Paris Summit Marks End of Cold War - November 1990

A formal conclusion to the era of Cold War between East and West was formally celebrated at a summit conference in Paris. On his way to the summit, Pres. George Bush visited Czechoslovakia, addressing 100,000 in Wenceslas Square in Prague on November 17, before speaking again to the Federal Assembly. Bush met with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in Berlin, November 18. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev met with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican, November 18, and then signed a Soviet-Italian friendship treaty with Italian Premier Giulio Andreotti. The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe opened in Paris, November 19, with the United States, Canada, and all the nations of Europe represented (except Albania, which sent observers). On November 19, Bush and Gorbachev, as well as other leaders of NATO and the Warsaw Pact, signed the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which limited each military force in the region to 20,000 main battle tanks, 30,000 other armored combat vehicles, 20,000 pieces of artillery, and 6,800 combat aircraft. On November 21, the last day of the summit, the leaders signed the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, which declared an end to "the era of confrontation and division in Europe" and pledged a "new era of democracy, peace and unity."

"Junk-Bond" Expert Sentenced - November 1990

In New York District Court on November 21, Judge Kimba Wood sentenced Michael Milken, a former employee of Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., to 10 years in prison for securities fraud. Milken had helped facilitate the corporate takeover boom of the 1980s through the promotion of high-risk, high-yield securities known as "junk bonds." He pleaded guilty in April 1990 to fraud---6 felony counts---and agreed to pay fines and make restitution totalling $600M. In imposing a sentence that was longer than some had predicted, Judge Wood dismissed assertions by Milken's lawyers that the crimes were little more than technicalities. She said a prison term was necessary to deter others in the financial industry from engaging in similar practices.

Senate Finds New Way to Cut Deficits - October 1985

The U.S. Senate came up with a new plan for eliminating the federal budget deficits. The Republican leadership in the Senate and House endorsed a proposal aimed at forcing the government to balance the budget by 1991. The plan would direct the president and Congress to cut the deficit by $36B a year until it disappeared. In any year that the deficit exceeded the specified level by more than 5 percent, the president would have the authority to reduce spending across the board. Support grew for the plan although it appeared to require further cuts in defense and popular domestic programs and increases in taxes. The plan was offered as an amendment to a bill to raise the government's debt ceiling to more than $2T. Pres. Ronald Reagan formally endorsed the plan, October 4. The debate of the amendment delayed action on the debt ceiling, and the Treasury said, October 8, that it would run out of cash that night unless Congress acted on the ceiling. On October 9, the Treasury borrowed $5B to raise the case needed to cover checks already issued. The balance-budget amendment won Senate approval, October 9, as liberals and conservatives joined in the 75-24 majority. The House, October 11, endorsed the goals of the Senate bill; without voting on a specific bill, the House went directly to a conference with the Senate.

Chicago TV Flashback - July 1-2, 1988

WBBM channel 2 TV schedule for Friday, July 1, 1988

Morning

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5a - CBS News Nightwatch cont'd (1 hour)

6a - Business This Morning

6:30a - CBS Early Morning News with Faith Daniels and Charles Osgood

7a - CBS News This Morning with Kathleen Sullivan and Harry Smith (2 hours)

9a - The $25,000 Pyramid (Finale)

9:30a - Card Sharks

10a - The Price is Right (1 hour; 16th season finale)

11a - Photoplay

11:30a - Young and the Restless (1 hour)

Afternoon

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12:30p - Bold and the Beautiful

1p - As the World Turns (1 hour)

2p - Guiding Light (1 hour)

3p - Love Connection

3:30p - Superior Court

4p - The People's Court

4:30p - First Edition

5p - Channel 2 News at 5 (1 hour)

Evening

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6p - CBS Evening News with Dan Rather

6:30p - Entertainment Tonight

7p - Beauty and the Beast (1 hour)

8p - CBS Friday Night Movie: Camille (2 hours)

10p - Channel 2: The 10 O'Clock News

10:30p - CBS Late Movie: Death of a Soldier (2 hours)

12:30a - Channel 2: The 10 O'Clock News (Rebroadcast)

Early Saturday, July 2, 1988

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1a - Entertainment Tonight

1:30a - Fan Club

2a - The Late Show: The Best of the Safecrackers (2 hours)

4a - The Late Show: Ode to a Dying Love (2 hours)

After 15 years of being on daytime television on both CBS and ABC as The $10,000 Pyramid and The $20,000 Pyramid respectively, The $25,000 Pyramid signs off for the last time. Everyone from Rob Reiner, Judy Carne, Frank Gifford, Anson Williams, Robert Mandan, Michael J. Fox, and a giant parade of celebrities leading the contestants to winning a fortune in cash by guessing 6 subjects in 60 seconds or less. The most notable moment was Billy Crystal went up the pyramid in a record-setting time of 24 seconds on December 2, 1977. A record that still stands to this very day. The $100,000 Pyramid still be seen in syndication until the September 2, 1988 finale. Staring Monday, July 4th, the 2nd incarnation of Family Feud with Ray Combs as the new host takes over Pyramid's time slot.

The Price is Right ends its 16th year on daytime television by testing out its computerized on-screen chyron graphics. This practice would be used full-time in 1996 during its final few months of the show's 24th year.

My Life - July 16, 2026

Hey y'all, what's going on?

It's been a month since my last post, but I'm just happy the World Cup circus coming to an end this weekend and the USMNT got themselves eliminated by Belgium 4-1. Why? It's because a felonious president made FIFA overturn the suspension of one of its players. That, right there, is corruption, and that's what happens when you interfere in FIFA's business to overturn a suspension or a penalty.

As I'm writing this entry, it's been a year since leaving Bluesky and ended 19 years of being on social media. No matter which social media platform you're on, you see a lot of people who are toxic, ignorant, racist, and controlling. I'm referring those who are fans of politics, wrestling, and sports where they cyberbully others and get rewarded by the them, the aggressors, by mocking those with a disability, or those who are struggling with mental health. And the screenshots I uploaded to this blog one year ago goes to show you that social media platform owners, like Bluesky, tolerate these things and letting these events happen.

If I were to give the summer season on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a -30. Too many severe storms, prolonged heat waves, meteorologists on television breaking their promises and lie to the viewers saying that the extreme heat warning or the air quality alert extends until midnight the next day to grab ahold of their ego.

Guess I'll end here...

My Life - June 19, 2026

Hey y'all, what's going on?

It's been a little over a month since my last entry, but he had some severe weather and tornadoes rolled through south of me last week where it hit Streator, Illinois with not one, but 2 tornadoes. In all, some 19 tornadoes were confirmed and some of them were wedge tornadoes. And there were some that touched down in Indiana. Thankfully, all we had that day was rain, some wind and a few flashes of lightning. Yesterday, Chicago escaped that severe weather when it was a moderate 4 risk south of I-80, because we had rain for that afternoon and that was that.

I catch some of the highlights of the Obama Presidential Center for both days and the opening festivities and speeches from both Michelle and Barack Obama were awe-inspiring. Three other ex-presidents and their first ladies were there as well, including George W. Bush. I didn't even care for the World Cup tournament, because just like the UFC, it's too political driven for and it's too political driven for this country. If the United states Men's team choke in the knockout round, I would be very happy for that team to choke.

From the way I see it, Trump, Vance and his assclown administration failed in getting the job done, failed in upholding the constitution, failed to protect us from enemies abroad, and failed to live up to their promises.

Guess I'll end here...

Chicago TV Flashback - May 8, 1975

WLS channel 7 TV schedule for Thursday, May 8, 1975

Morning

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6:30a - Perspectives

6:55a - Earl Nightingale

7a - AM America (2 hours)

9a - Steve Edwards' AM Chicago (1 hr, 30 min)

10:30a - Blankety Blanks

11a - Password

11:30a - Split Second

Afternoon

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Noon - All My Children

12:30p - Let's Make a Deal

1p - The $10,000 Pyramid

1:30p - Big Showdown

2p - General Hospital

2:30p - One Life to Live

3p - Money Maze

3:30p - The 3:30 Movie: The Cardinal (1 hr, 30 min; Part 1)

5p - Eyewitness News at 5

5:30p - ABC Evening News with Howard K. Smith and Harry Reasoner

Evening

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6p - Eyewitness News at 6 (1 hour)

7p - Barney Miller

7:30p - Karen

8p - Streets of San Francisco (1 hour)

9p - Harry O (1 hour)

10p - Eyewitness News at 10

10:30p - Wide World Special (1 hr, 30 min)

Midnight - Late Night Movie: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1 hr, 45 min)

It was a wild and crazy game of Split Second where 4-time champion Marvin Shinkman trying to win any car on his 5th and last day against Shari Jensen and Valiant Stahl. The first 2 rounds ran smoothly until the Countdown Round where Valiant needed only 3 answers to become the new champion, Shari needs 4 to win, and Marvin must answer all 5 to join the elite list of players who retire undefeated after 5 days. Without a shadow of a doubt, Marvin nail down the final 2 answers that deals with months before October 10th. The studio audience at Hollywood's ABC Television Center erupted when he won his 5th and final game. As far as the question goes, the answers were February 10th (8 months), April 10th (6 months) and July 10th (3 months).

Shari Jensen won $265 and a Broyhill sofa, Valiant was one answer away from the championship, but he gets $330 and a Lear Jet car stereo along with the Gillette Max Hatter hair dryer and flatware by Washington Forge. On Split Second, if a player wins 5 times, get to pick any of the 5 cars after choosing the wrong one for the past 4 days. Marvin Shinkman has officially joined the elite list of undefeated champions, since its March 20, 1972 inception, to retire undefeated after 5 shows has won $1,570 cash, along with the $1,430 in prizes for any Singleton answer he got, the $3,000 jackpot and the 1975 Pontiac Le Mans Safari station wagon for a grad total of $12,268. He wanted to take the Grand Prix, but Tom Kennedy, jokingly said he'd "bet a million dollars." Three new players will be ushered in to close out this awesome week.

Chicago TV Flashback - May 6-7, 1978

WLS channel 7 TV schedule for Saturday, May 6, 1978

Morning

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7a - The All-New Super Friends Hour (1 hour)

8a - Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics (2 hours)

10a - Krofft Supershow (1 hour)

11a - ABC Weekend Special

11:30a - American Bandstand (1 hour)

Afternoon

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12:30p - Black on Black

1p - Feminine Franchise

1:30p - ABC Sports Golf: Third round of the Byron Nelson Classic (1 hr, 30 min)

3p - Wide World of Sports (1 hour)

4p - ABC Sports Horse Racing: The 104th Running of the Kentucky Derby (1 hour)

5p - Wide World of Sports

5:30p - ABC Saturday News

Evening

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6p - Eyewitness Chicago

6:30p - Hollywood Squares

7p - Mel & Susan Together

7:30p - Operation Petticoat (2nd-to-last show of the 1st season)

8p - The Love Boat (1 hour)

9p - Fantasy Island (1 hour)

10p - Eyewitness News at 10

10:15p - ABC Saturday News

10:30p - Saturday Night Movie: The Andromeda Strain (2 hrs, 40 min)

Early Sunday, May 7, 1978

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1:10a - Late Night Movie: The Night Walker (1 hr, 50 min)

Affirmed wins the 104th running of the Kentucky Derby followed by Alydar came in 2nd and Believe It finishes 3rd.

Chicago TV Flashback - May 29, 1975

WSNS channel 44 TV schedule for Thursday, May 29, 1975

Morning

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10:30a - 700 Club (1 hr, 30 min)

Afternoon

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Noon - Mundo Hispano (1 hour)

1p - Not for Women Only

1:30p - It's Your Bet

2p - Adventures of Robin Hood

2:30p - Prince Planet

3p - Popeye with Steve Hart

3:30p - Iron Man

4p - Spider-Man

4:30p - The Adventures of Superman

5p - The Adventures of Superman

5:30p - Leave It to Beaver

Evening

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6p - Get Smart

6:30p - Gomer Pyle, USMC

7p - Movie: You Were Meant for Me (2 hours)

9p - Big Valley (1 hour)

10p - Peter Gunn

10:30p - International Detective

11p - 700 Club (1 hr, 30 min)

Chicago TV Flashback - May 17-18, 1986

WMAQ channel 5 TV schedule for Saturday, May 17, 1986

Morning

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6a - Hickory Hideout

6:30a - New Zoo Revue

7a - Snorks

7:30a - Adventures of the Gummi Bears

8a - Smurfs (1 hr, 30 min)

9:30a - Punky Brewster

10a - Alvin and the Chipmunks

10:30a - Kidd Video

11a - Mister T

11:30a - Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Afternoon

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Noon - NBC Sports Baseball: Kansas City Royals v. White Sox at Comsikey Park (3 hours)

3p - NBC Sports Baseball: New York Mets v. Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium or St. Louis Cardinals v. Atlanta Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (3 hours)

Evening

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6p - Warner

6:30p - Fight Back! with David Horowitz

7p - Gimme a Break!

7:30p - Facts of Life

8p - Golden Girls

8:30p - 227

9p - Remington Steele (1 hour)

10p - Channel 5 News at 10

10:30p - Saturday Night Live (1 hr, 30 min)

Midnight - Entertainment This Week (1 hour)

Early Sunday, May 18, 1986

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1a - Movie 5: Indiscretion of an American Wife (1 hr, 30 min)

Full boxscore: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA198605170.shtml

Full boxscore: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN198605170.shtml

Full boxscore - Alternate: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL198605170.shtml