Wish You Were Here

Steve Gerber, creator of Howard the Duck, is dead

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:16:13 -0600

Reports say the hard-living, acerbic comic book writer died Sunday in a Las Vegas hospital due to complications from pulmonary fibrosis. He was 60 years old. Writer Mark Evanier, a longtime friend and colleague of the writer has written an official announcement post on Gerber's blog. Fans and pros from the comic-book world are paying their last respects in the comments below.

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Chicago “magic pen” snafu illustrates deeper problem for electronic voting

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:32:52 -0600

Amy, a Rogers Park resident, posted a truly harrowing story to her blog earlier today. She was one of about 20 Illinois Primary voters in Chicago's 49th Ward told to use a push-vote machine stylus to record their votes on paper ballots. When the styluses failed to leave marks on the paper, they were told by election officials that the pens used "magic invisible ink" to write down the votes.

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Party on, Mitt! Grand Central = Ground Zero for Romney Camp

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:37:26 -0600

Another call-in report from the field:

"We were having trouble locating a gathering place for Romney supporters, until Tuesday morning, when we stumbled upon a woman standing outside Union Station, laden with Romney signs, posters, buttons and a hat. She was greeting people as they emerged from the station and encouraging them to vote for Romney.

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Michiganders for Obama hit the streets of Chicago

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:44:57 -0600

Maurice Badgett rode into Chicago with other members of "Michiganders for Obama" to support his choice for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Hear him in his own words:

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Improv Everywhere goes global, Chicago makes poor showing

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:34:51 -0600

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Saving the Montrose Hole: Anatomy of a Comedy Stunt

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:29:50 -0600

On a night when freezing rains and wind kept much of Chicago inside, a handful of Chicago comedians hit the streets to rally for a bizarre cause: preserving a massive street hole in north Chicago.

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A night at the Burkhart Underground

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:46:07 -0600

About a week ago, I received an e-mail from the Burning Man Chicago list inviting me to a night of "art, music and mayhem" in Wicker Park at the Burkhart Underground, home and studio of "freak chic" photographer Fred Burkhart. Despite the bitter cold outside, I ventured out. Here's my write-up, broken up by a few photos I snapped of Burkhart's studio early in the night before things picked up (unfortunately my trusty Canon Powershot was running low on battery juice that night...).

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What’s happening with the Montrose Avenue street collapse?

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:26:14 -0600

All Chicago was abuzz yesterday about the pit that opened up in Montrose Avenue after a 3 ft. water-main pipe broke around 1 a.m. Tuesday, swamping cars, swallowing parking meters and trees, and collapsing an 80 ft. section of the sewer, according to the Department of Water Management. The carnage has forced 10 businesses to close and flooded every basement on the block. The Trib's got a nice wrap-story.

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Let’s go see some cool stuff

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:48:43 -0600

Welcome to Wish You Were Here, a new column on the newly relaunched Windy Citizen. From October 29, 2006 through December 2007 I ran the Windy Citizen as a blog where I'd post the occasional feature or news story as well as work from friends and colleagues at the Medill School of Journalism in Chicago. During that time I scored a few viral web hits and found I really enjoyed the whole online publishing thing.

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