Chicago -
By Brett McNeil
In an effort to share anything that might be of use to them in their investigation of My Fake Hedge Fund Manager, I sought a phone interview with the FBI and this week and spoke at some length with a very professional and mildly avuncular special agent from the Chicago office. I told him what I knew about Jim Brandolino and about my dealings with him over time, and I then got to ask a couple questions of my own.
Posted on February 3, 2011
By Gary Silbar Communications
While most Midwesterners head to a beach or hit the slopes for a much needed break, winter vacation for a select group of individuals means battling days of sub-zero temperatures to create massive works of art that only endure as long as the temperature remains below freezing.
For elite snow sculptors, the dead of winter means packing up the tools of their trade and heading to Lake Geneva, WI to compete in the U.S. National Snow Sculpting Championship, the top snow sculpting competition for U.S. carvers.
Posted on February 2, 2011
From The Media Burn Archive
Party over, oops out of time.
1. Helen Lishman for Mayor.
Posted on February 1, 2011
By Brett McNeil
Poof!
One of the last things I did in August before heading to O’Hare for my flight to Jakarta was to cut a check for $5,000 to a hedge fund manager and friend of my mom’s named Jim Brandolino.
He’d been managing money for my mother and me for more than seven years, and his little investment pool, based on the quarterly statements he provided, was the only investment I had that was anywhere near successful.
I figured I’d park some additional savings with Brandolino while I was away earning peanuts in Indonesia and tap the funds when I got back for a security deposit and rent on a new apartment.
It seemed like a decent idea. I’d just seen Brandolino at my going-away party the month before and he was in fine fettle: The funds were plodding along, we were making better-than-modest money in a shit market, and Brandolino was working on a book to share his investment strategies with the wider world.
He bought me a beer at the party and toasted my Southeast Asian adventure. To your success, he said.
To my success! A couple weeks ago, Brandolino walked into the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago and confessed that his investment empire was in fact a cheap and flimsy fraud.
Posted on January 31, 2011
By David Rutter
1. Roger Ebert, WTF?
First things first. I love Roger Ebert. Always have; always will. Almost anything he says about a movie is more likely to be true than otherwise. And we are a more emaciated culture in his absence. Plus, I just like him.
But . . .
While I hope his reborn Ebert Presents at the Movies becomes a colossal TV hit and crowns his career triumphantly, the debut was a hard load to digest. It wasn’t hideous; just ungainly.
Posted on January 28, 2011
By The Chicago Mexican-American History Museum
Located within the Ford City Mall, 7601 S. Cicero Ave.
Posted on January 27, 2011
By The Leinenkugel Brewing Company
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. – Craft beer enthusiasts are in for a surprise addition to the beer case this season with the return of longtime fan favorite, Leinenkugel’s Limited. First brewed in 1986, the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company will reintroduce Leinenkugel’s Limited, the brewer’s first ever craft beer, for a limited time beginning Feb. 1.
Leinenkugel’s Limited, which receives numerous passionate fan requests daily via online and mail, was first introduced 25 years ago as a fall seasonal and became a year-round offering in 1990 in response to immense popularity. In 1995, Leinie Limited was re-named Northwoods Lager to more accurately reflect the brew’s year-round, “unlimited” availability. In hibernation since 2000, the beer was most recently offered for a short time in 2008.
Posted on January 26, 2011
By The Federal Citizen Information Center
When you think of someone having a heart attack, you might picture a middle-aged man rubbing his arm and then clutching his chest, gasping in pain. But women suffering heart attacks generally don’t exhibit those same symptoms.
Because February is American Heart Month, take some time to learn the signs of heart attacks in women as well as what you can do to prevent them with these tips from the Federal Citizen Information Center.
Posted on January 25, 2011
From The Beachwood Tweet Deck
Woot woot.
1. Raffle to win trip to NFC Championship game ends tomorrow at noon! Tix only $2, proceeds benefit Jay Cutler Foundation. http://bit.ly/ikg85X 19 Jan
2. just found the site with the best 1-day deals, LivingSocial… check ’em out -> http://jol.ly/0BPI RT if you love a great deal. #ad 19 Jan
3. Here is one more page from the Elle Magazine shoot @ellemagazine http://plixi.com/p/70878562 18 Jan
4. http://plixi.com/p/70878290 Hey everyone check out Feb. 2011 issue of Elle Magazine! I did a fun photo shoot with … http://tmi.me/5DION18 Jan
5. Thank u! RT @kardash17: @kristincav kristin I lovee you please reply ! 18 Jan
Posted on January 24, 2011
By David Rutter
1. College, WTF?
Some scientific studies are mildly amusing and others provide an unlimited bounty of amazed WTFs. This one is a keeper:
Forty-three percent of collegians apparently learn nothing in their first two years of higher education and only marginally more thereafter.
As Bluto Blutarsky infamously lamented: “Seven years of college down the drain.”
Posted on January 21, 2011
