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From our Readers:
Gapers Block is a group weblog for a pretty smart and well-informed bunch of Chicago friends.
GO TO: WHAT IS GAPERS BLOCK? / THE PROPRIETORS / THE COMPANY
What is Gapers Block?
Gapers Block is a Chicago-centric web publication providing information on news and events around town. There are many terms for the slowdown in traffic that occurs when there's an accident on the side of the road. Some people call it rubbernecking, others a lookie-loo. Here in Chicago, we call it a gapers block (or gapers delay). What better name for a site that asks you to slow down and check out all the cool things in the city?
Consider GB an antidote to all those sites infatuated with the coasts. It contains Merge, a collaborative weblog on a wide range of topics updated weekdaily; Slowdown, a calendar highlighting events you may not have heard about; daily columns from our resident Airbags; and Detour, a weekly feature, as well as a daily photo in Rearview, and a question to ponder and discuss in Fuel. Our newest section, Transmission, offers weekly profiles and mp3s of local musical artists.
Our staff of contributors is made up of Chicagoans with diverse backgrounds but two things in common: a deep love of the city and a wish to share it with you.
The Proprietors
,
Editor & Publisher
Andrew works deep into the night at his West Ridge two-flat, writing and editing and sometimes playing with the cats. He spends more time online than is healthy; follow along at
me3dia.com. He still thinks Chicagoland is the bestest theme park ever.
,
Creative Director
Naz is easily irritated by inactivity but is a firm believer in simplicity. He takes a mellow approach to things but thinks a great lot about them. His online endeavors
congregate here.
The Company
,
MVP — Most Valuable Poster
A former spelling bee champ (Von Steuben Grade School, Peoria, IL), Jim wants you to know that "crepuscular" and "vespertine" are synonyms. He also has a
Website.
In her quest to become a performance artist, Sarah has marched through Evanston wearing a union suit and giant papier-mâché baby head, appeared in glam makeup and a kimono at the ribbon cutting ceremony for Millennium Park, and was once chased through an invisible obstacle course by a clown. Rogers Park is her home, the theater her second. Read about her nights out at
hedonists.trylesshard.com.
,
Assistant Editor
Shylo Bisnett is a recent California transplant. While she
adores humidity, she could do without the snow. Shylo is a writer, editor, and copywriter, in addition to her regular duties as bon vivant and gadabout. Shylo's writing - both fiction and non - plus Missed Connections can be found at
Use Your Hands.
,
Slowdown Editor
An Air Force brat, Veronica has lived in Chicago as long as she's lived anywhere else and likes to think of the city as having adopted her instead of the other way around. Her one super power is the amazing ability to read, write, eat, and watch televison at the same time. She reads
a lot.
Ramsin was born in the Assyrian neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago and currently lives on the West Side. Writing is his game, but symbolic logic makes the world go round. Markets rise and fall, real estate bubbles burst: The Wizard of Odds says, bet on sports.
Richard Carnahan
Rich is a born-and-raised Chicagoan, a real South Side Sox fan, and has been living politics all his (admittedly long) life, but just writing about it now.
Cinnamon, being curiously strong and originally celebrated, tries to keep her ego managable by learning trivia bits as she wrestles with wayward electronic graphics by day and tames bolts of fabric and skeins of yarn by night. You can read what she learns at
Did You Know? and see what she makes at
Poise.
Dave Elfving is a general 'renaissance person' who enjoys developing the world wide web, writing strident letters to elected officials, and reading thick books with small type. He also has a strange fascination with fire escapes, as documented in the renowned web site
escaperail.com. A lifelong Chicagoan, Dave currently resides in the Andersonville neighborhood wherein he maintains
greasyskillet.org and often consumes pickled herring.
Lacey Graves Gerard, graphic designer, owns her own design business where she is the sole employee. You can often find her in one of her satellite offices located in the local wi-fi coffee shop and also the library. She favorite things include her husband Myk, southern accents, good typography, knitting, travel, and being a member of the Baha'i Faith. Visit her family of blogs at
lay-c.com.
A native Virginian and English major by trade, Nathaniel established himself in Bucktown two years ago to ensure easy access to Arturo's Tacos. His raison d'etre is the two weeks of Midwestern autumn that justify a nice light sweater collection, and his days are divided 60/30/10 between thinking luridly about bikes, editing scientific manuscripts, and drinking strong, black coffee.
,
Slowdown Editor
Anne still thinks of herself as a Southerner, even though she moved to Chicago from Montana. During the daylight hours she likes to edit books and pictures, and in her copious amounts of free time she writes poems for no money at all. At night, she enjoys knitting and roving with
The Crafty Ladies. She also has a wee
blog.
,
Assistant Editor
As a fourth generation Chicagoan, Alice has deep roots in the Windy City. During the day, she is a librarian at an applied arts college. In her precious free time, she enjoys browsing bookstores and antique shops, weaving, and digging up Chicago facts for her weekly column. Alice also writes at
That Rabbit Girl.
Jason Maslanka was born and raised in Chicago, took a 2-year vacation
to Southern California, and now resides in Roscoe Village. A UIC
alumnus, and current graduate student in DePaul's New Media Studies
program, Jason adores all things Chicago. All of his projects can be
found at
jasonmaslanka.com.
One of Lakeview resident Deb Oestreicher's favorite pastimes is surprising native Chicagoans (or just Chicagoans who've lived here longer than she has) with reports of all the cool stuff going on in this fabulous city. Her miscellaneous musings are perusable at
The Blog Is [not] the Territory.
,
MVP — Most Valuable Poster
Though relatively new to Chicago, Matt has been here long enough to know he doesn't want to leave. And that's a good thing, 'cause a PhD sure does take a while. When he's not busy as a professional nerd, Matt gets really excited about music, picture-taking and his PowerBook. He writes at
fiftyfivehundred.org and wishes you nothing but the best.
A Windy City resident for nearly 20 years, Steve writes about everything but movies at his day job for a trade journal publishing company. Using the alias Capone, he has been the Chicago Editor for
Ain't It Cool News since 1998, and has been writing film reviews since he was a wee lad of 14, growing up in Maryland.
Albany Park resident, hookah owner, dabbler in technology, general sand castle, kite and lawnmower man, pierogi and burrito connoisseur, decorative goose owner, word stylist and artist, fan of cheap beer, neighborhood cat person, pink bathrobe guy and like, soooo not the person you want to ask for help with your next home improvement project. Bribe him with froofy martinis on his
planet shwoop.
Dee Stiffler
As a child, Dee was only allowed to watch one hour of television a day. She usually chose Sesame Street. Today, she overcompensates by knowing far too much about the WB's lineup as well as pop culture in general. She hardly ever updates
her blog.
After 5 years on the South Side, Jersey-born Michelle Taransky's got a new lease in West Town. When she's not going to readings, she's looking for a place in your neighborhood to eat pizza. Recent poems appear in, or are forthcoming in,
can we have our ball back,
DIAGRAM and
La Petite Zine.
Kristofer Vire is a transplanted Southerner who enjoys trivia, the Cubs, alt-country and beer. A sometime actor, writer, waiter, and temp, he lives in Lake View, because someone has to. Kris records his exploits and outrage at
Angst-ident Prone.
Leah grew up in rural Oklahoma, but escaped to Hyde Park as soon as she could. After stints as a social worker, indie rock publicist, and magician’s (personal) assistant, she’s now working for the non-profit man and living in East Lakeview. When not drafting pub trivia superteams, Leah rambles on a bit at
Ms. Prolix.
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Gapers Block uses the following typefaces: Lucida Grande/Lucida Sans Unicode and Georgia for screen, Clarendon and Gotham Nights for titling and Standard, a pixel font by Danielle Huthart at Pixelyn.
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This could be done, but never with this much ease, elegance and versatility without the help of the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-publishing Movable Type from the good folks at Six Apart.
Thank you for participating:
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Ken Meier
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