Wisdom

Thanks "OG" for this one...

RIP Dennis Green

Sorry to hear about the passing of Dennis Green. The Bears remain forever who he thought they were.

Fact Checking Donald

I was watching my Twitter and Facebook feeds during the speech last night and the people who love Donald were very impressed by him because he was telling the truth to America. Um, according to the fact checkers at the Washington Post, there were about 24 not-so-truths.

But you know, liberal media.

I listened to the speech on the radio instead of watching it on TV. I thought it would be interesting to get a feel for the actual words without the images. He painted a pretty gloomy picture of our country. I locked the doors before the roaming and marauding immigrants killed me...although they probably would have been scared off by the ragey screaming man on the radio.

On the other hand, I did really enjoy Ivanka. She was very good. Her mother and nanny did a great job of raising her.

Colbert & Stewart React to Roger Ailes News

Cubs and Pokemon Go

It looks like my kids aren't the only ones playing this Pokemon Go. Even the Cubs players are doing it now. Then again, some of these players are the same age as my kids.

Carpool Karioke with Michelle Obama

This is awesome. How can people dislike this woman?

Minutia Men, Episode 12

Rick and Dave reveal their D-list celebrity speakers for the Rick and Dave political convention, and discuss mistaken phone numbers, married sex tweets, the most searched Cubs-related name, and Rick’s brush with Steven Tyler.

Listen to it here.

The Latest on Roger Ailes

He's not quite officially out the door yet, but that's because they are crossing the "t's" and dotting the "i's". The New York Times has the story about what sealed his fate. Turns out it wasn't just Megyn Kelly. There were six other women who came forward in their internal inquiry.

LATE UPDATE: (Headline in the New York Daily News) Roger Ailes reportedly kicked out of Fox News headquarters as the CEO will take $60M to leave the company amid sexual harassment allegations (He can just hand that money right over to Gretchen Carlson)

LATER UPDATE: It's official. He's a goner. Rupert will now run the show directly on an interim basis.

This day in Chicago history

Former Channel 7 reporter Paul Meincke posts these incredible "This day in Chicago history" segments on his facebook page. You should check them out. This is the one he posted today, and it's a story I have never heard before...

July 21 - This day in history - 1919: The hydrogen-filled dirigible Wingfoot Air Express takes off from Grant Park for a short trip to the White City Amusement Park. Chicago Daily News photographer Milton Norton asks if the dirigible can make a swing over the downtown area so he could take some pictures of Chicago's changing and already impressive skyline. Pilot Jack Boettner says OK and the Wingfoot starts a slow pass over the loop. Suddenly a small fire breaks out, and with hydrogen to feed on, it becomes an immediate inferno. Boettner and his chief mechanic Harry Wacker have parachutes and jump to safety. A second mechanic, Henry Weaver, died when his parachute caught fire. Passenger Earl Davenport, a publicity agent for the White City amusement park jumped, but his parachute got caught in the rigging and he did not survive. With its superstructure engulfed in flames the Wingfoot crashes through a huge skylight at the Illinois Trust and Savings bank at LaSalle and Jackson. The flaming debris falls on top of dozens of bank employees who are finishing their work day. Ten of them are killed in what was - at the time - the worst dirigible disaster in U-S history. Photographer Milton Norton broke both legs when he jumped. He later died in the hospital but not before continually asking if his photography had survived the crash. It did not. The Wingfoot tragedy would begin one of the most remarkable weeks in Chicago history - a week that included fierce racial tension that led to riots, a crippling transit strike, the murder of a young girl that stunned the city. The incredible week (actually 12 days) is documented in Gary Krist's compelling book "City of Scoundrels".

Premier League Crackdown

I've become a big fan of Barclay's Premier League (soccer), so I follow the news closely. This is the latest...the league is instructing referees to crack down on bad language...

The most forceful new directive is for referees to give red cards to players who use “offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures” towards them. According to the BBC, no player has been given a red card in at least the last five seasons for using offensive or insulting language towards a referee.

That's fine, I suppose, but in a league known for its many international players, wouldn't you say that gives an unfair disadvantage to the English-speaking players? I learned all the worst words in about a dozen languages during my soccer career. I always get a smile from Polish workers when I lay a little vocabulary on them.

The final word always comes from the late night comics

Trump's African-American Supporter

How did that speech get plagiarized?

I have a theory, and that theory is that Melania or one of the other Trumps, added the plagiarized portion.

The speechwriter didn't do it, and he has proof. He has the copy of the speech he delivered to her, and it doesn't include any of those words from Michelle's speech.

It would explain a lot, wouldn't it? If it was a lowly staffer, they would have just been fired. You can't fire his wife...or his kids.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is a huge deal. It wasn't Donald's speech--it was just his wife's. But doesn't this show you a little something about the way he is going to handle a crisis moment? His response was just to deny that it even happened. It may not be a big deal, but it did happen. And it is obvious.





UPDATE: This New York Times report comes to a very similar conclusion to mine, except they did actual research and reporting. :)

LATE UPDATE: Trump speechwriter falls on her sword. She offered her resignation, and Trump refused it. I'm calling bullshit on this explanation. No way Trump doesn't accept resignation if she is really guilty.

How Does Fox News Report Roger Ailes Story?

He will be gone any day now.

By the way, O'Reilly, Hannity, and Greta all have clauses in their contract that they can leave Fox News if Ailes leaves. They won't, of course. Where would they go?

RIP Garry Marshall

Sad to hear the news that Garry Marshall passed away yesterday at the age of 81. He was a great director, writer, and producer, but he also wasn't so bad at acting. This scene is one of my all-time favorite movie scenes...

Stick A Fork In Him

When the Roger Ailes sexual harrassment charges became public, a bunch of Fox News employees (mostly guys) stuck up for Ailes and said the charges were untrue. One name conspiculously absent from his list of defenders was the biggest female star on the network...Megyn Kelly. Why didn't she defend him? Turns out, he also sexually harrassed her.

That's it. It's all over for Ailes.

They may have to wait until after the convention, but Fox News has no choice but to fire him now.

Another Great Day at Wrigley

Went to the ballgame with son #3 yesterday and we had a great time. It was a picture perfect beautiful summer night and the Cubs won. We got there almost two hours before game time, and Sean got an autograph from Mets infielder Wilmer Flores. We were there so early we got the discount on food and drinks.

We also met a nice couple from New York sitting behind us. Wrigley Field was on their bucket list, and they flew in just for the game. Sean was chatting with them all night, exchanging mini-taunts and jokes. When he went to the bathroom the woman said to me: "I just have to tell you--he has one of the most wonderful and engaging personalities I've ever encountered. You did a great job of raising him."

That's one of the nicest things someone has said to me...even though I can't really take credit for the kid's personality. He came out of the womb that way.

Taylor Swift's Deposition Will Be Videotaped

From this morning's NOW newsletter...

Taylor Swift doesn’t like it, but her deposition in the Denver “groping” case will be videotaped. And former KYGO/98.5 morning host David Mueller has the right to be in the room during that deposition, says The Hollywood Reporter. That meeting may be tense. But Mueller says his life was turned upside down after Swift’s 2013 allegation that he groped her bottom during a backstage meet-and-greet photo-shoot at the Pepsi Center. Her people complained to then-owner Lincoln Financial Media, and Mueller was canned from his $150,000-a-year job. He sued the superstar for slander (September 14, 2015 NOW), and she responded by claiming sexual assault and battery. Imagine the stakes, with a country jock trying to regain his reputation and salary, against the world’s top-earning celebrity ($170 million last year, per Forbes).

John Lennon Stories

Record Producer Jack Douglas worked with Lennon on several of his solo albums, and he talked to Gothamist about the experience.

I never heard any of these stories. Great stuff. Here's my favorite one...

I remember after the Rock and Roll album, he came back to New York and we were sitting there and he wanted to play me all the stuff. So he played and he then said he was going up to Morris Levy's house.

Levy was a gangster. [He ran] music companies, record companies and labels including Roulette Records. He’d been invited to Levy's house because Morris had published all those great old songs. He even had his name down as a writer, although this was a guy who was a bouncer. He was a mobster, a famous one. To John, Morris Levy was like a god, not a gangster. Because his name was on so many of these great records from the early 50's and 60's. I said to him, "John, whatever you do, don’t leave him a tape. If you’re going to play him the songs, be sure to take the tape with you."

So I see him a few days later and I ask, how’d it go at Morris’s? And he says, “You know, we went up there, up to the farm, and he didn’t have time to listen so I had to leave it for him.” And I said, “7 ½? The whole album?” And a week later that thing was for sale, on television, Adam VIII, Morris’s son’s label.

They sold a million units on television before they got a judge, before they got them to cease and desist.

New PD in Chicago

I mean PD in the radio abbreviation sense of the word. A new Program Director has been named for iHeartmedia's six Chicago radio stations. From this morning's RAMP newsletter...

iHeartMedia yesterday introduced Ashley "AC" Trybula as Digital Program Director for the company's Chicago Region, effective immediately. Trybula will work closely with the programming and sales teams for Top 40 WKSC (103.5 Kiss FM), Country WEBG (Big 95.5), Hot AC WLIT (93.9 MYfm), Urban WGCI, Urban AC WVAZ (V103) and WGRB-AM (Inspiration 1390). "I'm elated Ashley will be joining the iHeartMedia Chicago Region," said Matt Scarano, Region President. "She brings a wealth of leadership and creativity to our team and digital brands."