Last year, while looking though Chicago Reader lit listings, I saw that there was going to be a release party for something called "Chicago After Dark: a City All-Star Student Anthology." I was covering some meeting, so I couldn't make it, but I jotted down the name so I could look up later ( Read more... )

Back in July, I wrote about FW:Chicago - a new Chicago area magazine that would fill similar niche as Today's Chicago Woman magazine, which shut down late last year. At the time, they were online only, but they planned to launch a print version of the magazine in September.

Well, the first print issue of FW:Chicago is here.
( And here's what it's like )

When you start watching a documentary, there are certain things you expect. Voiceovers. Explanations to provide context. Interviews to give more background and perspectives. You expect the film to follow the filmmaker, or certain individuals that essentially become the movie's main characters. Minus the acting part.

Maidan by filmmaker Sergei ( Read more... )

Back in November, I saw a screening of Empire of Passion at the Siskel Film Center. Based on the description, I got the impression that it was going to be a romance with thriller elements, a story of how love can drive people to self-destruction. But by about midway through the movie, I realized that it wasn't really it. At its heart, it was really ( Read more... )

When I was at Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo earlier this year, I found that Chicago Review Press, a local publisher, will be releasing the brand-new English translation of Hard To Be a God by Arkadiy and Boris Strugatsky. It's hard to explain to someone who didn't grow up east of the Iron Curtain why I was so excited. For over 50 years, the ( Read more... )

To Charm a Naughty Countess came to my attention thanks to a smartbitches review (and the ensuing discussion in the comments section). I was intrigued by a historical romance novel that reverses the usual gender roles - the innocent virgin is a guy and the sophisticated playboy is a woman. But I was even more fascinated by the notion of a romance novel where ( Read more... )

My mom has asked me to review Thinner Than Water, a play that's currently being performed at Jefferson Park's Gift Theatre. We were originally supposed to see the play together, but my mom wound up not going because of other commitments. I wound up having commitments of my own that day, but they wrapped up early enough for me to actually attend the ( Read more... )

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The back cover made "The Big Bang" sound fun and salacious. Housewife Hope Jordan lives in a nice, boring suburban development. She and her husband have been trying to have a baby for months, without success. As Hope despairs over the lack of progress, three of her neighbors are trying to get into her pants. Then, during a community event, Hope has ( Read more... )

In 1999, two African-American families got a chance to send their oldest sons to Dalton School,a prestigious K-12 Manhattan private school. The school was trying to reach out to minorities, and it seemed to be genuinely committed to giving then 5-year-old Idris and Seun the same chances to succeed as they would any other kids. Idris's parents were ( Read more... )