January 21, 2004

Call to Protect

Did you get a new cell phone recently? Or maybe you have a bag of cell phones that you don't know what to do with. There's nothing wrong with them, they're just. . . not cool anymore. Well, Call To Protect is willing to take them all off your hands. They'll then be refurbished and given to domestic violence victims who need phone access or sold to raise money for domestic violence prevention programs. There are plenty of drop-off places in Chicago. Alderman Vi Daley is the only alderman who is participating in the program.

- | 21.01.04 ~ Resources

Chicago Works

Bailiwick Repertory Theatre opens the second segment of its 16th annual Directors' Festival next week. "Chicago Works" features new works or Midwest premieres by Chicago playwrights. This segment of the fest runs January 26-28 and February 2-4, at 7:30 each night. See Slowdown listings for each night's program and ticket info.

- kv | 21.01.04 ~ Theatre/Dance

Obit: Ray Rayner

The Chicago Tribune reports that Chicago television personality Ray Rayner has died at the age of 84. Rayner is best known for his role as Oliver O. Oliver, the character he played on WGN's famous "Bozo's Circus" show, as well as his 1971-1981 show "Ray Rayner and His Friends," which delighted kids with such characters as Chelveston the Duck and Cuddley Duddley. Rayner left Chicago in 1981 to become a weatherman in Albuquerque. [Trib. login: gapers/gapers]

- jma | 21.01.04 ~ People/Sightings

Selling out with style

Phineas X. Jones, inimtable maker of photocollages is selling out in true style. Buy one of his classic photocollages. If you need to seem them in person, they're up for this month over at Uncommon Ground on Grace.

- nh | 21.01.04 ~ Photography

Passion in the suburbs

On Tuesday Mel Gibson sneaked into South Barrington to screen The Passion of Christ, his controversial new film about the death of Jesus. A hand-picked crowd of 4,300 people -- most of them Christian pastors -- loved the film.

- jma | 21.01.04 ~ Film

Daley Calls for Illinois Caucus

Da Mare is at it again: he's now saying it's time for Illinois -- the whole Midwest, actually -- to abandon the primary and move to a caucus system like Iowa. "If the national Democratic Party is going back to a caucus [system], let's all go with caucuses. Let every state do their own caucus and let the state party pick up the cost and not the taxpayers. . . . You're not wasting taxpayers' money. Do all caucuses. Let the party run it. . . . I wish they could do that. It would be a much easier system and you'd save an enormous amount of money. An enormous amount of money is wasted."

- ah | 21.01.04 ~ Politics/Activism

CUFF calls for entries

Attention film-makers! The Chicago Underground Film Festival is now taking entries for this year's festival. They're looking for films that 'dissent radically in form, technique, or content from the "indie" mainstream.' The deadline for application is May 1, so you've got less than 4 months to get your indie self together!

- jma | 21.01.04 ~ Film

It's For You

Local IDM duo Telefon Tel Aviv got a great write-up in this week's Village Voice. "Every track on their second album carefully limns the silhouettes' enveloping absence of trust ('I Lied'), love ('Nothing Is Worth Losing That'), and memory ('What It Was Will Never Again')."

- ah | 21.01.04 ~ Music/Clubs

O'Hare leading in fired screeners

O'Hare is near the top of another list, only this one isn't so great. The Sun-Times reports that O'Hare and Los Angeles International Airport lead the nation in firing federal government screeners that were hired with incomplete background checks, and then had to be let go after subsequent checks found problems. Even Midway had problems in the past months with having to fire screeners. Just one more thing to be wary of as you stand in line for your next flight.

- jma | 21.01.04 ~ Transportation

  ^ Top of page  |  Content © 2003 - 2026 Gapers Block All rights reserved.