How many lawsuits is Eddie Lampert party to?
Two made the news this week. First, Lampert has sued Sears (which he owns) for not conveying property that his investment firm bought from the doomed retailer:Lampert's Transform is accusing the Sears...
View ArticleWeed did it, Illinois edition
The Illinois legislature has passed a bill legalizing small amounts of recreational marijuana and directing the governor to pardon thousands of low-level drug offenders:Illinois is poised to be the...
View ArticleRandy Rainbow in Chicago
If you haven't discovered Randy Rainbow, here you go:He was in Chicago last night, at Thalia Hall in Pilsen, and I got a chance to hear him live. And today, he's on the cover of the Washington Post...
View ArticleWelcome home, Attila
The former owner of Chicago restaurant Embeya has returned to the city to face charges he misappropriated $300,000 of the restaurant's money:Attila Gyulai hasn’t been seen in Chicago since traveling...
View ArticleEpic trolling, or actually that dumb?
Tucker Carlson last night spent a full 90 seconds ranting against the "yoke of tyranny" called the "metric system:"Fox News host Tucker Carlson railed against the metric system of measurement in his...
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Free concert tomorrow
I'm participating tomorrow in a concert at St John Cantius church in the River West neighborhood. The concert, sponsored by the French consulate, will raise money for the repairs to Notre Dame de...
View ArticleWhere are the ribs?
No, I haven't forgotten about my favorite food festival of the year. For the last 10 years, Ribfest has been the second weekend of June. This year it's the third weekend of June. I've no idea why.Next...
View ArticleFarmers just starting to plant in water-logged Illinois
Climate change has arrived with a splash in Illinois. Unusual rainfall combined with bad timing on this past winter's freeze-thaw cycle means we may not have much of a soybean crop this year:The soggy...
View ArticleThe mechanical voids that make billionaires' erections bigger
Developers have learned to game New York City's zoning laws to construct buildings far larger than the plain meaning of those laws should allow:Now, in a Second Gilded Age with magnates looking to park...
View ArticleÜber alles
What could possibly go wrong with inviting every Über driver in Chicago to one party?Monday evening, John Morrison saw a convoy of cars with Uber stickers taking over Lake Shore Drive near Hyde Park,...
View ArticleMH370: Epitaph
William Langewiesche, a pilot and journalist, has examined some of the worst air disasters in modern history. I read Fly By Wire in an hour and a half. His reporting on the demolition of the World...
View ArticleThe evolution of puppy-dog eyes
No, literally:You know that face your dog makes, the one that’s a little bit quizzical, maybe a bit sad, a bit anticipatory, with the eyebrows slanted? Sometimes you think it says, “Don’t be sad. I can...
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Lake still rising; daily record set
Lakes Michigan and Huron (hydrologically one lake) are on course to have record water levels this month:After late snowstorms and record-setting rainfall this spring, Lake Michigan’s water levels are...
View ArticleThe Laffer-stock of real economists
In a move one can bet the President Trump himself doesn't really understand, he will later today confer the Presidential Medal of Freedom—our nation's highest civilian honor—on fraudeconomist Art...
View ArticleRethinking the surveillance society
Via Bruce Schneier, San Francisco-based "computer guy" Maciej Cegłowski put up a cogent, clear blog post last week showing how we might better regulate privacy:Until recently, ambient privacy was a...
View ArticleFundamental self-parody
A religious group has petitioned Netflix to cancel Amazon Prime's miniseriesGood Omens:The six-part series was released last month, starring David Tennant as the demon Crowley and Michael Sheen as the...
View ArticleWaPo finds inequality on the Chicago River
The North and South branches of the river have distinct personalities:Multiple canoe and kayak rental outfitters operate from the river’s north branch, downtown and in Chinatown, just south of...
View ArticleWhat about that new park in Atlanta?
I have a dilemma.Under the rules I set up for the 30-Park Geas back in 2008, if a park got torn down before I completed the Geas, I would have to go to the replacement park in order to call it "done."...
View ArticleThis study is just nuts
Humorist and writer Jamie Allen has counted all the squirrels in Central Park:“We kind of know other animal populations, like rats, in cities,” he says. (The conservative estimate is one for every New...
View ArticleEgregiously misleading headline on CNBC
I saw this on the video monitor of an elevator I took heading back to my desk just now, and laughed out loud with all the derision I could muster (I was alone in the elevator):This debt could force you...
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