By Bob Chambers

Steve Jobs revolutionized six industries – personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing (as well as reinventing the store’s role in defining a brand) – yet he was utterly incapable of purchasing furniture worthy of coexisting with an Eames or Nakashima chair in his Silicon Valley mansion.
A follower of Zen Buddhism all his life, Jobs was nevertheless the opposite of the calm contemplative; he was, instead, almost always incessantly uptight and on edge, never fully comfortable either with other people or in his own skin. The greatest business leader of his era, he was at the same time a petulant bully who frequently cried when he failed to get his way.

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Posted on May 30, 2012

By The Poetry Foundation

WIth an assist from the Beachwood 3-D News Desk.

Poetry magazine presents an evening of poetry featuring the work of memoirist, poet, and activist Reginald Dwayne Betts, author of the memoir A Question of Freedom and the poetry collection Shahid Reads His Own Palm.
A national spokesperson for the Campaign for Youth Justice, Betts writes and lectures about the impact of mass incarceration on American society. In April 2012, President Barack Obama appointed him as a member of the White House’s Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency.

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Posted on May 25, 2012

‘Dignifies The Human Spirit’

The Green Hills Public Library in Palos Hills hired Chicago artist Francine Gourguechon to install a mosaic this month. Here’s the video.

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Posted on May 24, 2012

Pension revelation and Rahm’s dishing perfect time to begin a real assessment of his legacy instead of the pansy ass ones (weepy elegiac hagiographical) that appeared in the media as he left office.
So far this stands as the most concise assessment . . .
TimeOUT: (images) Mayor Culpa isn’t just Weinberg acting as the snarky kid in the back of the classroom reading National Lampoon and throwing spitballs. The intro to every chapter–one for each of Richie’s six campaigns–lays out a tight, incisive history of who ran, the margin of victory and the political climate surrounding the election.
http://timeoutchicago.com/things-to-do/this-week-in-chicago/14765879/%E2%80%9Cmayor-culpa%E2%80%9D
Sun-Time: a searing anti-tribute: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/6511865-418/mark-weinbergs-mayor-culpa-a-searing-funny-anti-tribute-to-daley.html
WBBM: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/07/25/new-book-slams-mocks-retired-mayor-daley/
They all take it as a joke but not as an actually acccurate assemsent, more tan tehir own.
buy here: http://mayorculpa.com/products-page/books/mayor-culpa-gone-but-not-forgiven/
First the intro, favorite images.
This book is the culmination of years of bitching and moaning about Mayor Daley’s corruptions, arrogance and anti-democratic tendencies. You don’t want to know how many hours have been spent complaining about Daley and his policies. Indeed, in a way, I have made a career seeking to expose and rectify policies and practices promulgated by Daley, having spent the past 10 years suing the city for civil rights violations via class-action lawsuits. After all these years, I thought, “Hey, a final, futile gesture is required to commemorate the end of an era of political chicanery and malfeasance.” The result is this book.

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Posted on May 14, 2012

Beachwood Fan Fiction!

E L James of Fifty Shades fame was in town this week and that got us to thinking: What if James had been from Chicago?
For the uninitiated, this comment on Amazon is just about all you need to know about James’s hackneyed literary style.

UPDATE*: Thanks to the many other perturbed readers who have shared their own choices of the most annoyingly overused phrases in this masterpiece. Following up on their suggestions with my ever-useful Kindle search function, I have discovered that Ana says “Jeez” 81 times and “oh my” 72 times. She “blushes” or “flushes” 125 times, including 13 that are “scarlet,” 6 that are “crimson,” and one that is “stars and stripes red.” (I can’t even imagine.) Ana “peeks up” at Christian 13 times, and there are 9 references to Christian’s “hooded eyes” and 7 to his “long index finger.” Characters “murmur” a whopping 199 times (doesn’t anyone just talk?), “clamber” on/in/out of things 21 times, and “smirk” 34 times. Finally, in a remarkable bit of symmetry, our hero and heroine exchange 124 “grins” and 124 “frowns”… which, by the way, seems an awful lot of frowning for a woman who experiences “intense,” “body-shattering,” “delicious,” “violent,” “all-consuming,” “turbulent,” “agonizing” and “exhausting” orgasms on just about every page.”

Now adapt along with us, in Twitter-size bites.

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Posted on May 11, 2012

By The Fortknighthood

Another one in the books.

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Posted on May 7, 2012

Cusack, Kilmer, LaBeouf

Wrapping up C2E2.
1. Man of God from Pinwheel Press:

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Posted on April 23, 2012

By The Society of Midland Authors

The Society of Midland Authors will present its annual awards May 8 in Chicago, honoring its choices for the best books by Midwest authors published in 2011. (Links added.)
ADULT FICTION
WINNER: Paula McLain, The Paris Wife, Random House. (Author lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.)
FINALISTS: Donald Ray Pollock, The Devil All the Time, Doubleday. (Author lives in Chillicothe, Ohio.) Patricia Ann McNair, The Temple of Air, Elephant Rock Books. (Author lives in Chicago.)

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Posted on April 20, 2012

The Art Of A Runaway Chicano-Apache Ex-Con

“The Poetry Foundation is pleased to partner with the Chicago Public Library to present a reading by poet Jimmy Santiago Baca. Baca’s work is concerned with social justice and revolves around the marginalized and disenfranchised, dealing with themes of addiction, community, and the American Southwest barrios,” the foundation announced Monday.
“Born in New Mexico and of Chicano and Apache descent, Jimmy Santiago Baca was raised first by his grandmother, who later sent him to an orphanage. At 13, Baca ran away, and at 21, he was sentenced to five years in a maximum-security prison. It was there that he learned to read and began to write poetry.
“Today a prolific writer, Baca has been awarded the Pushcart Prize, the National Poetry Award, two Southwest Book Awards, and the International Hispanic Heritage Award. He has also written a memoir, a collection of stories, a novel, and a guidebook for teachers.”
Baca will appear at the Harold Washington Library Center on Saturday, April 28 at 2 p.m.
Let’s take a look at the man and his work.

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Posted on April 16, 2012

By Steve Rhodes

A year ago I received a PR pitch for One Nation Under Sex, by famed Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and his co-author, David Eisenbach. It got stuck in my queue, so to speak, but now I’m finally bringing it to you, and I recommend it highly. First, the pitch that piqued my interest, then some choice excerpts.
The Pitch
What is the takeaway when America’s most notorious pornographer teams up with a distinguished Columbia University history professor? Well, as it turns out:
* Ben Franklin’s well-earned reputation as a ladies man aided his effort to secure France’s military assistance during the Revolutionary War.
* Dolly Madison was notorious for sleeping with three presidents, one vice president and a multitude of congressmen and diplomats.
* Thomas Jefferson exposed Alexander Hamilton’s affair with Maria Reynolds to foil his plans to modernize the banking system and industrialize the economy.

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Posted on April 14, 2012