MetaFilter posts tagged with Chicago

Safe Bike Routes Made Easy

netbros — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:19:05 -0800

Ride the City maps the best or safest urban bicycle route from point A to B. Presently featuring multi-lingual maps from New York, Chicago, Austin, Louisville, San Diego, and Seattle. Their blog posts updates about new cities added to the grid, or other topics relating to urban bicycling.

Goodbye, "Leih Hou Ma," Hello "Ni Hao Ma!"

zarq — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:57:09 -0800

"Chinatown" communities across the United States (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco) are undergoing a shift in linguistic identity, as recent immigrants are more likely to natively speak Mandarin (the official spoken language of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan,) instead of Cantonese. Also see these anecdotal reports about similar changes in Vancouver and Oakland, CA. Good news for the tri-literate: signs like this may soon become commonplace. :) The Language Atlas of China The PopUp Chinese Podcast and Arch Chinese site provide basic Mandarin lessons. Also see: Mango, ZhongWen and LiveMocha

The Swirling Bathtub Drain in the River

AceRock — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:33:14 -0800

"You'll have heard how the city once ended in fire, and around these parts, it threatens to end in ice every few years or so. But once, not too long ago, Chicago flirted with ending in water, an entirely preventable man-made inundation that few saw but everybody felt – a two-billion-dollar sucker punch tsunami that weighed in among the dozen most costly floods in American history." Via the awesome Chicago issue of Granta.

Vivian Maier's Photography.

chunking express — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:46:51 -0800

Vivian Maier's Photography. "This [site] was created in dedication to the photographer Vivian Maier, a street photographer from the 1950s - 1970s. Vivian's work was discovered at an auction here in Chicago." There is more information about this on the Hardcore Street Photography Flickr group, where I found this site. LPV discusses the find as well, with links to some more discussion about the find and the photographer.

Right place, right time

desjardins — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:53:19 -0800

Photographer captures citizens' arrest of alleged purse-snatcher (video, slight graphic violence)

How the Fuck I'm Losing the Battle to Tyrese?

WCityMike — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:58:44 -0800

Doomsday vs. Lyric (YT). From Rhyme Spitters 2006, a documentary of an annual Chicago tournament of freestyle emcee battles – completely improvised verbal battles between two rappers where insults are brought to a lyrical form that's often hilarious, often very politically incorrect, and usually NSFW. It's usually not taken personal by either party – in fact, it's not unusual in these battles to see a rapper smiling in appreciation of a particularly well-crafted insult that just came from their opponent. See also Rhyme Spitters 1, 2, and 4, each hour-long documentaries online at Vimeo featuring tons more battles.

"In my next conscious moment, I was dimly aware that I was facedown on the pavement. There was blood in my mouth."

MCMikeNamara — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:48:43 -0800

"A Mugging on Lake Street" : John Conroy -- author and former staff writer of the Chicago Reader best known for his articles on police torture finds himself a victim of a "senseless" crime and is forced by circumstance to examine his own opinions about race, hate crimes, and violence. (last link is referenced in original article)

Sit Down, Print Out, Cut Up & Fold On

mattdidthat — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:10:29 -0800

President Obama pencil topper. Olympic Mayor Daley. Parachuting Rod Blagojevich.(Acrobat PDF) Mayor Daley Parking Meter.(Acrobat PDF) Paper sculptures by illustrator and animation artist Joe Fournier.

Standing on glass at a great height

twoleftfeet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:18:55 -0800

Last week, the Sears Tower opened the "Ledge", where you can be 103 floors above the ground, standing on glass to get a great view of Chicago.

An American Art Form

netbros — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:06:00 -0800

NEA Jazz in the Schools takes a step-by-step journey through the history of jazz, integrating that story with the sweep of American social, economic, and political developments. This multi-media curriculum is designed to be as useful to high school history and social studies teachers as it is to music teachers. Start with the introductory video to get a feel for the place. The education outline contains five lessons. If you just want to listen, all the music samples are on one page. Perhaps you're more interested in individual artist biographies, or a jazz history timeline. These lessons are designed as units; five units serve as a week-long curriculum. NEW ORLEANS: MELTING POT OF SOUND — Jazz grew out of the African-American community at the turn of the 20th century, a time when blacks were being denied their most basic rights. The music has since become a part of every American’s birthright, a timeless symbol of American individualism and ingenuity, American democracy and inclusiveness. The birthplace of jazz is New Orleans, the most cosmopolitan city in the South. THE JAZZ AGE AND CHICAGO — In the 1920s, jazz spread rapidly all across America. The rise of jazz was part of a new, post–World War I optimism, a prevailing sense that something new was happening, that America was finally breaking from European culture and coming into its own. Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald called the new era the Jazz Age. FROM SWING TO BOP — With the decline in popularity of swing bands and the rise of singers as pop stars, many jazz musicians in the mid-1940s retreated to smaller groups of five or six instruments that were easier to organize, were cheaper to book in clubs, and provided more freedom for individual musicians to express themselves. NEW FRONTIER — The 1960s are virtually synonymous with social and political upheaval in America, and with a popular culture nourished by intrepid experimentation and a rejection of traditional symbols of authority. Of course, in the world of jazz, musicians had already been responding to—and carrying out—upheavals in American society for some time. AN AMERICAN STORY — Jazz is the purest expression of the American spirit—innovative, independent, and, ultimately, revolutionary. The history of jazz is inextricably linked with the political, geographic, and cultural history of America, and to understand the evolution of this music is to grasp the passion and genuine humanity at the heart of American democracy.

Michael Jordan Declares Support for Chicago Olympics

jon_hansen — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:49:01 -0800

The push for Chicago as the 2016 Olympic-host city is gearing up, and even the usually reclusive Michael Jordan has publicly declared his support. Jordan also appears in this recently released ad that features testimonials from other former Chicago Olympians such as Jackie-Joyner Kersee, Greg Louganis, and many more.

Waiting for the CTA

wcfields — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:15:40 -0800

It's harder to be more obscure and unheralded than John Henry Timmis IV. He barely even tried to sell his own music, almost always giving copies away of his impossibly rare loner-punk 45's. Dieing in 2002, almost 15 years after his last single, from complications resulting from alcoholism, after suffering from the degenerative ear/skull disease mastoiditis-- his potential hardly tapped... until now. Film buffs may know him as the director/producer of the longest movie ever made, The Cure for Insomnia staring Lee Groban reading his same titled 4,080 page poem spliced with porn and heavy metal, clocking in at 87 hours. Virtually unknown until the song "Death Trip" appeared on an obscure bootleg punk compilation Staring Down the Barrel. Interest peaked enough for Plastic Crimewave's Secret History of Chicago Music article to have a write up on him and Drag City/Galactic Zoo to reissue his forgotten masterpiece, Cosmic Lighting. Medallion-wearing, twin-neck-guitar-sporting JT IV served himself up as a lightning rod of glam-punk eccentricity, seesawing in these archived recordings between ugly basement rock and lost-mind cosmic acoustic wanderings. Timmis liked to act as though he were already a star: he’d videotape himself singing along to his own songs and hire musicians to play live shows with him and film them for concert movies. But he never seems to have made a sustained attempt to win an audience larger than a few friends, and even when he recorded in a proper studio his music had a rough-around-the-edges DIY feel.

The Hoodoo Man

Joe Beese — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 10:55:59 -0800

"He was one bad dude, strutting across the stage like a harp-toting gangster, mesmerizing the crowd with his tough-guy antics and rib-sticking Chicago blues attack." - All Music Guide. He was also a sharp-dressing mofo who, at the end of his storied life, was buried in "his creaseless sky-blue silk suit and matching homburg, a shiny trove of harmonicas laid out beside him, a pint of gin nestled nearby to ease his journey home". In the opinion of many, he was the greatest blues harmonica player of all time. Junior Wells' universally acknowledged masterpiece is his 1965 debut, Hoodoo Man Blues. More excellent early work is found on Blues Hit Big Town. Favorites among his later work include Drinkin' TNT 'n' Smokin' Dynamite - a live performance with Buddy Guy at the 1974 Montreux Blues Festival - and Come On In This House. A January 1978 performance at The Bottom Line in New York City can be found here. (site is twitchy - be patient) And for specialists: his hippie cash-in "The Hippies Are Trying" is here.

Touched and Went.

Dr-Baa — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:56:59 -0800

Touch and Go Records, distributor for Drag City, Merge, and Kill Rock Stars (among others) has announced they will be cutting their distribution service and scale back to being a record label only.

Mr. Geoghegan Goes to Washington

kliuless — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:44:52 -0800

Perhaps something of an oddity in Chicago machine politics [I like to think in the spirit of Sean Tevis] Tom Geoghegan (pronounced "gay-gun") is running in a special election -- primary March 3rd and (hope me :) general April 7th -- for Rahm Emanuel's vacated 5th district Illinois seat. Kathy G. describes the campaign thusly:

What does his entry into this race feel like? Well, to start, think Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Like the iconic character played by Jimmy Stewart in that film, Tom is a tall, gangly political outsider, and he has every bit of Jefferson Smith's indefatigable idealism and rock-solid integrity. Only, there's a twist -- this Mr. Smith is no blushing innocent. Tom is a Mr. Smith who's kicked around the big city for a couple of decades and has become all too familiar with the ways of the world. Sadder maybe, in some ways, but also savvier, and wiser. And yet still utterly driven and consumed by a burning desire to make the world a better place.

James Fallows, Cosma Shalizi and Thomas Frank also heartily endorse (and <3) Geoghegan. You can follow Kathy G.'s efforts to help get him elected here. [note: if you're suffering from déjà vu this is a repost per jessamyn's helpful (and appreciated!) suggestions]

Keeping your refrigerator stocked will get you many women

desjardins — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:26:55 -0800

MrChiCity3 hilariously explains how to attract women with Snapple and Vitamin Water, how he dealt with finding a bug in his apartment, and what happened when he got a parking ticket. [NSFW and potentially offensive language, no nsfw images] Vice interviews the latest internet celebrity.

Blagojevich on the run

zenon — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:38:47 -0800

Blagojevich impeached by State House. With only one dissenter Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois House of Representatives while out jogging (video). This is the first step for removing the governor from power. Next the state senate puts Blaggo on trail, and that is scheduled to happen shortly after Obama's inauguration in a couple of weeks. Capital Fax Blog is reporting that Blaggo is not going to resign, and the governer has scheduled a press conference this afternoon with an official response to the vote. Previously on Mefi Note: Title shamelessly stolen from the NBC video. Summary from the Capital Fax blog: "Removal by the Senate will require at least 40 votes, meaning that Gov. Blagojevich will have to find 20 votes to avoid removal. Impossible." Rep. Milt Patterson (D-Chicago) was the only vote against impeachment, and Elga Jefferies (D-Chicago) voted "present" (ducking taking a position on the issue). Great presentation from the Chicago Tribune on the articles of impeachment here (pdf).

Immigrant Workers Occupy Chicago Factory

jason's_planet — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:21:59 -0800

"You got bailed out. We got sold out." Chicago workers respond to a factory closing by occupying the factory. A flickr set of photos from the site.

Don't You Wish You Could Draw

235w103 — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:48:17 -0800

Chicago jam-comics group Trubble Club boasts an all-star line-up of amazing illustrators, collectively creating surreal, hilarious and somewhat disturbing comics. I came across the Club via Laura Park, a talented Chicago-based illustrator who Flickrs her Moleskines, Comics and Doodles. The group also boasts longtime zine superstar Al Burian (warning- extremely barebones personal website), Lilli Carre, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Anya Davidson (frontswoman of Chicago band Coughs), Lucy Knisley, Rachel Niffennegger, Burnie McGovern, Onsmith, Aaron Renier, Grant Reynolds, Becca Taylor, Jeremy Tinder and Marco Torres. A minicomic of their work is now available at Quimbys.

We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares and go...

Smedleyman — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:50:15 -0800

SLSGPP (Single Link Streaming Grant Park Post) Also useful - chicago emergency channel scanner

Colbert will love you, baby!

chuckdarwin — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:11:15 -0800

Wilco perform "The Wilco Song" on The Colbert Report... and Tweedy even manages to work Colbert's name into the lyrics. Apparently, the band are tight with a certain candidate.

RIP Studs Terkel

me3dia — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:31:22 -0800

Studs Terkel has passed. Author, actor, oral historian, storyteller.

Chicago Pedway

LSK — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:34:23 -0800

Wait - Chicago has a pedway?

So you ditched your car - here's help with public transit

desjardins — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:58:07 -0800

NextBus uses GPS to tell you the predicted time of the next bus. Google maps show buses in real time, and you can get updates on your phone/PDA. The coverage is limited to certain agencies within the US, so these other sites might be useful: Hopstop covers subways and buses in NYC, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, DC, and more. (mobile version) Google Transit has many US metro areas in addition to Canada, Europe, and Japan. (previously) Many more locations inside. Other trip planners (mostly mobile):

MTA (New York City)
MTA (Los Angeles)
Amtrak
New Jersey Transit
MBTA (Boston)
Washington DC Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Chicago Regional Transit Authority (CTA, Metra)
A Train (Atlanta)
Valley Metro (Phoenix)
San Francisco Bay Area 511 (BART, Muni Metro, VTA Light Rail, Cable cars, Commuter Rail, buses, ferries)
Portland (interactive map; roll your own app)
King County Metro Online (Seattle)
Toronto (TTC Buses and subways)
Vancouver (BC) Translink
Paris (RER, TGV, Metro, bus, more - in French)
London Underground and DLR
Norikae-Annei (Tokyo)

Before Abu Ghraib, there was Area 2.

scody — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:34:48 -0800

For nearly 20 years, Chicago has known about police torture of suspects. Torture at the city's notorious Area 2, under Commander Jon Burge, resulted in numerous false confessions in the 1980s, including the men who became known as the Death Row 10. The Death Row 10 case was among the reasons former Gov. George Ryan's called a moratorium on capital punishment in Illinois in 2000 and pardoned four in 2003. Burge, fired in 1993, retired to Florida on his police pension, where he seemed to escape any measure of justice. Until today. The archive of the excellent investigative reporting by the Chicago Reader's John Conroy (previously) is here. (link disclosure: I was an activist around the Death Row 10 case and others in the 1990s, and contrubuted to material that may still be found on the Campaign to End the Death Penalty site.)