Mornings on the Adriatic

Took this one as we prepared to get on the bus for an excursion...

Pesaro, Italy

This is an outside wall, and no, it's not attached to a library...

Fano

An arch built by the Roman Emperor Augustus around two thousand years ago. The original etchings are still on the wall...

Loreto

The Basilica behind me was built around the birth home of the Virgin Mary, brought back to Italy during the Crusades. The church was only 700 years old. The fountain was only 500 years old.

An Italian Vineyard

We had an amazing lunch here last week in the hills above Fano, Italy. The food was delicious. The wine was incredible. Yes, that's right, wine for lunch. And lots of it...

The Italian Riviera

This was the view from my hotel room in Pesaro, Italy last week...

Rube Waddell

This is finally the last merciful week of the baseball season, so this is the last week of stories to come from Just One Bad Century.

The final Cubs Hall of Famer for the season is Rube Waddell.

Father Knows Nothing

Just got back from Italy, and this week's Father Knows Nothing column is about the very strange circumstances surrounding the day I left Chicago. It's called "An Italian Birthday."

You can read it here.

Italia

I'm on assignment this week in the Marche region of Italy, which is along the Adriatic. (Seriously, I am. Who knew this writing thing could be so fun...er...I mean grueling.)

I'll be here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

I'll be back this coming weekend.

Coming soon: An official announcement about my second novel. Until then, Ciao!

(P.S. That photo is not taken in Italy. It's at Elvis' grave at Graceland. It's the closest I could find to a religious picture--I'll be seeing lots of churches in Italy.)

This week at Just One Bad Century

I'm out of the country this week, but just because I'm gone, and the Cubs haven't shown up for months, doesn't mean that we aren't still going strong at Just One Bad Century.

We'll still have our weekly Cubs Hall of Famer: Bruce Sutter

We'll still have our weekly Great Nickname: The Rajah

We'll still have two Tales from a Bad Century: Bill Veeck Jr. and Norman Rockwell Nails the Cubs

We'll still feature Sights & Sounds

And of course, go back This Week in 1908, and This Week in 1945.

But even more importantly, our souvenir stand remains open, and wouldn't you like to buy one of our snazzy shirts or hats?

That's what I thought: Buy those here.

Father Knows Nothing

I'm posting this week's Father Knows Nothing a day early because I'm leaving the country tomorrow. In this week's column, I discover a new sleeping disorder.

You can read it here.

GM Hunt

Fox Sports analyzes the Cubs search for a big-name GM.

Sounds like they don't think any of them will be coming to Chicago.

Beer

My latest article is out in SHORE Magazine, and it was a grueling piece of reporting, let me tell you. I had to tour all of the microbrews in northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan.

You can read it here.

The Lone Ranger

It debuted on television on this day in 1949. I got hooked on it when I was a boy. WGN showed it on Sunday mornings, followed by the Cisco Kid. My son Johnny loved it when he was a boy too.

Why? I'm not sure I can explain it. There's just something about the Lone Ranger.

9/11 with Eddie Munster

I just posted my weekly Suburban Dad contribution to the City Mom blog at ChicagoNow. It's about my very strange memories of 9/11.

You can read it here.

Green White Soccer Club

My father was one of the founders of the Green White Soccer Club in Chicago in 1956. The current president of the club (my sister) has asked me to write the history of Green White, and I've agreed to do it.

But here's how I'm doing it. Every month I will feature another year in Green White history on a blog I've created just for this. If you are also a Green White member, or were once a member, please feel free to comment on each month's offering. It's like a group project. I was only born in 1963, so I haven't been around for all of this history. I need help. I've interviewed about a dozen of the old-timers already, but I need to interview a few more. I'm hoping at the end of five years (in time for the club's 60th anniversary), we'll have an actual book-worthy accumulation of stories and photos.

The first one (1956) has already been posted.

Smells like Teen Spirit

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

"September 13, 1991…Geffen Records threw a party to launch Nirvana's single "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The band was thrown out of their own party after starting a food fight."

It's still a good song, even if it's 20 years old today and I still can't understand most of the lyrics...

The Monkees

45 years ago today America was introduced to the Monkees. You may notice something slightly different about the opening theme song of that first show. It's sung by Boyce & Hart instead of the Monkees themselves...

Oktoberfest

Last night we had a mini-Oktoberfest at the Kaempfer house. I went the extra mile to present an authentic atmosphere. It's the first time I've worn the lederhosen anywhere other than on stage with Landecker and the Legends. And yes, that mini-keg of Spaten is long gone.

Father Knows Nothing

My latest Father Knows Nothing column has been posted at NWI Parent. This week's column is about my wedding rings. (Yes, that's plural)

You can read it here.