Chicago, IL

Local NBC affiliate NBC5 has fired long-time reporter Amy Jacobson following an incident caught on camera by rival station CBS2. Jacobson was videotaped spending time at the home Craig Stebic, the estranged husband of missing Planfield woman Lisa Stebic. Jacobson went swimming at house and was seen wearing a bikini. Immediately after the video aired, journalism ethics experts said that Jacobson had crossed the line and likely compromised her objectivity in reporting the story.

After initially removing her from the story pending an investigation, NBC5 fired Jacobson yesterday. Larry Wert, president and general manager of NBC5 said that it was a “complicated issue.”

Jacobson told the Chicago Sun-Times that she had a “lapse in judgment” and was “crushed.” She also expressed disappointment that NBC5 did not support her “after all I’ve done for them.” She was at the station for eleven years. Jacobson stated that the video did not show the real situation. She said that there were other mothers and children present as well, not just her family and the Stebics.

For the full Sun-Times interview, click here.
To see the video that ended her NBC5 career, click here.

Chicago, NBC5, Amy Jacobson, Craig Stebic, Lisa Stebic, ethics, journalism

The results of the Chicago TV Pilot Competition will be announced at the Chicago Short Comedy Video & Film Festival July 20-21.
They also need volunteers to help run the event. Not only is it a way to get to see all of the shorts and TV pilots free, but it could be a really cool networking event, or in the very least, an interesting college essay mention for a High School student applying to film school. So, if you are interested, here’s all the nitty-gritty…

WHEN: July 20 & 21; Video and Film Festival screenings at 7 p.m., TV Pilot Competition screenings at 8:45 and 10:30 p.m
WHERE: Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport
COST: $10 per show or 3 shows $25; Advance tickets available from TicketWeb at (866) 468-3401 or www.ticketweb.com
A festival line-up can be viewed at www.witsendshorts.com

Volunteers are needed for this event! Volunteer duties include handing out programs, directing crowds, and sign-in. There is no pay, but volunteers can view the very funny films for free (approx. 27 films per evening). Please contact Adrienne Cook at adriennereads@yahoo.com, or call (312) 642- 2156 for more information. Please indicate if you are interested in volunteering on July 20 or July 21. Thanks!

*NOTE: Originally, I mentioned that each short cost $10, but I guess it’s really just $10 per night, per person, unless you get 3 people together, then you can all 3 get in for $25. My confusion was that they said “3 shows for $25,” and they call each evening a “Show,” but there are only two “Shows.” Can you see where I became confused? No? Ok. Well, it was ambiguous to me. So, there you go.

Chicago Short Comedy Video & Film Festival, Short Films, Comedy, Volunteer

Things seemed pretty dismal for the National League in ninth inning of the All-Star game last night in San Francisco. The team was down three runs with two outs and a runner on first. Chicago Cubs leftfielder Alfonso Soriano did his part by cracking a two-run homer into the rightfield stands. Later in the same inning, fellow Cubs teammate Derrek Lee would walk to keep hope alive. However, the National League could not pull out the victory, as former White Sox player Aaron Rowand made the last out, and the team lost to the American League 5-4.

The only Chicago White Sox player represented at the game, pitcher Bobby Jenks, did not make it into the game.

Full recap is here.

Chicago Cubs, All-star game, Alfonso Soriano, Bobby Jenks, Derrek Lee, baseball, Chicago White Sox

The annual L.A.T.E. Ride, hosted by Friends of the Park will take place this Saturday night/Sunday morning. The cycling event runs overnight and allows cyclists to enjoy the streets of Chicago in cooler weather, with less traffic. The events, which is for all ages, kicks off at midnight with a some pre-event activities, with the first wave of cyclists departing Buckingham fountain around 1:30 a.m. This is from the L.A.T.E. Ride site:

Enjoy a 25-mile ride through Chicago’s neighborhoods and along the lakefront. Cycle past skyscrapers, hear “Opaah!” in Greek Town, cruise through the North Side, wave to onlookers, and watch the sun rise over Lake Michigan. Plus, enjoy tons of snacks at the rest stop and breakfast back at Buckingham Fountain.

Last year’s event included over 9,000 participants. If you want to sign-up or for more information, visit the L.A.T.E. Ride site here.

Chicago, L.A.T.E. Ride, late ride chicago, cycling, late ride, bicycling chicago, friends of the parks

I had the somewhat rare opportunity of spending a semester in college in Ghana. For those of you who are geographically challenged, Ghana is a beautiful Country in the heart of West Africa. It was the first African nation to gain independence from European colonization (in the 1960’s). It is also home to one of the world’s most awesome football (soccer) teams.
When I was at the Taste of Chicago on Friday, I noticed that they had a booth from an “African” restaurant. It wasn’t just “African” food, it was WEST African food! For those of you that don’t know the difference, African food comes in many varieties. An Ethiopian Restaurant is going to be extremely different from a Morroccan restaurant. In my opinion, West African food is the most terrifying to American patrons, and is, therefore, the least common kind of restaurant. Anyway, I got curious as to whether I could get real Ghanaian food in Chicago. So, on Sunday, I went on a quest. In the morning, I googled “West African Restaurant Chicago,” and I got a bunch of matches. Most of these were on websites with “user review” sections. This prompted me to come up with the following list of tips.
What to expect when eating at a West African restaurant
(1) Your food is not going to come quickly. In fact, the longer the food takes, the better the restaurant! No one knows why the food takes so long. It’s part of the experience! Sit back. Read a book. Talk to some of the people around you. Watch TV. Learn not to be so stressed out about time. It will be therapeutic.
(2) “Soup” is a relative term. Ghanaian “Soup” will look reasonably like what American soup may look like, but usually more stew-like. Nigerian “Soup” looks nothing like American soup. It looks like mashed okra with pepper sauce on top. That’s because soups from these countries are really more like a sauce to be eaten with some kind of starchy dough, like Fufu or Banku. If you don’t know how to eat them, just ask! The wait-staff may seem like they are laughing at you, but they are happy to help.
(3) THE FISH WILL HAVE BONES IN IT! Beware. Don’t choke.
(4) Most of the food is intended to be eaten with your hands. They will bring you a bowl of water to wash your hands off at your table, so just go with it. What’s the worst that will happen? You’ll have messy hands. Then you wash them. No loss.
(5) If you are going to branch out and try something new, don’t be so picky. People in different parts of the world eat different things! Guess what? That’s a good thing. Don’t expect them to have French fries. Don’t expect them to tailor make you a meal. Be flexible for once in your life. It will be a good experience if you let it be a good experience.
(6) Don’t trust the internet. Some of the places listed online are now closed, and others that do exist aren’t listed online. When in doubt, check the phone book.

I hope some of these tips are helpful. I highly recommend hitting Bolat African Cuisine on Clark street in Wrigleyville. It is a beautiful restaurant with mostly Nigerian food (some Ghanaian!), a big plasma screen TV that was playing Football (soccer) on Sunday, and it seems to be a meeting spot for West Africans in the area. On one side of me was a family from Nigeria, and on the other was a family from Ghana. It was a great afternoon with yummy, reasonably priced food. They also deliver, but that way, you miss out on half the fun.

Bolat African Cuisine
3346 N. Clark St., Chicago,
(773) 665-1100

Bolat African Cuisine, Ghana, Nigeria, African Food, Taste of Chicago, Wrigleyville

Due to the temporary closure of the trails at Busse Woods, you may be looking for an alternate place to run or cycle. This past Saturday, I tried out a stretch of the Illinois Prairie Path which is located about a twenty minute drive southwest of Busse Woods. The Prairie Path extends from Maywood out to the western suburb of Wheaton, before branching out to Elgin and Aurora. I only ran from Elmhurst to around Villa Park before I headed back.

The path is primarily crushed limestone, although there are some stretches that are paved. There are some drinking fountains along the path, although I advise you to bring water because they are not as plentiful as other places, such as the lakefront path.

My main problem was that because the path extends through several suburbs, the path often crosses a street. As a result, runners and cyclists have to stop and wait for the traffic before crossing. This can be annoying if you are trying to keep a set pace or keep the heart rate elevated. The traffic was not too bad, though, when I was out from 7:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m. The path got crowded around 8:00 a.m. or so and there are a few spots where passing is difficult (a couple of narrow bridges). Most of the people there understood proper path etiquette though, so it was not a problem.

If you are looking for a Busse Woods alternative and want to consider the Illinois Prairie Path, check out this link.

Chicago, Chicagoland, Elmhurst, running, running chicago, cycling, bicycling, Illinois Prairie Path, marathon training, Busse Woods

Are you curious about the history of blues music in Chicago? You can download a free audio tour on the topic. It is narrated by famed Chicago blues man Buddy Guy. Download the tour to your iPod or MP3 player and take Buddy Guy along with you on a tour of blues in Chicago. The enhanced audio tour also includes “sounds and stories of Sweet Home Chicago.”

To download the audio tour, or to listen on your computer if you prefer, visit this site.

Chicago, Chicago blues audio tour, buddy guy, blues chicago, blues music, chicago audio tour

So, I’m not going to write about the Taste of Chicago. Why? Because everyone else in the entire world is. Instead, I decided to talk about my life. The last few weeks for me have been what I would call…philosophically stretching.

I went to the 6th Annual Lottery Reunion show at iO last week. Basically, the Lottery is a show where iO draws the names of some random students out of a bucket, and they get to perform with amazing and legendary improvisers in a regular show. If that sounds unpredictable to you, you should see the Lottery REUNION show. Sheesh. Each of the last 6 casts did a 10-minute piece. Each team had about 4 people I would call “Headliners” and 2 or 3 students. So, in an hour, I got to see 24 diverse veteran improvisers, and about 15 students trying to keep up. Amazingly, there were students on stage that were performing seamlessly. Others were struggling. But, that’s beside the point. The great part about the show was that each team had their own personality, and it was extremely interesting to see the range of style in such a back-to-back way. One that stood out to me in particular was the “Annoyance” set, starring Mick Napier among others. Now, I have heard of Mick Napier. He is one of the founders of the Annoyance Theater and has essentially achieved Improv God Status. But, I had never before seen him perform. Basically, my brain exploded. In a mish-mosh of intersecting scenes and non-linear storytelling, I realized that I am a very vanilla improv fan. But, I was told not to judge the “Annoyance style” based on that show, because it was done, after all, with students.

Then, on Saturday, I had the extreme pleasure of having Joe Bill, another Annoyance founder and cast member of Bassprov, fill in for another teacher at my improv class. (He. Is. Awesome.) And, at one point, half of the class did a montage of the most obnoxious, irrationally arranged, crazy-person scenes that I have ever seen. Then, Joe starts talking to us about leaving aside our style preferences. Maybe watching improv isn’t about what we “like” or “don’t like,” but maybe it’s about expression and art. Then, he looks at me, and apparently, I had a gross look on my face, because he said, “Ok, Miss Linear Thinker, what was wrong with that?” HA! Then, I debated with him for a few minutes, because that’s what I do. But, really, I’m open to comedy that breaks rules. I’m open to Improv being about art and expression. Maybe I’ll try to not only judge something based on whether I “like” it or not.

Perhaps.

Last night I went to a show at Acme Art Works, and one of the performances was a guy reading screenplay treatments written by a person that was clearly either on drugs or in some other way mentally incapacitated. For all intents and purposes, it was a guy, on stage, reading for half an hour. I LOVED IT. So, in light of all that I have been thinking about for the last few weeks, I’m trying to appreciate it from a non-preferential standpoint, but I’m at a loss. I guess I have a lot to learn.

In any case, I think I’m going to start checking out more things at Annoyance. I still haven’t seen Messing with a Friend, which apparently makes me a horrible person. When people talk something up as much as they talk up Susan Messing, it sort of makes me want to avoid it. And every time I say that to an improviser, they die a little bit inside. Because Susan Messing has also achieved God-Status. Ok. I’ll go. Soon. I promise.

Annoyance Theater, Mick Napier, Joe Bill, Susan Messing, Acme Art Works, Chicago Improv, Comedy

Starting today, July 5th, northwest suburbanites of Chicago will be forced to find another place to run, walk or bicycle, because Busse Woods Forest Preserve (also called Ned Brown) will be closed for repairs. People can still use the preserve for fishing and other activities, as long as the don’t walk on the paved paths. The cracks in the asphalt are being filled and then the trails will be sealed with new asphalt.

The month of July seems like the worst time of the year to close the trail, but, according to the Cook County Forest Preserve District Superintendent Steve Bylina, the work has be done at a time when the temperature will be over 70 degrees.

If you are looking for an alternative, check out these links for a list of other places you can run or bicycle, until Busse Woods opens back up for business in August.

source

Busse Woods, forest preserve, cook county, chicago, chicagoland, busse woods forest preserve

So, I went to the Jewel Osco today, and there were a lot of people buying food - which I expected. So, I got in a semi-short line to check out, and in front of me was a 30-something lady behind a Latino man buying baby formula in large quantities. There was some confusion with the Latino man. Apparantly, he was using government assistance to buy the baby supplies, and he didn’t quite understand what was covered. A short time later, the problem was resolved and he went on his way.

Then, the 30-something lady moves up to the front of the line and begins to talk to the cashier. I wasn’t REALLY paying attention until I heard, “I just think if you can’t even speak english, why are MY TAX DOLLARS paying for your food.”

WOH!

Wait.

WHAT?

This lady goes on to make other comments that I consider to be HORRIBLY RACIST.
These comments included the following: “I’m all for helping people, but please.”

Ok. So, I didn’t say anything. But I was FURIOUS. And I been fuming about it all afternoon.
I’m sure that lady thought that all the rest of the people that count (read: white, English-speakers) agreed with her, but I do not.

I think it’s both disgusting and sad to divide the human race up into groups. I think it’s self-important to demand white-privelege. And, I personally, am proud to know that there are people of every race, color, ethnicity, native-tongue, gender and sexual orientation in this country. It sickens me to think that there are people out there that think that they deserve more than others. Guess what? You don’t. Even if you were born here, you don’t deserve more than someone that was not.

Why do you have to treat people badly? You DON’T.

Imagine what the world would be like if, instead, you just treated every person you met with love and kindness regardless of their station in life. It would be amazing.

That is my hope for the future.

Independence Day, Racism, Jewel Osco

As always, the official Chicago fireworks show will take place tonight, July 3rd at Grant Park. The show is accompanied by classical music by the Grant Park orchestra and will begin at 9:30 p.m. If you plan on going there, be sure to get there long before dark so you can get a good seat. If you can’t get downtown to see the show in person, you can watch it locally on WPWR, which is now called My50. Here is a video of a portion of the fireworks from 2006, including the grand finale.

Chicago, Chicago fireworks, July 3rd fireworks, fourth of July, July 4th, fireworks, you tube

SWEET UNCLE JACOB’S CORNCOB PIPE!! Forbidden Broadway is playing right now!!! Why didn’t someone tell me? Oh, right. That’s my job. Why did I tell ME!!!
If you know a Musical Theater Nerd, or you ARE a Musical Theater Nerd, this is the perfect show. Brilliant singers taking snarky jabs at Broadway headliners. What could be better?
Check it out! It will be running until September 3rd at the Royal George Theater Center.

Royal George Theatre Center
1641 N. Halsted, Chicago
312-988-9000

Off-Broadway’s longest running musical comedy revue comes to the Cabaret, featuring the current Off-Broadway cast. Show, which debuted 25 years ago and is constantly updated, pokes good-natured fun at such Broadway hits as Spamalot, Doubt, Jersey Boys and Wicked.

Forbidden Broadway, Chicago, Musical Theater, Special Victims Unit