A John Prine Memory, by Rich Paschall When John Prine was growing up in Maywood, Illinois, a suburb along the west side of Chicago, he helped a friend with a newspaper route. “…and I delivered to a Baptist old peoples… Read More ›
Entertainment
THANKS FOR THE ANGST – ELLIN CURLEY
Scientific studies now exist that defend Stress as something good which we need to extend Our productive lives, as we get on in years. So perhaps we should fuel, not conquer our fears And dwell on what is scary in… Read More ›
ONE HIT WONDERS – RICH PASCHALL
1970 Edition, by Rich Paschall Everyone likes to get invited to the party, but imagine getting invited to just one party…ever. That’s how it must have felt for these 1970 rockers who climbed high on the rock and roll charts… Read More ›
THE CIRCLE OF MOVIE LIFE – Rich Paschall
The Lion King, a review, Rich Paschall In the world of the Disney movie magic, what goes around will go around again. This is especially true for the beloved animated classics. You may have noticed this by their calculated re-release… Read More ›
I WON’T SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER – RICH PASCHALL
With my deepest apologies to Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards, this is currently “The Happenings.” (I’ll be alone each and every night While you’re away, we can Zoom or write) (Bye-bye, this is our hell Bye-bye, so wrong) I won’t… Read More ›
TAKE SOME TIME TO REVIVE IT
A view of America from Chicago, the band, by Rich Paschall Chicago has been around for a long time. No, I don’t mean the city, I mean the band. In 1967, five guys from DePaul University recruited a sixth from… Read More ›
IS IT WORTH COOKING? – RICH PASCHALL
Worth It – Food, a review, by Rich Paschall Last year I reviewed the incredibly popular Buzz Feed and YouTube series Worth It. The show finds its popular hosts, millennials Steven Lim and Andrew Ilnyckyj, traveling to three different restaurants… Read More ›
SUMMER SONGS – RICHARD PASCHALL
The Top 10 of a Musical Genius From the time the Beach Boys hit the surf and the top of the charts in the 1960s, Brian Wilson has been considered a musical genius. His prolific songwriting propelled the careers of… Read More ›
THE BEST MAINSTREAM LGBT MOVIES
The Top Ten Movies For Pride Month, Rich Paschall Our first outing, “In The Mainstream,” featured some of the best movies ever made, brought to you by the numbers 11 through 20. You will find the sequel today is equally… Read More ›
IN THE MAINSTREAM – RICH PASCHALL
LGBTQ in cinema, by Rich Paschall We don’t need a declaration from an orange politician to know that June is the national Pride month. There may not be Pride parades this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions… Read More ›
I’LL BE WHAT I AM – RICH PASCHALL
A Solitary Man, Rich Paschall When the “stay at home” orders dragged on from March to April and then to May, it seemed like we needed some music to fit the situation. Some were creating playlists and posting them online…. Read More ›
THE BIGGEST GLITCH – Marilyn Armstrong
Little things defeat me. An electrical blip — so brief as to go otherwise unnoticed — knocked out the time and date on the clocks and telephones in my house. It was so brief I didn’t realize it had happened until… Read More ›
JUST A LONELY BOY – Rich Paschall
Lonely And Blue, by Rich Paschall Are you lonesome tonight? Alone again, unnaturally? Feeling like Mr. Lonely? Lonely Is The Night these days so we thought it was time for our Lonesome List top ten. You can make a Journey… Read More ›
SPLENDID ISOLATION – RICH PASCHALL
Your Quarantine Playlist, by Rich Paschall Since you have to Hunker In The Bunker you probably have been eagerly awaiting my list of top Sequester Songs. Never fear, I have compiled my playlist of hot hibernation harmonies, filled with lonely… Read More ›
AT THIS MOMENT – RICH PASCHALL
Karaoke Night, by Rich Paschall From the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, we spent a lot of time in adult drinking establishments singing various tunes to varying degrees of success. You did not have to be any good at it. You… Read More ›
FILMS ALL GUYS SHOULD SEE – RICH PASCHALL
My personal top 20, by Rich Paschall Since you are likely hiding out at home and looking for something to do, I offer again my top films for you to watch. Yes, I said at the beginning “films all guys… Read More ›
JOHNNY CASH AND NINE INCH NAILS – RICH PASCHALL
Covering Hurt, by Rich Paschall You probably know what it means to “cover” a song. That’s when one artist records, or “covers,” the work of another artist. Sometimes the later version becomes a bigger hit than the original. Such was… Read More ›
IS LISTENING TO AUDIOBOOKS THE SAME AS READING? – Marilyn Armstrong
Responding to: Open Book Blog Hop – Are audiobooks considered reading? I got addicted to audiobooks while I was commuting to work. There were periods when I was driving as much as 5 hours a day — just to get back… Read More ›
CLASS OF ’69 – BY ELLIN CURLEY
Going to a 50th High School Reunion can be an exciting prospect – if it’s yours. I recently went to my husband, Tom’s 50th Reunion in Schenectady, New York, and, to be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to it…. Read More ›
BRAIN SNOBS – Marilyn Armstrong
It isn’t just culture that divides us into classes. What we watch on television, see in the movies, and read also puts us into a category, often unfairly by people who don’t “get” why we like what we like. I read… Read More ›
IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR – RICH PASCHALL
She Wants More, More, More, by Rich Paschall Perhaps that’s the Rebel Yell you hear in the midnight hour when the music picks up and the time to dance is at hand. I had been wondering what to suggest as… Read More ›
GONNA BUILD A MOUNTAIN – RICH PASCHALL
From A Little Hill, by Rich Paschall Gonna build me a mountain ‘Least I hope I will. One of the best-known songs from Act One of “Stop The World – I Want To Get Off” is Gonna Build a Mountain…. Read More ›
STOP THE WORLD – RICH PASCHALL
I Want To Get Off, Rich Paschall Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley scored big with their 1961 musical Stop the World – I Want to Get Off . They opened “out of town” in Manchester but quickly moved to London’s… Read More ›
OVERCOMING MY NEWS ADDICTION – By ELLIN CURLEY
I confess. I became a news addict. A true junkie. The first thing I did every morning is to reach for the phone and check out the Washington Post to see what Trump has done while I was sleeping. The… Read More ›
