Chicago Talk Show - The Scott Emo Show

See You soon: Grandma

6/21/2013

My grandma fought a tough breathing battle and she can now finally rest in peace. I am still in denial that she will never be here (physically), but I am also happy that she lived a long and blessed life, and that I was part of her life and learned so much from her on how to be strong, be honest and to enjoy life.

She was diagnosed with lung cancer (stage 4) a few months ago and then began radiation to treat the cancer and brain legions. As soon as she started radiation, a few weeks later she passed out and the doctors discovered she had a blod clot in her lungs. As soon as that happened she went in to the ICU. Yesterday, at 3:30pm CST she passed away as peacefully as she could.

My grandma was my second-mom. She was a fighter, hard nosed tough sone of a gun, but had a heart of gold. She was in Florida when I got the news and she told me not to worry and that she would fight this and she will be there when our baby girl is born (in October). Knowing how strong of a women she is, I thought for sure she was right. It is a shock that she passed away, but her entire immediate family, minus one person, was there to say good bye. She was conscious enough to say that she loved me before Lindsay and I left and then the doctors amped up the morphine and took off her breathing mask. Not even 30 mins later, she was gone.

Looking at this realistically it's so sad and such a loss. It also affects me because now my dad has officially lost both of his parents (both at an older age, but reality does settle in that death is inevitable). Grandma Glo can now reunite with all of her loved one's that have passed over, like her husband, brother, sister, my mom, her mom and dad and many others. I know she will be there when our baby is born in spirit with the rest of my family and I will miss her everyday.

The era of my grandparents has officially ended. The world as I used to know it is over. Their house in Florida will be sold, her home in Mission hills will be gone and then everything becomes a memory. It was a beautiful thing to see my entire family unify during this time, get along (for the most part) and to see how much love was filled in the consultation room in the ER.

With many hugs, love and kisses, Lindsay and I will miss you greatly Grandma-ma. Say hi to my mom, Stewy, Papa Sy, Aunt Roz, Grandpa Martin and the rest of the family. It's never goodbye, we will see each other again one day. I also hope there are unlimited slot machines for you to pull in heaven!

All love,
Your grandson

Life Building a Talk Show - Day 16 Blog

6/18/2013

Talk about a day that had its ups and downs. I woke up knowing my grandma was in the ICU, but I didn't really know how bad it was until I got there around 5pm. I also woke up to seeing The Scott Emo Show in one of the most renowned media outlets in Chicago - The Chicago Tribune. I have to take a second to really thank Greg Dorn for talking to us and caring about what our platform is all about. Here's the article: Click Here.

So, think about this for a second. I am on this ultra high that we made it in to the Tribune, but then it all came crashing down the second I stepped foot in to the ICU unit at Glenbrook hospital. My grandma has a blood clot in her lungs (in addition to the lung cancer she was recently diagnosed with) and is on too many medications and connected to too many machines for me to understand right now.

If anyone knows my grandma, people know she is a feisty, strong, independent and hard-nosed, but also very loving women. Seeing her helpless in the hospital bed was real, knowing she might not get better is real, the thought of her dying is officially real. It blows to see her in this condition, but it gives me more reassurance on how fragile life is and how we need to cherish life and every breathe we take.

The Tribune was a special moment, but my grandma's illness supersedes everything. My grandma has provided me with so much help throughout my life. When my parents first divorced, my dad moved us in to her home in Riverwoods. She was a second mom to me and my brothers. I remember all of the wonderful trips we had with her and my Pappa Sy in Florida. My grandma is a powerful lady and her energy/spirit will live on forever no matter what happens to her physical body.

These emotions are serious. I don't take them lightly, but I also would never want my grandma to suffer. She deserves to be pain-free. I truly felt like sleeping at the hospital with her tonight because no one else will be there. I hope she wakes up to someone, but the fucking ICU can be one lonely place.

Ambition to living life is my shit and I put that on my name. I'm not trying to waste one minute let alone one day without protecting my happiness. Even with all of the access to the modern objets we have, we are still very primitive and live in a culture of survival of the fittest. I need to discover a community of supporters, where we can a family. S/O to random people who don't like to conform.

All Love,
Scott Emo

Chicago Therapy

6/17/2013

Yep, believe it or not, I see a therapist. I wonder how many other people see a therapist, but don't talk about it publicly. I respect that they don't because it'e their life and there are certain things people don't want exposed to others, but I am not that type of guy. I've lived a long enough life tied up in stupid lies, confusion, entanglement, and whatever other labels I can put on myself.

Here's the thing: There's nothing better than being honest and being truthful with yourself, I know the issue to be truthful to other people about certain thoughts, but if you give yourself the attention you deserve and share your thoughts in a constructive soft, gentle, bust serious manner, you will be fine - you can NEVER lose in that game. Listening (from the recipient is 50% if the battle for one to be honest, so make sure both parties in dialogue play their role at that specific moment. Don't forget that your listener will have reactions and emotions and be prepared to listen to their concerns as well - it's a 2-way street.

So, how did I start: A few weeks after mom passed, Lindsay recommended that I should talk to someone. I was at the lowest point in my life. I was depressed beyond comprehension, definitely had PASSIVE suicidal thoughts, and couldn't keep my shit together. I was fortunate enough to have a ton of support from Lindsay, great friends and family.

My therapist is awesome and I, like most, was a little skeptical, but it helped me, truly. I had to re-learn so many basics, like listening, coping, feeling feelings, etc. None of the work I do at therapy is easy, but it always pays off - no matter what.

Being happy is a lifestyle choice and a daily practice. It requires an effort to be happy and aware of your feelings. I am going to start a support group that focuses on providing an intimate platform for people to share their struggles in their life to one another. We all want to be emotionally wealthy, but I have not found a place to go (outside of my therapy) that I can go and meet people and learn about their issues and seeing if another person (within our group) can help be a solid support system for those who are in need. We all have issues, and I bet we can all benefit from each other's life experiences. More to come...

All love,
Scott Emo

Life Building a Talk Show - Day 15 Blog

6/13/2013

I didn't realize that I am an outlet for people to share their personal struggles. This is taking the talk show out of the picture and I am talking about personal relationships; my friends, family, colleagues, etc. I know I can help them, but I didn't think that I could be a go-to person for that. This is fucking awesome because I love helping people and sharing what I've learned over the years to help them overcome certain issues we all endure (frequently).

Here's the thing, I love people. I can carel less about someone's status, demographic, label, etc. People connecting on the basic level of human connection is what drives me to continue down the path of The Scott Emo Show.

Had an awesome day with my boy Daniel today. We interviewed the lovely and talented author, Janice Deal regarding how Jan left behind a full-time career and took the enormous risk of becoming a short-story writer. Here's what her husband and number one fan, David Deal posted on his FB page: "Scott is an amazingly energetic, skillful interviewer with a knack for finding inspiring stories across Chicago. Jan shared more than a few today, including how Queen's Ferry Press published her new short-story collection, "The Decline of Pigeons." I'll post the Q&A when live."

Daniel is working on the Jillian Conley book launch party video and it's looking awesome. I'd say it's the best work I've seen us to together - we had a blast and it showed on camera. Jillian has a lot of GREAT supporters and we captured the essence of who Jillian is on video. We can't wait to share it with you!

I just got home from my buddies going away party. I will miss him and his lovely wife a lot. They're moving to San Diego (a wales vagina) for 2-years to pursue new opportunities. Life is amazing once you open yourself up and not limit yourself with restrictions.

I am exhausted, but feeling blessed all at the same time.

All love,
Scott Emo

Life Building a Talk Show - Day 14 Blog

6/12/2013

The journey continues. I feel like I have so much going on, but it all feels under control right now. I took today to reflect and catch up on life. This day is definitely sponsored by Lindsay. When I was working at Edelman, she got me a gift certificate to Res Square Spa in Chicago - a Russian bathhouse filled with saunas, hot tub, cool tub, wifi, and obviously vodka. I am writing this blog entry right now at the bar, shiiiiiitttttttt..... Below is a video giving you an inside look to the spa. If you ever want to spend the day here, holla at me. It's a great way to work, let loose and work!

I invited the events editor from the Red Eye to one of our LIVE tapings. I hope to hear back from her soon. That would be awesome if The Scott Emo Show was published in the Red Eye! We are still waiting for the Tribune article to go through and once that is running, I will post it! Promoting and marketing the show is WAY harder than capturing the content. Building an audience is soooo hard, but this is where my energy goes and I must pay attention to my energy. I love the show as much as I love my own life, my family, etc. It's now officially part of my DNA.

It's not like I can stop this show - we have too much momentum and I would be LOST without it right now. Mad shout out to my man Daniel for taking the leap and working on a documentary for the show and my journey - should be WAY interesting to see what he comes up with. He's taking a lot of footage and it's all part of this path to where we all want to be, which is happy.

Here's one thing I need to do more of: socialize. No intentions of pushing the show, but the intention to meet and listen to people... Imagine that, a talk show host who doesn't love to socialize. It pushes me to be uncomfortable and that's cool!

I am starving. Currently I am listening to Pandora and jamming to my Buddha Bar station - very chill station and they play a lot of very relaxing and eclectic chill out music. If you have ever been to the Mondrian or a W hotel in a cool city, it's essentially the same music as what those hotels play.

I went to Buy Buy Baby with Lindsay and it wasn't bad because she knows my anxiety levels get really high when we go to those type of stores - how much stuff does a baby need?! WOW! Then, on top of that, there are over 100 brands and options to chose from. So, we were there for like 20 minutes -aint no thang. There's a lot of talk about this derecho here in Chicago, whatever that word means. I guess it's a type of weather pattern, i.e. a hurricane. If I don't write a blog tomorrow it's because I am drinking an horchata from heaven with my mom, papa sy, uncle stewy and many other loved one's!

Going to watch the Blackhawks tonight and kick it meatloaf style with some fingerling potatoes. And with that being said, be easy, be well and make moves like a BOSS!

All love,
Scott Emo

Life Building a Talk Show - Day 13 Blog

6/11/2013

I've been thinking about this a lot lately...

People get a buzz and then LA and NY call and entertainers leave the city of wind. I guess that is where the business takes place. When we interviewed Twista on our podcast I asked him that specific question: Why does every hip hop artists who gets on leave Chicago? Check out his response here. Also, if you'd like, subscribe to our podcast, we have a lot of great interviews there and a lot of cool things in the works!

Our goal is to spread the message as vast as possible, but we can also fill a huge void in Chicago and that is to make it a hub for national entertainment.

Who left

Kanye - gone
Fall Out Boy - gone
Oprah - gone
Common - gone
Rosie - gone

You get it. The Scott Emo Show is building our audience online, but we also are building our audience in Chicago by connecting with people and sharing real stories from Chicago people. I feel like there's a huge void in Chicago that needs to be filled or people will continue leaving to other major entertainment cities. Can we be the show that ignites the entertainment trend? I know we can!

All love,
Scott Emo

Life Building a Talk Show - Day 12 Blog

6/10/2013

The truth about starting up a talk show is that there a lot of ups and downs. I guess those emotions of happy, sad, uplifting, discouraged are all part of life in general. Today, I feel a block in my energy which is not allowing the creative juices to flow as naturally as I'd like them to be. So, how do I unblock this energy and open the floodgates?

Writing is one of the best tools I use to purge. We all need to release some of the blockage in our creative channels in order to gently release the tightly clenched grip that I can feel around my neck - and I need to dig deep in to my toolbox and to ask for help during this time.

Coming home from Portland was a harder transition back to this life than I thought. Grinding and hustling the talk show is really hard. Building an audience that cares about the same content you do is not easy, but there are highs and lows in life and the goal is to stay present and remember that if today is low, tomorrow can be high.

Getting high is a rush, right? That can be a metaphor for many things, but I am referring to the natural high of life - the times we feel like we're on cloud 9 without using a substance (even though everything is a substance). Is it ok to either be high or low? Or do we want to live in a medium in between both? Hard to call out now because my entire life has been based on highs and lows.

You might be confused on why I'm going on a tangent, but this is what helps me get unstuck and continue moving towards opening myself up. I chose to put my life in the public eye because I truly and sincerely hope that my feelings, my journey can help someone else out. Expect the truth and expect the DOG (DMX reference for my girl Justine) to bark when there's something wrong and to cuddle when something feels right.

Everyday challenges and obstacles are thrown our way (consciously or sub-consciously) and it's cool. You can't ignore it. You have to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that "Today I am feeling emotionally down." And that it is ok. I want to use this opportunity to write more, explore myself more and to continue down this path of greatness, but not everyday is going to be great.

I had a cool chat today with Dante Chestnut who's working on this cool campaign to assist inner-city kids that there are other options out there as opposed to street-violence. Violence can destroy not only the person who is inflicted with it, but also the person who performs the act. Believe it or not, we are all human, mistakes do happen and forgiveness is a huge thing to ask for when someone hurt someone you love(d).

Today I am grateful to pursue my dreams, I have a supportive wife, a baby cooking in the oven and I have no idea what tomorrow holds, but I am going to be honest and face it head on. Real is not perception, it's being real. It's sitting in shit and being ok with it. Say that again, sitting in shit is ok. Yea, it's fine and we all have the ability to clean ourselves up and to continue down the path we want. Choices can make or break someone, huh? Being selfish is so much easier than being selfless, but what good does that give us? To give or not to give.

Awareness is so crucial to one's emotional well-being. That is step 1 for anything in life. Understand there's something wrong and then you can fix using tools that work for YOU. Writing is just one of my tools. I am going to swim and sit in the hot tub today - that's another tool I have. I am going to meet up with Theo today and hang/work with him - being around good people is another tool I have. I have some oils that I smell to provide me with a little aromatherapy - also music is a huge mood changer as well.

Explore yourself, be gentle to yourself, but be honest with yourself.

All love,
Scott Emo

Life Building a Talk Show - Day 11 Blog

6/8/2013

Today could be a game changer for me and for the show.

I need to start off with how much I adore Portland, the people, the sense of community and all of the positive (grounded) energy that flows through this city. Lindsay and I went to the Colombian Gorge River today and had the opportunity to explore the Cascade Mountains, Multnomah Falls, Lake Oswego, and learned a vast amount Lewis and Clark (the settlers of the west). Kinda weird we just took land from the Native Americans - seems very savage and made me feel a little sad and embarrassed for whatever reason. Pics below if the amazing scenery - I know, solid transition to beauty, right?

I had the GREAT privilege to speak and connect with Greg Dorn this afternoon. I was talking to Greg while I was underneath this amazing waterfall at Multnomah Waterfalls - it was freaking majestic.

Greg writes for the Tribune and sincerely knows how to create a story. As someone who interviews people frequently, he was spot on and it was kinda refreshing to be interviewed than to interview. We scheduled a 10-15 minute call, but once the conversation got going, it ended up being a 40 + minutes. We talked about everything and he's going to be one successful dude. Mad love and mad props for Greg to reach out and for us to connect on a deeper level! Looking forward to seeing what he took from our convo and putting in print and online via one of the most iconic media outlets in Chicago.

We ended the night (and our trip) with an amazing dinner with our good friends (The Charlos) who drove in from Seattle to Portland just to have dinner and dessert with us. We had at a peruvian restaurant and had dellicious tapas - we then hit up Blue Star donuts and got nasty with some dessert and then hit up a chocolate shop and got even nastier with the chocolate - BOSS!

Lindsay and I haven't seen them in a while and it was so great to catch up, I have a feeling we will be back in the Pacific Northwest sooner than we think, Charlos, so be on the lookout for the Emo's!

Portland, you were great to us and I hope we were great to you.

All love,
Scott Emo

Life Building a Talk Show - Day 9 Blog

6/6/2013

Finished our June 27 show promo, check it out below.

Did you get your tickets yet? If not, get 'em here.

All the details are in the video, watch and love!

Here's the finished trailer video for our Tommy Chong Interview, if you actually read this part of the blog, you can listen to our entire podcast (it's up now) at www.TheScottEmoShow.com

Just saw one of our baby toys and realized that all it takes to keep a kids attention is stimulation, which made me think out me as an adult. I realized that my time is being occupied by what stimulates me and that allows me to love life, not sure if that is how it is for everyone, but not one day goes by where I am not thankful for this moment. That toy and a bunch of other subtle reminders that happened throughout the day reminded me to be present and to enjoy this moment - it's all we have.

All love,
Scott Emo

Life Building a Talk Show - Day 10 Blog

6/6/2013

I spent the entire day with Lindsay walking around Portland and embracing the culture and observing how community driven this city is. Everyone we have encountered has been so friendly, informative and patient, which is hard to come by. Sometimes it all makes sense and people and places show up at random times in your life, so you need to try and be open to all of the wonders the world has to offer. Oh yea, we also went to Powell's Book Store and I got this gnarly book Lindsay found for me. If you are interested in the book, holla at me on @TheScottEmoShow, call or email me and I will tell you the name of it.

We legitimately walked for 8 hours around the downtown area and Alberta. We saw the Rose Garden, Voodoo Donuts, the food truck pod area, rode the bus/train and then headed over to the Alberta Art District. Lindsay enjoyed her Salt and Straw ice cream and I went to a herbalist place and picked up some straight Kava - need to get my relax on, son.

This all applies to the show, for the simple fact that amazing people that are doing amazing things are everywhere. Here's my prime example: Lindsay and I met this guy who is houseless (not homeless) and on the corner of Burnside St. and where Chinatown starts - in downtown Portland. There's this houseless commune (everything is free) where they have tents couples can sleep in, guys and girls tents, washrooms and food. There's no smoking allowed on premise, no drugs or alcohol and if you get caught with it, you get kicked out.

The guy I met has his own little tent that he stays in permanently and had a job interview today, and I hope he gets it! He helps organize this mini-commune of houseless individuals and it was remarkable to see people helping each other out. The thing I love most about Portland is the sense of community and support. You feel it. He did say that he needs to turn people down every night. They also have security (from other people who are houseless (these permanent residences are called members) and they secure the premise at all times. This allows houseless people to sleep with no one stealing their belongings.

Here's another random example. We stopped in front of the rail looking at the map and couldn't figure out how to get to Alberta, so some random lady stopped and asked if we needed help (obvi we did) and she told us exactly what we needed to do in order to get to Alberta. It was amaze-balls!

Cheers to another day filled with memories!

All love,
Scott Emo