Ask Amy
Diarist's youthful journals are cringe-worthy - August 10, 2011 - Dear Amy: I have a dilemma that I'm sure many people share.
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Fred Mitchell's Around Town
Smith says Bears can handle minor hassles - August 10, 2011 - Bears players already have had to deal with a canceled Soldier Field practice because of an unsafe surface, a canceled Hall of Fame game because of the NFL lockout and a shortened practice because of lightning in Bourbonnais.
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Barbara Brotman
Chicagoan adds personal touch to dog tales - August 8, 2011 - Is there anyone who doesn't like funny animal videos and pictures?
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Steve Chapman
Bachmann finds fortune's favor - August 10, 2011 - It's a steamy August day, and the candidate arrives shortly after high noon for an outdoor rally in full sun. But bounding off the campaign bus, she is smiling broadly, and no wonder: It's a good day to be Michele Bachmann.
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Teddy Greenstein
18 holes with Charles Woodson - August 6, 2011 - KOHLER, Wis. — Short of making a birdie or getting attacked by snakes, Charles Woodson experienced it all on the front nine at Blackwolf Run's River Course — a 300-yard drive, chunked irons, thinned irons, two pars, a triple bogey, etc.
David Haugh's In the Wake of the News
Bears must play safe rather than risk sorry - August 9, 2011 - Under ordinary circumstances I would urge Bears running back Matt Forte to shut up and play football if he publicly floated the idea of sitting out Saturday night's exhibition opener while seeking a new contract.
Melissa Harris' Chicago Confidential
Where Chicago's future CEOs go to school - August 7, 2011 - It does not appear anywhere on their official bios, but the chief executives of Walgreen Co., Deere & Co., Health Care Service Corp. and USG Corp., to name a few, all graduated from the same training program on their way to the top spot.
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Philip Hersh
Timing not right for U.S. in 2020 - July 1, 2011 - While a U.S. bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics still seems very unlikely, USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun didn't rule it out this week.
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Jon Hilkevitch's Getting Around
What's the holdup on the Congress Parkway Bridge? - August 8, 2011 - What's the holdup completing the overhaul of the Congress Parkway bridge? When traffic control aides at Chicago's airports turn surly, what's a driver to do? And why aren't the new senior citizen reduced-fare transit cards "smart cards"?
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Ask Rex Huppke: I Just Work Here
I Just Work Here: Try a little humility - August 7, 2011 - I believe it was Gandhi who once said, "Can't you people just mix in a little humility?" (I didn't actually Google that quote, but I'm pretty sure it's right.)
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Chris Jones
'Pinkalicious' now playing Broadway Playhouse through January - August 10, 2011 - The first downtown foray of the Emerald City Theatre Company has left the children's theater company very much in the pink.
Gregory Karp
Clark Howard's advice? Spend small, live large - August 5, 2011 - Among advice-givers who talk about smart spending, Clark Howard is perhaps the dean.
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John Kass
Nothing brings out donkey noise like a blame game - August 10, 2011 - As President Barack Obama's mouthpieces panicked and blamed the tea party for the nation's economic downgrade, I closed my eyes and thought of happier days.
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Julia Keller
Fitzgerald, in his own words - August 6, 2011 - Popcorn. Check.
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Rick Kogan's Sidewalks
In tune with tradition - August 5, 2011 - Wandering through the one large and a couple of small workshops that make up the Chicago School of Violin Making in Skokie, it is impossible not to be struck by the quiet intensity and dedication of the 26 people hunched over work benches and...
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Greg Kot
Album review: 'Watch the Throne' a royal waste - August 8, 2011 - 2 stars (out of 4)
Gail MarksJarvis
Markets' next move: Quick correction or quicksand? - August 9, 2011 - At the core of the Dow Jones industrial average's plunge of more than 634 points Monday is something worse than the mini-ding to the nation's credit rating that Standard & Poor's lobbed last week.
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Nina Metz
Whatever happened to Joan and Bette? - August 5, 2011 - "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" hit movie theaters in the fall of 1962 and defied preconceived notions of studio bosses who assumed moviegoers would have little if any interest in seeing a pair of celluloid hotshots past their prime ham it up...
Clarence Page
Is the tea party over? - August 7, 2011 - Has the tea party peaked? Republican lawmakers affiliated with the upstart anti-tax movement scored big in the nerve-racking debt-ceiling debacle, but the victory left enough hard feelings to feed the movement's ultimate defeat.
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Michael Phillips
'The Help' (3 stars) gets an assist from a memorable performance by Viola Davis - August 9, 2011 - "The Help" has Viola Davis going for it, and she is more than enough. The actress deserves the Academy Award nomination (if not the Oscar Itself) she'll be receiving come early 2012. I'm not working for her; I'm just passing along news of the...
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Mary Ellen Podmolik
State ramps up mortgage fraud investigations - August 5, 2011 - Reports of potential mortgage loan fraud are on the upswing, and Illinois certainly is contributing its share to the troubling statistics.
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Dan Pompei
Angelo happy with the way Bears coming together - August 8, 2011 - BOURBONNAIS — Just because the Bears didn't add an offensive line version of Julius Peppers does not mean their offseason plan was foiled.
Howard Reich
Putting rags to paper, finally - August 10, 2011 - Wherever he travels across the country, Chicago ragtime-piano genius Reginald Robinson hears the same refrain: When are you going to publish your music?
Phil Rogers
Teens learning Ripken way - August 6, 2011 - When Cal Ripken Jr. built his youth baseball facility in Aberdeen, Md., he wanted kids to get the feeling of what it is like to play in big-league stadiums. He spent heavily to construct a 3,500-seat replica of Camden Yards, complete with...
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Phil Rosenthal
Hard to watch market's wild ride without feeling queasy - August 10, 2011 - It's a good thing we didn't jump out a window when the Dow Jones industrial average sputtered back into a tailspin after the Federal Reserve announced Tuesday it was holding down interest rates.
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Ameet Sachdev's Chicago Law
Illinois Supreme Court dodges 6th Amendment issue - August 5, 2011 - The Illinois Supreme Court last year decided to review a case that asks a question that touches every criminal prosecution: When does a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to an attorney begin?
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Mary Schmich
Pop quiz: What's your summer personality? - August 10, 2011 - When you hear someone talk about the great time he or she just spent at the summer house or the lake house or the beach house, how do you react?
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Dawn Turner Trice
For infertile couples, help and support - August 10, 2011 - Katie Davis, 24, lost her ovaries to cancer when she was 12. Doctors told her that if she wanted to have a baby one day, she would have to use donor eggs and undergo in vitro fertilization. She has been trying to have a baby since September 2010,...
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John von Rhein
Conductor McGegan brings Handel's Orlando to Ravinia - August 10, 2011 - Of the conductors who bestride the realms of modern and period orchestral performance, Nicholas McGegan may truly be said to command the best of both worlds. Players in modern orchestras welcome his refreshingly nondogmatic approach to obtaining...
Ellen Warren
DIY personal style - August 5, 2011 - Wouldn't it be great if we all had the cash to hire a personal stylist who would put together great outfits that make us look and feel terrific?
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Jen Weigel
Lessons later in life - August 9, 2011 - "Mommy, play a song," my son said the other day, pointing to our piano.
Jon Yates' "What's Your Problem?"
Problem Solver: Amex takes its time making name change - August 7, 2011 - It took Brigette Whitehead just 10 minutes to get a driver's license with her new name after she was married May 28.
Eric Zorn
Spending and taxes - August 10, 2011 - From Dennis, to Eric:
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Julia Allison: Social Studies
LOL-apalooza - August 9, 2011 - DEAR JULIA: I attended Chicago's Lollapalooza summer music festival for the first time this past weekend. I heard you went and I'd love to know what you thought of how the organizers used social media. The experience was nothing like the...
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Matt Bowen
Waiting for name to be called on draft day nerve-wracking - April 24, 2011 - The dynamic of the NFL draft goes much deeper than first-round picks walking across the stage in three-piece suits (bought by their agents) to shake the commissioner's hand.
Dennis Byrne
The truth hurts: Bleak indicators - August 2, 2011 - The fierce debate over raising the federal borrowing limit has had at least one happy result: The public's newly found awareness that Washington must borrow 40 cents for every dollar it spends.
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Meghan Daum
The siren song of Google+ - July 29, 2011 - Google+, which launched a month ago to great fanfare, is so far feeling more like Google nonplussed. Reported to have crossed the 20-million-user mark last weekend, the new social networking site is designed to correct one of Facebook's major...
Don Dziedzina
Kankakee River wading - August 6, 2011 - While gathering information for last week's fishing report, Ed Mullady told me smallmouth bass were being caught in water so shallow that their backs could be seen while they swam along the banks of the Kankakee River.
Leah Eskin
How to succeed - August 7, 2011 - We spent the weekend in New York. We had a picnic to attend and a show to see. Not any show. A Broadway show. A Broadway show starring the biggest star who ever starred. If you're 14, and a girl. Which is to say Daniel Radcliffe.
Ilyce Glink
How to sell your home fast - August 8, 2011 - Our neighbors recently put their home on the market. They received an excellent offer within 24 hours of listing the property and got more money for their home than I thought they could.
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Jonah Goldberg
Men behaving badly - June 3, 2011 - Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York is a very busy man. He sits on several important committees. He's newly married to a high-powered wife. He's planning a run for mayor of New York, which they call "the city that never sleeps" for a reason. In fact,...
Benny Kass
Giving property as a gift requires careful tax planning - July 29, 2011 - I receive a large number of email questions on a monthly basis, and try to answer as many as I can. I wish I could respond personally to everyone, but that is not possible.
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Joyce Lain Kennedy
Three cheers for enthusiasm - August 10, 2011 - Q. I continue to face an uphill climb to decent employment. I am under 50, hold a college degree and have useful experience. But after five months, I'm disheartened and reeling.
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Charles Krauthammer
Grand fix for the supercommittee - August 8, 2011 - WASHINGTON — Conventional wisdom holds that the congressional supercommittee established by the debt-ceiling deal to propose further deficit reduction will go nowhere. I'm not so sure. There is a grand compromise to be had. It does, however,...
Dan McNeil
The lost season - August 4, 2011 - It's been a dreadful week for White Sox fans, all of whom expected — at the minimum — a reasonable fight to the finish.
Robert Pagliarini: Your Other 8 Hours
How healthy are you? - August 8, 2011 - I wrote recently about how you can start closing the gap between the life you are living and your best life ... but I received some reader complaints. Desire to live their Miracle Question life? Check. Ideas and solutions to start closing the gap?...
Kathleen Parker
Standing on bizarre principles - August 4, 2011 - — Actually, no, Mr. Vice President, the tea party gang wasn't "acting like terrorists." They were acting like kidnappers. Let's get our insults correct.
Mark Pearlstein
Newsletter connects residents, if done right - August 5, 2011 - Q: What is the legal status of publishing a condominium newsletter using some association funds? We wish to publish a one-page newsletter that would feature articles about residents, items about the building and events in the area. The only...
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Leonard Pitts
'Everybody look what's goin' down' - July 28, 2011 - Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war.
Janet Portman
Avoid roommate problems when subletting apartment - August 5, 2011 - Q: My three roommates and I rented a house for the year. One roommate left for the summer and sublet his room to a friend, Max. This new roommate has not paid his share of the rent, and we want to evict him. Can we do this?
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Dean Richards
Franco: Human, animal relations focus of 'Apes' - August 5, 2011 - NEW YORK CITY — Even though he scored an Oscar nomination for his performance in "127 Hours" last year, James Franco is hoping that his new movie will put more focus on his acting career and less on his critically panned Academy Awards...
Daneen Skube: Interpersonal Edge
When job turns upside down ... learn flips! - August 8, 2011 - Q. My industry has completely changed within the last few years, and I'm struggling trying to figure out how to navigate the new landscape. Most days, I just think how unfair it is that after working so hard I have to completely revamp my...
David Sobolewski
'We had bigger goals' - March 21, 2011 - Obviously, the Benet team and community had an extremely rough time with the unexpected end to the season.
Joe Trost's Corner Kicks
Boys soccer | Joe Trost's Corner Kicks: Libertyville takes top seed in Pepsi Showdown - August 10, 2011 - The Libertyville boys soccer team learned Tuesday that the pressure will be on from the start after being awarded the top seed in next month's Pepsi Showdown.
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Mary Umberger
Rental demand, prices are heating up - August 5, 2011 - I recently heard a personal finance pundit proclaim that renting is the new owning.
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Bob Weber
Pricey shift to compressed natural gas - August 6, 2011 - Q: Why doesn't Ford or GM allow for factory-installed CNG (compressed natural gas) systems on their assembly lines? The option would be costly but offset by federal tax credits which would lesson the economic blow and alleviate our dependence on...
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George Will
Who will bat against 'Alibi' Obama? - July 8, 2011 - "If he popped up in the pinch he should of made a base hit and the reason he didn't was so-and-so. And if he cracked one for three bases he ought to had a home run, only the ball wasn't lively, or the wind brought it back, or he tripped on a...