Ken Levine on celebrities who give their kids ridiculous names like Sunday, Apple, Pilot Inspektor, and Reign Beau.
Friday, July 18, 2008
I'm on WBT/Charlotte Tonight
I return to WBT/Charlotte this evening to fill in for John Hancock from 5-8pm CT. You can listen live here.
Lawsuit of the Day
After Elizabeth Mateo had back surgery, she discovered that the doctor had left her a little something to cheer her up.
Knuckleheads In The News ®
Today's stories include a suspect the cops wouldn't pick up, a woman who really didn't want to do jury duty, and a surprise during a robbery at a pizza place.
Listen, then click here to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes!
For factory-direct savings, call 314-692-7300 or visit their showroom.
S&M Barbie
You can't make this stuff up. Because there aren't enough dolls that teach young girls how to be skanks...
Mattel calls her Black Canary Barbie, claiming she's based on a comic book superhero, but she looks more like S&M Barbie, with her leather jacket, high boots, black gloves, and fishnet stockings.
Dominatrix-Loving Ken sold separately.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Afghanistan Bananistan
Both presidential candidates and Secretary of Defense Bob Gates have vowed to put more US troops in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, which we didn't finish off at the end of 2001 because we turned our heads towards Iraq. With more bad news coming from that region in the last couple of weeks, I spent some time today on WLS/Chicago talking with Anna Mulrine, senior editor at US News, who is just back from seeing for herself what's going on in Afghanistan. Listen.
Good Morning, Chicago!
Another morning in the Windy City -- I'm on The Big 89 WLS today from 5 to 9am. You can listen live here.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Mitchell and Murray
My favorite stories are told first-person by people who explain the process behind what they do. That's why I'm enjoying Elvis Mitchell's new TCM show, "Under The Influence."
Unlike other interview shows, this one isn't focused on the latest project the interviewee is promoting, nor does it go through their entire career a la James Lipton. These conversations are about the movies and actors that the guest enjoyed and learned from, and their observations about how the people in those movies did what they did so well.
Mitchell got the series off to a good start last week with one of Sydney Pollack's last interviews, and continued it on Monday night with Bill Murray. There's real insight into Murray as both a movie fan and a comedic actor.
They talked about William Holden in "Stalag 17," the way Cary Grant helped his co-stars' performances even while off camera, the way Murray's physicality on screen mirrored that of Groucho Marx, and why Murray wishes he'd said yes when Clint Eastwood offered him a role 20 years ago. He explains how much he admired Margaret Sullavan's work opposite Henry Fonda in "The Moon's Our Home," and how funny women have always turned him on (from Elaine May to Gilda Radner, but not Lucille Ball).
He also tells a great story about how he got his supporting role in "Tootsie," and what it was like on the set with Pollack and Dustin Hoffman constantly at odds.
The Bill Murray episode will rerun Saturday at 11am CT on TCM, and then there are new episodes for the next few Mondays at 7pm CT.
The Science Of Fear
This morning on WLS/Chicago, I talked with Daniel Gardner about his new book, "The Science of Fear: Why We Fear The Things We Shouldn't -- And Put Ourselves In Greater Danger."
From tomatoes with salmonella to crime in our cities, avian flu to airline crashes, there's a lack of perspective on what matters and what we really should worry about. The media and various government agencies share responsibility for exploiting those fears, along with Americans who know nothing about statistics and how they can be exaggerated.
Listen, then get the book.
Talk To Me On WLS
Another morning in the Windy City -- I'm on The Big 89 WLS today from 5 to 9am. You can listen live here.
One of the things we'll talk about is this billboard put up by a GOP supporter in Florida. Yes, that's the image of the World Trade Center burning on 9/11/01. Both political parties in the state have denounced this, but the guy who paid for it won't take it down despite a partisan public outcry.
Some of the Democrat critics of the billboard say it's using the Twin Towers image to promote a political agenda, and that's wrong, while Republicans love it because of the message. Of course, if the board had the same image but said "Please don't vote for a Republican," the reaction would be the opposite.
As for the billboard owner, he says it's a First Amendment issue, but he is incorrect. If the government had told him he couldn't put this billboard up, then we'd have a free speech problem, but the owner may refuse to post anyone's message, and he has chosen to allow this one. That's his right.
Knuckleheads In The News ®
Today's stories include too many people mooning a train, a bad giveaway at the lake, and a manhole problem in Michigan.
Listen, then click here to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes!
For factory-direct savings, call 314-692-7300 or visit their showroom.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Fact Checking The Campaigns
Today on WLS/Chicago, I talked with Brooks Jackson, director of FactCheck.org, the group that listens to what politicians say, and then determines whether they're telling the truth, bending the truth, exaggerating facts, or simply lying.
We talked about some of the egregious claims John McCain and Barack Obama have promulgated in their speeches and campaign ads, and whether they're living up to their promise of a different kind of presidential race this year but seem willing to say anything to get your vote. We also discussed whether politicians in general believe what they say, and whether they distort more information about themselves or their opponents.
Jackson and his FactCheck.org crew provide a terrific public service, a job far too many media outlets fail to even undertake, let alone execute so well.
Listen.
Dennis Leads Final Nine
As of minutes ago, the World Series Of Poker Main Event Final Table is set, and Dennis Phillips will have one of the nine seats. Not only that, he'll start as the chip leader! He has beaten 6,836 people, and has only 8 more before he wins the $9.1 million top prize. But first, he'll have to wait four months before play resumes on November 9th (time to sign up some sponsors!).
Knuckleheads In The News ®
Today's stories include a bee vs. a helicopter, a toilet seat attack, and a lesson in why you shouldn't steal from people you know.
Listen, then click here to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes!
For factory-direct savings, call 314-692-7300 or visit their showroom.
Miss US...Whoops!
Welcome to beauty pageant school, ladies. Today, we'll learn how to make an entrance without falling down. As you'll recall, Miss USA slipped and fell while being introduced at the 2007 Miss Universe pageant. We must do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen to a representative from the same nation two years in a row!
Cut to Sunday night on NBC...
Monday, July 14, 2008
Aaron Barnhart at TV Press Tour
Today on WHAS/Louisville, I talked with TV critic Aaron Barnhart about the death of Tony Snow and how Fox's coverage of it compared to the attention NBC paid to Tim Russert. We also discussed what a CNN exec had to say about the impact of an "SNL" skit on their campaign coverage and -- with Aaron at the TCA Press Tour in Hollywood -- the new series HBO is promoting, the slew of docu-series coming soon, and what went wrong with his Elvis Costello interview.
Note: While this audio is certainly listenable, I apologize for a couple of drop-outs and other quality problems.
Listen, then click here to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes!
First of 27
I told you to keep your eye on him. Out of 6,844 people who entered the Main Event at the World Series of Poker, they're now down to 27 -- and my friend Dennis Phillips is the chip leader. The tournament resumes at 2pm CT today, when they'll play down to the final 9, who will then return to Vegas in November for the chance to win the $9.1 million first prize. Wow.
On WHAS/Louisville Again
I'll be on WHAS/Louisville once again today from 8 to 10:45am CT, filling in for Francene. You can listen live here.
Knuckleheads In The News ®
Today's stories include an honor ceremony with no honorees, a little magic marker deception, and a guy who tried to sell his vote.
Listen, then click here to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes!
For factory-direct savings, call 314-692-7300 or visit their showroom.
Art Benjamin, Mathemagician
Art Benjamin is a math professor with the remarkable ability to do complex problems in his head. I met him at James Randi's Amazing Meeting last month, where he gave us a demonstration of his abilities and explained how, unlike the way most American students are taught to do math, he does the calculations from left to right.
For instance, when add 58 and 37, you start with the ones column and 8+7=15. You write down the 5, and carry the 1. Then you do the tens column, 5+3=8, plus the 1 you carried, which makes it 9. That gives you the answer of 95.
In Benjamin's method, you do it exactly the opposite, and you keep the running total in your head. You start with 50 + 30 (not 5 plus 3) equals 80, then you add 8 for 88, then you add 7 for 95. You don't have to write anything down, don't have to carry anything, and get to the result much quicker -- and it's especially helpful when adding a longer list of numbers.
The only other person I've seen promoting this method of arithmetic is Scott "Human Calculator" Flansburg, who I first met about 20 years ago when he was a guest on my show. As he described it, I realized that this is the way I've been doing math since I was a kid, which always led to problems with teachers who wanted me to show my work -- but I couldn't because all the work was in my head! As my daughter has grown up, I have taught her this left-to-right method, which she grasped easily, and she has had problems with teachers who insist she do it the other way around, too.
I asked Benjamin why. He explained that we're dealing with generations of math teachers who learned there's only one right way to determine an answer, and they can't accept any other route to the solution. Changing that would mean a wholesale revision of the way math is taught in America, but it's the adults who have to change. Children, he says, who are taught to read from left to right will naturally do math the same way unless you break them of the habit. This may explain why so many people say they're "bad at math." They're not -- they just have trouble doing it in the unnatural way we've been taught. Moreover, math should be about finding your own method to the correct answer, not simply learning how to do it by rote.
I don't have video of Benjamin at TAM6, but here he is at the TED Conference doing his Mathemagics demonstration, challenging audience members with calculators to do three digit squares, and then moving on to some really hard calculations. He also explains how he changes numbers to sounds and words as a mnemonic device...
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