As we may have mentioned, this Chicagoist is without cable television. Don't cry for us, we're strong. The thing about this lack of cable is that it doesn't stop us from enjoying certain cable-only programming. Back in the day we always found a way to watch "Six Feet Under," and more recently we've found ourselves mystified and hypnotized by both seasons of "Top Chef." Admittedly, we watch these episodes in whatever order we can and often with month-long gaps. The last time we watched was two months ago, and we were pretty fed up with the martyrs (Mia and Otto) and even more disgusted with the pompous Marcel. We know that many found Sam dreamy, but we, personally, were not all that moved by his looks (his cooking and attitude weren't bad). Nonetheless it was sad to hear that Sam hadn't made it to the final round of Top Chef and that Marcel had! We're almost happy that we can't watch the finale tonight ... all that arrogance and over-the-top hair. Sam may have been kicked off the show, but he hasn't been kicked off the planet. In fact you could hear a live interview with him on Fearless radio, tomorrow at one. We'll be interested to hear what he thinks of the whole leak controversy. The Food & Wine debacle probably wasn't done on purpose, and we're not sure we buy the whole "we made two bios so we'd be ready either way" logic. But what do we know, we don't even have cable television. 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 ›

A little over a year ago, Chicago lost a member of its music community, Anthony Salazar. The back story sounds like an episode of Six Feet Under, man diagnosed with AVM decides to really live his life focusing on what matters the most. In this case, it was family and a great love of music. A group of Tony’s friends are coming together Sunday, June 25th to celebrate his life and to help take care... more ›

You know those days when your life adds up to nothing? When you scan your years, and you see nothing but incoherent days and inebriated nights? When your creative mind is as empty as a Pabst Blue Ribbon at 6:00 in the morning? Well, if you happen to be having one of those days today, you might want to stop reading. When we checked out the website for freelance writer Elaine Soloway, we became overwhelmed... more ›

Anton Chekhov famously advised aspiring playwrights: If there is a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, it must fire in the last. Craig Wright turns that rule on its head in Grace, his powerful meditation on faith, reason and time now playing at the Northlight Theater. Here, the gun fires during an opening scene staged in reverse. The rest of the show pieces together how protagonists Steve and Sara, a devout Christian couple undone by a sham business deal compromising their faith, and their neighbor Sam, a scientist who doubts God in the wake of tremendous loss, arrive at that violent moment. more ›

Chicagoist has gotten out of bed on the jaded and cynical side this morning, so bear with us. We were perusing the internets, as we do every morning, and came across this article in the Sun Times. And we thought to ourselves – what a kick ass job! How does one get to become a music supervisor on a hit show like The O.C.? Daydreams previously fantasized here at Chicagoist. As we read about Ms.... more ›

Police in the ‘burbs last week discovered a puppy mill. Now while the term "puppy mill" conjures images of the more grotesque Monty Python sketches, it is, in fact, just a townhouse where a brother and sister were keeping yip-yip dogs. more ›

Chicagoist has told you again and again and again and again about dead zoo animals, but never have we discussed what happens to the poor beasts' bodies once their souls head toward the great, fluffy pastures in the sky. more ›

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Chicagoist doesn't have any children (holla, contraception!), but if we did, we'd want them to know aaaaaall about death. Because what do kids love more than death? Maybe Dora the Explorer, but that's about it. We're moving to Elburn to raise our bloglets. more ›

Kind of catchy, huh? Costco, the retailer better known for selling jugs of mayonnaise and flats of chips, is now selling caskets in its stores in Chicago and suburban Oak Brook. more ›

Emmy nominations came out today, and if only to prove how much TV we can watch, we’re going to weigh in on just about everything. We’ll do this again right before and probably right after the Emmys, too. So stay tuned. Unfortunately, one of our favorite shows wasn't eligible this time around, so we'll take a second to think fondly of "Six Feet Under. "Our favorites are in bold. Drama Series: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,"... more ›

Chicago residents might soon be able to participate in an "organic" burial system that includes digging a grave for your loved one yourself. No embalming, no headstones, no nothing: just a GPS and an audio-video documentary about the deceased. A few California funeral businessmen—please, don't call them death-hippies—have launched plans for an organic cemetery and nature reserve in Mill Valley, California. According to an AP story from a few weeks ago (but it got picked... more ›

Ew! Chicagoist is still dealing with the oh-so-narsty story of two detectives and two severed feet. Detectives Jones and Schleder investigated the case of an impounded car whose trunk contained a box. And in that box, there was a bag. And in that bag, there were severed feet. Luckily, no foul play: the car belonged to a bankrupt podiatrist who had borrowed the feet—here comes the grossest part— from a podiatry school and had totally forgotten about them. He assumed the bank had repoed his car, but it turned out that the city had towed it. Toed it, if you will. Some lingering questions include but are not limited to: feet can last for four years? Were they a set of feet, from the same person, or were they just two otherwise unassociated feet? Podiatry schools just give out feet; you don’t have to check them back in or anything?
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