Events

Oh, yummy ribs. Yesterday, Parker and I hiked up to Lincoln and Damen as planned, and tried out a different set of bone samplers than in years past. Mrs. Murphy's Irish Bistro (pictured above) started the ribanalia, and led the pack—for a moment. Once again, they had fall-off-the-bone, lightly smoked meat with a tangy, spicy sauce. 3½ stars. Second was a newcomer, Wrigley BBQ, which actually surpassed Mrs. Murphy. They had flavorful, smoked meat, with a spicy dry rub, just a hint of a sweet Memphis...

I follow few traditions. That said, walking up to Ribfest Chicago on the first weekend of June has become one. In just a little bit, Parker and I will head out into the crystal-clear, 19°C, late-Spring weather, and get us some ribs. Before we go, a recap. This will be our 5th Ribfest in six years. Before we started our hike I thought it would help me to remember which vendors I've tried in years past: 2012: Mrs Murphy's Chicago BBQ Corner 41 Smoke Daddy 2011: Mrs Murphy's The Piggery Pitchfork Chicago...

You've heard her music, you just don't remember where. I went last night with a friend who worked as Yamagata's de facto publicist (and Web designer) when she was just starting her solo career ten or so years ago. That means we were close enough to the stage that my little camera phone actually got a result: Yamagata usually does really long sets; last night's went almost to midnight. She played mostly songs from her last two releases, and only one or two from her debut, Happenstance. On that point she...

Last Sunday's Game of Thrones episode portrayed one of the most gut-wrenching scenes from the books. People who hadn't read the books had understandably strong reactions: Via Sullivan come two more-considered reactions to the scene, and to the series' portrayal of violence in general. First, from Alyssa Rosenberg: [T]he attack on Talisa seemed to stand out for some viewers even in this context as uniquely stomach-churning, evidence that the show is participating in some of its characters disgusting...

I can scarcely believe this story out of Texas: A Bexar County jury on Wednesday acquitted Ezekiel Gilbert of murder in the death of a 23-year-old Craigslist escort. During closing arguments Tuesday, Gilbert's defense team conceded the shooting did occur but said the intent wasn't to kill. Gilbert's actions were justified, they argued, because he was trying to retrieve stolen property: the $150 he paid Frago. It became theft when she refused to have sex with him or give the money back, they said. I'm...

Quick links: Do Democrats and Republicans even have partisan baby names? Watch color video of New York in 1939. Exelon, our local electric company, will be liable for outages in future. Visiting Chicago? Here's a list of things to see, with art. Alcohol is even worse for teens than we previously thought. More as events warrant.

When I agree with Antonin Scalia (and so do justices Ginsburg, Kagan, and Sotomayor), and disagree with Stephen Breyer (who agrees with Thomas and Alito), something has gone wrong with the universe. On Monday, the inversion of reality happened when the Supreme Court announced its decision in Maryland v. King, finding that police can go fishing with your DNA: The police may take DNA samples from people arrested in connection with serious crimes, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a 5-to-4 decision. The...

The twister—as much as a 4200-meter-wide monster can twist—that hit Oklahoma last week broke all kinds of records: In the rare category of EF5 tornadoes, the one on Friday in the El Reno area was “super rare,” a National Weather Service meteorologist said Tuesday. The Weather Service updated its estimate Tuesday of the tornado that struck El Reno Friday, determining it was an EF5, the strongest classification for a twister. It was a record 4.2 km wide and tracked across 26 km. During Friday's storm, the...

On Sunday the Spectralia Theater Company had me shoot their publicity stills for this summer's Comedy of Errors production. The play goes up this summer at several Chicago Park District parks as part of the Bard in the Parks program. Doctor Pinch (Don Johnson) and Antipholous of Ephesus (Peter Ash): The Courtezan of Ephesus (Mary-Kate Arnold): The play opens June 29th at Ravenswood Manor Park in Chicago.

On the heels of the BBC's announcement that Matt Smith will leave Doctor Who after this year's Christmas Special, some outlets have reported that Helen Mirren may play the 12th (13th?) Doctor. The rumors are almost certainly false, but it's fun to imagine. Others have imagined female Doctors, including two blokes back in February who wondered, what if they were all women? 10th Doctor-Sue Perkins Fans still reeling from the 9th Doctor’s surprise exit were more than a little surprised to see Sue Perkins...