We're leading off today's awesome round-up by reminding everyone that, as Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier says, it's alright to cry. People seem very stressed out today — Holiday stuff? Lack of daylight? Weird diet? — but don't keep it bottled up. Let it out, and recover with some things that should cheer you up and quick: Ah, real-time graphs, how we love you. Like this one, which displays the real-time gage height of the Chicago......

Shellster129 snapped this broad encouragement. We always thought "happy holidays" sounded a little blah. Maybe "very happy everything" is the way to go.......

The clock is ticking, lovelies--get those presents purchased and fast. If you still need some last-minute help, though, take the Chicago bus to these three stores where we can practically guarantee you'll find something. We'll be running posts like this all week, so if you know the perfect store, drop us a line: tips@chicagoist.com You still need a present for: Your mom, your sister, some who recently moved, or someone who likes kitsch, quirky jewelry,......

mjkmjk calls this a "snow person of indeterminate gender," but we're getting a very strong Jabba the Hutt-meets-Marjorie the Trash Heap vibe.......

Given that it gets pitch-black at, oh, 2pm, we always find ourselves staring at the clock right around 5:30pm screaming "Time is standing still!" Anyway, we enjoyed this ode to the "regular, everyday normal guy." Lyrics include, "My parents are really nice people, motherfucka! I'm somewhat afraid of heights, motherfucka!"......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Chicagoist. WBEZ, and their new online store-- give a gift and support public radio at the same time! Busted Tees, where they're selling three colors of the LED scrolling belt buckle. If you're interested in advertising on Chicagoist or any other site in our network, check out our online mediakit.......

We went to Three Dumb Men on Wednesday, and the highlight of the show was this strange, gross and hilarious short film from Robert Buscemi, Jared Logan and Steve Delahoyde on how to cook a chicken. Enjoy. We sure did.......

Many of the parents we’ve talked to told us that they will go “China-free” this Christmas, refusing to purchase toys constructed in China. This, in large part, is due to the massive number of Chinese-made recalled toys this year (like those beads that turn into GHB when ingested). Toxic toys and poor oversight is a company issue and not necessarily a country-specific one, but patronizing local small businesses, regardless of impetus, should be applauded. For......

Carey Primeau posted these photos to Flickr last week, and we can't stop looking at them. Primeau tells us that the building was the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary, 135 S. Sangamon. According to Preservation Chicago, The building is executed in a highly unusual Mayan style, perhaps the only of its kind in Chicago. The basic form of the building can be described as Art Deco, with low relief ornament, upward thrust, pronounced......

The end of the year is rapidly approaching, which means it's time for Merriam-Webster to light the world on fire with their pick for 2007 Word Of The Year. This year's winner is...drumroll please..... W00t? We would have picked l33t talk years and years ago maybe, but this year? If we were going to pick something "techy," it probably would have been LOLCat or cheezburger. And Chicago word of the year would have to be......

Saturday morning at the Irving Grill by The New Number Two......

Movie attendance is down 10% this year. Bad word of mouth when it comes to this year's mainstream releases perhaps? Moviemaking competitions are a great way to put our money where our mouths are, and here are some worth shooting for: -- In surely the first competition of its kind (outside of some obscure William Gibson story maybe), this January filmmakers will converge in Second Life for the 48 Hour Film Project. It's an abstract......

Oh, if only there were constant "bacon this way" indicators. [Swanksalot]......

Kids in Peoria built a gigantic Lego menorah, using the big Duplo version of the blocks. We know we're assholes for having our first reaction be "Duplos don't count!" Which is why we need more good things on the list... John Kass is way, way ahead in this "celebrity" ornament auction. His beer can chicken thing is already at $435, but everyone else's piece of crap ornaments--seriously, a little effort, people--are only around $100......

The last time we checked in on the Burrito Bracket, we were waiting to see who would win the Tecalitlan/Irazu blood match to join La Pasadita, El Taco Veloz, and De Pasada in the final four. It's on our mind today because this is when the Burrito Bowl championship was slated to be held. A post by Nate on November 15 read that he was taking a one-week break because he'd "fallen way behind......

Uck. Grey crappy icy Sunday afternoon. No Bears game - just the memories of Thursday's injury plagued horror. If only it were 1940 - it was during this weekend of that year that the most lopsided NFL games ever played took place - and the Bears whooped the Redskins' ass 73-0. The below video from that game is titled The Greatest Block in NFL History - it might not be the absolute greatest of all......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Chicagoist. Dewars Repeal Day, because you shouldn't take the right to have a drink for granted. Sony Card, because you'll get a free MP3 player if you apply. Love is a Mix Tape, Rob Sheffield's book about women, music, and love. American Express' Urban Adventures-- for information about shopping, dining, and entertainment. Homes for Working Families-- working to make housing affordable in......

As Frank Burns says, it's nice to be nice to the nice. And it seems like people are getting on the kindness bandwagon today. First the Neighbors Project wants us to give out thank you for shoveling cards. The folks at NP will send you free postcards to pass out to your shovel-inclined neighbors to thank them for their magnificent de-snowing skills — and it's also a way to shame your blockmates into clearing......

This week, we're taking another visit back to our childhood stomping grounds on the Northwest side. But we're going way back, waaayyy back to 1917. Our father's side of the family immigrated to America from Greece four years earlier, settling in Greektown. Our mother's side of the family was at least a decade away from moving to the East Village from Virginia. The photo you're looking at at the top of this entry is......

When we saw "Antique - Vintage Potty Chair - $135" we were, of course, intrigued. But this is ... wow. Talk about worth every penny. This looks like an adult-sized seat, too. As the ad says, it's a conversation piece. We hope we speak for everyone when we say we love conversations that start with "hey, is it cool if I crap while I sit in this chair? Oh, it is? Wonderful." Update: The......

It's supposed to snow more today, so keep your camera handy. Ankylosaur gets us started with the snow pics..........

Another casualty from yesterday's deadly fire: The mother of the two little boys who were killed in the fire also died this morning. Dennis Quaid and his wife filed a suit against Chicago-based pharmaceutical giant Baxter International today saying the company was negligent by marking different strengths of medicine in too similar packages. (It appears Baxter has relabeled the products in question.) Quaid's infant twins were accidentally given the blood thinner that was 10,000......

We've looked all day and still can't top hedgehogs in bandages (they were bandaged at, no lie, Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital). That's the clear winner of awesomeness today. But there were other good contenders... Good luck getting this catchy pork song out of your head. Have 24 hours to burn? The annual 24-hour The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters to Santa Benefit kicks off tonight at 7pm at Second City. This year's performers also......

In our Homer Simpson voice: Mmm, medium foooooormat. Well played, WVAllen.......

We usually wait until later in the day to post things that are awesome, but the Sun-Times says today's weather is "lifeless." Maybe everybody just needs an injection of stuff that doesn't suck. We're gaga for dinosaurs, so news of this mumified dinosaur made our nerd senses tingle. Even better? Phil Manning, a paleontologist at England's University of Manchester who is leading the examination, told Wired, "When I first saw it in the field, (I......

Although the cover story to yesterday's Sun-Times said that diners shouldn't be alarmed, it's hard to not be after reading the sensationalized cover story which listed 21 restaurants whose ice had more bacteria than a toilet in the Sun-Times men's room. A note for downtown workers looking for lunch this afternoon: you may want to buy a bottled drink. The testing of ice cubes from 49 area restaurants found that the unlucky 21 tested for......

Who doesn't love a little tilt shift on a Monday morning?......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Chicagoist. Dewars Repeal Day, because you shouldn't take the right to have a drink for granted. Sony Card, because you'll get a free MP3 player if you apply. Choice Hotels, because you can win a part to be in their next commercial! Busted Tees, where they're selling 12 shirts for $12 each. If you're interested in advertising on Chicagoist or any other......

Who knew a heap of debris could be so beautiful? "Urban Renewal" by the New No. 2.......

We usually think of winter as monochromatic and bleak, but Ankylosaur has us thinking in a whole new light.......