Writers on the Record
Victoria Lautman chats with Edwidge Danticat.
Ad Categories: Culture
The Blip – September 2007
Bright spots on the month’s cultural calendar
Conversation with … Sarah Ruhl
Wilmette-born playwright Sarah Ruhl writes a dark new play.
MacWho?
With the new theatre season upon us, thespians across the city are prepping the opening-night ceremonies they believe avert catastrophe.
Strum und Drang
Projekt Revolution gathers a passel of alt-rock bands united by tortured souls, mournfully catchy melodies, and aggression-venting guitars.
Inking Out Loud
Chicago tattoo artist Hannah Aitchison talks about starring in LA Ink, a reality show on TLC.
Good Stuff Part 1
Nifty stuff has been landing on my desk and in my inbox. Thought I’d share.
1. Two great sites for quirky stuff: Swap Meat, a funny little designophile project by local Web company Coudal Partners. You send something cool in—you know, something that you made yourself. They assess its value and send something equally cool back. Get it? It’s a swap! There are great prints, handmade books, T-shirts, etc. I don’t make things by hand, so I have nothing to send. But if I did make things by hand, and if they didn’t suck, well, you know…
Q & A with Gretchen Wilson
Here I was, trying to understand “country couture” with a veritable expert: Grammy winner Gretchen Wilson, who was performing at the fashion event Glamorama. Note: If you ever get a chance to interview Gretchen Wilson, she is much happier talking about baseball than style.
Coda: You grew up in Pocahontas, Illinois. Do you have a fondness for performing in Chicago?
GW: It’s always great to be back. I have a few relatives around here still. But you know, I grew up closer to St. Louis than Chicago…
Celebrity Beat: Kanye West
The Kanye West Foundation raised more than $500,000 for education-related programs Friday, through West’s concert that night at the House of Blues and the foundation’s inaugural benefit earlier in the evening at the Crimson Lounge in the Hotel Sax Chicago. Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson emceed the reception, and celeb attendees included Mos Def, who later performed with West at HOB; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade; and comedian-actor David Alan Grier…
Weeknight Find
A classically modern collaboration