Sorry, Adler Planetarium. Not even an ambitious pavilion plan could help you land a decommissioned space shuttle for display, now that NASA is ending the shuttle program. NASA is giving the space shuttle Enterprise (currently on display at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum) to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. The Smithsonian will receive the space shuttle Discovery as a replacement for the Enterprise. more ›

In which we take a quick look at a few recent musical releases. more ›

Think you're the only one who doesn't know what's going on at the Pentagon? Don't worry, Sen. Burris is in the same boat. And he's on the Armed Services Committee. Check out this story from Wired, outlining the freshman senator's latest magic discovery. (Thanks for the tip, Peter!) more ›

Forensic anthropology students at the University of Indianapolis have exhumed what may or may not be the body of Belle Gunness, a La Porte, Indiana serial killer from the turn of the century. Some say Gunness killed herself in a kerosene-soaked fire that burned down her farmhouse, but others say she staged that and escaped. Now, forensic anthropologists are going to test DNA from the exhumed headless skeleton again saliva from an envelope from a letter Gunness sent one of her eventual victims. Wowsers. more ›

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Oprah is getting her a cable network, OWN ("Oprah Winfrey Network"), which will--gasp--replace the Discovery Health Network. Noooo! We all know what Oprah wants, Oprah gets, but we freaking love the Discovery Health Network. [Trib] more ›

So, over in Carpentersville, a couple of trustees want English to be the official language. That's pretty much it. But we have to say, every time we read about something like this, we just get sort of irritated-borderline-pissed. Frankly, it wouldn't affect us; we speak and write American English. However, there's just something about it that screams "play my game or go home." And that kind of shit we've never stood for. more ›

The Sun-Times is reporting that one of Chicago's own will be heading out to space for twelve days next week on the Discovery. The lucky astronaut is one Joan Higginbotham, a South Side native who will be the third African American woman to take a trip out there. The launch is planned for December 7. We've wanted to be an astronaut since watching Space Camp back in the Eighties. We never got around to joining... more ›

Forty years after their historic four-day space mission, Capt. James Lovell and Dr. Buzz Aldrin were reunited with the Gemini 12 spacecraft at the Adler Planetarium. Lovell (above, right) remarked that the capsule looks more spacious than it actually is but that it's “a good bird.” Aldrin (left) asked his old friend in jest: “are you ready to fly again?” And they exchanged a look suggesting that's not such a crazy idea. During the... more ›

Contractors working on a wetlands restoration project in DuPage County recently unearthed a set of molars belonging to an American mastodon, extinct ancestor of modern elephants. Mastodons roamed America 3.75 million years ago, but died out just 11,500 years back. They favored the kind of spruce forests that thrived in the Chicago area about 16,000 years ago, which also died out at about the same time mastodons did, so scientists think this area could be the mastodons' last stand. Thus the discovery of fossils from the fairly well-understood species is still significant, because they may hold clues to the mastodons' downfall. more ›

"National Flirting Expert"* Susan Bradley is coming to town to "make dating fun again." She'll be conducting classes for the lovelorn June 23 - 26 at the Discovery Center on Lincoln Ave. There will be 6 classes total, covering topics such as Love, Flirting, and Relationships. more ›

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that today is St. Patrick’s Day. Yes, Chicago has a large Irish population and its history is dominated by the contributions of one particular Irish family. But like all other cities in the U.S., today is the day when anyone who’s worn a green shirt while eating a potato and watching a Colin Farrell movie will lay claim to a little “Irish” heritage. more ›

Our prayers to the TV gods have been answered! Chicago Hope, one of Chicagoist's all-time favorite shows, is returning to the airwaves tonight. Well, yesterday afternoon, but it returns in earnest tonight. Amen. more ›