THERE'S NEW BUZZ ABOUT Christina Aguilera's burlesque outing at Etta James funeral last Saturday. Wags are agog about everything from her 'Secretary Porn' outfit to her overkill performance. And now comes new speculation: what was that brown liquid that dripped down her right her leg while she sang James' signature song, At Last?
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AT LAST, OCCUPY PROTESTERS HIT BULLSEYE IN TARGETING the main villains behind America's increasing wealth disparity: Washington pols, Congress and even the Supreme Court.
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A STREET PERSON NAPS BEHIND THE BUS STOP AT ADAMS AND WABASH IN CHICAGO SUNDAY. The siesta was captured by photographer and attorney Nima Taradji, who has a gift for seeing what others miss by choice or design.
Taradji, 45, is a founding member of Margin Gallery and The Chicago Photo Union, both cooperative art associations of Chicago's established and/or emerging artists.
To see more of his black-and-white photos shot after the city's first significant snowstorm and during an excursion with ChicagoPhotographer, click inside.
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CHEF GRANT ACHATZ HAS TAKEN TO COMPLETELY CHANGING HIS MENU every three months at his restaurant, Next. The first three months took diners to Paris, 1906; the second to the streets of Thailand; and now, simply, into 'childhood.'
Editor's note: Bob Bounce spent the holidays at what "those-in-the-know are calling one of the country's best new restaurants. With just a few weeks left before its current flight of fancy will be gone forever, we take you there, course by course, of course. Don't bother calling; the restaurant is unable to take any more reservations for its current menu.
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YOU PROBABLY CAN'T DO "IT" -- perfect absurdity in a sword-dancing-video-gone-viral.
Described as "internet folk art" and a "sociological masterpiece," Jian Sword Dancing by Chicagoland's Kyle Frere has struck internet gold by striking a universal chord with YouTube viewers.
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JAY-Z AND KANYE stepped down from their throne and frolicked near 77th and South Shore Drive in Yeezy's hometown Chicago last week.
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THAT'S MR. GOOFY ANDREW MASON FROM HERE ON OUT TO YOU, RUNTS.
Groupon's wacky CEO Mr. Andrew Mason ascended to the Billionaires' Club Friday with the online coupon's IPO closing at $26.10, up 30 percent from its $20 initial offering. And, sorry ladies, he's already taken.
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U.S. JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA is constitutionally opposed to calling deep-dished Chicago-style pizza anything but "tomato pie."
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WORD IS THAT THE YUKYUKS ARE BECOMING RARE INSIDE GROUPON'S CHICAGO HEADQUARTERS as employees begin to wonder if they've been discounted.
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WITH ITS COUPON BUSINESS MODEL TAKING HITS, GROUPON is moving into reality TV with the appearance of its senior writer Daniel Kibblesmith on the cable show Millionaire Matchmaker.
Matchmaker Patti Stanger gives the dweebish homebody Kibblesmith a "Soho" makeover on an episode that airs Monday night.
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CHICAGO-BASED AIR GUITARIST Justin "Nordic Thunder" Howard did his part to spread world peace at the 16th annual Air Guitar World Championships held in Oulu, Finland on Friday, winning second place in the competition.
"My heart is filled with so many emotions,'' sniffed Howard on his Twitter account. "This has been the best time of my life, & i've made some new amazing friends.Tonight we ALL rock!"
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SO YOU MISSED THE Lollapalooza party. We feel for you.
The nation's premier music fest -- hosted for the seventh straight year in Chicago -- was a thrilling, teeming, throbbing, smelly dance party, an overdose of hormones and hot riffs, and one giant muddy mess following a torrential downpour Sunday evening.
Sounds like fun, amirite?
As usual, this year's fest has generated massive ink about the critical success of the performances. And since, I got to admit, I didn't make it there myself (My significant other was there feigning tech support for one of the acts), I've combed Flickr for the best pics of the festival I could find. Let me know what you think. And maybe we'll make it next year!
The Best Pics From Lollapalooza 2011 -- So Far
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A REVELER GETS CARRIED AWAY DURING LOLLAPALOOZA 2011, BUT THAT WAS THE POINT.
The music festival arrived with a bang Friday in Chicago's riverfront Grant Park, which hosted a sold-out crowd of 90,000. The first day of the three-day festival brought out young and old, freaks and geeks, and anybody who wanted to be part of the happening.
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AND THAT'S A WRAP.
Or more likely a beef sandwich. But it could have been a hot dog with all the fixins. Or corn cob on a stick. Or deepdish pizza. Whatever the woman above's eating, it was sure to be tasty.
THE CITY THAT WORKS WAS THE BACKDROP FOR THE 31st annual TASTE OF CHICAGO, touted as the "nation's premier outdoor food festival showcasing the diversity of Chicago's dining community."
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THE ILLINOIS PRISON SYSTEM IS LITERALLY GETTING TOO BIG FOR ITS BRITCHES: the state's prisoners are being forced to wear dirty drawers because of budget woes.
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BY MOST ACCOUNTS, CHICAGO'S WEEKEND GAY PRIDE PARADE WAS A RIOTOUS SUCCESS.
Sure, the haters tried to deflate the party -- both literally and figuratively, when vandals stabbed holes in the tires of 51 floats in the parade. But the diss didn't deter a recordbreaking crowd of 750,000 along North Halsted Street in Chicago's Boystown Sunday.
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YOUTUBE USER DENZLITE UPLOADED THE ABOVE VIDEO JUNE 1 SHOWING THE CROWDS AT CHICAGO'S NORTH AVENUE BEACH ON MEMORIAL DAY.
Though only 24 seconds long, it's clear that the lakefront was bulging with people and activity and bordered on overcrowding.
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MOBS ARE WREAKING HAVOC IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO FOR BOTH OFFICIALS AND THE PUBLIC. And while the word 'flash' frequently prefaces 'mob,' it's unclear if social media are being used to organize the marauders.
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THE STRING THEORY THAT THREADS THROUGH RAHM EMANUEL'S BIOGRAPHY IS THAT the ballet lessons his mother forced upon him as a boy have gifted him with balance and discipline.
Mom may be a genius. Because Emanuel hasn't missed a step as he's danced his way into office as Chicago's new mayor.
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CHICAGO'S BOYSTOWN, A MECCA FOR THE CITY'S LGBT SET, IS COMING OUT NATIONALLY IN A BIG WAY: The northern stretch of Halsted Street is reportedly the site of an upcoming reality show entitled -- what else -- Boystown.
According to ChicagoPride.com, producers from MTV's The Real World and Logo TV's A-List were in town over the weekend searching for "big personalities" to anchor the show.
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RAINBOW PUSH LEADER JESSE JACKSON SR. IS ACCUSED OF DISCRIMINATING AGAINST AND MAKING A SEXUAL OVERTURE TOWARD A FORMER GAY STAFFMEMBER WHO SERVES ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S LGBT Leadership Council.
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WHAT'S LEARNING WITHOUT THE LAB WORK? Dry instruction, of course.
So a Northwestern University professor teaching a human sexuality class brought a live sex act to his classroom.
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HE HAS YET TO TAKE OFFICE BUT RAHM EMANUEL KEPT A CAMPAIGN PROMISE WEDNESDAY: Chicago's mayor-elect donated $5,000 to the favorite charity of his foul-mouthed Twitter impostor.
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THE POLITICAL FIXER WILL HAVE HIS HANDS FULL IN CHICAGO.
Rahm Emanuel inherits a city staggering under a $654 million budget deficit and a $23 billion unfunded city workers' pension, a shrinking population and few obvious options for new tax revenue.
"What comes next is a bunch of ugly," Ralph Martire, executive director of the bipartisan Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, told the Associated Press.
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THE BEAUTY AND CHAOS OF CHICAGO'S SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011 WAS CAPTURED BY CAMERA and shared by residents with the Chicago Tribune which solicited them for "posterity."
By Wednesday night, more than 700 photos had been submitted depicting everything from disaster and fear to delight and forlorn. And they still keep coming.
Here's the best culled from the bunch.
Above, the deliriously joyful Bailey takes flight and the move was shared by, of course, the "Chi Guy." Awesome pic, awesome dog!
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ASHTON KUTCHER IS EXPECTED TO TESTIFY AT THE MURDER TRIAL OF THE SUSPECTED "CHILLER KILLER" SERIAL SLAYER accused of slashing three women to death and attacking another.
In February 2001, Kutcher was dating 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin when she was found stabbed 35 times in her Hollywood apartment. Kutcher, then starring in That 70s Show, was supposed to go on a date with Ellerin the night before she was found. When she did not answer her door, he peered inside and spotted what he thought was a large red wine stain; it was Ellerin's blood.
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WITH NEWSPAPERS INCREASINGLY LOOKING LIKE ANACHRONISTIC LADIES WHO LUNCH, IT SEEMS FITTING THAT THE ONCE DAZZLING GIRL REPORTER BRENDA STARR would exit the newsroom now.
The sexy, siren-haired chronicler, is being forced into retirement next month because Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich, who pens the strip in its current incarnate, is not reupping her contract.
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GROUPON'S STAYING MUM ON REPORTS THAT THE CHICAGO-BASED online coupon company has been snapped up by Google for an estimated $2.5 billion.
"There's been no announcement so everything's been speculation and rumors," Groupon's Julie Mossler said Monday evening. "I don't have anything else to say.
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FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT BOASTED THAT IT WAS HIS "BEST HOUSE."
Built between 1908 and 1912, the Avery Coonley Estate in Riverside, Ill. home "establishing once and for all Frank Lloyd Wright's brilliance in residential design,'' according to realty Baird & Warner's promotional pitch. We'll take them at their word.
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OUT OF A FIELD OF 38,000, ONE MAN TOWERED ABOVE THE REST.
Michel Bach of France, wearing a replica of the Eiffel Tower, raced under blue skies in the 33rd Chicago Marathon Sunday.
Sammy Wanjiru, 23, of Kenya won after running the course in 2 hours, six minutes and 24 seconds. Liliya Shobukhova, 33, of Russia finished first among women finishing it in 2 hours, 20 minutes and 25 seconds.
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ONLINE COUPONER GROUPON JUST GAVE BIRTH TO A DATING SERVICE AND IS CELEBRATING BY GIVING AWAY A COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP.
Actually, that's two $60,000 scholarships per year to users of its online coupon and dating services. Parents who can prove that they used a Groupon on their first date will be eligible to enter a raffle for a $60,000 college scholarship for their spawn.
"Finding love used to be tougher than finding a Waldo in a haystack,'' the website laments. "Now, finding a mate is easy with the Grouspawn Date Assistant, the antidote for the poison of loneliness."
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HUNDREDS OF COOK COUNTY EMPLOYEES WERE EVACUATED FROM CHICAGO'S DALEY CENTER AFTER A BOMB THREAT WAS CALLED INTO 911.
Streets were blocked off as bomb-sniffing dogs and Cook County Sheriff's deputies swept the building, located less than two miles east of Oprah's Harpo Studios.
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HERE'S A SUPERSECRET MESSAGE TO MEXICAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS: TIME TO DITCH JESUS MALVERDE as your savior.
Cook County Sheriff's officers popped two Chicagoland men after a search of their car turned up $19 million in cocaine, 50 kilograms.
Jose Ramirez-Rodriguez and Efrain Rodriguez-Juarez were questioned after deputies spotted them in a car parked the wrong way on the roadside. On the dash was a statue of Jesus Malverde, patron saint of drug traffickers.
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VIRGINIA ARTIST HEATHER MARSHALL'S PAINTINGS ARE part of an exhibit opening tonight at the Linda Warren Gallery in downtown Chicago.
Marshall 's Here And There exhibit displays "her predilection for creating meticulous small-scale works that transform ordinary, every day images into ...jewel-like works of art found in the textured life around her -- in dilapidated buildings and on rusty mailboxes, inside local dime stores or sewing shops, along country roads, and on top of city rooftops," writes the gallery's owners.
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A HEARTBREAKING CASE IN CHICAGO NEWS illustrates the illogic of our country's draconian drug laws.
A 24-year-old mom who tried to surrender custody of her three-year-old son to police instead was charged with possession of a controlled substance and endangering the life and health of a child.
"Can I leave my son here, because I don't want him anymore," Tierra Aldridge allegedly told police when she brought her son to a police station on Chicago's West Side.
Read the full post here.
WE THOUGHT HE'D DIE IN OFFICE.
But the once invincible Richard M. Daley announced Tuesday that he won't seek a seventh term as mayor of Chicago, leaving a sudden power vacuum in city's political machine.
"In the coming days I know there will be some reflecting on my time as mayor," Daley said earlier today at City Hall.
Read the full post here.
THE 67-YEAR-OLD GRANDMA WHO WAS THE LONE HOLDOUT against convicting Rod Blagojevich of trying to sell President Obama's former senate seat was yelled at and belittled by other jurors.
But JoAnn Chiakulas says she's no Blagojevich apologist -- the prosecution just didn't make its case.
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IF AMBITION WERE A CRIME, U.S. ATTORNEY PATRICK FITZGERALD MIGHT BE FACING indictment today. Read the full post here.
The day after being handed what Chicago journalist Carol Marin called a "stunning defeat" in the federal trial against Rod Blagojevich, the U.S. attorney faces scrutiny for the way he managed -- or mismanaged -- the high-profile corruption case.
Check out Welcome To The Circus: Blagojevich's Greatest Show.
Illinois' Depose Celebrity-Wannabe Guv Goes On Trial.
Chicago Conspiracy Theory Alert.
August 18, 2010
THE WILD THINGS WERE IN CHICAGO FRIDAY NIGHT, RESTLESS AND HOWLING AND READY TO DEVOUR their monster mummy, Lady Gaga, who closed the rumpus that was day one of Lollapalooza 2010.
"My name is Lady Gaga," she told the estimated 80,000 fans who packed Grant Park to see her perform.
"I thank you for coming to my show. I didn't used to be brave. In fact I wasn't very brave at all. But you have made me brave, little monsters. So now I'm going to brave for you. Tonight, I want you to free yourself."
And the so party began, with Gah serving up a mini Monster Ball and closing with Bad Romance. And the crazed crowd, filled with Lady Gah lookalikes, ate her up they loved her so. And finally satiated, they stumbled out of the park in a euphoric haze.
The downtown party resumes noon Saturday and plays on eight stages throughout the day with tonight's headlining act Green Day. The festival, now in its 19th year, closes Sunday night with Arcade Fire and Soundgarden playing stages at opposite ends of the park.
Credit for Lady Gaga photo goes to Robert Loerzel at Undergroundbee.com.
HE SPELLS HIS NAME R O D B L A G O J E V I C H AND I doubt there's any Illinois citizen who couldn't tell you that today.
He's the poor man's Bill Clinton, all hugs and smiles and aw-shucks charm without the brilliance.
He may or may not be corrupt -- I'll leave that for 12 jurors deliberating in his federal corruption trial to decide.
But, win or lose, there's no disputing that the deposed Governor of Illinois seems destined for reality TV.
"Hey, you like my suit?," Blagojevich, 53, asks the supportive crowd greeting him outside the federal courthouse in downtown Chicago where he's being tried on 24 charges including extortion conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery conspiracy.
Read the full post here.
Chicago's Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is auctioning off two lots of items collected by a Memphis embalmer who prepared the legendary's King of Rock's body for burial.
Lot 408 includes the eye liner, needle, comb, rubber gloves, aneurysm hooks and other tools used during the embalming of Elvis' bloated body. "All instruments and gloves were used in the preparation of the body of Elvis Presley and are accompanied by an affidavit,'' the online catalog asserts. "The tools were never used again on any other case." And aren't we all glad of that?
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BOMBS EXPLODED IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO OVER the weekend, upending streets and cars and sending pedestrians running for their lives.
Not to worry, just the magic of moviemaking as Michael Bay's Transformers 3 is filmed.
Set crews created elaborate scenes of apocalyptic destruction. The noise from the explosions and gunfire rattled windows at a nearby Corner Bakery; signs posted around the shoot's informed passersby to "not be alarmed." Fans flocked to the scene to be able to get a look at Shia LeBeouf and new young thang Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as they battled invisible robots.
Filming will take place through August 1, according to the Chicago Tribune, which is covering the movie-making closer than a city council meeting.
Read the full post here.
FAUXHEMIANS CONVERGED THIS WEEKEND ON CHICAGO'S WEST SIDE TO immerse themselves in music's alternative sounds.
Pitchfork Music Festival began its three-day run Friday under a scorching sun. The city's showcase for indie music included performances by Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem, Sleigh Bells and the '90s indie fav, Pavement.
Couldn't be there in person? Here are some pics from Flickr that'll let you at least feel the spirit.
Above, Swedish electropop princess Robyn provides some of the festival's most interesting visuals. She performed on the festival's opening night. Above right, Pavement's Scott Kannberg performs.
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SADISTIC FORMER CHICAGO COP JON BURGE'S NO LONGER protected by the word 'accused.'
The retired commander of the city's violent crimes unit was convicted Tuesday of charges related to allegations that he tortured black men in his custody.
"It got to the point where it was him versus everyone else," juror Gary Dollinger, 31, told the press.
Read the full post here.
IN A CITY WHERE GUNS HAVE BEEN BANISHED SINCE 1982, more than 80 people were reported shot in the last 10 days. And more than 200 have been killed so far this year.
That reality underscores the debate at the crux of gun control, which suffered a setback Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court effectively overturned Chicago's stringent handgun ban.
"Politicians are frustrated and they don't think of [the problem] logically," said Don Mastrianni, the owner of Illinois Gun Works, located just outside of Chicago. "They like to spout off about common sense. But where's the common sense when they write these regulations?
"Personally they have good intentions,'' he said.
Read the full post here.
THE FIRECRACKERS, HOOTS AND HOLLERS OF CHICAGO FANS RANG THROUGH the night: The Chicago Blackhawks had claimed the Stanley Cup.
The Hawks took home the Cup after scoring the fourth goal of the night in overtime, beating Philly 4-3 in six games. It was the first time since 1961 that the club had won the trophy.
Team members, some without teeth in place, posed with their No. 1 digits after the game.
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IT'S SHOWTIME FOR BLAGO!
Illinois' impeached governor and celebrity wannabe Rod Blagojevich stars in the role of a lifetime as he tries to persuade a jury and the public that he's innocent of federal corruption charges.
"They're liars, they're liars," said Blago moments after he arrived at the Dirksen U.S. Federal Court House in downtown Chicago Thursday.
His wife Patti, best known in America for eating a bug on TV, said, "My husband is an honest man and I know that he's innocent."
Read the full post here.
PANACHE WALKED THE RUNWAY AT THE NINTH ANNUAL TULIPS & PANSIES: The Headdress Affair which benefits VillageCare, a nonprofit providing healthcare to people living with HIV/AIDs.
Fashions' top designers and New York's "finest" florists cross-polinate for the night to create gorgeous, wacky, and out-of-this-world floral headresses.
"It's big, and it's campy and it's fun," said James Aguiar, said ringleader of ceremonies. "It's the best of what fashion is. It doesn't take itself seriously, and people are here to have a great time. Of course it's for a good cause, but all the jaded front row stuff is gone."
This year the event raised more than $120,000 that will go to providing direct care to AIDS/HIV patients.
Jump for more fanciful gardens grown in the fertile imaginations of New York's designers and florists. Photos are courtesy of Paul Newland of Solvara.com.
Read the full post here.
THIRTY YEARS AFTER TORTURE CHARGES FIRST EMERGED AGAINST HIM, PROSECUTORS WILL FINALLY TRY TO WIPE THE SMILE OFF JOHN BURGE'S FACE.
The former Chicago Police Lt. goes on trial this week in federal court, accused of lying under oath about torturing black suspects in his custody. Jury selection began Monday and resumes today.
Burge was fired from the Chicago force in 1993 after Amnesty International and Chicago activists pressured officials to respond to overwhelming evidence that Burge beat, shocked, suffocated, played Russian roulette and coerced confessions from black men in his custody.
Burge's brutality was documented in a 1994 investigation by producers Peter Kuttner, Cyndi Moran and Eric Scholl.
"Borge said 'It's fun time,"' convicted cop killer Andrew Wilson is quoted saying on the tape.
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MYSTERIOUS STREET ARTIST BANKSY HAS STRUCK IN CHICAGO.
The stencil of a runaway perambulator was first reported on the blog of Maxwell Colette Gallery before being picked up elsewhere in Chitown.
Read the full post here.
GOT INSPIRATION?
For the second year in a row, the Chicago Public Library is holding a poster illustration contest to promote the URL chipublib.org.
Read the full post here.
HE'S BEEN CALLED THE "hookup man," teaching men how to flirt and women how to be "irresistible." But celebrated love Dr. Paul Dobransky isn't all about the catch.
In a recent piece he wrote on his Psychology Today blog, the Chicago psychiatrist makes a compelling case for why a potential mate's curiosity is predictive of the chance of successful long-term love.
Dobransky contents that people who lack curiosity become "dispassionate, stilted lovers" who haven't the interest to inquire about your dreams and desires.
Read the full post here.
JUST A FEW STEPS WEST OF WRIGLEY FIELD, TOM BOYLE TRADES in the flotsam and jetsam of the past.
Boyle, 79, is the owner of the aptly named "Yesterday,'' a tiny yellow shack on Addison Street filled to the brim with collectibles from yesteryear. There's women's magazines dating to the 20s, old issues of Look and Collier's, original movie posters, newspapers documenting momentous events, baseball cards, political buttons and more.
And then sitting casually on the counter is a cardboard box filled hundreds of black and white snapshots of celebrities who, while in their heyday of the 70s, traveled through Chicago. Above is a snap of the incomparable comedic actress Betty White photographed 1977.
The photos are the legacy of photographer Don Fisher, who described himself as part of the "friendly paparazzi.'' When it was offered, Tom snapped up Fisher's entire collection, from which these snaps were culled. One lady came in one day and bought about $500 worth.
Alas, I missed the biggest names and rock stars, but Boyle says he has the negatives somewhere.
Check 'em out. They're great fun.
Read the full post here.
OPENING DAY AT WRIGLEY FIELD IS LIKE A DREAM.
I remember when I was in high school in the Chicago suburbs, one of the kids in my class was the Cubs' bat boy, which just couldn't have been any cooler. I mean, he got to miss school and go to Wrigley Field and hang out with the players.
Every once in a while my dad would let me play hookey and he would take us to Wrigley. Now that was cool.
Then all of a sudden it was 1984 and the Cubs actually had a chance to win the pennant. That was such a high energy year.
Then, don't you know, I got introduced to heartbreak. The Cubs lost. They just couldn't keep it together.
It was the beginning of a trend, and fearing hurt, I kept my distance until the 1998, the "homerun" race year.
A friend of a friend beat up the guy who caught Sammy Sosa's 62nd home run. Sammy broke Roger Maris' record and and this guy kinda broke out a little tap dance on the guy's head.
Read the full post here.
INSIDE A SMALL MEETING ROOM AT CHICAGO'S DRAKE HOTEL, ASTROLOGER SUSAN MILLER is the figurative sun whose gravity pulls rapt attention from about three dozen acolytes.
Ms. Miller, who pens the monthly astrology column for the fashion mag Elle as well as her famously popular website Astrologyzone.com, is in town to give the year's forecast to well-heeled stargazers who each pay $225 for the privilege. [As an ersatz member of press, I succeed at crashing the party for the price of lunch and coffee --$70.]
And, just like the sun, Ms. Miller is a mass of energy throwing light from the center of the room. Petite and raven-haired, she wears a simple navy dress, black sweater and eye-catching blue rhinestone necklace by Coach. And when she talks, which she does in a melodic rat-a-tat-tat, she punctuates her sentences with laughter.
On this day, Sunday, March 21st, she begins her seminar by reminding those in attendance that "astrology is not destiny" but that "astrology helps you, it helps you so much."
Read the full post here.
ESQUIRE delivers a premature obituary on Roger Ebert, one of journalism's foremost film critics.
Cancer has taken away his jaw and his ability to speak, but he remains a persistent force in criticism as he continues to write.
The mag's piece is a lovely if slightly overwrought look at the man and the legend. Ebert was the first journalist to earn the Pulitzer Prize for film criticism. As a writer myself, I can only dare to achieve the kind of status or loyalty that Ebert has won with his insightful writing. But this isn't about me.
Read the full post here.
DID LADY GAGA CANCEL HER THURSDAY NIGHT INDIANA CONCERT TO PREP FOR HER FRIDAY MORNING PERFORMANCE AT OPRAH'S SHOP?
The Lafayette Journal & Courier reported last night that Lady Gaga cancelled her concert at Purdue University's Elliot Hall Of Music.
The paper reported that "before the announcement, at least two EMTs were confirmed to be backstage by Elliott Hall staff. One unconfirmed rumor was that the performer had passed out."
But officials at three hospitals in Lafayette, Ind., said that neither Lady Gaga nor a Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta were treated at their facilities. And an employee at one hospital said, "The rumor was false. When we contacted police, they said she left Lafayette in a private vehicle."
Gags is skedded to visit Oprah's Chicago studio -- figuratively up the road about 108 miles --for a 9am taping.
Read the full post here.
SO IT'S OFFICIAL: THE IDEA OF BEING FILLED UP "WITH THAT GOOEY SAP YOU FEEL LATE AT NIGHT" RESONATES WITH INCOMING COLLEGE FRESHMEN.
Just weeks after catching the media spotlight for sending out a sexually suggestive admissions essay as an example to applicants, the University of Chicago is reporting a whopping 42 percent increase in applications for next fall.
While news reports attribute the jump to "everything from more far-flung outreach to publicity that comes with having President Barack Obama as a former faculty member," we're giving the credit to the new Admissions Dean James G. Nondorf for finding students' G spot.
In December, the school's admissions department sent out to prospective students an essay by someone named "Rohan" who took the approach of wooing an elusive love interest.
"Dear University of Chicago, It fills me up with that gooey sap you feel late at night when I think about things that are really special to me about you," the essay opened.
"Tell me, was I just one in a line of many? Was I just another supple 'applicant' to you, looking for a place to live, looking for someone to teach me the ways of the world?'
The New York Times and the website Gawker reported on parents and students' reactions to the essay found at College Confidential.
YOU REMEMBER THOSE HOKEY CHRISTMAS BAZAARS YOU ATTENDED AS A KID?
All that bric-a-brac made by the church ladies, those homemade baked goodies, the kitschy Christmas ornaments. God, I miss them.
But I found another way to get my fix for handcrafted gifts while supporting the arts: The Renegade Holiday Craft Fair in Chicago.
This year's event happens next Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5th & 6th, at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse in Wicker Park and comes one week after a similar "hippy-hipster wet dream."
Stop by and check out the creations of more than 150 artisans. Admission is free. And if you spend your hardearned dollars, you'll feel good about them going to real artisans rather than the inevitable Chinese factory workers making pennies from the profits!
Go Renegade!
NOTHING LEFT BUT THE RACKS AT KIDDIELAND now that all the rides have been auctioned away.
Bumper cars: $17,000…SOLD!
Little Dipper rollercoaster: $33,000… SOLD!
The Carousel: $355,000…SOLD!
Read the full post here.
CHICAGO SPORTS FANS SUFFERED ANOTHER BLOW SUNDAY WHEN the Chicago Cubs closed its disappointing season with a 5-2 loss against the Arizona Diamondbacks. And the sign discarded outside the field's northeast entrance summed up one fan's dismay: "Watching the Cubs Blow Another Season…Worthless."
If misery loves company, residents mourning the city's failed bid of the 2016 Summer Olympics could find solace among Cub fans. The team ended its season with an 83-78 record, down from 97-64 last year, according to the Associated Press.
The franchise has been up for sale since 2007 by the Tribune Co., which filed for bankruptcy last year.
Last Thursday, a judge approved sale of the team and its "storied" Wrigley Field to the family of billionaire Joe Ricketts for $845 million. That sale price breaks the $660 million record set by the 2002 sale of the Boston Red Sox, the AP reported.
Two years is a long time to wait for leadership, and perhaps the pending sale contributed to the team's slump.
But let's not kid ourselves: next year when the ground is wet and the tulips are blooming, Cub fans will trek enmasse to the ballpark decked out in red, white and blue.
Because real Cubbie fans don't care about them winning or losing. They love their team in the same way that a mother loves its ugly baby: warts, burps, farts and all.
SPECULATING WHY CHICAGO LOST ITS OLYMPIC BID WAS THE DOMINANT SPORT FRIDAY, but it's too soon to know the real reasons.
Theories range from racism, anti-Americanism, the IOC's testy relationship with the United States Olympic Committee, the hubrus of Chicago's Gang of Three, the "savagery" of a Chicago student's murder, to Rio's superior campaign.
All sound plausible but I'll wait for the first-hand reports.
What's more obvious is the joy that a presumed 47 percent of Chicagoans get from the defeat.
"Greed denied. Hubris deflated. I'm glad we lost,'' Chuck K. writes at Chicagobusiness.com. "It brought us down a few notches and made us realize the world looks a lot differently at us than we perceive ourselves. I for one am sick of well-connected insiders in Chicago who profit at the expense of Cook County taxpayers."
The divide has embroiled Chicago web comment boards, with pro Olympic supporters dissing the anti as "negative nabobs." Some even suggested that opponents were really circumcision-obsessed anti-Obamaites, a logic that at least to my mind FAILS.
Even before the vote, WGN's Garry Meier on Thursday accurately connected the venom to Daley backlash. Finally, voters are outraged at Daley's costly clout, strong-armed tactics, and shady deals that enrich friends and political supporters.
"Do you not know that Chicago is not a democracy,'' wrote ejhickey at the Chicago Tribune. "Here power is handed from father to son. The closest model is North Korea."
Read the full post here.
A CROWD PACKED THE MUSIC BOX IN CHICAGO TUESDAY NIGHT FOR A SNEAK PREVIEW OF SPIKE JONZE'S HOTLY ANTICIPATED NEW MOVIE, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.
Audience members laughed, they sighed, they applauded wildly -- and that was all before watching the film.
That's because the special showing was a fundraiser for 826 Chicago, a literacy nonprofit founded by wonderboy Dave Eggers, who was there in person to thank supporters. Last year alone, 826 provided free tutoring, writing programs to more than 4,300 Chicago public school students.
"It means a lot at this juncture when we can use every penny," said Eggers, author of the New York Times' bestseller, A Hearbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius. He said the event raised enough to pay a year's rent for the building 826-Chi rents at 1331 N. Milkwaukee Avenue.
Eggers, who co-wrote the movie's script with director Jonze, also brought along a small surprise: Max Records, the Portland, Ore. boy who plays the naughty Max in the adaptation of Maurice Sendack's perfect children's book. 
Before the movie, the real Max and Eggers bantered back and forth on stage, with Eggers revealing a list of indignities (sprained ankle, nausea, dog bites, seasickness, snowball in eye, near suffocation by Wild Things, sand in iPod) the young actor endured while filming in Australia.
And there was time for a short Q & A. When asked if he was familiar with Sendack's picture book, Records said that he "was probably obsessed with it until the age of four.'' And when someone asked if he expected to continue acting, he deadpanned, "It depends on the project. If the right thing comes along." The crowd erupted in laughter.
Then it was time to see the movie, smartly written by Eggers and Jonze, and a cinematic wonder to behold.
"I like the way you destroy stuff,'' one monster tells Max after one wild romp on their island. "There's a spark to your technique." As the collective motley crew considers eating Max, another says, "I hope you don't taste as selfish as you look."
Records' creative Max winsomely captures the freedom, confusion and pain of being a tween.
Read the full post here.
THE DEATH OF CHICAGO TEEN DERRION ALBERT COULD NOT COME AT A MORE INOPPORTUNE TIME FOR MAYOR DALEY AND CRONIES WHO ARE OFF TO COPENHAGEN TO BRING THE 2016 OLYMPICS TO THE CITY.
That sounds cold, doesn't it? It's also the truth.
Violence among the Chicago's high schoolers has become a constant in Chicago's media. But you can read headlines all day long and still not be aggrieved in the same way that witnessing a murder on tape will unsettle you.
Derrion Albert was the sixth Chicago child to die in three weeks. There's been a lot of din on Chicago chat boards about the horror of showing this video, how rude and exploitive it is. Yet none of last school year's 36 murders of Chicago students has brought the calvary like this one.
"This isn't the first time a child has gotten killed around here, but this is the first time all of these people have come out," Marquita McAlister told a Chicago columnist.
Read the full post here.
I SMELL PRODUCTION! AND PREDICT ORGASMIC JOY throughout Chicago's ruling class when the official word comes down that the city has won the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Signs are suggesting that the ruler of the Western world and the Queen of all media will rendevous in Copenhagen this week. And bookies are favoring Chicago to wins the games.
The White House confirms that the President's advanced ''security'' team traveled to Denmark just about the same time that news leaked that Oprah would make the trek.
Yes, yes, we know that Mayor Daley's fingernails have been chewed down to the nubs while awaiting news of whether the games would be awarded to his fiefdom. But this is also what's known as a 'tease,' the 'cliffhanger.' And when the U.S. chief lobbyist shows up in Copenhagen to get the good word, that will be the shocking 'reveal.' It's a common tactic in daytime and reality TV.
Read the full post here.
IT COULD BE ME, BUT DOESN'T 24 YEARS SEEM AN ODD NUMBER TO GO GANGBUSTERS OVER?
Doesn't 25 make more sense? To shut down a third of a mile on one of Chicago's main downtown traffic arteries? For nearly three full days? For Oprah to throw her season opener?
On the heels of a political debacle caused by Mayor Richie Rich selling the city's parking meters to a private company that quadrupled rates and issued tickets upon receiving the keys to the city?
Unless perhaps year 25 was being reserved for something even bigger, like a going away party?
But it would make sense if there was some sort of deadline looming, wouldn't it?
Put it in context of the date -- a month before the International Olympics Committee votes on which city will host the 2016 Olympics, and the timing makes sense. 
According to GameBids.com, IOC members will make that decision on October 2nd in Copenhagen.
Think of Oprah's party as an additional primer on Chicago for the IOC, which is set to release today its evaluation report on the bidding cities: Tokyo, Madrid, Rio de Janiero and Chicago. Another chance to show off to the world the people passion in this gleaming city of steel.
Read the full post here.
HERE'S AN ANIMATED SHORT ABOUT FAT CATS AND THEIR RULE OVER MICE posted on YouTube's ProperTidy channel.
According to ProperTidy, this short was shown at the "Committee for a Workers' International Summer School 2009 as an amusing tool to motivate a renewed fight for "mass workers parties" in Europe.
The film was made by the Canadian New Democratic Party (NDP) and is based on a speech by Tommy Douglas, a NDP founder.
But the short just as easily applies to Washington's political reality where Republicans and Democrats vie over how to spend trillions borrowed from China.
A couple of truisms, at least to my mind: just like fame, the act of winning election is a corrupting influence: once you're in the club the perks multiply and the rules are flouted.
Read the full post here.
SOME REGARD IT AS ONE OF THE "MOST ILL-CONCEIVED" PUBLICTY STUNTS EVER. WE THINK OTHERWISE.
A POPULAR DJ, dumped recently from a radio station that changed its format, concocts a Disco Demolition Night stunt at Chicago's Comiskey Park.
The lure: 98 cents entree into a White Sox vs. Detroit Tigers doublehitter. The plan: to blow up disco records in the outfield between the night's two games. The catch: fans have to bring a record to add to the pile of vinyl targeted for destruction.
The result? Bedlam as thousands of disco haters-cum-baseball fans eventually charge the field.
The payoff? A piece of pop culture history in the annals of baseball and radio.
According to the Chicago Reader, the pile of vinyl at ground zero measured six feet wide and stood five feet tall. And when the explosion pops, thousands of fan chanting Disco sucks! rushed the field.
"The massive blast sends records shooting 200 feet in the air,"' according to the Reader.
"...Kids begin trickling onto the field.. No -- they're coming by the hundreds…the thousands. They're running the bases, literally stealing the bases, stealing bats, toppling batting cages, and dancing in circles around the faming vinyl shards."
Sox announcer Harray Caray barks, "Holy Cow!" and orders the crowd back to their seats. But it was more fun dissing disco than rooting for a losing team.
Eventually, riot police clear the field as the crowd sings, Na Na Na Na, Nan Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Good Bye! The second game is cancelled.
Thirty years later, DJ Steve Dahl still plies his trade in Chicago, now selling Disco Sucks T-shirts on his radio show's website.
Thirty years is a long time for a publicity stunt to pay off. I'd say that means the original shock jock is a marketing genius.
ROCKY PATERRA, 17, OF PITTSBURGH, ARRIVED IN CHICAGO SATURDAY HOPING THAT HIS THIRD TIME AUDITIONING FOR American Idol is the charm.
Paterra, accompanied by his mom and two friends, left home at 6:30 am and drove 450 miles to compete against thousands in Monday's Idol auditions at the United Center in Chicago's West Loop. "I heard it was crazy," said a security guard sweating under the hot afternoon sun outside the United Center.
Registration is open 24 hours until 5 a.m. Monday when contestants begin arriving for auditions. Many registrants were exclaiming their excitement on American Idol's comment board.
Paterra, an Upper St. Clair High School senior who soloed with composer Marvin Hamlisch as a child, hopes to break through to the second round of auditions this year. Last year he tried out at New Jersey's Meadowlands auditions, where he was asked to sing three times.
"He called another guy over to listen to me," Rocky recalled of the producer. The two exchanged whispers, then Rocky was summarily dismissed. "It was not a good moment,'' he said, confessing that it hurt to watch the last Idol auditions .
This year is different, he said.
Read the full post here.
IT'S FOUR DEGREES OF SEPARATION THAT WHISKS ME BACKSTAGE AT A PETER, BJORN & JOHN CONCERT in Chicago. It's the second time I'm seeing the SWEDISH trio live and it's hard to believe it's the same band dismissed by Entertainment Weekly as "shamelessy earnest adorable."
The Peter, Bjorn & John rocking at
Metro is more punk than the "pure featherweight, percussion-driven synth-pop" that Leah Greenblatt portrays in her March review. 
As the Stockholm trio ratchets up the noise, particularly on the band's newest single Nothing To Worry About, "indie rock" is much more dominant than the "pop" tag.
"Live, we do rock out,'' said Peter Morén, 34, lead singer and guitarist for the Stockholm-based trio shortly after performing in the band's fourth gig on a 12-city tour around America. "But the records are more pop than the live shows."
Read the full post here.
IT'S OPENING DAY AT WRIGLEY FIELD AND I'M ALREADY getting a headache just thinking about it.
It hurts to be the spoil sport, but, ahem, no else seems willing to step up to the plate. So it be must said again: Along with the majority of respectful, ever-hopeful Chicago Cubs fans who flock to Wrigley Field each year comes a noisy minority that invariably gets drunk, pulls bushes from the ground, pees in alleys, breaks tree limbs, leaves their empties and their dirty diapers and their vomit on the sidewalks.
Read the full post here.
WHEN I FIRST HEARD ABOUT FILBERT'S, a soda factory in Chicago that has been making and bottling its own soda pop since 1927, I was curious.
When I traveled to the non-descript building at 3430 S. Ashland in the city's Bridgeport neighborhood, I knew I found something special.
When I walked up the worn stairs through the barn-style doors, I fell in love.
I can't put my finger on what exactly makes Filbert's so charming. It might be the friendly employees, or the welcoming feeling that only a building with so much history can have. When I walked in I was met by Ron Filbert, whose grandfather started the business over 80 years ago, and the smell of their famous root beer.
Ron introduced me to Dennis Antkowiak, one of Filbert's three employees. Dennis has worked for the Filbert's family for nearly 40 years. He's a lot like the machinery that has been used in the bottling process since the 1920s; an important part of what makes Filbert's so special. Dennis opened up a bottle of root beer for me to enjoy while he shared his stories and explained the history of a business that is one of the only of its kind left.
The bottling company famous for its root beer has been using the same recipe for more than eight decades. The company now produces a total of 18 pop flavors, and distributes to about 300 small shops and restaurants in the Chicagoland area.
Read the full post here.
TEN YEARS AGO I MOVED TO CHICAGO LOOKING FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE IN THE BIG CITY.
A decade later, I can tick off my fingers the reasons why the city made Forbes' 2009 list of most miserable places to live.
So far this year, the weather has been brutal, sales taxes became the highest in the nation, and unemployment is 7.6%, the highest monthly rate since June 1993.
Forbes rated the top 150 U.S. metropolitan areas in nine categories including commute times, unemployment, violent crime and weather.
And just in time for the Blagojevich Chronicles, Forbes added a "corruption" category, propelling Chicago to 3rd on the list, up from its ranking of 6th last year.
"Lousy weather, long commutes, rising unemployment and the highest sales tax rate in the country are to blame for the Windy City being near the top of our list," the magazine reported. "High rates of corruption by public officials didn't help either."
I'm the living proof of the statistics.
Read the full post here.
By Jason Wilfong 
I MOVED TO CHICAGO LAST SUMMER, and it has been rough-going since I arrived. I wrapped up a divorce, and I have been laid off twice. But there are things and people in my life that I am thankful for: In no particular order, these are:
1. My divorce. People get married hoping to find “the one” and to live happily ever after, but the sad truth is that there are couples who just don’t belong together.
Read the full story here.
Jason Wilfong of Chicago, believes he has unrecognized genius. He also loves sports, comic books and good music. You can reach him via email.
THERE WAS LOTS OF HYPE TO LURE ME TO LOLLAPALOOZA THIS YEAR.
Was Barack Obama really going 
to introduce Wilco? (No.) Would Rage Against The Machine incite a riot in the sweltering Grant Park? (Almost.) But only one band inspired me to fork over my money to Perry Farrell and his corporate sponsors: Radiohead.
The British art-rockers -- a decade past their commercial prime -- was the main draw on the first day of Lollapalooza, capturing Friday night's headline spot.
Of course, there were other acts playing that day as well. I had planned on arriving around 5 p.m. to catch some of Cat Power's set, but a slow ride on Chicago's Blue Line and only one entrance into the festival stole that chance. Once in, I opted to catch Grizzly Bear, which proved good judgment. In addition to crowd favorites like “On A Neck, On A Spit,” and “Knife,” the band cranked out four new songs (including “Two Weeks,” performed on David Letterman a few weeks ago) that sounded fantastic. I can't wait for their new record, which is going to blow minds.
I followed up Grizzly Bear with Bloc Party, in part to secure my spot when Radiohead emerged afterward. Clad in an ObamaT, bright red shorts, and vintage Nikes, frontman Kele Okereke stirred up the massive crowd with standbys like “This Modern Love,” “Like Eating Glass,” and “Positive Tension,” as well as newer songs from 2007's A Weekend In The City, including “Song For Clay (Disappear Here)” and “The Prayer.” They were good, but it was clear that everyone was biding time for Radiohead.
Then, at precisely 8 p.m., the two jumbotrons mounted on each side of the stage flickered with rainbow-colored lights, blips and bleeps echoed out of the speakers, and five rockers dubbed Radiohead dashed onstage to thunderous applause.
Opening with “15 Step,” the first track from 2007's pay-what-you-want album, In Rainbows, Thom Yorke's stunning falsetto cut through the evening's steamy air. Next, the familiar distorted intro to “Airbag” rang through the park, followed by “There There,” and a handful of tracks from In Rainbows. The playlist ranged their entire discography, save for Pablo Honey, that is. Perhaps the best moment of their entire set came during “Everything In Its Right Place,” when fireworks erupted from nearby Soldier Field that synced up perfectly with the guitar distortion in “Fake Plastic Trees.” It was, no joke, a great climax to a satisfying romp.
Lollapalooza wrapped up Sunday night in Chicago. You can check out more coverage of the festival here.
Anna Apocalypse, who blogs at Pop Apocalypse, will comment periodically at CrabbyGolightly on music.
ALL THE COOL KIDDIES AND WANNABES OF CHICAGO ARE HANGING OUT THIS WEEKEND AT THE PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL, A THREE-DAY ALTERNATIVE MUSIC EXTRAVAGANZA AT THE CITY'S UNION PARK.
By sheer good fortune, Crabby found herself hanging on opening night, where she expected to cut out early after she cruised the crowd, drank a root beer and perused the goodies at the craft tables.
But then Public Enemy took the stage, and Crabby pinched her way to the middle of the crowd where she could partake in the 20th anniversary celebration of PE's widely acclaimed album It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back, regularly ranked among the best albums ever recorded. That spot was evident on Friday night as the product seemed fresh picked from the hood, no expiration date evident. Twenty years late, Crabby's gonna have to buy the CD.
Chuck D and Flava Flav, wearing his trademark oversized wall clock (which Crabby swears she saw last week at Target) promised to rock until organizers pulled the plug, performing 45 minutes past the closing time and ignoring 'flashes' tipping them that it was time to end the show.
Yet the group's clearly provocative lyrics -- along with some political verbal bombs thrown in for good measure -- ("Fuck George Bush!" was a recurring theme; and maybe I'm imaging things, but I could swear there was some allusion to Obama as the "coming Messiah." ) seemed to have lost the power that they surely had two decades ago. In the interim, Public Enemy's become a well-packaged product that's easily sellable to the largely white appreciative crowd populating Pitchfork. I guess that means we've come a long way, huh?
Pitchfork continues threw Sunday night with performances by Animal Collective, The Hold Steady, Dinosaur Jr., Spoon, and Cut Copy among others. Tixs are sold out but of course there are those to be had through scalpers. You can catch some of the performances through the festival's live feed here.
The result is seven drop-in tutor centers dotting the U.S. that bring joy to both those who give and take inside their doors. The Chicago center is, ho hum, tucked behind the The Boring Store, (big yawn!) in the city's ultrahip and urbanest neighborhood, Wicker Park. Last month, the center held a "prom" to raise money for the nonprofit tutoring center. Check out Sarah J's photos on Flickr. Then sob with joy upon realizing you have found your true peer group. Once that's out of your system, sign up to volunteer!
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