A sure recipe for mayhem? Hard stuff raining down from the heavens onto glass. Just ask folks at the Garfield Park Conservatory and innocent drivers on I-290 last night. more ›

Yesterday's big storm? Well, not as big as we had thought it would be. But 2,300 ComEd customers are without power on the South Side, there was some property damage downstate, and an 11-year-old on the West Side was struck by lightning. He's listed as being in good condition. Maybe they should take him to UIC's Lightning Injury Lab? We cannot recommend this reading list highly enough. What happens when people are struck by lightning?... more ›

A ridiculously severe storm may be heading our way. A low pressure system is moving over the Plains like it owns the place, and with the "air [being] drawn aloft" strengthening southerly winds, we're looking at one hell of a storm system in our area on Thursday. Severe weather of the regular kind (high winds, heavy rains) could be coupled with severe weather of the not-so-regular kind (tornadoes, armageddon-like hail). What makes this extra-special? Autumn... more ›

Have you noticed the photos and merchandise featuring a green metal soldier throughout the city? At your local 7-Eleven there are Slurpee cups featuring the same soldier carrying a flag, there is a strange red-orange new flavor of Mountain Dew called Game Fuel, there is a commercial with a elderly man talking about the great battle where "Master Chief" saved his life, and there's another where "Master Chief" seemingly comes alive in the middle of a massive diorama. There are books, comics, web "machinima," toys, and even an article in Time Magazine. This is Halo. more ›

We have several areas of faux expertise. Ones we've gained from many years of watching TV shows on the subjects, reading novels on the subjects, reading news stories on the subjects and just being generally interested in the subjects. These subjects are law, medicine and weather. Needless to say, we've spent many hours with the Weather Channel on in the background. We've even had a favorite Weather Channel meteorologist (Dave Schwartz, anyone?) and we have... more ›

Memorial Day weekend is nigh! That means summer is officially here and girl-watching season is in full force. We thought we’d dedicate today’s EOYW to all the ladies who make summer worthwhile. Amanda Leigh Moore has been cultivating that girl next door image her entire life. We’re not sure how Mandy has managed to avoid the pitfalls of excess that other Hollywood divas her age seem to revel in, but this movie and television star... more ›

There are still smiles on our faces from last night’s show at Schubas. The Duhks, who hail from Winnipeg, defy categorization. Sure, they’re playing bluegrass, but there are elements of soul, gospel, Brazilian samba, straight-up country, African beats and Celtic harmonies mixed in, too. On paper it sounds like a mess, but live it sounds like home. The Grammy-nominated quintet took songs from other artists and truly made them their own. From Led Zeppelin’s “Whole... more ›

In what was billed as a possible preview of Arena Bowl XXI and lived up to the hype. Two of the Arena Football League's best teams faced off in an exciting affair that wasn't decided until the final seconds. Unfortunately for the Rush it did not go their way. more ›

All hail the start of Green Market season! Chicagoist loves the green markets, cooks love the markets, and even professional chefs are getting into them. A quick perusal of the official Green Market guide reveals that most are starting up between the middle of May and the middle of June, and most are running through October. Since it seems like this year local is the new organic (see: The Omnivore's Dilemma), Chicago Localvores, a... more ›

Tonight is AMPED! Columbia College’s Third Annual Battle of the Bands which is part of an ongoing series that invites participation from area high school students interested in arts and communications majors. Six bands comprised of local students will be competing at Hothouse for the princely sum of a $50 gift certificate per band member and, of course, the bragging rights of being Chicago’s best band! Chicagoist will be there as a “celebrity judge” to... more ›

Your day will brighten at Tre Kronor. Well, at least ours did. more ›

We like Tango Sur on Southport. A lot. For perhaps the most talked about Argentine restaurant in Chicago among, dare we say, “gringos,” it truly does have great food, a bopping crowd and casual ambiance, and the BYOB situation makes it easy on your wallet. But you know what? El Nandu, an Argentine steak restaurant in Logan Square, offers some pretty stiff competition. It might just be better. Haven’t heard of it? That's probably because... more ›

This week we have some bands in town to do good, make us take our panties off, and give us a reason to get out from under our blankie in this cold weather. Buck up, Chicago – it’s only January! more ›

Is anyone else all disappointed in how short a two-day weekend seems now? Chicagoist is. Schuba’s is making sure that by mid-week their mid-winter fest will be keeping us out of the cold. The Tomorrow Never Knows fest brings together indie acts during the worst (in theory) weather of the year. A couple of our faves from the TNK line-up this week hail from Brooklyn and Indiana, respectively. Let us get to Wednesday’s possibilities with... more ›

The Like Young announced its breakup Sunday in a post on its website and in a press release from its label Polyvinyl Records yesterday. The band was four years old. more ›

It seems as though not a week goes by without an alderman doing or saying something that makes Chicago look like just another parochial, hick town. If they're not banning foie gras, or passing a smoking ban that allows bars a time frame for compliance that more resembles an exit strategy from Iraq, then they're feuding with each other on the Council floor, passing salary increases for themselves, and getting caught in the occasional compromising... more ›

Ahhhh. The joys of summer. Hot weather, music festivals, swimming pools and ... Bell's Oberon. Nothing says "the time of the year when you sweat your ass off" quite like it. Unless of course you equate the summer months with vodka lemonades, in which case, Chicagoist has got you covered. To celebrate our second anniversary, we're not only bringing you some kick-ass music - and cake! Let us not forget cake! - but also a... more ›

From time to time people accuse us of adopting a hipster stance and being difficult just because we can. Sometimes we are accused of yuppie-baiting, over-generalizing and being incapable of writing a post that doesn’t drip with condescension and/or sarcasm. more ›

Having resigned ourselves to the fact that we’re living the 80s all over again, we snorted some coke, charged some bone-colored business cards on expensive cloth paper, and headed over to the House of Blues after stopping at the sushi drive thru in our DeLorean to see if our inner sixteen year olds would like what’s being offered the 2nd time around of the New Wave juggernaut. more ›

Every year right around this time, Chicagoist, much like the hurried metropolis we call home, undergoes a transformation, a metamorphosis, if you will. We’ve been known over the past couple of summers to raise our voices in triumphant praise of our favorite fruit, the glorious, homegrown tomato. Long and cold this winter has been while we wistfully went about our short daylight routine and put summer out of our minds. Yet, every time we paused at a salad course, looking down on the sad pseudo-scarlet slices that were woefully cultivated in hothouses, bathed in artificial light, we think ever so briefly – soon, so very soon. We were only caught muttering about the inadequacies of winter tomatoes under our breath once. The thought comes often enough. more ›

Sure, smoking’s always good for comment bait. But don’t get Chicagoist readers started on the topic of urban renewal! Our post on the plans to knock down the “Artful Dodger building” sent you into paroxysms of preservationist rage. In fact, more of you would rather see condos go up in the Loop than in Chicago neighborhoods (so long as no one complains about the bucket boys, we assume). As far as the proposal to expand... more ›

Chicagoist's prediction for the Bears - Packers game was pretty spot on, as the defense lead the way to a 19-7 victory. Friday, we predicted [T]he Bears defense renders Favre ineffective, picking off a couple and running one back for a TD. The offense adds another 13 or so, so we're going to say Bears win 20-3. Was Favre ineffective? While he did complete 31 of 58 passes for 277 yards, he failed to throw... more ›

That positive premonition was right, as the White Sox won both games at the Cell this weekend! They took Game 1 5-3 Saturday night and won 7-6 in Game 2 Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the World Series at they now head down to Houston. more ›

The show must go on. Or at least Econ 101 classes. more ›

Last evening Chicagoist stopped by the Elbo Room to see The Exies and 10 Years for a lesson in radio-friendly rock and roll. more ›

When voters go to the polls to elect their officials, many factors are weighed. Is the candidate honest? Will he or she keep taxes down? Does this person care about the issues that are important to me? And does the candidate have big balls? more ›

It’s a constant battle: you want to see more live music and yet when it comes time to get your butt out of the house and queue up at the Metro, Empty Bottle, etc. you find yourself punking out to stay home and watch Cops. Chicagoist knows how you feel. We don’t see enough live music either and probably use the same excuses you do to talk ourselves out of it but this weekend you have no argument: more ›

Chicagoist nervously waited out yesterday afternoon and evening for the promised tumultuous storms in the forecast - Should we walk to the supermarket? Should we start up the grill? - but they never came. Central Illinois and Wisconsin, on the other hand, were not so lucky. The National Weather Service reported tornadoes, high winds and softball-sized hail throughout the area. SOFTBALL-SIZED?!?! eeep! A Parsons Company manufacturing plant in Roanoke, 20 miles east of Peoria, was levelled by one of two tornadoes that touched down. Luckily all employees got out and avoided injury. more ›

A number of the most important figures in the world graphic novels (a more artsy and less-juvenile way of saying �comic books�) are hometown boys. Dan Clowes � author of the Eightball series and the Ghost World comic and screenplay � and Chris Ware � who has a weekly strip in the Reader and just edited McSweeney�s comics-only issue (oh, Dave Eggers, you so crazy!) � are two of the most prominent examples. And while their contemporary Adrian Tomine doesn�t hail from the shores of Lake Michigan � he foolishly spends his time on the coasts instead � at least he�ll be in town tonight promoting his latest collection, the odds-and-ends anthology Scrapbook. more ›