With all the talks of trades, exports and deals surrounding Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington, DC and Chicago, I'd like to humbly offer a suggestion for what is apparently a much needed commodity in China: a real Chicago-style hot dog. more ›

href="http://torontoist.com/2008/02/phototo_snowbal.php">photographing a big, organized snowball fight.

Batman flew off to Hong Kong. Here's what he'll be missing: Coming up: As we’ve mentioned, Kumail Nanjiani is a funny, funny man. Now he’s ditching us for New York. Send him off Thursday night at The Hideout, where he’ll pay tribute to Jonathan Messinger and his new book. It’s your last chance to see Kumail before he gets mega-famous or chewed up by the Gotham comedy scene. The young performers at Thirteen Pocket Productions... more ›

A few days ago we unwittingly created a monster when we expressed our frustration about having to wait to see the schedule for this year's Chicago International Film Festival, which runs October 4-17. Well, we finally have a copy of said schedule in our hot little hands. What follows is a very brief, cursory summary of what you can expect this year (the full schedule will be online within the next few days). Regardless of... more ›

When The Zincs' frontman Jim Elkington moved to Chicago about seven years ago, he had already fallen in love with the city. He had spend a decade living in London and drumming with a band, but he had an itch to write songs — and get the hell out of London. “I was in bands where other people were writing songs, and I would write arrangements,” he told Chicagoist last week, while devouring a cookie the size of his head. “And that was about it. I didn’t write any lyrics until I moved to the states.” more ›

Alaska? Iceland? Actually, this is The Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentine Patagonia. And Lisa Lubin used to be there, but not any more. Let us back up to the beginning, though.. Lisa Lubin is a former TV producer at ABC7 who helped start the show "190 North." In her 9 years in Chicago she completely immersed herself in the city. She played in a summer tennis program, owned real estate, taught a TV production... more ›

The Mustaches For Kids growing season rounded the final turn yesterday before the Stache Bash 2006 finale next week. Growers met for the second checkpoint last night to compare their work. Chicagoist's official mustache enthusiast, Matt Wood, is happy to report that his stache, Sanchez, is coming in quite nicely, and he received the accolades yesterday to prove it. "I've heard everything from 'creepy' to 'gay' to 'nice symmetry,'" he says. "I'll take those last two as compliments." He still admits to being a bit befuddled as to why it's coming in as more of a reddish-brown shade, when the erstwhile hair on his head used to be much darker. more ›

Even though we are way way past school age, we still get a little melancholy at the close of summer. Fortunately, our friends across the -ist network know that the shenanigans don't need to end just because the big yellow buses are back on the roads. So, grab your sunscreen and your favorite hangover cure, as we take a tour of end of summer fun from -ist cities all over the damn place. SFist Tourist... more ›

Here's a way for the CTA to make some dough - New York's got them, Hong Kong's got them, and we think our friend said he saw them on Boston's T. They're the next new "thing" in advertising to people riding the train - Subway Tunnel Commercials. Riders on the Blue Line should look out for 15 second ads for Target near the Clark & Lake stop. more ›

Hey, next time your heading out to your car don't forget your hand-free listening device. You'll want to practice getting used to wearing it because it may soon be what you'll need to use your cell phone while driving. more ›

Actually, this is more like Free Movie Monday and Free Movie Wednesday but that title just sounds so much catchier. more ›

Emporis has ranked Chicago as the world's 4th most impressive skyline. Unforch, they assign points to buildings based on floor count and then a total number of points is calculated for each city and this is how they rank the cities. So, by "impressive" Emporis means "most floors". Hong Kong, New York City and Seoul, who ranked above us, are lucky because if by "impressive" they'd meant "beautiful" or "distinctive" then we'd for sure... more ›

If you happen to be a Chicagoist reader with the money and time to frequent gala events � a luxury Chicagoist contributors don�t have � then head down to the Art Institute tomorrow night. (At least we can at least live vicariously through your posh lifestyle.) There, the Gene Siskel Film Center will hold a reception to hand out its annual Visionary Award for innovation in filmmaking. This year�s honor goes to former Hong Kong action master John Woo, who has since become a mainstay in the Hollywood studio system. (Chicagoist really wishes he would go back to his roots and make more movies like The Killer and fewer like Paycheck.) Prices for the event � cutely titled �Mission Possible� � range from the reasonable ($35) to the flat-out ridiculous ($300). The dress code is presumably fancy, so put away your flip-flops for just this one evening.
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