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This week, the Chicago Film Critics announced its nominations for the best films and cinematic performances of the past year. Babel picked up nine nominations, while The Departed and The Queen followed with six. As usual, the CFCA made some unconventional choices: Maggie Gyllenhaal picked up a nod for her work in the largely ignored Sherrybaby, and an adapted screenplay nomination went to A Prairie Home Companion. The CFCA also fueled the comebacks of Ben... more ›

If you're a big MySpace fan or peeped the back of the RedEye this morning, you've undoubtedly heard about the free Lupe Fiasco show at Metro tonight. But we've heard some rumors that the show will be cancelled tonight due to Mr. Fiasco being quite under the weather. more ›

Sometimes we wonder how many stupid stories go unnoticed and are never shared with the world. It makes us sad to think that the greatest tales of stupidity may be out there somewhere just out of reach. Then again, there’s something about a stupid act that just begs to be discovered. That’s what makes it so stupid. And yet, we search on. more ›

Chicagoist would like to open our day by wishing a very Happy Birthday to the woman who makes getting out of bed seem worth it: Ana Belaval, the Around Town feature reporter for WGN Morning News. Though we used to tune in to WGN for the comic stylings of Paul Konrad, we now find ourselves counting down the minutes until they dispense with all the fires, bombings and indictments in the first hour and get... more ›

Chicagoist guesses that the Illinois General Assembly has no real legislating to do, as they had the time to to vote on whether the 1985 Chicago Bears are the greatest football team of all time. more ›

This morning as we were about to head out the door, the WGN Morning News crew* was showing another “found on the Web”video. The clip was of famed Chicago movie critics Roger Ebert the late Gene Siskel as they were taping promos for their show. It cracked us up so much that we went looking for it ourselves and found it here. more ›

Though it was a weekend filled with good music and hope for the future, this summer’s Lollapalooza lacked the kind of moments that keep people talking about it for years to come. There were two exceptions though: the onstage pairing of Brian Jonestown Massacre with the Dandy Warhols and the choreographed dance moves of OK Go as they debuted the song “A Million Ways”. After closing out their set on the second day of Lolla,... more ›

Tickets go on sale at 10 AM this morning for Neil Diamond’s August 1st show at the United Center. Of course, alertChicagoist readers have already had their first crack at tickets for Neil’s first world tour in four years in The Chicagoist Neil Diamond Contest. We’re giving away three pairs of tickets to three lucky winners. Tickets for this show are expected to sell out so save yourself the trouble of standing in line and check out our contest page instead for your chance to win. more ›

Tomorrow night Claire Zulkey will be hosting a night of Chicago's funniest performers and writers at the Hideout. Titled, "Funny Ha-Ha" the night features sketch comedy from Schadenfreude, a short film from Steve Delahoyde, and readings from The Morning News' Kevin Guilfoile, The Onion AV Club's Nathan Rabin, RedEye's Mark Bazer, and more. more ›

Anyone who's ever been out to Schaumburg to get their hands on Ikea's snazzily-designed, cheap furnishings knows what kind of living hell it can be. The store, which draws shoppers from western Illinois suburbs, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, is one of the retailer's highest-performing stores in the world, and certainly their busiest US store. Chicagoist still wishes that the Ikea's plans to open a store in the South Loop would have gone through, but were still happy to hear that they are planning on opening a second Illinois location in the southwest suburb Bolingbrook because it is sure to ease the congestion at the Schaumburg location. The Bolingbrook store is scheduled to be open in the fall of 2005. more ›