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Letters
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"Instead of paying my property taxes to the schools, parks, cops, garbage collectors, etc, I'll give it to myself - just like the big-shots downtown do."
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Media
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Why the son of a shamed former Illinois governor is so interested in the Supreme Court's review of the "honest services" law
- by Michael Miner
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Tags: Media, Richard Nixon, John Mitchell, Supreme Court, honest services law, honest services fraud, Amy St. Eve, Conrad Black, Otto Kerner, Anton Kerner, Seventh Circuit, Kerner Commission, Intangible rights, McNally v. United States, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Antonin Scalia, James Thompson, David Radler, Bruce Weyhrauch, Jeffrey Skilling, Enron, textualist, Stephen Breyer, Justice Department, Audio
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Politics
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Alderman Tom Allen makes history by daring to question the mayor's pet financing scheme in City Council chambers.
- by Ben Joravsky
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Tags: Politics, Tom Allen, TIF, TIFs, tax-increment financing, Mayor Daley, 2010 Chicago budget, Miguel del Valle, 38th Ward, Berny Stone, Patrick O'Connor, Ron Ernst, Hugh Devlin, Valerie Leonard, ABC's of TIFs, property taxes, city taxes, Thomas Cullerton, Jim Houlihan, slush fund, Anita Alvarez, Skyway, Chicago parking meters, Midway Airport, Chicago Children's Museum, Helen Shiller, Vi Daley, Tom Tunney, Mary Ann Smith, Eugene Schulter
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Restaurant Review
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Sixteen options in Chinatown
- by David Hammond, Gary Wiviott, Nicholas Day, Peter Tyksinski, Kristina Meyer and Mike Sula
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Tags: Restaurant Reviews, Chinatown, dining, Chi Cafe, Double Li, Dragon Court, Emperor's Choice, Evergreen, Golden Bull, Happy Chef Dim Sum, House of Fortune, Ken-Kee Restaurant, Lao Sze Chuan, Lao Shangai, Lee Wing Wah, Moon Palace, Seven Treasures Cantonese Cuisine, Shui Wah, "Little" Three Happiness, Lao Sze Chuan Restaurant, Lao Shanghai, Three Happiness
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Food & Drink Feature
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Mince pie was once inextricable from our national identity. Blamed for bad health, murderous dreams, the downfall of Prohibition, and the decline of the white race, it nonetheless persisted as an American staple through the 1940s. So what happened?
- by Cliff Doerksen
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Tags: Food & Drink Feature, apple pie, mince pie, as American as apple pie, Marion Howland, Common Sense in the Household, Old Victory Distillery, James Whitcomb Riley, Dry Law, Horace Fletcher, digestion-ash, Dr. Fenton B. Turck, Dr. Andre Tridon, Chicago Defender, Albert Allen, George Humphreys, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, suet, beef fat, Villager Foods, apple cider, National Society for the Promotion of Health, The Pickwick Papers, temperance movement, John Mason Tyler, Reverend Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Pure Food and Drug laws, 19th Amendment, Slideshow
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Fashion
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Beer and Baubles, Hideout Annual Holiday Sale, Indie Arts Market, and more
- by Reader staff
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Tags: Fashion, 3, 2, 1 Countdown to Christmas, Beer and Baubles, Morton Arboretum, Christkindlmarket, Daley Plaza, Evanston Art Center Winter Arts + Crafts Expo, Evanston Art Center, Fair Trade Holiday Market, Hideout Annual Holiday Sale, Indie Arts Market, Schubas, Modus Donandi, LivingRoom, Salt and Grace Holiday Trunk Show, Hanger 18, Sustainable Style Sale and Soiree, Hideout
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Book Review
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A heavy-handed curator takes on war cartoons; a cartoonist takes a light touch with history.
- by Noah Berlatsky
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Tags: Book Review, The Great Anti-War Cartoons, Craig Yoe, Fantagraphics, Never Learn Anything From History, Kate Beaton, Topatoco, Winsor McCay, Muhammad Yunus, Oscar Cesare, Tomi Ungerer
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Movie Review
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The Young Victoria puts a reality check on the Disney fantasy.
- by J.R. Jones
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Tags: Movie Review, The Young Victoria, Jean-Marc Vallee, Julian Fellowes, Queen Victoria, The Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth, Helen Mirren, The Queen, The Duchess, Keira Knightley, Emily Blunt, Gosford Park, Sir John Conroy, Mark Strong, Rupert Friend, Miranda Richardson, Landmark's Century Centre, Century 12 and CineArts 6, Video
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Music Column
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Why do negotiations for a new anti-counterfeiting treaty need to be hidden from the public?
- by Miles Raymer
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Tags: Music Column, Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement, ACTA, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, DMCA, intellectual property law, Knowledge Ecology International, KEI, James Love, Ron Kirk, Office of the United States Trade Represtentative, USTR, World Trade Organization, WTO, World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO, United Nations, Danny O'Brien, Electronic Freedom Foundation, EFF, Michael Geist, University of Ottawa, Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA, safe harbor rules, three strikes rule, graduated response, file sharing
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Music Review
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Stumbling upon Thai singer Pamela Bowden reminded me how provincial American pop criticism can be.
- by Noah Berlatsky
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Tags: Music Review, Pamela Bowden, Thai pop, luk thung, morlam, Sublime Frequencies, Thai Pop Spectacular, Jumbo Hit, eThaiCD, Sao Esan Raw Ruk, Pretty P, Kaew Ta Duang Jai, E Nang Dance, Pamela Krajiewbarn
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Soundboard
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Critics' Choices and other notable concerts: Rise Against, the Detroit Cobras, Hamid Drake & Michael Zerang, the Snow Angels, Joan of Arc, and more
- by Peter Margasak, Miles Raymer, Monica Kendrick, Deanna Isaacs, Ann Sterzinger, Bill Meyer and Jessica Hopper
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Tags: Soundboard, Rise Against, The Merry Widow, Franz Lehar, Elizabeth Futral, Treasure Fingers, Ashley Jones, Detroit Cobras, Hamid Drake, Michael Zerang, Snow Angels, Joan of Arc, Tim Kinsella, Wiz Khalifa, Aram Shelton's Fast Citizens, Netherfriends, Covers for Cover II, CAWC Greenhouse, Sally Timms
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Bleader
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N00b-friendly dance music, two of the best new restaurants of 2009, and more
- by Whet Moser
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Tags: Chicagoland, Food Chain, Film, Music, Food & Drink, Performing Arts, Arts, Treasure Fingers, Smart Bar, The Young Victoria, Emily Blunt, River East 21, Star of Siam, Chilam Balam, Chy Valencia, Century 12 and CineArts 6, Kansaku, Cloud 9, Music Box, Istanbul Restaurant, Yasar Demir, Breed With Me, Zoo Studio, Sean Sanders, Browntrout
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Bleader
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A report on Second City's weekend of anniversary festivities.
- by Albert Williams
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Tags: Onstage, Performing Arts, Comedy, Arts, Second City, Paul Sills, Howard Alk, Barbara Harris, Alan Arkin, Jim Belushi, John Belushi, Paul Sand, Bernie Sahlins, Shelley Berman, David Steinberg, Jim Belushi, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell
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Bleader
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Steve Rhodes quits his gig writing for the NBC Chicago Web site.
- by Michael Miner
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Tags: Media, News Bites, Steve Rhodes, NBCChicago.com, Beachwood Reporter, Chicago Tribune, Sam Zell, Randy Michaels, Michael Scott, Chicago Community Trust. Lora Johnson LeSage, Toni Falvo
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Bleader
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- by Whet Moser
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Tags: RE Gift, Chicagoland, Ambient Umbrella, hard drive earrings, resistor jewelry, hard drives, USB drive, LaCie, digibling, geek gifts, nerd gifts, Motorola Motofone F3, The Soul of a New Machine, Tracy Kidder
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Bleader
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The best costumes in 2009 movies.
- by Heather Kenny
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Tags: Style, best of, best of fashion 2009, costumes, movies, best dressed, The Young Victoria, Michelle Pfeiffer, Cheri, Coco Before Chanel, Audrey Tautou, Coco Chanel, Abbie Cornish, Bright Star, Jane Austen, Julie & Julia, Julia Child, Meryl Streep, Grey Gardens, Little Edie, Drew Barrymore, Mad Men, Carey Mulligan, An Education, Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, A Single Man, Tom Ford, Nine, Marianne Cotillard, Audrey Hepburn
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Bleader
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Despite what editorial pages plead, people don't like to snitch.
- by Michael Miner
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Tags: Media, News Bites, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Terry Ekl, Jody Weis, Derrion Albert, Anthony Abbate, Code of Silence, Karolina Obrycka
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Bleader
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"Our world would be worse off without these six weeks of obligatory largesse, I suppose, a dreary circle of months broken up only by taxes and patriotic holiday barbecues."
- by Whet Moser
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Tags: Chicagoland, Christmas, holiday season
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Bleader
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Candidates for Cook County board president, sheriff, and U.S. Senate make pitches to a Muslim group on West Devon—and rip on their opponents who didn't show up.
- by Mick Dumke
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Tags: Politics, Clout City, U.S. Senate, 2010 elections, Democratic primary, Cook County board president, David Hoffman, Alexi Giannoulias, Cheryle Robinson Jackson, Todd Stroger, Toni Preckwinkle, Terry O'Brien, Dorothy Brown, Roger Keats, American Muslim Taskforce, Sylvester Baker
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Bleader
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Give the gift of leaving the house.
- by Whet Moser
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Tags: RE Gift, Chicagoland, 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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Bleader
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Maura Johnston on the fifth worst song of the decade, which (fair warning) involves the Chipmunks.
- by Miles Raymer
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Tags: Crickets, Music, Maura Johnston, Chris Weingarten, F2K, Alvin and the Chipmunks, the biz, Idolator, Village Voice, the Internet
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Bleader
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There's a new George's Middle Eastern restaurant in town, and a dispute about who's who.
- by Mike Sula
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Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, George's Kabab Grill, George's Pita Kabob, Shawerma Inn, George Koril, Assyrian food, Iraqi food, catfish, masgouf, kubba mosul, shawerma, falafel, blogsherpa
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Bleader
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Metal CDs devilishly discounted
- by Miles Raymer
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Tags: Crickets, Music, Seventh Rule Recordings, Sharp Darts, Chicago, Indian, Lord Mantis, Wetnurse, Thoughts of Ionesco, metal, servicey
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Bleader
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Avatar opens to a rave from our critic; Japanese drinking food; and more
- by Whet Moser
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Tags: Chicagoland, Food Chain, Film, Food & Drink, Performing Arts, Arts, Avatar, Avatar 3D, Avatar IMAX, Sayat Nova, American Buffalo, Steppenwolf, Mizu Yakitori and Sushi Lounge, Seijiro Matsumoto, Icarus, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Le Petit Paris, It's a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph, Victory Gardens Theater, Crepe & Coffee Palace, Claire Zulkey, Book Cellar, An Off Year, Glenn's Diner, Glenn Fahlstrom, Davis Street Fishmarket
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Bleader
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Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore" screens live from Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona on Tuesday 12/22 at Columbia College.
- by Ed M. Koziarski
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Tags: Film, Performing Arts, Arts, Giuseppe Verdi, Il Trovatore, Opera, Opera in Cinema, Fiorenza Cedolins, Marco Berti, Luciana D’Intino, Roberto Frontali, Paata Burchuladze, Barcelona, Columbia College, Emerging Pictures, New York, Film Row Cinema, Video
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Bleader
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New movie reviews in the Chicago Reader.
- by J.R. Jones
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Tags: Film, James Cameron Avatar, Avatar, The Young Victoria, Broken Embraces, Cloud 9, Sundance Film Festival, Sundance shorts, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Into Temptation, Showman: Albert Maysles Retrospective, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Maysles brothers, Lewis Klahr, Tales of the Forgotten Future, movies, Video
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Bleader
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The story behind the oddly shaped Balkan cured salami known as kulen, and where to get some.
- by Mike Sula
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Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, kulen, Slavonksi kulen, salami, charcuterie, Serbian food, Croatian food, Lincoln Quality Meat Market, George's Brand Meats, blogsherpa
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Bleader
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This week's Early Warnings include Doom, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Syl Johnson, Overkill, Mavis Staples, Rocky Votolato, and Yeasayer.
- by Kevin Warwick
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Tags: Crickets, Music, Early Warnings, Empty Bottle, SPACE, Schubas, Mavis Staples, Doom, House of Blues, Yeasayer, Syl Johnson
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Bleader
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Recommended events, paired with nearby restaurants.
- by Whet Moser
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Tags: Chicagoland, Food Chain, Film, Food & Drink, Performing Arts, Arts, Dinner & A Show, Hideout Annual Holiday Sale, Luc Thang Noodle, Icarus, Lookingglass Theatre Company, The Drawing Room, Le Passage, Il Trovatore, Columbia College, Film Row Cinema, Chicago Curry House, Nepalese cuisine, New York I Love You, Pipers Alley, Old Town Social, Jared Van Camp, charcuterie, Twisted Sister Bakery
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Bleader
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From the Washington City Paper: After 13 years the Kansas House is no more, but Arlington's punk legacy lives on.
- by Miles Raymer
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Tags: Crickets, Music, punk, DIY, Riot Grrrl, Dischord Records, Simple Machines, Positive Force, Washington City Paper, Aaron Leitko, Kansas House, Washington D.C.
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Bleader
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New restaurant openings including Bistro Bordeaux, Cuna, and Ceres' Table.
- by Kate Schmidt
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Tags: Food Chain, Food & Drink, Bistro Bordeaux, Frank Mnuk, Kendal Duque, Cuna, Giuseppe Scurato, Ceres' Table, new restaurants, blogsherpa, Epic, Balsan, Ria, Kith and Kin, Mr. Brown's Lounge, Nohea Cafe, Park Place
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Bleader
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Christian Lacroix is just one of many designers to create uniforms for the transportation industry.
- by Heather Kenny
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Tags: Style, Christian Lacroix, uniforms, French railway system, SNCF, Air France, Richard Tyler, Delta Air Lines, Northwest, Pucci, Braniff, Halston, United Airlines, Cynthia Rowley
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Bleader
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Local saxophonist Dudley Owens celebrates the release of his debut album, Just the Beginning.
- by Peter Margasak
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Tags: Music, Post No Bills, Dudley Owens, Chicago jazz, debut album, Just the Beginning, Jazz Showcase, Tim Warfield, Orbert Davis, Chicago Jazz Festival
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Bleader
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Books, writing materials, and the journalist's drug of choice.
- by Whet Moser
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Tags: RE Gift, Chicagoland, Media, 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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Bleader
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Free Protege Philharmonic concert and sing-along Sun 12/20 at the Chicago Cultural Center.
- by Sam Adams
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Tags: Music, Free Shit, Swag, Chicago Cultural Center, free concert, Protege Philharmonic, Preston Bradley Hall, Brahms, Georges Bizet, Mel Torme, Leroy Anderson
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Bleader
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New box sets from Buddy Holly and Dolly Parton capture the depth and range of both legendary singers.
- by Peter Margasak
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Tags: RE Gift, Music, Post No Bills, 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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Bleader
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A modest new Christmas collection from Strut Records brings the funk to the holidays.
- by Peter Margasak
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Tags: Music, Post No Bills, Christmas music, Bob Dylan, In the Christmas Groove, Strut Records, James Brown, In the Jungle Groove, Jimmy Reed, Milly and Silly, Captain Elmo McKenzie and the Roosters, funk
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Bleader
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The traveling Rotterdam VHS Festival plays Saturday 12/19 as part of the two-night Trendbeheer Meets Proximity art exhibition at Co-Prosperity Sphere.
- by Ed M. Koziarski
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Tags: Film, Music, Visual Art, Free Shit, Swag, Rotterdam, VHS, festival, trendbeheer, Dutch, art, magazine, proximity, Co-Prosperity Sphere, bridgeport, Julian Lynch, Jeroen Kuster, Michael Perkins, Mike Vallera, Henry James Glover, Video
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Bleader
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An inexpensive rock show, Turkish food in Roscoe Village, and more.
- by Whet Moser
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Tags: Chicagoland, Film, Music, Food & Drink, Performing Arts, Arts, Dinner & A Show, Joan of Arc, Bite, Aram Shelton's Fast Citizens, Hungry Brain, Turquoise Cafe, Sayat Nova, Icarus, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Redmoon Winter Pageant, Redmoon Theater, Flo
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Bleader
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Tim Heidecker of Tim and Eric mourns a terrible movie that will never be.
- by Miles Raymer
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Tags: Crickets, Music, Tim Heidecker, Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job, lulz, Neil Young, Toby Keith, Wild Hogs, Wild Hogs 2, John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy
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Bleader
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A few Christmas songs that have earned my grudging acceptance
- by Miles Raymer
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Tags: Crickets, Music, Christmas, the Coctails, Chicago, indie rock, chiptunes, punk, Bob Dylan, Fucked Up, Doctor Octoroc, Tegan and Sara, Bob Geldof, rock stars, Video
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Bleader
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Chicago Free Press may be folding as key staffers abandon ship
- by Michael Miner
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Tags: Media, News Bites, Chicago Free Press, Chicago Tribune, Louis Weisberg, Lisa Neff, Matt Simonette, Windy City Times, Jeff McCourt, Larry Bommer, Dave Costanzo, Jeff Mcbride, Bill Feld, Vincent Lane, Amy Wooten
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Bleader
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A free show at the Empty Bottle, sophisticated Italian food in Evanston, and more
- by Whet Moser
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Tags: Chicagoland, Food Chain, Film, Music, Food & Drink, Performing Arts, Arts, Netherfriends, Empty Bottle, Shawn Rosenblatt, Sundance Shorts, Don Hertzfeldt, I Am So Proud Of You, Music Box, Julius Meinl Cafe, Broken Promises, Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz, Landmark's Century Centre, Buffet Palace, Century 12 and CineArts 6, The Stained Glass Bistro, Blue Nativity, Campagnola
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Bleader
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Last-minute holiday deals, trunk shows, and an Ugly Christmas Sweater party this weekend.
- by Heather Kenny
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Tags: Style, Art Effect, holiday, sales, jewelry, Florodora, coats, Manor, fashion show, French Connection, Fix, Fixmas, Agga B, Asia Borycka, Fab Studio, Ugly Christmas Sweaters, CHicago Fashion Resource, Lara Miller
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Bleader
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Indie-rock holiday music, an early Rick Bayless protege still going strong in Old Town, and three too-new-to-review restaurants.
- by Whet Moser
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Tags: Chicagoland, Food Chain, Film, Music, Food & Drink, Performing Arts, Arts, Detroit Cobras, Bloodshot Records, Catholic Charities, Earwax, Snow Angels, Hideout, Jane's, What's the Matter With Kansas?, South Water Kitchen, Me and Orson Welles, Webster Place 11, Kith and Kin, Renaissance Place, The Message Is in the Music, Jackie Taylor, Black Ensemble Theater, Ceres' Table, Taming of the Flu, Second City, Priscilla Satkoff, Rick Bayless, Salpicon
