Today's gallery subject: The Cloud Gate sculpture. more ›

Is there no decency in the world? With Mayor Daley the enemy of graffiti artists everywhere, the kids these days have gone to new lengths to deface the city's property. Sometime in the last day or so, someone scratched the name "Peters" (or "Peter S") on The Bean (proper name "The Cloud Gate"). The name was six inches long by one inch tall and was found "on the northeast quarter of the sculpture on the outside facade, about 3 feet off the ground." A park security officer discovered the vandalism yesterday afternoon and police are currently investigating the incident. So remember, children: bulldozing giant X's on a runway = okay, but scratching your name on an iconic work of art = bad. more ›

Ah, Huntsville, Alabama. Home of Space Camp and the setting of my youth (hi, Mom & Dad!). It's always good to see my hometown giving my current home an endorsement, as 17-year old Kevin Turner did in today's Huntsville Times with his Teen section article, "You Got To Visit Chicago." Perhaps the most transcendent moment Mr. Turner experienced was seeing The Bean in person: "Though I mocked the idea of the statue when I first heard of the metallic, legume-shaped sculpture, I stood in amazement upon seeing it." Among other things Mr. Turner noticed about Chicago? The "innumerable tollbooths." Tell me about it, Kevin. more ›

The sidewalks are covered in ice and the temps are sneaking down to the single digits. That's perfect weather for toting a toddler around, right? Here are three (free!) reasons to spend that extra hour bundling your kid up this weekend. Christkindlmarket is a candy-cane striped Bavarian winter village deposited into Daley Plaza. Come to gawk at the expensive, often hand-made gifts, and snack on traditional German fare. The children's lantern parade is today at... more ›

When we first heard they were doing iPod audio tours of Millennium Park, we were psyched. We like the idea of an audio tour; we can go at our own pace and listen to headphones that drown out screaming children and double-decker buses. We also like to see Chicago through someone else’s eyes; see a different Chicago than the one we’re used to seeing every day. more ›

Cloud Gate a.k.a. The Bean via wood tang. See more of his Segway tour photos here. more ›

Chicago tourists and residents have been waiting patiently for The Bean to finish its summer-long striptease and come Monday, they’ll finally get to see the goods. On Monday, the sculpture known as Cloud Gate in the brochures (and as The Bean to pretty much everybody else) will begin a slow unveiling that will be completed on August 28th. The shiny centerpiece of Millennium Park has spent most of the summer under wraps as workers have... more ›

While we’ll miss the full Cloud Gate experience this summer, we can still look forward to spending nights inside the nearby Pritzker Pavilion cage. The Pritzker provides that upscale picnic feel without the commute to Ravinia. And once again, it will be the home of the Grant Park Music Festival, the country’s only remaining free classical music fest. This is its second year in Millennium Park, which seems confusing until you remember that such concerns don’t stop Maxwell Street Polish from going wherever they want. more ›

The Cloud Gate sculpture has finally started her striptease. As you probably know, she put some clothes on in January so that workers could polish and grind her sexy bod. News reports said she'd planned on exposing about 20 percent of herself on Friday for Memorial Day revelers and then discarding clothing bit by bit as she felt comfortable—while wearing a see-through bustier so we can watch the workers finish off the rest of her. But a tipster tells us today that the Bean caught a glimpse of the Hancock rockin' a hard-on, got excited and flashed him. more ›

So the buzz all around the internet yesterday was how it's come to light that Millennium Park is a copyrighted public space and that photographers have been getting hassled for taking photographs at the park. An official has been quoted as saying "The copyrights for the enhancements in Millennium Park are owned by the artist who created them. As such, anyone reproducing the works, especially for commercial purposes, needs the permission of that artist." more ›

Which seems like it would be an easy game, if not very fun. But what about when the bean is 66 feet long and 33 feet tall and weighs 110 tons? That's when you build a tent around it and pretend that you didn't rush the unveiling before it was ever finished. more ›

Sunday cools things off a bit, but you can still catch a live taping of . Music events will continue throughout the day. Feeling ambitious? See all the weekend's events here. The weather is supposed to be nice, so slap on some sunscreen and head downtown. more ›