For those of you who are checking in today, we thought we'd also take some time to pay our respects to two giants who passed away on Christmas Day. It was one year ago that James Brown passed away. If you don't have a copy of "James Brown's Funky Christmas", buy it or download it now. It is a necessity of Christmas listening. We managed to find a clip of "Soulful Christmas" dubbed into some......

We promise we love many elements about the Christmas season: the festive decorations, the spirit of togetherness, the delicious foods ... but other elements make us want to stab our eyes out. At the top of our list are awful Christmas songs. While there are some songs that make us reminisce about our childhood (anything from the A Very Special Christmas album is fair game), there are others that almost induce involuntary vomiting. We......

Although recent polling in Iowa and New Hampshire shows her slipping against Obama and Edwards, she's not backing down. Erstwhile local gal and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be taking a spin through Chicago tonight, hosting Hillary's Holiday Cheer at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom. Because who wants to shake hands in a cold Iowa parking lot when you can kick it at the Hyatt in Chicago? Not to be outdone, the Obama campaign announced three......

We know what we're doing Wednesday: Heading to The Annoyance to see three of our favorite local comedy all stars. Jared Logan, Robert Buscemi and our pal Steve Delahoyde (of grumpy-curing fame in these parts) have teamed up yet again for the third installment of "Three Dumb Men," a variety show that features stand-up and video and probably other stuff. Special guests include Brady Novak and Kristen Studdard, both of whom we adored last......

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Time to buy presents! Which means it's time for Chicagoist's annual gift guide. For 2007, we're looking at lots of Chicago-centric gifts (plus a few random goodies thrown in for fun). Tickets, memberships, art, decoration, kits, classes, clothes — we've got you covered.......

Looks like Blago's at it again. State legislative leaders are meeting again tomorrow to continue working on transit/casino/construction/dick-wagging, with the plan to head back to Springfield next week for--all together now--a special session. Maybe they could have a Very Special Session in which we learn about molestation or suicide or teen pregnancy. Blagojevich met with three legislative bigwigs today, but Mike Madigan wasn't one of them. Schedulig conflicts, says Madigan's camp. Never RSVPed to......

Mayor Daley has finally announced his pick for new police superintendent: J.P. “Jody” Weis, an FBI agent who was most recently the head of the Philadelphia field office. The City Council still has to approve the appointment, but given that Ald. Isaac Carothers, chairman of the City Council's police committee, says "maybe going to the outside might bring a fresh look — a guy who knows no one and owes no one,” is anyone worried?......

It was twenty years ago today that Mayor Harold Washington collapsed at his desk in City Hall. He died of a massive heart attack. In 1983, Washington surprised Chicago by winning the Democratic Primary for Mayor. He won with 36% of the vote, beating out incumbent Mayor Jane M. Byrne and Richard M. Daley. In the April 1983 general election, Washington received 52% of the vote to become Chicago’s first black mayor, trumping Bernard Epton......

We're not very good at this rah-rah patriotism stuff sometimes. Especially when it seems like there's so very little to be patriotic about. Day in and day out, we're bombarded with information about our dysfunctional County Board, our crumbling mass-transit system, a stumbling economy, a dismal federal government and a long-term embroilment in a far-away sandbox, so on and so forth, fill in your own blank here: _________________ So when we take these few yearly......

There is ham, and then there is French Madrange Ham. There is cheese, and then there is Swiss Gruyère. There is bread, and then there is organic Bretzel Bread. Which brings us to Hannah's Bretzel. Hannah's has a lot of things going for it before you take the first bite. The local sandwich shop features a green retail space, a wall of exotic chocolates, and a friendly staff, but the Sergio Special is where it's......

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist......

One of our favorite seasonal beers at Chicagoist was Goose Island Oktoberfest lager. Our major issue with the beer was that the brewery always ran out of it by early September, right before Oktoberfest celebrations were just starting to kick into high gear. Besides, Goose Island's forte isn't lagers, anyway. With the exception of 312, they're all about brewing bold ales and bitters. We were caught slightly by surprise when Goose Island retired their Oktoberfest......

Police brutality and a lack of transparency go together like...well, not PB&J (a happy combo). Let's say hangovers and dry heaves. The abjuration of responsibility and accountability goes like this: The list of Chicago police officers who have the most excessive-force complaints is secret. The City wants it to stay that way. US District Court Judge Joan Lefkow ordered that the records be unsealed and made available to the public. The City's appealing that order,......

October in Chicago makes us feel like kids again. This month, the Mayor’s Office of Special Events and the Park District have filled the calendar with Halloween-themed activities perfect for the toddler set and their kid-at-heart parents. Here are our favorites in the lead up to the big holiday. The park district (along with Walgreens) is sponsoring events to get you in the spirit at over forty different neighborhood parks from Bessemer to Oz throughout......

Aurora's Planned Parenthood can open immediately. How bad do things have to get before Daley will denounce what's going on with the Chicago Police Department's Special Operations Section? Even the Associated Press is saying, "Not since club-swinging cops in baby-blue helmets chased demonstrators through clouds of pepper gas at the 1968 Democratic National Convention have Chicago police been so awash in trouble." Dayum. And yet Da Mare has given no indication that he'll disband......

The Special Operations Section of the Chicago PD has yet another scandal on its hands: An unconstitutional sweep of a bar on March 27, 2004, was caught on video, and the officers' story does not, in any way, match what's on the tape, which is now in the hands of the Tribune. News of this perversion of the social contract comes as part of the bigger take-down of the SOS cops' style of protecting and......

"'Cause it's Friday, you ain't got no job ... and you ain't got shit to do." Well, you can go check out the New Orleans Social Club at Millennium Park. If you aren't, here's some stuff in the news. Buckingham Fountain is slated to undergo a complete overhaul in autumn 2008. Near West Side businesses get $1.5 million in TIF money intended for keeping manufacturing jobs in the area. Does Manny Flores have the......

So in 2000 a dude gets hit by a New York City Bus (Bear with us; the story has roots in New York, and eventually makes its way to our city) and decides he’s going to make something positive out of the experience. What does Brendt Barbur do? He creates a Bicycle Film Festival (BFF), featuring films celebrating the bike. And all forms of bikes: Tall-Bike Jousting, Track Bikes, BMX, Alleycats, Critical Mass, Bike Polo,......

The city's biggest music festival of the summer kicks off tomorrow, and you can feel the excitement building in the Chicagoist offices. However, we've had to put our cub reporters through some summer festival basic training, since this one blows all the others out of the water in sheer scope and size. The bands are the draw, and the primary source of fun, but there are a few other things you -- and our cub......

While the other families we know hightail it out to the greener grassed suburbs, we here at the Chicagoist have found more and more to love about the city. Our most recent crush is on the Art of Play. We initially thought the Art of Play was a tourism gimmick, as it is sponsored by the city and state Tourism bureau, as well as the Mayor's Office of Special Events and other Chicago cultural organizations.......

Duplicate shootings in triplicate? At least three people are shot and wounded early today; one critically, during a party at a private motorcycle club, on Chicago's South Side. AND ... Three people are shot and wounded this morning near the Cabrini-Green public housing project on the Near North Side. Calm down, Chicagoistas, they're definitely NOT talking about Vince. (Christopher) Vaughn, the guy who went berserk and killed his family gave up on hanging out......

If you like your summer entertainment light, campy and frequently hilarious, you’ve probably already bought your tickets for It Came From The Neo-Futurarium VI: Curse of The Neo-Futurarium. In case you haven’t or (gasp!) missed the first V years, the Neo-Futurists’ summer tradition dredges pop culture memories from childhood, younger adulthood and your history books every Thursday night, reading scripts from movies and TV shows whose original, sincere impulses have been diminished by midnight screenings......

We took a break from our Dungeons and Dragons to check out the competitive gaming taking place at the Chicago Cultural Center this weekend, which played host to the 2007 U.S. Open. We’re not talking about tennis here. We’re talking about the Rubik’s Cube Championship, where the winner of the 3x3x3 Speed Solve gets an all-expense-paid trip to the 2007 World Rubik’s Cube Championship in Budapest. The competition was was sanctioned by the World Cube......

A Chicago Police officer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to new charges alleging that he and two other officers from the elite Special Operations Section stole $450,000 from a man's South Side home in 2004. A Geneva man is trying to clear his reputation after a nasty prank. Someone mailed out fake flyers to the man's neighbors and co-workers claiming he was a convicted sex offender. Classy. A new exhibit tells how former Japanese internees......

That's right, the Chicagoist 3rd Anniversary Party is only one week away! We already know you're planning on attending our 18 and over show at Subterranean next Thursday, right? Who would want to miss live sets from Milk At Midnight, Sweetish, and We Make Thunder? Who wouldn't want to get their dance on to the live debut of The Hood Internet DJs? And who wouldn't want to enjoy the beer special we've lined up with......

While, we always thought that the debate was pointless, speculation over where Springfield is actually set has raged throughout the 18 years of the Simpson's existence. The creators in "Behind the Laughter" have insinuated that it is probably somewhere in Kentucky, but it was based largely on Portland, OR, where creator, Matt Groening, grew up. For the most part, we are content with Springfield being Anytown, USA, allowing the creators to make it whatever......

We were cleaning the fridge the other day, taking inventory on our beer stock in preparation for the official start of grilling season this weekend, when we came across a beer that we have completely forgot we bought during the winter. Since it was a Sunday, unseasonably cold outside, and the beer in question was another barley wine, we decided to decant that mother and give it a sip or more. The beer is from......

We’re getting another year older. In fact, if you measure our age in dog years, we’re about to celebrate our 21st birthday! Yee-haw! In plain old human years, we’re turning three, even though it seems like only yesterday that the city that never sleeps met the Windy City. Chicago has been good to us, showing us good times, and providing us with killer content, but the best part about being Chicagoist is knowing we have......

The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival movies have been announced. Also, while we were on the City's crappy events site we noticed that the Chicago Jazz Fest and the Chicago Blues Fest schedules are available now, too. LA says that if they get the Olympics they'll make about $2.7 billion. Chicago isn't sayin' shit! On police brutality: Remember that case where the cops fired into a car with 11 youths in it during the 1998......

All hail the start of Green Market season! Chicagoist loves the green markets, cooks love the markets, and even professional chefs are getting into them. A quick perusal of the official Green Market guide reveals that most are starting up between the middle of May and the middle of June, and most are running through October. Since it seems like this year local is the new organic (see: The Omnivore's Dilemma), Chicago Localvores, a......