More About the Hacked Radio Station

From this morning's Tom Taylor NOW newsletter...

It’s a like a real-life Halloween fun-house, because the off-shore hackers are still slipping into the cluster’s in-house network server every day and creating fresh horrors. After being dark for seven hours on the first day of the invasion, the stations did manage to get back on-air without paying the ransom of $500. (The hackers wanted it in untraceable Bitcoin currency.) But it’s a mess at Stannard Broadcasting-owned country KVVP Leesville (105.7), adult alternative KROK South Fort Polk (95.7) and AC “Mix 106.7” KUMX North Fort Polk. Radio World says the problem affects all three. The staff toiled through the weekend on the problem, complicated by the fact that one of the stations is installing a new transmitter. The irony is that the hackers probably don’t even know they penetrated a radio operation – they just know they gained control of a computer whose files they can mess with. One issue may be the Windows XP system used by the cluster, which is no longer supported by Microsoft. Automation provider RCS isn’t the service provider to Stannard, but its Dwight Douglas tells this NOW Newsletter that “We’ve been urging our stations to get off XP.”

RIP Ben Bradlee

A giant of the journalistic world has passed. Here he is talking about his incredible career...

Foo Fighters To Play Wrigley

Tickets go on sale on October 27.

Count me in.

Have you seen the new HBO series starring Foo Fighters? It's incredibly well done. The first episode was all about Chicago. Loved every second of it. The DVR is set to record it regularly now.

Stanley Cup Ring

Bridget and I were at a charity fundraiser last night and met Blackhawks public address announcer Gene Honda. He let Bridget wear his Stanley Cup ring...

Hacking a Radio Station

From today's Radio Ink...

Although they did not give the call letters of the station, The Louisiana Broadcasters Association posted a message on its website that claims a hacker shut down a Louisiana station for five hours last Friday. The LAB says ransom was demanded by the alleged hacker and the owner of the station says, "It's going to cost tens of thousands of dollars to replace computers and software in his facilities." He's suggesting that anyone running Windows XP should evaluate and upgrade to a newer version supported by Microsoft, stating there's possibly a glitch in Windows XP that can be hacked. There is also a possibility that the issue was a file-encrypting "ransomware" virus, which actually holds computers hostage.

I read up on this story, and it appears it was automation software that was hacked. If a live human being had been there, it wouldn't have happened.

Just saying.

Fighting Ebola

One of the people studying the ebola virus is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School.

His name? Raymond Kaempfer. A story about him is here.

I'm pretty sure he's not related to me, but at least now I can say that the Kaempfers are contributing to society.

Who's On First For Classic Rockers

Thanks to "MW" for this one...

A Father For 19 Years

My oldest son Tommy was born 19 years ago (yesterday). As I get ready to publish my "Father Knows Nothing" book (which comes out in a few weeks), I've been getting nostalgic. I wrote over 400 columns about my experiences as a father. Reading through those old columns, there are entire episodes I had completely forgotten about. (I'm soooo happy I had a deadline every week to write them!) But there's one thing I never would have forgotten, and that's the first day I became a dad.

At the time I was the producer of the John Records Landecker show on WJMK. We talked about the pregnancy on the air, got updates on Bridget's condition, and when the big day came, I called into the show from the delivery room. The following is a transcript of that telephone conversation on the air the morning of Tommy's birth. The participants are John Landecker, sidekick Vicki Truax, and proud papa Rick.

(Tommy's brothers were born on the air too...all three transcripts will be in the book "Father Knows Nothing"...available for pre-order beginning November 1st)

John: Oldies 104.3 WJMK, It's 12 minutes after 6:00 with John Records Landecker and Vicki Truax. The hotline...the private line...is ringing. Hello.

Rick: Hello.

John: Well?

Rick: I'm a papa.

(Loud cheering and whooping in the studio)

Vicki: A girl or a boy?

Rick: A boy.

Vicki: I KNEW IT!!! What's his name?

Rick: Thomas Peter.

Vicki: What time?

Rick: 4:06 a.m.

John: Wow. How's everybody doing?

Rick: Everyone is fine.

Vicki: Bridget is fine too? Is she exhausted?

Rick: Yup, she's holding Thomas right now.

John & Vicki: Awwwww.

Rick: 7 pounds, 3 ounces.

John & Vicki: Awwwww.

Rick: And I recorded the entire thing on Digital audio tape.

Vicki: You're kidding? She didn't make you turn it off?

Rick: No. I had it put in a nice place where it didn't get in anyone's way.

John: We've got Thomas' birth on tape.

Rick: Yup. And we got his first bath on tape too, and his first cry.

John: Something tells me we better get more tape. OK, here's his first eyelid opening. Better get that on tape. We're going through his first toll...let's get that on tape. Hey Rick, don't you just want to...

John, Vicki & Rick: Hug and kiss them all the time?

(That was something Vicki said so often about her daughter it was a running joke on the show)

Rick: He is so damn cute.

John & Vicki: Awwwwww.

Rick: Wait a second...is he crying? Hold on.

Sound: A tiny baby cry can be heard.

John: Is that him?

Rick: Yup. His on-air debut.

John: Wow!

Rick: He's got some lungs on him.

John: That kid sounds like he's two years old.

Rick: Yeah, he's got good pipes.

John: Does he want to come in and do a few record talkovers?

Vicki: How long is he?

Rick: 21 inches.

John: So what was it like?

Rick: It was so cool. It was just like the movie "Alien." The baby kind of popped out and looked around. Then he jumped up and sucked my eyes out...

John & Vicki: (Laughing)

John: Then Siguorney Weaver came in with some sort of a mechanical device. It was unbelievable.

Vicki: You guys. Is he all wrinkly. Does he have hair?

Rick: Yeah, he does have hair. That was the first thing we saw. I asked the nurse...ewww...what is that? That's his hair. Oh.

John: Did you get it on tape?

Rick: Of course. Uh, oh. I have to go. We need to take Bridget up to the recovery room.

Vicki: You're still in the delivery room?

Rick: Yeah.

Vicki: That's dedication.

John: How many calls have you made so far?

Rick: This is my second call. I called my mom first.

John: Wow. Well take care of everyone.

Rick: Thanks.

John & Vicki: Bye.

John: There they go. Dad Rick, Mom Bridget and now Thomas Kaempfer.

Vicki: I kind of liked the other name Rick was talking about before.

John: I don't think Bridget was ever going to agree to Ringo.

Russell Brand Versus Fox News

I personally don't think you can win battling someone or something that has 24 hours of television time every day to fight back, but you have to give it Russell Brand.

He's trying. The security staff threatened to have him arrested. Full details at the Hollywood Reporter, complete with your usual cesspool of hate in the comments section.

Bears Explode...After the Game

I turned it off when Cutler fumbled on the ten yard line. Brandon Marshall wasn't so lucky. He had to be there for the rest of the game. And he apparently went off on his teammates in the locker room.

Details are here.

I'm totally cool with that. It seems like it might be more effective than my yelling "You suck!" at the television.

Wacky Radio Stunt

From today's RAMP newsletter...a wacky radio stunt about the World Series...

The 2014 World Series gets underway tomorrow night, pitting the National League Champion San Francisco Giants against the American League Champion Kansas City Royals. And in keeping with that longstanding radio station tradition of publically posturing during times of major sporting events, several San Francisco radio stations are already doing their part for the home team by taking a (ceremonial) hard line against playing any song that may sound even vaguely in favor of their rivals -- Cumulus Triple A KFOG and Entercom AC KOIT are proudly proclaiming that they will stop playing "Royals" by Lorde "until the Giants win the World Series." Yes, sports fans, it's that serious. KFOG PD Jim Richards tells RAMP, "KFOG is going to root for the home team. We'll never be Royals... but we will always be Giants!" KOIT PD Brian Figula commented, "As of 4pm Friday we've removed Lorde's 'Royals' from our playlist until the end of the World Series. Go Giants, beat the Royals!"

A radio station in KC, by the way, is putting the same song into higher rotation.

That's vintage radio wackiness, there.

Stingtones

Another good bit by Jimmy Fallon...



Jimmy does enough of these quality bits every week to keep him on the air for a very long time.

Fan Gate

This is really beginning to feel like the moment Rick Scott lost his governorship of Florida...

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Madison Bumgarner Chugs Six Beers

That's celebrating...

The Story Behind Eric Karros' Cubs World Series Cap

He unveiled it on the air the other night--a Cubs cap from 2003 that has a World Series logo embroidered in the side. It was in his locker during Game 6 of that series, but obviously never worn.

The full story is in the Sun Times.

Ebola e-book

It's 6 pages long, and it's called "DEADLIER THAN EBOLA: 57 THINGS MORE LIKELY TO KILL YOU THAN THE PLAGUE OF OUR LIFETIME". The description on amazon says: "The current Ebola outbreak is terrifying, but we all have some fear left over. Be afraid - and prepared."

Pretty clever.

I bet it took him about an hour to write it. He's selling it for 99 cents.

And the Walls Come Crumbling Down

What's Wrong With Talk Radio?

Today's Tom Taylor NOW column has this as the lead story today...

New Bridge Ratings study about talk radio says “One thing that stands out is listener fatigue.” Dave Van Dyke gets specific about the syndrome – it’s related to “talk radio topics and the frequency with which they air.” He says in the 15 years he’s been tracking news/talk, “news information has become oversaturated, particularly in the political news coverage arena.”

Totally true. It takes hard work to come up with new and compelling topics instead of repeating/recycling the same topics every day. But when there are multiple outlets offering the same thing, you have no choice. Even within the political bubbles (on both sides), it gets tedious hearing the same thing every single day. Be as conservative or liberal as you want. But don't give up being innovative and/or creative.

HBO to Offer Stand-Alone Streaming Service Beginning in 2015

I'm one of the dinosaurs who still has cable. HBO has been one of the reasons. That reason will be gone next year.

I can't watch the news anymore (thanks so much, "advocate" journalism). The comedy shows I watch are also available on line (in various forms). The only (non-HBO) show I like is Top Chef, and I think I can live without it.

Live sports broadcasts (football, baseball, hockey, soccer) are officially the only thing keeping me from pulling the plug now. It's just not the same on the internet (or the radio).

CNN ranked the world's most known news brand

The numbers in America might not back this up, but worldwide there's no doubt about it. From The Drum (A marketing/branding blog)...

According to the Affluent Global survey, CNN was found to reach 40 per cent of upscale consumers and decision-makers – more than any of its competitors across TV and digital platforms...CNN's global digital audience was estimated to be as big as 99 million unique visitors according to comScore data – over 25 million ahead of the BBC.

That's pretty impressive.

Weirdest Debate Beginning Ever

Et tu, Sean?

Caught my son Sean cheering for the Cardinals yesterday. (He says he has money on them--he's 12, by the way).

I'm torn. Should I set up a bed for him in the detached garage or the garden shed?

I don't know if you can see it in this photo, but a tear just fell onto Sean from the statue of Ernie.

Ranking Oktoberfest Beers

Chicago's Half Acre Oktoberfest beer is ranked #1 by Drink Magazine! Ahead of even Munich's Hacker Pschorr (which is #2).

Wow.

That's high praise indeed.

(Note: I realize the photo is not an Oktoberfest beer. I'm not an animal. I just don't have a photo in my files)

New York's 11th District

Depressed about the election? Could be worse. You could live in Staten Island and have to choose among these two guys...

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Tribune Stock Buyback

I hadn't been following the stock price of Tribune Media closely, but apparently they've fallen on hard times. This was reported by the Tribune publishing wing yesterday...

Tribune Media Co., which has seen its valuation fall by more than a third since spinning off its publishing assets, has authorized a $400 million stock repurchase program, the Chicago-based company said Tuesday. "Our board of directors and senior management strongly believe that Tribune Media's free cash flows, growth prospects and long-term strategy are not reflected by the company's current stock price," Peter Liguori, Tribune Media's president and CEO, said in a statement. "The stock repurchase program that was announced today demonstrates our confidence in the strength of our businesses and commitment to delivering shareholder value."

Very interesting. When they spun it off, Tribune Media Co. was considered the shining star stock. Tribune Publishing was the one everyone assumed would sink.

Not on the Market

I got a call yesterday from a nationally syndicated radio show asking me if I would be willing to come back to radio to produce their show. They said they had read my book ("The Radio Producer's Handbook") and that I would be perfect for the job.

Is it a bad thing that I laughed when they said that?

I meant no offense. It's not the first offer I've had in the past few years, but it's the first offer (And it was a nice offer) that made me realize my radio producing days were officially over. I knew it the second I heard my name and "radio producer" in the present tense.

"You're asking the 51-year-old me?" I thought to myself.

That's hilarious. You don't want me. You want the young me; the one who wrote the book more than ten years ago. I haven't seen that guy since my kids were babies. Unless you want wacky bits about paying your kids' college tuition or getting your AARP card in the mail (and you don't--this is a show for 20-somethings), I'm probably not the right guy.

But I do appreciate the offer.

11 years ago today...

...a big Cubs fan was excited to get a first row seat along the leftfield line for Game 6 of NLCS between the Cubs and the Marlins. He had no way of knowing that his life was about to change forever. Here's the video of what Steve Bartman went through as he was being escorted out of Wrigley. Not exactly the proudest moment for Cub fans. I still feel bad for the guy...

As the Rupert Turns

Today's Sydney Morning Herald has a piece about James Murdoch, one of Rupert's sons. (Photo: Rupert Murdoch)

The article includes one of the more awkward family photos you'll ever see. Rupert with three of his children (James on the far left, looking forced to be included), standing in front of a portrait of Rupert.

You know, like all of us do with our family photos.

RIP Jan Hooks

A tribute from her old show SNL...

IDs

Thanks to "SA" for sending me this one...

Columbus Day

In honor of Columbus Day I intend on getting lost on the way to the grocery store (need some spices), and hope to discover a brand new grocery store.

And I have this song playing in my head all day long...

Father Knows Nothing

I have a favor to ask of readers of my old "Father Knows Nothing" column. I'd like to feature a few "reader comments" on the website we're creating for the "Father Knows Nothing" book, which comes out at the end of November. You've sent me some wonderful notes over these last ten years, but I don't want to use anything you haven't given me permission to use. So...my favor is this: Would you mind sending me a comment or blurb with your opinion of "Father Knows Nothing" to my e-mail (amishrick@yahoo.com)? I'll use as many as I can. I really appreciate your help and your support over the years. I'm very proud of how the book turned out--I think it's the best thing I've ever written. Thanks in advance for your help!

Q & A with Steve Dahl

The Tribune talked to Steve about his upcoming gig.

My next Illinois Entertainer article will be about Bruce Wolf...his former on-air partner and new WLS colleague. It comes out on November 1st; a few days before Steve's first show.

Lawsuits of the Rich and Famous

Incredibly effective smackdown of someone entirely deserving of it...

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Katy Perry To Perform at Super Bowl

What is the one demo that strictly doesn't care about the Super Bowl? Girls under 12.

Katy Perry can deliver that audience.

Now literally everyone who can see will be watching.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees

From this morning's RAMP Newsletter...

The 2015 nominees are (in alphabetical order): The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Green Day, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Kraftwerk, The Marvelettes, N.W.A., Nine Inch Nails, Lou Reed, The Smiths, The Spinners, Sting, Stevie Ray Vaughan, War and Bill Withers. Please note that Sting and Lou Reed are already enshrined in the Rock Hall as members of a group -- Sting with The Police and Reed for his work with the Velvet Underground. Others, like Chic, Butterfield and N.W.A. have been nominated multiple times in the past without yet gaining entrance.

The Foundation's nominating committee selects nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of more than 600 artists, historians and members of the music industry. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year. Starting in 2012, the Rock Hall opened up Nominee voting to fans around the world. The Top Five Nominees, as voted by the fans count for one ballot entry, which is weighted the same as individual ballot entries submitted by members of the international voting body. Fan voting is open until December 9. The 30th annual induction ceremony will be held at Cleveland's Public Hall on April 18, 2015.

John Lennon

Happy 74th birthday, John.

This is my favorite solo John Lennon song...

Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus

From Bob Dearborn's The Olde Disc Jockey's Almanac, this little gem from 45 years ago today...

October 9, 1969…The BBC's "Top of the Pops" program refused to play the UK's #1 hit for the first time. The song, Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus," was considered to be one of the first "orgasm records," one of the first to feature heavy female breathing and moaning.

If you haven't heard the song, it's below. Unlike most of the "banned" records of it's day, this one actually lives up to what it's accused of being. You really don't need to understand French to understand what's going on in this record.

As the Rupert Turns

Michael Wolff seems to be an unpleasant sort of guy. I've watched him being interviewed many times, and he really comes off as unlikeable. However, he is also the ultimate authority on Rupert Murdoch (who is even more unlikeable). Whenever he writes about Rupert (and he's written a great book and many excellent articles), I read it. He knows the subject matter better than any other writer on the planet. He knows them all personally--and has spent quite a bit of time with them. Today he has a great piece in the Hollywood Reporter about Rupert's family drama (succession plans). It's a must-read for my fellow Rupert-ologists. (Photo: Rupert Murdoch)

Rupert bought (his daughter) Elisabeth's company, Shine Group, for $673 million in a 2011 sweetheart deal to lure her back into the fold; after she offered more grief than fealty, he later decided to spin it off. Equally brutal, there is nothing but satisfaction for Murdoch in his daughter's decision, revealed via British media Oct. 4, to divorce Matthew Freud — great-grandson of Sigmund — the most famous PR man, fixer and influence peddler in Britain, a man whose ambition and drive seem uniquely compatible with Rupert's. Perhaps that is the reason Freud, 50, might be the person Murdoch, 83, dislikes most on Earth. (A flush and pulsing at the temples take over Murdoch's face when he talks about Freud.) As happens so often for Murdoch, family matters intersect with business interests, and as happens equally often for his children, the way they choose to live their lives invariably becomes part of his company's internal drama.

Media CEO Pay Chart

When you read about these guys cutting jobs at their various outlets (#8 on the list just cut 300 jobs at CNN, for instance), consider how many people could be employed by cutting their obscene salaries even a little bit. This chart comes from Variety. The numbers are in millions...per year.

Jay Leno is Coming Back

From the Hollywood Reporter...

Jay Leno is lining up his first regular television hosting gig since leaving The Tonight Show in February, and he's staying in the NBCUniversal family. Leno is close to a deal to host a new show for cable network CNBC, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. The show will focus on Leno's longtime love of cars and will air in primetime, not late night.

NBC Wanted to Hire Jon Stewart to Host Meet the Press

Conservative heads would have exploded. From New York magazine...

Before choosing Todd, NBC News president Deborah Turness held negotiations with Jon Stewart about hosting Meet the Press, according to three senior television sources with knowledge of the talks. One source explained that NBC was prepared to offer Stewart virtually “anything" to bring him over. "They were ready to back the Brink's truck up," the source said. A spokesperson for NBC declined to comment. James Dixon, Stewart's agent, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

That's some out-of-the-box thinking there. I personally think he would have done a great job, but he made the right call. That Washington cesspool would have sucked the life out of him.

Documentary Viewer Can’t Wait To Find Out Which 4 Lads From Liverpool Changed Music Forever

Thanks to SG for sending this to me, from the Onion. Pretty clever...

Yearning with breathless anticipation to learn more about the hugely influential band, documentary viewer Jeremy Rosen told reporters Wednesday that he could not wait to find out which four lads from Liverpool had changed the face of music forever. “Wow, apparently all of these guys rose from humble beginnings in England to take the sixties by storm,” said Rosen, as black-and-white photographs of the Liverpool Cavern Club and Mathew Street appeared on the screen while the documentary’s narrator revealed that few would suspect a quartet of English schoolboys with Rickenbackers would come to define an era. “Even though they started out as just some teenagers with mop tops, it sounds like they actually went on to reach dizzying heights of fame and commercial success. Man, I wish they’d just hurry up and tell me their names.” At press time, an intrigued Rosen reportedly leaned in closer to his television as Ed Sullivan prepared to introduce the unknown foursome.

God Only Knows

This is fantastic. I've always loved the song, but the cast of stars involved in this is amazing.

Lunar Eclipse

A very dark and not so great shot of the lunar eclipse, taken with my iPhone. My son woke me up around 5:45 to see it.

Comcast Calls Customer's Employer And Gets Him Fired

I've heard lots of stories about Comcast and how evil they can be (which is why we dropped them years ago and will never return). You may remember the story a few months ago of the poor sap who was simply trying to cancel, and was badgered by the customer service rep. At the time, Comcast said it was a rogue employee.

This story is worse by a million times.

If it's true, and I have no reason to doubt that it is, Comcast was embroiled in another dispute with a customer (which sounds completely consistent with the kinds of stories I've heard about what it's like to deal with them when there is a billing problem). Instead of fixing it, they made it worse. Then, when the customer (an accountant) presented them with a spreadsheet of why they were overbilling him and charging him for things he can't use, doesn't use, or doesn't want, they called his employer (an accounting firm they also did business with) and had him fired.

You have to read the entire thing at the link above. If corporations are people too, this one is really has all of their eggs in the "there is no afterlife" basket.

Steve Dahl Back on WLS?

This is truly shocking news. Steve has been telling everyone that he had no intention of ever returning to terrestrial radio, but last night Robert Feder dropped this bombshell...

Six years after he signed off from over-the-air radio, Chicago broadcast legend Steve Dahl is about to make a comeback on WLS AM 890, sources said. An announcement could come this week that Dahl, 59, will join the Cumulus Media news/talk station as afternoon personality, replacing Roe Conn and Richard Roeper from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday though Friday. If all goes as planned, Dahl would start in early November.

Will he do political talk on WLS? If he starts in early November, I suppose, that could mean after the election--so maybe the WLS listeners won't mind if he's not political all the time.

LATE UPDATE: Steve confirms the news to Robert Feder. He will air between Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage. Roe and Roeper are definitely goners. They've already been removed from the station website.

Stopmotion Sideways Running

Visually interesting at the very least...

Twin Peaks to Return

I absolutely loved Twin Peaks when it first came out. I remember going over to Bob Stroud's condo to watch the series finale. Half the staff of the Loop was there, and we were all enthralled.

Twenty five years later, I can't remember the name of a single character (except the log lady). I do, however, remember why I loved it.

It was profoundly weird. And creepy.

Welcome back Twin Peaks.

Clooney Drones

How common has the use of drones become?

In Touch magazine used them to spy on George Clooney's wedding.

If you think that Iran getting drone technology is a scary proposition...just wait until TMZ scores a few. It's all over, Bieber.

The E is for Ebooks

Whites!

Pretty funny SNL digital short...

Civil Forfeiture

The John Oliver show on HBO has very quietly become one of the best shows on televsion. Every episode they feature one big story and do 10-15 minutes on one topic. This week it's about Civil Forfeiture, something I didn't even know about. It's the sort of in-depth analysis you simply don't see anywhere on television...and it's done with a great sense of humor. I'm impressed.

RIP Paul Revere

One of the most underrated bands in the 1960s. In his book, John Landecker called them (their early stuff) his all-time favorites behind the Rolling Stones. From today's RAMP newsletter...

Paul Revere, the namesake and leader of 1960s' band Paul Revere & The Raiders, died Saturday, Oct. 4 at his home in Garden Valley, ID after a battle with cancer. He was 76. Revere, who was born Paul Revere Dick, fashioned the look of the band from his "Paul Revere" persona, sporting what became their trademark flamboyant colonial wardrobe and matching tri-corner hats. The group took off in 1963 with a cover of "Louie, Louie" before releasing their own hits like "Kicks," "Hungry," "Good Thing," and their biggest hit, 1971's "Indian Reservation." Paul Revere and the Raiders went on to spend 1966-67 as the house band for the Dick Clark-created variety show Where The Action Is, and even appeared as themselves in the awesomely campy 1960's Batman TV series.

Here's that Batman appearance. They were the house band for Penguin's campaign for Mayor...



This one is my favorite Paul Revere song. By the way, Paul's the one on the keyboards. The lead singer is Mark Lindsay.

RIP Kevin Metheny

I wasn't a big fan of his radio moves, especially when he was working at WGN, but it's always sad when someone dies this young. Kevin Metheny was only 60 years old.

Unfortunately for him, he will always be remembered as "Pig Virus" from his days as Howard Stern's boss.

Warming Up the Publicity Machine

We're getting to the final stages. The book comes out in seven weeks...

All we are saying, is give Pease a chance

My friends Scott & Dina have a dog named Pease (photo--the bigger dog). He's one of the candidates for WCIU's Top Dog contest.

You can vote for him here.

All we are saying, is give Pease a chance.

Another Former News Corp Editor Pleads Guilty

Not that anyone seems to care about this, but yet another News Corp former editor has pleaded guilty to phone hacking.

Details in Rupert's very own Wall Street Journal.

The Economy

Don't look now, but the unemployment rate is below 6% for the first time in many years. Almost 250,000 jobs added last month. Stock market at record levels.

Wouldn't know it if you watched the news, but things are not terrible right now.

How to Pour a Perfect Beer

Incredibly important information...