Chicago Radio Spotlight: Mary Van De Velde

This week at Chicago Radio Spotlight I interviewed the afternoon traffic reporter at WGN: Mary Van De Velde. Mary's life has recently been upended in the move from mornings to afternoons, which is one of the subjects we discussed. You can read the entire interview here.

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

Brent e-mailed a great observation...

"Funny thing. When I went to the see the Jon Stewart interview, they make you watch a commercial first. The commercial I got was for Bank of America. Irony anyone?"

Neil Sedaka

He may have written a song called "Happy Birthday Sweet 16," but Neil Sedaka turns 70 years old today.

Last summer I interviewed Clark Weber about his new book, the foreword of which is written by Sedaka. I asked how he knew him, and Clark told this story that illuminates the kind of man Neil Sedaka is...



"I knew Neil from back in the 60s, and I decided to call and ask if he would do it, and he said hell yes. He and I were good buddies, and he would call on my office at WLS from time to time when I was the program director at WLS. The record company had their own promo people but if he was in town, he would come in personally. One time he was in my office and I got a phone call about a band cancelling at a church event in Evanston that I was supposed to be hosting. Well I went there that night, and I was ready to go on stage, and the people from the church said, 'You're not going to believe who is backstage to perform.' It was Neil, and he entertained the crowd for a half-hour."

Friday the 13th

Today I'm going to walk under a ladder, break a mirror, and force a black cat to cross my path. I'm feeling lucky.

Ricky Gervais and Elmo

No sign of tension on the Sesame Street set on the day they announce massive layoffs. Although Elmo was a little loopy...

Johnny Kaempfer

He's funny, he's quirky, he's tough, he's got a bit of a Napoleon complex, and he is 11 years old today. Happy Birthday, Johnny!

Like his older and younger brother, my middle son was born on the radio. Read all about that here.

40 years ago this week...

...this song won the grammy for song of the year. I personally think it holds up pretty well. The link takes you to a recording of a live performance from that year.

Thumbs Up!

I finally got my thumbcast taken off this morning. It's not completely healed yet, unfortunately. Another four weeks of being "very careful" with it. With three boys that's going to be easier said than done, but whew! At least I can shake hands with people again.

35 years ago today...

...this show debuted. Remember it? I totally do. I was 10.



Recognize the voices? Marlo Thomas & Mel Brooks.

We're #2!

This week's Father Knows Nothing is getting quite a bit of reaction via e-mail, Facebook, and on the site. It's a totally immature piece called "We're #2!"

Among the comments I've gotten so far...



Tina: Although I am a female, I must admit that I enjoy the occasional “male” potty humor myself. Having an older brother and father that constantly crack jokes, even today at 32 and 54, one must succumb to the saying of “if you can’t beat them, join them”!

Momkat: And let’s not forget the eternal wisdom of “He who denied it, supplied it.” But you didn’t hear it from me. And yes, I did say “but.”

ML: Oh boy, you and my former husband would have gotten along famously, Rick!!! Potty humor galore!

Bill: Good one Rick! I was laughing out loud. My whole life was the opposite. Four sisters no brothers. Two daughters no sons. It wasn't until I inherited a step son that additional testosterone entered the home. "Butt" ....that doesn't mean I didn't get your blog! (he-he)

Anita: Try disciplining your son, and in mid-yell or mid-lecture, he just stares at you and then puts his finger up his nose and pretends to dig around. Instead of yelling, you start laughing and it's all over. It's now impossible to maintain any semblance of parental power in the situation. He knows I'm an easy mark for a cheap laugh, therefore, bodily function noises and scratching himself is also used when Mom is trying to actually ACT like a parent. I don't know what I did in life to deserve so many moon shots. I thought once he was potty trained, I'd never have to see his butt ever again. I was wrong.

Feel free to add your comments at the Father Knows Nothing site. The more the merrier.

Why men look for any excuse to get out of the house

"B" tipped me off to this article. This guy has the same sensibilities as me. The article is called "Why men look for any excuse to get out of the house."

Joke for a Monday morning

This was contributed by "AH". A few one liners about my home town...





If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in Chicago

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Chicago

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Chicago

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in Chicago

If "Vacation" means going anywhere south of I - 80 for the weekend, you live in Chicago.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Chicago .

If you have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again, you live in Chicago

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Chicago .

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you live in Chicago

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in Chicago

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody is passing you, you live in Chicago

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in Chicago

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you live in Chicago.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in Chicago

If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you live in Chicago

Bill Maher

He's often a little too abrasive for my tastes, but Bill Maher has a way of cutting through the bells and whistles to get at the truth.

Friday night he did a rave out on the role of government, which I thought was right on the money. If you'd like to watch it, it's here. Warning to the easily offended: There are a few objectionable words.

Rush speaks

Rush Limbaugh addresses the nation... - watch more funny videos

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column at the NWI Parent blog.

This one is totally immature and childish. Fellas will enjoy it. Gals will roll their eyes. It's called "We're #2!"

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

From "BK", regarding John Belushi

"Your sites are fantastic - I wondered who else remembered that Bulooch passed on 3.5.82 - You answered my question!

I remember going with my parents and bros and some of the neighbor adults to see the movie - I was 13 and we were all in the front rows. When they get into the "You promised you'd go see the Penguin the day you get out. No F-ing way", Pat and I held our laughs, looked at all the adults who were busting a gut - including Mom and Dad - and let it fly!"

Chicago Radio Spotlight Update

This week I circled back to re-interview a half dozen people who have either been laid off, fired, moved to a new timeslot, or left town since I last interviewed them. Read what's up with Dan McNeil, Stan Lawrence, Leslie Keiling, Julian Nieh, Geoff Pinkus, and Kevin Robinson here.

Cubbie Blues

Many of you know that I contributed an essay to the recently published book "Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year." Well, the publisher's website has been doing profiles of the authors who contributed to the book, and this morning they posted my profile. It's written by the editor of the book, Don Evans.

You can read the whole profile here.



This is a small taste of it...

"Justonebadcentury.com is so packed with interesting content, I was surprised to learn it’s essentially a one-man show. Rick Kaempfer.

It was my fascination and admiration with the work of justonebadcentury.com that inspired me to contact Rick and see if he had any prose pieces that might fit Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year. While there are other very good Chicago Cubs sites out there, including Bleed Cubbie Blue, the Heckler and Cubbie-Blue, justonebadcentury.com most matched the sensibility I brought to the anthology project.

Rick gave me a funny, personal essay called Go (Away) Sox. Originally a piece Rick wrote for his blog Half Empty, it’s the evil side of his co-blogger and good friend Dave. “We constantly fight all year-long about the Cubs and Sox,” Rick says. “I don’t have to watch the news; if anything bad happens, I will find out from Dave.”

The essay is notable for its keen comic timing. It’s a short, breezy piece that is perfectly executed, like a gymnast executing a stripped-down routine flawlessly. It hits on a longstanding civic debate, Cubs or Sox?, but does so in a fresh way."

They did an interview with me for the site too. You can read that interview here. It's all about my relationship with the Cubs.

I'll be making a couple of appearances to promote the book in April. I'll fill you in on those as we get closer to the date.

Ken Sumka

News Radio WBBM's and WXRT's Ken Sumka is celebrating a birthday today. Last year I had a chance to interview Ken for Chicago Radio Spotlight. That interview is here if you'd like to read more about the birthday boy.

The Clock is still ticking

I don't know if you've seen our latest innovation at Just One Bad Century, but we've got a clock keeping track of exactly how long it's been since the Cubs last won the World Series. As of today, it's 36,666 days. If you want the precise hours, minutes and seconds, you can go to the website and check it out.