Category archive for ‘Chicagoans’ 
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Back to Back of the Yards
‘My earliest memory (or so I have been told) is being two years old year old and not so ceremoniously introduced to my new Lithuanian toddler neighbor in a sandbox. She began yammering at me in baby Lithuanian. I responded in baby English. We seemed to understand each other just fine. That’s life for you, on the southwest side of Chicago.’ — Rich Murray
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Gordon & Max Bike the Drive
Here’s a guest post from Gordon Mayer, vice-president of Chicago’s Community Media Workshop. Gordon and his son Max participated in the early morning Bike the Drive cycling event on Lake Shore Drive. Here’s their story.
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Jasmine Takes the Bus
Here’s a guest post from local Chicago blogger, Jasmine Davila. She always takes the bus–and tells it like it is about the interesting people you find on board in Chicago.
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Story and Legend
Last night during the 2008 Studs Terkel Awards at the Chicago Cultural Center, one of the winners, Sylvia Rivera, the general manager of bilingual public radio station Radio Arte, shared this comment from the stage: ‘You write the story of your life. You create your own legend.’ In two sentences, Rivera described my dilemma.
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What Is a Chicagoan?
Lately I’ve been wondering about my place in the world. Maybe it’s the New Yorker in me that keeps bringing that question up. New York has long history of considering itself the center of the universe. Take a New Yorker out of Gotham and he’s bound to feel disoriented.
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Meeting Ron Huberman
Saturday morning, I was honored to be included in CTA Tattler’s invitation-only meeting with CTA President Ron Huberman–and met a couple of local transit heroes, as well.
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Sole Man
The Friday evening IM was as unexpected as it was emphatic. Fifteen hours til Donn’s movers were coming, and he wasn’t done boxing yet. Good thing he was only moving next door. They say you learn a lot about a person when you help them move. Mostly, things you never expected to find out.
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Vince Vaughn Closes Access to Loop in 8-Degree Weather
Just how far is the City of Chicago willing to sell itself out to movie filming? A closed street here and there to accommodate a movie shoot is one thing. Allowing a studio to close almost every single bridge between the Loop and the Near North Side on a Friday evening is something else entirely. Thanks, Mayor Daley–and Vince Vaughn, too.
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Whither the Weather Drama King
Popular local blog Chicagoist has decided to assess local meteorologists by comparing forecasts with the weather that actually comes to pass. I wonder how that’s going to work out for Tom Skilling, Chicago’s co-most popular (along with Jerry Taft)–but always overly dramatic–weatherman.
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“Riverace” on the Web
You’ve seen him, dressing in shiny, neon-colored suits and spinning around and waving at tour boats all summer long from Chicago River bridges. He’s Vincent P. Falk, but boat crews call him ‘Riverace’ (rhymes with Liberace,) and he’s a summer fixture in downtown Chicago.
