Miscellaneous: May 2009 Archives

                    

Here are some photos from the 7th annual Chicago Turkish Festival.

Tonight is our party. We hope you make it. Rest assured, by the end of the night, our illustrious editor-in-chief Marcus will probably wind up looking and signing exactly like the kid in this classic You Tube clip, diaper and all.

At least it's warmer. Overcast skies are in place over the area today and there are already showers about this morning. With any luck, though, as the day wears on, the clouds will break and we should hopefully even see some sun come the afternoon. Tonight will be clear with lows in the mid 50s.

          

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Sometimes, we just want to watch something utterly silly yet totally mesmerizing. This dog doing exercise squats is just such a video.

I was discussing cumulonimbus cloud formations with our pal Amy Freeze last night via email when she pointed me to this article about former Chicago Fire player Andy Williams and his crusade to find a bone marrow donor for his wife Marcia, who is suffering from a rare form of leukemia (the New York Times also covered Williams last fall). Williams, now with Real Salt Lake, and his wife are now preparing for a June 12th transfusion, hoping and praying the match will take.

          

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Earlier today, we read the news that FAO Schwarz is pulling out of Macy's stores across the country and then we read this. It got us thinking about the most iconic giant piano scene in film history. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a decent version of that scene so we've placed what we found after the jump. Instead, check out this even more impressive, though Tom Hanks-less giant piano demonstration.

                     

We admit, this year's Chicago Blackhawks team captivated us like no local sports team has in a long time. While the Sox and Bulls also overachieved (last year and this spring, respectively) - and the Cubs have underachieved - what's notable about the Blackhawks' run this season is the resurgence in their popularity. When Benjy previewed the team back in October, there was reason to be optimistic: they were back on TV locally, they were a young team already showing signs of improvement, hosting this year's Winter Classic. All the pieces were there for a breakthrough year for the 'Hawks...and it happened. Hockey is once again popular in Chicago, like it hasn't been since the days of Chelios, Roenick, and Murphy. We're disappointed in their playoff exit, but we'd be lying if we said we weren't already pumped for next season.

Yeah, we're total nerds. And also compulsive gamblers. Either of which is a perfectly good reason to check out the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. Last year, River Forest's Rose Sloan had a run at the title, getting all the way to the prime-time finals before misspelling "sheitel," a word even our Firefox spellcheck doesn't recognize. This morning, the semifinals get under way (actually, right now on ESPN) and there are only two Illinois kids still in the running, neither from the greater Chicagoland area: Peoria's Kyle Mou and Springfield's Aishwarya Pastapur. Whoever comes out the nation's top speller, we're all winners, be it Jack Black or this kid.

So Tankboy is out of the Chicagoist office for a few days this week (no doubt getting himself pumped for our party on Saturday which you should all attend) so we thought we'd take the opportunity to unleash some home videos of our fair A&E Editor on the unsuspecting (and most likely) unwilling public.* Below is Tankboy's first band and after the jump, see what it's like to rouse him from a nap. [first video via, second via (Thanks, Em!)]

Over the last week, Chicago 2016 has released a pair of 30-second PR videos utilizing Michael Jordan to help sell the city's bid. No word if they had to digitally remove the Nike logo. [via ABC7]

           

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Just when we were getting riled up over more political shenanigans in our state, leave it to our stellar pals at The Beachwood Reporter to come up with a pretty genius piece of satire that has us smiling again.

If this is "Spring" then we're terrified of what next winter will bring. Another cool, cloudy, damp day is on tap for the Chicago area. Cloudy skies and cool temps in the low-to-mid 60s are the order of the day, with a 60 percent chance of showers. After lunch, there's also a chance of storms here and there. If you think it's been a wetter than usual spring, you'd be right: Skilling Sayz rain totals at Midway make this the wettest spring in over 80 years.

         

We decided to head to Brookfield Zoo on Saturday morning and were there for the opening bell ringing at 9:30, when the stroller gang stormed the gates. The air was filled with little kid giggles and happy smiles because of the perfect weather. And because we arrived early in the day, many of the animals were out and about when it was possible to be the only onlooker. Peaceful!

Like many around the city, we thought it was a nice gesture to see basketball legend Michael Jordan pay a visit to the United Center Friday night to root on the Blackhawks. Interestingly enough, though, it seems that the Blackhawks jersey he's wearing is a custom-made one: team officials sewed a red patch over the Reebok logo. It's not really clear whether Jordan is contractually forbidden from displaying another logo or if it's a personal choice on his part. It's certainly not the first time this has happened. And not that we're surprised either. And, sure, maybe it's a minute detail to be focused on, but as several other blogs that have picked up this story have already said, it speaks to the continual entangling of sports and business. What's next? Ads on bases? Oh, wait... [Puck Daddy, via Deaspin]

It's really not fair to pick on any one celebrity singer of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th Inning Stretch at Wrigley Field. There have certainly been ones more awful than the beloved, mohawk'd icon Mr. T. And we're big fans of the T, especially when he does jury duty. But, still, we'd rather he kept to telling us to treat our mothers right.

Well, we almost made it through the weekend without rain, but conditions deteriorated to the point of...sigh...rain yesterday afternoon, and the cool, damp conditions are going to extend into the work week. Today will see highs in the mid 60s with showers and a chance of a thunderstorm or two and it looks like it'll continue through the night and on into tomorrow, so keep the umbrella handy.

We're signing off for the day, to fight the clouds and occasional raindrop to grill some burgers, chicken, etc and to relax for a little bit before the work week kicks in. Have a safe and wonderful rest of your holiday and we'll see you back here bright and early tomorrow!

In this week's entry to the Chicagoist Podcast Series, after wishing a safe and healthy observation of Memorial Day to you all, we're managing to do a whole podcast without any coverage of food or beer. On this weekend, there's a good chance you've got that taken care of on your own with no problem.

              

While it was a little cooler than expected yesterday - especially along the lake - plenty of folks still showed up to Bike the Drive. Here are some shots, shared by readers in our Flickr Pool, of yesterday's event. Have some you still want to share? Add them to our Flickr pool and we'll run a few more tomorrow.

We're still reeling a bit from last night's news of Jay Bennett's passing. We've been blasting Summerteeth all day and we'll move on to The Palace at 4 a.m. this evening. In the meantime, here are some excellent videos to remember Jay - and his excellent musical gift - by. You can also download his new record, Whatever Happened, I Apologized, for free here.

Today will be a cool and breezy holiday, but still one with decent weather for your day off. Highs will range from the upper 50s to the mid 60s depending on where you live, but it may be warmer (or colder!) depending on the amount of sun and wind you get. Either way, good weather. And, of course, today we honor and give our thanks to all the men and women who gave their lives serving our country, the reason for this holiday.

Yesterday morning, Lizz and Marcus were among the 9,000+ runners along the Lakefront participating in the Soldier Field 10 mile run. And while they didn't win (though Lizz beat Marcus and Zach Emanuel, Rahm Emanuel's 12-year-old son, beat both of them), they were still pretty happy with their efforts. But they did notice several men running shirtless in the warm spring air and that's something our friend Pat Tomasulo from WGN is not happy about.

It was a gorgeous day for the annual Bike the Drive event and if you went and took pictures, we'd love to see them. If you feel like sharing, put your favorite Bike The Drive '09 pics in our Flickr Pool and we'll check in tomorrow with a gallery of Bike The Drive pics.

Another pleasant day for your holiday weekend is on tap, perfect for firing up the grill, having a picnic in the park, or even playing that weird game with the beanbags that seems so popular in these parts. Partly cloudy skies and highs in the low 70s are the order of the day so get outside and soak up all the sun you can. Lows tonight will be in the low-to-mid 50's under continued partly cloudy skies.

Yesterday's Game Three between the Blackhawks and the Red Wings has us pumped for tomorrow's Game Four. For those that aren't as familiar with hockey, WBEZ aims to explain to us what the "Odd Man Rush" is (that's former Chicagoista Kristin Moo in goal) and the results are pretty funny. But don't worry - Andrew's fine.

With a wide range of highs (from lower 60s to upper 70s, depending on where you live) and mixed clouds, today will have a little bit of everything. Even the slightest chance of rain. But it seems it will be mostly acceptable weather, especially for a holiday weekend. Partly to mostly cloudy skies hang overhead tonight with lows in the upper 50s. But, seriously, clouds or no, it ain't so bad.

The Chicago area has spent the latter half of this week following news reports of what could be possible developments in one of the most infamous crimes in recent history. Coincidentally, just yesterday was the 85th anniversary of the murder of Bobby Franks, whose death sparked one of the most notorious murder cases in Chicago history. If you don't recognize the name of the victim, perhaps you'll remember the name of the killers: Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb.

          

Ah, Summer. It may be in the 60's outside right now, but the beaches are now officially open and Memorial Day weekend brings the unofficial start of summer. While it may not feel quite like it yet - though it did yesterday, whatever that's about - we thought we'd take a dip in the pool - our Flickr pool, that is, for some shots of Summer to get us excited.

          

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We hope by now you've seen it, but in case you haven't, here's the cover of this week's Chicago Reader, which features another of their fantastic stories exploring the parking meter debacle. Kudos, Reader kids. Kudos. You've easily topped the NY Post and the Sun-Times.

After back-to-back days of positively July-like weather, we're now reverting back to mid-April. But though it will be cooler, it'll still be fairly pleasant. Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy today as highs reach the mid-60s. Look for the mostly cloudy skies to continue tonight with lows in the mid-50s. And for those of you, like myself, Chicagoista Lizz and our pal Amy Freeze, running tomorrow morning's Soldier Field 10 miler, it looks like we'll have pleasant weather for the race.

       

The new Whole Foods in Lincoln Park opened yesterday and it's huge. Really huge. Third largest in the world, in fact, behind a London store and the flagship Austin, Texas branch. 75,000 square feet of organic goodness. Even Mayor Daley was on hand to check out the new store and, we assume, buy some granola bars. We didn't get a chance to swing by and check it out but rest assured, we will soon. Luckily, readers Steve Koo and JoeM500 stopped by and took some pics.

Due to the J.P. Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge a-happenin' tonight in the Loop, there's going to be some reroutes of the following buses. As always, keep an eye on the CTA's website for more information.

Sure, it's an Adidas ad, but there's a lot to love about this tribute to our rookie of the year, which doesn't surprise us as it's a collaboration with awesome basketball blog Free Darko.

              

US Cellular Field went to the dogs last night. Literally. It was Dog Day at the stadium and there was even a parade around the field before the Twins and Sox faced off. We don't envy the grounds crew's clean-up job. Fortunately for us, Chicagoist reader/Flickr pool contributor/South Side photographer Avi Schwab, who shared with us his awesome shots of that Westboro Bapt. protest at the University of Chicago in March, was on hand and got some fantastic shots. (And in case you're wondering, the Chicagoist Intern wasn't present as he's a Cubs fan.)

Second verse, same as the first. Today is going to be a lot like yesterday: bright and brilliant. Sunny skies hang overhead and it'll warm up to July-like levels again today as highs hit the mid-80s. Get out and enjoy it today as, while not that cool, it won't be quite as warm tomorrow. Lows overnight will be in the mid-50s.

The Los Angeles Clippers came away the big winner after last night's NBA Draft lottery. It was only the second time in 11 years that the Bulls didn't have a ping pong ball in play, but that doesn't mean they might not profit. According to the Trib's K.C. Johnson:

Remember Current's first hilarious take on Twitter? Now they're back with a follow-up that looks at the spate of celebrity Twitter accounts. [via Sun-Times]

          

Earlier today, we took a look at pics from The White House. We now return you to your regularly scheduled, locally-oriented Around Town programming.

                     

Things are rolling along at the Windy City White House these days and one of the coolest things we've found is the White House's official Flickr page. For fans of the President, it offers a daily glimpse into the inner workings of the White House that have never been so readily available while opponents of the President will likely decry it as a propaganda move. Either way, we enjoyed flipping through the photos and thought we'd share a few of our favorites.

If you're a fan of warm, summer weather, today's a day for you. And, actually, it's a gorgeous day for the rest of us as well. Highs today will reach the mid 80s. Yes, that's not joke, the mid 80s. All of a sudden, it's getting all July up in the Windy City. Sunny skies will bring that temperature up but it's going to be a bit breezy with winds coming in from the south with gusts of up to 25 mph. Tonight, it'll cool a bit but it'll still be mild as lows will be in the upper 60s. That's right, readers, we've survived another winter and lived to tell the tale; it'll be our warmest temps since last September.

Here's a pretty sweet and soothing time-lapse video of the Milky Way passing over Texas.

          

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Did you enjoy our pics from this weekend's Frank Lloyd Wright tour? Well, now there may be a LEGO set just for you. Our pals at Gapers Block point out that LEGO plans on soon releasing a new line of sets featuring famous architectural wonders, such as the Sears Tower (right). GB also directs us to PrairieMod, who has a preview of a pair of Frank Lloyd Wright sets soon to be released. According to a press release posted on PrairieMod:

Lorenzo Lamas. Deborah "Not Debbie" Gibson. A mega shark eating the Golden Gate Bridge. A giant octopus battling said shark. What more could we EVER want in a movie? Expect Rob's review soon!

            

...would NOT smell as sweet. Rookie-of-the-Year Derrick Rose made an appearance at the adidas Sport Performance Store in Water Tower Place on Saturday to thank his fans and sign some schwag. Rose first addressed a large crowd in front of the entrance, expressing his gratitude for their support this season. After the thank-yous and a brief ceremony in which Rose dedicate a signed jersey to the store, Derrick made his way to a table in the back and hunkered down for two hours of signing autographs. In order to get the star's signature fans first had to obtain a wristband, which were distributed earlier in the day on a first-come, first-serve basis. The initial wristband was awarded shortly after the doors opened at 10 a.m., and by 12:30 p.m. all 200 had been distributed.

Remember all the fuss about the Beanie Baby dolls that totally were not the Obama girls? Well, one can only hope there will be less fuss about the marketing of a new Obama doll: that of new First Puppy Bo.

          

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It's a splendid day to walk about outside or eat lunch on a bench in a park somewhere...or just play hooky from work again, but we can't condone that. Not today, anyway. The cool temps that forced coats on us this morning are already rebounding and it'll warm up to the lower 70s in most parts of the area under clear, sunny skies. Partly cloudy skies remain in place overnight as lows drop into the mid-50's. Maybe swing by the Art Institute, which is offering free admission this week. It is International Museum Day, after all.

Next election, we're voting for Super President. [via EiT]

Sad news from Brookfield Zoo where Affie, a 40-year-old African elephant, passed away. A zookeeper checked in with Affie at 4 a.m. and found her doing well, but at 8 a.m., she was found lying on her side. After hours trying to get her on her feet and to help her, she passed away around 2 p.m. According to WBBM:

Good Lord it has been far too long since the Chicagoist office has been buzzing with this much excitement over the 'Hawks in mid-May. It all starts today at 2 p.m. as the Blackhawks and Red Wings finally start their tussle for a shot at the Stanley Cup. The Blackhawks have been off for much longer than the Wings so here's hoping they don't have to shake off rust because they won't have the time. The Red Wings won the season series 4-2, but the first two losses were shoot out losses and the Blackhawks finished out the season with back-to-back wins. It may not be much, but it may be enough to give the young 'Hawks some confidence. Let us know in the comments how you think the series will go and be sure to follow us on Twitter where Benjy will be tweeting and discussing the game with readers.

If yesterday was a 10, today cranks it up to 11. The gusts of wind are gone and all that's left is a gorgeous, sunny Spring day with clear skies and a high in the low-to-mid 60s. Seriously, today is a day to be enjoyed. Tonight will still be cool with lows in the lower 40s, but still clear. Go have a picnic.

We love baseball. And while Sox fans outnumber Cubs fans in the office, one thing we can all agree on is that we're big fans of Bobby Scales, the Cubs infielder who has languished in the minors for over ten years, bouncing around from team to team. The Southfield, Michigan native has played well for the Cubs since his call-up two weeks ago and he's captured the hearts of Cubs fans: a 31-year-old rookie, living the dream and soaking up every second. And, oh, he's helped the team, too, most recently scoring today's winning run.

Any Sham Wow "remix" should have Carlton Banks dancing in it. Thanks, DJ Steve Porter, for making that happen. [via]

       

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If there's one things Cubs can get excited about this Spring, it's the emergence of Ryan Theriot as a power force to be reckoned with. As of today, Theriot is tied for second on the team with five homers and 17 RBIs, plus he boasts a .297 avg, a .372 slugging, and he is tied for first on the team with 38 hits. All five home runs this season have come in May and he only hit one all of last year. But at least one Chicago sportswriter is murmuring with concern.

WTTW's aired between 1988 and 2003 (with a short seven part revival in 2006) and took a look at various wacky and unusual places, people, and events around the city. The show went through a number of different hosts and correspondents over the years, and while they all had their certain charm, we have a special affinity for original host Ben Hollis (sorry Will, while we love nerds you just didn't connect with us). Part of Hollis' charm was his complete lack of pretense running around town in a khaki outfit and pith helmet. Watching clips of the old shows lead to a lot of "Oh, I remember that place" moments, and once in a while a "Before they were stars" sighting, such as in the video below from 1990. Hollis was in Lincoln Park asking people a dumb question as part of the regular -- what else -- "Dumb Question" segment, and one of the participants happens to be a familiar face. Familiar now, anyway. We would tell you who it is, but as you're sitting at work on this dreary Friday counting down the minutes until 5:00, we don't want to spoil a chance for you to kill some time so we'll let you try and spot him/her for yourself.

          

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Ah, the public radio fundraising drive. We love NPR - and we've got a whole heap of love for the badasses at WBEZ - but sometimes we get a bit miffed with the interruptions asking us for money. Well, our pals at the BEZ have come up with a pretty clever campaign that not only raises money to help keep them on the air, but keeps us entertained to boot. They've launched WBEZ20, a new website featuring videos, comments, and other interactive features while at the same time asking readers to donate $20 to help keep the station going. It's a pretty great idea and will help keep their programming interruption to a minimum.

Friend of Chicagoist Pat Tomasulo of WGN started the Blackhawks season this year by swapping places with a few of the 'Hawks. With the team's first appearance in the Western Conference Finals in 14 years on tap - once the Red Wings and Ducks decided their series - we thought it'd be fun to look back at this video.

While the Chicagoist intern isn't startled by storms, we know that's not true for all dogs, including some police dogs. This morning, the Chicago Police Department reported that one of its K9s, BEAR, went missing last night. According to an email sent out by the CPD, the dog's handler took it outside for a potty break when a crack of thunder - and we had plenty of that last night - scared the dog who scaled a five-foot fence and took off. The 74 lb black and tan shepherd was last seen near the 3800 block of West 109th Street.

          

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With the sudden rise in the popularity of hockey in town, it's only natural that some of the newbie 'Hawks fans have some questions about the sport. For example, "What's a hat trick?" or "Why did everybody just throw their caps on the ice?" And while the lifelong Blackhawks fan next to them will roll their eyes and explain the three-goal feat and its rarity, that die-hard 'Hawks fan may not have the answer to the next question, "What happens to all those hats afterward?"

Here's betting we're not the first nor last with that headline, but either way, surfing could be coming to five Chicago beaches soon, so sayeth the Sun-Times. A group of surfers has finally gotten their way and the Chicago Park District may just oblige them by opening up to five city beaches for the purposes of surfing.

Okay, so there's not really a Wes Anderson film festival. But if there was? This would be the best preview we could think of.

          

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It's a gloomy, grumpy Humpday. You've got a few more days until the weekend. There's a pile of work on your desk you just don't feel like plowing through. Well, while it may not make that pile of work go away, one thing that might help get rid of those grumpies is the WeinerMobile. Stalwart reader/Flickr pool contributor JoeM500 snapped some shots of the iconic vehicle at a tweet-up yesterday and the shots are bringing a smile to our face this gray morning. We just hope Zodak Yonan got the WeinerMobile a parking sticker so it's not ticketed.

If you haven't yet had your fill of auctions involving Chicago landmarks, why not go for something a little more...unique? Say, something from outer space? If you're still in it to win it, you're in luck. The famous "Garza Stone" is going up for auction. The stone is actually a meteorite chunk that crashed through the house of Park Forest resident Noe Garza on March 26, 2003. Heritage Auctions out of Dallas is coordinating the auction and the minimum bid is $42,000. David Herskowitz, director of natural history at Heritage Auctions, told the Tribune, "Very few meteorites that have ever hit the Earth have had human encounters like this...The smaller the target a meteorite hits, the more valuable it becomes." He added, "The market is better for meteorites now and the prices seem to keep going up and up." We honestly had no idea there was even a market for meteorites.

We admit right up front: yes, this is ultimately a commercial for the game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out for the Nintendo Wii. But. It's an awesome commercial. And anything that includes an appearance by Senator Clay "Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet" Davis is worth its weight in gold.

          

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In case you're one of the few folks (like me) who have yet to see Samberg & The Lake's follow-up to the popular "Dick in a Box" video, here it is. And even if you have seen it, it's probably worth another look, especially on a Monday.

Several weeks ago, I tried to start up a feud with WFLD Fox 32 Meteorologist Amy Freeze to stir up some excitement in our Chicago media fantasy baseball league. Needless to say, Freeze stayed classy and didn't take the bait while we went on to split our first head-to-head match-up and my team promptly tanked. Amy has bounced around the country, reporting for stations in Denver, Portland, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia before winding up in the Windy City, having covered not just weather, but a variety of stories including the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

          

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When he's not pulling jury duty, Mr. T is dishing out indispensable advice.

Now here's one summer blockbuster we can get excited for.

       

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There are a few statistics that get thrown around every year: Tryptophan in turkey around late November, numbers of toilets flushed at the Superbowl, and the number of phone calls made on Mother's Day. That number dropped dramatically in the Chicagoland area back on this date in 1988 (which just so happened to be Mother's Day) when a fire at a Hinsdale Illinois Bell station knocked out phone service to 35,000 people in the DuPage area.

A mayor that takes vacations funded by private companies that do business with his city; that feuds with a city council over budget issues; that butts heads with local media over transparency issues. Sounds familiar, right? While many cities experience the same plight we do in Chicago, perhaps none is as unique as New Orleans. And never has there been a better opportunity for a change in regime as there is right now in the Big Easy as controversial and embattled mayor Ray Nagin is on his way out thanks to the city's term limits. If the race for mayor of New Orleans in 2010 is anything like 2006, it's going to be a crowded field; 2006 saw a primary with over 20 candidates listed on the ballot. Now, one outsider candidate, James Perry, is taking his campaign on the road to seek nation-wide support in his bid to help bring New Orleans back and it's brought him to Chicago.

       

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Jonesing for a piece of Chicago history and have a little cash to burn? You're in luck as legendary auction house Christie's will soon be auctioning off pieces of the long-since-demolished Chicago Stock Exchange Building. Designed by Louis Sullivan, completed in 1894, and demolished for good by 1972, pieces of the building will be auctioned off on June 2. According to the Trib:

It's no secret that we're all about zombies here at Chicagoist, so we totally dug this video. Some Japanese kids take on a zombie and hilarity ensues. One piece of advice: kids, never call a zombie "stupid," (3:04 in) as that just pisses 'em off.

       

We now return to our regular Around Town programming.

       

It was just a few weeks ago we had our first big thunderboomer of the Spring and while yesterday's rain wasn't the first of the Spring by any means, it was one of the most intense rains we've had so far. There's something about the weather that brings out the best in photos...

We know most of you out there have been scratching hash marks on your bedroom wall counting down to October 2nd -- the day we find out if our 2016 summer Olympic dream (or nightmare, depending on your point of view) will come true. Fortunately, the team behind Chicago 2016 has come up with a better way to do that without risking your security deposit -- an iPhone Olympic bid countdown application. Not since the introduction of iBeer has there been such a productive app -- not only can you instantly see how many days are left until the IOC decision (no messy hours/minutes/seconds to clutter up the screen like most countdown apps), there are also "fun facts" about the Olympic bid such as:

The Chicago metropolitan area spends more than $2 billion annually to maintain and improve its transportation network of trains, buses, roadways and bikeways. It expects to spend approximately $27 billion on highway and transit projects through 2016.

The Chicago 2016 bid is 100% financed by private-sector contributions from individuals, foundations and the corporate community. Chicago is no stranger to privately funded events: The 1933 World's Fair was also funded privately, by paid memberships.

There's nothing particularly noteworthy about this video aside from its kitsch value. Yet we found ourselves watching and re-watching it for some reason. After the 15th viewing, it struck us why it's so engaging: Cookie Monster is obviously coked out of his mind.

Since the focus on parking in Chicago has been almost entirely aimed (and rightfully so) at the parking meter debacle and LAZ, a little bit of good news is always appreciated. Believe it or not, someone in City Hall is actually making it easier to take care of your parking stickers. If you require both a city sticker and a residential parking sticker, Miguel del Valle and the office of the City Clerk have rolled the two together. From the City Clerk's website:

       

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Created for the recent This American Life - Live! event, this short cartoon of Chris Ware's Quimby the Mouse (animation by John Kuramoto) is not only awesome, but features music by Chicago's own Andrew Bird. [Drawn! via The Daily What]

  

With the talk over the weekend of Rio's bid getting a thumbs up from the IOC, we wondered what President Obama thought of things. Rodrigo Arantes - perhaps a reader of sister site Rioist? - sent us these pictures of some familiar faces partying it up with pro-2016 supporters in Rio. We had no idea No Games Chicago had so much clout.

          

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Love 'em or leave 'em, there's no denying the breadth of Chicago-based Playboy Magazine. And leave it to Playboy to try to turn our frowns upside-down during this recession by focusing on the...more pleasant aspects of the economy. It's this desire that has led to their new list: Women on Top: America's Sexiest CEOs [page is SFW but test your office monitoring software at your own peril]. And the list has a local flavor, with a pair of women CEOs making an appearance.

     

We know our potholes are awful and sometimes bigger media outlets tell us so. This time around, it's travel website Gadling ranking our potholes as among the worst in the world. Second, actually, behind the potholes of Harare, Zimbabwe. Says the website over our Swiss cheese roads: "Chicago is on par with many third world countries when it comes to road repairs." We beg to differ: our potential 2016 Olympic sites have some of the quickest, most thorough pothole repairs of potential 2016 Olympic sites anywhere. Suck it, Rio! [via Second City Cop]

Here's something to soften the blow for Bulls fans still recovering from their weekend loss to the Celtics. If you've watched the NBA playoffs, you've seen the awesome "Where Amazing Happens" commercials. It was only a matter of time before someone took those and made some fantastic mash-ups. Thankfully, they have, and here are two, using legendary basketball movies Hoosiers and Teen Wolf (yeah, we called Teen Wolf legendary; deal with it.) Enjoy and dream what could have been for Gordon, Rose, Noah, and the rest of the Baby Bulls. [via Bill Simmons]

          

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We dig the Fox Sports show Sport Science, and here's another reason why. Can PGA golfer Padraig Harrington (two-time defending British Open and defending PGA Championship winner) drive a golf ball farther by employing the Happy Gilmore method? Check it out. [via Kottke]

       

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