April 10, 2008
Seed.
Has anyone ever been to the Seed Conference?
With speakers like Jason Fried, Jake Nickell, Jeffry Kalminkoff, Jim Caudal and Gary Vaynerchuk, it sounds like it would be "conference" right up my alley. And with almost four years of law school under my belt, I sure could use a creative infusion right about now.
The only drawback for me is the price tag ($500). With four years of law school student loans about to go into repayment and a baby on the way, it's hard to justify $500 on a one-day conference.
I'd love to hear about your experiences...
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February 5, 2008
Vote!
I already have...
Have you?! If not, get out and do it!!
Posted by Dave! Permalink
September 21, 2007
Fifth-Third Bank: Does Nice Customer Service Overcome Gross-Incompetence?
My mortgage is with Fifth-Third Bank. The first thing I have to say is that, at least in Chicago and on the phone, they have some of the nicest customer service people I’ve ever dealt with at a bank. They are just sweet. Unfortunately, they are (expletive deleted) incompetent.
Like many people, we escrow our property taxes. A portion of my monthly mortgage payment goes into an escrow account and when the property tax installments are due, Fifth Third pays them. And Fifth-Third did pay ours. Twice. That’s where the nightmare started.
If you’re familiar with Cook County and some of the suburbs, you probably already know property taxes are a nightmare. So imagine my shock when I got a statement from Fifth-Third saying that our escrow was short several thousand dollars.
Now, I never claimed to be a financial genius. But I can add. And when it comes to our mortgage and property taxes, I’m pretty thorough. So I was quite surprised when I received this statement and the accompany letter that Fifth-Third was raising our payment by $500 a month to cover the shortage. Something was up. And when I looked at the amount of the shortage, I noticed it was exactly, to the penny, the amount of our last tax installment. Curious. Then I looked at the tax payment dates on the statement. Wait a minute?! Fifth-Third paid an installment they shouldn’t have!
No problem, I assumed. Surely this will be easy to straighten out. Well, let’s just say I had an easier time shaving my cats.
First, I tried calling the Fifth-Third support line. They were super friendly! And extremely unhelpful. They denied the bank had made any mistaken payments. They denied anything was wrong—except that we owed them more money. They did promise to fax me copies of the cancelled tax checks and mail them out. I never got a fax. I never received a letter.
I started calling back. A lot. I got more friendly phone people, even some supervisors. They all understood my problem, but couldn’t do anything. They all promised to fax/mail the info I wanted. I never got a fax. I never received a letter.
Out of frustration, I called Cook County. The lady on the phone there was not friendly. But you know what? She did her job. She pulled up our PIN. She said, “Our records clearly show a duplicate payment.” And then she promised to send me a copy of our statement, along with a form to request a refund. I got both in the mail two days later.
I faxed the info to Fifth-Third. Then I called. “Oh, that double payment,” they said. “Oh, we see that now. You should really fix that.”
So my wife and I decided to try the personal approach. We went to the local branch. There, we met a very friendly, dedicated and helpful branch manager. He was apologetic. He agreed to take care of everything. We went away, feeling good.
Then, a week later, we got a letter from him saying he’d just faxed all our info over to the tax department. Yes, it not only took him a week to get to our problem—but then all he did was fax the same info I’d already faxed to their tax department!
Another week passed. Now we got a letter from the tax department. Finally, a Fifth-Third representative was taking ownership of the problem. Well, no. Instead, we got a letter stating that we should request a refund from Cook County (duh) and if we had any questions to call… the tax department!
sigh
I wish I could say this nightmare was over, but it drags on. We finally got the name of the tax department representative… because she included it on a letter she sent to Cook County on our behalf, asking them to send us a refund form. We called her. She promised to take care of it.
That was two weeks ago. She hasn’t.
Now, I hear you all saying, “Why don’t you just request the refund yourselves.” Well, we need copies of those cancelled checks, as proof of payment. You know, the ones Fifth-Third has promised on a half-dozen occasions to fax and mail to me. The ones I have, to this day, not received.
In the meantime, in order not to be delinquent on my mortgage, I’m having to bite the bullet and pay Fifth-Third the extra $500 each month. And we have a tax installment coming due in September.
I can tell you one thing I’m doing next week: talking to another bank about re-financing our mortgage. Fifth-Third has lost my business forever.
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (6)
May 3, 2007
17 Year Cicadas
Here's a cool movie put together at my alma mater about the upcoming 17-year cicada emergence. I have no idea why, but I'm just fascinated by these things. I love the sound of the cicadas in summer.
Here in Chicagoland, it's Brood XIII but there are plenty of other broods around. I can't wait!
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April 8, 2007
Topolobampo
A few weeks ago my wife took me to Topolobampo with friends for my 35th birthday. It was actually a birthday surprise, which was pretty damn cool! I'm not easy to surprise... Topolobampo is Rick Bayless' fine dining Mexican restaurant in Chicago, the "upscale sister" to the Frontera Grill. The name comes from a port in Mexico that was also once home to a utopian colony in the late 1800s.
The atmosphere is really fantastic. It's adjacent to Frontera, but much darker and more sedate. It's quieter, which lends itself to good dinner conversation. Our server, Oliver, was friendly without being pushy, had excellent recommendations and was very attentive without being obnoxious. Oh, and Bayless himself was dining a few tables over, which is always a good sign.
Now, the food! My friend Ken had the Pato al Pasilla con Higos, which was a pan-roasted duck breast in a sauce made from pasilla chiles and figs, with a bacon and potento torda, green beans, and a fig-jicama salsa. It looked very delicious. His girlfriend Kelly had the Borrego en Mole Coloradito, which I was able to sample as well as part of the chef's menu.
Since it was my birthday, my wife and I splurged and went with the degustation menu. I went all out, and got the wine pairings as well--and I'm glad I did!
The first course was Sopes de Papa con Mantarraya, which were these little potato-masa "boats" that were filled with a tomato braised skatewing. It was topped with some roasted tomatoes, capers and pickled jalapeno salad with queso fresco. They were delicious. The skatewing was perfect, and the potato-masa boats gave a nice texture contrast. This course was paired with a 2004 Nora Da Neve Albarino, a Spanish wine that was perfect with this course. Absolutely perfect. By itself, I think the wine was decent, but not something I'd normally drink, but it just matched the flavors of the tomato and and skatewing to perfection.
Next was Sopa Azteca de Hongos Silvestres, which as a wild mushroom broth, flavored with pasilla chiles, tomatos and epazote, with crispy torillas, mushrooms, and cheese. I wasn't as impressed with this dish--it was server lukewarm, and I just prefer my soup hot. The taste of the broth was nice, and the cheese was fantastic. But overall, I was a little disappointed with the dish. It was paired with a 2004 Andrew Murray Vinyards "Enchante" from California, which was a nice pairing, but after the perfection of the first dish, my expectations were built up to expect more.
Fortunately, the next dish, Arroz a la Tumbada, was back on top. This was a Mexican “paella” which had mahimahi, shrimp, scallops, Dungeness crab and baby octopus, served over white rice with a roasted tomato-jalapeño salsa. Oh. Man. The seafood was perfectly cooked. I mean, perfect. The scallops were done to perfection, and all of the dishes components came together perfectly as one--not a collection of different ingredients. It was paired with a 2002 Joan D'Anguera "Finca L'Agrata" from Spain, which at first seemed an odd pairing--it's a red, syrah/cab blend(?), a bright berry taste and a hint of pepper, not unlike a Zinfandel. It was quite tasty on it's own, and it actually worked as a pairing, so I was pretty pleased.
The final dish was Borrego en Mole Coloradito, which was the lamb dish that Kelly had. The lamb was done to perfection, delicate and succulent. It was served in an ancho chile mole, with wild mushroom/chocolate tamales and spinach. The lamb itself was my favorite dish of the night. I'd never had lamb with a mole, but it was divine. The mole was one of the best I've ever had, and it was just fantastic with the lamb. The spinach was great (it be hard to mess up spinach!) but I really could have lived without the tamales. They didn't look particularly appetizing, as they had a dark brown color and a shape that just--well, let's say if you ran across them at the dog park... At first, I thought they were interesting, but after a bite or two, the mushroom and chocolate were just not working together well. Overall they were the biggest disappointment of the night. This dish was paired with a 2004 Betts & Scholl Grenache, from Australia, which wasn't the best pairing of the night, but was solid.
Finally, we ended with a sample of desserts: a chocolate and banana tart with peanut frangipan, prickly pear ice cream with chocolate sauce, and a passionfruit panna cotta. The tart was good, but somewhat typical, and the prickly pear ice cream was pretty good. I'd never had prickly pear ice cream before but I would again. Really, though, it was the passionfruit panna cotta that really stood out, it was incredible. It was a great balance of sweet and tart, and was garnished with a thin slice of dried passionfruit that just put it over the top. I would have gladly traded the other two desserts for more of the passionfruit! The dessert was paired with a 2005 Hirschbach & Sohne "Binger St. Rochuskapelle", an Eiswein from Germany. I may love German beer, but I really don't care for German wine. If you like eiswein, it would probably be a good pairing, but I find it cloying.
Overall, I thought Topolobampo was really a fantastic dining experience. The atmosphere was exactly what I want in a fine dining restaurant: subtle and elegant. The staff were on their game and the service was excellent. And the food was out of this world. Yes, there were some "misses" on the degustation menu, but I think that's to be expected. It means the Chef is taking some risks, and on some dishes, it really pays off, even if occasionally it doesn't.
There was also a final surprise (my wife really went all out this year, did I mention how much I love her?!!) which was a copy of Mexico: One Plate at a Time that she had gotten Chef Bayless to personalize for me. A very cool 35th birthday, indeed.
So, if you're looking for a great fine dining experience in Chicago with a great ethnic twist, I think Topolobampo is an excellent choice. I will definitely be returning!
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (1)
March 23, 2007
This American Life... on TV!
This American Life on television, it's here! The first episode is available to watch for free on the Showtime website.
I was really pleased with how well the show has translated to video. They really have done an outstanding job capturing the mood, feel and content of the radio show, while integrating visual imagery. Do I like it as much as the radio show? I'll hold off for a few more episodes, but I'm pretty hopeful.
The only issue I have is that it's on Showtime. There's nothing else on Showtime I'm interested in... is it worth paying for Showtime just for TAL on TV? Hmmm.
Posted by Dave! Permalink
February 15, 2007
Why I'll Never Do Business with LaSalle Flowers Again
I am never using LaSalle Flowers again. Which makes me sad because I used to love this shop. Here's why...
Each year for Valentine's Day, I get my wife a bunch of white tulips because she loves them and I love her. I always used to get my flowers from the LaSalle Flower shop in Chicago, because they have quality flowers and do an outstanding job with arrangements.
This year, I went in and placed my order a week before Valentine's Day. I wrote out a card. The shop let me know that they couldn't guarantee a delivery time, being Valentine's Day and all, which was fine with me, so long as the flowers were delivered on Valentine's Day. And while her office was open.
They weren't.
They were delivered at 5:02pm. Two minutes after her office closes. The deliver person did catch the receptionist and was able to squeeze them in. My wife had already left for the day. I'd picked her up myself at 4:55. We probably passed the delivery van on the road. On our way home, I called the shop to find out where the flowers were. They told me they would look into it and then never returned my call.
Now, I do understand it was Valentine's Day and they are super busy. I'm not trying to be unreasonable. But when you count on a business like this and they don't deliver, I think customer service demands stepping up to the plate.
The only thing the shop was willing to do to make amends in the situation was deliver the flowers to another location (i.e. pick them up at my wife's office and take them to our home) or take them back for a refund. Take back a bouquet of flowers from my wife??! Yes, they seriously suggested that as an option!
I buy, or rather, bought flowers from LaSalle Street on a regular basis. My wife always loves their arrangements. Unfortunately, after the employees and manager today were rude, unapologetic, and unwilling to give me any kind of credit for what was their mistake, I'm not buying flowers from them again.
It's about customer service. If they had returned my call in the first place and offered a credit of some kind, I'd be a really happy customer, writing a story about a great local business. Hell, even if they had just apologized profusely--I do understand it's a busy day for them. Instead, here I am, writing a warning to others not to patronize a business that clearly doesn't get customer service.
When I called again this morning, they were rude and completely unsympathetic. Do you know they didn't apologize to me once? Not the employee who took my call. Not the manager she handed me off to. A simple apology would have created a lot of good will. Instead, here's how my conversation with the manager ended today:
"So, you're telling me that even though I'm a loyal customer, and it was your mistake in not getting the flowers out on-time, there is absolutely nothing you're willing to do to make amends and keep my business?"
"That's right."
"I'm sorry I will never be doing business with your shop again."
Anyone know a good florist in Chicago?
Update: Oh. My. God. You are not going to believe this!! My wife was out of the office and she got a call from the receptionist... the shop sent someone to take back the flowers!! Unreal. I specifically told the manager this morning that we were keeping the flowers (and they already charged my card.) My wife told the receptionist to let them take them, at least she's pissed off at them, not me! Still, can you believe that??! Maybe they read this post and decided to retaliate. :)
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October 12, 2006
This American... Wait Is it Snowing?!
It snowed today. Twice. It's October. This. Is. Chicago. sigh
In good news, This American Life is going to be offering Podcasts for free!
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August 22, 2006
Chicago Eats
Chicago certainly has a fine dining scene with some great selections, like the classic Charlie Trotter's or the nouveau Alinea. We are not lacking for fine dining experiences.
However, if you want to know about the heart of Chicago food, we're talking fine dining, you should check out GreaseFreak who reviews (with photos!) real Chicago food, from Italian Beef to Hot Dogs. I'm both proud and ashamed to say that I know many of the restaurants on GreaseFreak's list. Check it out!
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (2)
May 17, 2006
Chicago Public Radio Meeting: Thursday, May 18!!
This Thursday, May 18th at 6:00pm is the public Community Advisory Board Meeting. Here are the details:
-
Chicago Public Radio Advisory Board Meeting
Columbia College School of Media Arts
600 S. Michigan Ave., Room 401
Thursday, May 18th
6:00pm-7:30pm
I spoke with Daniel Ash, the Director of Communication for CPR and he said Torey Malatia (the man who killed the music programming) will be on-hand to answer member questions. Please come out and make your voice heard!!
Also, you can visit Boycottcpr.com to send letters of protest to the Chicago Public Radio Board of Directors. And please sign the Save the Music Petition!
Posted by Dave! Permalink
April 18, 2006
Chicago Public Radio Double-Speak
The Chicago Tribune ran an article over the weekend called, "Fans dial up anger over format change". In the article, Torey Malatia, president and general manager of Chicago Public Radio discusses their plans to *drop music programming* from the station's line up. Needless to say, many listeners are outraged.
Chicagoist had a post about the news "WBEZ: Now With Less Music, More Talk" and also ran a follow-up interview with Daniel Ash; Vice-President, Strategic Communications; Chicago Public Radio. My initial reaction is on Metroblogging Chicago, "WBEZ: What are you smokin'??!?!.
Having read the follow-up interview with Ash, I'm still flabbergasted at the way CPR has handled this "idea". My specific gripes (which I'm sure are echoed by many CPR listener members) are:
1. Why did CPR wait until *after* the Spring Fund Drive to make the announcement? Obviously Malatia talked to the Tribune, even if it wasn't officially announced, he could have easily said they were only talking about new ideas of how to integrate music and discussion.
That's not what he said, he said: "I don't want to mislead people that there will be sets" of music on any of the stations. Instead, he says, the emphasis will be on conversation, with some musical excerpts interspersed, as in the case of "Sound Opinions," which will remain on WBEZ.
In his interview, Ash says, "We have no intention of creating a station where people talk about music. That’s exactly the opposite of the direction we want to go." Well, which is it?
2. Listeners of WBEZ should be used to the tag line "listener supported radio". In fact, we don't "donate" to Chicago Public Radio, we become _members_. So when I read statements from Ash like, "We’ve developed a list of folks we want to consult. We want to talk to leaders and we want to talk to practitioners, people who are active in their community." I'm personally insulted. Where are the _members_? When did the expect to consult with us? Why did they choose to go public without consulting members first? I've talked to a lot of people and the best reaction I've heard so far, from _one_ person out of dozens is, "well, I'll hold back judgment until they actually do something." Everyone else has been outraged. That doesn't indicate to me they consulted with the people who fund CPR: the listeners.
3. It really saddens me that the proposed change means we'll be losing mainstay music programming like "Passport", "All Songs Considered" and my personal favorite, "Afropop Worldwide". As many people have said, and I don't know the source of the original quote, "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture."
I understand that CPR is trying to find new ways to appeal to a broader cross-section of the community. I also understand they are trying to find new ways to stay relevant in an increasingly media savvy society. But what really upsets me is the way the whole idea has been handled by Chicago Public Radio management. The quotes in the article and in the interview show absolutely no respect for musicians and artists who are currently contributing to the station's line-up. Management's statements also show no respect for the people who are currently listening and supporting Chicago Public Radio. They went public with a nascent idea which (depending on the final form) may or may not have merit, but as it was presented just sounds like a plain bad idea and now are acting shocked that listeners are outraged.
Here's what *I* would like to see happen: I'd like to hear Torey Malatia go on Eight-Forty-Eight and (1) apologize to the listeners for the botched way this "announcement" was handled by station management; (2) explain to the listeners *exactly* what he has in mind for this new vision, maybe with a little sample; (3) take listener calls and get some feedback from the people who tune in everyday and whose dollars support Chicago Public Radio.
Update: The programming change has been officially announced on the Chicago Public Radio website. I'm only linking to the announcement for references; until Torey Malatia provides the membership with some concrete plans and allows for actual input, I will not be linking to their site or supporting Chicago Public Radio in any way.
Update: Boycottcpr.com and Save the Music Petition.
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (1)
March 6, 2006
It's Roman Polanski Day!
Well, actually, it's Casimir Pulaski Day. But if you don't live in Chicago, you probably didn't know that. And even if you do live in Chicago you might not have known it. Unless, of course, you're a fan of Sufjan Stevens.
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (1)
January 27, 2006
So Long, TAL...
Gak! What is with Chicago these days? First Marshall Field's, then the Berghoff, and now something I actually care about: This American Life.
The move is apparently precipitated by deal with Showtime (Showtime??!) for a one hour television version of the show. I'm happy to see the show expanding and I think some aspects of it will work well on television, if done right. However, I call bullshit that it needs to move to NYC to do it. Chicago has an extensive production community, including a huge array of post-production houses. If the format of the television show stays true to the radio format (i.e. correspondents and field stories) then there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that the show could not remain in Chicago... the community that's loved and nurtured it all these years.
And worst of all, I don't even get Showtime!
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (2)
October 1, 2005
Zapatista
There's a new Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood, called
Zapatista so my wife (who loves Mexican food) and I decided to try it out tonight.
The head chef is from the less-than-stellar Adobo Grill and there are several touches that give that away... like the guacamole made fresh table side. Only in our case, it was made fresh 15 feet away at the bar and brought to us, I don't know why. We ordered it "hot" (as we are wont to do) and it was anything but. Seriously, I've had hotter oatmeal. But that doesn't mean it wasn't good--the ingredients were all fresh and it was quite tasty. But not hot.
My wife had the chilies rellenos which were decent, but nothing special. One was cheese, the other stuffed with chicken, and while good quality, they just weren't very flavorful. The same, however, could not be said of my fajitas, which were incredible (with one flaw I'll get to in a minute). The meat was stewed along with cheese and onions in this stone?iron? pot and the flavors were really outstanding. However, their tortillas bite. I mean, they suck. Seriously, how can you have bad tortillas at a Mexican restaurant?! I don't know, but they do. Awful.
In the end, it was a decent meal (despite my tortillas). A little pricey for the inconsistent quality; however, I might return in a few months after they are more settled-in to see if the minor inconsistencies have been worked out.
Posted by Dave! Permalink
September 28, 2005
Troubled Hubble
Alas, all good things must come to an end. Troubled Hubble will be playing their last show tonight at Schuba's. I first saw these guys over four years ago at the Hideout, and let me tell you, they are a blast. Totally infectious pop-riffs and just so much energy it's impossible not to love them.
They are calling it quits citing personal and health reasons. Let's hope "health reasons" means they are tired from touring and need a break and not anything more serious. If you haven't seen these guys, go... they are a fun, up-beat band, and it's a shame they have to call it quits. Best of luck to all of them in whatever projects come next!
[Via Chicagoist]
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (1)
May 20, 2005
Chicago Crime
If you live in Chicago (or are just curious) there's a new service at chicagocrime.org that combines Chicago Police Crime stats with Google Maps to create very detailed maps of crime in Chicago. You can look at crimes by crime type, street, date, police district, location, or view a city map. You can even get RSS feeds. Incredibly cool and kind of creepy, all at the same time.
[Via beSpacific and What are you loooking at?]
Posted by Dave! Permalink
May 9, 2005
Behind the Blue Lights
The first time I saw them, I was with my wife coming back from an evening in Oak Park. We'd taken the most direct route back to our place, which was along Chicago Avenue.
Chicago Ave. runs east-west toward the city. On the way, it passses through some of the worst areas in Chicago. People always think of the gritty, working-class South Side, but in reality, many of the worst areas are on the West Side.
The route takes you directly through a heavily impoverished area where the church/liquor store ratio nearly 1:1, and we stopped counting the churches at a dozen. All of the buildings have gates and bars or are boarded up. People mill about outside the liquor stores and don't seem to have anywhere to go.
As we drove back toward our home, we noticed something very curious: the blue lights. For several blocks, in the heart of the worst area, there are these curious, flashing blue lights sitting atop boxes mounted on the lamp posts.
While the blue light on the top of the box flashes away, in a small, black orb at the bottom of the box, there sits a video camera, which may or may not be panning, tilting, and zooming in on the action in the street below. These boxes house survailance cameras used by the Chicago Police Departement to monitor the neighborhood.
Blink. Blink. Blink. They never stop. Somewhere, on the other end, a CPD officer watches the scene, noting suspicious activity and sending out squad cars if necessary. All the while, the people on the street seem oblivious to their presence. They still stand in doorways of buildings, glancing nervously around. They mill about outside the liquor stores, hanging on cars that slowly cruise around the block all night. The cameras don't seem to impact their lives at all, one way or the other.
Or do they? I have no idea what it must be like to live around there. Life under the watching eye of the CPD all the time probably doesn't register much compared to the other obvious hardships of life on that stretch of Chicago Ave. But then again, maybe it does. What is the effect on a person when they seek something higher, cast their gaze toward the heavens to escape, if only for a moment, only to find that someone is always looking down on them.
[A Chicago Story via DefenseTech.org]
[Spycam Force via WIRED]
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March 7, 2005
Chicago's Special Day
Today is Casimir Pulaski Day. In case you didn't know, Casimir Pulaski was a hero of the American Revolution, up there with Lafayette, et. al. And since Chicago has the largest ethnic Polish population outside of Poland, his day is celebrated city wide: kids get a day off school and most city offices are closed--including the courts.
Well, my wife was going to file some motions today, forgetting it was Pulaski Day. When she got to the Court it was locked. There was another woman, walking away, so my wife turned to her and said, "Is it a holiday?"
The woman looked at her and said--completely seriously, "Yeah, it's Roman Polanski Day. I don't know what the hell he ever did to deserve a special day," and walked off.
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (1)
February 9, 2005
Is this bean your bean? No... aparently not.
If you haven't seen "the Bean" at Millennium Park (which is actually by Anish Kapoor and called Cloud Gate) you should. It's damn cool. Don't go until summer, it's undergoing work right now, and besides, it's cold here.
But when you do go, be careful what pictures you take:
Karen Ryan, press director for the park's project director:
"The copyrights for the enhancements in Millennium Park are owned by the artist who created them. As such, anyone reproducing the works, especially for commercial purposes, needs the permission of that artist."
[Via IP News Blog courtesy New (sub)Urbanism]
Posted by Dave! Permalink | Comments (1)
June 18, 2004
Tribune's 50 Best Magazines
The Tribune has posted a list of the Top 50 Magazines, as selected by their writers.
Number one on the list? Wired. Yeah, beats me. Occasionally Wired does do something interesting (the InfoPorn stuff for example) but for the most part, Wired went way down-hill after they went all Mondo 2000 on us.
Some other highlights from the list:
3. The Economist. The no-nonsense font and rigid layout style make it look like a class handout on the first day of an MBA program, but don't be dismayed. This magazine features the most succinct, globe-encompassing wrap-ups of politics and economics on the market. Even often overlooked cultural features such as book reviews glisten with insight.
20. No Depression. For those who crave that tasty trail mix of traditional country, punk, folk and rock that goes under the moniker alt country or Americana, there is no finer or more thorough source for news, reviews and profiles. We adore the long chewy portraits of the genre's big names, and the dispatches from concertland.
43. Chicago. It is impossible for a Chicagoan to read an issue and not come away with useful information. This is its first appearance on the Tempo list since The Tribune Company bought this monthly, but you don't have to take our word it belongs here. It just won a National Magazine Award for general excellence for its mix of probing journalism, clever service stories and darn good restaurant coverage.
I don't really read magazines much anymore... I can usually get more timely information and even better analysis on-line. But those three above are pretty good print-rags... back in the day, I used to read Spy pretty religiously, and I always have a soft-spot for science mags (New Scientist, Scientific American, and hell, even Discover).
I think Chicago is a bit narcissistic, but hey, I live here, and as far as local trends go, it's not too bad. Time Out Chicago is coming to town, but Chicago will probably continue to be a better blend of local politics and style, maybe not as much on the nightlife.
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