miley, a writer for the NY Daily News who had been making fun of them in his column. In the lobby of the Tampa Terrace Hotel, Dizzy’s wife said: “There’s that fat sonuvabitch. Give him his lumps.”

Kup just happened to be standing next to Miley, when they were surrounded by the entire Cardinals team, still in uniform—heading back to their rooms. Miley and Dizzy started calling each other vile names. A teammate of Dizzy’s got so mad, he hit Miley in the face with his spikes, which he had been carrying in his hand so it wouldn’t ruin the lobby carpeting. This led to an all-out brawl. Miley got a 2-inch gash in his forehead, Kup got a black eye, and the potted plants, tables, and lamps got busted up.

That was Dizzy Dean.

I've written about his days with the Cubs a few times. You can check those out here and here.

P.S. Do you think that #22 is a cursed number for Cubs pitchers?

Cubs convention history

The week of the Cubs convention the Cubs usually have some new acquisition to announce, to excite the fans. Last year it was Kosuke. This year it's Milton Bradley.

In 1998, it was the guy attached to this mustache.

Reader Response

Some responses from my Father Knows Nothing post about the kid who killed his mom because she took away his video game...



1. Alisha Says:
I cannot fathom how that father must feel now, being without a wife and soon to be without a son…OVER A FREAKIN VIDEO GAME?!?! I have seen a few people “on halo” and its not pretty…I talk like its a drug, and sometimes, obviously for some people it is.

2. Father Knows Nothing Says:
I feel exactly the same way. I discussed this story with my boys yesterday and they were very quiet. Something happens to the their brains when they play these games, and honestly, it’s terrifying to watch. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t let them touch video games during the week at all.

3. momkat Says:
I discourage my son from playing violent video games, and we have very lively debates over the “shooting-as-entertainment” issue. Thankfully, he’s a Guitar Hero freak in his free time. It’s not my first choice of activity for him, but at least he’s not killing for sport. It really IS scary.

4. Father Knows Nothing Says:
I’m OK with Guitar Hero too. At least that’s semi-musical. I also don’t mind some of the Wii games that require actual physical movement. I know I sound like my parents here, but there really is something to this.

Happy Birthday Peter

My little brother Peter is 39 years old today. Seems like just yesterday I was holding him down on the ground and dangling spit inches from his face. Ah, memories.

Pete is a CPA, but he knows nothing about taxes. I asked him to explain that to my readers on Tax Day a few years ago, and I thought his response was pretty entertaining.

You can read it here.

Stay warm!

We're supposed to have 60-straight hours of below zero temperatures. Be sure to put on a sweater to stay warm. Here are some sweater fashion tips from 1948 to help out the ladies.

The difference between boys and girls

Today's headline: American Idol ratings down 10%. In our house this show is not a big deal. In fact, I think we've watched it about five times total.

On the other hand, check out this video of girls reacting to last year's American Idol final announcement...

Snow eating tips

As even more snow falls on the Midwest and we prepare for the deepest of deep freezes, Johnny and Sean Kaempfer have some snow-eating tips.

Slightly disturbing

According to the British papers today, a British company is selling thousands of Nazi-era newspapers to the Germans.

Readers will be able to see what their parents and grandparents bought during the 12 years of the Third Reich, including the racist speeches of Hitler, how the Kristallnacht pogrom against the Jews was reported and how the war was colored against the Allies.

That's disturbing enough, but for me there was an even more disturbing sentence. I'm just going to quote it for you: "For the next year, newspaper excerpts will be restored and scanned from German publications such as...Communist Party mouthpiece Der Kaempfer – which was shut down shortly after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933."

How'd you like your last name connected to the Nazis and the Commies in one sentence?

Video games are evil

I've previously written about what happens to my kids when they play video games. It looks like I shouldn't complain. This kid killed his parents when they took away his games.

How cold is it?

According to David Letterman last night...

"It's so cold in Chicago that Governor Blagojevic had to lower the ear flaps on his hair."

I stand corrected

Earlier I intimated that Andre Dawson had a song written about him, while actual HOF inductees Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson didn't. I stand corrected. "R" points out to me that while Jim Rice didn't have a song written about him...he did write songs.

It's a stretch, but I'm willing to concede the point.

Suburban Man

For those of you stopping by today to see Suburban Man, this is a friendly reminder that Suburban Man is now called "Father Knows Nothing." I posted a new "Father Knows Nothing" column at my NWI Parent blog on Sunday. It's called "A lesson in community service" and it's about a plan to teach the boys the joys of helping others...that didn't turn out exactly as planned.

Andre Dawson

I just don't understand how this guy is not in the Hall of Fame. The baseball writers snubbed him again yesterday.

I don't have a quarrel with Rickey Henderson or Jim Rice. Both of those guys are definitely deserving, but what's the deal with the Andre Dawson snub?

I've previously made the case for him here and here.

And ask yourself this: Do either of those two new Hall of Famers have their very own song? I thought not.

40 years, 50 years

VIDEO: Today is the 40th anniversary of the first Led Zeppelin album.








VIDEO: Today is also the 50th anniversary of Motown. This song financed Motown both literally and figuratively, because it was written by Berry Gordy. It provided the nest egg that created the record label.

E-mails, we get e-mails...

I got this e-mail from "B" this morning about my latest Father Knows Nothing column: "Good story in NWI about snow shoveling. I remember when we lived in Michigan in the early 70s. My dad made us three boys shovel our elderly neighbors driveway. My nine year old mind remembers it as a massive driveway the length of a football field. I'm sure it wasn't that big, but boy did it snow in Michigan in the 70s. I have no idea what happened to that elderly couple as we moved away in 1974, but I often think of them when I am digging out of yet another Nor'easter in New England."

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted a new "Father Knows Nothing" column at my NWI Parent blog. It's called "A lesson in community service" and it's about a plan to teach the boys the joys of helping others...that didn't turn out exactly as planned.

Chicago Radio Spotlight: Kevin Matthews

This week I spoke with my old pal, former Chicago radio funny man Kevin Matthews for my Chicago Radio Spotlight blog. Read the interview here.

That's our governor!

Today's piece in the Sun-Times about our beloved governor was something else. Just when you think this guy can't shock you...

A former senior advisor to Blagojevic wrote about his former boss to the impeachment panel. And I quote...

"Arya described Blagojevich as “a good father and a great guy to go to a ballgame with” but an ineffective, emotionally unstable chief executive.

“I would respectfully suggest this committee seek an independent psychological evaluation of the governor as part of this process,” Arya wrote to the impeachment panel. “I believe Rod, the committee and the people of this great state would benefit from such a move. It is clear to anyone who has been around him that there is ample cause for such an extraordinary request.”

So proud of our state. So very very proud.

A programming note

I've done some housecleaning over at the Chicago Radio Spotlight site.

It's now much easier to navigate. Everyone I've interviewed is listed in the right margin (in alphabetical order). If there's someone in Chicago radio you'd like to read about, you will probably find them here. There are over 100 interviews now.

Coming this weekend: Kevin Matthews.

A report from Steel Town

My good buddy Dave just e-mailed me from his business trip in Pittsburgh. Dave has a little quirk. Every time he meets someone who works in the service industry (especially waiters, hotel clerks, and cab drivers) he asks: "Who is the most famous person you've ever served."

His cab driver in Pittsburgh responded: "Barbara Mandrell."

During our middle-aged road trip in Memphis, the hotel clerk responded: "The tall guy from the series 'Martin.'"

You should try it sometime. You're bound to hear a good story.

Happy Birthday to the King

Elvis would have turned 74 today if he were still alive.

Two years ago I made a pilgrimage to Memphis along with my buddies Dave and Dane. We called it our Middle Aged Road Trip. If you have a moment, check it out. It was a pretty memorable trip.

Just One Bad Century

We're featuring our last mustache today at Just One Bad Century. Can you guess who it is? I didn't think so. Click here to find out.

Also, while you're there check out our newest addition, a countdown clock giving us the exact number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds since we've been waiting for a World Series championship. (I started the clock at Midnight the day they won.) As of today, by the way, we're at 36,611 days.

Deep Thoughts

By Jack Handey

Hitler as a Cubs fan

"R" pointed this video out to me. It's from the website HireJimEssian.com, and it has some fun with a scene in a Hitler movie. (Warning for the youngsters or the easily offended--there are some bad words.)

VIDEO: Hitler as a Cubs fan

Suburban Man

If you're stopping by to read Suburban Man today, this is just a reminder that Suburban Man is now called "Father Knows Nothing" and it can be found at the NWI Parent blog. I post it every Sunday, but for the next few weeks or so I'll keep reminding you here on Tuesdays. (Old habits...)

This week's story is about my unreasonable and inexplicable fear of returning gifts. You can read it here.

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais is taking some heat today because of a few fat jokes he made on his website. I do think the jokes were a bit much, but I will say this about Ricky Gervais--it's not like he doesn't make the same jokes about himself. (He's not exactly what anyone would describe as skinny).

Check out this hilarious scene from his HBO series "Extras." David Bowie co-stars...

The next Senator from Minnesota

It looks like it's actually going to happen. Ladies and Gentlemen, performing on Solid Gold, the junior Senator from Minnesota...Al Franken...

Blago, oh Blago

Now that Roland Burris is actually trying to be seated in the Senate, Blago is back in the news again today.

While I was on blogging hiatus, I contributed this piece about our *cough* Governor to the Beachwood Reporter (2nd item in the link): "Twas the Night before Fitzmas"

By the way, Bridget has some relatives in Louisiana, and they were giving us grief in their Christmas cards about our corrupt government here. When Louisiana is giving you grief about corruption, you have officially become the laughing stock of the nation.

Just One Bad Century

Today's feature at Just One Bad Century is "This week in 1908." Highlights include the first ball drop at Times Square, J. Edgar Hoover, J. Ogden Armour, and some actual music from 1908. (OK, that last one may not exactly be a highlight. It's Opera.)

This will be the last new "This Week in 1908," which means we're about to celebrate our first full year in operation. Starting next Saturday (Jan 10), we'll be moving "This week in 1908" to the weekend to make way for a new feature.

A joke for a monday morning

It's an oldie, but a goodie. Thanks to "T" for sending it.





Morris returns from the doctor and tells his wife that the doctor has told him that he has only 24 hours to live. Given the prognosis, Morris asks his wife for sex. Naturally, she agrees, so they make love.

About 6 hours later, the husband goes to his wife and says, "Honey, you know I now have only 18 hours to live. Could we please do it one more time?"

Of course, the wife agrees, and they do it again.

Later, as the man gets into bed, he looks at his watch and realizes that he now has only 8 hours left. He touches his wife's shoulder and asks, "Honey, please... Just one more time before I die."

She says, "Of course, Dear," and they make love for the third time. After this session, the wife rolls over and falls to sleep.

Morris, however, worried about his impending death, tosses and turns, until he's down to 4 more hours.

He taps his wife, who rouses. "Honey, I have only 4 more hours. Do you think we could..."

At this point the wife sits up and says, "Listen Morris, I have to get up in the morning... You don't."

My First Time

I just posted a new "Father Knows Nothing" column at the NWI Parent blog. It's called "My First Time" and it's about my ridiculous fear of returning gifts.

Greatest scene from greatest baseball movie

I've got it posted here at Just One Bad Century. Tell me I'm wrong.

Video Vault

Have you seen this yet? This is the bizarre pre-show ritual that Jackie Bange and Robert Jordan go through before they do the news at Channel 9. It was captured on video, and posted on the Tribune website...

E-mail Box

I got this e-mail yesterday...


Hi Rick,

I just wanted to email you or John Swanson to say that this book is one of the most useful resources I've ever come across for beginners in the industry so thank you very much for taking the time to write it.

Its great to find someone as openly enthusiastic about University (yes, I'm from England) radio as I am. I started a Film & TV Production course at University and after some experience at hospital radio I quickly realised I wanted to be radio producer but there's no student station here. I have been spending the last year trying to persuade the university to help raise the money to build one but there's a surprisingly low amount of interest!

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you both for this book. It's very helpful and gives me a bit of insight into the American radio industry too.

Regards

Liam

Father Knows Nothing

I continued to write for my NWI Parent blog while I was on blogging hiatus here. If you like the Suburban Man column, you may like my column "Father Knows Nothing."

Columns from the last month include...

The Oma Game (a story about the unique present my kids made for my mom).

Dumb Dad (a couple of videos to make me feel better after not being about to help my seventh grader with his math homework)

The Saga of 8 Eyes (the unforeseen dilemma caused by my middle son Johnny getting glasses for the first time)

and my 2008 Christmas letter.

There will be a new Father Knows Nothing on Sunday, and I'll also link to it here.

Blackhawks at Wrigley

I did watch that Hawks game yesterday, but I couldn't help but think..."How much did people pay for those seats in the bleachers?" Those looked like pretty crappy seats.

When this game was first announced, we had a little fun with the concept over at the Beachwood Reporter. We called it "Take Me out to the Hawks Game."

Just One Bad Century

Even though I wasn't posting on this blog for the last month, I have still been busy over at Just One Bad Century.

I finished up the "This Week in 1908" feature (one last one coming on Monday--it didn't start until the second week of January last year), told stories about guys with nicknames like Jittery Joe, Jigger, The Human Icicle, and the The Hoosier Hammerer, and featured the last few mustaches in my Great Mustaches feature.

I also wrote about some very bad Cubs shortstops like Dick Bartell, Lennie Merullo, Roy Smalley, and Gene Mauch. Read about those guys and you'll feel like we're living in the Cubs golden era right now.

This year I'll be unveiling two very cool new features at Just One Bad Century. I'll let you know more about those as we get closer to their unveiling.

Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Til Next Year

In December a new book came out called "Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting til Next Year," and it contained an essay by yours truly.

Long time readers of this blog may be familiar with the essay I wrote. It first appeared on this blog during the summer of 2007. It's about the Cubs-White Sox rivalry, and how my White Sox friends are mostly unhappy people who hate the Cubs more than they love the Sox (I believe the actual quote was people who "eat sunshine for breakfast"), particularly my good friend Dave. Dave is thrilled to be immortalized in the pages of a Cubbie book.

It really is a good book. There are essays from famous authors like Mike Royko, Rick Kogan, James Finn Garner, Jonathan Eig, Robert Goldsborough, Randy Richardson, Scott Simon, Dave Hoekstra, and Sara Paretsky as well as local media celebrities like Lin Brehmer, and Mike Murphy. It's available here, if you're interested.

Happy New Year!

I'm back in the saddle again. Happy New Year everyone.

This year I'm going to be doing the blog a little differently. I'm not going to have regularly scheduled features on this blog, but I'm going to be posting more--not less.

It will be more of a traditional blog. I have 30 or more mini-features I'll be doing exclusively on this blog on a semi-regular basis, and I'll be linking to my full length pieces that I'm writing for various publications elsewhere (instead of re-posting the entire pieces here).

Each of the elements of my previous blog will remain in some form. Suburban Man is now going to be called "Father Knows Nothing," but it's the same column, and it will still appear weekly at NWI Parent. I'll be linking to each column here.

The various elements of musings will remain. I'll still be posting jokes, linking to articles that interest me, and posting funny pictures and videos. I just won't be doing them all at the same time once a week. Keep sending 'em in. I'll post 'em when I get 'em. That way I'll be more timely.

As for the media stuff, I'll still be doing weekly interviews with Chicago Radio personalities (starting up again soon), but I won't post the entire interviews here. I'll just link to them. I also won't be doing a full media notebook anymore, but when something big happens, I will post a link to the story along with my analysis.

The Cubs stuff at JOBC will still be coming fast and furious too. I'll post links to what I'm working on over there on this blog.

And finally, I'll have some new stuff coming too.

I hope you don't mind. I've been feeling a little confined by the old format and I'm just going to write what comes to my mind. Plus, to be totally honest, I'm working on so much other stuff now (including my next novel), and I need to be as flexible as possible.

My hope is that the blog becomes a little easier to navigate. With this new format it should be easier to skip over what doesn't interest you without scrolling forever (a common complaint).

I'll start up again tomorrow with links to what I've been working on while I took a blog vacation.

Happy New Year!