I should know better, but I just can’t help it – after decades of participating, I still participate in the WXRT Listeners’ Poll. WXRT is the worst in hypocrisy, promoting itself on its wide playlist but despite the great number of artists that they play, they only play the same 2-3 greatest hits by all […]

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For the past couple of years, I did not post a Best of Films list, in great part because I felt that I hadn’t seen enough films due to not attending the Toronto International Film Festival. That changed in 2022 and I saw 14 films there, on top of the usual “regular” movies. Here is […]

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I used to compile these lists every year, but I have gotten out of the habit during the pandemic, but there have been more releases this year than in the pandemic years, so I am compiling this list. As before, it is based on what I listened to most this year. Generally, my list has […]

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I have been asking the same question for several months: why is Chicago Rock Radio so bad? For many years, I have complained about WXRT, which is supposed to be the best of the rock stations, but has never been as good as people remember and now is boring, irrelevant, and a bit ageist. My […]

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For the first time in three years, the Toronto International Film Festival was open for business, almost 300 films, live audiences, masks required in the theaters, lots of celebrities and more World Premieres than I can remember. Almost every film was a world premiere. For the 20th time, your friend and humble narrator ventured up […]

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The busiest day of the Festival for me, and it started with a star-studded documentary. “Sidney” is a documentary on the late Sidney Poitier, directed by my college roommate’s old friend from East St. Louis, Illinois, Reggie Hudlin and executive produced by Oprah Winfrey. While I generally try to avoid Ms. Winfrey at all costs, […]

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After 20 film festivals, there are many times when time seems to bend back on itself – stars you’ve seen before, directors whose earlier films you’ve seen. Monday started this trend. Oscar winner Jessica Chastain who I’d seen in person at TIFF for the film “Molly’s Game” attended her latest movie, a well-acted but fairly […]

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