ChuffPo* blogger Bahar Takhtehchian has concluded that because she doesn't like sports, her fellow female residents of Chicago must not—at least not really—either. "Do Chicago gals genuinely care about the fortunes of this city's sports teams? Are they sitting through hour after hour of endless sports for the love of the game ... or for the love of the men in their lives?" she asks. Well, concludes; that's the closing thought of her story, and......

A new documentary is in the works to illuminate the flourishing DIY trend. Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft, and Design is the product of first-time filmmaker Faythe Levine, who was inspired to create the documentary after attending Chicago's Renegade Craft Fair in 2003: "No one was documenting what was going on," Levine said. "It was a bigger cultural community and it was leaking into mass media. They were starting to realize there......

If you can't wait for fall for your football fix, perhaps a jaunt to see the Chicago Force play tomorrow will do. The all-women tackle football team just finished a perfect regular season and a first-round playoff win; tomorrow, they're taking on the Pittsburgh Passion, and if they win, they'll be in the national championship on July 26. The Force play at North Park University's Holmgren Athletic Complex on Foster and Albany. The game starts......

I recently found myself on a nearly-empty Brown Line car during the early evening, when I realized that a man sitting next to me was masturbating. I kicked him and yelled at him to stop, which he did, and he left the train at the next stop. My immediate reaction was to feel relieved that I had so quickly recognized and taken control of the situation. And although I was grossed out, my prevailing feeling......

Stella Foster's column in the Sun-Times continues to defy reason. We know, we know, what do we expect, but: A RANDOM THOUGHT: Introducing sex education in schools was not a bright idea. . . . it interferes and distracts a young person from thinking about education to just thinking about doing the nasty. Self-esteem classes should be taught instead. The ellipses is from the column, not us cutting anything out. It's not a random......

Try to imagine John Kass writing, and the Tribune publishing, a column that's all about how black people have terrible taste, and can you believe what some of them like, and no white person should have to sit through black-themed movies—not that they'd ever want to! ack! God forbid!—and how white people are constantly getting dragged, against their will, to movies that make them want to "peel their skin off and roll around in salt—and......

What's the Sun-Times editorial board smoking today? Whatever it is, it sure reeks. Of paternalism. Let's start with the studied take on one Miss Jamie Lynn Spears. At 16 and knocked up, Jamie Lynn Spears won't be scandalized for her condition like teen moms of yesteryear. At least she is having her baby and not aborting it or denying responsibility. Let's just hold our breaths and hope she has learned from her big sister Britney:......

Well, a pile of something: Sweet & Sassy, the tarting-up spa and salon party zone for little girls, is opening two Chicagoland locations in the very near future. One at 1730 W. Fullerton is set to open December 5, and another is in the works for the newly opened Oak Brook Promenade. A Sweet & Sassy spokesperson told Crain's that the company is looking to open 12 stores in our area in the next......

Tonight kicks off a fest that's all about the ladies. Wait. You've heard of this concept before? Innovative or not, the festival appeals to the large number of people out there who feel like women need to continue to form communities and alliances within the art world and that females are not always represented as prominently as men. Ladyfest began in Olympia, Wash., seven years ago and has since spread to 50 cities worldwide. The......

Ah, yes. First Turd Blossom, now Fredo. Yup, we're dancing a jig this evening. Are Cubs fans still waiting to exhale? Illinois' number one team - don't believe us, check the map - is only two games back. Billy Corgan will say anything to promote Zeitgeist. One viewing of this video and you'll say to yourself that at least the Chicago Public Schools aren't that bad. Illinoisans have more to love. Video of Frank......

Music festivals are lots of things to lots of people: to the City, they represent quality of life and revenue draws from tourism; to music fans, they can be a great way to see many of your favorite bands all at once, while checking out new music; to some, they're like a vacation in your own town. But to activists and social movement groups, they're also an opportunity to reach out to people that might......

Screening as part of the Sixth Chicago Palestine Film Festival, Leila Khaled, Hijacker is a 58-minute documentary which examines the life of Leila Khaled; as a member of the PFLP she participated in two airplane hijackings in 1969 and 1970. As the first female hijacker, she occupies a disquieting position at the crossroads between feminism and terrorism. She's inspired both revulsion and admiration (songwriter Julian Cope, who composed the song "Like Leila Khaled Said," has......

In the wake of an election which media outlets say demonstrated “clear popular opposition to the war in Iraq,” DePaul University is holding a forum tonight that will expound upon our governments' plans in the Middle East, particularly with regards to Iran. Two Iranian Studies scholars, Hamid Dabashi, and Golbarg Bashi, will present their views along with anti-war activists. Subjects include global geopolitics, the neocon agenda, Islam, human rights, and feminism, to name a few.......

Some of our favorite stories are the ones where something truly extra-ordinary happens to an ordinary person. Movies like "The Exorcist" or "The Possession of Emily Rose" scare the bejeezus out of us; to watch a young girl turn into something more than human feels like an inborn, genetic nightmare, that both compels and repels us. But what if that extraordinary event is one that turns a girl into a full fledged miracle worker? What......

Jessica Hopper, aka DJ Coco Le Roc...

"[We’re] reminding the kids that there is another way of life, that you don't have to be Britney Spears. Trying to get 16-year-old girls to pick up guitars instead of hot pants. Or guitars and hot pants." The source of that quote is Justine Frischmann, lead singer of the punk rock band Elastica (ask your older brother about them; then ask your cool uncle to tell you about Wire). One could argue whether Elastica was......

When Chicagoist thinks of Tribune film critic Michael Wilmington, the phrase “prison movies” doesn’t immediately spring to mind. So we were surprised to find out that he’ll be hosting “’Doing Time’ In Film” as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival this year. This year’s theme focuses on the notion of time so perhaps Mike hit on the clever pun and just went with it. We just hope he finds time to talk about Caged Heat.......

PISTIL magazine is a Chicago-based independent publication that features emerging talent and "high-concept fashion with progressive feminism." Chicagoist met some of the editors at a record fair last summer, and they were incredibly gracious and interesting�instant bonus points. You can catch previews of the August issue tonight at The Hideout at 7 p.m. with senior copy editor Jonathan Messinger. Messinger, who just kicked This Is Grand into gear, says "he'll trade you a drink for......