The precise year a movie was "made" is in many ways becoming less and less relevant. First off, theatrical distribution can be glacial. Just look at Francois Ozon's Angel. It was completed in 2007 but wasn't shown in Chicago until this year (when it had a grand total of two screenings at the Siskel.) It won't get a proper US release until 2010. A New York Times article points out that many of next year's "new" films were actually completed last year. more ›

With 2009 winding down, you'll see a lot of lists over the next several weeks: best movies, best music, etc. But what about what you searched for on the Internet? We've already shown how much we like fooling around with Google and the folks at Google have boiled it down for us and can show us what the top searches in a number of cities are. Now, before you look at the list and wonder about the absence of such popular searches as "Obama," "Michael Jackson," or "Chicagoist," Google removed those large, nationally oriented searches. According to Google: more ›

Believe it or not, in a few months it's going to be warm enough to stuff your backpack full of food and drink and Metra it up to Ravinia for a music-filled suburban vacation. more ›

It didn't take long for Chicago to follow up it's most violent year since 2003 with the first murder of 2009. Police responded to reports of an argument and shooting outside a nightclub at West Lake and North Green streets around 2:15 a.m. last night and found two men shot. David Garrett, 47, became the city's first homicide of 2009, declared dead at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head. The other victim was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County in serious to critical condition. The suspect fled the scene. more ›