CHICAGO CARLESS

(Photo: The former Millennium Park Martians go national. Credit: Looper.)

It’s official. I’m no longer the only half of this relationship who’s made it into the New York Times. Today, an article appears in the Times’ National section covering the Crown Fountain security camera debacle from earlier this month (A Tempest When Art Becomes Surveillance). Quoted in the article, mentioned (oh my) three times, and given props for getting the cameras down: my boyfriend, Devyn Caldwell, whom many of you know as Chicago’s tireless downtown photoblogger, Looper.

[Read more →]

(Photo: That’s the last time we let grandma park the car. Credit: Looper’s flickr photostream.)

…It looks like this. In October 2006, Allstate Insurance filmed a TV commercial in and around Marina City. Based on the famous car-chase scene from the 1980 action film, The Hunter, Allstate recreated the famous fall of an automobile off one of Marina City’s 18-story parking decks and into the Chicago River, below.

[Read more →]

(Photo: Does this look like a landmark to you? If you’re a Marina City condo board member, better keep that answer to yourself. Credit: Looper’s flickr photostream.)

The Marina Towers Condominium Association signed a little-known but publicly available legal agreement in 2003 promising never to seek or support landmark status for Marina City.

Who knew?

[Read more →]

Ah, the power of the blogosphere. As of 11:00 a.m. this morning, the City of Chicago has removed the security cameras (Trib follow-up article) from the top of Millennium Park’s Crown Fountain. And let me just say, WOO-HOO!

[Read more →]

(Photo: The City of Chicago has architecturally defaced Millennium Park’s Crown Fountain in the name of homeland security. What do you think about that? Credit: Looper.)

Our photoblogging walks just keep paying off. Last August, my walk through the new Macy’s on State Street with a camera and resulting blogpost led to the citywide scandal over Macy’s inventing street names on its store signage.

[Read more →]

(Photo: Take me to your leader…and tell him to get this thing off of my head. Credit: Looper.)

There are many good places to put security cameras in Chicago’s architecturally brilliant Millennium Park. Smack on top of Jaume Plensa’s hyper-popular Crown Fountain is not one of those places.

[Read more →]

(Photo: We bloggers aren’t always this full of hot air, I swear–Chicago’s 2006 Thanksgiving Day Parade from Devyn’s front door. Credit: Looper’s flickr photostream.)

I owe a healthy debt of gratitude to Howard Dean. It was through his 2004 presidential campaign that Internet outreach finally grew up from its netroots origins, maturing into a respected–and highly sought after–aspect of contemporary media relations.

[Read more →]