Chicago Reader | Culture | AAN.org

Gay Activists Fight James Dobson's Induction into National Radio Hall of Famenew

Truth Wins Out founder Wayne Besen states that while his group could have lived with a win by, say, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Dobson's agenda -- which includes curing homosexuality and lobbying against same-sex marriage -- makes Focus on the Family's election intolerable.

Chicago Reader | Deanna Isaacs | 08-04-2008 | Media

Tags: activism, radio, Focus on the Family, James Dobson, gay & lesbian issues, Museum of Broadcast Communications, National Radio Hall of Fame, Truth Wins Out

Chicago Makes it Easier to Panhandle than to Sell Art on Downtown Streetsnew

Unless you're at one of those cookie-cutter annual art fairs, you're not likely to encounter artists selling their work on the street here at all. If you do, you'll probably also see a cop rapidly approaching. Street sales are illegal downtown and -- at the discretion of the local alderman -- in other areas as well.

Chicago Reader | Deanna Isaacs | 07-28-2008 | Art

Tags: Chicago, permits, visual arts, public policy issues, Chris Drew, outdoor art, panhandling, public space

An Entrepreneur Helps Chicago Mixologists Stay on Top of Their Gamenew

Chicago is home to some of the country's best mixologists but lacks educational opportunities for those with more advanced skills, including those who've already gone through programs at places like the Siebel Institute or Bridget Albert's Academy of Spirits and Fine Service. He aims to fix that with his mixology labs.

Chicago Reader | Julia Thiel | 07-14-2008 | Food+Drink

Tags: bartenders, mixologists, mixology

Chicago's Last Coal Hauler is Down to Two Customersnew

Used to be coal yards were like taverns -- practically every neighborhood in the city had them. But today Paul Schoening is the last person in Chicago who retails the fuel, and he only has two customers: D'Amato's Bakery and Coalfire Pizza.

Chicago Reader | Mike Sula | 07-07-2008 | Food+Drink

Tags: energy, Chicago, restaurants, coal, coal haulers, Gruene Coal Company, Paul Schoening

Could Cubs Catcher Geovany Soto be the Key to a World Championship?new

Manager Lou Piniella, trying to end the Cubs' century-long title drought, is relying on a rookie catcher who happens to be a key reason why, for the first time since 1908, the Cubs entered June of a season with the best record in baseball.

Chicago Reader | Ted Cox | 06-24-2008 | Sports

Tags: baseball, MLB, sports & fitness, Chicago Cubs, Geovany Soto, Lou Piniella

How to Make Money on the Internetnew

With the economy in a free fall and jobs disappearing faster than the bubbles in a Red Bull, it was a relief to drop in on the third Seed Conference and get a jolt of high-energy confidence about the future.

Chicago Reader | Deanna Isaacs | 06-24-2008 | Tech

Tags: e-commerce, web culture, computers & technology, Seed Conference

Carole Travis-Henikoff Moves from Roast Pig to Long Pignew

The independent scholar and gastronomist's first book was a cookbook. Her second is a history of cannibalism.

Chicago Reader | Mike Sula | 06-16-2008 | Food+Drink

Tags: cannibalism, Carole Travis-Henikoff, Dinner With a Cannibal: The Complete History of Mankind's Oldest Taboo

Will the Hassle of Dealing with MLB Bury a Documentary About a Cubs Superfan?new

Just days before the Cubs season opener in 2005, amateur filmmaker Paul Hoffman premiered his documentary about Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers at a gala benefit at the Chicago Historical Society. Hoffman figured it was only a matter of time before Woo Life: One Life Saved by the Game of Baseball found a distributor and brought further attention to a cause near to his heart, the plight of Chicago's homeless. But in fact, in three years' time he'd be sitting on a thousand copies of the film.

Chicago Reader | Jeff Carroll | 06-16-2008 | Sports

Tags: Major League Baseball, movies, homelessness, Chicago, documentary, sports & fitness, Chicago Cubs, licensing, Paul Hoffman, Ronnie Woo Woo Wickers, Woo Life: One Life Saved by the Game of Baseball

Books for Cooks: Spring's Best Tomes on Food and Drinknew

Spring food books are sprouting up like sweet peas and stinking onions, and I’ve been indoors, digging into them instead of my own little patch o' dirt. Here's a half dozen of my favorites, in no particular order.

Chicago Reader | Mike Sula | 06-02-2008 | Food+Drink

Tags: Books, Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook, Renewing America's Food Traditions, Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper, Terrine, The Billionaire's Vinegar, Wine Bar Food