In the grand scheme of things, September 11th is just a day. Yet a day can capture eternity. The days since my 40th birthday have been among the most amazing of my life. I’m finally honoring the past to move forward. And I can’t think of a better time to mark the turning point in my journey.
Yearning for the return of bygone glory days in a universe that’s ever-changing is a great way to lose forward momentum. Yet, I can’t help but ponder the first day of the last decade as I resolve myself to go a bit more gently into this one.
As a parting shot to Christmas, freelance communications consultant Steve Tanner and wife Amy take a look at this year’s Macy’s State Street holiday windows. Even though Steve’s an avowed ‘Macy’s hater’, the Tanners find a few things to like in a window display at least better than last year’s illuminated vacuum-cleaner hoses.
Ever wonder why NORAD tracks the whereabouts of Santa Claus every Christmas Eve? Turns out the internationally popular North American Aerospace Defense Command holiday tradition got started simply because of a careless cold war-era typo.
ChicagoNow Dirt on Green blogger Mark Boyer asked today whether environmental consequences matter when choosing a Christmas tree. We may kill the environment by choosing PVC-laden artificial trees instead of real ones. But my primary Christmas concern has always been whether my annual tree is so tall that it might kill me.
On Friday, my Lido’s Caffé coffee klatsch buddies (and more) went on a holiday foray to see the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights. Every year they say the lights will be better than last year. This December, though, the claim’s finally true–the new zoo lights festival was particularly stunning. This video, however, is less about Christmas lights and more about Christmas hams.
Chicago Carless and Chicagosphere are both happy to be co-sponsors of tonight’s Chicago Ugly Christmas Sweater Party, benefiting the Greater Chicago Food Depository and organized by Brad Flora, editor & publisher of the Windy Citizen.
So my big bugbear question of the week is to ask why Chicago media–both straight and gay–who so clearly love to go on and on about heteros taking their clothes off and gay men dressing up as women, have no clue what to do when the ones showing skin up on stage are queer.
This week, Windy Citizen editor & publisher Brad Flora (@bradflora) had a great idea–ask a group of local bloggers to throw their names behind a community Christmas party for our readers. It’s an all-inclusive community holiday meetup–and if you’re reading this post, you’re invited!