Roger Ebert announced the schedule for his 14th annual Ebertfest, held April 24-29 in Champaign. more ›

Today is comedian Patton Oswalt's birthday, so let's re-listen to one of his best bits. more ›

Comedian Patton Oswalt is a noted foodie, and has been known to talk about everything from KFC to Chicago's better restaurants at length. But we didn't know that one restaurant was a fan of him until we stumbled across an interview a few weeks ago from the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, discussing a dish featuring an unusual topping that is usually only made by hand. more ›

Patton Oswalt's comedy possesses a sharp, incisive grasp of language that shows he's spent a lot of time between the pages. Whether it's dubbing the KFC Famous Bowl "a failure pile in a sadness bowl", or entertaining hyperbolic murder fantasies involving George Lucas, Oswalt's gift for inventive invective is without question. His latest outlet for his thoughts is his first book, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, a collection of essays. Oswalt's going to be reading excerpts from Wasteland in March at Reckless Records in Wicker Park. more ›

TBS' annual Just For Laughs festival is back in town, having kicked off with numerous events last night. But there's still plenty more out there to catch with names both big and small, both national (Ellen, Team CoCo, Adam Carolla) and local (Susan Messing, Cook County Social Club). Of course, we're just scratching the surface so be sure to check out the full list of performances here. Here are five we've got our eye on. more ›

Right about now, you're tired of hearing about shopping. And while most of us aren't sick of Christmas songs yet, we will be soon. So with this time of year upon us, this hilarious Patton Oswalt bit is timely and now set to animation. Enjoy. [via; As with a lot of Patton's stuff, the language is NSFW if you're watching it in the office or with kids in earshot] more ›

Snack foods that sound like sex acts. Oh, cheese nips. more ›

Patton Oswalt finally eats a "failure pile in a sadness bowl," but he can only choke down a few spoons of it. more ›

Don't fret: The tigers at Chicagoland zoos are not going to be able to maul you any time soon. more ›

If you have a chance to see Patton Oswalt live, take it. A few months ago at the Lakeshore, we saw him do the best stand-up set we've ever seen — and lo, Chicagoist sees a lot of stand-up. Ever since, we've been dying to see him again, and tonight is our opportunity and yours: The Comedians of Comedy are doing a show at the Vic tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $29 and aren't sold out yet, which is ... astonishing. more ›

Jesse Thorn, Host of The Sound of Young America more ›

We here at the Chicagoist offices like to play the “who’s overrated?” game. We usually start off with a rousing “ANGELINA JOLIE!”; and then do a quick step to “Bill Gates!”; and then one final “Julia Roberts!” and we’re done. It’s a fun game, but we just keep saying the same answers over and over again. Now we’ve got help. Henry Owings has a new book called “The Overrated Book”. “The Overrated Book” has roughly... more ›