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Staff columns
Ask Amy
Adoptee runs interference for birth family - October 25, 2012 - Dear Amy: I am adopted. Unfortunately, my upbringing in my adoptive family was quite dysfunctional, involving verbal and emotional neglect and alcoholism. I forgave my parents for their transgressions many years ago. They are my...
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Christopher Borrelli
Inside 'Cloud Atlas' directors' Chicago workshop - October 24, 2012 - The Wachowskis lie low. It's what they do. Indeed, They do it so well that when you meet the Wachowskis and ask them about their lying low, you find yourself reminding yourself: You have never really seen them before. Not really. They don't stand...
Barbara Brotman
Brotman: Chicagoans, cast your votes: Bears or debate? - October 22, 2012 - Chicagoans face a choice Monday night:
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Steve Chapman
The monster from the black energy drink can - October 24, 2012 - The Food and Drug Administration is investigating Monster Energy over reports that it was connected to five deaths over the past three years, including a 14-year-old girl who died of heart arrhythmia....
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Mark Caro
Divine new project for Britt Daniels and Divine Fits - October 23, 2012 - Britt Daniel hasn't said goodbye to his old band, Spoon, but he also doesn't consider his new one, Divine Fits, to be a side project.
Bill Daley
Vegetarian meals: Ideas? - October 23, 2012 - Q: Hubby is dieting by eating vegetarian as often as possible. It's been a week, and he is getting bored quickly. Do you have any recommendations for some vegetarian dinner meals that are nutritionally complete, and are not simply variations of...
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Julie Deardorff
One minute with pushup champ April Calderon - September 18, 2012
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Teddy Greenstein
Badgers' Ball back in running for Silver Football - October 23, 2012 - The accent has been removed from the second "e" in Montee Ball. Apparently it was slowing him down.
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David Haugh's In the Wake of the News
Bears' Marshall speaks his mind - October 24, 2012 - Give me an engaged and introspective professional athlete over a bored and dismissive one any day.
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Melissa Harris' Chicago Confidential
WMS Industries places a bet on online gambling - October 21, 2012 - While Illinois officials remain mired in debate over all forms of gambling, WMS Industries is predicting that casinos will soon become ubiquitous — via your computer and cellphone, at least.
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Globetrotting by Philip Hersh
In cycling's grand fraud, Armstrong not alone - October 22, 2012 - So many shoes now have dropped on Lance Armstrong he has enough stock to open an Infamous Footwear store.
Jon Hilkevitch: Getting Around
Designers seek input of riders to develop useful transportation apps - October 22, 2012 - George Aye and Sara Cantor Aye want to help improve the experience of using mass transit in the Chicago area, and they are appealing for your participation.
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Ask Rex Huppke: I Just Work Here
Nothing worse than office peppiness - October 22, 2012 - Every office has a person who has taken a few too many drags on the pep pipe. A manager or co-worker whose sunny disposition can cloud an otherwise delightfully pessimistic day.
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Chris Jones
Difficult choice to see assassins as people - October 24, 2012 - THEATER REVIEW: "Assassins" at the Viaduct Theatre ★★ ... With a score by Stephen Sondheim and a book by John Weidman, the musical "Assassins" presents a rogue's gallery of presidential assassins, or would-be assassins, from John Wilkes...
Gregory Karp
It pays to lay off the layaway - October 12, 2012 - Layaway is illogical. Almost nobody should use it for holiday gift purchases this year.
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John Kass
Benghazi not as sexy as Trump, Allred - October 25, 2012 - What news stories are perching up high on the top rocks, screeching down at undecided voters with less than two weeks left in a long presidential campaign?
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Rick Kogan's Sidewalks
A razor-sharp barber, keen on magic - October 19, 2012 - Where exactly to start?
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Greg Kot
Album review: Gary Clark Jr., 'Blak and Blu' - October 22, 2012 - 2.5 stars (out of 4)
Gail MarksJarvis
Europe, China taking toll on U.S. corporate profits - October 24, 2012 - With U.S. stocks near five-year highs, the unmistakable reality of a sputtering global economy has hit home, stifling U.S. corporate sales and spooking investors.
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Nina Metz
'Saving Hubble' shows off the stars - October 18, 2012 - As the avuncular host of "NOVA ScienceNOW" on PBS, Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of the few astrophysicists who is recognized outside of scientific circles. It's no accident that he has made so many appearances on "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert...
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Josh Noel
Plane refund? If you're fast - October 23, 2012 - If you knew that you're entitled to a full refund on almost any plane ticket within 24 hours of purchase, congratulations. If you didn't know, you're not alone.
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Clarence Page
Romney the chameleon debates himself - October 24, 2012 - President Barack Obama's final debate with Mitt Romney wasn't nearly as fascinating as the debate that Romney appeared to be having with himself.
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Michael Phillips
'Cloud Atlas'? Shrug ★★ 1/2 - October 25, 2012 - A big-budget film's marketing mission is simple: Eliminate the idea of an unsuspecting audience. Did people know what they were getting when they got "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"? Yes. They got what they were shown in the 30-second ads, over...
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Mike Mulligan
Some Bears great, but not Hall of Fame worthy - October 23, 2012 - Somewhere between Brian Urlacher pushing Charles Tillman for Defensive Player of the Year and Jon Gruden hailing a group of All-Time Bears currently on the defense, the thought occurred that something important is missing from the franchise. No,...
Mary Ellen Podmolik
Foreclosure rescue scams add insult to injury - October 19, 2012 - In the three-month period that ended in September, mortgage foreclosure activity in Illinois rose 31 percent from its year-earlier level, jeopardizing homeowners, tenants and neighborhoods.
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Dan Pompei
Pompei's NFL power rankings - October 23, 2012 - 1. Giants (3 last week): Is there a better quarterback in the NFL in the final two minutes than Eli Manning?
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Howard Reich
Sugar Blue a soaring voice for the blues - October 23, 2012 - Last May, during a conference on "Race, Gender & the Blues" at Dominican University, the master harmonica player Sugar Blue addressed the theme in an impassioned, unforgettable soliloquy.
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Phil Rogers
Why play it out? Giants have it all going their way - October 24, 2012 - SAN FRANCISCO — Why even play three more games?
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Steve Rosenbloom
Want to protect Cutler? Run the stinkin' ball - October 24, 2012 - One good thing about Jay Cutler’s near-Super-Bowl-dream-ending injury: The Super Bowl dream remains alive, even if it now might be wrapped in Kevlar and popping Vicodin.
Phil Rosenthal
Chanel No. 5's heavy notes of Brad Pitt tickling the wrong senses at the moment - October 24, 2012
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Ameet Sachdev's Chicago Law
Chicago lawyer pleads guilty in tax shelter scheme - September 14, 2012 - The tax-shelter-fraud case against Chicago lawyers and accountants took another strange twist Thursday when one defendant pleaded guilty to criminal charges months after her conviction was overturned.
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Mary Schmich
Lance Armstrong's good name also gone - October 24, 2012 - On Tuesday, the day after he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, Lance Armstrong swallowed another dose of punishment, a uniquely modern kind: He removed the references to his Tour titles from his Twitter bio.
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Dawn Turner Trice
Language offers rare insight into ancient Egyptians - October 22, 2012 - Long before Facebook posts and tweets, long before letters with postage stamps, ancient middle and upper-middle-class Egyptians scrawled notes on pieces of clay pots and handed them to children who ran across the village to deliver the messages.
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Phil Vettel
Deconstructing the (departed) menu - October 25, 2012 - D.B. Kaplan's. In honor of Halloween, we crack open the crypt to dig up the menu of a dearly departed restaurant. Set the WABAC machine to the early 1990s for a look at D.B. Kaplan's, a legendary Chicago delicatessen that marked the birth...
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John von Rhein
Reissued recordings add luster to Georg Solti's legacy - October 23, 2012 - Georg Solti, whose 100th birthday the classical music world is celebrating this month, rose to international fame as a recording artist well before he became widely known in the concert hall and opera house. Indeed, the former music director of the...
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Ellen Warren
Here comes the tattoo ... er, bride - October 19, 2012 - Dear Answer Angel: My daughter, a bride-to-be, has found the gown of her dreams: scoop neck, off the shoulder and gorgeous. She looks like a million dollars in it and wants no other. The big problem: She has a very large —...
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Jen Weigel
Four outrageous items found on expense reports - October 23, 2012 - So you're filling out your expense report and you get to that part where you need to submit your receipts. Before you try to blame your co-worker for ordering all the chocolate martinis, know this: According to experts, a lot of people expense...
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Jon Yates' "What's Your Problem?"
Problem Solver: Fire hydrant, handicapped parking at odds - October 25, 2012 - A car accident stole Philomena Russum's mobility. The oncoming driver turned left and smacked into her car, breaking her hip.
Eric Zorn
New Romney gives 'peace' a dozen chances - October 24, 2012 - In some ways, it's encouraging that the Mitt Romney who boasted earlier this year about having been "a severely conservative governor" of Massachusetts morphed Monday into a serenely moderate presidential candidate.
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Other columns
American Voices
Joel Brinkley: Netanyahu foolish to take sides in U.S. election - October 10, 2012 - Benjamin Netanyahu is so eager to see Mitt Romney elected president that he's making a fool of himself.
Matt Bowen
Though battered and bruised, Cutler earned respect - October 23, 2012 - Is Jay Cutler really going to get up after that hit? That's exactly what I was thinking after the shot the Bears' quarterback took from the Lions' Ndamukong Suh on Monday night.
Dennis Byrne
The problem with Duckworth - October 23, 2012 - Let's see, the reasons that you're supposed to vote for Democrat Tammy Duckworth and against Republican incumbent Joe Walsh in the northwest suburban 8th Congressional District are: He's a radical, "anti-choice," loudmouthed, wing-nut tea partyer....
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Steve Dale
Mr. President, veterans with PTSD deserve service dogs - October 25, 2012 - I'd never have thought a humble pet columnist would be correcting the President of the United States. During the third presidential debate October 22, President Barack Obama maintained that his administration was "making sure that...our...
Meghan Daum
Bring in Obama the Hulk - October 12, 2012 - It's hard to say which is more cringe-worthy: President Barack Obama's debate performance last week or his efforts to control the damage by poking fun at himself. In Los Angeles on Sunday night, Obama recognized Stevie Wonder and Katy Perry as...
Leah Eskin
Chickpeas a lifesaver - October 21, 2012 - Girls want to have fun. And yet, they don't. What they have is laundry. And carpool. They have grocery lists, to-do lists, listlessness.
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Jonah Goldberg
A vote for Election Day - October 24, 2012 - I suspect most voters watching Monday night's debate found it pretty boring. President Obama wanted to force Mitt Romney into saying something stupid. Romney didn't take the bait. So pretty much nothing changed the dynamics of the race.
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Ilyce Glink & Samuel Tamkin
Does it make sense to prepay a cheap mortgage? - October 25, 2012 - Q: I refinanced two years ago to a loan at 3.625 percent. I have lots of equity in my home and have been paying more than double each month since I refinanced.
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Victor Davis Hanson
What the debates taught us - October 25, 2012 - The president of the United States in the last debate chose to go on the attack against his challenger, Mitt Romney -- and once again largely failed to convince the American people that he was the more presidential alternative.
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Arianna Huffington
Instead of debate zingers, how about serious proposals to boost employment? - October 4, 2012 - As the presidential debates begin, the focus shouldn't be on who is going to "win," but on whether we are finally going to get a serious debate on jobs and the economy. If not, then the real loser is going to be the American public. But I...
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Benny Kass
Don't buy house without these 3 contract contingencies - September 27, 2012 - Q: I am in the midst of house hunting. Do you have an example of contingency language for financing and inspections that you have used in the past?
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Joyce Lain Kennedy
Leverage crossover skills for new job - October 24, 2012 - DEAR JOYCE: In my younger years, I was a top producer at an automotive dealership where I started in sales and was promoted into middle management. Now, at 50 plus, my interest in the retail auto industry is exhausted. I can't get a nibble in...
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Robert Koehler
The future of politics - October 25, 2012 - "I have no secret plan for peace. I have a public plan."
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Charles Krauthammer
Barack Obama: Drone warrior - June 4, 2012 - WASHINGTON — A very strange story, a 6,000-word front-page New York Times piece on how, every Tuesday, Barack Obama shuffles "baseball cards" with the pictures and bios of suspected terrorists from around the world and chooses who shall die...
Dan McNeil
Brenly-Kasper duo will be missed - October 18, 2012 - I don't blame any Cubs fan for being as disappointed in Bob Brenly's departure as in the 101-loss season the team just suffered. The latter was expected.
Pamela Dittmer McKuen
Placement of campaign signs stirs debate - October 11, 2012 - The presidential election is just weeks away, and campaign signs are proliferating like spring flowers. In neighborhoods that are governed by associations, the signs often are more divisive than the candidates they support.
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Robert Pagliarini: Your Other 8 Hours
Top 5 personal coaching myths - December 24, 2011 - Personal coaching is all the rage. Harvard Business Review reports that coaching is a $1 billion a year industry, but just what is a personal coach, professional coach or life coach, and why are so many executives and individuals using them to...
Kathleen Parker
Smile when you say that - October 15, 2012 - WASHINGTON — After two debates, one presidential and one vice presidential, we can fairly conclude that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are happy warriors.
Mark Pearlstein
Investment units hamper sales in building - October 19, 2012 - Q. I am the president of our condominium association with a great concern about the number of investment units in the building. I purchased my unit in October of 2007 and recently tried to refinance under the HARP 2.0 program. I found out that my...
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William Pfaff
Romney's foreign policy a puzzle that doesn't fit together - October 10, 2012 - PARIS -- The principal problem with Mitt Romney's foreign policy statements is not that his position swings widely, or that he often reverses himself, according to the audience and the daily news. This is no surprise in American presidential...
Leonard Pitts, Jr.
About those binders... - October 24, 2012 - About those "binders full of women..."
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Janet Portman
Evaluating a rental applicant based on ex-landlord's opinion - August 23, 2012 - Q: I have a policy of always talking to an applicant's current landlord. But an applicant whom I'll call Sue has asked me not to call her landlord. She is afraid that if the owner learns she is looking, he will terminate her tenancy. Sue says...
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Bill Press
First debate: Romney delights, Obama disappoints - October 5, 2012 - When Mitt Romney took the stage in Denver, he already had two strikes against him.
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Mary Sanchez
Web companies need to step up on protecting kids' privacy - October 6, 2012 - Everybody can agree that the privacy of children needs to be protected when they use the Internet.
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Daneen Skube
Best advice of 2011 - December 19, 2011 - As many of you sit underneath brilliantly lit trees today opening gifts from "Santa," I'd like to add a few gifts for you to unwrap and launch you into 2012 with more peace, power and productivity. As my loyal readers know, I review my best...
Rick Steves
10 great seaside escapes - October 23, 2012 - With all the intensity in our domestic and political worlds lately, it's a fine time for an escape -- sunset glinting through the drink in your hand. Let's fantasize about the 10 best seaside bars in Europe.
Cal Thomas
What is our foreign policy? - October 25, 2012 - After watching the third presidential debate, are you clear on America's foreign policy? I thought not. That's because there appears to be no singular foreign policy, rather a series of foreign policies, which must be tailored to fit each nation.
Joe Trost's Corner Kicks
Soccer | Joe Trost's Corner Kicks blog: Loyola to play in Naperville invite next season - May 26, 2012 - Loyola will play in the Naperville Invitational next season.
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Mary Umberger
Making your home accessible - October 19, 2012 - I wondered the other day how long it might be before I became the source of an unfunny lightbulb joke. With a certain amount of trepidation that I never would have had in younger days, I climbed a stepladder to change a ceiling fixture bulb and...
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Bob Weber
Shock absorbers may improve rocky Dodge ride - October 20, 2012 - Q: I am an 81-year-old Dodge Caliber owner and this vehicle rides worse than an army truck. Every line and joint in the road sounds and feels like a mini explosion. I made a mistake not taking this vehicle for a ride before I bought it. I...
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Jules Witcover
Romney AWOL in foreign policy debate - October 24, 2012 - WASHINGTON -- In the final presidential debate Monday night, Mitt Romney emulated Barack Obama's disappearing act of their first encounter, benignly agreeing with the president time and time again on the foreign policy issues that were supposed...
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