New book chronicles health care at Cook County Hospital

Matters of life and death

07/20/2011

David Ansell is an intense man. He believes accessibility to quality health care is a moral issue and he ties the inequities of the multi-tiered American system to racism and poverty. His recently released book, County: Life, Death and Politics at Chicago’s Public Hospital, is a memoir of the events that shaped him as a physician.
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Pitchfork remains people's fest even as buzz has grown

A Festivus for the rest of us

07/13/2011

Pitchfork Music Festival turns 7 this year, and though it's suffered criticism from some purists as having lost its credentials as the perfect alternative festival, it still retains its trademark independent vibe.
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Steppenwolf's 'Middletown' probes the underside of the American dream

A small town with big problems

07/06/2011

There's one in every state: a middle town. A small 'burb situated directly between larger cities; a midpoint between two greater actions whose nature is an extension of its geography, where average is the norm and complacency is accepted, if not striven for.
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Good films emerge in this Chicago Park District's Movies in the Parks summer lineup

Cinema under the stars

06/29/2011

When the Chicago Park District announced the programming for this summer's Movies in the Parks series, the criticisms from Chicago's cinephile community were audible for miles. The selections were panned as pedestrian, unfocused, lacking originality, and just plain boring.
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That joke isn't funny anymore

06/22/2011

We've all received them: Emails from friends, co-workers, classmates or family members with subject lines screaming, "THIS IS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER!!" Opening the message usually reveals a news story detailing some tragic folly that has befallen someone due to his or her own misguided, thoughtless, and often downright stupid, actions.
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Lighthousekeeping brings Scotland past and present to the Chicago stage

Life amongst the Scots

06/15/2011

Gabriel Byrne visited New York Public Radio's "The Leonard Lopate Show" recently to discuss his latest project. No, the actor best known for starring roles in Miller's Crossing, The Usual Suspects, In Treatment and scores of other productions wasn't plugging a new show opening, as is the case with many celebrity appearances.
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Art Institute of Chicago celebrates prolific country's 150th birthday with free guide

Exploring Italy's art

06/08/2011

Food, music, and fine art — welcome to Italy. The country has been renowned for centuries as a global cultural center, but until 150 years ago, the nation of “Italy” existed only as a series of independent city-states. To celebrate the anniversary of its unification, the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago is partnering with the Art Institute of Chicago to offer “Highlights of Italian Art,” a free gallery guide to some of the museum’s most spectacular Italian works.
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Shock Theater resurrects the B-flick

New film series brings back old-school horror and sci-fi double features

06/01/2011

Ah, the B-film double feature. What happened to you? Decades ago, theatrical pairings of low-budget flicks were common. Film distributors, studios and theater programmers would slap together like (and sometimes unlike) films with hopes that the double bills would equal increased revenue. For one low price, patrons could get more than their fill of horror, sci-fi, sexploitation and other grindhouse fare at their local theater or drive-in.
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Field Museum's newest looks at history of man and steed

'Horse' gallops in

05/25/2011

The Field Museum is home to some big animals: Sue, the city’s most famous dino, and a pair of five-ton elephants greet visitors when they enter the museum’s main hall. But just a few yards away, a new exhibit highlights an animal that’s much smaller and much more closely entwined with our own history.
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A summer of African movie art at the Chicago Cultural Center

Get your mojo on

05/18/2011

Quick. Name the countries with the world’s largest film industries. Easy points for picking the United States as the No. 1 big dog, and kudos for ranking India’s glamorous Bollywood in the second position. But who pulls the third spot? To find the third largest film industry in the world one must travel to Africa, specifically to Nigeria.
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