The Divvy Diaries — Volume 1; The First Trip
If you’ve read my Monday column about figuring out the Divvy program, the journey resumes halfway through this post — scroll down to the break to pick up where you left off. So the city’s Divvy bike...
View ArticleSenate pulls back from helium cliff
If you remember my column from Aug. 25, the United States controls much of the world’s helium supply, and was about to force itself to shut off the spigot due to a well-intentioned but potentially-...
View ArticleCardinal George reacts to controversial Pope Francis interview
Taking his lead from Pope Francis’ suggestion, in a candid interview published around the world Thursday, that Catholic hierarchy ought to not focus so much on abortion, gay marriage and...
View ArticleDivvy Diary: Always a bigger idiot
The Winter Garden at the Harold Washington Library Center was jammed to capacity Tuesday night to hear Isabel Wilkerson speak about her book, The Warmth of Other Suns. Rahm Emanuel warmly introduced...
View ArticleGood for the goose, good for the gander…
So these two Catholics walk into my bakery — Steinberg Bagels & Bialeys, a side business of mine — and want to order a few trays of assorted cookies and sweet rolls for their daughter’s...
View ArticleIgnorance about blackface is chance to invite discussion
Halloween is almost over, thank God. A pagan death rite morphed into a childhood misbehavior and sugar festival transformed, lately, into a randy adult Saturnalia, a kind of Valentine’s Day for couples...
View ArticleThe Sun Times Goes to the Lyric —“La Traviata”— enter now
A courtesan is not a prostitute. Let’s be clear about that from the start. Violetta, the heroine of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” which 100 lucky readers will attend with me for free later this month in the...
View ArticleCharlie Trotter’s tragic passing
Please enable Javascript to watch this video Charlie Trotter was a rock star, the prototype for the larger-than-life celebrity chef in Chicago, many of whom trained with him. The tragedy of his death...
View ArticleIllinois House gay marriage vote historic in its normalcy
Don’t be fooled. Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, will not go down in history, at least not in the kind of popular history that regular people readily remember. Yes, the Illinois General Assembly finally...
View ArticleBreak the glass — governor signs gay marriage law
Toni Preckwinkle, the Cook County Board president, said it best. “Throughout our nation’s history, individuals and groups have fought for equal protection under the law,” she told a happy crowod of...
View ArticleDivvy bike system skids on snow
On my way into work Thursday, squinting into face fulls of snow, I thought, “Oh, the weather’s so lousy, I should ride a Divvy bike just to, you know, have done it.” As it turned out, I had forgotten...
View ArticleNPR talks Clark the Cub with Neil Steinberg
The Clark the Cubs, the new Cubs mascot, saga continues to have legs. Legs without pants. Just when you think the ridiculousness is dying down, NPR’s flagship show, All Things Considered took on the...
View ArticleCold-weather tweets flame University of Illinois
With temperatures predicted to be as low as 15 below zero Monday, many schools canceled classes. The University of Illinois did not. “Classes and operations at the University of Illinois at...
View ArticleWhen “Calvin and Hobbes” creator Bill Watterson offers to draw, “Pearls”...
There’s a “Nancy” comic strip from the early 1950s that conveys the glorious and unlimited possibilities of cartooning in seven simple words over four square panels. “Anything—” our spunky heroine...
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