RE Gift
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Posted
by Asher Klein on
Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 12:33 PM
The Chicago Reader receives dozens and dozens of pieces of mail every day. The vast majority of them are PR, with a few periodicals, letters to the editor, and notes from home (hi Mom!) sprinkled in; nothing too exciting. But yesterday an editor received a peculiar envelope with no return address that has some of us trying to wrap our heads around a bona fide mystery—a $10 art mystery, as it's been called, although it could be called the $1,000 art mystery.

- Andrea Bauer
- The contents of the mystery package. The name of an editor has been removed from the large envelope.
Inside the envelope was another envelope that says "for you" on the front and "follow your Narrative Urge!" on the back; inside of that was a $10 bill, a small block of text on a strip of paper next to the number "65," and a note with a message book-ended with little hearts that says, in pretty handwriting, "Thanks for opening the envelope. The money is real. We are all parts of each others' stories. Let's create one together. Please join the project! Use the hints. Find me." Instead of a signature, the letter is signed with a "haiku clue" that hints at "a site to see." It reads:
robotic cranes dance
in singapore. in taiwan
appears tornadoes!
It was tagged with a scribble that was evidently a tiny tornado. That was it.
What was going on, we wondered. What project? Who's Whose (oops!) stories? Why just give away $10? Easing past the thought that this was a trap laid by some kind of modern-day Devil in the White City, we figured we were holding a kind of puzzle or conspiracy—we didn't know which.
As about an hour on the Internet revealed, the $10 art mystery turns out to be a really sophisticated and as-yet-unfinished narrative fiction experiment that hasn't quite made it out of the underground. We'd still love to figure out the mystery, and since we're obliged not to take the $10 bills due to our editor scolding us "ethics," we'll give you the $10 if you can figure out Chicago's part in the story.
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Tags: Ten dollar art mystery, art, lit, more money more problems, narrative art, narrative fiction, narrative urge, ten stories, ten stories high, Video
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Thursday, December 24, 2009
Posted
by Lauri Apple on
Thu, Dec 24, 2009 at 6:35 PM
Yo, it's the day before (War on) Christmas. Have you purchased all of your gifts? How about for those near-stranger aunts and once-a-year uncles who annually give you a major case of the "ugh, I dunnos" when you're shopping for them? Or the coworkers you barely know but feel bad about skipping because they retrieved your mail for you that one time, or always say "hello" in the hallway? We conducted a short recon mission at places likely to be open at the very last minute—like, on Christmas Day—and dug up some ideas that won't cost you much time, effort, or money.
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Tags: Walgreens, 7-Eleven, Freedom Tray, holiday shopping, shopping, Christmas, holidays, gifts, gift ideas, gift guide, plush flea, Hershey's, chocolate, copper bracelet, Imperial Massive Googly Ball, TeleBrands, TeleBrands bottle tops, hair net, Christmas light necklace, novelty headband, antlers
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Posted
by Jessica Hopper on
Thu, Dec 24, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Girls Rock! Chicago, the week-long summer camp where girls 8 to 18 get to pursue their dreams of being the next Taylor Swift, is rapidly expanding. In 2010 the camp is adding a second session to meet applicant demand. A little more than half the campers attend on a full or partial scholarship; if you're looking for charity gifts,
pledge in honor of the rocking lady in your life. $400 covers the cost of one camper.
More ways to support rockin' girls below the jump.
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Tags: Girls Rock! Camp Portland, Girls Rock! Chicago, Willie Mae Rock Camp, girls rock camps, pledges, donation, presents for rocking girls, Sleater Kinney, Taylor Swift, rock star dreams, girls rock calendar, gift
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Posted
by Jessica Hopper on
Thu, Dec 24, 2009 at 9:30 AM
If you're looking for a last-minute gift idea, or a way to keep visiting family busy, the
New York Times recently posted a mammoth
holiday cookie guide, with recipes and dozens of droolworthy pics submitted by readers.
(Above: polvorones, or Mexican wedding cakes, by Rick Bayless.)
Tags: holiday cookie recipes, New York Times, family, Christmas, Hanukkah, baking, gifts
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Posted
by Peter Margasak on
Thu, Dec 24, 2009 at 9:00 AM

- Buddy Holly, Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings and More
I had a moment of internal struggle when it came time to subtitle this post, because the music of
Buddy Holly can fit into so many categories: rock ’n’ roll, country, pop. Next to
Jerry Lee Lewis, Holly has always been my favorite 50s pioneer. The young man from Lubbock, Texas, who died at 22 in
the same February 1959 plane crash that took the lives of
Ritchie Valens and
the Big Bopper, was a superb and distinctive singer. Plus his band came up with novel sonic ideas, and he wrote the most sophisticated, catchy melodies of any of the early rockers.
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Tags: Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dolly Parton, box sets, Bill Dahl, Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings and More, Dolly, Porter Wagoner, RCA Nashville/Legacy Records
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Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Posted
by Jessica Hopper on
Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 4:26 PM
The new anniversary edition of Robert Frank's landmark 1959 photojournalistic canvass of America,
The Americans, is a must-have. It's sold-out on Amazon and at several chain book stores, but as of right now the
MCA store has three copies in stock (in store, not online). Just $39.95.
Tags: Robert Frank, The Americans, photobooks, coffee table books, photojournalism, Jack Kerouac, Christmas, gifts
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Posted
by Jessica Hopper on
Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 4:13 PM
For your fave precious party girl:
a replica of Holly Golightly's curious sleep mask from
Breakfast at Tiffany's. $14 from Fred Flare. Mickey Rooney's disturbing yellow-face routine not included.
Tags: sleep mask, sleep aids, Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany's, gift, Christmas, Audrey Hepburn
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Posted
by Whet Moser on
Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 12:20 PM
Tags: holiday sales, pepper spray
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Saturday, December 19, 2009
Posted
by Whet Moser on
Sat, Dec 19, 2009 at 4:00 PM
As a mild agoraphobe with nontrivial social anxieties, I can promise you that one of the greatest gifts you can give is stuff that makes people leave the house. So I spent awhile browsing local venue calendars for promising shows, obligatory attendance at which might make a thoughtful gift.
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Tags: Punch Brothers, Old Town School of Folk Music, The Magnetic Fields, Harris Theater, James Blackshaw, Fucked Up, Kurt Vile, Empty Bottle, Four Tet, Dick Gregory, Mort Sahl, Maria Bamford, Kristen Schaal, Bach St. John Passion, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Center, Keith Jarrett, Appalachian Spring, St. Vincent, Annie Clark, Mad Men, RJD2, Video
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Friday, December 18, 2009
Posted
by Whet Moser on
Fri, Dec 18, 2009 at 3:20 PM
Lomography Sidekick Canvas Bag ($50). Elegant without looking stuffy; fits a laptop and has a modular camera bag.
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Tags: Lomography, Lomography Sidekick Canvas Bag, Edirol R-09HR, Sony TC-D5M, Field Notes, Rite in the Rain, Literary Journalism, Beyond the Game, Gary Smith, Bodum Travel Press
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