June 16, 2004

DIY Bloomsday

As you probably know if you looked at Google's header graphic today, today's the 100th anniversary of Leopold Bloom's ramble around Dublin, as chronicled in James Joyce's "Ulysses". Celebrate Bloomsday tonight at the Red Lion Pub (2446 N. Lincoln, across from the Biograph) with a "do-it-yourself Bloomsday reading" performed open-mike style in three-minute increments. The fun goes from 7:00 to 9:00 tonight, admission is $3, and it's 21+. So even if you can't completely follow Joyce's text, you can still drink.

- jma | 16.06.04 ~ Books/Authors

Gentlemen, Cleanse Your Palates

This Saturday the world's finest competitive eaters will converge in Downer's Grove for the Bacci World Pizza Eating Championship. On the line will be the $2,500 in prize money, and the ultra-prestigious title of World Pizza Eating Champion. This will be the first IFOCE-sanctioned Chicago event (that’s the International Federation of Competitive Eating), and will draw a panel of competitors that includes Ed "Cookie" Jarvis, world ice cream eating champion, among other contenders.

- ash | 16.06.04 ~ Eating/Drinking

"We Play Anything"

WRZA-FM, 99.9 on your radio dial, changed formats yesterday. It's now known as Nine FM, and is playing a mix of rock, pop, hip-hop and soul. We'll have to see if WXRT, who used to play "everything in no particular order." (No word on whether RZA will have anything to do with the station.)

- ah | 16.06.04 ~ Radio/TV

Lincoln Thru a Lens

If you've been soaking up all of this fine photography weather in Lincoln Park (the big grassy area by the lake, not the neighborhood) you might already be a winner. The Chicago Parks District and Lincoln Park Cultural Center are sponsoring an amateur photography contest this summer for people snapping shots of Lincoln Park. Categories include people, places, animals, and plants. You can pick up an application at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center and submit photos anytime before June 30.

- ash | 16.06.04 ~ Photography

Outdoor Theater (in a good way)

The Chicago Park District's Theater on the Lake season opens tonight. Every summer, the Park District invites a group of local theatre companies to remount one of the past season's productions at the open-air theater on the lakeshore at Fullerton Ave. It's a great way to catch a show you may have missed. The season kicks off with Griffin's production of Picnic; later you'll find offerings from the Neo-Futurists, Second City, The House, and Teatro Luna, among others. Full schedule here.

- kv | 16.06.04 ~ Theatre/Dance

Best of the Best: Spaces

The Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects released a survey completed by AIA Chicago members on what buildings and spaces are the best in the city. Some are predictable (Millennium Park) and some are relatively new (Sofitel). The Sun-Times has more. [via Gigantic]

- nh | 16.06.04 ~ Outdoors/Environment

Apes in the House

Finally, the apes have moved in to their new home in Lincoln Park Zoo. The Tribune reports that the gorillas as well as a group of seven chimps from Florida's Lion Country Safari have settled in, to be joined by the zoo's five-member chimp troop scheduled to return next week. A while back, the new habitat was tested for any chances the animals might get out of their pen, and changes were made to the design, but only time, and monkey know-how will tell. The exhibit opens to the public July 1.

- ash | 16.06.04 ~ In the News

The Magnificent Ambersons at the Music Box

The Music Box's Orson Welles Weekend Matinee Series starts rolling on June 19 & 20 at 11:30am with The Magnificent Ambersons, one of the few instances I can say that I've read the novel yet not seen the movie -- no film lover should miss seeing this on the big screen. His follow-up to Citizen Kane, Welle's adaptation of Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1918 novel, tells the story of a bratty rich kid who eventually gets the comeuppance he deserves against the backdrop of a rapidly changing, late 19th century America. While widely considered "mutilated" by studio cuts, my dad says it was still really good.

- gm | 16.06.04 ~ Film

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