Life 2.0

FREEBIE FRIDAY - "HARRY KARAOKE"

Back in the day when I was doing the five days-a-week, three-hours-a-day radio thing, I would often park the funniest people we could find on Friday. Figured after humans kicked the crap outta each other Monday to Thursday, by the end of the week we just needed to chuckle, chortle, guffaw, cackle and just plain laugh.

 

So if you need a break from trying to make sense of the senseless, digging for the obvious buried in the absurd, then you need to hear...Harry Caray knocking out "Rappers Delight" or commenting on how Bess Truman is hanging out with Johnny Carson or what Scott Podsednik's name is backwards and how Ben Franklin spends his time in the great beyond.

 

Tim Evans is the voice of "Harry" and over the years he would float in because we had a special rig built by our engineer that allowed directed access to the late, great baseball announcer and what followed was a free-for-all of fun, which usually left me gasping for air and my belly hurting from laughter.

 

If laughter is the best medicine, then perhaps a measured dose of the Freebie Friday Podcast will be just what the doctor ordered in these torturous times. As Steve Rizzo explains, laughter doesn't dismiss what is going on, it helps us endure it.

 

From 2005, uncensored, unscripted and unbelievably funny- Harry Karaoke!

 

Give your central nervous system a break, click the link to listen to "Freebie Friday" on the Life 2.0 Podcast.

NO ZOOM ROOM.

Nothing like getting 29 minutes and 30 seconds into recording the 30th episode of "Life 2.0" and having my little Zoom machine shut down because there was no more room for my rants, raves and reflections. So a purge was in order, with the metaphors for life flying at me in digital terms and that led me to recalling my Sunday morning spent with former MLB slugger Eric Soderholm (you can listen to his podcast from July 13th for free) and a few of the "spiritual" lessons he learned from baseball.  "Earth Matters with Bill Kurtis" in this episode and music from the late, great Pete Huttlinger.

FREEBIE FRIDAY

So what does the virtual landfill of Facebook have in common with the living legend (and star of "Hello Dolly") Carol Channing? Nothing at all but that's sometimes how it goes on the Life 2.0 podcast. I took a week away from the dumping ground of Facebook and have a few reflections about that and along for the ride is my conversation with Ms. Channing from 2001, who was just turning 81 back then and had a new book coming out, not to mention her impersonation of Yul Brynner. It's a mixed bag for Freebie Friday, with music from the genius of David Stoddard. A bonus episode for subscribers.

17 YEARS LATER.

As I dug through the archives of shows past, I came across this from 9/14/01 and my conversation with the late, great Dr. Wayne Dyer who was on tour with a new book "There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem" and it landed smack dab just a few days after the most jarring event in our history. Joining Wayne is author and speaker Steve Rizzo who lends his insights and observations to those difficult days. Reminders, reflections and retrospective that needs to be heard.

THE SATURDAY MORNING MEMO

Few things rub my rhubarb, torque my bolts and chaps my nads like confirmation bias, which is defined as " The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses." The total dismissal of truth in favor of BS, simply to keep a bias intact, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary. Such is the case of "The Church Sign" that is making the rounds in the landfill of the internet claiming impending doom from "all those Muslims in Detroit." Problem is...it's a fake sign. Even bigger problem is apparently that doesn't matter...even bigger, bigger problem? It should matter. Bias creates blindspots, that everyone else can see...but us. 

CHRISTOPHER REEVE

For millions the late, great Christopher Reeve will always be "Superman" and the world watched him go from battling Lex Luthor on the silver screen, to being confined to a wheelchair the last few years of his life, however he accomplished more sitting down than many do standing up.

This week "The Wednesday Rant" becomes "Wednesday Wisdom." This is an incredible  for subscribers of the Life 2.0 Podcast and the chance for anyone who needs a serious perspective shift from "The Man of Steel" that orginally aired in May of 2002, the day before the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Paralysis Resource Center (PRC) opened its doors 16 years ago.

As I've been cleaning up the audio and editing for time, listening to Chris Reeve in my ear for the past few weeks, his insights, inspiration and strength are timeless. 

Wouldn't be great if superheroes could save the world just like in the movies?

Music this week from another "Super-Man" who left us too soon... Pete Huttlinger. 

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FREEBIE FRIDAY

"Wrong place at the wrong time" and in a moment, 14 year old Patrick Frontain was gone, another victim of a gang related shooting. Thus began what his mother Patricia calls "a nightmare you never wake up from." One day "the darkness lifted,"  Frontain and her husband channeled their grief into Patrick Lives On, a foundation dedicated to ending gun violence and steering young people away from gangs and toward more productive pursuits. As the script supervisor for the popular television show "Chicago PD" Frontain enlisted the help of the many stars she works with and together they are saving lives with an annual fundraiser. Listen, learn and support her efforts as the ripple effect works both ways. 

THE WEDNESDAY RANT

It's a kinder, more gentle "Wednesday Rant" (with more of a WayBack Wednesday theme but enough edges to warrant TWR label with my thoughts about the passing of Senator John McCain and his detractors.) I am in nostalgia mode as I celebrate my 21st year of broadcasting on this episode with some rambling reflections, cutting commentary and a BITD (Back In The Day) interview with the late, great Ed McMahon and how I was able to be a thirteen year old kid again for two hours. Play Ball!

 

FREEBIE FRIDAY

Another bonus episode for subscribers of the Life 2.0 podcast and a chance for the rest of the world to put an ear on content that informs, entertains and inspires, hopefully in some sort of order that makes sense out of the senseless.

 

Like the deaths of Sadie Alvardo and Mollie Tibbets and that both were killed but one has become a political pawn, the other...nearly forgotten.

 

Like the fact there is more plastic pollution on the planet than all species combined and will outlive every single thing on earth and while there are climate change deniers, no one yet has looked at the mountains of human generated plastic and said..."Fake News."

 

And what does Mike & Molly have to do with all of this? All that and more in this fodder filled Friday on Life 2.0-

 

Its a rollicking 49:59 of verbal gymnastics, some serious internal excavation, a trip up the down escalator and more fun than getting a root canal without a shot of Wild Turkey.  

 

Music this week from two old friends, Mark Cleveland and John Denver.

CANTON REWIND

The road to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH is a long time coming for some of the players like Packer Jerry Kramer who's been eligible since 1973 and is finally in at the age of 82, but for others like Chicago Bear Brian Urlacher, who got in the first time around at the age of 40. But its the fans that are the bedrock of the game in many ways and so I dragged out my trusty, dusty microphone very early in the morning to go beyond the headlines...to voices of the Canton faithful who wanted to simply say "Thank You."

Disclaimer: There is an embedded "rant" around "Paid Patriotism" as it pertains to the National Anthem. You've been served notice.

Music this week "Darcy's Guitar" from the late, great Pete Huttlinger.

You can find his stuff here- http://www.petehuttlinger.com/