A Movie I Can Get Behind

The film is called: "The American Brew: the Rich and Surprising History of Beer".

Shore Magazine has the details.

Michael Savage

Do you feel a little better today and can't figure out why? Does the world seem a little brighter, less bitter, smell better, and have a certain 'zip-a-dee-doo-dah' vibe today?

It might be because Michael Savage won't be on the radio "for some time". (The full story is here.) Unfortunately, it won't last. He's already negotiating to hook up with a different company.

Nevertheless, until he does, the world will be a little less "spewy".

Today's Best Tweets

I've begun to spend a few minutes every day reading my twitter feed. Here are ten that caught my eye today...



J'Marcus Webb ‏@jmarcuswebb
Should we know current events? My m.agent keeps telling me "turn the TV on while you get dressed, and watch the news, so you know what's going on in the world!" Do you think she's right?

Deadspin ‏@Deadspin
Replacement ref talks: "The last guy who was perfect they nailed to a cross. And he wasn't even an official." http://deadsp.in/w4qL8N

Eddie Volkman ‏@EddieVolkman
Excuse me, Prime Minister Netanyahu? Wile E. Coyote called. He wants his bomb back.

Dan Bernstein ‏@dan_bernstein
Great longtime-married exchange: "Do you want to watch that show, the one with whats-her-name?" "No." "Ok."

Steven Tyler ‏@IamStevenT
SAW A GREAT MOVIE LAST NITE.... AND WHO WAS IN IT?? MY ALPHA PUP @LivTyler..... GO SEE ROBOT & FRANK!!!

Walter Cronkite ‏@WCronkite
"Every morning I wake up and think, what are the bastards hiding today" Bob Woodward

Funny Or Die ‏@funnyordie
Wondering why China is kicking America's ass? Look no further than Honey Boo Boo: http://ow.ly/e3iN6

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost
8 totally unreasonable prenup demands http://huff.to/UPx3FV

Peter Gammons ‏@pgammo
At the time, it seemed simple. Now: Rizzo .288/.345/.468/.813 15 HR, 316 AB Gonzalez .294/.338/.461/.799 18 HR, 603 AB

Marty Jencius ‏@jencius
A new bedtime story. Election season is winding up, so listen to Shaft and wake the f**k up! http://bit.ly/RipWmj #wtfu @SamuelLJackson NSFW

Operation Unlike

Facebook has launched a crackdown on fake "Likes", calling the project "Operation Unlike". Apparently, fake accounts have been created simply to like certain people, companies or products, and Facebook wants to get rid of them. Some have seen their "Like" numbers go way down.

Not me. I guess I'm not fake liked.

Sniff. They like me. They really, really like me.*

*That's a Sally Field reference for those of you who don't get my antiquated references.

Cubs 365, September 28

On this day in 1938, the second place Cubs were playing the first place Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. It was the bottom of the ninth, the score was tied 5-5, and Cubs catcher Gabby Hartnett stepped to the plate.

The umpires were sure to call the game because of darkness if the Cubs didn't score in the bottom of the inning. No one knows how Hartnett even saw that ball from Pittsburgh pitcher Mace Brown, but Gabby knocked it out of the park, in a moment that will always be remembered as the "Homer in the Gloamin." The Cubs overtook the Pirates for first place, and clinched the pennant a few days later.

It sounded like this on the radio.

All these years later, "The Homer in the Gloamin'" remains the second most famous home run in Wrigley Field history.

Dave Fogel

The morning man at WLS-FM in Chicago did his last show yesterday. (Robert Feder has the details) If you didn't listen to the program, his name was Dave Fogel and he had been the morning man there for the past two years.

I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight when he arrived.

In the interim the new morning man will be Tom O'Toole, but don't be surprised if a certain mustachioed Michigander takes over that slot soon. (That's a Fred Winston reference for those of you who don't follow my cryptic subtleties.)

Jim Rome

From this morning's RAMP Newsletter...

"It's an announcement that Jim Rome himself would describe as "Epic!" -- CBS Sports Radio has signed nationally awesome sports personality Jim Rome as the newest piece of the personality line-up when the 24/7 radio network launches next year. The Jim Rome Show will run live weekdays from noon-3pm ET beginning Wednesday, January 2, 2013. "Jim would be at the top of any list highlighting sports radio's most authoritative and opinionated hosts, which is exactly why we're thrilled to welcome him to CBS Sports Radio," said CBS Radio Pres./CEO Dan Mason. "We're building a network that showcases the incredible assets of CBS Radio and CBS Sports, and creating a strategic opportunity for growth in this untapped marketplace. Jim's presence in this marquee time period adds strength to our lineup and exceptional value to our advertisers."

I certainly hope CBS doesn't force all of their sports stations to carry him. In Chicago, CBS owns the Score, and I for one, would much rather hear Dan McNeil in that time slot. Maybe it's just me, but I've always considered Rome to be the most overrated sportscaster in the country. There's something about his delivery that has always rubbed me the wrong way.

Today's Best Tweets

I've begun to spend a few minutes every day reading my twitter feed. Here are ten that caught my eye today...




The Balding Handbook ‏@BaldingHandbook
Royal cover-up? No sign of a bald patch on Prince Charles's 60th birthday coin http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1056279/Royal-cover-No-sign-bald-patch-Prince-Charless-60th-birthday-coin.html … via @MailOnline

miketoomey ‏@miketoomey
This day in 1988 Lab tests reportedly show Shroud of Turin not Christ`s burial cloth but in fact Tammy Faye Bakker's pillow case.

USA TODAY Life ‏@USATODAYlife
Lil Wayne has surpassed Elvis Presley as the leading male with the most entries on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. http://usat.ly/NTazko

Rolling Stone ‏@RollingStone
#TheBeatles' remastered albums are finally coming out on vinyl: http://bitly.com/QWRqfc

Sam Sifton ‏@SamSifton
Don't eat that gray snow, either. NYT reports on a ski resort that wants to use sewage effluent to make powder: http://nyti.ms/QVCSwz

Univ. of Illinois ‏@Illinois_Alma
Here's a mesmerizing time lapse video of the demolition of Garner Hall. Did you live there? http://ow.ly/e2cBg

The New York Times ‏@nytimes
Herbert Lom, Frustrated Boss of Inspector Clouseau, Dies at 95 http://nyti.ms/QWYDfm

Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN
Here's the story by colleague Willie Weinbaum about Adam Greenberg getting an at-bat. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8430448/7-years-later-miami-marlins-give-adam-greenberg-another-bat …

WBEZ ‏@WBEZ
On new album, Green Day sorely missing the B.S. detector that has served them well during 12-yr rise via@JimDeRogatis http://bit.ly/Qf7kAA

WSCR AM ‏@670TheScore
Listen: Indians Radio Announcer Rips Sox Fans For Lack Of Attendance http://cbsloc.al/VOoF7G

Cubs 365, September 27

On this day in 1876, the last game of the first official National League season was played. The Chicago White Stockings (today's Cubs) beat the Hartford Dark Blues 16-10. Because Chicago ended the season seven games ahead of the second place St. Louis Brown Stockings, they were declared the champions.

Among the players on that team: Hall of Famers Albert Spalding (a 47-game winner that season) and Cap Anson (who batted .356). Neither of them were the biggest star of that team, however. That honor went to second baseman Ross Barnes, who led the league in hitting (.429), runs, hits, doubles, triples, and walks.

Of course, modern day fans would barely recognize the 1876 game because they played with very different rules. Very different.

For instance, the pitchers mound was only 45 feet away from home plate. The pitchers threw underhand, and batters could request either high or low pitches. If a ball bounced over the fence, it was a homer...and some fences were less than 200 feet away from home. It also took nine balls to get a walk, and a foul ball was an out if it was caught on one bounce.

Like we said, very different.

But a championship is a championship, and no one can take away Chicago's glorious 1876 title.

World's Most Popular Beer

The top ten most popular beers in the world are listed here.

You'll recognize most of them. The list includes a few American favorites like Miller Lite (#8), Coors Light (#7), Budweiser (#3), and Bud Light (#2), and a few international beers that are very common here like Heineken (#6) and Corona (#4), but there are four beers on this list that I've never heard of--and I know a little bit about this subject.

Two of them are popular in Brazil--Brahma (#9) and Skol (#5). One of them is popular in Japan--Asahi Super Dry (#10). But the thing that really shocked me is that I've never heard of the #1 most popular beer in the entire world. It's called "Snow Beer" and it's from China.

Of course, this list just proves that the entire world is stupid. How can there not be a single German beer on this list? I get it that the Germans have done some less than admirable things over the last few centuries, but there is one thing that they have consistently done better than anyone else in the world for the last five hundred years or so--brew beer. Bud Light (!?!) would be embarrassed to be in the same room as a good German beer.

Good thing I'm not taking it personally.

RIP Andy Williams

One of my late father's favorite singers passed away today at the age of 84; Andy Williams. We watched his television show every week when I was a kid. He was best known for "Moon River" and of course, this Christmas season classic...



I usually think of it more often during this season...



RIP, Andy. Thanks for the memories.

Kim Strickland & Randy Richardson

The Eckhartz Press blog has the latest info about two of our authors, Kim Strickland and Randy Richardson. They're both hustling to promote their novels.

Kim is going on a book blog tour, and Randy has been reviewed, interviewed, and is appearing at an event this weekend.

Read all about them here.

Today's Best Tweets

I've begun to spend a few minutes every day reading my twitter feed. Here are ten that caught my eye today...




ChicagoNow ‏@ChicagoNow
Are you reading this tweet in a bathroom stall? It would not be a shock if you were.

Rolling Stone ‏@RollingStone
'Moon River' singer Andy Williams is dead at 84

Karl Klockars ‏@karlklockars
Singing "Moon River" just makes me think of that scene in Fletch. ("You using the whole fist there, doc?")

Tom Teuber ‏@tteuber
Did you see Feder? Randy Michaels' bankers have already pulled the plug. It's the 2nd item in today's column

WSCR AM ‏@670TheScore
Rodgers Apologizes To Fans For NFL 'Tarnishing The Game'

The Heckler ‏@The_Heckler
Hey #Packer fans: Now you know how #HawkHarrelson feels after every single call pic.twitter.com/nPIKs2rH

Steve HomerTrue ‏@espnhomer
Stolen but great. "Now that interceptions are being called TDs, Brett Favre has decided to make a comeback." Even Favre lovers got to laugh.

The Balding Handbook ‏@BaldingHandbook
Bald Guy Birthday september 26.....Ivan Pavlov known for his theories on classical conditioning (ding, ding)..Oh crap gotta change my shirt.

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost
New sperm extractor machine lends a hand

Literary Writers ‏@LiteraryWriters
“I never know what I think about something until I read what I've written on it.” - William Faulkner

New D. Rose Commercial

A Father's Dilemma

A father discovered his 13-year-old son had downloaded a bunch of porn onto his computer. How did the dad handle this? He wrote him a letter, essentially saying he wasn't doing anything wrong, but he needs to be careful so he doesn't ruin the computer.

I have had "the talk" with my two older boys, but we've never really discussed porn. I guess I better do that. Ugh. There's nothing I enjoy more than incredibly awkward conversations with teenage boys that don't want to talk about anything.

Cubs 365, September 26

On this day in 1989 the Cubs clinched a division title. The Little Engine That Could ("The Boys of Zimmer") did it in the least glamorous location in the big leagues--Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Only 11,000 fans were in the stands, and in that huge ballpark, it looked like half as many.

Greg Maddux was sharp on the mound for the Cubs. He gave up only one extra base hit all game (a double to Tim Raines), but he ran out of gas in the bottom of the ninth. Mitch "the Wild Thing" Williams was brought in to close it out. He got pinch hitter Wallace Johnson to pop out to second for the second out.

That left it up to another Expos pinch hitter, Mike Fitzgerald. With the tying run on third base, Williams reared back and fired. He ended the game the way every clinching game should be ended; STRIKE THREE!

The Who

According to Mitch Michaels' "Today in Rock History", on this day in 1965 the Who got into a little tiff...

"1965, At the end of a European tour Roger Daltry knocked out Keith Moon and was sacked from The Who. The band were playing two shows in one night in Denmark, when an argument broke about between all four band members. Daltry was reinstated the following day."

This is what The Who looked and sounded like in 1965...

Rick Sanchez Returns

Remember Rick Sanchez? He worked with CNN as an anchor until he said some rather unfortunate things about Jews in a radio interview. Well, he has finally resurfaced.

Sanchez was hired by Fox News Latino.

Charlie Fick

Charlie Fick is a rookie with the Houston Astros. (Don't ask me what his last name means in German). Stuart Shea from Bardball has written a short little poem about him, which I found amusing.

You can read it here.

Fool on the Hill

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

September 25, 1967…The Beatles recorded "The Fool On The Hill." Paul McCartney later said "I was writing about someone like Maharishi (Yogi). His detractors called him a fool. Because of his giggle he wasn't taken too seriously."