By Helene Smith
(Posted on May 26, 2017
Meet Limo Bob
By Steve Rhodes
I spotted Limo Bob in this series of photos titled “America’s Obscene Wealth, In Pictures” and wondered how this character had escaped my attention.
The caption: “Limo Bob” builds, sells, and rents out limos in Chicago. His fleet includes a 100-foot-long limo and one made from a Boeing 727. He wears 33 pounds of gold jewelry on his hands and neck.
I had to know more.
Posted on May 23, 2017
Beachwood Photo Booth: American Spring
By Helene Smith
(ENLARGE FOR PROPER VIEWING; ENLARGE AND CLICK AGAIN FOR ANOTHER OPTION AND LOOK CLOSELY)
Posted on May 19, 2017
United Is Too Tight
By Michele Gelfand and Virginia Choi/The Conversation
Is there something wrong with the culture at United Airlines?
A series of recent incidents have reinforced this view, from the horrifying moment when security officers violently dragged a passenger off a plane in April to a more recent incident in which an airline employee canceled a man’s flight after he began taping their heated exchange.
The airline has reacted to its PR debacles by profusely apologizing and vowing to revise its customer service policies. But changing a few rules won’t be enough. Our research suggests the critical source of United’s failure is its overly “tight” organizational culture.
Posted on May 16, 2017
Beachwood Photo Booth: Don’t Look Back
By Helene Smith
Something might be gaining on you.
(ENLARGE FOR PROPER VIEWING)
Posted on May 12, 2017
Chicagoetry: Old Main
By J.J. Tindall
Old Main
I will always love you.
In my soul, Old Main, you are
As a pyramid: holy.
Monumentally strange
And eternally beautiful,
In any guise. Like a Frankenstein
Of good, old-fashioned government
Posted on May 10, 2017
Losing Logan Square
By Timothy McManus
A rapid loss of culture, identity and affordability that is neither natural nor inevitable, but the result of purposeful policy choices.
Posted on May 9, 2017
Beachwood Photo Booth: Manzana
(Roseland At Night
Chicago-Based Duracell Sues Alleged Gray Market Dealer
By Jonathan Stempel/Reuters
Duracell, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, on Thursday filed a lawsuit accusing a Missouri wholesaler of illegally selling gray market versions of its copper-top alkaline batteries.
According to a complaint filed in federal court in Chicago, JRS Ventures is importing and selling batteries made in China that were intended for sale only to Duracell’s original equipment manufacturers, to be packaged with products such as appliances and remote controls.
Duracell, which long used the tagline “no regular battery looks like it or lasts like it,” said JRS’s batteries do look like its own but come in packaging that does not mention Duracell’s 10-year guarantee or how to obtain customer service.
Chicago-based Duracell said it learned of the alleged infringement in March, and said that JRS refused its demand to stop selling the infringing batteries.
Posted on May 1, 2017