Change of Subject

Chickens playing a game of chicken: What's really going on in Springfield

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-04T00:54:17-05:00

The following exchange between moderator Carol Marin of WTTW Ch. 11 and State Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) Wednesday on "Chicago Tonight" gets to the fundamental game being played now under the dome: Cullerton We in the Senate have voted...

Land of Linkin'

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-04T00:06:50-05:00

Podshifter Speeds Up Talk-Heavy Podcasts for Speedy Listening I recommend this idea, though I haven't tried this software. God, He's moody ---In an interview with something to offend everyone, Robert Wright explains why religion has given us a fickle deity....

Small scandal points up a major outrage

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-03T16:03:37-05:00

It’s a small scandal, really – one you may have missed in the busy, pre-holiday week: Cook County State’s Attorney’s investigators raided the home and office of Cook County regional school Supt. Charles Flowers Wednesday after auditors found that the...

`Andrzejewski' makes 'Blagojevich' look like C-A-T

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-03T15:22:11-05:00

Hinsdale businessman Adam Andrzejewski is running in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary. Campaign materials tell us to pronounce the last name “And-G-F-Ski." Easy enough. And probably not a problem for Illinois voters, who, after all, have elected a Blagojevich and...

Julie Hamos for (watch this space)

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-03T14:07:49-05:00

I keep getting e-mail from the Friends of Julie Hamos directing me to "Julie Hamos for Illinois," the campaign site for the North Shore Democratic State Representative. What's she running for? Nowhere on the site does it say, and those...

You can call him `Senator Al'

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-03T13:41:34-05:00

(Minnesota's new senator Al) Franken is considerably brighter and far more stable than his enemies, a group whose public behavior and personal conduct are replete with embarrassment, not to mention disgrace. Unlike many of them, he has a solid marriage...

Take the musical test -- when did you get old?

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-03T10:31:40-05:00

Reader Mike Carniello sent me a list several years ago of top summer songs of each year going back. He maintained that by "using this list, you can pinpoint exactly when middle age kicked in" by identifying the first song...

He said / She said columns come to an end after 11 years

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-03T00:39:25-05:00

To: Mary Schmich From: Eric Zorn Several times a year since June of 1998, we've been filling this space with a week's worth of jointly written columns, batting back and forth idle notions and weighty observations. Though some readers have...

Introducing Mary Schmich

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-03T00:01:00-05:00

In April, 2005, at the Arts Club of Chicago, the Community Media Workshop presented Tracy Baim, John Conroy, James Weinstein and Mary Schmich with Studs Terkel Awards for excellence in journalism. I asked readers for help in preparing Mary’s introduction...

Play the Chicago-area `I've Never Been...' game

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-02T16:26:24-05:00

On a city bus our first day in Seattle recently, I asked a friendly man in his late 20s for a few sightseeing tips. "Is that Space Needle worth a a visit?" I asked. "People say so," he replied. "I...

Casey Kasem signing off

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-02T13:27:50-05:00

The LA Times music blog reports that the countdown king, 77, will be doing his final top-40 show on July 4, a mere 39 years after he began.

Memories of previous mopery in the office of Cook County schools superintendent

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-02T08:36:37-05:00

The news today about trouble in the office of Cook County regional superintendent of schools reminds me of my own "Roger & Me" quest to interview one of the political hacks who previously held this unnecessary office: Martwick's busy.... eluding...

For crying out loud! Argentine a soul mate?

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-02T00:05:29-05:00

To: Eric Zorn From: Mary Schmich (mschmich@tribune.com) If President Barack Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, were soul mates, I'd buy that. If Mayor Richard Daley called Maggie his soul mate, I wouldn't wince. But when South Carolina Gov....

World's Greatest Podcast: Talking places with Mary Schmich and politics with Carlos Hernandez Gomez

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-01T16:33:21-05:00

The World's Greatest Podcast was also a broadcast today: The WGP continued without Mary but with Carlos Hernandez Gomez (audio only)-- Part One Part Two Carlos, a long-time friend, is currently engaged in a spirited, defiant battle against colon...

World's Greatest Talk Radio Segments

Eric Zorn — 2009-07-01T09:36:00-05:00

Mary Schmich, CLTV's Carlos Hernandez Gomez, host John Williams and I will be fighting for air-time and discussing this and that in the 11 a.m. hour of John's show on WGN AM 720 today. Portions will be video recorded as...