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The Beer Thinker: The Best Beers Of 2013 That I Can Remember

By Dan O’Shea

I know what you’re thinking – I’ve gone so long that you barely remember me. Well, then let’s get re-acquainted.
I’ve been on a year-long bender called new-to-fatherhood. Most days, it’s like being drunk and hungover at the same time. It didn’t leave me much time to keep up with the ever-quickening pace of new craft beer releases, but I did manage to break the seal on enough new brews to provide a strong field of contention for my favorite beers of 2013.
This is by no means a complete list. There were some great beers I had in the past year that I wasn’t in a position to take notes on, or that I went back to later and found it hard to figure out what grabbed me the first time. So, I guess this is better described as my favorite beers of the year that I actually remember and had time to jot down a couple notes about – enjoy!

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Posted on December 31, 2013

Th!nkArt: Agony & Ecstasy

By The Arts Channel

“Th!nkArt is [a Chicago-based] art and policy salon that has featured established and emerging artists from Europe, the United States and South America.
“Launched in 2006 by Laurie R. Glenn, our aim is to forge a dialogue between the worlds of art and politics. Th!nkArt was built on the legacy of cafe society, famous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for gathering artists and intellectuals of the day.
“Th!nkArt fosters a salon setting for thought-provoking exhibitions that integrate a variety of artistic interpretations including literary readings, music, dance, theatrical performances, film, and cultural programming.”

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Posted on December 30, 2013

New Year’s Day Canoe Paddle On The Chicago River!

By The Forest Preserves of Cook County

UPDATE Dec. 31: The 2014 Happy Canoe Year Paddle down the North Branch of the Chicago River has been cancelled due to safety concerns stemming from portions of the river freezing over and becoming impassable.
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HAPPY CANOE YEAR!
Ring in the New Year with a paddling trip down the North Branch of the Chicago River.
On January 1, 2014, the Forest Preserves of Cook County will host the annual New Year’s Day Canoe Paddle down the North Branch of the Chicago River. Experienced paddlers are invited to participate in this free tradition, which begins below the Skokie Lagoons and finishes approximately four miles south in Linne Woods

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Posted on December 23, 2013

The Onion Year In Review

By The Onion

Gorilla sales skyrocketed following the latest gorilla attack, Nelson Mandela became the first politician to be missed, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage saying “Sure, who cares?” The Onion looks back at the news stories that shaped 2013.

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Posted on December 19, 2013

Top Ten Trends 2014: A Year Of Extremes!

By Gerald Celente/Trends Journal

In 33 years of forecasting trends, the Trends Research Institute has never seen such a new year that will witness severe economic hardship and social unrest on one hand, and deep philosophic enlightenment and personal enrichment on the other. A series of dynamic socioeconomic and transformative geopolitical trend points are aligning in 2014 to ring in the worst and best of times.
Ready or not, here they come.
March Economic Madness: One of the most difficult aspects of trend forecasting is getting the timing right. And when it comes to economics, there are many wildcards that can stall or detour any onrushing trend. We called the Crash of ’87, the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis and the Panic of ’08 (we even established the domain name in 2007) right on the button. But we missed the mark with our Crash of 2010 prediction.
Why? The Federal Reserve and central banks around the world were secretly pumping tens of trillions of dollars into a failing financial system. These were, at the time, unimagined schemes for nations that pride themselves on capitalism. And while we are not naive to the dirty dealings of the financial industry, rigging the daily multitrillion dollar LIBOR and FOREX markets was not on our radar. Thus, what we believed to be economic truths and hard facts were, in fact, cover-ups and lies.

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Posted on December 18, 2013

Chicagoetry: Fang

By J.J. Tindall

FANG
So: in this dream,
a long, yellow cobra
marked with green diamonds
ensnared me
as I rode my bike toward home.
His flat head wrapped
around my right handlebar grip
and I feared it’s tail end

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Posted on December 17, 2013

Beachwood Holiday Party!

By Steve Rhodes/The Beachwood Media Company

We’re having a party.
Please join all manner of Beachwood and Beachwood-affiliated folks and peoples on THURSDAY, DEC. 19 at the affable Beachwood Inn for high jinks, storytelling, drunkardness, jukebox domination, pool sharking, off-key singing, joke-telling, flirtation and all-around good-timery. The tab is on our very own Jim “Coach” Coffman, who asks only that you let him hear a few of his favorite Allman Brothers tunes while regaling you with tales of adult sports figures behaving badly and youth sports adorableness.

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Posted on December 15, 2013

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