Amy Sedaris is a delightful comedian and crafter, who got her chops in Chicago at the Second City and the Annoyance Theater. She is 51 today. more ›

In an interview with The Rumpus Sedaris said, “Being poor is a wonderful motivation to be creative, sort of a perennial carrot on a stick, but not an actual carrot because easy access to free food would only defeat the lucky stroke that is poverty.” See? Funny and smart. more ›

David Sedaris first caught the public's attention with his famed appearance on National Public Radio in 1992 reading his hilarious essay, The Santaland Diaries. He quickly ascended to fame with his tales of growing up in a, shall we say, eccentric family environment, with books like Me Talk Pretty One Day and Holidays on Ice. It is really no surprise to us that he would decide pen yet another holiday themed comedy being that he has done two already. This time around he recruited his, shall we say, completely wacked-out sister, Amy Sedaris of Strangers with Candy fame, to collaborate on this particular piece, The Book of Liz. more ›

Now that the Chicago International Film Festival is over, we can finally turn our attention to some homegrown cinematic delights. Currently showing at the Siskel for a week-long run is Joe Swanberg's dramedy Hannah Takes the Stairs. A microbudgeted movie shot in Logan Square, it's been taking the festival circuit by storm and garnering write-ups in the New York Times. Despite his movie's acclaim, Swanberg himself, according to a new article in the Reader, is... more ›

We’ve heard of one person waiting in line at Borders for five hours for a glimpse of Amy Sedaris the other week. And while we wouldn’t dare question Sedaris’ national notoriety, we’re going to step out on a limb and say that it probably doesn’t compare to Rachael Ray’s. With that in mind, you may want to leave the house a couple (8) hours early for Ray’s book signing at Borders tomorrow. We turned our... more ›

The lovely and talented Amy Sedaris will be at the Borders at 830 N. Michigan Ave. tomorrow night as part of a nationwide book tour for her new book, I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. This work is at the top of our Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa gift list (after, of course, everything we asked for yesterday). Sedaris herself is incredibly funny, but also incredibly peculiar, and these two characteristics are wonderfully reflected in I Like You.... more ›

On Tuesday, the American -ists will be celebrating democracy and hitting the polls, letting politicians know what they really think. It just made us wonder: if it were up to the -ist-a-verse, what would we be voting for? Londonist votes for better skincare, alternative spaces for art, cute little birds and the men who keep them, and concrete. Lots of concrete. Shanghaiist votes for one of the Bee Gees and Air Supply (it's a double-ticket),... more ›

While we have always remained partial to the show that made him famous, fake news trailblazer Stephen Colbert still manages to make us laugh with his signature brand of witty rhetoric and on-going quest for truthiness. Turns out Mr. Colbert didn’t just wake up one day spewing forth spot-on sarcasm; instead, he honed his craft here in Chicago, making off with a degree in theatre from Northwestern, and also studying at Second City with Amy... more ›

We can’t help it. We love Barack Obama. There, we said it. We’re falling for it hook, line, and sinker. This guy (we hope) is the real deal. Obama is in Washington D.C. at the Book Expo this weekend. He’ll be one of the speakers tomorrow morning, along with Amy Sedaris; which is just too weird and fascinating; why are we not there? Obama will be discussing his new book, “The Audacity of Hope”, due... more ›

As the Tribeca Film Festival began this week in New York City, it seemed only fitting that the big story dominating the event would be the premiere of United 93, a film that tells one story of September 11th, a day that served as the genesis for the annual festival. RedEye’s cover story discusses whether some feel the film should have been made now, if ever. Though you won’t hear us taking the tenor part... more ›