Culture
The Not-So-Easy Bake Oven
Ronald Howes, Sr., the inventor of the Easy Bake Oven, died just the other day. Truth be told, I’ve cursed out Mr. Howes on occasion because I don’t find much that is easy about the Easy Bake Oven. But he was a man who gave millions of little girls a toy they loved to play with. And that is truly a wonderful legacy – to create a toy that brings happiness and the promise of something sweet to the children who play with it. MORE...
Get a College Degree By Color TV
Learning is often a matter of trial and error. . . . I was reminded of this the other day when I noticed an ad on my Facebook page with the headline COPS (NEEDED). “Are you 56-59? We are in Need of Police Officers. Make $55 - $68,000 Per Year! Get Quick training in a few months or less. Sign up Now!”
Hey, I thought. I’m 56-59, I need another $68,000, and I’m a pretty quick learner. I clicked right through. MORE...
ON THE SCENE: A Week in Haiti
In my thirteen years of working in Haiti, not once before have I seen such massive destruction as we are experiencing now. Nor have I seen such motivation, determination, compassion, and solidarity among people. MORE...
Breakfast at Whole Foods
To start the year off right New Year’s Day, I decided to take my family out to breakfast at Whole Foods. Here in the land of yogurt and granola, where progressive thinking is all but a religion, there are all manner of healthful products useful in keeping New Year resolutions. What led me to Whole Foods, however, was not the prospect of a healthier New Year but the more mundane promise of orange juice and a ham and cheese omelet at one of the seven restaurants in the chain’s new showcase store in Lincoln Park. MORE...
Happy Holidays
Now comes that happy time of year when you have to take a break, like it or not. Whatever happened in the old year is past, and new adventures lie ahead. Thank you for reading. See you in January.[Photo courtesy of Marshall Rosenthal.] MORE...
The Black Friday Scam
Who comes up with this stuff anyway? Black Friday. Bargains galore. The biggest shopping day of the year. The kick off for a frenzy of holiday shopping.
Is any of it true? Only in the minds of people who want it to be, and the hapless television newscasters forced to work the holiday shift surrounded by “Doorbuster Sales” from the retailers who pay the freight on these newsless weekends. MORE...
Does Chicago Need A Literary Hall of Fame?
It was 1975, and Nelson Algren’s possessions were up for sale, his move from Chicago imminent. “For the first time in my life, now that I’m leaving,” he told the Chicago Tribune’s Rick Soll, “Chicago is finally saying some nice things about me.” MORE...
Let It Snow
As winter approaches, we decided it might be fun to look back at some of the great Chicago blizzards of the past through the eyes of the people who lived through them. MORE...
What Swine Flu Can Teach Us
It was a good week to have the Swine Flu, whether I did or not. Rainy, cold, lots of football and baseball playoffs to watch on TV, new books by Lorrie Moore, Pete Dexter, and Phillip Caputo. Who wants to go out, anyway? MORE...
Film Dreams
[Editor Note: This week marks the 15th anniversary of the release of the groundbreaking documentary “Hoop Dreams.” We are pleased to reprint this Week Behind classic first published when it premiered.]
October 15, 1994 - We went to the Chicago premiere of “Hoop Dreams” last night. It was quite a show. MORE...
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