Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni. ✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
I'm stealing the headline from FoGB Veronica Arreola, because it is perfect. There are so many Best of lists at this time of year, but if you want to know 15 (thankfully there are far more) women who did awesome stuff in Chicago this year, then go read about them. They're all awesome.
NewCity has launched a new podcast, "A Lot You Got to Holler," hosted by Newcity design editor (and GB alum) Ben Schulman and architectural journalist Zach Mortice. The first episode is about Chicago in the movies.
Father Michael Pfleger posted on Facebook Wednesday that a Comcast technician would not be coming to fix St. Sabina's internet service because the neighborhood is too violent. After hundreds of comments and media coverage, Pfleger posted that Comcast changed their mind, but wondered whether they'd do the same for a less connected neighbor.
Citing mismanagement and unnecessarily high euthanasia rates, a group of animal rescue advocates are pleading with Mayor Emanuel to put more effort into appointing the next director of the city's Animal Care and Control department. The previous director retired last week; her replacement has a history of disciplinary actions and surrendered his own dog at ACC after being transferred there from another city department, despite having no experience in animal welfare and rescue.
In an interview with Chicago magazine, Bulls guard Jimmy Butler revealed that he had the rearview mirrors removed from his car "as a symbolic reminder to never look back."
Mark Davis worked in a Naperville K-Mart for 10 years beginning in 1989. He saved 56 of the in-store music cassettes from the early '90s, and recently digitized the collection. [via]
Atlas Obscura just published a crowdsourced map of punny business names, and Chicagoland is well represented, from Viet Nom Nom in Evanston to Hoosier Mama Pie Company in Ukrainian Village to Wok This Way near Midway.
Spike, the corpse flower at the Chicago Botanic Museum, may be blooming tonight or tomorrow. You can watch his unfolding live online; when it's confirmed, the Museum will be open until 2am for visitors to get a whiff of Spike's revolting smell.
"The Greatest Tweet on the Internet" courtesy of the Tribune: "George Zimmerman selling Confederate flag paintings at 'Muslim free' gun store in Florida."
If you feel like you're getting too much sleep at night, check out NUKEMAP to map out the impact of a nuclear bomb going off in Chicago or anywhere else.
Consequence of Sound made a (kinda funny) video of fake interviews of people who witnessed (and experienced) the August 2004 day that a driver of a bus for the Dave Matthews Band emptied its septic tank onto a boat of tourists while crossing the Kinzie Street bridge.
Following the Cubs/Giants game earlier today, Wrigley Field was briefly evacuated after police received a bomb threat that was "more credible" than the ones they normally receive (gulp).
Chicagoans Rebecca and Tim are walking across America to raise money for a friend's rehabilitation after a spinal cord injury. They left San Francisco in April, and recently reached the half-way point; help them get the rest of the way. (Thanks, Phil!)
Food writer Steve Dolinsky encountered a very inauthentic Chicago Hot Dog slathered with fried onions, pickles and a "Chicago sauce" (the mind boggles) while in Spain.
Piece owner Bill Jacobs contributed an op-ed to the NYT today about the safety and health risks of happy hours. Gov. Rauner is considering signing a bill that will re-institute happy hours, which have been banned since 1989.
DNAInfo Chicago has a helpful piece on ways you can recycle oft-trashed items like K-cups, cigarette butts, tennis balls and even old bras! Read before you toss 'em.
Want to know what the most disproportionately popular food is in your neighborhood-meaning the type of restaurant people rave most about on Yelp? Then look no further than the interactive map over at DNAinfo- and for your sake, I hope its not salad.
Most of the places on Buzzfeed's list of the best hidden gems in Chicago will be familiar to locals, but at least they won't be steering tourists terribly wrong.
"Last I heard, he was a commodities trader up in Chicago. Sounds pretty square, but as long as he takes the money and stays put, he's got my blessing." [via]
Check in on what the paraders and partiers are doing on St. Patrick's Day around the world by viewing earthcam.com. View the New York parade and celebrants at Temple Bar in Dublin as well as whatever the Irish do in Las Vegas today.
A Deerfield teenager is getting some nationwideattention for his bar mitzvah promotional video. Of course, he's not the first kid from the suburbs to make his special day even more special.
If you still use Metromix, you already know that the site just launched a redesign. In related news, Do312 updated its logo last month, and Centerstage doesn't exist anymore.
The performer, director and teacher, who was well-known in the local improv community, was found dead in his apartment last night. He was 46 years old.
Some nearby Acuras were engulfed in salt when a wall at the Morton Salt plant collapsed this afternoon. No word on new markdowns at the dealership. (No injuries were reported.)
Rahm Emanuel's 17-year-old son Zach was robbed of his phone last night by two males while walking near the family's Ravenswood home. Police are investigating.
I mean, who doesn't? There's a baby pygmy goat available for free in River North -- with cute little sweater and harness -- if you act fast. (Thanks, Nell!) Oops, too late, the listing has been deleted. Here's a screenshot. It was a prank anyway.
Local gamemakers Cards Against Humanity took Black Friday in a new direction, removing their party game from online sales and instead selling boxes filled with bull feces (which quickly sold out).
Gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner made a Chicagoland-sized faux pas when he ordered a hot dog with ketchup yesterday at a suburban Portillo's. Twitter exploded; Rauner's Press Secretary insists that the dog was for her...but how can we really know?
Because basing outcomes solely on stats results in 60602 and 60603 -- two Loop zip codes with fewer than 2,000 residents between them -- showing up as two of Movoto's "best zip codes in America" to live in. But hey, "As a final perk, no families here reported that they were below the poverty line, so this is a less stressful kind of place to call home."
Fans of this epic punk/spectacle marching band have just 16 hours left to support Mucca Pazza's latest album release on Indie Go-Go. Get yourself some music, a hoodie, a fanny pack, or your own set of sheet music to play along with the band at home.
Makeitfor.us wants to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire by sounding the city's warning sirens at 9pm tonight; turn your speakers into a siren by visiting their website.
Want to always make sure you're up- (or down-) wind from the just-baked-chocolate smell from the Blommer Chocolate Factory downtown? This tumblr can help you out with tips based on daily wind and weather forecasts.
Gawker is ranking America's Ugliest Accent, and Chicago's is up against the LA valley girls. This is probably one of those times when it's best not to vote for Chicago.
Underviewed, FoGB Felix Jung's latest project, directs your attention to videos with very few views on YouTube, probably partly because their creators never changed the default filenames.
With all this rain and flooding, you can check if raw sewage is, in fact, currently being spilled into the Chicago River with just a click. Check istheresewageinthechicagoriver.com for all the icky, clickable reality, based on data from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
The McDonald's corporate social media team got schooled after telling @HowThingsWork not to "spread bad information" -- by sharing an animated gif from the company's own video.
PAWS has a live kitten cam showing the latest additions up for adoption; shelters typically receive an influx of young cats and dogs during warm summer months.
An alleged ISIS operative tweeted a message appearing to threaten Washington DC and Chicago, including photos of the White House and 307 N. Michigan Ave., aka the Old Republic Building.
If you have a fear of heights or suffer from vertigo, you might not want to watch this video of ironworkers preparing to remove a portion of the John Hancock Tower's west antenna. [via]
Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo has plans to open next fall on the Mag Mile in the space formerly occupied by Filene's Basement; NYC-based Shake Shack, which will open this fall in the Gold Coast, will be adding a second location next year by Millennium Park.
Kevin Selagea was cycling through Skokie when a driver began tailgating him. Fortunately, it wasn't for long -- a police officer pulled the tailgater over and ticketed him. [via]
A cyclist who was told by a drunken guy outside of Wicker Park's Big Star that "the world would be a better place without her" (among other very unprintable things) because she asked him to not loiter in the bike lane posted her tale to Craigslist.
A woman got quite the shock this weekend while driving on I-90 near Barrington; a deer fell from an overpass and went through her windshield. No one was injured.
No surprise that Spanish is the most common language spoken in the US after English. But what's the further down on the list? In Illinois, Polish is third. Slate's Ben Blatt also looked at what the most common Native American, Scandinavian, Indo-Aryan and African languages are spoken across the country. UPDATE: AAPI Voices' Karthick Ramakrishnan points out flaws with some of Blatt's maps, and provides updates.
If going to church is not on this weekend's to-do list, you should at least view this narrated footage of a traditional Catholic Latin Mass filmed on Easter Sunday 1941 at the amazing Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica on the city's West Side.
On the heels of yesterday's shooting at the suburban home of the manager of rapper Chief Keef, Gawker takes a look at drill music and its effect on the city's music, politics and culture.
A train car entering the Blue Line O'Hare station at a speed observed to be faster than normal derailed and hit a platform at about 3am this morning, causing the car to rest on the stairs that lead into the airport. Over 30 were sent to nearby hospitals; six of them have fair-to-serious injuries. CTA is running bus shuttles between O'Hare and the Rosemont stop to accommodate passengers.
The two French bulldogs that were missing after a home burglary in Avondale yesterday were found in Humboldt Park and reunited with their owners earlier this evening.
Don't forget to set your clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time this weekend. And did you know that the military has its own time zone system? Chicago is on Sierra Time.
Voters chose Chicago as the best city in the U.S. through a March Madness-style tournament bracket posted by the Atlantic. Sure it's unscientific, arbitrary linkbait, but after this winter we'll take the win.
An infographic compares the nation's two most fast-paced and busy cities, Chicago and New York, on a variety of aspects of city culture, from sports to airports to tourists, and of course, the ever-lasting pizza rivalry.
A remix of the "House of Cards" intro credits using time-lapse footage of Chicago at night (lifted without credit from Eric Hines and Max Wilson) hints at what a local version of the show would look like, although its two-party politics probably wouldn't be so compelling here. [via]
Like a shot of Malort dipped in chocolate, Chicagoans on Twitter are finding local ways to express their affection using the hashtag #ChicagoValentines.
I think of Williamsburg as the Wicker Park of New York, since the former got hot years after the latter already was, but Gawker reversed it -- and called Pilsen Chicago's Bushwick (aka the next up-and-coming hipster hood).
Bath & Body Works thinks a Lake Shore Drive scented candle should smell like "fresh water, shoreline woods and a hint of mint." In other words, they have never been on Lake Shore Drive. (Thanks, Rachelle!)
Comedian Emily Winter's parents wee both lawyers. When she lost a tooth in 1989 and couldn't find it, they wrote up a legal affidavit for the Tooth Fairy explaining its disappearance so she could still receive compensation. [via]
Steve Yamamoto showed up for his last shift at a Glen Ellyn Dominick's yesterday, only to be told that he had been suspended over a brilliantly sarcastic YouTube video he produced commemorating the closing of the supermarket chain.
Do you talk like a Chicagoan? The NYTimes is running a version of the Harvard Dialectical Survey that shows you which parts of the country your personal dialect is most similar to. Keep your eye out for a question that helped name this very site.
Urbane released a map of Chicago that only covers the city from Foster to about 21st, and west to around Central Park, and fills it in with place descriptions that range from witty to condescending to somewhat clueless. But hey, what do you expect from a bunch of San Franciscans?
A certain segment of the TV-watching world is in a tizzy over the 50th anniversary of "Doctor Who." At C2E2 earlier this year, local cosplayer Nina "MangoSirene" and friends put together a photoshoot of genderbent Doctors, and it's pretty awesome.
ESPN's "30 for 30" looks back on one of the craziest games ever played: the Space Jam game of 1995, which included two of Chicago's biggest stars in basketball, Michael Jordan and Bill Murray. [via]
After Buzzfeed listed the "celebrities" of New York, Time Out Chicago decided to make its own list of local celebrities. Chaz Walters, Ronnie Woo Woo and the Landan twins are ready for their close-ups.
The Christian Science Society of Dixon in western Illinois is getting a lot of attention this week after the Internet noticed the shape of its new church on Google Maps.
The church is showing it has a sense of humor in light of the attention: its Facebook profile cover photo now features a "giant fig leaf" over the Google Maps image.
Jesse Jackson, Jr. showed up yesterday to a North Carolina federal prison to begin his 30-month sentence a few days earlier than his scheduled surrender date (this Friday) and was turned away. Update:he is in custody as of this morning. Persistence pays off!
A mini Abe Lincoln lives it up across the state in a new ad by Enjoy Illinois, journeying from down in Springfield to up on the skydeck of the Willis Tower.
The lead designer of the classic arcade game NBA Jam admitted it was rigged to make the Chicago Bulls play worse whenever they went up against the Detroit Pistons. [via]
The CGI-fueled destruction of the city for the latest Transformers movie caused some real damage as Michael Bay and company blew up part of the Santa Fe Grain Elevators on the South Side.
A Subway restaurant actually honored the fake (and obviously controversial) "Subtember 11th" coupons featured in a recent Onion article. Even adding to the twisted irony is that the pre-tax total of the purchase was $9.11.
A man claiming to be a member of the Board of Trade recently got into a fight with another passenger in a Metra quiet car after talking on his phone. Not sure how being a trader qualifies someone to "cut you in half."
South Side residents share how shootings affect their lives and what it's like to live under the constant threat of violence in a new video by local Jon Lowenstein.
This pic of kids walking to a first day of school (near Schiller and Clark) in 1962 doesn't seem to be much of an upgrade from what kids going to school today could experience.
I get the feeling Chicago coming in at number two on Movoto's list of the funniest cities in America is some sort of joke on the Second City. The list makes no effort to justify how Atlanta is number one.
Do you like the idea of renting a bike on occasion, but dislike the idea of being relegated to where Divvy has stations? Then you may be interested in SpinLister where you can rent bikes owned by locals for a day (or more). And these aren't your average heavy, beat-up, partially rusted bikes for rent. Oh, no, there are some pettable bikes here. For example, this bike may be what you need if you have a dog (the moustache and dog are not included in rental.)
I've seen some really beautifully designed engagement announcements, but this one is pretty great. Great design and story by Matthew Bush, Josh Compton and Gabe Cooper. Congrats!
This Craigslist ad for a fixed-gear bike is aimed squarely at Lincoln Park bros hoping to blend in over in Wicker Park... though really, is there a difference these days? [via]
A new study by economists at Wheaton College and Northwestern found that since the 1970s, Americans have not been as upwardly mobile as the British have been.
Here's an earlier article by the study's authors, covering similar ground.
Complex Magazine highlights the resurgence of Chicago's hip-hop scene by featuring the city's most stylish rappers [right now]. While the list includes artists such as Chief Keef, Joey Purp, Mikkey Halsted and more, it won't be hard to guess who came in at number one.
Comedian and writer Deon Cole, along with Iliza Shlesinger and Michael Yo, recently participated on "Larry King Now's" pop culture panel to discuss current hot topics including emergency contraception, Japanese eyeball licking, and of course, new parents, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. Although reports have confirmed "Baby Kimye's" actual name, Cole reveals his choice for the name of America's most famous infant.
Chicago has a history of segregation -- and it apparently extends to smartphone types too, to a certain degree. MapBox teamed up with Gnip and map designer Eric Fischer (previously: 1, 2) to map 3 billion tweets by phone brand and other variables. Start in the Loop and zoom out.
Still wired after that OT win the Blackhawks offered last night? Soothe yourself with a rendition of "Chelsea Dagger" played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. (Nice shirt, Muti!)
A group of Logan Square residents are suing the Tribune for continuing frequent deliveries of its coupons and advertisements (aka those piles of soggy, dirty newsprint wrapped in pink bags that accumulate on your doorstep/yard) despite repeated, bureaucracy-laden requests to stop.
As part of a larger collaborative piece titled "New York Elsewhere" for The Morning News, Tyler Coates projects New York neighborhood counterparts in Chicago. Southport Corridor as Park Slope is amusingly on point, though some Chicagoans would take issue with the idea that Logan Square isn't fully gentrified.
Recently, via a little ditty on ESPN, Chicago native and comedic actor Craig Robinson, whose movie Peeples opened last weekend, expressed his heartfelt sentiments about the [someday] return of Derrick Rose back to the Bulls' lineup.
This week, YouTube launched its Trends Map, which breaks down viewing patterns by metropolitan area, age and gender. At time of writing, "This is Water," the new video of David Foster Wallace's 2005 commencement address at Kenyon College, is number one in Chicago.
In 2003, Chicago filmmaker Eric Fensler (who now lives in Portland, OR) created "GI Joe PSAs," a series of weird remixes of the odd PSAs tacked onto some episodes of "GI Joe" cartoons, which wet viral before anyone had ever heard of social media. The Verge examines their legacy.
"'I'm not going to lie,' says Jenna Lyons, the president and creative director of J. Crew, who is an admirer of Goldman. She scares me a little bit.'" "She" is Ikram Goldman, Chicago boutique owner, "fashion ambassador", and the subject of a profile in the New York Times magazine.
One of the odder places you can stay in the city via AirBnB: a birght green VW camper van parked on the street in Lincoln Park. Just $75 a night! [via]
R. Kelly released "Trapped in the Closet: the Confessionals, Part 1" today, which focuses on the stories of specific characters of the endless, often pointless soap opera. Wake me up when it's over.
Former Chicago Bull Dennis Rodman is visiting North Korea as part of a "basketball diplomacy" trip; he hopes to meet the country's ruler Kim Jong Un, who reportedly was a huge fan of Rodman's old teammate Michael Jordan.
Forbes ranks Chicago as the fourth most miserable city in the US, apparently based primarily on our real estate woes. Detroit, Flint and Rockford top the list.
Chicago's own Lupe Fiasco was escorted off the stage at a private pre-Inauguration concert last night after veering into a seemingly unplanned 30 minute solo of repeating the same (NSFW) lyric from his song "Words I Never Said" that criticizes President Obama's role in the conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
A priest in Springfield has been placed on leave following a November incident in which he called 911 to demand help with getting out of a pair of handcuffs he was "playing" with.
In its look back on 2012, The Onion reports on the die-hard Cubs fans who protested outside Wrigley Field, advocating that the rest of Chicago be torn down and rebuilt.
As Thundersnow threatens our noble city, Chicagoans can pledge to keep their sidewalks clear and find those in need of a shoveling savior on the Adopt a Sidewalk website.
Bloomberg profiles Tyree Johnson, a Chicago man who has worked at McDonald's for 20 years and still makes the $8.25 hourly minimum wage. In contrast, McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner made $8.75 million last year.
Addressed to Henry Walton Jones, Jr., a package delivered to the University of Chicago contained a dusty, detailed replica of the journal from Raiders of the Lost Arc- and no one knows where it came from.
If the United States dissolved and every state went to war with the rest, which would win? Illinois does well for awhile, with Chicago its capital, in one thorough answer. [via]
When you've got a name like Luvvie, you just have to see the world as a place full of love. And for Chicagoan, activist, writer, Red Pump Project creator and humorist Luvvie Ajayi, her world is most recently full of love from Women's Media Center where she received their Social Media Award. Hopefully for Luvvie, the love doesn't stop.
Chicago's high level of gang violence is nothing new, but its increasingly popular "trap" rap scene, featuring juvenile rappers that rhyme about guns, "bitches" and drugs, is adding more fuel to the already out of control fire. Many wonder who is responsible for the epidemic, the misguided teens or their parents? Chicago blogger Alexander Fruchter explores this troubling trend in an editorial for Ruby Hornet.
Cook County judge Cynthia Brim appeared in court this morning regarding her arrest in March after assaulting a deputy. Brim handily won retention to the bench in yesterday's polls.
Complex magazine named local photographer Debbie Carlos one of the 25 Coolest Artists on Etsy. They say she has "some of the most stunning photography" on the popular arts and crafts website.
CustomMade.com is a marketplace for furniture, art and other custom-made and commissioned work. Plenty of the posted projects were either made or reside here.
"This American Life's" Ira Glass explains how to make a balloon animal -- and how to get a guy to wear a condom "without being a total buzzkill," among other sex-related questions -- for Rookie.
Shaun Sperling, whose video of lip-syncing and dancing to Madonna's hit "Vogue" at his 1992 suburban Bar Mitzvah party made himself a You Tube sensation, got another boost: at one of her shows at United Center last week, Madge herself singled out Sperling in the crowd for a brief sing-a-long during "Like a Prayer." Madonna's publicist claims the singer randomly selected Sperling and had no knowledge of the video. You can see Sperling himself in concert this Saturday at Mary's Attic.
Social media meets real world interaction on Monday, when Social Media Week begins. There's still plenty of room in most of the events; see the schedule here.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy's recent report, How America Gives, breaks down charitable giving by state, metropolitan area and by zip code. Illinois ranks 29, and the Chicago metropolitan area comes in at 227 out 366 areas. Local donors give 4.2% of income, a median amount of $2,296. If you want to know how your ZIP code fares, take a look.
The Chicago Film Archives put together a collection of newsreel footage from the 1960 Republican National Convention, which was held in Chicago. There's no sound for most of it, but that's kind of a nice change compared to today's "wall-to-wall" coverage.
Special, updated versions of FOX's popular '90s sketch comedy series "In Living Color," scheduled to air this year, have been shelved -- at least for now. In a radio interview, Chicago comedian Lil Rel, an ensemble cast member of the rebooted series, shares his thoughts on why the laughs may have been put on hold.
Starting today, local music education nonprofit Rock for Kids is launching an eBay auction of autographed 8x10 photos from 150 bands, including The Temptations, Pat Benatar, The Village People, Nickel Creek, Naughty By Nature, Ben Folds and more. Bid early and often to win your favorites. Bidding starts at $8.10 and proceeds benefit the charity that brings music education to at-risk youth in Chicago.
According to Eater, a "No Soup For You" Food Truck will be in Chicago on Friday, July 27. No word yet on planned stops or a route for the truck, which will feature "free iconic Seinfeld" treats and The Soup Nazi himself, Larry Thomas, so check this Facebook page for updates (and be careful when asking for bread).
Get inspired by the Kickstarter campaign for Chicago long-time sign painter Ches Perry. He's painted signs by hand since the mid '60s, and shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, he wants to fund an instructional DVD to pass on his knowledge to a new generation. This, and other worthy local Kickstarter projects, can be found in our Gapers Block curated page of campaigns.
CPS teachers are seeking state support to increase The Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (CTPF), which is currently underfunded by millions of dollars. Senate Bill 3628 would allow $270 million to flow into the CTPF but, after that, state contributions would fall to ten percent of what it provides to the Teachers Retirement Fund, which is for teachers outside of Chicago. If the bill were to pass the senate it would still need to find support in the Illinois House. Controversial spending by the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) of Illinois adds an element of question to the debate.
Remember the search for the owner of a pit bull who fatally attacked a toy breed mix dog at Montrose Dog Beach in late March? The owner who slipped away, refusing to give his name or take responsibility as onlookers followed, snapping a picture of him and his dog and posting it online for helping the dead dog's family get some justice? The pit's owner has now been identified as an off-duty policeman, of all things. He was ticketed for failing to report the incident, and has been relieved of his police powers while an investigation is conducted.
Blackhawk and Little Bird helicopters engaged in a military training exercise downtown darted through the streets with no lights on, stirring up a flurry of tweets and videos from confused Loop workers and residents.
Later in the evening, two MH-6 Little Birds flew along the Chicago River corridor as well. (Thanks John for the chopper ID!)
As AON moves out of the Uptown neighborhood this summer, the neighborhood is gaining another type of commerce. The company's staff parking structure on Broadway (near Argyle) will be utilized as a part-time vintage market from June-October, with vendors selling straight from their methods of transportation on the third Sunday of each month.
If you're itching to stylishly transport that new iPad or maybe an iPhone or MacBook Air or Pro, check out the lovely "Biblio" handmade covers offered via Kickstarter by FoGB George Aye (he's shot some inspired photos at Pitchfork over the years for Transmission) and David Hull. The sweetness is in the video on the campaign page (also after the jump). See other GB-curated Kickstarter campaigns.
Google's doodle today is a depiction of IIT's Crown Hall, in honor of architect Mies van der Rohe's 126th birthday. The Mies van der Rohe Society is throwing a party tonight, with a focus on the architect's influence over hair stylist Vidal Sassoon.
OK Go's latest adventure is OK Gopid, an online dating site that matches your profile with one carefully selected by one of the band's wacky contraptions.
Open Culture collects interesting audio and video from 290 cultural icons, including Saul Bellow, Bill Murray, Shel Silverstein and Frank Lloyd Wright. [via]
A ChipIn account is accepting donations for Remmy the dog, whose owners are Shawn Smith (the genius behind Shawnimals) and his wife Jen. Remmy was attacked by two dogs in her Logan Square neighborhood this past week, and while she's recovering, it's to the tune of about $9k in veterinary bills.
Gothamist founder Jake Dobkin created GrafRank, a ranking of "important graffiti artists around the world using data drawn from the internet." Chicago is, of course, well represented.
Students at the University of Chicago use social media to raise awareness about certain unsanitary living conditions — including exploding toilets — in one of the oldest dorms on campus.
President Obama backed the Bulls once more in an interview with ESPN last night. During the podcast, he alluded to his possible re-election and included that sometime during his presidency, "it will happen." Considering the possibility that he's not re-elected, this could be the year. Right?
Little Lady, a Jack Russell terrier available for adoption in the area, looks a great deal like Uggie, the canine star of The Artist (which won Best Picture at last night's Oscars) who was also a shelter dog.
A new city ordinance promises to hold cab companies liable for repeat-offender drivers. The law will go into effect in the summer and is expected to make current laws surrounding cab drivers, which are typically circumvented, easier to enforce.
Chicago residents can now volunteer to shovel a snow-covered sidewalk by claiming a section of the city on their smart phone through a new web app, Adopt-a-sidewalk. The app also connects volunteers with seniors and people with disabilities who might need help with snow removal.
Check out the full transcript of Tribune reporter David Kidwell's Feb. 8 interview with Emanuel — an interview described as "sometimes contentious, sometimes humorous."
Local comic Ever Mainard had a set this past Tuesday at Chicago Underground Comedy that people are still talking about. Not just comics; people who have never done a stand-up set in their life are talking about it. Luckily, it was caught on video so that those of you who weren't there can witness the moment that people will talk about for years to come. Right now, though, I'm going to stop talking about it, and let you see for yourself.
The "shit ___ say" meme is thoroughly played out, but this one is notable for its inclusion of Richard Roeper performing Bill O'Reilly's famous "Inside Edition" temper tantrum in its entirety.
A mysterious portrait of Mayor Rahm Emanuel created as a movie poster of the Godfather appeared in the office of Tribune columnist John Kass. And he'd like to know who sent it to him. He even checked it for bugs, just in case.
Bears aren't in it, which mutes much of my interest in the game, but the commercials still got a shot at tuning me in. I caught wind of this 10-second teaser, featuring the hometown '80s icon and all time favorite bad influence Ferris Bueller, who looks ready for some mid-life madness.
The "Sh*t People Say" meme is spreading through the Internet faster than a cat with its tail on fire, and YouTuber LyonEsEnTodo brings it home with "Sh*t Chicagoans Say." What DO you say, Chicago? Tweet it to us @gapersblock.
Two separate controversies are battling it out in the Yelp-a-verse: a sommelier so angry at a negative review of his wine-tasting courses that he created a fake blog for the rater that documented a (fabricated) criminal history and substance abuse problems (she's suing him); and a dog obedience trainer who reportedly choked and kicked a dog in his care in front of a number of local animal rescue groups at an adoption event this past weekend.
Just happened upon some footage that features some of the best bboys, or breakdancers, in the city, battling it out at the Alternatives Youth Center back in November.
The time on the symbolic Doomsday Clock, which tracks how close the world is to global disaster, has been adjusted. The time was moved from six minutes to five due to "ongoing threats from nuclear proliferation, climate change and the need to find sustainable and safe sources of energy." The Clock is maintained by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago.
The Lincoln Park Zoo has a new owl (it's a snowy owl; what's with those this year?) and have left its name up to a Facebook poll. A.V. Club Chicago wasn't inspired by the choices, so it took to Twitter to elicit some more.
Office party or living room bash — you still need some good tunes. Refinery 29 blogs that DJ Matt Roan has your Christmas hip shakers all in one mix you can stream or download.
Kim Jong-un, the son of recently departed North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was obsessed with Michael Jordan during his teen years: the future dictator loved to wear Air Jordans and spent hours "doing meticulous pencil drawings" of the legendary athlete while attending a Swiss boarding school. Jong-un reportedly also had pictures of himself with former Bulls player Toni Kukoc (and Kobe Bryant) hanging in his dorm room.
The New King of R n' B wants to take you to his floating "Hotel" and sail the Bahamas with you.
Seafarers can join The Pied Piper of R n' B in a stepping class to learn "The Love Signals," experience cuisine prepared under the watchful eye of Mr. "Sex in the Kitchen," and compete the "12 Play" basketball tournament. This will be R. Kelly's first concert cruise so all bets are off. Judging by Aziz Ansari's response of a past Kells performance all shipmates will have a "Wonderful" time. More info is on the Love Letter Cruise website.
If you're a fan of "The Office" (or just love paper), the Dunder Mifflin Paper Truck will be in town next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Follow the truck on Twitter at @DMPaperTruck for exact times and locations.
Longtime Andersonville tavern, Simon's, had a theft from its basement over the weekend of an antique cash register that's as old as the bar itself (nearly 77 years). If you have any leads, they'd be very interested to recover it. [Update: Simon's has additional information describing the register, should you see it at your local pawn shop or flea market.]
Did you know there's no such thing as Santa Claus? WGN's Robin Robertson broke it down for her colleagues earlier this week on-air earlier this week; after some viewers called in complaints, she then apologized.
Congratulations to Northwestern student Lawrence Dai, whose mission to watch Julie & Julia everyday for a year (and blog about it at The Lawrence/Julie & Julia Project), ended last night with a viewing party in Denver attended by his fan club and Amy Adams's mom.
If you search for "planes overhead" in (Champaign-based) Wolfram Alpha, it'll give you a list of planes flying over your location, along with a sky map. [via]
A Lincoln Square local scours the internet daily to find the best sweepstakes out there to give everyone a chance to win. One Sweeps offers a sweepstake a day where you can decide if you'd like to enter.
One of the best TribLocal headlines I've read, "It's hard out there for a mime," is actually about a teen mistaken for one when what he intended was to dress up as a dancer from America’s Best Dance Crew. "...not used to seeing street performers in a residential neighborhood, some neighbors were confused and called police."
Google's map of Chicago seems to be a little inconsistent: in some versions, Madison Street is missing west of the river, and Randolph Street is listed as "planned."
The Blagojevich's Ravenswood Manor home is for sale; just $1,070,000 for a piece of Illinois history. WBEZ's Justin Kaufmann makes some suggestions on how to jazz up the listing.
A dude who decided to relieve himself in an Uptown alley on Saturday didn't realize that a security camera was watching his every move(ment). (Maybe kinda NSFW)
We've linked to it before, but with all the Playboy Club hub-bub, it seems like a good time to point out the Ex Playboy Bunnies Website, an online community for Bunnies new and old.
New trouble for hometown giant Groupon, this time self-inflicted. According to a report in The New York Times, Groupon chief executive Andrew Mason may have broken SEC rules preventing a company from attempting to "condition the market by hyping its stock" by issuing an internal memo recently. In it, he defends against media reports about the company's numbers, a balance sheet that will no doubt be adversely affected if Groupon's IPO is put on hold.
A resident of the Green Street Lofts, where our mayor and his family lived until they were able to move back into their Ravenswood home, found an interesting angle for selling his condo.
From the audience of the recent Del Close Marathon in NYC, a Las Vegas-based improviser named Eric D. Angell casually told a story of having sex with an "old, drunk girl" in a hotel room in Chicago several years ago that sounds a great deal like rape. See for yourself; it was all captured on video.
Chicago is included on BÃ¥rd Edlund's pretty but confusing Weather Wheel -- but unfortunately so is the popular misconception about why we're called the Windy City. [via]
From Studio Sweet Studio comes The City Scout, a stylish set recommendations of places to check out in Chicago (and soon Brooklyn) from local creative types.
Tavi Gevinson, the teen fashion blogger behind Thestylerookie.com, is shopping a book. The proposal for "Diary" suggests "the book will be one part make-your-own scrapbook, one part feminist manifesto for girls and one part celebrity memento collage."
Eric Fischer's "See Something or Say Something" project maps geotagged tweets and Flickr photos and shows where they overlap. Chicago lights up nicely.
If you need a compelling reason to go to the Taste (and really, who doesn't), Grub Street has a nifty map showing where vendors are coming from, all over the city. You'd save gas money just by going to Grant Park -- especially if you're into dessert.
Stewart Gibbs, a health care administrator living in River West, was arrested late Sunday night after police discovered him in his apartment; Gibbs was drunk, naked, and covered in his dog's blood after trying to remove a cyst from the animal's ear with a butcher knife. The animal will recover. Gibbs was charged with felony animal cruelty.
We at Gapers Block are big fans of Kickstarter, as you may have noticed. So much so that we've set up a curated page filled with local projects we think sound cool. Threadless, Pitchfork and a bunch of other non-local organizations have pages, too.
According to the webcomic xkcd, "if you take any article, click on the first link in the article text not in parentheses or italics, and then repeat, you will eventually end up at "Philosophy." Chicago is only 13 steps away. (We're 14.)
U of C-trained doctor Amy Lehman, who founded a floating medical clinic in Africa's Lake Tanganyika, showed off her large tattoo of the lake's geography for the Daily Beast.
The developers behind the Opera web browser are going to miss Oprah -- because of the great misdirected emails they get. (Don't worry, guys, she's just moving to cable.) [via]
Beyond lending street cred, this tattoo helps its owner with pesky questions from tourists. (At least it's easier to reference than the last one we linked to.)
United Airlines got into some public relations hot water earlier this week when code numbers of flights that were part of the 9/11 tragedy were accidentally reinstated in their operating system.
When the Rapture comes on May 21 (or anytime in the next 10 years), Eternal Earthbound Pets will take care of your left-behind pets for a simple, one-time fee of $135.
As handily annotated above, the ad features obviously satirical copy ("fitting in" is a purported health claim), a Coca-Cola bottle with a backwards logo, and a fake address (there's a Hart Street, but it runs north-south, for just a block). And then there's the name -- Soda Pop Board? While very wholesome, almost nobody calls sweetened carbonated beverages "soda pop," least of all the industry itself. It was created as a spoof for the sadly defunct The City Desk which published nothing but fictional news. But hey, don't tell that to this guy.
Lunchtime just got a lot more rocking since White Mystery is going to play live at the Threadless HQ today. Lucky for you, you can catch the whole thing from your cube on Ustream starting at noon.
Remember the two dogs who were rescued after falling through an iced-over Lake Michigan back in February after their owner abandoned them? One of the doggy duo, a 2-year-old pit bull terrier mix named Honey, is now available for adoption.
Red Door Shelter's Spring to Life Raffle ends tomorrow at 4pm. Tickets are $1 each, and prizes include $1,000 in cold hard cash, a Kindle, a case of wine, a weekend getaway on the North Shore, and Vosges chocolate bars. Proceeds benefit care of the Shelter's animals (while you're at it, look at these awesome fluffly bunnies, this doggy, and this kitteh--they're all available for adoption, along with many others!).
The Kanye West Foundation, which was created to decrease school dropout rates through creative programming, has folded after four years of operating. The charity's grantmaking dropped dramatically after the 2007 death of West's mother Donda, who was the Foundation's founder.
According to this report by WBEZ -- old municipal buildings never die, they just turn into theaters. Next in line? Griffin Theatre Company -- they just bought an abandoned police station near Foster and Damen for one dollar. When your neighborhood police station gets replaced by a theater, well, I think that's a good sign.
Illinois's 2nd congressional district has the least lonely ladies in the land. Check out R. Luke DuBois's maps, which he created after analyzing the profiles of 19 million singles from 21 dating sites, to learn more.
A cryptic -- and possibly encrypted -- tweet appeared on the @MayorEmanuel account briefly last night before being deleted. The Puzzler caught it, and is looking for help figuring out what it means.
A reader submitted a photo on Windy Citizen and wonders if Banksy (or a local street art fan) created this topical image of Moammar Gadhafi in Chicago.
A cobra at the Bronx Zoo took to Twitter after escaping from its cage this week. The animals of Brookfield Zoo, Twitter veterans themselves, dropped it a note. "Hey @BronxZoosCobra; we animals have been tweeting for a few months now, where've u been? Let's tweet up-just hop on a plane."
West Loop-based green furniture company Strand Design recently launched an online store. Now you can buy new furniture while you sit on your old furniture. In your underwear.
theWit Chicago needs a correspondent for the second season of their "Witisodes" web series. The correspondent, in exchange for covering going-on around the city, will be compensated with a food and drink stipend, some free stays at the hotel, and $150 (per episode?). Interested applicants need only make a 60- to 90-second video to apply. Deadline is March 24. Click here for more details.
What's worse, Chicago? Being called "big-boned", or being the cattle to mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel's herding dog? The New York Times sounds like the best frenemy we ever had.
"'Twas born to the House of Lorraine in 1478 in the town of Bar-le-Duc of northern France. Mine occupation is court royal to Louis XII, a fine king indeed." And now Robert the Courtier tweets about the Art Institute's new exhibition of art in Renaissance France.
With a new Mayor-elect in the wings, one ponders if the city can be unified by a crowdsourced alcoholic beverage. Chicagoans, the choice is yours. (h/t Joe)
Virgin America showed off its marketing savvy buy partnering with Groupon for today's launch of service between O'Hare and LA or San Fran. The deal sold out in less than an hour.
A good Samaritan found two dogs at Howard Street Beach yesterday that had fallen through the ice. The dogs' owner, after being tracked down, admitted that he had dumped them near the (freezing) lake because he didn't want them anymore. Do you? Contact the Bark Bark Club for details on how to adopt.
Here's a Department of Development and Planning map showing how neatly Chicago stored its ethnics in 1950. Note how the Swedes are encircling the Irish in the lower-right quadrant. Was it something we said?
Another time-lapse video of the blizzard, this time from the Blackhawks. Worth watching for the mystery of why there were plows clearing the parking lots next to the United Center pretty much non-stop. (Thanks, Dominick!)
You heard it, but in case you didn't see it, now you can. UPDATE: Turns out that photo's been on the web for at least two years. Sorry to share a fake; thanks to Marc for the heads up.
You really just have to watch the video and read the story about a guy who tried to rob a Subway and then stole a cab in Des Plaines before crashing on Clark Street in Rogers Park just blocks from a police station. "You see so many things on Clark Street," said a witness. (h/t Damon)
Update: WGN's SkyCam9 got some extra footage of the "chase".
DIY lifestyle mag ReadyMade recently gave props to (already beautiful) Pilsen bar Simone's for their accidental artistic venture: blank beer coasters. Patrons are enjoying the chance to draw their own designs and decorate it with a glass of their favorite bevvy.
Judith Jamison will be delivering the keynote address at the U of C's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration this afternoon at 3:30pm. You can watch the webcast live here. [via]
A patron at Mullets Sports Bar & Restaurant in Homer Glen got into some trouble after he broke a framed picture of A. C. Slater. A. C. Slater was the mullet-wearing wrestler on the television series "Saved By The Bell."
Art Daily reports that last year, the Chicago Public Library circulated 8.8 million items and provided 2.8 million free computer sessions. A less cheery statistic: librarians reported that 60 percent of their time with patrons involved helping them look for jobs on library computers.
Justice Antonin Scalia doesn't think Chicago-style deep dish pizza is really pizza, and said as much in an interview with California Lawyer magazine: "It's very good, but ... call it tomato pie or something. ... I'm a traditionalist, what can I tell you?" [via]
A man was recorded stealing UPS packages off of a porch in Andersonville over the weekend. Police are still looking for him, or waiting for his heart to grow three sizes. [via]
The Loneliest Monk released their debut music video this week. The cello and drumset dreamscape was shot by Chicago film collectives Rubbish and HYSTK. The HD version of The Ghost & the Silhouette is up on YouTube.
Design firm Faust will be out front of NBC Tower on Friday, Dec. 17 from 7 to 10am to promote Appreciate-It, a site they hope will collect a million appreciative sentiments, which they'll submit to Guinness as the world's longest holiday card.
Local writer Tim Steil received a strange, mangled letter in the mail recently, forwarded from the fictional Romanian MidAtlantic Postage Recovery at 82.5 S. Cicero.
Threadless designer Mig Reyes made it to the second round of Layer Tennis playoffs, and is playing today against Atlantan Mark Weaver. You can watch him work live during the match.
A gallery captures the grandeur and elegance of the Granada, Uptown, Adelphi, and other Chicago area "lost palaces" -- movie theaters that recall a bygone age. [via]
The minty and ballyhooed, Michael Bay-directed Victoria's Secret commercial has hit the Internets and lo, Chicago and our friendly neighbor to the north, Milwaukee are both featured prominently. Well, their cityscapes at least. Yep, that's Marina City you see behind some beauty's behind. And, that's right, there's the Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum. Not really a surprise that Chicago and Milwaukee were used as sets for the shoot. Bay's been in town since this summer for the next Transformers sequel and well, supermodels just hang out here all the time. Right?
...and All I Got Was Brutally Murdered: what the title of Devil in the White Cityshould have been, according to Better Book Titles, where you can "cut through all the cryptic crap" of titles local and otherwise.
The Howard Brown Health Center, which recently has been plagued by financial problems, has gotten a spot of good luck: an anonymous donor has agreed to donate $25 to them for every new Facebook friend added to the Center's profile today, in honor of World AIDS Day.
Eat your heart out, DOMA! The law needs to pass in the Illinois Senate, which it is expected to do; when approved, the law will be effective next July.
The Trib's Kevin Pang just tweeted that anybody with a Hot Doug's tattoo eats at Hot Doug's for free for life. UPDATE: ChicagoNow first reported this back in 2009, so think of Kevin's tweet as a friendly (and delicious) reminder. FURTHER UPDATE: Confirmed by Hot Doug himself.
Add our city's skyline to your holiday cards, or whatever would benefit from Chicago's silhouette, with Merriment Design's free templates. All she asks is that you e-mail or comment when you do.
Travel + Leisure just posted the results of the 2010 'America's Favorite Cities' poll. We've got good pizza and a great skyline, but no one wants to visit us at Christmas.
Not sure where it's located, but here's a nifty 19th Century Chicago Lutheran church re-purposed as a artist's loft. Unfortunately, sometimes God's old college buddies show up in the middle of the night, looking for a place to crash.
The folks at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum want you to name their box turtle. The winner will have his or her picture taken with said turtle, and receive a one-year membership and turtle gift basket--most likely not including a turtle.
Carl, Amy, Layne and Kaitlyn are the Billboard Family, and you can hire them to wear your company shirt "all day long." They're from St. Louis, but according to their site they sometimes visit Chicago, Seattle, Walt Disney World, and the Southern Illinois University area. Let us pray this doesn't escalate into tattoos.
My (and everyone else's) secret television girlfriend Tina Fey presents her thoughts on Chicago's best restaurants, sandwiches, and why we're superior to New York.
Major Carpet Burn dug up a bunch of monster movie mag layouts and crazy old ads, including one from the Help Company Club at 4554 Broadway. Remember, fellas: "No man is any good without a woman."
In the wake of Universal Pictures pulling the controversial promo for his upcoming movie The Dilemma, Vince Vaughn made a statement over the kerfuffle: "Drawing dividing lines over what we can and cannot joke about does exactly that; it divides us."
An off-campus party full of drunken Northwestern students earns a letter of complaint by an Evanston resident, who said that a group of students frightened her young daughter with their "hollering about [oral sex]."
Letters of Note finds an A League of their Own-era Madonna complaining to photographer Steven Meisel about Geena Davis, playing baseball all day, and the pain of being in our "yuk"-ky city.
I'm sure the new Palace nightclub, opening Nov. 4 inside the Alhambra Palace on Randolph will be awesome, but its Facebook page makes me wonder what's happening to the social network's simple, uncluttered design.
I'm going by anecdotal evidence, but it seems like a lot of people move around September -- warm their house with these suggestions from local gift shops, compiled by Time Out Chicago.
The Glam Beast thinks that whoever's behind the Des Plaines I ♥ DP campaign should have considered a better abbreviation (easily offended folks might not want to click that link). But there's a silver lining: they're completely sold out.
Based on a scale called the Train Romance Index Score Total (how Kinseyian), the CTA Belmont stop (Red, Brown and Purple lines) is the most romantic place on the El.
Chicago-based glassware company By the Glass has been getting some attention lately for their tasteful lines of drinking glasses inspired by several cities around the world. Maybe I'm biased, but I like the Chicago line.
Created by a member of local theatre troupe Abraham Werewolf, the new site Simple Auditions aims to connect actors with auditions in the Chicago area. If you're interested in casting some talent, they're offering free listings until October 15th.
Even with all the hoopla over the impending mayoral elections, Asian carp are still looming large in our dietary and cinematic imaginations. And now, they're taking this thing national: the United States just got itself a carp czar.
Screaming across the night sky like a ball of hellfire cast by an angry deity, the people of earth cowered and dubbed this avatar of cosmic glory... Mifflin? Really? Anyway, the Field Museum recently acquired four chunks of (sigh) Mifflin, and science geeks can drool over its stats here.
Investigation of a rumored "dry run" of a terrorist plot via a flight that originated at O'Hare was canceled; the two men who were detained yesterday will not be charged.
Local music label, Contraphonic, has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their nationwide aural mapping project as a part of their already successful Sound Series. Chip in a few clams and help to preserve the best sounds of Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and other locales.
This BBC map of the fallout if Chernobyl had happened in Chicago is rather timely in light of the Braidwood nuclear power plant shutdown earlier this week. [via]
Epitonic, one of the first streaming mp3 sites, is planning a comeback, with local musician Justin Sinkovich back at the helm. The relaunch is being funded through Kickstarter.
...of not maintaining his storage locker. The Arlington Heights-based company who Blagojevich owes $3,000 to is planning to auction the contents this morning, with the proceeds going to Children's Memorial Hospital. The ex-governor claims to be too broke to pay the back rent.
Ramadan began tonight, which means Muslims must fast from sunup to sundown and abstain from anything impure for the next month. This includes anger. Which is why Olivia Kompier, homeschooling parent of three, created ScreamFreeMuslims.com, a website to help Muslims cope with the crabbiness that comes easily while fasting.
Check out this useful chart which breaks down exactly what R. Kelly believes in. No word yet if a similar chart for "You Remind Me Of Something" is available.
To celebrate President Obama's 49th birthday (which he will be celebrating in Hyde Park tonight), the GOP has released a set of political attacks disguised as e-cards that you can send to him.
A viral email has been circulating filled with outrage over the new "Cook County Correction Center" "built by Obama" in Chicago pictured as a beautifully designed glass and steel building on rolling hills dense with trees. Obviously not Chicago, so where is it? Snopes has the answer. (Thanks, Don!)
When she was not folding towels at the Evanston YMCA or performing at Second City and IO Chicago in the mid-nineties, Tina Fey was talking about interest rates.
Coudal has created another charming film, this time featuring the sights and sounds of the Monona County Fair in Iowa where the team was peddling their new Field Notes County Fair edition.
Chicago's best-known political street artist Ray Noland (a.k.a. CRO) was interviewed by Art Slant Chicago's Abraham Ritchie while he passed out Blagojevich-themed cupcakes outside the courthouse during his trial.
The summer interns at the Art Institute have started a twitter account where they post funny things they overhear patrons say in the museum. The results are hilarious and sometimes adorable. Oh, and they have a blog now, too.
Carrie Malec of Chicago is suing Snooki and JWOWW of MTV's "Jersey Shore" for assaulting her at a Miami bar in May after Malec danced with other castmembers.
Leah A. Zeldes of Dining Chicago argues that meatloaf really is a summer food, and passes off a simple, delicious-sounding recipe from Chef Alfredo Anaya does at Dine in the West Loop. [via]
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office is looking into the "radius clauses" imposed by Lollapalooza upon its performers. These clauses prohibit bands from playing in Chicago for months before and after the musical festival takes place in August 2010.
According to a study by the makers of Combos Snacks, Chicago is the seventh manliest city in America. The ranking process involved "using manly criteria like the number of home improvement stores, steak houses, pickup trucks and motorcycles per capita."
Speaking of cool things in the new Chicago magazine, they have a list of 40 words that Chicago and Chicagoans have contributed to the English language. So want people to know you're a true Chicagoan? Call them an asswipe or an egghead.
Chicago's beloved mobile street entertainment known to one and all as Puppet Bike will offer up a little piece of itself on eBay starting next week. Owner/Creator Jason Trusty is "retiring" several older puppets and you can take them home, if you're the highest bidder.
Chicago blog Strange Closets takes a close look at the charming and beautiful all around us. Similar to Apartment Therapy, but 100% local, the blog features shopping, interior design, and architecture you'll love looking at.
Local biker, blogger, and super-cool chick Julie thinks USA Cycling should enforce standards that make it possible for women to have access and ability to race like their male counterparts. Hopefully the local associations get a lot of requests and start requiring parity.
The Field Museum comes in at number seven on the America's Best and Top Ten site's list of the Best Dinosaur Museums in the USA. I suspect Sue will demand a recount.
Did Google StreetView cameras capture the shooting of a child on the South Side? Hard to tell from the image whether it's a real gun or a toy, but the buzz around it has caused Google to remove the image. UPDATE: It's been brought to our attention that the image surfaced a year ago. On the Internet, everything old is new again!
Last Saturday, NBC's Ann Curry delivered the commencement address at Wheaton College's graduation in Norton, Massachusetts; however, when citing famous graduates of the school, she erroneously cited alums of the other Wheaton College -- the one in the Chicago suburbs.
Speaking of interesting maps of the city, Chicagoist points to one by photographer Eric Fischer that uses geotagging info from Flickr to map photographers' travels through the city.
The MacBook Pro that film critic Roger Ebert uses to speak is missing. It was last seen in the back of a taxi in Cannes, France, where Ebert is attending the Cannes Film Festival. There is a reward for its safe return.
Former Cicero town president Betty Loren-Maltese has left her job as a hostess at Salerno's in Oak Park. Maybe she's looking to get in on the food truck trend?
The Program in Linguistics of the Department of English at George Mason University has a entertaining collection of recordings of people speaking the same peculiar phrase. The classic Chicago accent is well-represented by subject: english82, female.
Now that United and Continental airlines are looking to make their union official, WBEZ thinks that United should keep the merger ball rolling by merging with something else. Anything else, it would seem, as shown in this poll.
Raccoons the size of orangutans and German shepherds! Bending steel bars! Fashioning crude stone weapons and mastering fire! Wait, scratch that last one. But the rising number of foreclosed homes in the city give raccoons places to grow bigger, stronger, and feistier. Side note: After reading Ms. Ward's account, can I be forgiven for thinking of a certain story by Poe?
Apartment Therapy is looking for some guys who have a room in need of a do-over. Lucky for you, Chicago is one of their five selected metro areas (but sorry, ladies, this project is for boys only). Apply by May 24.
Wrigleyville tends to draw a vastbloggerpresence. But hey, what's one more URL to bookmark among die hard fans? Cubs Fan Report launched today as a collaborative of them all, as well as major news Cubs coverage.
Check out this United Air Lines ad from the good old male chauvinist pig days. Trapped on a plane with a bunch of drunks, all smoking cigars and pipes and stuffing themselves with steaks? Uh, I'll take the train.
Scare the neighbors into moving their cars. Make an imposing lawn sculpture. Create a giant float and protest the street sweeping schedule. If you buy your own, the possibilities are endless.
Getting married soon? If you make your dress out of toilet paper you might win $1,000 to buy one that's made out of real fabric. Need inspiration? Check out this article featuring 2005's Chicago-based TP wedding dress contest winner.
"2) Telling Internet people that you work for a newspaper feels a bit like telling them you're a Civil War reenactor." The rest of Rex's list is here. [via]
Chris Ware'ssmartest kid on earth will provide you with hours of plush and depressing fun. Place him on your couch or bed and taunt his decapitated helplessness. Whee!
Galesburg, Ill.'s Knox College is known for snagging pretty impressive Commencement speakers, such as Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Madeleine Albright, Stephen Colbert, and last year, Patrick J. Fitgerald. So, this June's graduation should be interesting.
This week's Layer Tennis match pits local video post-production artist Josh Bodnar against Austin's Jason Uson. The weapon of choice: archival video clips.
Staff at Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 are not permitted to email students from personal email accounts. A new policy that went into effect this week also prohibits online gaming with students as well as communicating with them via text message. [via]
The Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) gives a nod to new global resource STACKD which lets people connect via their workplace. It's a great opportunity to "Act Local" and connect with others outside of that excruciatingly silent morning elevator ride.
Broaden your architectural acumen at Blueprint Chicago, a blog about buildings both famous and forgotten. Its author, a docent for the Chicago Architecture Foundation, also offers a "Word of the Week" to build your building vocabulary.
Start up tech companies may have a helping hand from a local success story. Lightbank, a new investment fund, was recently set up by Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, the brains behind "collective buying" deal-of-the-day site Groupon, to funnel as much as $10 million annually into early-stage tech entrepreneurial ventures.
Media Matters notes Survival Seed Bank of Thomson IL, one of the advertisers filling the gaps on Glenn Beck's show where major advertisers have left. Whether you think a "crisis garden" will be necessary or not, it's an entertaining read.
Today, Whitney Gifford runs an article about the public nuisance of hatpins, 100 years ago today. "One man told me he was almost decapitated in the City Hall elevator by the sweep of a hatpin like a scimitar worn by one of the City Hall belles."
Continuing the lovefest, writer/editor Scott Edelman reran a fun interview he did with Mr. Ebert for Sci-Fi Entertainment about, yes, science-fiction. Fun fact: Ebert started the science fiction club at his high school.
Two New Yorkers visited Andersonville and shared ideas for shopping for cool thrift store finds, antiques, and DIY make-overs that won't break the bank. (via)
Explore Chicago has just launched an online gallery of free and cheap Chicago-oriented smartphone apps (mostly geared to you iPhone users, though some work on Blackberry and the like). You can keep track of shows at Broadway in Chicago, menus on GrubHub, get the latest Bears rumors, or locate nearby LGBT businesses through the Gay Cities Guide.
Film fan site Batman on Film says a source spotted producers scouting sites for the franchise's third installment around Chicago's Financial District. Meanwhile, filming blogs are cautiously generating a buzz.
Set phasers to stun! Rich of broadbarn.com provides 8mm footage of a Star Trek convention/original series cast reunion that took place at the Hilton, August 22-24, 1975.
Despite being hit hard by the economic slump, the Art Institute is hanging on-- they're even able to offer free admission during February, as always. How? Hipsters, among other things.
The first online bulletin board launched 32 years ago today. Its programmer-inventors founded it during the Chicago blizzard of 1978, paving the way for the snowed-in Twitter hordes of today.
The New York Times describes the struggle of Kenwood resident Jean-Paul Coffy as he cares for his parents in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. Coffy's Chicago friends are maintaining a blog following his travels.
If you're feeling sassy today, why not join the "I survived the Chicago Quake of 2010" Facebook group? Please spare us the wall posts about how we should get relief money, though. That's a bit much, don't you think?
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!)
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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).
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.
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]
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.
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 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.
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!
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]
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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]
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.
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!).
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]
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
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]
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
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.
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]
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.
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]
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 twoother shots of Abe.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
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.
Roger Ebert reallydid 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.
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.
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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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 ...
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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."
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 populartheory 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.
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.
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.
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).
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).
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. Sogood.
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.
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."
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.
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?
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."
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.
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.
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."
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.
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!)
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
GB reader Paula writes, "I wish they were social satire, but they are real and he does give them out as gifts every year. A friend of mine works at a financial company in Chicago that works with Zell and every year they get a bizarre moving sculpture piece that has a button to activate the movement and the voice of Sam Zell pontificating about something important to him. In her front office they have them lined up on shelves and they drive her nuts because guests love to push the buttons, but there’s no off switch so once you start the monologue you’re stuck until it ends. Bizarre."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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).
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.
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?
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.
A follow-up on Mr. Undateable: Brian Wolf of "Settle For" fame has had some luck. While they've not yet reached the boyfriend / girlfriend stage, he tells NPR that he's currently seeing someone special. Hope springs eternal.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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]
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.)
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."
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.
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 localexpert?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?).
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!
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!)
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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."
• geographic center of the Loop: the Chase Tower
• "Number One City Datum Mark," the point from which the heights of all city buildings are measured: Northern Trust headquarters, 50 S. LaSalle
• And the "zero point," the center of the city's grid, is at State & Madison, of course.
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!)
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....
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.
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 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!
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 designerKevin 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].
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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!
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.
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.
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 se