Chicago Lifestyle Podcast & Video Blog
The 57th Annual Chicago Film Festival brought together two interestingly similar subjects, Mayor Harold Washington who became Chicago’s first African American mayor and Mayor Pete Buttigieg who was the mayor of nearby South Bend, Indiana who went on to become the first openly gay candidate …
Pre-opening preview review of “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” with Harry Shum.Jr. (Crazy Rich Asians) inspired by a true Chicago mystery. Also capsule reviews of SHORTS 1, a collection of 8 short subjects produced by filmmakers with ties to the Chicago area. Featuring works Winning in America, Close …
In this Chicago based documentary “The Road Up” Mr. Jesse part preacher, part drill sergeant guides a class of mostly middle aged job seekers through a training course designed to raise their self-esteem and hone their skills to improve their readiness for employment.
The Cara program based in the south loop focuses on individuals who have been out of the workforce due to domestic violence, incarceration, homelessness or other factors that challenge their readiness to work.
Directed by Jon Siskel and Greg Jacobs; and edited by John Farbrother the film features a lovely sound track and is punctuated by some grittily pretty stills and b-roll presumably inspired by Director of Photography, Stephan Mazurek, the storyline is well crafted with a touching somewhat surprising finale.
“The Road Up” can be seen at The Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State Street, Chicago October 8-14, 2021. Running time is 93 minutes. To learn about other screenings or information visit TheRoadUpFilm.com
Photo: “Siskel/Jacobs Productions”
The Lyric Opera of Chicago is providing a recorded version of Rugerro Leoncavallo’s iconic opera “Pagliacci” to view online free of charge for an indefinite period of time beginning now. Listen to our podcast review then visit lyricopera.org/pagliacci to reserve your streaming link. Photo: Kyle …
Reno Lovison talks with master energy healer, actor, performer Richard Damien about growing up on the southside of Chicago and reminiscences about his experiences in the city as a young actor before his transformation to energy healer and intuitive life coach. Richard is the author …
Regina Harris Baiocchi is a celebrated African-American female composer and poet born, raised and currently living in Chicago.
This discussion with Executive Producer and podcast host Reno Lovison sheds light on her journey as an artistic creative force and how she has been shaped by her experiences in the Windy City.
Regina is the founder of the Haiku Festival and 6 Degrees Composers.
In this episode we talk about her composition “Farafina” (The Land of Black Skin) inspired by world-wide racial injustice.
We also hear and discuss two recently commissioned choral pieces for young voices “Journey” and “Things Change.”
New Colony Six, Spanky and Our Gang, The Buckinghams, The Ides of March, The Shadows of Night, The Cryan’ Shames, Chicago (CTA). This is a very interesting and entertaining video, produced for WTTW, that those who are interested in vintage Rock n’ Roll might enjoy. …
Note: Here is a link to our podcast theater review of the world premiere presentation of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter which was the last play we attended before the pandemic closed everything down in 2020. Now the play will soon be released as …
Julie Lovison director of The Lake Shore Music Studio in Chicago talks about teaching online piano lessons and coping with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are a series of video found on the web provided by “Reel Life.” The film clip below shows a 1930 member of the original Polar Bear Swim Club, Chicago, Illinois. Polar bear swim clubs exist all over the world today, here is …
Podcast review of 2019 documentary film SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING by Josh da Silva about Chicago northside neighborhood teens using Improv to enhance communication skills and explore racism as well as other topics that impact their lives. You can watch the film online at Tubi. …
Whatever happened to WGN radio personality Spike O’Dell? Connie Wilson interviews one of the station’s most popular broadcasters from his current retirement home in Nashville where he paints and otherwise is “doing whatever he wants to do.”
Connie and Spike both born in E. Moline, Illinois reminisce about his radio career, especially his more than 20 years in Chicago at WGN.
In this interview O’Dell talks candidly about his charity projects over the years, the death of his predecessor “Uncle Bobby” Collins, changes at the station, his favorite interviews and love of short-wave “Ham” Radio.
This is our Chicago focused exclusive edited version of Connie’s longer interview produced for her Weekly Wilson podcast broadcast on BBM.
Connie is a regular contributor to our podcast and the author of over twelve books.
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