Chicagoist loves Google Maps as much as anyone and we especially love the strange scenes occasionally captured by Google's Street View shots. For whatever reason, Chicago seems to be the epicenter of getting caught in the act -- from frisky coeds in the suburbs to drug deals on the South Side. We came along yet another Chicago street view of interest recently. This scene along Clark St. in Wrigleyville has captured none other than the......

Get ready for WiMax to blanket our region with delicious, wherever-you-want speedy internet connections (provided you have a WiMax-enabled device). Come to mama. Sprint and Clearwire Corporation announced that they're teaming up to form Clearwire, a new wireless communication company that's all about WiMax, which is like Wifi on awesome sauce. Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House Networks invested a combined $3.2 billion in the new venture, and Chicago gets first dibs on......

The CTA has teamed up with Google to help riders plan trips (starts playing a video) with Google Maps, and lo, it is good. Google Maps now has a "take public transit" option when giving directions. We've been playing around with it for a little bit, and it seems to work pretty well. In other CTA tech news, the agency redesigned its website. It's better looking and easier to use than the old one. Um,......

Aiming to bring down Google Adwords (not likely) by keeping online ad revenue local (quite likely), SaveChicago.org is connecting businesses, consumers and the nonprofits they love, turning bargain hunting into desk-chair philanthropy. Chicago actor Steve Misetic started the site to keep ad dollars from “fleeing to Silicon Valley.” He splits the revenues from companies promoting “Hyper-Local Sales” with registered non-profits. Users signing up to find cheap wings, slacks, and books help funnel the ad sales......

Photo by Little Pretty Make your own Obama logo. This isn't an endorsement. Think of this more as a challenge. Get creative. Local federal judge and U of C law professor Mark R. Filip was named deputy attorney general today. Hey, don't forget, it's No Cussing Week. And just when we were going to say "holy shit." A pregnant woman was injured when a 50-pound piece of concrete fell off a city viaduct and......

Google unveiled a new chat status the other day: invisible. If you sign in as such, you can see your regular contact list of who's online, but they can't see you.......

Porn is like a money tree. If you need some cash, just go out and shake the silicone until a few hundred thousand dollars drop out. So how exactly can the nation’s foremost “gentlemen’s magazine” be losing money? Playboy announced a 4th-quarter loss today, losing $1.1 million compared with a $3.7 million profit at this time last year. Subscriptions are down, newsstand sales are off, TV revenue has dropped 10%, and apparently Scott Baio isn’t......

Here are some things going around town to make you consider giving the weather a big ol' raspberry. Internet: Still sad that Chciagocrime.org shut down? Interested in how do do your own Google maps mashup? Or do you just want to understand how hyperlocal mapping works? Then head to the Garland Room of the Chicago Cultural Center this evening at 6 p.m. where chicagocrime.org's Adrian Holovaty himself discusses how they work. Film: If John Sayles......

Will watching the above video of xkcd genius Randall Munroe's talk at Google be the geekiest hour of your life? Maybe. But it's worth it. [via waxy] Cook County judges aren't fucking around with the no-cameras-in-the-court-room stuff. Kiddie porn, though, take your sweet time. A woman who snapped a picture of R. Kelley in court went to jail this week, but was released today. Just for the record, charges were filed against Kelly in......

The crowd at Bernice's Tavern was separated into smaller groups. They were huddled together, studying a board containing ten photographs of church steeples and facades. The goal was to correctly identify each church from a corresponding list at the side of the board. We were with fellow Chicagoist-o Kevin Robinson and his significant other, who were of little help in this round, since these churches were all located in Bridgeport. As much as we walk......

Today Steve Johnson decided to gripe about Google's request for Gmail stories about users' experiences with the service. We actually have to admit we were with Johnson for most of his piece, since the idea of people having Gmail stories worth sharing seemed pretty dubious. What, are you going to go over how you chatted with you future mate through Gtalk? Or how you couldn't remember where that really rad party was happening so you......

Where Can I See the Best Christmas Lights in the City?...

Who doesn't love the Onion? God knows we do, and hey — even Neil Steinberg sort of likes it. And that guy knows funny! Anyway, there are two big reasons to love the Onion even more: First and foremost, their Google map layer — go ahead and play around with it, above — is twenty kinds of amazing. And the company announced today that they're moving their HQ here. Well, business HQ. While the......

These days, when you’re loathe to drag your ass too far from home, Theater in Chicago has your back. The Chicago theater info source already sorts city and suburban productions by company, neighborhood, production date, and strength of review. Today we got word they’ve just rolled out a nifty Google Map mashup, plotting hundreds of area venues—institution and storefront alike—in one place. The navigation looks familiar enough and the Big G’s search engine allows easy......

According to the New York Times, Chicago "is the alley capital of America." Eh, we'll take it. Because the story's all about our "green alley" initiative, which if you'll recall snagged an Innovation Award last month. Green alleys use permeable concrete, which allows water to soak back into the ground, and reflect light. According to the City's Green Alley Handbook (which is so pretty it won an award), "sustainable alley design" tackles four issues: storm......

Monica Eng at the Trib must be helping Chicago win its title of "most caffeinated" city; she tried 32 different coffees for a story in today's paper about which coffees taste the best. Coming out on top are cups of coffee from Metropolis, Intelligentsia, Coffee Beanery Ltd., Whole Foods, Cafe Colao, Illy, Peet's Coffee (our personal favorite), and Julius Meinl. She also recommends picking up the banana cream tart at Fox & Obel to......

Should Chicagoist be worried that the Bulls have opened their season 0-4 after dropping Tuesday night's game to the L.A. Clippers 97-91? Having watched three of their first four in their entirety, we can certainly say that the Bulls look nothing like a team who we'd predict to win 55 games and finish atop the Eastern Conference. Not only have they yet to enter the win column, but they're not even losing to elite teams.......

Nostalgic for the pre-Mapquest world? Do your dogeared city guides and abused atlases sit proudly on your bookshelves? Have we got an event for you. The citywide Festival of Maps kicks off tomorrow, and is a tribute to those simpler, flatter world guides we’d consult constantly before the internets helped us find the best non-highway crosstown routes quicker than you could say "Western Avenue." It’s the first fest of its kind, and is a collaboration......

Chicago Calling, a collaborative festival linking Chicago-based artists with international friends and counterparts, continues tonight and Saturday, the exclamation point to Chicago Artists Month 2007. The festival as exchange program is perfect for an age where Skype, Google Talk, and unlimited wireless plans have dissolving the distance between us and our European, African, and Asian friends. If you’re commuting through the Thompson Center tonight, stop by the front plaza to hear Jennifer Karmin’s “Beast Poem,”......

Twenty new restaurants, including Chicagoist favorite Smoque, (chow pictured) were named Great Neighborhood Restaurants (GNR) today by our favorite (and the only) Chicago-based culinary discussion board, LTHForum. LTH members give the yearly awards to restaurants they believe "contribute to their neighborhoods' and the city's character by offering outstanding food, an authentic experience of their ethnic culture, and/or a welcoming (or in some cases, belovedly cranky) atmosphere for guests." The GNRs are chosen in a sort......

Google's controversial Street View feature is officially live for the Windy City, igniting renewed concerns about privacy. It's also rolling out in Pittsburgh, Philly, Portland, Phoenix and Tucson today. Privacy has been an issue since Street View launched last spring, though not so much a legal question as a personal one. Google captures the images by having a van with cameras on top of it cruise around; technically, that's no different than standing on......

Do you find your cell phone doesn't do enough for you, what with features limited to text messaging, video and music playing, internet access, cameras, alarm clocks and, oh yes, actual call capabilities? Do you find yourself wondering, "When, oh when, will I finally be fulfilled by my cell?" Well, until we get those kind of Touch capabilities built in, maybe not for a while, but in the meantime, you'll soon be able to use......

Aurora's Planned Parenthood can open immediately. How bad do things have to get before Daley will denounce what's going on with the Chicago Police Department's Special Operations Section? Even the Associated Press is saying, "Not since club-swinging cops in baby-blue helmets chased demonstrators through clouds of pepper gas at the 1968 Democratic National Convention have Chicago police been so awash in trouble." Dayum. And yet Da Mare has given no indication that he'll disband......

"I am a mailman and I have delivered mail here and the woman who lives here screams at me to get off of her property. I have spoken to the other neighbors about her." Aw, poor Gary. Looks like he's getting his revenge by posting on Rotten Neighbor, another one of the many fabulous Google map mashups that never stop popping up. The Chicago area still seems a little light, so go fill 'er in......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......

As promised, this post will briefly explore (in first-person singular) life on the other side of the gate at Lollapalooza. Why? Because we know you're dying to read more things about that giant music festival that took place in Grant Park this past weekend. When The Polyphonic Spree recorded part of their newest album, The Fragile Army, at Steve Albini's studio Electrical Audio, they called up local tap dancer and Chicago Tap Theatre artistic director......

One of the reasons I love to go to Lollapalooza is the fact that I can see bands that I love or know I'm going to love (e.g., The Fratellis; Rodrigo y Gabriela*, Peter, Bjorn and John; Paolo Nutini -- just to name a few), but another huge component is going to hear bands I've heard of but don't really know anything about. Last year, I was rewarded greatly by going to check out......

Google is expanding their downtown offices here. Their "playroom" has a Wii, Playstation AND Xbox??" He doesn't have any Olympic experience, but Daley picked former AON CFO David Bolger to head up the finance aspects for the Olympic bid. Would you totally just abandon your trip? Two jetliners rammed into each other at O'Hare during the storm madness. Are the City's "rain blockers" helping or hurting? If you have an I-PASS for Illinois and......

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried......

Tom Tunney’s cracking down. The 44th Ward alderman has had it with Wrigleyville’s booze-soaked reputation. He’s sick of bar after bar after bar littering his neighborhood, sick of drunken young urban professionals that don’t act quite so professional after a long night out. He’s finally listening to constituents that are less than thrilled to wake up to a crusty puddle of vomit on their front steps. And he’s enlisting others to help with improvement of......