Ask Amy
Moms take rivalry to high school - August 30, 2011 - Dear Amy: We have one daughter who has just started 10th grade.
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Fred Mitchell's Around Town
Skowron: 'Fire 'em' - August 30, 2011 - Bill "Moose" Skowron says baseball Commissioner Bud Selig should take a tougher stance with steroid abusers.
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Barbara Brotman
Brotman: Parents grapple with teen's suicide - August 29, 2011 - The Nordstrom shopping bags are still on the floor of her room, the new shoes inside untouched. Spiral notebooks are stacked on a table. Next to the bed is a DVD of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Season 1.
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Steve Chapman
Injustice, in plain sight - August 28, 2011 - In 1989, a Waukegan woman was raped after three men invaded her apartment. She told police the rapist had a tattoo, wore an earring in a pierced ear and spoke English. Two days later, the cops took her to an office and said, "Watch the one...
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Teddy Greenstein
Uihlein likes challenge of defending U.S. Amateur title at Erin Hills - August 20, 2011 - ERIN, Wis. — The U.S. Amateur can be a grueling test, what with six straight days of golf and a 36-hole final.
David Haugh's In the Wake of the News
Disenchantment at Halas Hall - August 30, 2011 - On the first day of Bears training camp at Olivet Nazarene University last month, I bumped into Lance Briggs outside a dorm and playfully put up my dukes.
Melissa Harris' Chicago Confidential
Molex co-Chairman Fred Krehbiel's idea to own a small hotel translates into Ballyfin, an Irish estate - August 21, 2011 - During Fred Krehbiel's three decades running the international operations of Lisle-based Molex Inc., the electrical components business founded by his grandfather, he slept in hotels nine months out of the year.
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Globetrotting by Philip Hersh
World silver medalist Merritt now at the mercy of a court - August 30, 2011 - LaShawn Merritt showed the world Tuesday he is one of the favorites to win the 400-meter gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.
Jon Hilkevitch's Getting Around
Brown Line renovations already need repairs - August 29, 2011 - Some CTA riders are walking extra cautiously to and from trains because the wood platforms are rotting, splitting, warping and sagging at a rapid pace at many of the new stations on the Brown Line, which...
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Ask Rex Huppke: I Just Work Here
Tackling the office tattler - August 29, 2011 - Attention fishermen and fisherwomen, loggers, aircraft pilots and farmers. Your jobs are very dangerous.
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Chris Jones
Sweet show headed to Chicago - August 30, 2011 - Jeffrey Sweet--Victory Gardens playwright, New York resident, chronicler of improv history--has had a success at the New York Fringe Festival with his one-man show, "You Only Shoot the Ones You Love," which he describes as the story of his dealings...
Gregory Karp
You can get that at the library? - August 26, 2011 - Where can you borrow a garden rake or fishing pole, host a conference-room meeting and get free passes to the local museum?
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John Kass
Shame on the adults who make CPS kids an afterthought - August 28, 2011 - The last thing I want is for some poor reader named Rahm to choke on his breakfast, so Rahm, put down your fork for a moment, because I'm about to praise a Chicago mayor.
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Julia Keller
Books move us — and we move books - August 26, 2011 - Ideas are immortal, but the handy carrying cases in which they're toted around — i.e., books — are not. As proof, I offer my paperback edition of “Mrs. Dalloway” (1925) by Virginia Woolf. Published by Harcourt, Brace &...
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Rick Kogan's Sidewalks
Prime rib, a relish tray -- it must be a supper club - August 26, 2011 - The supper club, as defined by Bun E. Carlos, drummer for the band Cheap Trick, is "meat and more meat … lots of beverages … locally or family owned … a real special thing."
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Greg Kot
Album review: Lil Wayne, 'Tha Carter IV' - August 29, 2011 - 2 stars (out of 4)
Gail MarksJarvis
Split decision on whether stocks are cheap - August 28, 2011 - Investors have recession on the brain and are having trouble trusting stock prices despite the appearance that they are cheap.
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Nina Metz
Back in time on 'The Playboy Club' set - August 25, 2011 - To enter the Chicago production offices of NBC's new one-hour drama "The Playboy Club," you must first walk under Mondrian-esque blue, yellow and red color-block awning, and you suddenly realize that before you even get on set, you're on the set.
Clarence Page
Give King memorial a chance - August 28, 2011 - It is poignantly appropriate that the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial has stirred controversy. After all, so did King.
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Michael Phillips
'The Debt': Good actors can't rescue meager plot - August 30, 2011 - When Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciaran Hinds and this year's breakout actress, Jessica Chastain of "The Tree of Life" and "The Help," can't make much out of a political thriller, you know something's off with both the political and the thriller...
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Mary Ellen Podmolik
Patience paying off in short-sale process - August 26, 2011 - Are short sales getting easier?
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Dan Pompei
Bucs are young, hungry - August 30, 2011 - TAMPA, Fla. — The baseball caps and T-shirts will be available at souvenir stands and websites soon.
Howard Reich
A rare return by a towering Polish pianist - August 30, 2011 - The last time the great Polish pianist Adam Makowicz played Chicago, he recalls, personal computers were new, the Internet was marginal and his native country had just been liberated from Communism.
Phil Rogers
There's long list of potential GMs for Cubs - August 27, 2011 - She could have run her own team a long time ago – probably should have, really — but nobody has had the guts to hire Kim Ng as a general manager. Could Tom Ricketts be the guy?
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Phil Rosenthal
Memo by Groupon CEO Andrew Mason may send SEC searching for explanation - August 28, 2011 - Groupon Chief Executive Andrew Mason conceded in a lengthy memo to employees Thursday that his spirited defense of the daily deals website's strategy and performance was at "a level of financial detail that will give Jason Child a stomach ulcer."
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Ameet Sachdev's Chicago Law
Email disclaimers generally not legally binding - August 26, 2011 - The other day I received an email from a lawyer in Chicago who I don't talk to very often. So I was a little surprised to hear from him.
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Mary Schmich
Schmich: Steve Jobs' words underscore a worthy maxim: Seize the day - August 28, 2011 - Since Steve Jobs resigned as Apple's CEO last week, his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University has been rocketing around Facebook, Twitter and assorted blogs.
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Dawn Turner Trice
'Miss Representation' film addresses negative media images of women - August 29, 2011 - Christine Bork recently spent 90 minutes watching an insightful documentary called "Miss Representation." It's an examination of gender bias over decades, and the hypersexualized and demeaning images that women and girls face in the media today.
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Phil Vettel
From Paris to sizzling Bangkok - August 25, 2011 - Next, the shape-shifting restaurant by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas (the principals at world-famous Alinea), dazzled diners with its inaugural "Paris 1906" menu. For an encore, the kitchen went about as far afield as possible. To Bangkok, in fact.
John von Rhein
Muti bids arrivederci to opera in Salzburg with superior Verdi 'Macbeth' - August 30, 2011 - SALZBURG, Austria – The Salzburg Festival, the toniest of the big European summer arts festivals, has long traded on the world's top starpower. No more gleaming stars of classical music illuminated Mozart's town this month than Riccardo...
Ellen Warren
Does 'no gifts' really mean 'no gifts'? - August 27, 2011 - Dear Answer Angel: I was invited to a wedding shower and the invite explicitly said, "No gifts please." Does that really mean don't bring a gift or should I buy...
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Jen Weigel
Will your relationship fail? - August 30, 2011 - You're in a relationship and things start to get difficult. Is there something you can do to weather the storm? We chatted with psychologist Travis Bradberry, author of "Emotional Intelligence 2.0" (Talentsmart), about identifying the symptoms that...
Jon Yates' "What's Your Problem?"
Problem Solver: Six years of solutions - August 30, 2011 - On Wednesday, What's Your Problem? turns 6 years old.
Eric Zorn
Hold the balloons and confetti, the presidential race has barely started - August 27, 2011 - Texas Gov. "Rick Perry leads GOP field in new Gallup poll," one headline told us last week. "Poll: Obama in tight race against Republican rivals," said another.
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Julia Allison: Social Studies
How to carve out a career in social media - August 30, 2011 - DEAR JULIA: I'm reaching out for some career advice. I'm relatively new to the social media field, and have taken on a few advising positions for organizations in the hope of building the foundation for a consulting career. Do you have any...
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Matt Bowen
Wright can be blitzing force - August 26, 2011 - The Bears can incorporate free safety Major Wright into the game plan Saturday night against the Titans by sending zone pressure from the open (weak) side of the formation. They would show coverage and roll into the blitz front at the snap.
Dennis Byrne
The real science trashers - August 30, 2011 - Today I am writing about religion. Specifically, about those who worship in the Church of the Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming. More specifically, about those who, as a matter of faith, believe that the science of climate change is...
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Meghan Daum
Invasion of the idiocrats - August 19, 2011 - You may not have seen "Idiocracy," the 2006 sci-fi comedy set in an utterly dysfunctional nation 500 years in the future, but chances are you've heard it mentioned lately. References to the film seem to be everywhere, and not just in op-eds...
Don Dziedzina
Illinois' most unique urban fishing hole - August 26, 2011 - If the opportunity comes to take someone for a fun fishing trip, I'll bring them to the Chicago River.
Leah Eskin
Dry your own - August 28, 2011 - Self-sufficiency is an appealing concept. Grow your own. Harvest your own. Put up your own. Feel smug.
Ilyce Glink
How loan servicers profit from delinquent borrowers - August 30, 2011 - Q. I read your article about a stymied mortgage modification in my local paper, and I, too, am appalled at the treatment many borrowers receive in the modification process.
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Jonah Goldberg
My Rick Perry problem — and ours - August 26, 2011 - Texas Gov. Rick Perry is the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination now, at least in the national polls. Undoubtedly that's the main reason so many East Coast pundits and Beltway wags are making fun of him. He likes guns! He's from...
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
Turn failing interview into contract gig - August 28, 2011 - Q. I don't seem to be succeeding at job interviews, having been through eight in the last three months without being offered a job. What am I doing wrong? -- D.S.
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Charles Krauthammer
In America's pantheon: King in word and stone - August 29, 2011 - WASHINGTON — It is one of the enduring mysteries of American history — so near-providential as to give the most hardened atheist pause — that it should have produced, at every hinge point, great men who matched the moment. A...
Dan McNeil
Blame Williams circus on Angelo - August 26, 2011 - If Roy Williams should drop a pass that hits him right in the hands Saturday night in Nashville, don't curse at him.
Robert Pagliarini: Your Other 8 Hours
Become unbreakable: 10 tips to create more personal resilience - August 24, 2011 - How much better would your life be if you were unbreakable? If you knew that no matter what happened that you would survive and persevere -- and that maybe you'd even come out a little better? We cannot escape pain, difficulty, failure, tragedy and...
Kathleen Parker
Planet of the godly - August 30, 2011 - WASHINGTON — Rick Perry's rapid lead over previous Republican front-runner Mitt Romney was predictable. But it is not a good sign for Republicans hoping to reclaim the White House and further highlights the crucial battle within GOP circles:...
Mark Pearlstein
Owner makes a case for a reserve study - August 26, 2011 - Q: I am a past board member and currently a member of our association's maintenance committee. We are a 100-unit "coach home" condominium that was built about 28 years ago.
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Leonard Pitts
Going overboard with our predatory instincts - August 22, 2011 - "Don't miss a moment of the high fashion, high drama and hijinks as 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' returns for Season 2. Join the pampered princesses of the world's most famous ZIP code as they struggle with questions all the money in...
Janet Portman
New landlord forces move, then rents to new tenants - August 26, 2011 - Q: The home we've been renting was foreclosed when the owner, our landlord, stopped making his mortgage payments. The bank held a sale, and a guy and his wife bought it. They told us they intended to move in and gave us a 90-day notice (we still...
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Dean Richards
Rudd drawn to idealistic aspect of comedic role - August 26, 2011 - Paul Rudd has been turning in one charismatic supporting role after another, as in "Knocked Up," "Anchorman" and "Clueless." In his new movie "Our Idiot Brother," he steps out front to play the hapless sibling of three sisters.
Daneen Skube: Interpersonal Edge
Avoid hero worship with mentor - August 29, 2011 - Q. I have a mentor at work that I profoundly respect, and I've tried to have her be my role model. The problem is that we have dramatically different personalities, and I just can't make some of her habits work for me. Do you have any advice on how...
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: Naperville North hardly a dark horse - August 29, 2011 - After Naperville North's season-opening victory over No. 10 Morton on Wednesday, there were a handful of soccer observers and reporters who referred to the Huskies as a dark horse in 2010 and a true contender this fall.
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Mary Umberger
The new ins and outs of corporate relocation - August 19, 2011 - Back in the "Mad Men" era, I had two high-achieving uncles who regularly earned promotions in the mega-corporation that employed them both.
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Bob Weber
Auto glass key to safety - August 27, 2011 - Q: Why do automakers still use heavy glass? There are some acrylics that are very light, strong, shatterproof, and better insulators for sound and temperature. Is it a cost savings issue?
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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...