Sometimes, we love Whole Foods - if only because of the preponderance of cute, nerdy vegans who work there. We came across this yesterday at the South Loop Whole Foods, near the frozen section, and it made our day. If this was a corporate initiative, we don't want to know about it - we prefer to think of an art student sheepishly going to their manager and begging to make a crazy stack of cans. Especially since we're in the middle of a Mario needlepoint project(no, really), we're operating on the same wavelength. more ›

Our cats -- Pickle the Kitten and Sasha -- were delighted when we uncovered our old VHS copy of Kitty Safari 2 this weekend. Now we realize we could have just hooked up the Nintendo to get the same reaction out of our frisky felines. more ›

While Homer's trip to the third dimension freaked us out, we're tickled by Mario's appearance in the streets of real-life Chicago! more ›

Was it an over-eager desire to do our civic duty? Was it a whim? Or did we just want to check out what was inside the building in Welles Park? Who cares - our primary voting is done! more ›

All the American Gladiators used take steroids, do drugs and make out with each other. Oh, Nitro, how could you? The revamped American Gladiators airs another new episode tonight, but we're going to be too busy playing the old-school Nintendo version to watch. God, we still can't beat The Wall. more ›

We have a fair bit of experience with the people who sit in their basements with the blinds drawn playing RPG games and decide the fate of the world. We can also confirm that four hours of listening to the theme songs on Nintendo's "Smash Brothers" is time better spent in a mental institution. All of those kinds of things aside, however, video games are undeniably influential. more ›

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Those of us at the Chicagoist offices enjoy video games as much as the next person. It's not that uncommon for us to go head-to-head in a round of Mario Kart while we're waiting for new stories to post. Why, last week, we were on the last lap of the 150cc dinosaur track when KFed became Fed-Ex. The losers in last place driving the Goomba Kart decided that we had to post that story right then and there, and that was the end of our match. (Frakking editors...) more ›

Last week had us blind with excitement, but this week’s slate – aside from some sure things - has us cautiously optimistic. After emptying out our wallet this weekend, we’re grateful for tonight’s free Mixel Pixel show at Empty Bottle. We’re still on the fence about the band’s album Music For Plants, which swirls industrial dance grooves around shoegazer-y vocals and Nintendo-inspired keyboards. But it’s the kind of music that gives white kids permission to... more ›

Prior to reading this story in Crain's, we never made the connection that Jackie Chan was the George Foreman of the eastern hemisphere. According to Crain's, Chan will begin endorsing and selling Foreman grills (How may do you have in your closet and plan on regifting?) in Asia. more ›

Chicagoist would like to set one thing straight: A digital jukebox and electronic poker machine are not a fair trade for a Nintendo entertainment system. The new management at Darwin’s (1935 N. Damen) has removed the Nintendo system from the front bar, and we could not be more disheartened. Many a Saturday night, when tired of the typical bar scene, Chicagoist would take refuge at Darwin’s. We’d order a few beers, play some Super Mario... more ›

Today at 11 AM, the McDonald’s at 600 N. Clark (nee The Rock and Roll McDonald’s) will serve as the launch party for Nintendo’s Mario Kart DS and the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Mario himself will take time out of his busy ‘shroom-ingesting schedule to appear along with Ronald McDonald, as customers with a Nintendo DS system compete against Nintendo game programmers and others from around the world in a Mario Kart showdown. The Nintendo Wi-Fi... more ›

If you miss the original NES and its synthetic tunes, hit up Double Door this Tuesday where you can see The Power Ups play high-energy rocked-out arrangements of theme music from early Arcade, Nintendo and Commodore 64 games. The band originally formed in August 2003 as a four-piece summer project and only intended to have one live performance. But the response from that Empty Bottle performance was so positive that they decided to solidify as a band and go on tour. more ›