Chicago Sun-Times

Roger Ebert: Why There Can Never Be Another

The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration Kicks Off in Tulsa

On Saturday the world's foremost Woody Guthrie scholars gathered at the University of Tulsa to discuss how Guthrie's Oklahoma roots shaped his music and the Sooner State musicians who've followed in his footsteps. "Different Shades of Red: Woody Guthrie and the Oklahoma Experience at 100" is the fir ... More >>

Literally, "See You in Court!"

It won't exactly be Law & Order, but Illinois' courtroom dramas could soon be coming to a living room near you. In an announcement titled "Extended Media Coverage In the Circuit Courts of Illinois on an Experimental Basis," the Illinois Supreme Court yesterday ordered that video and still cameras ... More >>

Missouri State Band Reignites Debate Over "Dixie"

Image via"Dixie" came out of blackface minstrel shows in the mid-19th Century.​The song "Dixie" was born from the blackface minstrel shows of the mid-19th century. The lyrics take the perspective, and exaggerated dialect, of a free slave who aches to return to his days of plantation bondage. The f ... More >>

Food Fights Signal Bad Manners, End Times.

Sure, we all love food. But are we willing to fight for it? Go to jail for it? Or, perhaps, die for it? Judging from recent headlines, the End Times have arrived, signaled by that famine horseman who's prompting people to ape shit on one another over snack foods. Or maybe it's just time to offer ... More >>

Helicopters Blow Warm Air on Cold Florida Crops

For a second year in a row, cold threatens Florida's winter crops. NPR reports that farmers are hiring helicopters to hover low over the crops to push warm air downward. It's a desperate measure that costs around $2500 an hour, and last week three helicopters crashed on crop-warming missions. But if ... More >>

On November 2, Cast Your Vote for Rich Whitey

image viaHe may be melanin-impaired, but he still prefers to be known as Whitney, not Whitey.​Uh, sorry, that's Rich Whitney, the Green Party's candidate for governor of Illinois. Unfortunately, his last name is showing up as "Whitey" on electronic voting machines in 23 Chicago wards, about ha ... More >>

Playwright and Mark Twain biographer Ron Powers celebrates a confluence of anniversaries in 2010

Factory Farmers and Animal Groups Strike Deal to Expand Chicken Cages

The New York Times reports that factory farms are starting to provide more space for confined animals in light of consumer preferences and changes in farming laws. They look at West Mansfield, Ohio, where farmers and animal rights activists have struck a deal that will stop construction on tightly c ... More >>

Chicagoans Continue to Broaden Horizons, Explore St. Louis

image viaIntrepid Chicagoan Blair Kamin.​To a Chicagoan, the state of Illinois south of Joliet is nothing but a lot of cornfields, except maybe for Champaign-Urbana, and St. Louis is just a teeny, tiny blip on the distant horizon. But when an intrepid Chicagoan dares to cross those nearly 300 ... More >>

What Are You Getting With That Ballpark Hot Dog? You Don't Want to Know.

Want some rat crap with that $6 hot dog? How do the nation's sports venues fare when food vendors are inspected? All over the place, with many of them not good. ESPN published a major report on the state of concession stand safety. It's good news for St. Louis sports fans: Busch Stadium and Edward J ... More >>

A-Foraging We Will Go in San Francisco

While Midwesterners have gone mushroom hunting for generations, foraging is just catching on in San Francisco's urban culinary jungle. The San Francisco Chronicle features chefs like Iso Rabins, who's been hosting tasting menus of foraged goodies. Chicago's getting a Michelin Guide. According to th ... More >>

OMG, New York Times Deigns to Notice St. Louis!

Screen capture of NYT storyClick for a larger version of this image.​It's so sad that we get so excited when someone from the East Coast bothers to notice our humble little Gateway. Shouldn't they be excited to know that we look up to them, that they're as important to the little ol' Midwest a ... More >>

Fairmount Park Fiasco May Get Entire Illinois Racing Board Fired

Image viaThe Illinois Racing Board is the stick figure​The Illinois House of Representatives voted yesterday to fire every member of the Illinois Racing Board for the agency's handling of a labor dispute earlier this year at Fairmount Park.The bill, HB 5064, passed 89-24 and is sponsored by Rep. J ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 3.11

​Missouri state representative Jim Viebrock wants to circumvent federal bans and allow horse slaughter for food in Missouri. Viebrock argues that unwanted and abandoned horses can be slaughtered and sold to European and Japanese markets. (USA Today) New York State legislator introduces bill t ... More >>

Together Again? "Mad" Mike Martz and Lovie Smith Could Reunite with Chicago Bears

Martz caught in a "Lovie affair" in Chicago. ​Former St. Louis Rams head coach Mike Martz interviewed with the Chicago Bears this weekend for the role of offensive coordinator. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Bears head coach Lovie Smith is pushing hard for the team to hire Martz. Before takin ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 1.19

Kraft take-over of Cadbury approved. (NPR.org) ​ Japan braces for cultural and economic impact of possible tuna export ban. (NPR.org)Young cheesemaker returns to old methods. (The Oshkosh Northwestern)Walgreens investigates selling  prepared meals. (Business Week)In another outburst of f ... More >>

Chicago Sun-Times Gushes All Over the Delmar Loop

www.ucityloop.com​A Chicago Sun-Times travel writer recently received the royal treatment in St. Louis: scoring a rare interview with rock icon Chuck Berry and getting upgraded to a plush suite at the new Moonrise Hotel. And no doubt Delmar Loop impresario Joe Edwards (owner of the Moonrise and on ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Monday, 11.23

​ How to fix Thanksgiving dinner disasters. (Chicago Sun-Times)Jamie Oliver plays matchmaker. (Epicurious.com)Cats enjoy Olive Garden and other weird crap. (Duluth News Tribune)Whole Foods to reward employees who improve their health. (San Jose Mercury News)One man and a sandwich start a chain ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 10.27

​ Researchers find reason to not mix red wine and fish. (Reuters)Foods for fighting the flu. (WSOC-TV)New Manwich ads touts the food's vegetable content. (Mediapost.com)Wisconsin minister brings services to tavern. (Chicago Sun-Times)How to switch to locally-raised meat. (Minneapolis-St. Pau ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 12.23

In today's news: an unlikely outbreak of food poisoning, tough drunk-driving laws in Brazil and a pricing dilemma for restaurants.

The Morning Brew: Friday, 10.17

Return of the Restaurant Crime Blotter!

Career (Remix)

The trials and tribulations of R. Kelly.

2007: The Year in Movies and Music

A year-end wrap-up of what we adored, what was ignored and what the new year will bring.

The Morning Brew: Monday, 12/3

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 11/13

Usher Wants His MTV

Why a pop megastar still feels neglected by the mainstream

That's Just Nasty

What's a little statutory rape between R. Kelly and his fans?

Blooper Max

Another security breach surfaces at Illinois' superexpensive supermaximum prison

Best St. Louis Cheerleader

Greg Freeman

Letters to the Editor

Published the week of June 14-20, 2000

Lost at Sea

Editor Cole Campbell has left in his dinghy, and the mutineers at the Post-Dispatch are jubilant. Now, the flagship is listing and the crew has no idea where it's headed.

Sharp Cookie

News of the Weird

News of the Weird

News of the Weird