It feels a bit like Alaska outside, but there probably isn’t enough snow on the streets to go dog sledding (it won’t stop us from trying). Luckily, for those who really want to scream “MUSH!” at a couple of dogs or friends, there is the Chiditarod. On March 3, over 100 participants will go tearing through the streets of Chicago in shopping carts pulled by a four of their best friends, or worst enemies depending... more ›

We here at the Chicagoist offices like to play the “who’s overrated?” game. We usually start off with a rousing “ANGELINA JOLIE!”; and then do a quick step to “Bill Gates!”; and then one final “Julia Roberts!” and we’re done. It’s a fun game, but we just keep saying the same answers over and over again. Now we’ve got help. Henry Owings has a new book called “The Overrated Book”. “The Overrated Book” has roughly... more ›

San Francisco is proud host of a new reality show called "How to Get the Guy" that's unfortunately not a descendant of Will and Grace, Queer Eye, The L Word, American Idol etc. Also a biodefence lab is coming to the East Bay and SFist teaches wine pairing. Getting on the wrong train sucks. Getting on the wrong train and becoming the victim of what will later be described as a "stabbing spree" really sucks.... more ›

Phillyist notes a fistfight between local pols that leaves one man down for the count. Jehovah's Witnesses get a Philly contributor out of bed, things get a little geeky with a film festival and geeky gets taken to a whole new galaxy when they talk with the Dragon Queen of the Dark Kingdom. Shanghaiist gets all excited this week over a new nightclub in the city unfortunately named "Snatch" and Mike Tyson is scheduled to... more ›

Chicago Public Schools are like an alcoholic uncle that can't keep a job, feed his kids, or get them to school. And now Bill Gates is like the grandma that, because she feels bad for the kids, continues to enable her son by lending him money and buying grocery store gift certificates for the family. The uncle has four kids and only two of them have enrolled in college—one of them didn't even graduate. more ›

Now that 10 years has passed since the height of their popularity, it's time to fess up. How many Beanie Babies did you have? One? One hundred? It seems like everyone in the country had at least one. At least! Which is why it's not surprising to see that H. Ty Warner was named Chicago's richest person on Forbes' annual ranking of the 400 richest Americans. more ›