Miscellaneous: July 2009 Archives

We got a kick out of this considering the ruckus over President Obama's Notre Dame commencement speech earlier this year. Warning: Language gets NSFW so use the earphones.

     

Buy this old post office! The auction selling off the old Main Chicago Post Office (433 W. Van Buren) kicks off August 27 and Rick Levin & Associates Inc., which is running the auction, has suggested opening bid of $300,000. Which is cheaper than a helluva lot of condos and houses on the North Side. Of course, we expect to sell for just a little bit more than that. Sure, it's a fixer-upper, but: three million square feet, on the river, easy access to an interstate that, uh, passes underneath it, West Loopish location...[Sun-Times]

There's a new Tumblr blog getting passed around the interwebz here in Chicago: Stranger Than Eviction, which features some harrowing, bizarre tales of, well, we'll let the blog's creator explain it.

The sun is out! Huzzah! Now...how high will temperatures rise? Not all that much, but enough. The sun will battle all day with variable cloudiness and highs will still be unseasonably cool in the upper 70s. But, hey, no rain! For now. An early look at the weekend shows a chance of storms but also warmer temps.

We'll have our picks for the upcoming Pitchfork Music Fest next week, but WBEZ and their Council of Hipsters has already started breaking down the schedule.

[via CBN]:

This amazing scene comes to us from the bizarre 1977 Japanese horror film, Hausu. No words can describe it. Just....enjoy.

          

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Last week, the Sears Tower's newest attraction opened to much fanfare: The Ledge. Located in the Tower's 103rd floor Skydeck, the Ledge consists of four retractable boxes (three are currently open and the fourth opens this fall) that stick out on the Tower's west face, allowing visitors to look straight down onto Wacker Drive. All 1,353 feet down. While most of the media got a look at the Ledge last week, Fellow Chicagoist staffer Prescott and I waited out the holiday and paid a visit yesterday when Skydeck General Manager Randy Stancik guided us through the new attraction.

When times are tough and discretionary spending is non-existent, small business owners have to put on their thinking caps and get creative. Marie's Golden Cue, a pool hall on Montrose Ave. in Albany Park, mined the depths of innuendo to come up with this steaming pile of awesomeness.

That picture looks way more gorgeous than the weather we're going to be seeing today but it's really pretty and this week's weather has been good but not great. Just kind of...meh. It's not stormy or too hot or anything, it just...is. Today is no exception. Mostly cloudy skies and unseasonably cool highs in the low 70s. Scattered rain showers. We await summer's arrival after his brief cameo appearance a few weeks ago.

Check out this 1991 video of Scottie Pippen pimping some Mr. Sub. [via]

It's a real-life Oregon Trail. Er, sort of... [via]

This morning, Prescott and I paid a visit to the Sears Tower to check out the new Ledges observation boxes and talk to officials about the new attraction. We'll have our full report and gallery up tomorrow, but the Ledges have made news outside the city with coverage from various national press outlets such as the New York Times (here) and the Associated Press (here). Check out those stories and check back tomorrow for our feature.

          

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Back in 1989 urban planners proposed a plan to develop the South Loop into an arts community that would provide fixed affordable housing for artists alongside studios, galleries, and performance spaces. At the time, a decline in manufacturing and warehousing business in the area north and west of the Chicago River had opened up an abundance of cheap loft space that seemed suited for working artists and galleries.

Today is mostly harmless. Variable cloudiness with highs in the mid-to-upper 70s and only a slight chance of rain. There's, uh, not really much more to say. Pretty pleasant. Yes indeed.

The Tribune profiles Scott M. Huber, a well-known homeless man who has set up a "protest site" in downtown Naperville. While the profile lists a few of Huber's run-ins with the law and even a bit about Huber's run for Mayor of Naperville, Huber is never clear exactly what it is he's protesting. And Huber is now making waves because his site is growing with personal possessions and may be becoming a public nuisance. Huber tells the Trib's Gerry Smith, "I'm not the classic homeless person, sleeping on a park bench or underneath a bridge and wandering aimlessly through a community. I am here by choice under the 1st Amendment -- freedom of protest." As for the city of Naperville, Smith reports, "City Manager Doug Krieger said city staffers are looking into the "gray areas" of Huber's protest site, like whether his tarp constitutes a structure and thus violates city code." It's an interesting read, to the say the least. Check out the full profile here and check out pics of Huber - as mentioned in the story - here.

On January 9, 2008, a tornado struck northern Illinois, leaving a trail of damage from Poplar Grove (Boone County) all the way to Harvard (McHenry County). The timing of the tornado was just right as to run across some tracks right when a train was passing by. Thanks to a camera mounted on the train, we see what happens when a train battles a tornado: Mother Nature wins.

          

Fireworks!

              

Pictures from President Obama's first Fourth of July in office, which also happened to be oldest daughter Malia's 11th birthday. Most pics are from the Fourth of July party on the White House's South Lawn.

It's time to trudge back into work after the holidays and after many folks have taken vacations. What won't help is some pretty nice weather to watch from inside, but we know you, a lot of you are nursing sunburns you managed to catch between raindrops this weekend anyway. Partly cloudy skies and highs ranging from the upper 70s into the lower 80s will make for a nice day to grab lunch outside. Though there's a chance of an isolated shower or storm, it's only a slight chance. Lows tonight will be in the middle 60s. While it's a little cooler than seasonable start to the week, Skilling Sayz we could see 90s by week's end.

How to be a Sports Celebrity. Someone finally thought of the children.

If you're a fan of trying to catch a glimpse of President Obama on one of his rare trips back home to Chicago, you'll have a chance in about three weeks when Obama returns for a DNC fundraiser. No word on how long he'll be in town or if the family will be with him. Really, I just wanted an excuse to run the above picture.

So that pretty great weather we were expecting yesterday finally arrives today, a day later than expected, but it arrives all the same. Heck, it's still the weekend so it can be enjoyed, even if some of us are sill drying out from yesterday's soggy grilling. Highs will be in the upper 70s and there's a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm as the afternoon wears on. Tonight, lows will be in the mid-to-upper 60s under partly cloudy skies. So far, this week's weather is looking pretty promising.

Sure, we could have gone with the obvious pick for today's diversion. But instead, we decided to go with something a bit more historic. Mark it down: this was the moment the Cold War ended. (bonus videos after the jump)

Just in time to cash in on the opening of “Public Enemies” this week, the site of John Dillinger’s last bank robbery shootout in South Bend, Indiana is up for sale. The historic State Theatre formerly known as the Blackstone Theatre Vaudeville House still bears bullet marks from the over 100 bullets that flew during gunfight between police and Dillinger’s gang in the 1934 robbery of Merchant Bank. The shootout left one police officer dead and eight people wounded as the gang made off with $30,000.

What the hell, weather? This is July 4th! This is Independence Day! This is the day when we eat too much, drink too much, and blow shit up. In other words, the day we celebrate being American! And the weather you give us is...this? It's traitorous. Didn't we just go through this on Memorial Day? Cloudy skies, scattered rain showers, unseasonably cool temps (highs in the lower 70s)? Boourns. Of course, tomorrow looks nice. But how does that help us today? Sigh...

Ah, old school, war-time propaganda!

       

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At the risk of going overboard on the whole Michael Jackson thing, we had to share one more video from the vaults: the video for "Jam" which paired Jackson with Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan. Below is a behind-the-scenes featurette which includes the awkward "casually shooting hoops" scene. After the jump, check out the video in its entirety.

Coach Ditka, who graced the ESPN booth for one of their opening weekend Monday Night Football games, will not be in the booth this year. Instead, ESPN is using former star QB Steve Young. Still, as ProFootballTalk was kind enough to share, Ditka had at least one memorable moment in his time in the ESPN booth.

          

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Today begins a climb back to seasonable warmth and sun. Skies remain mostly cloudy but we think we'll see more sun than yesterday and we'll have warmer temps then yesterday as highs finally cross 70 again. Lows overnight will be in the lower 60s. But an early peek at this weekend's weather shows perfection for our holiday bar-b-ques.

NBC Nightly News last night featured a pair of local doctors giving back to the community.

Title says it all.

          

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The White Sox hit Cleveland ace Cliff Lee early and often on their way to a rain-shortened 11-4 drubbing of the Indians. The Sox got off to a quick start, knocking in four runs in the first including a two-run homer from Paul Konerko. Rookie Gordon Beckham went yard in the third and Josh Fields added a solo shot in the fifth as the Sox scored in each of the first six innings except the second and chased Lee after knocking him around for seven runs in just over three innings pitched. As for the Sox, Clayton Richard gave up four runs, struck out six, and got the win. The rain - which forced the game to be called in the top of the seventh - also helped preserve the Sox bullpen as Richard threw all six innings for the Sox. The final game of the series gets underway in Cleveland tonight at 6:05 p.m. (WCIU).