While my Grandma was alive she often told our family her story of passing by the St. Valentine's Day Massacre aftermath on her way to work the morning of February 14, 1929. Bessie Banks, 23 years old at the time, was on the Clark street bus to her job at the Palmer House when the vehicle rode past the scene of the grisly crime at 2122 N. Clark St. just a couple hours after it happened.
Every time she told the story she would mention that the gangster era of Chicago was very overblown, in regards to the level of danger to the average citizen. She would always say that they didn't bother anybody, and only fought amongst themselves.
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By
Paul M. Banks,
February 7, 2019 at 2:45 pm
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A new book by Skip Desjardins, entitled
War, Plague, and the World Series, revisits the month of September 1918, and all the dramatic, history-altering events that occurred in Boston during this specific month.
Exactly 100 years ago, the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox squared off in a World Series that was played a month earlier than usual due to World War I and amidst a backdrop of revolutionary changes in workers rights, women's rights and global alliances. It was also a society on the precipice of massive technological change which would bring rapid social change during the Roaring 20s...
By
Paul M. Banks,
September 19, 2018 at 1:22 pm
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The rise and fall of Elvis Presley more or less coincided with American middle class prosperity. He burst onto the scene into the 1950s, quickly rose to prominence, and by the 1970s he was gone forever.
That's pretty much the same life span, and time line of the so-called American Dream- the idea of self-determination and success achieved through hard work. This idea of Elvis Presley as a general metaphor for America at large is the central thesis of Eugene Jarecki’s new film "The King," which takes Elvis’ 1963 Rolls-Royce on a musical road trip across America.
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By
Paul M. Banks,
July 19, 2018 at 3:33 pm
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For most of our lifetimes, the President of the United States of America was considered the most powerful person in the world. Today that’s not the case, as the globe now belongs to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Ever since the catch-phrase “leader of the free world” has been in common parlance, it has meant the POTUS. As it’s a phrase deeply rooted in NATO, the label no longer applies to our current President. Perhaps that honorable designation is more befitting German Chancellor Angela Merkel or United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May, or maybe there is no current leader of the free world.
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By
Paul M. Banks,
July 15, 2018 at 9:31 am
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Let's face it- watching the news and following current events in our country today is just plain torturous. It all starts at the very top, with our Federal leadership, their lackeys and acolytes, and of course the mainstream media that plays right into their hands.
It's a very diabolical sociological cocktail, with social media the most potent and toxic ingredient of all.
If you're sick and tired of hearing about who's trending online right now because of what deplorably offensive thing they said (and probably don't even actually believe his/herself) on cable news, then you should turn the TV off, put the phone down and go see a movie instead...
By
Paul M. Banks,
June 25, 2018 at 5:41 pm
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Today is May Day, or International Workers Day, and with that we remember the Haymarket Affair on the evening of May 4 1886. May 1 is the date on the calendar that honors and remembers labor, so thus the Haymarket martyrs, who died in the cause of eventually giving us an eight hour workday, are top of mind.
"The day will come when our silence is more powerful than the voices you are throttling today.”...
By
Paul M. Banks,
May 1, 2018 at 10:00 pm
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Today saw Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg begin a week in Washington, D.C. that will see him under intense scrutiny. No matter how this ends, both his company and his individual brand are damaged to the point that is well beyond repair.
Facebook has been declared "over" many times previously, but this time the stakes are a whole lot higher than just something once very trendy being mainstreamed and then co-opted by bored housewives stalking their children...
By
Paul M. Banks,
April 9, 2018 at 10:06 pm
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Very few institutions in American life have realized the Facebookian style counter-culture to mainstream culture journey that Saturday Night Live has realized. Unlike Facebook however, SNL continues pushing the envelope and testing boundaries these days.
A current exhibit at the Museum of Broadcast Communications (360 N. State), “SNL: The Experience,” edifies the visitor on the roots and history of the 43-year-old television program. The first show aired on 10-11-75, and it quickly established the franchise’s counter-culture vibe, executed on stage by the “not ready for prime time” players.
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By
Paul M. Banks,
March 28, 2018 at 7:19 pm
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Today, many on the left and in the center believe the NRA, the National Rifle Association, to be a terrorist organization. That would make Chairman Wayne La Pierre a terrorist leader, a label that the left has not been shy about affixing to him.
What happened in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay was a terrorist act. Ditto for the church in Sutherland Springs (Texas), The Pulse night club in Orlando, Newton, Columbine, the school in Kentucky last week and everywhere else. What those deplorable, irredeemable monsters of human beings did was the very definition of terrorism.
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By
Paul M. Banks,
February 5, 2018 at 5:17 am
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As a teenager, the powerful vocals of Dolores O’Riordan, the strong guitar riffs from
Noel Hogan and Mike Hogan, and the commanding drum beat of
Fergal Lawler had a massive positive impact on me. The year was 1994, and the song was “Zombie,” the Cranberries’ greatest hit song.
The tune appealed to me because it was loud and fast, and the music video (this was eons ago, during a prehistorical time when MTV was actually about music and played music videos) was about as striking as possible...
By
Paul M. Banks,
January 17, 2018 at 3:33 pm
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