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Archive for the ‘ Articles ’ Category

 

Illinois Business News: Chicagoland Equipment & Supply Acquires United Fast Food & Beverage

February 1st, 2022

Chicagoland Equipment & Supply (CES), a portfolio company of Cooper Management, LLC, and a leading supplier of equipment, supplies and service to the food industry, has acquired United Fast Food & Beverage Service, a leading supplier of equipment and service to convenience stores and fast-food restaurants. The transaction closed on January 5, and an official announcement was made to UFFB’s employees at the company’s Elk Grove headquarters the following day. The acquisition is a continuation of CES’ efforts to expand its equipment offering and service capabilities. Cook M&A (cookma.com)... Read More

Linda Ballou Shares Why Winter Is A Perfect Time to Enjoy a “Wild Time” on the Central Coast of California

December 31st, 2021

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Winter on the Central Coasts means fewer tourists and plentiful wildlife. Birds and marine mammals gather there in chaotic profusion from December to February. White Pelicans Morro Estuary Every year, hundreds of birders flock to the sleepy fishing town of Morro Bay on California’s Central Coast to take part in the Audubon Birding Fest. The Pacific’s saltwater mixed with the freshwater of streams flowing in the largest estuary on the west coast resulting in a nutrient-rich brew for thousands of birds. The charm of the rust-colored,... Read More

A Regular Dude (Review: Vengeance Is Mine)

October 25th, 2021

There have been eleven movies made with the title Vengeance is Mine. The first of those films was made way back in 1912, proving that even in those sepia-hued days of the Titanic, massive dinner parties, and the birth of the Oreo, people also wanted to see movies where somebody who’s gotten screwed over achieves satisfaction. I’m perfectly fine with revenge movies. One of the greatest ever made is John Wick, where a thoughtless act of cruelty unleashes a storm of violence on a truly Biblical scale. For a revenge movie to work, three elements need to be firmly in place. They are: An interesting... Read More

Michael’s Game (Review: Halloween Kills)

October 18th, 2021

He was close. He thought he was ready, but at the last moment, he stepped away. Wait — let me back up and I’ll explain. To set the stage, last weekend I knew my upcoming review would be Halloween Kills, the latest entry in the extremely venerable franchise. The film picks up moments after the end of the 2018 Halloween, and as I had a little free time, rewatching Halloween felt like a good move. As my son Liam has gotten older, he’s been developing his own tastes when it comes to film. He has directors he likes* and films he’s been curious about.** The only genre he hasn’t leapt into is... Read More

Antisocial Worker (The Gateway)

October 11th, 2021

Movie stars are good. Serious Actors are better. Best of all are That Guys.* Even if you’re a casual film viewer, you likely have a favorite That Guy. In blockbusters, they’ll show up in supporting roles, often playing the same 2-3 kinds of roles. Michael Biehn, for example, is an excellent That Guy, and he carved out a pretty good niche playing steely-eyed military types and psychopaths.  Better yet is when That Guys get a chance in the spotlight. This almost always happens in smaller films, and to my mind, that’s a good thing. Those smaller films tend to be more interesting, riskier, more... Read More

The Bond Craigslist (Review: No Time to Die)

October 4th, 2021

I once read that a person’s preferred 007 can be determined by when their father showed them their first Bond movie. This is not a concept that’s supported by any kind of rigorous scientific method, and I know that because of my own experiences. My father was a product of World War II and the Cold War. The exploits of a gentleman spy were right up his alley, and to the best of my knowledge, he never missed a Bond movie either theatrically or on television.* He loved Bond, and Roger Moore was his Bond. My first full Bond experience was us trooping to the theater to see A View to a Kill.** Dad... Read More

A Vulgar Business (Review: Worth)

September 26th, 2021

We say that all lives have value. Do they? If so, what exactly is that value? To ponder a question like that is, at best, distasteful. At worst, it’s a monstrous concept that’s so big, it almost can’t be grappled with. But someone has to. Someone has to take the decisions and idiosyncrasies that live in each of our lives and break it all down into some kind of hard data. Consider the lives and deaths of two people on September 11, 2001. One of them worked in Windows on the World*, the restaurant that dwelled on the 106th and 107th floors of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Directly... Read More

Road Trip!! Linda Ballou Says Now’s the Time to Cool Your Jets on the Southern Oregon Coast

September 15th, 2021

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate  Smith River Steaming temps in the inland valleys of Southern Oregon are sending smart travelers to the coast to cool off. The Redwood Hwy (199),  out of Grants Pass is a snaking road that takes you to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, the northern most redwood forest in California. It traces the rugged Smith River Corridor sheathed in towering sugar pines and deposits you in Hiouchi. Hot Tip #1: If you can snag a room at the budget Hiouchi Motel, next to the Hiouchi Café you will be in perfect position to explore the ancient redwood... Read More

Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu (Review: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings)

September 14th, 2021

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a trend-setter, and it’s kind of amazing considering the risks taken. Consider the lead of Iron Man was a troubled actor with a notable drug problem. Consider that the vast majority of people had no earthly idea who Iron Man even was. Consider that the idea of an interconnected multi-film franchise was looked at as, to be charitable, raging insanity. The irony is that, despite the huge chances taken by the MCU, Marvel Comics originally followed numerous trends instead of inspiring them. The creation of the Fantastic Four was a response to DC Comics’ creation... Read More

Bruja (Review: The Old Ways)

September 6th, 2021

I’m a genre nerd. While a thoughtful documentary or smart drama will capture my attention, nothing gets my nerd radar pinging faster than a film that Wikipedia defines as, “a stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film.” Luckily, there’s an awful lot of room for filmmakers to operate in when it comes to genre. A war movie only has to feature…well, war. A vampire movie simply needs to have something within it that can be recognized as some sort of vampire. Science fiction... Read More