Date archive for January, 2009

  • BREAKING: Ron Huberman Finally Comes Out of the Closet

    As all of Boystown–and all of Chicago media, for that matter–already knows, former Chicago Transit Authority President Ron Huberman is a proud gay man. Today, however, for the first time, that fact was reported in citywide media.

  • Transit Riders Still Second-Class in Second City

    A world city rises and falls on the strength of its public transit, no matter what Mayor Daley says. World city leaders know this through and through. So why doesn’t Daley?

  • The Perils of Domestic Bliss Come to a Climax

    When you’re a gay man in your late thirties, gone are the days of bashful flirting, banshee sex, and breathless waits for him to call. In their place, the gnawing feeling that you’ll soon resort to calling men at random out of the phone book, yelling into the receiver, ‘You suck!’ One by one by one.

  • Why Daley Is Wrong to Move Huberman

    This week, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley made his most uninformed, misguided decision in recent memory by deciding to pull Chicago Transit Authority President Ron Huberman out of the post and install him as the CEO of Chicago Public Schools.

  • How to Lose All Credibility in Media the Blagojevich Way

    If you want to succeed in American politics these days, there are three rules you should probably never break: don’t disappoint Oprah; don’t pick a podunk running mate; and don’t screw the news media. Someone should tell that to official Illinois state idiot, Rod Blagojevich.

  • Who Stole the ‘L’ Stop at Washington/State?

    It may be the biggest heist in Chicago history, folks, and it’s right under our noses. Or our feet, anyway. One look at this year’s new Chicago Transit Authority map uncovers the dastardly deed: someone has stolen the Washington/State Red Line station.

  • Web 2.0 at the White House

    Yesterday, while I was engrossed along with the rest of the planet in the historic inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama, I was stopped in my tracks by a visit to the White House homepage. It’s nifty, new, and finally Web 2.0.

  • Food Beat: Sun Wah Beijing Duck, Bank-Busting Marc Burger

    If it’s any day ending in ‘-day’, you know I’m still eating. This weekend on my Gaper’s Block Drive-Thru foodie byline, the love is as crispy as it is juicy. Browse through to Chicago’s favorite, home-grown group blog and read all about it…

  • A Miniature Chicago for a Tabloid Tribune

    I find the Chicago Tribune’s new, smaller size inspiring. I can think of any number of things that would benefit from a likewise miniaturization…

  • It’s 10 O’Clock, Do You Know Who Your City Is?

    This week I took a look at the official visitors websites of my two favorites Midwestern cities: my adopted hometown of Chicago (ChooseChicago); and Ohio’s Queen City, Cincinnati (CincinnatiUSA). In doing so, I found that size is no predictor of marketing ability. Both visitors websites fall flat in the storytelling department, among a host of other faults.