When Things Get Real

True Life: I Live In The Projects originally aired in 2007, but was rerun on Sunday night. One of its subjects is from Chicago.
“Vikki was born and raised in the Chicago projects and her only goal in life is to move out,” the episode guide says. “Her boyfriend was murdered in those projects and nothing good has ever come of her living there. However, as a clerk at Borders, Vikki will have to find a new job before she can afford to move. There’s a new hotel opening that Vikki thinks will provide her with a better paying job, but will they take a chance on a girl from the projects?”
Here’s the full episode:

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Posted on August 12, 2013

Plus: A TV Reporter Helps Others Contemplate Life And Death

1. Make A Sound For A MasterChef.
“MasterChef season three finalist Joshua Marks is facing charges stemming from a bizarre incident last week in which he was arrested for allegedly attacking a police officer at a University of Chicago apartment complex,” NBC News reports.
“Those in contact with the 7-foot-2 reality TV contestant say Marks’ actions were completely out of character for him and are likely the result of a mental illness.
“A video shot in February to promote the Make a Sound Project supports those sentiments. In the clip, Marks mentioned that he struggles with mental illness.”
Not sure that’s in this clip, but the Today show clip supplied by NBC goes into the rest of the show, which is heinous.
So here’s this one:

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Posted on August 6, 2013

Reality Bonanza Hits Town

1. “Humboldt Park resident Kanani Andaluz, 19, is one of 16 finalists on the new cycle of America’s Next Top Model, returning on the CW network at 7 p.m. Friday (WGN-Channel 9),” Bill Zwecker reports for the Sun-Times.
“The Orr Academy High School alum spoke to me this week, explaining how she became intrigued with life as a model, participating in a nationally televised reality show to pursue that dream – and getting to know the show’s creator, former supermodel Tyra Banks.”
You can click through to find out what she said, but unfortunately Zwecker’s interview ignores her Humboldt Park roots and focuses on Banks and modeling.
We’d like to fill you in because while modeling isn’t our kind of thing, Humboldt Park is, but there’s not much out there. Paging Chicago’s newsrooms!
Here’s what we did find:

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Posted on August 2, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

Cable news spent about five minutes on average covering the historic verdict – which was just about what they spent covering the trial itself.
“Whereas trials like George Zimmerman’s or even Jodi Arias’s were treated to hours of analysis, dissection and attention, the news that the man responsible for the biggest leak of classified material in American history had been hit with charges that could keep him in prison for over 100 years was deemed worthy of one, or at most two, segments during the hour following the verdict,” Jack Mirkinson writes for Huffington Post.

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Posted on July 31, 2013

By RT

Starting August 6, RT will present special coverage of the Guantanamo Bay hunger strike that has been going on for six months.

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Posted on July 26, 2013

Plus: Devin Hester vs. A Cheetah

*Well, not quite cry, but . . .
1. “Selena Gomez abruptly terminated an interview [Monday] when she became frustrated at being asked questions about Justin Bieber,” the Daily Telegraph reports.
“The singer-and-actress spoke to for Chicago’s WGN Entertainment reporter Dean Richards via satellite, but soon cut off the line after staying silent during his questioning.

“You’re, you know, probably as close a friend to Justin Bieber as they come. Is there something about him that we don’t get or we don’t understand?” Richards asked the star.
“I mean, there is one story after another of, you know, pretty outrageous behaviour that we’re reading about.”

“The questions were referring to the 19-year-old’s recent stunts, which include urinating into a club restaurant’s mop bucket and allegedly spitting in a man’s face on a night out.
“But Gomez seemed completely dumbstruck by the questions and merely looked around in confusion as her face was portrayed on a large screen.

“What don’t we get about him or what is it that he’s not getting out there?” Dean persisted.

“But the reporter never received an answer, as the star simply smiled awkwardly before cutting off the line.”
Here it is:

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Posted on July 23, 2013

Our Cop, Our Beer

“Dennis Farina, a Chicago native and police officer who turned to acting, has died at 69 in Arizona, his publicist said today.
“Farina, best known as detective Joe Fontana on the long-running TV series Law & Order, suffered a blood clot in his lung, publicist Lori De Waal said.
“Farina was an 18-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, a detective who moonlighted on Chicago theater stages and in small movie roles. In the 1980s he was on the NBC television series Crime Story.”
*

RIP, Dennis Farina… Chicago’s own, real-life Chicago cop (18 years), and a Chicago show (at first, anyway): http://t.co/mgnLTaSNBP

— Old Style (@OldStyleChicago) July 22, 2013

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Posted on July 22, 2013

Obvious Expertise In Relationships, Sex And World Affairs Lands Her A Promotion

1. The set-up.

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Posted on July 19, 2013

By Comedy Central

1. Capone.

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Posted on July 17, 2013

By Keep Us Connected

Today’s Communications Daily reports that CAN TV is urging the FCC to adopt rules that assure the disability community can access local community television.
“The FCC should adopt user accessibility rules to compel AT&T’s U-verse system to carry listings for public, educational and governmental (PEG) channels in order to make it easier for the disabled to find ‘helpful local programming,’ said the Chicago Access Corp. in an ex parte filing Wednesday. Under the name CAN TV, Chicago Access operates five noncommercial public access PEG channels that feature content for people with visual, auditory and other disabilities.” (Communications Daily, 7/12/13.)

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Posted on July 12, 2013