Miscellaneous

Reader Michael Hetrick sent in this pictures of the city's (or a resident's) attempts to fight the potholes at Inner Lake Shore Drive and Roscoe, yet even if it was a joke, it seems oddly appropriate. more ›

The Moonlight Bunny Ranch Brothel for some reason wants Blago, yet the ex-gov's publicists says The Rod isn't interested in the bunnies. The brothel wanted Blago for their HBO show Cathouse, offering, "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." Blago would also, "assist with hiring ladies in addition to facilitating with training and proper disciplinary action." Sounds awesome to us! But, being a party pooper, Blago spokesman Glenn Selig gave the idea a thumbs down, saying, "They did offer it to him but we're not taking it seriously." Ah, what could have been... [NBC 5, Daily Herald] more ›

The first 100 days of a presidency has been a measuring stick since Franklin Roosevelt took office. We’re not going to bother running down all of the other analysis out there, and we'll let others opine about Obama’s successes and stumbles along the way. But we will direct you to this journalistic score, found on Slate. more ›

What's black and white and red all over? This actual commercial created for Red House Furniture. more ›

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Mothers Day is soon, so we're sending this one out as an early shout-out to all of our moms who have more than likely discovered THE POWER just so they can read our snarky little posts on this little ol' website. [via the incomparable Everything is Terrible] more ›

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We've talked and talked about Dark Lord Day 2009 enough, so for our last little bit on it, we decided to share some reader pics from their experience. more ›

Tankboy encouraged you on Friday to check out local rockers I Fight Dragons, and now we have a look at the band's video for the song, "Money," available on their EP. more ›

Many people - Chicagoist staffers included - love the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, a fun-loving truant romp through Chicago. But now, via our pals at The Windy Citizen, comes this forum at Metafilter, compiling all the crimes Bueller and company actually committed during their day off. Strangely enough, Cameron's Red Wings jersey is not one of them. more ›

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Whether you knew her as Maude or Dorothy, the passing of Broadway and television actress Bea Arthur on Saturday came as a shock to fans of all ages. Her comedic, brassy wit delivered in a deep monotone set those on the receiving end straight for years on two successful television shows "Maude" (1972-1978) and "Golden Girls" (1985-1992). Thanks to YouTube and "Golden Girls" reruns on Lifetime, we'll always have the laughs...and the uncomfortable knowledge that old people still get it on. more ›

Because the CTA Bus Tracker website is not the easiest to use on a mobile device, such as an iPhone, when you're on the go, the folks over at Ars Technica have compiled a good breakdown of the two iPhone apps that use data from the CTA's website to help you find that bus stop or track a bus' arrival time. The apps, Buster and CTA Tracker, are both priced at 99 cents at the iTunes App Store. Neither was developed by the CTA. more ›

We can never get enough Kanye around here, so here's a pretty cool video made by Mykola Dosenko set to Ye's song "Robocop." Pretty cool stuff. [via] more ›

Last time we featured a craigslist posting it led to a love connection. (Believe us, we were just as surprised as you at that one.) So let's try this again. If you're a girl living in Wicker Park and have ever thought this: more ›

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Sixty-seven years ago today, Richard Michael Daley came kicking and screaming into the world, and immediately proceeded to secure a lucrative hospital cafeteria contract for the baby in the next room. The folks here at Chicagoist wanted to honor the mayor's birthday, i.e., the celebration of him being one year closer to death, i.e., the only way he'll leave office, and have put together a bundle of gifts that we'll be delivering to 121 N. LaSalle later this afternoon.
• Lauri is giving Hizzoner a painting of him and his dad, dressed as the Emperor Justinian. If he doesn't like that, she'll be happy to paint him dressed in women's undies, a la the Harold Washington painting that stirred up so much trouble. Or maybe a ride on her bicycle's handlebars, down one of Chicago's potholiest streets.
• Rob thinks the mayor deserves his own Picasso-like monumental sculpture, and proposes commissioning Claes Oldenburg to create a giant bronze raspberry to be erected outside of City Hall.
• Marcus will be sending over a big slush-fund flavored slushie!

Spring has FINALLY arrived in the form of summer-like weather, but we're not complaining. Still, it got us talking around the Chicagoist office about a few of our favorite things about Spring in our fair city. Feel free to share yours in the comments. more ›

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Ah, Spring! You've finally arrived and you've brought nature's light show with you. Reader Ryan B. wrote to us late last night: "I just witnessed the Sears Tower being struck by lighting five times. All five on the west antenna. The light on top of the antenna was taken out on the first strike. I could see three or four sparks from each lightning strike." And Flickr pool contributor stephenwrainey gives us this pair of gorgeous shot as visual accompaniment. more ›

While a judge said ex-governor Blagojevich can't go to Costa Rica for a reality show, he said nothing about L.A., which is where Blago filmed this promo for the show, which leads one to wonder if Blago's figured out a way to still be a part. [NBC 5 via S-T's Natasha Korecki] more ›

We've gotten a reader tip that the Metra Union Pacific lines have stopped in both directions due to a "pedestrian incident" near the Rogers Park station. Check the Metra website for further updates. more ›

This American Life's Ira Glass appeared on The Colbert Report last night. Much comedy ensued. more ›

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Broadway in Chicago (BIC), the production group responsible for bringing national tours ‘round our way, has launched an iPhone application. more ›

We're serious about our sports teams here in Chicago and with both the Bulls and Blackhawks battling in the postseason, we're not the only ones following the action. The Field Museum is showing their love for our playoff players as well. According to the Field: "The Chicago Blackhawks jersey will now be on the Museum’s Dissemination of Knowledge statue, an nine-foot high figure of a woman reading to a baby, located in the northeast corner of Stanley Field Hall. The baby will be dressed as the Blackhawks fan. The Chicago Bulls jersey will now adorn the Museum’s Pterodactyl hanging from the ceiling of Stanley Field Hall outside of our Evolving Planet exhibition." more ›

The Great Muppet Caper + Oceans Eleven = everything right about mash-ups. [TMSIDK via The Daily What] more ›

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We've been busy watching the NBA playoffs and analyzing the Bulls' chances for upsetting the Boston Celtics, which is apparently why we've missed this story that has had other sports bloggers wagging their tongues for the past few days. Why anybody would bother to flip over the Bulls logo and think they see a Robot reading a bible while sitting on a bench is beyond us... more ›

The line-up for Lollapalooza '09 has been announced and we had to spend some time consoling Tankboy about the absence of his most hoped-for band: the reunited Blur. While Tanks can still hold out a sliver of hope that Damon & Co. will be a late addition to the line-up, we're going to do what we can to make him feel better by posting this video which is not only our favorite Blur video, but one of our favorite videos of all time. more ›

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One adventurous pair give us the lowdown on the art of parkour as they traverse Chicago. more ›

It's another cold, gray Monday with Chicago locked in the purgatory that is the transition to Spring... more ›

Cartoon for Chicagoist by Tim Daly more ›

The annual migration to the lake has begun. more ›

Before Adam Seger, Bridget Albert, John Kinder, Peter Vestinos, Lynn House and all the other great mixologists in town, there was Joe Danno, owner and proprietor of the Bucket O' Suds. That old bar became the stuff of legend. Like Disco Demolition, the Bears' Super Bowl XX victory parade, and viewing the body of Harold Washington lying in state in City Hall after his death, more people actually say they went to the Bucket O' Suds than actually visited. more ›

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This week's news about President Obama's relaxing of travel restrictions to Cuba reminded us of all the things we would love about a trip to America's Future Territory* (minus that pesky totalitarianism, of course). Cigars, rum, Hemingway, '50s era automobiles held together by spit and duct tape - ah, Cuba! So naturally our thoughts traveled back to the most high-profile Illinoisan to set foot on Cuban soil (up until Bobby Rush's recent trip) and the first American governor since 1959. Let's travel back, you and I, to Governor Ryan's humanitarian delegation trip to Cuba in October of 1999. more ›

You would think a 27-year-old would be a little more aware of what can happen when you sit down across from Stephen Colbert and a camera, but apparently Peoria native Aaron Schock, the youngest and most ripped United States congressman and representative for Illinois' "Fightin' 18th" district, doesn't watch a lot of late night television as he seemed blindsided when he took part in a Colbert Report "Better Know a District" segment: more ›

• The "world" (well, 30,000+ followers at least) is awaiting Oprah's entry into the Twitter universe as the talk show queen will "tweet" for the first time live on her show tomorrow morning. Prediction: it will be something about french fries.
• Speaking of fries, an elderly Naperville couple traveling back home from their winter place in Arizona stopped for lunch at McDonald's in the middle of a wind storm, and the restaurant's giant sign blew over and landed on their car, crushing them.
• Tupac's got nothing on Al Capone -- more than 60 years after the infamous gangster's death, a song Capone wrote while in prison at Alcatraz is being recorded and released by a group of musicians. "Madonna Mia" is going to be the best $.99 we've ever spent on iTunes.

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When last we saw WGN's Pat Tomasulo, he gave us the best anti-Facebook rant we've ever heard. Now he's back and taking on vanity license plates. It also got us looking back fondly on "Bumper Stumpers." more ›

You just couldn't ask for a better day, weather-wise. The forecast calls for sunshine all day with a high of 61. That's shorts weather, but don't dive into it. Save baring your legs for tomorrow and Saturday when the temps tickle 70. more ›

• Hundreds of protesters rallied downtown today along with others across the country as part of a tax day "Tea Party" against excessive government spending. Chicagoisto Kevin was there, and will have coverage/photos tomorrow.
• Looks like the city is having a hard time finding any patsies to switch from a monthly flat fee for water service over to city water meters -- the Sun-Times reports that "only a trickle" (ha, get it?) of homeowners have signed up. A Water Management spokesman acknowledged that residents have the perception that if meters are installed, their water bills will go up. Shocking!
• Since we already used up our allotment of "Bo knows" references today, we'll skip the obvious and just say that Bo "I-Can't-Decide-On-One-Sport" Jackson has founded a bank in south suburban Burr Ridge. Well, he certainly can't make the banking system any worse.

Remember, if you want to submit your photos to possibly appear in our Around Town feature, add them to the Chicagoist Flickr pool. more ›

Yeah, yeah, Easter was three days ago, but if you're like us, you're still gorging yourself on leftover candy, so it still feels appropriate. And besides...better late than never. [via] more ›

Follow me if you can: Bo was born of Penny, who lives on Martha and Art Stern's farm. Penny was born of Pooka, who also was bred by the Sterns until Penny herself was of breeding age. At that point, Pooka, Bo's maternal grandmother, came to live with [DOT Chief Financial Officer Janet Forsgren]. more ›

Berwyn sure is cooking! Remember those billboards that portrayed the Chicago suburb as a hip alternative to Chicago? This year the City of Berwyn has partnered with Artspace Projects, a national nonprofit arts organization to study the space needs of artists in the Berwyn and neighboring Chicago metropolitan communities. As part of this study, Artspace Projects has developed a brief, 10 minute survey to assist in the development of affordable live/work space for artists in Berwyn. more ›

While we were excited to see the Bears upgrade from Kyle Orton to Jay Cutler on the field, we feared an end to crazy QB antics to entertain us during the off season. Never fear, Bears fans. more ›

This whip-smart 10-year-old knows a whole helluva lot about the Presidents and their pets and she doesn't have time for the bubbly hosts of NBC's Today Show. This is youngster angst at its snarky best. Bravo, Molly, bravo. [via BWE] more ›

For all the discussion about this year being the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, it's worth pointing out that today was final full day of our 16th President's life back in 1865. It was on this date that Lincoln and his wife took a few hours to attend Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater, and became the first President to be assassinated when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. more ›

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We don't normally stop to watch and listen to the bucket boys on our way from Point A to Point B, but what else can we say about this video? We're impressed. [via Windy Citizen] more ›

It's a well-known fact that Tankboy and I are big Kelly Clarkson fans. It's a little-known that fact that there are a few High School Musical fans on staff (cough*Lizz*cough). This video should make them happy. more ›

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Famed OxiClean pitchman Billy Mays goes through a McDonald's drive thru. Seems pretty simple, right? But, wait! There's more! more ›

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It's a holiday weekend, so we knew it was going to be a slow weekend. Still, it's hard to be cranky about anything when looking at Bo, the Obama's new six-month old Portuguese water dog, a gift from Sen. Ted Kennedy (a Democratic U.S. Senator from Massachusetts). more ›

The Chicago Transit Authority restored Yellow Line service Saturday after switch problems at the Howard Street station. Service was suspended for less than two hours early Saturday morning as crews worked to repair the problem. The halted service caused delays on the Red and Purple lines shared at the station, according to the CTA. The Yellow line shuttles passengers between two stops: Howard and north suburban Skokie. [S-T] more ›

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Our friends at the Tribune and the University of Chicago Magazine know what Easter is really all about: the candy. The two publications recently held contests revolving around a particular Easter sweet that is near and dear to our hearts: PEEPS®. more ›

It's Easter weekend and whether or not you observe this holiday, observe Passover, or ignore all holidays and just settle down to watch The Masters, there's probably a Charlie Brown Special for you. Among the more popular ones, though, is this fairly secular look at the Easter holiday. Enjoy and have a safe, happy holiday, whichever holiday you do (or don't) celebrate. more ›

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Easter's right around the corner so there are plenty of amusing bunny clips out there. Below is a new one and - after the jump - an old favorite. more ›

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How much huge, interactive, contemporary art is too much? Millennium Park is trying to find out. Besides the four large Chinese sculptures on display starting tomorrow, two temporary pavilions will also be joining the cavalcade of spectacle in the park this June. The "Burnham Pavilions" are being installed by The Burnham Plan Centennial, a group who, as the name obviously implies, is celebrating the 100 year anniversary of architect Daniel Burnham's Plan of Chicago. The pavilions are "intended to echo the audacity of the 1909 Burnham Plan, which proclaimed, 'What we as a people decide to do in the public interest we can and surely will bring to pass.'" more ›

Last week, Rob stirred the pot by taking on Netflix and offering Facets new service as an alternative. After some discussion in the Chicagoist office break room, we've decided that there's only one movie home delivery service worth the money: The Kevin Bacon Movie Club. Because you can never watch Tremors too many times. more ›

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Sure, the Bears broke the mold with their Super Bowl Shuffle, but the big team of the late 80's and early 90's - the San Francisco 49ers - try to top that (and fail) with their own song. Sadly, we will never get to see Rex and Orton do a Super Bowl Shuffle remix in Bears uniforms, but we can always dream...[via EIT] more ›

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Last night's NCAA Championship game wasn't much of a battle, with North Carolina jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. Holding a 55-34 halftime lead, the Tar Heals coasted through the second half to defeat the Michigan St. Spartans 89-72 at Ford Field in Detroit to win the school's fifth title. more ›

You may have noticed we're pretty excited about the start of baseball season. And part of baseball season that we love is our yearly fantasy league. Earlier this spring, the Trib's Kevin Pang invited me to represent Chicagoist in a league made up of members of Chicago's media. How could we turn down the chance to put our money where our mouth is, not mention show the media world how terrible unlucky we are when picking players that never pan out get injured? And thus, The Fourth Mistake was formed. more ›

Sure, SNL took on Blagojevich again, but we much prefer this pretty funny Muppets skit to the tired Blago imitation. Come on, Sudeikis, you can do better! more ›

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12:50 p.m.: Sit down to breakfast of champions - sausage/egg/cheese bagel with tater tots. more ›

The 2009 Major League Baseball season gets underway with the Phillies and Braves tonight, and the two teams that really matter starting tomorrow. We always get nostalgic for our days in Little League, but these video game commercials take it one step further. more ›

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Sure, we're getting geeked for Opening Day for the Sox and Cubs, but the Blackhawks are going to the playoffs for the first time in seven years, so it's time to get excited about post-season hockey, too. This video of old school 'Hawks clips is a good primer. more ›

Believe it or not, there was a time in the 70s and 80s when a Daley wasn't running the city of Chicago. We broke some barriers during that time period, too, when we saw the first African American mayor, Harold Washington, elected as well as his predecessor, Jane Byrne, who was the first and only woman to serve as Mayor of Chicago and was elected on this day, April 3, in 1979. Byrne was no stranger to Chicago politics when she ran for office -- while working to help get John F. Kennedy elected in 1960, she met Mayor Richard J. Daley and in 1968 Daley made Byrne the head of Chicago consumer affairs. She kept that job until Mayor Bilandic -- who took over after Daley's death in 1976 -- fired her. Byrne apparently took the firing personally, and started campaigning to beat Bilandic in the mayoral primary. With the help of Bilandic majorly botching the city's handling of the Blizzard of '79, Byrne defeated him and went on to win the general election. more ›

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He's 16, he owns four technology businesses and he graduated high school two years early. But that's not what makes Tracy Rollins unique - it's his boxing. Rollins, of Homewood, is a five-time national junior champion making his debut in the senior division this month. His all-time record currently stands at 69-5. And he's doing well. Rollins has moved through to the semi-final bouts this weekend at Chicago's biggest amateur boxing tournament - the Golden Gloves in Lakeview. more ›

We’ve seen plenty of arrest-worthy parking meter shenanigans over the past couple of weeks: graffiti, vandalism, filling meters with pennies, gluing quarters into meter slots and more. The rage of Chicago residents over the increased parking fees seems to be growing steadily, and we expected to see stories about an upsurge in arrests and tickets as the city and the police retaliate. What we didn’t expect: threats of arrest for… paying parking meters. more ›

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Some nice marketing from Switzerland. And you thought Chicago's clean-up efforts for the IOC were wild. [swissmiss via kottke] more ›

We saw this a couple days ago and didn't get around to posting it - but since it might have been on the chests of a number of protesting cops earlier today, we thought we'd pass it on. You recall the FAIL Meter that we directed your attention towards a while back? Well, it's been repurposed by someone to take a more direct dig at the mayor. more ›

Want 'em or hate 'em, the push for the Chicago 2016 Olympics is going to be a big story around here over the next eight months, and especially the next several days as the IOC tours the city. Now comes this three-minute spot promoting Chicago as the host city and the crew at Chicago 2016 finally pulled out the big gun: Michael Jordan. The video is, dare we say, pretty stellar and well put together and only makes us wonder how things would be different if Mayor Daley wasn't leading this charge. [via The Windy Citizen] more ›

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It's tax season - the every ominous April 15 deadline is just two weeks away - so it's time to wrap up your taxes. Just remember that if you stole anything from anyone, you, uh, owe taxes on that, too. Per WBBM: more ›

Late for the Sky, a Cincinnati-based board game company, is giving its Chicago-centric board game, "Chicago-in-a-box," a makeover and is rechristening the game the not-quite-trademark-infringing "Chicago-opoly." Company spokeswoman Carla Miller said, “We are actually in the process of revising the Chicago-In-A-Box game. It will now be called Chicago-opoly...Chicago-opoly was created with the help of Chicago natives,” she said. “We asked Chicagoans ‘What makes this place so great?’ While it’s impossible to include everything, Chicago-opoly hits the highlights.” more ›

Ah, Tina Fey, you always make us laugh. And, in this clip from last week's episode of 30 Rock, she also gives a shout-out to her former home, Chicago. more ›

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We've admired Richard Simmons since the 1970s, when we switched from the Jim Morrison Whiskey Diet to a more balanced one in order to once again look good in our leather pants. Simmons' willingness to be himself (Swarovski crystal tank tops? hell yes), ability to inspire people to better themselves, sense of humor, and entrepreneurial moxie make him a true American success story. Yesterday, we got a chance to meet Simmons at Union Station, where he was helping Ocean Spray to promote their new Cranergy energy drink while greeting befuddled commuters, posing for lots of cell phone and iPhone pictures and sweatin' to oldies. As an added bonus, we got to hand-deliver a portrait we had made of him a few years ago, and got a kiss on the hand in exchange. more ›

Many of us at Chicagoist are history buffs so we were pretty excited to hear that one of the five known copies of the Gettysburg Address has made its way to town. Starting today, the "Everett Copy" of the speech goes on display at the Chicago History Museum, but only for a short spell. The copy has been making the rounds in honor of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth and, according to James Cornelius, curator of the Lincoln collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which owns the manuscript, "Let's just say it needs a good rest." more ›