Top 5 Local TV Media Moments
ABC-7’s Judy Hsu gives birth on the shoulder of the Ike.

WGN weather-bard Tom Skilling defies the age-old wisdom of the Farmer’s Almanac. The venerable publication calls for a rough winter, but Channel 9’s meteorological merlin says the 2009-2010 winter will likely be El Nino-induced milder than usual.

CBS 2 goes all A&E, recruiting Bill Kurtis to do shorty Cold Case Files.

NBC blunders Bob Sirrott’s contract and lets a Chicago media legend slip away.

CLTV’s Garrard McLendon shows poise and divine-fueled gumption after the double murder of his parents.
—Sam Weller Read the rest of this entry »

A gorgeous Indian summer morning and I’m frantically zipping around the Loop on my bicycle. A guy I know from Critical Mass, a member of the powerful Pritzer family, scored me a seat at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s fourteenth annual Chicago luncheon, but I can’t remember which hotel is hosting the event.

It’s the largest fundraiser for the D.C. museum, which educates millions worldwide about the WWII tragedy and raises awareness of modern-day issues of intolerance and genocide, like the crisis in Darfur. While I certainly support the cause, I’ll admit that what I remember most from my museum visit a few years ago was thinking the Nazis had excellent graphic design.

Now late, I hammer south on Michigan from the Hyatt to the Hilton, then check email at a Kinko’s. Argh, the luncheon is north across the river at the Sheraton.

I arrive sweaty and winded to find a huge ballroom packed with more than 2,000 attendees, a sea of black suits and skirts. My table’s full of sharply dressed Critical Massers, mostly members of the “Tribe,” as we Jews like to call ourselves. The food’s terrific—a Japanese-inspired plate of teriyaki salmon, soba with edamame and sunomono salad—and it’s kosher. This stuff could give kosher Chinese a run for its money. Read the rest of this entry »

Approximately 500 people are gathered in and around the lot of Murphy’s Bleachers on a clear Sunday morning. At 9am, the 250 pairs of bikers take off on a three-hour scavenger hunt around Chicago. This Urban Assault Ride, started by Josh Kravetz in Austin, Texas in 2003, is one of ten that takes place throughout the country.

The five checkpoint sites for the race were listed on the UAR Web site months ago, Kravetz says. At each checkpoint, the partners have to work together to complete an obstacle course. Once completed, the team receives a colored bead from a staff member. The bead is then placed on a necklace chain, given out before the race, for safekeeping. There are also two mystery checkpoints that bikers can ride to for bonus.

“It’s a really cool way to get people out in the city on bikes,” he says. “We took it to big cities where bikes play a big role.” Read the rest of this entry »

Wigs, hats and antennae; wings, fake mustaches and long socks; pirates, cheerleaders and ringmasters—it’s all part of the spectacle Saturday at the Tour de Fat in Palmer Square.

The event, part of an eleven-city tour, highlights biking, beer, creativity and sustainability. New Belgium Brewing Company, based in Fort Collins, Colorado, started the annual tour ten years ago to increase awareness and participation in bike transportation. The day seems all about being as creative and green as possible—on a bike. Read the rest of this entry »

A woman places a tin foil “bike helmet” on her Schnauzer and gently secures him into the doggie carrier on the back of her bike. As she does this, a crowd of bicyclists quickly gathers in Columbus Park at 500 South Central. By 1pm, roughly sixty people are waiting patiently to take a seventeen-mile bike ride zigzagging past the architectural gems in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.

“We’ll give stragglers a little more time,” says the tour’s organizer, Lee Diamond, while he gathers everyone’s attention. As he goes over some bike-safety basics, he is interrupted by a loud, balloon-like pop. A tire on the bike next to him quickly deflates. Suddenly, fellow bikers spring into action producing inner tubes and an air pump. Another tour organizer Cynthia Bell and a couple of others rush over to change the tire. “I’ve got a wrench!” someone yells. Read the rest of this entry »