Miscellaneous: November 2009 Archives

Seattlest talked about gay marriage, performing, and the sexiness of the Pacific Northwest with Rufus Wainwright.

       

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The unseasonably awesome weather continues today as we'll see more sun sun sun and highs into the lower 70s once again. It's the kind of a day we'll be longing for soon enough, so no excuses. Get out there and have some fun. The turn around to cooler weather begins tomorrow and by mid-week we should be back to normal temperature readings. The pleasant weather will continue tonight, though, with clear skies and a low in the mid-50s.

       

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It appears fall's not ready to give way to winter quite yet and, in fact, it feel like the Spring we never quite had. Gorgeous, sunny skies are overhead with that bright, little guy we call the sun. Temps will warm themselves up to 70 today for the warmest temps in almost a month and a half (tomorrow is already looking like more of the same, as well). So we think this is Mother Nature's make-up gift to us, her "sorry about taking away your spring and making the first half of your summer cold and wet" gift. If so, we accept it. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some bike riding to do.

The Great O addressed the rumors of a new cable network but her silence on the possible departure from Chicago for Los Angeles may have been just as loud. She confirmed the formation of a new network (OWN, short for Oprah Winfrey Network) but on the subject of the relocation, she told CBS 2 simply, "I am going to make that announcement soon. I am going to make that decision and make the announcement soon." And what of the numerous local jobs at Harpo, Inc? "They should not worry." Sooooo.. they're going with you? You're gonna compensate them handsomely when you ditch town? We guess it's just more wait-and-see.

              

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We couldn't pass this up. Bonny Jain, a teen from Moline, brought the giggles on a recent episode of Jeopardy when, in his Final Jeopardy answer, he made a reference to those SNL Celebrity Jeopardy skits and got a laugh out of even Alex Trebek. It would have been funnier, though, if he had gotten the answer correct. [via]

It's cloudy now but don't worry, the sun is coming out later. And when the clouds do break, it's going to start warming up. How warm? Hard to say, we're not weathermen, but Skilling Sayz it's going to get into the mid 60s and maybe even near 70 by tomorrow. The National Weather Service is a bit more modest in their forecast, but either way, we're shaking the chill for a few more days so enjoy it.

  

There's been plenty of rain this autumn, particularly in Western Illinois where there's been flooding along both the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The quick eyes of NASA were able to catch some cool images of the flooding via satellites.

          

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The owner of a Toronto film studio has purchased 48 acres on the West Side with plans to develop a film and tv production complex reports WBBM. Nick Mirkopoulos chairman of Cinespace Studios said he paid about $20 million for the property at 2558 W. 16th St., a complex of nine buildings which was the Ryerson Inc. headquarters and old metals plant.

Today will be one of those lovely fall days we've been blathering on and on about lately. Clear skies and seasonal temps - highs in the low-to-mid 50s - are the forecast so that means some pleasant weather for whatever you've got going on today. Tonight is more of the same with lows in the lower 40s and clear skies. There's a warm-up coming this weekend; how warm we're not quite sure as there's a 10-degree difference between different forecasts for Saturday, but it'll be warmer than today. We feel safe saying that.

After our earlier zany mash-up diversion, you might have thought we'd go with something a bit less off-the-wall for this diversion. You thought wrong. In the wake of Tankboy's Weezer review from yesterday and our never-ending love of small, furry animals, we are happy to post these videos.

Some criminals learned this lesson the hard way recently and wound up ditching their attempted loot because the safe they tried to swipe was too heavy. Police were called late last night to a Lincoln Square office building (5653 N. Lincoln Ave.) and found the front door of the business busted open and the office "ransacked." But, 40 feet away, the office's safe lay unopened on sidewalk. Fox 32 has the details:

          

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Or maybe ever. Seriously. This magical video - produced by Ricardo Autobahn - utilizes sound clips from some of our favorite tv shows and movies and it's A. MAY. ZING. If you're feeling frisky, you can download an mp3 of the tune here. [via our former leader Margaret now at EW PopWatch]

After such a gorgeous fall day yesterday, today is a little less impressive. Not that we're totally against rainy days; they serve their purpose. But it's just a bit harder rolling out of bed and finding that motivation we need on these cool, gray days. Such is life. There are scattered showers about the area this morning and they'll remain here and there throughout the rest of the day. Highs will only reach the upper 40s again today and lows tonight will be in the lower 30s. But it looks like we may be headed for a warm-up just in time for the weekend. We can dig it.

"As simple as/ This sentiment is/ It is the thing/ That I have to give/ So I won't let go."

This dancer was filmed at a bus stop over a 15-month period, dancing away like Michael Jackson. Well alright. [via]

Comedy Central star and former Second City player Stephen Colbert continues to reach new, er, tights of fame. Colbert and his show are now the lead sponsor of the U.S. Speedskating team and "Colbert Nation" will be printed on the team's uniforms.The team was left without financial support a short time before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics when primary sponsor DSB Bank NV declared bankruptcy last month. In stepped Colbert, who won't be sending money directly to the team but has asked viewers and supporters to make donations which can be done via his show's website or the team's website.

We've all been extremely frustrated by authority figures in our lives. But as we get older and - hopefully - more mature, we realize there are ways to channel and cope with this anger and, occasionally, battle the source of the anger. But not Kane Kellett, who resorted to more adolescent ways of communicating his frustration with a judge and wound up with six months of jail for contempt of court. It seems, according to the Daily Herald, Kellett gave the judge the One Finger Salute when he was asked to raise his right hand when being sworn in and threw in some obscenities for good measure. This from a guy who had been arrested less than 12 hours before on warrants for home invasion, aggravated battery and other charges including attacking a pregnant woman. The list of crimes had landed Kellett on the McHenry County Sheriff's Top 10 Most Wanted List.

                     

We love Autumn. Sweet apple cider, do we love it. The beautiful colors, the newly crisp air, the seasonal food and drinks, and the knowledge that holidays with our families are just around the corner. Before winter's harsh cold and snow storms trap us in our houses for days on end, we thought we'd list some of the reasons we love autumn and include some amazing reader photos submitted to our Flickr pool. Check out our reasons after the jump and be sure to add your favorite fall things in the comments.

          

Like those pillows in photo #1? Order your very own!

Okay, we know it's not Chicago-related, but we got a few emails and tweets about the video we posted yesterday (and was seen all over TV and the web) of San Antonio Spurs player Manu Ginobili swatting down a bat out of mid-air (yes, he received rabies shots later). We also noted we hadn't hear PETA's reaction. Until now. A PETA rep emailed us this morning with the organization's official statement on the matter:

It may be cool but it'll at least be bright. A ton o' sun is expected today even as this morning's lows were some of the coolest temps we've seen so far this season. And in spite of the bright, sunshiney day, highs might not even crack 50 in a lot of spots. But, we will not complain. Two months from now, a high in the upper 40s will seem downright summer-like, so we'll take it while we can. Clouds will allegedly roll in later this evening and there's a chance of a passing shower overnight with lows in the upper 30s.

            

Yesterday we wandered around East Lakeview to see what kinds of post-Halloween detritus we could find. In addition to lots of stray feathers and empty bottles and cans that once contained alcoholic or energy beverages, we also spotted the following items. We're sure that every one of them has a quirky story behind it; feel free to get creative and make some up in the comments section.

If you've been to the Field Museum in the last 80 years or so, you've surely gazed on the snarling, terror-inducing visage of the Man-eating Lions of Tsavo. Reportedly responsible for 135 human deaths in Kenya while a railroad was being constructed in 1898; British engineer, hunter and probable all-around lady-slayer John Patterson killed the cats and sold the pelts to the Field for $5k. And now, a new study says that these wildcats were really a couple of pussy cats. (Comparatively.)

You know what this Monday could use? A folk trio medley of Will Smith songs. Wish granted by New York's Pearl and the Beard.

            

Last week, we celebrated Halloween by looking at some costumes of Halloweens past. Now, as we move on past the spookiest of holidays, we look back at a few of this year's costumes seen around town.

              

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When he's not busy flopping on a basketball court, Spurs player Manu Ginobli is busy laying the smackdown on bats that interfere with games, a la Obama and the Fly. We await PETA's reaction.

     

It's hard to believe more than 20 years have gone by since Sweetness last played for the Bears, and that a decade has passed since Walter Payton's untimely death due to a rare liver disease at age 45. On the ten year anniversary of his passing, the Bears held a halftime tribute to Sweetness at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon. With his widow Connie, children Jarrett and Brittney and his mother Alyne in attendance the team showed a video tribute to Payton of his highlights on the field and his legacy off the field, as one of the greatest players to wear a Bears uniform and one of the greatest men to play in the NFL. The team also honored Payton by emblazoning both 34 yard-lines with Payton's #34 jersey number.

Scattered showers across the area are a gentle wake-up for some while, for others, cloudy skies are enough. We begin November on a cool note today as, even as the showers depart and clouds eventually break, we'll still only reach the lower 50s today. And it'll be even colder tonight when lows fall into the lower 30s.

Poker Face, as read by Christopher Walken. OH! OH OH OH! [via]

       

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