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Arts & Culture
Becoming Kris Kringle
Santa learns tricks of the trade before donning red suit for holiday season
For thousands of men across the country, the beginning of December calls for an atypical refashioning of their normal business wardrobes.
Just like clockwork, as Dec. 1 ...
Tappin’ to the beat of the drum
Dance instructor takes a multicultural spin on ‘The Nutcracker’
Ballet and Tchaikovsky's compositions might not be the most exciting things in this world, so a local dance instructor decided to mix the traditional Nutcracker storyline by incorporating tap, gypsy flamenco and ...
Crafty Chicagoans do business at Empty Bottle
Local market mixes booze, music, handmade goods
Every second Saturday of the month, the drinks flow, the music bumps and the locals get a little bit crafty.
The Handmade Market at Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave., gathers 32 vendors ...
Check me out
Junior fiction writing major Rachel Fink-Sigler
Even though the year is coming to a close and a new one is on the horizon, fashion seems to be taking a few steps back and is looking to the past ...
Director, ‘wrestler’ of indie films
Darren Aronofsky talks about his newest film, ‘The Wrestler’
Ten years after his first major box-office release, Darren Aronofsky has decided to traverse new ground with a different style of film.
After writing and directing his first three major films—Pi (1998), Requiem ...
Nothing good from down-under flick
‘Australia’ lends realism to the likes of cartoons by David Orlikoff, Contributing Writer
Writer-director Baz Luhrmann's Australia is actually two films. No, it's not another Grindhouse, but at 165 minutes Luhrmann easily forgets what the heck he is doing, takes a step back and tries ...
Welcome to the dark side
‘Star Wars’ costume club going strong in Chicago
Their bodies are streaming with sweat, ready to collapse from dragging too much weight on their feet all day-but they still need to be vigilant of the kids trying to grab their ...
Backstage Pass
With Murder by Death
It was nearing 8 p.m. on Nov. 20 and the walk from the Addison Red Line el stop to Metro seemed especially brutal given the bitter late November temperature. With recorders and ...
All Schnarr All-star
Relationship rules, ‘all Schnarr’ style
When I was 6 years old, I stole icing out of a jar my mom was saving for a cake. I felt so guilty that I told my mom as soon as ...
O’Hare exposed
Photographs tell history, growth of international airport
It was 1984 when Robert Burley began his documentary series of O'Hare International Airport.
The operations crew drove him to places where the runways ended and the windsocks disappeared. Burley spent four years ...
Christmas in the cosmos
David Bowie celebrates holidays in a galaxy far, far away with local theater
Ground Control to Major Tom: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas-in space.
Known for its spoofs and satirical on-stage productions, New Millennium Theater Company has added a new show to its ...
Premium Blend
With Athens
After being shut-ins for nearly 10 months in their church-turned-apartment-turned-home studio, Athens released their first full-length on Nov. 15, What Would We Wear Were We Werewolves? A significant departure from the ...
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be
When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, ‘What will I be?’” So goes the song Doris Day crooned in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew ...
Urbanizing extinct apples
Chicago-based foundation hopes to start chain of orchards
While visions of apple picking in an orchard aren't typically associated with Chicago, a new organization is hoping to add this pastime to the metropolitan area.
Chicago Rarities Orchard Project (CROP) is an ...
‘Democracy’ a disappointment
Long-awaited album fails to reach lowest of expectations by Josh Sambdman, Staff Writer
In a 2006 pre-release review of Chinese Democracy for the April Fool's edition of Spin, Chuck Klosterman wrote that in order for the album to succeed, Chinese Democracy would have to be ...
Ice cream makes nice
Local woman turns frozen hobby into independent company
Kris Swanberg received an ice cream maker as a wedding present last year. Much to the skepticism of her friends, she said she started using it and now sells her homemade ice ...