That joke isn't funny anymore

06/22/2011

We've all received them: Emails from friends, co-workers, classmates or family members with subject lines screaming, "THIS IS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER!!" Opening the message usually reveals a news story detailing some tragic folly that has befallen someone due to his or her own misguided, thoughtless, and often downright stupid, actions.
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Lighthousekeeping brings Scotland past and present to the Chicago stage

Life amongst the Scots

06/15/2011

Gabriel Byrne visited New York Public Radio's "The Leonard Lopate Show" recently to discuss his latest project. No, the actor best known for starring roles in Miller's Crossing, The Usual Suspects, In Treatment and scores of other productions wasn't plugging a new show opening, as is the case with many celebrity appearances.
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Art Institute of Chicago celebrates prolific country's 150th birthday with free guide

Exploring Italy's art

06/08/2011

Food, music, and fine art — welcome to Italy. The country has been renowned for centuries as a global cultural center, but until 150 years ago, the nation of “Italy” existed only as a series of independent city-states. To celebrate the anniversary of its unification, the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago is partnering with the Art Institute of Chicago to offer “Highlights of Italian Art,” a free gallery guide to some of the museum’s most spectacular Italian works.
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Shock Theater resurrects the B-flick

New film series brings back old-school horror and sci-fi double features

06/01/2011

Ah, the B-film double feature. What happened to you? Decades ago, theatrical pairings of low-budget flicks were common. Film distributors, studios and theater programmers would slap together like (and sometimes unlike) films with hopes that the double bills would equal increased revenue. For one low price, patrons could get more than their fill of horror, sci-fi, sexploitation and other grindhouse fare at their local theater or drive-in.
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Field Museum's newest looks at history of man and steed

'Horse' gallops in

05/25/2011

The Field Museum is home to some big animals: Sue, the city’s most famous dino, and a pair of five-ton elephants greet visitors when they enter the museum’s main hall. But just a few yards away, a new exhibit highlights an animal that’s much smaller and much more closely entwined with our own history.
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A summer of African movie art at the Chicago Cultural Center

Get your mojo on

05/18/2011

Quick. Name the countries with the world’s largest film industries. Easy points for picking the United States as the No. 1 big dog, and kudos for ranking India’s glamorous Bollywood in the second position. But who pulls the third spot? To find the third largest film industry in the world one must travel to Africa, specifically to Nigeria.
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Dog & Pony bring art and terrorism to the stage - hilariously

Dying for art

05/11/2011

The art world and biological terrorism seem odd bedfellows, but the two merge wonderfully in the new production currently being staged at Dog & Pony Theatre Company. Roadkill Confidential follows Trevor (Lucy Carapetyan), a notorious, world-renowned artist known for controversial pieces, as she constructs her latest masterpiece.
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Jellyfish delight in new exhibit at Shedd Aquarium

05/04/2011

Quick — what animal has no bones, blood or brain? If you said sea jellies, you’re right. If you didn’t know the answer, it’s time to visit Shedd’s new exhibit on this underwater creature that fascinates kids and adults alike.
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Mumblecore comes to the Siskel

Say Uncle!

04/27/2011

The mumblecore film movement exploded nearly a decade ago, breathing fresh air into the independent film world with its lo-fi aesthetic, often-improvised acting and narratives exploring the lives and loves of post-collegiate twenty-somethings. Mumblecore films, the label a joke that stuck much to the annoyance of the filmmaking collective, look simple and amateurish at first glance.
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Music series returns to Millennium Park with stalwart indie bands

04/20/2011

The New Music Mondays series is approaching its third year as a summer fixture in Millennium Park’s musical offerings. Of all Mayor Daley’s pet projects, it bears the closest resemblance to an urban utopia: free admission, BYOB, temperate weather, the lake breeze from the east, our skyline backlit by a summer sunset to the west, freshly shorn summer grass and the mesmerizing threaded steel canopy suspended above Pritzker Pavilion.
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