#extraoral

The Chicago is known for its harsh winters, so the city of Chicago is easy to enjoy his few months of good weather, offering a wide range of free events for visitors and residents. If you're planning a trip to the Windy City between Memorial Day and Labor Day, enjoy the free events listed here - and save your money for baseball, pizza, and shopping on Michigan Avenue! And visit the websites listed below to find more free events in Chicagoland Chicago Blues this summer.The FestivalJune 2 - 4, 2006Admission: FREEFeaturing more than 50 shows in three phases, the Chicago Blues Festival is a tradition in Chicago. The festival also includes and art fair, local food, and activities for the whole family. This year's featured performer CeCe Winans. Among the other performers Joann Rosario, Marvin Sapp, and Dottie Peoples. Presented by the mayors of special events, the Blues Festival hours are Friday, June 2 4:00 to 9:30, and Saturday, June 3 am Sunday, June 4 from 11:00 to 9:30 pmThe Taste of ChicagoJune July 30 to 9 2006Admission: Free The 26th annual Taste of Chicago is the Midwest's largest festival of food, and is a great way to taste the best restaurants Chicago has to offer - in one place! You can buy tickets in advance, or taste and use them to buy "taste" portions of food such as cheese, Italian beef, pizza, deep dish, frozen bananas, and even wild boar sausage. While eating, visitors can enjoy musical entertainment on three stages, cooking demonstrations, and July 3, fireworks display.Chicago Country Music FestivalJuly 1-2, 2006Admission: FREEAs part of the Taste of Chicago, the Country Music Festival always attracts the big names in country music. headliners this year are Glen Campbell and Jo Dee Messina! Among the other performers SheDaisy and Phil Vassar. The festivities begin at 11:00 in Grant Park. Chicago Outdoor Film FestivalJuly August 18 to 29 2006Admission: FREEIn is the seventh year, Chicago Outdoor Film Festival is fast becoming a summer tradition. On Tuesdays from July 18 through August 29, everyone is welcome to Butler Field in Grant Park to enjoy this unique experience open-air theater. selections this year are: Rebel Without a Cause, American Graffiti, the Waterfront, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off Film starts at dusk, so bring your blankets and picnic and enjoy the show Chicago Air and Water ShowAugust 19 -20 2006Admission: FREEIf you are in Chicago on August 19 or 20, do not miss the 48th Annual Air & Water Show. This is a must see, and is the largest free show of its kind in the U.S. Bring a snack and sunscreen and blanket off of one of the lakefront parks and beaches for a unique experience including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights. The show starts at 09:00 water, followed by the spectacle plane am 11:00 to 4:00 Jazz pmChicago FestivalAugust September 31 to 3 2006Admission: FREEWrap the summer with the 28th annual Chicago Jazz Festival in Grant Park. The theme of this year's festival is "Tribute to New Orleans." In addition to great jazz performances, the festival presents an art exhibition with works of art, crafts and handmade for sale. Other free activities to enjoy during the summer months in Chicago are the many neighborhood festivals happening every weekend (for a complete list, see the Festival Guide www.metromix.com 2006), and a fantastic fireworks every Saturday night from May to September at Navy Pier (for details, see www.navypier.com). And do not forget, Chicago is known worldwide for its beautiful architecture. Although there are many tours that show the most famous buildings of the city, you can always see these reference points for free with a good map in hand You can find more information about these events in the city of Chicago website: www.cityofchicago . org. For special rates for these events, call (877) CHICAGO or visit www.877chicago.com.

When I was growing up in the 1960's the then modern engineering marvel was what we call the "transistor radio." The term differential device tube sets former major base. The most surprising thing about these new transistor radio was his diminutive size. These small radios were also called "pocket radio" because it could literally fit in your pocket. All came with a small "headset" that can be used for private listening. At the time they were the equivalent of the iPod today. Each child had one. Sony has built an empire by these radios for a generation of young people. At first it was only AM radios. By the time the AM dial was sprinkled with the giant power signals as WABC in New York, WLS in Chicago, CKLW in Windsor Ontario (the Detroit metropolitan area,) WKBW in Buffalo, WRKO in Boston and many others. The mystical at these stations is that at night the signal traveled hundreds, even thousands of miles. This phenomenon gave them a great star quality with millions of listeners. All of them played what we call at the time of "Top 40" music was a conglomeration of all the records were selling, not just teens but adults. So mixed in with the Rolling Stones could be heard Frank Sinatra songs. If it was popular, is played regardless of demographic appeal. The idea was that if you can get children to listen, parents would be forced to stay, listen to the ads, buying the products advertised and put up with "rock and roll" pending a more mature song go. It was the radio trying to please the kids my age grew everyone.Many these radios hidden slightly under the sheets at night when they were supposed to be sleeping, listening to their "disk jockeys" favorite and dream of being there the big city away playing music for the masses. This type of radio was "bigger than life." In the summer on the beach, everyone always heard the same station. In my case the choice was WABC was about 60 miles away in New York. It was strange, because when a popular song that would literally could hear the combined volume of all these increase the radio. WABC spread the news for five minutes to one hour, five minutes before the top. As children who had no interest at present for all radios to tune away the news for five minutes every hour to WMCA in New York there was a sign of inferiority, but it was tolerable for five minutes to continue listening to music. Then, when news WMCA began at the top of the hour, all to return to WABC radio. WMCA not have the opportunity to compete with WABC and stopped trying quite early. They were one of the first AM music stations to switch to talk. WABC shot in the 1970's and was still king of the airwaves for quite time.In early 1970, something called FM began appearing on the radio. Largely ignored initially. The few FM stations were providing niche programming designed to enhance, not compete with their counterparts in the morning. They provided eclectic mix of what was then called "progressive rock, classical music programming and other strange that the attention of a lot of dough. But little by little through the 70's things began to change. The Top 40 sound began to appear on the FM dial. In the New York area's first major Top 40 station FM WXLO or what is called "99x." This was the catalyst for millions of listeners to the show FM.Since FM sounds much better for music, small transistor radios were replaced with "boom boxes" and high-end car stereos as children of the years sixties began to drive. The FM lacking for children of my generation, was nevertheless giants AM signals that led many states around. FM was more local. FM signals travel only a few hundred miles at best and do not improve in the evening. Broadcasters did not worry much on this fact as thousands of listeners of miles away will not help their advertisers. It's nice to be able to say "heard in 38 states at night", but in fact did not really make money station since the vast majority of advertisers are local. The advantage of high audio quality surpassed the strongest signal in the morning. It was the beginning of the end for the mighty giant station.With AM Top 40 FM stations all these appear there became a drought of talent good radio personalities were becoming difficult to find. Developers desperate for good sounding disc jockeys literally forced to tell them what to say. This led to the arrival of the "line card." Athletes were forced to read only the cards with promotional advertising from the station called "operators" word for word. It was then when I got my first job in radio. I remember these little cards with a title in capital letters that read "READ verbatum." Radio came to be rigid and artificial. The excitement of being on the radio was beginning to decline. With so many stations available to listeners of the music began to fragment. They were no longer playlists full of variety as well now became a target. The reading of these little cards and playing the same dozen or so songs by one more than the radio was a chore. I began to fear making a "change." I say change from the term replaces "show" what they used to call it. Since you've been stripped of any personality that they were just doing a "change of air" and not a show.WABC now hangs on a good time playing the tried and true hits, but in 1982 no one listened. Everyone had moved to FM. They tried to blend into the conversation in the morning, baseball at night to keep it going, but at the end of the music program is fast approaching. On May 10, 1982 at noon, is over. WABC had an emotional significance for many of us grow despite all the changes to FM then, that May 10, 1982 was called "the day the music died." A reference back to the famous plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper in the late 50's. All tuned in to hear the morning of 10 May tearful farewell of talent for our children. Then at noon there was a moment of silence and suddenly ... talk. It was amazing. None of those who tuned in to hear the case was to sample the new format. WABC would have to build your audience talk from the beginning. And of course they did spawn such huge hits as Rush Hannity.Well Linbuagh and Shawn, in the northeast, and was official. If you want to listen to music on the radio, was the FM dial. Also, you had to choose what kind of music. There was only disco stations, rock stations, "middle ground stations grownups among other niches. He could not hear a mix of popular overall. individuals were transferred into the background as it was considered that the audience wanted "more music." This lead many stations use syndicated programming and automation. Smaller TV stations coming from miles away and only break to play local advertiser "points" or ads, or the station would be run by a futuristic complex automation system that did the work without human intervention. Furthermore, the radio music became hard and lifeless, a juke box.then came deregulation of the radio industry in the 80's. Previously, the FCC would only allow a station owner to have one of AM, FM and TV channel in any market, but it was no longer the case. This marked the beginning of the era of radio company monster that will devour all the smaller concerns and "mom and pop" radio stations in any market that they felt could make a profit. Today the vast majority or radio stations are held by only a few companies. To further enhance the benefits, the smaller stations feed on larger programming through advanced computer technology, which shows not done in real time, but telescopic less than a quarter of that. You now have a single personality doing shows in four or five different markets each day. As it is not physically in these markets satellite radio makes it difficult for him to feel and sound local, but does everything possible to try. There are some stations now operating 24 hours a day unmanned. Stations "in a closet," all directed by computer. As you travel from one city to listen to the radio today there is a homogenization as well as burgers and pizza chains. Everything is about branding and profit increases, but efficiency. The era of local radio is monolithic disappearing.As see these changes on the radio, going back to the little transistor radio under the covers and long for the days of mystical monster radio station in a city far from pumping of my favorite songs on my small "headset" and thinking to myself: "I want to be there."