By J. Bird

Aug 28 – Sept 1, 2006
THURSDAY –
Sometimes you think you’ve gotten a lucky break. Your boss is out of the office and you’re not expecting him or her back anytime soon. It’s the beginning of a long weekend, and things are winding down. You’ve got time on your hands. You can catch up on your instant messaging, surf the Web, go for a walk around the block and get some fresh air.
It’s inevitable that at the very moment you’re about to do something you know someone higher up wouldn’t approve of, the phone rings. It’s the boss, wanting to know how that project you finished an hour ago is coming along. And you make the fatal mistake of saying you’re just finishing it up. You’ll come to regret this more than you can imagine when you hear what he has to say next.

Read More

Posted on August 31, 2006

Date: August 30, 2006
From: Wicker Park
To: Humboldt Park
The Cab: Neat and clean. I was surprised to see the seatbelts prominently displayed in the back rather than tucked away under the seats. Then the driving began and I understood.

Read More

Posted on August 30, 2006

The Beachwood Board Games Affairs Desk

Much to the chagrin of the good people of Atlantic City, N.J., Hasbro is remaking its classic Monopoly board to better appeal to upscale customers insufficiently impressed by Marvin Gardens and Baltic Avenue. Late this summer, Hasbro will announce the makeup of the new board, as determined by voters choosing from among three landmarks in 22 cities somehow deemed more amenable to fantasy property acquisition than the home of the Atlantic Palace Suites and Trump Taj Mahal.

Read More

Posted on August 20, 2006

Now this is a game board.

Read More

Posted on August 20, 2006

By Scott Gordon

As I shook off the museum fatigue that had settled upon body and soul while visiting the Museum of Science and Industry, one question about what I had just seen lingered: Where in Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous notebooks did they find a design for a giant rotating horse head placed in the middle of a planter?

Read More

Posted on August 19, 2006

By Marilyn Ferdinand

I was in Rogers Park for the usual dinner gathering of the Wednesday Night Crowd in a mediocre Korean restaurant the inner circle had glommed onto. There was a fairly large group that night – maybe eight in all. One of our number, a single female with a rather jaundiced view of men, started to complain about the hard time her boss had been giving her that day.
The details of the conversation escape me, but the content is irrelevant. What matters is how the discussion proceeded. Each of the men at the table would, in turn, offer a helpful suggestion to Ms. D. She would listen patiently and then reply, “Yes, but I tried that,” or “But she’d never agree to that,” or “But that’s not how we work there” or some other rebuttal. All of the men at the table prided themselves on being exceedingly clever, boasting advanced degrees and advantageously chosen spouses. Nevertheless, after about 20 minutes of “problem-solving,” the table fell silent, a cloud of defeat and gloom hanging over the vinyl tablecloth. Perhaps only I noticed the triumphant smirk upon Ms. D’s lips. I felt exhilarated! I had just seen a classic game of “Why Don’t You, Yes But (YDYB)” played before my very eyes!

Read More

Posted on August 2, 2006