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Honoring The Hala Kahiki’s “Tiki Titan”

And The House Of Paradise He Outfitted

“If tiki had a Michelangelo, it might just be designer William John Westenhaver,” Maureen O’Connell writes for the Sun-Times.
(And if the Sun-Times had an editor, they would have made those verb tenses parallel, but I digress.)†
“And if he had a Sistine Chapel, it could be the Hala Kahiki lounge in River Grove.
“Mr. Westenhaver was one of the foremost makers of all things tiki – carved chairs, tables, totems, idols, light fixtures, candle and menu-holders. His pieces – produced by Witco, the company he co-founded in Mount Vernon, Washington – once graced Polynesian-style clubs, hotels and restaurants across the country, built in a wave of post-war escapism redolent of rum, coconut and bamboo . . .
“Mr. Westenhaver, 91, a resident of Coupeville on Washington’s Whidbey Island, died Dec. 14 after a fall, said his son Kim.”

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Posted on January 18, 2017

Chicagoetry: Damocles In K-Town

By J.J. Tindall

Damocles in K-Town
A sharp sword dangles
Just above my head now,
Hung from a low, dark cloud
By a single strand
Of horse tail.
I can feel it
But can’t directly see it.
Got me on edge.

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Posted on January 16, 2017

Englewood 79th/67th

By CharlieBo313

Noontime.
YouTube Commenter: “Looks like you were eastbound on 67th, passed the southbound entrance to the Ryan and then entered the South Shore neighborhood.”

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Posted on January 11, 2017

Chicagoetry: Reservoir Dogs

By J.J. Tindall

Reservoir Dogs
“For no man can make a dent in emptiness.” – Nelson Algren, Chicago: City on the Make
What is a river?
A ditch full of rain
What is rain?
The tears of a god.
What is a god?
A metaphor.

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Posted on January 10, 2017

Chicago’s Factories Of The Past Are Turning Into Chicago’s Data Centers Of The Future

By Graham Pickren/The Conversation

We live in a data-driven world. From social media to smart cities to the Internet of Things, we now generate huge volumes of information about nearly every detail of life. This has revolutionized everything from business to government to the pursuit of romance.
We tend to focus our attention on what is new about the era of big data. But our digital present is in fact deeply connected to our industrial past.

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Posted on January 9, 2017

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