Tough battle this week as Josh goes head to head with the Local Natives. This is why no one wins. Welcome to Release Radar, where each week we run down some standout tracks and album releases.

Josh Rouse releases another fun album full of upbeat, easy-listening gems. Check out “Hollow Moon,” “City Dog,” and “Stick Around,” from the pop troubadour’s 14th album, Going Places. Josh will be performing at Szold Music & Dance Hall inside The Old Town School Of Folk Music, Saturday, September 10th at 8pm.

The Local Natives surprise us all this week with the dreamy, “Desert Snow.” The second song, “Hourglass,” is a slow burn that builds in typical fashion, but sounds a little more spacey than usual, with the layers of fuzzed-out guitar leads toward the end, moving closer to Supertramp and My Morning Jacket.

Charlie Burg is always up to something new, so it comes as no surprise that, “Ooh! Sumthin’ New,” is the title of his latest guitar-wielding rocker. I’ve mentioned before that he’s an accomplished songwriter, who is progressively getting better, and this new single proves it.

“Diamond In The Dark” sounds nothing like Oasis or Liam Gallagher. That’s the reason I like it so much. I’ve been waiting forever it seems, or at least since he went solo, for him to find his own style, and with “Diamond” I think it’s finally happening. When music reviewer Alisha Mughal describes standouts cuts like “Diamond in the Dark,” “Everything’s Electric” and “Moscow Rules,” she says that instead of punctuating this album, “they puncture it, too, rising to a level of quality that makes the other tracks forgettable by comparison, leaving the album as a whole deflated.”

Flipturn is coming to Chicago on…Halloween? Ughhhh! It’s pretty much impossible for me to see this show with kids trick or treating and parties with parents but there’s NO reason why you shouldn’t go! Each and every new single has been better than the last and you can bet Lincoln Hall will sound incredible!

Your Jazz Cut Of The Week is “Cloud Bossa” by Jazzinuf. Hip Jazz is what I’ve been calling it, either way, it will have you swinging to the beat. I just can’t get enough of this stuff, it goes with every mood.

Put your email in da box and click: “Create Subscription!”

Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

— I Corinthians 15:51-52, The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version)

We’re facing a mystery here. We know that ChicagoNow is ending, and we don’t know when. We don’t even know who to ask. So, as is my wont, I am trying to make sure that we have the correct words to use to write about it all.

The word puzzle, according to Oxford Languages dictionaries, is used as a verb, “to cause (someone) to feel confused because they cannot understand or make sense of something,’ or as a noun, “a game, toy, or problem designed to test ingenuity or knowledge.”

So what’s going to happen to ChicagoNow is puzzling us — and being a puzzle, too, testing our ingenuity and knowledge about what to do and how long to do it.

A mystery, on the other hand, is more like the biblical usage above: Oxford Languages cites “something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain” before its other definition, “a novel, play, or movie dealing with a puzzling crime, especially a murder.”

Mystery novels, as they’re commonly known, do have solutions at the end of the book. At least the problems seem mysterious, and there is a point in many plots in which the detective and surrounding characters don’t see that any solution is possible. But the fewer pages you’re holding in your right hand, the more likely a solution becomes.

I suppose that when I get to the point of selling my novels — when the second one’s finished and the first one gets a good polishing — I will need to call them mysteries. But for now, I’d rather call them detective stories. They have puzzles and solutions. Sometimes, the detectives are stuck and feeling like things are too mysterious. But they are puzzles, and I know the solutions (ha ha).

Alexander McCall Smith is a prolific British author who, to my eyes, knows well the difference between a puzzle (which the plot of a book can solve) and a mystery (which doesn’t get solved in this world). Pondering the mysteries that won’t be solved by the story’s end is part of the joy of Smith’s work.

Dorothy L. Sayers, the creator of Lord Peter Wimsey and his fellow investigators, was a fine theological scholar as well as a writer of novels. She referred to Lord Peter’s cases as detective stories and to her theological writing as her mystery writing. (She might have joined Agatha and Daphne in my Imaginary Writers’ Room, if only there were time.)

Meanwhile, I ponder the verses from I Corinthians and wonder how, in the face of Handel’s magnificent musical version in “The Messiah,” any modern English translators can swap “will” for “shall.” The best description I’ve heard of that is that “will” is the future of “to be,” while “shall” is the future of “should.” That reassures me when I think of these verses.

Should it be possible to actually hear when that last trumpet sounds, I can’t imagine what kind of changes will come. Still, I think I will be faintly disappointed if it turns out that Handel was not taking dictation as he wrote that music.

Margaret Serious has a page on Facebook. If ChicagoNow becomes unavailable, please see the Margaret Serious page on Facebook for information.

Good Lord, has it ever been this bad?

For the past few weeks I’ve been hiding like a prairie farmer cowering in the storm cellar waiting for the tornado to pass.

Except it hasn’t passed. Poked my head out for a look-see and the political life of America is even worse than imagined. The darkened sky is swirling with unmoored accusations, incriminations, recriminations, censures, vilifications, denunciations, pointed fingers, fault finding, reproaches and inculpations.

If it were a real tornado, houses, cars and cows would be flying around, day and night. Makes one want to retreat.

Except, one can’t. The odds of survival in this swirling, poisoned atmosphere don’t favor hiding under desks like 1950s school kids thinking they’re protected from nuclear obliteration.

Fie on both sides.

First, that megalomaniac*, Donald Trump. Did he really believe that by unleashing Vice President Mike Pension and a huffing and puffing crowd on a constitutionally required meeting in the Capitol that he could reverse the presidential election? Truly goofy.

Because he is certifiable, he’s capable of believing or trying anything that serves his purposes. Did he really declassify everything he took from the White House and locked up in his Mara-la-go basement? Where’s the paperwork? As is said in the cited article below, you can’t just wave your hand over the banker’s boxes and declare them unclassified.

If I were of a conspirital mind-frame, I’d think that the documents he garnered was classified evidence that could be used in a criminal investigation of Hilary Clinton’s classified e-mails. Or not.

Suffice to say, flakey Donald Trump invites conspiracy theories. Sadly, he’s most likely to win the Republican presidential nomination and most likely to get beaten by, well, anybody. But he’s willing to sacrifice the conservative agenda he espouses to satisfy his bloated ego.

Now of other side.

Can anyone fault the other side for complaining when the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Biden administration turn American history on its head by being the first in history to launch such a criminal attack on a former president and premier political opponent of President Joe Biden (or whoever is running that poor, losing-it man).

From virtually every angle–political, legal, commonsensical, the FBI raid (yes, it was a raid) was mindless. Did you see the picture of a boat standing guard off the shore of Maralargo with a machine gun mounted on its forecastle. Along with automatic weapons-touting agents guarding the compound, did the FBI expect an armed assault from whacked-out Trump supporters?

If Trump had been there instead of New York, would they have put him in shackles, like other Trump supporters whom the FBI is targeting? Must we really believe that Biden had no idea of the forthcoming raid, and if so, isn’t that even more troubling?

The paperwork justifying (???) that raid raises so many questions that Americans in good conscience must demand answers. Instead, the Biden media acolytes are charging anyone who asks legitimate questions about the process as being profoundly stupid, ignorant and blindly partisan.

My recollection of politics goes almost as far back as Truman upsetting the Chicago Tribune by beating the Republican pretty-boy Thomas Dewey. Never, ever, have I seen or heard such destructive, self-satisfying political hogwash sweep across the nation. Not from the Korean War and not even during the Vietnam War. Never, in my decades-long journalism career have I witnessed such an smug, openly hostile and one-side press.

In that vein, I highly recommend that you read the clownish praise by a national media critic of the “truth-telling” media–meaning the hysterical anti-Trump coverage. Senior media writer Tom Jones of Poynter pens an amusing but concerning paean to conservatives and others who think questioning the government, the elections or anything else is something to be praised. Read: “Why the media is still reporting on the 2020 presidential election: Election deniers are making powerful inroads in local races, which has serious implication of the future of our democracy.” I wonder how satisfied that Jones is for being a voice-over for one side of that democracy.

On the other hand, here is a voice from the other side. Peter Van Buren writes in The Spectator: “The five stages of Mar-a-Lago grief. He’s got to be guilty of something, right?“

*Megalomania: A delusional mental illness that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur. A type of delusion in which the afflicted person considers himself or herself possessed of greatness. He/she believes him/herself to be Christ, God, Napoleon, anyone famous, or everyone and everything, including a lawyer, physician, clergyman, merchant, prince, or super athlete in all sports.2. Morbid verbalized overevaluation of oneself or of some aspect of oneself. As in “I’m smarter than all those generals.” [megalo- + G. mania, frenzy]

To subscribe to The Barbershop, type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

Of all the exciting festivals scheduled this summer, Chicago can add another stellar event to its calendar. Its the first annual CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival and its quickly becoming one of the city’s most popular attractions.

Chrishon Lampley, Founder of Love Cork Screw and Co-Founder of CLINK Wine & Spirits Festival (Chicago). Photographer: Christian De’Mar.

The CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival hosted by Chrishon Lampley, owner of Love Cork Screw wines and Joyce Dawkins, founder of She ROCKS It Magazine, are debuting their wine and spirit tasting extravaganza on Sunday September 18th at the beautiful Wilder Mansion in Elmhurst, Illinois.

L-R: McBride Sisters (Wine Company). Michael Lavelle (Luxury Wine Brand)www.neiljohnburger.comL-R: Chef Deandre Carter (Owner, Soul Food & Smoke, BBQ Restaurant). Elena Smith (Owner, Davine Wines LLC)

Chrishon, one of the few minority winemakers in the Midwest, says the event is a first-of-its-kind Chicago-based wine and spirits festival dedicated to highlighting women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the industry.

“As a minority business owner, navigating the business of building a wine brand in this industry can oftentimes feel like you’re on an island,” says Chrishon, CLINK Co-Founder. “It is imperative that we continue to celebrate, encourage, and advocate for diversity in the wine & spirits industry.”

CLINK Co-Founder and business partner Joyce, agrees. “My goal with CLINK is for attendees to see the amazing things that can happen if you just believe in yourself and to encourage attendees to not be afraid to take a leap of faith.”

L-R: Chef Brian Jupiter (Owner, Ina Mae Tavern and Frontier Chicago)Ashley & Jenai (Founders, Halo 7 (premium Rum)L-R: Sheetal Bhagat (Founder, Spice Note Tequila). Theodora Lee (Founder, Theopolis Vineyards)

CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival will feature panel discussions, a walk-around wine tasting from over 50 minority-owned wine & spirit brands and paired with exquisite appetizers from local Chicago chefs of color, a cigar lounge, party deejay and a relaxing outdoor mocktail waterpark that gives guests an opportunity to re-hydrate with refreshing drinks and non-alcoholic beverages.

Sponsored in part by Mariano’s, the popular Midwest grocery chain, both Chrishon and Joyce both acknowledge the company’s lead support in Women Owned Businesses and their participation in spearheading the festival.

L-R: Chef Monica Hayes (Founder, Tasteful Manners Culinary). Phil Long (Founder, Longevity Wines)L-R: Paula J. Harrell (Owner, P. Harrell Wines). Dr. Chris Wachira (Founder/CEO, Wachira Wines)

“We have a commitment to local vendors,” says Amanda Puck, Director of Strategic Brand Development for Mariano’s, “and we’re excited to support the first annual CLINK Wine & Spirits Festival with our team of accomplished Tastemaker Chefs who will complement the event’s all-star roster of minority-owned wine, spirits and non-alcoholic beverage producers.”

CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival will introduce some of the nation’s up and coming minority leaders in the food and beverage industry. It will also showcase Chrishon and Joyce’s leadership as entrepreneurs, especially during the month of August as thousands of people celebrate National Black Business Month. Just this past week, Chrishon was honored in Chicago at the Black Womens Expo where she was presented with the 2022 Phenomenal Woman Award.

“It is imperative that we continue to celebrate, encourage, and advocate for diversity in the wine & spirits industry,” says Chrishon. “CLINK presents an interactive educational forum for beverage trade professionals, media, and wine & spirits enthusiasts to taste, network, celebrate our progress and empower future minority women in the industry.”

CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival boasts a growing list of vendors, guest speakers and winemakers that will provide tastings and samplings of their specialty items. To purchase tickets and to get updates on the event, visit www.clinkfestival.com. The following is a list of the many sponsors and winemakers who have confirmed their participation:

CLINK: Wine and Spirits MakersChrishon Lampley (Founder of Love Cork Screw)Nicole Kearney (Founder, Sip & Share Wines)Jesse Steward Jr. (Founder, Alexander James Whiskey)Ashley and Jenai (Founders, Halo 7 (Premium Rum)Luna Bay Booch (Kombucha Company)Dr. Chris Wachira (Founder/CEO, Wachira Wines)

Paula J. Harrell (Owner, P. Harrell Wines)Catalina Gaete-Bentz (Founder & CEO, CATAN PISCO)Mara Smith (Founder, Inspiro Tequila)McBride Sisters (Wine Company)Elena Smith (Owner, Davine Wines, LLC)Sheetal Bhagat (Founder of Spice Note Tequila)Phil Long (Founder, Longevity Wines)

Theodora Lee (Founder, Theopolis Vineyards)Vitani (Spirits/Cocktails)Uncle Nearest (Premium Whiskey)Funkytown Brewery (Brewery)Sapere (Wine Brand)Michael Lavelle (Luxury Wine Brand)M. Robinson (Champagne Brand)

CLINK: ContributorsRodney Strong (California Winery)Jackson Family Wines (Winery Group)Foley Family of Wines (Wine Producer, Marketer & Distributor)

CLINK: Sommeliers & ExpertsMarsha Wright (Certified Wine Specialist- Certified Sherry Wine Specialist)Regine T. Rousseau (Founder, Shall We Wine)Chasity Cooper (Wine Culture Expert)

CLINK: Executive ChefsChef Dominique Leach (Executive Chef & Owner, Lexington Betty Smokehouse)Chef Monica Hayes (Founder, Tasteful Manners Culinary)Chef Ken L. Polk (Executive Chef at Batter & Berries)Chef LaMar Moore (Executive Chef and Youth Advocate/Mentor)Chef Brian Jupiter (Owner at Ina Mae Tavern and Frontier Chicago)Chef Deandre Carter (Owner of Soul and Smoke, BBQ Restaurant)Chef Jennifer Selvaggi (Exec, Chef for Turano Baking Company)

About the Author:  Don Howze is an Emmy Award Winning Film/Tape Editor and Associate Professor of Journalism and Television Production.  Don is the producer and director of the upcoming film documentaries The Production Crew and Toni Shelton’s Queen Of House Music. 

Tough battle this week as Josh goes head to head with the Local Natives. This is why no one wins. Welcome to Release Radar, where each week we run down some standout tracks and album releases.

Josh Rouse releases another fun album full of upbeat, easy-listening gems. Check out “Hollow Moon,” “City Dog,” and “Stick Around,” from the pop troubadour’s 14th album, Going Places. Josh will be performing at Szold Music & Dance Hall inside The Old Town School Of Folk Music, Saturday, September 10th at 8pm.

The Local Natives surprise us all this week with the dreamy, “Desert Snow.” The second song, “Hourglass,” is a slow burn that builds in typical fashion, but sounds a little more spacey than usual, with the layers of fuzzed-out guitar leads toward the end, moving closer to Supertramp and My Morning Jacket.

Charlie Burg is always up to something new, so it comes as no surprise that, “Ooh! Sumthin’ New,” is the title of his latest guitar-wielding rocker. I’ve mentioned before that he’s an accomplished songwriter, who is progressively getting better, and this new single proves it.

“Diamond In The Dark” sounds nothing like Oasis or Liam Gallagher. That’s the reason I like it so much. I’ve been waiting forever it seems, or at least since he went solo, for him to find his own style, and with “Diamond” I think it’s finally happening. When music reviewer Alisha Mughal describes standouts cuts like “Diamond in the Dark,” “Everything’s Electric” and “Moscow Rules,” she says that instead of punctuating this album, “they puncture it, too, rising to a level of quality that makes the other tracks forgettable by comparison, leaving the album as a whole deflated.”

Flipturn is coming to Chicago on…Halloween? Ughhhh! It’s pretty much impossible for me to see this show with kids trick or treating and parties with parents but there’s NO reason why you shouldn’t go! Each and every new single has been better than the last and you can bet Lincoln Hall will sound incredible!

Your Jazz Cut Of The Week is “Cloud Bossa” by Jazzinuf. Hip Jazz is what I’ve been calling it, either way, it will have you swinging to the beat. I just can’t get enough of this stuff, it goes with every mood.

Put your email in da box and click: “Create Subscription!”

Good Lord, has it ever been this bad?

For the past few weeks I’ve been hiding like a prairie farmer cowering in the storm cellar waiting for the tornado to pass.

Except it hasn’t passed. Poked my head out for a look-see and the political life of America is even worse than imagined. The darkened sky is swirling with unmoored accusations, incriminations, recriminations, censures, vilifications, denunciations, pointed fingers, fault finding, reproaches and inculpations.

If it were a real tornado, houses, cars and cows would be flying around, day and night. Makes one want to retreat.

Except, one can’t. The odds of survival in this swirling, poisoned atmosphere don’t favor hiding under desks like 1950s school kids thinking they’re protected from nuclear obliteration.

Fie on both sides.

First, that megalomaniac*, Donald Trump. Did he really believe that by unleashing Vice President Mike Pension and a huffing and puffing crowd on a constitutionally required meeting in the Capitol that he could reverse the presidential election? Truly goofy.

Because he is certifiable, he’s capable of believing or trying anything that serves his purposes. Did he really declassify everything he took from the White House and locked up in his Mara-la-go basement? Where’s the paperwork? As is said in the cited article below, you can’t just wave your hand over the banker’s boxes and declare them unclassified.

If I were of a conspirital mind-frame, I’d think that the documents he garnered was classified evidence that could be used in a criminal investigation of Hilary Clinton’s classified e-mails. Or not.

Suffice to say, flakey Donald Trump invites conspiracy theories. Sadly, he’s most likely to win the Republican presidential nomination and most likely to get beaten by, well, anybody. But he’s willing to sacrifice the conservative agenda he espouses to satisfy his bloated ego.

Now of other side.

Can anyone fault the other side for complaining when the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Biden administration turn American history on its head by being the first in history to launch such a criminal attack on a former president and premier political opponent of President Joe Biden (or whoever is running that poor, losing-it man).

From virtually every angle–political, legal, commonsensical, the FBI raid (yes, it was a raid) was mindless. Did you see the picture of a boat standing guard off the shore of Maralargo with a machine gun mounted on its forecastle. Along with automatic weapons-touting agents guarding the compound, did the FBI expect an armed assault from whacked-out Trump supporters?

If Trump had been there instead of New York, would they have put him in shackles, like other Trump supporters whom the FBI is targeting? Must we really believe that Biden had no idea of the forthcoming raid, and if so, isn’t that even more troubling?

The paperwork justifying (???) that raid raises so many questions that Americans in good conscience must demand answers. Instead, the Biden media acolytes are charging anyone who asks legitimate questions about the process as being profoundly stupid, ignorant and blindly partisan.

My recollection of politics goes almost as far back as Truman upsetting the Chicago Tribune by beating the Republican pretty-boy Thomas Dewey. Never, ever, have I seen or heard such destructive, self-satisfying political hogwash sweep across the nation. Not from the Korean War and not even during the Vietnam War. Never, in my decades-long journalism career have I witnessed such an smug, openly hostile and one-side press.

In that vein, I highly recommend that you read the clownish praise by a national media critic of the “truth-telling” media–meaning the hysterical anti-Trump coverage. Senior media writer Tom Jones of Poynter pens an amusing but concerning paean to conservatives and others who think questioning the government, the elections or anything else is something to be praised. Read: “Why the media is still reporting on the 2020 presidential election: Election deniers are making powerful inroads in local races, which has serious implication of the future of our democracy.” I wonder how satisfied that Jones is for being a voice-over for one side of that democracy.

On the other hand, here is a voice from the other side. Peter Van Buren writes in The Spectator: “The five stages of Mar-a-Lago grief. He’s got to be guilty of something, right?“

*Megalomania: A delusional mental illness that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur. A type of delusion in which the afflicted person considers himself or herself possessed of greatness. He/she believes him/herself to be Christ, God, Napoleon, anyone famous, or everyone and everything, including a lawyer, physician, clergyman, merchant, prince, or super athlete in all sports.2. Morbid verbalized overevaluation of oneself or of some aspect of oneself. As in “I’m smarter than all those generals.” [megalo- + G. mania, frenzy]

To subscribe to The Barbershop, type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

Of all the exciting festivals scheduled this summer, Chicago can add another stellar event to its calendar. Its the first annual CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival and its quickly becoming one of the city’s most popular attractions.

Chrishon Lampley, Founder of Love Cork Screw and Co-Founder of CLINK Wine & Spirits Festival (Chicago). Photographer: Christian De’Mar.

The CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival hosted by Chrishon Lampley, owner of Love Cork Screw wines and Joyce Dawkins, founder of She ROCKS It Magazine, are debuting their wine and spirit tasting extravaganza on Sunday September 18th at the beautiful Wilder Mansion in Elmhurst, Illinois.

L-R: McBride Sisters (Wine Company). Michael Lavelle (Luxury Wine Brand)www.neiljohnburger.comL-R: Chef Deandre Carter (Owner, Soul Food & Smoke, BBQ Restaurant). Elena Smith (Owner, Davine Wines LLC)

Chrishon, one of the few minority winemakers in the midwest, says the event is a first-of-its-kind Chicago-based wine and spirits festival dedicated to highlighting women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the industry.

“As a minority business owner, navigating the business of building a wine brand in this industry can oftentimes feel like you’re on an island,” says Chrishon, CLINK Co-Founder. “It is imperative that we continue to celebrate, encourage, and advocate for diversity in the wine & spirits industry.”

CLINK Co-Founder and business partner Joyce, agrees. “My goal with CLINK is for attendees to see the amazing things that can happen if you just believe in yourself and to encourage attendees to not be afraid to take a leap of faith.”

L-R: Chef Brian Jupiter (Owner, Ina Mae Tavern and Frontier Chicago)Ashley & Jenai (Founders, Halo 7 (premium Rum)L-R: Sheetal Bhagat (Founder, Spice Note Tequila). Theodora Lee (Founder, Theopolis Vineyards)

CLINK Wine and Spirit festival will feature panel discussions, a walk-around wine tasting from over 50 minority-owned wine & spirit brands and paired with exquisite appetizers from local Chicago chefs of color, a cigar lounge, party deejay and a relaxing outdoor mocktail waterpark that gives guests an opportunity to re-hydrate with refreshing drinks and non-alcoholic beverages.

Sponsored in part by Mariano’s, the popular midwest grocery chain, both Chrishon and Joyce both acknowledge the company’s lead support in Women Owned Businesses and their participation in spearheading the festival.

L-R: Chef Monica Hayes (Founder, Tasteful Manners Culinary). Phil Long (Founder, Longevity Wines)L-R: Paula J. Harrell (Owner, P. Harrell Wines). Dr. Chris Wachira (Founder/CEO, Wachira Wines)

“We have a commitment to local vendors,” says Amanda Puck, Director of Strategic Brand Development for Mariano’s, “and we’re excited to support the first annual CLINK Wine & Spirits Festival with our team of accomplished Tastemaker Chefs who will complement the event’s all-star roster of minority-owned wine, spirits and non-alcoholic beverage producers.”

CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival will introduce some of the nation’s up and coming minority leaders in the food and beverage industry. It will also showcase Chrishon and Joyce’s leadership as entrepreneurs, especially during the month of August as thousands of people celebrate National Black Business Month. Just this past week, Chrishon was honored in Chicago at the Black Womens Expo where she was presented with the 2022 Phenomenal Woman Award.

“It is imperative that we continue to celebrate, encourage, and advocate for diversity in the wine & spirits industry,” says Chrishon. “CLINK presents an interactive educational forum for beverage trade professionals, media, and wine & spirits enthusiasts to taste, network, celebrate our progress and empower future minority women in the industry.”

CLINK Wine and Spirit Festival boasts a growing list of vendors, guest speakers and winemakers that will provide tastings and samplings of their specialty items. To purchase tickets and to get updates on the event, visit www.clinkfestival.com. The following is the list of the many sponsors and winemakers who have confirmed their participation:

CLINK: Wine and Spirit MakersChrishon Lampley (Founder of Love Cork Screw)Nicole Kearney (Founder, Sip & Share Wines)Jesse Steward Jr. (Founder, Alexander James Whiskey)Ashley and Jenai (Founders, Halo 7 (Premium Rum)Luna Bay Booch (Kombucha Company)Dr. Chris Wachira (Founder/CEO, Wachira Wines)

Paula J. Harrell (Owner, P. Harrell Wines)Catalina Gaete-Bentz (Founder & CEO, CATAN PISCO)Mara Smith (Founder, Inspiro Tequila)McBride Sisters (Wine Company)Elena Smith (Owner, Davine Wines, LLC)Sheetal Bhagat (Founder of Spice Note Tequila)Phil Long (Founder, Longevity Wines)

Theodora Lee (Founder, Theopolis Vineyards)Vitani (Spirits/Cocktails)Uncle Nearest (Premium Whiskey)Funkytown Brewery (Brewery)Sapere (Wine Brand)Michael Lavelle (Luxury Wine Brand)M. Robinson (Champagne Brand)

CLINK: ContributorsRodney Strong (California Winery)Jackson Family Wines (Winery Group)Foley Family of Wines (Wine Producer, Marketer & Distributor)

CLINK: Sommeliers & ExpertsMarsha Wright (Certified Wine Specialist- Certified Sherry Wine Specialist)Regine T. Rousseau (Founder, Shall We Wine)Chasity Cooper (Wine Culture Expert)

CLINK: Executive ChefsChef Dominique Leach (Executive Chef & Owner, Lexington Betty Smokehouse)Chef Monica Hayes (Founder, Tasteful Manners Culinary)Chef Ken L. Polk (Executive Chef at Batter & Berries)Chef LaMar Moore (Executive Chef and Youth Advocate/Mentor)Chef Brian Jupiter (Owner at Ina Mae Tavern and Frontier Chicago)Chef Deandre Carter (Owner of Soul and Smoke, BBQ Restaurant)Chef Jennifer Selvaggi (Exec, Chef for Turano Baking Company)

About the Author:  Don Howze is an Emmy Award Winning Film/Tape Editor and Associate Professor of Journalism and Television Production.  Don is the producer and director of the upcoming film documentaries The Production Crew and Toni Shelton’s Queen Of House Music. 

Good Lord, has it ever been this bad?

For the past few weeks I’ve been hiding like a prairie farmer cowering in the storm cellar waiting for the tornado to pass.

Except it hasn’t passed. Poked my head out for a look-see and the political life of America is even worse than imagined. The darkened sky is swirling with unmoored accusations, incriminations, recriminations, censures, vilifications, denunciations, pointed fingers, fault finding, reproaches and inculpations.

If it were a real tornado, houses, cars and cows would be flying around, day and night. Makes one want to retreat.

Except, one can’t. The odds of survival in this swirling, poisoned atmosphere don’t favor hiding under desks like 1950s school kids thinking they’re protected from nuclear obliteration.

Fie on both sides.

First, that megalomaniac*, Donald Trump. Did he really believe that by unleashing Vice President Mike Pension and a huffing and puffing crowd on a constitutionally required meeting in the Capitol that he could reverse the presidential election? Truly goofy.

Because he is certifiable, he’s capable of believing or trying anything that serves his purposes. Did he really declassify everything he took from the White House and locked up in his Mara-la-go basement? Where’s the paperwork? As is said in the cited article below, you can’t just wave your hand over the banker’s boxes and declare them unclassified.

If I were of a conspirital mind-frame, I’d think that the documents he garnered was classified evidence that could be used in a criminal investigation of Hilary Clinton’s classified e-mails. Or not.

Suffice to say, flakey Donald Trump invites conspiracy theories. Sadly, he’s most likely to win the Republican presidential nomination and most likely to get beaten by, well, anybody. But he’s willing to sacrifice the conservative agenda he espouses to satisfy his bloated ego.

Now of other side.

Can anyone fault the other side for complaining when the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Biden administration turn American history on its head by being the first in history to launch such a criminal attack on a former president and premier political opponent of President Joe Biden (or whoever is running that poor, losing-it man).

From virtually every angle–political, legal, commonsensical, the FBI raid (yes, it was a raid) was mindless. Did you see the picture of a boat standing guard off the shore of Maralargo with a machine gun mounted on its forecastle. Along with automatic weapons-touting agents guarding the compound, did the FBI expect an armed assault from whacked-out Trump supporters?

If Trump had been there instead of New York, would they have put him in shackles, like other Trump supporters whom the FBI is targeting? Must we really believe that Biden had no idea of the forthcoming raid, and if so, isn’t that even more troubling?

The paperwork justifying (???) that raid raises so many questions that Americans in good conscience must demand answers. Instead, the Biden media acolytes are charging anyone who asks legitimate questions about the process as being profoundly stupid, ignorant and blindly partisan.

My recollection of politics goes almost as far back as Truman upsetting the Chicago Tribune by beating the Republican pretty-boy Thomas Dewey. Never, ever, have I seen or heard such destructive, self-satisfying political hogwash sweep across the nation. Not from the Korean War and not even during the Vietnam War. Never, in my decades-long journalism career have I witnessed such an smug, openly hostile and one-side press.

In that vein, I highly recommend that you read the clownish praise by a national media critic of the “truth-telling” media–meaning the hysterical anti-Trump coverage. Senior media writer Tom Jones of Poynter pens an amusing but concerning paean to conservatives and others who think questioning the government, the elections or anything else is something to be praised. Read: “Why the media is still reporting on the 2020 presidential election: Election deniers are making powerful inroads in local races, which has serious implication of the future of our democracy.” I wonder how satisfied that Jones is for being a voice-over for one side of that democracy.

On the other hand, here is a voice from the other side. Peter Van Buren writes in The Spectator: “The five stages of Mar-a-Lago grief. He’s got to be guilty of something, right?“

*Megalomania: A delusional mental illness that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur. A type of delusion in which the afflicted person considers himself or herself possessed of greatness. He/she believes him/herself to be Christ, God, Napoleon, anyone famous, or everyone and everything, including a lawyer, physician, clergyman, merchant, prince, or super athlete in all sports.2. Morbid verbalized overevaluation of oneself or of some aspect of oneself. As in “I’m smarter than all those generals.” [megalo- + G. mania, frenzy]

To subscribe to The Barbershop, type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

Of all the exciting festivals scheduled this summer, Chicago can add another stellar event to its calendar. Its the first annual CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival and its quickly becoming one of the city’s most popular attractions.

Chrishon Lampley, Founder of Love Cork Screw and Co-Founder of CLINK Wine & Spirits Festival (Chicago). Photographer: Christian De’Mar.

The CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival hosted by Chrishon Lampley, owner of Love Cork Screw wines and Joyce Dawkins, founder of She ROCKS It Magazine, are debuting their wine and spirit tasting extravaganza on Sunday September 18th at the beautiful Wilder Mansion in Elmhurst, Illinois.

L-R: McBride Sisters (Wine Company). Michael Lavelle (Luxury Wine Brand)www.neiljohnburger.comL-R: Chef Deandre Carter (Owner, Soul Food & Smoke, BBQ Restaurant). Elena Smith (Owner, Davine Wines LLC)

Chrishon, one of the few minority winemakers in the midwest, says the event is a first-of-its-kind Chicago-based wine and spirits festival dedicated to highlighting women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the industry.

“As a minority business owner, navigating the business of building a wine brand in this industry can oftentimes feel like you’re on an island,” says Chrishon, CLINK Co-Founder. “It is imperative that we continue to celebrate, encourage, and advocate for diversity in the wine & spirits industry.”

CLINK Co-Founder and business partner Joyce, agrees. “My goal with CLINK is for attendees to see the amazing things that can happen if you just believe in yourself and to encourage attendees to not be afraid to take a leap of faith.”

L-R: Chef Brian Jupiter (Owner, Ina Mae Tavern and Frontier Chicago)Ashley & Jenai (Founders, Halo 7 (premium Rum)L-R: Sheetal Bhagat (Founder, Spice Note Tequila). Theodora Lee (Founder, Theopolis Vineyards)

CLINK Wine and Spirit festival will feature panel discussions, a walk-around wine tasting from over 50 minority-owned wine & spirit brands and paired with exquisite appetizers from local Chicago chefs of color, a cigar lounge, party deejay and a relaxing outdoor mocktail waterpark that gives guests an opportunity to re-hydrate with refreshing drinks and non-alcoholic beverages.

Sponsored in part by Mariano’s, the popular midwest grocery chain, both Chrishon and Joyce both acknowledge the company’s lead support in Women Owned Businesses and their participation in spearheading the festival.

L-R: Chef Monica Hayes (Founder, Tasteful Manners Culinary). Phil Long (Founder, Longevity Wines)L-R: Paula J. Harrell (Owner, P. Harrell Wines). Dr. Chris Wachira (Founder/CEO, Wachira Wines)

“We have a commitment to local vendors,” says Amanda Puck, Director of Strategic Brand Development for Mariano’s, “and we’re excited to support the first annual CLINK Wine & Spirits Festival with our team of accomplished Tastemaker Chefs who will complement the event’s all-star roster of minority-owned wine, spirits and non-alcoholic beverage producers.”

CLINK Wine and Spirits Festival will introduce some of the nation’s up and coming minority leaders in the food and beverage industry. It will also showcase Chrishon and Joyce’s leadership as entrepreneurs, especially during the month of August as thousands of people celebrate National Black Business Month. Just this past week, Chrishon was honored in Chicago at the Black Womens Expo where she was presented with the 2022 Phenomenal Woman Award.

“It is imperative that we continue to celebrate, encourage, and advocate for diversity in the wine & spirits industry,” says Chrishon. “CLINK presents an interactive educational forum for beverage trade professionals, media, and wine & spirits enthusiasts to taste, network, celebrate our progress and empower future minority women in the industry.”

CLINK Wine and Spirit Festival boasts a growing list of vendors, guest speakers and winemakers that will provide tastings and samplings of their specialty items. To purchase tickets and to get updates on the event, visit www.clinkfestival.com. The following is the list of the many sponsors and winemakers who have confirmed their participation:

CLINK: Wine and Spirit MakersChrishon Lampley (Founder of Love Cork Screw)Nicole Kearney (Founder, Sip & Share Wines)Jesse Steward Jr. (Founder, Alexander James Whiskey)Ashley and Jenai (Founders, Halo 7 (Premium Rum)Luna Bay Booch (Kombucha Company)Dr. Chris Wachira (Founder/CEO, Wachira Wines)

Paula J. Harrell (Owner, P. Harrell Wines)Catalina Gaete-Bentz (Founder & CEO, CATAN PISCO)Mara Smith (Founder, Inspiro Tequila)McBride Sisters (Wine Company)Elena Smith (Owner, Davine Wines, LLC)Sheetal Bhagat (Founder of Spice Note Tequila)Phil Long (Founder, Longevity Wines)

Theodora Lee (Founder, Theopolis Vineyards)Vitani (Spirits/Cocktails)Uncle Nearest (Premium Whiskey)Funkytown Brewery (Brewery)Sapere (Wine Brand)Michael Lavelle (Luxury Wine Brand)M. Robinson (Champagne Brand)

CLINK: ContributorsRodney Strong (California Winery)Jackson Family Wines (Winery Group)Foley Family of Wines (Wine Producer, Marketer & Distributor)

CLINK: Sommeliers & ExpertsMarsha Wright (Certified Wine Specialist- Certified Sherry Wine Specialist)Regine T. Rousseau (Founder, Shall We Wine)Chasity Cooper (Wine Culture Expert)

CLINK: Executive ChefsChef Dominique Leach (Executive Chef & Owner, Lexington Betty Smokehouse)Chef Monica Hayes (Founder, Tasteful Manners Culinary)Chef Ken L. Polk (Executive Chef at Batter & Berries)Chef LaMar Moore (Executive Chef and Youth Advocate/Mentor)Chef Brian Jupiter (Owner at Ina Mae Tavern and Frontier Chicago)Chef Deandre Carter (Owner of Soul and Smoke, BBQ Restaurant)Chef Jennifer Selvaggi (Exec, Chef for Turano Baking Company)

About the Author:  Don Howze is an Emmy Award Winning Film/Tape Editor and Associate Professor of Journalism and Television Production.  Don is the producer and director of the upcoming film documentaries The Production Crew and Toni Shelton’s Queen Of House Music.