Life 2.0

FLASHBACK FRIDAY WITH ROYCE ELLIOTT

The year was 1993, it was my first paid writing gig for Chicago Sports Magazine, covering the Randy Hundley Chicago Cubs Fantasy Camp at Wrigley Field. I had a stellar outing at the camp, hitting a grand-slam homer the day before we actually played at "The Friendly Confines." My luck changed for the worse when I had to face a real MLB pitcher, "The Hook" lefty Rich Nye, who was one of the aces on that vaunted 1969 Cubs team. But it all got better at the banquet after the game, when we roared to the onslaught of jokes and one liners by the late, great Royce Elliott- American's Funniest Clean Comedian. 

 This Flash Back Friday made possible by the Life 2.0 Subscribers. 

WTF FRIDAY WITH STEVE RIZZO

At the age of 14, a guidance counselor told him he wasn't college material, as a senior in high school he was voted "Least Likely to Succeed" and he proudly wore the label of "loser" because he believed that other people's opinion of him, was who he really was. Eventually, Steve Rizzo would go on to become one of the most sought after comedians in America, and had some of today's biggest stars like Drew Carey and Ellen DeGeneres as his opening act. With his own SHOWTIME special, he was destined for sitcom stardom, but instead of heading to Hollywood, he began a quest to find his true calling in life, and along the way became a best-selling author, and the funniest motivational speaker on the planet. If laughter is the best medicine, Steve Rizzo is a master healer, and he shares his triumphs and tragedies on the Life 2.0 Podcast.

The Politics of Hate.

Christian Picciolini was an architect of the white-supremacist skinhead movement in America during the 1980s and 90s. He had a couple of life changing moments, left the movement and earned a degree in international relations from DePaul University and went on to launch Goldmill Group, a global digital media and counter-extremism consulting firm. In 2016, he won an Emmy Award for his role in producing an anti-hate advertising campaign aimed at helping people disengage from extremist groups. His life since leaving the white-supremacist movement over two decades ago has been dedicated to helping others counter racism and violent extremism by co-founding the organization Life After Hate. Picciolini now leads the Free Radicals Project (freeradicals.org), the world's first global disengagement platform.  

While everyone on television talks about the politics of hate from the outside in, Christian addresses this infection of the human spirit from the inside out.

WTF FRIDAY

Had to bypass The Wednesday Rant and Throwback Thursday this week, which means I had to stuff everything into a WTF Friday episode of The Life 2.0 Podcast. Spanning the globe attempting to make sense of the senseless (how is it possible that four Chicago area restaurants sell shark fin soup?) Why would a former shark attack victim go into a shark cage and have buckets of chum dumped on them? Cause its "Shark Week!" Why do I have to turn the sound off on baseball games? Football games? What about all the broken left turn signals in America? And have people REALLY passed Drivers Ed? It's a full house for sure...jump in...the waters...fine...except for..."BRIDE OF JAWS!" 

TBT -DARYN KAGAN

If you were one of the many subscribers, listeners or followers of the Life 2.0 Podcast, and voted for who you wanted to hear on the TBT episode this week, and cast your vote for former CNN Anchor and best-selling author Daryn Kagan...then your voice has been heard. From 1994 to 2006, Daryn served as a CNN main anchor and correspondent based in CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta. Her untimely departure from CNN turned out to be a "blessing in disguise" as her work now is about filling the world with uplifting stories, that offsets the negative news that grabs headlines.  But first, its a rollback to the year 1967, and a short walk through what was going on in the world 52 years ago, because perspective...is power. 

THE WEDNESDAY RANT 7.17.19

So what does an alligator in Chicago, Newton's 3rd Law, three congressmen, a senator, a meteorologist, a 116 year old book, a deceased cicada bug and July 20th 1969 all have him common? At first glance, nothing...but upon further inspection they are the whole kit & caboodle when it comes to The Wednesday Rant. Another foray into my never ending search to find the obvious buried in the absurd and make sense of the senseless. Don't know what a caboodle is? You're gonna find out.

#TBT REMEMBERING JIM BOUTON

While digging for an archived cassette tape last week after hearing about the passing of Lee Iaccoca to create a #TBT episode on the Life 2.0 podcast, I came across a Rubbermaid vault filled with names from the past, among them Jim Bouton, a 21-game winner for the New York Yankees in 1963 and author of the best-selling Major League tell-all book “Ball Four." I put it aside along with a few other tapes for future consideration. Little did I know, that one week later, Jim Bouton would pass away at the age of 80. So this week its an audio jaunt back to the year 2000, with hanging chads and Y2K, and my conversation with one of the all time greats. You don't have to be a baseball fan to appreciate Jim's take on pro sports, and overcoming loss. Godspeed my friend.

PATRIOT ACTS

I had to dig into the blog archives to find the 1648 words I wrote back 2015 regarding my thoughts about Independence Day. After posting the text on Facebook, I had a few people ask if I would please read it and make it available via the Life 2.0 Podcast.

Honored to be asked and to do so.

Just to be clear, the first to take a bullet for the cause of freedom was a black man, Crispus Attucks, whose name doesn't appear on the Declaration of Independence, but is a pivotal figure in our short history, as are the lesser known men who signed their own death warrants with the stroke of a quill pen.

Its the ultimate TBT- 243 years later.

HEADLINES & LIFELINES

Been busy with wrapping up my latest book "Phenomenon: Sacred Moments, Messages, Memories & Other Sh*t I Can't Explain" but of course there is always time for foray into the Life 2.0 Podcast! It wouldn't be politics without name calling, (just like on the school yard in 1975)...HEY... that was the same year JAWS came out! So what do shark attacks and climate change have in common? Is Marianne Williamson heading to the White House? Is Joe Biden a wimp? As always, the headlines are no match for the lifelines...and I am reminded again this week that in the end, just in the beginning...we are all estate sales in the making or in the case of the guy next door, a garage sale.

SUBSCRIBER SATURDAY EXCLUSIVE

Question: What do Babe "The Sultan of Swat" Ruth, Jon "I'M SICK AND TIRED AND NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE" Stewart, Mitch "The Buck Stops Here" McConnell, Alex "Psycho" Jones, Sea Monkeys and a serious case of PTSD along with spending $40 a month at Starbucks all have in common? Answer: They are all part of this weeks Subscriber Saturday Exclusive. I hold back no punches, cut no corners, go up the down staircase, in the out door in my ceaseless quest to make sense of the senseless and find the obvious truth buried in the absurdity of human behavior. To listen click "Subscribe To Premium Content Now" and follow the prompts-and welcome aboard the USS UNCOMMON SENSE.