Date Taken: 10/15/08
From: Downtown
To: Wicker Park
The Cab: A van cab. It was first in line at the Hilton Suites Hotel so I got it all to myself. But I never feel right as a sole rider in a van cab. This one was weird though – not a bench seat but two individual seats behind the driver. Also, an odd odor. Not quite a dead person, but somewhat Seinfeld-ish. I wonder if I’ll be able to get it out of my hair. And while the van is clean, it is also vaguely dispiriting in its appearance; there is an odd deathly hue inside the cab. I’m getting faint. I suddenly feel as if I might just die. There isn’t even a bench seat to lie down on.

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Posted on October 20, 2008

By The Beachwood Economic Forecasting Desk

1. New strip mall construction sign stating “Future Home of Happy’s Restaurant” now reads “Future Home of County Soup Line.”
2. Soup lines are hiring.
3. Coming soon to every corner: Soupbucks. “I’ll have a Hot Venti Lentil with a Two-Shake of Salt and a non-fat Pepper Pour.
4. 401(k)s are now valued lower than 501 jeans.
5. 401(k)s are now 401(z)s.
6. 401(k)s now worth $401.

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Posted on October 17, 2008

By Travis Bradberry

TODAY IS NATIONAL BOSS’S DAY: HAVE ANYONE TO THANK?
When Patricia Bays Haroski registered “National Boss’s Day” with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1958, she wasn’t playing a practical joke, or even sucking up. She was working as her father’s secretary in a State Farm Insurance office in Deerfield, Illinois. Haroski wanted to let her father know she appreciated his willingness to always go the extra mile and provide the attention and support his employees needed, even when a host of other priorities competed for his attention. Haroski chose her father’s birthday, October 16th, for the holiday because she believed a great boss should be celebrated with the same positive regard and enthusiasm typically reserved for his or her birthday.
Let’s hope the previous paragraph isn’t read by too many people at once, otherwise the collective roll of their eyes might tilt the earth off its axis. Most Americans just don’t have much to celebrate on National Boss’s Day. According to a recent study published in Human Resource Executive magazine, a third of US workers spend a minimum of twenty hours per month in the office complaining about their boss.

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Posted on October 16, 2008

By The Beachwood Historical Firsts Affairs Desk

As noted in item No. 2 here, the world’s first wireless phone call was made 25 years ago this week at Soldier Field. What was the call about? Beachwood Labs has produced some options.
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1. This place is huge! It would be perfect for Olympics opening and closing ceremonies one day, if they don’t tear it down!
2. The Cubs will win a World Series before this thing gets small enough to put in your pocket.
3. I told you never to call me at work, honey!

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Posted on October 14, 2008

By Steve Rhodes

Longtime readers of mine know I am a huge fan of Cheryl Lavin’s “Tales from the Front.” If you are as well – and you really should be – now is a good time to step up and declare your fandom because the column seems to have been dropped by the Tribune. Here is an e-mail Lavin sent out to readers this week, followed by mentions “Tales” has received in the Beachwood in the past.

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Posted on October 10, 2008

By The Beachwood Feminist Frenzy Affairs Desk

Three events of note.
1. WHERE WOMEN STAND IN CHICAGO NEWSROOMS
Date: October 15, 2008
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Columbia College’s Ferguson Hall, 600 S. Michigan Ave.
Featuring: Linda Yu, Sally Eisele, Hanke Gratteau and Lynn Norment

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Posted on October 9, 2008

By Walk For Farm Animals

Chicago Joins More Than 50 Cities Across North America for the 2008 Walk for Farm Animals
Chicago Walk will benefit Farm Sanctuary’s rescue, education and advocacy efforts for farm animals
On Saturday, October 11, Chicago will join more than 50 cities across North America in hosting a Walk for Farm Animals to benefit Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization.
Chicago-area residents will meet at the Flat Top Grill at 319 W. North Ave. for the start of their Walk at 11 a.m. Immediately following the Walk, participants are invited to a buffet lunch at the Flat Top Grill, which is $13 per person upon early registration with the Walk coordinator. Walks occur throughout the U.S and Canada every fall – on or around October 2 – in honor of World Farm Animals Day.

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Posted on October 8, 2008

By J.J. Tindall

SILENT SUPERNOVA SYMPHONY
Autumn? Advantage: Chicago.
A tree transmogrifies into
A silent supernova,
An explosion of
Amber,
Auburn and
Amethyst.

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Posted on October 7, 2008

By Dan Simon

When Americans think of fashion, they usually associate it with cities like New York or Milan. Many don’t realize that Tokyo is not only a top fashion city, but a city with a completely unique, multi-layered style and fashion scene.
And the styles of this city are strange, beautiful and stupefying all at once. Petite women shuffling about in silk kimonos cinched with elaborate obi (belts). Men wearing pointed shoes and boots three or four sizes too big for their feet, simply to show of that they are up on the latest trends. Schoolchildren in sailor uniforms. Teenage boys baked with golden tans and bouffant rooster-like dyed hair. Ripped jeans, man purses, jingling buttons, spikes, safety pins, fanny packs and all manner of gaudy over-the-top foolishness.

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Posted on October 6, 2008

By The Beachwood Meetup Affairs Desk

The newest Chicagoland Meetups.
* I like REDWINE
* Chicagoland Social Events
* Naperville Knitting Meetup Group
* Longer Drives Fitness Training
* Fox Valley Rent to Own and 1st Time Homebuyers Exchange

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Posted on October 1, 2008