Classic Ads

That most certainly would not fly today. Thanks to "PC" for these...

Worst Referee Call Ever

Take a look at this video and read the story.

The quarterback threw the ball from the four yard line, and was called down for a safety.

It's the sort of play that reminds me why I'm not a gambling man.

Art Bell Gone Again

Art Bell re-emerged from retirement a few months ago to do another scary UFO-heavy radio show for Sirius/XM.

It didn't work out. He's gone again.

Sting & Paul Simon

I like Sting's music, and I love Paul Simon's music, but I'm having a hard time imagining them on stage performing together.

It's going to happen though. (The New York Times has the details.) Apparently they are friends who lived in the same building in New York.

"Englishman in New York" vs. "The Only Living Boy in New York." It could work.

Howard Planning Big Birthday Party For Himself

From this morning's RAMP newsletter...

Howard and SiriusXM proudly announced Howard Stern's Birthday Bash, a live, star-studded nighttime broadcast, scheduled for Friday, January 31, 2014 at a "special location in New York City." The timing of the Bash is perfect, as Howard will celebrate a major milestone -- his 60th birthday, on January 12. The festivities will be hosted by someone named Jimmy Kimmel, who remarked, "I am honored and excited to take part in a celebration of the life of my friend and hero, Howard Stern. This should be the best BaBa-birthday party ever." Naturally, the SiriusXM brass are falling all over themselves to pay their respects to Howard -- like SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer, who remarked, "Howard's show has never been better, and a star like him deserves a party like this." SiriusXM President/Chief Content Officer Scott Greenstein eagerly added, "At yet another peak in Howard's life, we are thrilled to have millions of SiriusXM fans and our listeners from across the country join in on a party only Howard could throw."

For those of you who still listen.

Dan Rather Snubbed

In the next few weeks you'll be seeing quite a bit of coverage surrounding the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination. CBS' coverage, with Walter Cronkite in the anchor chair, is the best remembered and most famous of the three networks. Their young intrepid reporter on the scene was Dan Rather. You would think that as the only living person on that famous coverage, he would be brought in to tell his story.

You would be wrong.

Apparently there are still hard feelings about their nasty divorce. The Wrap has the details. Dan Rather is going to be part of NBC's coverage instead.

Internally Defaced

This can happen to anyone, but I'll admit I got a cackle out of it happening to Fox News. Their website was "defaced" yesterday, and they're now saying it was "an internal production problem."

What did it say? The headline on the site was "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE." And the sub-head was "STUFF YO". It's been fixed obviously.

If you want more details, yo, click here.

Life Behind the Camera

Thank you Larz at Chicagoland Radio and Media for this nice piece about our upcoming book "Life Behind the Camera", which ships out this week.

Here's a small excerpt...

For over 30 years, Chuck Quinzio has been employed as a television cameraman, and most of that time was for a pair of local stations' newscasts. He has assembled some of his best stories from his career and published them in a new book, entitled "Life Behind The Camera."

Starting out as a cameraman in Rockford television, Chuck Quinzio came to Chicago to work for WMAQ-TV/NBC 5 in the early 1980s. He worked with WMAQ-TV until the early 1990s -- a time period which also had him doing a fair amount of national camera work for NBC-TV. After leaving WMAQ-TV, Quizinio joined WFLD-TV/FOX 32, where he still works today.

In his memoir, "Life Behind The Camera," Quinzio tells the behind-the-scenes stories of Chicago newscasts... from egotistical news reporters, to impossible newsroom managers, to the perils of shooting film in dangerous situations, to running after celebrities, to getting up close to criminals, to dealing with local and state politicians. Some of the names have been left out, but many readers who are fans of local media will know just who the author is writing about.

The publisher says of the book: "Quinzio's storytelling paints a picture of Chicago and the television news business you'll never forget; tragic, gritty, frightening, and laugh-out-loud hilarious."

Today's Best Tweets

Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...




WFAN Sports Radio ‏@WFAN660 12m
Mariano Rivera named American League Comeback Player of the Year. | http://cbsloc.al/16CUO9p #Yankees #MLB

Slate ‏@Slate 8m
Ken Cuccinelli says his candidacy is a referendum on #Obamacare. So if he loses as badly as the polls indicate.... http://slate.me/1efEFvk

James Janega ‏@JamesJanega 10m
Last night: What took so long to think of this?! Someone will be making a fortune. pic.twitter.com/TgaoIjcKp6 via @oisforolivia @Arnezzy

Keith Olbermann ‏@KeithOlbermann 13m
ICYMI: Richie Incognito - if bullying only costs him his season or his career, he'll be lucky http://j.mp/1ee8Ymn

Luke Russert ‏@LukeRussert 38m
. @daveweigel the first thing in the Unibomber's bio is that he went to Harvard, they never let you forget.

Chicago Blackhawks ‏@NHLBlackhawks 23m
In case you missed it... The great Bob Verdi recaps the #Blackhawks important off-day in Washington, D.C. http://bit.ly/1go3eaq

Esquire Magazine ‏@Esquiremag 2h
My Life as a Drunk by @RobDelaney http://esqm.ag/6014bCqE

Slate ‏@Slate 32m
Stop handing out trophies to kids for participation: http://slate.me/1efz6xb

Chicago Tribune ‏@chicagotribune 38m
Illini land Simeon basketball recruit D.J. Williams http://trib.in/1hK7m3q

670 The Score ‏@670TheScore 1m
The #Cubs can trade Starlin Castro… just not to the #Cardinals. Column from @wischlist http://cbsloc.al/1eg8jRb

Pretty Lights

My 18-year-old got a pair of concert tickets for his birthday (for "Pretty Lights"). Who did he ask to go along with him? His old man. Never heard of Pretty Lights, but he said he wants to share his favorite music with me because I've shared my favorite music with him all these years. I must admit, I got a little verklempt. After those difficult teen years, he's coming back around.

Which Professions Have the Most Psychopaths?

According to this piece in The Week, tv/radio/media comes in at #3. I think I've known a few of them.

The winner, by the way, is no surprise: CEOs.

Tony FItzpatrick on Lou Reed

Tony Fitzpatrick is an old colleague of mine from the Loop days who lives a far more interesting life than I do. One of the people he befriended over the years was the late rocker Lou Reed. In the current issue of New City, Tony writes about that relationship.

You can read it here.

Rashida Jones

Every now and then I get a reality check to remind me that I'm actually not as tuned in as I thought I was. For instance, until this morning I had no earthly clue that "Parks & Recreation" star Rashida Jones (formerly of "The Office") is the daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton. I'm guessing you already knew. I'm a little late to the game here.

I'm a big fan of both mother and daughter. (And father too, for that matter).



(Photo Credit: NICOLAS MOORE FOR ALLURE)

The Untold Story Behind the Edgiest Sketch in SNL History

This piece in Salon describes the tense history of the time Richard Pryor hosted SNL. It was their first season, and SNL needed Richard Pryor to help establish the show. He was the hottest stand up in the world at the time. But was the network really ready to have Richard on the air live?

Great story. I highly recommend it.

Uplifting Story of the Day

From CBS News. Got a little weepy watching this...

Disc Jewkeys?

Robert Feder highlighted this awful headline, but interesting Chicago Jewish News article about four nice Jewish boys doing sports talk in Chicago.

I know three of the four (never met Bernfield), and they all have something in common in addition to being sportscasters and Jewish.

Silverman, Kaplan, and Grobstein have all been interviewed for Chicago Radio Spotlight.

Da Bears

Never a doubt, right Bears fans? (Cough)

It helps when Aaron Rodgers goes down in the first quarter, but then again, the Bears had their backup QB in there too. A win against the Packers in Green Bay is no small achievement.

The full story of the big win is here.

Weezie

With a name like Weezie, it's impossible to forget her. I worked with Weezie at WJMK for a year or two. She was our general manager before moving on to a better job with a radio group called Entercom. Since that time (about 15 years ago), she has continued to climb up the corporate ladder. This month she's on the cover of Radio Ink magazine. . Here's a short excerpt from the article...


Entercom's Weezie Kramer is one of the most successful women in the radio industry today. In March, Entercom created a new position specifically for Kramer, station group president. She now oversees the operations of all 121 Entercom stations and reports directly to president and CEO David Field. In July she was named the 19th Most Powerful person in radio by Radio Ink. And, in September she was awarded the 5th annual MIW Frances Preston Trailblazer award by the MIW Radio Group. Kramer was the first woman to chair the RAB board, and currently serves on the RAB’s Executive Committee...Kramer is on the cover of the current issue of Radio Ink magazine where she discusses her love for the radio business, her rise to the top and how she single handedly started a girls golf team at her high school in Kentucky (Kramer's friends say she is a scratch golfer today).

The Beautiful Game

Touching Tribute

The opening chalkboard scene on the Simpsons last night was a nice tribute to Marcia Wallace, who passed away last week.

Rattle Your Jewelry

50 years ago today. From Bob Dearborn's The Olde Disc Jockey's Almanac...

November 4, 1963… At London's Prince of Wales Theatre, the Beatles performed at a Royal Command Performance for the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden, with John Lennon famously instructing the royals to rattle their jewelry instead of applauding. Their short four-song set included "From Me To You," "She Loves You," "Till There Was You," and "Twist And Shout." The Beatles were one of 19 acts appearing at the concert which was taped and broadcast on ATV in the UK six days later.

Today's Best Tweets

Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...




Jim Rose ‏@JimRoseABC7 8m
Good morning tweeters. I'm in DC for the @NHLBlackhawks visit to the @WhiteHouse. Reports 4,5,6 &10 on @ABC7. Might get to see @BarackObama

McMurray, Pete ‏@PeteMcMurray 23m
What's the Vegas line on Obama pronouncing #NiklasHjalmarsson’s name correctly today at the #WhiteHouse?

The Onion ‏@TheOnion 7m
Mom’s Head Rotates Demonically After Passing Sign For Antique Wicker Furniture http://onion.com/16A7ldG

Matt Spiegel ‏@MattSpiegel670 7m
Dan McNeil is on a personal leave of absence. He appreciates all the people who’ve reached out to him, and (cont) http://tl.gd/n_1rr2c9m

Eric Nelson ‏@literaryeric 26m
How To Spot A Fake Obamacare Horror Story http://thkpr.gs/1hxaUpR

Media Burn Archive ‏@MediaBurnVideo 15m
There are lots of "Chicagos," but Media Burn preserves *your* Chicago, the city "behind the billboards." http://mediaburn.org/blog/getting-to-know-studs-through-media-burn-archive/ …

Hub Arkush ‏@Hub_Arkush 21m
Check out @tcmusick's column on the Bears-Packers rivalry: http://shawurl.com/usp

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost 22m
Kendall Jenner got what every girl wants for her 18th birthday -- offers to star in porn http://huff.to/1aXPSxv

Ari Berman ‏@AriBerman 1m
Former Speaker of the House Jim Wright has voted in every election since 1944 but was denied a voter ID in Texas http://www.thenation.com/blog/176977/texas-voter-id-law-ensnares-former-speaker-house-candidates-governor-state-judge

Robert Feder ‏@RobertFeder 28m
Every Nov. 4, I sent Walter Cronkite a tie for his birthday. And every year, he wore it on the air as a signal to me: http://bit.ly/1bStHXV

Murphy is Back

Robert Murphy, known to millions of Chicago listeners as Murphy in the Morning for the last thirty-plus years, is coming back to the Chicago airwaves. But for the first time ever, it's not to do a morning show. He's going to do afternoons at WLS-FM. (Robert Feder has the details.)

His shift is 4-8pm.

Nobody is being fired, the hours are just being revised slightly. Greg Brown is moving to 9am to 1pm, Danny Lake is moving to 1-4pm, Landecker is now doing 8-11pm, and Dick Biondi is doing 11-2am.

(Of course, I interviewed Murph for Chicago Radio Spotlight a few years ago. You can read that here.)

Big Game Tonight

This could be ugly tonight. No Cutler. No Lance Briggs. No defense. And Aaron Rodgers. I'm almost glad that I've got a board meeting at the soccer club.

A Feel Good Story For A Monday Morning

Bizarre Records

There's a website called Bizarre Records, which I have to recommend to you. Not only did I find this awesome album (above), but I listened to the first track of the album. There are lots of great ones.

These are the kind of albums I would spend hours trying to find at Second Hand Tunes when I worked as a radio producer (for comedy purposes, obviously). It must be so much easier to be a radio producer these days.

Who is Mr. Balls?

He is Brazil's new mascot for testicular cancer awareness. I kid you not. Details at Digital Deconstruction. Photo courtesy of Daily News.

Wendy Snyder

I wrote this month's Illinois Entertainer media column about WGN's Wendy Snyder.

You can read it here.

Cubs Manager Search

One of the leading candidates for the Cubs manager job is the son of the producer of "Hee Haw". Not making that up.

Read about him here.

Ringo

From Bob Dearborn's The Olde Disc Jockey's Almanac, this little tidbit from 50 years ago today...

November 1, 1963…At RCA Victor's Music Center Of The World in Hollywood, Lorne Greene recorded "Ringo."



This was before America had heard of the Beatle.

The song, by the way, plays a major role in my last novel "The Living Wills". I'm betting it's the only novel in history to use Lorne Greene as a plot device.

Today's Best Tweets

Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...




Hub Arkush ‏@Hub_Arkush 11m
Stopping the Packers on Monday night looks like a lost cause for this year's Bears defense. My Friday column: http://shawurl.com/uoz

Scott Simon ‏@nprscottsimon 12m
Overheard on locker room this morning: "Yoga, vegetables, fiber--I'll be healthy just in time to die."

Chicagoist.com ‏@Chicagoist 23m
All unsold Dominick's stores will close by Dec. 28 if a buyer can't be found. Merry Christmas, huh? http://ow.ly/qovy5

Gawker ‏@Gawker 24m
Wife kicks out husband after reading his dumb Internet comment http://gaw.kr/JCexloG

ChiTribSports ‏@ChiTribSports 33m
Video: Watch Rose's game-winning shot from all angles http://trib.in/1hzk9pn

daveweigel ‏@daveweigel 43m
Why Dems are comfortable w/ reforming the filibuster and unleashing fire, brimstone, etc http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/11/01/the_nuclear_option_because_no_one_s_ever_going_to_filibuster_a_supreme_court.html

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost 1h
Cristiano Ronaldo's bold underwear ads are going to give David Beckham a run for his money http://huff.to/1dxoFSI

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost 1h
Mick Jagger "categorically denies" ever hitting on Katy Perry http://huff.to/1duzYuS

The Daily Show ‏@TheDailyShow 2m
#TDSBreakingNews FDA: 12% of spice imports tainted with insects. Or for the optimists out there, 88% of insect imports seasoned with spices.

Slate ‏@Slate 8m
Socialistic paradise Sweden is one of the top nations in the world at producing billionaires. How that happened: http://slate.me/1hzr2qC

Real Life Heroes

This is a pretty amazing video of real people in the act of saving real lives.

It's the sort of thing that restores your faith in humanity.

Just One Missing Letter...

...can be so important. Thanks "MB" for this one...

Barsky Update

Former Chicago morning man Paul Barsky continues to recover from his serious injuries. He posted last night on his facebook page...

Hello everyone.. here's quick update on my recovery ....One more week to go and I'm out of this hard cervical collar, then over to a soft collar for 2 more weeks, then FREEDOM !

BTW, tonight I was handing out Halloween candy with my giant cervical collar on , and most of these kids didn't know what to make of it. When I asked one of the little tykes what he was he said "a ninja warrior ". He looked at my collar then asked me, "who are you ?" And I replied " I'm a guy who was driving one day in March of this year ,when out of nowhere BAM, I was blind sided by a van, ended up with a crushed spinal cord and had to have cervical spine surgery ".... after 5 seconds or so of no reaction, he just turned and walked away. Realizing that I may have gotten a bit too descriptive and probably took his inquiry the wrong way, as he headed down the driveway I shouted in my best super hero voice... " I'm Neck Braceman !" Looking back I think that would have been a better answer to his original question.

Clearly, being holed up in the house away from my radio show for the past 10 weeks ....has taken a toll.

Clock Change/Traffic Day

This is the weekend we turn back the clocks an hour. While it's not a big deal to most of us, it's the hardest day of the year for radio traffic directors (not car traffic, radio commercial traffic). They have to create a 25-hour commercial log that repeats the 1am hour, but doesn't repeat the same commercials, using computer programs clearly not designed to do that.

I've been on the air a few times when that clock was moved back an hour, and I remember how confusing that used to be. (But I was paid hourly, so I made an extra hour's pay!)

Anyway, in honor of that task, the Traffic Directors Guild of America (a real organization) has declared November 4th "Traffic Day". Happy Traffic Day, in advance. I've never worked with a traffic director I didn't like. It's a difficult and often thankless job, and they are never singled out and given recognition. It's about time.

Movember

It's that time of year again. The RAMP Newsletter explains the concept...

Hey guys -- you are cordially invited to participate in a month-long "upper lip enhancement initiative" -- and help out a worthy cause at the same time. A quick check of the calendar indicates this is the first day of "Movember," a global charity that is working to change the face of men's health. Dudes around the globe today are simultaneously beginning the cultivation of a glorious moustache (a.k.a. "Mo"). Through the power of the "Mo," vital funds and awareness are raised to combat prostate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges.

I'd rather not get divorced, so I'll have to find a different way to support the charity. The wife has been crystal clear on this subject. The featured mustache, by the way, belongs to Carmen Fanzone, from his 1975 baseball card.

Green White Soccer Club

One of my on-going writing projects is chronicling the history of Green White Soccer Club, a club co-founded by my dad in 1956. Every month I write about another year in club history. This month it's 1981--the year I graduated high school. (I played for Green White that year too).

You can read it here.

David Bowie

Halloween Inspired New Video from David Bowie...

The Halloween Grinch

For some reason my son Tommy has never gotten into the whole Halloween thing. I'm not sure why. He has hated it since he was three. About five years ago it inspired me to write the following poem, which I'm reposting today.




THE HALLOWEEN GRINCH

Everyone loves Halloween. Everyone you’ve met. Everyone you’ve seen.

But not in our house high above Booville. The Halloween Grinch is living there still.

He won’t wear a costume. He won’t trick or treat. He won’t even hand out candy to people he meets.

The Grinch hates Halloween - the whole Halloween season. Now, please don't ask why; no one quite knows the reason.

I’ve given up trying to figure it out. I’ve given up asking him what it’s about.

For though I’m the Grinch’s father, I have two more boys. They both love Halloween candy, and they both love Halloween toys.

They love wearing the costumes, and ringing the bell. And I always love going along as well.

I love watching their joy as the candy goes plop, from the first house we visit until we finally stop.

But because the Halloween Grinch is the one left at home, he won’t answer the door when he’s all alone.

So we end up with candy that isn’t given away, and then I’m left alone with a candy buffet.

Last year I decided to put an end to that. There’s no need for Dad to get doughy and fat.

So I sent the Halloween Grinch to his room, and I manned the door beginning at noon.

I was determined to hand out every Twix and KitKat, and I didn’t care what the Grinch said about that.

I sent the two younger boys out all alone, but before they left our little home, I made sure they knew to watch out for each other, as they trick or treated dressed as the Mario Brothers.

“OK, who can tell me what the buddy system is?” Sean raised his hand. He was ready for this quiz.

“We have to stick together,” he said. His big brother nodded, and both of them fled.

“It will never work,” said the Grinch from his room. “Those two will fight wearing those costumes.”

But for fifteen great minutes I handed out Twix, to all the Boos who wanted treats and tricks.

Until one little boy dressed up as a Q-tip, had a paper mustache attached to his lip.

It looked very much like the ones I made that day, for the two little boys that I just sent away.

He told me he got it just down the street. It was lying on a driveway, on the concrete.

Mario and Luigi had ripped off their stashes, in between punches, and lunges, and smashes.

They were fighting over who got to ring the doorbell, and needless to say, it didn’t turn out too well.

I marched out to the sidewalk, and what did I see? Mario and Luigi coming home to me.

The two crying boys running on asphalt, both were screaming “It was all his fault!”

While I broke up the fight on my front lawn, I looked at the window, and you know who I saw?

The Halloween Grinch.

In Booville they say that the Grinch's Halloween smile grew three sizes that day.

With that smile on his face, he wandered our way, and he had a few things that he wanted to say.

“Next year, I volunteer to supervise, but I won’t wear a costume or a silly disguise. I still hate the concept of Halloween, but next year I will be fourteen. That’s old enough not to have to participate, and as long as I don’t have to, everything will be great.”

I made the deal, and I’m looking forward to that.

It'll keep me away from the candy, so Dad won’t get fat.

50 Years Ago Today

From Bob Dearborn's The Olde Disc Jockey's Almanac...

October 31, 1963…At London's Heathrow Airport, the Beatles arrived home from a tour of Sweden to find 50,000 screaming fans waiting for them. Also at the airport was U.S. television host Ed Sullivan, who noticed the excitement. "Who are those guys?" he asked a bystander, who told him they were "England's foremost singing group." Even though he had never heard them perform, Sullivan immediately contacted their manager Brian Epstein to book the band for three appearances on his CBS show early in 1964.

Today's Best Tweets

Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...




Larry King ‏@kingsthings 5m
Congrats to the @RedSox - they certainly deserved it!

Cara Carriveau ‏@CaraCarriveau 12m
Breaking news from FAA - u now can use cell phones and tablets during the entire length of a flight (but no phone calls though). #finally

Michael Ian Black ‏@michaelianblack 17m
People who fantasize about lives they could be living but aren't: TODAY IS YOUR DAY!!!

Gilbert Gottfried ‏@RealGilbert 16m
What happens when a skeleton watches porn? He gets a bone. #HappyHalloween #TrickOrTreat I apologize to skeletons.

Lou Brutus ‏@LouBrutus 20m
You can't have a Happy Halloween if you Trick or Treat in a costume with no zipper. Here's my poem on the subject: http://on.fb.me/Hu6TVH

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost 31m
Miley Cyrus gets into the Halloween spirit by posting pics of sexually explicit pumpkins (NSFW PHOTO) http://huff.to/1dqeyz3

People magazine ‏@peoplemag 10m
Have you seen Miley's Halloween costume? It's a throwback. http://peoplem.ag/qmscn

Groovyhoovy ‏@Groovyhoovy 24m
People keep asking me where my costume is. Well, I figure I wear them 364 days a year so I can take today off.

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost 2m
Local Republican Party deletes racist slavery meme after no one laughs http://huff.to/1aL7vk5

BillMoyers.com ‏@BillMoyersHQ 9m
Can Science Explain Tea Partiers' Rage? http://bit.ly/19UTHSS

Why I Quit Major League Baseball

I love this article in the New Yorker, written by former Cub Adrian Cardenas. He's a pretty darn good writer, by the way.

21 Reasons Why Being a Redhead is Awesome

For my wife, the redhead.

Buzzfeed has the list.

Pumpkin Stealing

I thought this sign from a woman in Washington summed it up pretty nicely (via Twitter)

Why we have a ridiculous standard of beauty

In 37 seconds...



Nobody could live up to that in real life.

I found this on the website upworthy, which also has a good commentary for moms to share with their daughters.

Guilty!

Three senior journalists from Rupert Murdoch's British media empire have pleaded guilty to phone hacking. The even bigger fish are going in the fryer next. Surely the guilty pleas won't help their cases either.

Reuters has more details here.

Late Update: UK Prosecutor says News of the World executives Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson had a six-year affair. This story is getting more and more interesting.

Dan McNeil

Earlier this year I did profile of Dan McNeil, an old pal of mine going back to our Loop days. The gist of the piece was that he had finally conquered his demons and seemed to be truly happy for the first time since I've known him.

Unfortunately, it sounds like something has happened again. Robert Feder has the story. It's a little vague because Dan hasn't said anything publicly yet. The article refers to personal problems and family issues.

I'm rooting for the guy. I hope he gets whatever is going on under control, and finds his contentment once again.

Bears to Get HD Channel?

From Tom Taylor's NOW column...

Chicago Bears explore a fulltime HD Radio subchannel with CBS. “How cool is that?” asks Bears President Ted Phillips. Though he’s got an eye on the penetration of HD Radios around Chicago (“still not that high”), and says the talks probably won’t lead to a station until perhaps 2015. The folks at iBiquity are talking about the number of new cars equipped with HD Radios, and the Bears will be tracking that. Contractually, the team already has the rights to use the HD3 channel of CBS Radio’s 105.9, and Ed Sherman at the Chicago Tribune says they’d be working out of its new 40,000-square foot multimedia facility at Halas Hall. CBS has the rights for the Bears on its all-news simulcast of WBBM (780) and WCFS (105.9, the onetime AC “Fresh”).

Who is going to break it to the Bears that nobody listens to HD Radio?

Thank You Hater!

Love this song about anonymous and mean people who comment on YouTube videos, but it applies to all anonymous on-line comments. Brilliant, although definitely NSFW.

Today's Best Tweets

Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...




Nico Hines ‏@NicoHines 12m
News of the World reporter was found in possession of 15 royal phone directories. Allegedly for use in the hacking of voicemails.

DRUDGE REPORT ‏@DRUDGE_REPORT 7m
Drunk clown accused of dangling child from overpass after Halloween party... http://drudge.tw/HuCx4y

Lizz Winstead ‏@lizzwinstead 8m
AGAIN-Why are you calling it a hearing if you won't STFU so you can HEAR. #Grandstandathon #Obamacare

New York Daily News ‏@NYDailyNews 17m
Dick move: Depressed bachelor cuts off penis then forgets to bring it to ER. http://nydn.us/1aHK4bm (Warning: Graphic photo.)

DNAinfo.com Chicago ‏@DNAinfoCHI 35m
It began spewing from a North Center sidewalk more than a decade ago, but THE BLOB still mystifies locals http://dnain.fo/19SmLKI

Chet Coppock ‏@ChetCoppock 37m
the verdict is in.....164 people indicated last night that they want me to write my life story....done! i'm gonna do it.

Steve Bertrand ‏@SteveBertrand 38m
Cool! check out the pics. RT @BuzzFeed: This boy wandered on stage to hang out with the Pope http://bzfd.it/HuuswA pic.twitter.com/iJz3A5rTlW

MLB ‏@MLB 1m
And, of course, we can't forget Game 6 in 1975: http://atmlb.com/1bCznVR #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/Hw1ibN4L6A

Slate ‏@Slate 3m
FACT: The Red Sox beards are lazy, gross, and out of control: http://slate.me/1dMY7zs

Nancy Cross ‏@nanneroo33 5m
"When people are motivated mostly by greed and jealousy, it is not possible for them to live in harmony." Dalai Lama

Another Proud Illini Moment

It ain't easy bein' an Illini fan.

This past weekend, we not only lost our homecoming game 42-3 (to Michigan State), our quarterback's father was arrested and banned from attending Illinois games for life.

How was your weekend?

New F.C.C. Chairman Confirmed

Senator Ted Cruz was putting a hold on this nomination, but gave up after hearing the chairman promise he wouldn't change the political advertising laws.

Full story is here.

Intellectual Jokes

I got these from the thought catalog website. I thought a few of them were hilarious...

It’s hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally.

Q: What does the “B” in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stand for?
A: Benoit B. Mandelbrot.

Did you hear about the jurisprudence fetishist? He got off on technicality…

Werner Heisenberg, Kurt Gödel, and Noam Chomsky walk into a bar. Heisenberg turns to the other two and says, “Clearly this is a joke, but how can we figure out if it’s funny or not?” Gödel replies, “We can’t know that because we’re inside the joke.” Chomsky says, “Of course it’s funny. You’re just telling it wrong.”

A biologist, a chemist, and a statistician are out hunting. The biologist shoots at a deer and misses 5ft to the left, the chemist takes a shot and misses 5ft to the right, the statistician yells “We got ‘em!”

there are two types of people in the world: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data sets

A Photon checks into a hotel and the bellhop asks him if he has any luggage. The Photon replies “No I’m traveling light”

A German walks into a bar and asks for a martini. The bartender asks “dry?”, he replies “nein, just one”

There’s a band called 1023MB. They haven’t had any gigs yet.

A Buddhist monk approaches a hotdog stand and says “make me one with everything”.

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
To.
To who?
No, to whom.

Silver and Gold walk into a bar. Bartender says “‘ey you, get outta here!” Gold leaves the bar.

Turn Back the Clock This Weekend!

Or as "CR" put it in this card she sent...

Behind the Scenes with John Records Landecker at WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" (Photos, Video & Commentary)

We had to pre-tape the segment because "Chicago Tonight" is on at the same time as John's radio show on WLS-FM, so I arrived around 4:45 for a 5:00 taping. When I got there, John was already in the dressing room.

"Deja Vu?" I asked.

"You're telling me," he replied.

John was a regular contributor to "Chicago Tonight" for several years about a decade ago. It was obvious that he was fondly remembered. He couldn't take more than a few steps down the hallway without being warmly greeted by technicians, producers, and WTTW office staff. After rekindling old relationships, he went into the makeup chair (the makeup artist also remembered him and had friendly banter with John), before being ushered onto the "Chicago Tonight" set. Phil Ponce hadn't yet arrived, so John reminisced with a few more staffers.

"Loved your book," one of them said.

"It is so weird returning here as an 'author'," John joked. "I remember one time I was on with Bob Sirott and the segment before ours was about the Chicago Symphony Orchestra or something like that, and I said to Bob, 'What in the world are we doing here?'"

When Phil arrived I was taken upstairs to a viewing room. They turned on the big screen for me so I could watch the interview on television, but I could also see them through a darkened window.












I thought the show went very well. You can see it below...

More Praise for "Life Behind the Camera"

Nancy Loo is a reporter for WGN-TV and a blogger for wgntv.com. She's got quite a following there as "Big Tiny World". Yesterday's piece was about our newest author and book, Chuck Quinzio and "Life Behind the Camera". Here's a short excerpt...

Veteran Chicago cameraman Chuck Quinzio is among those who only refer to me as Big Tiny. Actually, he just calls me Tiny and many Chicago journalists know him as Q. We worked together for nearly a decade at my former station. I still get to see him from time to time nowadays when we’re on the same assignments. And whenever I run into him, I’ll hear his usual greeting of, “Tiny! How the f*@# are you?”

Chuck has few conversations without F-bombs. Many of our colleagues are now dropping them because Q is about to become a published author. When Q sent me an advanced copy of “Life Behind The Camera” (available now for pre-order), I feared I wouldn’t have the time to read or write about it before publication. Well f*@# if I didn’t finish it in one sitting while on a flight from San Francisco to Chicago earlier this month! The writing is crisp and I enjoyed every chapter, many of them quite funny.

“Life Behind The Camera” is a compelling book which chronicles Chuck’s path from Catholic altar boy to f-bomb spewing hotshot cameraman in one of the nation’s biggest TV markets. Although names are changed, I was able to figure out a couple of the people mentioned. (Big Tiny is not in the book, thank goodness!) This book is entertaining whether or not you’re familiar with the Chicago news scene.

Anyone with an interest in TV news can practically picture the pompous reporters and managers Q mentions in his book. There are similar types in every newsroom I’ve worked in. Q’s descriptions of crime scenes and newsroom situations are spot on. I especially enjoyed his adventure with Harry Caray during a Cubs playoff run in the 80′s. Yes, it involves Budweiser.

To read the entire review, click here.

Pre-order your copy of "Life Behind the Camera" today!