This Week’s Five: National Theatre of Scotland’s Black Watch makes its Chicago premiere … dance for $5, theatre for $10, concerts for $15 … plus, what Kartemquin Films’ founder Gordon Quinn is doing this weekend Read more
March 2011
By Carol Felsenthal
"'The First Lady looked stunning, as always, as she stepped down the jet in a textured frock along with her husband and her two daughters,' her mother, and the nanny," Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday on his radio show, reading from an article he called "pathetic." The words "her mother, and the nanny," were added by the talk-show host—they were not in the story from which he quoted... Read more
By Dennis Rodkin
When voting April 5th on local tax referendums, voters in ten Cook County communities may get the impression that any increase on their property-tax bills will be only about a third of the actual increase... Read more
By Whet Moser
Practically any mention of bikes versus cars on the internet incites a flamewar. It's a curious phenomenon, particularly given the minor threat bikes pose to cars. Nonetheless, I'm convinced that drivers are more afraid of bicyclists than vice versa. Read more
By Amalie Drury
I ate beef jerky for the first time in my life last night. I drank beef jerky for the first time, too. The Creative Director and I were at Bridge Bar (315 N. Lasalle St.), the so-called “cocktail kitchen” above Fulton’s on the River, which celebrated its opening night Monday with a tasting of nine craft cocktails and a few plates from its quirky food menu... Read more
By Whet Moser
A prehistory of Chicago hipsters, in which we meet Harry "The Hipster" Gibson and Lord Buckley, discuss the important difference between "beat" and "beatnik," and scare the cool kids away from our less-than-fair city with Aristotle and crappy weather. Read more
By Bridget Maiellaro
All That Glitters
Back in 2005, the Chicago native Monique Scott was designing her wedding invitations with bead wrappings when she realized something about herself. “I had always been very creative and would also accessorize my clothes,” she says, “so I just told myself, I could design jewelry, and I did it...” Read more
Back in 2005, the Chicago native Monique Scott was designing her wedding invitations with bead wrappings when she realized something about herself. “I had always been very creative and would also accessorize my clothes,” she says, “so I just told myself, I could design jewelry, and I did it...” Read more
By Jeff Ruby
For all its promise, the NCAA basketball tournament, like Tootsie Rolls and every Wes Anderson film after Rushmore, can only disappoint. It’s not just the brackets—the goddamn brackets—whose untold drama and fury on Thursday morning are a red-penned clusterfuck on Monday. It’s what the brackets represent: The annual reminder you’re not half as smart or crafty as you believed yourself, all your inadequacies and unforgivable sins spelled out on one handy 64-team grid... Read more
By Whet Moser
NPR is the latest outlet to focus on "what some call an epidemic of youth violence in Chicago." It's likely to be an issue as Rahm Emanuel selects new heads for CPS and the CPD. But research suggests that youth violence is as much a matter of public health as anything else. Read more