Unless this is some word-of-mouth, Tweet-of-type publicity stunt, local Wilmette band Fall Out Boy is contemplating a permanent hiatus, as evident in bassist Pete Wentz's blog. While their fans share inspiring stories, pop blogs are skeptical.
I'm trying to envision the look on the face of a lost tourist as the owner of this tattoo of the CTA train map gives him directions by taking off her shoe. (Thanks, James!)
The CPD is now sending out safety alerts, CAPS meeting info and other announcements by text and email using Nixle.com. But what's Nixle doing claiming copyright over public information?
Early 20th Century graphic designer Lester Beall--educated and employed in Chicago for many years--was a trailblazer who created an immediately recognizable look for his work that incorporated modernist notions imported from the Bauhaus and other art movements. Here's a site devoted to the man and his ideas.
Threadless and Coudal Partners have joined forces (like Voltron) to create a special set of Field Notes. You can win a set of your own this weekend in their lil contest.
If you've got a great new design on your mind for some temporary outdoor furniture, the Chicago chapter of Architecture for Humanity wants to hear from you. They're sponsoring a street furniture competition, with entries due by February 26th. Check out this PDF for further guidelines. (Via the Reader blog.)
Chicago blogs I Hate My Developer and Young Chicagonista have been nominated for Weblog Awards, or "Bloggies." I Hate My Developer is in the "Best Kept Secret Weblog" category while Young Chicagonista is competing for "Best Teen Weblog." Voting is open until January 31, 2010 at http://2010.bloggies.com.
Yesterday Apartment Therapy's House Tours section featured FofGB George and Sara Aye's beautiful Logan Square home. You might remember George shot amazing photos from Pitchfork in Transmission in years past, and the couple run the company Hubwear, among other projects.
Not that anybody should be surprised by anything he says, but Bill O'Reilly's latest head-scratching proclamation (via Huffington Post) may have South Siders a little miffed.
It's a meme -- and an edict -- that's traveling the globe, thanks to a Chicago blogger who scanned his autistic nephew's hand-drawn sign.
There's a debate raging on the campus of the University of Chicago. No, not "evolution vs. creation" or anything like that. It's what to call their new cafe/mini-mart. (BTW, the suggestion above is binary for "7-11", but that might be legally stepping on toes.)
For those creatively inclined Valentine's Day lovers, Andersonville and Lakeview card and frame shops Foursided and Twosided want to see your best handmade Valentine's cards. Winner gets $50 gift certificate. Deadline 2/7. Details and rules.
Looks like Chicago had a low showing of talent on yesterday's "American Idol" auditions -- only 13 made the cut. While showcasing our wild and foul-mouthed side, "Idol" has Chicago Breaking News wondering how some Windy City contestants were filmed in front of palm trees and the Amway Center in Orlando.
New CTA safety postings are urging riders to report "excessive photography/ filming," equating it to "unattended packages" or "noxious smells or smoke." This, understandably disturbs photographer and activist blogger Carlos Miller, and here's why.
The African Sausage Tree (Kigelia africana) at the Lincoln Park Conservatory is bearing 20-pound fruits. Fun fact: the fresh "sausage" is poisonous, causes mouth blisters, and acts as a laxative. No sampling.
Thanks to Malik Yusef, a South Side Harold's Chicken Shack location now contains an official platinum record.
Apparently, "The more body art you have, the more likely you are to be involved in deviance." At least, that's what a recent study briefly profiled by the Tribune's Steve Johnson says.
The Reader's Cliff Doerksen has tracked down a handful of newspaper clippings regarding a very peculiar crime wave in 1920s Chicago.
Tim Steil's Chicago A to Z.
If you're still in search of a 2010 calendar for your wall, the CTA has a free one for download. It's chock-full of pictures from throughout the CTA's history, plus lots of glorious Helvetica.
For those seeking to turn a blind eye to doom and gloom stories, the Tribune brings readers the Happy News page, modestly covering the found-dreams-and-little-miracles beat. For a trip back to reality, click here.
According to their latest Twitter posts, The Hood Internet (or possibly just DJ STV SLV) are caught up in a security lockdown at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Update: They're out!
If you're interested in temporary work, the 2010 US Census is looking for applicants to be census takers starting this spring. An informational session and qualifying exam will be held tonight and tomorrow at 7pm at the Wicker Park Fieldhouse, 1425 North Damen.
John Rininger was a local artist who passed away a few years ago at the age of 45. Wicker Park/Quimby's old-timers might remember him for his stamp art in particular. Marc Fischer paid a visit to John back in 2001 when Rininger was disposing of many of his possessions. He's since posted the story, and a selection of scans of the odd, disturbing, and thought-provoking materials he recovered, on his Flickr page. UPDATE: More here; thanks Salem.
What was Chicago like in the mid-century for the city's African American community? Unknown Chicago takes a look at the fast-growing and segregated "Black Belt," and the harsh housing conditions.
Patrick Rea of Tinley Park was just recently elected the grand master of the International Knights Templar. Until he resumes his post officially next November, he'll be happy to tell you where the Holy Grail is. [via]
Tiny Miller Park Zoo in downstate Bloomington is selling a unique holiday accoutrement: ornaments made of reindeer dung. Don't laugh; they've made $20,000 off of them.
Yes, you can even eat the lions at the Art Institute's Gingerseum.
A Beluga whale has been born at the Shedd for the second time in a week. This time the calf is 5 feet 6 inches long and weighs 152 pounds. UPDATE: Unfortunately, the calf did not survive past its first day.
Flickr user lauren*o pointed us to a sign printed by ExploreChicago.org. Not only does the Arabic version of the word "welcome" appear incorrectly (it should look like this), but the Polish and Korean words for welcome appear twice. [Thanks Lauren!]
A century ago, Bell & Howell's (click the Company History tab!) HQ and factory was located on Larchmont Avenue, where they made Filmo movie cameras. Tough, dependable, and, in some cases, quite lovely, Filmo cameras were the preferred brand among filmmakers in the early days of motion pictures.
Chicagoans appear to be imbued with holiday spirit and decorating like mad fools. Local retailers report that decorative lights have been flying off the shelves this season.
Congratulations to Puiji, a Beluga whale at the Shedd Aquarium, who gave birth yesterday morning at 6:36am. The calf is 5 feet 4 inches long and weighs 162 pounds. No word yet on a name. [via]
It's not exactly B.J. and the Bear, but a former Chicago and his animal friend are on a journey west for fortune and charity.
Chicago magazine's Jeff Ruby hates New York in song.
True/Slant columnist James Finn Garner tells us why we should hurry up and put Chicago 2009 in our rearview mirror.
U of C philosophy professor Martha Nussbaum talked to The New York Times Magazine about ideas, faith, and leather.
Some of you have probably given Jamba Juice a lot of your money over the years. Now the company will give something back to Chicago: free skating at Millennium Park this Saturday (for the first 200 people).
The Huffington Post's been busy networking major American cities' Twitter presence, with Chicago growing pretty fast in Local News, Sports and People list categories. See if your favorite Twitterers made the cut, if not suggest them.
Writer, director, actor and DePaul alum John Cabrera shares a memory from his illustrious temping career in Chicago.
Speaking of Ira Glass, here he is in LEGO form. (A couple more Chicago/Illinois faces in the CubeDudes flickr pool, too.)
Funsherpa promises to help you find fun experiences that make good gifts for you or someone else.
But it's easily as funny and/or offensive.
The first Left 4 Dead videogame featured a bit of graffiti stating: "NO ZOMBIE IS SAFE FROM CHICAGO TED" (allegedly based on similar, nastier graffiti found in an Indianian men's room). Thank God for the Internet. Despite not appearing in the actual game (or its sequel), Ted has developed a mysterious and vicious zombie-killing legend nonetheless. Who is Chicago Ted? We may never know. But we can imagine.
A bizarre hobby has locals playing with lightning, or rather, Tesla coils straight out of Dr. Frankenstein's lab. The Tribune looks into these Masters of Lightning and this shocking sect of pop culture.
Unfortunately they're sold out, but what's the story with these Hot Chip t-shirts featuring R.Kelly in a DEVO hat? [via]
John Paro is a med student at the University of Chicago. He also has a web site, MedSchoolRock, that "is dedicated to bringing entertaining and informative songs/videos about medical education." [via]
Insider Chicago is a new publication by Medill School of Journalism students, aiming to be your guide to Chicagoland.
Gwen Sharp of Sociological Images came across a piece on the Los Angeles Times Daily Mirror site showing drawings and names of Chicago women who postponed their traditional Thanksgiving dinner on November 25, 1909 so they could meet British Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst at the train station and escort her to the Congress Hotel. What a radical idea, to postpone a holiday meal by five hours so you could meet a politically active woman. (Thanks, Sue Strauss!)
Per CBS, Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for Chicago plumbers. Sinks and garbage disposals are crammed with the distasteful likes of turkey skin, bones, ham grease, vegetable chunks, and more. The likeliest sink-jamming culprits? Out-of-town guests.
Yarn-lovers, start your needles. The folks who brought you the fabulous Threadcakes competition are now sponsoring a Threadless-tee inspired knitting/crocheting contest called Threadknits. Now through January 16th. Details and rules online.
Dave Lamoureux spends most of the year as a futures and options trader in Chicago, but he sets world records catching bluefin tuna from a kayak on the Atlantic, unassisted.
Jessica Reaves of the Chicago News Cooperative explains.
If you're a whiz with your W2s, the Center for Economic Progress has volunteer opportunities to help low-income families prepare their taxes. Last year, their volunteers did over 33,000 returns and brought back $52 million in refunds for families across Illinois.
Local band The Lust Killers have an interesting gimmick to promote their Chicago shows.
Local fitness guru Stephanie Mansour of Step It Up with Steph thinks you can get in exercise anytime, anyplace. Like when you're waiting for the no. 22 Clark street bus.
Careful of that Chicago lightning, longhairs, or you could end up in a Chicago overcoat.
Newly disclosed documents reveal that the FBI tracked Studs Terkel as a suspected communist for much of his life. His complete file is available in this (rather large) PDF.
Esquire magazine talked to Rolling Meadows' Bryan Anderson, an Iraq War veteran, for their Veterans' Day "What I've Learned" column.
Twenty-five students from a middle school in Gresham were arrested for reckless conduct last week after starting a food fight.
If you've enjoyed the Audissey podcast tour of Chicago or recommended it to a tourist in your life, check out their entry in the Forbes Boost Your Business contest.
Local musician and co-editor of THE2NDHAND C.T. Ballentine left his McKinley Park apartment on Friday afternoon and has not been heard from since. If you're able to help locate him, his friends have set up a Facebook group for the search. UPDATE: Looks like C.T. has been found.
For the first time in decades the Christmas tree in Daley plaza will be a single spruce. This year's was found in the wilds of Palos Heights.
Check out this website devoted to pictures of Chicago-style food. It won't help your situation, but it sure is beautiful.
Don't believe the traffic reporters or myriad online maps? Well then see for yourself. TrafficLand has expanded to Chicago.
Wondering what Chicago's President™ would be wearing to match this week's weather? Obama-Weather.com has your answer.
About 28 years ago a fellow by the name of Dan Goodwin scaled both the John Hancock Center and the Sears Tower and a few other famous skyscrapers. Now he's back with a book. Look out! There goes the Spider Dan!
Sarah Perez's Longo Monster costume came in third for "Scariest Costume" at the 13th Annual North Halsted Halloween Parade this weekend. She tells Boing Boing about how her creation came about.
Playboy makes a cameo appearance in what I think is a spec work ad for FAO Schwarz. [via]
Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me host Peter Sagal is sure to spook the neighbors (or give them a good laugh) with his "traditional" Halloween display.
Dillon is a four year old English bulldog. He is also Director of Pet Relations at the Hotel Burnham.
We Are Supervision blog shows a series of old '70s and '80s Chicago gang calling cards. Crudely drawn, sometimes offensive, and frequently opaque, they're also quite compelling.
Belated congratulations to Chicagoans Elena Bodnar, Raphael C. Lee, and Sandra Marijan, winners of the 2009 Ig Nobel Prize in Public Health. The team designed "a brassiere that, in an emergency, can be quickly converted into a pair of protective face masks, one for the brassiere wearer and one to be given to some needy bystander." Click here to see a complete list of 2009 winners (as well as an awesome picture of Nobel laureates including Paul Krugman wearing the bra-mask). [via]
Get some information on H1N1 and seasonal flu resources at this growing flu.gov site. The Illinois page also has links to state resources.
Last night's "Ghost Lab" on the Discovery Channel featured the (alcoholic?) ghosts of Liar's Club.
Grubstreet Chicago is (justifiably) wondering what the hell is going on in this advertisement for the Dana Hotel's Aja restaurant. Fans of sci-fi/horror B-movies know all too well what's coming next. Let's rock, before we blast that thing out of the sky!
The Sears Tower is the centerpiece of this magnificent commercial rendering. Enjoy. (P.S. Call it what you will, but I'm sticking with "Sears Tower" for now.)
A betrayed lover turns the tables in the latest edition of Keep Going.
It's official: playing ringtones in public doesn't infringe copyright. Looks like it might be time for Chicago's DJs to learn how to beatmatch that noise.
Please watch "Mike G's Rules for Better Dining", a video from Michael Gebert of Sky Full of Bacon inspired by Michael Pollan's dietary rules recently featured in the New York Times.
The A.V. Club Chicago just went through a redesign, and thinks there are a few other Chicago sites that could use a freshening up.
Meet The Bra Man. He collects bras. No, really, bras. He has more than a thousand of them. Yeah, we know. But it's for a good cause, so...yeah.
A couple of bike-loving gals filmed this video on stopping and starting a bicycle. Includes outtakes.
Chicago resident Nite Kongtahworn created a mosaic of Marilyn Monroe with paint chips in his Lakeview condo. He was inspired by this Apartment Therapy post on pixelated painting.
Here's a 1987 Chicago Tribune spot featuring the great Mike Royko at the Billy Goat Tavern. The sound seems a touch off at the beginning--Royko sounds a little like Barry White.
Listen to Elucidations, a podcast started by two graduate students in philosophy at the U of C. They talk to professors about their work, "covering a range of topics from the theoretical to the practical, including perception, moral motivation, and sexual orientation."
Whether you're for Rio, Madrid, Tokyo, or Chicago, your Olympic fervor (and addiction to Twitter) could win you a trip to one of the finalist cities from travel social media app Where I've Been. Check Facebook for more details.
Add another voice to the ones supporting the 2016 Olympics for Chicago, only this one might be a little sarcastic. (Note: The support comes from a "columnist" for the infamous Weekly World News so take it with a big fat grain of salt.)
On Yelp, reviews of the Broadway and Lawrence branch of the USPS are, uh, mixed: "Just writing about this place forces me to relive all my nightmarish experiences there. I need to drink some herbal tea just to calm down." And: "I wonder what they do with all my mail they don't deliver? Do they just throw it out?" There's much, much more.
Like candy and NASCAR? Satisfy both cravings when racer Kyle Bush hands out free Mars chocolate bars next Thursday at Pioneer Plaza. Why the free candy? Well, apparently Chicago was voted the city most in need of "sweet relief". Whatever, just hand over the Snickers.
No, Instant Bueller. (Reminds me of something.)
The MacArthur Foundation announced its 2009 Fellows, who will receive a no-strings-attached $500k check just for being...a genius. No Chicagoans in the bunch, but John Rogers, a UIUC physics professor, made the list for his contributions to flexible electronics devices.
Speaking of the Olympics, here's another site for the anti- crowd: Chicagoans for Rio. [via]
Will Chicago be the victim of a nuclear terrorist attack on Sept. 22? At least one person thinks so.
The Oprah effect may go beyond books, products, musicians. The next episode on the continuing saga of "It's Oprah's world and we just live in it": Local restaurants and certain chefs are seeing an Oprah bump, according to 312 Dining Diva.
Baffling. Two marble statues of the Hindu gods Shiva and Parvati turned up in the DuPage River. Local Hindu temples report that their statues are all accounted for.
Harnessing the freaky cool power of Google Maps, the Tutor/Mentor Connection shows Chicagoans where to find tutor and mentor programs. But it also goes way further, showing maps of poorly performing schools, crime in the news, and even support groups like churches and universities, all to pinpoint areas in which organizations should create and nurture tutor and mentor programs.
Restaurant.com is offering super-reduced prices for their gift certificates, for use at hundreds of Chicago-area restaurants. The fine print is here.
Columbia College's Conversations in the Arts packs quite a wallop in its fifth year with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone (speaking Oct. 6), Huffington Post Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington and director Mira Nair scheduled to address media trends at the free series. RSVP info in Slowdown.
What (Lake Michigan, apparently) sharks dream about. (Warning: One naughty word.)
Guinness and the Mayor's Office of Special Events ruled the Grant Park showing of the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup broke the record for most people wearing Groucho glasses (4,436 frames) at one time on July 21.
A result of the economy, a lack of nursing graduates, and a possible wave of nurses retiring from the field, more of these health care professionals are needed, and Chicago is no exception.
Coudal points us to a fantastic Budweiser commercial shot on the El (mostly the Brown Line), for the Irish beer drinking market if the URL attached to it is any indication. UPDATE: The Sun-Times gets the backstory on the ad.
Time Out takes a look at the secret life of the Chicagoan bomb squad technician, pot dealer, fantasy specialist, sensual masseuse, well, you get the idea.
Step carefully when visiting the dolphin show at Brookfield Zoo. A woman filed a lawsuit against the Brookfield Zoo regarding a spill she took leaving the dolphin show. Her complaint is that the dolphins have been "willfully and recklessly" trained to make the steps slippery. (Via Chicago Now)
I learned something new about the Illinois State Bar Association when I was asked to be a reference for a hopeful future lawyer. I needed to go to the website for the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar in order to do that. What's the website, you ask? ibaby.org. That's right: iBaby. Apparently, it stands for "Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar ... and You," but I can't say I was overwhelmed with confidence by their domain name choice.
A captivating anecdote in the bar of the Chicago Ritz-Carlton leads off this 1993 profile of the magician turned actor Ricky Jay, dug up in the New Yorker archives by Kottke.org.
Novella Carpenter found a vacant lot in her Oakland, Calif. neighborhood and started planting. Her memoir about this DIY urban farm was just profiled in Flavorpill. And according to her blog, she'd love to take her knowledge on the road in October and teach workshops about urban farming all over the country (including Chicago). So pony up your couch or some cash and help bring her here.
The New York Times Dining section reports on last year's banning of ice cream trucks from the 18th Ward and modern parents annoyed with ice-cream-demanding toddlers and chain-smoking, shirtless, and burping ice cream vendors.
For foodies and boozers around Chicago, Wait Watcher tweets wait times at key restaurants and bars. Developed by the Onion's AV Chicago section, local restaurant-goers can text or call in wait times to help their fellow diners.
Yep, that's all Life Magazine has to say about this odd series of photographs from 1962. Nonetheless, that's one angry bird.
A handy checklist of things you should do in the city. [via]
WGN-TV Feature Reporter Marcus Leshock caught this guy getting really into a DJ set at Lollapalooza last weekend. (Thanks, Brett!)
Sue, the Field Museum's T-Rex, is on Twitter, tweeting about meat-eating, being an apex predator, and her repulsively tiny forearms (which, apparently, text just fine). She also plans to be at the Air and Water Show. (Via.)
Uptown Update has some amazing video of a street brawl that broke out around 9pm Wednesday night. (via)
The Trib's John Kass points to a Facebook group "Lakeview 911" that was created this month to gather "concerned citizens" who want to connect about the recent muggings in the neighborhood. Remember EveryBlock is also a great local resource on crime stats relative to your street, no matter where you live in the city.
The Fineprint has some neat t-shirts for showing Chicago pride. Case in point: this shirt featuring a takeoff of Harold's Chicken Shack's famous "dude chasing after a chicken with a meat cleaver" logo. [via]
Cool! Here are "10 Awesome Images That Are Actually Paintings," including a nifty image of the Damen El station. And here's an even closer look.
North Shore blogger Poppy Buxom bought every issue of Domino magazine after the title folded earlier this year. Maybe if she'd done it earlier Domino might still be in business? Anyway, she's reading every issue - from Spring/Summer 2005 to March 2009 - and blogging about it over at The Dominotrix.
These Chicago-centric designs by Vic Sanchez are pretty sweet. [via]
Hey, Chicago music/bowling fans! Just a few hours left to order a special shirt titled "Bring Back the Fireside" at RIPT Apparel. [via]
Windy City Rock points us to a nifty deal at Reverbnation.com where 1,000 songs are now available for free download, including tunes from several Chicago bands.
Minutes before he was arrested last December, Rod Blagojevich was bumped from appearing on the Today Show in a one-on-one interview with Matt Lauer because far more important news had to be announced...Jay Leno's new television show (which premieres September 14, Rod!).
A Chicago man is accused of stealing more than $45,000 worth of eyeglasses from suburban Milwaukee stores. Why, and again, why? The complaint quotes the accused as saying he "really likes to be around glasses."
July was the coldest it's been in Chicago in 65 years, with an average temp of 68.9°. If you use (or rather didn't use) the AC, look for savings on your electric bills. [via]
Michelle Obama's fashion confidant Ikram Goldman was interviewed to get a handle on which designers Mrs. O. will be wearing in the future. Alexander McQueen, your moment's coming.
Local podcast North & Clark holds a microphone to Chicagoans who don't often make the media spotlight: grown-up graffiti kids, riot-surviving activists, anthropologists digging into the free-for-all emerald trade, and more. Produced by Casey Brazeal.
Google has new comics themes for iGoogle, including work by former and current Chicago cartoonists Dan Clowes, Jessica Abel, and Jeffrey Brown
If you're a Cute Chicago Boy, watch out! You might just end up on the interweb.
While CTA President Richard Rodriquez canceled the weird company car benefit for CTA employees this week, he insists on keeping a car for himself and driving to work everyday. Local blogs are debating the intelligence of the move, with CTA Tattler defending Rodriquez's family time and Chicago Carless ripping him a new one.
The New York Times Magazine profile of Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett is up: "The executive didn't know that the 'feel' ran deeper than policy -- that it was about trust: if Valerie Jarrett told Barack Obama that something was the right thing to do, he would very likely do it."
VF Daily's Society & Style blog asked some of the country's top chefs to take on the recipes of the late, great Julia Child. Chicago's own Graham Elliot Bowles presents a terrine based on Child's vichyssoise.
First the NYT gave struggling clothing store Jake the business, now the Wall Street Journal is lamenting the days when Evanston wasn't full of chain stores and had some personality (but gives a nice report about the state of retail in Andersonville).
Just in time for the Pitchfork Music Festival, it's the latest edition of Hipster Bingo!
No idea this existed: Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City, a 1994 game for the Super Nintendo. [via]
As if the city didn't have enough problems with gangs and violence, now we're being accused of outsourcing our gang activity to Iowa.
Via Christopher J. in the Fuel thread, behold Wesley Willis Tower. Awesome.
This year's CNN Money's Best Places to Live rankings are out, and Illinois small towns only garnered 3 of the top 100 spots. Batavia, Buffalo Grove, and downstate Glen Carbon made the list, but none broke the top 50.
As if your life wasn't enough of a soap opera, you can now follow a real one on Twitter: "Chicago to Coronado" chronicles the love triangle between a former Chicago ad agency CEO and two Navy SEALs on Coronado Island, California.
There's just a few short weeks left for you to nominate your favorite places in Chicago for MPC's Placemaking contest. We wrote about this great project when it started, but now's your chance to share your favorites.
This year's Layer Tennis season comes to a close today at 2pm with a championship match between designers Shaun Inman and Gregory Hubacek. (Neither is from Chicago, but that's OK -- the stadium is.)
The A.V. Club was kind enough to make an inventory of all the things R. Kelly wants, as detailed in his new mix-tape, The Demo Tape. It's hard to pick a favorite because they're all kind of awesome.
Poet Todd Heldt has one of the more interesting Chicago-related tattoos I've seen. [via]
Uh, I don't want to panic anyone or anything, but... um... there's a big old monitor lizard running around Libertyville right now. No, really. Well, we can't say the Dead Milkmen didn't warn us.
Stuck at the office? Play a little Bike Salute Memory, based on Dubi Kaufmann's Bike Salute site.
Bureau of Self-Promotion: I wrote an article about coyotes in Chicago and an undeveloped parcel of land at 16th and Clark a few have chosen to make their home. Part two next week.
Our own Jim Allenspach created a series of fake covers for the popular 33 1/3 book series, exploring some of the worst possible album/author combinations. His set hass started making the rounds on blogs and spawned at least one imitator -- and now has inspired the publisher to run a contest for humorous covers.
Seen the new Burger King ad that manages to evoke a certain sexual act? The 312 Dining Diva points us to the newest offender in desperate advertising.
The Hyde Park Urbanist takes a look at the verge - "that strip between the sidewalk and the street" - on a stretch of East 57th Street.
These clever pillows from CraftSquatch (local artist/ crafter Justin Thomas) won't make all your online dreams come true, but they will give you something to rest your social-media weary head upon when your interwebs are down.
A member of the Navajo Nation is becoming a unique presence as a designer in the fashion world, with a showing of her work in the Chicago area.
Graphic designer Jax de Leon created a graphic representation of Come on, Feel the Illinoise! by Sufjan Stevens as her final student project. Some really cool stuff in there. [via]
Love Chicago so much you want to put it in your pocket and take it home? Now you can. [via] (Previously.)
Locally produced Hot Tweeters should eat up some of your time on a rainy afternoon.
Was "Family Matters" your favorite sit-com located in Chicago? Then you may be interested in this video made during a visit to the Winslow house. [via]
Northwestern's journalism school wants students to not clog inboxes when talking about Twitter, so they've provided a 1970s-esqe way of facilitating discussion.
Launched today, RIPT Apparel is a Chicago-based t-shirt retailer selling one-of-a-kind shirts designed by a community of artists. The beauty is that a single design is sold over a 24-hour period only; it is then retired, replaced and the cycle repeats.
Scotty Got An Office Job, the video blog started by local actor/musician/tech guy Scotty Iseri, takes a surprising turn as Scotty's boss finds the videos online.
So now that you're using Kanye Vision to dress up your web browser, you're probably ready to dress like the man himself. Kanye shares 10 fashion picks with Style.com. [via]
While I occasionally stumble upon a fire in progress, I never thought about how there might be a company dedicated to collecting photos and video from Chicagoland fires -- and then setting them to music.
Friday is National Donut Day. This is important because it means a free Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donut for all. It IS the best day of your life.
Explore Chicago's new game Chicago Neighborhood Express allows you to wander through different neighborhoods on-line.
If you thought air guitar was titillating, you're gonna get schooled. The World Air Sex Championships are going on tour, and coming to Chicago June 14 at Logan Square Auditorium. Yes, that means contestants get up on stage and do it (fully clothed) with the air. Want to show how you can rock the air's world? Contact chris@airsexworldchampionships.com.
Want to give your place that perfect 60s or 70s countercultural ambience? Lead Pipe Posters has original prints (some with Chicago themes) of the black light, hippie-dippie, up-against-the-wall-pig, muggle-huffing ilk quite possibly still hanging up in your trippy uncle's basement. Guess there's nothing left to be said but...
Chicago artist Kathryn Rodrigues offers an A-to-Z size comparison of the United States to (almost) every other country over on Radical Cartography.
Dancing with Brides is like "Dancing With The Stars" only for regular folks who aren't quite so addicted to spray tanning and glitter. Sorta. Brides Magazine's instructional dance workshop for couples comes to The Drake Hotel on Sunday, May 31. Not only can prospective brides and grooms learn some smooth first dance moves, they may also get a chance to win $10,000. Check Slowdown for details.
What happens when a toy escapes the Island of Misfit Toys and can't make a go of it? They end up down and out in the City of Sad Toys, of course. The Windy City is creepily represented by a bevy of naked Barbies hanging by their hair.
If you're in the market, the infamous Highland Park home featured in Ferris Bueller's Day Off is available at the bargain price of $2.3 million. [via]
The Chicago feds have rigged up a Web site alerting citizens about bank robbery suspects. The nicknames alone are worth a look.
Was this U of C student's column about the springtime sartorial choices of his fellow Maroons sexist and misogynistic? That may depend on which version you've read.
Even if you're not that interested in the topic, these "sketchnotes" by Mike Rohde at the Society of News Designers meeting this weekend are pretty darn cool.
Chicagoan and former "Bachelorette" Jen Schefft got married Friday night. Zzzzzz.
Cecil Adams considers this question for The Straight Dope Chicago. Meanwhile, R. Kelly's defense team is joining Team Blago.
Is Chicago the most ironic city ever? Steve Rhodes of The Beachwood Reporter shares his thoughts on the matter.
Your job may not be &*@#!*&# golden, but your hair can be. It's "Blago" shampoo and conditioner. Only your hairdresser and bagman will know for sure.
Besides providing crazy-cool t-shirts, Chicago's Threadless evidently also provides a killer place to work. TravelChannel.com named Threadless an "extreme workplace," citing their 25,000-square-foot warehouse and production space where employees play Wii, bring it in intense ping-pong championships, and even rock out on an indoor skate ramp. Chicago photo blogger Joe M500 is interviewed about his recent photographic journey of the warehouse (and confirms its coolness) here.
Want to see the web through Kanye's signature sunglasses?
From the deepest depths of the University of Chicago Library's digital stacks came... The Biology of B-Movie Monsters! [via]
The Tribune Company is launching a new blog community site later this summer called ChicagoNow.com. No publicly accessible pages yet, but here's a glimpse via a marketing video dug up by a WindyCitizen user.
Former Chicago Tribune reporter Emily Achenbaum discusses the decision she and her husband-to-be made "to pursue a pared-down life."
Gathering stats on STDs, murders, and similar data, KSU geographers performed a study titled "The Spatial Distribution of the Seven Deadly Sins within Nevada," then created maps showing "hotspots" of Wrath, Lust, etc. across the nation. Sounds like a bunch of hooey, but it looks cool. Chicago's way up on greed but surprisingly not prone to envy.
Alex Kotlowitz explains why Chicago is Fast Company's U.S. City of the Year: "The real Chicago isn't so easy to keep up with. It's constantly reinventing itself. Jumpy. Agitated. Impatient. It's as if the place is trembling. Move aside. Don't linger. And if you're going to dawdle, get out of the way. But what any Chicagoan will also tell you is that the past is very much present. It doesn't go away. It shouldn't. In fact, that's Chicago's lure and its beauty: its ability to take what was and figure out what could be."
Nevada's own Moonlite Bunny Ranch has offered an apprenticeship to former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. According to a press release from ranch owner Dennis Hof, "Rod's willpower would be challenged daily by the ladies as they bribe him to acquire finer rooms or better working hours and days off. In lieu of Rod's work throughout the apprenticeship Dennis Hof will pay him a handsome amount of money." [via]
The self-proclaimed "greatest celebrity photographer in the world" and new YouTube star?
Today's fake Internet holiday is Talk Like Shakespeare Day, in honor of the Bard's birth 445 years ago. If that isn't enough encouragement to drop a few "thees" and "thous," the mayor has issued yon proclamation, ye blackguards. Here are a few quotes to get you started.
While researching a post about Playboy's possible de-listing from the NYSE, the Reader's Whet Moser unearthed a database of Playboy centerfolds (NSFW, obviously) maintained by a University of Chicago library employee.
Bacon maniacs rejoice! Here's a handy app that gives any website bacony delicious. In the address bar of your web browser, type in http://bacolicio.us/ and then your website (including the "http://") and enjoy. Here's what happens to Gapers Block.
Oprah Winfrey is now on Twitter. She shall tweet for the first time live on her show tomorrow. What about Oprah's BFF Gayle King? Already on it.
The Wisconsin State Journal would like to introduce you to UW-Madison student (and presumed Cubs fan) Elizabeth Wrigley-Field.
The University of Chicago Press has put together a "Bo-dacious" reading list for the First Puppy.
It seems not everyone is impressed with the Chicago parkour scene. [Thanks, Dubi!]
The University of Chicago alumni magazine is running its own Peeps diorama contest. Vote here for the Peeple's Choice recipient. All winners will be announced Tuesday, April 14.
This is what passes as an April Fool's joke at the Tribune Company. Rendering the Internet obsolete, indeed. [via]
Strange things are afoot on uchi.marketplace, the U of C's version of Craigslist.
Chicago mag's Jeff Ruby takes his chances for a whole week of gambling, betting on everything under -- and including -- the sun.
Willis Group CEO Jim Plameri takes to the web to talk about the renaming of the Sears Tower. [via]
Have you spied any more Monopoly-themed graffiti around Chicago? [via]
If you have always wanted to learn how to turn squares of pretty paper into cranes, cars, shoes or laptops, the Chicago Area Origami Society (fantastic acronym!) can direct your creases in a more organized fashion than their name suggests. Whether you've never folded, or can fold with your eyes closed, their next meeting is this Saturday. And since the expected high temp is 49° F, a visit to the desert or rainforest rooms would be soothing. [via]
Chicago comes in third (behind London and Los Angeles) when it comes to the number of people who use Twitter. [via]
As a boy, Waukegan resident Douglas Stiles was told a story that his great-great grandfather, Jonathan Dillon, repaired the watch of Abraham Lincoln in 1861. The story also went that during that repair, Dillon scrawled something on the watch's inside. Was the story true? Take a look for yourself.
Obama's love of Chicago sports reared its head again recently, as The Daily Show's John Stewart pointed out on last night's show (it comes at about the 2:00 mark). Let's just say the Bulls get a little spanking from Stewart and even the '85 Bears come under scrutiny.
A homeless poet finds salvation in his words. Hear some of his work over at Medill Reports.
My family lineage is a bit murky and hard to trace, so I'm always flummoxed when people ask me where my ancestral heritage came from. Even so, I'm enthralled by the stories of Chicagoans who can visit the homes their ancestors lived in -- but this post by John Tolva is one of the best I've read.
According to MovieMaker, Chicago is the best city for independent moviemakers, offering "the best all-around chance of finding success with their art during these tough economic times." [via]
No less than Cute Overload calls out the blog of the U of C Press for omitting the rules of cuteness when talking about "the science of cute."
NBCChicago.com wrote a nice piece pointing to Chicago Public Radio's great "Hard Working" series about jobs and joblessness. Then, MSNBC republished NBCChicago's story -- but stripped out all links to the original series, effectively killing any utility the article had. CPR is crying foul.
In Isreal's Negev Desert is the Tze'elim Military Base, and on that military base is the city of Chicago, "so named because its bullet-ridden fake walls apparently recall the punctured real walls of Al Capone's Chicago."
When the economy's down, be assured that someone always wants to buy your hair.
Today's Layer Tennis match doesn't start till 2pm, but the first-ever qualifying match got underway at noon, and it's between two locals: Fuzzy Gerdes and Mig Reyes.
I'm speechless (mainly because I can't read Japanese). [via]
Just because you lack land in Chicago, doesn't mean you can't have a garden. Green Roof Growers have some great information on helping you get started.
Well, not the late president himself, but his bust which sits at 69th and Walcott on the South Side and has undergone some interesting changes. Update: Here are two other shots of Abe.
As the economy continues to take a nosedive, even tattoo parlors are beginning to fill the pinch.
Ta-Nehisi Coates of The Atlantic considers the case some of his readers try to bring against Chicago (one word: winter) but seems to come out for it. Or for the South Side, anyway: "I'm kinda in love with the South Side. It's like Harlem's smarter, but less jiggy, little sister. Fine as all hell. You just gotta see past those glasses. And them damn overalls."
This will probably be more interesting in a few months, but hey, I like seeing what's going on outside Wrigley anyway. [Thanks, Gabe!]
Or maybe not, in the case of this gargantuan Frosted Mini-Wheats cluster found in a Chicagoan's cereal box.
Uptown Update, the highly popular blog that has become a thorn in the side of Ald. Helen Shiller, particularly over the fate of the Wilson Yard Project, has been brought into that case by the attorney for the yard's developer, Peter Holsten. The attorney is subpoening records from Google about the ownership of that blog and another (apparently defunct blog) called "What The Helen".
Most Insignificant News Item of the Day: After more than 100 years, the H.J. Heinz Company is removing the pickle from the logo on its ketchup bottle and replacing it with the more appropriate tomato. The Chicago connection? The pickle logo idea was hatched during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
Sound Transit is a website that lets you plan an audio trip around the world. The clip collection includes hundreds of interesting sounds including a couple from nearby Berwyn (search: Illinois). Here's hoping folks keep adding to the collection.
It's definitely a concern right now, as I watch a huge icicle grow outside my window. Ask.MetaFilter asks where is best to walk to avoid injury from falling ice.
Be careful if a stranger asks you to help him move his television at 6:30 in the morning.
Michael Simmons releases his iPhone-ified CTA Bus Tracker. If you're looking for a more native looking app, this is it. Just point your iPhone here.
As new condo buildings continue to rise in the South Loop, "the neighborhood now accounts for more than half the unsold units expected to hit the downtown market" in 2009. Whether these buildings will sit mostly empty in hopes of future growth spurred by a successful Olympics bid or drop dramatically in price remains to be seen.
The Tribune's looking for the best blog in Chicago. If you know of "established bloggers who post great content often and are known in their community" (ahem) fill out their online form.
Leather Creations scores on sarcasm with this ad mocking the Blagojevich scandal.
The semi-trailer long bar from the Black Orchid Club has gone south to take up residence in a new Phoenix, Arizona bar that is due to open toward the end of 2009. At least it will be warmer where it is headed.
One of Ebert's fans created a sextuple acrostic in the critic's honor.
Dopplr is a sort of social network about travel. They just launched pages for each city people go to -- here's Chicago's.
No matter how cold the weather, the University of Chicago gargoyles remain ever vigilant.
The domain name www.impeachpresidenthussein.com is apparently for sale on Craigslist. But hurry: The (bargain!) $50,000 price tag doubles on Inauguration Day.
The "unique" local political scene gets yet another national dissection. This time, it's The Atlantic. And this time it's from October, 1930. The more things change...
Just because your boss canceled the office holiday party doesn't mean you can't attend one virtually, choose-your-own-adventure style.
The "Reasons to Love New York 2008" issue of New York magazine is on-line. Their no. 1 reason to love the Big Apple? "Because Obama Is One of Us, Despite All That Business About Chicago." Dang, New York, step off already.
The blog Public Art In Chicago gives a peek at the latest addition to the city's outdoor art lineup. We think it'll look familiar to you, although not quite like this.
Apparently your cell phones are not only vexing, but also extremely insolent.
A while back we asked if Chicago had the ugliest house in America. Well, the verdict is in and the answer is ... yup, sure do.
If you find yourself wanting to mark "other" under the Gender category on forms, then you'll find Safe2Pee.org a welcome addition to your bookmarks. There are supposedly only 19 gender-neutral bathrooms in Chicago (which I know is very low) but thankfully anyone can add in another entry. Making the world a GenderQueer friendly place, one bathroom at a time.
Stumped on what to get that hypochondriac on your Christmas list? How about a giant, plush microbe, created by University of Chicago law school grad Drew Oliver. Choose from The Common Cold, E. coli or Black Death. Hours of fun...
Reason To Give has the perfect solution for those hard-to-buy-for people on your list. The Chicago nonprofit's new webstore offers an innovative alternative to traditional holiday gift exchange and a sweet chance to help out the Humboldt Park community. It's like Extreme Makeover Home Edition meets Amazon.com!
A couple of months ago, we wrote that Kimberly Walz, chief of staff to Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, was looking for votes in the Benefit makeup Posie Gal contest. The results are in, and Walz came away with the victory.
NARAL has launched a website featuring local spoken word talent promoting reproductive rights. It was produced by See3 Communications, a local web/video firm working with non-profits.
You probably aren't familiar with the saga of the Giant Italian Truffle, which has failed to find a home here in the States... until it reached Chicago, that is.
File under "Nom Nom Nom": Top Chef cupcakes are back at the Bleeding Heart Bakery.
Know a University of Chicago student or alumnus? Know two or more? Print out these U of C-centric Bingo cards for them to enjoy during the holidays. Then stand back and watch the geek-tacular fun ensue.
HispanicBusiness.com take a look at the Puerto Rican community in Chicago and its staunch supporters who once again try to stave off gentrification.
Congratulations to Wilmette native and new father Pete Wentz -- wife Ashlee Simpson-Wentz gave birth to their son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz, last night. Celebrate by checking out the Simpson-Wentz Baby Name Generator.
Who knew that employees at Chicago-based Potbelly Sandwich Works were so into DIY and being green?
The official Chicago Office of Tourism's youtube channel has a decent collection of Chicago videos in its favorite section. I'm watching "The Foods of Chicago" right now.
Take that $1000 and invest it one stock. Each day, make one trade. Twitter the results. (A little more background.)
When* are we Going to see an end to sites letting us know about Upcoming events? I'm just about Eventful. (*When.com is the latest, a rebranding of AOL's Zvents. Whoopee.)
Or, as Timothy O' Sullivan might have put it to Abner Mikva (were O' Sullivan a hotel concierge and, well, alive), "We don't help nobody that nobody sent."
Chicago child therapist Mike Ruggles will be starring in "Super-Manny," a spinoff of the ABC show "SuperNanny," debuting Friday night.
The blog Hyde Park Progress explores the transportation options available to the area from a U of C (ex)undergrad perspective.
For the presidential trivia buffs, the Secret Service names for President-elect Obama and the next First Family are: Renegade (Barack), Renaissance (Michelle), Radiance (Malia), and Rosebud (Sasha - aw). Want your own? Get it here.
A mass dog marriage was held in Oak Park this weekend with the hopes of setting a world record.
I firmly believe that personal stories are the best way to express how legislation affects people. And why it needs to change.
Ok, I was wrong. There's nothing else going on in the world but Obamania, and we have Peruvian Shamans to thank for it. [Thanks, Kara!]
OK, I know we're going a little overboard with the Obama linkage, but this is just too cool not to post.
Hey, is anyone else tired of This. F*cking. Election?
...here are some pictures of cute, fluffy kittens. And some more (thanks, yellowcardigan)!
According to a New York Post columnist, when it comes to power-wielding big city mayors, Mayor Daley tops NYC's Bloomberg hands down. Just check out the tale of the tape.
"Zombie World," in the Fall issue of Keep Going. (No, it's not a late Halloween story.)
For every trend, there's an anti-trend. Twitter has blown up ...and spawned h8ter, created by local webfolk. Sign up for a h8ter account and h8te on all sorts of stuff. Not only that, but your h8tes will be tweeted (anonymously) on Twitter.
In the wake of "Minutegate," Roger Ebert has decided to write his own "little rule book" regarding ethics for his fellow film critics. The picture of Ebert and Jason Patric assisting a rather festive looking Peter O'Toole is worth clicking through.
Joyland is a new site dedicated to the collection of short -- sometimes really short -- fiction. The site is organized by city, featuring stories by authors who live or have lived there. They've just opened up a Chicago branch, edited by local blogger Levi Stahl. The first piece is Insult, by Chicago writer, artist and musician Joseph Clayton Mills.
Chicago-based Holos Fitness figures it's easier to stick to a workout plan if you've got company, so it aims to serve as a social network centered around fitness.
Somebody bugging the $#!& out of you? The Spite Site has what you need.
Flash artist and past GB staffer Felix Jung has created Colourful Echo, which creates a color-paletted visualizer for songs you upload. Here's an example.
Who says scientists don't have a sense of humor? Here's a list of security maxims from Argonne National Laboratory. [via]
In time for the last debate tonight, as previously noted, you can download, print, and don the mask of your favorite political candidate.
Two Chicago gang experts are bringing their knowledge on stopping the violence to a conference in Glasgow, Scotland, where the gang murder rate has grown to five times that of England.
Online shop CostumeStudio will donate 100% of proceeds from costume sales to Invisible Children, an aid organization focused on helping children in war-torn Uganda. Brought to you by the socially-conscious fashion folks at GoodSociety.
The Trib's helping you out with some easy Halloween costumes this year. Download a printable Sarah Palin mask here, and keep an eye out for their Obama, Biden and McCain versions as well.
Care to take a Googletour of Chicago and the suburbs?
Behold... the Playboy Wine Collection. The collectible bottles, each paired with a vintage magazine cover, are sold individually or as part of a subscription. [via]
Examiner.com pulls together a collection of "Chicago's best" lists. At least one contributor called it for the cliché that it is. (Seriously, Craigslist is the city's best marketing site!?)
A Chinese restaurant in Urbana, IL (if you know which one, let me know) has started using a wireless remote to let customers summon their waiter for food, water, the check, or just regular old attention. Makes me want to roadtrip for some ma po tofu.
Want to get crafty during the debate tonight? You can play some Palin Bingo, try your hand at a Build-O-Bama, or any of these Obama-themed craft projects. [via]
Mr. Clean actor House Peters died recently at the age of 92. In case you didn't know, Mr. Clean was created here in Chicago by Harry Barnhart and Ernie Allen at the Tatham-Laird & Kudner ad agency. The hairless, obsessive compulsive, controversial, and sexually ambiguous corporate mascot's first name is Veritably, by the way, and he's known as Mr. Proper in England and Don Limpio in Spain. There you go: more than you ever wanted to know about Mr. Clean.
Chicagoan Joanne Smith just won a Saginaw, MI, house on eBay for $1.75. The only drawbacks: she needs to pay $850 in back taxes and for trash and weed clean-up. Also, it's in Saginaw, for Pete's sake. She expressed concerns that it might be haunted too. Hopefully, she's joking about that last part.
Groupon, a Chicago startup, will offer daily coupons for local events, services, hotels, eateries and more. The twist? You only get the deal if enough people sign up for it. If not - well, you know.
Life's drama recorded on a bus shelter wall. [via]
Google has updated its satellite map of the city, and now shows a completed Millennium Park and a view of the top of Cloud Gate. [via]
Roger Ebert really did not like Senator John McCain's behavior at Friday night's presidential debate: "Before the debate, pundits were wondering if you might explode in a display of your famous temper. I think we saw that happen, all right, but it was an implosion. I have instructed my wife to exclude you from any future dinner parties."
Eater Chicago may not be bowing until next month, but the love for "Chicago's darling" Grant Achatz has been simmering for a while. Get a taste of "The Daily Achatz".
Benefit Cosmetics and Sephora are holding a contest to find a Posie Gal to promote their Posie Tint product. One of the three national finalists is Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley's Chief of Staff Kimberly Walz (Gal #1). Put the Chicago Machine to work and vote for her video to win.
Has Roger Ebert's site been hacked or is he really trumpeting Creationism? I'm going with hacked. Yep.
Chicago native Scott Johnson barbecues for a cause: to fight cancer. He donates his winnings in national competitions to a cancer research foundation. That's nice, but his reasons for getting into barbecuing might tick a few people off: he points to "the lack of quality barbecue cuisine in his native Chicago." Ahem...
It wasn't just the Marshall Fields and the Potter Palmers who rebuilt Chicago after the Great Fire. WBEZ-FM reports on the women who helped raise the city from the ashes.
In honor of National Preparedness Month, the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago is awarding Safety Tubes to the two commenters who can best explain when a safety tube (which contains water, light source, dust mask, and whistle) could have come in handy in a previous emergency, or when they might need one. Deadline for comments is 5pm Friday.
Sports blog East Coast Bias took a trip to Wrigley Field this past weekend and (surprise!) they kinda liked it.
Whether you're a fan of Obama, McCain, or a Hillary booster, you can embroider your vote with free redwork patterns from Black Threads, a blog about African American quilting. [via]
Amy Dickinson, who writes the Ask Amy advice column for the Chicago Tribune, wed childhood pal Bruno Schickel in upstate New York on August 16.
236.com's quiz finally solves the age-old question: "Which inflammatory pastor are you?"
The Reader has completely redone its online event listings. Looks a whole lot better, although I'm not sure how they arrive at the order in which stuff gets listed.
For the third year in a row, Hotwire.com declares Chicago the top destination for the Labor Day weekend. And if you do choose Chicago as your vacation destination, a New Zealand travel site tells you the best way to spend 48 hours here.
Although the woman behind the LivingOprah blog was anonymous in a Chicago Reader profile last month, the New York Times outed her. UPDATE: Actually, She outed herself last month after taping an NPR interview. (Thanks, Erin!)
Does the little smudge in the sky in this photo look like a UFO to you? Read a report by the National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena on the infamous 2006 sighting here [PDF].
Remember little Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars Episode I: The Clone Wars? Well, rumor has it, that he is a film and video major at Columbia College. Or maybe its just his clone.
Now that the banks have collapsed, here are some tips for surviving the New Depression.
Comedian and actor Bernie Mac, 50, died this morning at Northwestern Memorial Hospital due to complications from pneumonia.
Decider.com is a new city entertainment guide produced by the Chicago office of The Onion and A.V. Club.
Tne New York Times shows LaSalle Street and its classic architecture some love, citing renovation as one of the boulevard's assets.
The Chicago Examiner (by way of New York-based Gawker.com) says that the Big Brother-ish Google Maps Street View might have caught an image of a kid with a gun and a drug deal going down here in Chicago.
My Guesstimate is a site for simple straw polls. Seems to be mainly the founder querying into the ether so far; give him a little company.
While Chicago suffers through a devastating crime wave, the Smithsonian takes a look at a murder that rocked the city and the nation...84 years ago. If the case sounds familiar it might be because you ran across it here first.
In an op-ed piece in the Terre Haute TribStar, Chicago gets a thumbs-down from one woman who states a preference for corn fields and cowpies. Maybe she hasn't gone to the Farm In The Zoo.
Two ways to meet your invisible friends next week: the Digg Meetup on the 23rd and Yelp Around the World party on the 24th. If you're a member of either (or both), don't forget to RSVP.
You may love her, or love to hate her, but no one can deny the power of Oprah's suggestion. Do the haters have reason, or should everyone join the Oprarmy? The Reader chronicles one local woman's attempt to find out.
You can relax now: The list of "America's Best Public Restrooms" is out and, yes, Illinois has two of the top 10 spots, including one in Chicago. You can vote for the No. 1 place for No. 1 (or 2) here.
Ten people Twitter'd Navy Pier's annual July 3rd fireworks display.
Professional curmudgeon and columnist Thomas Roeser absolutely trashes the Taste of Chicago experience as "a sad trampling of civility" and says that it reduces the dining experience to "ashes and banal barbarism." But other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
Matt traveled the globe, making videos of himself dancing badly. Eventually, folks started to join in. It's pretty moving, actually. Chicago and the Bean put in an appearance at the 2:26 mark.
Moving/cleaning/mending your pack-ratty ways? The Chicago Recycling Coalition maintains a handy-dandy list of how to recycle pretty much anything in Chicagoland.
The subject of a Sun-Times article in today's paper, who complained about the hardships of not having a car, gets a bit of a dressing down by (naturally) the author of the blog Chicago Carless.
The Chicago version of the activity-planning website Eventful.com kicked off today, which lets users search, set alerts for and buy tickets to thousands of local events, from concerts to street fairs to discussion groups. You can even add your own events to the listings.
An entertaining slice of urban life or a pain in the...eardrums? Either way, the "bucket boys" are a familiar sight in Chicago and North by Northwestern has an article/video on the ubiquitous street performers.
The Examiner recently launched a Chicago edition, featuring blogs from Adam Fendelman, Al Yellon and other local writers.
The Reader will be launching a new nightlife site this week: drinks.chicagoreader.com. The site isn't live yet, but it's mentioned in the official flickr group.
Another Belushi, Jim's son Rob, joins the line of entertainers from that famous Chicago family. But this one is going for the dramatic roles, currently rehearsing for The Lion In Winter in Glencoe's Writer's Theater.
Introducing FlickrTwitterThinker, the latest project by digital tinkerer (and ex-GB staffer) Felix Jung.
Unlike other cities, Chicago is showing no special preferences to owners of hybrid cars by giving them a break on feeding the meter and providing them with free parking spaces to encourage their use. Should we really be surprised?
The latest issue of local literary mag Please Don't is up, casting its gaze on TV and music, and featuring new short fiction by Susannah Felts.
With Barack Obama's (presumptive) Democratic primary win all sewn up, The London Times gives the A-Z of his remarkable life. Guess what the "C" stands for? There's also an AP bio on Obama with photos from throughout his life.
Embedded in the text of the indictments handed down by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office May 22 charging bribes and corruption in our city’s building and zoning departments, are Chicago addresses, locations where these crimes are alleged to have taken place. EveryBlock does a deep-dive into these addresses, highlighting choice greased-palm spots such as the Starbucks at Clark and Washington.
It's called Soceeo (pronounced like "socio-economic"), and it went live today.
So, you don't think you can afford a home in the city? Sure you can. Take a look at the cheapest real estate in Chicago.
Do we really need all these missed connections? Isn't Craig's List enough?
There's an "exclusive new lounge" in the city -- but you're only invited if you take a $4,000 personal development class called Lifebook.
It seems that basement slot-car racing has quite a following in Chicago and elsewhere, according to this recent Wall Street Journal article.
A diverse clientele gets their kicks not on Route 66 but at an upscale athletic shoe store across from the Sheridan Red Line el stop.
In addition to our flickr group, you may want to check out the Chicago Office of Tourism's new group, which gives you a shot of being featured on their Chicago's Great Urban Adventures site.
PaperGirl (aka Mary Fons) documents her encounter with a suspect yoga instructor. Let's just say a calming environment is not the first impression.
Veronica saw a few PSAs for Illinois' Click It or Ticket program and thought they were commercials for an adult chat line. According to the state's new campaign, men will only wear their seatbelt if there is a sexy woman talking them into it. And of course Latinas can only seduce men into "being safe" if they're talking in Spanish. Ay yi yi!
The Center on Halsted will host a screening for "Dottie's Magic Pockets," billed as the first children's program for kids in gay and lesbian families. The show features puppets as well as real-life families. Bert and Ernie approve.
Members of the Rogers Park Young Women's Action Team have gotten tired of getting groped, propositioned, and followed while riding the CTA. And they're sure they're not alone. So instead of feeling shamed and staying quiet they've decided to fight back. If you need a safe place to share your story, see the calendar for an all ages event. But if you want to just share your story fill out their survey. Maybe someone at the CTA will read this and come up with a plan to make public transit safer.
A Chicago couple is competing in the Today show's Race to the Altar contest. Check out their website and decide if you want to vote for them.
What's going on on your street? (Why yes, it's yet another googlemap.)
As if wild parakeets weren't enough, Hyde Park now is home to a band of feral cats who have set up shop in an alley near East 62nd Street. No reports of cougars in the HP, though... yet.
Only two days remain in the Dance Movie Blogathon! Learn yourself all about David Bowie's footwork in Labyrinth, Kevin Bacon's prototypical Angry Young Dancer ("I'm so angry I'm dancing up against backlit silo walls") -- and so very much more. [via]
Got hair on your palms?
Did your mom say you'd go blind?
Early to Bed says, "Nope."
(Think you can make a better haiku about masturbation? Then lube up your wordsmith skills and toss your favorites over to the wonderful folks at Early to Bed.)
He usually writes about the local architecture, but "urbanist" Lee Bay turns his attention to the gas crisis and even gives the presidential candidates a free speech sure to garner them votes.
An anonymous email circulating in a Florida community contends that Tyson Foods is bringing in "vanloads" of gang members from Chicago to work in their plant there, some of whom are apparently fired and "roaming the streets like wild dogs." The local sheriff's office acknowledges the email, but says the information is not true.
AnswersTV is a video resource center filled with advice on everything from food to health to pets and, uh, magic.
One of the more bizzare pieces of cyberfluff floating around the Internet these days is Chicago's Kanye West challenging several friends in games of Connect Four, of which Kanye claims to be a master. Toronto's Now free weekly paper highlights his duel with actor Jonah Hill, star of Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Ever wonder how Google finds what you're looking for? The Chicago office demonstrates.
Bill Bramanti of South Chicago Heights loves Pabst Blue Ribbon beer so much, he wants to be buried in it. No, really.
Did you miss the Chicago Pen Show? Were you even aware that there was a Chicago Pen Show? Apparently, some folks take pens quite seriously.
Our neighbors to the south, in Marion, Indiana need some help. The Marion-Grant County Humane Shelter is closing down at the end of May or early June and all animals need to go to a loving home. Unfortunately, any animals still at the shelter at its time of closing will be euthanized. There are some dogs whose status is urgent and photos and more details on those dogs can be found here. If you're looking to adopt and dog or cat and can find your way down to Marion, Indiana, please consider this an option.
Ben Fry is an expert on data visualization. He recently created a map of all the roads in the United States; this closeup of the Midwest shows just how dense the pavement is around Chicagoland.
Uptown Update has the lowdown on some of John Dillinger's hangouts in Uptown, including his last stop: the neighborhood funeral home.
Kids write stories. The Barrel of Monkeys theater group performs these stories for audiences of kids and grown-ups. The group just launched a web site with a searchable story archive... which means you can read stuff like what I'm reading: a poem that begins, "If you ever run into a piece of barbecued chicken, run away as fast as you can to China."
Chicago is on track to become the first city to have a street sweeper-mounted camera system. As the sweeper moves down the street it will take a take a photo of any illegally-parked vehicle and a second image of the license plate, relaying both automatically to the Department of Revenue. Strictly for traffic flow purposes, you understand.
Carfree Chicago has launched a new line of L Stop buttons for fashionistas who are interested in displaying neighborhood pride, support for public transit, or both. The buttons' bright, bold colors are perfect for springtime.
Ragan Communications gives it a B-. I'm surprised it rates even that high. (Thanks, Terri!)
Threadless' is on this list of 10 annoyingly brilliant office interiors. [via]
Craigslist tells us that TLC's What Not to Wear, the TV show that gives shame-based makeovers, is accepting nominees from Chicago. The post says, "Do you have a friend/ family member/ sister/ co-worker that is in desperate need of a fashion overhaul?!" No word on whether successful applications must adopt the same frantic tone.
Cat and Girl dissects This American Life, and finds out something that says absolutely nothing about us and the way we live.
Volunteers with the WPB's Community Open Houses asked the people of Wicker Park/Bucktown what they wanted to see in their neighborhood. Their responses were collected in a series of photographs on Flickr: here, here and here. A quick survey indicates a big push for a more bike-friendly area. Oh, and a toy store. Don't feel left out of the process, though, you can submit your thoughts too. [Via]
The Catholic University of America claims that the first fictional representation of a black person receiving a major party nomination for president was in a 1964 issue of their comic book, Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact.
Every so often, new phone books arrive, yet this guy noticed that not everyone seems to want them. (Thanks, Jimmy!)
Ugh. A basketball coach at Walter Payton Prep School has been arrested for sexually assaulting two female students. It is alleged that George Turner, a married father of two children, used a vibrator on one student while in a parked car; he attempted to molest a second student in late February. The two students notified authorities together.
Overheard in Chicago = eavsedropping made easy.
Threadless launched Threadless TV, a new weekly video show.
So many people complain about the existence of teen mothers, but New Moms has been doing something about it. Until this last week, they've been housing about 20 new mothers and their young children, but a fire destroyed their facility and now those moms are in temporary housing. They're always looking for donations, but now would be a great time to help with a donation of $25, or more. (Hat tip to Veronica.)
I wonder what's going on here at 3912 S. Vincennes Ave.? UPDATE: Google has taken the scene down; Gawker has the screenshots.
Despite the recent snizzle storms, spring is here, and it's time to plant stuff. Even if you lack a lawn, you can still get into the gardening spirit by "seed bombing" your nearest vacant lot. This video, shot in Pilsen by locals Fresh Cut Media, provides a concise how-to and tips on the latest trend in guerrilla gardening. Seed bombs away ...
Last month the Polaroid Corporation announced that it would stop making instant film at the end of 2008. In response to the news, the Save Polaroid campaign was launched to help find a manufacturer willing to produce the film. There's also a Flickr group, not to mention our very own Polariod shots. Power to the people!
Is the Trib really behind ColonelTribune?
Hey, Love, Chicago is back, now as an online-only zine about the city's music, food and indie culture.
HereThere, a new webzine for "creative professionals," has launched.
Chicago cheapskates rejoice: SaveChicago.org gives its members access to a database of discounts at local retailers, then kicks a portion of the proceeds from membership fees back to area nonprofit organizations. Plus they're offering a $15 Visa gift card for new members.
BoingBoing TV visits U of I's student inventors during Engineers Week. That cassette tape wallet is pretty sweet.
Who do you want answering the phone?
TECH Cocktail co-organizer and Somewhat Frank scribe Frank Gruber recently made this seemingly authoritative list of "140 Faces of Well-Known Bloggers." Gruber's name appears alongside those of bloggebrities Markos "Daily Kos" Moulitsas, Perez Hilton and Arianna Huffington, among others.
Fans of scantily clad Internet star Tila Tequila are invited to a casting call being held on Saturday, March 1 from 4-8 p.m. at a Loop location TBA. E Oh Productions is conducting the talent search on behalf of a documentary project about the Tequila phenomenon; contact them here.
Found on Songza: The Theme from Hot Doug's by bee.
Takotron takes a look at the Railroad Bridges of Chicago, some of which even have their own myspace pages.
In 1990, a Cook County Hospital physician mused on the topic in the British Medical Journal, finding a connection to... castration?
It's true because I found it on the Internet?
Crazy Blind Date, a blind-dating website with helpful reminders like "your blind date is a real person," is now available to Chicagoans.
Not only does Vera Videnovich sell tomatoes, herbs, asparagus, etc. that she grows on her Michigan farm during the summer and fall at the Logan Square Farmers Market, but she's now started to sell 1-pound lots of yarn, hand-spun and hand-dyed (using flowers she grows on her farm), from wool she shears off her sheep. This woman reminds me of all the small farmers I knew growing up. And she only has a few shares left for her April yarn sale, so get'em quick!
Are you and a friend or loved one in need of some self-reduction? Wanna do it on a major network TV reality show? Then show up at Chicago Home Fitness at 1555 N. Halsted tomorrow, Feb. 16 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and try out for NBC's The Biggest Loser. Come early: This ad from casting call hosts BL4 Productions Inc. promises that the first 500 people in line will be seen, but latecomers might have to settle for listening to their iPods on the nearest treadmill.
If you would like to wear your support for Chicago's 2016 Olympics bid on your sleeve (or head), a new online store offers hats, shirts and jackets emblazoned with the six-pointed star logo and catchy "Stir the Soul" slogan. This could be just the thing for those of you who need a last-minute Valentine's Day gift for your sweetie.
In a Web populated with user-generated-this and user-generated-that, everyone's a critic. Here's an odd little essay about Safeway Crushed Tomatoes purchased at the Dominick's at 3145 S. Ashland.
What do they have in common? Lincoln Logs! Check out bullet #3 in this Mental Floss article to find out the connections.
A video of a Chicago woman taking some friendly 4am pictures at a police station in Elkhart, IN has caused some consternation.
City event-planning guides seem to be multiplying the way googlemap mashups once did. The latest is PlanJam.
I suppose when you're the head of a media empire, you can get away with making blue comments to your employees about why it's okay to advertise for strip bars in your publications.
"Faces," a new, black-and-white portrait project by local photog Jason Richardson, uses light, angle and composition to reveal people's faces as they really are (i.e., wrinkles, dots and all). Richardson needs models, so check out his flickr page and drop him a line to participate.
Barackula, The Musical!
Have an boozehound neighbor with a yappy dog, wild children, and a rusty car up on blocks in the driveway? Is he prone to late-night drum rehearsals or screamfests with his spouse? Too terrified to confront him directly? Impotently and anonymously vent your spleen at rottenneighbor.com. Here's the Chicago edition.
The Sun Times reports that two 911 dispatchers made over $110,000 last year (twice their salaries) in overtime last year. These two employees are not the only highly-paid staffers; twenty of their colleagues accrued up to $80,000 in overtime pay as well.
Adrian Holovaty is closing down ChicagoCrime.org, his excellent and influential googlemapped crime report site. Now that the data is available on EveryBlock, it's redundant.
Chicago Magazine's February issue features "171 Best Chicago Websites," a nice round-up for your reading pleasure. It's still not wasn't online, though, so Time Out took the initiative and created a linklist for you. Then Chicago Metroblogging created an OPML file of the list -- along with all the ones mentioned in Time Out's recent blog feature package -- that you can dump into your favorite feed reader. UPDATE: The Chicago Mag feature went online late today.
A series of great commercials for Dirty Found, created by Young & Rubicam Chicago and director Aaron Stoller. (NSFW)
Rich Uncle Pennybags is going to include city names in a new Monopoly edition. Apparently he's ok with competition in this case, so vote for Chicago's inclusion today, and if you're really dedicated, every day until Leap Day.
SidewaysPony and the Inter-State Narcotic Association want you to beware of friendly strangers who might slip "dope" into your oolong. Also, CTA "Doomsday" takes on a whole new meaning.
The Montrose Ave. sinkhole now has its own MySpace page, where it promotes its own beauty and compares itself to the Grand Canyon. If you're looking for a way to throw some love its way, you're invited to join the rally outside the Montrose L station on Tuesday afternoon, to protest the city's ruthless plan to fill it it back up.
The current season of Layer Tennis finishes up this afternoon, and it's going out with a bang: not one but two matches, running simultaneously. Kiss your productivity goodbye at 2pm. (I'll be needing a drink after this one.)
Californian James Srodon has filed a $50,000 lawsuit against the Blue Man Group after attending an October 2006 show at the Briar Street Theater. The "esophagus cam," a video camera reportedly covered in food, dirt and the trademark blue paint was forcibly shoved down Srodon's throat during the performance, damaging dental work and giving him nightmares.
FitPregnancy magazine rated Chicago #28 out of 50 major U.S. cities in its "Best Cities in America to Have a Baby" survey. The city received praise for its progressive fertility resources but got a grade of F in categories such as affordability and something known as "stroller friendliness."
The Chicago Postcard Museum takes a look at the Museum of Science and Industry this month.
If you've seen that odd, Blair Witch Project-ish TV commercial for SeeItNext.com that is running on the local television stations, you may have visited the website and found a lone prompt to leave your email address for a February 4th reveal of the mystery behind the commercial. What's really going on here? The most popular theory suggests that the commercial is a viral advertisement for General Motors' presentation at the upcoming February 7-18 Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place. And If the future is a GM car, I'm sure it won't be a much-needed reprise of the EV1.
Chevrolet invites Chicagoans to nominate inspiring and heroic women to be named the Chicago Woman of the Year 2008. The winning woman receives a $5,000 shopping spree at Macy's and a big self-esteem boost. The nomination process lasts until March 10.
DePaul College of Law grad David Wold is selling his diploma on eBay for $100,000. "This degree has been a great invitation to work at least 60 hours a week at a place where I don't want to be for people that I don't care about," he explains. As an added bonus, Wold will include his law school books, enabling the winning bidder to learn about the Carbolic Smoke Ball and other 1L in-jokes without having to attend any classes.
Are you looking for a new Chicago-centric online community? CitizenPowered.org, an outgrowth of the Community Building Initiative between the City of Chicago & the Green Street Project, is now available in beta. Enjoy.
Chicago designer Scott Sullivan recently made the Wall Street Journal for his affordable and eco-friendly lamps and coasters, which he makes from discarded clutches, shift gears, and other car parts. Sullivan runs his own Etsy shop where you can purchase his wares.
An ode to suburbia, by Chicago mag's Jeff Ruby.
Ryan Maconochie is a Chicago-based designer who loves maps. The ones he's designed for Chicago are great, especially his "Small Snack" map of Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village/East Village.
You've got to hand it to a 73-year-old woman in Springfield who consistently refuses to sell her home to nearby Memorial Medical Center. As a result, her home is nestled in the cozy, welcoming hospital parking lot.
The Cook County Board of Commissioners is proposing a $4/month, $48/year tax on all phones — land, cell, cable and otherwise. The tax would also increase with inflation — at five years, your total amount paid would be over $250 a phone. Read more at NoPhoneTax.org. Update: Outside the Loop Radio will discuss the likelihood of the tax's success along with other taxes proposed at the end of 2007 on Friday's show. Look for Episode 68 on the main page around noon or listen to WLUW at 6pm.
Freakonomics guru and U of C prof Steven Levitt and collaborator Sudhir Venkatesh have determined that 3 percent of all "transactions" performed by prostitutes in Chicago are free samples granted the boys in blue to avoid arrest.
Organizers of Chicago's Tech Cocktail are starting the "Bring CES to Chicago" movement, after learning that the consumer electronics trade show -- the largest in the U.S., and underway as we type -- might be leaving its usual spot, Las Vegas. The Cocktail guys discuss their campaign for the masses as any savvy technogeek would: via BlogTV. To join in on the fun, you can email the T-Cocktail guys here.
Tracy Buckley, a supervising investigator for the city Office of the Inspector General, was charged with stealing food from a Northwest side Whole Foods this past Saturday. Buckley has worked for the city office for almost 14 years.
At the American Economic Association's annual meeting, held over the weekend in New Orleans, University of Chicago economist Steve Levitt and sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh of Columbia University presented their preliminary work on a study focused on data collected from more than 100 Chicago prostitutes. Some of the scholars' findings: that prostitutes work 11 to 12 hours a week and make between $25- to $35-an-hour; and that condoms were used in only five percent of 2,000 transactions. According to portfolio.com, Levitt and Venkatesh's full results will be featured in the upcoming sequel to Freakonomics.
It's easy to fall into a slump this time of year -- which is all the more reason to check out the newly launched Library of Inspiration.
Two cleaning women were trapped in a stuck elevator in a Niles office building for two days, surviving on two cough drops and six aspirin before an employee discovered them on Christmas Eve.
O'Hare is still the second-busiest airport in the nation, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Atlanta's Hartsfeld-Jackson airport has been the busiest for the last three years due to increased travel needs in the area and advertising efforts by Atlanta-hubbed airlines Delta and Air Tran (which used to be the deadly ValuJet Airlines, FYI).
Chromium, a nightclub near the intersection of Halsted and Lake, had a problem with fights and drunk driving. A neighbor took to videotaping the activity outside the club, and caught a shooting on tape. The videos on YouTube garnered national publicity, and Chromium was closed on Dec. 3.
It's not every day that a minivan crashes into the ABC 7 studios in the middle of a live broadcast.
Don't think your Shellac album will go over well with the in-laws this Christmas as you play it during after-dinner talk? Never fear, The Jingler is here to add a festive bell track to all your music. The results? Hilarious.
The Delta Institute, a non-profit organization, has launched a Website where you can measure your annual greenhouse gas emissions, learn how to reduce your impact, and offset your carbon footprint through the purchase of carbon credits certified by the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX).
Scaryideas.com tackles Wrigley Field...with Tide.
The Times of London offers an inquisitive reader a few tips on the best Chicago hotels. Did you know the Hotel Burnham has a "swish" ground floor cafe?
ChicagoLive.com is a new video site by the Tribune, hoping to jump on the bandwagon of user generated content. Enter their holiday contest and your video could appear on CLTV! (That's all they could spring for?)
A sigh of relief for those irritating people concerned that too much of Chicago real estate consists of demolishing old buildings in order to replace them with state-of-the-art monstrosities: according to a New York Times article, New York is now the "Teardown Capital" of the US, bumping Chicago to the #2 spot. Huzzah!
The good people of Lisle believe they came under an airplane lavatory attack during Monday's sleet storm. The FAA isn't so sure, suggesting it was the work of a flock of birds. "It is mysterious. It is very mysterious," says one resident.
Lawyers for Drew Peterson have set up a web site where you can donate money to defray his legal costs. Although the site is currently down, the following message posted at DefendDrew.com really tugged at my heart strings: "For the cost of a few cups of your morning coffee, you can help to ensure that Drew can afford to support his ongoing legal defense, find his missing wife and divert any remaining funds into a trust for his children." Yeah, good luck, buddy.
Mug shots give way to molar shots. The Chicago Homicide Unit asked the ADA to help identify the teeth of a woman who was found dead in a North Side alleyway last January. The cops "would like to speak to dentists who have any knowledge about a patient who obtained braces and never returned for follow-up care."
Stopping just short of calling opposing coaches chickens, a new website pretty much DEMANDS that teams be forced to kick to the Bears' freakishly-amazing return man Devin Hester.
Rearview contributor and excellent photographer Carey Primeau launches a new photography site and portfolio. While I've seen my fair share of deserted and abandoned photography sites, Primeau really does elevate these photos to stunning. One of the more stellar sets has to be his Uptown Theater set, a building that has intrigued me for years. So good.
Happened to stumble upon these while looking for something else: images of Chicago in the public domain on Flickr. While there is the usual Sears Tower/Millenium Park/El photos, there are quite a few historical ones as well. I find this one of the stockyards fascinating, as well as this locomotive shop picture.
Our friends at Coudal Partners spent some time at the Black Hole, a Los Alamos surplus store, and are showing their film in five parts this week. The full DVD is also available.
The wife of billionaire adventurer Steve Fossett has asked the Cook County court to declare Fossett dead after his disappearance following a September 3 flight in Nevada.
Data released by the US Postal Service shows that Chicago has the worst mail delivery service in the country, with only 94% of letters reaching their destination within one day (an improvement from last year's delivery rate).
It comes around every year, and even though it might annoy you, you know you're going to watch it: the "Favorite Things" episode of Oprah airs tomorrow, and this year's recipient of the coveted gifts is a group of people from Macon, Georgia, as that city reportedly has the nation's highest percentage of viewers tuned in to her show.
The Nature Conservancy in Illinois is starting a new kind of environmental awareness campaign to get Illinois talking about eco-destruction. Dubbed Start One Conversation, the campaign centers on a Website that gives folks enough background info about issues such climate change and habitat preservation to talk about them without sounding all "you know ... global warming, like, sucks."
Although it's reportedly unlikely, Delta Airlines is thinking about buying United in an effort to deal with rising jet fuel costs.
The GLBT media scene just got a little more crowded with the arrival today of EDGEChicago.com.
According to a recent AP story, Illinois ranks third in the purchase of vanity license plates; Virginia is first, as the cost of their plates is a measly 10 dollars. Before you run off to the DMV to see if "Jordan 23" is still available, the joke is on us: Illinois also charges the most of any state for vanity ($94) and personalized ($47) plates.
Donda West, mother of musician Kanye West and former chair of the Chicago State University English Department, died Saturday night in Los Angeles at the age of 58. The cause of death is unknown at this time, and her death was apparently sudden.
The Midwest Teen Sex Show, a sex-ed video podcast, got some attention from the Wall Street Journal today. The show is regularly in the top-10 in iTunes' Health section.
Not quite the expose on Santiago Calatrava (also known for his work on the Milwaukee Art Museum), but Creative Review, a design magazine based in the UK, showcases the design work of Third Eye Design who did the collateral for The Chicago Spire. Even if you don't like the Spire itself, the accompanying literature praises our fair city.
Actor Shia LaBoeuf was arrested at the Walgreens store located at Chicago and Michigan Avenues Sunday morning for (drunkenly) refusing to leave. The actor, who will appear in the next Indiana Jones movie, will be back in town for his court date on November 28.
Local, self-described "joggler" Perry Romanowski just set a new world record for running a 50-mile ultra-marathon while juggling three bean bags. Romanowski did it in an amazing 8 hours, 23 minutes, and 52 seconds with no more than four drops--a half hour less than the old record. Hold on there... there was an old record to beat?
Jargon Magazine relaunched today with a new design and new sections.
Chicago is a city full of ghosts, and Irving Renquist is out to find them. There's only one problem: he's never seen one before. That's the basic set-up for Irving Renquist, Ghost Hunter, a new web-based mini-series. Check out the first episode here.
A new news aggregator called Newser debuted today, with a full-time Chicago-based editorial staff and freelancers summarizing as many as 60 stories a day. (Thanks, Phil!)
It's been awhile since we had a YAGm, but here's YourStreet, a new mash-up that puts news on the map. Not sure it's any better or more useful than Outside.In, but now you have a choice. (Wonder what EveryBlock thinks of it.) (Thanks, Sarah!)
An article in the New York Times investigates Barack Obama's short but significant time spent in New York in the 1980s as a Columbia University student and a brief post-graduate stint in international finance. Obama says his time in the Big Apple was "pivotal to his life"; however, he declined the Times' "repeated requests to talk about his New York years, release his Columbia transcript or identify even a single fellow student, co-worker, roommate or friend from those years."
Chicago Metropolis 2020 and Jellyvision teamed up to create Metro Joe, a game that tests your knowledge of both the city and the suburbs.
When Witch School International set up shop in Rossville, a struggling southern Illinois town, not everyone was excited about the economic jolt.
Jeannette Sliwinski, the former model who killed local musicians Michael Dahlquist, Douglas Meis and John Glick in July 2005 while trying to commit suicide, was found guilty of reckless homicide today. Sliwinski was also deemed mentally ill, which lessened the initial charge of three counts of first-degree murder. She will be sentenced November 26.
Our very own Naz Hamid is playing Layer Tennis today; go root for him in the forums!
The Apartments.com Possession Obsession contest is in its final week, and ex-GB staffer Brenda is still in the lead; give her a hand to make sure she stays out front by voting today! And speaking of contests, you can also vote Cubs or Sox in People magazine's Sexiest Fan Alive contest.
ChicagoAncestors.org uses data from local churches, yearbook collections, neighborhood histories from the Newberry Library and information from the Chicago Historical Homicide Project to map Chicago's past. Registered users can add tags, comments, photos, stories and "Chicago Places" to maps on the site.
And with a techno soundtrack no less.
It's easy to be enamored with the charms of Second City Cop. But today let's give some blue love to Checkboard Chat, the official Chicago Police blog. Today they give us some quality cop talk in describing how they cracked a cold case murder. Example: "The victim was then physically beaten by his associates." Bonus: "You can find anything on Craigs List"
Hypertext has collected some more interesting captures from Google Street View.
Google Maps Street View comes to Chicago. The Tribune waxes about the privacy issues that come with it.
Someone needs a Journalism Ethics class! Deborah Solomon, a New York Times Magazine reporter responsible for the mildly revealing "Q & A" section at the end of each issue, was recently taken to task by past interview subjects, among them This American Life creator Ira Glass, for fabricating pointed questions to fit dialogue spoken during her interviews.
Then you might be interested in the Chicago Geek Guide. Your one-stop shop for all things geek.
Chicago graphic designer Leah Dickey of Pixelgate Media beat out 435 other entries to win a worldwide design contest held by Yahoo to create a "green" designs for a taskbar icon. As part of her prize, Leah got to select which environmental-related nonprofit receives $20,000 from Yahoo; she chose the Green Street Project, an organization that is collaborating with civic leaders, government and media to get people engaged in making Chicago a leading environmentally sustainable city.
While we've all had our fill of the brief but entertaining Cheetah Gym Closing Scandal of last month, a recent check of a website forum that was created by a former member intending to coordinate a class action lawsuit for recovering gym fees revealed that although Cheetah has fully reopened, the site still exists, and the former owner of the gym (or someone pretending to be him) has surfaced in the bulletin boards. The resulting conversation between him and the other folks on the board is quite interesting. And completely bonkers.
While the season opener of Saturday Night Live this past weekend delivered another funny digital short, the finest sketch of the night was about local export (and SNL musical guest) Kanye West's visit to BET's 106 and Park to discuss his award show tantrums of late. To watch Kanye's music performances, click here and here.
Excessively trusting thrillseekers may be interested in attending the First Annual Ghost Conference, held October 26-28 at the Congress Plaza Hotel... which is, of course, billed as being "haunted."
Good way to spend your Friday afternoon: Layer Tennis is live.
Congratulations to Feast of Fools, which won Best GLBT Podcast in the People's Choice Podcast Awards.
A special effects technician died on the British set of The Dark Knight Returns, the upcoming Batman film scheduled for release next summer. Parts of the movie were filmed in Chicago this past summer. The technician was in a vehicle carrying camera equipment that crashed into a tree during a test of a stunt likely involving the Batmobile.
After stints as the head of both the Chicago and Philadelphia Public School Systems, Paul Vallas is now the head of the New Orleans Recovery School District. A nice profile in today's New York Times details his hopes for the district's future.
Wurlington Brothers Press has published a series of postcards that allow you to make your own miniature paper Windy City! Teeny-tiny Mayor Daley not included. (We discovered it years ago, but BoingBoing just found it.)
While searching for a bike rental in Amsterdam, I happened upon a very cool looking B&B in Bucktown. So if you have guests for more than a few days who might appreciate a sauna, kitchen, and a break from the same-old same-old downtown, Ray's Bucktown B&B might be just the thing. (Bonus: they have a retro hair-dryer. Take that, Palmer House!)
Metromix launched a full redesign today, and divorced itself URL-wise from the Tribune. It sure looks slick, but does it work any better?
The Westin Chicago River North hotel wants to attract guests not just with continental breakfasts or chocolates on the pillows, but rather a super-toilet, the Brondell Swash 800. Equipped with such indulgences as a heated seat, bidet, warm air dryer (!), and water pressure controls (!!!), one wonders how this will impact local escort services.
Do you know where Reba is? (Thanks, Ellen!)
"WikiProject Chicago was started on July 5, 2005 to coordinate work on articles related to the article Chicago in the English Wikipedia". Pick up some open tasks, browse good articles, and edit newly-created articles like Poles in Chicago. Bonus: hi-res pic of the skyline from the lakefront.
Not what you're thinking: The Midwest Teen Sex Show is a great video podcast put together, apparently, by some very funny folks in northwest suburban Woodstock. [via]
I have a feeling Jonathan Fin and Casey Black are going to regret making this video.
The latest edition of GoogleEarth includes a flight simulator (controls here). GB reader Dubi Kaufmann noticed that "One of the 27 airports available in the flight simulator is Meigs Field - FOUR YEARS after it was closed."
Craig Berman, writer emeritus for Gapers Block, maker of the honorably mentioned Pinch salt cellar and pepper shaker, and his wife Emily Berman, a vendor in this year's DIY Trunk Show, had their home profiled by Apartment Therapy. Their style? "Shabby chic meets modern sleek meets budget conscious new homeowner meets avid crafter meets product designer."
If you've ever been down Ravenswood near Wilson, you might have seen the rather large stickered and logoed truck with bright red, yellow and black graphics that say, "On the Fly." The Chicago Traveler has the scoop: On the Fly is a mobile bike mechanic shop. Joe Ebervein and Rich Kwaitkowski will go where you are to get you on the road again.
Who doesn't love a mash-up? Ongopongo is a site that aggregates user's Google My Maps mash-ups. Check out Chicago Ongopongo maps, including vegan restaurants, 4 am bars and even area pinball machines.
A couple in Lombard left their teenage son at home alone for a week earlier this summer. He and his friends took the opportunity to build a 60-foot waterslide in the backyard. Potential for serious injury aside, that's pretty frickin' cool.
An interesting look behind the scenes at The Wiener's Circle, courtesy of This American Life. Audio is most definitely NSFW, so throw on those headphones!
Fave is a new "Chicago neighborhood browser." Unlike most search tools, this one is a downloadable browser that supposedly doesn't transmit your search to the Internet, which leads me to believe it has an internal directory -- so it's more like an electronic yellow pages, I guess? If you're curious, they've got a storefront at Clark and Fullerton where you can try it out and ask more questions.
Apparently seriously concerned about its public image, BP has taken to purchasing (regionally specific?) advertisements via google to tout its pledge to not increase discharge limits. This advertisement was embedded in a NYTimes.com article about the Maison de Verre.
Nerds at Heart wants to help you find love! This crew throws singles events catering to a range of niche markets. Upcoming Nerds at Heart events will match regular ol' nerds, playful nerds, queer nerds and green nerds at locales around town. Check out their site to register in advance.
I suppose lightning striking the Sears Tower is a fairly common occurrence, but that doesn't make it any less cool to witness. Oh sh*t!
The Dark Knight which has been filming in Chicago on and off for the past few months is doing something big. The Brachs Candy factory will be imploded on August the 29th August the 30th between 10:30am and noon. The implosion will be later added digitally into the film for a building explosion. Details here. Update: Note the date and time change. New details here.
Following the news that "Max" is the number one name for cats and dogs for the fifth year in a row, a weird pet name free for all has broken out at the Trib.
Chicago native Brian Dettmer uses a knife to alter pre-existing media - most notably, books. I've been staring at these photos for the past ten minutes now, and they're absolutely taking my breath away. He and artist Jen Stark do things to paper I never even knew were possible. [via]
//Edit: Some of Dettmer's work is currently at the Hyde Park Art Center. Thanks, Jessi!
In what might be the most elaborately, delightful case of deception I've ever seen, George Aye asks Sara Cantor to marry him. Congratulations and kudos!
If you're going to see Beyonce tonight at the United Center, don't forget the canned carrots! The Greater Chicago Food Depository is holding a pre-show food drive at the United Center, and the first 1,000 fans who drop off a minimum of three nonperishable food items before the 7:30 p.m. show will receive an autographed photo of Beyonce and a raffle ticket for a chance to win a seat upgrade.
Batavia's doing well in IKEA's Small Businesses, Big Dreams contest, in which cities compete for having up to ten small businesses remodeled by the company. Check out their entry, vote for them and help them do even better.
Gumtree.com, England's answer to Craigslist, is launching in Chicago, NYC, and Boston today. Currently, it's an empty palette over at chicago.gumtree.com, so if you're sick of the white noise on Craigslist, this might be the chance to stand out.
A moment of web zen: "TV DX Photos by Channel seen from Macomb, IL Since 1983" -- in other words screenshots from stations seen with a long-distance TV antenna. [via]
Set in Chicago, R. Kelly's over-the-top cult hit Trapped in the Closet needs to be seen to be believed. To date, there have been 12 chapters created; today marks the first of ten more (that's right, more) chapters with the release of Chapter 13. A video recap is available, along with a helpful character map. I'm still unsure whether he's a comic genius, or utterly insane. Audio is NSFW.
Our very own Felix has created a fun little time-killer: the Astronaut syncs random flickr photos to appear with key words from a song by Dan Frick.
Using old signs and discarded metal as his materials, David Buckingham creates pieces that are heavily influenced by both history and pop culture. What's particularly amazing is that all the colors in his works are from the original objects, as he uses no paint whatsoever. His work is currently at the Aron Packer Gallery until August 18th.
Via the Beachwood Reporter, the somewhat bizarre year-end gifts of Sam Zell. (It's copyright Saltator Sepulcri, which translates roughly to "dancer [of/on] graves," so I'm gonna guess they're social satire, not real gifts.) UPDATE: They're real!
Cayetano Ferrer, who did a fascinating set of transparent Chicago street signs, recently applied a similar approach to a group of 30-foot trees in Daejeon, Korea. [via and previously]
80's mechanical icon Johnny Five is apparently being sold on ebay, and bidding starts at a cool $100,000. A special exo-skeleton, which controls all of the mechanical features, is also included. For an extra dose of nostalgia, check out the previously mentioned, newly available 1988 Siskel and Ebert review.
Picnicmob is looking for someone... just like you! Participants are asked a set of questions, then given a spot in a public park where they'll be near others who share their interests. When enough folks particiapte (the site is shooting for 1,000 per city), a map is generated and an email sent announcing the day of the picnic (always at noon on a Sunday). An interesting concept, and if nothing else - a good excuse for a picnic.
There was a flurry of Chicago-related questions on Ask.MetaFilter the last couple days:
• Does the mafia still exist in Chicago?
• "For a novice, what is a good bike route from Chicago's North Side to the loop?"
• Temping in Chicago?
Broadview, IL-based Replogle has been making globes in the Chicago area since 1931. Naturally, the earth globes are works of art, but, so what? Freaking moon globe, man!
It's getting a little crazy, but Chicago music legend Steve Albini is answering a wide variety of questions in the Two Plus Two forums.
Expanding her focus on the plight of the chronically ill in today's healthcare system, past GB contributor Kimberly Soenen and friends have launched Project Sin Alma.
Neo-Futurist playwright Sean Benjamin recently received 21 packets of taco sauce for two tacos from the Taco Bell drive-thru. Then he wrote a play about it. Now he wants your help collecting one million condiment packets for his Condimentometer project. Because why the hell not? You have more condiment packets than you could ever possibly use, right? Bring (or mail) your packets to the Neo-Futurarium at 5153 N. Ashland, 60640, and be a part of something big and meaningless.
The Micro-Fiber Militia: a group of Chicago crochet graffiti artists, keeping the streets patterned and cozy.
Man, you indie-rock kids were really on the make at this weekend's Pitchfork Festival. Check out all of these sweaty, lyrical Missed Connections from the List du Craig.
Following Michael Chertoff's boogity-boogity meeting with the Tribune's editorial board, Wired Blog writer Ryan Singel raised the Homeland Security Gut Threat Level system warning to the Chicago hot dog with everything level. May God protect us from the Tijuana Danger Dog.
Speaking of timewasters, the Chicago Opera Theater recently posted a time-lapse video of three set changes: from "Beatrice and Benedict" to "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" to "Erwartung" to "Beatrice and Benedict" again. Seven minutes of stagehand fun!
Meet folkstreams.net, a project to preserve documentaries about American roots cultures. There is, of course, a Midwestern section, and at least two Chicago-related films "The Popovich Brothers of South Chicago" and "Grace Earl."
If you went to the Police concert, there's a pretty good chance someone posted a Missed Connection about you. Check out the veritable blizzard of Craig's List posts from the '80s band's two-nighter at Wrigley.
Monitoring local weapon news so you don't have to: the Chicago Police is getting ready to adopt a new weapons order that includes "striker-fired pistols manufactured by Smith and Wesson, Springfield Armory, and Glock"; Wired says that Taser International is about to roll out its new, wireless weapon here on Monday; and police higher-up Deputy Supt. John Risley's suspicions were right when he saw an 18-year old fidgeting with his shirt at the Taste of Chicago. The kid had a gun.
Soooooooeeeeeeee! In quite possibly one of the most disgusting truck spills in recent memory, the northbound Edens was shut down for seven hours after a truck tipped over, spilling out pig ears, pig feet, and grease across the highway. Ironically, the spill happened near the Skokie exit.
"Dean" and his female associate engaged in some hotel bed jumping at the Chicago Hyatt, as have many other people at hotels worldwide.
Chicago magazine profiles Jeremy Hammond, the hacktivist founder of Hackthissite.org. Lots of links for further exploration in his Wikipedia entry.
And Kevin Corr, formerly a clerk in the Cook County State's Attorney's office, collects Chicago Police patches, medals, and insignia. There are several historical tidbits (There were 41 districts before Superintendent O.W. Wilson reorganized the department after he took the helm in 1960.) interspersed with collector-specific information about patches and what they mean. And like any good collector, Kevin has a Flickr site.
Going.com lands somewhere between Upcoming and Yelp -- a social network for actual socializing. They're throwing a launch party for their Chicago channel tonight at Debonair Social Club, 1575 N. Milwaukee, starting at 7pm. RSVP and more info here.
Julie Thoma Wright, a noted designer, passed away earlier this week after a battle with colon cancer. Thoma Wright, along with her husband Richard Wright, was known for being the force behind Wright, a Chicago auction house specializing in modern furniture and art. The Wrights were profiled last year in an article in The New York Times.
This map renames US States with the country whose GDP is most similar. Illinois has a GDP like Mexico. As the author points out in the notes it's somewhat misleading as there's no sense of (population) scale, but it's fantastic nevertheless.
The District 299 Blog asks some good questions about "where exactly are the gang lines?" and follows them up with an even better link... to Southside Gang Maps. So now you know.
Word from Kartemquin Films regarding their in progress film: "Kartemquin is currently working on Typeface, a documentary about cultural preservation, rural renewal and graphic design history in the Midwest.To support these efforts, we're holding a benefit on June 15th at the Center for Book and Paper Arts here in Chicago. Toad Hollow Vineyards is providing the bubbly, MJ Catering is bringing the sweets and a number of local artists (including Jay Ryan and Dennis Ichiyama) are donating original works for the silent auction." While the much lauded Helvetica opens the same night at the Siskel, it is a weeklong engagement. So, why not support the locals? Looks good to me.
Crain's reports that a Chicago-based attorney got a little fresh with a Miami judge earlier this month. "'I suggest with respect, Your Honor, that you’re a few french fries short of a Happy Meal in terms of what’s likely to take place,' William Smith, a partner with Chicago-based McDermott Will & Emery LLP, said during a hearing".
Chicago.Metroblogging's Fuzzy Gerdes has created our local entry into the very cool flags of the world as pie charts
Plumbing the more obscure depths of The Google: Chicago patents, including "method for making stucco gypsum blocks and the like", Chicago catalogs, including Cubs Monopoly in Betty's Attic, and Chicago academic papers, including "Correlation between human sperm swelling in hypoosmotic medium (hypoosmotic swelling test) and in vitro fertilization." (NSFW)
If you're interested in every last detail of Tuesday's Morrissey concert, check out the Morrissey Solo message board. Documented are the set list, crowd reactions, number of times people rushed the stage, merchandise quality, and, well, every last detail.
Chicago-based writer Kristen Nicole of 606tech.com and Mashable announces Web Ascent Events, set for next month. Web Ascent is "a way to recognize the sprouting technology communities in places that aren't the Valley". If you are interested in presenting, sponsoring, or attending, her contact info is here.
Now that the Buckingham Fountain is going full blast, maybe you'd like to astound your friends with some related trivia. For example, it opened on May 26, 1927, and its computer's name is the "Honeywell Excel-Plus."
The City List is a new city-focused, Digg-like community site that allows users to vote on the best food, nightlife, etc. in each city. The site just launched and currently only has content for Washington D.C., which leaves the Chicago portion completely open to manipulation– I mean contributions from PR people– I mean users.
Here's a few classic Chicago TV clips from everyone's favorite illegal video site: Malcolm X being rudely grilled on a Chicago talk show in the sixties, Siskel and Ebert review Blue Velvet, and a couple minutes from the famous Dec 31, 1988 "Fog Bowl" between the Philadelphia Eagles vs Chicago Bears.
How to Open Things is a new site that allows you to set up contests for ways to open ...well, whatever you want. The creator was recently interviewed on WindyBits.
Check out this mini-photo essay documenting the Belmont L station house move [window resizes].
Elementary students at the Lab School have been building their favorite pieces of the Chicago skyline in Joyce Carrasco's class for more than a decade. Check out examples from the class of 2004-2005. Dibs on the Morton Salt building! [via]
If you've ever driven the Eisenhower expressway, and found yourself saying, "what's that smell?" right between CarMax on the south and a Holiday Inn on the north, you've sniffed methane gas from the Hilliside Landfill. The Attorney General forced its closing back in January. A new owner is now getting it done. Check their progress on landfillclosing.com.
Whet Moser shares a 2016 t-shirt design I think in some circles would sell at least as well as the official one.
ChronicBabe, the locally-produced website for women with chronic health conditions, just launched a redesign. New features include a chronic conditions resource center and an online store. Additionally, if you sign up for Goodie Bags, the site's electronic newsletter, you get a free ebook copy of How to Be a ChronicBabe: A Beginner's Toolkit.
If you've traveled around the world "crossing every meridian of longitude in the same direction" and are interested in meeting others like you, you're in luck. Chicago has its own chapter of the Circumnavigators Club. Oh, and your travel doesn't have to be in the same trip.
Youths up to no good in Streamwood, as alerted via the Chicago Police Department Weblog.
Intelligentsia's Black Cat espresso is number five on Esquire's list of "60 Things Worth Shortening Your Life For." We also have a place to try number 35, "duck fat potatoes." [via]
In a classic "why the suburbs are better than the city" story from the Wheaton News Leader, all the old faves are resurrected: parking, taxes, stargazing. Cool. Then they go after the accent. "The Chicago accent itself is cringe-worthy. Out here, the speech is a little less blue collar, a little more blue blood."
Spend some time poring over Chicago archives over at The Library of Congress website. Includes an 1897 film called "Cattle driven to slaughter" by Thomas A. Edison, 55,000 images from the Chicago Daily News from 1902 - 1933, and an archive called, "Chicago Anarchists on Trial: Evidence from the Haymarket Affair, 1886-1887."
Over on Ask.MetaFilter, there's a thread compiling videogames that are set, in whole or in part, in Chicago. The list includes "Duelin' Firemen," in which a jet and the Space Shuttle crash into the Sears Tower. (Fortunately, it was never released.)
Michael Horvich is more than a supernumerary, he's the curator of Michael's Museum. Unfortunately, the physical museum is currently not open to the public, presumably due to high demand because of a recent Tribune article. For now, enjoy the photographs and lists.
Chicago-based eco-friendly ecommerce company Reusable Bags is featured on AOL today.
Were you stuck at your mom's house picking Easter grass out of your chocolate bunnies? Scraping charoset from grandma's china? Sounds like you could have used some Craig's List Casual Encounters. Check out these definitely NSFW Easter- and Passover-themed ads?
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is taking great strides to expand its audience and influence, notably including a retooled nationally syndicated radio program and a performance and educational video series.
Keep an eye on Same Title Different Story, a new podcast which gives several different Chicago artists a title, and asks them to create their own version of the "story" it belongs too.
Rochester, NY radio talk show host and writer Bob Lonsberry found himself with some unexpected time in Chicago due to an airline screw-up. His blog features a glowing, joyful account of a nice afternoon spent in our city's embrace.
If you want to be a Mensa member or just hang out with them, Chicago Area Mensa is where it's at. Learn about the official Mensa test, get recipes (yeah, recipes for food), and find brainteasers.
Good fun for a Friday: the Chicago Theater marquee generator. UPDATE: Dubi Kaufmann, the site's owner, has been asked by the theater's owner to take down the image.
It's always a pleasure to see a news organization pick just the right stock image for a Downers Grove mob hit story.
As explained by Google Maps. Step 20 is a doozy.
They might be a distant second, but if you didn't manage to get tickets to see Chicago's adopted daughter Neko Case this week, photos and videos of the shows are popping up on the web.
Chalk up another strong showing for Chicago -- this time in the category of Icky and/or Clever Names for Local Makers of Portable Toilets. According to a list compiled by New York Magazine, of the top twenty names in the industry, nationwide, Chicago is home to three: LepreCAN (#12), Oui Oui Enterprises (#5) and UrinBiz.com (#3). New Orleans claims the top spot with... Doodie Calls.
A meandering video exposé on Chicago boat names. Oddly therapeutic.
College newspapers may not be known as paragons of journalism, but some local schools have some trailblazing pieces online, such as Columbia Chronicle's Jackass of the Week column. Other recent college paper wackiness comes from an article about Microsoft vernacular, an apology from a paper that got it all wrong and a pseudo op-ed arguing for a "Star Trek Defense" system against illegal aliens.
The Art Institute recently installed a construction camera so we can put a face in our dreams of more modern and contemporary art. The camera produces a new image every 15 minutes.
Gridskipper got it right when they called it "the Beginner's Guide to Chicago;" not many surprises on this list (though the shout-out to UIC's bowling alley is refreshing.) And hey, we're "twice as smart and half as nice as the folks in St. Louis and Minneapolis" here in the "capital of the Midwest." Great.
It's been on YouTube for two weeks, but the video mashup of Hillary's "conversations" with the famous Ridley Scott "1984" Mac commercial, purportedly made by an anonymous Obama supporter, has made worldwide news since it was picked up by the Drudge Report this weekend. Obama's camp is disavowing any involvement, but I imagine internally they think it's pretty awesome.
Oak Brook's very own McDonald's seems to be having some trouble on one of its British websites. (Unfortunately, the item on the original website is in Flash, so we can't link to it.)
Accessible Chicago is a site that "takes the guesswork out of traveling in Chicago with a wheelchair." Their five-star ratings and reviews give their take on degree of accessibility.
Don't be distracted by Wrigley's announcement that it will launch a sensory "invigorating" gum called "5" this summer. Their Product FAQ offers so much more, including an important dog related item.
"It started out as a harmless fling. He was a male cicada in love, she was a female cicada with needs." Could this possibly be from a real newspaper? Find out now.
Okay, not sure what was in the air at last week's Scissor Sisters concert, but there's a bunch of Missed Connections related to it on Craig's List. Let's hope this weekend's drunken St. Patrick's Day festivities are equally productive.
Convert your currency to South Side dollars while enjoying an unusual White Sox website.
The Chicago Police has a new section on their website for cold case investigations. Includes images, death stats, and chilling summaries of the victim's fates. You can submit any info you have anonymously or call (312)746-9690.
If you're looking for the toniest neighborhood for your next real estate purchase, maybe you should check the Chicago Business High End Homes section. The feature includes maps, photos and sale prices for the most expensive homes in the region in 2006.
Chicago Parent magazine has redesigned its website, which now includes a whole bunch of blogs covering a variety of aspects of parenting, from feminist childrearing to being a working mom to just being a dad.
It should have come as no surprise that the slings and arrows would be in action before Barack Obama even announced a possible Presidential bid, and the past month has borne that out. Perhaps the strangest and most muddled discussion has been the one about whether the Junior Senator is "black enough" for some folks. Sure, "identity politics" were bound to be an issue at some point. It's interesting to note, however, that some of the most thoughtful and level-headed punditry on the whole subject of Obama's cultural steet cred has come from music journalists. It seems that Touré anticipated the issue back in 2004 when he published his reflections on Obama and Colin Powell in the essay "Ships Passing In The Night." Some of the points Touré made were echoed last month by hip-hop critic Oliver Wang in his think piece over at the website Poplicks.
If you're going to talk weather, at least know some trivia. Now you know, for instance, that on this day, exactly 53 years ago, Chicago witnessed the seventh greatest calendar day snowfall total in its recorded history (!). Check out March 4, 1961 while you're there. Crazy.
Prospect Heights-based Alibi Network will construct elaborate lies on their clients' behalf. Given the copious amounts of stock photography and late 1990s web design, I thought this company was a hoax until I found their massive media archive.
Monitoring the PR Newswire so you don't have to: Dateline, Houston. Marion Banowski of Chicago won $10,000 in free Shell gasoline at the Auto Show. "Each finalist drew a Shell gas card and then inserted it into the credit card reader of the display gas pump in hopes it would activate the pump. Banowski was the eleventh finalist to insert his card into the reader so the excitement in the air was palpable."
Here's a story about gangs in Springfield, MO that references an influx of GDs from Chicago. Apparently the principles of supply & demand work in the Ozarks as well: "Police say dealers can also sell drugs and charge more than they can in major cities like Kansas City, St. Louis and even Chicago."
Welcome to a world wherein grandparents in Lake County teach their grandchildren how to play video games.
It's 1961 and the communists have overthrown the government of the United States of America. Prepare yourself for the U.S.S.A.! What is the communists' first step? Move the government to Merchandise Mart! As J. Edgar Hoover says, read this comic now in order to "help us recognize and detect communists as they attempt to infiltrate the various segments of our society."
Julie Vieira is a Chicago-based nun in the order of Sisters of the Immaculate Heart. She works at Loyola Press and chronicles her life as a modern, 35-year-old nun at her blog, A Nun's Life. Julie was also a guest of PRI's "Fair Game." Listen to the MP3 here.
As the temperature keeps falling and the winds keep howling, nothing keeps u warmer than a gauzy, customer-friendly website from a gigantic utility company.
Most Chicagoans may not be aware that J. Allen Hynek was a UFOlogist whose Center for UFO Studies remains active in Chicago. Those who find Mr. Hynek's ideas a little out there are advised not to stop by the web site of alleged contactee Billy Meier.
Blockshopper is a relatively new site that calls itself a "real estate news service for ... the residents themselves." However, in practice, it's more for the residents neighbors, not so much for the subject of the site's news briefs, which are written apparently without actually contacting the people involved. Speaking of checking on the neighbors, ever wonder how your rent compares to the rest of neighborhood? Check it on the Rentometer.
Stuck inside? Left work early? Well, if you're feeling a little bored, the horndogs hanging out at Craig's List can provide company. Check out this search query for all kinds of XXX snow-related fun. Totally hilarious -- and NSFW.
This month's Chicago Magazine contains a funny little feature providing high school portraits of area notables like Dave Eggers, Liz Phair, Harold Ramis and Donald Rumsfeld.
Matthew McClintock welcomes you to his Oak Park home, which he has kindly photographed and uploaded to the Web--from the contents of his refrigerator to his underwear drawer.
The AIA recently surveyed 1,800 Americans about their favorite architecture and released the top 150 as a web feature. Chicago did well in the polls, with the third largest collection of "favorite" buildings in the country, behind New York and D.C. Some obvious Chicago favorites like Wrigley Field, the Tribune Tower and the Sears Tower are listed, but other buildings such as the United Airlines Terminal and the Harold Washington Library also made the cut.
How's this for an unusual look into the lives of our senior senator and his three high-powered roommates! Juicy tidbits include Durbin killing mice with his bare hands and his insistence on having a big screen television.
The Aqua Teen Hunger Force advertisements that caused serious problems in Boston have been in Chicago for weeks. After all of the hubbub in Boston, most of ours were collected last night. [If you happened to snap a photo of the Chicago Ignignokts/Errs, please post it to our flickr pool for all to enjoy.]
Fortunately, the irony that the Illinois Institute of Technology's student newspaper hadn't been updated since January 31, 2006 wasn't lost on its editors. Oh, irony, thou must find elsewhere to roost.
Check out this recent write-up of Thomas Marlow's Chicago Street Studio Project in the Australian media.
Chicago software stalwarts 37signals are conducting another one of their Fireside Chats-- roundtable discussions using their Campfire chat software. This time it's marketing wonder man Seth Godin and online customer experience guru Mark Hurst. Your questions are welcome.
The Green Exchange, Logan Square's proposed "green merchandise mart" has launched its website. Dedicated towards green living, the site offers building plans, an FAQ and a forum to discuss the building and issues surrounding its development. [Hat tip: Craig]
Tense Forms, the collaborative multi-disciplinary, project-based workgroup, is holding their 2nd annual Winter Showcase at Subterranean on February the 2nd at 8pm onwards. The showcase features an insane amount of buttons (1000+), a wall of televisions screening all kinds of visual art as well as live music.
Increasingly needed in this day and age, A Fresh Squeeze is a site dedicated to green living in Chicago. Primarily a bi-weekly email, the site also offers articles in their archives for a taste of things past.
If you haven't yet seen the Leo Burnett-created Allstate ad with the car that plunges into the Chicago River from the Marina City parking deck, the companies have posted both the 30-second and 60-second versions and a behind-the-scenes video at YouTube. YouTube blocked at work? The videos and a "how'd they do that?" FAQ get their own mini-site at Allstate.com, too.
The next time you're flying out of O'Hare, check the sky for UFOs, then check under your seat for scorpions.
Wow, since we last checked in, the WikiMapia of Chicago has really filled out. You should add to it yourself, before everything's tagged. (Sad to see the Wicker Park entry remains a battleground.)
Of all the things that could have popped into my head this morning, why "Liz Armstrong?" Search me, but it appears that the infamous Chicago Reader columnist has found gainful employment in Las Vegas, doing pretty much the same thing that she did here. (PS: Someone needs to update the Wikipedia entry.) (Edit: someone did.)
The History Channel recently asked designers to submit concepts of their cities 100 years in the future. Teams from Chicago, New York and Los Angeles are now facing off for the grand prize. Check out and possibly vote for Chicago's entry from UrbanLab today.
If today's Rearview photo (courtesy of the ever excellent Archie Florcruz) bewilders you or makes you want to do the same thing, take a look at his entry explaining his photo and then head over to the Create Your Own Planets Flickr pool for info on how to do this.
Well, really, there's no reason to worry about the car dangling off of Marina City. [UPDATE: Visit Rearview for a photo.]
At last year's recent DIY Trunk Show, I made my usual rounds looking at who was doing what. The quality keeps getting better and better every year, a testament to those who organize the Trunk Show. However, one vendor caught my eye — Pink Loves Brown. The goods were smart, well-designed, retro-modern and quality. Nicole Balch puts out some really nice stuff — her apartment is quite inspiring, an extension of her work and aesthetic.
Some United employees saw a UFO at O'Hare on November 7th, but the FAA's having none of it.
Online gaming magazine Gamasutra just released the final installment of its five-part series on Chicago game studios. The final stop is Midway.
Devin Hester is a top contender for Rookie of the Year, but the contest to squat on his name on the web has already been won, apparently by these guys. At least second place, DevinHester.net, was nabbed by someone local.
If you're looking for a holiday laugh, check out the Tribune's reader-submitted "Scared of Santa" photo gallery. (Link pops due to window resizing.)
Some revised Christmas Carols for you, mostly Chicago-related, courtesy of the Beachwood Reporter.
Good to know that even Jesus has trouble shopping for some of his relatives this time of year. Check him out as he hits the Mag Mile. [via and by]
I don't know how many times I've been to the Quimby's site, but I'd never noticed the "live at quimby's" section until this morning. It has audio recordings from almost two-dozen events, although the one I really wanted to hear (Al Burian) is broken.
UIC biologist Joel Brown wants to know how squirrels survive the dangers of city life in Chicago.
Jellyvision has launched the "Daily Dis or Dat," a quick flash trivia game based on their popular "You Don't Know Jack" series. Press buttons and win (virtual) cash!
YoChicago is dedicating much of this week's coverage to Pilsen, with reviews, real estate coverage, and much more. Their YouTube Pilsen playlist is especially worth checking out.
(Or Rachel Ray-style, or Stacy Keach-style.) You've only got six days remaining to bid on anything that strikes your fancy in the Tribune's celebrity ornament auction.
From the team behind the political aggregator Real Clear Politics comes BuzzTracker -- as if you needed another way to keep up on celebrities. (To be fair, you can track lots of other stuff, too.)
Optional Events is a colorfully presented event calendar, with more of an activist bent to the listings.
Amazon just unveiled Unspun, a new ranking site where users rank such things as the best small live music venues in Chicago, best websites about the city, best coffee houses... lots here, and lots to do to clean up duplicates and typos. (It runs on Ruby on Rails, but this isn't the rumored Amazon-37signals collaboration.)
A number of robots will soon see action in Chicago. Oh, and one of them is named "Frank."
Since college kids don't have enough online personae to manage, what with MySpace pages, Facebook profiles and Xanga blogs, UIC is exploring the possibility of a school-wide implementation of LiveJournal. The goal? Building community via an informal mode of student, faculty and staff interaction.
Downtown ad agency Leo Burnett is behind a weather-sensitive billboard for cosmetics that's got the internet going nuts.
Found in a 1913 book: sketches by an unknown Chicagoan who apparently worked as a waiter. In the comments of this blog post, some speculate it's the work of Chicago cartoonist and animator Andy Hettinger.
One might think that 5,700 complaints against Chicago cab drivers would be a record high, but it's a 17% drop.
Recent Detour subjects 37signals hit a big milestone today: a million users of its Basecamp software.
Console Camp, a new, Chicago-based game console blog, carries news and will provide details about the best camping spots for the Wii and the PS3. And in the spirit of democratic media, you can even post to it via email!
For its Chicago Fame 150, Newcity determined celebrity the 21st century way: it compiled a list of Google hits. Winning by a landslide, Oprah. No surprise there. The methodology does lead to some odd results: surely more people know who Hugh Hefner (19) is than Rod Blagojevich (17)? Still, there are amusing comparisons to be made. Jim DeRogatis (93) handily beats out Greg Kot (136), while Crede (77) slides in one spot above Iguchi (78).
A group of graduate students at the Medill School of Journalism recently founded The Methods Reporter to share their unpublished work. The stories have a broad range, and they have particularly interesting coverage of community-based arts.
How much do you know about bizarre Chicagoland murders? Take this short quiz and find out!
I read recently that, in the future, search engines will be able to reveal people's whereabouts at a given time, simply by the electronic footprints they've left. For now, though, that information is mostly captured voluntarily, making it largely the provenance of blogs. So it is that, if ever asked where screenwriter John August was when he started a play in late 2006, you can boldly answer "Chicago" -- qualified, as he notes for posterity, "technically, Evanston." [via]
Regardless of who wins, tomorrow will bring some sense of relief when we finally see an end to the televised blitzkrieg of political attack ads. A couple of years ago, political science professor John G. Geer published a book in which he argued that such negative ads were actually good for the democratic process. Fair enough, as one of Geer's colleagues has recently demonstrated, provided you don't mind wearing the target.
Our friends at Coudal have been awfully busy shipping Sixteen Straight tees. It's only natural folks would want to show them off.
If, after reading this week's Detour, you're curious about the 37signals mantra, you can now get Getting Real for free.
Chicagoan Michael Una built this neat combination of bicycle and drum machine for Chicago Artists' Month (that's October to the uninitiated). "Beat-Bike v.1 rewards exercise and coordination with funky outer-space disco beats," says Una. Who are we to argue?
If so, head out to East Dundee for the Santa's Village auction. Don't forget to check out the full catalog [PDF] and supplementary photos so you'll be fully prepared to bid.
You know you've made it in the world of software when Apple does a promo video about how much you love your Mac and OS X. But that's business as usual for 37signals lately, I guess. Read up on the Chicago-based web dev. firm in next week's Detour.
If I had the inside line on a conspiracy involving former Chicago Bears great Ed O'Bradovich, fraud, oil and the mob, I don't know if YouTube is the place I'd turn. But that seems to be the only place Joe Weinbender is telling his story.
A follow-up on Mr. Undateable: Brian Wolf of "
Looks like the Chicago Bike Federation has a new website for their Drive With Care campaign. At first, I thought it was real, but then I knew that any memorial like "The Brittany" had to be too good to be true. Well done, chaps.
Call 773/394-2017 and confess your secret. It will then be exposed -- but only for a day -- at One Day Secret.
Another from our neck of the woods.
Have you been down by Wicker Park and seen an Asian guy dressed in loincloth and knee socks, rocking out on his headphones? You haven't? Well, you'd better check out his Flickr fan group then, hadn't you?
How long do you think it'll take the City to notice they forgot to renew navypier.com? [Update: They renewed it. Screenshot here for posterity.]
insideChicago can provide you with another fix. It currently produces two programs: STOP! Police, a weekly news of the weird podcast, and insideChicago, an offbeat arts and entertainment video podcast that is published twice a week.
Following the Tribune's list of ugly Loop buildings, the Chicago Journal is asking for nominations for the worst buildings in your neighborhood. There's only one nomination so far, so let the archislaying begin.
Via Coudal, the website of a woman whose autobiography's title only tells part of the story: Kellie Everts: I Strip for God. Not safe for work, obviously, and I only post it here because of a lengthy book exerpt of her experiences at the Chicago Playboy Club in 1978.
While Chicago has put out some good videos in recent years (see: OK Go), this video from Jan Terri from 1993 is the exact opposite. I'm not really sure what to think: that it's actually from 1993 but looks like it's from the 80's or how cheesy Chicago looks. However, I have that chorus stuck in my head! [via Jennifer]
Unable to make a love connection via existing dating websites, plucky Brian Wolf has taken matters into his own hands with settleforbrian.com and scored the cover of today's Red Eye in the process.
Killers have moved into MySpace. The social networking juggernaut removed a profile for Laurie Dann, who shot six kids in a Winnetka school in 1988, over the weekend. Profiles of serial killers John Wayne Gacey, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer are still up, for now.
The Sun-Times launched a redesigned website Monday night; it looks swell, but they also changed the way their URLs are built, so any links to articles that worked yesterday are now completely useless. [Matt adds: I'm not sure how swell it looks, but it's not just the links that are obsolete -- the old RSS feeds are, as well, so you'll apparently need to resubscribe. Beyond that, here's the site tooting its own horn.] (Thanks, Mike.)
Ranging from parades to street art to "Gringos out of Pilsen" agitprop and spanning several years, Flickr user Pedro Juan's photoset takes the pulse of a neighborhood.
Learn the legend of Asshand, read a recounting of a visit to Lebanon, and other stories in the latest issue of Keep Going.
If you've ever wondered about the proper way to eat foods like thali, bo nuong and injera, a Tribune video story has you covered. Watch the video and then check out the restaurants they recommend.
My goodness, it's not every day that one reads a Missed Connection that invokes "the beauty of the plains of Kenya at sunset, the peaceful radiance of Annecy surrounded by snow capped Alps and the glorious treasures of Florence" and then proceeds to say they're nothing compared to That Girl on the Pink Line, is it?
We all know that the Art Institute was a location for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but did you know that Gerri's Palm Tavern was a location for The Sixth Sense? MovieMappr knows, and it will show you where Gerri's was.
With all of this walking around Chicago, why not take an idiosyncratic video stroll through the city?
You've got to hand it to Nigerian scammers: they're on top of current affairs. The May Report published an email scam using the George Ryan corruption case as its set-up. [via]
TECH Cocktail, a social occasion for the Chicago tech scene, has announced its next event: pencil it in for October 12 at The Gramercy. RSVP here.
How well do you know your Dylan trivia? Well enough to connect, say, Sid Vicious to Robert Zimmerman in six steps or less? Find out with Coudal Partners' latest diversion and you could win some cool stuff.
Idolator, the music industry blog portion of Gawker Media's online empire, introduces a new Friday feature today: Pick of the 'Fork, a challenge for readers to try and identify the tortuously worded sentence that was not used in a Pitchfork review. (Previous stellar example of Pitchfork-mocking: David Cross' essay on fake CDs for real Pitchfork reviews.)
Does anyone know why there was an Indy racecar pulled over on Damen the other night?
An oldie, but a goodie that I don't see that we've ever mentioned on GB: Steve Delahoyde's "238 Miles" or "I Drove for Five Hours, from Chicago to Iowa City, and Listened to ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' the Entire Way."
Congrats to Chicago blogs (and FoGB) Bookslut and Coudal Partners who were chosen by PCmagazine as part of their list of the Top 99 Websites You Don't Know About. Of course, we know, and we love.
NPR's Present at the Creation provides unique insight to some Chicago-related icons. Our fair city pops up in some obvious place like Animal House, A Raisin in the Sun , and Nighthawks, but it's also there for Cracker Jacks!
Flickr geotaggers and those viewing one recent post may have noticed that Chicago's historic neighborhoods like Little Hell and Shantytown are alive on the Internet. Other interesting locations include the Berkeley Cottages and Packingtown.
As Flickr and Upcoming announce new features today, geotagging looks like it's about to blow up. As of this posting, there were 150 photos displayed on a broadly defined Chicago map; expect that number to be significantly higher in a day or two, especially as previously tagged photos are imported. (And, for kicks, I tried the Upcoming event-tagging, using Lollapalooza as a test case. Sure enough, it worked! So neato.)
Kanjii alive is "a searchable, web-based tool to help beginning and intermediate level Japanese language learners read and write kanji." It is a free program that was developed by folks at the University of Chicago, and it is definitely worth checking out, even if you have no specific interest in learning the language. QuickTime 6.0 or higher is required to use Kanjii alive.
Taking another step away from scissors, glue, and late night photocopying sessions, our city's very own Punk Planet has redesigned and expanded its website. Of particular note is the addition of user blogs.
...it just got reinvigorated in the hands of the Delicious Design League.
For those who've never heard of Craigslist, there's always the old-school option: flyering Wicker Park cars looking for a girl you once met -- well, okay, kinda met -- in Las Vegas.
You've been writing that article about wine and trust and deception for a few weeks now, but it's missing that certain something. Could it be a quote from a local expert?
The city's recent appointment of Melissa Turner as Chicago's fashion czarina brought a challenge from treehugger: become the green fashion capital of the U.S. Designers, will you embrace the challenge?
YoChicago launched a massive forums section yesterday, covering every nook and cranny of the city and many suburbs. Get in on the ground floor.
Those of us who miss the Terra Museum (formerly at 666 N Michigan, now the home of the temporary Motorola store) can now visit our favorite paintings online. The site also includes information about where the collection can be seen in person--part of it is still in Chicago, at the Art Institute.
An Exquisite Corpse, the locally based collaborative art project site created by friend of GB Phineas X. Jones (and run on a CMS by GB MVP Jim Allenspach), posted the 500th corpse since its relaunch today. (It's technically the 627th corpse if you count from the beginning of the site, but why do that?)
If you're yearning for some travel (video), check out YouTube user Srovetz's atmospheric videos documenting his train and car travel throughout the country. There are too many Chicago related videos to post here, but some train segments include Kansas City to Chicago, Chicago to New Orleans, and Chicago to New York.
Some time in the very recent past -- quite possibly today -- Craigslist split its local listings into five regional categories: City of Chicago, North Chicagoland, West Chicagoland, South Chicagoland, and, reaching a bit further, Northwest Indiana. Which means, of course, you'll never have to read about a Missed Connection in Palatine or rental ad for an apartment in Northbrook again.
"Community areas in Chicago, isolated from context."
Looking for a technology group to meet with? Let Tech Social be your guide.
Meet another website devoted to the wonders of the Midwest: Midwestern Goodness. While they have content from around the region, they recently filmed a short video tour in Chicago. More Chicago content is in the works.
Friend of GB, scooterist, designer and vegan guide making extraordinaire, PJ Chmiel hits the open road on his scooter on a tour he calls the 2006 R.A.M.B.L.E. Ambitious in scope, it should be quite a ride. Follow along when he kicks off tomorrow.
Zillow offers an interesting graphic representation of cost per square foot for Chicagoland real estate: a "heat map."
Sunday's Coastal Flood Statement predicts a seiche caused by severe thunderstorms. While not uncommon, they have caused considerable damage in Chicago. In 1954, an eight to ten foot reflective wave caused by a seiche drowned eight people (page 24) and swept dozens into the lake (page 67). But don't worry: today's seiche should be less than a foot tall.
When you really love that Threadless tshirt design so much, that you never want to take it off...get it tattooed.
FoGB Coudal Partners' Museum of Online Museums was featured on NPR's "All Things Considered" yesterday.
Via the RedEye, a link to the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry: register or look up bikes reported as stolen in the city. It's a great idea, and serves a real need; however, it's not automated, and site creator Howard Kaplan has to manually send out e-mails to listserv subscribers. If you've got some web skills, why not lend a hand?
At least, potentially. CTA Tattler has updated their entry about the hidden electrical outlet on el cars to reflect that you run the risk of killing your appliance via a devastating power surge, as the outlet gets its power from the third rail.
In 2002, BBC Radio 4's Thinking Allowed visited Chicago to do a five-part series about the city in the spirit of early Chicago School sociologists. With interviews from prominent Chicago academics, musicians, and public thinkers, the programs are surprisingly fresh four years later.
songs:illinois is an excellent little mp3 blog run by Craig Bonell in Oak Park. There's definitely a folk/ acoustic/ singer-songwriter focus but what excites me personally is that I've only heard of maybe one artist on the homepage. A nice deviation from Pitchfork and the like, dig in and discover some new tunes.
Multiplex, by former GB film critic Gordon McAlpin, turns one year old today with its 75th strip, "Pirates of Pirates of the Caribbean."
Introducing Coastr, "a social guide to beer," produced by local design team Luckymonk.
Oh boy, there's nothing I like more than Chicago-centric Google Maps hacks. Check out this mashup with the BetterBidding Priceline/Hotwire hotel forums: click on a location to access information about any given hotel, including relevant user reviews and recent winning bids.
Gay guys don't have too much trouble finding themselves in the local queer media. But gay gals? Forget it. That's the way the founders of CHILL Magazine feel, at least, and they're doing their part to change things, offering Chicago-area lesbians an online publication "free of L Word references and [with] no naked men photos in sight."
David Woodhouse Architects has a spiffy new site detailing many of the architectural projects that have come out of the studio. Based in Chicago, they're the creatives behind quite a few of the Chicago Institutions you enjoy today. Take a look at the site, meander the buildings and find out the inspiration behind each.
You may read our Public Notice column about Craigslist's Missed Connections. If you're absolutely addicted to them, you might be interested in delving deeper behind the scenes. GB staffer Jason Maslanka created a website with audio and video (including an interview with Craigslist founder Craig Newmark) called Connect to try to figure it all out.
July is going to see lots of great bike activity in Beverly. First, there will be big-wheel race for kids of 100 yards, adorably titled the "Longwood 100". Then the pros take over and race in the Beverly Hills Cycling Classic, where the average speed is 32 mph. Yowsers! This happens on Friday July 7th; on Sunday the 9th you can sign-up for a fun ride around the neighborhood, the Tour De Beverly where you can see the historic features of the neighborhood on two wheels. (Sorry, no big wheels on that one.)
In small ways, Mazzone's, local purveyors of Italian ice, do their part to make the world a better place. To wit: spotted somewhere in New Jersey, the company's admonition to "Always Be Nice To Your School Lunch Lady."
The latest Google Maps mashup, Wikimapia, needs your help: the current oh-so-clever entry for Wicker Park is: "A favorite Chicago-area hangout for Hipsters and males that wear way too much make-up. Recomend (sic) avoiding at all costs." Cute. (Learn more about wikis here.)
Friend of GB, George Aye has just unleashed his latest idea which I find frickin' cool. It's called Hubwear. Hubwear are t-shirts with airport codes printed on them: the front is first part of the trip while the back is your return leg of the journey.
A few new cool entries on Chicagobloggers.com: Mom-O-Matic, a great site about being a mom and still having a sense of adventure and humor; Porcini Chronicles, a woman in Milan by way of Berwyn who posts delightful Italian recipes and pictures of her adventures; and SariSariShots, a photoblog/documentary about the Chicago Filipino experience that's as beautiful as it is fascinating to take a peek into a slice of a different world from your own.
Legendary bank robber John Dillinger: Public Enemy Number One, patron of the Biograph Theater in Lincoln Park, and now, in death, must-have mantelpiece tchotchke.
In an interview with the Online Journalism Review, programmer-journalist Adrian Holovaty mentions that he's "been collecting various public-record data in Chicago in preparation for the launch of [his] 'sequel' to chicagocrime.org." Sounds interesting, eh? Watch this space for more as we learn it.
Friday at O'Hare, United neglected to wake up an unaccompanied minor who was napping while he waited for his connection to South Bend; his seat was taken by a 10-year-old bound for Taiwan.
If you want up-to-date weather, and I mean, updated instantly, check out the nifty weather station installed in Uptown at Pete's Weather. Handy if you're about to hit the bike trail and the delightful Flash display is quite fascinating. If you want other local weather, the Wunderground's personal weather stations map for Chicago is useful too.
A handy link passed on to me: the City's Convention Bureau has a search engine for special events. Looking for an outdoor party for 200? A meeting with cigar smoking for 20? It has answers.
Are you a "very tall gent" who attempted to strike up a conversation with a gal at the GB Anniversary Party Friday night with the classic pick-up line "How are you this evening?," only to be rebuffed by mumble? If so, she's looking for you.
Ever wondered about the chronology of license plate designs has been in Illinois? Me neither, but here's the place to look.
Don't know if you noticed this or not, but a couple of days ago, Flickr went gamma. Awesome! Now's the perfect time for you to check out the slew of new features and of course, join up one of their Chicago groups (especially this great one called Gapers Block. We gotta feed Rearview somehow, right?).
An IIT student created a small site examining one of the anomalies in Chicago's grid system: the six-way intersection.
An interesting photo history of Maxwell St. Market, 1975 - 1984. Contrast that with the city's official info about the market.
Our fabulous staff Librarian has mentioned the Encyclopedia of Chicago before, but I do believe it's time you visit it again. Check out some of the special features. Stump your coworkers with your newfound Chicago trivia knowledge!
Thanks to an alert reader, we've learned that previously mentioned Bring Back the Draught is having a pub crawl this weekend in Roscoe Village. $20 gets you a T-shirt and surely a needed lunch; extra proceeds are donated to local not-for-profits.
Hey, are you a jerk? Did you lose your sportcoat after groping a woman at a bar recently? If you want it back, it's up on eBay. Go bid on it. (Thanks, Benjy!)
Crain's on Chicago's "new face of technology": 37signals, FeedBurner and TicketsNow.
You thought your absurd and/or nightmarish MySpace stories were only good for amusing your friends; this Craigslist post suggests otherwise.
Looper is a "quasi-daily architectural photoblog generally focused in and around the Loop;" if only we could all proselytize so well about our urban environment. Read and be inspired.
Wikipedia's Chicago entry has been voted "good article collaboration of the week." This means the entry is "among the best...of Wikipedia articles, but...flaws [are] holding [it] back." To help eliminate the flaws, join the conversation. (Thanks, Sandy!)
The Citizens' Utility Board has issued a press release instructing Chicagoans to beware of door-to-door representatives of U.S. Energy Savings Corp, who are using pushy, deceptive tactics to get people to switch gas providers. There's an account here. [via Consumerist]
Enjoy some Friday fun with statistics! State Master is a free site that collects current statistical data about all 50 states and allows visitors to compare and view data on just about every topic imaginable. Find out how Illinois stacks up against the rest of the country. Hey, we're third in the total number of homicides, and Illinois comes in ninth for the highest unemployment rate. And, did you know 65 percent of the population of Illinois lives in the Chicagoland area? Plus, you can get your statistics fix anytime with RSS and Atom feeds on the site.
You might already check out the award-winning site ChicagoCrime.org to see what's gone down in your neighborhood, but don't forget to check your commute. The CTA Tattler has a story of a knock 'em, sock 'em fight on a Blue Line train this week, and also points out the ChicagoCrime.org options of checking crimes on platforms, buses, garages, and trains.
Dear Dude on The Blue Line with the Pink iPod Wallet, Take your powder pink iPod protection devotion to the next level. Thomas Pink's latest collection at Marshall Field's includes this practical gem: "The Commuter Tie". Pink's tie (available in Thomas' signature pink, as well as red and navy blue) has a pocket on the backside for your MP3 player and a loop to tame headphone wires. Pink's collection also includes "The Commuter Shirt." Yours, Gapers Block Style Team
Swap Simple is a Chicago-based site where people can trade used books, CDs, DVDs and videogames with other members, paying only postage and a $2 fee per item ordered — which is reduced to free if you list enough of your own stuff for trade. (Thanks, Lakshmi)
Early notice: Allstate's going to do a large media campaign in the Loop on Monday. And they'll pay for (metered) parking, as well as adding a bunch of car-themed art downtown. (Will it be as cool as the car spike? Probably not.) Happy Birthday, Allstate.
Former GB film critic Gordon McAlpin has turned his love of the movies into a great webcomic, Multiplex.
Have you ever thought that a perfect counter to the over-size sport utility vehicles would be a sport utility motorcycle? One that fits you and your friends, as well as your trusty machine gun or mortar to hold off enemy fire (wmv)? Even better: mount the machine gun on the sidecar (wmv). Oh yes, I'm not making this up, and it's all brought to you from Ural Motorcycles, available (sans gun) at Ural Chicago.
While I was looking for a place to donate a slew of computers I used in a high school classroom, I came across Chicago-based Computers For Schools. They offer refurbished computers to schools, non-profits, and churches at 1/3 the retail cost. Their dropoff location is 3350 N. Kedzie. They even recycle cell phones, too!
Before baseball fever fully embraces- slash-chokes the region, lend an ear to this well-made case for basketball as the lifeblood of the American city, Chicago included (McSweeney's via FreeDarko).
What's better than an REO Speedwagon concert? A free REO Speedwagon concert. Can't remember their hits? Check out these great MIDI versions. (Thanks, Stacey.)
Spoon and the Silver Jews have been added to the lineup at this year's Pitchfork Music Festival, which surprises exactly no one. In other Pitchfork news, they're looking for a local music reporter, and has anyone else noticed that the top Google hit for "Pitchfork Music Festival" is the rival Intonation Music Festival?
A Chicago feminist, mother, wife, and UIC employee is one of the finalists in the Swiffer Amazing Women of the Year contest. Veronica is the 7th from the top and she needs your vote. With her help maybe Chicago will get voted "Cleanest City to Live In."
A reader sent in a link to a craigslist post about a big fight last night in Wicker Park: anyone else see this? Email us at inbox@gapersblock.com with details.
The Northwestern Crew Team was on its way to compete in South Carolina when the trailer flipped and destroyed their fleet. You can read the story and flow them a few dollars to replace their beloved boats.
Luigi Di Serio's web site lists the Top 15 Skylines in the world. Not shockingly, Chicago clocks in at number two on the list just behind Hong Kong. Anyone who remembers their first drive down Lakeshore Drive at dusk can surely attest to our ranking here.
New And Notable on Chicagobloggers.com: Euchre Universe, a blog about playing cards that features an obsession with a rubber chicken; Shrinktalk, a site that encourages readers to share their experiences with psychiatrists.
This is totally awesome--some most excellent paintings by local blogger joedevivre.
The latest issue of Keep Going is up, and there's a useful how-to on getting a postcard from Nigeria. Better than an email from Nigeria, I suppose.
T-shirt mavens Threadless have their pretty-often $10 sale going on now. Act fast!
Any fans of the band Chicago that could help a fella out? (yes, we are Chicago heavy on GB this week). This gentleman found some old reel-to-reel tapes of the band, back when they were called CTA, from a show at Wine and Roses, circa 1968. Could they be thee Chicago? Maybe you hardcore Chicago fans know.
Friends of GB Jim Coudal and Jason Fried opened SXSW Interactive yesterday -- hear their remarks. Also, our own Andrew Huff is also there; naturally, he's reporting back.
If Slowdown just isn't enough for you, Matt Maldre has created Chicago Bean, a site which has nothing to do with the sculpture in Millennium Park. Instead, it's a calendar of eclectic events around town, such as today's lunchtime lecture on "recycling bikes for social change." Or, for those planning ahead, the WWE Bacon, Bagels & Biceps Brunch.
Thought you'd heard the last of the Berghoff? Not quite. Hungry Magazine has a rather thoughtful requiem for the physical space, accompanied by a slideshow of photos from the memorabilia auction.
Block 37 webcam -- you know it's live, as it's currently under a blanket of snow. [via]
People watching in Rosemont should be extra interesting this weekend. The Chicago Midwest Beauty Show is happening at the convention center this weekend. Brian's tip for best bad hair spotting: go to the RAM in Rosemont. (Sadly, the nail competition entries aren't online.) UPDATE: The Fangoria Convention is happening this weekend in Rosemont too. This just keeps getting better.
Today's Tribune compiles a list of the "50 Best Web Sites"; Trib internet blogger Steve Johnson has put it online. I doubt more than, say, five of these will be new to our readers (sample inclusions: Defamer, Metacritic, The Onion), but your grandparents may find it a good place to get started on "that internet thing." That said, the paper is taking reader suggestions, so if you've got a favorite, plug it.
This sure is pretty: a visualization of monthly average highest and lowest temperatures recorded for Chicago from 1975 through 2004.
Ever wonder what a high-yield atomic bomb would do to the city? You can find out with this handy mapper from Eric Meyer; Chicago is in the drop-down menu. (Thanks, Dan!)
The Chicago Defender has several podcasts available for download including a speech by Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. calling black Chicagoans to "raise their 'low expectations' and demand that they receive economic and political parity from their elected officials."
Chicagoist took a tip from its parent and tracked down the "Google Center" of the city — the point you see if you type "Chicago IL" into GoogleMaps and zoom all the way in. Some other city centers after the jump.
Reader Carrie points us to the official response from craigslist, from CEO Jim Buckmaster, to the Fair Housing Act lawsuit filed by the CLCCRUL we told you about here and here. Related: Chicagoist's interview with Michael Pensack, the executive director of the Illinois Tenants Union.
Ira Glass may not understand why Chicagoans are upset about This American Life leaving for New York, but maybe that's because he doesn't realize just how rabid his fanbase is. I mean, stud orchids have been named after him.
I am absolutely obsessed with Rod's hair. It's always perfect and rivals Donald Trump's hair for yucks. So imagine how surprised I was when I found he sometimes dyes it. And that our governor is pals with Spongebob, too.
Here's something I had no idea existed: Crain's compiles a list of patents awarded to local businesses and independent inventors. If that tickles your fancy, you'd probably also like Patently-O, a patent law blog.
The hype about podcasts seems to be waning, but that doesn't mean there's no innovation going on. ChiHookah.com offers not only a podcast about Chicago food, beer and music (and, um, hookahs), but also video of said podcasts.
“After five years of looking for something romantic to do on Valentine’s Day, I thought this would be fun and different,” Dockery said. Her reaction: "You're kidding, right?" Why the negativity? Yes, he took her to White Castle. Even worse: IT WAS PACKED. (Thanks, Stacey!)
For the Sunday drivers stuck at their desks: comprehensive Chicago Auto Show coverage from hometown boys Autoblog.com. (Check out the podcast and desktop wallpaper gallery.)
A few new additions to Chicagobloggers worth examining: Cella Bellum, the humorous rantings of a law student; I Want To Be Donna Reed, offers the other side of attorney-ness, as a lawyer who stayed home to be with her child; and EmptyFree.com, a blog devoted to mp3s. I was just listening to song that combined Ukrainian accordians with hip-hop. A few more ways to while away time while it snows....
Chicago Auto Show Webcams (to be online after 3pm).
Still more beer: it seems that someone has self-published a history of Chicagoland brewing. A few samples are available online (of the text, not the beer).
Jumping into the city's already crowded booze map field is beer.chicago.com.
Looking for yet another source of great Chicago food writing? Check out Hungry, an online magazine that also features podcasts with top Chi-town chefs. The most recent issue features an interview with Hot Doug's Doug Sohn, plus product reviews and more.
A few new notable blogs that are worth a glance: chicagopunjabi, the account of a newly arrived man from India(?) writing about coming to Chicago. "And you know, I started to get the feeling that Morgan Freeman wanted these Penguins to die." Feeling Kinda Blog Today has a great sense of humor worth reading, too. And something from a Portugese student in Chicago.
What if the New York Times chronicled your childhood? In the "My Life in the Times" series over at The Morning News, John Warner is imagining just that.
Two points for creativity: want to drive traffic to your blog? Advertise in the paper, like this woman did in yesterday's Sun-Times. But another technique is to utilize the new PING feature on Chicagobloggers, either to get more traffic on your site or to see what other Chicagoans are saying. Details on how to participate are here.
A Craigslist post that Shylo could surely support: How Not to Write a Missed Connection (otherwise known as "Get an anonymous livejournal, you jerk").
Target have taken advertising to the next level. This blog suggests that they've started using their roofs as a huge satellite view version of their billboard (as seen in this Google Map). Kottke suggests that this particular store however could be for the benefit for passengers landing at nearby O'Hare (as seen in this Google Map).
Oh, my God. We know that many of you are off work today in honor of civil rights great Martin Luther King. If you're bored, why not see what other Chicagoans are up to today? Check out this compilation of ridiculously unsafe-for-work Craig's List posts about MLK Day fun.
The Fantagraphics blog links to photos of a cool-looking hand-made plush head of Chicago cartoonist Ivan Brunetti, made by the girlfriend of Chicago cartoonist Onsmith Jeremi. Can the Ivan Brunetti action figure be far behind?
The saga continues. Reader and member of Canasta (who have a fantastic website by the way), Elizabeth writes in informing us that there are two Chicago based websites that qualified for the 10 voting spots eligible for a website makeover. One spot has been given to her site: "I don't know whether to be ashamed or elated." The other spot goes to the Chicago Lawyers Association (who might really need it). Vote away!
As the Million Dollar Homepage sells off its last 1,000 pixels, other people are getting into the act. Chicago-based FundMyLifestyle.com claims to be aiming for a "really nice car," while ChicagoMillionPixels is going for the local angle.
The Chicago Daily News name controversy has apparently ended. Introducing ChiTownDailyNews.org. Ignore the masthead, and read the Editor & Publisher interview with site founder Geoff Dougherty. (Want to get involved? Start with the photo call.)
Work pretty slow this week? Take some of that downtime to watch some videos! You know what videos are, right? Those things that MTV used to play? Anyway, European music blog DoCopenhagen has compiled their top fifty music videos of 2005, with interesting clips from Xiu Xiu, M83, Animal Collective and The Decemberists making the cut. A note of caution: The Aphex Twin vid gave me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies. You've been warned.
Intrigued by the Jones Holiday Sodas? Well, before you run out and buy a pack of them, perhaps you should take a look at this taste test, done by a local blogger and his girlfriend at Thanksgiving.
Indeed it is true. Intechnic, a local internet solutions company, is offering a $10,000 website makeover for the worst business website out there. You can submit your website with a short story explaining why you think you'd need a website makeover. Heh.
With Midway in the news so much lately, this great site has a lot of information about the history of Midway. If that isn't enough, you can of course buy the book too.
I'll admit that Bea Arthur has not been on my cultural radar since around 1979, so I was a little surprised to find out that Ms. Arthur is a strong advocate of women's rights and animal rights. Why do I know this? Because Chicago area web designer Kevin Buckstiegel told me. He designed and maintains a web site dedicated to the former Golden Girl. Check out Bea In The Limelight.
Oh lordy, lord. Mike Ditka in some 1980s video doing some rap and dancing with freshly scrubbed denizens of the leg warmer set. I apologize in advance [via MetaFilter].
Have you ever wondered how many songs mention Chicago by name? Well wonder no more my friends. These folks on LiveJournal have you covered where My Kind of Town, Chicago is concerned.
Here's a delightful urban photoblog named Road To Nowhere. So many beautiful pictures from cities around the world.
Chicago music scene mainstay Thrill Jockey Records recently updated their website, and have added a "Vault" section which houses every video made by the likes of Tortoise, Mouse on Mars, Giant Sand, and the rest of the Thrill Jockey family. It's the most visually and aurally rewarding work day time-killer out there right now, guaranteed.
The Beautiful People Take The Red Line. Interesting B&W portraits of red line riders from 97-98. Be patient with the navigation.
I'm somewhat impervious to cold, but I have to believe someone with better knitting skills than me has designed a sweater with built-in scarf and mittens. Any knitters out there know of an existing pattern for this? (Alternatively, you could enter the contest to make it. There's a PRIZE you know.)
Despite not releasing any new material since 1991, the band Chicago will be releasing a new album. The yet untitled work was produced by Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus. Their current touring season has them in Texas with Earth Wind and Fire and there's talk of yet another tour with Huey Lewis. Future headline: Ghost of Johnny Cash Summons REO Speedwagon To Studio For Possible Recording.
I'm not big on cabs. If I were, I'd want Ray St. Ray. I'd be treated to his one-man show; an ongoing performance piece called The Singing Cab Driver Show. As Ray himself would say, "it's part vaudeville, part inspirational seminar and "More than a ride...It's a trip!" Check out the videos.
If you thought blogs were just for people with cats, kids or catastrophes, then think again. Because Olive and Mason (two co-workers, who are secretly dating) are here, detailing their lives of working, betting and eating lunch. Required reading.
Are you a fan of the super-hot roller derby dolls in the Windy City Rollers? Yeah? Then vote for your favorite girl today. The voting ends November 9, so click now.
Copy Goes Here: Coudal Partners, the folks who help to bring you Transmission, have made a funny little movie.
Ride the CTA all by your lonesome no more: "The Front 'L' Car is for Singles Only!"
The Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros were asked to submit their favorite songs for Apple iTunes [link will only work with iTunes installed]. The choices are mostly predictable (some Pearl Jam mixed in with Nu-Metal and a smattering of rap/hip-hop) with one exception. Damaso Marte's choice was Britney Spears's "Oops!... I Did It Again." Say it ain't so, Damaso!
But, it would seem, worth it. We mentioned the UpYourBudget Treasure Hunt earlier in the week, and it turns out the White Sox weren't the only winners last night. Congratulations, Willie Stevens, you're ten thousand dollars richer.
Sifting through the website for the UpYourBudget Treasure Hunt is a bit of a task, but, as far as I can make out, there are $10,000 prizes to be won in various cities each week over the next month. Tell you one thing: I'll be doggoned if the "North" video clue doesn't look awfully familiar. May the best gaper win.
Remember the Jenga Sears Tower? The Sun-Times interviews its builder today, who reveals he's ready to knock it down and start on his next project, London's Big Ben. To that end, Bryant Varney is looking for suggestions on how best to send the Tower toppling; send yours to bvarney[at]nmu.edu.
Continuing the onslaught of "Cool Things You Can Do With GoogleMaps" is this new tool I discovered this morning, Frapper. You can map locations of where people in a particular group live. Some Chicago-based groups have already gotten into the act such as mommy-forum Chicagomothers.com and the Chicago Cycling Club.
According to this post on craigslist, dating services are illegal. We've all heard of stupid laws before, but I hadn't actually seen the legal code cited. And what if you're gay? (via westnorth)
With so many Nobel Laureates down in Hyde Park, we may be forgiven for thinking of science as a serious-minded and lofty enterprise; however, the folks at the Annals of Improbable Research are happy to nudge our thinking in another direction. 2005’s IgNobel Prize winners have been announced. And while none of this year’s winners are from Chicago, we can be proud that 2004’s winner for Public Health—the youngest IgNobel winner ever—graduated from the Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences. (Jillian Clarke was honored for her paper: “If You Drop It: Should You Eat It? Weigh-in on the 5-Second Rule.”)
Do you do a little doubletake when a website you visit regularly suddenly looks different? That's what I did when I visited Crain's ChicagoBusiness.com this morning, and a week or two ago at Chicagomag.com. And a bit before that at CBS2Chicago.com. CSS-y goodness!
The planners at Chicago Metropolis 2020 present "Metro Joe", a flash-based game for 8th graders to learn about Chicagoland planning issues. The game challenges your knowledge of regional issues such as low density sprawl; the spatial mismatch between jobs; and affordable housing and transportation, and is even kinda fun to play whether you're a pre-teen in Elgin or a cubicle-jockey in the Loop.
Holy crap! Some guy at Northern Michigan University built a 30-foot-tall replica of the Sears Tower out of Jenga blocks!
Although LPTrixie.com is temporarily off the air, if you've ever been curious about the finer points of being a Lincoln Park Chad, well, look no further...
Upcoming.org has been purchased by Yahoo. Hopefully this will raise this cool service's profile and encourage a bit more use here in Chicago.
37signals has launched Writeboard, a collaborative text editing program. Read, write, share and edit at will, while all previous versions are backed up and retrievable. I know I'll be using it.
SkinnyCorp is at it again. But they've moved from your t-shirt drawer to your wetbar with ExtraTasty!, launching soon. Go sign up.
Seriously. I've begun to turn to blogs to get more and more information that I know I'm not going to find in traditional media. For example, the Chicago Foundation for Women had a Symposium yesterday titled "Speaking So They Can Hear Us," which was all about getting feminist voices in the media. Right up my alley, right? Unfortunately the day job got in the way of me going. So today I go to Google News and find nothing. So I turn to my bookmarks, and find Roni's notes. With lots of pertinent links. Thanks, Roni!
In a city that's completely banned spray paint, Chicago street-artists have had to take creative and untraditional routes to get their work on the streets. Chicago Street Art, the latest group pool on Flickr, is starting to document all of the hand drawn-stickers, stencils, plywood cutouts, scrawlings, paste-ups, and installations that bring color to the all-too-often drab urban landscape.
And I don't mean the server. Being a server is a thankless, crappy, dirty job which very rarely gets you paid time off, health insurance, or many other benefits that most corporate drones can take for granted. And while servers run into other servers when they're having a beer and unwinding, it's hard to network so you can get the good jobs, for good owners. In comes Shameless Restaraunts.com and creates a safe environment so bartenders and food service workers can find out the dirt before they drop off a resume. And since I'm lucky enough to be a corporate drone now, I'll be checking through the list to make sure my usual haunts aren't run by "dillweeds", "jagoffs", or the like. Thanks, Paul.
A neat little zine deserving of your time: Love Chicago. We do, you should too.
Recently, a friend left town to spend a year studying abroad, and I'm keeping up with his travels via Flickr. The other day, a somewhat inscrutable picture appeared in his photostream. It looked like a packet of candy cigarettes emblazoned with our skyline, but why? Curious to know more, I asked what it all meant. His reply: "In Germany everyone thinks that Chicagoans are so rich that they smoke chocolate!"
From an unlikely source, CondoBuzz.com has created a series of overlay maps that show the New Orleans flood area as it would affect other U.S. cities, including Chicago. If we had been flooded, the water would have reached from Logan Square to 67th Street, and as far west as Forest Park. Just imagine your home, still standing under water after two weeks. Please keep giving. [via Zorn and Austin Mayor]
Many congratulations to Adrian Holovaty for winning the grand prize at the Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism -- grand prize being, in fact, a cool ten grand. Holovaty's site, chicagocrime.org, has been impressing users in Chicago and beyond since it launched back in May. Well done; we'll be looking forward to the promised sequel.
File under: "If you say so..." About.com has posted a list of Chicago's five most popular sites as determined by daily visitors. While I can buy Craigslist, I'm a bit skeptical that the local UVa alumni club pulls more traffic than, say, the Tribune's site, which isn't even listed. Speaking of it, though, Daywatch writer Charlie Meyerson is hosting one of chicagotribune.com's first online chats today at noon; get interactive here.
Whether you're a beginning knitter, or a long-time crocheter, there's a new spot in town where you can learn some new tricks. The store Knit 1 just launched its website, but it's already getting into high gear with its vast selection of class offerings. There's a special class where moms can bring their kids along, others where the youngsters get to knit alongside their parents, and a number of general and project-oriented classes for all levels. Prices are reasonable, and they do offer a discount on materials. You can check out Knit 1 in person at 3823 N. Lincoln Ave. in the North Center neighborhood.
Push the button now
And computer creates a
Terrible haiku
In today's online edition, Philly.com columnist Mark Alan Hughes writes, "If Chicago is corrupt, at least it's corruption that delivers." He uses The Bean as an apt metaphor [registration at philly.com required gb@gapersblock.com/gapers1].
Dear anon-86861632, It's been over a month since you posted your first five "Chicago-Centric Ways I'd Like to Kill Myself." By now, I'm sure we've all read and forwarded them on to our friends and neighbors -- heck, you made the Best Of Craigslist, didn't you? I know, of course, that suicide is no laughing matter, but, after vainly spending time on the lookout, I can't help wondering, "Where's Part II?"
I ran into this interesting little tidbit of info on about.com: "Anton LaVey, in his popular work, The Devil's Notebook, credited some of Chicago's paranormal openness to its architecture, namely, the trapezoidal John Hancock building, the shape of which has been traditionally known as a gateway for arcane forces." This according to the book Creepy Chicago; A Ghosthunter's Tales of the City's Scariest Sites by Ursula Bielski. In my best Johnny Carson voice, I can honestly say "I did not know that."
Did you wake up this morning and say "I feel like a little suburban banjo music?" I did, and friend, I have quite the site for you. Listen to live versions of "Oh Susanna" and "Boil That Cabbage Down" from suburban twangers "Loose Change and Friends".
The Lucky Strike on Lincoln is changing its name, and the deadline for submitting name ideas is tomorrow. Anyone who e-mails their idea(s) gets an hour of free bowling. However, if your idea is selected for the name change, you win a lifetime of free bowling at any of the 3 (formerly) Lucky Strike locations. Dude, good luck.
Wondering what that thing your great aunt Martha left you is worth? Chicago Antiques Guide is here to help. In addition to listing upcoming events and listings of local antique shops and auction houses, owners Ron (author of our Old Style column) and Brian will estimate the value of your antiques if you send them a photo.
Here's a whole different kind of map: The Museum of Sex in New York has launched an interactive exhibit, Mapping Sex in America. Using good ole GoogleMaps technology, the exhibit allows visitors to virtually thumbtack their own stories to a map of the country. Chicago is already one of the most annotated cities, but there's plenty of room for more. Add your own sexcapades to the map.
Tired of mindlessly supplementing your vintage bric-a-brac from The Brown Elephant with items you covet at CB2 from arrival to clearance price? Want to remain the homemaker your friends refer to as frugal, stylish and creative? Enter Budget Living Magazine. The current issue features tips for scoring a hot fall handbag, as well as sassy chandeliers on the cheap side. And, pssst, complimentary one-year subscriptions are available. Take your sweetie out on a budget date and tell her.
No, seriously, there is a club for everything. The Chicago Public Library has a comprehensive list of Chicago-area clubs for those interested in everything from soap box derby to Magic the Gathering to Esperanto. Check it out.
If you wake up everyday wondering if it's going to be a pain-filled day or if you'll be able to forget about your chronic illness and have fun, then Chronic Babe is for you. Local writer Jenni Prokopy (aka Mrs. Steve at the Movies) has been living with fibromyalgia for a few years. Instead of sitting on her sofa whining about it, she strapped on some comfy shoes and created this kick-a$$ website which lets you go from "Waanh" to "Rowr-sexy!" in just a few posts. Yep, she's not here to tell you how to get healed, just how to enjoy life while you're living with what ails you. And if you want to support this hot chronic babe, you can buy the Chronic Babe Bag.
Let's say you're a fan of Shylo's Public Notice column (and, really, how could you not be?). But maybe, every now and again, you get a hankering for some mid-week Missed Connections. Whizalert is here to help. The free service searches Craigslist and sends you email alerts based on your customized settings. Never miss a w4w in Lincoln Square again! (Also works for apartment listings and more practical interests, but that's hardly as fun, is it?) [via, and, as the comments note, you can do similar things with RSS feeds]
Hot on the heels of the iPod flea, Chicago-based industrial designer (and sometime Gapers contributor) Craig Berman has an idea I can actually imagine gaining traction: the iButton. Sized no larger than a 1" band badge, Berman imagines the micro iPod playing singles while adorning the blazer/hoodie combos of the hipster masses. Calling Steve Jobs...
You know those "What's in it for you?" ads the Tribune has been running? Apparently the song they use, "Anthem" by local commercial scoring co. Scandal Music, has been so popular that they're offering it as a free mp3 and cellphone ringtone.
Today's Front Pages is a very neat website that allows you to scroll over maps of the continents and browse the current front pages of the world's newspapers. Comparing which stories make the front pages in various parts of the country--or the world--is fascinating. Roll your cursor over the Chicago area to compare headlines from the Sun-Times, Tribune, Red Eye, Red Streak, Daily Herald, Northwest Herald and even the Rockford Register Star. Cool.
If you're searching for a truly unique gift, I don't think you can go wrong with the Mama Meow catalogue. Based here in Chicago, it is over 30 pages of cat crap like you've never seen before. The killer pages are the T-Shirts. Don't you know a friend who wants to celebrate our freedom with a Proud American Cats T-shirt or Ladies Of The Night. Captivating and bizarre.
An interesting statistic: Chicago, "the city that works," boasts the second highest number of goal-setters on 43 Things. Life can't be all work and no play, though, so those folks -- and possibly you -- will want to contribute their $.02 on why our city is so great at the just-launched 43 Places. (And, no, neither of these sites have the slightest bit to do with 43 Folders, though that site might give you tips on making the work and travel plans actually happen.)
If you're a map geek, the new Google Earth software will blow your mind. Google Maps was cool, but it's nothing like seeing downtown in 3D and having the CTA, Starbucks, and highway maps laid overtop as you turn the city to a 45 degree angle. (Sadly, the Bean isn't in 3D.) Look for the 3D layers in the bottom corner for a truly rad view of downtown. (Windows only, sorry.)
Local web quarterly Keep Going has released its summer edition, and it looks great. Features include musings on basketball from Word Jazz's Ken Nordine, a fascinating article on the Hindenburg explosion, and a detailed history of one of my first daily online reads, Suck.
Yesterday I pointed out a few photos of a mural at Damen and Lake. Reader Daniel X. O'Neil sent some more info. The man's name is Oba Maja (I think I'm qualified to say that is an awesome name) and he's a poet who sells his poetry at the Damen/North/Milwaukee intersection. And if you're interested, apparently you can commission him to write a poem for you. Thanks, Dan.
Here's a neat way to search for images of Chicago: enter a keyword on Montager, and have it build a montage of images for you. Not surprising to see that searching for Cubs has lots of people, while Chicago has lots of objects. And Gapersblock has few pictures of traffic, but lots of Cinnamon. (wink wink)
Burlesque Design make some very very nice posters and artwork. They also have a killer store with some of the best intricate silkscreened posters I've seen. But, the best item might just be a t-shirt they have (sadly now sold out) about a certain incident in Chicago involving the Dave Matthews Band — scroll down all the way to the bottom on the right. Here's a detail shot.
Meredith Farkas, a local librarian, has developed an unofficial wiki to help out her fellow members of the American Library Association as they hit town later this month for their 2005 Conference. In true wiki fashion, if you've got something to share about the city, all you have to do is click the "edit" link.
Emilie Autumn was recently featured on HGTV's Crafters Coast to Coast where she made a pair of Faerie Wings. Some girls wanted to be a princess, but I wanted to be a fairy because I wanted to be able to fly and be mischevious. Seeing these makes me want to play pretend all over again. Thanks Roni.
It was bound to happen, but I didn't expect it to be so skeezy: some guy used Salt Stain Mary (and a lie about a brother who died in Iraq) to hook up with a beautiful Polish immigrant. Then he posted the story on Craig's List. Ick.
This is pretty neat - WTTW has put their video archives of Chicago history online and they are searchable. I don't know eactly what I'm looking at, but it looks neat.
A couple 606 alums have created a new website, Smile Smile Smile, in which a question is asked and lots of random photos flash on the screen. Simple, somewhat Fluxist, definitely worth playing with.
Or several actually. Eight Chicago-area knitters have teamed up to create The Daily Knitter. And it's pretty good and certainly worth adding to your list of knitting blogs to visit. Just because it's warming up outside doesn't mean knitting season is over. Quite the contrary, it's a good excuse for sucking up air conditioning in coffee shops.
GB reported on the various violations and allegations against Sam's Wine & Spirits over the last few months. After a visit to the website to check on scotch prices, it is apparent many changes were made. First off, the Rosen family addresses the charges in an open letter to all customers. Next up, online shopping is expanded and customer accounts allow for easier searching and shopping. Lastly, the wine blog has moved locations, which means our old link is no longer active.
The Morning News handed out its 2005 Editors' Awards for Online Excellence today, and there's one category that especially deserves your attention: Favorite Online Newspaper Redesign. Why? Because it points out that, while the other major newspapers in the country have revamped their sites, the Tribune's remains stuck in 2001. The only change they seem to have implemented lately is splitting stories into multiple pages, and who likes that? Plus, they don't offer RSS feeds. Come on, Trib! Chicago deserves better! That said, on a happier note, Basecamp, a venture by local web outfit 37signals, gets props as Favorite Tool for Handling Projects. If you're not familiar with their products -- Backpack, say -- there's no time like the present.
Gary must be good for something besides cheap gas, right? Well if you're just interested in the cheap gas, check out this neat Google app that searches for cheap gas prices around a region. If you're in Chicago, think Lombard, and ignore Lake County.
Now you know that crafting is H-O-T-T-T, right? Well, Josi Hannon Madera of Weird Mirror wants to prove how S-E-X-X-Y crafting is, too. She's creating an adult DIY magazine, called Tactille which will blend the sexy best of handmade, independent designers: "from the semi-nude to the simply silly". The first issue isn't available until November, but to get folks interested, she's challenging you to create an Ass Hat and send it in. The winner of the contest gets a prize, but I think the readers will be the real winners.
Unless you live under a rock, you've probably heard of Stitch 'n' Bitch, a common name for a knitting group that's been actively engaging stitchers in Chicago for at least the past four years and many other parts of the country as well. Debbie Stoller, editor of Bust magazine, has written two books with that title. Brenda Janish, ex-GB staffer and creator of the Chicago group, has been sent a cease and desist letter from a company called Sew Fast, Sew Easy in New York City saying that her use of the Stitch and Bitch name in her Cafe Press shop is an infringement on their trademark. Think this is bogus? I sure did. So I told them what I thought.
Yesterday, the FlickrBlog mentioned a new web app that pinpoints properly tagged photos on Google Maps. A few Chicagoans have quickly gotten in on the act, as Downtown is already very well represented. You simply click on one of the markers, the map recenters, and you see a linked description and thumbnail. The GMaps features we know and love function as usual, so you can also zoom in or switch views. The satellite images provide an interesting contrast to the photos, especially in the cases of Millennium Park and other spots that have since been developed. To join the fun, geocoder.us provides a handy way to find coordinates for your pictures. And, if you're looking for another way to put Google Maps to use, check out this mash-up with Yahoo!'s traffic reports.
Not sure what to make of this: the Bisonarium project wants to turn Northerly Island, former home of Meigs Field, into a preserve on which bison would graze. UPDATE: Reader Jeb points us to a similar proposal for the site of the World Trade Center made in 2003.
Chicago has a healthy toy scene, with shops like Rotofugi supporting plushie creators like FizzieFuzzie, Spasmodica and Shawnimals. You can add CutieCooties to that list. The sister duo make all kinds of crafty goodness (methinks Chicago is a hotpot for crafty folks) but I'm most taken with the Plush Toys.
Your favorite local-based music filter/reviewer and mine, AsianMack has returned with a fresh, fun and new design. I'm overly fond of bright, eye-catching designs that make me feel all warm inside and this new design makes the good content stand out even more. Nice job Jamie & co. They've also started making free legal mixes available for download -- a great idea. You can start with their latest.
At The Budget Traveller's Guide to Sleeping in Airports, visitors can share their stories about trying to catch some shut-eye while waiting to catch a flight. Airports are also ranked by the relative quality of sleeping experience. Coming in at number 10 on the "most popular airport to sleep in" list is O'Hare International. It is great fun to read everyone's travel horror stories, which include brillant lines like, "6 days later MY BACK STILL HURTS!!!" Awesome.
Upcoming.org has a bunch of new features to help coordinate with friends. You can now search venues, events and people, send email invites to friends and grab RSS feeds for venues and tags. Pretty cool stuff.
Want to wear your city's colors on your back? Check out this 'Chicago-style' messenger bag. (via Chicago Cycling Club mailing list, who also have neat Chicago swag.)
Friend of GB Luke happened to take a couple photos of poet/fugitive murderer JJ Jameson/Norman Porter at last year's Bughouse Square Debates.
The latest issue of Revol is out, and we've come across a couple other webzines you might be interested in: Keep Going is a quarterly produced by some folks on the West Side, and while Negative Waves has a coupla West Coasters on staff, it's mainly based here. Check'em out.
We linked to this awhile ago, but Coudal points us back to Jack Blanchard's "Sun-Times Sunset," a Quicktime time-lapse video of the destruction of the Sun-Times Building. It's now the complete demolition, and it's set to some really nice music by Frou Frou. You might want to follow the link to Fight For the User while you're there.
One of the contributors at Nacho.org needed to track down a phone number for an ex-landlord. She did a little googling, and discovered the landlord's name on a timeline of Holocaust denial (1990 entry) -- the woman is a Holocaust revisionist who removed her daughter from a high school history class in which the Holocaust was discussed. Read the rest of the story here.
Recently Arte TV, a French television channel, ran a series of specials on comic book artists, including one on Chris Ware. Traveling all the way from France to get the story on one of our own? Well, that's kind of cool. You can view the video here. (Thanks, Eric.)
Apartment hunting is a universal experience. So universal that some wise soul has written a haiku cycle about it.
The University of Chicago's new online prose magazine, Otium has just launched. Otium features fiction, plays, an interview, and art. I didn't realize prose included photography, but it's good so I'll let it slide. If your New Years resolution was to get something published this year, note that they're also accepting submissions for future issues. Go get 'em.
Tenseforms, an art and music collective, has started a new project called "the snow filled our tracks as quick as we made them." As Josh describes it, "Each day presents a new bit of ephemera -- a poem, a joke, a recipe, a painting, a song, or whatever else we dig up. The next day it's hidden away, covered (not publicly archived), replaced with something new. Folks can bookmark the site and visit daily, but the best way to experience it is via RSS feed. Subscribe to the site and there'll be a little art gift in your news reader each weekday."
Former GB staffer Phineas X. Jones has announced the return of AnExquisiteCorpse.net, an online adaptation of the classic Surrealist word game Exquisite Corpse. Come peruse the existing Corpses (which feature work by more than a few GB staffers and friends), and if you feel worthy enough, sign up to help assemble a Corpse.
A little late for local needs, but maybe our readers out East will be interested in purchasing an "Official Chicago Winter Parking Space Placeholder" on eBay. "Endorsed by the Honorable Mayor Daley!!" (Thanks, Nik.)
A9, Amazon's search engine, has added a photo element to its yellow pages search function. Now you can see what a place looks like before you go and even check out what's nearby by scrolling up and down the block in many cases. Unfortunately, the method employed -- van-mounted cameras trolling up and down streets -- often captures vehicles and people, most of whom have no idea they're being photographed. Sepoy, local author of ChapatiMystery.com, found this the hard way when he searched for a local pizzeria and discovered his entire family up the block.
Tony Coppoletta's online collection of CTA Stuff will bring warmth to the heart of any transit nerd. He has photos from station tours, a huge set of WAV recordings of the CTA Voice from the el and buses, and a collection of scans of farecard designs from tokens to the ChicagoCard.
Everyone makes lists. Some people love making lists. All the High Fidelity followers believe in Lists. So, what do you do if you're a web design firm? You make a FREE site where you can host your very own lists. Ta-da!
...the goods? They are odd. So we say about the bizarre 70 percent marriage rate of University of Chicago couples. Contrary to my opinion, U of C Maroon writer Phoebe Maltz commends the U of C for being a "post-feminist utopia," by which she means that it is a place where girls are lucky enough to have guys within close proximity who care as much, or as little, about their appearances as they do. But have you been to the U of C? I'm not so sure this is a good thing.
Blogger John Tolva has a little geek fun with the architecture of the movie I, Robot, which was set in a Chicago of the future. In this flickr photo set, he examines the changes in city geography that occur by 2035.
Community blogs will always have their place, as hand-selected content remains preferable to lists of automatically generated links. But, 'tagging' — the process of adding keywords to posts — is allowing for the quick distillation of information, grouping thoughts together around shared subject matter. You've no doubt seen the Del.icio.us Chicago tag, and the Flickr Chicago tag, both great Windy City-related resources.
Do you have lotsa patience? Does the idea of linking little rings together to create jewelry or even chain maille make you giddy? Then you'll want to take a gander at Blue Buddha Boutique. Rebeca Mojica has lots of classes set up around the city, or she can give you, and a few friends, a personal lesson for a very reasonable fee. Before you go thinking that chain maille is clunky and ugly, take a look at her gallery and you'll change your mind. If you're more likely to just buy pre-made jewelry, check out Rapt in Maille by Melissa Banks. Thanks, Fil!
Ben Johnson offers timely tips for surviving Chicago winter, such as "Allow yourself the simple pleasure of getting shitfaced alone in your apartment. Bars are expensive and it’s cold outside." This and many other insights can be found in The Greenroom, the "improvisationally-slanted digital literary magazine" at ChicagoImprov.org.
Not content to sit on their massive pile of t-shirts, SkinnyCorp are once again at it with another t-shirt site, this time you don't have to be a designer — just a witty slogan will do. OMG Clothing works like Threadless in that you submit, it gets scored and it gets printed. However, this time, you're just submitting slogans. Pretty 'effin cool we say.
Speaking of wi-fi, here's a detailed list of wi-fi spots around the world. I found out which houses on my block have access.
Chicagoans are proud of the influence our city has on the country. We brag about our comedians, our actors, our authors, and our politicians. But the Florida Department of Corrections, breaks down how Chicago gangs have influenced gang culture nationwide. There are also several sketches and photos of graffiti, in case you want to find out who rules your hood.
The good folks over at Threadless, who have been clothing those of discerning tastes, have an all new site and a brand new contest — $2005 cash prize for 2005.
The Robot Co-op and 37 Signals have launched 43 Things — a site where you can track things you want to do, or rather, goals. The site itself is similar to Flickr and Friendster (and even integrates with Flickr and other popular weblog systems) — you can see who else is trying to achieve your goal, what they do, etc. More social software, more community building.
Kids + Santa = Fun! Or not. SouthFlorida.com offers a gallery of kids frightened by Santa, and the first 25 photos are from the Tribune's 2003 "Scared of Santa" photo contest. (Thanks, Heather!)
Not too far from where I live is a place where I can pick out a live chicken and have it butchered and dressed while I wait. I've wondered how many people have found a chicken building a nest in their flower garden, 'cause I'm sure at least a few of them have to be smart enough to get away. I'm pretty sure the ones Kristin found weren't all that smart, but it makes for a good story.
Tired of overhearing other people's cellphone conversations? Don't want to know what the doctor said? You may be interested in joining a new organization, the Society for HandHeld Hushing, just launched by Coudal Partners and Draplindustries. Just download this handy PDF and get to work on a quieter tomorrow!
CBS Sunday Morning is looking for folks who've had success on craigslist. They seem to be primarily interested in getting a wide range of folks who have had interesting experiences with Missed Connections. You can write them a brief account of your craigslist experiences, along with your name and telephone number at CBS_Sunday_Morning[at]hotmail[dot]com.
If you're looking for a constantly updated and comprehensive list of skateboarding videos, you need not look further than Skim the Fat. Pete and Jerry and The Army have reviewed (at this count) 542 skate videos. That's a lot. Some nice features include a tracklist of the soundtrack featured in a video, which as many skaters know is great because some videos don't list those and when you're trying to find out what song that was during that one skater, it's bloody nice to have that. Also send a buck in to the HQ (local, of course) and get some hilarious stickers.
Chicago is home to CUFOS, or the Center for UFO Studies. They have a library where they study the reports of UFO sightings and abductions on Peterson Ave. The site has some neat information if you're into UFO; they also offer advice on what to do if you have been abducted by aliens. Try to remain calm...
Need to grab some quick statistics about the city? Or perhaps you've always wondered exactly how many people do live here? Or how many people live in your neighborhood? The Chicago Fact Book, put together by the city, has all sorts of trivia about our city. (Oh, and as of the last census, 2.89 million people live in Chicago.)
Sears Roebuck and Co. has launched the Sears Archives, an online archive of more than 100 years of photos, product info and historical documents from the company, from its first stores here in Chicago to today.
In just one month, you could write a novel. At least, that's what the folks at National Novel Writing Month say. NaNoWriMo is a motivational contest, of sorts, where willing writers begin their novels only at the stroke of midnight on November 1, and stop at midnight November 30, hopefully with 50,000 words to show for it. Last year, there were 25,500 participants and about 3,500 of them made it to the goal. It's free, and once you register, you'll be put in touch with other NaNoWriMo's in your area, for information on meet-ups and other activities. So get going, you're late already!
A new issue of the Saturnine Detractor is up. They're calling it "The Election Issue," but don't let that scare you away; Ben Adams' feature on No Child Left Behind and his experience working as a middle school tutor in Chicago is definitely worth checking out. Actually, all the articles are good this round. Get over there.
Rearview contributor (today's in fact) Alessandra Gillen belongs to a collective of sorts, called Statisfield. The site deals with experimental audio and visual art (with a strong focus on the audio) and is nicely designed. There's a lot of interesting stuff going on there so whatcha waiting for?
Sometimes it's difficult to open the Yellow pages and figure out which plumber, electrician, or pizzeria is going to be any good. The Chicago Alternative Yellow Pages doesn't promise better results, but they do guarantee a smaller list to choose from.
Are you a geek? Do you have trouble meeting other geeks with which to share your life experiences? Perhaps it's time to check out Geek2Geek dating service. Its retro-styled site is filled to the brim with swinging, uh, geeks waiting to meet you. And it's based right here in Chicago!
How many times have you been out and said "What the heck is that phone number?" or "What was her exact address again?" If you have a cell phone and know how to send text messages, you can now get the address from Google by text message. Send a text message (also called SMS) to GOOGL saying "Schuba's Chicago, IL" and the address will pop back. Or, building on the fuel question about pizza from this week, say "pizza 60625" and see what they recommend. Now if they only had movie times....
Luckyface, another (but good!) online creative endeavor, has some standout features. Of particular note, the photo essay about the Burgoo Festival in Utica, IL is like getting small glimpses of lives you don't know and Left of the Middle is an excellent photo travelogue from Chicago to the wild west.
Want to meet new people? You could come to our GB Get-Together tonight, but in a more long-term sense, you could check out MEETinChicago, a free service to "provide a relaxed, 'non-pickup-scene' social environment for people to enjoy." It's free, and there's a ton of things to do listed, from camping trips to movie outings to just drinks. Pretty cool!
If you're looking for some freelance writing work, and are comfortable writing about sex (and porn, and toys...), check out today's listings in the Writing jobs section of Craigslist. Adult film reviewer, Sextoy reviewer, Sexual health writer, and more jobs have been posted. Too bad there's no ad for a sex columnist.
Ah, another issue of stellar art/design magazine Revol is now online for your viewing pleasure. They've also got some new pins in their store, My favourites would be by killer illustrators KozyNDan and those hot world-peace-goodwill styled ones by Reach. Good stuff coming out of Chicago these days, good stuff.
The Boston Globe reports on a current exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden, titled "Plants in Print: The Age of Botanical Discovery." The reason for the mention all the way in Boston? It turns out the Massachusetts Horticultural Society used to own some of the items in this exhibit. But, facing a looming financial crisis in November 2002, the center sold more than 2,000 rare books and thousands more journals worth $3 million to Chicago (2nd item). The result of this sale is currently on display up in Glencoe through November 7th.
I was shopping around for a new wireless plan today and realized that if I do switch, I'll probably get yet another new phone. Since I don't want to let my old one go to waste, I looked into what can be done with it. Turns out there are places across Illinois where you can donate your old cell phone. The phones are used to benefit victims of domestic violence -- a worthwhile cause indeed.
Lumino Magazine is an "entertainment centered" web publication for young adults, based in the Chicago suburbs. They have stories of national interest, like the current interviews with the cast of Revenge of the Nerds, as well as a Midwest focus, with features and concert calendars for Chicago, Milwaukee and Des Moines (Indianapolis will be added next month). Check out the recent story on Mark Prior.
Coudal points us to Urban Adventure, a site dedicated to exploration of places people don't normally get to visit. There are a couple Chicagoland features: a semi-abandoned mental hospital in downstate Manteno and Dixie Square Mall, the one the Blues Brothers drove through in the movie. (More about Dixie Square here at DeadMalls.com.)
A new-ish online magazine (in that oh so trendy pseudo magazine rendered in Flash style), Revol looks to be a keeper. Co-produced by a sister in Chicago and a brother in LA, they've got three issues up for your enjoyment and the newest one — a mixture of found objects, collages, stellar photography and miscellany — is perfect to wake you up a little bit this morning. It even features one of our faves, Brian Ulrich who's popping up all over the place (hint: he's got a feature in the new issue of Subsystence) As they say on their site, "Keeping up the fight."
Our friends at Subsystence have launched a new volume of their excellent web presence. Their events section (on the home page) is well worth checking out for quality stuff you may not have heard of around the city, and who doesn't like free downloads? I may be biased but the two photo exhibits, Copia and China in Polaroid kick a$$.
Perusing the Craigslist For Sale ads, I came across this site by a fellow in Deerfield who's auctioning off his stuff; he's moving to Japan. The descriptions! I bust a gut.
Sixosix Magazine takes us back to childhood with a Choose Your Own Adventure tale of a Thursday night on the town. Plus, things you should do, but don't.
This would have gone in the old Cool as F@#k category we used to have. A quick disclaimer: the following linked URLs lead to mature content and is not for the weak of heart. That said, it's pretty damn impressive. Some of you may know him as "That Ian" around here. Ian's posted a well-done and remarkable video of himself getting suspended. By the knees. With hooks. Like a gapers block, we want to look away but just can't. Fascinating. Oh, and Ian is quite OK; he wrote back to me, "I'm bulletproof." But he also says "...this should never be attempted."
McSweeney's delivers with "Dave Matthews Band Lyrics That Take On New Meaning in Light of the Recent Brouhaha surrounding One of the Band's Bus Drivers, Who Allegedly Dumped the Contents of the Excrement Tank Off of a Chicago River Bridge and Onto the Deck of a Tour Boat."
First there was The Making of a Restaurant. Then for a while, Sandy joined us here at the Block. But now, he's back on his own, or rather with his partners-in-crime (a girl, two cats), tackling a new project, The Making of a Home. Incidentally, the site's design is refreshing and stellar. And of course, the content is good, you know, aside from that cat entry. We kid.
Swell online magazine Blacklist is back with their second issue. Lots of great stuff to look at and read, featuring an interview with one of my faves, Cody Hudson of Struggle, Inc. and another interview with our favorite designer toy store, Rotofugi. Head on over!
For your web surfing pleasure, Paul Freeman has collected information and photographs concerning Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields across the U.S. The airfields are arranged by state, and the page for Illinois includes facts about the former Glenview Naval Air Station, the Sky Harbor Airport in Northbrook, and more. Although not comprehensive, this is a fun site to browse.
Peoria, our downstate neighbor, is the brunt of many many jokes. Want to make a difference and improve commerce in Illinois? Buy FantasyLand, a strip club in Peoria and make that first step towards turning Peoria into a destination once again.
You really need to bid on this drawing by Derek Erdman of James Hetfield thinking about Cliff Burton and a jetski. No really, you do.
In case you hadn't noticed, 606 Magazine launched their latest issue this week. Of note: commentary on the FCC's cleaning up of the airwaves, a point-coutnerpoint on psychics, and a profile of the author of Baghdad Burning, a female Iraqi blogger, and the city in which she lives. Get your kicks.
I have often wondered: who is that Abby Ryan I hear so often on the radio? Many of you know her from WBEZ, but she does other stations as well. What are Abby's dreams? Her wishes? And an important question: Does she clip coupons? An interview at The Fish's site gives us a peak at Chicago's #1 traffic personality.
Hey, hey, hey! This weekend, NYC must-read Gawker directed readers to check out Chicago DJ extraordinaire Atomly! You might have caught him at a Gapers Block party or elsewhere around town. He'll be at Chicago's Cafe Lura on Aug. 18.
The Saturnine Detractor debuts its third issue today, featuring coverage of Civil War reenactments, pulp fiction reviews and Robert Downey, Jr.'s theory of a tripartite god. It's enough to keep you up nights.
Speaking of sending your dreams out there, frequent visitor and once-and-future resident of Chicago, Simon King produced TCUP: The Collective Unconsciousness Project a while ago. It's got a click interface and is wonderful to explore. It's pretty simple: "1) Create a Dreamer account. 2) Log a dream. 3) Explore the collective." It's nifty to see how your dream relates to the dreams of others and who else shares similar dream thematics.
Found this one on CL this morning: the Dream Machine. Call 773.486.9035 and leave a recording of a dream you had last night; if you leave a phone number, they'll call you back with someone else's dream.
Those wonderfully, freaky creations made from red-toed socks can be found anywhere, but did you know they originated in Rockford, Illinois? Probably not, which is why Joan Sage wants to get some publicity for the second largest city in Illinois. She's taking her seven-foot-tall sock monkey to New York to try and get on the David Letterman show (who she's been hounding for months), Good Morning America, the Today show, and Central Park. To cinch her chances of getting on Letterman, she'll be visiting Rupert at Hello Deli to give him a sock monkey as well. The odd thing is that she's using her own money to get to New York for four days. If you have a sock monkey story you want to share with Rockford's museum you can email it to Sage.
Our friends at Coudal need a little help: "We need a bit o’ help at the CP/Jewelboxing World Headquarters in Chicago for the balance of the summer and into the fall. Call it a paid internship. We need a smart, talented, motivated person to help us with administration and distribution for Jewelboxing and to do occasional work on other Coudal Partners stuff too. You’ll have to do a bit of lifting and packing, etc. for Jewelboxing. It would be a nice part-time gig (3 days a week or so) for someone in school, and it may or may not lead to other things. Writing skills would be a plus, so show them off by emailing Michele Seiler (go to the site for e-mail address) if you’re interested."
A great story about a very naked and (we assume anyway) raw protest against GMO food on the lakefront. Would you too rather run naked than eat biotech? If so, you should go to the Masks and Thongs party tonight to benefit T.H.O.N.G. Chicago. No, not Trixies Hunt Out New Guys. Topless Humans Organized for Natural Genetics. (Ps to the One True Trixie: come back! We miss you! )
The 3rd annual tribute to the Coen Brothers, Lebowskifest went down a little while ago in Louisville, KY. Chicago was representing with our own Brian Sobolak who took photos and Halo+Horns was there, too, also with photos. Can we get enough of The Dude? Apparently not.
The folks at Artmuck.com are funny. Like in this article, "Patriot Missle". If you really need some encouragement to go read that, it's worth seeing the photo of a girl with a firecracker in her ahem, behind. However, if you're more into less juvenile endeavours, you might really like this interview with Davy Rothbart of Found Magazine.
Your Humorous Moment of the Day: The 12 Dumbest Covers of American Comics brought to you by "Chicago's Finest Comic Shop", Atlas.
Everyone likes free music. I just can't say no myself. And everyone likes listening to new artists. My penchant for new, new, new is unsatiable. Well, betterPropaganda is here to fill that void. Their model focuses on showcasing indie artists both known and a little less known and making mp3's available to download and it's all legal baby. Jointly co-produced in Chicago and San Francisco, they're here to make the world a better place with better music and betterPropaganda.
One of the niftiest things on the internet is the Wikipedia. It's a free open source (meaning you can add to and edit information!) encyclopedia. Since it's open source, it's kept up-to-date in real time. Chicago's entry is a nice neat nutshell that gives one a good overview of the city. At a glance it tell you about the history, geography, novels sets in Chicago, companies based here and much, much more. The best part? If you feel it's missing something, just go ahead and add your information. Power, in the hands of the user. Related: What is a Wiki?
New City Chicago takes a look at a Korean-heavy stretch of Lawrence Avenue. Find out where to buy books, eat food, and shop for supplies -- all with a decidedly Korean bent.
Always thought music criticism was formulaic? Loren Jan Wilson wrote a computer program to analyze the frequency of words in positive and negative album reviews published on Pitchfork. He used the data to determine which words and phrases appear most frequently in positive reviews, and wrote songs to capitalize on the reviewers' collective preferences. The paper is Wilson's BA project at the University of Chicago.
Coudal and Things point us to NASA's incredible Cities Collection, photos of the world's cities taken from space. They've got a whole lot of shots of Chicago and its environs, including some of the city at night and interesting cloud patterns.
This is Grand, an online journal devoted exclusively to non-fiction stories about public transportation in Chicago, has officially launched. Check it out or submit.
Rocky Mosele hates spam. But unlike the rest of us, he took that hatred and turned it into a mission: Ethical Email. Enter your email address at ethicalemail.com and it will be included in the start-up organization's "do not contact" database. According to the press release, Mosele plans to deliver the database of names to the bulk email houses that are responsible for billions of emails being generated on the Internet. By law, the bulk email houses will have 10 days to remove those email names from their databases.
Esquire is looking for more Brutally Honest Personal ads. Describe yourself "without euphemisms or exaggerations or any truth-hedging." Need a date? Secure in your flaws? Apply now. [Via Craig's List]
Depave Lake Shore Drive? And Daley really supports it?
YahooMaps now offers the ability to search for WiFi hotspots (at least those using Intel's wireless technology). One question about the Chicago map, though: what's up with the shantytown listed at Erie and Fairbanks?
US Senate candidate Barack Obama's official Weblog just went live. Check it out!
This Is Grand is a soon-to-launch online journal "publishing short non-fiction narratives about riding Chicago's trains and buses and all that happens when doing so." They're looking for story submissions: email your story, whether it be funny, scary or poignant, to submissions
The GB official Humorous Moment of the Day comes courtesy of photographer and Rearview contributor, Archie Florcruz. Hand dryers in bathrooms now dispense bacon. Yum!
Parking Spots is a silly site, one of those "waste your time while being bored to death at work" sites. Highly entertaining. It's international and you too can submit one, and there's quite a few from Illinois (scroll down to the US section). You'll have to see what I mean.
For those of you who love Google, there is now Google Local. It's in beta but already seems useful. This quick search on sushi (I luuuurve sushi) displays great results and quite a refined interface. I know I'll be using this to find restaurants and local places.
The Week Behind has a little Easter story for you: "Jesus Had a Bad Day," a somewhat irreverant look at the son of a Jewish carpenter's last day on Earth. As a bonus, included is a pocket list of the 14 stations of the cross.
Purveyors of fine accommodation, Hampton Inns, would like us to explore Chicago's hidden (or not-so-hidden) landmarks at HamptonLandmarks.com. Not too many Chicago-related entries so far, but you can always submit your own. (Thanks Ian.)
Craig's List's Rants & Raves section is usually full of petty namecalling and inane arguments, but every once in awhile, something truly great shows up. Like this screed from an anonymous Loop desk jockey. "Oh yeah, lunch drinking is back!"
From the University of Chicago's Harris School, we get this charming little paper about the universal problem of a group of people trying to choose a restaurant, and how to apply the art of statistics and game theory to solving it. It's like that age-old cake-cutting puzzle on steroids.
Need to find the address of a good local bakery? Want to know how many dry cleaners are in your zip code? Try Google's new Local search. The results may be a little strange (searching for "blog" turns up an odd pairing of businesses and blog references) but we'll all probably become as reliant on it as we are all Google's other services. [Thanks Ian]
The friendly, and aromatic, folks at The Spice House are looking for recipes from the customers to add to their online database. Got a tasty recipe that you just can't share with enough people? Click on their "Submit Recipes" link and tell them your culinary secrets.
There's a lot to do in this city, which is probably why there are so many places to get info about your options. Chicago Rules is one such place -- currently in beta -- compiling restaurant and club reviews, as well as a concert calendar.
Proving that there are geeks of a higher order in Chicago, the iPod Lounge sports a number of Chicago photos in their remarkably extensive iPods Around the World gallery.
Lori Napoleon, who DJs locally as SubK, has begun a beautiful mapsproject. Check out what she has posted so far.
The Saturnine Detractor features a photo essay of Northern Iraq by photographer Daniel Pepper. Good stuff.
The state government may owe you money! The Office of the State Treasurer is attempting to return unclaimed money (in the form of lost wages, forgotten bank accounts and security deposits, etc.) to its rightful owners, and to promote the giveaway released a top 10 "most wanted" list of the Illinois residents who are owed the highest amounts of cash. The values range from $100,000 to half a million dollars. Fortunately for you, Web surfer, you can check your own name at the State Treasurer's Website, cashdash.net.
The Modernist, a web publication created by one of the people behind Jinx coffeeshop and the now-closed Big Brother Video, is your one-stop shop for 20th century modernist furniture and, um, naked people. (Wait till you get home to delve into this one.)
If you haven't already seen the GI Joe PSA's by Eric Fensler, run, dash, or sprint over there and check them out. There are new ones! And doesn't he look charming in his Cubs uniform? "Give him the stick, don't give him the stick!"
37signals, Chicago's own web design and usability powerhouse, has just released Basecamp, a beautiful web-based project management system aimed at the freelance and small shop crowd. It's only been out a few days, and it's already racked up lots of praise. If you're looking for something to improve organization and communication among your co-workers, or beteween you and your client, consider checking it out.
The Payphone Project is a collection of lists of (theoretically) every payphone in the world that is able to receive calls. The Illinois list is pretty huge; check out just the 312 phones.
Here's a decidedly different way of exploring the city: the Virtual Tourist was a project begun in 1995 that intended to map all the servers in a geographic area. Obviously that became an impossible task pretty quickly, and the original project gave way to a general travel site. But somebody in UofC's CS department saved the original maps for Illinois, and they offer and interesting snapshot of the server landscape. The project offers several layers of detail, moving in from statewide to Chicagoland to the city to the Loop.
This site has collected over 250 "best of" lists for the year 2003. The lists are divided into 26 categories and include such local delights as the Hip-Hop Top 10 and the Top 10 Worst Reality TV Shows for 2003 -- both from the Chicago Sun-Times.
Don Woolf, a waiter with 15 years of experience and a graduate of the master's program of Public Affairs Journalism at Columbia College, is angry! He's created TheAngryWaiter.com to serve (no pun intended) as an outlet for all the other angry restaraunt employees in the world. If you want to be a whistleblower and tell the public that Chez Crape has a fly infestation problem, or that the owner of the Dog-Diggity-Dugout is a sexually harrassing jag-off, send your story to The Angry Waiter.
It's possible that one could wax poetic about Chicago using Google's new "define:" keyword. (Define: turns up definitions of words, and I find them quite comical.) For example: Microsoft codename / the original version of the four-bridge deal / the well-known rock band / a bustling Great Lakes Port. Not quite the same as the poem, which most of us are familiar with: "They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys."
The Saturnine Detractor, a Chicago-born quarterly web magazine of feature journalism, reviews, opinion, fiction, and artwork, recently published its second issue. Check it out.
Upcoming.org is a "collaborative event calendar" -- in other words, you enter concerts or other events into its database, and other members can let you know they're coming, too. In theory, as the system learns more about your interests, it will recommend events to you. Chicago's listing is pretty thin right now, but you're going to help change that, right?
The Illinois Department of Child Support Enforcement has created a new website featuring photos and information about the state's worst deadbeat parents. And, while you're checking into nefarious characters, you may also be interested in the rapists and child molesters in your neighborhood, searchable by city or ZIP code. The Cook County Sheriff's Department has its own list.
The homepage (and only the homepage) of the Chicago Reader gets a bit of a facelift. The "face" no longer jives very well with the rest of it's "body" though I can see an attempt to conserve real estate and add ads down the side which really in the end just takes away from the esoteric charm of the site and it's 1993 old school web design. A peek under the hood also reveals font face tags and non stylesheet use. Ugh.
IIT's Shlomo Argamon helped write the algorithm behind the Gender Genie, this week's blog meme. Enter a passage of text and the Genie predicts the author's gender. I entered several days of Merge, the Proprietors page and the current installments of Detour, Airbags and Fuel, and the results were unanimous: Gapers Block is a boy!
You'd think Merriam-Webster, the maker of dictionaries, would be stodgy and uncool? Wrong! Much like Spinal Tap, they go to 11.
Chicagomotorcycle.com is, as you'd expect, all about motorcycles and riding around Chicago.
Those crazy kids at ad agency Cramer-Krasselt know that anytime, anywhere, "the Seventies are right behind you."
The Chicago Craigslist is sort of revamped. Looking more like it's older and bigger siblings in SF and NY, the site also sports a new Events Calendar which is already being abused for all sorts of events spam. Speaking of Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, he now has a weblog.
2 Stroke Buzz, by local scooter boy Bryan Bedell, was featured in the New York Time's "Men's Fashion of the Times" magazine this past weekend.
No East Web Magazine is looking for submissions. The site will no longer adopt a "magazine" stance with quarterly issues but is being revamped for a weekly freeform 425x600px format.
Deadtech, the Chicago art-noise-installation gallery, has launched a new site with more frequently updated content and space for collective editorship. Also, check out this month's electronic music show with Evolution Control Committee on Thursday the 25th, 8pm, 3321 W. Fullerton, $5 donation.
Jeremy P. Bushnell is writing a "serialized web narrative" following the lives of a group of fictional Chicagoans over the course of a year. Imaginary Year is updated every Monday and Friday; the newest "book" begins today. Read also Bushnell's manifesto, explaining the philosophy behind the project.
You can listen to live transmissions of the Chicago Approach frequency (via Real Audio)used for plane arrivals and departures for the west suburban satellite airports of O'Hare. The site also includes a nifty aeronautical map of the Chicago area.
Arrrgh! Any o' you mateys who be wantin' to seize some true booty this 'Talk Like a Pirate Day' would do well t' plunk down a few pieces o' eight for Pimps at Sea. An' if ye be likin' to play the game don't ferget to pick yer own pirate name. Arrgh! Pieces o' Eight! Ducats! Ducats!
Science, Art, and Technology, from the Art Institute of Chicago, is a website dedicated to exploring relationship between science and art within a museum setting. Originally offered as a course to Chicago Public School science teachers, the site includes sections on the chemistry and physics of light and color; art and astronomy; and conservation. You can view the original lectures online or read summaries of the lectures.
Want to hear how much a Chicago accent differs from Milwaukee or Minneapolis? The International Dialects of English Archive is a web repository of speech samples in MP3 form. The archive, hosted by the University of Kansas's theatre department and intended for use by actors, has several Chicago samples.
Quite possibly the reason why Illinois has no In N Out Burger restaurants. Viewing this is total gapers' block. Hungry anyone?
An article in yesterday's Chicago Tribune reports on the results of a study that show "Midwesterners use the Web slightly less than people in other parts of the country" (56% versus the national 59%). This latest report from the Pew Internet Project, one of the first to study differences in regional Internet use, also shows that Internet use in the Midwest has leveled off. According to the study, "the same proportion of Midwesterners access the Web now that did two years ago." The Tribune also talks to Lia Londrono, a local librarian, about her observations regarding Internet use and the digital divide. [trib login: gapers/gapers]
EarthCam is a directory of webcams from all over the world. Check out these views from the Sears Tower courtesy of ABC7Chicago; a view of traffic on the Michigan Ave. bridge thanks to WGN; the continuing construction of the new Soldier's Field from the Chicago Bears website; or, finally, this lovely view of First & State streets in suburban Geneva (Why?). Addictive, pointless, timewasting fun. Enjoy.
Chowhound's Chicago message board is an incredible repository of local food knowledge, exploration, history, and restaurant and product reviews. The user interface may be a bit of a beast, but it's worth wading through to gain access to vast amounts of information. Unfortunately, it takes a lot to keep at site like that running. Lately, times are especially tough. So if you value Chowhound as much as I do, please consider donating, or otherwise supporting the site.
McDonald's is rolling out wireless internet access at 60 stores in Chicago and Milwaukee. Cost is $4.95 for an hour, or $7.95 for an all-day pass; "for a limited time" you can get a free hour with the purchase of an extra value meal or premium salad. Just last week, Panera Bread announced its own WiFi service -- for free -- in 16 Chicagoland stores.
You've probably heard about some friend of a friend who got paid a ton of money to sit in an exam room and smoke pot while hooked up to a brain wave monitor. If you were jealous, and you think it could be fun getting poked with needles and getting paid for it, or if you're just desparate to cover the difference between your unemployment check and your rent payment that was due a week ago, consider signing up for a clinical trial in your area.
Sexy, sexy single ladies of Chicago! We all know that dating is a hopeless, soul-grating endeavor. All the good ones are taken, and the ones who aren't are never the ones trying to get you ripped on Jaegermeister whilst discussing current events with your cleavage. But there's hope! Just fill out this application and just maybe you could lay claim to sensitive poet and generally sharp-dressing guy, Alan Studowski, Chicago's very own Number One Stud! You can't win if you don't play!
Chicago 2600 is a site for Chicago-based hackers, focusing on the community's "ethical perspective [on] technology and politics." White hats only, please.
Wanna go bowling? Here's a list of all the bowling alleys in Chicagoland, alphabetized by name or location. Strike!
You're missing out by not reading CraigsList Chicago ads on a semi-regular basis. Take a few minutes out of your day to check out a missive to employment, and ads for psychics, Mary Kay "smell goods," and lots and lots of threesomes.
We all know the social network Friendster (what? you're not on Friendster?), but how about the new Enemyster? Or even Fiendster? While Fiendster is a joke, does anyone have a beta code for Enemyster? Drop me a line.
Relatively new Chicagoan Liz Butler, a friend of the Block, is now writing a weekly TV column for The Daily Gusto.
WDET in Detroit, one of the country's best public radio stations, resumes its streaming today. The stream was shut down in February to comply with the RIAA, but DJs can now work around the rules by using a kill switch. For example, if more than four songs by the same artist are played within a three-hour period, the stream will simply be turned off for the duration of the non-complying programming.
Pomposity!, a "lit rag for the computing set," is a product of a couple students in the Interactive Multimedia Program at Columbia College. The html version is dead, but the Flash site boasts a nice mix of high- and low-brow writing.
The complete history of WLS Radio. I gotta get me some WLS radio tubes.
Coudal Partners announces the launch of Photoshop Tennis, Season 3. This time 'round, it's a 32-slot, single-elimination tournament. 11 spots are still open, so get your applications in!
There's a lot of discussion going on in the current Detour article about what is and isn't hip, or a hipster, or a dive bar, or the end of the universe, or something like that. Anyway, ignore that hot air and play for real money - Hipster Bingo. (via BoingBoing)
"A Booth Project" is quite similar to the Mirror Project, but focused specifically on photobooths. Visit one of the booths on their list tonight and send in your photo tomorrow!
Far from dying as the joke wore thin, the Lincoln Park Trixies Society website has grown, now incorporating a discussion forum (covering such topics as "Bridgeport: the next LP?") and an "Ask Ashley" column. Get in your Jetta, hit Starbucks and read up on the unique social creature that is the Lincoln Park Trixie.
You may be a geek, but are you a Design Geek? Our very own Paul McAleer ponders the usefulness of objects and the way they work. It's fresh and (somewhat) new. I wish he'd put up the old archives.
Have you heard reference on WBEZ to the Third Coast International Audio Festival? Wondered what it was? Well, it's an online festival of audio documentary works of all types, from field recordings to news features, presented by Chicago Public Radio and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. There's a competition component to it, and the submission deadline is coming up -- July 18, to be exact. So get that tape of your grandpa's war stories ready, clean up the sound on your live recording of Guatemalan field hands. It's time to shine.
Revamped and looking good, Coudal reboots fresh. We like the new logo. They have also launched a new feature called Reading which features none other than our Editor-in-Chief, Andrew Huff.
The site's not much to look at, but the Chicago Audubon Society boasts a great collection of links on bird watching in Chicagoland, including a Chicago Bird Census and interactive database. Happy Birding!
It's the eighth birthday of one of my favorite sites on the net: APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day). Check out the archive for some stunning pictures, ranging from hi-res NASA imaging to photographs taken by sky enthusiasts.
The latest issue of No East, a digital magazine created by members of the Chicagobloggers group, is out at last. The theme this time is "work," in its many permutations. Enjoy.
Has anyone else noticed Metroblossom? It's another urban-focused website with ultra-slick design, and it seems to be run out of Chicago and is looking to take off. Kind of like No-East except with less words.
Car maker Volvo is threatening legal action against the tiny Volo Auto Museum in northwest suburban Volo because its domain name, volocars.com, is too similar to volvocars.com. The museum began using the domain in 1997, three years before Volvo created its site.
A computer program developed at Illinois Institute of Technology is able to determine the sex of an author based on an analysis of a text. The program is right 80% of the time.
While I thought it would have come back with nothing but stills from the film Chicago, I was quite awed to see some stunning images of Chicago when doing a Google image search for "Chicago".
Didn't realize this till today but Indymedia has a Chicago sister site. Some interesting activist reporting, especially with Chicago's universities and colleges it seems.
Scooter-ridin', sometimes 'stache sportin', all round good man, PJ Chmiel returns from Poland with a gallery of more than 200 photos of his trip. An amazing photographic journey of Poland, a country with a lot of history. Simply jaw-dropping.
I was browsing the backpage section of the Chicago Reader and came across this ad:
COBRA
Scooters, ATVs, Off-Road, B2B sales, need dealers
Absolutely gorgeous handmade books, prints and t-shirts from ReddingK. Completely inspired by this one, and best of all, they are amazingly cheap considering the quality of artwork here. Be sure to take a look at the Perilous Predicament poster set, amazing in the print section. Side note: Not from Chicago but too good to not link.
Coudal intern Anthony Vitagliano shot some amazing footage of the fire at the Acorn Garage [Trib. reg: gapers/gapers] -- check it out here (Quicktime video).
I might be a johnny-come-lately with this, but Jazz Era Chicago is astounding. Copious amounts of photos, text, and historical trivia. I learned, for instance, that the loft I work in used to be a Woolworth's. Well worth your time.
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