With Daylight Savings time now in effect, it's getting darker sooner day by day. Chicago is a town that's easy to travel by bicycle, but it's the law to have a headlight and a rear reflector so that you'll be seen at night. We practice what we preach and use lights. It makes it easier to spot road hazards and keeps drivers honest. more ›

In case you didn't notice, the Chicago skyline has been showing its Irish pride like everyone else by wearing its finest green outfits. Every few weeks a few brave individuals travel to the tops of the city to change the colors of the lights on the tops of our skyline, but how do they do it? "Magic and pixie dust," he said. Of course, Randy Stancik, building manager of the Sears Tower, was joking. It is actually a manual process, Stancik said. It takes two men about two hours to change the colors, attaching theatrical gels to the tops of the 22 spotlights that illuminate the antennae. more ›

I had no intention of ever going through with the Dating Game idea, once I got off the air and had the chance to think it through. Besides, Drew is still legally married, so he’s not really allowed to date yet. I’m very old school. What can I say?

If you’re lucky, your toddler will be asleep, blissfully unaware when the last minutes of 2007 tick by. An earlier bed time doesn’t mean that he or she has to miss out on the festivities, though; a handful of places in and around Chicago are hosting New Year’s Eve parties for the little ones, with dancing, snacks and party favors at an earlier countdown. more ›

Where Can I See the Best Christmas Lights in the City? more ›

The sidewalks are covered in ice and the temps are sneaking down to the single digits. That's perfect weather for toting a toddler around, right? Here are three (free!) reasons to spend that extra hour bundling your kid up this weekend. Christkindlmarket is a candy-cane striped Bavarian winter village deposited into Daley Plaza. Come to gawk at the expensive, often hand-made gifts, and snack on traditional German fare. The children's lantern parade is today at... more ›

After cooking our Thanksgiving dinner from scratch while holding our toddler, we’d like to never see the inside of a kitchen again. Thankfully, Chicago is rife with take-out deliciousness. Our new favorite is Ta Tong, a local Thai and sushi dive in Lakeview. Most Chicago neighborhoods have one: a hole-in-the-wall place that serves up some awesome Asian food. Ta Tong makes one of the best Pad Kee Mao ($6.95) dishes we’ve eaten in Chicago. We... more ›

It's officially time to get in the holiday spirit, and there are (at least) two ways to do it tonight: At the Botanic Garden, we've got the return of the Wonderland Express, and at the Lincoln Park Zoo, we got Zoo Lights '07. Family friendly, very civic, etc. more ›

Flurries possible tonight, but this weekend shouldn't be too, too chilly. Which is good because there's a ton of fun stuff going on tomorrow: Paula Deen has two live shows at the Chicago Theater tomorrow. BYO sticks of butter, we're guessing. Tickets start at $45 and are still available for both the 11am and 4pm shows. Not in the mood for angioplasty? Head over to the DIY Trunk Show, at Pulaski Park auditorium. We're starting... more ›

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just... more ›

We all still love rocknroll...right? We’re still recovering from all that Lollapalooza coverage over here at Chicagoist HQ, but that doesn’t mean we’re too tuckered to tie into an old skool, roll-on-the-floor-in-stale-beer sort of show this weekend. The Gallery Cabaret in Bucktown will play host to the inaugural edition of Do You Still Love Rock ‘N’ Roll?, an eleven-band, all night filth affair of rock for the love of rock. Starting at 7pm and costing... more ›

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. For LAist, strong winds attacked LA on the same day the Feds raided the Crips. Not to fear, though: the Japanese... more ›

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending... more ›

While some people are busy wondering if Barack Obama is in fact the Messiah, two of the Chicago Tribune's columnists/bloggers have been attending to some of the would-be next President's more immediate concerns. Eric Zorn has been polling readers all week as to what Obama's campaign theme song should be after mixed reviews of the music selection from his early campaign rallies. His choices so far have been a mix of classic but overplayed R&B... more ›

"Chriskindlmarket Lights" via artamnesia. more ›

Despite the city’s reputation for cold, harsh winters, December is often the proverbial calm before the winter storms, with milder temps preceding the brutal cold and drifts of snow in the early part of the year. But guess what? You’ll also have to worry about tornados. more ›

And people that think this is a good show? more ›

It is that time of year again. Lights go up on the houses, department stores start making money, presents are picked out, wrapped, and then returned on the 26th. In other words, the holidays have arrived, which bring with them one additional bundle of joy (besides baby Jesus): The office holiday party! more ›

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor... more ›

Chicagoist had to walk by it a few times before we realized that Sausalito was not another nail salon or random retailer, but rather a cute but clever Italian eatery and martini bar. With unassuming, but creative décor, Sausalito features golden yellow walls with rich red drapes, colorful paintings, dark wood chairs and white-clothed tables. The overall effect is a clean but design-conscious space. With warmer weather, the outdoor patio is now open (Chicagoist is all about people-watching over our meal). more ›

As Chicagoist walked through the cutting winds and cursed winter for overstaying its welcome, we tried to think happy thoughts about warmer climates. Since we've been listening to the torrent from South by Southwest, our minds drifted down to Texas and we imagines we were there sitting in the warm sun as we dined on BBQ and ice cold beer and listened to that sweet, sweet music. Then the dudes from ZZ Top showed up... more ›

Okay, so we readily admit some ambivalence when it comes to chick lit. But every once in a while we find a book so labelled that catches our eye and causes us to curse the marketing strategy of genrefying everything. (And the legs and the shoes! UGH.) Lynn Isenberg's The Funeral Planner is an "entrepreneurial comedy novel" about an ambitious woman who gets in the business of planning funerals after attending the funeral of a college classmate. more ›

There are a few questions on our lazy, yet caffeinated, mind this morning. Why is tonight’s Ted Leo show at Logan Square Auditorium NOT sold out? It seems like everyone we’ve talked to recently has said they’re planning on going and yet tickets still remain. Has he fallen off? Did we miss a Rock Snob memo? Someone please explain this contradiction! If this announcement leads to a run on tickets then we’ll be just as... more ›

Often assailed as a huge megaplex with no soul, the AMC River East does have the occasional free screening that makes it worth braving the crowds who are all amped up to see National Treasure. Tomorrow night they’ll be showing The White Stripes – Under Blackpool Lights, which was released this week on DVD. Documenting a January 2004 show at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool England, the Detroit duo pulls out their own “hits”... more ›

In a cut scene from Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace tells Vincent Vega that there are “Beatles people and Elvis people.” And while some people can like both artists “nobody likes them equally.” Chicagoist isn’t sure if the same holds true for Nirvana people and U2 people but a pair of release parties for Nirvana’s With The Lights Out boxed set and U2’s How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb are making it seem like it’s 1991 all over again. Can a boxed set by C + C Music Factory be far behind? Lord, we hope so! more ›

After a rainy, rotten week, Chicagoist is counting down the minutes to the weekend. All that junk about "cellar door" being the most beautiful phrase in the English language? Buh-buh-buh-bullshit. Try "it's Friday." Or "my treat." Or "open bar." Really anything that involves a) not working and b) recreation. To the Batcave! Um, check that, to…the newspaper listings! more ›

Next week kicks off The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Friday Night at the Movies series. Sadly, this does not mean the CSO will be projecting movies onto its back wall and serving brie and wine like some upper-crust Brew and View. Instead, they’ll perform musical scores from some well-known films. A logical starting point for this series would be the silent film era so Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” will kick things off on October 15th. The series will continue through the winter with The Golden Age of Film Music on November 19th featuring music from Gone With The Wind and Lawrence of Arabia and A Night On The Red Carpet, an Oscar-themed show on February 25th with selections from The Godfather and Doctor Zhivago. Tickets for these events are pricey but if you’re a student you can get in for only ten bucks. more ›

Saturday was a beautiful day and Chicagoist had a few friends in from out of town so we all headed down to Grant Park for Taste of Chicago, which claims to be the world's largest food and free music festival. Wow, what a bunch of gluttons we were!!! Tickets were $7 for 11 tickets and the three of us each bought $21 worth of tickets. .. what's that? 99 tickets? At each of the festival's 70 restaurant booths there were several food items to choose from that ranged in price from 2 - 9 tickets. Pooling our tickets together and sharing everything we bought we were able to consume all of the following: more ›