Chipotle released another beautiful video today in its campaign against factory farming, and you can get a BOOrito for $2 tonight if you dress to support family farms. more ›

Willie Nelson (and filmmaker Johnny Kelly) show us a farmer who shifts to industrial farming, learns to regret it and returns to the land. more ›

The focus may be on music rather than cinema for the Nightingale's observance of their third birthday this weekend, but with such a great variety of film and video-related events already under the belt of the Noble Square screening room, we think they've earned the right to have whatever kind of party they want. What they want, is apparently to rock. On Saturday night, Giant System, the music video production team that has been turning out some stunning videos for the past year, will be screening their videos of local Chicago musical acts. After a short break, Joan of Arc will perform a set as Giant System records the whole thing for their next work. more ›

Stephen Colbert + Christmas + Willie Nelson dressed as a shepherd = Goodness. more ›

We know that it's apparently never too early to start celebrating the Christmas season, but when you're comedian and Northwestern grad Stephen Colbert, we're all ears. The hilarious TV show host debuts his new Christmas special, A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All, tomorrow night (Sunday, November 23) at 9 p.m. on Comedy Central. Stephen will celebrate the holidays (Hannukah, too, we're told) with some help from Feist, Toby Keith, John Legend, Willie Nelson and Jon Stewart. Given Colbert's usual antics, we're guessing it's going to be a jolly good time. If you like what you see (and hear!) tomorrow night, you'll be able to purchase a DVD of the show and an EP of the songs on iTunes, with proceeds benefiting Feeding America. But not bears. No way. We love Stephen and can't wait to see what green screen surprises he springs on us next. more ›

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As if you needed reminding, it's Tax Day, one of the more stressful times of the year, especially with the economy in the toilet. But maybe you're lucky enough to get a half-decent refund from the Federal Government this year and feel like treating yourself to something nice. more ›

The mercury has cracked 50 degrees on consecutive days this week and that's had us thinking about Spring around here. We know, it's supposed to get cold again next week, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's time to start planning our summer excursions. Sure, Lollapalooza and the Pitchfork Music Fest made big headlines recently, but Ravinia's 2008 schedule was also released this week, meaning we can start incorporating trips to Highland Park into our plans. more ›

While we've been bragging about the size of our tomatoes and the bountiful yield of our basil plant, we've let the necessary tasks of pruning and weeding our garden go untended. Just take a look at the creeper vines and other weeds surrounding our pepper plants. We knew when we decided to plant a garden in our backyard that it would take more than some water and sun to get some yield from our plants... more ›

Ryan Adams just announced that Chicago is included in a brief string of dates next month to promote his latest, Easy Tiger. This is not so surprising in itself, although we doubt Jim DeRogatis will be in attendance, but we admit we're a bit taken aback by his choosing to play at The Black Orchid. The Black Orchid is easily the smallest room he's played in Chicago in years, and it's lush environs should prove the perfect counterpart for the introspective songs that seem to be Adams' recent fare. more ›

"devon devon 4558" via abmarfia. more ›

20 years after the first Farm Aid concert occurred in Champaign, Illinois the concert is coming back to our fair state on September 18th at the Tweeter Center. So far the usual Farm Aid players are confirmed: Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellancamp, and Dave Matthews. Wilco has also been slated. Tickets for the fundraising concert go on sale July 30th at 10 a.m. A contest from Organic Valley for free tickets is going on through July 31st. more ›